Newbie – Having Tony mod an SS, did I miss anything?
Good afternoon all, I’ve ordered my first AF from Tony. Planning to use it for plinking, punching paper, and a little pest control, all mostly at about 50 yards, but sometimes stretching out a ways. Mostly in a suburban area, but sometimes at the farm.
I’ve ordered an 18″ 22cal Talon SS and have asked him do a full tune (polishing internals, trigger job, breech and barrel polish and fit, safety cleanup, valve tune/polish, and test fire/tweak/repeat to get best results), extend the shroud as little as possible to make it nearly dead quiet, vent the barrel bushing, replace the hammer, apply the “o-ring” mod, and do something to fix the buttplate issues.
Considered going up to 25 cal, but decided that it wouldn’t add anything but cost per pellet in my application. Also considered a short-barrel Condor and decided that I don’t need that much extra power.
Not looking for enhancements that are purely cosmetic.
Tony has been great, and I am very confident that he’ll produce a fabulous product for me. Having said that, I am a crappy customer! Don’t get me wrong, I’m a good guy, it’s just that I am not rock solid on what I want because this is my first AF…also my first PCP.
So before he gets started I thought I’d ask ya’ll what other things I should consider asking him to do? What things have you done that you really think improved the performance or user experience?
Thanks all, and I have very much enjoyed reading all the old posts. Some of you have done amazing things with your AF’s!
Now to go shopping for glass.
Jim
All Replies
Viewing 11 replies - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)
Jimbo, I know there is a model of Leupold that focuses to airgun distances(which one escapes me), but every model I have will only go down to 25 yards.
Its like looking thru a wet windsheild when shooting close and a pain in the butt.
I dont thing you would be disappointed with a good Bushnell. The quality of them has gone way up from even a decade ago, + they focus down to 10y quite nicely. Cost is less than a leupy too.
I know when I find a mil-dot Bushy, its going home with me.
I do tinker, but for this I thought that it was worth the money to have it come to me just right.
It did take me a long time to decide on Condor Vs Talon and .22 vs .25, which just means that I’ll buy another one in the future.
Tony suggested that he’ll do something to make the buttplate work better, but I was in a hurry and just said “do it.” Wonder what I’ll get…anyone know?
Have ordered a few thousand pellets, now if the family would go on vacation for a week the day after it arrives that’d be great.
No response yet on my question about the final the WokButt finish, but I’ll order one anyway, I can always refinish it myself if you decide that you like it bright.
Glass, glass, glass…it’s a tough call. I like the Leupolds, but I can’t determine if they’ll focus and correct for parallax down to 10 yards. Neither their website nor opticsplanet seem to have good info.
Have a great evening all, I’m off to be proactive about getting the bunny poo out of the yard.
Jim
It will be sanded and tumbled to give it a matte finish. Making things shiny take time and time is $$$$.
But when you get it you can polish it if you wish.
Thanks all for the replies.
I do tinker, but for this I thought that it was worth the money to have it come to me just right.
It did take me a long time to decide on Condor Vs Talon and .22 vs .25, which just means that I’ll buy another one in the future.
Tony suggested that he’ll do something to make the buttplate work better, but I was in a hurry and just said “do it.” Wonder what I’ll get…anyone know?
Have ordered a few thousand pellets, now if the family would go on vacation for a week the day after it arrives that’d be great.
No response yet on my question about the final the WokButt finish, but I’ll order one anyway, I can always refinish it myself if you decide that you like it bright.
Glass, glass, glass…it’s a tough call. I like the Leupolds, but I can’t determine if they’ll focus and correct for parallax down to 10 yards. Neither their website nor opticsplanet seem to have good info.
Have a great evening all, I’m off to be proactive about getting the bunny poo out of the yard.
Jim
Does anyone know if the polishing tony does includes the barrel? Is anything done to the barrel at all?
Hey Jimbo..
Sounds like you’ve got everything covered.
Tony did a complete overhaul on my Talon SS .22 cal. I went to an 18″ also. His custom shroud will make a world of difference.
He even threw in the brass hammer for me….He is an excellent craftsman & a very nice man. He stands behind his work & takes great pride in his work.
Congrats on going with Tony. You’re going to love it!!!!
I would have to agree with Y that you covered the bases.
Before you decide you dont need more power, many shooters here are quite happy with the Condor, and have found ways to limit the power if necessary.
The Condor does seem to be a bit more finicky when it comes to tuning, at least in my experience. I had to tweak and adjust for quite some time before I was happy with the Condor. I still mess with it almost daily, so in that respect I might have chosen a Talon if I had thought about it more.
I dont mean to confuse you, Im just pointing out that either path is a great choice. In reality, you can make a Talon do just about anything a Condor will anyway. 🙂
One question you should ask yourself. “Do I like to tinker”? Anthony might tell you to not mess with the gun after he delivers it, and it is advice you should listen to.
But if you just cant help yourself, you will discover a whole new world when you start your own modifications.
A few things I have done which helped me enjoy the gun: (Some of this is a repeat of what already has been said, but I used different parts)
Adjustable buttpad. Either a Morgan or one of Walkonkings new models will go a long way toward helping you remain consistent. Go ahead and spend $ on Walkonkings, it has better adjustment than a Morgan, and is probably more comfortable and consistent once you set it.
Better grips. I got my Condor with an AR-15 grip installed. At first I loved it, but soon realized it didnt fit my hand very well and I wasnt getting a consistent pull on the trigger. I first modified a Thompson Center Contender grip that I used for years, and was quite happy with my group size shrinking.
Then I built a full stock, and am extremely happy with the way it has been shooting. It added a bit of weight, but the balance and performance is quite a step up IMO. Once the bug bites you, you may be trying this…
This goes without saying really, but try different pellets AND at different ranges.
Most of us stick with JSB’s either heavy or express, Kodiaks, Eun Jins, or Crosman Premiers. I find three brands will group about the same at shorter range, but the Kodiaks stick together clear out to 100+ yards. Some can shoot EunJins, my gun hates them. If you are lucky, all four types will shoot great for you, but I bet at least three will. There arent many more proven pellets for an Airforce rifle.
Hope I didnt bore you. Enjoy your AAA rifle.
I’ve ordered an 18″ 22cal Talon SS and have asked him do a full tune (polishing internals, trigger job, breech and barrel polish and fit, safety cleanup, valve tune/polish, and test fire/tweak/repeat to get best results), extend the shroud as little as possible to make it nearly dead quiet, vent the barrel bushing, replace the hammer, apply the “o-ring” mod, and do something to fix the buttplate issues.
Considered going up to 25 cal, but decided that it wouldn’t add anything but cost per pellet in my application. Also considered a short-barrel Condor and decided that I don’t need that much extra power.
Not looking for enhancements that are purely cosmetic.
Tony has been great, and I am very confident that he’ll produce a fabulous product for me. Having said that, I am a crappy customer! Don’t get me wrong, I’m a good guy, it’s just that I am not rock solid on what I want because this is my first AF…also my first PCP.
So before he gets started I thought I’d ask ya’ll what other things I should consider asking him to do? What things have you done that you really think improved the performance or user experience?
Thanks all, and I have very much enjoyed reading all the old posts. Some of you have done amazing things with your AF’s!
Now to go shopping for glass.
Jim
I’d say you got the bases covered. The trigger mod and the shroud are the must haves and I’m with you on the functional vs visual aspect !……
You have weigh up the $ value of each modification, but that depends on you and your circumstances so my opinions there mean nothing.
Those Butt plates are awesome… (Yes.. I’m a shameless sellout….)
I like the 1911 style grips a lot.
I want to wait until I shoot the thing before thinking too hard about the ergonomics, even though nobody likes the stock butt plate.
Out of curiosity, do you plan to leave it bright?
Jim
Well in my opinion the AF guns need a better grip and butt plate.
So I did something about it. I made a 1911 style grip for my gun and an adjustable butt plate. While the grip is not available the members here have twisted my arm into producing a butt plate for it.
You can check out this thread for info.
And now I will post a picture just to drive Yellow Ninja insane….
Viewing 11 replies - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)
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I will take a look at Bushnell, I’d just thought of them as being just a very small step up from a generic Asian brand…but maybe they have gotten better, their website sure is pretty.
A couple folks here have said good things about the 4200 series, and I just spent a few minutes looking around the web and it gets good reviews in general. The new 6500 series looks to be about the same as the 4200 but with a 6.5x erector in a 30mm tube. Tempting, but maybe a 4200 with mil dot would fit the bill.
Jim