This is by far not my first mod, but its the first one I've really been bothered to half-way document. Most of my creations start with me thinking "Here is a crap gun. I wonder if I can make it not-crap." Or more likely "Here is a perfectly working gun. I wonder if I can unnecessarily mash it together with this gun?" Unsurprisingly, I don't pull out my camera until the gun is more or less finished. Sorry about that...
So here's the cool thing about this gun: the PAS grip cocks the gun and works the breech. So the load is almost entirely removed from the Recon bolt sled, and one does not have to fret or worry about flimsy plastic snapping in the middle of a Nerf Encounter.
So sexy.
It's a bit hard to describe in words how I trimmed the guns down to fit, and I really wish I had remembered to take pics. Hopefully pics of the finished product will show enough. The important parts of the shells to save are the grooves/tracks for the bolt sled and priming bar. I also tried to make sure the plunger tube and the Recon barrel would still line up, but they end up being a little crooked. I used some Lexan and Oatey Fix-it Stick All Purpose Bonding Putty to hold the plunger tube.
Combining the bolt sled and the priming bar was a bit tricky, and I wasn't sure if I was going to pull it off. Again, I should have taken pics of this process. The bottom of the bolt sled is trimmed down (which is OK, since it only moves the brass now, and not anything with a spring), and the priming bar was cut to allow the sled to nest. Fix-it stick holds it all together. Mine came out a little crooked, but it doesn't really effect performance. You'll also have to add a block underneath, so the priming bar pulls and pushes it (better pic below), instead of just pulling.
The bolt sled also needed to be filed down on top to fit underneath the plunger tube for nice, smooth action.
The brass breech is the usual standard, nothing new about that... though I think it's pretty cool that it telescopes into the plunger tube. Usual spring replacement, plunger rod reinforcement, trigger reinforcement. Its very important that the brass that slides into the plunger tube does not extend into the plunger tube when the breech is closed, or else the plunger head will strike it. Its very important that the trigger catch is nice and strong, or else you risk the plunger moving (with all that terrifying force) and striking your open breech, and probably wrecking the whole assembly.
I felt using the Recon shoulder stock would help tie the whole thing together rather nicely.
Bolt sled assembly with block for priming bar (bottom half of pic).
My ranges (with Stephans and stock Streamlines) are comparable to modified Big Bad Bows. I didn't use a real heavy spring in this one (just what I had lying around). My usual range (tilted between 5 or 10 degrees) is somewhere in 65-75 feet, though I could probably get more with a heavier spring.
I can come up with a better range measurement a little later...
Also, an updated picture when the new paint is done.
If I can find a Recon for dirt cheap, I'll make another one of these, and do a more in-depth write up. For now, I'll do my best to answer any questions.
