FT Blog: De-Grassed Stripper

I think of FT as the F1 of airgun shooting. There have been many developments that have come from the top end kit that has worked its way into other airguns and thus these days, most of what you can buy is top kit out of the box. Just look at the Air Arms range! Excellent guns from springers to PCPs. But as a title chasing F1 driver (yes the car would fail the weight limit), I need that little bit extra as quite frankly, there are better shooters out there than me.

Get an edge

The first bit of advantage I gained came back in 2013! Andrew Gillet had won the 2012 World Field Target Championships and had a MK1 John Ostler Air Stripper on his gun. I didn’t give it much thought until my good friend Justin Wood went and got a MK 2 air stripper fitted. When he rang me and said “my gun takes less wind” (with the new air stripper) I, like many others, thought he was over-estimating its effect, or words to that effect! But Woody is no fool and so I took the plunge. £180 for an air stripper seems steep to some, but strangely enough these are often the same people who pay £2,500 for a scope that can’t range find any better than my £750 Leupold!

Good fortune smiled on my first test session with the air stripper, as there was not much wind. Instantly out of six different die of JSB Exacts I had at the time, three that previously wouldn’t group, did and very tightly. So, something was happening as the pellets were now all grouping superbly. In the early shoots with the air stripper fitted, I was actually missing targets as I was coming out of kill as ‘normal’, and the pellet wasn’t drifting enough to hit the kill!

My pellets were taking less wind! Now, this of course amuses many, especially my fellow top AA grade shooters, but that’s fine, as it’s mine and only a small handful of shooter’s advantage. The air stripper works partly due to its super tight tolerances; the cone is only 4.8mm wide. Thus, each one has to be hand-built and fitted to each barrel. Front and back venting strips the air away and the pellets make neat round holes when shot at paper, and are very stable in flight. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not magic and when the wind gets up above 10mph, I am giving wind like the rest. But it’s those wispy days, when people are coming 5 mm out of kill and going straight or giving inside one edge and drifting over to just hit the other edge that I am inside the kill and not missing!

Good back-up

All F1 drivers have great mechanics and in John Ostler, I have the best there is for airgun tuning. I don’t tell him that, as we often have difference of opinion! He, for example, thinks me painting my gun is close to a crime, and that paint going into places it’s not supposed to, isn’t good. I, on the other hand, think if it looks good in a photo, I must be able to hit more targets with it!

Pellet lube is another of our differences. John says no, I like lube! He has however this year convinced me that de-greasing the pellets is worth the effort. It seems recent batches of JSB have some sort of oily/ greasy coating, probably what is used to get the pellet from the die at manufacture and is no longer being washed off at the factory? A demonstration earlier this year shocked me as the amount of particles left in the tub after de greasing obviously meant I was not only firing exacts down my barrel, but also ‘bits!’

De-greasing is a simple affair. Soak the required amount of pellets for a day’s shooting in water soluble de-greaser (I use engine de-greaser) for about two minutes. Spend a minute or two swishing them gently about with a soft brush, then pour into a colander and rinse for a couple of minutes. Spread them out on a cloth and distract the wife, so you can borrow the hair dryer. Warm air dries them in about 10 minutes, or you can leave on the cloth for longer if time is not a factor. Very lightly lube, one pin head size drop per 100, ready for the days shooting.

Results

So, what are the results? Chrono strings show a far tighter spread and consistency. De-greased but un-weighed, I am getting about 6 fps variation. This rises to 12 to 17 straight from the greasy tin?! Ok, not a problem with my current batch but a confidence booster.

Blind pellet testing, as in not actually knowing if I am using de-greased or straight from the tin has shown tighter groups with de-greased on average. Bonus is the barrel stays cleaner longer. Instead of about every 150-shots needing a clean, it’s now up to 225. So, one easy tip all can follow if you so wish and one secret shared, but thankfully most will ignore it!