Shooting target pistols with one hand

By B.B. Pelletier

It’s rare to see someone hold a handgun with one hand anymore. Yet the one-handed hold used to be the most popular way to shoot. In official target events, it’s still the only hold allowed. Here are some tips.

Tip 1 - stand like a pitcher
A major-league baseball pitcher orients his feet to control the direction of his pitch. So do handgunners. By placing the feet just so, you can control the left and right orientation of the barrel so your shot placement will be inside a 12" span at the target distance of 10 meters (which is close to 33 feet). Twelve inches sounds like a lot, but we’ll reduce that in the next step.

Stand with your feet approximately shoulder-width apart. The foot on the side of your shooting hand (right foot for right-handed shooters) should be in front of your other foot so your non-shooting side is angled about 45 to 60 degrees away from the target. Don’t measure angles; just do the following.

Close your eyes and point the finger of your shooting hand toward the target. Don’t guess where the target is; just point your finger in the most natural direction. Open your eyes and notice whether the target is in front of your finger or to one side. If it’s to one side, adjust the foot on the non-shooting side either backward or forward to bring your entire body around until you are pointing naturally at the target. Close your eyes and try it again. When your finger is pointing at the target when your eyes open, that’s where your feet should be.

Tip 2 - grip the handgun the same way EVERY TIME
Open your shooting hand and insert the handgun with the other hand, jamming the grip deep into the web between your thumb and index finger. Wrap your middle finger only around the front of the grip frame, then let your thumb and other two fingers come to rest lightly against the pistol grip. Now raise the shooting arm up in front of you and lower it until you can see the front sights. Are the sights in line with the target? If not, shift your feet until the handgun comes into line with the target as you lower it from a raised position. When you are aligned, you have acquired the correct stance and grip for one-handed target shooting.

Once your feet are planted correctly, the proper grip controls the gun to such an extent that the latitude, side to side, is only a few inches at 10 meters. Close your eyes, raise the pistol and point it toward the target. When you open your eyes, the pistol should be pointed directly at the target. If not, make small feet adjustments until the pistol is aligned with the target.

Tip 3 – hold on target for no more than 5 seconds
This is hard and takes practice. The worst thing you can do is hold longer than 5 seconds. You’ll end up “sniping” at the target instead of smoothly squeezing the trigger until the sear releases. All good target airguns have a dry-fire feature for practicing this technique. Use it!

How to pick a spring rifle

By B.B. Pelletier

Every airgunner, and I do mean EVERY, has asked this question at one time or another, "What should I look for in a spring air rifle?" After a few transactions and some experience with various models, you will get the hang of it, but a new person always finds the world of spring guns very puzzling.

A spring rifle must be COCKED
Cocking effort should be a major deciding factor. A lot of shooters want all the power they can get, but they forget (or perhaps don't appreciate) that spring rifles have to be cocked. That usually means you have to supply the effort! The most powerful rifles, such as the Webley Patriot Export, usually take the greatest effort to cock. A Patriot takes about 50 lbs. of effort to lever the barrel down to the cocked position.

In contrast, a Webley Tomahawk will be much easier to cock. The rifle is only two-thirds as powerful, but do you really need the extra power? The Tomahawk is twice as powerful as any spring rifle made before 1970.

There ARE some compromises!
You want power AND easy cocking? Of course you do. Then look at the Diana RWS model 48 and its dressier cousin, the Diana RWS model 52. The sidelever cocking link reduces effort and still delivers a lot of power. It's not as much as the Patriot, but the effort is 17 lbs. less, so you can do a lot more shooting.

The TX 200 MkIII isn't as powerful as the Diana RWS 48 and 52, but it is even easier to cock. ALL the rifles I've mentioned are wonderfully accurate if you do your part. But, they're not cheap.

When the price REALLY counts
If money is in short supply, don't settle for a cheap gun - or you'll never be happy with it and possibly sour yourself on breakbarrels in general. Buying used or remanufactured guns or checking the sale items is a great way to save money on a quality breakbarrel rifle.

The springer that requires NO work!
For the diehard couch potatoes, there is a perfect spring air rifle from Rutten. The Airstar Electric is cocked by a motor! The high-torque motor sounds like an impact wrench and is definitely not for the hunter, but it does relieve you of the need to cock the mainspring. There are only two of these remaining at Pyramyd, so jump if you really want one.

In a future post, I'll go over the differences between the various cocking systems.

Does cocking a breakbarrel gun bend the barrel over time?

By B.B. Pelletier

The myth goes like this - "If you cock an airgun by its barrel, surely the barrel will bend over time." This is an urban legend and is completely false! But, it illustrates that some shooters are thinking about the strength of the barrel, and that can lead to some dangerous "experiments" that could bend a barrel in an instant.

Airgun barrels are strong!
To prove my point about the strength of airgun barrels, consider this. A Haenel barrel on a breakbarrel model made in the 1930s is still straight today after hundreds of thousands of shots and even some accidents over the years. What about a Diana model 65 target rifle used by a shooting club? Still in service after several MILLION shots by hundreds of club members since the gun was new in 1970, the barrel remains straight enough to win an important match. The mainspring may have been replaced 20 times by now and all the bluing has been worn off the barrel at the front sight where hands have grabbed to cock over the years, but the barrel is still as straight as the day it left the factory. Breakbarrels don't bend with normal usage.

It's EASY to bend a breakbarrel simply by mistreating it!
By deliberately mistreating an airgun, the barrel can be bent in an instant. What some "curious" owners do is break open the barrel, then fire the gun with the barrel broken fully open to see how fast the mainspring can close the barrel. Sounds like great fun, huh?

When the barrel closes with the force of more than 100 lbs. of spring behind it, the end of the barrel where the front sight it mounted wants to continue moving long after the breech slams into its locked position. The result is an upward bend in the barrel at the point where the barrel passes through the breechblock. You can achieve the same effect by running rapidly through a narrow doorway holding a stepladder sideways. The Three Stooges demonstrated that numerous times. Judging from what I see on America's Funniest Home Videos, there are still some idiots dumb enough to try it today!

Shooting with the barrel broken open is DANGEROUS!
A rapidly closing barrel will cut off fingers! People have been hit in the forehead by front sights when the rifle wrenches out of their grasp from closing rapidly. And half the time the stock splinters, in addition to bending the barrel. Stocks cost nearly half the price of the entire gun, so there are several good reasons to NOT TRY this DANGEROUS experiment.

The barrel-bending myth helps sales of sidelevers and underlevers
There is nothing wrong with either a sidelever or an underlever cocking mechanism, as long as you understand that both add weight to the gun. The breakbarrel will always be the most efficient design from a weight standpoint. Some people just will not accept that an airgun barrel can be strong enough to cock a gun millions of times without bending. I wonder how many bottle openers these people wear out in their lifetimes? Or crowbars? Or shovels?


The powerful Webley Patriot is a breakbarrel with
no barrel-bending problems, despite a heavy mainspring!

Exhibit A - The Webley Patriot Export
The Webley Patriot Export breakbarrel is one of the most powerful spring rifles in existence, and it uses the barrel to cock the gun! A force of approximately 50 lbs. is required each and every time the rifle is cocked; yet, the Patriot barrel remains rifle-straight indefinitely. Why? Because they made it that way.
 
Breakbarrel rifles don't bend their barrels over time. As long as you use them as intended, they will last for centuries.

The differences between .177 & .22 - and which jobs they do best

By B.B. Pelletier

There are two other smallbore pellet calibers, but in terms of sales and recognition, .177 and .22 are the major ones. For three-quarters of a century, .22 was the sales leader in America, while .177 lead in Europe nearly all that time. In the 1970s, when many British and European models started being imported to this country in large numbers, the preference for .177 came along with them and now the U.S. is in line with the rest of the airgun world. But newcomers often ask, "What are the significant differences between these two calibers, and why should I care?"

In any airgun, .22 is always more powerful
This is true irrespective of the type of powerplant, length of barrel or anything else. Twenty-two delivers about 20% more punch in any given airgun. The technical specifications for the Air Arms Pro Sport illustrate that. Instead of giving velocities for the guns, Pyramyd gives the muzzle energy, allowing you to clearly see the difference in power.

The same difference holds true for all other models of air rifles and pistols. When the velocity is given, the .22 is always slower, but we should not fail to appreciate that it shoots a pellet weighing twice as much. That's where the extra power comes from.

Accuracy is the same for both calibers - sometimes!
This fact is not as clear as the power issue. You see, sometimes a manufacturer will use a barrel of different quality for one caliber. For example, sometimes a 12-groove barrel will be used for a .177 while a six-groove barrel is used for the .22-caliber barrel in the same gun. There is no inherent accuracy advantage for any particular number of grooves - just the fact that the barrels are made differently allows for the possibility that one will be more accurate than the other.

.177 is the caliber for 10-meter target guns - period!
Only .177 is the caliber accepted by all international 10-meter shooting organizations. That means all target guns are made in that caliber and no other. The extra care given to the construction of target guns ensures that .177 target airguns are the most accurate. There are no .22-caliber equivalents.

.22 caliber dominates the hunting scene
While is is possible to hunt with a .177, .22 caliber is by far the favorite. Sometimes, a .177 pellet will pass through the game animal without doing enough severe damage to stop the animal. Hunters who have had their quarry run away after a solid hit often switch to .22 immediately thereafter.

Even a .22 pellet is no guarantee of a humane kill. The pellet still has to hit a vital spot, and even then there may be some running or thrashing after the hit - but hunters notice a decided advantage when they use .22 caliber.

.177 pellets are cheaper
There is a big advantage to the smaller caliber here. Not only are there more pellets to choose from in .177, they also come more to a box and cost a significant amount less. Look at Crosman Premiers in .177 compared to Premiers in .22 for a comparison. If you look at the pellet count per box, you'll see that you get exactly twice as many .177s as .22s for the same price. That's a dramatic example, for sure, because the usual price difference is more like 30%, or so. If you plan on doing a lot of target shooting and general plinking, .177 is your best bet.

I hope this short discussion helps some people make the choice between calibers. In the end, of course, either caliber can satisfy most shooting needs.

Rock & roll with an airsoft submachinegun

By B.B. Pelletier

You owe it to yourself to check out the M11 A1 by KSC, an airsoft replica of an Ingram M11 A1 .380-caliber submachine pistol used in the movie True Lies. Jamie Lee Curtis wiped out a squad of terrorists attacking her and her secret-agent husband (Arnold Schwarzenegger) by dropping an M11 down a flight of stairs. As the pistol bumped and rolled down the stairs, it fired and killed all the bad guys while Curtis screamed and waved her hands helplessly in excitement.

Empties your mag in less than 2.5 seconds!
This nifty green gas gun fires a whopping 1,200 rounds a minute! The stick magazine holds 48 airsoft BBs. At 20 rounds a second, you'll be empty in 2.5 seconds. I defy you to shoot just 2 rounds in full auto. Your finger isn't fast enough!

A separate loader makes pouring in BBs a breeze, though you will have to fiddle to get all the voids out of the stack. You don't really have to bother to do that, since the gun fires without a hitch til the mag is empty. Expect some BBs to drop from the gun while you shoot, so shooting outside will cause less trouble than having them in your house.

Speaking of BBs, get a truckload, because they go REALLY fast! But also get a a bottle with a pouring spout, to pour them into the magazine loader.

The Hop Up mechanism (makes BBs fly straight over longer distances) is adjustable through the ejection port by using a spanner (wrench) that's included with the gun. My gun was shooting them high until I adjusted for the 0.20-gram BBs I used.


The spanner (wrench) moves the point of impact.
Shooting too low? Move the spanner up.
Shooting too high? Move the spanner down.

If you can't read Japanese, here's how to load the green gas
There's nothing more frustrating than getting a gun and not being able to shoot it right away. Since the instructions are written in Japanese, these directions for loading green gas will make things easier for you:

1. Invert the magazine
2. Stick the green gas probe into the gas port (in the bottom of the mag)
3. Press down firmly & hold for about 2 seconds
4. Repeat step 3 several times
5. When gas starts puffing out around the gas port, your gun is filled


Depress the green gas can's probe into the
magazine's gas port for 2 seconds at a time.

Be sure to stock up on green gas. I ran through it pretty fast, even though there are thousands of shots in a large can. The gun holds enough gas to shoot 2 full mags.

Yes, it has sights - no, you won't use them! You'll mash down the trigger and walk your shots onto the target the same as the rest of us.

There's a semiautomatic switch on the left side of the receiver, and I expect you'll use it about as often as you read the tags on your mattresses.

Solid, powerful - and a boatload of fun!
This is a solid-feeling gun without being too heavy. It weighs about 3 lbs. with the metal magazine installed. The rest of the gun's exterior is plastic, but it has a great feel to it. The steel wire stock deploys from under the receiver, and the butt flips down and locks in place. The gun can be fired from the shoulder or held as a pistol.

This gun is among the most powerful you can buy off the shelf (it will shoot out light bulbs), so wear shooting glasses and don't shoot at people or pets!

I don't care who you are - you're gonna love shooting this gun!

Why I like big bore single-shot air rifles

By B.B. Pelletier

I promised a reader of the April 11 blog that I would explain why I like my big bore airguns to be single shots.

Big bores can be VERY accurate
And, single-loaded bullets are also VERY accurate. Ask anyone who reloads ammunition for firearms why they do it, and one of the answers is they can make better ammo. Better means more accurate.

Single shots out-perform repeaters
I'm not making this up - check it out. For the best accuracy possible, always use a single-shot. This is very important in pellet guns. By inserting a pellet directly into the bore, rather than letting a mechanism do it for you, you are cutting down the chance for damage to the pellet.

My favorite Pyramyd big bore
I like all the single-shot big bores Pyramyd Air offers, but I do have a favorite. The Big Bore 909S (which used to be called the Big Bore 44) is a .45-caliber single-shot rifle with a sliding breech cover for loading the barrel. It is SO EASY to load this rifle - even with a large scope mounted on top.

The 909S loading port is longer than the loading trough on the Career Dragon .50-caliber bolt-action rifle, so you can load longer, heavier bullets. Take a look at the .45 caliber pellets available on this website.

A single-shot means more ammo possibilities
Consider this: the 909S is a .45-caliber rifle with the SAME bore size as a .45 ACP pistol cartridge. So there are HUNDREDS OF LEAD BULLETS to choose from! Any good gun store should have several styles of cast lead bullets that will fit your rifle. They need to be sized 0.451" or 0.452", which is the most common size for the .45 ACP.

The 909S also produces about the same power as the Dragon, even though it shoots a slightly smaller caliber bullet, so you lose nothing by choosing it. Of course, the Dragon ain't no slouch, either! Pyramyd stocks three .50-caliber pellets for it. Aftermarket bullets are not as common as they are for the .45, but if you cast your own, they can be whatever you want. Just don't go too far past 275 grains in weight because the rifle won't stabilize a bullet heavier than that.

The other reason I like single-shot big bores
This reason is simple - AIR. Big bores go through a lot of it. It's fairly useless to have 10 fast shots if you only have enough air for 4! So big bore repeaters are all in the smaller calibers. When you want to shoot a real bruiser, it will be a single-shot for sure.

Let me know what you think of big bore single-shots!

5 more tips to improve your accuracy

By B.B. Pelletier

1. "Aim small, miss small"
That's a quote from the movie Patriot. It means that if you aim at a small enough target, even a near miss might land your pellet (or bullet) where you want it.

Here's how it applies. If you are shooting at targets, don't shoot out your aim point. Adjust the scope so your shots land somewhere other than at the intersection of the crosshairs. That way, you'll always have the fresh spot on the target to aim at.

Many shooters don't know this and they think they can just guess where to aim when the aim point is gone. That increases the size of their groups by an enormous amount. Of course, after you've shot your super-tight groups, don't forget to readjust your scope so the aim point and point of impact are the same.


With the center blown
away, where do you aim?


Adjust the scope to group
away from the aim point.

2. Shoot smaller numbers of shots
A 10-shot group will always be larger than a 5-shot group from the same gun when all other conditions remain the same. A 3-shot group will usually be smaller than a 5-shot group. To decrease the size of your groups, shoot fewer shots.

3. Use REAL paper targets
If you've never used real paper targets, you're in for a treat. Real targets are printed on paper that doesn't tear the way standard copier paper does. I'm always amazed at people who print their targets on a printer because they will have almost no idea how large or small their groups really are.

Paper targets are printed on special paper, which is why they cost a little more; but, if you care about accuracy, they'll deliver the results you want. And, if you are going to use real targets, you should also use wadcutter pellets, because they cut perfectly round holes that are easier to score and measure. There are many brands and models of these pellets, but for my money RWS R10 (light) and H&N High Speed Finale Match pellets get the highest marks.

4. Use a good scope
I can't believe how many shooters give away 50% of the potential accuracy of their air rifle by not using a scope. When it comes to accuracy, there simply is no comparison between open sights of any kind and a scope. A target scope usually out-performs a hunting scope, but you have to be careful because a lot of makers call their scopes target scopes. Look for higher magnification and finer reticles on good target scopes, such as this Leapers 6-24x50mm scope or this AirForce 4-16x50mm scope.

Of course, if you just want to shoot with open sights, that's a different story. But acknowledge that any rifle will be 50% more accurate with a properly-installed scope.

5. Use good pellets
How do you know a good pellet when you see it? For starters, brand-name pellets are usually good. The best names in the world are H&N, RWS, Bohumin and Crosman (for Premiers in the cardboard box, only). Pellets purchased at discount stores tend to be the cheaper brands and are often disappointing. If you need to stock up on good pellets, this is a great time to do it. Pyramyd Air still has their pellet promotion going - buy 4 boxes of pellets and only pay for 3!

If you add these 5 accuracy tips to those I've written in previous blogs, you'll be well on your way to shooting better - and enjoying it that much more! Let me know if these help you or if you have questions.

SAFETY!

By B.B. Pelletier

Whenever you shoot, safety is your most important consideration, so let's talk about few important aspects of how to be safe with an airgun.

Point that muzzle where you WANT to shoot!
Our No. 1 safety rule is ALWAYS point the muzzle in the direction you want shoot. I did NOT say to point it in a safe direction, because the only safe direction is the one in which a pellet can be fired and do no damage. Follow this rule, and you'll never have to say "I didn't know the gun was loaded" when you shoot something you really didn't want to shoot.

When you think about what would happen if your gun fired at any given moment in time, you'll always handle your gun's muzzle carefully by pointing in the direction you intend to shoot.

Keep your finger off the trigger until you take the shot
This is important with airguns for two reasons. The first one is obvious: if you stay away from the trigger, you won't violate rule No. 1. The second reason is just as important but not as well known: many spring-powered airguns can pinch fingers severely (even cutting them off!) if the barrel closes unexpectedly during loading. To help prevent that, STAY OFF THE TRIGGER until you are ready to shoot.

Wear eye protection when shooting
Always wear safety glasses while shooting. BBs are especially prone to bouncing straight back at you; at close range, lead fragments can also fly back and hit you. Safety glasses are a part of every shooting sport, so get into the habit of wearing them now. Safety glasses should be worn by everyone in the area - not just the shooter.

If you play games with airsoft guns, eye, head and ear protection is more important than any other piece of equipment. Airsoft is a lot safer than paintball, but that's no excuse for ignoring safety altogether.

Use a trap made especially for catching pellets or BBs
Responsible shooting means controlling where the shot goes after its fired. The mistake many people make is not having a good enough pellet trap for the gun they shoot. It takes a lot to stop pellets from a magnum rifle like the Webley Patriot. Wadded-up newspapers and phone books won't do the job. Invest in a trap like the Beeman pellet trap to stop your shots with a margin of safety.

BBs are harder to stop than pellets because they bounce off every hard surface they come in contact with. Crosman's 850 BB trap is ideal for this and is made exactly for this purpose.

There are other safety considerations, of course, so from time to time I will mention a few more. Airgun shooting is one of the safest sports in the world, but that's only because everyone tries hard to keep it that way. Do your part so we can continue to enjoy it!

Will a PCP gun function the same if I fill it with CO2?

By B.B. Pelletier

Today's title was inspired by a recent question. It comes up a lot as shooters begin to realize how their gas guns operate. CO2 is such a handy gas, too, because it gives many more shots than an equivalent container of compressed air. PCP (precharged pneumatic) guns use compressed air as their power source. The air comes from a compressor, a scuba tank or a hand pump.

So, what happens when you replace your gun's air with CO2?
CO2 changes pressure as the temperature changes, but air is more stable. At 60 degrees, CO2 maintains a pressure of about 747 psi. At 80 degrees, it climbs to 969 psi. But, the air in most PCP guns is 3,000 psi! CO2 has approximately one-third the working pressure of air. If a gun's valve has been designed to work well with air, there is no way it will also be compatible with CO2 unless the air is held to the same pressure as CO2.

Several years ago, Dennis Quackenbush experimented with his CO2-powered .375-caliber Brigand rifle. Using CO2, the gun got about 12 shots at 640-675 f.p.s. When 1,000 psi air was used in place of CO2, the total number of shots dropped to three and the velocity rose to 800 f.p.s.

That test was the reverse of what we're talking about here, but the relationship is the same. If you use air in place of CO2, the velocity goes up while the number of shots decreases. Do the reverse, and the shot count increases while the velocity decreases.

If the air pressure inside the tank exceeds the pressure of CO2 by very much, the larger valve will be held closed during firing, which is a condition known as valve lock. So there is no easy way to substitute these gasses.

CO2 and air are fundamentally different and not interchangeable
Even if the air and CO2 temperatures are similar, CO2 will never flow as well as air. The CO2 molecule is MUCH larger than any of the gasses in air, which prevents it from flowing readily through a valve. Conversely, air flows much better through passages designed for CO2.

But, even the fundamental principles of science haven't discouraged everyone from experimenting! Several years ago, a British company marketed a replacement air tank that was supposed to fit in guns that normally take CO2 powerlets. The theory was that one could save money by filling this tiny tank with 3,000 psi air in place of CO2. It was a flop from the start, and several shooters lost more than $100 a pop investing in the metal parts that never worked. Even worse, the high pressure locked the valves of the guns in which it was tried and even damaged some of them! If you want to use CO2 in a pneumatic airgun, the entire valve has to be changed. Otherwise, the gun will fail to function.

Two BB guns you'll never see

By B.B. Pelletier

Today is a fun day. Imagine you work at the Daisy Manufacturing Company around the year 1960. It might have been a few years earlier, but probably not much later.

You're cranking out BB guns by the million each year, and the monotony is getting to you. So you decide to do something different.

In another part of the plant they make true toy guns that don't shoot anything. These are for the smaller boys and girls who aren’t yet ready for the responsibility of a real BB gun.

To hold their interest, these toys are painted with bright colors that contrast vividly with the almost black finish you put on BB guns. So your idea is to paint a few real BB guns with some of the bright toy colors. Blue and pink are especially attractive, having been blended to suit the marketing department's brainstorm that kids want their guns to be gender-specific.

In the injection-molding department, you get the guys to make a special short run of white plastic stocks, similar to the real Annie Oakley and Space Ranger stocks they recently made for the marketeers. Those guns never sold well, but you won't be selling the guns you're about to make, so it doesn't matter.


Daisy Targeteer pistol


Daisy number 25 pump rifle

The guns you chose to doll up this way are Daisy's number 25 pump gun and the Targeteer pistol. Both familiar icons of American youth, they look positively other-worldly in electric "Toy Blue" with white styrene stocks.

Once they are together, you decide these guns look so special that they are presented to some person (or persons, because nobody knows for sure how many were made) who is in favor at Daisy.

A few guns also make their way into the hands of some of the old-time Daisy employees who collect what the company makes. In 50 years, they have all changed hands and all that anyone can remember is that a few were made for one reason or another.

Obviously, they were made because you see them here. One man owns both these BB guns and has little motivation to part with either one. The number 25 pump gun is in nearly new condition, only with evidence of handling and storage. The Targeteer pistol has more wear but still shows a lot of the original paint. The white styrene on both guns is yellowing, but not as much as it appears in these pictures.

Though they are at least 45 years old, they use the same BBs as today's airguns. If they aren't shooting hard when you get them, a little gun oil in the right place brings them back most of the time.

These unique airguns and others like them are what keep many collectors young at heart. You never know when you'll encounter a strange item like one of these (or both!). Go to the airgun shows and watch the gun auctions and you'll run across something strange sooner or later.

Now, the title of this article is incorrect. You've seen these two guns, right here!

A trick to shoot precharged pneumatics more accurately

By B.B. Pelletier

Prechanged pneumatics are all the rage among airgunners these days, because these guns are so accurate and easy to shoot. A spring gun takes technique to shoot accurately. If you try to hold it firmly like a firearm, your accuracy will suffer. But, a precharged gun seems to be as neutral as a firearm, forgiving of different holds to a great extent - but not completely.

When the reservoir fills and empties, your barrel may be moving!
A precharged gun is vulnerable in its reservoir - or, rather, the things attached to the reservoir, such as the barrel. Let me tell you what happens to an air reservoir when it's filled. Regardless of the reservoir's composition or how thick it is, every reservoir flexes when being filled.

Although it sounds silly, think of your rifle's air tank as being a balloon. It may not inflate quite as much when you fill it, but the metal does swell and move. Conversely, as you shoot and exhaust the air from the reservoir, the metal walls shrink and move in the opposite direction. If the barrel is connected to the reservoir at any point, the movement will be transmitted to the barrel and it will move as well.

Low power might cause your groups to shift
A rifle like the Career 707, where the barrel is in contact with the reservoir, will be influenced by the amount of air in the rifle at any point. The saving grace for the 707 is that the two smaller reservoir tubes stacked on top of one another move less than a single tube. Even so, if you shoot it on low power for many shots at long range, you will notice your vertical groups shift slightly as the pressure declines. Since most people buy the Career to shoot at high power, they won't be affected by this phenomenon. By the time they're ready to refill the reservoir, the air pressure isn't low enough to have caused a shift!

Contrast that to a rifle with a full free-floated barrel, such as the Logun S-16. Since the barrel never touches the reservoir, it can't be influenced by it. Or, so it would seem.

Avoid this common mistake & your groups will improve noticeably!
How do you rest your rifle? Do you rest it on a sandbag? Which part of the gun is touching the sandbag - the stock or the reservoir? A rifle like the Logun Axsor has enough reservoir tube sticking out past the end of the stock to make a nice resting spot for a sandbag, but don't do it! Rest a PCP on its stock - never on the reservoir tube - so your groups don't wander. My theory is that the harmonics of the gun change when the metal reservoir is dampened (vibration is stopped) by the sandbag, but that's just what I think. What I know is that resting a reservoir on a sandbag is a "cure" for accuracy!

Several years ago I caught myself resting PCPs on their reservoirs or their stocks, whichever was convenient. My reservoir-rested groups were horrible, while my stock-rested groups were good. If I hadn't noticed what was happening, I would have been one discouraged puppy!

Why not conduct your own tests? Shoot several groups with the reservoir resting on sandbags; then switch over and shoot the same number of groups (with the same level of air in the reservoir) while resting your gun on the stock. You should see a difference. Let me know your results!

Grasp the secret of accurate handgun shooting

By B.B. Pelletier

For pistol shooters, controlling the trigger really means controlling the entire gun because the hand that holds the gun contains the trigger finger. One hand applies two different types of pressure - static and dynamic. The essence of trigger control is a natural by-product of a correct pistol grip. Here's a fuller explanation of the correct grip and some other tips that should help you shoot better.

6 steps to becoming a crack shot!
1. Grip! Pick up your pistol and work the grip into position as described below until it is correctly and comfortably sitting in your hand. Only practice and experience will help you determine what is correct. Nothing says you have to maintain a grip on your pistol throughout the entire match. In fact, most experienced shooters regrip the pistol for each shot.

2. Setup! Your trigger finger should never deliver any sideways motion when it's squeezing the trigger. To improve your squeeze, make sure the trigger blade is positioned so the natural movement of your finger is straight back. The center of your trigger finger's pad should be the only part touching the trigger blade. Smoothly squeeze (do not pull!) the trigger back. If your trigger finger isn't in the proper position, you do not have a proper grip. Go back to Step 1 to reposition your hand so your trigger finger is in the right place.

3. Hold! Your thumb plays no role. It just touches the grip. No squeezin'. No movin'. No nothin'! Your middle finger helps press the gun's grip into your hand so the gun rests comfortably in the area between your thumb and your index finger. Some people call this the web of your hand.

4. Shoot! Limit the time you hold the sight picture on the target to no more than five seconds. Not able to do it in five seconds? Stop immediately and start all over again by going back to Step 1. You don't want to stand there and hold the gun for a long period of time. You'll get tired, you'll hesitate and you won't have control over your trigger when you finally yank off your shot in frustration.

5. Breathe! Take several deep breaths, then one last breath and let half out. You now have about five seconds of calm until your heart starts to protest. This is when the shot must be taken.

6. Concentrate! Look at the sight picture and focus on the front sight blade instead of the target. Like a camera that focuses on a close object while making the object far away blurry, you are focusing on the sight picture while the target down range is not quite as sharp. The rear sight notch is also a little fuzzy, but because it is closer to the front sight, it is more in focus than the bullseye. That's how winners do it.

Proper grip and trigger control are a big part of shooting a target pistol more accurately. Let me know how this works for you.

Almost everything you ever wanted to know about electric compressors but didn't know who to ask

By B.B. Pelletier

You've made the move to precharged airguns and found out how neat they are. At first you had a pump, but you quickly discovered how much effort is involved. You still have the pump but have decided to switch to scuba tanks for easier filling most of the time.

The scuba tank is great, but now you have to drag it back to the dive shop to get it refilled. Remember when you once wondered how many gun fills were in that scuba tank? Now you know - it all depends on how many shots you want from your guns and which guns you are filling. But, eventually, every scuba tank will need to be refilled.

So, loving the precharged guns like you do and with a little experience under your belt, you're thinking about getting an electric compressor. What is there about the compressor that you need to know?

Answers to the most frequently asked electric compressor questions
Q: Will the compressor fill a scuba tank?
A: Yes, it will, but not continuously. It isn't made for that. The electric compressor has the hand pump at its heart. All the motor does is work the handle for you. The compressor will pump airguns thousands of times, or you can ruin it in a short time filling scuba tanks. Tom Gaylord's article about the electric compressor is somewhat misleading. He says he filled scuba tanks several times, and I'm sure he did, but that was just a TEST. He didn't continue to use the compressor that way for months. It is NOT a commercial-grade high-pressure compressor and should only be used to fill the tanks of airguns!

Q: How long does it take to fill a gun with the compressor?
A: If the gun has some air in it, it only takes a couple minutes to refill it with the compressor. Guns with a larger capacity take longer than guns with less capacity. If you are filling a gun from empty, it will take about three times as long as it takes to fill a gun that has some air in it.

Q: Can I run the compressor in my house?
A: That depends on the house. The compressor is not overly noisy, but it does make about the same noise as a noisy clothes washer. It also vibrates. In a frame house, you'll notice the vibration. Put it on a solid floor for best results.

Q: Is it worth the money?
Definitely. This is the lowest-priced new electric air compressor on the market today.

Q: Why can't I use my shop compressor to charge my airgun?
A: Most shop compressors don't go above 175 psi. You usually need 3,000 psi for airguns. You can buy a booster for your shop compressor that will take it up to 3,000 psi, but my understanding is they cost close to $1,000.

Those are some answers to questions that have been sent in to Pyramyd Air. If you have others, leave a comment at the bottom of this posting.

Are your hollowpoint hunting pellets mushrooming on impact?

By B.B. Pelletier

Before I get on with this report, I thought you'd like to know about a terrific new promotion! Pyramyd Air is giving away 2 free Crosman AirSource cylinders with each purchase of an AirSource rifle! If you're thinking of buying one of these guns, now is the time.


Mushroomed bullet

Rimfire hunters often select hollowpoint bullets because they mushroom at relatively low velocities and deliver more "punch" to the target by transferring more energy on impact. Some airgunners believe that hollowpoint pellets should also be their choice for hunting. However, that may not be the best pellet for the job. Will the hollowpoint pellets you select ACTUALLY mushroom when shot from YOUR pellet rifle? Will they perform at the range at which the game is encountered rather than at the rifle's muzzle?

You'll have to test your hollowpoint pellets to determine if they are up to the job of knocking down a target at the distances you hunt. Here's a quick and easy way to do that.

A 3-step test to make sure your pellet is ideal for hunting
1. Expansion
To see how a particular pellet performs on game, shoot it into a bar of soap or a block of modeling clay at the distance you intend shooting your quarry. If your quarry is particularly tough, such as a squirrel or crow, use two blocks of clay/soap bars with a board the thickness of a popsicle stick sandwiched in between. While this isn't an exact match for flesh and bone, it'll give you a pretty good idea about your pellet's performance.

Hollowpoint pellets such as an RWS Super-H-Point will expand at normal air rifle velocities, but they don't actually mushroom in the classic sense. When shot from a magnum precharged rifle (like the Sumatra 2500), they will actually mushroom. The Sumatra's 6-shot cylinder is also great for feeding hollowpoints.

2. Feeding
If you use a repeater, test to ensure the hollowpoint will feed reliably through the mechanism. Hollowpoints can only be shot from repeating guns having cylinders or from single-shots such as the Condor. Guns with linear magazines such as the Career 707 will not feed these pellets reliably.

3. Accuracy
Hollowpoint pellets perform differently from one gun to another. If a certain hollowpoint groups inside an inch at 25 yards, then that is the MAXIMUM range for that pellet in your rifle when used to hunt an animal with a kill zone that size. That or less is about the size of most of your targets when hunting airgun game. Some larger game animals (raccoons, woodchucks, etc.) may have a zone measuring 1.5", but that's about the maximum.

Only by testing each pellet in the rifle in which it will be used can you be sure of the actual accuracy. Unlike round-nose pellets, hollowpoint pellets do not have a reputation for long-range accuracy, so testing should be an important part of your selection process.

Big bore airguns "Git-R-Done"!

By B.B. Pelletier

A lot of airgunners are fascinated with big bore airguns. Like, "How can a .45-caliber rifle shoot a 225-grain "pellet" over 600 feet per second on just AIR? Believe it or not, it's possible - and so are many other supposedly unbelievable things.

For starters, did you know that these same guns will often group in one inch at 50 yards? They not only develop crushing power, they also deliver that power precisely where it's needed to "Git-R-Done"!

Big bore airguns are over 400 years old
There were 20-shot repeating air rifles in the Austrian army before the year 1800. They were 50-caliber monsters capable of killing a man at 100 yards. At that time, a firearm could not reliably hit a man-sized target at more than 50 yards - on a good day (except from the target's viewpoint, I suppose). Firearms were all single shots that took about 20 seconds for a well-trained man to load, while the 20-shot Girandoni repeater could dump its whole magazine of 20 balls in less than a minute!

You would have paid a king's ransom (the equivalent of $30,000 - $50,000) for one of those old guns - even for the single-shots that were more available than the military Girandoni. Yet, today, you can buy a modern big bore single-shot for $500-600. Check out the Big Bore 909S from Sam Yang. It delivers around 200 foot-pounds of power and shoots HUGE .45-caliber lead bullets.

If .45 isn't big enough for you, there's always the .50-caliber Career Dragon. Check out the article on this website that shows accuracy and velocity with a test gun. The Dragon is a bolt-action and looks more conventional, while the Big Bore 909S has a sliding breech for loading. Both rifles deliver about the same power, with the accuracy edge perhaps going to the Dragon.

Big bores and repeating mechanisms are not a good match
As it turns out, a big bore is one gun that you DON'T WANT as a repeater. The 9mm Career Ultra was a seven-shot lever-action repeater, but the pellets that fit in it were lightweight. It also allowed single loading, but the mechanism was sized for the smallish repeating pellet and proved too cumbersome to accept serious bullets. On the other hand, the 9mm Career single-shot loads and shoots real pistol bullets more than twice as heavy.

The Big Bore 44 and the Career Dragon are single-shots rifles, and the airgun equivalent of muzzleloaders. They're PERFECT for shooting pellets or bullets of your choice. The article about the Dragon even mentions that. That puts YOU in the driver's seat to discover the best combination for power and accuracy. Use commercially cast bullets or cast them yourself.

Let me know if these guns stir your pot the way they do mine, because there is a lot more to talk about. Oh, yeah, and there are more big bores on this website, too. Who will be the first to post all of them as a comment to this message?

How should I clean my airgun barrel?

By B.B. Pelletier

You don't always HAVE to clean your barrel
Airgun barrels do get dirty. They collect dirt in the bore from the oil in the barrel. Oil gets there for many reasons. In spring guns, the mechanism puts it there (through the transfer port). In pneumatics and gas guns, we sometimes oil the pellets. Some pellets even come pre-oiled or waxed. So barrels do get dirty, but the deposits don't remain inside.

Every pellet down the barrel scrapes out the deposits from the pellets that went before. This is why many airgunners never clean their barrels.

Faster velocities and hard pellets can deposit lead in the bore
As velocities climb above 900 f.p.s., some pellets will leave streaks of lead on the surface of the bore. Hard pellets are the worst. Pure lead pellets are soft and don't leave lead deposits as easily, but pellets that have antimony in their alloy are harder and more prone to scrape off. Try to scratch the head of a pellet with your fingernail. If it's soft, you'll be able to leave a scratch mark - but you won't leave a mark it if it's hard.

4 rules for the proper cleaning of airguns
Unless you know your barrel has lead in it, all you need to do is:

1. Run several clean patches through the bore to remove the dirt and grease. Remember, you DO NOT have to do this unless you want to! Many Olympic champions do not clean their airguns - ever! But there is no harm in cleaning, unless you make some fundamental mistakes.

2. Clean from the breech if at all possible. You want to protect the rifling at the muzzle because damage there will spoil the gun's accuracy.

3. Do not use solvents to clean an airgun. A good grade of gun oil on a patch will remove the dirt, but keep that to a minimum.

4. Dry the bore after cleaning unless the gun is going into long-term storage, in which case a light film of good gun oil is best.

Some tips when more cleaning is necessary
Has a formerly accurate airgun started spreading its shots around? You may need to remove some excess lead buildup. A brass or bronze brush is the best way to remove lead. You will have to scrub back and forth. Since this can damage the bore, don't do it more often than necessary.

For airguns that present a challenge, there are flexible cleaning cables that pull the patch through from the muzzle. When using a cable of any kind, pull straight out of the muzzle and don't let the cable ride against the side of the bore.

Airgun barrels aren't hard
Steel airgun barrels are made from what the industry calls "dead-soft" steel, just like .22-rimfire barrels. This material takes the rifling button better, giving a smoother surface; and the low pressure of the cartridge (or airgun mechanism in our case) cannot damage the steel.

Many airguns have brass barrels. These are even softer than steel and can be easily damaged by improper cleaning methods. Cleaning an airgun barrel is not hard, as long as you remember to preserve the delicate muzzle and not use solvents. The best advice is to only clean when you see a need.

The easy way to clean CO2 guns!
The Crosman Maintenance Kit is perfect for CO2 guns. The two powerlets have Pellgunoil in them to lubricate the entire firing mechanism, and the felt pellets clean the bore! Simply follow the directions on the package.

Remembering Smith & Wesson's pellet pistols

By B.B. Pelletier

Pyramyd Air gets a lot of inquiries about vintage pellet and BB guns. While they sell the ammunition and gas needed for these guns, they don't sell the guns, themselves, so the most commonly asked question is, "What's it worth?"

Use Blue Book of Airguns as your price guide
The fifth edition of the Blue Book of Airguns, a wonderful used airgun price guide, will be available soon, but I thought I would look at a vintage gun from time to time, just to keep the collector juices flowing for all of us.


Smith & Wesson 78G

These S&Ws are REAL
Many gun makers have sold airguns with their name on them, but few actually made the guns. Smith & Wesson, however, was an exception. In the 1970s, they produced the model 78G (.22 caliber) and 79G (.177) target pistols that were copies of their very popular model 41 target pistol in .22 long rifle. These guns were made in Springfield, Mass., for a short time, then in Florida for the remainder of the time they were produced.

The two pistols are identical except for caliber. They are single-shot and have adjustable sights (all models), and a few early ones had adjustable triggers. Their frames were made from cast potmetal, with steel used where it mattered. They were just as heavy as the firearm they copied and gave their owners a great feeling of satisfaction, similar to the Drulov DU-10 target pistol I wrote about last Friday.

A 78G or 79G should cost you about $125 in excellent condition. Some gun dealers are asking more than $200 for them, but they really don't know much about airguns. These are the same guys who think "Benjamin Franklin" airguns are also worth more than $200. Shop the airgun classified ads to buy vintage airguns at the right prices.


Smith & Wesson M41

They may be old, but they're accurate!
An S&W 78G will be more accurate than the 79G and can rival a Ruger Mark II Target pistol at 50 feet. They aren't quite as accurate as the S&W 41 they copy, but few guns are. The adjustable-trigger version can be adjusted to let off nearly as nice as the model 41. The non-adjustable trigger always has a little creep in the second stage.

They use the same CO2 powerlets as today's airguns, and Crosman Pellgunoil can often get a leaky one working again. If not, there are airgunsmiths who can reseal one for a reasonable price.

Thirty years ago when these airguns were made, the technology was not up to today's standards. An S&W 78G isn't as finely finished as a Drulov, nor does it have a five-shot semiautomatic mechanism. These guns may not have all the bells and whistles of modern airguns, but they're very accurate and will serve you well. The weight and feel is as good as anything made today. If you have a hankering for a vintage airgun, one of these would be a great place to start.

What's the difference between a laser & a red dot?

By B.B. Pelletier

You hear the terms "red dot" and "laser" in reference to airgun sights, but what are they? Are they the same thing, or are they really different?

They are actually two very different things. A red dot sight is an optical sight, while the laser is not a sight at all, although it can be used as one under the right conditions. Let's take them one at a time.

Red dot sights
A red dot sight like the Leapers 40mm dot sight is similar to a scope with a single red (or sometimes green) dot of light (instead of crosshairs) in the center of the field of view. In the case of the Leapers sight, the color of the dot can be changed from red to green. All dots are generated by a tiny light source inside the red dot unit, so a battery is involved. If the battery goes dead, as it will when you forget to turn off the dot after use, the sight is useless.

The dot is projected on a transparent glass screen inside the sight. Unless you look through the eyepiece, it is impossible to see the dot. The image of the Crosman 0290 red dot sight shows this.

Typically, there is no magnification with a red dot sight. It's like looking through a widow at your target. It's easier to acquire your target but also less precise than a scope. The bright dot is also easier to see than a pair of black lines, especially when the target is also dark.

The dot in a red dot sight is too large for precision sighting. The smallest dots cover about an inch at 100 yards, while others can cover as much as five inches. Some dot sights have dots whose intensity can be varied, and the size of the dot grows as it becomes brighter.

A red dot sight is good for informal shooting and for hunting where rapid shots will be fired. It is the quickest of all sights to acquire and, as such, is a favorite of hunters.

Lasers are lights!
A laser is a type of light that projects out. Because of the way the light waves are arranged, a laser remains focused in a tiny pinpoint of light over a great distance.

There is nothing to look through with a laser. Shine the laser at your target and see where the dot falls. If the gun is sighted to shoot where the dot shines, a pull of the trigger sends the bullet downrange to the dot. Sounds perfect, doesn't it? But, there's more to know.

It's almost impossible to see the laser beam until it shines on something. Only in a fog does the beam actually show itself. It's therefore difficult to know exactly where the laser is pointing. When used in conjunction with a scope, a laser can be very effective, because the scope shows you where the laser will shine, as long as both the scope and the laser are sighted-in.

Low-cost lasers such as the Daisy Laser Sight can be hard to see at long distances in a bright room. Only high-quality lasers such as the AirForce LS-1 Laser are bright enough to use outdoors in daytime.

You may need both types of sights
Both red dot sights and lasers require sighting-in. Like scopes, they must be adjusted to a specific distance to coincide with the strike of the pellet. Each has its uses and both are fun. Depending on the type of shooting you do - hunting, target shooting or plinking - and the time of day you shoot - nighttime or daytime - you may need red dots and lasers to get the most out of shooting.

How to shoot an airgun accurately

By B.B. Pelletier

Here is a question that came into Pyramyd Air recently.

I have an RWS model 34 with a BSA scope. Everything is tightened down securely, but my shots "wander" all over the target even when bench sighting it. It's not ME... I shot competitively in the Marines, Also, it WAS locked in for very tight groups...now I can't figure it out. Any advice???

Hold it soft for accuracy
The hold you learned in the Marines for centerfire competition is completely wrong for a recoiling spring air rifle like the RWS 34. You get away with it when shooting a centerfire because of the speed the bullet is moving, whether 5.56mm or 7.62mm. If you had been a smallbore target shooter, you would have learned a completely different hold.

For best accuracy with an air rifle, hold it this way
Let the airgun rest ON your off hand – nothing else. Don’t grasp the stock with your fingers. DO NOT rest your air rifle directly on sandbags or your groups will suffer. Rest the forearm on the OPEN palm of your hand. You CAN lay your hand on a sandbag, if you like.

Only TOUCH your shoulder lightly with the rifle’s buttpad – don’t hold it in tight. And grip the pistol grip with AS LIGHT a grip as possible. Let your cheek ONLY KISS the comb of the stock. But try to rest the forearm on the SAME place and put your cheek on the SAME place on the comb, EVERY TIME!

Every facet of this hold allows the air rifle to recoil AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. That is the secret to accurate shooting with an air rifle (and with any other smallbore target rifle, as well).

The "safecracker" hold gets results!
Hold your rifle like a safecracker works a lock - lightly! That normalizes the recoil and vibration patterns from shot to shot. With a spring air rifle like the RWS 34, the pellet does not begin to move in the barrel until the heavy spring-loaded piston has slammed to a stop! Nobody can hold the gun still against that movement.

In addition to recoil, your air rifle has many minor vibrations when it fires. The hold described above allows those small vibrations and the two-way recoil of the rifle to repeat the exact same way from shot to shot. When the pellet leaves the muzzle, it's at the same point in the recoil/vibration cycle every time.

If you try to hold the gun tightly, you set up counter-recoil nodes and counter-vibration nodes that differ from one shot to another and your groups will be open.

Try this method and get back to me.

Is airgun barrel length important?

By B.B. Pelletier

Here is a subject that gets people riled - quick! Is barrel length important in an airgun? Yes, it is, but the reasons may be different than you think.

Barrel length DOES NOT determine accuracy
There is NO CORRELATION between barrel length and accuracy. A short barrel can be more accurate than a long barrel, or vice-versa. Length alone has nothing to do with it.

Pellet control is not the issue
The people who think longer barrels are more accurate often say it's due to the greater control the longer barrel exercises over the pellet. A barrel does not "control" a pellet in the same sense that a dog trainer controls a dog. Once the pellet leaves the muzzle, it doesn't matter whether it has been in the barrel for 10 inches or 30; it is now a ballistic missile and subject to the same physical laws.

Proof that short barrels are just as accurate
A target air pistol such as the Aeron B99, which has an eight-inch barrel, is just as accurate as a target air rifle - like the TAU Senior - D, which has a barrel approximately twice as long. You can see this in the test targets shipped with the guns.

AirForce Airguns states that their Talon SS with a 12-inch barrel can shoot one-inch groups at 50 yards. They say the same for their 24-inch barreled Condor. Once again, this is from actual testing on real airguns.

Barrel length does influence velocity
Both pneumatic (all types) and gas-powered guns gain velocity with longer barrels. The expanding gas (or air) has more time to push on the pellet in a longer barrel. There is a limit to this, of course, but you aren't likely to ever see an airgun barrel long enough to reach it.

Cardew determined optimum spring gun barrel length
A spring gun gets all of its "push" in the first few inches of the barrel. Gerald Cardew pointed out in The Airgun from Trigger to Target that only the first six inches of the barrel is needed for a spring gun to achieve maximum velocity. His experiments were conducted in the mid-1970s. Although technology has advanced since then, today's spring-piston guns probably don't use more than the first 10 inches of barrel for top velocity.

After that, the pellet coasts the rest of the way. Yes, friction with the bore slows the pellet somewhat, but the amount is so small that it doesn't amount to anything. Spring gun barrels are made longer than 10 inches because they are used as levers, as in breakbarrels. And, on all rifles, a shorter barrel just doesn't look right. That's why the underlever TX 200 from Air Arms hides its nine-inch barrel inside a longer shroud that also muffles the sound of the shot.

Summary
I will address the important contributors to accuracy in future posts. I think we all would like to know more about the subject. I will also suggest some tests that you can conduct on your own to determine the best accuracy for your airguns. It will take several posts to get it all, so there is something to look forward to.

So, airgun barrel length is a factor in performance, but accuracy is not directly affected. Some people may still not believe this, but all the literature I have read and all the tests I have done show it to be true. Any thoughts?

Czech out the precision of the Drulov DU-10 semiautomatic pistol

By B.B. Pelletier

There are VERY few true semiautomatic pellet guns in the world. The Drulov DU-10 pistol is one of them. It's even available as a rifle. (I haven't tried it, but the pistol is so high quality that I have complete confidence in the rifle, as well.)

Semiautomatic action means the gun fires with every pull of the trigger, but the action is cocked for you by the gun. Crosman's 1077 rifle is a 12-shot repeater that also fires with each pull of the trigger, but you're rotating the cylinder and pulling back on the firing hammer, making the trigger pull much heavier. The DU-10's trigger pull is very light and crisp, and you can rip off five shots in less than two seconds. Because there is very little recoil, they will all go where you aim.

This pistol has a Czech precision-rifled barrel, so you can expect your shots to stay on a dime at 10 meters (33 feet). That's only true if YOU are able to hold that well! This is a true target pistol that can actually hit the period at the end of this sentence nine times out of ten from 10 meters, but few shooters can hold that well.

Compared to the legendary Crosman 600 semiautomatic pistol made in the 1960s, the DU-10 holds its ground. It's made far better and will make you proud. Plus, finding a good Crosman 600 shooter isn't that easy, and you'll pay over $200 when you do locate one.

Gas it up, put in the pellets & you're ready to go!
The DU-10 comes ready to shoot, and you can gas it up with either a common 12-gram CO2 powerlet OR a bulk-fill CO2 tank that attaches to the gun for a top-off. The first way is the easiest for most shooters, but the second method is far less expensive once you're set up for bulk filling. Either way, the gun shoots the same.

It takes five wadcutter pellets in a straight tube-type magazine that inserts at the rear of the receiver. The magazine works very well with wadcutters (flat-nosed pellets that cut a perfect circle in target paper), and I recommend H&N High Speed Finale Match pellets for best results.

Want to shoot better? This gun can train YOU!
Who wouldn't like to shoot better? This gun can help you hone your shooting skills and help you become a better marksman. It grows with you. And, it comes with an optional left-hand grip, if you need one.

This is an expensive airgun, make no mistake. In fact, it's about the same as the street price of the Russian IZH-35 .22 target pistol that it resembles. But the Drulov is more reliable, better finished and more accurate than the IZH-35, so you really do get what you pay for, in this case.

This is a different air pistol. You have to really want quality to buy something like this. As an owner, I give it a high recommendation.