A review of SDB Xena

[Basu]

@47 -To produce 14+ Ftlbs at muzzle is not an easy task.
Spring must have been under tremendous stress that is causing the breaking.

@Shome - The stock of Xena requires careful handling unlike synthetic ones.There is a palpable difference in feel between these two.
Do you stay in Kolkata ? Could you manage to pull the trigger now ? If not then you can call them and visit factory to set it as per your preference.

Basu

[Mr.Shome]

@47 -To produce 14+ Ftlbs at muzzle is not an easy task.
Spring must have been under tremendous stress that is causing the breaking.

@Shome - The stock of Xena requires careful handling unlike synthetic ones.There is a palpable difference in feel between these two.
Do you stay in Kolkata ? Could you manage to pull the trigger now ? If not then you can call them and visit factory to set it as per your preference.

Basu

Dear Sir,

Thank you for the advice.

Right now, I'm in Noida, but will probably be back again (I hope so).

Yes, I finally understood, the excellent trigger mechanism. Unfortunately, could not practice much, as my work has taken me back to Noida.

Regarding the scratches - I think, I handled the gun carefully (of course, maybe I didn't). As I said in my previous post, the gentleman at the factory, himself expressed concern over the scratches (I had gone there for other issues), but he was kind enough to be concerned about the scratches.

Overall, hope to be back in 'The City of Joy' soon, and improvise this passion.

By the way Sir, I grew up in Dehradun, and as a kid, used a .22 Tommy Air Rifle (bought from Kolkata) for hunting small game in jungles and mango/litchi orchards....Just want to say that it was an excellent gun and I sometimes shot matchsticks from a distance of around 10 meters. I think, I was around 11-years old at the time.

Anyways, apologies for sharing nostalgia.

Best regards,

Pinak

[dalvipravin]

Hi pravin,
First things first , shooting with dyna A one pellets and a scope 5 shots groups in 50 meters are generally around 1.5 inches.
The stock doesn't scratch if used carefully, but a moderately hard bump on a rough surface will cause a scratch.
My Artemis is 4 years old , and I can't remember how the blueing was when new. About machining , I have to say this one is much much more refined and tolerances are tighter. I say tolerances are tighter because the piston sleeves of my Artemis are too tight in my Xena. The other thing is the smoothness of the shot cycle. I had to work a lot to get this kind of smoothness from my Artemis.
In Artemis I have tried Cherokee 27 , the SDB stock spring before typhoon and when typhoon came along I used typhoon. The typhoon in Artemis lasts 3.5k to 5k shots , I really don't understand why it is not lasting as long in my Xena.
About PH rifles having better machining , having used both rifles extensively, my humble opinion is that both rifles have same quality of machining, especially in the guts of the rifle. I have disassembled and worked on both rifles countless times, and really there is really no difference in the quality of the compression chamber or the piston in both rifles. The trigger is obviously better in Xena. To have a trigger with 3 levers and 3 adjustement screws, where even 1/4th turn of a screw produces perceptible difference is damn good machining to me.
What is better in PH rifles is their finishing and blueing and the rear sights.

Thanks Sam for the update and 1.5inch @50 yards is close to Diana n weihrauch accuracy !! Really happy to know that

Also on the machining part , thanks for the clarification that the machining is same internally . I hope she won't have any gailling issue as my Artemis is having now haven't taken her apart yet ...

I guess with this I am Keen on putting my hands on Xena for sure

Cheers
Pravin

[dalvipravin]

@47 -To produce 14+ Ftlbs at muzzle is not an easy task.
Spring must have been under tremendous stress that is causing the breaking.

@Shome - The stock of Xena requires careful handling unlike synthetic ones.There is a palpable difference in feel between these two.
Do you stay in Kolkata ? Could you manage to pull the trigger now ? If not then you can call them and visit factory to set it as per your preference.

Basu

Dear Sir,

Thank you for the advice.

Right now, I'm in Noida, but will probably be back again (I hope so).

Yes, I finally understood, the excellent trigger mechanism. Unfortunately, could not practice much, as my work has taken me back to Noida.

Regarding the scratches - I think, I handled the gun carefully (of course, maybe I didn't). As I said in my previous post, the gentleman at the factory, himself expressed concern over the scratches (I had gone there for other issues), but he was kind enough to be concerned about the scratches.

Overall, hope to be back in 'The City of Joy' soon, and improvise this passion.

By the way Sir, I grew up in Dehradun, and as a kid, used a .22 Tommy Air Rifle (bought from Kolkata) for hunting small game in jungles and mango/litchi orchards....Just want to say that it was an excellent gun and I sometimes shot matchsticks from a distance of around 10 meters. I think, I was around 11-years old at the time.

Anyways, apologies for sharing nostalgia.

Best regards,

Pinak

I feel the scratches can be avoided with some kind of wood treatment .. hoping it will be addressed soon

I really like wooden stalks !!

Cheers
Pravin

[sam 47]

I hope she won't have any gailling issue as my Artemis is having now haven't taken her apart yet ...

May I ask what the issues are and how many shots are through it ?

[dalvipravin]

I hope she won't have any gailling issue as my Artemis is having now haven't taken her apart yet ...

May I ask what the issues are and how many shots are through it ?

Hey Sam ,


Around 1000 shots through already , but recently say like 100 shots before when I cock and load , then bring the barrel up to lock there is a rattling sound which comes , like the cocking arm or something inside is lose ... No resistance in locking or barrel movement but it's just annoying sound that comes ...

Also when I cock , when I break the barrel by a tap and start my cocking stroke a "tyaaakkk "sound comes like something was locked and released as I move the barrel down for cocking..

I guess I need to take her apart and clean and relube ... Try and find what's not in good shape or not moving as it should

Cheers
Pravin

[sam 47]

Hmm I don't think this is a cleaning or relube issue , I think your gun has a folded cocking lever as opposed to the straight one in mine. If you remove the stock, you can see a metal bracket under which the cocking lever passes. There you can see a small screw , if you tighten it up all the way in , I think it will solve the issue.
Also to diagnose the problem, when you break the barrel to cock the gun , push the cocking lever upwards and inwards. You should hear a click of the cocking lever getting into the right position and then cocking should be silent. Then you can be sure that the screw is loose and you need to tighten.
I am saying this from my experience with Xena, which I believe has a similar cocking lever.

[dalvipravin]

Hey Sam ,

Thanks for the information , I will check and revert..

Cheers
Pravin

[dalvipravin]

Ok Sam,

Problems , more of them ,

I took the rifle apart from stalk, I saw one screw which is on a bridge under which the cocking arm travels. Now that screw controls the play I guess..

Anyways I turned it fully in . Assembled , now the rifle won't cock , I mean the last click will not come , with some force it comes but then barrel doesn't go back up it stays locked at the cocking position . I then have to squeeze the trigger to unlock the barrel , cocking arm piston whatever we can say.

So I took it apart again , took the screw 3 threads out as it was and assembled . Now she cocks , but there is still stiffness at the end of cocking cycle. And that rattling round I guess comes due to cocking arm rubbing over something I can't figure as I can't cock the gun outside of stalk due to scope.

I will take the scope off and try that sometimes ..

But yes I am not really very happy on the machining and finish of SDB.Attaching the pic of the screw ,let me know if that's the one you told me to Fix..

I still have 20 years old N25 and she cocks like a dream ...SMOOTH !!

Cheers,
Pravin

[sam 47]

It seems that the screw in your gun is too long, I believe, & that it's touching the cocking lever when it's fully tightened. That has caused the deep scratch in the lever itself and caused the cocking problems. I think the solution would be to tighten the screw fully, and then loosen it by around 1 turn, so that there is a slight gap between the screw and the lever, that should give a smooth cocking cycle.
In my gun the screw doesn't touch the lever , & I wasn't aware of the problem over tightening might cause.

[dalvipravin]

Hi Sam,

Can you measure the length of the same screw in your Artemis when you get time ? If the screw is not supposed to touch the cocking arm then what it's there at first point ?

Cheers
Pravin

[dalvipravin]

I feel the job of that bridg and that screw is to keep cocking arm at a particular angle and at a level with the cylinder as you cock the rifle .But then why screw ? Why can't anything permanent and consistent ?

Cheers
Pravin

[sam 47]

I don't have an folding cocking lever in my Artemis, it's in the Xena where I have a similar cocking arm. I am sorry but I have added feviquick to it to keep at the right position, and don't want to scrape it off until I have to disassemble it for changing springs.

The bridge is there to prevent the cocking lever from falling out of the gun ( I had a few cheap guns where the cocking lever came out and hanged freely only from the barrel hinge). However, the lever still has a tendency to bulge out and that causes the rattling and the noises. Here the screw comes in, when the barrel is broken , it pushes the lever inwards , making it perfectly parallel to the chamber, giving smooth cocking. You can attain the same action by pushing the lever inwards before cocking & after breaking the barrel.
The one piece lever in my Artemis is permanent and consistent, even after 40k shots. Dont know why SDB changed it .

[dalvipravin]

Thanks Sam,

I got the point here , but if you can't make it right why try it? Why to go for 2 piece cocking arm ?

I really don't get the screw stuff , I have to check other rifles including imported ones how it's managed. But definitely not a good move by SDB

The noise is irritating and you feel like you are having some junk in your hand which is totally out of place.

Anyways , negative marks for SDB in machining and finishing department... Rest I love the wooden stalk ,and accuracy .

Cheers
Pravin

[vsraja]

It looks like you have overtightened the screw.The same design can be seen in AK500 also.If properly maintained it can be very smooth.So directly blaming the design itself is not a good idea.