FX Wildcat compact 22 and Altaros slugs👍

[weevil]

Another winter tinker that could be a long winded story but I’ll cut to the chase. It concerns my FX Wildcat, which has served duty in many configurations from 177 to 30 in compact (500mm) and sniper (700mm) form. It started out as a Mk3 tubed version and was converted to a BT through the addition of a plenum tube and bottle adapter. Its most recent config was in 500mm 30 cal but it was made redundant by the arrival of a Sidewinder mini in .30. I decided to turn it into a dedicated little 22 slugger with a heavy 1:16 liner. Nothing new there - Ted Bier and others have posted numerous videos singing the praises of the WC BT compact 22 slugger. The twist here is that I wanted to get it shooting the high BC Altaros 32.3 grain slugs at their favored speed of 880-900fps. I thought that might be a tall order at 56+ FPE, requiring some modification of the valve or deletion of the second reg. However, the little powerhouse came through without having to exceed 150bar. I was also able to keep the stock pellet probe, which keys into the tail of the Altaros slugs ensuring perfect axial loading and smooth magazine operation. YMMV, but pin probes have never done me any favors.

Here’s the config details:

1:16 500mm heavy liner, cleaned and installed into the TP and jam nut with a tight fitting Teflon tape wrap and only one 8x1 oring at the top of the jam nut. Another personal preference over the seemingly wobbly stock 3X oring setup.

CF liner sleeve bonded to the liner with silicone sealant.

Stock pellet probe with port opened up to match the TP without removing any of the circular face that contacts the slug.

Huma slug transfer port.

Heavier brass hammer weight from the Huma WC/Maverick tuning kit with stock spring.

180/150bar Reg1 and 2 and HST set 2 turns out before coil binding prevents cocking.

Regarding the tune, a 150bar plateau speed of 895fps was hit at around 1 turn out from binding on the HST. The shots were loud and clearly wasting air. The surprise was that, even with the excessive air, the slugs seemed to be hitting the same spot. In any case, I dropped the speed until the shot cycle settled. The resulting speed was 880fps and the ES was 4. I’ve read so many times that excess air will destabilize slugs so I wasn’t very optimistic about settling so high on the curve (98.6%) but from what I could see, the slugs were stacking and the sound was snappy. Perhaps the heavier slugs are not so easily upset? Perhaps it’s an old wives tale born from expectation rather than empirical testing. IDK.

So, here we are with a WC compact 22 shooting 0.18BC slugs at 880fps for 56fpe! For context, that high BC means that the slugs are delivering 47fpe at 100 yards. That’s a pretty useful compact rig. I’ve run it before with a standard liner and light slugs and it was pretty good. But this is (so far and fingers crossed), way better. Here’s a group of 8 at 50 yards with the spent stack of slugs plucked from the duct seal under the target shown at the top. These included the first shot of the day…

I’ll be taking it out further in the next few days.

Here’s a pic showing the guts after diy conversion from tube to BT. From L to R, BT plenum, original reg section (which I think gives it a slightly larger plenum), another small plenum and then the bottle adapter.

Finally, a pic of the pellet probe keyed into the base of an Altaros slug. I suspect this plays a role in the exceptional accuracy of these slugs.

 

[JaceSpace1369]

Another winter tinker that could be a long winded story but I’ll cut to the chase. It concerns my FX Wildcat, which has served duty in many configurations from 177 to 30 in compact (500mm) and sniper (700mm) form. It started out as a Mk3 tubed version and was converted to a BT through the addition of a plenum tube and bottle adapter. Its most recent config was in 500mm 30 cal but it was made redundant by the arrival of a Sidewinder mini in .30. I decided to turn it into a dedicated little 22 slugger with a heavy 1:16 liner. Nothing new there - Ted Bier and others have posted numerous videos singing the praises of the WC BT compact 22 slugger. The twist here is that I wanted to get it shooting the high BC Altaros 32.3 grain slugs at their favored speed of 880-900fps. I thought that might be a tall order at 56+ FPE, requiring some modification of the valve or deletion of the second reg. However, the little powerhouse came through without having to exceed 150bar. I was also able to keep the stock pellet probe, which keys into the tail of the Altaros slugs ensuring perfect axial loading and smooth magazine operation. YMMV, but pin probes have never done me any favors.

Here’s the config details:

1:16 500mm heavy liner, cleaned and installed into the TP and jam nut with a tight fitting Teflon tape wrap and only one 8x1 oring at the top of the jam nut. Another personal preference over the seemingly wobbly stock 3X oring setup.

CF liner sleeve bonded to the liner with silicone sealant.

Stock pellet probe with port opened up to match the TP without removing any of the circular face that contacts the slug.

Huma slug transfer port.

Heavier brass hammer weight from the Huma WC/Maverick tuning kit with stock spring.

180/150bar Reg1 and 2 and HST set 2 turns out before coil binding prevents cocking.

Regarding the tune, a 150bar plateau speed of 895fps was hit at around 1 turn out from binding on the HST. The shots were loud and clearly wasting air. The surprise was that, even with the excessive air, the slugs seemed to be hitting the same spot. In any case, I dropped the speed until the shot cycle settled. The resulting speed was 880fps and the ES was 4. I’ve read so many times that excess air will destabilize slugs so I wasn’t very optimistic about settling so high on the curve (98.6%) but from what I could see, the slugs were stacking and the sound was snappy. Perhaps the heavier slugs are not so easily upset? Perhaps it’s an old wives tale born from expectation rather than empirical testing. IDK.

So, here we are with a WC compact 22 shooting 0.18BC slugs at 880fps for 56fpe! For context, that high BC means that the slugs are delivering 47fpe at 100 yards. That’s a pretty useful compact rig. I’ve run it before with a standard liner and light slugs and it was pretty good. But this is (so far and fingers crossed), way better. Here’s a group of 8 at 50 yards with the spent stack of slugs plucked from the duct seal under the target shown at the top. These included the first shot of the day…

View attachment 430798

I’ll be taking it out further in the next few days.

Here’s a pic showing the guts after diy conversion from tube to BT. From L to R, BT plenum, original reg section (which I think gives it a slightly larger plenum), another small plenum and then the bottle adapter.

View attachment 430801

Finally, a pic of the pellet probe keyed into the base of an Altaros slug. I suspect this plays a role in the exceptional accuracy of these slugs.

View attachment 430802

Happy to read your results! I've actually experienced the same thing when shooting heavy 177 slugs in the 600mm barrel I had. If it was wasting air with a high tune it would stack them. Everytime I settled the hammer down so it wouldnt waste air, slugs would go from stacking to giving me flyers and random groups.

 

[weevil]

Happy to read your results! I've actually experienced the same thing when shooting heavy 177 slugs in the 600mm barrel I had. If it was wasting air with a high tune it would stack them. Everytime I settled the hammer down so it wouldnt waste air, slugs would go from stacking to giving me flyers and random groups

Which gun is that, Jacespace?

 

[JaceSpace1369]

Which gun is that, Jacespace?

That was with my impact mk ii

 

[Ta-Ta Toothie]

Another winter tinker that could be a long winded story but I’ll cut to the chase. It concerns my FX Wildcat, which has served duty in many configurations from 177 to 30 in compact (500mm) and sniper (700mm) form. It started out as a Mk3 tubed version and was converted to a BT through the addition of a plenum tube and bottle adapter. Its most recent config was in 500mm 30 cal but it was made redundant by the arrival of a Sidewinder mini in .30. I decided to turn it into a dedicated little 22 slugger with a heavy 1:16 liner. Nothing new there - Ted Bier and others have posted numerous videos singing the praises of the WC BT compact 22 slugger. The twist here is that I wanted to get it shooting the high BC Altaros 32.3 grain slugs at their favored speed of 880-900fps. I thought that might be a tall order at 56+ FPE, requiring some modification of the valve or deletion of the second reg. However, the little powerhouse came through without having to exceed 150bar. I was also able to keep the stock pellet probe, which keys into the tail of the Altaros slugs ensuring perfect axial loading and smooth magazine operation. YMMV, but pin probes have never done me any favors.

Here’s the config details:

1:16 500mm heavy liner, cleaned and installed into the TP and jam nut with a tight fitting Teflon tape wrap and only one 8x1 oring at the top of the jam nut. Another personal preference over the seemingly wobbly stock 3X oring setup.

CF liner sleeve bonded to the liner with silicone sealant.

Stock pellet probe with port opened up to match the TP without removing any of the circular face that contacts the slug.

Huma slug transfer port.

Heavier brass hammer weight from the Huma WC/Maverick tuning kit with stock spring.

180/150bar Reg1 and 2 and HST set 2 turns out before coil binding prevents cocking.

Regarding the tune, a 150bar plateau speed of 895fps was hit at around 1 turn out from binding on the HST. The shots were loud and clearly wasting air. The surprise was that, even with the excessive air, the slugs seemed to be hitting the same spot. In any case, I dropped the speed until the shot cycle settled. The resulting speed was 880fps and the ES was 4. I’ve read so many times that excess air will destabilize slugs so I wasn’t very optimistic about settling so high on the curve (98.6%) but from what I could see, the slugs were stacking and the sound was snappy. Perhaps the heavier slugs are not so easily upset? Perhaps it’s an old wives tale born from expectation rather than empirical testing. IDK.

So, here we are with a WC compact 22 shooting 0.18BC slugs at 880fps for 56fpe! For context, that high BC means that the slugs are delivering 47fpe at 100 yards. That’s a pretty useful compact rig. I’ve run it before with a standard liner and light slugs and it was pretty good. But this is (so far and fingers crossed), way better. Here’s a group of 8 at 50 yards with the spent stack of slugs plucked from the duct seal under the target shown at the top. These included the first shot of the day…

View attachment 430798

I’ll be taking it out further in the next few days.

Here’s a pic showing the guts after diy conversion from tube to BT. From L to R, BT plenum, original reg section (which I think gives it a slightly larger plenum), another small plenum and then the bottle adapter.

View attachment 430801

Finally, a pic of the pellet probe keyed into the base of an Altaros slug. I suspect this plays a role in the exceptional accuracy of these slugs.

View attachment 430802

Are those the ATP SMOOTH.

 

[weevil]

Are those the ATP SMOOTH.

Yes sir.

 

[Vetmx]

Happy to read your results! I've actually experienced the same thing when shooting heavy 177 slugs in the 600mm barrel I had. If it was wasting air with a high tune it would stack them. Everytime I settled the hammer down so it wouldnt waste air, slugs would go from stacking to giving me flyers and random groups.

I’ve experienced it also. In weevil’s case, it could be as simple as when his gun is maxed out, he’s at the top edge of where the slugs are happy speed wise. Backs it down just a little and ignores wives, he’s still in the wheelhouse of the slug. The factory air stripper and mod are doing a good enough job at 50 yards. Maybe it will hold up at 100. The true test would be to get the gun shooting 920fps with the reg then back it down to 880 and see if the accuracy holds up. So in your case, did you try matching the velocity of your wasting air tune with an efficient tune?

 

[JaceSpace1369]

I’ve experienced it also. In weevil’s case, it could be as simple as when his gun is maxed out, he’s at the top edge of where the slugs are happy speed wise. Backs it down just a little and ignores wives, he’s still in the wheelhouse of the slug. The factory air stripper and mod are doing a good enough job at 50 yards. Maybe it will hold up at 100. The true test would be to get the gun shooting 920fps with the reg then back it down to 880 and see if the accuracy holds up. So in your case, did you try matching the velocity of your wasting air tune with an efficient tune?

Yes, I did. I made sure to keep it at the same velocity and even tune it down to where it would be "at the knee" and it was still out of wack. Interestingly enough, it only happened in .177, not with the .22 700mm, .22 500mm or .30 700mm

 

[Vetmx]

It just happened to me. My wide open velocity was 960 and the gun shot best in the air cannon mode. So I reset the gun to 990 ish and backed it down to 960. Not as good. But I was dealing with with a leade that I cut too short for the slug. I was having to bust it loose with a mega blast of air. Maybe that big ole Smooth sitting in weevils metal tube and respectable or slight over sized .177 in your gun appreciates getting blasted loose also.

 

[JaceSpace1369]

It just happened to me. My wide open velocity was 960 and the gun shot best in the air cannon mode. So I reset the gun to 990 ish and backed it down to 960. Not as good. But I was dealing with with a leade that I cut too short for the slug. I was having to bust it loose with a mega blast of air. Maybe that big ole Smooth sitting in weevils metal tube and respectable or slight over sized .177 in your gun appreciates getting blasted loose also.

Maybe so, do you always tune your slugs at the knee? I've only found myself doing it for pellets, not so much with slugs. Not trying to steal your thread @weevil Glad you found that out with the ATP and that they work out of your set up thus far.

 

[Vetmx]

Maybe so, do you always tune your slugs at the knee? I've only found myself doing it for pellets, not so much with slugs. Not trying to steal your thread @weevil Glad you found that out with the ATP and that they work out of your set up thus far.

My answer might be a little long and not related to weevils’s topic. At least not yet. He’s still shooting pellet distance. But it’s looking promising. But a lot can go wrong in the next 50 yards. I sure hope not. Because I know the dejected feeling oh so much.

 

[Vetmx]

I will say this and it’s topic related. I have four slug guns. Two .25’s, one .30 and a .22. Hands down my favorite is the .22. It’s friendly. That’s the best I can describe it and I bounce between 22 grains and 30 grains. I would love to try Altaros stuff but I build sluggers for hunting so I favor pure lead and HP’s.

 

[weevil]

I have no objection to you guys going down a hole. I won’t be doing anything else until I test it further out. I don’t want to push my reg #2 past 150. The two regs in this WC are lottery wins among my FXs and I don’t want to give them any incentive to become sociopathic. I will add that my Panthera 600 22 is also immune to blast and I run it just below peak, again with Altaros slugs. I had figured that was due to using an Altaros mod with a stripper at the muzzle, but it does just as well with a little Tatsu, which is what is on this WC. Have you tried these slugs, vetmx?

Edit: I didn’t see your last post before I asked that Q. Good to know that you’re telepathic.

 

[Vetmx]

Well with weevils blessing I will say that I prefer to relax a gun with the hammer spring. Not choke it off at full throttle using the valve. The rubber balls in the valve will tell you if you’re doing something wrong when you inspect them. But ultimately across all platforms, I just do what the gun and projectile wants. Dual regs will let you cheat. If your gun is not harmonically sensitive and your velocity follows your bottle pressure and your gun still shoots fine, roll with it. If you have a gun that you have great shooting at 98% from 250b down to 200b but the guns accuracy starts to falter after that, then you have to try possibly a completely different slug that behaves when your gun behaves from fill to refill. Or enjoy life in that 50b window.

My P2 has a slightly descending shot string from 250b down to 130b. It has to, it’s the laws of a reg, about 6b per 100b or so. But it shoots its slug just fine the whole time so I don’t have any sleepless nights because of it. I had a couple MKll Impacts that were insanely accurate sluggers. I could compete with them but I would have to refill them at 190b. Any lower and they started falling apart. Bottom line, you have to experiment and if it’s good enough for you, then that’s good enough. I don’t think we have too many absolutes yet with slugs. Well, maybe one. Most guys will absolutely gravitate to a slug that someone else discovered works with their same gun. And try to get their settings.

 

[JaceSpace1369]

My answer might be a little long and not related to weevils’s topic. At least not yet. He’s still shooting pellet distance. But it’s looking promising. But a lot can go wrong in the next 50 yards. I sure hope not. Because I know the dejected feeling oh so much.

Oh no, no. I wasn't reffering about you dejecting but myself. I didn't want to take away from his post is all. But I understand, I want to try shooting the MRD at about 960. Until about 55 yd, they would shoot straight. And then once they would pass that distance , they would swirl out of control in whatever direction they want to.

 

[JaceSpace1369]

Well with weevils blessing I will say that I prefer to relax a gun with the hammer spring. Not choke it off at full throttle using the valve. The rubber balls in the valve will tell you if you’re doing something wrong when you inspect them. But ultimately across all platforms, I just do what the gun and projectile wants. Dual regs will let you cheat. If your gun is not harmonically sensitive and your velocity follows your bottle pressure and your gun still shoots fine, roll with it. If you have a gun that you have great shooting at 98% from 250b down to 200b but the guns accuracy starts to falter after that, then you have to try possibly a completely different slug that behaves when your gun behaves from fill to refill. Or enjoy life in that 50b window.

My P2 has a slightly descending shot string from 250b down to 130b. It has to, it’s the laws of a reg, about 6b per 100b or so. But it shoots its slug just fine the whole time so I don’t have any sleepless nights because of it. I had a couple MKll Impacts that were insanely accurate sluggers. I could compete with them but I would have to refill them at 190b. Any lower and they started falling apart. Bottom line, you have to experiment and if it’s good enough for you, then that’s good enough. I don’t think we have too many absolutes yet with slugs. Well, maybe one. Most guys will absolutely gravitate to a slug that someone else discovered works with their same gun. And try to get their settings.

I did notice that with my impact, once I hit about 170b, the reg would lower 2-5b but there would be on change in accuracy. Now I will say that the .177 was not shot at 98% when stacking. Reg would be about 142b, and the hst would be several turns beyond max fps. Once I would resuce the hst to about a turn or 2 turns beyond the max fps I could see the groups opening up a bit and once I reduced the hammer to where I could actually adjust the speeds with the power wheel, the accuracy was mostly eh at best.

 

[weevil]

Relatively warm and very calm this AM, so I stretched to 80 with a duct seal block stuck on a tree. Same slugs and settings, shot from bags with an Element Titan at 18X. Chairgun was close with a 6MOA correction.

0.9” CTC. I’m not a benchrest shooter but do have 30 years of biathlon experience. Hopefully, I can get out to 100+ at the weekend. This is the most accurate “output” I’ve seen from this gun, including pellets and close/on par with what I get from the Panthera 600 shooting the same slugs.

Regarding potential for dejection, in this case I don’t care. This little gun owes me nothing and I don’t need it to work. It’s just a fun little experiment, out of many that often fail miserably and don’t get reported.

My sense is that any success achieved here is largely a function of what I think are very special slugs that are especially well suited to the FX heavy liners and the probe-based loading system. I’ve shot them from 3 different slug liners (500, 600 and 700) and in each case, at ~890fps, they have been stellar. My experiences with “other” slugs have been mostly misses with the occasional hit, and sometimes that hit is fleeting.

 

[weevil]

I was trying the keep things brief in the initial report but I guess I should report that before getting the 500mm heavy liner, I tried a 700mm heavy that I’d had for a while. Same 1:16TR. In that config, I got similarly great accuracy results within a single shooting session. However, when the gun was left to sit overnight, the POI would shift. Nothing new - that happens whenever I put on a 700mm barrel. It just seems to “droop” into a new POI whenever it sits. However, based on what I’ve seen so far, this compact is rock solid in that respect. The group above was again shot from cold and the first three slugs were touching. That, along with the compact form, is a real boon for hunting. Sadly, I don’t actually get much opportunity to do that myself, but again, perhaps there are people in AGNland that can give their 22WC compact a new lease of life with a $100 liner and a bunch of these slugs.

 

[Ranchibi]

Very impressive and awesome tune with such a compact barrel! RAW's are known for "wasting" air on shots...but accuracy is still outstanding..., similar to what you see.

 

[weevil]

Regarding hunting or pesting, I find that these slugs “perform” very well. Here’s the one from the top, plucked from the relatively soft putty, having penetrated around 2/3 of an inch. Two intact slugs are shown below.