Indians For Guns

Purchased it less than a month back. Must have fired 150-200 pellets from it so far into the pellet trap at 10m. Shot almost all into the trap (5" X 7") - so can be said to be fair. Gradually the flannel-like material in the groove just outside the pellet chamber started linting off until today half of it came off the circular groove. Wonder if it's some sort of air seal.

Pellet behavior has started becoming erratic. Either they just stayed inside the barrel or flew out haphazardly, mostly without any penetrating power - some bouncing off from the paper target even at 2-3 m distance while an odd one going through with a bang. I use the Diana .22 flat heads.

In all probability, the air pistol is within the warranty - if IHP offers such a thing, else I am ready to pay out of pocket to make it use-worthy again. Feel free to point the way now. Thanks in advance for the advice.

Hi,

I think the 'flannel-like material' you are referring to is the barrel seal. It gets worn out gradually and could be a reason for your air pistol's dwindling performance. You have to remove it using a sharp-edged tool and fix a new one. You can get a new one from your local gunsmith or armoury and fix it by yourself after immersing it in oil or water overnight. Another option is the O-ring available with automobile spares shops. But make sure you get the right-sized one. I too have the same air pistol and I regret buying it...

Regards,
Ebenezer

Hi Ebenezer,
Your tip worked just great. Flicked a 'tire' off my kid's toy ambulance and used it as an O-ring along with Fevikwik. Now the pistol shoots again. What an idea Sirjee! Thank you very much for your help.

That's great sir. But poor kid, must be cursing me..

Don't worry - I promised to give him the pistol when he grew up. He asked me to keep the remaining 3 tires as well - that way the ambulance can squeak along just fine. But honestly, thanks a ton for clearing the funda on barrel seal. What you shared is a good tip for fellow novices and Indian AP users like me. Shot twenty pellets today from 6-12 ft into the trap to test and it held on. Tomorrow shall test on 10m.

A tad delay in 'testing' the air pistol performance post improvised barrel seal implant. I also had used a mixture of til (sesame) oil + front fork (bike suspension) oil on the metal parts (put a few drops through the trigger vent as well with the hope that they would reach the main spring) and inside the barrel rather 'generously'. That could be the reason when I started using the air pistol, it went "phat" a few times before firing the pellets. Smoke appeared and the smell of 'burning' permeated all through the room (a good 10-15 ft distance away). Wonder if that's the "dieseling' phenomenon which is mentioned on a few threads on the forum. Sorry but could not help experimenting a bit. Anyway. followed by a few (5-7) pellet-less 'shots' decided to run in the pellets again. First 15-20 shots went awry (I was almost scared with 'Now what have I done?!') - similar to when the seal had ripped half off. Some came out rather tamely (I could see them pop out) while others stuck inside the barrel. Only subsequent cocking would dislodge them. A few bounced off the paper target. A 10 minute break. The next batch of 15 pellets shot out with force expected and eventually shredded the paper target. Incidentally, not all the pellets made clean circular punches this time but the target was actually torn. I wonder why. I used the same Diana (.22) flatheads but did not test the full range of 10m; probably 10-12 ft. Tonight plan to store the pistol with barrel down (just to drain out the oil if that's the cause of glitches) and retest the pistol tomorrow or day after on the full 10m.

Hey all - I am mighty happy - IHP Vatva sprung a pleasant surprise on me yesterday !!!

Remember, how my breech seal had worn off and sheared. I must have written 2-3 emails to IHP in Dec 2010 requesting for the (leather) seals. No response. And then yesterday, having given up totally - out of blue I get a courier from them with a printout of my old letter and the seal !!! Thank you very much IHP Vatva. You made my day and have encouraged me to think positively about the IHP !

Leather seals are available in almost all gun shops. All you need to do is take your ask for a.22 leather seal and you get it. It cost about 10 bucks. Your pistols power might increase with the leather seal as toy tyres are made of not so high grade rubber and are not designed to withstand the huge air pressure released. Wouldn't be surprised if you still had a 'leaky' problem.

BD

Thanks for the pointers BD - you are right - with the rubber tire doubling as the seal the shooting did get erratic after a few weeks. Earlier for some reason it had 'folded' up internally quite well and shot OK most of the time, till it started showing signs of minute fraying. I had checked around Mumbai shops but could not get the leather seal any place. Didn't want to leave the new AP with any of them after my experience with old Cross man 1010. Now the new seal's in place (thanks to IHP & my talk with Brihacharan) but am yet to commence shooting since due to sudden spurt in demand for attention from family. Classes, Projects, Exams time et al - these days some schools make parents study as much (if not more) than the kids! Planning to get back to the hobby over the weekend.