With the exception of my Daystate RW HP .22 and RAW HM1000XLRT .25, all of my other rifles have now been tuned by Scott Schneider of Motorhead Airgun Tuning Services. Without exception, his service has been excellent in all regards and the results are indisputable.
The latest of the tunes was to my now several years old .22 AA S410. It was the last generation S410 (see photos) featuring the side lever as opposed to the older bolt action style. Always incredibly accurate, it was non-regulated and had developed a leak while in the vault that would empty the air tube after about a week in storage.
I sent it to Scott with my typical instructions to "do whatever he would if it were his." He installed a HUMA regulator and tuned it, suggesting upon its return that the JSB 16 grain pellets would likely be best. Upon receipt, I ran the first series of chrono tests on it and the first terrific noticeable change was that while using the JSB Hades 15.89 grain pellets, it went 83 shots before coming off of the regulator. I thought this was an incredible change. Also, the SD of only 5 FPS seemed remarkable to me with the HADES right out of the tin.
After completing the initial chrono tests, I put it back in the vault after filling it, only to notice the next day that it was down on air. It still had a leak. I called Scott and after discussing the options, decided to send it back to the expert. He offered the follow-up shipment and service at no charge. In the reboxing it up to ship process, I screwed up. Thinking the plastic sleeve he had sent my rifle components back to me in was a bag, I dropped the rifle into it muzzle down, only to have it pass all of the way through and hit the crown of the barrel shroud on the concrete. It didn't appear to do much damage (a little ding that I was able to file off and touch up) so I didn't think much about it and forwarded it on.
Scott found the leak quickly to be the o-ring under the gauge. As it is so tiny and a problem spot, he machined the component to accept a larger o-ring and after sitting it on it a few days to be certain it wasn't leaking, he returned it. When I got it back, I noticed that for some reason, it was shooting 8" to the right, more distance than I had scope adjustment for. I also noticed (though not right away) that it seemed to have a "catch" in the loading lever operation. Not putting two and two together, I ordered a set of Sportsmatch fully adjustable 30mm rings to accommodate the Hawke 6-24x56 Sidewinder, and upon receipt, installed them and dialed the scope in using the rings (the ultimate set-up).
I was still noticing that about every third or fourth pellet (at a minimum) had a "catch" and then would either (A) shoot wildly off center and/or (B) produce a really different report. Calling Scott, he immediately knew the issue, the barrel had come loose and moved out away from the breech block, presumably from when I had dropped the rifle (certainly not his fault). Thinking I would need to send the rifle back, Scott went out of his way to (A) talk me through how to repair the rifle myself and (B) send me tips and thoughts along the way. Later that night, within an hour, I was able to confirm the issue exactly as Scott described and repair the rifle exactly per his instructions.
The results of all of this, the rifle is now better than ever, and it was already a truly fantastic performer. Below you will find:
The latest of the tunes was to my now several years old .22 AA S410. It was the last generation S410 (see photos) featuring the side lever as opposed to the older bolt action style. Always incredibly accurate, it was non-regulated and had developed a leak while in the vault that would empty the air tube after about a week in storage.
I sent it to Scott with my typical instructions to "do whatever he would if it were his." He installed a HUMA regulator and tuned it, suggesting upon its return that the JSB 16 grain pellets would likely be best. Upon receipt, I ran the first series of chrono tests on it and the first terrific noticeable change was that while using the JSB Hades 15.89 grain pellets, it went 83 shots before coming off of the regulator. I thought this was an incredible change. Also, the SD of only 5 FPS seemed remarkable to me with the HADES right out of the tin.
After completing the initial chrono tests, I put it back in the vault after filling it, only to notice the next day that it was down on air. It still had a leak. I called Scott and after discussing the options, decided to send it back to the expert. He offered the follow-up shipment and service at no charge. In the reboxing it up to ship process, I screwed up. Thinking the plastic sleeve he had sent my rifle components back to me in was a bag, I dropped the rifle into it muzzle down, only to have it pass all of the way through and hit the crown of the barrel shroud on the concrete. It didn't appear to do much damage (a little ding that I was able to file off and touch up) so I didn't think much about it and forwarded it on.
Scott found the leak quickly to be the o-ring under the gauge. As it is so tiny and a problem spot, he machined the component to accept a larger o-ring and after sitting it on it a few days to be certain it wasn't leaking, he returned it. When I got it back, I noticed that for some reason, it was shooting 8" to the right, more distance than I had scope adjustment for. I also noticed (though not right away) that it seemed to have a "catch" in the loading lever operation. Not putting two and two together, I ordered a set of Sportsmatch fully adjustable 30mm rings to accommodate the Hawke 6-24x56 Sidewinder, and upon receipt, installed them and dialed the scope in using the rings (the ultimate set-up).
I was still noticing that about every third or fourth pellet (at a minimum) had a "catch" and then would either (A) shoot wildly off center and/or (B) produce a really different report. Calling Scott, he immediately knew the issue, the barrel had come loose and moved out away from the breech block, presumably from when I had dropped the rifle (certainly not his fault). Thinking I would need to send the rifle back, Scott went out of his way to (A) talk me through how to repair the rifle myself and (B) send me tips and thoughts along the way. Later that night, within an hour, I was able to confirm the issue exactly as Scott described and repair the rifle exactly per his instructions.
The results of all of this, the rifle is now better than ever, and it was already a truly fantastic performer. Below you will find:
- images of the rifle
- The original 83 shot regulator string
- 20 shot chrono comparisons - JSB Hades 15. 89 gr vs AA 18 grain pellets (straight out of the tin - no hand weighing)
- 18 yard 20 shot and 50 yard 10 shot group photos (orange is 1" dot/18 yards indoors) and black is 2" overall target bull with 1" center circle/50 yards
- JSB Hades vs AA 18 Gr groups from 50 to 80 yards
[/LIST=1]
My most surprising conclusion is that the HADES performed so well when compared to the always terrific AA 18 gr. The power level of this rifle (+/- 24 ft lbs) in my minds limits itself to >60 yard shots for certain kill performance. I would have every confidence with the HADES pellets to make a one shot kill on any small game.
Finally, Scott is a first class and knowledgeable gentleman to do business with. I highly recommend him to make your air gun all that it can be.
