what brand slugs are available to use in the Rattler? the High Arc Hunter .357 Caliber Rapter 174 Grain Hollow Point used in the video review are sold out everywhere.
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Western Airguns Rattler .357
- Thread starter Jacksn
- Start date
This is my fear. One of the great attractions to airguns is the lack of regulation, being able to shoot in my backyard, being able to easily buy moderators. A good portion of the sports advantages are gone if airguns start to be treated like firearms. I fear we are “shooting ourselves in the foot” when we chase firearm power with airguns. It seems just a matter of time till the government decides to regulate them and we loose what makes airguns great.
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That may be a reasonable conclusion to draw from the potential event, but lets get real: If people are being killed by airgun toting idiots then of course there will be a reaction. It will not matter one bit if it is a semi automatic Rattler, or an Impact, or a Texan, or a Daisy.
This is a behavioral issue, not a “Powerful”, “Fully Semi-Automatic” (!) Airgun issue. It is why WE must be responsible in our actions and our behaviors, and not tolerate irresponsible behavior. Complaining about the tool being too powerful is irrelevant. The “Tool” doesn’t make one do stupid or dangerous things. If a .357 airgun is too powerful for your suburban backyard then DON’T SHOOT IT IN YOUR BACKYARD!
”The (air)gun made me do it” ain’t ever going to be a good excuse or defense.
Chris
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I agree, for a couple of reasons.
1. The BATFE has so far left air guns pretty much alone. The further we push the envelope, the closer we get to regulations that we are not going to like.
2. If I want to shoot full auto. I know of at least two ranges where I can rent one, get my jollies, and hand it back to them. So far I have resisted the temptation, but one of those ranges has a Tommy gun. That one kind of calls out to me.
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I get no blow by on my LCS. None. I came up with a modification on mine where each and everytime I pull and re install the barrel it will fall into place exactly as set from the factory
I am unsure of the westerns design as how the barrel enters and locks into the block. It looks different than the LCS. But the functionality should be the same. Early on when the LCS made its debut in 2019 there were multiple posts from people having problems of jamming and air blow by after pulling their barrels for the initial clean after unboxing the gun. Pull thru cleaning systems after all don’t work on these fixed mag guns, so the best method is to pull the barrel.
But, if not reset perfectly, there will be problems. I thought of this idea way back then and didn’t even own one till this gun from last June of 2021. It was the first thing on the list, was to get this fabricated, as I didn’t want to have to worry if I set the barrel in too deep or not deep enough.
I would do as your planning and call AOA to see if air blow back is typ with these guns. Who knows? With what power this gun has, it may be the norm and then your ok! Good luck!
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Yeah, this for sure is NOT a back yard in the suburbs type of gun. If your ignorant enough to try it, and the cops show up, please don’t try to tell them “it’s just an air gun, you know, a pellet gun? Like you had when you were a kid?”
I’m on 5 acres and I’m still very careful where and when I decide to pull out the LCS. It’s loud, so that’s an attractant.
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When I first I got into PCP’s back in 2017 I bought my first, a marauder. I was fortunate to have JF paintball who is now AirHog in town 30 minutes from me. It was there where I bought my first 88 cu ft tank.
Anyway, he had some air force big caliber guns in there. I asked him why the heck these were only single shot and not mag fed(at the time there were no mag fed big bores of any kind). It was a totally newbie question, and his reply stuck with me to this day-
He says- “can you imagine a big bore lead slinger, ordered and delivered by ups right to your front door, and now in the hands of the wrong person, no background check or any of that, with a gun capable of shooting multiple rounds? That would seriously raise havoc(edit: it would seriously raise havoc IF USED IN THE WRONG WAY) It’s actually a good thing these air force guns are single shot”
Now, with that said, I understand a lot of states allow the use of hunting big game with airguns provided they meet a ft lbs requirement, and that’s all good as that is what this gun was designed for. My opinion only, of course. People will do whatever they want. I just hope the person pulling the trigger has level 10 common sense
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I don’t disagree with you, your right, the individual has to be responsible. But that doesn’t alleviate my fear that one day things are going to change and our sport will suffer.
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Emu, It doesn't trap your facial hair, it pulls it off. My Hubens are not as guilty as the SK. That being said the right side of my moustche is a little shorter than the lrft.
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wanted to update there is no air puffing out of the magazine area!
what i was feeling was the pressure gauge or the mag lock lever brushing up as the gun shot kicks a little, that's how close my face is to those things.
i tested with my hands cupping around the magazine and pressure gauge and shot a full load - no air!
now to find a 150g+ slug that is available and works well with this awesome pcp!
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Then they should also promote this rifles as depilate tools….
A kind of double porpuse efect: pleasure of shooting distract from pain of depilation.
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update on slug measurements. Proslugs has good lengths stated on their website i will update what works.
from my own measurements the Rattler magazine may indeed measure 21mm but the realistic slug size is just a but smaller under 19mm or 0.75 inches
from my own measurements the Rattler magazine may indeed measure 21mm but the realistic slug size is just a but smaller under 19mm or 0.75 inches
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Thanks, Unpollo! This is/will be super helpful.
I'm curious if you have any NSA ammo you are planning on trying out. Nielson seems to produce popular and decently priced slugs. I've got a Rattler on order and have been trying to do some research on what ammo to get on the way.
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updating on ammo! got some ammo from Apex:
166 Grain/50 Count, .357 Caliber Slug Pellets. Round Nose - .746" length
it fits! however i do have to press firmly to get it in the chamber it feels like the bottom of the slug may be a bit wide? stuck in chamber no movement.
140 Grain/50 Count, .357 Caliber Slug Pellets. Hollow Point - .595" length
fits better, slides in like the 35 cal JSB exact pellets. can slide back forth in chamber.
should these slugs be immobile and firm fitting in the magazine?
now as for shooting... BAM! both shoot wonderfully and the power is amazing. accuracy at 25 yards is spot on just like the JSB pellets i didn't have to adjust sights. i don't have chrono but my bullet trap filled with rubber mulch with a hardened steel plate in the back was ringing steel whereas the pellets made no noise. this thing has got to be doing 240 FPE+! and sure enough i get almost exactly 15 shots per fill at this power level bringing the bottle down from 250mpa to about 160 mpa.
amazing pcp!
166 Grain/50 Count, .357 Caliber Slug Pellets. Round Nose - .746" length
it fits! however i do have to press firmly to get it in the chamber it feels like the bottom of the slug may be a bit wide? stuck in chamber no movement.
140 Grain/50 Count, .357 Caliber Slug Pellets. Hollow Point - .595" length
fits better, slides in like the 35 cal JSB exact pellets. can slide back forth in chamber.
should these slugs be immobile and firm fitting in the magazine?
now as for shooting... BAM! both shoot wonderfully and the power is amazing. accuracy at 25 yards is spot on just like the JSB pellets i didn't have to adjust sights. i don't have chrono but my bullet trap filled with rubber mulch with a hardened steel plate in the back was ringing steel whereas the pellets made no noise. this thing has got to be doing 240 FPE+! and sure enough i get almost exactly 15 shots per fill at this power level bringing the bottle down from 250mpa to about 160 mpa.
amazing pcp!
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I saw a YouTube vid not long ago calling for the boycott of airguns of Arizona over this rattler. The channel claimed A of A produced this without permission from lcs. The rattler is a total patent infringement and legal action from lcs is probably coming.
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i've heard those rumors also. hopefully it will all settle out because this pcp really is amazing! AoA have stated they heard the rumors too but that's all they are and they would probably be the ones to know lol.
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more smaller details i am noticing over the LCS on this pcp... the safety near the trigger is on the right hand side so it is easily accessed by the first finger AR-15 style, the magazine lock lever has a protrusion that prevents it from being forced 180 degrees upwards, bottle clamp attached to lower pic rail, sliding magazine loading bay cover rather than magnetic flip open.
with slugs i would suggest ordering both 357 and 356 sizes to see which fits better in the mag. nothing over 0.75 inches.
with slugs i would suggest ordering both 357 and 356 sizes to see which fits better in the mag. nothing over 0.75 inches.
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This comment is a response to multiple people and some of my thoughts and things I heard when I called AOA and spoke to one of them about it.
I was told that the rattler bottle can be swapped out, and if you want it with the 700CC bottle, they will send it installed for another $200.
I love integral magazines personally as they simplify many aspects and the entire system has less possible points of failure overall. For example, breech seal o rings are not a thing you need to worry about, nor are broken plastic magazines that slightly miss align when a bolt is slamming through them at high speed. Plus, if you take the aea terminator for example, it's magazines hold 10 shots so you're getting 50% more on the rattler.
I doubt we will see calibers of the rattler below .357, although maybe bigger. One person told me a .45 was in the works. I was told that an engineer working for LCS wanted to make bigger calibers but they didn't want to so he worked with western big bores and made the design just different enough to not violate patent. If you want a .25 rattler, why not just buy a huben or an lcs? I'm a huge huben fan, have both the .22 and a .25 and I will say if a .35 huben existed as well that made similar power to the rattler and had similar capacity, I would not be interested in one.
Regarding the sliding of projectiles in the magazine, on my hubens this can cause jams. Once I swapped to snug ones I never experience jams anymore. Although hubens have a tendency to do better with wider diameter slugs, in my experience. For example, in my .25 huben, NSA .250 slugs are horribly inaccurate, .253 Zan slugs are much better and .254 AVS slugs the best. My .22 huben shoots .2225 slugs that I swage. Obviously none of this means the rattler or lcs would be the same, but they could be.
I do like my huben triggers. I've heard the lcs triggers are not quite as good but not nearly as bad as an aea terminator trigger for example.
Sometimes my hubens snag a beard hair.
I couldn't care less about lack of full auto functionality. It may be for the best although I'm not against it. I've talked to people with lcs sk 19s who say the novelty wears off pretty fast and they almost exclusively shoot in semi. Pulling the trigger as fast as I can I can dump a huben mag nearly as fast anyway.
I was told that the rattler bottle can be swapped out, and if you want it with the 700CC bottle, they will send it installed for another $200.
I love integral magazines personally as they simplify many aspects and the entire system has less possible points of failure overall. For example, breech seal o rings are not a thing you need to worry about, nor are broken plastic magazines that slightly miss align when a bolt is slamming through them at high speed. Plus, if you take the aea terminator for example, it's magazines hold 10 shots so you're getting 50% more on the rattler.
I doubt we will see calibers of the rattler below .357, although maybe bigger. One person told me a .45 was in the works. I was told that an engineer working for LCS wanted to make bigger calibers but they didn't want to so he worked with western big bores and made the design just different enough to not violate patent. If you want a .25 rattler, why not just buy a huben or an lcs? I'm a huge huben fan, have both the .22 and a .25 and I will say if a .35 huben existed as well that made similar power to the rattler and had similar capacity, I would not be interested in one.
Regarding the sliding of projectiles in the magazine, on my hubens this can cause jams. Once I swapped to snug ones I never experience jams anymore. Although hubens have a tendency to do better with wider diameter slugs, in my experience. For example, in my .25 huben, NSA .250 slugs are horribly inaccurate, .253 Zan slugs are much better and .254 AVS slugs the best. My .22 huben shoots .2225 slugs that I swage. Obviously none of this means the rattler or lcs would be the same, but they could be.
I do like my huben triggers. I've heard the lcs triggers are not quite as good but not nearly as bad as an aea terminator trigger for example.
Sometimes my hubens snag a beard hair.
I couldn't care less about lack of full auto functionality. It may be for the best although I'm not against it. I've talked to people with lcs sk 19s who say the novelty wears off pretty fast and they almost exclusively shoot in semi. Pulling the trigger as fast as I can I can dump a huben mag nearly as fast anyway.
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yes the Rattler (and LCS) have bottle systems just like the FX pcp. you can remove or swap bottles just like a paintball marker, but each bottle needs a special connection adapter that has an internal valve.
i wouldn't pay $200 for a bigger bottle. take the 580cc stock and buy another 580cc bottle with the adapter and now you have hot swappable total air of 1160cc. swapping takes less than a minute.
i wouldn't pay $200 for a bigger bottle. take the 580cc stock and buy another 580cc bottle with the adapter and now you have hot swappable total air of 1160cc. swapping takes less than a minute.
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