How to easily sight-in an air rifle

by B.B. Pelletier

This post was inspired by a Pyramyd Air customer who recently returned a LaserLyte boresight device because it was 5" off his aimpoint at 30 yards. I was flabbergasted that he got AS CLOSE to the mark as 5" at that distance! He thought he should be CLOSER?!

Laser boresight devices are supposed to align the bore of your rifle with the sight line of your sights. They can get your rounds ON PAPER at 100 yards! They ARE NOT supposed to zero your scope.

When I was in the Army, I used to boresight 105mm M68 cannons on M60A1 tanks, because the "paper" (actually a huge 12-foot square plywood sheet) sight-in target was 1,200 yards away. With those monster rifles, we didn't have the luxury of shooting at a small target at closer distance. Our normal targets were positioned 1,500-2,500 yards away, so 1,200 yards was considered close. We used black thread in a crosshair pattern over the 4" muzzle and binoculars to look through the barrel from the breech. When we fired, everyone on the range helped us by watching through binoculars to see where the tracer went. The inert aluminum practice round left a perfectly circular hole in the plywood. If you saw where it went, it was easy to see the resulting hole through a 10x scope. The ammunition was expensive, plus it wore the bore rapidly, so we didn't want to shoot more than necessary. The goal was to hit within a 24" circle at 1,200 yards and to take as few rounds as possible to get there.

With firearms, you may have to boresight
With a centerfire rifle, I may use some kind of boresighting method to get on paper at 100 yards, but not always. Sometimes, I start sighting-in on a 50-yard or even a 25-yard range just to make things easier. Because the target paper is closer, the bullet has a greater chance of impacting somewhere on it, especially at 25 yards.

On some days, the range is full of shooters and I can't move between targets at different ranges. I have to sight-in wherever I happen to be. If I'm unlucky, I find myself on a 100-yard range with a rifle I've never shot and the target paper I'm shooting at is only 12" square. Only dumb luck would get me on paper under that set of circumstances, so I'll use a laser boresight device if I have one. Or, if the rifle is a bolt-action, I'll remove the bolt and sight through the barrel by eye. When both the reticle and the bore seem to be pointing at the target, the chances are good the bullet will hit somewhere on paper. What if it doesn't?

A field expedient for sighting-in
The best field expedient to get on paper at long distance is to pick a spot on the dirt backstop berm that you and a friend can both identify - you looking through the scope or open sights of the gun and your friend looking through binoculars. Aim at the spot and both you and your friend call where the shot actually strikes. Adjust the sights from there. If you hit low and to the left of the aimpoint, adjust the scope or sight higher and more to the right. As long as you can agree on the aimpoint, this should take just one shot, or two at the most.

But airguns are different
Airguns aren't centerfire rifles. They don't have more than a small fraction of the danger range, so they're much easier to sight-in. You don't need a boresight device; you just need a cardboard box and 10 feet of distance. Tape a small target with a dark central aimpoint to the box. At 10 feet, it doesn't take much to get on a small piece of paper. I use 10-meter pistol targets that measure 8"Hx7"W. Except for a Bug Buster, no scope is clear at 10 feet, but that doesn't matter, and the aimpoint is way too large, too. But, you can still see the aimpoint well enough to align the crosshairs.

If you don't have real target paper targets, don't use copier paper. It's terrible. Use a piece of cardboard or tagboard that will leave a visible pellet hole. I used cardboard for the sight-in article I wrote. At 10 feet, you want your pellet to strike the target directly below the aimpoint of the scope. How far? By the height that the sight line of the scope is above the bore. The height of the scope above the bore determines how far below the line of sight the pellet will strike AT CLOSE RANGE. Sighting-in is the process of making these two lines converge at some distance. Think about that. If the muzzle were touching the target, that's how far below the scope's line of sight it would hit. Backing up to 10 feet just gives the scope a little chance to focus on the aimpoint. Then follow the rest of the directions in that article.

Special airgun problems
Sometimes, I'm not sighting-in a .177 - I'm sighting-in a .45 caliber big bore. And, I'm at the range by myself (I belong to a private range and I'm often the only person on all four ranges). You don't sight-in a .45-caliber, 500 foot-pound air rifle at 10 feet!

I recently had this problem, and didn't have time to start on the 25-yard range, so I used a 4-foot-square piece of cardboard cut from a flat-screen TV box as my sight-in target on the 50-yard range. Believe it or not, there were still problems hitting that big target square at 50 yards (I didn't know what bullets shot well in the rifle I was testing), but I solved them by aiming at the extreme corners of the target cardboard. Finally, one shot printed about three feet low and three feet to the right. That told me two things - the bullet I was using was wrong for the gun, and I would need gross scope adjustments if I wanted to use it. That sight-in session failed because I couldn't find a good bullet of the six types I had available that day. The next time out, I found the right one and got 1" groups with it. The point is that sometimes you have to improvise. You couldn't do what I did on a busy public range, but you could do the berm trick with a friend.

Sighting in airguns is a breeze, if you use the smaller scale of the guns to full advantage. Yes, it's cool to have all sorts of high-tech gadgets in your range bag, but sighting in isn't a high-tech exercise. Remember to play safe and always wear safety glasses, and your sight-in sessions will go on without a hitch.

Scopes - Part 4 The features you need & the ones you want

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

I have very good news. I was sent some pre-production samples of Leapers' new RWS Diana scope base, and they look beautiful. I know the techs at Pyramyd Air will love this new base, which mounts to the rifle in seconds, solving both the droop problem and the recoil stop problem at the same time. I'll report on them soon. Today, however, we'll look at the features scopes have, in an attempt to sort out what's really important from what's cool or nice to have.

Starting with the scope
You want a scope that is both waterproof and nitrogen-filled. While most models sold by Pyramyd Air have both of those features, don't think that all scopes do. The less-expensive scopes sold in discount stores and the cheap scopes available through some internet retailers and at gun shows may have only one or neither. Unless you shoot indoors exclusively, your scope will eventually get wet. I've seen shooters stop in the middle of a field target match because their scope fogged up on the inside and became unusable. One time, we were in a rainstorm that was on the fringe of a hurricane, and the misty droplets fell relentlessly. Over half the scopes in that match failed from internal fogging.

Another thing you want is a scope with strong erector tube springs. When you adjust very high or far to the right, the spring that pushes against the erector tube relaxes, and in some scopes the erector tube starts moving, causing POI shift. One reason I push Leapers scope so much is because they don't do this. High-end Bushnells are okay, but the cheaper ones aren't. The old Swift scopes had a problem with this, as did some of the Simmons, especially the inexpensive ones. And, as highly as they're touted, certain Leupold scopes were problematic, as well. Especially the Vari-X II, which is a lower-end scope for them. I haven't tested all scopes, so I don't know how to tell you which ones are safe and which aren't; but, if you feel the adjustment knobs going soft toward the high or right ends of the adjustment range, stay away from that part of the range with that scope.

Reticles
If you hunt, you want a duplex reticle. Nothing stands out so well against an uneven background of woods or grasses. If the hunting is slow-paced, a mil-dot reticle may be as useful as a duplex. Either type gives the benefit of multiple aim points.

Plain crosshairs are not suited to hunting, except in limited situations such as long-range varmint hunting. They're also best for long-range target shooting.


A plain crosshair, while great on a firing range, isn't as helpful in the field.


A duplex reticle stands out in uneven backgrounds such as a field or woods. The center still has the precision of narrow crosshairs.

Mil-dot reticles are very popular today and can be adapted to many kinds of shooting. They can help with aim-off for wind and for holdover for long distance. However, forget determining range with one. The formula is complex and the time it takes you will allow your target to move. The centers of some mil-dot reticles, though not the one shown here, are still a plain crosshair for precise aiming.


The mil-dot reticle is very popular and common today. They're almost as useful for hunting as duplexes.

There are many other reticle types, but none are as useful as these three. Some look like the landing pattern for a commercial airliner and are so confusing that they offer no real benefit, except to the curious.

Illuminated reticles
Illumination is great for hunters and for anyone who loses sight of the reticle against the background. Before you decide, know that there are two different kinds of illumination. The first kind reflects off the reticle and is the brightest. This is the most common type of illuminated reticle, and the whole reticle is illuminated at the same time. A second type is more subtle and not as bright but appeals to the true fringe-time hunter. That's the central illuminated reticle in which only the center crosshairs are lit. There's no loss of night vision with this type, but you have to be in very dark surroundings to see it. The key to this type of illuminated reticle is an etched-glass reticle.

When the illumination isn't turned on, the reticle is black, the same as non-illuminated reticles. So nothing is lost by having the illumination feature. But for general shooting, it is useless. I wouldn't get illumination unless there is a need for it, or the scope you want only comes with it.

Adjustable objectives
AO, as it's known, is for parallax correction, though most shooters think it's for focusing the scope. When you adjust the objective (or the sidewheel that I'll mention next), the target becomes clear at some point. At this point, there's as little parallax as possible, and the shot should not be affected by it as long as your eye is going to the same spotweld every time. AO is extremely valuable and should always be ordered with a scope, if possible. The cost is minimal and only the really cheap scopes or those of very low magnification do not have it today.

A sidewheel
Let's get something straight - a sidewheel refers to parallax correction that has been moved from the objective bell to the left side of the scope turret for convenience. Some illuminated reticles have their intensity adjustments in that location, but that does not constitute a sidewheel, regardless of what their advertising may say. The benefit of a sidewheel parallax adjustment is that you don't have to reach as far to make the adjustment. This is a nice-to-have feature when it is offered.


A sidewheel refers to parallax correction, only. Large sidewheels like this make small yardage increments visible for the shooter.

Return-to-zero adjustment knobs
Some scope knobs can be unlocked and their scales slipped to whatever point the shooter desires. The rifle can be sighted-in, then the adjustment knobs can be set to the zero numeral on the adjustment scale. This feature will appeal to careful shooters who document everything about their gun and scope. But for those who do not, nothing is more confusing than a return-to-zero scope adjustment knob if you move it, because you will forget where you came from. The return-to-zero (also called zero locking) function is for shooters who keep careful notes. Most shooters do not need it.

Variable power
Variable power used to be a bad thing, but today it's good. It's hard to buy a scope without it, and you can rest assured that all the bugs have been worked out. Get it if you can. You can operate at one power most of the time, or you can adjust power to find the target, then zoom in for an accurate shot. If you buy a variable, get one that goes low enough. High power can make your target appear hazy or muddy, but lower power will make it crisper. Scopes that go down to only 8 power are destined for field target or benchrest work. That's too much power for many shots in the field. In my opinion, the best variable is a 4-16x, with a 3-12x coming right behind.

Why do we collect airguns?

by B.B. Pelletier

I was reading the Yellow Forum recently and happened across a comment by an acquaintance of mine, Ted Summers. After his comment, he quoted something I wrote in the second Airgun Revue. I'd like you to see it, too:

Some day, every airgun in your collection is going to belong to someone else. You only "own" them for a brief period, and then they're on the block again. Don't fret about this - it's how you got them in the first place. Think about it.

There's a lot to ponder in that statement. For some reason, that's exactly what I have been doing for the past few weeks. I look at what I have and wonder why I have it. At some point in time, each gun was important to me, but as I look them all over, many have faded to the background. So I have to ask myself: Why do I own them?

My first collection
I own 8 nice Daisy No. 25 pump BB guns, and I know why I do. When I was a kid, I bought a 25 for $5 from my sister's boyfriend. It was a wonderful 1936-type engraved gun with lots of deep bluing and great power. But several days after I bought it, the power went away. In desperation, I disassembled the gun partway - for reasons I cannot fathom, because what was I going to do after that? My parents were against me owning BB guns, so I didn't feel they would be sympathetic to this problem. After creating a basket case, I sold it to a friend for a quarter just to get it out of my life. Two days later, he returned with the gun assembled and shooting powerfully again. He told me his father put it back together then showed him how to oil the piston seal to make the gun shoot hard. That was insult heaped on my injured pride!


The No. 25 pump gun is one of my favorites, but I sure don't need 8 of them. At the top is a 1913 first-model, followed by a 1914 second-model. Third gun down is a transition gun from 1916-1918 and the bottom one is a 1930 model.

So as an adult, I have an attraction to the No. 25 pump gun. I've learned as much about them as I can, and I've tuned a couple in the process. Now I look at the 8 in my collection and see redundancy. I don't need or even want all 8 any more. I'll take a couple of them to airgun shows and sell them or trade for something I do want. The others I'll keep, because that old wound is not completely healed.

Odd gun becomes an obsession
Another gun in my collection is a Kruger cap-firing BB gun from Wamo. Actually, I own two of them, and I'm in pursuit of the Western Haig pistol I wrote about last week. Wamo made that one, too. These aren't even airguns in the strictest sense, because they use caps to propel the projectile. In a very distant way, they're actually firearms!


The Kruger '98 was Wamo's idea of cleverly suggesting a Luger without copyright infringement. It used toy caps to propel either a BB or .12 caliber lead shot (they came in both calibers).


Western Haig wasn't sold under the Wamo/Wham-o name, but the owner of Wamo held the patent on the gun.

My mother bought me a Kruger as my first BB gun. You can read about it here. It was a horrible failure as a gun, but it stuck in my mind like a homely classmate you can never quite forget. After I started writing about airguns, I became aware that Wamo also made a .22 rimfire single-shot pistol called the Powermaster. Then, through my airgunning friends Bob Speilvogel and Richard Schmidt, I discovered that Wamo also made two other different .22 rimfire guns they probably never advertised. When I contacted Wham-o (they now go by that spelling, but they're the same company) to ask about the history of the Powermaster, they denied ever making it and insisted Wamo must have been a different company.


Wamo Powermaster was one of three different .22 rimfire firearms made by Wamo/Wham-o.

That transparent lie (which I can prove) lit a fire under me! As I researched the Powermaster, it became clear that no one has ever researched this story or documented many of these guns. Now I'm on a quest for information about the history of the company and about the six firearms they made (including the Krugers and the Western Haig). I'm compiling my research into a large article for Shotgun News this fall. I guess the point in this case is that you shouldn't lie to a writer! And, I will not be parting with any of my Wamo/Wham-o guns in the forseeable future.

The unloved as well
Just as there are guns I cannot part with, there are others that leave me cold. I once owned a beautiful HW77 that had been tuned to a gnat's eyelash. It was a rifle of which I was very proud. Then I got a TX200 that legendary tuner Ken Reeves tuned for me. It did everything the 77 did...just a little better. I let the 77 go. At the time, I said I didn't need two perfect rifles. Then I got a TX200 Mark III that topped my Reeves-tuned Mark II and the Mark II went away. So, in the case of fine underlever field target rifles, I guess there is only room for one in my heart.

When I add up the 10-meter target pistols I have owned, people might get the wrong impression. I have at one time owned two FWB 65s, two Walther LP IIIs, A Walther LP 53, a Diana model 10, a Drulov DU-10, an IZH 46 and a Chameleon. Only the 46 and the Chameleon remain, and I keep them because I can compete with either one. The others were great collectibles, but not up to the task of a full 10-meter match for one reason or another.

I know collectors whose whole lives are wrapped up in their airguns, but I'm not like that. I do live to shoot, and I get to sample a lot of different airguns and firearms in the process, but it takes a special bond for one of them to stay with me. Perhaps the strongest attraction I have is to a gun that has never been reported, or to one that's tied to my youth in some way. I suppose the attraction is different for everyone, but each of us has some compelling reason why we select the airguns we do.

This report was written especially for The Big Bore Addict, who's now putting his collection together.

RWS Diana Schutze - Part 1 New youth breakbarrel rifle

by B.B. Pelletier


RWD Diana Schutze is a beautiful new youth-sized breakbarrel.

I asked for this rifle and RWS USA responded. The RWS Diana Schutze breakbarrel is an answer to my prayers for more and better youth-oriented spring rifles. I get emails every week from parents asking which model air rifles are suited to their kids. There are a few good ones at present, but the number has slipped over the past 20 years. With the magnum craze going full-bore, airgun manufacturers have taken their eyes off the youth market, yet that market is important for several reasons. First is the fact that we can never have too many good airguns for young shooters. They will probably stick with the shooting sports if they have early success, and a quality air rifle is just the ticket for that. But, there's another, less-obvious reason that's even more important.

Adults like 'em, too!
The market may be red-hot for testosterone-laden, supersonic, magnum spring rifles, but think of youth guns as the minivans of airgunning. Everyone uses them without comment. Long after the bragging rights have worn thin on that super-blaster, the shooter will remember a gentle shooting air rifle with a smile. Beeman sells the R7 on that premise. There were a lot of wonderful spring guns competing for honors in that category back in 1985; in 2008, the choices are fewer. Enter the RWS Diana Schutze.

The name game
This rifle may be new here in the U.S., but the model has been in production since the 1990s. On the rifle, it says model 240, which is the current version of the model 24. When Diana dropped the models 23, 25, 27 and 35 in favor of the models 34, 36 and 38, the models 24 and 28 were also created. The model 28 is a more powerful rifle than the obsolete model 27 and the model 24 was a smaller, lighter rifle. It is supposed to be almost as powerful as the 27, though its size is between a 23 and a 25.


The name Schutze is not on the rifle. It's the model 240.

Technical
I measured every one of the specifications I mention here. They may not be the same ones you see online. The Schutze is small in almost every way. The total length is just 40 inches, yet the pull is an adult-sized 14.25-inches. It will feel like a lightweight carbine in adult hands. The barrel measures exactly 16 inches. The rifle weighs just 6 pounds and cocks with 21 pounds of effort. I'd like to see that cocking figure reduced to 15 lbs. or less, but it's a number I can live with. The ball-bearing barrel locking detent is stiff and will require a slap to open initially, but it'll wear in and become super-smooth.

Trigger
The trigger is not adjustable. It's two-stage with pronounced creep in the second stage. The pull is stiff, breaking at around 6 lbs. While that sounds heavy, remember this rifle is intended for young shooters, whose trigger fingers aren't always as disciplined as they should be. No doubt, it'll become smoother and lighter with use, but never too light. The specs say 5 lbs., which sounds about right.

An automatic safety is set every time the rifle is cocked, no different than any other Diana spring rifle. The safety button comes back from the rear of the receiver, so it's a snap to take off with your thumb when grasping the rifle to shoot. It can also be reset at any time (cocked or not) and simply blocks the trigger from moving.


Safety sets when the rifle is cocked. Note the lack of a scope stop on the 11mm dovetail scope rails.

Stock
The beech stock is slim in all dimensions, which adds to the handy feeling the little rifle evokes when you hold it. The buttpad is a solid black rubber pad that keeps the rifle in place when it's stood in the corner. The wood is stained a medium-to-dark brown and is finished smoothly all over. There's no checkering, and the shape is completely symmetrical, making this model 100 percent ambidextrous.

Sights
The front sight is a hooded post with a red fiberoptic bead at the top. It sits atop a molded synthetic ramp with side vents for style. The whole assembly is attached permanently to the barrel and cannot be removed. With target lighting, the front sight bead goes dark, becoming a perfect square post.

The rear sight is a square notch with green fiberoptic beads on either side of the notch. Unlike the front, they do not go dark with target lighting and will continue to frame the front post in all light. The rear sight adjusts in both directions with crisp click detents. There's a scale for the vertical adjustment wheel, but none for the horizontal.

There's a scope rail, but it has no scope stop provisions. I'm recommending to RWS Diana that they drill and tap a hole for a simple mechanical scope stop, because shooters today tend to use scopes over open sights.

I was very happy to see this rifle at this year's SHOT Show and asked to test it as soon as possible. Right after IWA (the European SHOT Show) finished in mid-March, the gun was sent to me. I plan on putting it through its paces because we really need more good youth guns. Adults are demanding them!

Running target

by B.B. Pelletier

Before we start, I'm getting lots of questions about shimming breech seals for breakbarrels. One of you should write a guest blog about it.

There's also a new article on the Pyramyd Air website.

I promised this post to Derrick several months ago. Today's the day!

History - Running Stag, Running Deer
Running Stag dates back at least to the mid-19th century, when the target was a wooden stag (a male chamois) with a target attached in the place where the stag's heart would normally be. The stag was mounted on wheels and pulled along a track.

The setting was outdoors, and the track was positioned between two dense bushes. The stag was pulled along the track as fast as a normal stag might run and the goal was to put a bullet in the animal's heart as he passed in view. The standards for this sport seem variable, but there was a special venue in Munich, where it was practiced in the 1860s, so at least the course of fire was always the same.

In England, the sport was called Running Deer, and it was practiced with pretty much the same rules at the same time. The sport was still a local or possibly regional one at this time.

History - Running Boar
Running Boar came much later, probably from Prussia, and the target was a two-headed boar that had a set of scoring rings printed over a colorful lithographed paper or painted wooden target. The target was shot as it passed by in both directions - left to right and right to left. The target went both slow and fast. Men got 30 shots (15 in each direction) at the slow target and 30 at the fast target, for a total of 60 shots. Women got 20 slow and 20 fast.


This is half of a Running Boar target. This would be the half you shoot at when the target crosses from right to left. This is a modern American target printed on target paper. The vintage Running Boar targets were boars on brightly lithographed colored cardboard game scenes or brightly painted wooden targets.
Running Boar has been shot with centerfire rifles as well as with .22 rimfires. The trend in modern times is toward the rimfires because the required range facilities are smaller and the range safety fan is reduced. I believe there was even a scaled-down running boar target for air rifles, but there's an even better event now: running target!


Thie full-sized Running Boar target looks like this
Running Boar has been shot with centerfire rifles as well as .22 rimfires. The trend in modern times is toward the rimfires because the required range facilities are smaller and the range safety fan is reduced. I believe there was even a scaled-down Running Boar target for air rifles, but there is an even better event now - Running Target!

Running Boar requires a range setup that is fairly permanent, so if a facility has invested in one, they tend to leave it up and running. As a result, the sport tends to weather long periods of low popularity. Similarly the rifles are specialized equipment and are not well-suited to other sports or general use. So if one owns a Running Bore rifle and has access to a working raqnge, one tends to stay with the sport.

Running Target
Running Target is strictly an air rifle sport. It made it into the 1992 Olympic Games, but was dropped after 2004. It's still a World Cup event. Without the Olympics as a goal, the luster is off the sport. There is a world championship title, however.

The target is just that - a normal bullseye target. Two bullseyes are printed on a page with an aimpoint between them. This allows passes in both directions. The old sport of shooting at a moving target didn't change, but the target did, and now there's a specific aimpoint. The number of shots and the fast and slow presentations remain the same as for Running Boar: 60 shots for men, 40 for women.


The AR-6 Running Target looks like this. It's two 10-meter bulls with an aimpoint in the middle. The target passes just like the Running Boar.

The Running Target carrier is still a mechanical system that presets the target across a two-meter gap at 10 meters. It runs in both directions at two different speeds. The target is visible for 5 or 2.5 seconds, respectively. The mechanism is very expensive, so not many clubs or individuals will buy them. This has limited the sport to some extent.

Want to try it?
The Gamo MTS 1000 Moving Target System lets you shoot at moving targets with airguns. The deer target has two heads that reset appropriately, depending on the direction the deer is moving. The system is made from light-gauge metal, so it's most appropriate for airguns of lower velocity - not unlike 10-meter target guns. A Daisy 953 would be ideal with this target. It wouldn't be exactly like Running Target because there's no scoring target, but you would get the same kind of training.

Beeman SS1000H Dual-Caliber rifle combo - Part 8

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7

This is an unprecedented 8th look at the Beeman SS1000H Dual-Caliber rifle. Farmer asked me to test the .22 caliber rifle holding its zero following a barrel change. I also wanted to put 100 Beeman Kodiak pellets through the rifle to exercise the lip of the parachute seal (Aren't you glad you know what THAT is?), so this test accomplished two goals at the same time.

A quick recap
Thus far, we've seen that this rifle is very accurate and powerful in .177 caliber, and it's also accurate and powerful in .22, but there are some velocity variance issues. The Beeman Kodiak pellet was accurate when tested before, so it worked out well that I could use it in this test. I've mounted a Bushnell 6-18x44 scope in place of the one that comes with the rifle, because that one isn't clear at 21 yards, which is the range at which I did this test.

Very hold-sensitive
I wanted to shoot several groups before the barrel change, as well as after, to show what happens, if anything, so I concentrated on my shooting style. I burned through about 30 shots trying different holds, then another 30 trying to see if Gamo Hunter pellets would work (they didn't). I won't bore you with the details of the hold I finally settled on; but, I'll say that if you own this rifle, plan on spending a lot of bench time figuring out how to best hold it.

Before changing the barrel
I spent real time trying to settle in with the best hold. The fact that it took real time, in my eyes, makes the S1000H a very sensitive rifle. I test airguns all the time, and I can usually figure out one pretty fast, but this one was daunting. However, once I realized it was that sensitive, I became much more careful and started getting the results I was hoping for. Because this is a test for potential group shift, I wanted at least two groups in the same place before removing and reinstalling the barrel.

Every group is shown in the same orientation at which it was shot.


This group of five Kodiaks was the best of the whole test.


The second group before the barrel was removed and reinstalled is larger but in the same place.

Now, the barrel was removed and reinstalled to simulate changing calibers.


This is the first group, and you might be inclined to believe that the zero never changed if this was the only group you saw after barrel installation.


Whoa! That's not a group - it's a pattern! This second group after the barrel change is huge and not in line with the accuracy we know this rifle has.


The third group after the barrel change is tighter than the second, and can you see the shift in the POI?


Group four after the barrel swap is tighter, and the POI has definitely changed.


Group five after the barrel swap proves that I'm human and don't always get good groups. This group is more or less in agreement with the previous target, though twice as large. And, the POI has changed from where it was before the barrel was removed and reinstalled

Oh boy! We're gonna get comments about this test, aren't we? "Why does the rifle act that way?" "That's exactly what MY rifle's doing!" If this is exactly what your rifle is doing, and you haven't changed your barrel, you have a rifle that's very sensitive to how it's held. That means sensitive to where each finger touches the stock and whether you relax before shooting and on and on....

If your rifle does this AFTER changing barrels - well, that's what they do! Only in Hollywood can a sniper unpack and assemble a rifle and hit his target with the first shot. It doesn't work that way in real life.

In this month's American Rifleman, they tested a Knight KP1 combination gun that comes with a rifle barrel, shotgun barrel and inline muzzleloading rifle barrel. A brief quote from one caption in that article tells the whole story:
In minutes, the KP1 can be fitted with an in-line muzzloading barrel, a shotgun barrel or a center-fire barrel. Zero isn't an issue as sights and scopes are barrel-mounted

So I'm not making this up - zero really is lost when you change the barrel on a rifle. Not just on this rifle but on any rifle with interchangable barrels.

Finally pcp4me tells me he was told by a Beeman tech that Beeman SR-series rifles have leather seals. Since he posted that remark to the dual-caliber blog post, I think he meant Beeman RS rifles, of which the SS1000H is one. If that is the case (the SS1000H having a leather seal), there should be a simple fix for the velocity variation. Simply heavily lubricate the piston seal with corn oil. A long time ago, I was told that corn oil builds up a residue in the uneven compression chambers of spring-piston guns, making them far more consistent. I will try this fix and report back to you.

Spring piston seals

by B.B. Pelletier

Yesterday, TC told me he wasn't familiar with what a piston seal looks like. I linked him to the 13-part "Spring gun tune" report, but nothing in that report really explains a piston seal, so today I thought I'd do that.

History
The first piston seals were simple, flat, leather pads screwed to the end of a steel piston. They worked but weren't too efficient. Around the turn of the 20th century, the cupped leather seal was born. The cupped end faces forward and fills with air as the piston rushes forward. The air inflates the leather cup, driving its sides against the compression chamber wall. That gives a better seal than a flat leather pad.

Piston rings
In the middle of the century, there was a brief use of metal piston rings as seals. They work exactly as they do in a car, sealing the compression chamber by expanding into the wall. They had several drawbacks. First, they are precision metal parts and cost a lot to make. Second, because of their location, the volume ahead of the piston is not as small as it would be if the seal were located on top of the piston instead of around the side. For this reason, piston rings are reserved for low-velocity airguns.


Piston from pre-1940 Webley Senior pistol has a beryllium-copper piston seal that looks like a automotive piston ring. When the piston is inside the gun, the ends of the seal are pressed closed. Pardon the grease, but I'm not about to relubricate my pistol for anyone. It will still work fine 25 years from now.

Teflon
Teflon is a synthetic with a low coefficient of friction. Also, it squashes and holds its shape, so companies like Weihrauch and Webley have experimented with it as a piston seal. It works well in the HW 45/Beeman P1. You fit this seal by dry-firing the gun several times. It simply squashes to fit the cylinder. No lip is possible because of the squashing nature of the material.


The Beeman P1 has a Teflon piston seal. This is the top or front - the side that faces the air transfer port. No lips are required because Teflon squashes to fit the compression chamber.

Parachute seals
The synthetic parachute seal is best seal of all. It can be fitted to the compression chamber so it drags very little; but, when it goes forward, the lip of the seal inflates and expands against the compression chamber wall just like the old leather cup.

There are many variations on the shape of the parachute seal, but they all do the same thing - expand against the compression chamber wall to seal the air in front of the piston. When you oil the piston, you help the seal do its job, because the oil fills in all the microscopic scratches on the piston wall. But, the oil also burns, so over-oiling causes detonations that can ruin the piston seal and mainspring.


This is a Beeman Laser piston seal that was part of the laser tune they sold for the R1. It's a classic parachute seal because of the lip that blows out into the compression chamber wall. This one's been fitted to my rifle. Because of the synthetic material in the seal, a special grease called Laser Lube was used with this tune. The round impression in the seal is from the air transfer port, made by the piston slamming into it several thousand times.


Vortek experimented with several R1 piston seals in the 1990s. I tested this one along with several others. It doesn't have a typical parachute lip, but the flange around the top serves the same purpose. Note the V section on top was perfectly centered on the air transfer port.


The famed RWS Diana blue synthetic seal is one of the longest-wearing and most self-lubricating piston seals on the market. They often need fitting to the gun by thinning the sides of the parachute lip. They also require very little lubrication.


These two Chinese piston seals from the 1990s are examples of "Monkey see, monkey do." The Chinese copied the parachute design without understanding it. The result was these colorful seals made from synthetic ticky-tacky that were totally inappropriate for the job intended. They don't do well in airguns, but they look good enough to eat! The Chinese have since learned their lesson in seal-making.


The legendary FWB 124 was one of the first airguns to use synthetic parachute piston seals. Unfortunately, they used the wrong formulation material, which disintegrates over time. These are totally useless, having turned to the consistency of hard wax over the years. Modern replacement seals for 124s are made of much better stuff.

Crosman 2200 new/old stock

Introduction by B.B. Pelletier

Guest blogger
Here's another guest blogger. Joe G. from Jersey tells us his tale of discovery with a new/old airgun. I liked this story because of my own experience with the very same model. Be sure to visit Joe's website, too

If you would like to write a post for this blog, please contact me at blogger@pyramydair.com.

Bloggers must be proficient in the simple html that Blogger software allows, know how to take clear photos and size them for the internet (if their post requires them) and they must use proper English. We will edit each submission, but we won't work on any submission that contains gross spelling or grammatical errors.

Take it away, Joe!

Crosman 2200 new/old stock

By Joe G from Jersey

Let me start by saying I enjoy air gunning. I love the ability to shoot whenever I like; garage space for me is ideal. One of the joys is looking for inexpensive guns and seeing how well they can shoot.

Over the winter, I had the opportunity to buy a brand new Crosman 2200. Crosman stopped production on this rifle around 2004. Well, I dealt out my $39 and was thrilled with the deal.



Just like any kid at Christmas, I could not wait to get home and try this old classic. I had a little time on my hands before my kids came home from school, so I opened the box, eager to see what it held. Wow! This is brand-new vintage stuff. I'm excited! Everything was looking good.

The first shot
This is where things started going down hill faster then a cheetah chasing an antelope at dinner time. I grabbed the pump handle and started the ritual every pneumatic pump shooter goes through. I'm thinking this is way too easy. Holding the gun gently, I squeezed the trigger and...no bam, no noise, no pellet leaving the barrel, let alone hitting the target. What the heck? This gun is brand new. What's going on?

Gathering my thoughts and picking myself up off the floor after the huge letdown, I started by inspecting the pump lever. I noticed that it was disconnected from the piston. Ahhh, that's why it was so darn easy to pump!

Giving it some thought, I figured that the oil had hardened and frozen the seal to the chamber while the gun was stored in its box for the last 3 or 4 years. Time to take my new gun apart. Thanks to Crosman's parts diagrams and my mechanical ability, I felt confident I could fix this small mess. And I did.

I also had to use a little Crazy Glue on the pump head, where it attaches to the piston. Before that, it would separate from the pump arm if you pumped too fast.

The second "first" shot
The little Crosman was now shooting! Velocity with 5 pumps was 475 fps avg. with Crosman Premier pellets. Around 600 fps with 10 pumps. No air leaks after sitting.

On paper targets, though, things were looking bad, again. I was getting really bad flyers with various pellets. They looked like curve balls being thrown by a major league player. The Bushnell 3-9x AO scope that I'd mounted was removed, but I still had flyers using the open sights. We're talking about shooting a distance of only five yards. Half-inch groups were opening up to 6-inch groups. I'm an average shot, but to yank shots 6 inches off target at that distance was almost impossible. A blind caveman couldn't do it if he tried.

This time, I looked at the barrel. The crown looked like it had been chewed out by a beaver. I disassembled the little beast, again. I removed the last 1/4" of the barrel with a pipe cutter and reamed a new crown with a countersink bit and J-B Non-Embedding Bore Cleaning Compound. The barrel now looked better than new. I knew it could not shoot worse than before, so confidence was high. During reassembly, I bedded the chamber block with J-B weld so it wouldn't wiggle.

Success at last!
Back to the bench. The flyers were gone, and the rifle was shooting ragged 1-hole groups. At 10 yards, Premiers and RWS Superpoint Extras were holding 1/2" to 3/4" groups. Not a target gun by any means, but now it was fun to shoot and good enough to bag a pest here and there.

Bottom line: I like the rifle a lot. It was worth the price I paid and then some. And, the tinkering made it all the better. Hey, what fun is it if the little Crosman shot well without the work?

Here's how it shot:

• 14.3-gr. Crosman Premiers = 469 fps with 5 pumps; 590 fps with 10 pumps


• 14.5-gr. RWS Super Point Extras = 456 fps with 5 pumps; 570 fps with 10 pumps


• 18.2-gr. Crow Magnums = 425 fps with 5 pumps; 520 fps with 10 pumps


• 21-gr. Beeman Kodiaks = 380 fps with 5 pumps; 466 fps with 10 pumps

The Western Haig The stuff of little boys' dreams

by B.B. Pelletier


Western Haig was advertised in magazines little boys would see. It sold for $2.98, as I recall. Where else could a boy buy a gun that really shot for $3?

I'm writing this for Bob, who remembers the ads for the .12 caliber Western Haig handgun in magazines of 40-50 years ago. I saw those ads, too, and they lit a fire in me that still burns today. Only, today, I'm no longer a little boy. I'm an airgun writer and the subject of Wamo guns holds a particular interest for me. You see, although it was never marketed as such, the Western Haig has very close ties to Wamo.

Wamo or Wham-o?
It's either and both. I have tracked the name and history of this company and have literature with both names on the same document. The first product was the Wham-o slingshot. The company was originally located in South Pasadena, California, then moved to Alhambra, California. Later, they moved to San Gabriel, California. I still haven't pinned down the times during which either name was used.


There are numerous paper documents that join the Wamo name with the spelling Wham-o.

Tie-in to the Western Haig
Wamo was founded in South Pasadena, California, in 1948 by partners Arthur K. "Spud" Melin and Richard Knerr. Their first product was a slingshot they called the Wham-o, for the sound it made when it hit the target.

On Oct. 20, 1952, Arthur K. Melin applied for a patent on a toy pistol that used caps to propel a bullet or projectile down a ductile metal bore set inside a barrel. Patent number 2,778,136 was issued on Jan. 22, 1957. The patent drawing shows a western-style revolver, though it was a single-shot pistol. This is the same patent number molded on the plastic grip of the Western Haig pistol. So, Melin held the patent for the Western Haig, and he owned the Wamo Manufacturing Company (AKA the Wham-o Manufacturing Company) of South Pasadena, Alhambra and San Gabriel, California.


This is a detail from the patent held by Wamo/Wham-o founder Arthur K. Melin.


The patent number cast into the plastic grips of the Western Haig match those on the patent.

I go to these lengths to prove the identity of the company because Wham-o today vigorously denies even having made BB guns, or firearms (yes, they made three different .22 rimfire guns, too). In 1956, the Wamo Mfg. Co. advertised the WHAM-O B.B. pistol in Science & Mechanics magazine, proving that Wamo and Wham-o are the same company, owned by the same two men and one of whom held the patent on the Western Haig pistol.

Related to the Wamo/Wham-o Kruger pistol
I've written about the Wham-o .12 caliber pistol and the Wamo BB pistol in the past. Once you read that, you'll understand how the Western Haig pistol operates. The plastic hammer is cocked and one or two caps are shoved into a cap holder in the frame in the path the hammer will take when the gun fires. There's a small opening in the cap holder that lets the gas from the exploding caps travel into a metal tube that's held inside the plastic barrel.

The .12 caliber lead shot (No. 6 shotgun shot) is dropped down the muzzle of the pistol and theoretically rolls down to rest opposite the cap hole. The exploding cap(s) drive the lead shot out the barrel with force. At least, that's the theory.

What really happens is the ductile iron cap holder and the tube that acts as the barrel start to rust after the first cap is fired. Within two days, both are rusted so much the hammer loses its force and the lead shot cannot travel down the barrel because of the rust. They gave you a ramrod to force the ball down the bore. That will keep you in operation a while longer, but with so little power coming from the cap it doesn't matter. What you have is a nice replica sixgun that doesn't do much of anything except cock and snap the hammer when the trigger is pulled.

Bob, I'm not trying to ruin your dream, for it was mine, as well. But I actually owned a Wamo Kruger pistol that operated in much the same way. I don't think I ever got a BB going faster than 100 f.p.s. with that gun, and even that fast seems a stretch.

If any of our readers owns or has ever owned a Western Haig, please tell us about it. I would like to hear what others have experienced.

Making Plastic Front Aperture Sight Inserts

Introduction by B.B. Pelletier

Guest blogger
Today, we'll start a new tradition, where I periodically turn the reins over to a guest blogger. We have done similar things in the past, but it was never formal. Now it is. If you would like to write a post for this, please contact me at blogger@pyramydair.com.

Bloggers must be proficient in the simple html that Blogger software allows, know how to take clear photos and size them for the internet (if their post requires them) and they must use proper English. We will edit each submission, but we won't work on any submission that contains gross spelling or grammatical errors.

Today's guest blogger is Nick Carter. Nick has his own blog at The Mechanical Philosopher, where he talks about machining, airguns, making the jewelry that he and his wife sell, and his sons. This report was originally posted on his blog, and I asked him to share it with you as our first guest blogger. Now....

Making Plastic Front Aperture Sight Inserts


by Nick Carter

I recently bought a Diana 75 T-01 match air rifle. It came with only one front sight insert with an aperture of 3.5mm diameter. I was having a dickens of a time getting a good sight picture, so I noodled around on the internet for information and found that most shooters recommend around a 4mm aperture for 10m target shooting. I could have bought either metal inserts or a set of plastic inserts, but I figured I'd save some money and have some fun making my own plastic inserts.


Some squares cut out of 1/8" thick lexan. Acrylic might be slightly better optically, but Lexan is what I had. I used a drill press to drill a hole in the center of each blank with a #32 drill bit (.116" - just under 3mm) for a #4-40 screw hole.


I mounted several on a mandrel held with a #4 screw, chucked in the lathe and running true.


I turned them down to a few thousandths under 17.5mm (.689") diameter, which is the size that fits the front sight mounted on the Diana. This gives a stack of round blanks.


While the blanks were on the mandrel, I chamfered the edges using a vee cutter, as seen above. This removes the sharp edge of the blank and makes it easier to insert in the front sight tube.


I removed the blanks from the mandrel and mounted one of the blank discs in the 3-jaw chuck, which was equipped with soft aluminum jaws bored out to hold the disc. I lightly chamfered one end of the hole to provide centering for the drilling operation and to deburr the edge of the hole.


Then, I drilled with a 4mm bit at relatively high speed to get a round hole, which is hard sometimes with a drill bit, as they want to make a Reuleaux triangle. It's better to use a reamer if you have one in the correct size. I've made them with different hole diameters for different lighting situations.


I flipped the disc in the chuck and put in a 90-degree countersink with a 90-degree center drill. This is what gives you the dark circle of the sight. The thickness of the ring, assuming that you use a 90-degree countersink/center drill for making the conical countersink, is equal to the depth that you drill with the countersink minus the diameter of the aperture hole.


The finished insert with the old metal insert beside it.


As you can see, I get a nice dark ring without the added distraction of the little arms on the metal insert sight. I snapped off a quick 5 shots to test and shot the smallest group thus far. It works! All told, it took about 20 minutes to make the one from start to finish, and I had several blanks left over.

Some thoughts on the Diana 27, the Diana 35 and what makes a good spring airgun

by B.B. Pelletier

Today's report is the result of a lot of research I've been doing for a large article that will be coming out in Shotgun News in May. Having examined the powerplants of spring rifles of the 1970s, when the 800 f.p.s. barrier had just been broken, I've uncovered some interesting things I'd like to pass along. I was alive during the period when the biggest news in the airgun world was which rifles were capable of 800 f.p.s., the first so-called "magnum" velocity threshold, so this stuff probably impacts me more than most of you.

I don't want to get into which guns were in that category, because that's the subject of the SGN article, but a couple that weren't in that category came to the forefront while I was studying. The first was the Diana model 27.


The Diana 27 is a fine vintage breakbarrel

I reported on the Diana 27 back in 2005, but I didn't give much technical information then. I just told you how much I liked all three of the guns I had owned - especially the one I own now. It's a .22 and as far as performance goes, this one will put most of you to sleep. It averages 450 f.p.s. with .22 caliber Crosman Premiers.

The trigger is somewhat tricky to adjust until you know the secret, then it adjusts as easily as a Rekord, if not as crisp. But, it's a long sight better than the triggers on today's crop of breakbarrels, for the most part.

Cocking is only 14 lbs. and firing is dead-calm with a small forward jump. In short, the Diana 27, when properly tuned and adjusted, is about as nice an airgun as you'll ever find. It's very similar to a tuned R7.

Back in those days, I knew Diana made a more powerful rifle known as the model 35. I never came across one while they were new. When Diana changed their lineup, the 35 became the 34. After years of looking at airgun shows, I finally snagged a 35 for myself. The years of wanting one had caused me to project all the wonderful attributes of the model 27 onto the gun, in addition to its extreme power. Remember, I'm coming from the time when 800 f.p.s. was considered a magnum air rifle. To me, a 35 that shot 725 f.p.s., as advertised for the 35, was simply a rifle that hadn't yet benefitted from my expert tuning!

Well, owning is a lot different than imagining! First, the 35 was a larger rifle in all dimensions. The stock was thicker and deeper and the whole rifle was heavier. While the little 27 is a joy to hold, the 35 is about as sculpted as a floor joist. And, it vibrates like crazy when fired! I used to say that shooting a S&W model 29 revolver with full-house .44 Magnum rounds is like hitting a fastball with a cracked bat. The 35 feels that way when it shoots. For those of you who haven't played baseball, the vibration stings your hands.

So, being the "guru" of spring guns that I was, I tuned the 35. The cocking effort went down but so did the power! I couldn't get it to shoot .22 Crosman Premiers faster than 542 f.p.s.! Before my tune, it shot them 7 f.p.s. faster. I thought I was incapable of tuning this great rifle up to even its advertised velocity, to say nothing of making it a magnum.

That was back in 1998. Ten years later, I've discovered in my research that the Diana 35 never did live up to its advertised potential. In .177, it topped out at 675 f.p.s. instead of the 725 advertised. The much lighter and easier-to-use 27 went 650 in .177. In my earlier post, I said they would be around 600, but that was based on the .177 I owned, and I guess it must have been tired. At any rate, a difference of 25 f.p.s. is nothing, so why bother the larger rifle with the harsher firing characteristics?

The difference between the two rifles was the stroke of the piston. The 27 was just about maxed out for the stroke of its piston. When Diana made the piston fatter but didn't stubstantially lengthen the stroke, the rifle didn't increase in power. A heavier mainspring added after the 35 was in production only made cocking harder; it did nothing for the velocity. Which brings me to the point of today's report.

So what?
Knowing that there's a relationship between the piston bore and stroke helps explain the performance of certain spring rifles. For example...why the Gamo Whisper is such a little sweetie in .177 and why Gamo doesn't even bother bringing it out in .22. And, why the Gamo CFX gets 950 f.s. with a light .177 pellet and only 600 f.p.s. with a light .22.

Look at it from a different perspective. The Webley Patriot is a smasher in .25 caliber but a pussycat in .177. It cannot use its power in the smaller caliber. I once owned a handmade spring rifle made by a hobbyist who spent thousands of dollars to create the world's most powerful spring rifle. He took a Beeman R1 and supersized it by 25 percent - building an 11 lb. spring rifle that took 75 lbs. of force to cock. When all was said and done, his monster was slightly less powerful than a tuned Beeman R1. I see that I haven't reported that one yet, so I'll add it to the list.

The bottom line is that there are balanced spring rifles and there are rifles that are not balanced. A TX200 is balanced, as is an R7. The Gamo Whisper in .177 is very balanced, but a CFX in .22 is not balanced as well. While it's a fine airgun with respect to handling and accuracy, it doesn't have the power potential for .22 caliber.

Beeman SS1000H Dual-Caliber rifle combo - Part 7.22 accuracy

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6

Like many of you, I couldn't resist finding out if the .22 caliber barrel is accurate too, so today we'll have a look. Before I start, though, I must correct a wrong done to Beeman. In Part 1, I lambasted then for not including barrel-changing instructions in the manual. A sharp-eyed reader spotted those instructions tied to the triggerguard of my test rifle in the first photo in that report! I owe Beeman an apology for criticizing them, when I was the negligent one. The instructions are there with the gun as they should be, and they're complete and accurate.

The test
I shot outdoors at the same 21 yards at which the .177 barrel was tested. Knowing that the Beeman-supplied scope is fuzzy at that range, I used the same Bushnell Trophy 6-18x scope that I used with the .177 barrel. The only thing I seem to have not done was clean the barrel. I didn't catch it until after the shooting was complete. But I don't think it would have made a big difference.

Premiers went first
The 14.3-grain Crosman Premiers were the first pellets I tried, and they grouped remarkably well - especially when you consider that I hadn't settled into the groove yet. For the record, I was laying the forearm on the backs of my fingers placed just forward of the triggerguard. I was touching the triggerguard when I shot. I also rediscovered that this rifle is very sensitive to hold. For best results, hold it light...like a soap bubble.


Crosman Premiers were the most accurate pellet tested in this rifle in .22

Then Kodiaks
Because Beeman Kodiaks were so consistent in velocity that I thought they would be the best in this caliber, but they weren't. They grouped okay but the Premiers were better. Still, I would use them for hunting.


Kodiaks were good, just not the best.

Also-rans
I also tried Daisy Precision Max pointed pellets, but they opened up to more than one inch, so they were out. I tried Air Arms Diabolo Field domes, but they were so far off the aimpoint that I missed the target trap completely on the first shot. They may be great pellets in this gun, but I didn't spend the time to re-zero the rifle, because other pellets were landing closer to where it was sighted.

Finally, RWS Hobbys
RWS Hobbys were the final pellet I tried. They seemed to want to group very tight. However, a spectacular group I was going to show you got blown apart because I went counter to my experience and centered the group on the intersection of the reticle. So, the first shot blew my aim point away, as in all the rest of the shots had to be aimed at the center of a hole! Three shots grouped remarkably well, but I couldn't hold the group together and two went wide. Still, if you own one of these rifles, I would try the Hobby pellets in the .22 caliber barrel.


Hobbys tantalized me with almost-great groups.


The first shot was a pinwheel that blew away the 10-ring. After that, I was aiming at a hole. Shot two made the group slightly wider, then shots three and four went wide right. I settled back down and shot five went into the original group at 1 o'clock. I think RWS Hobbys might be phenomenal in the .22 caliber barrel.

The bottom line
I'm not finished with this rifle, yet. I know it can shoot and I know both barrels work well, but I'd like to know when that would happen with some extended shooting. I own some Eley Wasps that are 5.6mm, which is very large for a 5.5mm barrel. They'll certainly cause the piston seal to flex with backpressure, so I'm going to run a hundred of them through the rifle, then re-test it in both calibers with the same pellets I tested the first time. That will be an unprecedented eight segments to report one airgun. Of course, the dual-caliber drives a lot of that, but I think this is a great deal for the money. Sure, you'll want to replace the scope, but even so, where can you get both a powerful, accurate .177 and .22 rifle for $180?

The deal of a lifetime! Some fantastic airgun opportunities

by B.B. Pelletier

When I was a young man in California in the 1960s, rumors circulated about World War II Harley Davidson motorcycles still in the crate selling for ridiculously low prices. You had to assemble them, and they probably needed new tires, of course, but $100 got you a brand new old bike. I never found any of them, but I don't doubt they existed because of some other wonderful airgun deals I did happen to get in on. That's what I'm talking about today.

My first great deal
Putting aside the like-new M1903 Springfield I bought for just $35 in the 1960s (yes, I did that, but my college income was only about $100/month, so $35 didn't seem cheap), the first big deal I stumbled on was the end of the Navy Arms sale of 1954 Hakim trainers for $65 each. The rifles were made by Anschutz as trainers for the Egyptian Army and I happened to already own one, or I wouldn't have bought four more. They were advertised in Shotgun News in one of those jumbled ads few people read.

The guns were in terrible condition, with sand mixed in with long-term storage grease, but all four ended up working, as I recall. Today, a clean one will fetch $275 and a beater still brings $200. They will group like a 10-meter rifle at close range, and can be tuned up to 550 f.p.s. with .22 caliber pellets. They will even accept a scope! I just checked and it seems I have never blogged this rifle for you, despite having owned more than a dozen over the years, so we'll get to that in the future.

When the Wall fell...
Many of you are too young to remember the Berlin Wall except in history books, but I remember when it went up and when it fell. When the former East Germany fell and western eyes went in, there was a garage sale of unbelievable proportions. It's still going on today in the military surplus world. One airgun incident happened when a South Carolina pawnshop owner bought several hundred target airguns that had belonged to the Stasi (East German secret police). The pawnshop owner contacted me because I was publishing The Airgun Letter, and he wondered if I would tell my readers about his guns.

There were three principal models: a Haenel 310 bolt-action repeater that shot 4.4mm round lead balls, a Haenel 311 bolt-action single-shot target rifle and a Haenel 312 sidelever single-shot target rifle. The 310 went for $49 with one clip; the 311 went for $59 and the 312 went for $79, as I recall. I put the word out and the rifles sold well. So well that he bought a second container of them. The 310 was so popular that John Groenewold imported a ton of 4.4mm lead balls that he still sells by the pound today. For about two years, the airgun community was awash in Haenel target airguns. Then, the supply sold out and today you can expect to pay $200 for a 310 or a 311 and $300 or more for a 312.

Along with the three main types of guns came a handful of oddballs, and the dealer gave me one in appreciation for helping him get the word out. I looked at it yesterday. It's a breakbarrel Haenel model III-264 that was probably produced in the 1960s or '70s, and it reminded me of this time and the wonderful bargains we had. I did report on the Haenel 310 as well as the Haenel 311, so you can see what those guns look like. I'll do the 264 at some point in the near future.

The Crosman potlatch
In the middle 1990s, management at Crosman wanted to divest themselves of their past so they could concentrate on the future. They emptied several "back rooms" full of guns and vintage parts and sold them to the lowest bidder. I happened to shop at the store owned by that bidder - Rick Willnecker. I was there when Rick took delivery of all the old model 101 guns and 1924 Crosman pump guns. There were hundreds of guns. Many were only for parts, but there were over a hundred complete guns. Mixed in with this stuff were several Montgomery Ward model 180 guns that I'd never seen before. They are a dual-powerlet gun that's shorter than the 160, but larger than the regular 180. I still own the shop manual of Rene Vanderveld, the main Crosman repairman for many decades. A noted airgun dealer from South Carolina bought most of the vintage pumps, because Rick was mainly interested in the parts. But for a few months, Crosman 101 and 100 guns were everywhere.

Yes, you say, all well and good for you old fogies, but nothing like that ever happens now, does it? Yes, it does. Less than one year ago, I told you about the Predom Lucznik target pistol that was selling nationwide for about $50. I bought five of them to use as gifts as well as one to keep. Now, I may be more fortunate than you because I live in north central Texas, where Military Gun Supply was selling the guns with cases and holsters. Heck, they still have a few! So don't think you've missed out. The super deals will keep right on coming for the rest of my life and yours as well, for that is the nature of things.

A wise man once said, "The deal of a lifetime comes along about every 18 months."

Beeman SS1000H Dual-caliber rifle combo - Part 6.22 barrel retest

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

It's been quite a while since I tested the Beeman SS1000H Dual-Caliber rifle combo, and if a reader hadn't recently pried me out of a stupor, it would have been even longer. Someone asked if the rifle was back from Beeman yet, and I discovered that I hadn't sent it. Don Walker at Beeman had asked me two weeks ago to send the rifle with both barrels and a report of what velocities I was getting. So, in preparation for that, I installed the .177 barrel to see how much velocity had been lost since I first tested it in November 2007. Very little, it seems.

Velocity with .177 Hobby pellets
A string of eight RWS Hobbys ranged from a low of 963 to a high of 993. That's not as tight as I would like to see, but it's acceptable. I hadn't tested the rifle with Hobbys the first time around, so there was nothing to compare to, but clearly this rifle was performing to spec. I needed to shoot something I could compare to.

Velocity with .177 Kodiak pellets
Beeman Kodiaks were tested the first time around, so I shot five through the Chrony, just to see where things stood. The first test gave an average of 806 f.p.s. and this time the average was 787. That's lower, but close enough that the rifle is still performing within spec. And there were no shots at significantly lower velocity this time.

Had the rifle somehow healed itself? Had I been mistaken in my measurements the first time around? I would have to install the .22 barrel to find out.

Installing the .22 caliber barrel
When I installed the barrel, I looked closely for any problems that might cause a velocity loss with this barrel. Things like nicks at the breech or looseness in the barrel mount were what I looked for, but I also just looked to see if anything seemed out of place. Barrel looseness has been a complaint from more than one owner, but both barrels on my test rifle fit tight. Walker had suggested that I check the breech seal because he had experiences with them falling out. The one in the test rifle never fell out, but there was a small ragged piece of rubber coming off the inside of the O-ring, so I removed it and flipped the O-ring around. That's an old spring gun trick that usually restores performance, if the breech seal is the problem.

Velocity with .22 Hobby pellets
On the first test of this rifle with .22-caliber RWS Hobbys, it averaged 748 f.p.s., but two shots in the string of 10 that were not considered in the average went 517 f.p.s. and 500 f.p.s. This time the string averaged 760, but three shots that were not considered went 491, 501 and 590, respectively. This was the kind of performance I experienced on the first test of the .22 barrel, but now I had some new data. The rifle wasn't slowly losing velocity - otherwise the test with the .177 pellets would not have come out so high. And, this time, the .177 barrel had not a single low-velocity shot, where in the first test it had several. Instead of losing velocity, it seemed as if the rifle was trying to hold its velocity, with occasional drops of several hundred f.p.s. That's not normal, but it's also not indicative of a failed mainspring.

I no longer think the rifle has a broken mainspring, like I originally thought. Instead, it seems like something mechanical is getting in the way of the pellet sometimes. Whatever it is, it isn't happening with the .177 barrel any longer. I examined the muzzlebrake on the .22-caliber barrel very closely for signs of pellet impact, but there are none. I also felt for air escaping at the breech and there is none.

Velocity with .22 Kodiak pellets
On the first test, the rifle averaged 544 f.p.s. with Beeman Kodiaks, and there were no lower-velocity shots. This time, the gun averaged 566 f.p.s., and again, there were no slower shots! That's 14.94 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle.

It seems I panicked when I pulled the plug on the test before. The rifle is, in fact, shooting well, but it does seem to have a strange quirk that I will associate with break-in. I've never seen this kind of performance before, because, during break-in, rifles are normally dieseling and shooting much faster - not much slower. I still don't know what's going on, but things seem to be sorting themselves out - and it looks like each barrel had the same problem that had to be worked through. That would make it a barrel problem, and not a permanent one.

Do you notice that the average velocities for specific pellets from earlier tests and these tests are close to each other? For some strange reason, the .177 seems to be getting slightly slower while the .22 is getting faster. And, the rifle is slightly more powerful in .177 than in .22, which we've also seen in other modern spring rifles, like the Gamo CFX. So, what's next?

I won't send this rifle back to Beeman, because I don't think there's anything wrong with it. I think the break-in it has received so far, which has been under 300 total shots, hasn't been sufficient to sort things out. I'll continue to shoot it and test it for you. The next test will be accuracy with the .22 caliber barrel. If we see some vertical stringing, it may be due to abrupt velocity changes.

Scopes - Part 3 How high should a scope be?

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2

The first two sections of this report were titled poorly for the way I blog, so I went back and changed their titles to Scopes, Parts 1 and 2. It's too difficult to track anything else. You may have forgotten, but I'm using this section to write the outline of a book on airgun scope mounting.

Today, I want to look at scope height. How high do you want your scope to be? There are two considerations for scope height. The first is adjusting the height of the exit pupil (the light that comes out of the rear of the scope that lets you see the target and reticle) to the height of your eye and the second is the clearance of the scope above the parts of the gun. Let's discuss both.

Fit to the eye
Ideally, your rifle should mount to your shoulder with the eye coming into perfect alignment with the exit pupil. I say ideally because it seldom happens. You want to get as close to the ideal as you can so that parallax from different eye placement is reduced as much as possible. With some rifles this will demand a medium-height mount and with others a high mount. With a few, such as the AirForce rifles, which have an absolutely straight stock line, they demand ultra-high mounts (which are already built in to the gun).

Usually, the height of the cheekpiece is a clue to how high the scope will have to be, but a stock with a straight line (i.e., not much drop from the pistol grip to the butt) will fool you into thinking you can get by with a lower mount than really needed. You may need to live with a rifle for a period before you know what it needs scope-wise.

Fit to the gun
Obviously, the scope mount has to be high enough that the scope caps can be tightened around the scope tube. Scopes that have large objective lenses will need higher mounts to clear the gun, and guns that have level actions (most spring-piston air rifles) will need higher mounts for the scope to clear the gun. PCPs often have receivers that extend above the level of the barrel, thus providing some of this clearance.


This Harrier's receiver is higher than the barrel, but to use a scope with a 56mm objective, high mounts are still necessary.

However, scope length also comes into play here. If the scope is short enough, it won't get in the way of loading, regardless of how close it is to the spring tube. As long as it clears the tube, you're home free.


RWS Diana 460 magnum has a sliding compression chamber with tight pellet-loading clearance. If the scope doesn't stick out that far (the silver rectangle behind the rear sight), it doesn't matter.

Some guns have special clearance needs. PCP repeaters with circular clips need higher mounts to clear the clip. Sidelever and underlever rifles, such as the RWS Diana 460, with tight breech access often need scopes higher for pellet loading.


You need plenty of clearance to load the rotary breech found on a Gamo CFX.


A circular clip means the scope has to be mounted high in order to clear. Not this high. though. This was extra high because of long-range testing. I needed an adjustable scope mount and this B-Square was all I had on hand.

Disadvantages to mounting high
The higher you mount the scope the greater the effect of cant. Because the sight is so far from the bore, any angular difference will be magnified. Some shooters also believe that a lower scope helps flatten the trajectory. It does, but I don't find the difference to be so great that it concerns me. I first get the scope to rise to my eye and to clear the gun before I worry about flattening the trajectory. That's just personal; you have to decide what's important for your kind of shooting.

BSF 55N - Part 3

by Tom Gaylord

Part 1
Part 2

Today, we'll take our third look at the BSF 55N. You know there was one on the American Airguns web site for sale last week, so these things are still available.

A couple readers asked specific questions about the gun, so I'd like to address those first.

Does the 55N have an articulated cocking link? Yes, it does. Articulated links aren't discussed much these days but in the heyday of this rifle they were among the most important features. Because all spring guns buzz, makers used to try to keep the cocking slot in the forearm as short as possible to prevent the stock from vibrating. An articulated cocking slot lets the breaking barrel push the piston back without needing a long, straight link in between. That allows for a much shorter cocking slot in the stock, which dampens vibration. It also allows a sling to be attached to the underside of the forearm.


BSF cocking link is in two pieces, riveted toward the front (lower left). The steel bridge keeps the link close to the spring tube. It connects to the piston at the upper right, where the link passes through the spring tube.


BSF cocking slot is very short. The forearm is solid and it can accept a sling swivel.


Someone asked to see how the BSF sling is attached. This is how. The screw passes through the steel cup, allowing the cup to rotate a little.


FWB 124 cocking slot, in contrast to the BSF, is very long, because the cocking link is a single piece of steel. It needs this clearance to operate.

Is the scope base on the 55N similar to the one on all RWS Diana rifles today? Again, the answer is yes. The BSF had the same problem of excessive barrel droop as the Diana breakbarrels still have today. You see, in the era when these guns were designed, scope use wasn't considered. That base is really there to accept a peep sight - not a scope. The ARH catalog states that 82 percent of the rifles will not be suitable for scope mounting! That wouldn't fly today, so the retail side of the industry has turned inside-out making accommodations for Diana rifles that have never been redesigned to accept scopes. In a month or two, I'll have a new scope base for RWS Diana guns that will solve all these problems, but it's taken more than half a century for the solution to be found!

BSF, however, did do one thing that Diana has yet to do. They included a scope stop (actually a peep sight stop) in their base. A tiny Allen screw can be raised on the left rear side of the base dovetail, so the rear of the scope ring has something to bear against. Mine is missing.


Small screw raises up and blocks the rear of the scope rings. At least it's a mechanical stop, but it might chew through aluminum rings.

On to shooting
Since Air Rifle Headquarters used 25 feet as their test distance for the rifle, I used 10 meters, which is close to 33 feet. I shot the gun with Gamo Match, RWS Hobbys, H&N Finale Match and 7.9-grain Crosman Premiers.

The trigger is a delight to use, now that I've adjusted it for safety. The trigger has a positive two-stage pull with a light, crisp second stage. I couldn't ask for more.

Open sights only
The sights, on the other hand, are seriously inadequate for precision shooting. They are a post-and-bead front and a rear u-shaped notch. The rear sight adjusts for elevation only, but the rifle seems to be right on horizontally. This kind of sight is made for plinking and for close-range hunting. It does not offer a precise sight picture. Unfortunately, when I tried to add both a peep and a scope, I found out I can't. The sight base is loose on the gun, and I see now that it's held on by a single screw that the former owner stripped out once. That's why the rifle had to go back for maintenance. ARH installed a larger screw that now feels like it wants to strip out as well, so I left it alone and will not use the base.

Using the open sights, I got groups with little lateral dispersion, but I couldn't control the vertical. The accuracy is there, but these sights don't let it come out.


Best I could do with the open sights was these five H&N Finale Match.

So, it's a vintage gun
This is a vintage airgun and not an everyday shooter. The Gamo Whisper is as easy to cock, just as light, just as accurate and more powerful. With a GRT III trigger installed, the trigger is just as good, too. You wouldn't commute to work every day in an MGTD, and neither would you make a BSF 55N your everyday air rifle. But, now and then, it's nice to let the years roll back by shooting something a little simpler.

10-meter rifles - Part 4 Used 10-meter rifles

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2
Part 2/The budget rifles, continued
Part 3 The Olympic rifles
Part 3 The Olympic rifles, continued

Okay, all you 10-meter-philes, wake up, because today will be special! First, though, I have to remark that the survey on the Pyramyd Air home page is indicating that most airgunners like to hunt. Ten-meter shooting is coming in much lower. I told them I thought people might be interested in a lot of things and not consider themselves to be 10-meter shooters, but they may still have an interest in the guns. I drive a pick-up truck and live in Texas, but I'm not a cowboy. Okay, let's get to it.

Used guns to be concerned about & why
Gamo/Daisy 126 - Needs frequent rebuilding. I would avoid it altogether.

All FWB spring guns, including Daisy models - Their early piston seal formula deteriorated over time. If you buy a 150 or 300 target rifle, be aware that it may need a costly resealing ($150 and up). Same for a 124, but the cost to rebuild is under $100. The new seals last much longer in all models.

Walther LG 55 and LGV - Same seal problem as FWB. The fix is easier and cheaper because these are simpler actions. Finding the new seals is harder.

Diana model 60/65/66/75 recoilless rifles (model 75 also briefly sold by Beeman as model 400) - Same seal problem as FWB and Walther. Costly to fix, but Umarex USA can do the work. Giss counter-recoilling piston has to be timed with the power piston so this is definitely not a DIY job!


Diana model 65 was an early breakbarrel recoilless target rifle based on the Giss system. You can spot a Giss system by the round cap over the trunnion that connects the two pistons (silver circle above stock). There is one on each side of the spring tube.

Anschutz 250 - Has an oil recoil damper that invariably leaks over time. Parts are nonexistent, but a clever airgunsmith can sometimes repair it. Also, this model is EXTREMELY prone to developing a crack in the near-vertical pistol grip. Of nine rifles I've examined, seven were cracked at the pistol grip along the line of the wood grain.

What works?
Those problems will not be found on every one of these guns. Many of the FWB 150/300s have now been rebuilt with modern seals that will last a long time. Same for the 124 that I just threw in for good measure. Same for about three-quarters of the Diana guns, but more of them will need seals than the FWBs.

These older guns now sell for $450-750, depending on their condition and the accessories that come with them. Their triggers are very good compared to a sporter trigger, but they are nowhere near the triggers on guns of later make. They usually lack overtravel stops, and nearly all lack a dry-fire capability.

Guns you never hear of
The Haenel 311 bolt-action target rifle is in the informal class, but the sidelever model 312 is much nicer and more like a real target rifle. The Haenel model 50 (I believe) is the same as a Hammerli overlever single-stroke rifle that's quirky but accurate enough for informal target shooting. The Mauser 300 was made by Hammerli, I believe. Another good informal target rifle.

As you get into the 1980s guns, CO2 comes into use and many of these guns are still competing regionally. No brands have outstanding problems, but you probably don't want to shoot a Crosman 84, because it's so rare. The factory says only about 100 were ever made, so I'd keep it as a collectible rather than a shooter.

In the 1990s, compressed air began replacing CO2 as the power of choice. But CO2 guns continued to be made during this period, so they advanced at the same rate as the pneumatics.

Go for the gold!
The beauty of a 1980s and 1990s target rifle is that they're just as accurate as the guns of today. What they lack are the ergonomics, but that's about all. The prices for these guns run in the $500-700 range. You'll occasionally see someone asking $1,000, but not many will sell at that price. This is where you can buy a top-quality 10-meter gun for very little. The brands to look for are Feinwerkbau, Walther, Anschutz and Steyr.


Not obsolete yet, but give it another year or two and this FWB P70 will be a gun to watch for.

A tip
Precharged rifle removable air tanks have a service life of 20 years. Some guns will be sold because the service life is running out on the tanks. They cannot be rebuilt or serviced in any way - you're supposed to just throw them out. If I were looking for a good deal, I wouldn't worry about the remaining service life - as long as the seller is worrying. Only the owner will ever charge these tanks, so it's up to you whether you discard the tanks or not at the recommended time. They are way under the size of tanks that have to be hydrostatted, and they never go empty unless they had to be shipped, so they have much less work-hardening. You can probably buy new tanks for almost any PCP gun on the market. Features may change on the gun over the years, but fundamental specifications such as tank fittings seldom change.

Don't overlook single-strokes!
I haven't mentioned single-strokes yet, but all of them are in the "good" category except for the Gamo 126. Starting with the Walther LGR, which tenaciously holds its price, all the way down to the FWB 602, a used single-stroke can be a wonderful way to break into 10-meter rifles. The LGR is a little hard to pump, but the designs get easier with each passing model, and the most recent ones take less than 20 lbs. of effort. Single-strokes seem to hold their prices better than CO2 or even PCP guns - maybe because you can travel with them. Expect to pay $700-900 for a good one. I've even seen asking prices as high as $1,400.


FWB 601 single-stroke is obsolete but remains a wonderful target rifle. It could still win gold!


I think this is an old Steyr single-stroke, but it could be a Walther. Either way, it's a great target rifle that won't cost you much money.

What about running bore/running target guns?
These rifles were not made for 10-meter competition. They were made to shoot moving targets and to be swung as they are aimed and shot. They don't make good substitutes, even if you can get them with the correct sights. Since they were made to be scoped, they're not something to buy unless that's what you want.

How to cock and load a spring air rifle

by B.B. Pelletier

This post is for Chris and Jeremy and all the techs at Pyramyd Air. They tell me some new airgun buyers don't know how to cock their guns and are sending back partially cocked guns to Pyramyd Air as defective. I added the part about loading, because if people don't know how to cock the guns, they certainly don't know how to load them properly.

Underlevers
Lately, this problem has cropped up with TX200s. Several have been sent back to Pyramyd Air - including one from a well-known airgun dealer who should have known to check for this. The complaint was that the guns wouldn't cock. The problem was that people were not cocking the guns all the way. To cock the TX200 or any underlever, the lever must be popped down from the barrel, then pulled all the way down and back - as far as it will go. During the last part of the stroke, the safety has to be set, and it takes just a little extra effort. New owners stop pulling too soon and the lever remains down with the rifle uncocked. The lever now seems to be stuck open and cannot be closed. They can't do anything with it, so they panic.


See how far the underlever comes down and back on this BAM B40 (copy of the TX200) before the rifle is cocked and the safety is set? A ratchet lever must be depressed to return the underlever to the stored position.

The solution is so simple. Just pull the lever a little harder and the safety will set. Then the rifle will be fully cocked. and the underlever can be returned to its stored position (as long as the safety ratchet button is depressed). On Weihrauch rifles such as the HW97 and the HW77, sometimes the trigger block is over-lubricated and the safety button gets stuck in the thick grease. Push on it if it doesn't seem to want to set. That's usually all it takes. These guns have no safety ratchet, so the lever can now be returned to the stored position

You may remember that I described the same problem with the Whiscombe JW75. Even I had this problem and had to call my dealer to help talk me through it. The Whiscombe safety takes a lot of extra pressure to set on the final cocking stroke. That's even today, after the rifle is broken-in.

Sidelevers
Sidelevers are usually not as troublesome as underlevers, but they also set their safeties with the cocking stroke. They have different types of safeties that seem to set more positively without needing that extra cocking effort.


The RWS Diana 48 sidelever comes this far back to cock the mainspring and set the safety. A ratchet button must be depressed to return the lever to the gun's side.

Breakbarrels
I find this next thing difficult to believe...but Jeremy tells me that some new customers actually believe the act of just opening the breakbarrel cocks the gun! I mean the initial breaking that drops the muzzle down a few inches, preparing the barrel to be cocked. They think when that is finished, the gun should be cocked. They are just beginning at that point!


RWS Diana 34 Panther barrel breaks far open to cock and set the safety.

Learn to slap that muzzle!
While we are on the subject of breakbarrels, many new owners do not understand how much force is required to break open some of these modern high-power breakbarrels. The mechanisms that keep the barrels locked while firing have to be made stronger today to keep all the air pressure sealed inside. It takes real effort to break open some of the new guns. The Webley Patriot/Beeman Kodiak is the worst for this, followed closely by the Beeman Crow Magnum/Theoben Eliminator. You have to slap the muzzle downward sharply with the heel of your hand to break the barrel open. It's almost a karate chop. This takes some practice, though in time it becomes a habit. I now slap open all breakbarrels, regardless of what they are, and sometimes get surprised if it opens easy, like an RWS Diana with a ball-bearing breech lock.

Now that it's open, break that barrel all the way!
Most modern air rifles have very long strokes, so the barrel has to be broken (pulled down and back) a considerable distance to cock the gun. And, like the underlever guns, the safety often sets on the final part of the stroke. That may take some extra effort.

You have to overcome hundreds of pounds of effort
A modern spring air rifle has a mainspring that requires over 150 pounds of force to compress. The geometry of the cocking mechanism reduces the effort needed to compress this spring to between 25 and 50 pounds, but you still have to put in that much effort or the gun will not be cocked. And, at the end of the cocking stroke, there is often an automatic safety that needs to be set. That requires a few extra pounds of effort.

Loading safely
To load any spring air rifle safely, you should always hold onto the end of the cocking lever - even if it's the barrel! Never let go of that lever (barrel) while the action is open. You only need one hand to load the gun - the other belongs on the cocking lever, so if the safety malfunctions at any time, you can catch the lever (barrel) before it closes and chops off a finger or two.

Never do this!
Never fire the gun with the barrel broken open or with the cocking lever not back in its stored position. If you do, here's what will happen - EVERY TIME! If it's a breakbarrel, the barrel will snap shut and the barrel will bend upward from the sudden stop - EVERY TIME! The stock will probably crack. If you have your finger in the breech, it will be cut off - EVERY TIME. If you have an underlever or sidelever with a sliding compression cylinder and you fire the gun with the sliding compression chamber pulled back, the lever will slap against the gun and probably break the stock (very common with underlevers). The side of the gun where the lever slaps will be permanently scarred. If you had fingers in front of the sliding compression cylinder when it went forward, they were cut off.

Airgun makers have gone to great trouble to prevent these accidents. Most guns have safety devices that prevent them from firing before the lever is returned, or they use a ratchet to hold the sliding compression chamber from closing. But these things can fail or be bypassed. A few rifles have unique designs that prevent such accidents. The Gamo CFX has a rotary breech and the RWS Diana 46 has a flip-up breech cover. Both keep fingers safe. But the majority of guns don't have these features, so the shooter must be aware of how to safely handle the gun while loading.

Spring air rifles are very easy to use, once you learn how. But there are things to learn. Please read the owner's manual (Pyramyd Air has a large online library of manuals) and follow the few simple safety practices I have put forth here.

BSF 55N - Part 2

by Tom Gaylord

Part 1

Play day for me, again! I get to show you my new/old BSF 55N.


Not much of a looker. Most people would probably pass this one by. But it's a wolf in sheep's clothing - or at least it used to be!

You already know this is a small air rifle, yet a very powerful one for its day. The secret? A long-stroke piston provides more power by compressing more air. The drawback of such a design is a longer dwell time while the piston races down the compression chamber. Some shooters think that makes the gun more difficult to shoot accurately, but that's where the artillery hold really shines. It doesn't care about dwell time or anything else.

Let's look at the rifle
BSF rifles can usually be identified by two swaged grooves at the end of the compression/spring cylinder. These are a mechanical way of attaching the cylinder end - the part that holds the air transfer port. The metal is polished and blued, but finish was never the strongest suit of BSF. They look fine, but don't compare to the finish on guns like Webley and BSA.


Those two grooves are the telltale mark of a BSF, no matter what name is on the gun.

The trigger
A BSF trigger is a marvel of manufacturing. One look at how it's made and most of you would swear that the gun is nothing but junk. I know I did. The sear is actually made from thin steel plates riveted together to form a solid piece. In the days before CNC machining became affordable, this was a way of making steel parts cheaply.


There's some high-class 1960's cost-cutting! The sandwich sear actually works great.

But it WORKS! Oh, how it works! Robert Law said these triggers are rough to begin with, but they eventually wear in to very smooth. That sounds like hype, but it's the truth. The rifle I bought was well-used for about 30 years by its owner, whose brother told me he remembers shooting it as a kid. Now, the trigger is soooooo smoooooooth! When I cocked and loaded the gun for the first time, the trigger was set so light that the gun fired when I closed the barrel, so now I have a hole in the ceiling of my office. Thankfully I was pointing the muzzle in a safe direction when it happened!

I immediately adjusted the trigger to have greater sear contact. I also read in an ARH catalog that you should never adjust a BSF 55/70 trigger too light or this is exactly what will happen. The trigger adjustment worked as the markings indicate, and now I have a safe rifle with a delightful two-stage trigger that breaks with 2 lbs., 6 ozs. of pressure.


Maybe you can't read German, but you'd have to be from Mars to not understand the trigger adjustment. It works, too.

Velocity
The BSF 55N was one of the first rifles to break the 800 f.p.s. barrier. In those days (late 1960s to late 1970s), 800 f.p.s. was a really big deal. Now, my gun was returned to ARH for maintenance in 1980, and it got a new mainspring and piston seal, but no mention of accurization. ARH advertised the velocity of this model at 738 f.p.s. as they sold it (shooting .177 H&N Finale Match pellets) and 770 f.p.s. after accurization. That was back in 1972, when my rifle was sold. By 1979, the velocity was up to 770 for the basic gun and 840-854 after accurization, again with an H&N match pellet.

My rifle averages 756 f.p.s. with H&N Finale Match, and holds that velocity within 10 f.p.s. It goes 763 with Gamo Match and 773 with RWS Hobbies - the lightest pure-lead pellet available for testing. Both of those are also very stable. Switching over to the trick pellets, it ranges between 846 and 891 with Gamo Raptors. Crosman Silver Bear hollowpoints deliver velocities from 991 f.p.s. to 1018. Now, who you gonna believe?

You're going to believe the RWS Hobbys and put aside the foolishness of these ultra-light trick pellets, because if you don't, I have a supply of 3-grain plastic pellets that can take the number even higher. This is airgunning, not who has the highest number. It matters what we can hit, not some meaningless number that can't do anything. Sorry about the soapbox, but just imagine what would have happened if lightweight pellets had been available back in the 1970s.

Next time I'll show some more detail of the rifle and we'll see how she shoots.

10-meter rifles - Part 3 The Olympic rifles - continued

by B.B. Pelletier

Pyramyd Air has is now putting polls on its home page in the upper left corner. If you haven't voted on the most recent poll, feel free to do so. You can vote only once per computer.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 2/The budget rifles, continued
Part 3 The Olympic rifles

There's been a LOT of interest in this series. I would judge that fully one-third of our readers are interested in 10-meter rifles, and we get a lot of new readers who find us through queries on 10-meter rifles. Today, I'd like to discuss what it's like to shoot a modern 10-meter target rifle - one of the $3000 rifles we looked at in the last post.

What's in the box?
The first thing you will notice is that a lot more stuff comes with your airgun than would come with a typical sporter. There are tools like Allen wrenches and an adapter to fill the removable air tanks. Typically, each new rifle comes with one or two air tanks. Except for Walther rifles, these tanks accept a fill to 200 bar. Walthers go to 300 bar.


Pump on the left has a 200-bar hole in the base for a DIN adapter. Pump on the left has a 1/8" BSPP hole for sporter fill hoses.

The adapter will be a brass fitting, threaded at both ends. The larger threads are always male and are a 200-bar DIN configuration. If you don't have a hand pump, you need a scuba tank with a DIN valve or an adapter to connect the reservoir adapter to a K valve. A lot of competitors use hand pumps because it's easier to fly with one than with a scuba tank. You should know that some countries are becoming paranoid about allowing tanks of any kind on airplanes and insist on their disassembly before boarding. This cannot be done with a ten-meter rifle reservoir at the present time, so there's a problem when going to these countries. Dieter Anschutz told me this at the 2008 SHOT Show. It will no doubt be worked out in time, but right now there's a problem with international travel.

Besides the fill adapter, there will be inserts for the front sight. Some modern rifles, like the FWB 70 and 700, have a front sight with an adjustable front diopter and don't need inserts. Additionally, there may be adjustment blocks and accessories for the buttplate.

You will notice the weight when you lift the rifle. It will be in the neighborhood of 10.5 lbs. Also, when you lift the rifle to your shoulder, it should not fit. There are many adjustments to be made before you can call the gun your own. All of these are done in the standing position, not off a bench.

Adjustments

Length of pull
• Height of cheekpiece - to locate sighting eye with rear aperture
• Location of cheekpiece (indented or out from the stock line) - to locate sighting eye with rear aperture
• Angle of cheekpiece (front in, rear out or vice versa) - to locate sighting eye with rear aperture
• Height of buttplate - to locate sighting eye with rear aperture
• Angle of buttplate (in toward shoulder or out & away from shoulder)
• Angle of pistol grip
• Location of pistol grip
• Location of trigger
• Angle of trigger
• Location of rear aperture sight
• Height of the forearm for aiming assistance
• Location of weights for balance

Once the rifle has been adjusted, it'll fit like a glove. The weight you noticed at first will have diminished, but the forearm will still feel heavy. You'll learn to hold your off hand close to your chest to make a platform to support the rifle's weight. This is how you'll adjust the height of the forearm - to the point that when the rifle is aiming directly at the target, you feel as though your skeleton and not your muscles are supporting the rifle.


U.S. Army SFC Jason Parker shows the correct off-hand stance with a 10-meter rifle. Note the hip is slanted out to meet the upper arm - providing a solid base of support for the off hand. The arm forms a triangle that supports the rifle. Parker also dropped the elbow of his shooting arm, contrary to some older teaching that the arm has to be parallel to the floor. He holds two world records in 10-meter air rifle.

Trigger
The trigger is the first thing most airgunners want to adjust, but until the rifle is adjusted to fit you, the trigger adjustment is meaningless. A typical trigger-pull range is 30-60 grams, or about 1 to 2 oz. After adjusting the rifle to fit, you may want to adjust the trigger heavier - not lighter. The triggers of modern 10-meter rifles are two-stage with no weight in the first stage. The second stage breaks without the hint of creep, and an overtravel adjustment stops all trigger movement immediately after the break. At the lightest setting, about half the shooters cannot even feel the second stage engage and will fire the rifle unexpectedly.

The trigger also has a training function, or what we call a dry-fire feature. It can be cocked and fired with no effect on the rifle. I don't know how much rifle shooters practice their triggers, but pistol shooters shoot about 5 practice shots for each live shot they shoot, and a good competitor will shoot a full match (60 shots for men, 40 for women) every day. This builds strength in the shooting arm as well as a feeling for when the trigger will break. Eventually, your subconscious mind will take control and start to break the trigger when the sight picture is ideal, which is the whole point of practice training.

Sights
The sights deserve a blog posting of their own, but some time back I promised to show what it looks like looking through these sights. There isn't a camera I know of that can take that picture, so I'm showing you what the front sight looks like so you can make sense of the graphic that follows.


The front sight of an FWB P70 looks like this. That aperture is adjustable smaller or larger.


The sight picture through an aperture sight that also has an aperture front insert. This becomes pretty self-evident when you see it.

BSF 55N - Part 1

by Tom Gaylord

RETRACTION
I made a mistake in Friday's report that must be corrected. I reported that I got an FWB 124 up to 960 f.p.s. with a modern tune, and the truth is, the number should have been 860 f.p.s. A reader named Lance caught it and told me he found where I had reported it in The Airgun Letter. Sure enough, in the November 1997 issue, I did a large report on several different tunes for the 124. The winner was a seal and mainspring from Jim Maccari that produced an average of 861 f.p.s. with Crosman 7.9-grain Premiers. In fact, the rifle I tuned from ARH was also mentioned in that report. It averaged 871 f.p.s. after the tune, but because that wasn't part of the overall test, I didn't report that velocity.

I'm sorry for any confusion this mistake may have caused.

Friday's post about accurization was a set-up for today. You may recall the estate sale I directed you to last week. One of the guns was a Whisco 55N, which I bought. Today, I'll tell you more about it.

BSF
Herman Wilsker founded the Wischo company, a German exporter of various airguns. Like RWS, Wischo never made anything. They simply put their name on various airguns that were then exported around the world. The company that actually made the rifle we're looking at today was Bayerische Sportwaffenfabrik (Bavarian sporting arms manufacturer) or BSF.

Under my nose
I'm especially interested in BSF because their plant was located in Erlangen, Germany, a neighboring town of Nuremberg. I lived there for four years in the 1970s while stationed with the First Armored Division. Unfortunately, I wasn't aware of adult air rifles until fairly late in my tour, when I purchased a Diana model 10 target pistol. Even then my focus was on the Beeman company, and I just couldn't wait to get back to California so I could drive up the peninsula and visit their store in Santa Rosa. All the while I lived within a few miles of one of Germany's most significant airgun manufacturers. Such is life!

I bought a Beeman
When I returned from Germany in 1978, I got catalogs from both Beeman and eventually from Air Rifle Headquarters. ARH was focused on four major models - the HW35, Diana 45, BSF 55/70 and the Feinwerkbau 124. In 1978, these were the four air rifles that could top 800 f.p.s. with a lighweight .177 pellet. I bought a 124 from the Beeman store and got back into airgunning in a big way.

Why we buy
The FWB was the most modern of the four. The HW 35 was the largest and had the best trigger. The Diana 45 was potentially the most powerful, though it was virtually tied with the smallest and lightest of the four - the BSF 55. I probably wouldn't have bought a 55, because Robert Beeman was really stressing the FWB 124, and I wanted to own the fairest in the land. Anyone who has frozen on guard duty or been on manuvers for months at a time knows the sort of promises people make to themselves, "When I get back."

Years passed, I sold the 124 and nothing more happened. Then my wife suggested I write an airgun newsletter and everything airgun increased in interest. At the Baldwinsville airgun show (in 1998...I think), I bought a BSF 55 and tried to incorporate it into my collection. It was small, lightweight and completely the opposite of the guns I was testing every day, which were powerful spring guns and PCPs. Before long, I said goodbye to it.

The lights came on
About four years ago, however, I had an epiphany at the Roanoke airgun show. Up to that point I had been exposed to exotic airguns of all kinds with no end in sight. Want a genuine Austrian Girandoni? I saw one sell for $3500 at that show. Want a supergrade Sheridan? $400 bought a nice early one. Do you like the S&W 78G - the early one with the adjustable trigger? How many do you want? A guy had about 25 - all new in the box. Want a 1924 Crosman pump gun. I could have bought 15 from the Crosman house-cleaning sale. Do you see what I'm saying?

Well, at this particular Roanoke show I didn't see as many of the good old juicy guns. A lot of new stuff, but not so much of the old. Then I turned around and supergrade Sheridans were suddenly bringing $1500 and a Girandoni may now fetch $80,000! Apparently there was a very large boat that I had somehow missed. I was standing on the dock waving goodbye to the people on board, and then they were gone.

This past January, I saw the Hart estate auction online and another chance to buy a vintage BSF 55N. The N stands for Nussbaum - the German word for walnut. And this particular one had originally been sold by ARH. I bought it without blinking - something I have learned to do as the result of missing lots of boats.

Who's your grandfather?
The 55N is a real carbine-sized breakbarrel rifle. It's only 40.5" long and weighs just 6.5 lbs. It's even shorter than the Diana 27 and just about the same weight. Hold them next to each other, and you'll quickly see that the 55N is larger and beefier. It cocks with just 26 lbs. of force - practically nothing for what was at one time one of the two most powerful spring rifles around! And, the BSF 55 is the grandfather of the Beeman R9!

The begats
You heard me right. All those airgunners who say they don't like old airguns would do well to study a few of them, because some of the old guns led the way to the guns they revere today. The BSF 55 is the older brother of the BSF S70. Same action in a nicer, larger stock. When Weihrauch purchased BSF in the late 1980s, they took the S70 and married it to their Rekord trigger, producing what was sold in the U.S. as the Marksman 55 and the Marksman 70. Weihrauch then went a little further and turned the model 70 into the Beeman R10. Oh, oh - maybe they went too far!

And the winner is...
It was decided that the R10 was "too expensive to produce" (and was actually capable of the same power as the much larger, heavier and more expensive R1), so it was redesigned into the R9. From BSF 55/70 to the R10 to the R9. At its heart is a powerplant much smaller and lighter but still capable of the same power as the R1 Supermagnum, to use its full model name.

Are you intrigued? I know I am. Can't wait for part 2, when we'll take a closer look at the rifle!