Modifications JTS Airacuda Max .22 Build thread

[CTAirgunner]

Wow! Looks like it's coming along well. The finish looks a lot brighter and clean to me. Looking good man!

Thanks man

I got my shroud 80% done, all that's left is epoxy, drill the muzzle end and tap m4x.07 for the stainless grub screws I'm using to secure the end of the shroud to the OD of the barrel. Torque to 15 inch pounds.

Then I'm going to give her a reseal, assemble the action, finishing touches on the stock and cheek piece.

I am waiting for my barrel threading kit to come in, I am threading the barrel direct myself , will be mounting a TKO 1 inch suppressor that's 6.75 inches long.

Very very happy with how it's coming along , in exactly 1 week, adding a picture of it originally to this post to show the stark contrast.

 

[CTAirgunner]

This had me thinking last night, on the JTS Airacuda 30. The barrel length is the same , comes shooting 850 fps with JSB 44.75 factory with no modifications, that means you could add 5.75 inches of barrel and maintain the same length if you used the same size shroud.

I may buy a .30 caliber to mod, and include an LW .30 barrel to the mod list. An extra 6 inches of barrel would make the rifle more efficient and arguably more accurate.... My brain never stops lol.

I am really stoked to see how this stronger, far more rigid, free floating barrel setup performs. Having a 3d printed spacer made by a guy at work for between the fill port cap and tube to take up the space where the barrel band was.

Also, does anyone know of any moderators besides TKO that are under 27mm in diameter, or close to 1 inch, 27mm is the max diameter I could use, will probably stick with the TKO as its just about perfect, and only .4mm larger than the shroud.

 

[Pumacarl]

I guess it depends on how, and how far, you want to use this gun. If for a woods walker, leave it, much better swing weight. Ounces added to the end of a barrel are very noticable. On the other hand, why did you open the ports so much, unless you want to use all that potential? A longer barrel is the easiest way to add speed. You, of course, know all of this, and us enablers are just going to tell you to keep going. It never ends. lol

 

[CTAirgunner]

I guess it depends on how, and how far, you want to use this gun. If for a woods walker, leave it, much better swing weight. Ounces added to the end of a barrel are very noticable. On the other hand, why did you open the ports so much, unless you want to use all that potential? A longer barrel is the easiest way to add speed. You, of course, know all of this, and us enablers are just going to tell you to keep going. It never ends. lol

Well, the barrel would be if I purchased a .30 cal variant, thats where I think it will help the most, on this rifle, I am leaving it be. I think I have more than enough.

But on a .30 with the port work, extra barrel, and adjusting the reg settings and tune, I think it could be a great 100 yard bench rifle.

At this point, I know I am a target shooter and plinker, now I think I am turning into a lets-see-what-it-can-doer lol

 

[Dogowski]

Well, the barrel would be if I purchased a .30 cal variant, thats where I think it will help the most, on this rifle, I am leaving it be. I think I have more than enough.

But on a .30 with the port work, extra barrel, and adjusting the reg settings and tune, I think it could be a great 100 yard bench rifle.

At this point, I know I am a target shooter and plinker, now I think I am turning into a lets-see-what-it-can-doer lol

That's what we do! Push it to the limit brother.

 

[Pumacarl]

Well, the barrel would be if I purchased a .30 cal variant, thats where I think it will help the most, on this rifle, I am leaving it be. I think I have more than enough.

But on a .30 with the port work, extra barrel, and adjusting the reg settings and tune, I think it could be a great 100 yard bench rifle.

At this point, I know I am a target shooter and plinker, now I think I am turning into a lets-see-what-it-can-doer lol

Me too! That's one of the reasons I got the250z and am shooting it at less power than I know that I could get ouut of it. Let's see what I can do with this. Unfortunately, I won't be finding out this weekend because my JSB KO's don't show up until Monday.

You know, with the big porting you got, maybe the .22 33.95gr could be pushed enough, fast enough, to get a decent group. I'd love to see somebody make that pellet work. It's kind of weird, on paper I would guess that at that weight the .22 would be better, but it sucks, and in .25 33.95gr is awesome.

 

[CTAirgunner]

Me too! That's one of the reasons I got the250z and am shooting it at less power than I know that I could get ouut of it. Let's see what I can do with this. Unfortunately, I won't be finding out this weekend because my JSB KO's don't show up until Monday.

You know, with the big porting you got, maybe the .22 33.95gr could be pushed enough, fast enough, to get a decent group. I'd love to see somebody make that pellet work. It's kind of weird, on paper I would guess that at that weight the .22 would be better, but it sucks, and in .25 33.95gr is awesome.

I may have to just try those 33.95 .22, I tried them in my alpha wolf , up to some considerably high speeds but that had a very slow twist , polygonal barrel, this has a 12 groove , unsure of twist rate tho, the Alien Airguns Hammer spring I got I got in Wednesday is supposedly capable of adding 60 fps just with that. The stock hammer spring might as well be a pen spring lol.

Now I'm getting side tracked from original target goal! Stop it lol

Anyways , this discussion has me thinking this rifle with a 22 to 24 inch barrel .25 cal could possibly shoot altaros at speed

And jts is coming out with a prs chassis for it (basic but so isn't the price)



I could see a .25 cal with 4 to 6 inches of extra barrel length, and my cf shroud in one of those

 

[Pumacarl]

I may have to just try those 33.95 .22, I tried them in my alpha wolf , up to some considerably high speeds but that had a very slow twist , polygonal barrel, this has a 12 groove , unsure of twist rate tho, the Alien Airguns Hammer spring I got I got in Wednesday is supposedly capable of adding 60 fps just with that. The stock hammer spring might as well be a pen spring lol.

Now I'm getting side tracked from original target goal! Stop it lol

Anyways , this discussion has me thinking this rifle with a 22 to 24 inch barrel .25 cal could possibly shoot altaros at speed

And jts is coming out with a prs chassis for it (basic but so isn't the price)

View attachment 12543

I could see a .25 cal with 4 to 6 inches of extra barrel length, and my cf shroud in one of those

YES! THAT JTS, interests me quite a bit. I don't really like chassis guns, but I do love their utility. It would have been so awesome if Barra had used an aluminum chassis instead of a plastic stock. A real missed opportunity. If JTS threads the buffer tube to industry standard, they will win this small corner of the value pcp arms race.

 

[CTAirgunner]

YES! THAT JTS, interests me quite a bit. I don't really like chassis guns, but I do love their utility. It would have been so awesome if Barra had used an aluminum chassis instead of a plastic stock. A real missed opportunity. If JTS threads the buffer tube to industry standard, they will win this small corner of the value pcp arms race.

We will see when they come out, if im in a position to snag one and build one. I'm going to.

Today's goal was to finish the shroud, and it is done.

Not the best work, im using no machine shop tools for any of this, a true diy out of a home owners garage haha.

Anyways, ends are epoxied in, grub screws (m4x.07 stainless) installed and ready to be snugged to the barrel. End cap spray painted.

 

[CTAirgunner]

Not bad for a mechanic in a garage

 

[Danman]

Not bad for a mechanic in a garageView attachment 12558View attachment 12559

Knocked it out the park! And not a far cry off from the factory Brk Ghost CF tube. About the 33gr fatties, my Ghost would sling them with ease but I have zero desire to do so (and hearing how they kinda sucked out of your Daystate I'm even less interested!) BUT, have you tried the new-ish 28gr grands? I have a tin that I'm sitting on dying to try, horribly priced vs the 33gr beasts but definitely more promising. I will be posting my results when the awakens from its hibernation.

 

[CTAirgunner]

Knocked it out the park! And not a far cry off from the factory Brk Ghost CF tube. About the 33gr fatties, my Ghost would sling them with ease but I have zero desire to do so (and hearing how they kinda sucked out of your Daystate I'm even less interested!) BUT, have you tried the new-ish 28gr grands? I have a tin that I'm sitting on dying to try, horribly priced vs the 33gr beasts but definitely more promising. I will be posting my results when the awakens from its hibernation.

The ghost could push them for sure! But those damn pellets are never accurate i wonder why they even continue to make them lol

 

[CTAirgunner]

It's not done but I wanted to bolt everything together after all the work and make sure everything still fit as it should

Just have to thread the barrel, order the tko, and then I'm gunna reseal her , air her up, and let em rip.

 

[CTAirgunner]

Plenum is in the works, looks "ugly" now but it will be shaped to match the the round edges to square edges, regulator gauge is angled so I can see from very close to shooting position

I asked that he utilize the full depth and width of the hole on the stock , so the bottom straddles the underside of the stock, being near the trigger it'll be as subtle as possible, so not very lmao but I'll paint it black like I did my shroud end caps.



Also @Pumacarl and @Dogowski

You've both convinced me it needs 6 inches more barrel lmao, talking with Troy Hammer about running a 24 inch, just past the air tube.

Eff it right?

I will still use my shroud, or make one to fit since I still have plenty of material, either way this is FUN!

 

[Pumacarl]

Plenum is in the works, looks "ugly" now but it will be shaped to match the the round edges to square edges, regulator gauge is angled so I can see from very close to shooting position

I asked that he utilize the full depth and width of the hole on the stock , so the bottom straddles the underside of the stock, being near the trigger it'll be as subtle as possible, so not very lmao but I'll paint it black like I did my shroud end caps.

View attachment 12590View attachment 12589

Also @Pumacarl and @Dogowski

You've both convinced me it needs 6 inches more barrel lmao, talking with Troy Hammer about running a 24 inch, just past the air tube.

Eff it right?

I will still use my shroud, or make one to fit since I still have plenty of material, either way this is FUN!

Well, it is easier to cut it afterwards and use a slip on, than to do the reverse. See what that puppy can do!

I like that plenum idea too. I don't really buy into needing more plenum than 1cc for 2fpe, but a lot of guns still don't even have that. Supposedly the 250z only has 12cc of plenum, and yet it is a 45-50fpe airgun. I didn't know that was even doable, I figured it was between 20-25cc, but nope 12. Yeah, absolutely, maximize your plenum volume and make use of the extra barrel length, run your reg 150-160 and find the right slug. The more I shoot "accurate" slugs the harder and harder it becomes to shoot pellets. I can't believe how far I have fallen in the past two years, but damn they shoot so much better in the wind!

It's true, the working, and achieving your goal, is so much more fun than just opening a box and blasting away. I remember, as a kid, someone who would build model airplanes from scratch, and I thought he was crazy. I get it now.

 

[Dogowski]

Plenum is in the works, looks "ugly" now but it will be shaped to match the the round edges to square edges, regulator gauge is angled so I can see from very close to shooting position

I asked that he utilize the full depth and width of the hole on the stock , so the bottom straddles the underside of the stock, being near the trigger it'll be as subtle as possible, so not very lmao but I'll paint it black like I did my shroud end caps.

View attachment 12590View attachment 12589

Also @Pumacarl and @Dogowski

You've both convinced me it needs 6 inches more barrel lmao, talking with Troy Hammer about running a 24 inch, just past the air tube.

Eff it right?

I will still use my shroud, or make one to fit since I still have plenty of material, either way this is FUN!

Wow man that plenum and gauge is next level. Seeing the finished rifle will be amazing. Longer barrel would be sweet too. Way to go brother!

 

[CTAirgunner]

Wow man that plenum and gauge is next level. Seeing the finished rifle will be amazing. Longer barrel would be sweet too. Way to go brother!

Once its turned down, it will probably look less impressive, I don't want a lot of excess material, I want enough to be safe but the least amount of material the better IMO rather than this HONKY GIANT thing sticking out the bottom.

It supposedly is roughly 23cc extra.

It'll be just a little black tube under the stock where the red line is

 

[CTAirgunner]

Talked with Troy Hammer again this morning, we are gunning for a 24 inch Hammer Forged 3 groove barrel, barrel sleeved on the OD with Carbon fiber to work with my shroud I've already made. The largest diameter in 22 hammer forged he can get is .580, the diameter of the JTS barrel is .63

This is all good, I think it will actually look very cool, partially shrouded, unshrouded, muzzle end with an Impulse Air 1350 (thats the moderator I am choosing as I have always wanted to try one).

So this project is going to be at a slight halt until Troy finishes up and I am not first in line , I CANNOT WAIT to see what this thing is capable of.

 

[CTAirgunner]

The wait for the barrel has been keeping my thinking. it's also allowed me to touch the stock up periodically and "perfect" it

Anyways

The boring of the action through to the TP wasn't enough for me, I removed the poppet and spring and am going to bore this portion of the rifle to the same 6.25mm I bored the action to.

Hopefully I don't mess it up hahaha



Luckily it's pretty easy to remove the valve seat on this rifle

I'm going to bore it in place then remove it to clean it up once it's done.

I am actually thoroughly impressed with how this rifle is put together.

One of the simpler air rifles I've tinkered. with.

 

[CTAirgunner]

Mission very successful!!!

Got a nice 6.28mm port here now too, the valve port opened up quite a bit.

Next step, mask off the seat and polish the bore and my newly enlarged port.

I might have 1 barrels made for this, 1 for slugs, 1 for pellets.

Travis at JTS let me know the factory regulator setting is actually 1800 on the .22 , for some reason I thought it was 2300.

If that's the case I could really push this thing.

Airguns man, they're fun.