Tuning a Ruger Air Hawk

[ajshoots]

I bought a refurb Air Hawk months ago and simply stuck it in a safe after shooting a few pellets. I wanted a project to work on since I finally have my shop done.

I started by completely disassembling the gun and deburring. I don't typically work on springers, so all I have is pcp stuff. I used Dow Corning 111 Molycote on the spring, spring cup, and piston seal after cleaning up the stock seal and squaring up the main spring. I did hone the compression chamber and added a buffer.

The results with 7.8gr jsb's were 830fps avg with an ES of 15fps. The shot cycle has smoothed out and I am pleased with the results of my first official springer tune. For a $40 refurb, I can't ask for much more.

 

[ztirffritz]

I've never shot a springer but I'm keeping my eye out for a good deal. I've always shot pumpers and now PCPs.

 

[thumper]

Sounds like you got it fixed up!

I had a Ruger AirHawk a few years ago, and it turned out to be a real good shooter after a little work. If the accuracy isn't up to par, be sure and check the crown really close. Mine was finished uneven and had a rough spot right inside the end. I recrowned it and it shot great from then on. 

If you can still get a .22 barrel from Flying Dragon or somewhere, they are a pretty good upgrade for the money if you want a little more punch downrange. 

Enjoy your gun!

 

[ajshoots]

I touched up the crown and polished the barrel when I first got it. I have only shot it with open sights, but it seems to shoot well for what it is. Not nearly the gun my English BSA is, but I bought for a beater to keep in the shop and it should serve well for that purpose. Did take a sparrow at about 10 yards with it today.

 

[wormbobskey]

Is there much difference in the air hawk and air magnum? I have put close to 500 pellets through the air magnum but it still hasn't smoothed out any and accuracy is pretty erratic. Only tuning (if you can call it that) I have ever done is on a big cat 22. I tried on spring I bought at the hardware store, but it doesn't have the power need to generate much power. I'd really like to get this rifle shooting better, but really have no idea where to start.

 

[thumper]

"wormbobskey"Is there much difference in the air hawk and air magnum? I have put close to 500 pellets through the air magnum but it still hasn't smoothed out any and accuracy is pretty erratic. Only tuning (if you can call it that) I have ever done is on a big cat 22. I tried on spring I bought at the hardware store, but it doesn't have the power need to generate much power. I'd really like to get this rifle shooting better, but really have no idea where to start.

The AirMagnum is a clone of the RWS 350. It's bigger, heavier, longer, and has more piston stroke to generate more power. They can be fairly hard to shoot accurately even when they are working right because they have so much kick.

Check to be sure the stock screws are snug
Try different pellets (heavier may be better than light)
Hold it with a loose grip
Don't rest it on anything solid like you would a firearm
Try it with the open sights to make sure it's not the scope. (Magnum rifles are hard on scopes, especially budget branded scopes)

Do all that first and see where it gets you. If you don't see any improvement, then you need to start checking some more things with the gun itself. 

 

[wormbobskey]

Ok. Sort of been ignoring it and just shooting pcp's, but I would like to get it up and running properly. I currently don't have a scope on it as I don't have any springer rated scopes to install. I will try your suggestions thumper and see what I get. I think I have some heavy pellets I will try. I'll report back later. Thanks, Mike.