Putting a little more power in a $15.00 Daisy

Hello, I am new here, but have read most of this thread, inspired by the work of colbalt327 and others, I love to tinker with low cost bb guns and decided to try some of the concepts of this thread on my Umarex DX-17 bb pistol!
If prefurred I can make a separate bb pistol mod thread, but I thought a few of the folks that frequent this thread may be interested in my mods?
The Umarex DX-17 bb pistol has a power plant very similar to Daisy red ryder, and I was amazed at how large the spring was, I would like to check if a 499b spring "may" be a potential power upgrade, but first I wanted to see what could be done to the stock power plant. It has an "air-tube" but rather than feeding air in a side hole to out the front it is just straight thru but does allow the bb pistol to have a repeater function, the first thing I noticed upon disassembly is the air hole was only about .070 diameter. I drilled this out to .143 and here are my results:

Stock pistol

-Regular Daisy bbs 189-192 fps
-Marksman bbs 198-201 fps

Obviously the larger Marksman bbs are getting a little better seal, so even though they are a little heavier, they are a few fps faster.

Modded air tube opened to .143

-Marksman bbs 218-221 fps

I did not try the Daisys yet but thought I would share, approx 20 fps improvement just by open up air tube.

My next thought is the Very short barrel is not making very good usage of that big stock spring, also the barrel IS oversize if it likes Marksman bbs, I would love to order a 499b shot tube(barrel) and fit it to my pistol if I can find one. Also am considering a longer barrel so may try the 499b barrel at full length on chronograph and keep cutting it shorter 1 inch at a time to find optimum barrel length? Stock DX-17 barrel is approx 2.875 long.
If I get better fps out of say a 6-8 inch barrel, I could make a faux silencer tube to protect the thin 499b barrel tube from damage and help the looks. The extra weight may help soften the shot cycle a bit to.
That's all for now, please let me know if folks would prefure I post this info in a separate thread?
Thank you!

Thanks for the warm welcome cobalt327, as soon as I open up the DX-17 again, I will get the measurements off the stock spring and post them, so others may benefit as well.
The only "news" I have is the pistol is display an odd characteristic, if I put 3-4 drops of RWS silicone chamber oil in compression chamber (over oiled) the first shot will be 248 fps! Each consecutive shot will drop about 5 fps until it settles in at a consistent 218-221 fps again....the only thing I can think of is the thin silicone oil is making a better seal on the bb (in oversize barrel) and as the oil is shot out the short barrel the seal quickly goes away. I know an oil soaked barrel is bad for accuracy so this will not be a regular practice, but it does give me additional hope the tighter 499 barrel may help with power and the extra length as well.
Thanks so much for posting the part #s and prices, could you share a website for Daisy parts or best method to get Daisy parts? I know I have seen this info somewhere but have not seen it lately. If I am going to make a Daisy parts order there are some parts I would like to get for my "other" Daisy bb guns as well. Thanks a ton and I will be happy to post my further adventures with the DX-17 as I mod.

Welcome here. It will be fun to follow along with your project.
The down side to a longer barrel is a longer lock time. Meaning you have to hold the gun on target a split second longer. If you do see a significant increase in velocity could remain the same though.
Oil and increased velocity. After applying the oil are you seeing any smoke from the barrel? I'm asking because in some circumstances the oil with a low enough flash point will combust (dieseling) which will increase the BB's velocity temporarily.

Hello Cvans, I do not believe I am getting Any dieseling at all. I have experienced mild dieseling years ago in my HW80 break-barrel so I am familiar with it, a wisp of smoke and an odd burnt oil smell. The RWS silicone chamber oil is very high flash point I believe and suitable for magnum Springer airguns. The barrel is so short on DX17 and the bbs fly out so easily there is not much back pressure to speak of, but I am glad you thought to mention it, dieseling is Very bad for airguns and I am trying to do mods that will result in a long life bb gun.
While we are on the topic of lubrication, I use the silicone oil in my cheap Daisy 340 bb pistol as the cylinder bore is actually plastic and I was trying to avoid a petroleum based oil that may soften plastic(over time). The Umarex DX-17 is also a low priced "plinker" bb pistol but IMHO it is Far superior to the Daisy 340, the compression chamber bore is steel with a diecast piston....what do folks recommend for chamber oil for a low power bb pistol with this construction? The main reasons I like the DX-17 better is it Feels good in my hand with no sharp edges and does not rattle when you shake it, also the bb feed method is far more reliable and the gun just feels like it will outlast a Daisy 340. I am not going to bad mouth the 340, they where a bargain a few years ago @ $9 or less at Wal-Mart. I have seen a YouTube video where a guy got 8,200 shots out of a well cared for Daisy 340!
Today a 340 cost More than a DX-17 which is currently running $18-$22 if you can find them in stock. I am going to order 2-3 units as test mules when my favorite vendor gets them back in stock.
Also the DX-17 Will shoot lead pellets and darts, I am not interested in darts and lead pellets are not much better than steel bbs as there is no rifling in the smooth bore,(also fly slower) if I can get the power up a little and if the longer barrel has merit, it's possible I may fit a rifled barrel to one of my DX17's as a dedicated pellet shooter but low cost bb plinker is really what this pistol is all about.

After watching a couple of videos on the DX-17 I think your smart to stick with BB's. Because of the way you cock the gun your not going to want a much heavier spring or cocking it is going to become difficult. Your right though the barrel is very short. I would think that even doubling the length would increase the velocity from 220fps. to maybe 250fps.
Can't help you with the lubricants as I have no experience with this type of gun.
I would agree with cobalt as far as the 499B barrel. Your not going to find a better one for BB's without spending a lot of money.

That Umarex DX-17 reminds me a lot of the one I had as a kid a LONG time ago. I wonder if it is just the contemporary version of the Marksman Repeater. https://s3.amazonaws.com/mgm-conten.../7316011_01_marksman_bb_pellet_pistol_640.jpg

Grayrock said:

That Umarex DX-17 reminds me a lot of the one I had as a kid a LONG time ago. I wonder if it is just the contemporary version of the Marksman Repeater. https://s3.amazonaws.com/mgm-conten.../7316011_01_marksman_bb_pellet_pistol_640.jpg

Click to expand...

Oh my goodness, yes, I remember those.
I had one or more of them, accuracy was not one of their traits, all they had was a 1-1/2" barrel as I remember but as a kid it was better than nothing.

I never owned one of the Marksman pistols but the idea of shooting darts at a dart board seemed like it would be fun.

Yes, I believe the older diecast Marksman was a model 1010? There is a newer 1018 with plastic body but slightly better internals...the DX-17 is considered the "best" of the low cost spring piston bb pistols, it was designed in Germany but manufactured in China to keep costs low. I am Not saying the DX-17 is a Swiss Watch by any means, but I do think it is more worthy of tuning and mods than some of the other variants, if you all ready own a Marksman bb pistol? By all means open it up and see what you can do!!
If you have one of the old school dart boards that was designed to have sharp darts stick than the dart option is ok, the problem with darts is if you just go outside and shoot them into say... a pine board or tree they can get the points bent or worse yet get stuck so hard you have to pull them with plyers, this damages the body of the dart that would be guided by the barrel bore and may cause damage to the bore, but fired into a real dart board is fine. Also the darts are a little pricey so the dart board will protect your dart investment as well.

Thanks cobalt327....just the info I needed!

That brass overlay definitely dresses up a Daisy....also the extra material will stiffen up the receiver area, I have seen screws tightened right from the factory that sucks the thin sheet metal down, (Valley) paticular around the wood stock area.

I am also new here, I've read most of this thread and it's very interesting and sometimes confusing, I dont know how you guys can keep up with all this?
Anyway I have an old model 95, I have a spring and air tube from colbalt327 in it along with new seals.
I would like to drill the air tube to .125 and put a seamless shot tube in it but haven't a clue witch one may fit?
I would like to keep it a repeater but dont mind if I have to make a barrel spacer if the new tube is longer .
I also dont know if I would have to change the abutment?
Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated.....................
Terry

Thanks for the reply colbalt327
I happen to have a small lathe and was thinking I would get the air tube close to .125 then us a ream to finish it.
Do you think it would benefit to add a preload spacer say 1/2"? I have one of your springs in it now, but as Tim Allen said "more power" ! What ya think?
As for the shot tube If I may ask, do you have any for sale?
Thanks Terry

Thank you ...
Terry

I thought you al might like to see my trigger mods. I've done to my model 95 ?
If I can get the pictures to upload ?
What I did first was remove the wobble and center the trigger, I used off the rack K&S brass tubing to do this.
First I found a piece of tubing that the trigger screw fit into with as little play as possible.
I measured the OD of that tubing and drilled the trigger so it slipped through it then trimmed the ends so the trigger fit back where it belongs in the receiver. That still leaves the trigger able to slide from side to side`and that's where the other two pieces of brass tubing come into play. I use them as spacers or shims to position the trigger in the center of the receiver.
The long tube is .187 I.D. x .219 O.D. x .750 long ....the trigger screw is .1855 O.D.
The short tubes are .219 I.D. x .250 O.D.x
Drill trigger hole to 7/32"
I know clear as mud, lets see if I can get a picture to work?

The next mod. I made was to put a roller in the trigger where it hits the sear, this is much more fussy process and takes some trial and error type work. But when finished it made a very sweet trigger action, after I found the rite trigger spring. The stock spring was way to stiff.

I also put an "O" ring from a auto air conditioner line at the end of the shot tube to hopefully seal it a little better?
Maybe this will help someone bring there worn parts back to life?
Terry

Nice work!
I'm refurbshing my neighbor's M-95 - they are nice shooters. Going with the M-25 shot tube.

Cheers!
"Ratte"

Thanks for the kind words guy's
I am eventually going to the 25 shot tube, actually I would rather find some stainless tubing and make my own. not sure what I.D. to get the best air flow ? (but that's for another day)
colbalt327
I'm a sewing machine repair guy (lots of springs in them) the original spring was to stiff.
I went through a bunch of springs before I found one I liked, I went from the to strong original spring to a spring out of an ink pen, the ink pen spring made the trigger really sweeeeeeeet !
But I was afraid it would go off when I didn't want it to especially with the roller installed, it was not a hair trigger but not far from it, but still very soothe.
Hope this answers your questions?
Terry