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FX Wildcat conversion to .25 ?


Hamster
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As some will know I'm a delighted owner of a .22 FAC Wildcat but am seriously considering a .25 conversion, does anyone know if this is a thing and how much it costs ? The alternative of buying a new one and losing hundreds on px doesn't appeal. 

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There is quite a big difference between a .22 and a .25 .The .25 has longer air tube and barrel. It also has a different regulator (its bigger and has more air volume than the .22 ) not to mention the obvious. Mag .probe. transfer port  etc .etc .

Im not saying a conversion isnt possible .but converting guns cal on ticket sounds like your gonna bump into a lot of red tape .

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11 minutes ago, Ultrastu said:

There is quite a big difference between a .22 and a .25 .The .25 has longer air tube and barrel. It also has a different regulator (its bigger and has more air volume than the .22 ) not to mention the obvious. Mag .probe. transfer port  etc .etc .

Im not saying a conversion isnt possible .but converting guns cal on ticket sounds like your gonna bump into a lot of red tape .

Yes I admit it's not a drop in kit kind of job but hopefully someone has has had it done or knows of the likely cost. If it's more than say about £400 then px'ing the old one may be the route to take. 

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33 minutes ago, Mice! said:

the guys with rapids say changing calibres is not that big a deal, but i realise the fac is going add complications,

what sort of price do second hand wildcats go for?

going to be some big holes in those rats .

There's only one sub 12 version on Guntrader at the moment for £825  so at best I can only see about £500 being offered in px (for a less easily sold FAC) which would leave circa £700 on top so if the conversion can be done for under £500 it should be worth it. 

It's not really something I want to do for the rats as they're relatively close range but wanting to extend the useable range for corvids and even doves to 80+ yards. The .25 are said to be much more capable then both in accuracy as well as knock down power. I took my Remington Yellow Jacket rimfire out last week and after a bit of practice was making small chalk pieces either dance around or shatter at ranges between 80 - 110+ yards, what a gem of a gun that is ?  unreal accuracy for a semi auto, killed a few crows too with the longest at 96 yards. 

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55 minutes ago, Mice! said:

well i cant imagine the barrel and bits costing you that much, could you keep the .22 and add .25 to your license?? Don't know how it works?

DC might fancy your wildcat?

can you even buy the bits to convert the rifle?

Well according to Youtube it's doable but as Ultrastu says there are a few new parts needed and the regulator would have to at the very least be re-caliberated. I'm prolly capable of most of it bar the regulator but would much rather send it to FX or better still someone like John Bowkett ?! 

Can't imagine the change of licence calibre to be too hard but as far as I'm aware the Wildcat unlike the Impact is not designed to have barrel interchangeability. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

My local RFD has today advised me that having spoken directly to FX the cost to convert the existing rifle would be £520 which includes a new barrel, shroud, magazine and various other parts ?  this is right at the upper limit of being worthwhile especially as he also offered me first dibs on a px FAC .25 Daystate AirRanger for £500 (complete with a scope), even hinted it may come for less than that ! 

Don't know what to do as I really like the configuration and weight of the Wildcat and the fact that it has a sidelever loading system as opposed to the Daystate which has a bolt and is of course heavier overall, the length seems OK without a silencer but likely to be a good few inches more than the Wildcat once a half decent one is fitted. Has anyone got any experience of the FAC AirRanger, what are they like accuracy wise ? 

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1 hour ago, Hamster said:

My local RFD has today advised me that having spoken directly to FX the cost to convert the existing rifle would be £520 which includes a new barrel, shroud, magazine and various other parts ?  this is right at the upper limit of being worthwhile especially as he also offered me first dibs on a px FAC .25 Daystate AirRanger for £500 (complete with a scope), even hinted it may come for less than that ! 

Don't know what to do as I really like the configuration and weight of the Wildcat and the fact that it has a sidelever loading system as opposed to the Daystate which has a bolt and is of course heavier overall, the length seems OK without a silencer but likely to be a good few inches more than the Wildcat once a half decent one is fitted. Has anyone got any experience of the FAC AirRanger, what are they like accuracy wise ? 

I'm sure one of the FAC threads that was running a while back had the air ranger in it? Not sure on calibre though.

what are the chances you could sell the rifle on if you don't get on with it? Without loosing too much money??

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8 hours ago, GingerCat said:

Why don't you ask your feo for another calibre if you have enough good reason. Then you won't have to mess about too much. 

I'm considering that.

 

7 hours ago, Mice! said:

I'm sure one of the FAC threads that was running a while back had the air ranger in it? Not sure on calibre though.

what are the chances you could sell the rifle on if you don't get on with it? Without loosing too much money??

I looked on Guntrader and the AirRangers are a grand or more new so can't imagine struggling to get my money back. The only thing is I sold a BSA Super10 to get a AA S510 because I wanted the sidelever and then sold that because I found it too cumbersome especially with the silencer added, in contrast I have found the Wildcat so easy to carry around it has meant I use it much more that I ever did the others. 

The AirRanger didn't seem as heavy or long as the S510 but it also didn't feel as though I could throw it around and carry it one handed like you can the FX. 

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The biggest issue with fac .25 is getting the speed of the pellet high enough (900 fps area ) without using all your air in a few shots (ie really low shot count .) .

Obviously the best way to do this is have a large air reservoir on gun and as long as is practical barrel . (To make best efficiency  or the air .) 

This is where a bull pup can really score .as they have both .while being shorter and often lighter than a traditional rifle set up .

A bsa superten .doesnt have enough air (200 cc ) or a very long barrel .to satisfy the above requirements. Imo. 

For example the .25 fac r10 .runs around 35 fpe . (Ideal is 45 ) for about 25 - 30  shots .as opposed to the fx wildcat .which is lighter and shorter .will do 45 fpe for 60 shots .

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12 minutes ago, Ultrastu said:

The biggest issue with fac .25 is getting the speed of the pellet high enough (900 fps area ) without using all your air in a few shots (ie really low shot count .) .

Obviously the best way to do this is have a large air reservoir on gun and as long as is practical barrel . (To make best efficiency  or the air .) 

This is where a bull pup can really score .as they have both .while being shorter and often lighter than a traditional rifle set up .

A bsa superten .doesnt have enough air (200 cc ) or a very long barrel .to satisfy the above requirements. Imo. 

For example the .25 fac r10 .runs around 35 fpe . (Ideal is 45 ) for about 25 - 30  shots .as opposed to the fx wildcat .which is lighter and shorter .will do 45 fpe for 60 shots .

Yes to all the above plus there is the small matter of the hideous looks of the Rapid which I always found to be rather long and just plain big overall. I have had many exquisite air rifles which looked the part and delivered superb accuracy but were a pain to actually hunt with, you soon come to the conclusion that they're best suited to bench rest shooting. As excellent as the likes of Theoben and BSA are, they're so last century. 

The Daystate AirRanger mentioned earlier has a 500cc steel bottle and is apparently set for 40 ft lbs which should give acceptable shot counts, a carbon bottle would no doubt improve the weight issue. 

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7 hours ago, Hamster said:

Yes to all the above plus there is the small matter of the hideous looks of the Rapid which I always found to be rather long and just plain big overall. I have had many exquisite air rifles which looked the part and delivered superb accuracy but were a pain to actually hunt with, you soon come to the conclusion that they're best suited to bench rest shooting. As excellent as the likes of Theoben and BSA are, they're so last century. 

The Daystate AirRanger mentioned earlier has a 500cc steel bottle and is apparently set for 40 ft lbs which should give acceptable shot counts, a carbon bottle would no doubt improve the weight issue. 

Air rangers are so heavy same as the wolf .

My choice would be one of the FX guns Impact or crown in .25  and with the new barrels coming out ,which will shoot NSA slugs and getting very good comments 

Or you could phone airfective and find out how much to convert it 

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1 hour ago, villaman said:

Air rangers are so heavy same as the wolf .

My choice would be one of the FX guns Impact or crown in .25  and with the new barrels coming out ,which will shoot NSA slugs and getting very good comments 

Or you could phone airfective and find out how much to convert it 

FX would be my choice as well but at over £1000 for the Wildcat and some £1800 for the Impact ?  I'll have to make do with something cheaper. 

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  • 4 weeks later...

My .25 FAC air variation arrived yesterday :) thank you Kent HQ. The RFD with the AirRanger says Daystate have told him nocando them replacing steel reservoir with a carbon version because it would foul the barrel and cause accuracy issues, ?  sounds like a story to me as there's plenty of info on the internet with happy customers who have done exactly that including in the US !! 

So my choices are : find someone who'll supply and fit a carbon cylinder to said used (and cheap) AirRanger which will also need a decent moderator or just wait and get a proper sorted gun in good time, there's an  .25 Impact on Guntrader for £999 ? ?

Edited by Hamster
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1 hour ago, Hamster said:

So my choices are : find someone who'll supply and fit a carbon cylinder to said used (and cheap) AirRanger which will also need a decent moderator or

there was someone selling carbon air cylinders on the rapid forum, want me to ask if they fit the air ranger?

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