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EVOL .22 Paradigm Slug Tuning

Woogie_man

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As many have seen I have been putting the Paradigm through some testing to see what slugs I can get the gun to shoot. I was at the rang on Monday doing some basic testing to see what I was able to do with the slugs I had on hand.

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The set up was as it looks above, a basic plastic table with the rifle and chronograph. I tested a bunch of different Javelin slugs in both .216 and .217, NSA slugs in .216 .217 and .217, Zan slugs, Daystate Howlers, H&N .217 slugs, and Knockout slugs. Also did a few baseline shots with the FX 18.1 pellets as well as the 25.4 pellets so people can approximately get a close set point. All of the shots were 5 shot groups with the regulator set at approximately 2200 psi. You will see on the page with the chronograph numbers that there is a circle with lines on it. What these are showing is the position of the hammer spring adjustment screw. I removed the stock from and put a mark at the 6 o'clock position.

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These pictures you guys have seen from the picture thread, but wanted to include them in this thread to keep everything together.

These are the targets that I shot on Monday to see what the slugs would do. I had my chronograph to see if there was anything odd about the shots. Just wanted to see if there was anything that stood out. There were a few that showed promise and today I wanted to get some solid number and do some minor adjustments.

Again all shots are with the Regulator, the blue one, set at approximately 2200 psi, shot at a range of around 20 yards. Next week I am planning on hitting the range again and doing some grouping at 50 yards, 75 yards and 100 yards to really see if I can get a slug to perform well enough to hunt with as well as use for my local NRL22 matches.

I am using some 10m targets for the tests to keep things together and to see any kind of movement of groups. In the upper left hand corner you will see and "A" and a "B" these will correspond with the chronograph number page. The targets themselves are numbered 1 through 10 with 2 sighters in the middle. Now I messed up and numbered the sighters on card "A", so those numbers are written in blue marker. On target sheet "B" I remembered the sighters the chronograph page has SS1 and SS2, for sighter spot 1 and sighter spot 2.

Here are the target pages that were shot at 20 yards. All groups are 5 shot groups, the only one that was different was the seventh bull. I was getting slugs stuck in the barrel with the NSA slugs so I stopped shooting them at that point. Chronograph page will be under each target sheet to help keep track of things and to see what is going on. The circled numbers on the target sheet are the slugs that were showing promise and ones that I wanted to test further.

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The chronograph sheet above you will see the circles with the lines on them, this is the hammer spring adjustment location. This will allow me to fine tune the rifle if needed and get a repeatable setting. I would LOVE to see this on any of the rifles coming out. Makes resetting the rifle and sharing tunes with others really easy.

Like I said I am planning on shooting more to see exactly what the gun will like, and I will take you guys along with for all the fun. One good thing as well is I have a loal shooting buddy that has a corbin swaging press and has offered to make me what ever weight slugs I need. So I should be able to get what ever weight and based slug that I want to try.

Any questions just ask guys!
 
Like Tom said the lead is a different. The slugs were still the .217 diameter, but were the only ones that got stuck.

When I hit the longer ranges I am going to test the Knock Outs, the Howlers, and the Zan slugs.

The only addition to the rifle is the smaller plenum extension. Should have added that in there as well.
 
a couple to try if you haven't already- javelin 21 , h&n 23 and RMR 22 grain hybrids all in .217.

Couple things (if you want any tips), don't waste much time under 50 yards with slugs, it doesn't show anything for how stable they are at the ranges they are used. Go straight to 75yards + . If you get a slug/slugs that show promise but aren't super consistent, consider moving your reg pressure up. Lastly, cleaning your barrel between different slugs then reseasoning for a couple mags with the next slug I found to be highly effective. Just my .02 😁
 
Yup I am planning on removing the barrel and giving it a good cleaning this afternoon.

50 yards just to see what happens and it has shown inconvenience with slugs. That and it also verifies where I am shooting at the indoor range. The last thing I want to do is send a slug through the electronics or anything like that.


What are the RMR 22 slugs. Have not heard of them before. I did try the Javelin slugs and they did show a little promise, but out to 75 and 100 yards it looked like a shotgun. Though am going to play with the speeds as well to see if anything happens
 
RMR ( rocky mountain reloading) is who manufacturers the fx hybrid slug. You can get them directly from them in bulk for MUCH cheaper than when they're branded for fx. Just FYI, they are absolutely filthy and need to be cleaned in a rag first.

I'm not sure what your reg is set at but the perfect pressure makes a world of difference, I would start at 2250 and go up in tiny amounts. My 15" is about 2300-2350(160 bar) . With slugs, my findings have been not exactly the speed they're shot at but how they got there. In other words, 930 fps at 135 bar reg is not the same performance as 930 fps at 160 bar.


 
RMR ( rocky mountain reloading) is who manufacturers the fx hybrid slug. You can get them directly from them in bulk for MUCH cheaper than when they're branded for fx. Just FYI, they are absolutely filthy and need to be cleaned in a rag first.

I'm not sure what your reg is set at but the perfect pressure makes a world of difference, I would start at 2250 and go up in tiny amounts. My 15" is about 2300-2350(160 bar) . With slugs, my findings have been not exactly the speed they're shot at but how they got there. In other words, 930 fps at 135 bar reg is not the same performance as 930 fps at 160 bar.


i have been thinking about getting some of those if or when they run a sale.
just not sure there would be any advantage in useing them?
 
i have been thinking about getting some of those if or when they run a sale.
just not sure there would be any advantage in useing them?
If they did have an advantage, it would be that they are a bit more forgiving than a traditional slug. I was just shooting some out my Evol yesterday, and the accuracy is outstanding. A sub 1" group at 100 yards is very achievable. My most accurate slug on my current tune is the 21 grain javelin at 970 fps, followed closely by 23 grain HN at 935. The RMR hybrids are running around 950.
 
If they did have an advantage, it would be that they are a bit more forgiving than a traditional slug. I was just shooting some out my Evol yesterday, and the accuracy is outstanding. A sub 1" group at 100 yards is very achievable. My most accurate slug on my current tune is the 21 grain javelin at 970 fps, followed closely by 23 grain HN at 935. The RMR hybrids are running around 950.
That's good news. It's been years since I tested the 22 hybrid. Buying from RMR puts them in the same price range as NSA which makes it a lot easier to justify.
 
My experience with the hybrid 22/SLAP 22 is they are not great in the current EVOL 4 groove or older 6 groove barrels. I have seen and experienced excellent results with the 30 cal. hybrid/SLAP.
They were not great for me either with a 2250 reg and uncleaned. After a ballistol rag bath and a bump up in reg pressure they came alive.

Just out curiosity, is there one or more slugs in .22 that just always seem to perform out of your guns? If so what kind of tunes for them?
 
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Unfortunately, the slug that was absolutely excellent was the original 32gn from NSA when they were made on the Corbin presses. When NSA switched to their high-speed process the both the alloy and the dies changed.

This leaves the 20.2 and the Howlers as the primary go to. Unfortunately, these are too light to really take advantage over the 25gn redesign although their accuracy is phenomenal.

We are introducing a couple of new barrels sometime in january. One will be a 1:16 22 cal which will be suited for the mid-range weight slugs on the market. It will also have a chamber designed specifically for slugs.

All EVOLs will be able to upgrade to this barrel; It is a direct drop-in.
 
Unfortunately, the slug that was absolutely excellent was the original 32gn from NSA when they were made on the Corbin presses. When NSA switched to their high-speed process the both the alloy and the dies changed.

This leaves the 20.2 and the Howlers as the primary go to. Unfortunately, these are too light to really take advantage over the 25gn redesign although their accuracy is phenomenal.

We are introducing a couple of new barrels sometime in january. One will be a 1:16 22 cal which will be suited for the mid-range weight slugs on the market. It will also have a chamber designed specifically for slugs.

All EVOLs will be able to upgrade to this barrel; It is a direct drop-in.
Holy freakin moly i cannot wait!! Any possible info on what barrel lengths your thinking will be available?

Another note from my findings. if you do not want to mess with slugs and tuning for them, but would like small slug like performance (both terminal on game and flight) , give the jts 22.07 pellets a go. Let me just say, PHENOMENAL performance out to 100 yards or more, I calculate a BC close to .050 and they buck the wind substantially better than 18.13s but are not tune picky like the redesigns. 900-940 fps is where they seem to fly the best out of my Evol.
 
Reg pressure now is sitting around 2200-2250. I can always bump it up with the external adjuster really easy.

I would rather buy from RMR over buying javelin to be honest. There is a history and it isn't good.

I will play a bit more and see what I can't come up with. I am really getting ready for the new HPS model as well. Can't wait to get one and start playing. Trying to hold out.....as there is a 30 Evol for sale over on AGN that I have been eyeballing as well..... lol
 
Just got back from the range. At 50 yards the Zan .217 23 grain and 25.4 grain, as well as the knockouts shot a single ragged hole. Pushed target out to 100 and adjusted the scope. All three slugs patterned like a shotgun! Velocities were all consistent with the highest SD being 8fps. A little frustrated I decided to see what the FX 25.4 grain pellets would do at 100.....and slather me up with honey and call be a doufus.....a single ragged hole!

To say I was shocked is an understatement, but I repeated it with 2 more groups, as well as letting my shooting buddy try and he did the same.

My buddy is going to play with his press and make some slugs that have different bases to see if those work.

I will keep playing and letting you guys know what is happening.


I am interested to see if one of the new barrel systems would work on this rifle. Really want thus gun to shoot slugs at 100 yards and beyond accurately.
 
All three slugs patterned like a shotgun! : ( well that sucks!

do they need to be pushed harder or just not the rite barrel for the jobs?
 

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