Improve your shooting with the two-bag rest technique

by B.B. Pelletier

Troubleshooting
Today, I'm helping a couple readers with some problems. First is Frank B., who owns a Marksman model 70 that he asked a question about. Seems his rifle is missing the trigger adjustment screw. So, Frank, I pulled the screw from my BSF 55N rifle, whose trigger unit is very similar, and I photographed it. For you photographers, I painted the screw with light. I didn't get a perfect exposure, but it's good enough for this job. Also, this is a macro done with my nicer camera.


The shank is 10mm long.


I told Frank the screw was 2.5mm, but seeing it enlarged like this I think it's a 3mm screw.

I hope this helps you locate a screw for your trigger. Remember, the BSF trigger that your rifle has is very prone to slipping off when cocked, so never let go of the barrel when its broken open.

Discovery problems
Today's blog is really an emergency report to help our reader, Andreas, who is having an accuracy problem with his new Benjamin Discovery. Normally, that wouldn't be so bad, but Andreas lives in Cypress and doesn't have the same airgun opportunities that we have here in the states. He bought the Discovery after reading my reports, and I want him to enjoy the gun to the fullest.

Room to improve
On Saturday, Andreas sent me the links to some groups he'd fired with his rifle. They look okay, but since they were shot at just 18 yards, they do have room for improvement. Andreas doesn't have access to JSB 10.2-grain Exact domed pellets, which my tests showed were the best in the .177 caliber he owns, so he is shooting 10.5-grain Crosman Premiers, which are pretty close.

Premier benchrest technique!
I want to share with him and all of you the best technique for shooting a firearm or a pneumatic rifle to get the most accuracy. This technique was developed in the late 19th century. It's called the double bag technique. To use it, you need two shooting bags.


Look at the arrow that indicates how the rear bag is to be adjusted. Sliding it back and forth raises and lowers your aimpoint. You never have to touch anything but the trigger.

The front bag should be long enough that the rifle, when rested on the bag, won't fall off. A rolled blanket or towel usually isn't good enough. A bag with "ears" is always best for this, though if it is too long it won't allow the rear bag to work its magic.


These Beeman benchrest bags are perfect for the two-bag technique. The front bag is on the right.

Rear bag controls the gun
The real secret of this technique is the rear bag. It stabilizes the rifle so you don't have to hold it to your shoulder. I've watched several of you caffeine-hyper shooters on the range, and I know that not holding the rifle can be a real plus! The rear bag also adjusts the muzzle of the rifle, ever-so-slightly, because of the angle on the bottom of the butt. You can raise and lower the crosshairs by very small amounts by sliding the bag forward and back. That's how you center the sights, and since you aren't touching the rifle anywhere other than the trigger, the sights stay on target. Your breathing and heartbeat cannot move the rifle when you use a two-bag rest.

I should have shown you this type of rest long ago, but so many of you shoot spring guns. You can't use this rest with a springer because it has to be handheld.

Andreas, please let us know if this helps you with your Discovery.

Photographing airguns - Part 3

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2

Let's take a look at close-up detail shots. Before we do, another little tip about lighting your subject that will come in handy when doing close-up shots. It's called painting the subject with light.

Yesterday I showed you how the scope mounts went on to the Ruger Air Hawk Elite rifle. What I DIDN'T show you was the trouble I had taking those photos.


Initially the photo of the rings came out like this.


But when I painted them with light, they looked like this. Notice the extra detail that comes out in the mounts.

I didn't take my time setting up the shot. As you can see, the rear ring got more light than the front, but the image that I painted with light looks far better than the one I didn't. Rather than retaking the shot, which I would have done if the photo were going into a print publication, I accepted it when it was good enough. However, on the next shot, I adjusted what I was doing and improved the exposure.


For this shot, I changed the direction of the light sweep, coming from the right instead of from the left. You can see the improvement in the evenness of the lighting of both mounts. This time, however, the specular highlights from the light blew out the Ruger name at the bottom. Gun companies don't like it when that happens.

To paint the image with light, I used a Crosman tactical flashlight that puts out a white light of 60 lumens (means it's pretty darn bright). While the shutter was open for about four seconds, I wiped the light through the subject in about a quarter-second. By "wiping the light," I mean I shined the beam at the subject while moving it through the subject from side to side, so it was on the subject a total of about a quarter-second. That's painting with light.

Close-ups
Now we'll talk about close-ups. This will take more than one report, so I'm splitting it into two sections. I'll tell you what will be in the second section at the end of this one.

Close-ups are called macros, and many good digital cameras have a macro setting. You saw the dime I photographed in Part 1, so you know what I'm talking about. You will have to focus very close to your subject, and lighting will become more of a problem but painting with light will help you.

If you have a film camera, you need a macro lens. I have a special Nikon 55mm lens that lets me make a 1:2 image. That means the image on my 35mm slide is 1/2 the size of the original subject. If I have used fine-grain film, I can enlarge that image many times, so a .177-caliber pellet can appear 6 inches tall and still be in sharp focus. If I want even more enlargement, I have a special attachment called a bellows that enlarges beyond 1:1. But that one eats light like crazy, and often I cannot get enough light on the subject to get the shot. That's where Photoshop software comes in, but I'm not ready to talk about that yet.

Now I'm talking about digital cameras, only. The international symbol for a macro is a flower, so if you don't have the camera manual anymore, look for the symbol that resembles a tulip. It will often show in the viewing window as a yellow symbol. On some cameras, it will be the opposite choice from a mountain symbol or the symbol of a group of people. Your camera also makes sounds, if you haven't turned them off. There is a most familiar sound that your digital camera makes when the subject is in focus. If you don't hear that sound, the image will be blurry. However, if you don't shoot from a steady rest or a tripod, the image may be blurry even though it was in perfect focus. So put the camera in macro, use a tripod or steady rest and make sure the feedback sound says the camera is in focus.


On my primary digital camera, a button is dedicated to the macro function. This photo was taken by my little point-and-shoot camera in the macro mode. I used a tripod. The button is 7/32" across (5.5mm). That's smaller than a quarter-inch.


This is the macro setting on my point-and-shoot camera. I took the photo with my primary camera in the macro mode. To set the macro mode on the point-and-shoot camera, you press on the silver ring where the flower is shown. The camera taking the picture was hand-held, because this camera is really steady! The exposure was 2.1 seconds. The button in the center is 3/8" across (10mm).

Next time
In the next installment, I'll cover more macro tips, including these:

• How to photograph pellets
• How to take macros without a macro mode
• What kind of camera I use

When you see features on the camera I use, you'll see why I like digital photography so much and why I can do things that maybe you can't. Don't despair - my camera currently sells for as low as $335, so it isn't a backbreaker if you need high-quality images.

Ruger Air Hawk Elite - Part 3

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2

The Norica Young air rifles went on sale yesterday morning. There are just a handful of them, so act quickly if you want one. I'm not endorsing the rifle, because I've never tested one. All I can tell you is that Norica is a good maker, and the price for this gun is very low. They are new-old-stock, so expect some discoloration and possibly handling marks. Some will have boxes while others don't.


A reader asked whether the Ruger logo appears on the rifle. Here it is.

On to today's report, where I test the Ruger Air Hawk Elite for accuracy. You may remember that the 11mm dovetail scope rail grooves have no provision for a scope stop. Readers have suggested I use BKL scope mounts that hold by clamping pressure, alone, or put valve grinding compound on the dovetails to seize the scope ring clamps (not a bad idea!) or that I just back the scope mount bases up to the rear of the dovetails, where they'll bottom out at the end of the cuts.

I've decided on a slightly different method, and we'll see how successful it is. I put the rear ring at the end of the 11mm dovetail, where it stopped, then I added a separate scope stop behind the front ring for added resistance. The AirHawk Elite has a pretty hefty kick for a lighter rifle, so these two measures will be tested well.


The rear ring is backed up in the dovetail as far as it will go.


A separate scope stop is anchored behind the front ring.

I sighted-in the rifle and shot all groups at 21 yards indoors. It was windy outside, and this was a way to move the test along.

The test pellets
Not one of the pellets used for the velocity test proved accurate in this rifle. RWS Hobbys shot 1.5" groups, as did Beeman Kodiaks. Gamo Raptors turned in the largest group of the day. Five of them stumbled through the target with a spacing of 1.912" between the centers of the two farthest apart. Not a pellet to pick for this rifle! Beeman Trophy pellets did better, but still weren't good enough.


Five RWS Hobbys went into this 1.438" group at 21 yards. This is representative of both Hobbys and Kodiaks in this rifle. Note that all four shots in the white have tipped a bit, indicating they are not stable.


Five Raptors wandered through the target in this loose 1.912" formation. Like herding cats!


Here are six Beeman Trophy pellets. They're better than the others, but still not good. This group measures 0.946".

Then I tried JSB Exacts
I'm sorry to always do this to you, but it's the truth. JSB Exact 10.2-grain pellets are often the best in most guns. When they aren't, try Crosman Premiers and Beeman Kodiaks. But this time the JSBs won hands-down.


Five JSB Exact domes made this pretty little group. It measures 0.330".


I shot this one for the guy who wanted me to shoot more groups with the Walther Falcon Hunter last week, after I said I knew it could shoot. I knew this Ruger could shoot, too, and here's the proof. A second group measuring 0.330". It only looks larger because of the way the paper tore.

I'm not done with this one yet
Normally, I'd finish here, but I want to visit this rifle one more time. The way it vibrates with every shot, it loosens the stock screws and the muzzlebrake screws. I had to tighten the muzzlebrake twice during this report. I can live with that, but the trigger I want to examine in more detail. As is, the pull is far too long and the release feels indefinite. I'd like to see what, if anything, can be done.

10-meter pistol shooting - Part 5

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

See - I didn't forget about this. I just let a little time elapse. Today, I'm going to talk about taking your score up from the high 400s to the mid-500s. There are only two things you'll need to do that. When you examine them closely, you'll discover they're two parts of the same thing.

How did I get here?
Let's review your 10-meter progress to this point. When you started shooting 10-meter pistol, your score for 60 shots ranged between the high 300s and the low to mid-400s. You were all over the place, and often threw shots into the white. Go look at a target here if you forget what one looks like. Better yet, buy a couple hundred because you're not getting into the 500s without them.

See?
After a period of regular practice, your scores were always in the 400s, and sometimes above 450. By then you were getting critical of your trigger and you had the sights adjusted to a fair-thee-well - unless you're like old Ed. Old Ed was a shooter who shot 10-meter with us every Monday night. He shot in the mid-400s, but he was consistently a little low and left. After watching him for a couple weeks, I asked him about it. Turns out, he'd put his pistol in a bench vice and sighted it in that way. He knew he was shooting low and left, but in the vise the gun was drilling the center.

Several months later, I convinced Ed to adjust his sights. Lo and behold, he shot a 520 that evening! I don't know what that did to his bench vise's score, but who cares? It never showed up to any of our matches, while Ed was a regular. Believe it or not, there comes a point in almost every shooter's life when a simple sight adjustment will add points to his score. Maybe not 30-40 points, but take what you can get.

Breaking 500
Breaking 500 is usually a tough nut for most shooters. But, after adjusting your sights, the one thing that'll add more points than any other is the front sight. By which I mean learning to concentrate on the front sight to the exclusion of almost everything else. At this point in the game, you've mastered the grip, mount (raising the gun before shooting) (Part 2 and Part 3) stance (Part 1)...and you've found the best pellet. From this point until you are averaging 550, the front sight will add all your points. Non-target shooters cannot understand this, and world champions talk about little else. Let's see why.

A perfect diagnostic
When you concentrate on the front sight to the exclusion of almost everything else, you start to notice little things that were previously below the radar. Things like how the pistol pulls slightly to the left just before the second stage of the trigger breaks (yep - gotta get a gun with a better trigger). You notice when the front sight starts diving below the bull and nothing you do with your arm can hold it up (holding the gun on target too long). And you start getting real good at calling your shots - as in, "That was a nine at 9 o'clock." You used to be happy about just knowing which way the pellet went; now you're scoring the target that's too far away to see clearly. "Oh my gosh, I just flipped at 8! What's wrong with me?"

A month ago, you went down to the target like a gold panner - anxious to see what you had. Now you go down having scored your five or ten shots to within one point - all without being able to see them from the firing line.

Then, a day comes when you CAN see all your shots, because they all touch and they're all inside the nine-ring. Now you start to put pressure on those around you who see the same thing. You're averaging 525 points out of 600, and you finally grasp the importance of the front sight. Now you'll have to practice daily to get the next 25 points.

Practice make nearly perfect
Daily practice consists of a routine of at least 100 dry-fire shots followed by a full 60-shot match. Your score floats upward five points at a time until it starts bumping into the number 550. As you practice, you realize that all you're doing is becoming more intimately familiar with that all-important front sight. It now dawns on you that practice has revealed that the front sight may be the secret to shooting, which is what I meant by these two things being the same.

What I'm not saying, but what is happening just the same, is that your stance is now perfect. You can no longer stand any way but the right way, with the right amount of tension in both legs. Your grip and raising of the pistol are perfect, as well. You start shooting perfect scores of 50 with five shots - and believe me when I say that the first time you do it will be no less of a celebration than a golfer's hole-in-one or a 300 game in bowling. As you approach an average of 550, you'll shoot a lot of 50s - many more than any golfer ever shot holes-in-one.

Now, grasshopper, this is as far as I can take you from my own experience, because I never had a 550 average. My best score in practice was 545 and in a match 537. I got to the place I'm now describing, but I never went on. However, I do know how to go beyond 550, because several world champions and Olympians have written descriptions of the journey. Maybe I'll tell you how to do it next time, though I must warn you, it does sound very strange and new-age.

Leapers base for RWS Diana rifles - Part 1How we began

by B.B. Pelletier

I've wanted to write this report for a long time, but I didn't want to get you all excited about something you couldn't buy. Now I hear that Leapers will be shipping the scope mount bases they designed for RWS Diana rifles in July. Since it will take several reports to cover these bases adequately, the time has come to break silence.

The year 2007 was busy for me. Besides developing the Discovery with Crosman, I was also working on this base. Here's how the project got started. Some time in 2006, I told a reader how to mount a scope on an RWS Diana rifle. That must have been the thousandth time I had to go through that litany, after which I had to convince him that these problems really do exist and then I recited what I had done to try to convince Diana that their scope base needed to be changed. Weary and desperate, I met with David Ding of Leapers at the 2007 SHOT Show and asked him to make this base.

My buddy Earl "Mac" McDonald was with me at that meeting, and his contribution turned out to be equally important. I just wanted a base that would provide a positive mechanical scope stop for most Diana rifles. I was tired of hearing that some people had sheared-off screws and long grooves cut through the steel bases of their rifles. The only way to positively afix a scope to a Diana spring rifle (with the exception of the models 46, and the Schutze), is to hang a vertical scope stop pin in front of the scope base. This looks dorky, not to mention the crudeness of having to do it that way. But the holes on the rifle's scope base are too shallow to hold a scope stop pin, and the large-headed screw at the rear has a thin shank that will not take the strain of a scope mount bearing against it under repeated recoil. If you're using that screw as a stop, you need to know that it will shear off.


This is what happens every time! The scope stop holes are too shallow and the pins rip out the back, cutting a groove backwards. This rifle had only 200 shots (approx.). The large-headed screw was already sheared off.


Don't butt the rear ring against the large screw head at the right. With the new base, you won't have to.

My contribution was the design of a plate that fits in front of the rifle's scope base. I even named the plate the recoil shock shoulder to convey the message of what it does. Leapers executed it beautifully, and you can't tell that their base is mounted any way but correctly. It just looks right. They radiused the bottom of the shock shoulder to conform perfectly to the spring tube diameter, so this base looks organic to the rifle. I also asked for a relief slot to protect the fragile large-headed screw from contact with the base.


Leapers' new bases for RWS Diana rifles are well-engineered for the job. They have a Picatinny top to fit all Weaver-type rings. Note the recoil shock shoulder in the front. It hangs in front of the Diana rifle scope base to provide a positive mechanical lock for the scope rings.


Notice how well the new base fits over the existing rifle base. It looks right on the rifle.


We didn't forget that fragile big screw! Leapers made a cutout so the base doesn't touch it.

Long job becomes short
Because the new base conforms so perfectly to the base on the rifle, it mounts in just seconds. The technicians at Pyramyd Air will find their scope-mounting time is cut drastically when they start using this new base. And, if that were all the new base did, it would be worth the money, but that's only half the tale.

Remember that Mac was at that meeting, too. After I made my pitch, he chimed in by asking if they could possibly engineer in a forward slope to cure the barrel droop problem some of the guns had. Oh my gosh! I'd completely forgotten that necessary step! Once you solve the anchoring problem, there may still be a barrel droop issue.

What is barrel droop?
Barrel droop means that the barrel's bore is pointing downward in relation to the plane of the scope base. When a scope is mounted, the barrel shoots noticeably lower than the scope looks. To compensate has always meant cranking up the elevation knob to bring the pellet back up to where the crosshairs are looking or inserting a shim. With some RWS Diana rifles, this isn't always possible or there's too much shimming that has to be done. Some of them have a large enough angle of droop that the scope cannot be zeroed at 20 yards, which is the most common zero point for most air rifles.

Diana wasn't convinced
For several years, I asked the management at Diana to fix this problem. Whenever I met them at the SHOT Show or at IWA, I would lobby for a change to the barrel droop problem. My suggestions fell on deaf ears. I'm sure I sounded like some airgun fanatic to them. After all, their guns were easy to sight in with the open sights that are installed on the barrel. What's the problem? They hadn't responded to the hundreds of people who called and wrote to ask what they were doing wrong. I had! Again and again, I told people how to either shim their mounts or, better yet, how to use B-Square adjustable scope mounts - mounts, I might add, that Dan Bechtel, the founder of B-Square, developed specifically for the airgun barrel droop issue.

So, when Mac spoke up, he saved the day. As long as a new base was being developed, let's solve ALL the mounting problems at the same time. Well, hearing that gave me another idea. Since this was just going to be a scope BASE, why not make it the best base we possibly could, which would be a Picatinny rail that accepts Weaver rings? That way, after the base was installed, the rings would just snap into the grooves and the mounting job would be complete.

That meeting lasted for 20 minutes, and David Ding decided right then that he would develop the base. I would test it and when it was ready for the market, the problem of scope-mounting a Diana rifle made after 1985 would be over. Instead of a 20-minute tutorial, all I'd have to do would be give the link to the part they needed.

In the next installment, I'll tell you about the testing I did. It lasted all year and pretty much revealed that this base won't be easy to copy. There's a lot more to show you and more that you need to understand about this base, so please stay tuned.

Ruger Air Hawk Elite - Part 2

By B.B. Pelletier

Part 1

Who's your pal? Pyramyd Air has just uncovered a very small number of new-old-stock Norica Young breakbarrel spring rifles from the 1990s. These were left after an airgun dealer went out of business and they've been sitting around for years. While they are brand new, a few may have some age discoloration and handling marks.


The Norica breakbarrels come in several different colors (color choice not possible because of short supply).


Here's your chance to grab a new rifle from the '90s at a '90s price.

The Norica Young is a youth model breakbarrel with a colorful painted wood stock. Norica is the quality Spanish airgun maker that made several models for Beeman. I imagine this .177 rifle will produce velocities in the low to mid 600 f.p.s. The gun has no safety and the non-adjustable trigger is very heavy for safety. The price for this time capsule air rifle will be only $75. Quantities are very limited, so act as soon as I alert you they are live. Don't call before because until it's live on the website, there's nothing to sell.

Field target course in jeopardy
Things aren't looking good for a field target course in 2008. So far, only Wayne has said he'll attend. We're issuing a press release to locate more students. If we don't have any more takers before the end of the month, we'll have to postpone this course until the summer of 2009. We understand that we gave you very short notice this year, and if it doesn't work out - so be it. We'll sure get a head start on a 2009 course!

Here comes the Diana scope base
Tomorrow, I will start a report on the new Leapers scope base for Diana air rifles. They'll be available in about a month. I'll explain in detail what this new base has going for it.

Now, let's get back to Ruger's Air Hawk Elite and test for velocity. The rifle had a few shots before this testing took place. The first one was a powerful detonation, but not a sound after that. The rifle is rated to 1,000 f.p.s. I shot a few dozen times before recording these velocities, just to get any excess oil out of the compression chamber.

RWS Hobbys
RWS Hobbys (7.0 grains) used to be the lightweight pellet of choice. Unless the manufacturer had some compelling reason, like they made their own pellets, they used Hobbys for velocity tests. And, every airgun writer used them for the same reason. In the test rifle, Hobbys averaged 920 f.p.s., with a range from 912 to 930. That's 18 f.p.s., which is considered pretty tight for a spring rifle. The average muzzle energy is 13.16 foot-pounds.

Crosman Premier 7.9-grain pellets
The Crosman Premier 7.9-grain pellet is another test standard. For .177 spring rifles you use the 7.9-grain weight unless the gun's power dictates otherwise. This one did not. The average was 815 f.p.s., with a spread from 791 to 833. That's surprisingly slow and also a larger velocity spread than I expected from this pellet. Muzzle energy averages 11.65, which you can see is a large drop from the Hobbys.

Gamo Raptors
Every dog has its day, and this time the Gamo Raptor (5.4 grains) surprised me completely. Not only were they surprisingly fast at an average 1072 f.p.s., they also had a relatively tight velocity spread from 1059 to 1081. The muzzle energy was the highest, at 13.78 foot-pounds. The first time Raptors have lead in any test I've conducted. They earned a place in the velocity test with this performance. Wouldn't it be fun if they were accurate, too?

Pellet choices
We have a rifle in the sub-14 foot-pound category that performs well with lighter pellets. Popular wisdom says it won't do as well with heavyweights. Just so we'll all know for sure, I also tested the rifle with Beeman Kodiaks. Before I get to that test, though, let me explain why I say this. A spring rifle operates on a balancing act of spring strength, piston weight and the length of the piston's stroke. If the rifle does well with light pellets, it means the piston is probably too light to also do well with a heavier piston. Tuners can actually adjust the gun to a certain pellet by adding weight to the piston until performance peaks. But let's see how this works in practice.

Beeman Kodiaks (10.6 grains)
Beeman Kodiaks (10.6 grains) also astonished me. I expected a velocity around 690-710, but the rifle averaged 747 f.p.s. What's more surprising is the tight velocity spread from 743 to 751. The average muzzle energy was 13.14 foot-pounds, only a little behind the Hobbys. Conventional spring gun tuning wisdom suggests this isn't possible - that a rifle be good on both ends of the pellet weight spectrum. So much for conventional wisdom. Clearly, this powerplant loves both Raptors and Kodiaks.

So, the gun is right on the money as far as power is concerned. I think Ruger may be on to a good thing with this rifle. Accuracy testing comes next.

Starting your own field target club Start with one friend

by B.B. Pelletier (AKA Tom Gaylord)

This series is for Wayne in Ashland and for anyone else who thinks that he or she is the only airgunner on the face of the earth. I don't care where you live, you can start a field target club. Okay, you guys in New York City and Chicago will have to drive a bit, but I had to drive 27 miles to my local FT club.

I identified myself today for two reasons. First, we have a lot of new readers, and I just wanted them to know who is behind the keyboard. More importantly, I was one of four guys who started the DIFTA field target club in Damascus, Maryland. You can check out what I tell you with current DIFTA members, one of whom - Joe McDaniel (signing on as Joe in MD) is both the match director at DIFTA today and the webmaster and one of the governors of AAFTA.

Here's how we started. Phil Dean called to ask if I would come out to the Damascus Izaak Walton League to set up and run a demonstration adult airgun range during the 1996 Chevy Sportsman's Team Challenge. My wife, Edith, and I had just returned from a disastrous public event at Aberdeen Proving Ground, where we had been asked to do pretty much the same thing. At Aberdeen, we were left on a range by ourselves (just Edith and me). The show's promoters were announcing elsewhere that we were running "BB-gun competition for the kids!" So we got nothing but 4-10 year olds and their moms to shoot TX 200s and super-tuned R1s at field targets. Talk about a mismatch!

I finally gave up and went home when a boy who was helped by his father got hit in the eye with the scope of my recoiling R1 and THREW the rifle on the concrete pad! That rifle and stock still bear those scratches. Dad offered to pay, but when I told him what the highly modified gun was worth (about the same as his Chevette) he excused himself and, as they say in the fireworks industry, "retired quickly."

So, I put Phil Dean through hell on the phone. I DID NOT want a repeat of that disaster! Had I known Phil, I would have known he would never let something like that happen on his watch.

We reluctantly went to the Chevy Sportsman's Team Challenge, ran our public course (with Phil's help, I might add), and we enlightened a bunch of old farts. Phil then asked if we could start a field target club at the Izaak Walton league. Inside one month, we held our first match, and I learned how a club gets started from nothing. For the record, the two other DIFTA founders are Jim Piateski and Ed Burrows.

You need three things to start a club
You need shooters, a place to shoot and targets to shoot at. Surprisingly, it's easier to solve all three problems at the same time, than to tackle them individually. Here's how you do it. You start with one friend. Now, don't tell me you don't have any friends, because I'm the original loner. You gotta find a friend.

Before Phil, Jim and Ed came into my life I had found a shooting friend at a local gun show. We were just talking and the conversation got around to airguns. I owned a Career 707 but had no place outside my basement to shoot it and Wayne owned a farm and had always wanted to see one of those big pellet rifles shoot. Long story short, we went to his farm and shot - a lot. Then we each bought a field target that was made for a .22 rimfire, believe it or not. It has a 2-inch kill zone which is perfect for two old doofuses (doofi?) like us.

Anyhow, I owned this one totally inappropriate field target (plus four legitimate ones), but I'd shot with a field target club in Virginia a couple of times. Their match director, Trooper Walsh, offered to lend our new club 20 old targets his club no longer used. Wayne didn't want to shoot with us, but Trooper put the word out in Maryland and Virginia and we had about 10 total shooters show up at the first shoot.

So, to summarize, find a friend, he'll bring in his friends and one of them will know of some land you can use. And here's a tip when meeting the landowner for the first time. Don't take your Career 707 along. Let him see your Gamo Whisper or RWS Diana 34 Panther - a gun that doesn't sound like something a sniper might use.

Let's pretend your friend is the loan officer at your bank. His sister's husband's parents own a cherry orchard about 35 miles from where you live. They will let you use five acres of brushland situated off to one side of the orchard, plus the landowner husband is sort of interested to see what these adult airguns can do. His best friend is a home remodeler who has a woodworking shop, so he gets the plans for field targets off the internet and quickly builds 10. You pony up $30 for target reset strings and related materials and within two weeks you hold your first match. Three other shooters show up and you squad the five new shooters (the landowner, his best friend and the three new guys) with you and your buddy, so everyone can share the two air rifles you have between you.

The landowner is hooked and buys a TX200 for the next match. Your pal suggests you charge everyone $10 per match and give a $5 discount to the people who help set up the course. He tells you those funds will offset the $200 he's going to put up to buy 10 field targets from Pyramyd Air.

For match No. 2, you have 20 targets (the 10 he bought plus the 10 the guy made). Two more new guys show up (one of the three new guys from last time invited them), plus your friend's sister's husband, so now there are 10 of you. The landowner's wife barbecues hamburgers and hot dogs for which she charges a very low price, plus there's a cooler full of sodas and iced tea.

Honest-to-gosh, this is how it's done! I didn't make up anything to write this blog - just changed an occupation or two. Phil Dean really did buy a TX200, after I let him shoot mine at the Chevy Sportsman's Team Challenge. Ed Burrows bought a Maccari custom TX200 a couple months later, and Jim Piateski was our carpenter. I used to let guys shoot my TX or my FWB 124 until they got rifles of their own. We didn't have to make our own targets, but another club that formed in northern Virginia did just that. And it was at Trooper's club in Virginia where the barbecue was served.

The most important part of starting a field target club is to find a friend.

A good QB36-2?

Introduction by B.B. Pelletier

Guest blogger
Lothar Kommer found a way to improve his QB36-2 and make it a good tool for eliminating pesky pigeons.

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

Bloggers must be proficient in the simple html that Blogger software uses, 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 misspellings and/or grammatical errors.

A good QB36-2?

by Lothar Kommer

If you have a QB36-2 that works well but think it could be better, you're probably right.


My .22 caliber QB36-2 was okay, but I knew it could be better!

I first bought a .22 caliber QB36-2 to control the hundreds of pigeons that were living in my 200-year-old country house in Curico, Chile, because no other pest control method is as selective and precise.

Pigeons were 30-45 meters (35-50 yards) from the nearest point where I could shoot them, so an airgun had to be powerful enough to kill them.

Originally, I tried shooting pigeons with my Gecado 25 (Diana 25). During my first week of pest control, killing pigeons was easy. After they got wise to me, they moved further away, and the Gecado's limitations became obvious. That's when I got .177 and .22 QB36-2 underlevers, but I was still having problems taking pigeons further away. Obviously, I blamed the guns rather than my own shooting abilities!

After few weeks, both my guns had broken springs. Even though I 'd never dissasembled an airgun, I had no problems except for the plastic spring guide and support in the .22 that was torn in four parts and some small plastic parts with no possibility of being reinstalled in the gun.

[Note from B.B.: Disassembling a spring gun can be dangerous. Mainsprings are compressed even when uncocked. Removing and reinstalling them without proper equipment and precautions can result in serious injury and even death. Do not disassemble spring guns unless you know what you're doing and have the right equipment. You must also know how to safely reassemble your gun!]

Fnding a spare QB36-2 spring was a problem. The original had 50 coils, but I found only 36- and 40-coil Chinese springs. I used the one with 40 coils. Because it was short, I added some spacers to get precompression and to recover some power. At this time, I was convinced that the spring prevented me from getting the power I needed.

The spring guides and supports for both guns were modeled after the glued parts of the original and made from 1-1/4" steel bar. Something I still don't understand is why this part is made of plastic. It's so cheap and easy to make from steel. Starting with practically nothing, it took me less than 30 minutes to do this.


I made this spring guide from a 1-1/4" steel bar.

After that, the internet became my most important source. I read lots of bad reviews about the QB36-2...poor quality, bad seals, low power, too heavy, dieseling, cut fingers, cracked stocks, bent barrels, etc. According to many airgunners, the only solution was to buy a B22 or B21, which are not available in Chile, so I got as much info as I could from the few good reviews.

Two tips made a lasting impression:

1. Get or make a spring compressor.
2. The ends of a spring should be polished to reduce torsional movements of the gun caused by spring expansion when firing.

With that in mind, I disassembled one gun. Since it was my first time, the other assembled gun would serve as a model when it was time to put everything back together. I removed the piston and cylinder and deburred and polished both. Before polishing, I removed the rubber seal. While pushing the piston into the cylinder, I closed the transfer port with my finger. The air leaked between the seal and cylinder. I decided to replace the seal. Again, no spare parts were available, but Charliedatuna's website suggested using rubber or an all-Teflon seal, such as a synthetic bottle stopper. It worked slightly better than rubber, but it still leaked a lot. I kept the seal's thickness at 1/2" and reduced the diameter of the non-working Teflon seal. The result was a 1" diameter o-ring with 1/4" thickness.


My homemade o-ring works great!

It wasn't hard to install the seal, but I had to avoid cutting it when passing through the cylinder. Properly lubed, this seal had ZERO air leaks. It costs less than $2 and took almost no time to make. Since eliminating the air leak, my gun's power increased.

The thickness of the Teflon seal support was gradually reduced, increasing the size of the air chamber until the back completely disappeared and the front became only a support for the o-ring. The more I reduced it, the more power I got from my gun. I also shortened the screw that holds the seal to the piston. The o-ring in the .22 is the first one I used. It has over 7,500 rounds through it, while the .177 has 4,000+ (and still looks new).


The piston from my .177 QB36-2 after 4,000 shots.

I wasn't satisfied with the length of the piston, so I reduced it with a rotary grinder on the end with the seal. I took off about 0.5mm (about 2/10") at a time, until the gun barely cocked.

Acting as a spacer and extra weight, a steel chunk measuring 3/4" long x 3/4" diameter (from bar stock) was put in the piston. [Note from B.B.: this is usually called a weighted top hat.]


My homemade top hat worked quite nicely!

The piston DID break. Fortunately, the gun was pointed in a safe direction. I fixed it, and it's back in action.


My broken piston was repaired and now works perfectly!

Walther Lever Action - Part 3

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2

We'll finish the Walther Lever Action today with a look at accuracy. There was a tornado warning in my area when I tested the rifle, so I confined the test to indoors at 10 meters. When you see what it did, though, I don't think you'll mind.

Scope use
I tested the rifle with open sights, only, though it's possible to mount a scope, using either a B-Square mount or a Walther mount.

Sights needed very little adjustment
I had tested this rifle before for Airgun Illustrated magazine, and it was right on then, so nothing changed but the elevation from being bumped around. It took two targets and just a few shots to get back in the black again. Because all shooting was at paper, I used wadcutter pellets that cut better holes.

Gamo Match
The first pellets tested were Gamo Match. They did well but were not the best in this rifle. Gamo Match will always be pretty good in any airgun that has reasonable accuracy.


This is the best target shot with Gamo Match pellets at 10 meters from a rest. The group can almost be covered by a dime.

H&N Match
H&N Finale Match shot about the same as Gamo Match. Again, they aren't bad, but the rifle can do better.


This is the best target shot with H&N Finale Match pellets. Once again, a dime will almost cover the group.

RWS Hobby
The RWS Hobby pellet proved best in this rifle at 10 meters. I shot several groups and all were better than those shot by the other two pellets, but the best one was really something.


This is the best target shot with the Walther Lever Action. It's almost as good as a 10-meter rifle can shoot at the same range. Shot with RWS Hobbys. The average group was about one pellet-hole larger.

The trigger came under great scrutiny in this test. Had it been as good as a 10-meter rifle trigger, the groups would have been smaller, because I could see some movement of the front sight during the squeeze.

Cocking is butter-smooth and light. The Walther will spoil you for a lever-action firearm - even a .22! I have to agree with those who like this rifle for its realism.

It's certainly not cheap, but if you like realism and fast action in a pellet rifle, you will want to try Walther's Lever Action.

Photographing airguns - Part 2

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1

How about if I give you gun photographers something you can put to immediate use? Today, I'll talk about the use of light. You already know to turn off the flash on your camera, but let's see what you can do to light the subject.

Using available light
With film cameras, using available light was complex, because you not only had to know how long to expose the subject, you also had to know how the film you were using performed with a longer exposure. Every film was different, but as an example, the Ektachrome 64 I used had reciprocity failure. The longer it was exposed, the more the colors changed. To offset it, I had to use filters. But I also used filters for different types of light falling on the subject, and different variations of Ektachrome 64. It was very complex, so once I committed it to memory, I stopped looking for different films that could do the same thing. It's kind of like finding the one right pellet for your gun, except that there was far more complexity.

Digital does away with all of that. The computer in the camera sorts out the type of light you use, so I find myself doing unforgivable things, like using florescent and incandescent lights for the same photo. Incandescent shifts colors toward the red and florescent shifts them to the green, but I no longer think about it.

I also no longer worry about having enough light. Back in my film days I could take up to an 8-second exposure, or I could hold the shutter open manually and count off however many seconds were needed. Today, the chip in my digital camera does that, and all I have to do is tell it how light or dark I want the picture to be.

Light tricks
I use house lights for most of my internet photos. If they put a hot spot on the subject, I will make a shadow fall on the subject to eliminate the bright spot. If I'm shooting a long gun for a magazine, where lots of sharp detail is needed, I shine two 500-watt quartz lamps at the white ceiling and let the reflected white light fall on the subject. My lamps are photo-grade lamps called Tota lights, and they adjust for height on tall stands that I run all the way up to 8 feet. That makes the reflected light as bright as it can be.

Get rid of shadowss
Before I had the Tota lights, I used to take most of my long gun shots outdoors. An overcast day is perfect, as it casts no shadows, but you can take wonderful shots on a bright sunny day, too. Just photograph in the shade. That tip, alone, is enough to change the way you photograph guns, if you haven't been doing it. But wait - there's more!

Choose the right background
Invariably, the classic mistake all new gun photographers make is to lay their guns on a white sheet. Because they can see the gun best that way, they assume the camera can, as well, but it can't. It turns out you have a far more sophisticated imaging laboratory in your head than the finest cameras made. Lay your guns on a background that's lighter or darker than then, but not by much. I'll show you what I mean.


White isn't a good background for a dark gun because it overwhelms the camera's "brain," making it think the picture is brighter than you want it to be. It's like staring at a snowfield on a bright sunny day. It makes you squint and there goes the fine detail.


A medium blue background allows more detail to come through, but this picture is overexposed (intentionally) to show the damaging effects of direct lighting. It's only marginally better than the first photo. I exposed both this shot and the first shot at the same manual setting. Although this background looks grey, it's the same one used in the photo below.


By allowing the camera to select the right exposure, you get a far better shot, even with direct lighting. Hard to believe all three photos are the same gun with the same lighting - florescent room lighting! Notice the shadow beneath the gun, indicating the light was not directly above the subject.

Now, let me show you what the image can look like when it is taken in indirect (reflected) light. This was taken with a single 500-watt Tota light bounced off the ceiling.


No hard shadow, more details pop and there's not as much detail loss in the dark areas. Notice this is the only photo to clearly show the front sight pins.

Ruger Air Hawk Elite - Part 1

By B.B. Pelletier

Before we begin, some announcements. All you who have been waiting for .22 caliber round balls, Gamo has come to the rescue. Pyramyd expects to get them in July, so get your orders ready. Be sure to lay in a good supply, as you never know when they'll be out of stock again!

We have one student for the Field Target course in August. Wayne will drive all the way from Ashland, Oregon, to Cleveland if we're able to hold the first course this year. I need a few more definite students before I can get this course off the ground, so please check in if you think you can come. I'm tentatively thinking about holding it August 18 through 22, but that's not locked down, yet. Please let us know if you think you can come this year.


A beautiful breakbarrel from Ruger. Diana, are you watching?

Today, we'll start our look at Ruger's Air Hawk Elite. One of our readers asked if this rifle is a copy of the RWS Diana 34. At the time I said I didn't think so, but now that I look at it, it seems to be similar - though it has some differences as well. I didn't look at it that carefully at the SHOT Show, but now I have one to test thoroughly.

This is the upscale model that comes with a 3-9X40 scope and mounts, so there's nothing but pellets to buy. Hopefully, I'll be able to tell you which ones after this test. All Ruger rifles are available as .177 caliber only at this time. If they're successful, I would think, at some point, they'd bring out a .22.

Selling at $180, the Air Hawk Elite is positioned against the RWS Diana 34 Panther, except that the Panther costs $7 more and doesn't come with a scope. It is, however, a formidable gun to take on, so many shooters will be watching this one. Actually, since it comes with a large muzzlebrake and a scope, I guess it's positioned against the RWS Diana 34 Meisterschutze Pro, so the price difference is much greater.

The stock
The stock is an ambidextrous thumbhole that you will either like or not. I'm not a fan of thumbholes as a rule, but this one doesn't seem too bad. It isn't as large as many that have come to market recently, and I can get used to it. The wood looks like beech and is as well fitted and finished as anything Europe makes. The black ventilated recoil pad is also fitted very well.

The trigger
The adjustable trigger looks similar to a Diana T05, with one major difference. The blade is METAL. It's as if someone who knows the American airgun market was listening to all those complaints. It's a small feature to add, but one that will win Ruger a LARGE vote of confidence from the average airgunner. I'll report on the trigger-pull in the second report, but I'll tease you by saying I'm surprised how light and smooth it is!

The safety comes on automatically when the rifle is cocked, but it's located in a place at the center of the end cap where the thumb can release it easily. Also, this rifle can be uncocked by pulling the trigger and riding the barrel closed.

Metal finish
I have to stop to remind myself that this rifle is made in China, because I cannot really see any difference between it and a German-made Diana. The metal is all nicely polished and deeply blacked. This is a rifle of which you can be proud.

Muzzlebrake
A large hand-filling muzzlebrake provides a convenient handhold when cocking the rifle. It's decorative, only, and does nothing to quiet the rifle. But this is a spring rifle that needs little quieting.

No scope stop!
They cut the 11mm dovetails directly into the mainspring tube, but they didn't put a scope stop on the gun! In the year 2008, with everything we know about spring guns, this is an unforgivable oversight! No amount of clamping pressure alone will stop a scope from slipping on these rails, and something will have to be done. I 've had readers recommend BKL scope mounts as a solution. Since my numerous phone calls and emails to the company went without an answer, I won't recommend them. There needs to be a positive mechanical scope stop put on this rifle. I will test it with the mounts they sent and see if they can hold on tight enough. A simple hole drilled into the spring tube or a metal plate held on with a metal screw would have sufficed. How could they have overlooked that?


No scope stop! How could they do this in 2008?

Ball-bearing breech detent
Just like the Diana 34, the Air Hawk has a ball-bearing breech detent, which means the rifle opens and closes like a dream. The cocking link is articulated, which is different than the Diana 34. Instead of a metal bridge on the underside of the mainspring tube, they used channels in the stock to hold the link parallel to the spring tube. There's a pronounced crack as the barrel is first broken, so hunters will have to be careful it doesn't spook their quarry.

Next stop is the chronograph.

Why pay more for an airgun?

by B.B. Pelletier

Today's post was inspired by Wayne, and seconded by Matt61. It's a question I hear all the time, and I'm prepared to answer it.

Wayne's question
This subject [airgun performance] brings up a puzzle for me...I really get air rifles for low power and noise situations...but when someone wants to hunt or just shoot high power air rifles..I don't get why they consider spending 3 to 6 times more than a .22 cartridge rifle like a marlin semi-auto for $150. Why are high power air rifles like the condor better than a .22 semi-auto rim fire? Especially when most are single shot.

Matt61's agreement
Wayne, I've wondered the same thing myself about high-powered airguns. My guess would be the appeal is partly the Mount Everest one of doing it because you can. More practically, the high-powered airguns can give power approaching a rimfire without the same range and penetration problems.

And now BB
The best answer I ever read was written by Robert Beeman, who spoke of the "human scale" of airgunning. He owns a spread in northern California, where he can shoot a .30-06 from his house without disturbing the neighbors. He doesn't need to be quiet. But the fact that he can shoot accurately with nothing but plain old air as the power source intrigues him, as it does many of us.

Analogy
I'm also fascinated with wristwatches - tiny machines made so precisely that they keep time to within 30 seconds a week hold my attention. And, of all the watches made, I admire the Rolex Submariner the most. The fact that the Submariner failed the NASA space qualification test doesn't phase me. It doesn't look like I'll be going into space anytime soon. My $100 Seiko quartz watch is 1,000 times more accurate than the Rolex, which also doesn't phase me. My cell phone is more than a billion times more accurate than the Rolex, yet I still wear a watch. I repeat - I am fascinated with wristwatches.

It all depends...
Wayne, if what you want is a gun to slaughter hogs, get a single-shot rifle that shoots a .22 short. It's perfect for the job and you won't risk over-penetration. If all you want to do is kill rabbits in the lettuce patch, a Benjamin 392 is hard to beat. If you're shooting to win the Sportsman's Team Challenge, however, be prepared to spend a couple grand on some exotic variant of the Ruger 10-22. If you want to win the U.S. National Field Target championship, you can't do it with a Chinese breakbarrel.

My Whiscombe JW-75 cost $2,300 when it was new in 1996. Now that John Whiscombe has dropped the .25 caliber and will soon quit making rifles altogether, I have a $5,000 setup, at the minimum. If I were to offer that gun for sale, it would be gone inside a week. That's not a bad return on investment.

Some wisdom
"To sell John Brown what John Brown buys, you have to see the world through John Brown's eyes." They say the United States is in a recession right now, yet exotic cars, yachts and private airplanes are all still selling. You know what's NOT selling? Neither do I, but if I wanted to start up a retail business, you can be sure I WOULD DO EVERYTHING IN MY POWER TO FIND OUT!

Selling to John Brown
Which leads me to my point. Take a well-made garment, embroider a designer's logo on it and the price skyrockets. You can bemoan that fact if you like, but only the Communists ever actually tried to ignore it. Look what happened to them. Designer clothing leaves me cold, but I do recognize that much of the world feels different. There's definitely a huge market for it.

A fine old Winchester rifle can turn me on, but nothing turns me off like a Winchester commemorative. Someone must like them because they sell very well. It goes back to the John Brown theme, except it is neither capricious nor random. It's possible to identify what will be very popular, then build it and succeed in selling it. However, nothing is certain in business. Wham-o made tens of millions of Hula Hoops in 1958, but they LOST $10,000 on the business when the books were closed! The fact that it isn't easy to do these things is what puts the risk into free enterprise. It's scary to risk your future, but the rewards can be so great that people are enticed into doing so, which is why we have upscale cars, boats and, yes, even airguns.

While it's difficult to justify the extra cost of some airguns, it isn't entirely impossible. Why would you own a $600 air rifle, when a $150 rimfire can do the same thing? BECAUSE IT CAN'T! Most $150 rimfires can't shoot a half-inch, five-shot group at 50 yards, but most Condors can. A .22 long rifle bullet can carry 1.5 miles when fired at a 30-degree angle. A pellet from a Condor will carry about 0.25 miles. That's a big difference. If I shoot a .22 rimfire in the backyard, my neighbors will hear it unless I use a silencer. My Pilot silencer cost me over $600 when all was said and done. I can silence a Condor to the same level for $175, without having to apply to the government and waiting for a full year. And then there's the cleaning.

Why I buy expensive airguns
But none of that is really why I buy airguns. I buy them for the same reason I fancy a Rolex Submariner. It's because of what they are and what they can do. They can shoot a pellet using just air or CO2, and they can do so with great accuracy and even reasonable power. Airguns are a combination of science and art - apparently just the right combination to inspire me and a lot of other people. I like to just hold them and enjoy the care that went into their manufacture. I will never own a Rolex Submariner, because I could not bring myself to spend that much for a wristwatch. But that doesn't stop me from admiring them. On the other hand, I would spend and have spent what I consider large sums of money on airguns. I guess airguns rank higher in my interest than watches.

There's a book titled, Old Tractors and the Men Who Love Them: How to Keep Your Tractors Happy and Your Family Running by Roger Welsch. Using a different subject (albeit, another of my interests), he explains why he, an urbanized man (Welsch is the senior correspondent for the CBS News Sunday Morning program), likes to restore vintage tractors. Though written tongue-in-cheek, Welsch's book hits the nail on the head about why people are attracted to certain things.

Even if you use the "tool" outlook with your guns, remember this: many professionals have the best tools money can buy. They don't want or can't afford the downtime that comes with inferior tools. I might shoot a field target match with a Gamo CF-X, but if I wanted a chance at a national championship, I'd be looking at a USFT or similar rifle.

Field target club course

by B.B. Pelletier

Would any of you be interested in starting a field target club in your area? Pyramyd Air is considering hosting a 5-day course on organizing, setting up and running a field target club. This will be a hands-on course, taught in northern Ohio, on site, for five full days. This first announcement is to see if there is sufficient interest for us to proceed with this plan.

The curriculum
• How to recruit new members
• How to acquire equipment and supplies, including field targets, lumber, paint, materials for reset strings
• How to locate and set up a field target course venue
  (setting up lanes, rest areas, sight-in range, public areas, safety fans)
• How to shoot field target using AAFTA rules
• How to set up a match
• Hunter class competition
• Duties of the Match Director
• Duties of the Safety Officer
• Setting up a sight-in range
• Setting up field target lanes
• How to organize a match
  (squads, scoring, food, safety, restrooms, etc.)
• How to identify and emplace various types of field targets
  (leveling, different target heights, lighting, terrain considerations, testing, maintenance during the match)
• Building permanent field target emplacements
  (concrete target bases, tree platforms)
• How to handle alibis
• Safety during the match
• How to set up and run a club website
• Club finances - how to pay for the equipment

When?
This course will be scheduled for the end of August 2008 if there is enough interest. The cost to each student will be $100, plus expenses that include travel, meals and lodging. There will be two instructors, Tom Gaylord and Earl "Mac" McDonald. Tom is one of four founders of the successful DIFTA field target club, where he served for three years as Match Director. Mac was instrumental in running the matches after he joined the club. Classes will last all day at the field target site and into the evening in the motel where we all stay.

What?
By the end of the course, each student will be qualified to organize their own field target club. We require each student to be an associate member of AAFTA, the American Airgun Field Target Association, which costs $25 for one year. The goal is for every graduate to start a new field target club, or to team with other graduates in their area for the same purpose.

Shooting in a field target match before taking the course is not a requirement. In fact, it doesn't matter if you've even seen one. You'll learn how to shoot field target in this course. If you're already a field target competitor, you'll learn how to set up and run a club in your area so others can enjoy the sport you already love.

The days will be spent setting up and running field target matches. Positions of responsibility will be rotated so every student will have the opportunity to be a Match Director. Evenings will be spent in the classroom, covering those subjects that are appropriate, including equipment maintenance.

Equipment
Students may bring their own air rifles to the course with the advance permission of the instructors. If they cannot or do not wish to travel with their rifles, a rifle and scope will be provided, along with pellets. Only rifles suitable for field target will be used, but that will be subject to broad interpretation, allowing basic spring rifles like Gamo breakbarrels (except those capable of 1,200 f.p.s. or more) and the CF-X, the RWS Diana 48 and similar airguns. The rifles provided by Pyramyd Air will include PCPs and upscale spring rifles, as well as the less-expensive springers. Students may sample as many of the rifles as they wish during the course.

This course is not designed to teach how to shoot field target, though that is included. The goal of this course is for every graduate to create a new field target club in his area.

We're very interested in your thoughts - especially if you think you might attend. We have to limit the course to 12 students. If the first one is successful, we'll run other courses next summer.

Walther .25 caliber Falcon Hunter - Part 4

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Today, I'll finish the Walther Falcon Hunter .25 caliber rifle test. Yesterday, the wind dropped to only 15-20 m.p.h., and, although rain threatened, I went to the range anyway. I had an epiphany on the range, making it one of the best days ever spent shooting, though you will have to read the entire report to learn why.

Nothing seemed to work!
I can usually get just about any airgun to shoot, but the Walther Falcon Hunter defied me at every turn. I went to the range with Beeman Kodiaks, Beeman Silver Arrows, Beeman Crow Magnums, Beeman Ram Jets and Diana Magnums, and nothing wanted to group better than two inches at 30 yards! I didn't want to report that - especially with so many good reports on the rifle - so I kept adjusting the artillery hold lighter and lighter.

One fact became obvious
The more I shot, the more the rifle demonstrated that it didn't like any pellet but the Kodiak. The others were all over the paper. The Kodiaks were stringing vertically in tight groups side to side, but with 1.5" to 2" vertical stringing. Some people might call that "scope shift," but I know what it really is...an improper vibration pattern. I hadn't found the right hold so that the vibration repeated regularly enough for accuracy.

I went through many targets
I was replacing targets more often than ever, with nothing to show for it. The rifle kept teasing me with a tight group of two or three shots, then it flipped the next one out two inches. In my head, I was hearing the comments of many new airgunners, but I could not get the rifle to calm down.

And then it happened!
My epiphany came as I thought about all those years ago - before I started writing The Airgun Letter - when I first discovered the spring gun hold I later called the artillery hold. Dr. Beeman still owned the company he founded, and was advising shooters to hold their spring guns with a firm hold. I was unable to get my Beeman C1 to group worth a darn by holding it that way and then wondered how bad it would get if I held it very loose. I held the rifle as loosely as possible and shot a 0.13" five-shot group at 10 yards. The artillery hold was born.


The rifle kept teasing me with groups like this. You can cover either group with a dime, but the entire group is just over one inch. This is indicative of the wrong hold, because the tight groups indicate the rifle wants to shoot. Some shooters would call this "scope shift" when it's really a change in the vibration nodes that throw the pellet to a different place.

That day many years ago I made a breakthough by going against the established rules of airgunning. What if I did the same thing now, by NOT using the artillery hold? What if I held the Walther Falcon Hunter like a deer rifle - the very thing I tell everyone NOT to do? Well, you can probably guess what happened.


This is what's possible with the correct hold - which in this case is a firm, "deer hunter" hold with the off hand grasping the sides of the forearm. Yes, I'm aware of that lone hole at 12 o-clock, but look at the four pellets at 9. The Walther Falcon Hunter can really shoot! If I had more pellets I would have repeated this performance.

Ran out of pellets
Naturally that best group came with the last of the Kodiaks. I would have shot a few more confirmation groups, but there were no more pellets. I shot up a third of a tin yesterday, plus quite a few other pellet types trying to get to this point.

The right hold does not mean pulling the gun in tight to your shoulder. I tried that, too and got the multiple groups shown in the first photo. No, this rifle just wants to be held firmly, like you would a light-recoilling centerfire rifle like a .223. Don't rest the rifle directly on the bag, but rest your hand on the bag if you want.

The last word
We learned a lot with this rifle, including how important the breech seal is. This is a package deal with a price that's hard to beat. And now we see that the rifle also shoots very well, if held the right way. A powerful .25-caliber spring rifle and scope for less than $270 is a deal that's hard to overlook. The Walther Falcon Hunter isn't a plinker, but if you want to hunt with a springer, this may be the best one in .25 caliber.

Spring gun performance as caliber changes

by B.B. Pelletier

The wind has slowed, but there was some local thundering today. I decided to do an indoor test I've wanted to perform for more than 10 years. Because I own a Whiscombe JW75 with all four smallbore barrels, I can test how each caliber performs with the rifle set at one specific power level so I can control as many variables as possible.


My JW75 has barrels in all 4 calibers - .177, .20, .22 and .25.

Theory says there should be a power increase as the caliber increases. Velocity is unimportant, as we're looking at power, only. However, velocity is one component of power, so it is considered.

I also learned last year that .20 caliber is less efficient that .22 caliber when pellets of the same weight are used. I have a supply of 14.3-grain Crosman Premiers in .20 caliber, so when I tested the first .20-caliber Condor I was surprised to see that it shot slower than the .22 with the same pellet. I don't think it's friction with the bore, but rather the .20 caliber pellet has a smaller surface area against which the compressed air can push. This test with the Whiscombe should be interesting from that aspect, too. Let's begin!

I removed the transfer port limiter so the gun would run on full power in all calibers. The temperature was 70 degrees F and the humidity was 55 percent.


That hole in the receiver with the Allen wrench sticking in it is the transfer port. That's where the limiters go. The large flat lever at the bottom opens the barrel for loading.


These Allen screws are the transfer port limiters. The one with the tiny hole at the bottom is the 12 foot-pound limiter that was in the gun when I got it. By removing all limiters and leaving the transfer port wide open, you get the maximum power the rifle can deliver.

.177 caliber
RWS Hobbys (7.0 grains) averaged 1221 f.p.s. They ranged from 1191 to 1238. The average energy was 23.18 foot-pounds

Crosman Premier (7.9 grains) averaged 1139 f.p.s. The range was 1136 to 1142. The average energy was 22.76 foot-pounds

Beeman Kodiaks (10.6 grains) averaged 959 f.p.s. The range was 948 to 971. The average energy was 21.65 foot-pounds.

Eun Jins (16.1 grains) averaged 719 f.p.s. The range was 709 to 727. The average energy was 18.49 foot-pounds.

.20 caliber
Crosman Premiers (14.3 grains) averaged 847 f.p.s. The range was 839 to 860. The average energy was 22.79 foot-pounds. In .20 caliber the Crosman Premier weighs 14.3 grains, the same as in .22 caliber.

Beeman Kodiaks (13.32 grains) averaged 858 f.p.s. The range was 851 to 863. The average energy was 21.75 foot-pounds. In .20 caliber, the Premier is a light to medium-weight pellet.

Eun Jins (23.7 grains) averaged 539 f.p.s. They ranged from 518 to 554. The average energy was 15.29 foot-pounds. They were very tight in the breech and hard to load.

.22 caliber
Crosman Premiers (14.3 grains) averaged 906 f.p.s. The range went from 904 to 908. The average energy was 26.07 foot-pounds.

RWS Hobbys (11.9 grains) averaged 983 f.p.s. The range was from 975 to 990. The average energy was 25.54 foot-pounds.

Eun Jins (28.4 grains) averaged 580 f.p.s. They ranged from 571 to 590. The average energy was 21.22 foot-pounds.

.25 caliber
Diana Magnums (20 grains) averaged 813 f.p.s. They ranges from a low of 807 to a high of 819. They produced an average energy of 29.36 foot-pounds. They were tight in the breech and loaded hard.

Beeman Ram Jets (24.18 grains) averaged 725 f.p.s. The range was 719 to 728. The average energy was 28.25 foot-pounds.

Beeman Kodiaks (30.70 grains) averaged 571 f.p.s. The range was 549 to 592. The average energy was 22.45 foot-pounds. They were an extremely tight fit in the breech and had to be hammered in with a rubber hammer. I would not have used them, had I not been doing this test.

Here are the top energies for the four calibers in this rifle.

.177 - 23.18 foot-pounds
.20 - 22.79 foot-pounds
.22 - 26.70 foot-pounds
.25 - 29.36 foot-pounds

So, except for the .20 caliber barrel, there is a linear power increase as the caliber increases. I have no way of knowing if I've hit on the most powerful pellet in each caliber - in fact, the odds are probably against it, except perhaps in .177. And, there might be a much better .20 caliber pellet that would vault the .20 above .177, where we all think it belongs. The relationship between the calibers, however, will probably remain in this order when the best pellet for power is determined.

The .20 caliber barrel for this rifle seems to be on the small side, as two of the three pellets were snug. Only the Kodiaks fit well. The .25-caliber barrel was also snug. Of all four barrels, the .22 seems to fit the most pellets.

I was surprised that .20 caliber was less efficient than .177, but that's just in this particular rifle. However, .20 caliber is also behind .22, where I expected it to be. In the late 1990s, the British airgun magazines had an ad campaign that touted the .20 caliber Crosman Premier as more effective over longer range than the .22. I think my experience with both the Condor and now the Whiscombe disproves that, or at least makes it suspect. In the same powerplant, I have twice seen .20 caliber Crosman Premiers go slower than the .22-caliber Crosman Premiers of the same weight.

Now, if this same test were run on the AirForce Condor, I would expect the relationships to remain as they are, with the exception of the .20 caliber that I think would surge ahead of .177. However, the heavier pellets would produce more energy than the light pellets, in all likelihood.

A couple helpful tips Sealing CO2 guns and eliminating rust

by B.B. Pelletier

Two things drove today's blog topic - (1) the wind is still howling here, which prevents me from finishing the Walther Falcon Hunter report, and (2) there are a couple small subjects I want to cover that don't fit well anywhere. So here we go.

Crosman Pellgunoil really works
I think I've promoted Crosman Pellgunoil more than any other product throughout my writing career and for good reason. It works! It won't reseal a gun for you, but it will rejuvenate the seals in a gun that's been lying around a long time. How long? Well, I've used it on a gun that hadn't been shot in more than 20 years, and it kept the gun sealed for another two years of regular shooting. That was a flea market purchase that came out of the closet after a death in the family, which is how the dating was determined.

Accept no substitutes
The moment I give advice to use Pellgunoil, I'm hit with, "What can I substitute?" You'd think Pellgunoil was tied to gas prices, the way some shooters want to avoid it. What they really want is to be able to buy it at Wal-Mart, but none of the hundred or so stores I've visited carry it. Please don't write and ask me whether this or that can be substituted for Pellgunoil, because I really don't know. Heck, until last year I thought Pellgunoil was a synthetic!