by Tom Gaylord, a.k.a. B.B. Pelletier
The Cometa Fusion Premier Star is stunning! This is the actual test rifle.
Let’s look at the power the Cometa Fusion Premier Star air rifle produces. If it’s anything like the .177-caliber Cometa Fusion I tested several weeks ago, it will hit its advertised velocity. There weren’t a lot of questions about this gun, so I’m diving right into the test.
Adjust the trigger
Before I did anything, I adjusted the trigger. You’ll remember that I overlooked the length of pull adjustment on the first rifle until someone pointed it out. Then, I found that this trigger is very adjustable. That’s what I want with this .22, as well, so the trigger received my attention first. Both the pull weight and the length of the first-stage pull are adjustable, so I set the rifle up the way I like it — with a longer first stage and a light second stage.
The pull weight was light enough as the rifle came, but the second stage was full of creep. So I fiddled with the screw that’s located just behind the trigger blade until I got what I wanted. Now the trigger breaks crisply with no creep, at 1 pound 9 ounces. The first stage is long, but I don’t care about that. It’s not what I concentrate on when shooting the rifle. Only stage two matters.
RWS Hobbys
You already know the cocking effort is 31 lbs., so let’s get into the velocity test right now. First pellet up is the RWS Hobby, which weighs 11.9 grains in .22 caliber. In this rifle, Hobbys averaged 817 f.p.s., with a range from 811 to 821 f.p.s. At the average velocity, this pellet generates 17.64 foot-pounds of muzzle energy.
I must comment again that the Fusion and this Fusion Premier Star feel like tuned air rifles when they fire. The firing cycle is quick and free from vibration of any kind. The good trigger lets me observe things closer, because I know when it will go off.
RWS Superdomes
Next, I tried RWS Superdome pellets. This is a very popular pellet because it shoots well in many airguns. In this one, the Superdome averaged 761 f.p.s. with a spread from 757 to 764 f.p.s. That’s a very tight spread for a spring-piston rifle. At the average velocity, this pellet generates 18.65 foot-pounds of muzzle energy.
Superdomes seem to fit the rifle’s breech very well. I noticed that one pellet had a dented skirt, but only after I had loaded it. So, I shot it and saw a 30 f.p.s. drop in velocity. I threw that one out of the string because of the damage to the pellet. If I were shooting in a match, I would shoot that pellet into the ground, if I could.
Crosman Premiers
The last pellet I tested was the Crosman Premier dome. This pellet is often the most accurate, or one of the most accurate in many air rifles. This time, however, I don’t think that it will be, because each pellet seemed to fit the breech differently. Many were very tight and squeaked as they were pushed in.
There was one anomaly of a pellet that fit extremely tight and shot 20 f.p.s. slower than the average. Because I knew it was an odd pellet, I removed it from the string. The Premier pellet averaged 751 f.p.s. in the Fusion Premier Star, with a range from 745 to 757 f.p.s. I really expected a wider variation than that from the way they fit the breech, so that was a surprise. At the average velocity, Premiers produced 17.91 foot-pounds of muzzle energy.
Impressions so far
I’m very impressed with the way these Fusion rifles shoot and how nice their triggers can be adjusted. This rifle feels like it’s been tuned, and that’s not a common ocurrence these days. The power it produces is exactly where I want a .22 spring rifle to be, and I’m anticipating a good performance in the accuracy department.
I must also comment on the adjustable walnut stock. Not only is it beautiful, but the adjustable cheekpiece means I can set up this rifle to fit me perfectly, which can do nothing but help when it comes to accuracy.
In short, I have high hopes for this rifle.
So far this one looks like a winner. Nice, classic lines too, but for $400, it better be accurate, because it’ll have some stiff competition in that price range. The nice, adjustable trigger should help that a lot. The muzzle brake looks a little odd being in the white, but I’d guess that’s easy enough to fix if it’s too bothersome.
/Dave
How does the trigger compare to the T06 trigger on the RWS 34?
If it’s second stage is less creepy and can be adjusted lighter, how does it compare to the Rekord trigger on the Beeman R9 ?
Thanks.
Is your T06 creepy in the second stage? I think there is an adjustment for that, but mine breaks cleanly as it was set from the factory.
Johng10,
In the report on the .177 Fusion I said that this trigger is fully the equal of the T06 trigger and not quite as nice as the T05.
B.B.
Hatsan came out with a bunch of springers in the 1000fps range and they felt and shot like crap.
Cometa comes out with some springers shooting in the 700/800fps range and they feel and shoot great… who would have tought 🙄
The problem is now I want one and the detuned ones available here are cheaper than yours (I think it’s a first)!
Must…resist…buying
J-F
At $400.00, this thing better be VERY accurate.
Looks good (except for the air stripper at the muzzle). But at $400 it is definitely at a deficit from my B30 for $150, $300 including tune by Rich Imhoff, which was shooting outstandingly well the other night.
Chuckj, don’t believe that Captain Kirk needed a dating service. He was tomcatting all over the galaxy. This was revealed to me by feminists in graduate school who focused on this behavior–which I never had–and had a highly insulting nickname for my hero! The wonder is that he stuck around for marriage and the kid in that one episode.
Wulfraed, interesting thought on the laser but the amount of dust thrown up by a focused laser impact would only be a fraction of its energy I think and it would be dispersed in a way that would not provide a counterforce to move the object by Newton’s Third Law of motion. Overall, this doesn’t seem like an efficient way to use the laser. No, I think a laser is for cutting asteroids as was demonstrated by an alien race called the Zele in this book I was reading. They attacked a planet used as a base by humans by having their ships all fire at a single spot on the planet causing it to blow up and annihilating the garrison. But the humans retaliated later by dropping special black hole bombs on their home planet. A very creative series of books…
Kevin, thanks for the professional take on hunting positions. So, sitting has a role. But I suspect that slinging up to support your shot is not done and is something of a lost art in the field. I’ve actually found the military sling kind of cumbersome to adjust, but apparently a trained person can do it fairly quickly.
Matt61
If you are in “Armageddon” mode, it is too late for the LASER (to properly give it the acronym). The idea with a LASER is that, at far distances, you don’t need as much force to change the trajectory. A milli-radian change applied between Mars and Earth could change a direct hit into a complete miss. A milli-radian at the distance of the moon may only make a change from east coast to west coast impact.
B.B.
Well, the barrel is crowned from both sides and installed in place.
Here is the muzzle crown: http://i50.tinypic.com/34fjl1c.jpg
Hope that’ll give DWR some precision 😉
duskwight
duskwight,
That’s a good-looking crown. What kind of barrel, again?
B.B.
B.B.
The barrel is 16 mm CZ full cylinder in .177, 12 segment grooves.
duskwight
Wow duskwight. It’s really coming down to crunch time. With a CZ barrel, the gun will be accurate. Judging by the things you write to keep all of us informed, the DWR should prove to be a winner. Yours is the most ambitious “one off ” projects I have had the pleasure to follow. If I am like everyone else, then you have a goodly number of airgunners eagerly awaiting that crucial first shot and group. Just a curiosity. What type of pellets are you planning on using?
As for the Cometa. I am glad it is turning out to be a straight shooter. Especially after the disappointing Hatsan tests. As J-F pointed out, they have been available in Canada for just over a year, in the 495 fps tune. The gun you are testing has a beautiful walnut stock. However, the one Fusion Premier I have seen, has a couple of unsightly knots. I hope this was just one that got past inspection. For $400.00, I not only want a gun to be a good shooter, I also want a nice looker. I hope thats not asking too much.
Caio Titus
Titus,
My safest bet is JSB, I prefer to tune all my airguns to that standard to avoid troubles with ammo. And as far as my experience is, both CZ and Lothar Walther barrels love it. I can’t tell for Beretta or Anschutz – I did not have enough experience with them. However to test it I will also use RWS, Haendler & Natermann and Crosman Premiers in 7,9 grains.
duskwight
BB, Have I missed your posts on the Air Arms Twice? I only found the first one.
Thanks,
Randy
Randy,
Air Arms? Please explain.
B.B.
Randy,
There hasn’t been a report on the Air Arms Twice air rifle. Please provide a link if you think you saw part 1.
Thanks,
Edith
Yeah,
We did the Air Arms Twice. It leaked, got sent back and never finished.
B.B.
Here’s the link: /blog/2011/03/the-air-arms-twice-pcp-air-rifle-part-1/
Too bad that it had to be sent back. Any chance of another go at it?
Thanks,
Randy
Randy,
Probably not. I don’t think PA is going to carry it.
B.B.
BB …
Regarding your blog entry relating to the Chinese rifle called “swift deer” or “running deer” …
You wrote:
One last thing: Why “deer”?
Edith and I wondered why the term “deer” was used…and this also made us wonder why Leapers (makers of UTG optics, bipods and more) uses a deer for their logo. Plus, their name relates to the leaping of deer. After a bit of research, we found a site that explains this…if the data is true: The deer is a Chinese symbol for longevity. The word for “deer” in Chinese is “lu” which could also be translated to mean “revenue” or “earnings.” It’s a mark for desire for fame, recognition and enduring success. If any of you are fluent in Chinese culture and language, maybe you could shed some light on this.
John wrote:
I had a chance to talk with a Chinese anthropology professor here at Indiana University. He states, as you already know, the name is the name of the model of rifle. And, after looking at the photograph of the box with the name of manufacturing company on it in Chinese, he thinks that the animal that is referred to is not so much a “deer” as it is an antelope. In fact, it probably is a quite rare species known as the Tibetan Antelope.
He also thinks that the motion that is referred to is not so much “quick or swift” or “running” as it is “at a speed where one is about to fly” or “approaching the point of flying” or “moving as in flight”. If you put that all together, he believes that the name of this gun is something like “the idea of a Tibetan antelope delicately and accurately moving at such a speed as to fly”. In that case, he thinks it is a pretty good name for a rifle.
He also said that the antelope in question is probably a very rare “Tibetan Antelope” that is found only in a small region of China near Tibet and India. It seems that this antelope may have some particular characteristics in its running and bounding as well as its ability to climb and pick its way around in the mountains. In any case, he told me that the Chinese language often deals with “ideas” more than things, since Chinese characters are really pictographs. So, the marketing people at this factory want the purchaser of this gun to understand the image of ” a rare, very accurate stepping antelope bounding along at such a pace as to fly”. Not a bad concept to embody in a rifle, is it?
I have said it before and I’ll say it again … I am truly amazed at what I learn by reading this blog.
NRS
NRS,
Wow! What an explanation!
This is why Edith and I learn as much from this blog as anyone.
Thank you for going to all the trouble of running this down for us!
B.B.
I think the silver air striper on this rifle looks fine and if it’s anodized aluminum it will help protect the bluing on the barel while cocking the rifle.
Loren
B.B.
I finally put a pump together and filled the Edge last night. Whew! Hopefully the wind will settle down a bit by this weekend so I can give it a decent tryout.
Now I have to find an adapter so I can fill the Talon SS and give it a run also. Anybody have a female 1/4″ BSPP to 1/8″ BSPP laying around doing nothing?
RidgeRunner
What you need is #SKU-U1013 it is the male foster fitting on one end and the other end screws onto your talon tank. Pyramyd no longer lists it but Air Force has it for $21.75.
Loren
Loren & RidgeRunner,
Pyramyd AIR sells the part (U1013):
/product/airforce-refill-adapter-quick-disconnect-nipple?a=3843
Edith
Edith
Thanks I don’t know why I couldn’t find that.
Loren
That was my next go to. I have two male foster fittings and a 1/8″ sleeve.
PA actually has what I want, but they sell it with the fill adapter I already have and not seperate.
Off topic but can someone tell me what i need to fill a BSA super ten it has a 200ci buddy bottle