Your Favorite Phantom Pro Tips?

[Cunha]

Here’s mine: if your phantom feels especially crunchy, something is wrong.

The stock pump assembly looks simple (and it is) but a lot of friction can be created from a misaligned pump handle or a bent pump rod.

When a phantom feels bad the first thing I do is take the body off and clean all the guts and barrel and pump handle and re oil the guts.

Once it’s assembled I check how the pump handle feels without the barrel. Besides being super wobbly this should be the lowest friction way to pump the gun.

If when you put your barrel on it gets sticky and bad, you know you have an alignment problem. This may require just bending your pump rod while it’s installed in the gun till the thing feels free moving when you’re pumping with the barrel on. Use judgement.

The nut at the back of the pump handle can be tightened by hand tightening when the pump handle has about 1/3 more to rotate before being in position. Hold the nut with your fingers while you tighten the pump handle and it should basically be locked up. This is the final step once you’ve figured out where you want it locked in position.

The brass pump shims that go over the pump rod are cool and the ones with flanges I like because they are a better resting spot for the return spring (which I like) but I don’t find they make my guns really better to use.

long story short is that the phantom isn’t a low pressure sniper but it is a good example of a Nelson and should feel pretty dang good.

[Axel]

You wouldn't expect it to make that much difference, but adding a trigger shoe is like getting a professional trigger job. And second on the shim

[Cunha]

I dunno why we call em shims though they are definitely bushings.

[Chuck E Ducky]

Stock Silver Springs and 800psi HPA input. If your Phantom is setup properly it should run both HPA and C02 perfectly. 1.5 to 2 turns in on the TPC from flush should get you super close to 280fps with a decent bore match. With both pressure sources.

Speaking of the TPC there is a Teflon Grub screw that creates friction for the TPC so it don’t move around creating erratic velocity swings. That Teflon screw is designed to be adjusted with the TPC removed. You remove the TPC adjust the Teflon grub screw then install the TPC. The grub screw should just barely enter the inner section of the bolt and the TPC should thread itself into the Teflon creating the friction need to keep the TPC in place. Mike added an oring to the newer TPC that dose the same job. If you just try to adjust the Teflon grub screw it will strip out before it gets even remotely tight.

Insure your bolt tip oring is intact and sealing on whatever barrel you use. You may need to adjust the bolt rod in or out to do this especially with a UC kit. To long it purges the valve on the back stroke of the pump. To short it don’t seal on the barrel back. This will cause air/co2 vent up the stack killing efficiency ball feed rate and requiring a heavier spring to get velocity. Especially with short barrel setups.

Lightly oil just enough to look wet don’t over do it because it will end up down your barrel effecting accuracy. This is why If you use cheap 12g with oil you should clean your marker more often.

Leak down the barrel is often a cup seal issue first insure it’s not backed off the power tube. I like to use a lil light hold locktite on them (the removable kind never red). Next step is to replace the cup seal or flip it, they last a long time. But in a pinch (say at the field) you can always flip it.

Not necessarily a Phantom specific thing but I like to do this in general across all platforms especially my pumps. Set em and forget em. I adjust to 280fps because in general that velocity is use at almost all fields. If the field allows me to shoot 300fps I still leave it at 280. It keeps your range’s constant across platforms. I find I hit my shots way more consistently even at the 20fps disadvantage and it’s still plenty fast enough to break at range.

[flyweightnate]

Saw this on the old MCB...
If you don't have a 3/8" Allen wrench for your bucket changer top, you can stack a 1/4" and a 1/8" and it'll work well enough. No more wrench marks on the outside!

[Chuck E Ducky]

Oh that’s cool I got to try that.

[JeeperCreeper]

I bought an airsoft gearbox shim kit, and I use them to get rid of side to side trigger slop. They are cheap and fit many other triggers as well.

It's been said but the brass pump shim is a must. There's a reason why it's all the rage.

Try to buy washed anos complete. Trying to find perfect color matching parts is getting harder these days. There's been multiple shades of blue black acid for instance, found that out the hard way.

[Jordan]

Where can I get a shim?

[JeeperCreeper]

It's a .22 shell drilled out to the size of the rod. You could probably make one easily

[Jordan]

.22 shells are hard to come by in Canada. I can't even go to a shooting range to ask for a shell without a firearms license.

I think I found something that will work on Amazon.

[Jonnydread]

If you have a hard time using a Phantom, an undercocking kit may be the fix. I could never use phantoms effectively until I got one.

Similarly, if you feel like you have a hard time using a Phantom open class, try a stock class feed instead. The limiting paint is worth the added visibility and maneuverability.

Lastly, when installing the dual rod pump, if possible have someone else hold the gun for you while you align the pump rod. It will save you a bucket of rage.

[frd333do33]

If you use an undercocking kit, keep a spare Allen key to tighten the pump handle base to the frame in-between games. If you Loctite it, you'll break a ball and then have to take it apart to clean. If you don't bring an Allen key, you may get a loose pump handle that won't cock and ruin a game.

[Chuck E Ducky]

Use the light hold Locktite and it will eliminate this issue also it’s important to use the lock washer as it gives you the proper spacing so the mounting bolt dose not enter the breach. You don’t have to keep reapplying the locktite one time is good and it will give the bolt the friction it needs to stop it’s backing out. I purchased extra bolts on McMasterCar because over time the bolts can strip out because people don’t use good ball end Allen’s on them.

[frd333do33]

Excellent tip here. I have some VIBRA-TITE VC3 left over from mounting a red dot to a firearm that I can try out. It's been very good on a firearm, so I imagine it'll be perfect on a Phantom. https://www.vibra-tite.com/threadloc...-3-threadmate/

[JeepDVLZ45]

We should consolidate this and make it a sticky! A lot of these are critical to phantom owners