Just to let you know, people, there are going to be a LOT of pictures on this page.
First off, in an SS1, the plunger tube has an orange triangular piece that provides a locking mechanism (because the gun could previously switch between one and two barrels). However, I did away with this function, as well as the whole triangle piece itself. For people who are curious, this is what this triangular piece looks like:
Originally, for my brassed SS1, I had bored out the plunger tube so that its ID would be the same as a 1/2" piece of PVC's OD, so I could squeeze the PVC inside the plunger tube (the PVC was nesting the brass). There are two reasons why this was not a good idea. First of all, the plunger would hit the PVC before it could reach the end of the shaft. Second, after countless rams with the PVC, the plunger was probably weakened dramatically.
The concept is a bit hard to understand, but here's a picture that may help. Props to Yakman.
As you can see, the plunger tube is widened. All I did was shove a piece of PVC inside.
Anyways, once all was good and done, I had the gun looking like this, covered in electrical tape goodness:
The above modification I did back in December. I didn't get good results at all. This is because there are no air restrictors in the plunger tube. This makes it so that the plunger does not build up much pressure. On top of that, I used a brass barrel, which does not have much friction, and doesn't allow much pressure to built up inside of it.
Okay. A few days ago I took my Secret Shot apart again to re-examine it. I completely scrapped the whole PVC/brass barrel, and started over. Using hot glue, I glued a 1/2" CPVC coupler to the top of the plunger tube, without pushing it inside. For people that don't know, a 1/2" CPVC coupler has an OD that is roughly equivalent to the OD of a normal piece of 1/2" PVC pice. I added several layers of glue and wrapped the whole deal in plenty of electrical tape to achieve a tight fit back in the case.
The electrical tape is so tight and supportive that the coupler can barely budge when it is protruding from the SS1 case. I also stuck some foam backer rod in there for even extra support.
I cut myself a 1/2" CPVC barrel about 4" long, and pushed it into the coupler. The gun itself shot at least 55 feet, but I'm guessing it went over 60. Either way, the SS1 outdistances my Lock 'n Load.
The reason this mod gets so much better range than the brass one is because CPVC has a smaller ID, which allows the dart to built up more pressure.
By the way, the reason the case is partially cut off is because the gun was previously tri-barreled, like I said. Oh, and by the way, Secret Shots and Eagle Eyes should be the overrated guns, not the Lock 'n Load and the Tech Target. :wink:
Comments, questions? Enjoy the breach loaded SS1.
~Grinch~
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The coupler in the case, wrapped in tape:
Gun without barrel in:
Gun with barrel in place: (by the way, it doesn't look like the barrel is straight, but it is)
