EVOL Evol .30 18" shot count

[CTAirgunner]

What is everyone getting for number of magazines on a fill?

I have my rifle tuned for 875 fps with 44.75 and am yielding 3 full magazines per fill before I get the loud unhappy shot report from dipping under reg pressure.

I'm just curious what everyone else is getting.

 

[pan60]

i get three magazines on a fill and still be ubove the reg but i am getting low. i could get a few more shots but not many. i just top off after three mags.

 

[CTAirgunner]

i get three ma gazines on a fill and still be ubove the reg but i am getting low. i could get a few more shots but not many. i just top off after three mags.

Buddy what speed are you shooting them at ?

 

[Airgun-hobbyist]

At my current 2400 reg. pressure I get roughly 14-18 shots per tank starting anywhere between 3500-4000 cylinder psi. Both the JSB 50.15 and ZAN 56 pellets are putting out right around 100 PFE each with the hammer spring turned out just into the "not waisting too much air out of the barrel" zone. (Decreasing top fps by around 10-15). If I run the regulator down to 1900-2100 I get around three full magazines, but loose about 15-20 PFE and the needed speeds for these longer pellets. My Evol has been modified from the original engineered pellet shooter, so these numbers are not typical. I have it set up to blast a quick high dose of air with porting and polishing, heavier hammer weight, a large plenum extension and high regulator pressure to get those heavier pellets moving faster with this twist rate. If I were to shoot the lighter JSB pellets at a reasonable regulator pressure, it would probably sip air and get around the same numbers as you guys are getting.

In the past (before I started messing with the reasonable tune), I had noticed a louder sound report out of the moderator when coming off the regulator. It would not loose very much velocity per shot for about six shots, (only a few fps), but would get definitely louder as the hammer spring would be overcoming the lower air pressure, pooping more air out the muzzle after the projectile left. I do not know if this excess air was effecting accuracy with the last shots, but it may have been blowing the skirt around.

 

[Pumacarl]

I don't fill mine up more than 3600psi, but I have done the math and when I was operating at your current power level mine would get about 32 shots. Right now, reg @ 2450ish, fill to 3600psi, I'll get two full mags. With the Zan 56gr doing 92fpe.
EDIT: I forgot to add that I do have a medium size plenum installed now too.

 

[Peskådot671]

Last I checked, I get 3 mags on a 3600/3700 psi fill. Reg is still set from the factory at around 2100 psi. Shooting 44.75gr JSB at 888 fps or NSA 43.8gr at 894 fps.

 

[CTAirgunner]

I'm thinking about ordering a plenum for my Paradigm if there are any available to squeeze some extra shots out of it at my current power level by being able to reduce regulator pressure.

 

[pan60]

boss, i am also shooting the 44.75gr JSBs and as i recall i was shooting 880 to 890 range.
next time i get a chance i can double check but i know it was reall clsoe to 890.

 

[Pumacarl]

CTAirgunner, I have some numbers for your question, not that I understand them, but here they are.

My average air usage is right around 75psi per shot, with my reg set at 2350-2400psi and the hammer adjusted to give me 87fpe(836fps) with Zans, and 82fpe(912fps) with FX hybrids. I only filled to 3700psi but did the math for a 4000psi fillto get 21 shots on the reg and 7 shots off. The last shot was at 1950psi and would have only been good hunting under 50y. So 28 shots total, 24 of those target accurate, last 4 hunting accurate. This is almost the exact same performance that I was getting before the 27cc plenum extender.

OK, here is what I don't understand. Today was the first time I have shot the 50.1gr JSB(890fps) and they beat the Zan 56gr for fpe at the muzzle. The Hades, again for the first time, equalled the 56gr Zans for fpe, doing 932fps. Usually there is a 2-3fpe difference, favoring the Zans. I don't know how that happened, and I started shooting with a very clean bore. The Zan's should have been shooting 12fps faster than they were today. Only they were different, from past performances (3), and they are the same lot that I have been shooting.

Another oddity that i can't figure out is my regulator's behavior. My reg was creeping and I was getting a slow first shot. I had it set at 2400psi but it was indicating 2500psi. I resealed the reg and even changed the plenum ext. o-ring even though it was new. I also turned the reg down .001", to an indicated 2350psi. By this morning, the reg indicated 2500psi, BUT the first shot was not noticably slower than the second shot and the shot string speeds were normal. How can that be?

My o-rings were getting old in my reg and needed changing, but I find it coincidental that even after changing them I am only now getting reg creep (or just regulator guage creep, can't tell if it is just the guage), and this all starts after installing the plenum extender, that seems to do almost nothing for my shot count numbers or power. If this keeps up I am going to pull the plenum extender and see if the guage reads right again. I am going to do a couple of fill and shoot cycles first to see if things level out.

Anybody with a .30 Evol, not an HPS version, I would love to hear your numbers and figure out what I am doing wrong. What gains are you seeing from your plenum extenders and at what pressures? I am trying to figure out where the sweet spot is in mine, and I think it must be for a level that I don't want to be in.

 

[CTAirgunner]

Thanks for the detailed post Marc. So I have Pepis 30 cal right now testing 62gr slugs , he had his rifle set to 2350 psi as well but when I received it after a few days in the mail it had risen to over 2500. I took a few shots and it didn't creep again.... but he says his creep is random at this reg setting? Odd to me. However he says it happens about 50% of the time.

The other thing, I experienced slow first shot today ... multiple times, even after reloading the 1 magazine I had, I'd get a slow first shot.

Not for nothing and I didn't get speed as I forgot my chrono graph.

Here are 11 varmint knocker 62 grains at 65 yards with no tuning at all and a super sub par scope

The stray was all me

 

[Airgun-hobbyist]

CTAirgunner, I have some numbers for your question, not that I understand them, but here they are.

My average air usage is right around 75psi per shot, with my reg set at 2350-2400psi and the hammer adjusted to give me 87fpe(836fps) with Zans, and 82fpe(912fps) with FX hybrids. I only filled to 3700psi but did the math for a 4000psi fillto get 21 shots on the reg and 7 shots off. The last shot was at 1950psi and would have only been good hunting under 50y. So 28 shots total, 24 of those target accurate, last 4 hunting accurate. This is almost the exact same performance that I was getting before the 27cc plenum extender.

OK, here is what I don't understand. Today was the first time I have shot the 50.1gr JSB(890fps) and they beat the Zan 56gr for fpe at the muzzle. The Hades, again for the first time, equalled the 56gr Zans for fpe, doing 932fps. Usually there is a 2-3fpe difference, favoring the Zans. I don't know how that happened, and I started shooting with a very clean bore. The Zan's should have been shooting 12fps faster than they were today. Only they were different, from past performances (3), and they are the same lot that I have been shooting.

Another oddity that i can't figure out is my regulator's behavior. My reg was creeping and I was getting a slow first shot. I had it set at 2400psi but it was indicating 2500psi. I resealed the reg and even changed the plenum ext. o-ring even though it was new. I also turned the reg down .001", to an indicated 2350psi. By this morning, the reg indicated 2500psi, BUT the first shot was not noticably slower than the second shot and the shot string speeds were normal. How can that be?

My o-rings were getting old in my reg and needed changing, but I find it coincidental that even after changing them I am only now getting reg creep (or just regulator guage creep, can't tell if it is just the guage), and this all starts after installing the plenum extender, that seems to do almost nothing for my shot count numbers or power. If this keeps up I am going to pull the plenum extender and see if the guage reads right again. I am going to do a couple of fill and shoot cycles first to see if things level out.

Anybody with a .30 Evol, not an HPS version, I would love to hear your numbers and figure out what I am doing wrong. What gains are you seeing from your plenum extenders and at what pressures? I am trying to figure out where the sweet spot is in mine, and I think it must be for a level that I don't want to be in.

The regulator creep that you are seeing after the gun sits may be just from the compressed air condensing or expanding and changing the pressure you are seeing on the plenum side of the regulator. If you handle the gun your warm hands will change the pressure in the tube as well and it can seen on the gage's. A cold gun operating at a setting will definitely be different if taken into a warm environment. With the AAA Evol there's not usually as big a noticable difference as with other brands of PCP's.

Changes in plenum pressure can effect the shot tune (on any regulated gun), and especially those using light spring pressure to activate the hammer and valve. This is because when the psi goes up then it takes a bit more energy to knock open the valve. Whereas a heavier hammer blow and subsequent hammer weight momentum becomes more consistent over a larger range of plenum pressure. I don't usually see any changes in my Evol, but I run a heavier hammer spring tension.

I'll post up some numbers for you after dark today.

 

[Pumacarl]

The regulator creep that you are seeing after the gun sits may be just from the compressed air condensing or expanding and changing the pressure you are seeing on the plenum side of the regulator. If you handle the gun your warm hands will change the pressure in the tube as well and it can seen on the gage's. A cold gun operating at a setting will definitely be different if taken into a warm environment. With the AAA Evol there's not usually as big a noticable difference as with other brands of PCP's.

Changes in plenum pressure can effect the shot tune (on any regulated gun), and especially those using light spring pressure to activate the hammer and valve. This is because when the psi goes up then it takes a bit more energy to knock open the valve. Whereas a heavier hammer blow and subsequent hammer weight momentum becomes more consistent over a larger range of plenum pressure. I don't usually see any changes in my Evol, but I run a heavier hammer spring tension.

I'll post up some numbers for you after dark today.

Well, I understand all of that, and took it into consideration, especially since I've owned the gun for a while now. This ain't that. This is something out of the ordinary, or I wouldn't have mentioned it. Literally, the only thing that has changed, is the addition of the plenum extender. If things don't normalize, I will pull it and see if things go back to normal. I just can't figure out how it coud be that.

 

[Airgun-hobbyist]

Well, I understand all of that, and took it into consideration, especially since I've owned the gun for a while now. This ain't that. This is something out of the ordinary, or I wouldn't have mentioned it. Literally, the only thing that has changed, is the addition of the plenum extender. If things don't normalize, I will pull it and see if things go back to normal. I just can't figure out how it coud be that.

That being the case, maybe the additional air volume is more suspectable to the changes in pressures? Mine is a large 42cc plenum, so I'll check it for differences tonight, as it should give an even bigger variation than your 27cc extension.

 

[Airgun-hobbyist]

@Pumacarl I did some quick testing for you. My Evol has been sitting for just a little over a day is all, 2400 reg, 3 1/2 turns out on the spring, The first two shots over the chronograph were doubles, with JSB 50.15 grainers. 940 fps for 98 pfe at the muzzle, 905 fps at 10 yards. Starting just below 4,000 and ending at 2,400 off the regulator there's 20 shots, with number 21 dropping hard to 895 fps. The fresh fill didn't produce any different first shot low, but the fill was lower to 3,900 psi off the bottle. The Hades tested at 950 fps, for 90 PFE, and the ZAN's ran 895 fps for 100 PFE.

 

[Pumacarl]

@Pumacarl So I did some quick testing for you. My Evol has been sitting for just a little over a day is all, 2400 reg, 3 1/2 turns out on the spring, The first two shots over the chronograph were doubles, with JSB 50.15 grainers. 940 fps for 98 pfe at the muzzle, 905 at 10 yards. Starting just below 4,000 and ending at 2,400 off the regulator there's 20 shots, with number 21 dropping hard to 895 fps. The fresh fill didn't produce any different first shot low, but was lower to 3,900 psi off the bottle. The Hades tested at 950 fps, for 90 PFE, and the ZAN's ran 895 fps for 100 PFE.

Thankyou for the numbers! Do you ever find that one particular pellet/slug will perform differently from how it did compared to the others, on a different day? Usually all my pellets will always have close to the same spread, even at different power levels. Today they did not.

Looking at your numbers is pretty interesting to me too. Your Hades did 950fps, mine did 932fps; your 50.1gr did a smoking 940fps, while mine did 890fps. So your gun is only losing 10fps going from the Hades to the 50.1gr, while mine loses 42fps. That is a pretty big difference. Your Zan's 895fps, mine 836fps, 59fps different. So why are our Hades numbers so close to each other? See what I mean? Pretty strange. I am not sure what this means, but I like to keep track of it.

And we basically are using the same amount of air, I am on reg for 21 shots from 4000 to 2400 too, but your speed is way better for the Zan's but a lot closer with the Hades. ???

The pattern seems to suggest yours with the big plenum does much better has projectile weight goes up, while on mine it doesn't. The thing is, I don't remeber my gun shooting much differently w/o the 27cc plenum.

 

[Airgun-hobbyist]

Thankyou for the numbers! Do you ever find that one particular pellet/slug will perform differently from how it did compared to the others, on a different day? Usually all my pellets will always have close to the same spread, even at different power levels. Today they did not.

Looking at your numbers is pretty interesting to me too. Your Hades did 950fps, mine did 932fps; your 50.1gr did a smoking 940fps, while mine did 890fps. So your gun is only losing 10fps going from the Hades to the 50.1gr, while mine loses 42fps. That is a pretty big difference. Your Zan's 895fps, mine 836fps, 59fps different. So why are our Hades numbers so close to each other? See what I mean? Pretty strange. I am not sure what this means, but I like to keep track of it.

The difference being in the inner workings probably. I did do some extensive tinkering with the platform when I first got it. The valve body is ported and opened up more towards the valve face, the valve stem and hole were both micro polished, the barrel leade was altered for slugs, barrel was polished to remove the choke for slugs and then recently repolished to add the choke again (because I tinkered too much and it's too big for slugs now), the hammer body was polished where it showed any contact, the hammer was drilled to add a tungsten rod for additional weight, and then the bigger plenum extension installed to give it more air. Without the extension installed it was getting slightly higher numbers as compared to your Evol.

All that screwing around was to shoot heavy slugs, effectively changing the design and intent of the original Evol. And now it is right back to being a dedicated (heavy) pellet shooter. With having purchased several of Tom's guns now (Slayer's & Evol's), a dedicated Evol HPS slug shooter for NLR22 matches is going to be next; and as designed I won't have to do any screwing around with it for slugs.

 

[Pumacarl]

Yes, it is starting to make more sense as I add it up. I went back and looked at my max numbers with a 2400psi reg, and they were within 5-15fps of yours but it shot loud and not accurate. I turned down the hs. And the accuracy came back and it got quieter. So the plenum I have is capable of giving me an extra 25fps across the board, but that speed is basically unusable and I have to turn it back down, to where the gun can actually match results w/o any extra plenum. Tom got it right the first time. I don't have any port work done, everything is stock, except for the plenum, which I will take out next time I open the gun up and see if the regulator irregularities go away. I always liked less parts anyway.

The only thing that I am unsure of is whether or not I am getting any extra shots out of the plenum, which I will find out eventually. I doubt that it would be enough for me to put it back in after I pull it.

 

[Airgun-hobbyist]

Yes, it is starting to make more sense as I add it up. I went back and looked at my max numbers with a 2400psi reg, and they were within 5-15fps of yours but it shot loud and not accurate. I turned down the hs. And the accuracy came back and it got quieter. So the plenum I have is capable of giving me an extra 25fps across the board, but that speed is basically unusable and I have to turn it back down, to where the gun can actually match results w/o any extra plenum. Tom got it right the first time. I don't have any port work done, everything is stock, except for the plenum, which I will take out next time I open the gun up and see if the regulator irregularities go away. I always liked less parts anyway.

The only thing that I am unsure of is whether or not I am getting any extra shots out of the plenum, which I will find out eventually. I doubt that it would be enough for me to put it back in after I pull it.

The .30 caliber barrel is pretty short for trying to get a bunch of extra power out of for anything but common pellet weights. Tom's ports are great the way they are, and yes, he did get the design right as a super accurate and efficient pellet shooter (designed around 45-50 grain pellets). But with the new heavier ZAN pellets and the new Evol slug shooters, the plenum extension's were needed to get them moving with a quick blast of air (which is what I have got mine set up to do).

I'd clean, grease, and re-ring the regulator to get back tight ES consistency, and probably leave in that extension to have the ability to shoot the heavier pellets and even light slugs.

 

[Pumacarl]

The .30 caliber barrel is pretty short for trying to get a bunch of extra power out of for anything but common pellet weights. Tom's ports are great the way they are, and yes, he did get the design right as a super accurate and efficient pellet shooter (designed around 45-50 grain pellets). But with the new heavier ZAN pellets and the new Evol slug shooters, the plenum extension's were needed to get them moving with a quick blast of air (which is what I have got mine set up to do).

I'd clean, grease, and re-ring the regulator to get back tight ES consistency, and probably leave in that extension to have the ability to shoot the heavier pellets and even light slugs.

Before getting the numbers I gave you I did do a complete teardown of the regulator and changed all the o-rings, it is as fresh as a daisy. My conclusion is, with the porting the way it is, and the power and weight of the stock hammer and spring, there is nothing to gain for me to keep the 27cc plenum in. Yes, I can get some extra power, but it is worthless power because of the air used and the noise it makes, and the loss in accuracy I get, so I have to turn it down anyways, back into the territory that I can tune the gun, without the plenum, back into. The plenum extenders were designed for the HPS guns and, unless someone wants to open their ports and get a heavier hammer and spring, are a waste of time and money for a standard Evol/Paradigm. If someone can make their plenum extension get better numbers, with accuracy, and a substantial uptick in effeciency, on a stock gun, I'm all ears on how you did it. I'm just not seeing it. I did not, and will not, set my regulator back to 2000psi. Maybe at that setting there is some effeciency gain for those who want it, but it is not a compromise that I am willing to make. Another consideration might be that the 12cc unit might have some benefit for regulator function because it would reduce the volume of air needed for replenishment between shots, at maxed out settings. I might try that, if nobody posts any numbers on it. There always the chance that something similar but just a little different tips the scales.