Bad luck from Brocock bantam sniper H-L

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Aparks454

Member
Feb 4, 2020
39
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(Alex) from Murfreesboro Tenneessee, United States
Just wanted to share my experience so far with the Brocock bantam sniper high lite in .25. Thus far there have been mostly rough times. In the relative short time I have had the gun I have had three major issues. Two were solved myself with some help from AOA service department (who have been great so far!) and the very knowledgeable members of this forum. 


The first issue to pop up was with the o ring in the breach end of the barrel. I shot some groups which I was extremely impressed with and then loaded up to sight in the scope. I was using a DonnFl silencer at this point so the gun was extremely quiet. I lined up and squeezed my first shot off to be surprised by a loud thud. When I pulled the pellet prob back the o ring that should be at the start of the barrel was bunched up at the end of the rod. Needless to say I had to retreat home to remove the barrel and fix the problem.

A couples of days later I began shooting the rifle again and wow! The accuracy is amazing. I set up a board at 42 yards and after a few groups getting use To the trigger it was literally putting out a single hole as a five shot group. Then as I kept firing I seems to have more and more trouble getting bolt/hammer spring to stay in the cocked position. Eventually the rifle would fire as you closed the bolt or shortly the bolt was closed making it an extreme safely hazard. But after talking to tech support at AOA and some members of this forum I took the gun apart and tightened the trigger adjustment screw fixing the issue. I had not adjusted it however. It worked loose on its own.



Today was its maiden voyage since the trigger job and O ring reseating, and it was shooting pretty well . I was still trying to get use to the little bit heavier trigger from the last fix. I then went to refill the rifle from my scuba bottle but after connecting the rifle and staring to fill I noticed the tank was filling very slowly. I then tried to purge the line and remove the fill whip when I noticed the tank on the gun was leaking very badly at the 1/4in fill fitting. After calling AOA service dept and talking to their very knowledgeable staff I learned that the main seal had blow and there was no way I could have caused it to and to send the rifle back for them to fix under Warranty. The rifle is super accurate but I bought it to use as a field gun and so far it had been nothing but trouble. I am seriously considering returning it before it is too late. Unfortunately that may be my last straw with pcp air guns for me. I didn’t know they were so Finicky.


Any thoughts any one? Thank you.
 
I can understand your frustration, especially if this is your first PCP. If it gives you peace of mind, return the rifle. However, it may turn out that after this fix, this gun may not give you any additional problems other than general maintenance.

I've owned FXs, Daystates, Taipan Veterans, AGT Vulcans and a few other brands. I have never owned any Brocock.

Of the PCPs I've owned the Taipan Veterans and the Vulcans were the most robust and trouble-free. These Eastern European airguns are also very accurate. 

Don't give up on the PCPs just yet. 
 
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Welcome to the PCP world, a gizmo operating on O rings and valves! They are fun, but can be frustrating. Unlike metallic cartridge rifles, you don't get them right once and shoot for years. You basically get it right each day you take it out, and hope to finish the day that way. Not to be a total cynic, since I really do like these things, but they require diligent maintenance and tuning. But, it's really not that hard to have one shooting 100% every day, just buy three!
 
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I had a trigger issue with my Kalibrgun Ocelot trigger adjustment screws coming loose I just put a bit of blue locktite on them and have not has an issue since then. My Leshy leaked at the pressure gauge. Was not the gauge itself, it just was not sealing up so I dropped a small o-ring in it and has been fine. My old Mrod had the o-rings go out on the valve. Easy fix. No issues on anything else so far. Its just part of owing a PcP. In most cases they are easy to work on and fix.
 
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You say - " In the relative short time I have had the gun I have had three major issues".

If you are considering a breech o-ring blowing and a trigger adjustment moving as "major issues" then returning the gun for refund would likely be your best bet. Just my opinion.

Not sure what the "main seal" is but did you degas the gun to adjust the trigger? Not sure why you would have. But again it's a "rubber" seal, pretty much "expected" to at some point in the guns life to be replaced.
 
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The number one reason I like to buy local if possible or buy end user serviceable guns is some of what is mentioned here. It was the reason I sold my Compatto. There was nothing wrong with the gun per se, although it did like to spit out that breech O-ring every so often, all on it's own. I suspect the later is the reason they now come with over-sized bolts (pre-lever action) Great very accurate guns, but I think they can use a bit of QC. Hopefully the new RX breed deliver on that promise of Tighter Tolerances etc. 

You buy a new item from all the way across the country. It turns out bad, defective, etc through no fault of your own. The dealer is fantastic and will fix it or replace it at no cost, except for shipping! Some of these guns can cost $100 to ship, all the while the dealer only pays $35 or so to ship. Matter of fact, AoA wanted me to ship the Compatto back because all the air would leak out when attempting to disconnect from the fill source. Problem was, and I was darn sure of it, it was not the gun that was bad! it was the bleed valve on the tank regulator assembly. I would have had to Pay for that shipping for no reason at all. 


 
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Thousands upon thousands of pellets through both of my Brococks, yet to blow a breech seal. IMHO, blown seals, double loading, etc. Are gun handling issues. Make sure that bolt “is” close before squeezing that trigger. Though you’re having problems you are in the minority. Some try and push “supposed” QC issues, if lack of QC was the case, there would be many more complaints. @Intenseaty22, you state you had issues with “your” Compatto. Why try and make it seem likes it’s an issue across the entire lineup? The Brococks are solid, with very few complaints from users.
 
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I certainly don't want to appear as an apologist but I have Brocock Commander Hi-Lite in .22 with 7,000 rounds through it. I am not joking when I say the only thing I have done to it is lubricate the bolt with silicone grease like instructed to in the manual. It has never been cleaned, never had a breach seal replaced, never had anything done to it other than shooting it.

I will say/warn you that early on in my quest for the right pellet I noticed drastically different levels of force required to seat the pellet past the breach O-Ring depending on the pellet and hardness of the pellet. Shortly thereafter I elected to shoot one pellet and one pellet only and stick with it. Not only did it help with the range sessions and hunting time because I knew exactly how the pellet behaved but it also ensured everything was always consistent in the seating process. This has allowed me to memorize and muscle memorize the seating process so that anything out of the normal quickly jumps out. My personal choice is Crosman Magnum Domes in 14.3gr.

I am VERY sorry to hear of your problems and repeated problems. I own a Commander and a Concept and both are well constructed. I am so surprised by your stories of failure that I hope you ended up with a lemon that can be made into lemonaide. Barring that I hope you get a replacement that is reflective of the quality, accuracy, and durability of others with the Brocock line.

My opinions expressed above are my own, I am an individual not affiliated with any airgun vendor or sales person :)
 
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The only issue I had with my Compatto was low power and shot count (not below specifications just not up to my desires). $300 later with a new longer unchoked poly barrel and a modification to use a regulated bottle rather than an unregulated tube reservoir has made me quite happy all around. Only blew a breech o-ring once when the bolt handle got knocked out of position letting the breech come open when fired.
 
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Thousands upon thousands of pellets through both of my Brococks, yet to blow a breech seal. IMHO, blown seals, double loading, etc. Are gun handling issues. Make sure that bolt “is” close before squeezing that trigger. Though you’re having problems you are in the minority. Some try and push “supposed” QC issues, if lack of QC was the case, there would be many more complaints. @Intenseaty22, you state you had issues with “your” Compatto. Why try and make it seem likes it’s an issue across the entire lineup? The Brococks are solid, with very few complaints from users.
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I am really glad you have never had a problem with your Brococks. In the past I have noted to you specifically that I have nothing against the brand, and even if I did so what? The gun was awesomely accurate, etc. Never had a problem with the magazine.

HOWEVER....I stand by my statements. I did CLOSE the bolt. I DOUBLE checked it, because I can be absent minded I would say to myself "SELF! make sure you close the bolt, you must have left it open last time. Heck, I triple checked it. So, essentially what you are saying is that I am a LIAR? Or that the other folk that have similar complaints are hallucinating or making stuff up, that everyone here is a klutz?

Please STOP putting words in my mouth and mischaracterizing my statements. I don't question your opinions, so please try and respect my opinions and my personal experiences. 
 
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I traded my Brocock .25 sniper in for a Wolverine HP .25. I had the same problems Interseaty and Aparks. I consider the bolt issue serious. It also blew O rings easily. Granted most of the blown o rings were my fault. Also it leaked air out of the regulator gauge. It was accurate but I’m glad it’s gone. My favorite gun now is the Vulcan.25 tuned by Tony Talon. Accurate and no trouble at all. I’m glad others are enjoying their Brococks trouble free, but some of us have had issues. 
 
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I’ll take a gander that the bolt issue is a concern with the HP models. Perhaps this is why the redesign with the XR.

I almost purchased an HP several weeks ago from a long time vendor I purchased several items from in the past. I called them to get a count on stock then I was going to sleep on my decision over the weekend. Come the very next week news of the XR models were released. I was a bit miffed that they didn’t disclose that to me..

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Hey everyone. Thanks for your posts of encouragement and resolve. I think a couple of you took my post as me bashing all Brocock Airguns and got a little bit triggered. Lol I think it is a very fine rifle with EXTREME accuracy, but I have had several problems out of the rifle and yes having an adjustment screw loosen by it’s self to the point of being a safety issue is a problem. These issues all popped up within the first 100-150 shots which to me seems like very little ware and tear to be having problems. I know there are plenty of more expensive air guns on the market, but I think when you pay $1300 for an air rifle there should be many hundred round shooting sessions where aside from maintenance you shouldn't have to make a bunch of adjustments (Out of Necessity not referring to tuning). Much less have any type of Major seal failure that puts the gun out of commission. At this point I have more time spent inside working on the rifle than outside enjoying it.

I may be unrealistic to think there should be a certain expected level of sustained performance, and if so than again maybe pcp airguns aren’t for me. I definitely did not set out to buy a project that I will constantly be mailing across the country to be fixed to keep from voiding the warranty. I have enjoyed powder burners for so many years now that maybe I am spoiled to there repeatability and reliability. I am going to return the gun and think for a while on whether or not I want to get back into pcp airguns after two not so great experiences. 
 
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Thousands upon thousands of pellets through both of my Brococks, yet to blow a breech seal. IMHO, blown seals, double loading, etc. Are gun handling issues. Make sure that bolt “is” close before squeezing that trigger. Though you’re having problems you are in the minority. Some try and push “supposed” QC issues, if lack of QC was the case, there would be many more complaints. @Intenseaty22, you state you had issues with “your” Compatto. Why try and make it seem likes it’s an issue across the entire lineup? The Brococks are solid, with very few complaints from users.
Click to expand...

I am really glad you have never had a problem with your Brococks. In the past I have noted to you specifically that I have nothing against the brand, and even if I did so what? The gun was awesomely accurate, etc. Never had a problem with the magazine.

HOWEVER....I stand by my statements. I did CLOSE the bolt. I DOUBLE checked it, because I can be absent minded I would say to myself "SELF! make sure you close the bolt, you must have left it open last time. Heck, I triple checked it. So, essentially what you are saying is that I am a LIAR? Or that the other folk that have similar complaints are hallucinating or making stuff up, that everyone here is a klutz?

Please STOP putting words in my mouth and mischaracterizing my statements. I don't question your opinions, so please try and respect my opinions and my personal experiences.
Click to expand...

Dude I’m not calling anything... I said IMHO, which is worth what you paid for it, you say you “suspect” the oversized bolts where an answer to blown breach seals? OK then, but it’s not a “common” problem... where are “all the other” blown seal complaints? Your experience was limited to the one gun. Both of mine have been solid you don’t see them featured in “the complaint of the week” they just run and run. The OP maybe has a lemon? I beg your pardon if you were offended.
 
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Aparks454, sounds like you got a plan and I never thought for a moment you were slamming any brand. To be honest, you were more respectful than I would have been given your same experience. Perhaps the fault lies in the .25 versus the .22 because I've had such good luck with two of these air rifles in .22. I too am a lifetime powder burner guy and I've found pleasure in 25-100 yard shooting without a range trip or annoying neighbors.

All in all, I respect and support your decision, I just hope you don't feel it lead by other members postings. A new air rifle should function correctly and flawlessly. What you've described is akin to my FTF and FTE issues with a Kahr PM40 or the cylinder flame etching on a S&W 340PD. I suspect operator error is as likely as "limp wristing" was to my PM40 issues.

I wish you all the best and wish for the best outcome possible.
 
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I see my Bantam Sniper 25 as.my more comfortable rifle to face and shoulder. 

Already changed the reservoir for the 560 cc. 

Theoretically should be the predefined on the go rifle. 

In fact, my Uragan 22 with the JSB redesigned is my champ.

My Bantam Sniper is still in the want to be group.

I have a Bantam 4.5 Cal, non regulated, extraordinary on everything. 
 
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