Blackwolf Blackwolf and Sub-MOA Barrels Review

[Solo1]

You guys have seen everything I've shot from these last two SubMOA barrels. They're the first ones I've been sent that are production barrels. Everything prior was prototypes. Barrels with the exact specs of these two are available for purchase. And the point I was trying to get across is that, while these are production barrels, the SubMOA guys aren't done. They don't seem to be viewing this as having a definite endpoint. Ie, perpetual improvements are their mindset.

As for my testing....My last couple pay periods have had 95 or more hours each. Between my real job, and my family, I don't have tons of spare time. So testing will occur as time is available. In fact, I just found out that my ten hr shift tomorrow is now a 14hr shift. It was going to be 11am to 9 pm but now it's 7am to 9pm.

So why am I testing if I don't have much time for it? Well, first off, I enjoy it. It's my escape. My detox from the stresses of life. I also think a large part of it why I was asked to do it is my analytical personality. Maybe some of it is me not having a tendency to sugarcoat stuff. Some of it is probably how easy I can test @ long range, just off my back porch.

So, I'll continue to shoot, taking notes, comparing tunes, and results. And sharing all of it. Maybe we'll stumble upon something amazing. Maybe not.

For high points so far with the 1:22 barrel....I'm thinking I need to revisit the combination of JSB Lights and the low reg pressure, at 970ish fps. They put 5 into 0.23 of an inch @ 50yards. The Altaros 32.5s? were also worthy of a revisit.

As I noted in the original post, the combinations are....overwhelming.

I didn’t mean you weren’t giving us anything now but as you said about 2 years of pre production i was a bit curious about that. Was never in such a position so wanted to know what that was like

 

[Danman]

As for my testing....My last couple pay periods have had 95 or more hours each. Between my real job, and my family, I don't have tons of spare time. So testing will occur as time is available. In fact, I just found out that my ten hr shift tomorrow is now a 14hr shift. It was going to be 11am to 9 pm but now it's 7am to 9pm.

So why am I testing if I don't have much time for it? Well, first off, I enjoy it. It's my escape. My detox from the stresses of life.

As I noted in the original post, the combinations are....overwhelming.

Well dont burn out brother, we appreciate it too! Keeping it fun is the end goal.....I can only imagine the amount of testing just for one barrel/pellet combo before calling it good. One day its a lazer, and then you fail to get anywhere close. I burned through a tin and a half of the 20lights with nothing to show over a few months. Well last time I shot em, the Ghost plopped 10 into a thumb space @50Y....same settings, same shooter, etc i was convinced 965fps was too fast.
Do they have any fast twist .22 barrels to speak of specific for slugs? Ie something similar to the L.W. 1:15.75?

 

[Franklink]

Do they have any fast twist .22 barrels to speak of specific for slugs? Ie something similar to the L.W. 1:15.75?

SubMOA has a 1:16 that they're telling me is for slugs. I have one with that twist rate sitting on my bench.

 

[Solo1]

SubMOA has a 1:16 that they're telling me is for slugs. I have one with that twist rate sitting on my bench.

I have a 30 cal 1-16. I haven’t shot it a lot but am getting mixed results. So far not impressed

 

[Franklink]

I have a 30 cal 1-16. I haven’t shot it a lot but am getting mixed results. So far not impressed

What have you tried to shoot through it so far?

 

[Solo1]

What have you tried to shoot through it so far?

Ive tried several different slugs at different velocities. My thoughts so far are that it also needs to be polished. I intend to do more testing i now have 2 tins of every different commonly available 30 cal slug so we will see. I orignally thought it liked zan but that didn’t last long.

 

[Franklink]

I had to give up on the idea of using the 1:22 .22 barrel at the sub20fpe field target match this weekend. Just not enough time to get the dope worked out, and to get accustomed to the amount of wind hold-off that would require.

So, back to accuracy testing. And I'll preface this with stating that the wind in my little 30 minute window of shooting this morning was not very favorable.

I shot from just before 930AM, to just before 10:00. So, yeah, gusts into the low 20s.

Only ran one pellet through the gun this morning: The JSB .22/20.83 "Lights."

Reg pressure of 90-95 bar, BLUE HAMMER SPRING, on MIN, still with the 1:22 SubMOA barrel.
That combination produced the most consistent string that I've yet shot through the Blackwolf.

While very consistent, that low reg pressure/heavy hammer spring (low relative for the fpe) made the gun a bit less enjoyable to shoot. Shot cycle not as crisp, sound bordering on burpy. Those 51 shots took it from 230 bar to 150 bar. BUT, accuracy was probably the most promising that I've seen yet from it. Were it not for the big gusts blasting the pellets from right to left, they would have all gone into 1/2." The shots between gusts were tracking right into the aim point. And the shots that got pushed the farthest to the left happened in the bigger gusts. At some point in collecting trigger time, we start to be able to see accuracy potential, even if the conditions don't allow that to be represented on paper. This combination of variables is the most promising that I've seen from the Blackwolf and this 1:22 barrel.

I'm still pretty impressed with the power potential of the Blackwolf. 40fpe would have been a very powerful .22 airgun not very long ago. And to restrict this thing down to even 40fpe is requiring a reg pressure of 90-95 bar! That's only about 1325psi!!!

As for shot cycle, I'm seeing now why @kwaping has been so adamant about that white spring. If I was to stick with the .22/20.83 Lights as a long-term usage projectile, I do believe I'd mess around with an increased reg pressure, and the white spring instead of the blue. From everything I've seen so far, I'm fairly certain that would allow me to get into the same fps range where this 1:22 barrel and the .22/20.83 is showing promise, BUT would shift the shot cycle back to crisp and enjoyable.

 

[Franklink]

Plenum, and Power Potential

As has been noted multiple times, the power potential of the Blackwolf is a step above most prior Daystate's and BRKs. I include BRK because at this time, many of the parts/concepts are shared.

At least some of that difference in power is plenum size.


The red boxes in both of the images are roughly plenum. And the green boxes are roughly where the valve resides.

I've seen specs for the Blackwolf list it as having a 52cc plenum.
I've seen specs for the Ghost list it as having a 32-34cc plenum. (strangely enough, I can't find a decent online source for the exact number right now.

Out of curiosity, I've pulled off that block that the bottle threads into, and the plenum is just a big open space, with an airpassage in the top of it, logically between the plenum an the valve. .

For comparison's sake...The Ghost's plenum is a long narrow tube, running through the chassis, and about as thick and a typical human thumb.

In my testing, the Ghost, in .22, when turned up, pushes JSB Grands (28.55) into 970-980 when maxed out. (Much more comfortably shot at 950-960). That's with a reg pressure of 150 bar, and what would basically be the BLUE hammer spring talked about here. And a comparable length barrel (about 23-25 inches). That puts the Ghost in .22, with a similar length barrel at about 60fpe. With the Ghost's 34cc plenum, that's about 1.76fpe/cc.

Taking that 1.76fpe/cc number over to the Blackwolf (which has a different valve, and more open porting in the valve and the transfer port) would get us to 90+fpe in .22. That's simply taking 1.76fpe x 52ccs = 90+fpe. I'm not sure what the ceiling is, but it's high enough for most of the heaviest .22 projectiles on the market.

And I haven't even gone to the longer 28" OEM barrel, which will further yet increase the power potential. For someone wanting to get into the 40grain slug airgun game...The Blackwolf is your huckleberry.

As for me, a guy who prefers pellets, I'm actually considering stuffing some PVC pipe in that plenum cavity to reduce it. This was @Arzrover's idea after just a couple days with the gun, but I'm coming around to it more and more.

 

[Airgunsruinedmylife]

This gun has sparked a lot of interest for me. The fact that it has enough power to shoot .22cal boat tail slugs and with the ease of changing calibers seems like a really good candidate for the benchrest gun I’m looking for. I need something where I can easily switch between .22cal slugs and .30cal pellets.

Just a bit worried about the accuracy. I struggled to get my .25cal ghost to shoot the 33 grain pellets. Took a lot of barrel polishing and lapping to get it acceptable.

 

[Billm]

This gun has sparked a lot of interest for me. The fact that it has enough power to shoot .22cal boat tail slugs and with the ease of changing calibers seems like a really good candidate for the benchrest gun I’m looking for. I need something where I can easily switch between .22cal slugs and .30cal pellets.

Just a bit worried about the accuracy. I struggled to get my .25cal ghost to shoot the 33 grain pellets. Took a lot of barrel polishing and lapping to get it acceptable.

What do you consider acceptable? Serious question, I’m curious about what accuracy others are getting from their Ghost .25.

 

[GHairgunner]

Plenum, and Power Potential

As has been noted multiple times, the power potential of the Blackwolf is a step above most prior Daystate's and BRKs. I include BRK because at this time, many of the parts/concepts are shared.

At least some of that difference in power is plenum size.


The red boxes in both of the images are roughly plenum. And the green boxes are roughly where the valve resides.

I've seen specs for the Blackwolf list it as having a 52cc plenum.
I've seen specs for the Ghost list it as having a 32-34cc plenum. (strangely enough, I can't find a decent online source for the exact number right now.

Out of curiosity, I've pulled off that block that the bottle threads into, and the plenum is just a big open space, with an airpassage in the top of it, logically between the plenum an the valve. .

For comparison's sake...The Ghost's plenum is a long narrow tube, running through the chassis, and about as thick and a typical human thumb.

In my testing, the Ghost, in .22, when turned up, pushes JSB Grands (28.55) into 970-980 when maxed out. (Much more comfortably shot at 950-960). That's with a reg pressure of 150 bar, and what would basically be the BLUE hammer spring talked about here. And a comparable length barrel (about 23-25 inches). That puts the Ghost in .22, with a similar length barrel at about 60fpe. With the Ghost's 34cc plenum, that's about 1.76fpe/cc.

Taking that 1.76fpe/cc number over to the Blackwolf (which has a different valve, and more open porting in the valve and the transfer port) would get us to 90+fpe in .22. That's simply taking 1.76fpe x 52ccs = 90+fpe. I'm not sure what the ceiling is, but it's high enough for most of the heaviest .22 projectiles on the market.

And I haven't even gone to the longer 28" OEM barrel, which will further yet increase the power potential. For someone wanting to get into the 40grain slug airgun game...The Blackwolf is your huckleberry.

As for me, a guy who prefers pellets, I'm actually considering stuffing some PVC pipe in that plenum cavity to reduce it. This was @Arzrover's idea after just a couple days with the gun, but I'm coming around to it more and more.

Your on to something here. The Ghost/Delta plenum is a bit small. I read that for every FPE you need 1cc of plenum. Daystate missed as they could have built the Ghost/Delta slightly wider and increased to the hole that is the plenum getting much closer to the 1cc per FPE ratio. You can shoot higher speeds with more reg pressure but that is where tunes get hard to get right and even harder to keep in tune. I still think 25 could be a better comp pellet vs the 30 but the barrel thing is what needs to be solved. I have a number of winter projects going to improve or reinvent the 25 barrel.