Benjamin Trail NP XL1100 - Part 3

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2

Today, we'll begin testing the Benjamin Trail NP XL 1100 for accuracy. And we're going to do this differently than usual. Because we have many new readers to this blog, I'm going to explain how I do accuracy testing in greater detail than usual. Sort of a chance for you to look over my shoulder. Hopefully this will help the newer shooters get a grasp of what's involved in airgun accuracy, so this accuracy report will take more than a single report to complete.

Adjust the trigger
As I begin, I think about the gun I'm about to test. What do I know about it? Well, The Benjamin Trail XL 1100 is based on the Crosman Nitro Piston Short Stroke, and I did some testing of that rifle. During that testing, I discovered that the NPSS has a wonderful, adjustable trigger. One of our readers commented just a couple days ago that his accuracy improved after he adjusted his NPSS trigger, so I'm going to adjust the Trail XL trigger right now. According to the blog I wrote on the NPSS trigger, I need to unscrew the one adjustment screw several turns to make stage two light and crisp.

Sad to report that there is very little joy in Mudville today. The trigger on the Benjamin Trail XL 1100 may resemble the one on the NPSS rifle, but it doesn't adjust as well. It does adjust, but the second stage is mushy and imprecise. Not at all what I reported on the NPSS. However, I got it as good as it would go, which was better than when I started. It releases with 5 lbs., 2 oz. of pressure, which sounds like a lot. However, because of how the trigger works, you've subtracted all but the final 2 lbs. by the time you release it.

Clean the barrel
I had my Remington 788 .30-30 out last week and shot some remarkably mediocre 50-yard groups with Remington factory ammo. Factory ammo is usually lacking in accuracy, but a two-inch, five-shot group at 50 yards is a little excessive. Yesterday, I cleaned the barrel and removed a ton of copper fouling. Way more fouling than would have been left by the 20 rounds I fired. So, the rifle was dirty before I started the session. To ensure that I don't make the same mistake with the Benjamin Trail, I'll clean the bore with J-B Non-Embedding Bore Cleaning Compound.

As a recap--I was told about this by Ben Taylor, who is the Ben in Theoben. He told me to clean the bore of my Beeman Crow Magnum with J-B Paste by passing a brass brush loaded with paste through the barrel 20 times in each direction. I'm not normally anal, but after the success I had after cleaning that rifle, I'm saying to count the number of strokes. Twenty times in each direction, starting from the breech, of course. Then remove all the residue and the bore should not only be sparkling clean, it will also be smoothed as though you had shot 500 pellets through it. Don't worry--a brass brush will not harm a steel barrel, and J-B paste is used by benchrest shooters all the time.

Normally, the first 10 passes are extremely tight, then things loosen up. That never happened with this barrel. Pass 20 was as tight as pass four. The first couple passes did loosen up just a little, but at the end of the cleaning I was still pushing hard on the rod to get the brush through the bore.

Check the screws
I do a once around the rifle to check all the stock screws for tightness. Because this rifle has a gas spring, I don't expect the screws to loosen very much, but it's always best to go into a test with everything right.

Mount the scope
We're blessed when we come to mounting the scope because Crosman has put Weaver bases on the rifle, so there will be no mounting problems. The Centerpoint 3-9x40 was almost correctly set in the rings, but not quite. After the two-piece rings were cinched down tight, I loosened the scope caps and rotated the scope tube until the vertical reticle seemed to bisect the receiver tube perfectly. There's nothing square on an airgun, or a firearm, for that matter, so trying to "level" the scope is a completely fruitless affair. There's nothing to level it with. You rotate the scope tube until it looks straight up and down to you. Someone else may disagree, but you're the one who will be shooting the gun, so that's all that matters.

Pick some pellets
Someone asked the other day how I knew which pellets to select for which guns. Well, it's simpler than it might seem. First, I know that a large number of pellets are not going to be the best in almost every airgun, so they seldom get selected. I only pick them when I can't seem to get anything else to work.

The other side is that there are known performers that almost always get picked. JSB Exacts, with the particular weights depending on the gun. This is a powerful springer, which means that it has the same power as a lower-powered PCP, with one important difference. Springers hit the pellet skirt with a heavy blast of air at the start, so the pellet needs thicker-walled skirts to not deform. At 25 foot-pounds, the Benjamin Trail XL is about as hard on pellet skirts as it gets. Think about using .22-caliber Crosman Premiers because they have really tough skirts. Think about using H&N Baracudas because they have a heavy skirt. Think of the heavier JSBs for their heavier skirts. Definitely DO NOT think RWS Superpoints that have ultra-thin skirts made of dead-soft lead. Their skirts would be deformed badly by the powerful air blast from the Nitro Piston.

So, I selected Baracudas (which are the same as Beeman Kodiaks), JSB Exact Jumbo Heavies (which weigh 18.1 grains) and JSB Exacts (which weigh 15.8 grains). Let's see where that gets us.

Use the artillery hold
I've had several readers recently discover the benefits of the artillery hold. That's when the rifle is held as loosely as possible so it can move and vibrate as much as it wants. While it seems counter-intuitive, such a hold will improve your shooting in 98 percent of the situations. Read about it here.

Kevin added something in an answer to a reader question the other day that I need to emphasize more. When you're shooting, align the crosshairs or sights--then close your eyes and relax. Open your eyes again. If the crosshairs moved off the target, the pellet would have moved in the same direction if you'd fired. Learn to settle in so the crosshairs are still on target when you open your eyes. That assists your follow-through, which is what this is all about. It works for firearms, too, though heavy-recoiling guns need a firmer hold than what I've described.

Sight-in
Here's where you and I will go in separate directions. You want to hit the target. I don't care. What I want to see is if the pellets tend to go to the same place. If they do, a sight adjustment may be needed to get them on target, but that's a separate step. I won't be doing anything with this gun other than making groups we can examine. If I were then going to shoot it afterwards, I would care about aligning the sights.

That bothers some people to no end. If they don't see the groups in the center of the bullseye, they think the gun is inaccurate. My brother-in-law feels that way. I can move the groups to where they'll look good with the sights or with Photoshop if I have to. So, hitting the center of the bullseye isn't something I even care about. But you should, because you will be using this gun to hit things. Don't let my testing affect your shooting.

And that's where I'll end it today. I've walked you through preparing to shoot, so next time I'll show you the results of that.

Which chronograph is right for me?

by B.B. Pelletier

This report was suggested by reader G., but a lot of you have been talking about chronographs lately, so perhaps this is timely for everyone.

Don't need no stinking chronograph
When I did the R1 Homebrew series of articles for The Airgun Letter, I needed a chronograph. And as far as I was concerned, that was the first time in my shooting life that I did need one. Up to that point, I considered chronographs to be silly toys that bored shooters used to add spice to their hobby. But when I was faced with the reality of comparing before and after tuning airguns in print, there had to be something more than just my word about how the gun was performing.

The R1 Homebrew articles are what grew into the R1 book that was published in 1995. While attending the Winston-Salem Airgun Expo in 1993, I bought a used F-1 Shooting Chrony for $45. That chrono lasted me about a quarter of the way into the book. I stopped using it when I got spurious velocity readings of 150 f.p.s. slower than should have been the case. The problem was twofold. First, the ancient chronograph I was using had cardboard windows that served as diffuser holders in front of both the start and stop screens. The windows were there to align projectiles over the skyscreens. Tens of thousands of shots had ripped the start screen window to the point that it overhung the start screen lens. I trimmed it back, but if I trimmed it any more the window would have been cut through and would no longer hold the white plastic diffuser, so I allowed some of the cardboard to overhang.

The other problem I had was the distorted shape of the hole through the windows forced me to shoot on a downward slant. That was when I discovered the problem with doing that.

At this point, the decision had already been made to write the R1 book, so Edith and I bit the bullet and bought an Oehler 35P printing chronograph--the gold standard of personal chronographs. That model is no longer available; but if you can use a Windows computer, the Oehler 43 is the same instrument with software to operate on your Windows computer. Several writers use a laptop with their 43, and the printer can be anything the computer hooks up to.

The 35 P was discontinued because the Oehlers were not able to obtain a supply of small printers to go into their chronographs. They are available, but not at wholesale prices in quantities small enough for the Oehler operation. I have more to say about printers later.

For years, I looked down on those who used Shooting Chrony brand chronographs, because the Oehler is such a superior instrument. It has a clock speed of 4 megahertz. At the time, I thought the Chronys were using a 100 kilohertz clock, but that may not be the case. The Oehler also has a second chronograph circuit in the system so you get two readings for every shot. One is a check against the other, and there are warning symbols if the difference is too great.

Then, I decided to write about chronographs. The Oehler 35P was no longer available and besides, does a hobbyist really need that kind of machine? So, I asked Pyramyd Air to send me a Shooting Chrony Alpha chronograph and I reported on it in August 2005. The instrument I tested was quite an improvement over the old Chrony I had used more than a decade before. It set up easily and no longer had the cardboard windows that caused so much trouble. It probably also has a higher clock speed, though I cannot find any confirmation for that.

As I used the Chrony Alpha, I got used to how quick it was to set up. It sits on a table, making it ideal for my office, where the Oehler skyscreens are too high to align with the pellet trap. So convenience got me using the Chrony more and more. Now, I use the Oehler for articles and in the field, but the Chrony for everything else, which is more than 90 percent of my work.

Here's the crucial thing. The Chrony doesn't measure the velocity exactly. Neither does the Oehler. To measure exactly takes more accurate chronographs that are used by laboratories and by weapons testing stations. The skyscreens are separated by many feet distance and they are tailored for exactly what they're testing.

But for the hobbyist, a Shooting Chrony gives a number that can be trusted. It will be accurate within 99.5 percent accuracy. Not more than one deviation in 200. When measuring something traveling 1,000 f.p.s., the error rate is about 5 f.p.s. That is certainly accurate enough for what we do.

Dr. Ken Oehler once told me that the biggest error in any chronograph was the accurate spacing of the skyscreens. They assume a certain separation which is fed into the formula for velocity calculation; and when that is off by as little as one-eighth inch, the readings are wrong. The Shooting Chrony has solved that problem by its design. When the box unfolds, the skyscreens are always separated by the correct amount. That's a big plus, because other chronographs including the Oehler use a dimpled steel bar (conduit armor) to locate the screens.

Then, I did what almost all chronograph owners have done at least once. I shot too low and dented the chronograph case. I told Pyramyd Air about the damage, and they told me to keep the chronograph. I did and have used it ever since. By the way, I also shot up my Oehler skyscreens. I did that while working at AirForce testing the Condor. Same screen got shot--the rear one.


I shot my Alpha Chrony when I got too close to the rear skyscreen. No real harm done, and the instrument still works four years later.

What's the answer?
So, which chronograph is right for you? Well, if you want to check pellet gun velocities, I recommend a Shooting Chrony Alpha, Beta or even the model F1. The more expensive models have memories and can calculate statistics. The cheaper models cost less.

Are other chronographs okay? Absolutely. Shooting Chrony is the best-known brand on the market, but the others work just as well. Shooting Chrony has a rebuild program if you shoot up your chronograph, and that's a nice touch, plus I like the convenience of the box design. But any chronograph is better than no chronograph. Now that I've had one for a long time, I know more about why they're good. I've shown you several examples recently in this blog, and I will continue to do so as we tune the FWB 124, for example.

What about printers?
Printers are less reliable than chronographs. The one on my Oehler has never malfunctioned, but the Shooting Chrony Ballistic Printer has. It sometimes fails to advance the paper, resulting in several readings printing on top of each other. Pyramyd Air has recently experienced the same thing, so it happens but not on a regular basis.

If you buy a printer, be prepared to fiddle with it sometimes. It's great for long strings of shots, but I generally don't use it for short strings. Just make sure the paper advances after every shot.

Do you need a chronograph? Probably not, unless you know why you do. If all you like to do is shoot, you can forget a chronograph. But if you want to know the health of your airgun, a chronograph is a valuable piece of equipment to own.

The Crosman Silhouette PCP pistol - Part 3

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2

Velocity test, part 2
Today, we're going to adjust the power of the Crosman Silhouette PCP pistol. This is a second velocity test for this gun. Before adjusting, I read the owner's manual, which in this case provides a lot of very instructional information about this procedure.

I learned that the fill pressure of the pistol is also adjustable, and the factory sets it at 2,900 psi and not 3,000. While the difference between 2900 and 3000 may seem small to you, look at the shot string I fired in Part 2 and notice that it took at least five shots to get up on the power curve when I filled the gun to 3,000. Son of a gun! Maybe Crosman knows what they're doing, and maybe we should be reading these manuals before shooting the airguns. And, when I say "we," I mean me.

Variable fill pressure
According to the manual, you can adjust the gun to operate on a fill of 2,500 psi, all the way up to a fill of 3,000 psi. This is achieved by adjusting two separate things. The first is the hammer-spring tension and the second is the hammer-stroke length. These work together to control the force of the impact on the valve stem as well as the dwell time that the valve remains open.

Delicate balance
However, as the air pressure inside the reservoir increases, the pressure that closes the valve changes, as well, so that also affects the length of time the valve remains open. What I'm saying is that there is not a straightforward adjustment. It's a balancing act between the fill pressure, the length of the hammer stroke and the tension on the hammer spring. You have to use a chronograph to adjust the gun--ther's no way around it. Without a chronograph, you're just guessing.

Crosman even provides you with a simple chart of the effects of adjusting both adjustments. Cutting to the bottom line, a long hammer stroke and heavy spring tension will boost the required fill pressure as high as it will go and give you the most powerful shots the pistol is capable of. Coincidentally, it will also give the greatest number of powerful shots that can be gotten from the pistol. Since that's all I'm after in today's report, that's what I did. Before I move on to the test, a word to everyone who has an interest in this pistol.

Get to know your airgun
Crosman has given us something rather unique in the Silhouette PCP. They have given us these two adjustments so we can adjust the gun to do exactly what we want to do. That's not common, and we need to take a moment to appreciate it.

When I worked at AirForce Airguns, we used to get questions all the time about what power adjustment wheel setting should someone use to shoot such-and-such a pellet and a velocity of X f.p.s. Well, heck, how should we know? How would anyone know who did not have that individual gun and a chronograph to do the necessary testing? Yet, these same people would get on the forums and trade their favorite power wheel setting back and forth as though they were precious formulae or something.

Here's a partial score: Cleveland 3.

Doesn't tell you very much, does it? Well, the adjustment of the Silhouette PCP is going to be very similar to that. It's an individual thing. Each gun is unique and each responds to adjustment in a slightly different way. If this is a gun you see in your future, plan on getting a chronograph to go with it, or plan on not adjusting the gun.

On to testing
This test will be different than most because I'll be adjusting the gun as I go. Whenever I make a change, I will note it and then continue with the string. I used the Crosman Premier 7.9-grain pellet.

For the first shot, I adjusted the gun following Crosman's instructions to the letter. The hammer-spring preload was adjusted to the max, and the stroke was adjusted as long as possible. The gun was filled to 3,000 psi and these shots resulted.

Shot...Velocity
1..........416
2..........422
3..........414
4..........417
5..........423
6..........425
7..........422

At this point, I realized that the gun wasn't set up to give me what I was after, which was maximum velocity, so something had to change. I turned the hammer-stroke adjustment in, which is contrary to what Crosman says to do.

8..........456
9..........461

This was working, so I turned the stroke-adjustment screw in some more.

10.........470

More in.

11.........492

More in.

12.........504

More in.

13.........497
14.........503
15.........502

At this point, I figured the hammer stroke was adjusted as well as it could be. Since the hammer-spring tension was supposed to be at the max, I turned the adjuster off a little.

16.........489
17.........484

Then, I put the tension back where it had been.

18.........501
19.........502
20.........496

At this point, I adjusted the stroke back out four turns.

21.........468

Then, two turns back in.

22.........488

All the way in (two more turns).

23.........500
24.........499
25.........495

The remaining pressure in the gun was 2,300 psi according to the onboard gauge.

26.........502
27.........498

Then, I shot two Crosman High Velocity Super Sonic pellets to see what the maximum velocity would be.

28.........622
29.........619

Then, I switched back to Premier lites.

30.........492
31.........498
32.........498
33.........498
34.........Did not register
35.........499
36.........494
37.........493
38.........491
39.........491
40.........489
41.........486
42.........487
43.........490
44.........481
45.........481
46.........478
47.........477
48.........470
49.........469
50.........465
51.........463

That's my report. With Premier lites, I got just over 500 f.p.s. With High Velocity hollowpoints--about 620.

The adjusting is easy but a chronograph is an absolute necessity, and I hope my report demonstrates why.

A shrine built for a Feinwerkbau 124 - Part 2

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1


My enshrined 124.

Before we begin, I have to share a laugh with all of you. This is especially for BG_Farmer, who last week had a discussion with me about unloading a muzzleloader.

I was out at the range yesterday and among the guns I shot was my new Thompson/Center Hawken. Of course, the sights were open post and bead. Shot No. 1 went through the X-ring at 50 yards. So, I loaded ball No. 2 very carefully. And, I put a cap on the nipple only after I was in firing position. Then--nothing! The cap fired but nothing else happened.

I waited for about 30 seconds for a hangfire, and then the truth of it hit me. For the first time in 45 years of shooting muzzleloaders, I had failed to put gunpowder into the rifle! So, my status as the Master Doofus of the Universe is, once again, secure--and I have a ball to get out of my barrel. Fortunately, I was using Triple Seven powder, a replica powder that doesn't attack the bore like black powder.


The first shot from the Hawken muzzleloader went through the X-ring at 50 yards. Shot two is still in the gun.

So, all that talk about how I never had to unload a ball before just went away. BG_Farmer, you may have 12 hours to gather a crowd to mock me.

Now, on to today's report

Well! This report that I thought would be finished today is turning into quite the crowd-pleaser. Just two days ago, we had a comment from a reader named Simon Kenton who remembers his 124 fondly as being a real tack-driver with the vintage Beeman Silver Jet pellets. He stockpiled 5,000 of them and hates to shoot them because they aren't available anymore.

I also remember Silver Jets as the best pellets for the 124 back in the 1970s and '80s. But when I competed in field target with a 124 in the late 1990s, I used the 7.9-grain Crosman Premier, which, at the time, was considered the most accurate pellet in the world. And I'm referring only to the Premiers that come in the brown cardboard box.

So, I'll test this 124 for accuracy with Silver Jets and Premiers, and perhaps even some JSB Exact 8.4-grain domes. Sorry Kevin, but I don't seem to have any Beeman FTS. I have Trophys, but that's all.

Please don't worry about the status of the gun. If something happens, it's only an airgun after all. I'll do everything to protect the exterior finish, but if I have to rebuild the powerplant for any reason, the rifle will only get better as a result. And after I rebuild it, it will last many decades longer than it would have with the original parts. We know that today, but of course it was not known when the 124 was new back in the 1970s.

For the collectors
And I need to clarify a point for all the collectors. I said in the first report that the 124 dated back to 1972, but that isn't entirely accurate. The basic rifle did exist at that time, but in the United States it was called the F-12. In Germany it was called the model 121. The 124 was first called by that designation in the 1974 edition of the Beeman catalog--the ultra-rare second edition. In that catalog, Beeman explains that the 124 is an upgraded version of the F-12 rifle that previously existed. That probably means the 124 designation started some time in 1973. Yes, there are FWB sport rifles marked as model 121, and yes, they were also capable of velocities up to 780 f.p.s. When the exact upgrades were made that differentiated a 124 from a 121, I do not know; but it sounds like a great research project for some day when I'm tired and just feel like reading.

The .22 rifle
To round out the report, there was a .22 caliber version of the same rifle that was marked as the model 127. They were never as popular when the gun was being made, because in those days .177 caliber was king in the United States. Finding a 127 is more difficult than finding a nice 124. However, for some reason, the price is seldom that much higher. The 124 still holds sway over the 127, even today.

The Beeman R5/model 125
Beeman also had a very small number of 124s barreled in .20 caliber and labeled model 125. It was never an official model, but Robert Beeman was very keen on .20 caliber and was seeking at the time to create an R5 rifle for his line. Beeman remembers three or four of these rifles being built by Feinwerkbau. They were not marked with the R5 designation, though that was the plan once production began.

What stopped the project cold was the requirement to purchase .20 caliber barrels 5,000 at a time. Beeman was prepared to order 500 of the R5s, but he wasn't ready to commit to 5,000, so the rifle was never built. Two of the prototypes, marked as "Sport 125 Cal.5/.22" were sold from the Beeman used gun list. The company also advertised the new R5 in their 10th edition catalog; but since there were no guns to sell when that catalog came out, the price was listed as NA. Catalog 10A followed the same year, and the R5 model was removed. Many people who have seen just the 10th edition of the Beeman catalog believe that a Beeman R5 existed, when in fact it never did. Robert Beeman wrote a very detailed description of all that transpired on this project for my magazine, Airgun Revue #3.

Today, I want to show you more of the contents of this sarcophagus. I've already discussed why filling the barrel with common grease is not a good protective measure, so let's look at some other preservation techniques that backfired.

Baggies don't protect
The orignal owner also felt that Beeman Silver Jets were the best pellet for the rifle. Instead of making a single storage compartment for the square cardboard box the Silver Jets came in, he divided 500 pellets into two plastic bags that were tucked into smaller asymmetric compartments. You can see them in small slots on either side (the top and bottom) of the rifle's forearm in the case. Unfortunately, he was unaware that plastic bags are not an effective vapor barrier. Over the years, the acid wood gasses corroded all the lead pellets to the point that they're now covered by a thick coat of white lead oxide powder. These pellets are now useless. I leave them in place as tutorials for whenever I show the rifle.


Beeman Silver Jets came in a square box with a padded styrofoam insert. These pellets are 20-30 years old and not oxidized.


Silver Jets on the left came from the box. The oxidized one on the right came out of one of two baggies inside the gun box.

Another fact the original owner was unaware of is the tendency for the original FWB piston seal material to dry rot. He purchased three spare piston seals that are now, sadly, hardened to the point of uselessness. The plastic bag they're in also did noting to preserve them. That's okay, though, because I would never put an original FWB piston seal back into a rifle anyway. I would use something made from modern synthetics. Feinwerkbau wasn't alone in making this mistake. Diana also used the same flawed material in their target air rifles and pistols of the 1970s, as did Walther.


You don't have to be an expert to see the damage here. The piston seal is dried and cracked from storage. Each of the three seals has two o-rings. The larger one is the breech seal, but I don't know where the smaller one goes. These are still usable.

The rest of the inventory
For those who like to keep score, the box contains these things, besides the rifle and owner's manual:

500 Silver Jet pellets
Beeman deluxe cleaning patches
Can of Birchwood Casey Sheath
Bottle of Beeman Silicone Chamber Oil
Bottle of Beeman Spring Cylinder Oil
Two stainless steel oiling needles
Leather sling
Three-piece sectional cleaning rod
Two .177 brass bore brushes
Beeman Pell Seat
Three piston seals
Three breech seals
One new mainspring
One aluminum trigger blade

None of these products have been used. They are there for "that day" when they are needed.

And, now, the velocity
Or not!

The Crosman Premier pellets refused to come out of the end of the barrel. They went perhaps 7/8 of the way through and stopped. I checked and replaced the breech seal, but no luck. That means the piston seal has finally given up the ghost. The last time I shot this rifle through a chronograph, it registered about 760 f.p.s. with Premier Lites, but that time is past. And the parts in the gun are of no help in fixing the situation.

I left the first part of the blog exactly as I wrote it, so all of this that you are reading has transpired before your eyes. I will now tune the gun with a modern FWB 124 tuneup and then test it for you.

The Bronco from Air Venturi - Part 5

by B.B. Pelletier

The entries for Pyramyd Air's February contest are posted on Airgun Arena. Thanks to everyone who participated and congratulations to the winners!

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4


Air Venturi Bronco.

Today, I'll test the Air Venturi Bronco with a better scope. Last time, I used a scope adjusted for 100-yard parallax and the target wasn't too clear. This time, I mounted a Leapers 3-9x40 AO scope with an illuminated reticle. My scope was an older version of this same scope.


Leapers 3-9x40 scope fit the Bronco well.

A delight to shoot
I'd forgotten how comfortable the Bronco is to shoot. Rediscovering that was so pleasurable that I did some additional experiments for you. For starters, I held the rifle like a deer rifle, the way a new airgunner might. The Bronco responded with half-dollar-sized groups at 25 yards. While those look good to new shooters, the rifle is capable of much better accuracy. The tight hold works, but only to a point.

Then, I shot with the rifle rested directly on the bag. Sprayed pellets all over the place, just as you would expect.

I read on one of the forums that someone thought the wrist was too thick for younger shooters. Well, of course it is! If they hold the rifle like a deer rifle, the wrist is way too thick. But that's not the way to hold a breakbarrel springer. You have to pretend you're holding a 1903 Springfield and place your thumb along the wrist rather than over it. Then, the artillery hold will start paying off.


This is the wrong way to hold a spring rifle. Get that thumb off the wrist.


This is the proper way to rest the thumb on a spring rifle wrist.

The bottom line is the Bronco likes a light artillery hold the best.

Premier Lites
The Crosman Premier 7.9-grain pellet grouped acceptably well at 25 yards, though I did feel that a repeatable light hold was crucial to good accuracy. Fail to hold it that way, and pellets stray from the group.


Ten Premiers at 25 yards with the proper "dead" hold technique.


Ten Premiers at 25 yards. Seven with the proper "dead" hold technique and three with the thumb rested over the wrist. The scope was adjusted from the first group.

I also tried a bucket load of other pellets, searching for one that was more tolerable of the hold than Premier Lites. I tried Premier heavies, Gamo Match, Air Arms domes, JSB Exact domes in the 8.4-grain weight and Gamo Master Points. Like last time, the JSBs showed some promise, though the Premier lites clearly beat them in 10-shot groups. Then, I found what I was looking for.

Years ago, I owned a .458 Winchester Magnum rifle (an elephant rifle) for which I handloaded. My load was so soft that it hardly recoiled, yet it always sent the 550-grain lead bullet to the same place. It was a delight to shoot. Most Hakim air rifles will do the same thing with RWS Superpoints. Well, I found what the Bronco likes.

Beeman Kodiaks, which are also H&N Baracudas, need very little in the way of an artillery hold, yet they seem to go to the same place every time. They're no more accurate than Premier Lites, but they sure are easier to shoot in this rifle! They're my top pick for pellets, now that I've tested them.


Ten Kodiaks with a sloppy artillery hold. They all seem to want to go to the same place.

The next test will be with a Mendoza peep sight mounted. This will be as much a test of that specific sight as of the Bronco.

Chronograph tips

by B.B. Pelletier

I've probably said these things before, but they're fundamental and bear repeating. With more of you starting to use chronographs, you need to be aware of some of the basic operational tips for the equipment.

Before we go any farther, know that I'm limiting my remarks to the Shooting Chrony-type of chronograph that uses an incandescent or natural light (sunlight) source. There are various chronographs that use infrared light sources and these notes do not necessarily apply.

Lighting outdoors
Outdoors you want an even source of light, with an overcast sky being the best. The worst is direct sunlight falling on the skyscreens. That condition is what the diffusers are for, so use them. A day where clouds are being blown all around is a tough day to chronograph outdoors.

Lighting indoors
Fluorescent lighting does not work with a chronograph. A fluorescent light flickers at speeds imperceptible to the human eye (most of the time), but the sensitive skyscreen will be set off. When that happens, you'll get spurious readings, errors and half-readings. That can be a big problem, now that many households are converting from incandescent lighting to fluorescent. You may have to kill all the lights in the room to get the chronograph to work.

Mercury vapor lights found in warehouses and workshops can also be problematic. Whenever your chronograph starts firing on its own, you probably have a lighting problem.

Direct light sources are another way around indoor lighting problems. There are commercial skyscreen lights you can buy or you can make a light bar of your own with parts bought at a hardware store. A much simpler way, if you shoot in a room that has a ceiling painted a solid light color, is to reflect a bright light off the ceiling and let the skyscreens look at that light. This is how I do it in my office, which has a 10-foot ceiling. I use a photo light, but you can use a 500-watt halogen work light shined upward.

Chronograph tips
Here's the big one. Keep the muzzle of your gun at least a foot back from the starting skyscreen. This is especially true when testing the powerful super magnums, such as the new Benjamin Trail NP XL1100 I tested for you on Monday. In fact, it was while testing that rifle that the idea for this report was born. I held the muzzle of the gun too close to the start screen a couple times and got several shots that measured 300 f.p.s. slower than they should have. That's not the gun acting up. That's the chronograph operator's fault.

If we had a super-fast video camera filming the muzzle of a spring gun, you would be able to see a ball of pressurized air that comes out of the gun ahead of the pellet. If the pellet travels at 900 f.p.s., this ball of air goes about 1100 f.p.s. for a couple inches. If the muzzle is held too close, the skyscreen senses the ball of compressed air and starts the clock. Once the clock has been started the pellet has no effect on it anymore. Of course, the pellet passing over the stop screen stops the clock and now you have a longer interval on the clock than the pellet really should have registered. More time equals a slower pellet transit time, hence the readings are slower than they should have been. Just by backing the muzzle up 12 inches from the start screen, you take care of 100 percent of this problem with all spring guns. Maybe with some powerful pneumatics like the Condor you should back up 18 inches. And certainly with a big bore I would back up 4-5 feet. The pressurized air will still be seen by the skyscreen, but by backing up you allow the pellet/bullet to trip the sensor first.

Tip #2--stay level
Both skyscreens look in the same direction. If the chronograph is flat on a table, both skyscreens should look directly upward so they are set up to calculate the passage of a pellet that flies perpendicular to their line of sight.

If you angle a shot through the line of the skyscreens, the time it takes to trip them will be longer that it would have been if they went through at a perfect perpendicular angle. That's because an angled line through two planes is always longer than one that passes through perpendicular.


The slanted line through the top chronograph is a longer path, resulting is lower indicated velocities. The bottom chronograph shows how the rifle should be fired.

Maybe the explanation is difficult to follow, but look at the drawings. I can slow down any gun by slanting the line of the pellet through the skyscreens. Try it yourself and you'll see what I mean.

Tip #3--clean those skyscreens
If your chrono has any age to it, your skyscreen shields are dirty. Those are the clear plastic "lenses" that cover and protect the real sensors. Use a Q-tip to clean them, and your numbers will be easier to obtain.

Tip #4--watch your angle
As well as watching the up/down angle through the screens, you also need to be careful of the sideways angle. You will get an "Error 2" message when you miss screen two, which is the most common error you'll see, because the start screen (screen 1) is closer to the gun and harder to miss.

Well, those are some things to think about when you use your chronograph next time. They're wonderful instruments that respond best if a little care is used during their operation.

A shrine built for a Feinwerkbau 124 - Part 1

by B.B. Pelletier

Before I start today's blog, I want to let you know that Pyramyd Air has slashed the price of the Hammerli Pneuma…by almost 30%! It's dropped from $495.95 to $349.95. This is a huge deal and a great way to enter the PCP arena without spending a fortune. I don't know how long the price will stay at that level, so don't hesitate if this is a gun you've been eyeing. Now, on to today's blog.

When I lived in Maryland, I had many friends who were airgun enthusiasts. We not only met at the local airguns shows, one of which we ran in Damascus in August each year, but we also competed in field target matches and 10-meter pistol matches throughout the year. One day, while waiting for my group to shoot in a match down in Rockville, a friend showed me something he had just acquired. It was a long wooden case that any gun owner would know had to contain a gun.

When he opened the case I saw a sight that quickened my heart. Inside was a like-new FWB 124 and accessories, all in like-new condition. I had to own this rifle, so I immediately set about building an acceptable trade for it. Fortunately, the man who owned it is a good friend and went relatively easy on me, though he didn't have to. I wanted this gun so bad I would have given almost anything to own it. I still probably gave too much for it, but there really are no equivalents to compare to.


This FWB 124 was enshrined for all time by its former owner. If you look carefully, you can see that there are three padded projections in the box lid that press down on the rifle when the lid is closed. These projections prevent the gun from moving.

One thing my friend made me promise is that I would document the rifle so everybody could share in the experience he and I had when we looked in the case. I had no problem with that request, for indeed, that was part of the reason I wanted the gun--to be able to research it and discover just what it was. When I got it home, I immediately set to the task.

I examined every accessory inside the case, as well as the case itself. It was custom-built of pine for this rifle and all the items inside. The wood was of cabinet quality, which is to say clear and free from knots. But it was nothing special or out of the ordinary. The larger pieces were made from plywood. You'll notice that the compartments are asymetric.

The wood was painted a flat brown and fitted with utilitarian hinges and clasps to hold it closed. The man I got the gun from had removed the center clasp and replaced it with a carry handle, which was a nickel-plated drawer handle, so the box now does not close as tightly as the maker had intended, but it's easier to carry. Obviously, the maker had not envisioned transporting the gun as much as simply storing it, which was a big clue as to what was going on. All eight corners of the box are reinforced with brass edge protectors. The workmanship of the build is top-quality.

The rifle was very early. I could tell that by the older-style black plastic trigger that was offered only in the 1970s, and by the address of the Beeman company stamped on the gun. San Anselmo was their very first address, when the Beemans were operating out of their home.


The San Anselmo address on this 124 marks it as sold from the original location of Beeman Precision Airguns.

When I examined the contents of the box, I was struck by their age. These items had been purchased from the Beeman Precision Airguns company back at the start of their existence! They bore the image of Boswell Bear, something that went away very early in the life of the company. I knew these labels because I had been a Beeman customer almost from the start in 1973, but I had not seen labels like these for two decades! Clearly, this gun and its accessories were very old, yet they looked like they were brand new.


Boswell Bear was on the earliest labels. This one has a San Rafael address.

I contacted Robert Beeman about the San Anselmo address on the gun and the Boswell Bear labels. He told me these were the very first labels his company ever used.

However, there were also some anomalies among the things in the box. When the FWB 124 first came out in about 1972, it had a plastic trigger blade. Oh, how the airgunners of the time complained about that! Why would a top-quality maker like Feinwerkbau put a cheap plastic trigger on any gun they would make? They complained throughout the decade of the '70s. About 1980, the company finally brought out an aluminum trigger blade. First, the guns came out with it installed, and then several years later it was offered as a replacement part that Beeman sold as a retrofit.


The aluminum trigger blade was made to replace the earlier plastic blade. This one is a retrofit part but was never installed.

So, there was an aluminum trigger blade in the box with this rifle that had to have been added years after the box was built. Obviously, this set was a work in progress. No attempt had been made to update the trigger in the rifle, since the original plastic trigger was (and still is) in the gun. And I know from experience with many other 124s that the plastic trigger will not break in normal use, so why did the owner buy the aluminum blade?

Canopic jars
When Egyptians mummified a body, some of the organs were removed and placed in canopic jars, each with its own separate guardian. There were no jars inside the gun box, but there were separate sections that housed fresh vitals for a renewal of the powerplant. A new replacement mainspring was housed on a rod set into the box lid and no fewer than three fresh piston seals were in a special compartment of the box, where they awaited the day of renewal.

When I was a kid, I played cops 'n' robbers a lot. The imaginary gun I used never ran out of bullets. It was becoming clear to me that the original owner of this 124 wanted the same thing from his gun--a spring gun that never failed. He stockpiled the parts that he knew would wear out over time. When they wore out--presumably from use--their replacements were on hand to keep the show rolling. Only--this rifle was never used!

Plugged up
Unlike my cops 'n' robbers weapon, a well-used right hand with a two-finger barrel that fired tens of thousands of times, the owner of this 124 never fired a single shot with it. He couldn't have, for the barrel was completely plugged with grease!

When I went to chronograph the rifle to ascertain the state of tune, I was surprised to find the bore completely obstructed. A patch pushed by a cleaning rod pushed out many inches of petroleum grease, the common kind used for general lubrication. It took some time to clean out all this worthless grease, and I was adamant to do it before the barrel was ruined. What the first owner did not understand was that plain grease is not a good preservative. Over the years, it dries out and hardens. It then allows moisture to enter and collect against the metal and the barrel would have rusted slowly from the inside out.

Cosmoline is a military preservative that's often used on guns put into long-term storage. It provides a moisture barrier for a period of time, though it, too, has a definite period of useful life beyond which it offers no protection. While it resembles regular grease, it's not the same thing at all, and grease is not an acceptable substitute fort it. You're far better off with a clean bore lightly coated with oil, the way the military tells you to store firearms. But the grease in this gun was a big clue about what was happening.

He may have shot the rifle a few times, but the finish on the barrel near the muzzle wears quickly from handling and this one is still like new. So, not many shots (if any) were ever fired. I've also shot it a few times, but I don't take it out that much, either.

The status of the gun
The rifle was like new in unfired condition when I got it. The bore was plugged with grease. The rifle was surrounded with the parts needed to keep it operating for over 20 years of hard use, yet it had seemingly never been used. It looked like the original owner had cherished this rifle without ever actually using it. He entombed it in what he had hoped was a very protective cocoon to guarantee its survival into the future, and yet it was a future that didn't include him.

I obtained the gun just after the new century began. The first owner had passed away, which is how the man I bought the gun from got it. So, this gun, which was preserved for all time, had now outlived its first owner--it's creator, if you consider the whole package.

In our next look, I'll show you other strange things in the box and will chronograph the rifle for you.