I am encountering a problem that I don't know how to resolve. The Crown has a 60 cm long unsupported barrel that is held in the receiver by two set screws. I am experiencing a small POI change if I pick up the gun by the barrel. Out of habit I often stand the gun up siting on the butt and leaning against a wall or table. Then, I lift the gun vertically by the barrel with my left hand to acquire a stock purchase with my right hand. This puts very little stress on the gun but it appears to move the barrel in the receiver enough to cause POI shift of about an inch at 25 meters. When the gun was new I did not notice it, but I do now after 6 months and about 1000 pellets of use. I have removed the barrel very carefully and reinstalled it taking great care. I have not found anything abnormal or distressing in any way, but by applying gentle force it is easy to see the barrel flexing. So I guess my question is has anyone else experienced this as well? If so, can this be remedied? All opinions welcome.
FX Crown owners please read
- Thread starter steve-l
- Start date
I haven't had a Crown (yet) but had an Impact X and didn't really care for the whippy barrel and it was held halfway along as well. Huge fan of the old smooth twist barrels though. It must be a known issue because I believe the new Crowns have more barrel locking screws and are positioned upwards at an angle from each side to locate the barrel more centrally each time. Not too sure what you can do to fix yours though sorry.
James
James
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I have found, compared to metallic cartridge rifles, most PCP air rifles are designed and constructed in a relatively fragile manner, and demand very careful handling to avoid POI changes. And with some, it seems unavoidable. In the case of your Crown, I believe your best advice is to simply avoid any handling by the barrel. You mentioned it did not seem to do this when new. You might double check the lock screws, barrel liner nut, and air stripper attachment. The only PCP I have owned that I would trust with such handling is a Steyr. It is a plain barrel, no liner/sleeve system, no shroud, no air stripper, no moderator. All these highly marketed design features have become competitive factors for the makers, and they have their value, but strength and stability are not among them.
I see no reason why a PCP rifle cannot be designed with a robust barrel attachment system, either with the barrel shank screwed directly into the receiver, pinned, or located with substantial locking screws (similar to the current generation Kidd 10-22 rifle). I realize the barrel would need to be precisely aligned with an air port, but that seems a minor challenge, no different than achieving proper headspacing in a cartridge rifle. But, until some maker sees the value in such a design, I think we are stuck with flimsy barrels attached rather weakly.
I see no reason why a PCP rifle cannot be designed with a robust barrel attachment system, either with the barrel shank screwed directly into the receiver, pinned, or located with substantial locking screws (similar to the current generation Kidd 10-22 rifle). I realize the barrel would need to be precisely aligned with an air port, but that seems a minor challenge, no different than achieving proper headspacing in a cartridge rifle. But, until some maker sees the value in such a design, I think we are stuck with flimsy barrels attached rather weakly.
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Mine has this with less severe handling than even picking it up by the barrel.
I get a similar degree of poi shift though. Mine has also become worse with time to the point I can't trust that first shot at all. I checked the sleeve and nothing has loosened up etc.
Combined with the terrible erratic accuracy when the barrel just suddenly (and quickly, despite some improvement with JB bore paste) fouls, I'm not such a big fan of STX anymore. I much prefer original ST and LW/CZ etc.
I've actually just sent mine in to one of our local gunsmiths who makes exceptional carbon wrapped chokeless polygonal barrels to get one fitted and the gun tuned up for it.
Maybe I'll finally see downrange results to match the excellent feel of the rifle. The barrels apparently do very well with slugs so here to hoping that's an option later on too!
I get a similar degree of poi shift though. Mine has also become worse with time to the point I can't trust that first shot at all. I checked the sleeve and nothing has loosened up etc.
Combined with the terrible erratic accuracy when the barrel just suddenly (and quickly, despite some improvement with JB bore paste) fouls, I'm not such a big fan of STX anymore. I much prefer original ST and LW/CZ etc.
I've actually just sent mine in to one of our local gunsmiths who makes exceptional carbon wrapped chokeless polygonal barrels to get one fitted and the gun tuned up for it.
Maybe I'll finally see downrange results to match the excellent feel of the rifle. The barrels apparently do very well with slugs so here to hoping that's an option later on too!
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To JoeKool, seems your fix would complicate removing the barrel liner to change the breech O ring. Have you had it apart since using the Loctite?
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I had a similar experience with a Daystate Red Wolf. After making myself crazy trying to diagnose and fix it, finally determined it was just a bad barrel. Had it replaced under warranty, and it's a laser now. With the liner system, there could be a machining imperfection in either the liner or the breech housing part of the sleeve. But, I guess your new barrel will replace all that anyway. Good luck.
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Thats why only one drop of loctite was used. It can be removed if needed. A little heat and elbow grease. I don’t remove my liners often, so that o-ring will last a long long time (years) if left alone and just shooting the gun normally. That particular o ring doesn’t need changing often at all, if care is taken upon installing and removing STX liners. JMO.
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Don’t handle by the barrel? I would never pick up any of my air guns by the barrel. Especially free floated barrels.
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Good advice.
I have a Crown with no issues.
My advice is to torque the two set screws starting with the one in the rear. There's nothing "wrong" with the SmoothTwist X barrel system.
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Thanks man
I really hope the new barrel works out. I've seen great things with these carbon wrapped barrels and hopefully the added stiffness does the trick.
Just in case it's been misunderstood by some others - in my case I've never picked up my gun by the barrel. I agree it's not ideal. My crown however loses poi after the lightest bump or being transported in its case. Maybe nothing wrong with stx as a system, and that is clear from BobO's videos which I trust as better indicator of performance than any sponsored youtuber. But there is definitely something off with my specific example of it.
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This brings up a question I’ve been wondering about for similar reasons - storage.
How do you store your rifles?
I keep mine in a locked gun cabinet with my powder burners but I’m concerned about the vertical resting position will cause poi shift because the barrel rests against the cabinet. Thoughts?
How do you store your rifles?
I keep mine in a locked gun cabinet with my powder burners but I’m concerned about the vertical resting position will cause poi shift because the barrel rests against the cabinet. Thoughts?
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Mine is always in the case it shipped in....laying flat on a bench at home or in the back of my car during transport. Otherwise it's usually on a bipod.
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Usually keep mine upright (and obviously unloaded) on their bipods in my 'man cave'. They have their nook and the barrels point toward the wall. Currently planning on making up a nice wall mounted gun rack to keep them neat and out of the way.
Sometimes they are kept in their cases but usually only when my wife or others are going to be coming into the room and would be uncomfortable with all the guns standing around. My old airwolf MVT would sometime lose poi if kept in a closed case for too long - I assume being squeezed by the foam for long periods occasionally subtly shifted something?
Sometimes they are kept in their cases but usually only when my wife or others are going to be coming into the room and would be uncomfortable with all the guns standing around. My old airwolf MVT would sometime lose poi if kept in a closed case for too long - I assume being squeezed by the foam for long periods occasionally subtly shifted something?
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When my gun is in the case, I'm more concerned about the scope than the rifle due to it's width.
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When I bought my .22 FX Crown, used here on AGN, it didn't shoot well at first. At 50 yards it would group a few inside a dime, then the next group would be a half inch or more high and right, then the next couple of pellets off a half inch in another direction. I removed the barrel to clean the gun, and noticed that the two grub screws that hold the barrel were loose. I also noticed that the screw that holds the pellet probe was loose. Re-assembled, properly tightened those three screws, and now its a laser beam.
FYI, I was totally satisfied with the accuracy after that, and shot 18.1 JSB Heavies for a period of time. It would easily group inside of a dime at 50 yards.
Then about a month or so ago, I was experimenting with speeds of the 18.1 pellets, and the affect on accuracy. I looked in my range bag and in the back corner was a tin of JSB Exact 15.9 grain pellets that my buddy Nick had given me. Now, I don't know about you, but I just naturally shoot the 18.1s out of my .22s based on previous experience. My Cricket, Mutant, Renegade, Bobcat, Wildcat; all shot lights out with the .22 Heavy 18.1 JSB. So, on a whim, I thought I'd give the JSB Exact 15.9s a try. I left the settings I had worked up for the 18.1s the same, it was shooting right at 900 FPS. So, by experience, the 15.9s would be around 945 to 950 FPS. And I took a shot...
I saw the pellet hit a little higher than where the 18.s were hitting. Then I took another shot, and another. I thought something was wrong, since after three shots, I still only had one hole. No, really, one hole, not a cloverleaf, or enlarged hole, one hole. So I took seven more shots, for a total of ten. Pellets straight from the tin. Actual distance 52 yards. And the group was 1/4". Then I did it again... and again. Same results. Who'd-a-thunk? All this time and on a whim I find the magic pellet for this gun.
Settings: Reg. at 135 bar, HST set to shoot the 15.9s at 950 FPS (#4 on my gun, but all slack taken out prior), transfer port on .177/.22, "A" pellet liner in the gun.
FYI, I was totally satisfied with the accuracy after that, and shot 18.1 JSB Heavies for a period of time. It would easily group inside of a dime at 50 yards.
Then about a month or so ago, I was experimenting with speeds of the 18.1 pellets, and the affect on accuracy. I looked in my range bag and in the back corner was a tin of JSB Exact 15.9 grain pellets that my buddy Nick had given me. Now, I don't know about you, but I just naturally shoot the 18.1s out of my .22s based on previous experience. My Cricket, Mutant, Renegade, Bobcat, Wildcat; all shot lights out with the .22 Heavy 18.1 JSB. So, on a whim, I thought I'd give the JSB Exact 15.9s a try. I left the settings I had worked up for the 18.1s the same, it was shooting right at 900 FPS. So, by experience, the 15.9s would be around 945 to 950 FPS. And I took a shot...
I saw the pellet hit a little higher than where the 18.s were hitting. Then I took another shot, and another. I thought something was wrong, since after three shots, I still only had one hole. No, really, one hole, not a cloverleaf, or enlarged hole, one hole. So I took seven more shots, for a total of ten. Pellets straight from the tin. Actual distance 52 yards. And the group was 1/4". Then I did it again... and again. Same results. Who'd-a-thunk? All this time and on a whim I find the magic pellet for this gun.
Settings: Reg. at 135 bar, HST set to shoot the 15.9s at 950 FPS (#4 on my gun, but all slack taken out prior), transfer port on .177/.22, "A" pellet liner in the gun.
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Dang that's impressive!! I didn't get much time with pellets in the Crown before switching to slugs.
Very nice!
Very nice!
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Centercut- same exact thing with my crown(minus barrel grub screws!) bought mine new, 1st gen, did alot of shooting/tuning trying to make the 18’s work... switched to 15.9’s a laser!!!, unfortunately had many other issues with gun, trigger, Reg. Creep, Poi shifts Randomly? & dealer didn’t want to deal with it plus Fx repair facilities in N.C just starting OP’s Plus Hurricane @ that time!,”REALLY WANTED TO LIKE THIS GUN” it all added up to being very disappointed & vouching to never buy another NEW Fx product... we’ll see!
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Ernest rowe show how he tighten the barrel on the crown assembly video, on fx masterclass. There might be a right and wrong way to do it.
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