Springer Kar98's. Finally got something that should work!

[Dracul]

I'd definitely be interested in that!

[Dracul]

Sorry for the lack of updates. Other time-intensive hobby took priority for a bit. I have a small, but important update.

I GOT ONE TO WORK!

After much trial and error, I found out that main problem lied in the fact that I was using one brand for the sears, and another brand for the cylinder internals. Hence not working. I was using the Clandestine Airsoft sears (OEM: PPS) and the UTG Cylinder Upgrade kit (that replaces spring guide, spring, and piston). I randomly came across a similar upgrade kit, but made by PPS. I ordered it awhile ago, and I just installed it in one of these. Worked perfectly!

Going to order another one, get the second one working, and go from there!

[2nd Bat]

Great news! With all the VSR clones and all the upgrade manufacturers its impossible to know what is compatible and what is not. Most upgrade parts thar say they are for the Marui or Marui clone VSRs work fine and the BAR 10 seems to be the closest to a true clone so all the uograde parts I have bought have worked but clearly you discovered one to avoid.

Let us know how they shoot once you get them up and operational!

[Dracul]

I think my problem was using different parts from different brands, not the various clones I'm using. Either way, with this working, I might have created a solid "Upgrade SOP" (as I call them) for VSR-10's. Which bodes well in the future.

[2nd Bat]

Indeed. It would be nice if we could come up with a tried and true recommended series of upgrades for VSR and VSR clones thread in fact I will start just such a thing!

[Dracul]

Won't be posting there until I get some solid field results, haha.

[Dracul]

Another quick update... I got the same parts in, and installed them into the "near complete/ready for a field test" Kar98. I'm getting a huge drop in FPS. I'm losing 50 fps, compared to my other one, and its harder to cock back. So, I'm thinking that I'm still going to need a new cylinder and to check the hopup. The cylinder was one of the cylinders that you need to grind out a peg to unscrew the cylinder head, aaaaaand I screwed too much away, causing a nice size hole.

Either way... 450fps should be more than enough to get a proper field test from this.

Also, hopefully the extra mags I'm getting in aren't complete pieces of crap that don't need a ton of force to pull out and feed without having to push in the mag when cocking.

[2nd Bat]

By using the BAR 10 center stock section I'm surprised you're having trouble with mags. I typically use the original bar10 mag release button? What may be the problem is your mags are not BAR 10 mags but something similar? I have had that problem before. Incidentally how do they shoot relative to your S&T Springfield?

[Dracul]

Only thing I can think of, is that since the mags I have are of unknown make, that all of them are slightly out of spec (with how everything I got in the boneyard stash, who knows what any of it is, really?). Bigger than normal in this case. Enough that when I load them in, the fit is way too tight, and I have pry them out with a eyeglass screwdriver and pliers barely having enough to grip on to the mag....

In relation to my Springfield, the Kar98's both have higher fps. Unfortunately the apartment life means I can't test out the range and overall accuracy whenever I want. Also, I haven't had the time to do a good, out of box disassembly-clean-reassembly to my Springfield, and seeing how I have all these upgrade parts on the way. I'm just going to skip that altogether and just go into upgrades.

To re-cap on FPS's (with .20's):
Kar98 (Green) - 500fps
Kar98 (Tan) - 450fps
Springfield (S&T) - 360fps

[2nd Bat]

My Bar 10s and S&T results are about the same although the S&T is climbing a bit over time and is just shy of 340 FPS. I'd like to see it in the mid 400s which shouldn't be too tough to do. I'm guessing your spare mags are another brand. A sander is your friend! The BAR 10s typically shoot 420 without upgrades.

[Dracul]

I'm expecting my Springfield to be shooting about 500fps when all the upgrades are said and done. Thats definitely more than what most would want from it, but the two-time Expert Shooter Qualified Marine in me likes having great accuracy for my personal weapons. And, in all honesty, if I had to loan it out, I'll just put the stock spring back into it and it won't have a minimum engagement range.

Yeah, definitely have to put the dremel to these mags, but in due time. Or, I can make some pull tabs for them. 

[2nd Bat]

A dremel is probably a bit aggressive. A light touch with a sander or some elbow grease with sandpaper should do it.

[Dracul]

Not at low speeds. I have done a lot of careful cuts and carves with a dremel before. Nothing too hard, even for me, haha

[2nd Bat]

Dremels are my best friend in the shop!

[Dracul]

Dammit, and the two I ordered are doing the same exact thing! Whats worse, is that I don't know where to exactly sand off. I think I might have to sand off the back a bit, but its still tight as hell in the mag well. The weird thing is that I can move them around in the mag well.

And these are brand new ones as well, and happens in both the legit BAR-10 (green) and the WELL clone (tan). Anyone else had this problem before?

[2nd Bat]

I've had Bar 10 mags that were tough to pop out (much as you described). I always assumed they were another brand. With some sanding to the side walls of the mag and insuring that my mag release button was in right they eventually worked fine. Incidently these same mags needed to be pushed against at the base while in the rifle in order to feed right. I think i bought several of them because they looked right, said they were for a marui / bar 10 / Vsr rifle and were really priced attractively...ooops!

[Dracul]

Yeah, I'll ask around at the Airsoft Sniper Forums about this.

This weekend, I'm going try to pinpoint the cause of the 450fps, since it should be shooting at 500fps. My guess is the cylinder, like I said before, but I want to make sure by swapping cylinders. If the 500fps cylinder remains at that FPS, then I just need a new cylinder.

[Dracul]

So, some good updates here. 

First off. I swapped the bolts, and found out that it wasn't the cylinder that was making me lose FPS, it was the hopup. I open up the hopup, replace the bucking with a Maple Leaf 75 degree bucking, and it was golden. 

Next thing I worked on was cleaning off the excess water weld from the failed-G43-conversion hand guard. 

After that, it was figuring out the mag situation. A lot of thanks to Airsoft Sniper Fourm for this. I lost two of my new Snow Wolf mags, but I finally got the last one to work. I had to shave, about 1-1.5mm from the front of the mag (made sure to deepen the mag catch slot before doing this), the rear of the tower part, and the rear of the mag up to when the curve begins. Then, I had to drill a hole through the mag, right above the rounded indents and in between the BB pipe, ran some 550 through it. The mag now locks in, feeds flawlessly, and have to push the mag release and pull on the 550 cord to remove it. Not the best, and going to look sheisty for a WWII gun, but it actually works. 

The state of tan Kar98:



The surviving mag:



How the mag looks in the rifle:



In the grand scheme of things, the cord is not really going to be noticeable. I'm going to try a different brand next time, though. Worse comes to worst, I'll buy some more Snow Wolf ones and do these mods to them. 

This is just about ready for a field test! 

[Dracul]

So, for an update on this. Even if it just to show that the project isn't dead, haha.

After a lot of trial and error, and back and forth, finding NEW errors to fix, I have one in good working order. Shoots straight, powerful, no weird double feed issues, mags are still kind of picky, but I'm confident. Going to be testing this out next weekend. Hopefully everything is good to go and I can get to painting this one.

And due to lack of self confidence (mainly due to this taking too long and not being able to have the whole thing hashed out), I handed off the "green" one to Insterburger and we are doing some craft trading. He is going to put together that for me and I'll get some Drillich tunics and helm covers for him. 

[2nd Bat]

Each and every VSR conversion has its own unique trials and challenges. Even when you think you are doing them identically. I am just finishing up three VSR / Mauser marriages and the slightest fit discrepancy keeps your VSR guts from seating properly and leads to function and feeding issues. Over tightening the stock screws effects the hop up. Finding the tiny spot that needs sanding or shaving can make you crazy. Your mag pull arrangement looks very functional. I exaggerate the finger notches in my stocks a bit where that portion is wood.

With all the frustration there is great satisfaction when things are finally done and functioning seamlessly. The sad fact is these conversions never quite seem to be done and every time I pick one up and shoot it I find new aspects I want to redo.