by B.B. Pelletier
Announcement: Jacque Ryder is this week’s winner of Pyramyd Air’s Big Shot of the Week on their facebook page. He’ll receive a $50 Pyramyd AIR gift card. Congratulations!
Jacque Ryder is Pyramyd Air’s Big Shot of the Week. He says this about the photo: I took this picture a while ago of my friend at a local shooting range. This was my first time shooting an airgun, and now I am excited to try to purchase one on a tight budget….So, I am entering this photo for Big Shot of the Week!
The B25H breakbarrel air rifle looks striking with its bamboo stock.
It’s Friday and time for me to kick back and write about something something different.
Let’s start a look at a beautiful breakbarrel air rifle I bought at the Roanoke airgun show three or more years ago. I bought it because I thought it was beautiful — and I still think that today. It’s a rather traditional breakbarrel spring rifle, but the barreled action sits in a stylish bamboo stock!
When I bought it, the bamboo stock was relatively new and not well known. But in the years that have passed since the show, these rifles have been seen by many airgunners. Bamboo may not seem like a good material for a rifle stock, but that’s only if your experience is with cane poles for fishing. They’re hollow, lightweight and reasonably strong, but no one would ever call them rugged. The stock on this rifle, however, is an entirely different matter. The bamboo is extremely strong and impervious to the pressure denting that plagues softer woods such as walnut. It reminds me very much of clear maple, only I think bamboo is a little tougher.
I bought the rifle thinking that I would review it for you in the normal way. But other things got in the way, and I didn’t get to look at the gun. So it languished in its box. Every six months, I might look at it, but I bet I didn’t fire 10 shots in the entire time I had it — until now. I want is to finally test this air rifle, to see if it operates anywhere near as good as it looks. Let me begin with a general description.
The speculation is that this rifle is a copy of the Diana model 34. I would say that it resembles a 34 in many ways — like the ball-bearing barrel detent and the centrally mounted safety switch; but in other ways, like the trigger, it’s different. I don’t think of it as a copy of anything.
My rifle is a .177-caliber breakbarrel, though this model also comes in .22 caliber. The barrel is 18.7 inches in length, and the entire rifle spans just over 45 inches. It’s fairly large. It weighs 7.7 lbs. and some of that can be attributed to the stock that is heavier than beech or walnut. You’ve noticed the huge hole in the butt. Setting styling aside, it’s there to decrease the weight of the very dense bamboo.
The metal is finished to a matte sheen, but it is uniform and reflects much more work than just a tumbled finish. The automatic safety button comes out the center of the end cap, making the rifle entirely ambidextrous.
There are a few small plastic parts on the rifle, namely the end cap, the safety and the triggerguard. The rest of the dark parts are all metal, including the large muzzlebrake, which is steel.
The bamboo stock is gorgeous — or at least that’s my opinion. It’s flawlessly finished to an ultra-smooth surface that’s been sealed with some kind of (probably) clear synthetic finish. I’ve seen other examples of this rifle with the bamboo stained medium brown like every other breakbarrel rifle stock in the world, so this blonde color is part of what attracts me.
Close examination of the wood reveals the laminated layers that went into making the whole stock. After careful scrutiny, I find no spots where wood filler has been applied. There’s shallow checkering on either side of the forearm, and the pistol grip has been left smooth. This is a quality stock.
Here you clearly see the bamboo laminations. Notice that there’s a center section that runs counter to the outer sections.
Whoever decided on the shape of the stock is either a shooter, or they listened to one, because this rifle is made to be held! It has a wide, flat forearm that’s perfect for holding in a field target position or just in a good artillery hold. Air Arms did the same thing with their TX200SR years ago, and I think the shape dates back to the British field target stocks of the 1980s. The pull is 14-1/4 inches from the very straight trigger blade to the center of the thick black ventilated rubber buttpad.
There are no sights, though the baseblock does have two rubber buttons that fill the screw holes for a rear sight on some of the cheaper B25 models. Scopes and other optical sights can be mounted to the 11mm dovetail grooves cut directly into top of the spring tube. There’s an anchor plate at the back of the dovetails to stop the scope mounts from moving under recoil.
Trigger
The trigger is adjustable, though I must criticize it. It’s long and mushy, with no definite release point. It just goes off whenever it wants to. It’s certainly not heavy, but I would much prefer a 5-lb. trigger that has a sharply defined second stage over something vague like this. As I experiment more with the gun, perhaps I can adjust it to something more civilized. The owner’s manual warns that if the adjustment screw is turned out too far, the trigger loses its second stage and becomes unpredictable — which is exactly what I have.
I did try to adjust it, but the screw that adjusts the pull was turned out very far and would not go in without stripping the head. I think someone has put some thread-locking compound on it, or they’ve staked the threads. All I know is that even with the triggerguard off the gun I could not get that screw to turn very far. For the time being, it remains a light, vague and mushy single-stage trigger that releases with 1 lb., 13 oz. of pressure.
My rifle has supposedly been tuned, though I don’t know all that entails. I can see some aftermarket lithium grease on the baseblock, so perhaps it was just a lube tune. I’ll report more on that as I test the gun, but for now it cocks smoothly with 33 lbs. of effort — and it shoots smoothly, as well. There’s a fair amount of forward recoil, so I’ll assume the piston is on the heavy side and the stroke is a long one.
And, speaking of the baseblock, the one on this rifle is fastened to the spring tube with what appears to be a bolt and nut. That will allow adjusting the tension on the baseblock, which is sometimes a key to improving accuracy.
The cocking linkage is two-piece and articulated, so the cocking slot in the stock can be shorter. That cuts down on vibration when the gun fires, and with a powerful springer that’s always a good idea.
Velocity
The rifle is rated to 1,000 f.p.s. in .177 caliber. The manufacturer doesn’t specify which pellets were used to test it, so I’ll assume they were lightweight lead pellets.
I started testing with the JSB Exact 8.4-grain dome. It averaged 818 f.p.s., but the spread was from 780 to 825 f.p.s. Actually, just one pellet went 780 f.p.s. All the rest were 817 and higher. At the average velocity, this pellet generates 12.48 foot-pounds of muzzle energy.
Next, I tried the 7-grain RWS Hobby pellets. They averaged 950 f.p.s. and ranged from a low of 937 to a high of 961 f.p.s. At the average velocity, this pellet averaged 14.03 foot-pounds of muzzle energy.
The last pellet I tried was the Beeman Kodiak — a 10.6-grain lead pellet. These averaged 757 f.p.s. and ranged from 744 to 764 f.p.s. At the average velocity, they generated 13.49 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle.
So, the rifle shoots okay. It’s not especially consistent, but it’s also not too bad. The power is where it should be, and it seems to meet the advertised power specifications. It shoots smoothly but has a noticeable two-way recoil.
The manufacturer says to expect 0.20-inch groups at 10 meters, and I’ll assume they mean 5-shot groups. At 25 yards, I should be able to put 10 into a group a little smaller than three-quarters of an inch. We’ll see if I can do that in the next report.
Hello B.B. and Fellow Airgunners. Just one look at this beautiful rifle, and I was hooked. This is my first look at this .177cal. air rifle. The only information you gave us as to a name, is B25H. Would be confident in assuming that this gun is Chinese in origin? The crappy trigger is a definite give-away. As for the bamboo stalk, well, anyone who has ever been to the Far East, can attest to the versatility of this wood. Fast growth, up to a foot a day in ideal climactic conditions, and although it is quite hard, it is a nice wood to work into a shape, I am told. I am referring to others, as I am decidedly not a wood smith. Thanks for the great Friday surprise blog. It will be interesting to read the comments and information from others in the next couple of days.
Caio — Titus
Titus,
Yes, this is a Chinese gun. It is imported and sold by Xisico.
B.B.
Is this another BAM rifle?
Matt61
Matt,
No, it isn’t a BAM. It is made by Xisico.
B.B.
The main reason Chinese airgun triggers are so bad is they continue to copy the large volume sellers which are the cheap Gamos and such. Maybe one day a Chinese manufacturer will decide to do a real good job of copying a real good air rifle. Of course by then Chinese labor costs will have risen to the point that they will have to move their plant to some other country like Vietnam or Burma or the U.S.
“Or the US” it’s funny because it’s true.
Tom, the rifle is an XS-25 not the B, B is for the BAM rifles. Sorry you have one with a bad trigger, as it’s a copy of the TO5 from RWS it should be better. When adjusted properly or modified with a second adjustment screw they become very nice.
Mike,
No, this one is marked B25H. The XS is also there, but it’s before the model number.
B.B.
I will correct myself, got to the shop and looked at the one on the wall, it is marked XS-B25H. Xisico markets it as the XS-25SFB…should know not to trust my memory
I LOVE bamboo, I don’t know why it’s not more commonly used, it’s renewable (it grows so fast) and it’s quite strong once laminated and if those advantages are not enough it’s also pretty looking!
It doesn’t have the classic look of walnut but it’s still good for an everyday rifle.
J-F
As the primary retailer/expert/tuner of the XS/B-25 series when Mike speaks he is well worth heeding. His advice on the trigger is spot on. It IS a TO5 clone and subject to vast improvement—as is the original—by simple tuning and adjustment. The 2nd adjustment screw he mentioned—and pioneered—can turn it into a very good trigger indeed. In fact a popular mod of the M-34 is to replace the original plastic M-34 trigger blade with the 2nd screw modded metal version from the B-25. When so equipped both the original and clone trigger can hold it’s head up in any crowd.
As a full-bore M-34 clone parts are interchangeable between the B-25 & M-34. Tune kits from both major sources fit both rifles as well.
Also available as the Ruger Air Hawk & Black Hawk at many big box outlets and retailers everywhere there are many versions available on the used and/or refurb market.
Both the B-25 and B-26 (R-9 clone)are credible options for the impecunious airgunner. Tom
Tom,
As you may see from my communication with Mike, above, the rifle I own isn’t quite what Mike has. Apparently mine is earlier, when BAM still made them.
As for being inexpensive, they still cost $180, which isn’t that cheap. With the trigger that’s on this one, I could never recommend it. However, since this is my gun and not one I must return, I might be open to modifying it, if it turns out to shoot accurately. So maybe we can see more of this rifle than I originally intended.
B.B.
All the 25’s have been made by the Zhejiang Xinhua sporting good company. I think the B may be the factory stamp for the bamboo model. I hope this is a good one, may need to be run in, looking at the numbers it’s not been shot much.
Michael,
That’s interesting information! Thanks.
B.B.
in our photo of the week. I think he is shooting a Crosman 1077. I would like to know where to get that thingy to use a bigger CO2 cartridge.
Gene,
That “thingy” was produced by Crosman years ago and is no longer made by them. It is neat because you can shut off the gas, remove the contraption from the gun and run it on 12-gram cartridges, if you want.
Look for a used one. It is called an AirSource conversion, or something like that.
B.B.
I think it was Mike Melick who told me that these larger CO2 cartridges are prone to leaks.
Matt61
Matt,
I don’t find 88-gram cartridges prone to leaks at all. You just have to select the ones that work in your gun. I have had wonderful luck with Crosman cartridges in Crosman guns.
B.B.
I was just going to comment, Wow Crosman shootemupskis with larger tanks put on ’em.
That must be it. Mike was talking about using the 88g cartridge for one of his Chinese target rifles.
Matt61
BB,
I am going to go off topic with you.
Yesterday afternoon when I got home from work the wind was still at my place. I decided to get my USFT Hunter out and shoot it in 5 yard increments and see what the hold under / over is. I haven’t shot this gun a lot and it is usually windy and I am usually shooting at long distance. I started at 10 yards, then 15 yards, 20 yards were looking pretty good but I noticed my groups starting to move to the right. As I moved back to 25, 30, and 35 yards the groups were showed more pronounced movement to the right.
To me, this means that my scope rail is not parallel to the barrel horizontally. Do you have any experience with adjustable weaver style mounts? I think that is what I will need.
Are you going to be able to go to Ron Robinson’s tomorrow to shoot Field Target? I only think a handful of guys from the Metroplex are going but I think it will be fun.
I hope to see you there,
David Enoch
David,
I will be at a gun show in Poolville tomorrow. Sorry!
I think you are right about the scope alignment issue. What you have to do is either move the rear of the scope to the right or the front to the left to correct your problem.
Leapers is bringing out a Weaver to 11mm scope base that will change Weaver bases so they can use 11 scope rings. That will allow you to use an airgun adjustable mount soon.
B.B.
Not being very computer savvy I have no idea what happened to the web addresses related to the prices in my post above.
Edith? Tom
Tom @ Buzzard Bluff,
No one did anything to your comment. I found it in the spam folder exactly as you see it written here. I don’t edit comments of others unless they specifically state I should do that (usually to correct a typo). No web addresses were in the comment. I don’t know why your comment was in the spam folder, as I don’t see any reason for it to be caught. I immediately approved it for posting.
Edith
Tom,
Okay, those are better prices. I was simply quoting the importer’s price.
But if this rifle is going head-to-head against a Diana 34, that trigger still has a ways to go.
I’m not trying to put this gun down, because I really do like it. But the trigger is bad as it comes from the box. The Diana T05 trigger is so much better as to be in a different ballpark.
Perhaps with a modification this trigger can be made nice. That would certainly add to the gun’s performance.
B.B.
Edith & B.B. ,
That is a nice looking gun.
With all this discussion about model and make you may want to change the description under your first photo to reflect the correct model (B25H instead of B35H).
kevin
Kevin,
Done. Sometimes, even proofing doesn’t pick up all the errors/typos.
Thanks,
Edith
Kevin,
Good eye!
Thanks,
B.B.
B.B.,
Speaking of Chinese manufacturers…..Do you know anything about the Beeman Blue Ribbon SS2 scopes that are now being made in China? Were these at the Shot Show by chance? I might take a chance on these for $67.00
http://www.rsov.com/product.php?langId=1¤cyId=1&manufacturerId=10&prodId=16149&cateId=0
kevin
Kevin,
I didn’t see them!
B.B.
B.B.,
Thanks.
kevin
Kevin,
Please buy one and let us know — that is a very useful looking little scope for airguns and .22’s. I have found a scope is useful to me at night (e.g., for chicken snatchers!), as I can’t always see the sights. Is there a lower power version? Also, it looks a lot like some of the AR-15 scopes I’ve been seeing (but not paying attention to) — I would check to see if it is under any other labels for price/warranty comparison purposes.
Kevin,
Thank you ! This Beeman 4×21 has an exit pupil of over 5mm, so more than large enough for most eyes in fading light, since anyone over 35 has pupils with that being their maximum pupil size.Anyway, are we sure that this is not a long eye relief scope for pistol use? The 30mm barrel may mean ( may…) it has a larger diameter optical train, also. No need to buy new rings is a welcomed plus.
Thank you again. Looking for a possible new scope for a Gamo Big Cat 1200..which they will have to try to tare from my dying arms…..
Pete
California
Pete,
I was told by RSOV that this scope is made to the same specs as the original Beeman Blue Ribbon SS2. The only difference is that it’s now made in China by some Chinese company whereas the originals were made in Japan by Hakko? Don’t know anymore than that. Doubt if the glass is as good as the originals but that’s just speculation by me.
kevin
Pete,
One more thing before I go. If that new Beeman Blue Ribbon scope with mount is like the originals the mount does not have a scope stop pin. You will need a scope stop if you’re going to mount this on your gamo big cat. Pyramyd AIR sells scope stops or you could make your own out of a roll pin/spring pin.
kevin
Thank you ,Kevin. Do you know the eye relief…?
Pete
Definitely an interesting looking rifle! After you fix the trigger it could turn out to be a good one!
OT,
I’ve got to get an AA S410. I escorted a Dept of Agriculture guy who used one to take care of a marmot problem us at work and saw a nice clean kill from a ranged 45 yds with one shot. Uphill at about a 20 degree angle in breezy conditions. He said they used to use FX Tarantulas, but switched to the S410’s for ease of use, accuracy and due to reliability issues with the FX’s. So now I want one…..of course……!
/Dave
Bamboo is grass, not wood: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo
Of course, that doesn’t make it any less strong. But it is much more easily renewable than most woods.
redlace,
When B.B. originally wrote the blog, he used various words to reference the stock…wood, bamboo, cane. I changed all of them to just plain old “bamboo” to be consistent. Stating that this has a grass stock would probably be confusing and a distraction from discussion about the more important elements of the gun. And saying it had a cane stock just didn’t seem right, as there are cane airguns. I didn’t want to confuse people who know about cane airguns, which are usually called air canes (or mistakenly called arcane 🙂
Edith
Edith,
Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to correct our husband’s writing!
Daddy knows best. 😀
B.B.
B.B.,
Repeat after me: Edith is always right. Edith is always right. Edith is always right.
Keep in mind that I stopped you from referring to bamboo as wood in this blog. You’re welcome!
Edith
Funny, I agree with everything you both said!
{Coming in from left-field}
No, that would have been the long-/ring-tailed alien critter persona I used to use on FurToonia: R’k’n (hir native language being one in which vowels were implied — so R’k’n could be pronounced orkin, arcane, or raccoon [sie was basically a raccoon with a double length tail, the 13th ring at the tip carrying a naked singularity])
(Backs away from Wulfraed slowly… slowly … not making any sudden movements…)
Relax… Baron Wulfraed’s not as scary… He’s just an Imperial Vargr on detached duty (ie; “retired but subject to call up if needed”) from the Imperial Interstellar Scout Service. No naked singularity*, just a non-standard .40S&W pistol worn over a one-piece ship’s flight suit, under an “ankle”-length dark blue cloak (“ankle” as vargr are digitigrade).
http://home.earthlink.net/~baron.wulfraed/wr_biog.htm
{a bit out of date — by now the Baron is well into grey-muzzle realms; when created, he was nearly 15 years older than the “real” me — now he’s younger! sigh!}
* for the dangers of R’k’n’s tail tip, read the description of Morgaine’s “sword” in Cherryh’s Gate novels.
Ugh I like my science fiction HARD. I’ve recently discovered Analog Magazine, I thought they stopped writing “hard’ SF in the 60s or so. I think the most they “allow” is some mention of psi powers. Most of it doesn’t mention even that. Great, great, stuff. Great to read while babysitting an extraction flask in the lab.
It sounds like you might be a “furry”, I’ve met a few “furries”, interesting people.
Yeah — probably qualified back in the mid-70s, after reading Norton’s “Jargoon Pard” [and it took me another four years before discovering that book took place in her Witch World universe]… But only fell into the fandom in the late 80s early 90s, when finding the “Beastie Board” in GEnie’s Comics Roundtable.
A revelation to me was Stanislaw Lem, his most accessible stories being those about Pirx The Pilot, who was writing in the 70s but was not known much in the US until the 90s. His story “The Futurological Congress” stands out and all of his robot stories are good.
Interesting about the dense bamboo. I thought bamboo was light.
Matt61
MATT,
Bamboo canes ARE light. Bamboo that has been impregnated with resin for gun stocks is very heavy.
B.B.
There are a zillion kinds of bamboo and some of it is quite dense, and heavy for its volume.
The best slides rules were made of bamboo, since it was more dimensionally stable than most materials and it’s “self lubricating” unlike metal slide rules. Look up “Sun Hemmi” slide rules for more on this.
Hello everyone I just bought a used smith an wesson model 77a pump gun (no box no manuel)Does anybody know what is the max number of pumps? I do not want to lock valve by pumping 20 times i read that somewhere,also does the under lever have to be cocked before pumping? This gun is big compared to bemji 392 and the effert seem very light to pump
Chris,
Try pumping 7, 8, 9 and 10 times and see if there is any air left in the gun after the shot.
B.B.
Thanks BB
Nice pic of the Crosman 1077.
J-F, thanks for your observations about Special Forces soldiers. That has been my experience with Vladimir and others like him. The truly dangerous often transcend swagger, bluster, and overt aggression. In fact, I read a claim that extreme violence often goes with an excess of politeness. Seems unintuitive, but it is demonstrated in a film called Darkman. The Darkman is an interesting, realistic idea for a superhero. Suffering from extensive burns all over his body, doctors decided that the only way to prevent unsupportable, permanent pain for him was to cut all his nerve endings so that he could feel nothing. However, without the buffer of sensory interaction with the world, his rage and frustration knew no bounds and he could generate quantities of adrenaline that made him super-strong. More relevant here, though, is his nemesis, an organized crime figure who is revealed in a confrontation with another criminal. On one side is a large, aggressive gang of overwhelming numbers swinging their nunchakus; on the other a much smaller number dressed in suits. The larger side even has a secret weapon in the form of a car, loaded with armed men, which bursts out of a wooden box at the right time and circles the enemy while blazing away. But the other side wins with the aid of a miniature gatling gun hidden inside a false leg. Only the enemy leader is left standing. The arch villain approaches him and goes to work with a cigar chopper in time with a list of points: “I have three points to make. One, I try to control my anger. Two, I don’t always succeed. And, three,…I have seven more points.”
Wulfraed, I had always wondered about the source of The Shadow’s power. Well, you could do worse than two .45s. But I tend to agree that this is not the ideal equipment. You have less firepower than a submachine gun with approximately double the mag changes.
By the way, didn’t you and B.B. tell me that the hollowpoint design is slightly less accurate than others and designed only for expansion during hunting? Then why does the ultimate target round, the Sierra MatchKing bullet, have a hollow point?
Matt61
Matt,
I never said anything about the potential accuracy of hollowpoint bullets.
B.B.
When I had 60 yards to shoot outdoors, I generally found Crosman Premier HP’s to be pretty comparable to the domed. Of course my shooting wasn’t good enough to show up 1/4″ differences in group size at that range…
One thing I remember about the HP’s, though… the little grey smudge they left on the paper pretty much always had a little circle in the middle of it – from the hollow point. And it was always a near-as-I-could-tell perfect circle, not oblong, which meant the pellets were still flying pretty straight when they hit. No tumbling or wobbling to speak of.
I suspect the good performance of the Crosman Premier Hollowpoints may have much to do with the weight distribution (CG) within the pellet. The hollow point may prevent the pellet from being nose-heavy, while keeping the CG far enough forward to prevent instability.
No data to back this up, except for the observation that CPHP’s perform well at the range, and trying to come up with a logical reason why.
Les
Ah yes, I believe you just told me that they were suitable for hunting.
Matt61
One of the gun magazines, back in the late 70s early 80s had a tendency to run “investigations” into some of fiction’s better known gun users.
One episode covered the Shadow. In particular, how difficult it would be to shoot as many rounds as implied by the novel in one gun-fight, whjile still working dual .45s (let’s posit an ambidextrous model, which would have been quite custom for the 30s-40s). Ejecting empty magazines is no problem — but how do you load a new one? With your teeth?
Didn’t some movie attempt to solve the 2-hand situation using spring loaded magazine holders? (Tomb Raider, perhaps?) Eject empty, press grip over magazine holder, trigger spring to drive the magazine into the grip…
Of course, The Matrix didn’t even bother with reloads… they just strapped some 80 lbs of loaded firearms to Keanu Reaves and he just dropped the entire gun when empty to pull another one.
On other fictional… Poor Mrs. Hudson… Having to put up with Holmes shooting up the wall with some small target pistol…
Don’t recall claiming accuracy problems… But depending on the size of the hollow relative to the rest of the bullet shape, the ballistic coefficient may limit the effective range and the trajectory within that range. I’d hypothesize that the Sierra was not invented to be a target round, but rather the most accurate hunting round for particular game.
One would not want to use a hollow-point on an African safari — it would be unlikely to do more than anger an elephant or rhino, and maybe cause pain on a lion. For such beasts, one may not only use solid nose but not even soft point… Soft points are also supposed to spread open, but without aerodynamic effects of an open nose. For Elephant/rhino a copper round-nose (full-metal jacket or one where the lead is only exposed at the base of the bullet) would be called for — something that penetrates with little expansion.
Yes, I was thinking of the Tomb Raider solution although Lara Croft would need to carry a large apparatus for all the rounds she fired off.
You have solved the mystery about the RWS H and M Mantel bullets which exploded superficially on game leaving ghastly wounds. These were safari type animals, so all of their hide and horn must have gotten in the way.
Matt61
Even copper round-nose can have problems with elephants…
I only remember this because the situation documented in the gun magazine was so unusual.
Government sponsored elephant harvesting case (as I recall), gun magazine writer invited to the hunt.
He’d use one or two shots on an elephant, and then reload (magazine only held three, as I recall — the article was over 30 years ago).
They encountered an aggressive bull elephant and writer hadn’t had time to reload — took a direct shot between the eyes of the charging elephant. Rifle recoiled strangely and the elephant barely stuttered; the guide had to do the killing shot.
Examination showed the bullet had penetrated the hide, but not the skull — it deflected and zipped up and around between skin and bone to stop at the back of the skull.
Experimentation after the hunt showed that the recoil over the day had shoved the bullet of that bottom round deeper into the case, compressing the powder charge. When the writer had to use that bottom round it went off over-pressure and probably at a higher velocity too. The higher velocity resulted in the weird terminal ballistics (drop a heavy ball into soft/dry sand and it will penetrate — throw it at higher speed and you get a shallow splatter).
Writer concluded that he was NOT going to practice “reserve bottom round for back-up” type reloading in the future, but would empty the magazine before reloading.
Wulfraed,
I thought that cow boys were the original two handed shooters, but they didn’t have to reload.
When their guns eventually went empty they just threw them at their opponent. I think it was Bill Cosby
that did a skit about Silver complaining to the Lone Ranger about getting hit in the shins by all the guns the bad guys threw while being chased. I watched to many westerns growing up, I think. That is probably why my favorite western comedy is Rustlers’ Rhapsody it hits all the cliches.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OaA3LZHbQs
Guns weren’t cheap — any one who’d throw one at an opponent when it was empty deserves what they get…
Cap&Ball revolvers were slow to reload — unless you had matched cylinders and could pull off the stunt Eastwood does in “Pale Rider” (using pre-loaded spare cylinders as speed loaders){My italian made replica Remington New Army (?) came with two cylinders — but the cylinder pin is too snug to pull that swap with a drift punch and hammer}
In contrast, the Green Hornet’s relative* was living in the metallic cartridge era — but one has to wonder how he could afford to shoot anyone — three of those silver bullets would have held as much silver as a dollar coin; and what was a day’s wage at that time period? {Or… if a beer was a nickle, six rounds [one cylinder] would pay for 40 beers… What would 40 beers in a bar cost you these days? $150? [no pitcher discount]} Actually, the ranger would be better off today — there’s only $75 for the raw silver.
* At one time it was implied that the Lone Ranger had been an uncle or such to Britt Reid (Green Hornet) (both programs came from the same radio station)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lone_Ranger#The_Lone_Ranger.27s_first_name
With some practice, you can reload two Colt .415 Autos by holding both in one hand, side by side.
Mike