BAM B51 - Part 2 A look at the "Chuntsman"

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1

Well, a very interesting day. You will recall that yesterday I checked the pressure in the BAM B51 and used a hand pump to add another 100 psi. I wasn't sure that it was needed, because the gauge I used yesterday was different than the one I used to fill it initially a week earlier.

Out to the range
I packed up all my gear - rifle, targets, pellets, bench bag, carbon fiber tank, a pump to back that up, chronograph and skyscreens and shooting bench - and drove to the range. Got there, set up everything and decided to chronograph some pellets first. First shot with .22-caliber Beeman Kodiaks didn't trigger the skyscreens, but the sound it made was similar to a blowgun being fired, as in very quiet. That's never a good sign with an unsilenced PCP. Next shot registered 383 f.p.s. I knew for sure something was wrong.

Heed the warnings
There are warnings all over the internet not to exceed 3,000 psi with these BAM pneumatic rifles, so I thought the gun might be suffering from valve lock. But how could that be, when I just told you I had topped off the gun to 3,000 psi? As I've mentioned before, small pressure gauges don't always read correctly and some guns can be severely affected by being overpressurized just a few hundred psi.

I dry-fired the gun several times, hoping to hear the report increase as I shot. It didn't. It became quieter! The gun was out of air! I refilled it from the carbon fiber tank, and it seemed that it was almost empty. You can tell that because you can hear the inlet valve in the rifle pop open when the air pressure in the fill hose overcomes the pressure in the gun's reservoir. I thought it did at about 200 psi. Again, I took it back up to 3,000 psi and then back to the chronograph.

Use a cheaper pellet
This time, I used Gamo Hunter pellets because they're cheaper. I wanted to establish that the rifle was operating before shooting my more expensive Kodiaks. First shot was 407 f.p.s. - well under expectations. Second shot was 206! The gun had run out of air once more. Several dry-fires after that shot confirmed my fears.

Between the evening before and the morning I went to the range, this rifle may have become a leaker. I'm describing what happened so you can relate to this problem if you ever have it. I hope those of you who are thinking of getting into precharged pneumatics are paying attention to this.

What to do?
Okay, I may have a leaker, and a fast leaker at that. I could just stop right there, but now I will to try to solve the problem. When a rifle goes from holding to leaking overnight, as this one seems to have done, the problem is often because a stray piece of dirt or debris in the reservoir has gotten on the valve seal. If I could get the rifle to hold air, I would shoot it without a pellet repeatedly, hoping to blow the dirt out. But I can't seem to do that.

I filled the male Foster fill nipple with Crosman Pellgunoil and then filled the rifle to 1,000 psi with my carbon fiber tank. I was hoping that the Pellgunoil would be blown into the reservoir and perhaps get on the seals, where the dirt would be floated off. This is a very long-shot proposition with about a 10 percent chance of success. It won't fix an O-ring that may have sprung a leak. However, when I tried to fill the reservoir the pressure gauge went up too fast for the rifle to be empty. The Pellgunoil was gone, but no air seems to have flowed into the rifle.

Do NOT add Crosman Pellgunoil to a precharged pneumatic airgun as mentioned in the paragraph above. I have learned that someone once received a petroleum specification sheet with the Pellgunoil they bought that indicated it was straight 30-weight non-detergent oil. If that is true, it is very dangerous to introduce petroleum oil into a vessel containing compressed air. It can form a fuel-air mixture and become explosive. I believed that Pellgunoil is a synthetic product with a high flashpoint, but there is a good chance I AM MISTAKEN.

Incorrect diagnosis?
It turns out I may have been wrong about the rifle being out of air. It may in fact be valve-locked, after all. At the range I wasn't able to hear the fill because of some noisy compressors, but in my office at home I did hear well. Air is not escaping from the rifle anywhere. And the reservoir didn't get warm as I filled it - a sure sign the gun is not accepting air. Add to that all the warnings about over-filling this model and I think I may have the problem.

Here's what I am saying. If the valve in the rifle I have cannot function with even 3,000 psi, then I may have caused valve lock by pressurizing it to that level. Either that or the inlet valve is stuck and refusing to open for some reason. The few low-powered shots I did get at the range have me wondering.

Here's my plan. I'm going to stand the rifle in the corner and attempt a dry-fire every day or two. If I ever get one with air coming out, I will continue until the sound grows loud. I will do that for a week. If that fails to work, then, with Pyramyd Air's knowledge and permission, I will disassemble the powerplant and see if the valve stem deflects down under any kind of hand pressure. If not, I'll use a rubber mallet and a long piece of hardwood to rap out the excess air that's in the reservoir.

When there is something additional to report, I will tell you.

BAM B51 - Part 1 A look at the "Chuntsman"

by B.B. Pelletier

Before we begin today's post, I have to comment on the recent test of the RWS Diana 460 Magnum. This air rifle now tops the list as the No. 1 "trigger" gun in this blog. By that, I mean it triggered more responses than any other airgun. Based on all the comments, I have ordered a .22 caliber rifle to complete the look.

For the gentleman who wondered when I would be testing the RWS Diana 350 Magnum, I already did - back in February of 2006. Read the report.

For those who criticized the low velocities I reported, didn't you read the other TWO velocity tests I reported? Both were considerably faster than my test rifle, and in the general realm of the advertised velocity. We need to get past this hype of velocity in a spring gun because it is meaningless without accuracy. And, the 460 is accurate. Compare the accuracy of the Gamo Hunter Extreme to the accuracy of the 460. The 460 is as accurate at 35 yards as the Hunter Extreme is at 25.

Now, on to today's topic - the BAM B51 precharged pneumatic air rifle. I have one in .22 caliber, which is the only caliber Pyramyd Air currently stocks.

Why the "Chuntsman?"
The name is a slur of Chinese and Huntsman. BAM copied the Daystate Huntsman to make this rifle. Nothing wrong with that because most other single-shot PCP rifles are also derived from the Huntsman, which was the first modern PCP. The B51 is lighter in weight than my old Huntsman by quite a lot. The unscoped weight is around 8 lbs., give or take for wood density. The stock is quite a bit slimmer than the Huntsman's stock was, and there may be dimensional differences inside the gun, where I can't see, such as the wall thickness of the reservoir. At any rate, I like the lighter weight.

The wood is plain with straight grain, much like beech. I found only two small areas inside the thumbhole where it had been filled with wood putty. The raised cheekpiece is well-formed with sharp edges in the European style. A thick, black, ventilated buttpad is fitted well with only a few small overhangs. The stock has no checkering.

The metal is mainly steel, including the receiver and reservoir. It's finished to a low shine, one step better than a hunter matte, and evenly blued. You would see a difference if comparing it to a Daystate Huntsman with its mirror polish. A muzzlebrake is for decoration only, though several new shooters have panned it on the forums because it isn't a silencer. From what they said, it was obvious this was their first precharged experience and the loud report startled them.

The rifle has the vintage "swan's neck" brass cocking handle of the Huntsman. It also has a rocker safety at the rear of the receiver. This is a single-shot rifle and as straightforward as PCPs ever get - by which I mean there is no air pressure gauge, no facility for attaching a repeating mechanism and no power adjustment. With this air rifle, you're back in the 1980s.


Classic swan's neck cocking handle and rocker safety is just like the old Huntsman.

There has been talk
Ever since this rifle hit the U.S. market, it has been hotly discussed and scrutinized. A fear of unreliability is one issue many have raised, and accuracy is another. We know the Chinese can rifle a barrel when they want to, but will they keep up the standard over time? Well, by waiting two years, I hope to find out. I was offered B50s and B51 a long time back, but I wasn't sure they weren't just set up to get a good review. I know where this rifle came from, and I know it is as random as can be. What I'm about to test should be the same as what you will get when you buy one.

Reliability - Does it hold air?
I filled the rifle to 3,000 and tested it for pressure a week later. If it lost any pressure, it wasn't more than 100 psi, which took 11 pump strokes to replenish. I say "if" because I used two different gauges to test the pressure at the two different times, and all gauges do not read the same.

The fill adapter for this rifle is a female Foster hydraulic quick-disconnect fitting with a male Foster on the rifle. A black-anodized dust cap covers this fill nipple between fillings. This is the best connection for a PCP, and several makers have now switched to it, so I am glad BAM decided to go this way. There's nothing more frustrating than a new precharged air rifle that cannot be filled because you don't have the right adapter.


With the dust cap removed, you can see the Foster fill nipple. All it takes is a Foster female quick-disconnect fitting such as the one on the right.

Next time, I'll mount a scope, sight in and shoot for accuracy.

RWS Diana 460 Magnum - Part 3

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 2
Part 1

Drum roll, please. Today, we'll look at the velocity and power of the RWS Diana 460 Magnum. I know this is a big deal for a lot of people, but I have to say that after seeing how accurate it is, I don't really care what the power turns out to be. Oh, and by the way, I'm testing a .177. I should have told you that in the first installment.

First up - Beeman Kodiaks
The Beeman Kodiak 10.6-grain pellet was the most accurate in the test rifle. Not only that, but it left all the others in the dust. I didn't test each and every pellet for velocity - just a few important ones. Kodiaks average 822 f.p.s., with a spread from 817 to 826. That works out to a muzzle energy of 15.91 foot-pounds.

Next - Gamo Raptors
Ah! The dreaded Gamo Raptor PBA pellet! RWS advertises a top velocity of 1350 f.p.s., and to get that, most testers would choose this pellet. I got an average of 1145, with a spread from 1136 to 1155. All Raptors went supersonic, of course. The muzzle energy for this 5-grain pellet is 14.56 foot-pounds. I HAD to test the Raptor because everyone expected it, but I wouldn't recommend shooting it in this rifle. The velocity is too high for best accuracy.

Finally - Crosman Premier 7.9-grain
The Crosman Premier 7.9-grain pellet is the "standard candle" of the airgunning world, to borrow a term from astronomers. It's the pellet that everyone uses, so it's the most likely to be in everyone's cabinet. In this rifle, they averaged 945 f.p.s. with a spread from 940 to 946. Energy is 15.67 foot-pounds.

WHAT GIVES?
This performance is lower than expected based on the advertised velocities. I contacted Umarex USA and asked if this was correct for a 460 Magnum. They said it sounded low and said they'd get back to me, but that was several weeks ago and I've heard nothing. I spoke with a friend who owns a 460 Magnum and has taken scrupulous records of his velocities with various pellets. He actually owned two 460s, but the first one developed problems that caused it to be returned.

Where I get 822 f.p.s. with Kodiaks, he gets 881 with his current 460. To my 1145 f.p.s with Raptors, his first 460 posted 1225 (he hasn't tested the current one, but the current gun is about a foot-pound more powerful than the first, so the Raptor velocity should be higher). Where my Premier 7.9-grain pellets go 945 f.p.s., his current gun averages 1050. Clearly, his rifle is more powerful than mine. His current gun was supposedly hand-selected by Umarex USA (according to what my friend said) after he returned the first 460, so I have to believe he is getting the performance the rifle is able to achieve. He is getting about three foot-pounds more energy than my test rifle, which I believe represents what a 460 should achieve.

Independent test from Pyramyd Air
I also contacted one of the technical reps at Pyramyd Air and asked him to test a new 460 Magnum for me. His results were Kodiaks averaging 905 f.p.s. with a string from 897 f.p.s. to 911. Raptors averaged 1285 f.p.s., with a range from 1269 to 1326. Two shots were clearly violent detonations at 1750 f.p.s. and 1849 f.p.s. Gamo's Hunter Extreme has been trumped by these two final velocities, however they were detonations, just like Gamo uses to get 1600 f.p.s. This was a brand-new rifle right out of the box, and I would expect those velocities to settle back to around the level my friend has recorded.

If my conjecture is correct, the 460 Magnum has a bit more power than the 48/52/54 sidelever in .177. Perhaps in .22 it may develop even more power. If any of you have a .177 460, I'd appreciate hearing what kind of velocity you get with any of these three pellets.

Bottom line
The RWS Diana 460 Magnum is an exciting new spring-piston air rifle that has a lot going for it. Good looks, accuracy and reasonable power are all there. If you're looking for a record-breaker, this isn't it. If you want a fine air rifle, put this one on your list.

RWS Diana 460 Magnum - Part 2

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1

There was a good response to my question about a scope primer, so I will do it. I've probably written most of this stuff before, but this time I'll write it with an eye toward chapters in a small book. Thanks for your input.

Scopestop asked me for links to all the scope posts I've made. Here are about half of them:
Sighting in a scope - Don't get carried away
Where (and how) to locate a scope
Scope mounting height
Adjustable scope mounts
Another problem with scopes: Not mounting them correctly
Shooting with a pistol scope
Adjusting a scope
At what range should you zero your scope?
What causes scope shift?
Another cause of scope shift: over-adjusted scope knobs
More about sighting-in: How to determine the two intersection points
How to optically center a scope
Scope mount basics - part one
Scope mount basics - part two

On to the rifle!
Reader KTK advised me that the rear sight element can be switched to a square notch, as well as the U-shaped notch I criticized yesterday, and indeed, it can. Diana used to put four different notches on the outside of the rear sight, so you could see what was available, and I never thought to look closer on this one. A tiny Allen screw on the left side of the scope holds the notch plate. Flip it over and enjoy the other notch. Thanks, KTK!

I mounted a scope on the RWS Diana 460 Magnum using a prototype of the new RWS Diana scope mount I've been talking about that solves the scope stop situation. It works well, but there are a few more details to refine before it goes into production, so I wouldn't put off scoping my rifle if I were you.

One thing I can tell you. When this new type of mount does become available, you'll be able to scope any RWS Diana spring rifle in less than 10 minutes, not including sighting-in! It's that easy.

I used two scopes for this test, because I was also testing the mount. The first was the UTG Tactedge 4x40 sniper scope that I think is such a great deal. The other was a Leapers 3-9x40AO scope with red and green illuminated reticle.

First shots
The first few shots were at a target in my backyard, where I'm limited to about 20 yards. Right off the bat, the accuracy was superb, because I started shooting with Beeman Kodiaks, and, as my testing later revealed, they're the No. 1 pellet for this rifle.


This group of 5 Kodiaks at 20 yards got me excited and sent me off to the big range, in spite of the wind. It measures 0.407" center-to-center.

The rifle kicks pretty hard and buzzes a little. But the T05 trigger is great - both light and crisp. I used the artillery hold, but this rifle isn't as sensitive as a breakbarrel. There is no dieseling to speak of and the Kodiak pellets are definitely not supersonic.

At the big range, I initially started shooting at 35 yards. The 4x40 Tactedge scope was still sighted-in from home, but I did have to adjust it up a little. The wind was gusting 10-15 m.p.h., but those heavy Kodiaks flew true just the same.


This 35-yard group of Beeman Kodiaks measures 0.814" center-to-center.

Then, I switched scopes to the 3-9x, but the groups didn't get any tighter. Maybe farther out the more powerful scope would have been an advantage. I also tried JSB Diabolo Exact pellets, Crosman Premier 7.9-grain pellets, Logun Penetrators and Gamo Tomahawk pellets. None of these others were nearly as accurate as the Kodiaks.

While this was transpiring, the cocking became smoother, though not necessarily any lighter. I measured it again at home after 125 shots, and the scale now says it takes 44 lbs. of force, so just a quick shooting session dropped 3 lbs.

Finally, I pulled back to 25 yards and shot another group with the Kodiaks and the 3-9x scope.


This 25-yard group of 5 Beeman Kodiaks measures 0.379" center-to-center. That's smaller than the 20-yard group that got me started! This rifle can really shoot. The group looks like only 4 holes, but that hole on top passed 2 pellets. In your hands it appears larger and cleaner.

So, the 460 Magnum can shoot. It's such a pleasure to shoot a rifle that actually helps you shoot well, rather than one that takes all the technique in the world to deliver adequate accuracy. Tomorrow, we'll look at the velocity.

RWS Diana 460 Magnum - Part 1

by B.B. Pelletier

Before I begin today's topic, I have a question. Pyramyd Air is getting several product reviews in which the writer says he's having trouble with his gun AFTER he mounts a scope. Before the scope, the gun shoots great. After the scope, it is inaccurate. One writer even said his gun was inaccurate until several friends tried it and got good groups. Then he decided he needed to learn how to shoot with a scope.

These comments tell me many shooters don't really know how a scope sight works. They mount it on their rifle - often improperly - then assume the gun will hit whatever they place the crosshairs on. I'm not kidding!

Also, Pyramyd sales reps tell me they have certain customers who return scope after scope, claiming each one has a problem or problems. I wouldn't tell you that no scope has a problem, but when as many as three fail in the same person's hands, it's unlikely that there's a problem with all those scopes and more likely the shooter is doing something wrong or failing to do something necessary.

This is my question - would people having problems like this be likely to read this blog or is that ridiculous? Are they the least likely to ever read a blog about better shooting and so perpetuate the problems they're having?

The last thing I want to do is to lecture readers who are already actively trying to improve their shooting skills with a bunch of remedial tips and pointers. So I'm asking whether you readers would like something like this - a tutorial on scope mounting that also includes how to shoot a scoped air rifle. I even foresee this tutorial being converted into a small booklet. Anyway, that's what's on my mind. Please let me know what you think.

The main event
Okay, today we start our look at the newest RWS underlever spring air rifle - the Diana 460 Magnum. Because of the number, 460, I had thought this was to be a newer version of the RWS Diana 46 underlever, but instead it's a brand new rifle. It operates more like the sidelever guns, though there are some departures in design, too.

This is a big air rifle, make no mistake, but it isn't the largest I've ever seen. At 8.7 lbs., it's lighter than a TX200, and the stock is proportioned slimmer than what's normal for a large air rifle. It's much like the 350 Magnum, which is to say, very rifle-like. I equate it to holding an M1903 Springfield rifle. It just feels right. You have power without bulk, which is rare for a spring-piston rifle.

It's 44" long, which doesn't make it the largest spring rifle, but it's definitely on the big side of average. A thick, black, ventilated recoil pad adds to the length and helps make the pull length 14".

Overall rifle
This is a large air rifle, despite my earlier comments. The exterior surface is nearly all deeply blued metal. The logos and model information on top of the spring tube are all in flawless silver. The wood stock is figured beech and sports the sharpest laser-cut checkering Diana has ever put on a rifle. I remember the days when their checkering was flat and slippery, but this stock is very nice. Both the pistol grip and forearm sport checkered panels.

The front sight is a ramp with post and the rear is an adjustable model similar to the sight on the 34 Panther, but without the fiberoptics. I like this one, except they put the wrong rear notch in the sight. Instead of a square notch to compliment the front post, they put a U-shaped notch suitable for a front bead. Someone at Diana needs to rethink that.

When the rifle is cocked, I noticed something else new. The beartrap release button on the right side of the sliding compression chamber slides with the chamber as the rifle is cocked. The stock has been relieved to allow the button to slide and is so thin at that point that you can feel it flex under finger pressure. So, protect this area when you handle the airgun.


Rear sight has crisp detents on both adjustments. You can see the long stock notch that accomodates the new sliding beartrap button.

Heavy cocking
The RWS Diana specifications say the cocking effort is only 36 lbs., but when I tested it on a bathroom scale, it measured 47 lbs. Some of that may go away as the rifle breaks in, but I doubt it will ever cock with less than about 43 lbs. This is a rare departure for Diana, who normally quotes cocking efforts right on the money.

Tomorrow, I'll continue our look at the gun, and maybe we'll get in some shooting.

BB's yard sale!

by B.B. Pelletier


Mendoza aperture sight is well-made and a heck of a bargain!

Okay, something different today. Instead of a gun or accessory review, how about some inside information! In fact, how about a whole bunch of it?

Item 1. Mendoza sights
My long time readers know that when I tell you about a deal, it's for real. Well, here comes a deal! Mendoza makes a diopter sight that compares favorably with the Beeman Sport Aperture sight, which retails for $63.25. When Pyramyd Air purchased Airgun Express, they bought a lot of these sights, and they're just now making it to the website. The price of $19.99 is in line with Beeman's price for their sight back in the 1970s! I have held this sight in my hand at the SHOT Show and worked the adjustment mechanism; it's just as crisp as the Beeman. I'm buying 2 to put away for the future.

If you want an open sight instead of a peep, the same sight comes with an open notch at the same price. Both sights fit 11mm dovetails and do not have scope stops built in. I do not want to hear any crying six months from now when this deal is over (I have no idea when it will be over, but good deals do have a habit of expiring fast), so act now if this is something you need or want. Every target shooter should be acting on this!

These sights are well-hidden in the accessory list under the category LASERS, RED DOTS & IRON SIGHTS, and they are further buried near the bottom of the list, so it's time to learn how the scroll bar works. Or, just follow the embedded links in this blog.

Item 2. Weihrauch HW 50 peep sights
Once, again, we have a peep sight. This sight is the rear aperture (peep) unit that fits the Weihrauch HW 50 and ever other Weihrauch spring-piston rifle (they all have the same mounting system). For you collectors, this sight is not the same sight Weihrauch used to put on their model 55 spring rifle. Those were selling for $135 by themselves 12 years ago, so understand that this is a different sight. It will fit, but it's not the same configuration as the older model. Still, at less that $60, I don't know how anyone can complain. This one is also listed in the same category of the accessories.

Item 3. The Pyramyd Air garage sale!
Pyramyd Air has a huge inventory of odds and ends, ranging from Turkish spring rifles they decided not to stock to boxes of parts for current and obsolete RWS Diana spring rifles. There are piles of broken airguns that no one has the time to fix. And, they're finding more stuff daily as they clean out the five warehouse spaces they operate from. They've decided to all these things down to the International Airgun Exposition in Roanoke, Virginia. For two straight days (Friday, October 26, and Saturday, October 27), they'll sell all this stuff to the public at incredible prices.

The Roanoke airgun show is the oldest and largest airgun show in the world. It even attracts collectors from the UK. Last year, there were over 140 tables of collectible airguns, plus some new guns. I know that's small in gun show terms; but, when a single table may have $100,000 worth of collectible Daisy airguns, the magnitude of such a show comes into sharp focus.

This year's show will be exceptional. In the Roanoke Civic Center, where the airgun show is held, there will also be a large gun show on Saturday and Sunday, so the shows will overlap on Saturday. The price of admission to the gun show guarantees admission to the airgun show as well, and they're expecting several thousand additional visitors. Those people are not used to seeing an airgun show and many will be blown away by the huge number of collectible airguns for sale. Where a Benjamin 130 pistol in working condition might sell for $60 at the airgun show, it isn't unusual to see the same gun going for $250 at a gun show! That's going to make this year's show interesting, to say the least.

If you're interested in attending the airgun expo, it's open to the public from noon to 7 p.m. on Friday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. Friday used to be the best day to attend, because some dealers started packing their tables at 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon (the show ended at 3 p.m.), but this year the airgun show will remain open until 5 p.m. to coincide with the gun show. That's going to have a tremendous impact on attendance, sales and other great things. Call show organizer Fred Liady for table reservations ($45/table to the end of September, $60 after that) and visit the website.

Item 4. "Other great things"
What all collectors hope for at a show is a bluebird. A bluebird is a desirable airgun that walks into the show in the hands of an attendee. Several years ago, I was present when a genuine military Girandoni walked into this show and sold in the aisles for $3,500 inside 30 minutes. Just this year, a similar air rifle in slightly better condition was sold in a European auction for 38,000 Euro (over $53,500).


Original Girandoni military air rifle recently sold for over $53,500!

Another time I was FORCED to buy three Daisy Targeteer pistols and six metal tubes of shot for $100 (the guy REALLY needed the money!). I sold two of them and four tubes of shot to someone else at the same show (who also got a great deal, by the way) for the same $100, just to get my pocket money back. I have many more stories about bluebirds that walk into airgun shows, and the key to all of them is traffic. This show will have many times the normal traffic, so who knows what wonderful things will walk through the door?

Item 5. Podcast has been fixed
Pyramyd Air just discovered that the last several podcasts have had the incorrect links for downloads. You could listen to them online; but if you downloaded them you got the same old podcast from some time in August. That's been corrected, so things should work normally from now on.

Item 6. New BB gun book
Gary Garber has just published a new book on Daisy BB guns made in Plymouth, Michigan. If you collect these guns or are just fascinated with them as I am, you'll want this large-format, full-color, 414-page reference book. Contact Gary at DaisyBBgunner@aol.com

The price for this soft-cover book is $60, plus $12 shipping by priority mail (in the U.S.).


New book about collectible Daisys by Gary Garber.

UTG Shadow Ops Type 96 sniper rifle - Part 2

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1

Let's get right to it. I'm impressed by the function and quality of this sniper rifle. Less than five years ago, I critically tested a Classic Army M24 sniper rifle very similar in performance to this gun. That one sold for close to $300 new, then had about $800 of extensive gunsmithing done, but it wasn't as nice as the UTG Shadow Ops Type 96 from the box.

For starters, the Classic Army had a 190 mainspring and powerplant upgrade to get it up to the same velocity this rifle gets from the beginning. That made the bolt extremely difficult to operate (I can't remember whether it cocked on opening or closing). The UTG Shadow Ops Type 96 is very nearly as easy to cock as the Marui VSR-10 G-Spec, which is to say, very easy, indeed. And, it gets 160 f.p.s. higher velocity than the Marui at the same time! That's what I find fascinating.

Scoping
Many shooters are wary about scoping a rifle, but if you use the UTG Tactedge 4x40 scope that I recommend, you don't have to be. This scope comes with the rings already on it, and all you have to do is clamp them to the Picatinny mount on top of the receiver. If the rings are in the wrong place to mount, loosen one ring and slide it forward or back until the rings fit the mount.

Mounting the bipod
You'll want the bipod mounted before you start shooting because not only does it provide a steady rest for shooting - it also makes a great stand for when you want to set the gun down. It has a Weaver mount that couples with the short Picatinny rail extending from the front of the forearm. Two rails are left after the bipod is mounted, so there's room for a tactical flashlight and a laser. If for any reason you want to quickly remove the bipod, the entire Picatinny rail is released from the forearm with the push of a button!

Firing behavior
Cocking is surprisingly easy, as you know. The feed from the magazine is 100 percent positive. The trigger-pull is strange because the trigger is one of those modern two-lever blades in which the thin blade is the first stage, but it works very well and the second stage is a crisp and repeatable 4.5 lbs.

Accuracy
The power level of the gun suggests 0.25-gram BBs, though the literature also says 0.20-gram BBs may be used. At 20 yards, the 0.20-gram balls gave 10-shot groups larger than three inches, which is not good for a sniper rifle. It also indicates that no amount of Hop-Up adjustment will probably tighten the group, since the BBs are scattering so fast in all directions.


20-yard 10-shot group of 0.20-gram BBs is not what we're looking for.

But, 0.25-gram BBs were quite different, as you can see. They proved that this gun can be very accurate despite its low price.


10 0.25-gram BBs at 20 yards made a group we can be proud of.

Long-range accuracy
Once I was on paper at 20 yards, I went to the range, where I shot at a full-size silhouette at 50 yards. The rifle shot too high, so I would want to shim the front ring to lower it, but the results were quite satisfactory. You don't shoot groups at 50 yards in the 15 m.p.h. winds I had to battle, but the preponderance of the shots did hit the target. Those that missed were always the BBs with voids. You can tell when you shoot one of them because they spin off wildly in all directions. While there is an adjustable Hop-Up, the rifle was so on target, except for the elevation, that I didn't have to adjust it.


50 yards on a windy day is far for airsoft!


Is this gun a good deal? You bet it is! If you're looking for an inexpensive sniper rifle that still has most of the performance of an expensive tuned gun, try the UTG Shadow Ops Type 96 from Pyramyd Air.

UTG Shadow Ops Type 96 sniper rifle - Part 1

by B.B. Pelletier


It shoots as good as it looks! The UTG Shadow Ops is an affordable airsoft sniper rifle.

A lot has changed in the world of airsoft in the past two years. New models and even entire companies have burst on the scene with features formerly available in guns costing three and four times as much. This really is the age of value in airsoft guns - and nowhere is that more the case than with sniper rifles.

I've already reviewed the UTG Master Sniper the Tokyo Marui VSR-10 G-Spec MG 315 and the UTG Special Ops M14 Sniper Rifle for you. Today, I want to start looking at the UTG Shadow Ops rifle. It's an airsoft version of the UK's famous L96 sniper rifle made by Accuracy International.

History
Before researching for this report, I was not aware that sniper rifles of the 20th century were notoriously inaccurate. According to a recent article in American Rifleman, Carlos Hathcock's rifle was only capable of two minute-of-angle accuracy, during an era when half-minute accuracy was the norm for tuned varmint rifles. That he was able to do all he did makes his story all the more interesting.

Accuracy International advanced the state of the art to the three-quarter-minute level with their new L96. The gun uses a patented 2-piece stock design with a bedding system built in. It delivers superb performance in the field, though not quite what the urban legends want us to believe. Instead of the 2" groups at 600 yards that one Russian website claims, the actual claim is a first-round hit (on a human torso) at the same 600 yards. Three-quarter MOA would be a group slightly greater than 4" at that range, but even the reality of a first-round hit seems impressive.

And, the UTG Type 96 copies the L96 quite well. In fact, when you see it for real, the very shape and substance of the gun conveys the image of accuracy to your senses. It's a heavy airsoft sniper rifle, weighing just over 10 lbs. with scope and bipod mounted. The bipod comes in the box with the gun, but the scope must be purchased separately. As far as I'm concerned, the only scope for this rifle is the UTG Tactedge 4x40 scope with Weaver/Picatinny rings. It mounts on the Picatinny rail that comes standard on the gun. I covered this scope for you earlier this year. In that report, I said it would make a good hunting scope. What is sniping, after all, but the ultimate in hunting?

Although the rifle is budget-priced at $130, it comes with a host of accessories: bipod, sling, two 23-shot magazines, speedloader and a plastic cleaning rod to clear jams...though in over 500 shots, I never saw a one. The scope adds $50 to the cost, but you won't find another scope more suited to this rifle. It has an extra-long 5" eye relief that makes acquiring the sight picture a snap.

Power
Two years ago, power was something you had to upgrade to get. It didn't come in stock airsoft sniper rifles. Not only has that changed, it has now trickled down to highly affordable guns, so there is nothing you need to give up when shopping for a sniper rifle on a budget. Pyramyd Air reports velocities of 465 f.p.s. with 0.20-gram BBs and 415 f.p.s. with 0.28-gram BBs from the Type 96, but I actually got 465 f.p.s. with 0.20-grams and 428 f.p.s. with 0.25-grams. That's smokin'!

Tomorrow, I'll tell you about the accuracy and firing behavior of the gun.

Shooting glasses

by B.B. Pelletier

Today's topic was raised by a casual comment I made last week about shooting glasses making the front sight sharper. Rabbitt asked for an explanation and then one or two others chimed in with interest, so I thought I'd share with all of you this well-publicized "secret" to better shooting. The kind of glasses I'm talking about today are not for eye protection, though they do that as well. Their primary purpose is to help you see the front sight and target when shooting a target gun. Glasses are used by both rifle and pistol competitors, and even by archers, but since I know pistol glasses much better, they are what I will describe today.

What do they do?
Shooting glasses contain one lens for the master eye, and if you have a corrective prescription, that lens can be ground for you. But not all shooters need correction. Therefore, a master eye lens can also be clear glass. You see, vision correction is only one thing the glasses do. The other major benefit is that they allow the shooter to adjust his own eyes, overriding the automatic light-controlling iris in the eyeball. That's where the real magic happens.

Adjusting your iris?
Shooting glasses contain an adjustable iris over the master eyepiece that lets the shooter adjust to the light on the range. The lower the light, the more open you have to make the iris to see the target well. In case you hadn't noticed, lighting on a shooting range is controlled so that a lot of light falls on the target, with relatively less anywhere else.


Shooting glasses have an extremely adjustable frame on which all manner of optical shooting aids can be mounted. White blinder on the right (on left when glasses are worn) flips up for better vision when not shooting.


Iris on master eye adjusts from small...


...to very large.


Part of the target line at the 2007 NRA/Pyramyd Air National Junior Airgun Championships. There is a halogen light in front of each position.

This light is then received by the eye, but when a stooter looks at a wide enough angle, like 200 feet, or so, so much light overpowers the eye, causing it to adjust down to a pinpoint opening for protection. The adjustable iris on the master eye of the shooting glasses lets you select only the light falling on your own target, so your master eye pupil can open wide. That does something remarkable. The iris on your shooting glasses then acts like the adjustable iris in the lens of a camera, while forcing your own eye to assume the properties of a very fast film. You photographers know what happens when you stop a lens down to a very small aperture. You get incredible depth of field. Objects both near and far are in focus! The "speed" of your eye keeps things stay in focus in real time (you don't have to stare at them a long time to see the image).

The miracle of shooting glasses!
They let you see both the front sight and the bullseye in sharp focus at the same time! Even the rear sight is in relatively sharp focus. You cannot usually accomplish this without shooting glasses, though how you light the range does help a lot.

What else do shooting glasses do?
You'll notice that the other eye has no lens at all. It is covered by a plastic blinder, or shade that blocks light from the front and side. That allows the shooter to keep that eye open without seeing anything distracting. The master eye becomes stronger because it's the only eye that works. The result is a sharp image of the front sight...and the target is nearly as sharp. This increases the precision of your aim a great deal. The blinder can be lifted easily when you need depth of vision for walking or even loading your gun.

I use Knoblock glasses - one of several brands with similar features. As you can see, they are incredibly adjustable to fit your face perfectly. My glasses cost about $110 ten years ago. Then, I had to have the master eye lens made. I thought that might be a real pain, but when I went to Lenscrafters in the mall, the doctors and on-site lab knew all about shooting glasses. Apparently, every large community has hundreds of shooters asking for the same thing. It was easy for them to grind my lens to fit the frame and my prescription. That was another $100. Everything else (the final adjustment of the glasses) was up to me.

Cannot compete without them
Shooting glasses are worth at least 10 points in a match, so you absolutely cannot compete without them. You might be able to make do at a local level, but when you get up against real shooters at the regional and state level, you need every trick in the book to win. Just as I have seen people shooting Daisy 777s in regional matches, I have also seen plenty of shooters without shooting glasses. None of them ever won, though.

Beretta CX-4 Storm - Part 4

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Today, I'll look at the Beretta CX-4 Storm with a Walther PS22 dot sight mounted. Before we get to the report, let's dispell an urban myth.

Urban myth
When I installed a new AirSource cartridge for this test, the cartridge leaked within a minute. This was a fast leak that could not be fixed with Crosman Pellgunoil. I ordered a replacement rifle from Pyramyd Air and was told by the sales manager that another customer told her that only Walther CO2 88-gram cartridges will work in this gun. That sounded too strange, so I decided to test it. Pyramyd Air supplied some promotional Walther cartridges they had, and I resolved to use them if the next gun leaked with a Crosman AirSource cartridge. But it didn't.

The new gun held perfectly when the new AirSource was installed and was still holding several days later when I started shooting. There is no hint of the leaking that the customer mentioned. While there are visible differences in the threaded portions of the two cartridges held side by side, they both work in the same airguns. In retrospect, it would be a poor marketing maneuver for Umarex to build a gun that could take only one proprietary CO2 cartridge, because they cannot control all the markets in which their airguns are sold. So, this incompatibility is an urban myth.


Though the threaded portion looks somewhat different, the Crosman AirSource cartridges (right) fit the Beretta CX-4 perfectly. Walther 88-gram cartridge on left.

Walther PS22 electronic point sight
The Walther PS22 electronic point sight comes with the correct high-lift mount to clear the open sights on the CX-4. Though the profile from the side looks slender and almost willowy, this is a wide chunk of aluminum that will not flex. It also compliments the look of the gun nicely. The sight adjusts for windage and elevation as well as having 11 levels of brightness for the dot. The dimmer the dot, the smaller it appears, which means you can aim with greater precision. So, use the dot on the lowest level that works. And, don't forget to turn it off (turn to zero on the dial) when you finish shooting.


Beefy cantilever sight base is rugged and good-looking.

Accuracy
I tried the gun with RWS Hobbys, which proved the most accurate in the first test, and also RWS Super Mags, which are 9.3-grain wadcutters. I found that the best accuracy came when the pellets were sealed deeply in the plastic carriers, so all the pellets were pushed deep with a thin metal probe.

I also discovered that this gun prefers to be fired rapidly. When I squeezed off five shots in less than 10 seconds, my groups improved noticeably over more deliberate aiming. That no doubt has something to do with the heavy trigger pull, which measures the same 8.5 lbs. on this new gun as the trigger on the first gun. At any rate, I scaled the distance back to 25 feet and shot many groups.


Slow, deliberate shooting gave open groups at 25 feet. RWS Super Mags. These 10-meter rifle target bulls are smaller than the 50-foot slow-fire rimfire targets I used for the last accuracy test.


Shooting rapid-fire tightened the groups. Five RWS Super Mags.

I am intrigued with this little carbine, so I will scope it and return for a final look.

Daisy 717 - Part 2

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1

Routine maintenance - continued
The pump lever must be adjusted correctly for the Daisy 717 to achieve maximum power. The test is to open the lever as far as it will go without cocking the bolt. Then close it until you feel resistance. The tip of the lever should have stopped between 1-1/8" and 1-1/2" from the side of the receiver. When I adjust it, I try to get as close to 1-1/2" as I can. I feel that gives the highest possible velocity.


Looking down from above the pistol. Tip of the lever is about 1-1/2" from the side of the frame. This is where it stops when the lever is worked without cocking the gun.

Let's adjust the pump lever. With the lever open as far as it will go, the pump lever adjustment mechanism is seen to the left (in front) of the felt wiper. There are two notched rings. One is attached to the pump lever mechanism and is fixed. The other is the head of a large adjustment screw attached to the pump head assembly. It can be rotated in either direction by using the flat blade of a large-bladed screwdriver as a lever. Insert the blade into both opposing notches and rotate the blade as if turning a screw. The rotating ring on the right will move in either direction, depending on which way you turn the screwdriver. Turn counter-clockwise to increase lever clearance and clockwise to decrease.


The slots in the adjustment mechanism accept the blade of a large screwdriver.


Screwdriver tip works as a lever to rotate the adjustment ring in either direction.

Sights
The sights on the 717 are crisp target sights, fully adjustable in both directions. Though they do not have click detents, you could hardly ask for a better pair. Both adjustments have indexes that show where the sight is positioned.

Velocity
Advertised velocity for this gun is 360 f.p.s. I chronographed three different pellets and got these results:

H&N Finale Match pistol 382 f.p.s.
Gamo Match 384 f.p.s.
Daisy flat-nosed premium-grade pellets 395 f.p.s.

The H&Ns are very clearly best for the pistol I'm testing. I actually tested several other brands, including some that are no longer available, but the H&Ns buried them all.

My test gun is new and I adjusted it as discussed above. Also, I lubricated this gun heavily. Both these steps will improve the velocity in most guns.

Accuracy
I set up a 10-meter course and lighted the target well. I also wore my shooting glasses that sharpen the front sight and target dramatically. The pistol is very muzzle-heavy and the stiff trigger makes the hold difficult, but nothing can hide the target accuracy the 717 has to offer.


Anytime I can shoot a 49 out of 50, I'm pleased. This was the best target. Most were 45s. Shot at 10 meters on a National Target 10-meter air pistol target.

It's quiet!
One final comment about this pistol. It's very quiet. This is the pistol I used to shoot target practice in an office building when there was an adult education class in the next room. No one heard anything. So, shooters who have very great need to remain silent, this is a gun to check out. It sounds loud when shot without a pellet but quieter with one. And, shoot into a Quiet Pellet Trap for maximum noise reduction.

This pistol proves you don't need a pedigreed barrel for accuracy. The trigger needs to be broken in, but this is an airgun with which you can form a lifelong relationship.

Daisy 717 - Part 1

by B.B. Pelletier

I've always been a handgun shooter, and when I discovered 10-meter pistols in the mid-1970s, I didn't hesitate buying a Diana model 10 target pistol. At the time, it was one of the most accurate target pistols in the world - fully the equivalent of the more expensive FWB 65. So, when Daisy came out with their model 717 single-stroke pneumatic target pistol in 1981, I thought, "Why not?" It was accurate, had a self-contained power source and retailed for less than $60. The price has doubled during the intervening 26 years, but let's see why I think this neat target pistol is still a bargain today.

Single-stroke pneumatic
The 717 was my first single-stroke airgun, and it was a good introduction to the species. Single-stroke pneumatics are just what their name implies - pneumatic guns that operate on just one pump of air. There can be no second pump, because the pump piston head is also one end of the compression chamber. Pull the pump back to put a second stroke into the gun and you'll release what's already inside. And, this is one kind of pneumatic that doesn't want a charge of air inside during storage. The pump head has to be flexible to do its job, and it cannot be under pressure for prolonged periods. Daisy recommends not leaving the gun pressurized longer than an hour.

The 717 comes in .177 caliber, only, but it wasn't always so. From 1981 to 1996, the gun was also offered in .22, as the model 722. I have always wondered how weak that gun must have been, because even the 717 only achieves 360 f.p.s. with light target pellets. It doesn't cut crisp holes in target paper; it tears them, so you can't use the gun in a formal match. But for informal shooting around the house, there aren't many that beat it.

Easy to pump
After getting used to the 35-lb. cocking effort of the Diana 10, I found the light 14 lbs. needed to close the pump lever of this gun delightfully easy. Not all single-strokes are easy, however. The Walther LP II and LP III pistols require about 35 lbs. of effort to close their short pump levers. But Daisy designed a good linkage for their sidelever pump. Let's charge the gun and see how it works.

First, open the bolt and leave it open. If you just wanted to dry-fire the gun, you could now close the bolt and the trigger would be ready to go. But when it's time to shoot for real, leave the bolt to the rear and pull the pump handle away from the frame and as far forward as it will go. Then, close it against the side of the pistol, load a pellet, close the bolt and the gun is ready to fire. The crossbolt safety is, thankfully, manual and does not get in the way. The trigger, however, is another matter.


The pump lever extends way to the front of the gun. Good linkage keeps the pumping effort low.

Trigger
I just complained about a 6-lb. Benjamin HB22 trigger, so how do you think I feel about one on a target handgun? That's right - SIX pounds! I certainly hope this one will lighten up as time passes. It lost a full pound of pull during the first 50 shots, so it probably will. The plastic trigger blade is wide and shaped well for the task, so it isn't as hard to use as the Benjamin's, but shaving 3 lbs. off the pull would be a blessing. The trigger is non-adjustable and two-stage with a very short first-stage pull.

Routine maintenance
This will be worth the price of the whole blog, because the 717 does need a couple of things done to it from time to time. First, let's lubricate the pump head. Daisy recommends using a 10-, 20- or 30-weight non-detergent motor oil, but as I have none of that laying around, I will use Crosman Pellgunoil. Daisy certainly isn't going to recommend it, but Pellgunoil is a lot like the oil they used to sell for this purpose. Don't use household oils, nor any spray lubricant - especially WD-40.

Put several drops on the felt wiper of the pump head assembly. It will rub off on the walls on the compression chamber and be picked up by the o-ring. There, it serves its purpose of sealing the pump against air loss. Oil the gun anytime the o-ring is not shiny with a light coat of oil, or when the gun's power drops off noticeably.


Several drops of Crosman Pellgunoil on the felt wiper and the gun will oil itself.

Tomorrow, I'll show you how to adjust the pump lever stroke, and we'll shoot the gun.

The Daystate saga - Part 4 Moving into the Third Millenium

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Today, I'll move from the 20th century to the 21st as we look at the .22 caliber Daystate Huntsman MkII PH6. The classic Huntsman was long gone by the time this rifle appeared, and before long the PH6 (6-shot repeater ) concept would also be transferred to the Harrier. While some companies put retrofit repeating mechanisms on their single-shots, this one is built for that purpose, as you can see from the closeup. The 6-shot cylinder does not detach from the rifle. You load it while it's in the receiver.


Daystate PH6 is a top-grade repeater with a walnut thumbhole stock.

The loading gate on the right side is spring-loaded, just like it would be on a lever-action centerfire rifle. A groove in the gate aligns the pellet with the breech, pretty much like the groove in the rotary breech of a Gamo CF-X. You can hand-index the cylinder to load it, but don't overshoot the mark because it doesn't rotate the other way. You'll have to go all the way around to find the chamber again.


The loading gate is pushed in to show the breech. Notice how the groove in the gate channels the pellet to the right spot.

I'm not usually a fan of repeating pellet rifles, but I have to say this one worked without a flaw. Of course, the length of the pellets is constrained to the length of the cylinder, but it's long enough for any reasonable pellet you might choose. It handled 21-grain Beeman Kodiaks just fine. In this rifle, the bolt pushes the pellet from the cylinder into the breech, so accuracy is assured to be similar to a hand-loaded single-shot.

Rifle setup
I mounted a Swift 8-32x scope on the rifle, which brought the total weight up to 10.5 lbs. A deluxe walnut thumbhole stock doubtless kept a half-pound of weight from the total, as beech is heavier. Daystate has always had crisp cut checkering on the aggressive side for a truly good hold, and this rifle was a fine example of that. I was surprised to see the classic swan's neck cocking handle on the bolt, as my much older Harrier no longer had it.

Power
The rifle I tested was set up at 29.4 foot-pounds with Kodiaks. That's a pellet leaving the bore at 794 f.p.s. With 14.3-grain Crosman Premiers the rifle got 25.9 foot-pounds, which comes at 903 f.p.s. So, this is a hunting rifle.

There were as many as 24 good shots at 3,000 psi, if I was willing to accept a total velocity spread of 42 f.p.s. If I was shooting at 35 yards or less, that would be fine. I wanted to stretch out to 50 yards or beyond, I'd keep the shots per fill to 18, which keeps the spread under 20 f.p.s.

The trigger was a typically good Daystate trigger - light and crisp with several adjustments. The rifle I tested also had a rocker safety, though many shooters ordered it without the safety so they had an access hole into the mechanism (where the safety was anchored) to adjust hammer tension. That gives a type of power adjustment in the field.

Accuracy
Kodiaks were good, but Premiers were the best in the rifle I tested. JSBs were not available to me when I did the test, but I would think they would at least equal Premiers. Half-inch groups at 40 yards seemed to be the norm, and not at all difficult to shoot, given all that power.


Five Premiers at 40 yards went into half-inch groups regularly. This one measures 0.543".

When I tested this rifle in 2001, the price was just under a $1,000. Time and the devaluation of the dollar have elevated that to about $1,200 for an equivalent rifle today.

The PH6 is not the absolute last of the mechanical Daystates, but it's the last one I will cover in this series. Next time, the Mark III with its solenoid-operated mechanism.

Benjamin HB22 - Part 3

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2

Today, we'll check accuracy for the Benjamin HB22. Also, I'll perform two other tests on velocity retention over time. I started with the 14.3-grain .22 caliber Crosman Premier pellet that was used for the velocity tests.

Another velocity test
After confirming that the velocity was sitting at 335 f.p.s. on five pumps yesterday, I pumped the gun and let it sit for one hour. Velocity after that shot was 330 f.p.s. Since we know how consistent the pistol is, that represents a velocity loss of five f.p.s. for the hour. Today, it's time to test for accuracy.

First shots
I decided to go with 5 pumps because it was enough for the 25 feet I wanted to shoot it was relatively easy to pop the pump handle away from the pistol with that many pumps inside. Any more and the feat becomes a struggle. The target was a 10-meter air pistol bullseye target.

The initial shots went low and to the left, so I tried to adjust the rear sight. Elevation was easy, but windage was a problem. The rear sight was formed slightly askew, so the rear notch was too far left, and no amount of adjustment would correct it. I even tried to bend the sight to the right (in a vise and off the pistol), but it seems to be made of spring steel and resists bending. So it stayed where it was.

Things that need improvement
The front sight is too thin and the rear notch is too wide, so it's difficult to get a good sight picture. I used a supported hold so I could concentrate on the sight picture more. The single-stage trigger is heavy, breaking at six pounds. Too heavy for best work. If this were my airgun, I'd take care of that.

Accuracy
The HB22 is a real nice-shooting air pistol, given all that you have to put up with. It lays the pellets into the same place, shot after shot.


Pistol is a great shooter, in spite of a too-heavy trigger and sights that are not well-suited to target shooting. Groups like this were easy to shoot from 25 feet.

The final velocity test
After all the accuracy testing, I chronographed the pistol and found that the velocity for Crosman Premiers on 5 pumps had returned to between 339 and 341 f.p.s. for 5 pumps. Somehow, after resting for a day (with one pump of air in the reservoir) the pistol recovered 5 f.p.s. That was the baseline for the final velocity test.

For some reason a reader asked what the velocity would be after 8 hours of sitting. Only he knows why that's important, but I did it anyway. He had asked for 8 pumps, but I decided to go with 5 to keep from stressing the gun any more than I already have. We know the average velocity with 5 pumps is about 340 f.p.s., and after eight hours it's 331 f.p.s. So it doesn't leak much air over time.

The bottom line
The HB22 is a classic air pistol with over 70 years of history behind it. I don't know how much longer this gun will be made, so if you want one, act now.

Benjamin HB22 - Part 2

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1

Today I'll shoot the Benjamin HB22 air pistol for velocity, plus I'll also do some interesting pneumatic experiments to demonstrate how these guns work. As I test this gun, you'll see that a multi-pump is really a self-contained airgun experimental lab. Because of the length of these tests, I will do an accuracy report in another part of this report.

First test: How many pumps?
This test demonstrates how velocity varies as you add pump strokes to the gun. There are some interesting side effects here, as well. I will also cock and fire the gun after each shot to determine whether any air remains in the reservoir. I used a 14.3-grain .22 caliber Crosman Premier pellet, which is identical in weight and shape to a .22 caliber Benjamin Sheridan Diabolo.

Pumps-----Velocity-----Air remaining?
2*------------236---------------No
3-------------288---------------No
4-------------326---------------No
5-------------355---------------No
6-------------377---------------No
7-------------390---------------Yes
8**----------405---------------Yes
9-------------414---------------Yes
10------------425---------------Yes
11------------429---------------Yes, lots
12------------432---------------Yes. Enough for a 2nd shot
2nd shot----256---------------No
* Below the recommended minimum number of pump strokes
**Maximum recommended pumps

Benjamin recommends a minimum of three pumps and a maximum of eight for this pistol. You will notice that starting at the seventh pump, there was air remaining in the gun after the shot. I went beyond the recommended maximum number of pump strokes to see what would happen. In an air rifle, the power usually begins to decline right away. With this pistol, it kept increasing, although the amount of the increase diminished with each additional stroke.

By the 11th stroke, the air remaining in the gun after the shot was significant, so following a try with 12 pump strokes, I cocked the pistol again, loaded another pellet and fired a second time without pumping. Notice that the second shot has greater velocity than the gun had with two pump strokes.

Before you decide that additional pump strokes are the way to go, let me tell you that the strain on the pump mechanism was enormous. After the 10th pump, I could barely pop the pump handle away from the tube, and the pressure to close the pump handle probably reached 50 pounds. If you did this regularly, you'd wear out the pump mechanism to the point that a major rebuild would be required. In fact, if you look at the data, it suggests that this particular pistol is better off with a maximum of just seven pumps strokes instead of eight.

How consistent?
This test demonstrates how consistent the velocity is for the same pellet and same number of pump strokes. Once again, I used a 14.3-grain Crosman Premier domed pellet. Every shot was the result of five pump strokes.

Shot------Velocity
1-------------340
2-------------338
3-------------340
4-------------340
5-------------341
6-------------340
7-------------341
8-------------339
9-------------340
10------------341

You don't get consistency this good from a regulated Olympic 10-meter target rifle costing $3,000. I expected this, because I've seldom seen more than six f.p.s. shot-to-shot variation in multi-pump rifles when I did this test, but this is the first multi-pump pistol I've tested this way.

Fast vs slow pump strokes
Does pumping the gun fast make any difference? In this test, I will pump the first five shots with a slow and deliberate pump stroke, allowing two seconds for air to rush into the compression chamber when the pump handle is fully extended. That will be followed by five shots using a rapid pump stroke. I will pump as fast as I can for this one. In both tests, the gun will be pumped a total of five strokes per shot, and I'm still using Premier pellets.

Slow pumping
Shot------Velocity
1-------------340
2-------------339
3-------------338
4-------------339
5-------------339

Fast pumping
Shot------Velocity
1-------------339
2-------------341
3-------------340
4-------------340
5-------------340

Not much difference, is there? In fact, all 10 shots fit neatly into the other 10 of the consistency test.

You will also notice that the pistol got 355 f.p.s. on five pumps in the first test, yet in both the test for consistency and the test for how fast the gun was pumped, the shots never got above 341 f.p.s. What's happening there? Well, I did test for remaining air and found none, so that's not the explanation. I do know the count of the pump strokes was correct, so maybe the best way to check this test is to do it again the same way. Premier pellets once again.

How many pumps? (second test)
Pumps-----Velocity-----Air remaining?
2*------------224---------------No
3-------------275---------------No
4-------------311---------------No
5-------------340---------------No
6-------------358---------------No
7-------------376---------------Yes
8**----------388---------------Yes
9-------------399---------------Yes
10------------407---------------Yes
11------------418---------------Yes, lots
12------------424---------------Yes. Enough for a 2nd shot
2nd shot----275---------------No
* Below the recommended minimum number of pump strokes
**Maximum recommended pumps

This second test was conducted after the consistency test and the pump speed test. Note that the air remaining in the gun after shot 12 is now equal to three pumps! After this test, I chronographed the gun five times on five pumps of air and got five identical velocities of 335 f.p.s. So it seems the over-pumping is having an immediate effect on velocity - lowering it rapidly. I do not intend conducting more testing of an over-pumped gun.

This is the first hard proof I've ever seen that over-pumping harms a multp-pump pneumatic. Perhaps it happened so fast because this is a pistol, and the springs have to be smaller to fit inside the smaller valve mechanism. Whatever the reason, the top velocity has definitely been reduced.

I want to impress upon you the fact that each air pistol will be unique. How you treat them will also determine how they perform. If one owner follows the instructions and another routinely over-pumps his pistol, the first pistol will be faster than the second one right away, pump for pump.

Tomorrow, I'll do the accuracy test, plus I'll do another interesting velocity test.

The Webley story English or Turkish?

by B.B. Pelletier

Two days ago, a reader asked a hypothetical question about the return policy of Pyramyd Air. Several customers stepped in to assure him that the policy is good, but I'd like to expand the explanation with a situation that has recently come up.

Recently, some airgunners have received Webley spring rifles they thought were made in England, but, in fact, they were made in Turkey. Readers of this blog probably know most of the Webley story because we have been keeping you up to date as things transpired, but not everyone got the word. Pyramyd Air owner Joshua Ungier has asked me to tell you the entire story today.

History
Webley was having financial difficulties several years ago, and the company had to reorganize to remain in business. Part of the reorganization involved terminating some models of breakbarrel spring rifles and moving production of the remaining guns from England to Turkey. Pyramyd Air was the largest U.S. importer of Webley airguns. When Josh heard about what was coming, he bought the remaining stock of English-made spring rifles and pistols. There have been numerous announcements of this fact made in this blog, starting in May of 2006 with the article titled Big news! I alerted you to the situation at that time and told you the time to act was right then if you wanted an English-made Webley spring rifle.

That announcement was followed by numerous updates, including the one on October 11, 2006, in which I discussed the supplies of remaining English-made Patriots. In July of this year, I told you about the big sale on Webley airguns, and I was very specific about where the Tomahawks were produced.

My news was apparently posted on some forums without all the detail. All those readers saw was a big Webley sale. They were apparently unaware of the possibility of Turkish-made guns; or, if they were aware, they didn't know which models were still available as British-made guns. That would be fine if Pyramyd Air were the size of most U.S. airgun dealers who run businesses from garages and basements, but that's not the case. Pyramyd is run out of a large warehouse that has been built from five former business suites. They have a full warehouse staff of pickers and packers who ship 250-450 packages each business day. They don't receive their guns five at a time like most U.S. airgun dealers. They receive them on pallets - many pallets, when it comes to popular brands like Webley. And when new rifles arrive, they all come from Webley of England - regardless of where they were made.

Transition period
The years 2006 and 2007 have been a transition period for Webley spring rifles in the U.S. Pyramyd has almost sold off the final supply of most of the English-made guns, though at the time I write this, they still have a few English-made rifles still in stock. As of yesterday morning, this is what they had:

Stingray .25 caliber (6)
Xocet .22 caliber (1)
Tomahawk .177 caliber (9)
Patriot .177 caliber (1)

Apparently, at least one of the mixups was a customer who was assured he was getting an English-made rifle, only to discover it was a Turkish rifle when it arrived. The boxes are not marked differently on the outside. They all say Webley plus the model number and serial number on the end flap. Like I said before, they all arrive from England on large pallets. Pyramyd Air does not normally look inside each box and totally unwrap each gun to ensure the country of origin of the rifle, but they can do so if you request it.

No one complaining on the forums even bothered to call Pyramyd Air after discovering they had received a Turkish-made rifle. They simply went to the forum and blasted the company.

Josh asked me to tell all Pyramyd Air customers who have recently received Webley rifles that, if you got a Turkish-made gun and you wanted an English-made gun, Pyramyd will take your gun back. It is his desire that his customers are satisfied. This policy of satisfaction existed long before this incident; it is a principle by which Pyramyd Air does business. That's a pretty reasonable return policy, don't you think?

Why NOT a Turkish Webley?
Of course, the one question that hasn't been asked is this..."What's the matter with Turkish Webleys?" I will now answer that. There is nothing wrong with them! I tested a Turkish Webley Patriot in .25 caliber for you and gave a 2-part report to answer that very question. The rifle was essentially the same as before. A few machining cuts were all that separated the two guns. A Patriot is still hard to cock, no matter where it is made, and the scope grooves on a Tomahawk still do not have a mechanical scope stop.

Are you safe?
You know, Joe Girard, who holds the Guinness record as the world's No. 1 salesman, says he likes when things go bad in business, because that's when he can really show people why he's the best. I think Pyramyd Air feels the same.

Monday, I'll pick up where we left off with the Benjamin HB22.

Benjamin HB22 - Part 1

by B.B. Pelletier

This is a report that's been on the list for more than a year. Something always pops up at the last minute to take its place, but today is reserved for the Benjamin HB22, an air pistol whose roots are fixed in the 1930s. When I write about Benjamin airguns, I refer to them as heirloom guns, because they're built well enough to be handed down through many generations and also because they're among the very few things that are still made the way they were in the beginning. If you get one of these, you'll be linked to airgunning's rich past.

History
The .22 caliber HB22 and its .177 sibling, the Benjamin HB17, are the direct descendants of the model 242/247 that are themselves the offspring of the ubiquitous 130 series. Right there, we've gone back to 1946. To go back farther, we have to accept the troublesome transitional pump mechanism of the 110 series, which was the child of the famous 100-series with its front pump rod that dates to 1935. Benjamin rifles date back to 1898 (in their former incarnation as the St. Louis Air Rifle), but the pistols lagged behind by more than three decades.

The gun
The pistol weighs 2.5 lbs. and measures slightly less than 12" overall, with a barrel length of 9.25". The barrel is brass, just as it has always been, and so is the pump tube and receiver. The frame is cast metal, no doubt a zinc alloy, and the functional powerplant parts are mainly steel. The metal is painted with a tough matte charcoal gray paint, and the grips and forearm that look like wood are, in fact, oil-finished wood!

Operation
This is a multi-pump pneumatic that shoots with 3-8 pump strokes - BUT, the manual online says at least two pumps and doesn't give a top number. The numbers I give you here are from the printed owner's manual that came with the gun. This subject is so misunderstood by airgunners that I plan to do a separate report on it tomorrow.


Pump handle is extended as far as it goes.


Bolt withdrawn two clicks cocks the gun and opens the breech trough to accept as pellet. You can see the adjustable rear sight.

The gun is cocked by rotating the bolt knob to the left (counterclockwise) and retracting the bolt until two clicks are heard. I made the mistake of only pulling back to the first click and was rewarded by a weak-sounding discharge. The pellet is laid in the trough that's revealed with the bolt pulled back. When you push the bolt back home after loading, which seats the pellet in the barrel, be sure to rotate it to the right (clockwise) until it stops. That locks it in position. Failure to lock it results in the bolt being blown back at the shot, robbing the pellet of most of its power.

How hard is it to pump?
This is a question that readers ask, so I thought I'd answer it today. I'll give you both a subjective and a quantitative answer. First the subjective. Pumping starts out easy, but with a fair amount of resistance to the pump lever being pushed home. After 3 pumps, the effort required to pull the lever away from the pump tube increases, and it becomes very difficult after 5 pumps. Some of the resistance is due to the newness of the gun, but most of it will remain throughout the gun's life.

When pushing the pump lever home, it has to go all the way flush to the gun, so keep your fingers out from between the pump lever and gun. Push home with the flat of your pumping hand, which is opposed by your other hand that holds the gun. Please do not ask about scoping this pistol. Pump it before you ask and you'll understand why scoping is impractical.

Now, the quantitative. Pumps 1 through 4 peak at about 22 lbs. of force, at a point when the pump lever is still 1.5"-2" from home. Pump 5 increases to 25 lbs. Pump 6 climbs to 28 lbs. and pumps 7 and 8 each hit 32 lbs. of force. The effort to close the pump handle is negligible compared to the effort needed to open it after 5 pumps have been put in. This is not a pistol for those with arthritic hands!

The front sight is a ramp, and the rear is an adjustable notch. It adjusts with simple jam screws, so you have to be careful when you work.

Tomorrow, we'll look at velocity, accuracy and a test of how a multi-pump REALLY works!

IZH 61 - Part 4 New gun - Now we're cookin'!

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Today, I tested a brand-new IZH 61 to try to redeem the poor results from the past three posts. And, indeed, I did! The new rifle shoots more like what I remember from years ago. Let's get shooting.

Rather than fool around with different open sights, I used a reader's suggestion and mounted a Leapers Bug Buster II on the gun. The 2-piece rings I used are the thinner kind similar to these, with 2 cap screws instead of 4, so I was able to get the whole thing on the relatively short dovetail at the rear of the receiver. The negligible recoil of the 61 makes a scope stop unnecessary.

Pellets
I tried a wide range of pellets: Crosman Premier 7.9-grain, Crosman Premier Super Match, H&N Finale Match, RWS Hobby, Gamo Match, RWS Supermag and a Chinese match pellet I use in 10-meter competition. At first, I got the same open groups I was getting from the other rifle, but then I had a breakthrough with Supermags.


This is a much better group than I got with the other rifle. It measures 0.432" c-t-c and was shot at 10 meters with RWS Supermags. This group proves the 61 wants to shoot.

What happened?
I was shooting a spring gun, after all, and I had to use some technique. A LOT of technique, as it turned out! The pistol-grip stock of the 61 doesn't lend itself to the artillery hold, but the gun needs it more than many others - even some breakbarrels. Let me show you just what happened.


Here's a disappointment! Five H&N Finale Match pellets were tight side-to-side but strung out up and down.

The vertical stringing indicates radical velocity changes or something is loose on the gun or sight. Radical velocity changes aren't likely to spread this much at just 10 meters, so we can rule them out. A group like this could also indicate something else. Do you know what that is?


This is the group that alerted me to what was happening. H&N match pellets. Do you have any idea what's happening?

This was the telling group. Two tight groups in two different locations. Either something like the barrel or sight is loose on the gun, or the hold is EXTREMELY sensitive, and I'm making subtle changes. When I checked the gun and scope, nothing was loose, so I suspected the hold was the problem. The solution, of course, is to make sure nothing changes from shot to shot.


When I applied perfect technique, this is what happened. Also H&N match pellets.

And that's what you get, when the technique is perfect. The dual groups with nothing loose told me the rifle was shooting to two different points, and the only way it could do that was by a change in the recoil pattern.

Final opinion
The IZH 61 is still an accurate air rifle that's worth a lot more than the retail price. It's a wonderful plinker and a good beginning target rifle to see if punching paper is what you want to do. It requires a lot of technique to shoot well from a bench, but offhand is more forgiving.

I do believe the rifle suffered when the steel receiver and metal clips were changed to plastic, but the basic goodness carries on. If you like plinking and general shooting, this is a rifle to try.

Introduction to field target - Part 8 The scopes - Part 2

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1 - How it all began
Part 2 - Targets
Part 3 - Targets - Part 2
Part 4 - Squads
Part 5 - The spring guns
Part 6 - The precharged guns
Part 7 - Scopes - Part 1

Let's explore what to look for in a field target scope. Yesterday, I had a question from airdog, who asked, "How good a scope do you have to have to expect a level of consistency in elevation adjustment that is appropriate for FT? I've only used relatively cheap scopes out to 20 yds, and I know I need to do more field work at varying distances, but before I buy a $200 scope I'd like to know whether that still won't be entirely consistent."

Well, that's really at the heart of what I want to say today. What does a good FT scope look like?

You learned yesterday that magnification is important if you want to determine range. However, in a less expensive scope, you can easily get so much magnification that the cheap optics can not use it all. My Tasco Custom Shop 8-40x goes dark after 30x, so I'm wasting that final 10x. In contrast, a Leapers 8-32x56 is MUCH brighter than the Tasco and can use all of its 32x power.

It's not Tasco's fault that their scope is dark. It's actually a Hakko scope made around 1996, and it has the best lens coating of that time ($600-800 retail price range, that is). Leapers has invested far more time and money on lens coatings, with the result that their 2007 scope will be brighter than almost everything made in the mid-90s.

My Bushnell Trophy 6-18x40 dates to around 1997, while one made by the same brand today would be brighter. Lens coatings have advanced that rapidly. So, buy a scope that has enough power and a good enough lens coating that it will be bright enough to use for field target.

"Yeah," you say, "but how do I KNOW which ones are better?"

Here's a clue...to the cheaper scopes, anyway.

I have told you before that scopes that do not adjust down to at least 10 yards are made by companies who haven't got a clue how their scopes will be used. It's either 10 yards (or less) or nothing. A scope that only adjusts to 20 yards is screaming at you, "I don't know what I'm supposed to be!" Someday everyone making scopes will figure it out, and you'll have to look for other clues. Right now, this is a big red flag.

A reliable adjustment mechanism
This was airdog's real question, and it's a good one. Does the scope have a reliable adjustment mechanism? Here's a story about that. In 2000, I was talking to technical representatives from the Burris Company in their booth at the SHOT Show, and I asked if their adjustment mechanism could withstand adjustment on every shot.

"Well, no!" they replied. "We didn't design them for that. Why would anyone want to do that?" We were talking about their big new 8-32x scope that I touted so high yesterday, and the men who designed it didn't know that the people who used it adjusted the vertical mechanism at least after every other shot! That's funny!

I explained to them how their scope was being used and they just stared at me. Finally, one of their salesmen tried to steer me away from that topic by pointing out some other design features the scope had. I don't know whether I got through to them or not, but their scope seems to take the adjusting, nevertheless!

That puts me in mind of the Leupold booth that same year where I asked if their scopes could withstand the recoil of a Beeman Kodiak. We played 20 questions until they ran me off by saying they don't make scopes for airguns. Two years later, however, they knew exactly what I was talking about and were able to tell me the models not to use on the Kodiak (the Vari X II series). A year later, I was informed that anything with an Extended Focus Range (EFR) was rated for magnum airguns.

What I'm telling you is that this has been a learning process for the scope makers, as much as it has been for airgunners. Today, most of them know their stuff, and a few, like Leapers, are now building super-tough scopes (the TS platform) that are made to take the recoil/vibration punishment. PLUS have repeatable windage and elevation adjustments that can take it. Just because a company doesn't stick its neck out like Leapers has doesn't mean their scopes aren't up to par. But, if their scopes focus down to only 20 yards, they haven't gotten the message, yet, and I would avoid using scopes made by that company for field target.

You don't HAVE to adjust
Many shooters zero their scopes for one range (usually 20 and 30 yards - I hope you all remember about the two points of intersection) and hold their reticle higher for shots that are closer or farther away. This is called the holdover method, and you don't need as much magnification to use it. I've seen a shooter shoot an entire match on six power. He did okay, too, but he didn't expect to win. The holdover method is too imprecise to win a match, but I have shot 45 out of 60 with it. If you use that method, it helps to have a card of where to aim, based on range. These cards are taped to the buttstock of the rifle. I used the holdover method when I shot a TX200 with a Bushnell Trophy 6-18x40.

Forget the fads
You don't need an illuminated reticle, and you don't need a mil-dot reticle; however, I've used both in FT matches. If that's what you have - use it! Don't pay extra just to buy one.

So, there are some pointers on field target scopes. The best scopes will cost over $500, but you can do pretty good with a Leapers 8-32x56 for less than half that.

Introduction to field target - Part 7 The scopes - Part 1

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1 - How it all began
Part 2 - Targets
Part 3 - Targets - Part 2
Part 4 - Squads
Part 5 - The spring guns
Part 6 - The precharged guns

Before I start with today's topic, here's some interesting news about the future of field target. Tim McMurray told me that AAFTA has agreed with the other field target governing bodies around the world that all future world matches will be restricted to 12 foot-pound guns starting in 2008. If I understand what he said correctly, that means that even if the world championships are held in the U.S. in the future, only 12 foot-pound guns will be allowed to compete, presenting a dilemma to American shooters.

Most Americans compete with spring guns and PCPs that operate in the 13.5-19 foot-pound range. Springers typically push 7.9-grain Crosman Premiers at 900 f.p.s. and PCPs launch 10.2-grain JSB Exact pellets to the same speed. By switching to the 12 foot-pound limit, the same springers would shoot a 7.9-grain Premier at 826 f.p.s., which isn't too bad, but the PCPs would also have to shoot the lighter pellet, because a 10.3-grain JSB would have to be slowed to 728 f.p.s. to stay under 12 foot-pounds.

I competed for two seasons with a 12 foot-pound PCP, and my scores dropped to spring-gun levels, which for me was an average loss of three points per 60-shot match. When I returned to the Daystate Harrier set up for more power, I picked up several points per round. The Brits, who are on average the finest field target shooters in the world, will argue correctly that by forcing a limit of 12 foot-pounds, they have to improve their shooting skills. However, being an American, I rail at the thought of other countries imposing limits on my shooting - not that I ever plan on shooting in the field target world championships.

However, for those who do plan to compete at the worlds, there is a choice to be made. You don't compete with an 18 foot-pound gun all year and then suddenly drop back to 12 foot-pounds and expect to win anything. So, the top American shooters will probably start shifting to 12 foot-pound field target rifles next year. That's going to make things interesting for a while, until they develop their skills with the new rifles. It will be interesting to watch.

On to the topic of the day.

FT scopes
When I started in field target in the late 1990s, a lot had already happened. Shooters had already gone through the HW77s and FWB 124s and had embraced the TX200< when it came on the scene. Springers in general were being pushed aside to make way for PCPs, but the scopes everyone used were lagging behind. When I started shooting, Leupold scopes were regarded very highly, and many were sent to Premier Reticle for field target modifications.

If you couldn't afford a Leupold 6.5-20x, you might have bought a Bushnell 6-18x Trophy or a Simmons 4-12x and did the best you could. But that only lasted for a little while because Hakko, the great Japanese scope manufacturer, started catering to airgunners. At first it was their U.S. repair center in Miami that modified other scopes for FT competitors. Before long, Hakko, themselves, began bringing out models made for the sport. Their most notable creation was the sidewheel parallax adjustment they put on their 8-40x scopes. Pretty soon, everyone had to have a sidwheel.

Magnification
When I started, 20x magnification was considered to be a lot. But before two years passed, the 8-40x scopes were out. The first batches went dark after 30 power. Within a few years, manufacturers were learning how to make even 40x scopes bright enough to use. People always wonder why anyone would want such power on a rifle that's limited to 55 yards, but they don't understand how it's being used. It's needed for range finding. To determine range, you need to see when very small things come into focus; and, beyond 40 yards, it takes all the power a scope has. I like to focus on the swivel that the reset string is tied to. With 30x, I can do that out to 35-40 yards, depending on the light.

Burris and Bushnell
About 18 months to 2 years later, the Burris 8-32x scope hit the scene and many shooters praised its clear optics. I tried one but found that it demanded the absolute correct placement of the eye to see anything. If your eye wasn't in the right spot, the picture was black. That's great if you own the scope and rifle, but when you borrow one to try, you can't make the necessary adjustments.

The Bushnell 4000 Elite series was another popular scope in the early part of the new millennium. It had crystal-clear optics and a price that was lower than the Leupold.

Scope aids
Scopes weren't alone in the optical revolution brought about by field target. The aids that accompanied them were quite interesting, as well. Among the most popular were the rubber eyeshades of various shapes that shooters used to position their eyes and block out excess sunlight. When the sun is on your side, it can play real havoc if you are trying to see something through a high-power scope. They also help position your eye so parallax is reduced to the minimum.


Large eyeshade was cut to fit the shooter and left on the ocular (eye) bell full time. It helped locate the shooter's head and kept stray sunlight out of the image.

Sunshades for the objective bell are another popular accessory, only being so specific to the scope they are not offered as aftermarket options, but as standard accessories included with the scope. My advice if you have a sunshade is to mount it and leave it. A time will come when you will be glad you did, for a patch of sun falling on the objective lens will gray out the image.

Scope levels are another option you should consider. I like the B-Square model that sticks out to the side of the scope (either side) because I can watch it while sighting. A mount that requires you to move your head to check is useless, because you can never be sure of the shot. Anthony Storey modified several dozen scopes by putting a bubble level INSIDE the scope so the shooter could see it while sighting. This was a wonderful option, and I've wondered why no scope manufacturer has ever bothered to offer it as a feature.

The enlarged sidewheel is the most popular scope accessory of all. It lets you put white artist's tape around the rim to mark the actual distances at which the scope focuses. A 6" sidewheel provides over 18" of space (pi still being 3.14159) on which to inscribe yardage, and that means you can have a meaningful separation between 18 yards and 20 - where there is a huge parallax and trajectory difference. When you're trying to shoot through 3/8" kill zones at 15 yards, it matters big time!


Leapers' optional 100mm sidewheel fits all Leapers scopes with sidewheel adjustment. Though the ranges are already engraved on the rim of the wheel, field target competitors will measure them again on an actual range and write the markings on a strip of white artist's tape.


This sidewheel has yardage marked off out to 55. The elevation knob is also enlarged and correlated to the sidewheel, so the shooter knows how to adjust for shots at every distance. This must be worked out by the shooter for every rifle/scope/pellet combination, which is why you use only one type of pellet.

The future?
In the future, look for scopes with greater light transmission. The 30mm scope tube is not the largest that can be constructed, nor should it be. Also, look for more positive erector tube adjustments without floating on the return springs at the end of travel. I don't think we've seen all the reticles yet, nor has the laser been fully incorporated into the scope as far as it could be.

Field target has given us the sidewheel parallax adjustment, internal scope levels (though there is a long way yet to go), and magnification powers beyond anything ever imagined by the staunchest long-range varmint hunter. It has helped mature riflescopes inside two decades. I don't believe the job is finished.

What I didn't address in this post is how to select a field target scope, so expect that in part two of the scopes report.