I just finished tuning a new
.177cal Crosman Optimus that wears a Phantom stock (long story). I got this detuned "Canadian Tire" rifle in
unfired condition and I disassembled without shooting the weak OEM mainspring. The piston was unscratched with no bluing wear and the sear engagement was still fresh with bluing. The barrel was gunked with shipping preservative.
I shot a few dozen pellets after tuning and the rifle has quickly settled down so I cleaned the barrel, mounted a 4X Leapers AO scope and shot a few groups at 10 metres. It’s a good shooter and might even get better after a couple thousand shots (barrel conditioning). My supply of the Finale Match pellets is low so I only shot a couple of groups with them. I haven't tried other pellets yet so these might not even be the best choices.
Accuracy @10mH&N FTT -------------- .18". .27", .23"
H&N Finale Match – .23", .22"
VelocityFTT (8.64gr) – 688, 687, 686, 691, 688 fps
CPHP (7.9gr) – 708, 705, 707, 708, 702 fps
This rifle seems to shoot with about the same accuracy as my full-power .177cal Optimus rifle from the USA. The bore is good with no tight spots noticed. I used the Cdn 170mm piston rather than chopping to 150mm. More power is possible but I'm more interested in a comfortable plinker. Here is what I did on the rifle.
new crown
bevelled pellet leade
extreme barrel cleaning (WD40 soak, bore solvent, JB Paste)
new metal hinge pivot washers sized for thickness
transfer port work to remove crater inside compression chamber
mild compression chamber polish
bevel sharp edges on slots and smooth slot surfaces
piston liner
new 4D spring (.122" wire/36 coils)
shorter spring spacer
longer trigger adjustment screw
burnished moly into chamber
moly paste application where needed
Yup, I've had my FAC/PAL for over 40 years.