TX200: second impressions (first impressions w/Vortek 12 FPE kit)

[Smaug]

Well, by now, I've fired probably a whole tin of pellets through the stock TX200. (US spec @ 16 FPE) After a couple hundred break-in rounds, accuracy picked up. But it was quite twangy, and pretty high effort to cock. I read a lot, that reducing the power and tuning it would result in higher accuracy yet and eliminate the twanginess.

So I bought the 12 FPE Vortek kit and put it in there. The instruction sheet, in my opinion is barely adequate. It has a rudimentary diagram that is probably applicable to all of their kits. But I think at $70 for a spring, an O-ring, a few washers and such, they should have custom installation sheets for each rifle. It's probably well under $10 worth of hardware, once the tooling is paid for. It wouldn't take them long to do. Maybe it is their way of discouraging those who aren't handy to take it on themselves? Here's the specific shortfall areas:

• Preload washers (for more power) are included, but it is not said or shown where to put them. I knew this from watching another YouTube video, but it should be in the instruction sheet.
• It doesn't say or show to replace the piston seal, and the Vortek seal looks pretty different than stock
• It doesn't say where the O-ring goes. It could either go on the outside of the piston, to replace one of the split plastic rings, or below the piston seal. Luckily, it won't go back together if it replaces the plastic split ring, so it was a process of elimination for me. But I worry a bit that I may have damaged that O-ring while trying to put it back together! In the end, I don't think it matters, because the purpose of that O-ring seems to be vibration dampening, rather than sealing anything.
• Although the kit is specific to the TX200, there are no instructions provided on how to take apart the TX200. I found a great and simple YouTube video on it. It shouldn't be necessary.

Now, onto the shooting. The first hundred rounds or so, showed the shot cycle is smoother, and so is cocking. That's nice, but it isn't the main reason I bought the Vortek kit. I wanted better accuracy. I'll have to wait to find out about that. I shot a couple hundred rounds through it from a rest, with the forearm resting on my hand, which was on a sandbag. No rest or means of stabilizing the rear of the rifle other than my shoulder, so accuracy may be able to be improved further by doing that.

I haven't tried all the pellets again; I only tried a few that it liked before, and I omitted the 10+ gr. ones, because they're not really power-appropriate any more.

The pellets I tried were:

• RWS Basic, 7.0 gr. wadcutters. Gotta try a basic wadcutter, right? These were shooting at about 820 fps, average. Not too accurate; probably a little too fast for wadcutters. Will try RWS SuperMag and Meisterkugeln Rifle next.
• CPL, 7.9 gr.: Averaged about 760 fps., 10.4 FPE, but varied from 740s to 770s. Might have something to do with the fact that they picked up a little residual lube from the tin I put them in.
• JSB Exact, 8.44 gr.: 775 fps avg., 11.7 FPE
• AA Diabolo Express, 7.9 gr.: 790 fps avg., 11.0 FPE
• AA Diabolo Field, 8.4 gr.: 770 fps avg., 11.1 FPE

Exacts give the highest energy so far, but AA Diabolo Field are the most accurate so far, but with Diabolo Express and CPL coming in close behind. I'm told I need to wait another couple hundred rounds before deciding anything final.

There were variable winds, but I feel like they didn't effect things much.

• 55 yards, AA Diabolo Field 4.51, 10 shots, 1-15/16"
• 25 yards, Exact, 10 shots, 3/4"
• 14 yards, AA DF 4.51, 10 shots 5/16"

For now, I'm not sure it is any more accurate, but I'm a bit surprised at how much more I like it. Everything is just smoother and easier. I'll try resting it more completely next time out, and see whether it dislikes that because of incorrect support, or likes it because of being more stable. Hopefully, it will be less windy too, so I can take that out of the equation.

I might pop it apart again and put in one of the preload washers, to see if I can get it closer to 12 FPE, while still being under. But I'll wait until it is fully broken in and see where things lie.

 

[gamyrick]

Did Air Arms use preload washers to attain the 16 ft/lbs of energy? 
Would you describe the Vortek components as high quality? 
Was the Vortek spring properly finished at both ends?
Would you recommend the Vortek Kit?

 

[Smaug]

"gamyrick"Did Air Arms use preload washers to attain the 16 ft/lbs of energy? 
Would you describe the Vortek components as high quality? 
Was the Vortek spring properly finished at both ends?
Would you recommend the Vortek Kit?

Q: Did Air Arms use preload washers to attain the 16 ft/lbs of energy? 
A: No. Seems like stock is a larger diameter spring

Q: Would you describe the Vortek components as high quality? 
A: Yes

Q: Was the Vortek spring properly finished at both ends?
A: I couldn't tell on one end, as it is contained. On the other end yes.

Q: Would you recommend the Vortek Kit?
A: Yes!

I was shooting it indoors at 14 yds. last night, seated in the field target position. Pretty consistently shooting 5-shot groups of one ragged hole (1/4") with AA Diabolo Field 4.51mm, 8.4 gr. pellets. That was including a lot of human error too. I can only imagine what the gun itself is capable of. Cocking is smoother and easier, and there's no twang or buzz upon firing the shot. These last bits aren't necessarily related to accuracy. It seems like the stock configuration is for maximum velocity while still retaining good accuracy. Air Arms is probably seeing how many high velocity guns Gamo and Crosman are selling in the US and figures that's what we yankees want.

The stock setup has the spring rubbing the inside of the spring chamber with every cocking and shooting cycle, while the Vortek kit seems to have plastic and rubber rubbing on the bore, and the spring not touching the bore at all. Stock configuration has a metal piston weight too.

The Vortek design doesn't require a lot of tar or grease to dampen vibration; just a very thin coating, probably to prevent corrosion more than lubrication.

The breech seal is a different material, and is vibration-isolated by an extra O-ring that isn't present on the stock config.

I DO think the stock configuration is more durable in the long run, since metal doesn't age and break down over time, like rubbers and plastics do. So if I had this gun with the idea of not touching it for 40 years, I guess I'd stay stock, and accept the twang and buzz.

The bottom line is that the original Air Arms quality is good. The Vortek kit doesn't improve upon that in this case. But the original configuration is set up to get maximum power and longevity, rather than going for maximum accuracy and a more pleasant shooting experience. (at the cost of 4 FPE) This is a kit for connoisseurs, not velocity-focused newbies.

As a point of comparison, the stock TX200 configuration is the most buzzy and twangy springer I've shot, even compared to Chinese springers I've owned. (Stoeger X20, Crosman Raven) It's just a lot of metal in there with not much to dampen it. It's not due to the power, because my X20 shoots at about the same power level as the stock TX200.

I did take some quick pictures when I had it all apart, I'll try to remember to post them later. I didn't document the whole thing though, as I was so excited to get it together and try it out.

I'm going to try it out in the field target match this Saturday. If I don't win my class, I surely won't blame the rifle or Vortek kit. (unless the darn screws back out again)

 

[gamyrick]

Thanks very much for the information. My 2nd TX200 (2014) (23.57 ft/lbs) was overpowered. My 1st TX200 (2010) (18.47 ft/lbs) was much smoother and more accurate with the H&N Baracuda Green Pellet. I thought that maybe Air Arms had added washers for additional power. 

 

[Smaug]

"gamyrick"Thanks very much for the information. My 2nd TX200 (2014) (23.57 ft/lbs) was overpowered. My 1st TX200 (2010) (18.47 ft/lbs) was much smoother and more accurate with the H&N Baracuda Green Pellet. I thought that maybe Air Arms had added washers for additional power. 

23 FPE and 18 FPE from a TX200?! Wow! Are you sure your calculations are correct? ...because that's more than a magnum class springer like the RWS 350 Magnum or 56TH.

Here are some pix:

Here's the factory spring and hardware, with the factory plastic ring removed and the Vortek in its spot. (this is the wrong place for it) That metal part on the end of the spring goes in the piston. You can see the seal is kind of burnt. It dieseled a lot, because I had been feeding it lubed CPHs, and the Whiscombe Honey detonates.



Here's the Vortek kit, with that O-ring still pictured in the wrong spot. It goes underneath the breech seal, and the factory plastic split ring stays there. The white plastic guide is in the Vortek kit, but there's no equivalent from the factory. This is why the cocking is so smooth with the Vortek kit. Instead of the spring rubbing against the inside of the steel cylinder, it rubs inside that plastic tube. Also note the hard black rubber part at the end of the spring, instead of the steel one that's supplied from the factory. This also takes away vibration when the shot's fired.



Here she is, all in pieces. Click on the pic to go to PhotoBucket, then click the '+' in the upper right of the pic to zoom in a bit. You can see that the factory spring is larger diameter and of longer length than the Vortek 12 FPE one. Cross section of the spring wire looks about the same, but I didn't measure it to confirm. The metric hex key set by the butt of the stock and the Swiss army knife were the only tools I needed to do the job. I used the can opener of the Swiss army knife to pry off the old breech seal.