My Air rifles: SDB Artemis (Waiting for rebirth), Precihole SX100 Pegasus

[sagar 12345]

hi, anupamji i am also having artemis in 0.177 cal. it is very good air rifle made by sdb. when i recived my artemis i first disassemble it & clean all parts with kerosine ,dry all parts & used precihole moly grease on spring, piston, spring guide &around piston seal sparingly.then i asemble the rifle. till date i have no problem as like you.only problem now i am facing is my one front stock screw is lossing its threads so it is resting now. i called sdb on this issue they told me to send a video.now i am also going to cut one or two coils of main spring then see what happens.seal, piston & spring in artemis are ok.when you recive replacement parts of your artemis follow this procidure because you already disassemble the air rifle.

[Anupam Goswami]

Hello,

New year greetings!



Artemis update:
Spares have arrived. Artemis should be in working condition by the end of next week. (Things are busy at the workshop)



Precihole SX100 Pegasus:
Last week, I got my SX100 in walnut stock and RF finish for 11,000/- from Mr. Apoorva Tandan of M/S Amarnath Pirthinath, Agra. I found him to be a reasonable gentleman. Though his store completely lacks bling(actually it is borderline dilapidated), and he doesn’t carry much stock, I found his suggestions and opinions to be very honest and completely devoid of monetary inclination. I have no qualms in recommending him to the air rifle enthusiasts of nearby area.

I also requested following items along with the SX100:
Precihole 40 turns spring x 2
Precihole rifle lip seal(piston seal) x 2
Precihole O ring(breech seal) x 2
Precihole Moly grease x 1

Mr. Tandan was confused when I requested the spares along with the brand new rifle. He said, “Arey, itni buri bhi nahi hoti Indian airgun”. Little did he know that I was smarting under my experience with Artemis. He suggested that I would be better off purchasing the spares from Precihole directly.

I smiled and confidently inquired whether he had some 30-40 feet of space where I could test the rifle. He directed me outside, alongside his store on the footpath. He assured me that he owned the two adjescent shops and that there would be no objections against testing the rifle there. He placed a cardboard box at one end. I drew a one inch circle on it and walked to the other end. I had already carried Precipell Match FH with me. I took three shots. As luck would have it, all three shots were in the circle and half an inch apart! A few bystanders and fellow customers were impressed.

I immediately had risen to the celebrity status at his store.

Mr. Tandan offered me H&N and RWS pellets at rates that were much better than what any websites offered. I immediately put down request for a few different types.

Here are the pics,

The stock is synthetic in wood colour. In my opinion, a ₹1,300/- premium over standard synthetic stock is not justified.

5DEA35D1-FCB5-4AED-ADEC-7D8F18AA2018.jpeg

BA6F5E4C-C111-43A4-AA86-DCB142FA1EE0.jpeg

66CA4340-3FD6-47B5-BAC4-9C3E17C7425D.jpeg

96AEAAA0-95A5-4BD1-A005-0548CEC99340.jpeg

65CCAE70-6931-4881-BEE9-2475A49E2355.jpeg

Once at home, I ordered the spares from Precihole website and took about a dozen shots after. These were my initial observations:
1. Rifle is lighter than, and has less recoil than Artemis.
2. Metal work is of a very noticable higher standard than Artemis.
3. Accuracy is comparable to that of Artemis.

I decided not to take anymore shots till the spares arrived and the tuning could be done.



Tuning:
Tuning was done in following steps today at my workshop.
1. Polishing the piston.
2. Washing every thing in kerosene and then rubbing alcohol.
3. Changing the piston seal. (The pic will explain)
4. Generous application of Moly grease on every moving part.
5. Removal of preload washers from the receiver side of the spring. vsraja would have been proud, if he saw me at it

E9C096BA-E792-467B-B500-65A3605EDFE0.jpeg

After tuning I observed:
1. Reduced cocking and discharging noise.
2. Somewhat increased muzzle speed. (Or maybe, it’s just in my mind)



RWS R10 Match FH:

15846250-98AD-4952-AE2B-5FC8F4D8E57D.jpeg

B6C5AFAB-1EDD-4C15-BA6A-C65072550D9C.jpeg

Price: 670/- plus shipping from Kovibazaar.

I observed:
1. Finish as well as consistency is at par with H&N, which in turn is better than GSmith and Precipell.
2. Fit in breech is as tight as Precipell Match FH and GSmith. I haven’t tried H&N Excite Econ FH in SX100.(Have none left)

Accuracy:
I shot my best today. It could be the pellets. Or it could be the tune. Or it could be just luck.



Today’s shooting:
I shot after a week today.

I took three sets of thirty shots each. As per my system, the scores were,
1. 175
2. 200
3. 251

Here is the pic of my best spread:

9AC30931-77E9-455B-B6B0-83426DAE2B67.jpeg

Today’s average score: 208.7


I missed the forum.

Cheers!

[vsraja]

Don't do unnecessary polish on precihole piston.it will increase the gap with receiver.Dont cut the piston slot for reducing weight.piston weight is needed for avoiding piston bounce.so keep your tuning limited to spring and applying grease.because precihole is already in a tuned state. Don't spoil the gun. You can try these in sdb to improve it. But precihole will deteriorate if you do anything.I have other guns and vx100. So I can say it authoritatively.Also u cant see any threads about tuning precihole here.That tells the story clearly.Finally RF model is the best choice to avoid rusting with regular use.That is the only right thing you done with it. Also don't remove the washer. It's not for preload.I mentioned only about the spring. You can replace the spring with club model spring of less coils available at precihole website and avoid cutting any coils from spring. You can switch the needed spring anytime. For target shooting,club spring is more than enough. Also get more accuracy.preload is the number of coils compressed to fit in the receiver. You can choose preload to your need and preferences

Added in 11 minutes 56 seconds:
Always ask suggestion from members before doing anything

[Anupam Goswami]

Don't do unnecessary polish on precihole piston.it will increase the gap with receiver.Dont cut the piston slot for reducing weight.piston weight is needed for avoiding piston bounce.so keep your tuning limited to spring and applying grease.because precihole is already in a tuned state. Don't spoil the gun. You can try these in sdb to improve it. But precihole will deteriorate if you do anything.I have other guns and vx100. So I can say it authoritatively.Also u cant see any threads about tuning precihole here.That tells the story clearly.Finally RF model is the best choice to avoid rusting with regular use.That is the only right thing you done with it. Also don't remove the washer. It's not for preload.I mentioned only about the spring. You can replace the spring with club model spring of less coils available at precihole website and avoid cutting any coils from spring. You can switch the needed spring anytime. For target shooting,club spring is more than enough. Also get more accuracy.preload is the number of coils compressed to fit in the receiver. You can choose preload to your need and preferences

Added in 11 minutes 56 seconds:
Always ask suggestion from members before doing anything

I really appreciate your monitoring over my progress with air rifle shooting (or lack thereof! ). It has been a constant in my time with air rifle(s) so far. So, the gratitude is due.

But, wow man!

Surely, there must be at least one more thing that I have done right with my SX100, other than getting it in RF finish! It would be so heartbreakingly stagnant otherwise!

I noticed fine scratches on the piston bands and used the finest grit I could lay my hands on at the time to polish them out. I also changed the piston seal/lip seal to a wider one. The rifle is quieter and smoother after that (unless my perception is playing a wicked game on me). This can also be categorised under the good things header, can’t it be? It would feel so good to get at least two good things done to my SX100.

I read a lot about piston bounce and the only conclusion I derived was to acquire a ballistic chronograph before I experiment with anything. A question, is importing a ballistic chronograph restricted in any way?

Now, irrespective of what my comparatively horrendous spreads depict, I really do endeavour to improve my accuracy with honest practice. I believe I am much more stable in my hold than before, and most times, my rifle moves only longitudinally during the discharge cycle.
The problem is the shakes in my leading hand. I am at my wits end to try to counter that. If I don’t get my leading hand steady by the time I shoot off my next 2,000 pellets, I will be inclined to start shooting with a rested stance.

I shot four sets of thirty shots each today, for the following scores:
1. 190
2. 208
3. 213
4. 216

It’s an average score of 206.7
It’s lower than my average score of yesterday, but it shows much lesser standard deviation. It proves my consistency in being insufficiently accurate. It also reduces the possible number of issues with my shooting, doesn’t it? And that, vsraja, one has to put under the good things header.

Cheers!

And the pic of the best spread of the day

5246E64D-320C-47EA-B8BF-77EC71C4BD3A.jpeg

[sagar 12345]

hi, anupamji what vsraja sir is saying is correct precihole air rifles are made with precision any alteration made by you may destroy the rifle both mechanically & accurasy wise.you can change only stock spring with club spring, washer & o ring. i use their club elite nx 100 more than one year still it gives good service.if you want to buy any spare part of precihole you can buy from their online store at very resonable rate.sdb supplied you damged spare parts of your artemis at free of ccost or they charge it to you any money. please share any information on this issue.
.

[Anupam Goswami]

hi, anupamji what vsraja sir is saying is correct precihole air rifles are made with precision any alteration made by you may destroy the rifle both mechanically & accurasy wise.you can change only stock spring with club spring, washer & o ring. i use their club elite nx 100 more than one year still it gives good service.if you want to buy any spare part of precihole you can buy from their online store at very resonable rate.sdb supplied you damged spare parts of your artemis at free of ccost or they charge it to you any money. please share any information on this issue.
.

SDB replaced the damaged part of my Artemis for free.
They requested the damaged parts to be sent to them so that they could be studied. I did.
I found them to be very professional on this issue.

Even though SX100 has less recoil and better overall finishing, I prefer the Artemis in terms of hold, trigger and feel.
On SX100, I find the pistol grip too prominent and the cheek rest on the butt too high for my stance. When the Artemis died, I was scoring almost the same with it as I am now with SX100.

[sagar 12345]

hi, anupamji i am mahesh todkari i sent you message to your gmail please see it & contact me

[Anupam Goswami]

Hello,

I miss shooting my Artemis. I miss it’s hold and feel.

Precihole SX100 maybe the better rifle, and it is recommended by every seasoned shooter here; it doesn’t strike a chord with me. I don’t like the way it feels in my hands. I find it completely devoid of character. It doesn’t beckon me towards herself. For a less powered rifle, I feel it has, what I surfed the web about, and now doubt; something called a muzzle flip. I have inquired Precihole about how to fit their muzzle weight on my SX100 barrel.

I didn’t shoot today.


P.S. It was nice to talk to you Sagar12345

[sagar 12345]

THANK YOU ANUPAMJI, MUZZLE FLIP IN PRECIHOLE RIFLES IS ACTUALLY SILENCER LIKE COCKING AID. IT CAN BE FIXED ON BARREL WITH THE HELP OF ALEN SCREW.THEN YOU HAVE TO ADD SCOPE BECAUSE WHEN YOU ADD THISS COCKING AID YOU HAVETO REMOVE FRONT SIGHT.

[sagar 12345]

as per our talk you can also go for gsmith flat head pellets they very good quality like rws .if you buy in quantity like 20 box <500 pellets/box > then they charge 210 rs /box.

[Basu]

I often found that Gsmith pellets are tight fit in SDB barrels.
I tested JSB Exact 8.4 , found very nice fit & delivers excellent result.


Basu

[Abhilashdsar]

Some of the points for improving your accuracy -
--- Holding the gun tightly with your forehand arm will reduce your accuracy specially in springers.
---- choose right pellets for your perticular gun in terms of weight, size -perfectly fitting in your barrel, shape- check the shape of each pellets, and properly pellet seating etc.
----- check all the bolts,screw or any loosened parts including front and rear sight.
----- adjust your trigger pull which suits you best.
----- check piston seal as well as breach seal too.
----- if you are not habituated then try use your dominant eye for aiming.
----- check your posture of body, neck and also uneven surface may effect your accuracy.
----- Do simple excercise (to strengthen your arm), balancing, breathing techniques etc.

[Anupam Goswami]

THANK YOU ANUPAMJI, MUZZLE FLIP IN PRECIHOLE RIFLES IS ACTUALLY SILENCER LIKE COCKING AID. IT CAN BE FIXED ON BARREL WITH THE HELP OF ALEN SCREW.THEN YOU HAVE TO ADD SCOPE BECAUSE WHEN YOU ADD THISS COCKING AID YOU HAVETO REMOVE FRONT SIGHT.

By Muzzle flip I meant to say that the barrel recoils upwards during discharge. But it is said to afflict the high powered springers. That is why I have been entertaining the idea of fixing a muzzle weight on my SX100. Rationally thinking, SX100 Pegasus shouldn’t have a muzzle flip. It’s just that I need to hold it better. Everybody else here seems to be shooting hole in hole with it.
About muzzle weight, you were right. No scope = no muzzle weight.

Added in 2 minutes 10 seconds:

as per our talk you can also go for gsmith flat head pellets they very good quality like rws .if you buy in quantity like 20 box <500 pellets/box > then they charge 210 rs /box.

I have tried GSmith Competition FH in my Artemis resulting in some of my best scoring spreads.
About the bulk rates, do I have to contact GSmith & Co. directly?

Added in 5 minutes 18 seconds:

I often found that Gsmith pellets are tight fit in SDB barrels.
I tested JSB Exact 8.4 , found very nice fit & delivers excellent result.


Basu

I have planned to use Artemis for 80feet shooting after fixing it up.
I will start with JSB Exact 8.4
Where do you buy it from?




TODAY’S SHOOTING

I shot two sets of thirty shots each. Scores as per my system were:
1. 241
2. 220

Average score: 230.5

Pic of the best spread:

9AAD8A2E-F9E5-42BB-9C6F-3D6F14585A2F.jpeg

It has been a month since I have started shooting, and I have shot upwards of 2,500 pellets till now.

Is my progress slow?
Or is it normal?
I am starting to get frustrated.

[Abhilashdsar]

Some of the points for improving your accuracy -
--- Holding the gun tightly with your forehand arm will reduce your accuracy specially in springers.
---- choose right pellets for your perticular gun in terms of weight, size -perfectly fitting in your barrel, shape- check the shape of each pellets, and properly pellet seating etc.
----- check all the bolts,screw or any loosened parts including front and rear sight.
----- adjust your trigger pull which suits you best.
----- check piston seal as well as breach seal too.
----- if you are not habituated then try use your dominant eye for aiming.
----- check your posture of body, neck and also uneven surface may effect your accuracy.
----- Do simple excercise (to strengthen your arm), balancing, breathing techniques etc.

[Abhilashdsar]

Please go for pricihole sx100. Best in accuracy, power and style in a master piece.