Ordered a '79 and expected to do a little work to get it working right. Arrived in record time (Compasseco...3 days from order it's at the door). Unlike most of the posters here, am NOT looking for more power...if anything, may go the other way and modify this one to shoot in the 590-610fps range.
First impresssios:
1. The Chinese are starting to understand stock work and finish. This one looks good, without that shinny chip prone BS on top, and the inletting is pretty good.
2. They still don't quite get the idea of recoil pad installation. Pad's joint line to the stock is good...they just don't carry the line out into the pad quite right.
3. Good quality blue without any lathe lines of other roughness.
So...took it out of the stock. That safety system seems like an add-on....having to take the safety out (or inlett the stock to let it pass) smacks of an add-on-design. Adjusted the trigger...that went well without any problems, getting to a good 1.2pound pull with just a little softness to it (not really enough to call it creep). Will go back and adjust after it's broken in a bit.
Did notice that the barrel band screw is no longer the reduced-in-the-middle scrrew I expected. This one is full sized (still a small diameter, but at least it's full size all the way) and fits trhough a square slot cut into the barrel. Kind of glad to see that, I expected to break one or two of those and in fustration make my own slot for a larger screw to pass through.
They could have marked the rear apature in English...but now I know the Chinese for right/left and up/down.
Thae transfer port looked burr-less, but was a bit rough. Got lazy and decided against a full take down to cure that, so bent a small rod into a short legged "L" and glued a bit of fine paper to it...let the glue dry..and used that to smooth the roughness.
First shots:
This SOB shoots way to the right.
Dump gas and take a look. Barrel seems in line with the breech...and the breech in line with the bottom tube...but as the barrel continues, it's angling a bit off the center line of the bottom tube.
(Get two visually striaght 36" long drill rods or wooden dowels...have to be as visually staright as possible. Roll them on a flat surface to check that straightness. Tape one to the barrel and one to the bottom tube, then you can see their relationship easily as you've extended thair line a couple of feet past the muzzle.)
Adjust barrel band...if I really crank on it, will hold. Take it all loose, slide it back 1", coat area with epoxy (J.B. Weld)...slide band back into place, align barrel, tighten down, let the expody cure for a day. YES..it is going to be trouble later on to get that loose, but for now it cured the alignment problem.
(Thought...did the measurements...believe I could fit more of them on there. Besides the issue one, would add one mid way between breech and the issue band. Would need to slot the barrel and inlet the stock, but belive two of them might do the job right.)
Of course, now the front sight isn't quite level. That's held in by a screw and a nut that runs through a roll pin, the roll pin rides in another slot in the barrel. In my case, the roll pin was too long...sticking out on both sides a little bit, wich didn't let the screw and nut do any real clamping. Shortening the roll pin a bit let the scew and nut clamp...and gave me enough rotational slack to get the front sight standing level.
Test fire:
Shoots on target with windage just about in the middle range...elevation is cranked to near the bottom to be "on" at 25yards...which puts you on again at about 45yards. Shooting 665fps at rounds 12-22 with RWS "Club" (which are light). Getting an average of 653fps with 8.1gr. pellets. The heat proably had a lot to do with the vel. figures (was in the middle 90's). Did notice it's slightly faster with a new charge (about 3 clicks at 25yards) and slower fter 40 shots (again about 3 click from "normal"). For plinking, is easier to just hold a bit over or under.
Things changed:
That safety flopping throuh 180degrees is retarded....lines so close to the stock, you have to pick at it to get it up from on safe. Supect the vast majority of owners just ignore the safety completely.
Removed action..drilled trigger guard for a limiting pin that makes the safey stop while the end is sticking into the trigger gurad (where your trigger finger can just flick it forward). Test the safety for functioning to be sure YOURS engages like this one. Small pin...dipped in epoxy and tapped into it's close fitting hole (if nothing else, can cut the last 3/8" of the shank of the drill that made the hole).
With the lowest pin that would reliably work still wouldn't pass through the stock in dissassembly...so a small groove was filed (can do it with a triangular file if you are careful and have the time) to let the pin pass. Could inlett a big slot and let the whole darned safey assembly pass if you've the urge...and I intend to get around to that.
The nut that holds the stock in recessed deeply into the stock and needs a split screwdriver to get on and off. That is also BS..trot on down to the hardware store of a stack of washers that will let the issue nut tighten tight BEFORE the theaded part sticks up in the middle...converting it to a standard screwdrive rather that a split tip. If you get ambitions, can soldier the washers together into a single unit...or lathe an Al. spacer.
Like the little rifle...will be changing the stock a bit and refinishing after the changes. Too many sharp edges where my hand is supose to fit, and the finger groove was made for some alien life form rather than a muman...but that's all fixable with time and sandpaper (and a stock refinish after)
