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[Talfuchre]

The Project:

Okay - so after playing with these hoppers they are very strong and very cool... however they leave something to be desired in the feeding department.

They feed about as well as your average VL 200 or a little worse.

I think - however I have spotted the problem and will be testing two modifications to try to eleviate or improve the feed problem.

The Problem:

Here is a stock Sportshot with the .55 Calibre adapter removed:



As you can see this peice:



has been removed and has left a shelf behind. Three balls tend to hang up on this self and jam the hopper.

Modification #1:

Trim the lip off the trumpet portion of the .55 Cal adaptor and reinsert it.

Here is what I trimmed off:



I sanded this peice with 400 and 800 grit sandpaper and then reinserted it:



This eleviates a little of this lip and I think will help a bit with feeding.

Modification #2:

Sand the hell out of it. First I started with a dremel drum sander course grit, then a fine grit, then a shaper that is finer grit - finishing with 400 and 800 grit sandpaper.

I tried to sand the lip off completely but I worried about weakening the hopper. I think this fear is unfounded - it is VERY thick material and I did not feel it weaken substantially.



I think the second modification will net more results and appears to feed much faster.

I will give it some field tests and let you all know.

Hope you got something out of this.

TF

[Brewtt]

Originally Posted by Talfuchre

Okay - so after playing with these hoppers they are very strong and very cool... however they leave something to be desired in the feeding department.

They feed about as well as your average VL 200 or a little worse.

I have found the same when using them on my pumpers. I find myself shaking them more than I had hoped.

(Plus they're a little tall. I'm going to cut the neck down a tad also.)

Hope this mod works out better. I'll do it to mine.

[Talfuchre]

I got about 1/4 inch off the bottom of the feedneck. The good thing is that I enjoy the hieght of the hopper. I put the pump between my eyes when I fire and look OVER the marker. A hopper that sits a little higher is better for this style.

TF

[komodo]

Originally Posted by Talfuchre

I got about 1/4 inch off the bottom of the feedneck. The good thing is that I enjoy the hieght of the hopper. I put the pump between my eyes when I fire and look OVER the marker. A hopper that sits a little higher is better for this style.

TF

Exactly what I do. I kind of "ghost" the gun though. I put it right between my eyes, and normally aim at what I see in between the two-barreled illusion that I get. I can get pretty dead accurate. If I have a big hopper lower to the gun though, I find myself bonking it off my head when I aim, so, I enjoy a bit of height of my feedneck. Unless the feed is offset. In which case, I could care less what height it is.

Also, just like to add, you could have simply just filled the gap with a small bit of Epoxy Putty. It would have worked great, and required little to no sanding at all.

[Talfuchre]

Good thinking Komodo. I will try that.

The sanded one has worked PERFECTLY for me however. No problem feeding very full hopper. Have not had a skip since this was done.

TF

[Venge]

I sanded out the feed,then took a pocket torch over it too smooth everything out real good.Still got a little lip that I think ill repair with some expoxy putty.
I took a 1/2 inch off my feedneck.Sit on my Illy real sweet now.

[Talfuchre]

Looks perfect. I may take a torch to mine too to smooth it even further.

The sanding has made it feed great!

TF

[Ivan]

I know this is a pretty old post now, but I just made these mods to my hopper, thanks for the ideas! I look forward to trying out the feeding this weekend.