After five days of using my new Shotgun, I've discovered some interesting things. Some good, some bad.
First of all, and most annoying, is the switch. When I took the mod out of the box and put it together the first time, the switch was not great. Kinda crunchy. Made some clicks and dings every time I fired it, and the throw was just a hair too long. So I took it apart and tinkered. It took me several days to finally come to a happy medium, which is not really that happy, but at least it's functional.
The problem seems to be in the length of the firing pin. It's too short. Unscrewing firing pins to shorten the throw is almost never a good idea. Once that pin is loose, it can continue unscrewing and come apart from the assembly inside the switch, and possibly cause a catastrophic hard short. I say catastrophic because it's not like releasing the firing button will stop that short. You'd need to take apart the whole mod, which is not easy if the battery is in thermal runaway. So my mission was to get that firing pin elongated in its reach without compromising its integrity in the switch.
Ultimately, most of the crunchiness and cheapness of the switch was solved by adding another magnet. The ones the mod came with are thin and weak. So I took an extra magnet I had from another mod, twice as thick as the ones in the Shotgun, and added it to the magnet inside the mod body, the one closest to the battery. It was slightly smaller in diameter, so trial and error made me realize that the larger diameter, original magnet needed to be in the little divot that was made for it, or the magnets all slip around, making the janky switch ten times worse. Anyway the additional magnet increased the stability and smoothness of the switch tenfold. It's amazing now.
Except for the throw. Apparently, there's just no way to adjust that. Something about the pin being in two stages like having a step in the middle that rests against the housing and prevents the button from protruding. Even if you unscrew the pin from the switch to shorten the throw, that doesn't work. It just makes the formerly flush, recessed button stick further and further out as you loosen the pin. So there's pretty much nothing I can do about it. At least the switch is stable, safe and quiet. I have to curl my finger around the bottom of the mod and really work to get it to fire, which is kind of annoying, but as far as I can tell, that's the best it's going to get.
The other thing of interest is that the mod is definitely coated. The copper hasn't tarnished at all since I've been using it, which explains the strange, red coloration. I was going to use this opportunity (having my first copper mod) to explore the wonderful world of forced patinas, in order to circumvent the inevitable tarnish it would accumulate, but now I don't have to. I still want to because I love love love patina'd mods, but now I can relax and take my time collecting the ingredients and supplies to make a great patina.
Also of interest, though this won't be a shock to anyone who owns a copper mod, is that this thing hits so hard that the quality of my vape didn't diminish at all until my battery was down to 2.6 volts. This is not good for the battery, and turns out to be somewhat of a negative for me. I'll have to be more careful about when to swap batts on this thing.
I have to say, though, that a truly hard-hitting mod is pretty great. I had always wondered what, if any, noticeable differences there were in an all-copper mod, and now I know. The difference is huge. It just seems to be letting more juice flow for a much longer period than any other mod I have. Something about that uninterrupted power makes for an awesome vape, too.
I'm still recommending the Shotgun, despite its issues. I don't know if the switch problems were my clone, all the clones, or endemic to the authentic's design. I sent a note to Grimm Green asking about this, and I'll let you know what he says when I hear back from him.
I may yet discover a way to shorten the throw, but for now, it works. It's all worth it for the self-adjusting aspect of this mod. That part works like a charm, and is extremely innovative and smart. Also, it's so heavy it makes hefting my previously heaviest mod, the M16, feel as light as a feather. So I'm not only getting a great vape, but I'm getting a nice workout, too.
First of all, and most annoying, is the switch. When I took the mod out of the box and put it together the first time, the switch was not great. Kinda crunchy. Made some clicks and dings every time I fired it, and the throw was just a hair too long. So I took it apart and tinkered. It took me several days to finally come to a happy medium, which is not really that happy, but at least it's functional.
The problem seems to be in the length of the firing pin. It's too short. Unscrewing firing pins to shorten the throw is almost never a good idea. Once that pin is loose, it can continue unscrewing and come apart from the assembly inside the switch, and possibly cause a catastrophic hard short. I say catastrophic because it's not like releasing the firing button will stop that short. You'd need to take apart the whole mod, which is not easy if the battery is in thermal runaway. So my mission was to get that firing pin elongated in its reach without compromising its integrity in the switch.
Ultimately, most of the crunchiness and cheapness of the switch was solved by adding another magnet. The ones the mod came with are thin and weak. So I took an extra magnet I had from another mod, twice as thick as the ones in the Shotgun, and added it to the magnet inside the mod body, the one closest to the battery. It was slightly smaller in diameter, so trial and error made me realize that the larger diameter, original magnet needed to be in the little divot that was made for it, or the magnets all slip around, making the janky switch ten times worse. Anyway the additional magnet increased the stability and smoothness of the switch tenfold. It's amazing now.
Except for the throw. Apparently, there's just no way to adjust that. Something about the pin being in two stages like having a step in the middle that rests against the housing and prevents the button from protruding. Even if you unscrew the pin from the switch to shorten the throw, that doesn't work. It just makes the formerly flush, recessed button stick further and further out as you loosen the pin. So there's pretty much nothing I can do about it. At least the switch is stable, safe and quiet. I have to curl my finger around the bottom of the mod and really work to get it to fire, which is kind of annoying, but as far as I can tell, that's the best it's going to get.
The other thing of interest is that the mod is definitely coated. The copper hasn't tarnished at all since I've been using it, which explains the strange, red coloration. I was going to use this opportunity (having my first copper mod) to explore the wonderful world of forced patinas, in order to circumvent the inevitable tarnish it would accumulate, but now I don't have to. I still want to because I love love love patina'd mods, but now I can relax and take my time collecting the ingredients and supplies to make a great patina.
Also of interest, though this won't be a shock to anyone who owns a copper mod, is that this thing hits so hard that the quality of my vape didn't diminish at all until my battery was down to 2.6 volts. This is not good for the battery, and turns out to be somewhat of a negative for me. I'll have to be more careful about when to swap batts on this thing.
I have to say, though, that a truly hard-hitting mod is pretty great. I had always wondered what, if any, noticeable differences there were in an all-copper mod, and now I know. The difference is huge. It just seems to be letting more juice flow for a much longer period than any other mod I have. Something about that uninterrupted power makes for an awesome vape, too.
I'm still recommending the Shotgun, despite its issues. I don't know if the switch problems were my clone, all the clones, or endemic to the authentic's design. I sent a note to Grimm Green asking about this, and I'll let you know what he says when I hear back from him.
I may yet discover a way to shorten the throw, but for now, it works. It's all worth it for the self-adjusting aspect of this mod. That part works like a charm, and is extremely innovative and smart. Also, it's so heavy it makes hefting my previously heaviest mod, the M16, feel as light as a feather. So I'm not only getting a great vape, but I'm getting a nice workout, too.
