I have never been very satisfied in the way people have said to test seals.
I have now tested my HW80, 34, and old type 45 like this.
First cock the gun then slide a wooden rod into the mussel up to the breach then push a tight fitting pellet about 10mm in then close the barrel then put the barrel on the floor and pull the trigger wait about 10 seconds then slowly open the breach, you should get a rush of air and hear the piston hit the bottom of the cylinder. My HW80 and 34 passed the test but the 45 failed.

So you are saying, jam a piece of wood in the bore almost the entire lenth of the barrel, and then push a pellet in about 10mm and fire that pellet into the wooden rod? I don't understand.. is this safe? What if the pellet pushed the wooden rod out of the barrel? I mean the wooden rod fits loosely in the barrel right? And what if the "tight fitting" pellet does not create a 100% air-tight seal in the bore and some air leaks out slowly? The reason I say this is because when you push them further in with a rod, you are risking bending the skirt.
What do you do with the stuck pellet afterwards? You push it out of the muzzle I assume. Isn't it deformed which means it could scratch or damage the rifling since force will be required to push it out? So all the air is kept were? In the 10mm space between the pellet and the breech? Not so sure this is safe for the piston.

Sounds like a good idea but I am not sure it's 100% full-proof or without any damage to the gun.

This method is too complicated. I suggest rolling up some toliet paper really tight
and stuff the barrel full of it and silicone the end shut. Then submerge the whole gun into
a full bathtub or pool. If the toilet paper gets wet then the seal needs to be replaced.



Ok, for real I didnt understand about the wood into the barrel either.
Can you explain further Lee?

loool..,the easier method is just fine, thx alot jay!!
from this all there is an easier way ..,almost dry firing ,i mean no pellets just put ur finger on the top of the rifle "close the muzzle "..fire ..keep ur finger a little bit then release slowly,
u should hear the air flow if the seal is ok
this works..,but don't do it alot cause dry firing is not good for ur rifle
keep up the good work n' God bless

I like my finger just the way it looks I don't think my finger would look the same after I dry fire a 24FPE springer in it at point blank range. I fired a cleaning pellet through my 350 after I put a couple of hundred pellets through it, and it sounded like a canon! Never again, and not good for the gun at all.

Anonymous, thanks for the clarification. Where do you get those plastic pellets from anyway?

Harry, the pellets are Prometheus or Paragon look at there web site if you dont know about them, but dont shoot the Prometheus in your gun they are only 9 grains in .22
Lee.

I dont think that I explianed properly, first I used those plastic sleeved pellets they seal nicely and will not distort. My guns are .22 so the wooden rod is quite thick I use sticks from the garden center and size them with sand paper, the soft wood would not harm the barrel, then cut the rod so about 20mm protrude from the mussel so it can be held on the floor when you pull thr trigger but the gun hardly moves, the piston justs lands on a cushion of air the only harm this can do is to the seals if they are leaking it might them a bit worse I would not have done this to my HW80 if I thought it would harm it as I have spent a lot of money on it but I have always suspected the breach seal would not hold a lot of pressure I now no it dose.
BUT these guns are within 12ft/lbs ? Lee.

Invest in a chrony and periodically test your rifle and note the velocity. If a sudden drop off in power is observed you may have a problem. In that case, open up the rifle and take a look.

Inserting anything but a pellet into the barrel of a gun is asking for trouble. At best, you might only wreck the gun. At worst, you might hurt yourself. If you suspect a problem. take the gun apart and check if you are competent with repairs. If not, send it out. Don't go putting dowels or anything else in a barrel.

"but I'll be needin' that gun, fer squirrels and such."

Bill I can only agree with you in part,I have a chrony and I am competent in repairs but the reason for this test is to see if the breach seal has any small leaks at high pressure but would still give a consistent reading on the chrony,a HW80/R1 is very dependent on the breach seal as there is a 8,thou gap between the breach and the cylinder and I wanted to test it under pressure, and what better way than to hear the piston hit the bottom of the cylinder after more than 10 sec after the trigger has been pulled when you release the air.
I DO AGREE if you are not fussy or not competent dont even attempt this but what is all this danger you are talking about from airguns? the worst that I have seen is a 52 with the sliding cylinder with a bulge from continual violent dieseling, and a soft wooden dowel has never done any harm to my guns and I am fussy.
BUT I admit what would happen if there was a diesel I dont know? I think at worst a broken spring if poor quality but you tell me?
I appreciate any comments on this test but it has worked for me. Lee.