TargetTalk

Hello!

My Steyr LP 10 seems to have dropped in velocity by itself since I bought it new (about 2-2,5 years ago).

I have noticed this problem by a poff sound instead of a bang sound, and lower impact at the target, and my tubes lasts very long time.

I called our Steyrdealer and he said that speed from factory was often set at 154-164 m/s. This winter I tested the pistol in chronograph and it was about 130 m/s. But now I think it´s even lower...

I have tried to adjust the velocity screw first one time and then one more time, so now the screw is at maximum! I have also adjusted the sights to compensate the lower speed. I have greased the seals. I shoot several cleaning pellets every 1000 shots.

The tubes doesn´t seem to leek, from time to time.

I still get tight groupings when I shoot, but it often seems to be harder. I have a feeling that due to the lower speed I must do extremely good trigger release and follow through, so it´s now harder to shoot good tens.

The seals seems to be ok, if I look very close the one inside the "moving tubelike thing" at the loading area maybe it is a little grey and dry. And the seal where you mount the tube, looks a bit dry and rugged, maybe I should change them?

Could it be the regulator that must be changed due to leaking?

I often use a handpump, if that has something to do with the problem. I never overfill the tube.

Do you recognize this problem? How did you solve the problem?

With what you mention:
- long lasting cylinders => no leakage
- low pellet velocity
- velocity adjustement screw at maximum
- use of a hand pump, with non dried air (or not perfectly dried air for the Hill pump)

You have probably no other choice than ship back your LP10 to Steyr for repair, the problem being due to internal corrosion of some parts of the pistol and/or cylinder.

One additional question may be: does the problem happen with your two cylinders (assuming you have two cylinders as usual with LP10) ? Do you have the possibility to test what happens with other cylinders you coulkd borrow from some other shooter you know that have either an LP10 or an Anschutz LP@ ?

This test would help you to know if the problem comes from the pistol or from the cylinder. But I thing the biggest probability is that the problem is due to the pressure regulator in the pistol itself (the part that reduces the cylinder pressure from the varying pressure inside the cylinder to the internal operational pressure of the pistol that is around 70bar).

I agree with the last poster in that a return to factory / dealer is probably the only solution.

I doubt however it has anything to do with hand pumping and corrosion. I assume you know you have been adjusting the correct screw to increase the velocity ? (i.e. the big one on the end of the cylinder and you turn it clockwise to increase velocity) - just worth us double checking before you go through the time and expense of sending the gun off for repair.

Rob.

Thank´s for your quick reply.

I checked the gun again and tried to loosen and tighten the velocity screw several times and then I managed to tighten it a little bit further than before. Now it should be higher velocity, and I tried to fire to hear if it was louder than usual and I think it was a bit louder.

Then I checked the o-ring at the pistol, where the cylinder is mounted. It was a bit rugged, maybe not so bad so it was not working, but hey this velocity problem has been bugging me enough now! I simply changed it anyway to be sure that it is fresh and working 100%.

As soon as possible I will test it in chronograph again. I hope that it will reach at least 150 m/s this time.

Yes Rob, It is the correct srew I have been tightening.

If my last attempts to solve the problem doesn´t give an improvement I should consider to send it back to the dealer for service. I think that maybe the regulator will be the problem then.

I would suggest that if the maximum you can get is 150m/s then there is something wrong. Since you obviously don't know enough about the internals of the pistol to service it yourself, and neither to a great many of us, send it to a Steyr dealer for repair/service.

At over 2 years old it's probably due for a service anyway.

You loosened off the little set screw prior to turning the big screw at the end I hope, If not you weren't adjusting anything. Also when finished the adjustment make sure the split in that ring is either at 12 or 6 o'clock before tightening that set srew that lock the adjustment.

Now it´s definetely louder when I fire and I got higher groupings at the target.

My year-old LP10 has an average velocity of 405 f.p.s. (123 m/s) and its accuracy is excellent. I also have a year-old Morini 162EI and its average velocity is 468 f.p.s. (143 m/s) and, like the LP10, its accuracy is excellent. My 18-month-old Pardini K2s's velocity is 514 f.p.s. (157 m/s) and its accuracy is equal to the other two.
According to an Italian government Certificate to Prove Ballistics on the K2S, which Pardini supplied to me, the average velocity on the pistol tested was 456 f.p.s. (139 m/s), well under the velocity of the pistol I bought.
As I understand it, the factory juggles velocity and pellet sizes until it comes up with a pistol that puts five or 10 rounds into the smallest hole on the target. Therefore, until the accuracy in a pistol of mine fell off, I wouldn't adjust anything.

Paul, Boston

PardiniGSP wrote:My year-old LP10 has an average velocity of 405 f.p.s. (123 m/s) and its accuracy is excellent. I also have a year-old Morini 162EI and its average velocity is 468 f.p.s. (143 m/s) and, like the LP10, its accuracy is excellent. My 18-month-old Pardini K2s's velocity is 514 f.p.s. (157 m/s) and its accuracy is equal to the other two.
According to an Italian government Certificate to Prove Ballistics on the K2S, which Pardini supplied to me, the average velocity on the pistol tested was 456 f.p.s. (139 m/s), well under the velocity of the pistol I bought.
As I understand it, the factory juggles velocity and pellet sizes until it comes up with a pistol that puts five or 10 rounds into the smallest hole on the target. Therefore, until the accuracy in a pistol of mine fell off, I wouldn't adjust anything.

Paul, Boston

Not quite, they test the pistol with one type of pellet, if that pellet produces an acceptable group size they stop, they don't go looking to find the pellet that produces the smallest hole. If it doesn't they will try another pellet (variing the size usually but sometime mfg too), they will repeat this a few times. If they still don't get something they like back it goes usually to get a new barrel.

PardiniGSP wrote: According to an Italian government Certificate to Prove Ballistics on the K2S, which Pardini supplied to me, the average velocity on the pistol tested was 456 f.p.s. (139 m/s), well under the velocity of the pistol I bought.

There is the famous energy limit of 7.5 Joule here in Italy, for air weapons. So, when they test air weapons (at Banco Nazionale di Prova) they prefer to set the spring of the velocity screw in a 'safe' position. (Air weapons which do not respect the 7.5 Joule limit become, by law, fire weapons).

Anonymous wrote: Now it´s definetely louder when I fire and I got higher groupings at the target.

Guest, I would set the velocity screw and I would change the spring down there. In general the problem is the spring. A friend of mine changed 3 brand new Lp10 in few days, because of that problem. But the problem was the terrible quality of those springs.