The RAW HM-1000X. This is the new chassis system.
This report covers:
- RAW Knoweldge Center
- Correction
- The regulator
- What do we want to do with this HM 1000X?
- Discussion
- Chassis system is different than the wood-stocked rifle
- Adjusting the trigger
- I want stage two to break heavier
- Screw sizes not given
- Adjust the regulator
- Summary
Today we adjust the trigger and look at adjusting the velocity of the .22-caliber RAW HM-1000X chassis system rifle that I am testing.
RAW Knowledge Center
First I want to direct you to the RAW Knowledge Center. There you will find excellent tutorial videos, as well as manuals, articles about the rifles and the contact information for RAW dealers around the US and the world.
The videos are excellent! I wish I could make them that good. They are clear, concise and each one covers just one technical point. They are only a few minutes long each and are probably much better than a good manual.
Correction
Now I have to make a correction to what I’ve been telling you. I don’t jump ahead on any of the tests that I do, so I’m only 24 hours ahead of you when I write any blog. When I learned that the power of the HM-1000X rifle is user-adjustable, I assumed it would be like any other precharged pneumatic with that feature. In fact it is not.
The hammer spring for each RAW rifle produced is custom cut for that specific rifle. And it is cut to produce the lowest possible velocity (in the range of velocities for the rifle, per caliber). Instead of a wide range of power adjustments like we find on most other PCPs, the hammer spring on a RAW HM 1000X Chassis System rifle is supposed to be fine-tuned for one particular pellet. You obviously need to select the most accurate pellet for whatever you are doing, and then adjust the hammer spring tension for that one pellet. In past reports I have been talking about adjusting the power like this is a PCP with a wide range of possibility, but it isn’t.
The regulator
To make larger velocity changes with this rifle you first need to adjust the regulator. Then when you get that set where you want, use the hammer spring adjustment to fine-tune the velocity to where you want it.
What do we want to do with this HM-1000X?
I’ll be frank with you — the HM 1000X rifle is designed to be accurate at long range. This is a rifle that enables you to shoot small groups or bullseyes at 100 yards. The .22 caliber rifle should be just as accurate as the .25 and the .30, but it’s more difficult to see the pellet holes left by a .22-caliber pellet through a scope sight at 100 yards when they are in the black bullseye. Hence the .25 and .30 calibers are more popular in this rifle. But they aren’t necessarily more accurate.
Can this rifle be used for hunting? It certainly can, and it is ideally suited for some kinds of hunting, like woodchucks and prairie dogs. Imagine setting it on a bipod or even a tripod and picking off those destructive rodents while sitting in a comfortable blind.
Squirrels in the deep woods? Not so much. This rifle is heavy and long and not well-suited to treks through the bushes. But for ground varmints like I mentioned, it’s ideal.
Discussion
Now that you understand the design parameters, you will appreciate why I am not going to sit at my chronograph today and blindly make adjustments. I will show you what must be done, but I won’t do it — at least not yet. If I did I would be like one of those buyers who has a new airgun shipped directly to a tuner before they ever shoot it.
I’m going to ask you to watch the tutorial on adjusting the hammer spring tension on the chassis system rifle. Once you do that you will be up to speed with me for today’s report.
Chassis system is different than the wood-stocked rifle
I realize that you readers all understand that the wood stock is different than the synthetic stock that comes on the same model rifle with the chassis system. But you may not appreciate that to accomplish the same thing, which, in this case, is a hammer spring adjustment, you must go through different procedures. Hence there are two different tutorial videos in the RAW Knowledge Center. I’m not going to show the tutorial for the wood stock adjustment, but if you want to watch it, just follow the link I gave you above to the RAW Knowledge Center. The only difference is how the hammer spring adjustment screw is accessed.
Insert a small Allen wrench into those small holes in the hammer spring adjuster (arrow). Pull down to increase tension and up to decrease.
Adjusting the trigger
I reported in Part 2 that the trigger on the test rifle is two-stage. Stage one took 7.8 ounces when I tested it last time and stage two broke at 9.2 ounces. The difference between stage one and two was 1.4 ounces. So that is how light this trigger is. You can forget about stage one. It is so light that you barely feel it. And, when the trigger stops at stage two, all it takes to fire the rifle is 1.4 ounces of pull. I know some of you talk about triggers that are set for mere ounces of pressure. This is one of them! Seven out of ten shooters will fire the gun before they are ready, in my experience. Unless you have a lot of experience with a 10-meter trigger, you aren’t going to feel this one.
So, in the interest of preserving the ceiling and walls of my house, I want the second stage to break heavier. I tested the trigger-pull again today, because it is so light I felt I might have glossed over it in the Part Two test. I tested stage one many times today and came up with 6.8 ounces as the absolute minimum. And 8.1 ounces was where the rifle fired. The trigger was measured lighter today, not because it changed but because I took extra care when measuring it. So the difference between stage one and two is just 1.3 ounces. Notice that the difference between stage one and two remains fairly constant, though the absolute numbers do change.
I want stage two to break heavier
I want stage two to break heavier. Twice the pressure would be nice but I don’t know if it will go that high. Let’s look at the adjustment instructions.
From the RAW manual.
Screw sizes not given
The one thing that caused me some consternation was that the trigger adjustment screw sizes are not given in the manual. The screw that is labeled A in the graphic above — the one that adjusts trigger pull — is not out in the open like the graphic depicts – — at least not when the barreled action is in the stock. It’s deep inside the front of the triggerguard, where it’s difficult to assess the screw size. Since the other RAW screws are metric, I guessed that this one was, too and I finally got the size right on the third try. It’s 2.5 mm.
Screw A to adjust the trigger pull weight is way down deep inside the triggerguard (arrow). It’s 2.5 mm.
Next, after watching the other videos in the RAW Knowledge Center I was primed to make 1/4-turn adjustments to the screw. Nope! You’ll be there all day if you do. So, after two tries I reverted to a good old boy airgunner and cranked it two full turns clockwise. That worked. The test rifle now has a first stage that takes 10.4 ounces and a stage two that breaks at 15 ounces. That’s enough of a difference that I don’t need safecracker’s fingers to shoot safely!
Adjust the regulator
If you watched the video on adjusting the hammer spring tension you heard the man say that making gross power changes requires adjusting the regulator first. Once again, I have no idea of how the test rifle is shooting currently so I’m not about to start twisting screws and adjusting things.
But here is the deal. To adjust the regulator you first remove it from the rifle. The RAW regulator removes by first removing the air reservoir, a 29 cubic-inch carbon fiber air bottle on the test rifle. That is described for you in the following video.
After that the reg. comes off and you can adjust it. You saw how that was done in the video. Unfortunately that video showed the wood stock gun and I have the chassis system gun. So watch the video on the chassis system replacing the wood stock, called Chassis Installation. That shows (in reverse) what must be done to separate the chassis from the barreled action, so you can get to the regulator.
Summary
Wow — that was a lot of stuff, and here is why I told you about it today. I misunderstood how the RAW HM-1000X operates and how it is set up. As a result of my misunderstanding, my approach to testing the rifle was flawed.
And there will be no more velocity testing. What I need to do now is find a super accurate pellet. Then I can fine-tune the powerplant for that one pellet. It’s a different kind of test, but the RAW HM-1000X rifle is a different kind of air rifle.
B.B.,
This is a purpose built rifle for bench level accuracy. That really is a radical idea compared to most rifles that you have been reviewing in the past that were more for general purpose. I suppose you will start your quest for the best pellet at 25 yards and move out from there. Is there a recommended velocity for weight of pellet?
Siraniko
Siraniko,
How right you are! This rifle is different and I need to keep focused on that.
I have never seen any recommended velocities for any pellets. And I will sight her in at 25 yards and then progress to farther.
BB
BB,
Believe me when I say that this air rifle is most worthy of the Meopta.
RR,
Oh, fudge! 🙁
I was hoping no one would think of that. I was hoping to get away with an 8-32 from UTG. My Meopta is sighted-in on my Air Arms S510.
BB
B.B.,
Time to break the piggy bank?
Siraniko
I agree! One of the finest air rifles in the world deserves some nice glass.
BB if you use a big white paper plate with a cross drawn on it with a black magic marker you will see the holes. I just lay the cross hairs on the cross and wail away
Siraniko,
I have heard from several sources that the diabolo pellet works best at around 850 – 900 FPS. I have not tested this personally, so take it for what it is worth.
Cool rifle. Here’s a small edit, for the good of the Order:
Chassis system is different than the wood-stocked rifle
I realize that you readers all understand that the wood stock is different than the synthetic stock that comes on the same model rifle with the chassis system. But you may not appreciate that to accomplish the same thing, which is [in] this case….
Roamin,
Good catch! I fixed it. 🙂
BB
Another thought. I wouldn’t consider this a “synthetic” stock, but rather an “aluminum or metal stock”. Synthetic to me is “plastic” which this most definitely is not.
Cloud 9,
Nope! This one is plastic. It may have some aluminum parts like the tube, but I just did a tongue-test and what I touched is all plastic.
BB
Weird. All of the new RAW chassis rifles I’ve seen have an anodized aluminum stock and buffer tube inside the butt stock. Maybe yours is an early prototype?
With the hammer spring at factory setting on my HM1000X in .357, it is producing about 80 FPE. By tightening the hammer spring all the way down, it will produce 100 FPE. Martin Rutterford has told me that by adjusting the regulator I can take this air rifle up to 160 FPE. He has one in .357 that he says produces over 200 FPE.
The first time I shot this rifle, I put five shots in one inch CTC at 100 yards. A friend of mine owns three of these in various calibers. One of his was .30, but he changed it to .177 recently. This is something that is very easy to do in the smaller calibers. The .357 though requires a slightly larger action block.
I really need to find that ’round tuit’ of mine and adjust that regulator up and tune it for cast bullets. It is legal to hunt deer here with a .35 caliber air rifle. 😉
For all you Yankees up there in the middle of this Great Country, there is an airgun show next month. You really should go, if for no other reason other than experiencing one. Bring a camera and a thick wallet. You will wish you had.
https://hardairmagazine.com/news/the-2021-midwest-airgun-show-is-coming-soon/
Siraniko,
No no no no!
BB
B.B.,
But you only took the Air Arms S510 up to 50 meters. How else are you going to consistently shoot at a target that is farther out? Will the 8-32 from UTG be good enough?
Siraniko
Siraniko,
I think it will. If I see room for improvement, I will switch with the Meopta.
BB
B.B.,
Think WHISKEY!
Picatinny rail… EASY-PEAZY.
Near Purrfect scope for this platform.
What have I been saying is my method for setting up PCP’s (especially powerhouse ones)for years?
Us Old DAWGS CAN learn newish tricks!
shootski
Yes, yes, yes! The tables are turned on the GREAT ENABLER! LOL. ;o)
I like the look of the classic metal chassis. I want a single shot in 0.177.
David Enoch
Peep sights are an interesting subject.
I bought two sights from some guy in Romania, but neither of them would fit my Diana 27. Happily, I eventually ordered an Air Venturi peep sight that fit nicely and seems to work just fine…or, would but for one problem. And, this is a problem that I’ve had with peep sights before, so it’s not the Air Venturi sight’s problem.
Years ago, peep sights and I got along very well. But, my eyes are now in their early 70’s. I don’t know why, but when I look thru the peep sight now I see a fuzzy blob in the middle of the rear sight…but, it really isn’t there. The sight is clean. I don’t see any blurb in my vision until I look thru the sight.
I’ve thought about trying to explain this to my optometrist, but they don’t shoot and most medical people start putting you in the “loony” category as soon as you tell them you’re a shooter.
Do I have a “hole” in my retina? What’s the problem? Does anyone have any insight (pun intended) here?
Motorman
St. Louis, MO
Motorman,
Are you leaving both eyes open when you look through the peephole? That is very important, because when you close the other non-sighting eye, you also tend to close the sighting eye and the peephole gets smaller and very dark. Cover the non-sighting eye but leave it open and see what happens.
Next — get your eyes checked. I’m almost 74 and I struggle with my eyes all the time.
BB
Have your eyes checked for cataracts or floaters. The peep increases depth of focus, so things that your eye would normally not be able to focus on, jump into focus. For example, I am severely nearsighted, so I have little broken strands of vitreous in my eye called floaters. They usually go unnoticed until I am looking up at the sky or if one happens to wander directly into my view. But through the peep sight, I notice them MUCH more. Also, if there is a speck of anything on my glasses, I will see it. Finally, I noticed that if there is a light bulb between me and my target, I will pick up some light distortion through the peep, which is probably a floater or a scratch on my glasses. So I put a cardboard shield one stud away from the light, between it and my shooting table, so the bare bulb is not shining in my direction. Next time I go to the hardware store, I will get one of those clamp-on work lights with a shield to direct the light only onto the target. There are many blog entries and comments about vision issues. You could probably find the answer you are looking for just by using the search box for this blog. Don’t get discouraged. There are many folks on this blog that probably have had the same issues, and we are here to help you.
Check out my recent experiences with peeps in the comments to this blog entry:
/blog/2021/06/hy-score-807-pellet-rifle-part-2/
Motorman,
“I’ve thought about trying to explain this to my optometrist, but they don’t shoot and most medical people start putting you in the “loony” category as soon as you tell them you’re a shooter.”
You should call them up and tell them you are a Sport Shooter and need an evaluation of your eyes and your sighting system. If they can’t deal with that find another Optometrist! Call local shooting clubs or instructors for leads to COMPETENT eye doctors.
“Do I have a “hole” in my retina? What’s the problem? Does anyone have any insight (pun intended) here?”
Not an eye quack but don’t think you have a detached retina. Probably slight case of Cataracts or even just an astigmatism.
shootski
Cloud 9,
Mine could be a prototype. The tube is aluminum as I said, but the rest of it is plastic all the way back to and including the butt.
BB
Oh! Yes, the butt stock is plastic with an aluminum buffer tube inside it, but the rest of the “chassis” or “stock from the butt up to the forend is anodized aluminum. I think I interpreted your earlier statement about the wood stock and synthetic stock as a comparison of the whole stock and not just the butt. My bad.
Cloud 9,
Yes, but the chassis isn’t the stock. I was referring to the stock, alone.
BB
Roamin,
Sure — get a job with airguns. That’s what I did! 🙂
BB
I deleted my post before I knew you replied, BB, sorry. For the others, I had said:
“I think I’m addicted to airguns and this Blog, any advice? I need to be more productive at work”
I have a thought, since most guns need to be broken in with a few hundred to 1000 shots before they show their true potential, how much would it pay, if I were to break in new guns for you before you reviewed them? Besides trigger time, would I get benefits? After all, it does not seem fair to judge an airgun from the first few shots after the velocity test. Take my kids’ Embark, for example, which I have been working on, lately. The first several hundred shots at 10 yards produced groups from .75″ to almost 2″. Now, after several hundred more shots and cleaning the barrel, the trigger has smoothed out, and almost everything shoots under .75″ and some pellets shoot much smaller groups. So, I think to be fair, a new rifle should get a break-in period before its official review. What do you think? Help a fellow out?
B.B.
When you say 2.5mm screw, I assume you mean a 2.5mm hex or allen keye headed screw?
Even a second stage trigger at 15 oz. would still be under the “legal” limit of min. 500 grams.
Can it go 90 grams higher?
-Y
Yogi,
Yes, an Allen screw. There is no lower lkimit for Extreme Benchrest. You are thinking of the limit for 10-meter air pistols.
BB
You were the one that compared it to a 10 Match trigger.
-Y
BB, That should be in the trigger instructions for claritys sake.Let’s see if I have this right: Screw A, 1x rh turn= More holes in ceiling/ lh= less holes in ceiling? I was trying to understand what ‘pressure’ meant in the directions. Thanks. Whats the best platform for long range target shooting, .22? I am thinking about a .177 rifle that can do 12ft/lbs or 16 grn slugs at 100yds.
The Howler .20 grn hollow point slugs might be a good one in the HM1000X.
R
Rob,
Accuracy at long range depends on the wind. In light wind I like .22. When the wind picks up, the heavier .25 and .30 caliber pellets have the edge.
BB
B.B.
I like airguns that allow tuning though I am not decided whether having the adjustment screws hidden or exposed is better. Sometimes out of sight and out of mind will reduce the temptation to mess with things best left alone. 🙂
I’m sure you know but (for other readers) I’ll second RR’s comment 850-900 fps is typical for a .22 anyway. For reference, my Impact MK2 came from the factory shooting 18.13 JSBs (very well) @ 900fps.
That being said, my current tune, 18.13 @ 940 fps ES 2.5 SD 1.8 (reg @ 75 barr; 700 mm standard pellet barrel) is consistently shooting sub 1/2″ groups (typically .250- .350 ctc) at 40 yards. The lighting on my range is such that I often see that the pellet is dead stable in flight.
So the “880 fps” optimum velocity rule is not “cast in stone” but it is a good starting point.
Airguns like the HM-1000 have a big advantage in that they can be fine tuned to the pellet. Unless RAW has a recommended pellet, I suggest that you chose your favorite (moderately heavy) pellet and tune the rifle to it.
Think you are going to have fun with this one!
Cheers!
Hank
Hank,
Well I have been told this rifle will like a JSB pellet. We’ll see.
BB
Mine likes them very much. Up until this point, they have been all that works. After I adjust the reg some, it might take a shine to some quality bullets.
RR
Wonder what happens when you readjust for your original pellet.
That would be a bummer if your original pellet is not accurate anymore.
You know anything is possible. I wouldn’t take the chance.
B.B. and Readership,
39″ long and 7.4 pounds bare rifle! Different lengths are possible since barrel length and adjustable butt stock do that to O.A.L..
AirForce gets the furniture for the RAW HM 1000X Chassis System from this supplier:
http://www.abarms.com/mobile/Product.aspx?ProductCode=B-AH15
Granted the handguard on the linked product is for an AR15 Smoke Pole. You can, however, get some clues on the materials they use for their furniture.
They make some high quality products.
shootski
shootski,
Actually, AirForce turns out the chassis in-house. The buttstock is sourced.
BB
Tom,
You are on the ground in area and know best.
I can only go on the advert copy and what Cameron said to Travis during the AGD video. Nice .88 group at 100 with bullets (slugs) shot by Travis.
shootski
Wow. Less than 1 MOA. Would the .177 version dominate Field Target?
Speaking of Field Target, is there anyone in NW Pa. area offering F.T. or airgun clubs in general?
Roamin Greco,
Travis said something about .20 group with pellets at 35 yards but i could be wrong about that. I think that was in .22 and in the 100 tunnel.
I have never been interested in FT much rather shoot 10m for competitions or full up BIATHLON. But Big Bore hunting is what i love the most especially on skis or snowshoes…no bugs!
shootski
My .22 HMX, and every one I’ve shot, performs extremely well with the Monster Redesigned and the Hybrid slugs. Some of the H&N slugs shoot very well also. Out of the box the guns come set up perfectly to shoot those projectiles, so I agree with BB – don’t tune the gun just shoot it.
Mine is by far my favorite 22 pcp. It isn’t a backyard plinker and it’s not a truck gun, but for what it is it is almost perfect. Point of impact never shifts from day to day and it’s always dead on from the first shot.
Rambler,
Boy, is that good to hear! 🙂
BB
BB
Caught your review of the TalonP last year. Bought one from AF. To the day, one year later, bought a Chassis LRT in .25. Awesome rifle. Just wish had a time machine to fast forward through the barrel break-in.
Mark