I would like to hear FX owners advice, experiences, and thoughts about changing the barrel to a different caliber. I have not seen much if anything online as far as anyone sharing their ability and experience on changing their FX Impact barrel to a different caliber. I know now there are much more accurate gauges, even digital ones; would that making adjustments easier? I am asking these questions because I would like to buy the FX Impact MK2 set up/tuned for .357 to hunt but would like to also be able to swap it to a smaller caliber some of the time to plink with a smaller caliber and hoping that switching between calibers would not be too hard?
FX Impact MK2 - thoughts/experiences/advice - changing different caliber barrels
- Thread starter primaz
- Start date
If your gun is stock it is very easy to change calibers and get great results. I bought my Mk1 in .25 and changed the barrel and probe to .177 turned the power dial down to 1 and shot a tiny near 1/4 inch group at near fifty yards and it hit no more than an inch away from my .25 POI. One usually needs to tune for the new pellet but I got lucky. Gauges only give you a rough estimate of pressures and I never touched the regulator when I changed calibers so gauges meant nothing.
I have made major changes to my gun since and I would need to undo some of the changes to lower my power to shoot .177 again. That is why the factory stock Impact is such a great gun cuz you don't have to do any major changes to go from one caliber or power level to another.
I have made major changes to my gun since and I would need to undo some of the changes to lower my power to shoot .177 again. That is why the factory stock Impact is such a great gun cuz you don't have to do any major changes to go from one caliber or power level to another.
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Caliber swaps are as easy as loosening 2 set screws and removing the butt-pad which removes via a knob, 5 min or less and you’re pretty much done. The sweet spot for most of the calibers is roughly 850-950fps. At first the adjustments might be a little intimidating but it doesn’t take long to get them down. You’ll want to test and time per caliber and take notes of where the reg pressure is set, hammer spring/Power knob, and valve stop are set to. Once you get those down it’ll take you maybe 10min to have the gun adjusted and re-zeroed. If you have already....watch Steve’s video (AEAC Vlog) on the Impact, the 45min one. Matt Dubber has some great information on the Impact as well and we can’t forget the Impact Wizard aka Ernest’s FX Master Class videos.
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Inkedshooter, Bob_O, Glem.Chally and Biohazardman, I really want to thank you for your fabulous wealth of information and sharing in this post and in this forum! I have been so impressed with the open, honest, and great shared information here at Air-gun Nation!
Thanks to your input I am going to buy the FX Impact MK2 in .35 with also a .25 barrel for starters; probably going with SPAW and letting them know my desire of being able to switch on occasion between the two calibers. I have been watching some of those videos and will look at all of the ones you mentioned Inkedshooter now that we all have more time on our hands due to COVID-19.
FYI, it is great that you all shared that switching between calibers can be done realistically. It would be great for one or more of you post videos as there is not much about that online. There are videos showing you the mechanical steps to change the barrel but I could not find anyone showing their rifle shooting good with one caliber then showing that reasonable shots can be done after switching barrels with a different caliber.
thanks again all!
Thanks to your input I am going to buy the FX Impact MK2 in .35 with also a .25 barrel for starters; probably going with SPAW and letting them know my desire of being able to switch on occasion between the two calibers. I have been watching some of those videos and will look at all of the ones you mentioned Inkedshooter now that we all have more time on our hands due to COVID-19.
FYI, it is great that you all shared that switching between calibers can be done realistically. It would be great for one or more of you post videos as there is not much about that online. There are videos showing you the mechanical steps to change the barrel but I could not find anyone showing their rifle shooting good with one caliber then showing that reasonable shots can be done after switching barrels with a different caliber.
thanks again all!
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Tool me all of 5 min to tune the Impact after switching from 22 to 30 caliber.
Didn't have to change reg pressure from the Hybrid slug tune. Increased the hammer wheel from 1 to 2 and opened the valve adjuster one line. 915fps with ES of 3 over 10 shots.
One hole groups at 30yds.....1" at 100 yds. Totally wrecked the birds at the farm yesterday.
Didn't have to change reg pressure from the Hybrid slug tune. Increased the hammer wheel from 1 to 2 and opened the valve adjuster one line. 915fps with ES of 3 over 10 shots.
One hole groups at 30yds.....1" at 100 yds. Totally wrecked the birds at the farm yesterday.
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That is very cool! It is great to hear that and am glad you shared your experiences with changing barrels & calibers...
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It isn't difficult but the every caliber requires a different barrel kit and they are expensive. You could buy an inexpensive PCP for the price of the barrel kits.
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It's true you can buy an inexpensive PCP for the cost of an Impact caliber change kit. I have a very nice Hatsan FlashPup in .25 cal (same $400 as the caliber kit), and an Impact MKII in .30 cal. I have a $400 .25 cal PCP, and a $2000 .30 cal PCP. Not even close to the same as going caliber change kit and having two $2000 PCPs, even though you only have one $2K rifle at a time. To me, the only thing that makes buying a $400 PCP vs. caliber change kit for an existing Impact the better choice is a need to have have two rifles for use at the same time. Just one person's opinion, though. Choice is what makes the world interesting!
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Interesting and sometimes expensive. The true cost of an "inexpensive" air rifle is not always as it appears. I am currently going through this. The $550 air rifle is now at $1,150. Put on the "upgrades" and then have a new barrel put on because the original was crap and a Huma reg. Upon disassembly it was obvious the o ring on the air tube was showing at the seam where the air tube meets the action block-after the Huma was on the way. I could have bought a good Taipain Veteran but instead I will have a Chinese piece of crap that shoots like a laser.
I bought the Chinese POS as a backup when I had issues with my brand new LCS SK-19 which was replaced with a brand new gun that is great. While working on the Chinese POS (still am), I ordered an MKII Impact Compact Power Plenum. The hole just keeps getting deeper. You have to own several airguns on the odd chance that one or 2 might actually be operational at a time.
I bought the Chinese POS as a backup when I had issues with my brand new LCS SK-19 which was replaced with a brand new gun that is great. While working on the Chinese POS (still am), I ordered an MKII Impact Compact Power Plenum. The hole just keeps getting deeper. You have to own several airguns on the odd chance that one or 2 might actually be operational at a time.
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Regarding the FX Impact MK2 Compact...
What special limitations or complications is there in changing calibers on this shorter, Compact version? I'm guessing you'd have to stay with 500mm barrel lengths because of shorter shroud that comes on the Compact.
I'm suspect you could buy a longer shroud and larger HPA bottle if you wanted to turn it into the exact, non-compact version. Not sure though... what are your thoughts, observations and experiences with this?
Thanks
What special limitations or complications is there in changing calibers on this shorter, Compact version? I'm guessing you'd have to stay with 500mm barrel lengths because of shorter shroud that comes on the Compact.
I'm suspect you could buy a longer shroud and larger HPA bottle if you wanted to turn it into the exact, non-compact version. Not sure though... what are your thoughts, observations and experiences with this?
Thanks
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When you buy other caliber kits they come with an appropriate length shroud. The compact just has a different barrel the internals are the same as the regular mk2 impact.
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They are easily changed. You can find used kits on the form. I have bought 2 this way. Some times you can trade if you have a spare one.
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