Webley Raider 10 - Part 2

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1

Before we begin, an announcement about an airgun show coming up. The Potomac Arms and Collectors gun show will be held in Frederick, Maryland, on September 13 & 14 at Elks Lodge #684. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday. Entrance fee is $6, 6" sales tables are $50 and 8' tables are $60. Call 301-424-7988 and speak to Marv Freund to register. This is a combined gun and airgun show that draws a lot of Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Washington DC collectors. I've done well there with sales tables in the past. You'll see some very nice collectible airguns at this show.

Today, I'm back to the Webley Raider 10, and we'll look at velocity. Before we do, however, a report on the gun, itself. You'll recall in part 1 that I said the gun's action was very stiff and difficult to operate. That has carried over to the velocity test with only a minimum of loosening. The magazine fights you, making installation difficult, and the indexing is not precise. Several times I had to hand-index the next pellet.

The bolt continues to be overly stiff, though I do see some improvement. But moving it around its slot is as difficult as cocking a BSA Super 10 - another notoriously hard action to cycle.

Filling the gun, on the other hand, could not be easier. The probe fits the adapter on the end of the pump hose, and once the probe is greased with silicone diver's grease, it slips into the rifle's fill port easily.

Instructions were wrong
The rifle will accept a 3,000 psi fill, despite the manual specifying a 200-bar limit. The extra six bar gives an extra shot or two, which you'll want because this rifle gets about 10 shots per fill. That's not a misprint - I said 10 shots or a single clip. Let's see how it does.

RWS Hobbys averaged 814 f.p.s., with a spread from 803 f.p.s. to 828. That works out to 17.51 foot-pounds.

Crosman Premiers went an average 796 f.p.s.. The spread was from 763 f.p.s. to 813. That's an average energy of 20.12 foot-pounds. See how heavier pellets increase the energy in PCPs?

The 21-grain H&N Baracuda Match, which are very similar to Beeman Kodiaks, averaged 692 f.p.s. with a spread from 682 f.p.s. to a high of 699. That's an average of 22.34 foot-pounds--the best of the three pellets. But let me show you the string and you will see what I mean about this being a 10-shot rifle. The gun was filled to 3,000 psi before starting.

692
699
693
694
696
690
693
694
682*
684*

That was for 10 shots. Looking at those last two velocities,* I can tell the gun is off the power curve and on the way down. But to show that to our newer readers more clearly, I loaded and shot three more pellets. Starting with shot 11, the velocities are:

673
666
665

A straight plummet, with little hope of recovering. If you buy this rifle, know its limitations.

The rifle is quiet for the power it projects. It sounds about like a Sheridan Blue Streak on 6-7 pumps. That's the shrouded and baffled barrel at work.

Depending on which pellet you use, this gun ranges from 17.5 to 22+ foot-pounds. That's a big spread. It also demonstrates the advantage of heavier pellets in a PCP. However, we still must shoot for accuracy to see which pellet to select.

A homework assignment!
All you budding pneumaticists have read quite a bit about pneumatics and PCPs this year. You just read about how a pneumatic valve works, and this rifle gave you a clear demonstration of the classic power curve of one. Here's your assignment: Calculate the average velocity of 10 15.8-grain JSB Exact Jumbo pellets shot from this rifle on a 3,000 psi fill.

You can do this. It isn't difficult. I will announce the answer in the next report.

Straightening barrels

Guest blogger
Rick Klages had an unfortunate accident that bent the barrel of his R9 Goldfinger air rifle. He asked me for advice and was surprised when I told him to just bend it back. This is his story.

If you'd 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.

Straightening barrels
by Rick Klages


Beeman R9 Goldfinger

It's an overcast July 4th morning, and I'm working on adapting my artillery hold to a prone position. Being humid and hot outside has led me to perspire, and laying in the grass has made my hands slick. Compound this with my failure to remove my wedding band (titanium), and we have all the makings of a classic breakbarrel stupident. I was cocking my R9 Goldfinger while laying on my left side and palming the muzzlebrake instead of firmly grabbing it, when my hand slipped off. I was very near the end of the cocking stroke when the barrel snapped closed with nearly the full force of the mainspring.


Not all bent barrels are as obvious as this R1. Anytime a breakbarrel snaps shut by itself, the barrel will bend upward at the junction of the baseblock. An average adult male should be able to bend it straight again following the directions Rick mentions below.

So, I picked myself up and started to take stock of what just happened. Ok, no broken wood, good. Everything else looks normal. But when I took a few offhand shots at 50', I realized there was a problem. The point of impact had moved 4" upward. Now what do I do? I could call Beeman, but this was a holiday! Tomorrow was Saturday, and there was no way I could wait until Monday to work out my dilemma. The barrel doesn't look bent. So, I asked B.B. what he thought. This was what he wrote back to me:

Your barrel is bent. It happens every time a breakbarrel slams shut. You are lucky the stock didn't crack, too, as that often happens. You have to straighten the barrel again. A friend of mine does it all the time and he says the barrel will straighten easily, but will resist going past straight. You should be able to see the bend, which is located at the front of the base block, by looking through the barrel.

I was a bit incredulous at the suggestion I could simply bend it back, but B.B.’s instructions were simple:

Straighten the barrel by bending it in the opposite direction. It's best to take the action out of the stock for this and support the action on a solid table. Muscle power, alone, is all you need to straighten an airgun barrel. As you bend it back, you can feel the steel "giving." It sort of shudders as it returns to straight. Once straight, though, it does not want to bend farther, so the resistance increases.

I decided to give it a try. I removed the scope and took the action out of the stock. Using my sturdy kitchen table and a large, clean terrycloth towel as padding, I broke open the action. As I placed the compression tube/receiver on the towel, I applied downward pressure on the barrel. The spring cocking lever bottomed out in the action and the next thing I felt was a slight shudder. I used a fair amount of force. Pushing harder resulted in no other sensation of movement. Even though the rifle has a safety that automatically engages upon cocking, I made sure to keep clear of the naked trigger. It may be prudent to remove trigger units, if possible.

I then reassembled my R9. So how did it go? Here is my reply to B.B. after all was said and done:

It worked! I wouldn't have believed it really. I didn't think I could bend a steel rifle barrel without a press and since I don't have Superman on speed dial I was skeptical. So I tried it. I will now add "Bends steel rifle barrels with bare hands" to my resume. Best of all my R9 is back to normal. Thanks for the advice.

How does a pneumatic airgun work?

by B.B. Pelletier

I got a request for this article last week from Manish in India and then another request to explain what is meant by the term valve lock, so I'll deal with both subjects today.

There's very little difference between the valve in a multi-pump pneumatic and a precharged pneumatic. Add air volume to a multi-pump reservoir and you can make the gun capable of multiple shots on a single fill of air. Then the only difference between that and a precharged gun would be the presence of the onboard pump. Therefore, the valve I will discuss applies equally to both types of pneumatics.

First, let's look at a closed valve (graphic below). The reservoir is filled with compressed air that wants to get out, but the valve is blocking its way. Air pressure on the valve (red) presses it against the valve seat, which is a part of the valve body (black). The walls of the reservoir tube are also shown in black. A valve return spring inside the valve body also holds the valve shut, but with far less pressure than the air itself. The purpose of the return spring will be obvious in a moment.


The valve is closed. If the red seal material is chosen well, such a valve can hold air for years and even decades.

When the gun fires, a weight called a striker or hammer is driven forward by spring pressure. It strikes the end of the valve stem (blue), driving it forward. When it goes, it takes the valve with it, opening small air passages around the valve stem that allow the pressurized air to escape.


The valve is open. Air now flows out around the valve stem (blue) and out through the air passage in the valve body (black). The valve return spring has been overcome by the power of the striker, but after a short time it will reverse the direction of the valve stem and close the valve to further airflow. The air pressure in the reservoir will help the return spring seal the valve closed again.

What is "valve lock"?
Because the air in the reservoir exerts force on the valve, holding it closed, the higher the pressure, the more force it exerts. That force is balanced against the size of the valve, the weight of the striker and the strength of the striker spring. There's a range of reservoir pressure in which the valve remains open long enough to pass the same amount of air, despite the fact that the air pressure inside the reservoir declines with every shot. When the air pressure is at the high end of the range, the valve remains open for a shorter time, but the higher pressure forces more air through the valve. When the air pressure drops, the valve remains open longer, allowing a greater length of time for air at lower pressure to flow through the valve. The same volume of air flows through the valve in both circumstances.

The result for a precharged pneumatic that gets many shots per charge is that even though the air pressure is dropping, the velocity remains more or less constant throughout this pressure range. For a multi-pump pneumatic, the pressure range doesn't mean as much, except when the pressure goes too high. Then the valve cannot remain open long enough to exhaust all the air in the gun and there will still be air remaining for a second shot. Also, the shot the gun fires will be slower than normal, because less air is behind it.

The velocity will drop for both precharged pneumatics and multi-pumps when the air pressure goes above the range for which the valve was designed. The reason should be obvious - the valve closes before all the air needed for the shot can get out. This marks the beginning of valve lock. If the air pressure goes too high, the combined force of the striker and its spring will not be able to open the valve at all and there will be no shot. Now the gun is locked down by its own air pressure. The only remedy is to remove some of the pressure to drop the internal pressure down to a level at which the valve can open. Continued firing will drop the air pressure back down into the optimum operating range.

The performance curve
For this reason, using a chronograph with a precharged pneumatic allows the shooter to discover the exact pressure at which the valve operates best. And this decision can be left up to the shooter. If he wants more shots, he accepts a lower initial velocity (that comes from a higher initial pressure) and allows the rifle to climb in velocity, then fall back down to his established parameter. If he wants his shots to be as close in velocity as possible, he starts at a lower air pressure that gives him an initial velocity higher and closer to the highest velocity of which the rifle is capable. This is called the performance curve, and every non-regulated pneumatic rifle and pistol has it.

Some airguns, most notably those of Korean manufacture, are designed with sheer power in mind. Their valves are set to open at very high pressures, very close to valve lock. These guns will lock up if over-pressurized just a little, and they tend to have a steadily declining velocity instead of the curve described above. They can be modified to give longer strings of consistent shots, but the velocity at which they do it has to drop. So, a .22-caliber Career 707 might give the first five shots with .22-caliber Crosman Premiers that look like this:

1,175
1,160
1,139
1,107
1,075

If the rifle were tuned for more shots, the same first five Premiers might look like this:

930
945
939
936
941

This is what makes the AirForce Condor so remarkable. Not only does it deliver smashing power in the 60+ foot-pound range - it does so for the first 10 shots. And, if you'll accept a velocity loss of 75 f.p.s., the first 20 shots are usable. No other smallbore air rifle has that kind of performance curve.

The Benjamin Discovery, which needs only 2,000 psi air to get identical performance to other rifles shooting with 3,000 psi, teaches us that air pressure, alone, doesn't make velocity. The timing of the valve has far more to do with it than what's inside the reservoir.

Those are the basics of pneumatic valves. They govern the gun's performance, and they dictate the parameters under which the air pressure must be managed.

Leapers base for RWS Diana rifles - Part 3 More testing

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2

Today, I'll tell you how the new Leapers scope base for RWS Diana rifles installs, and give you some insight into what it was like to test this thing. The first thing you need to remember is that every RWS Diana air rifle has a different amount of droop. In general, the breakbarrels have more than the fixed barrels. I was fortunate to have on loan from Pyramyd Air an RWS Diana 34 Panther with a huge amount of droop. So much, in fact, that it was impossible to get on target at 20 yards by using just the scope's internal adjustments. That was exactly the kind of rifle I needed to test this new base, because that was the worst problem of all...not a gun with a few inches of droop, but one with almost 21 inches at the most useful airgun range of 20 yards. If a base could compensate for a rifle like this one, it would work for most of the others that have less droop!

To put this into perspective, let's look at a target I shot with the scope adjusted as high as it would go.


A 20-yard target shot with an RWS Diana 34 Panther and five 7.9-grain Crosman Premiers. The Leapers scope is adjusted as high as it will go. The aimpoint is the center of the top bullseye (this target was hung upside-down in the pellet trap). The pellets impacted over 7-1/2" below. If you tried to shim the scope to compensate for this amount of droop, you'd have to use so much shim material in back that the scope tube would be at real risk of bending when the ring caps were tightened. Until now, the only solutions for this were either adjustable rings or a special droop scope mount.

Don't think that just because the target shows a 7-1/2" drop that the rifle droops only that much. The scope was adjusted AS HIGH AS IT WOULD GO! If I centered the reticle, the pellet would be almost 21" below the aimpoint.

The amount of droop was so great that the engineer at Leapers could hardly believe me. Anyone who has not actually experienced this before would find it hard to believe, but this is one of the reasons I wanted this new base so much. Over the years, I've had to talk many shooters through the workaround of scope shimming or convince them that adjustable mounts were what they needed. They always asked me how an airgun company could make a product with this much droop and not have something to correct it. To answer them I will point to the Hubble Space Telescope, which had vision problems for many years until corrected in orbit by NASA. If a telescope costing two billion dollars can have vision problems, I guess an air rifle can have barrel angle issues. Besides, Diana isn't alone in this situation. Many other breakbarrels and some fixed barrels have a droop problem. It's just that many more RWS Diana rifles are in use around the world and they all seem to droop in varying amounts but similar in that they all have it.

Speaking of fixed barrels, I did test a second RWS Diana rifle during the base development. I tested a .22-caliber RWS Diana 460 Magnum, which is a powerful underlever rifle. That rifle didn't droop as much as the breakbarrel 34, but it still drooped more than some scopes can compensate. Other scopes would just be able to get on target with all their vertical adjustment used up. Although the one new mount would have worked for this rifle, Leapers decided to make a second base with less droop built in. They call it their 460 base. That gives you a choice of slope angles to fit any rifle out there.

We finally got it right
In part 2, I told you about all the prototyping Leapers did. I've left out the valuable lessons we learned in this testing because Leapers spent a great deal of their own money to get this product right. Others who try to copy them will probably run into the same problems we did and have to figure how to solve them.

By the fourth prototype, Leapers got the design and the slope right. All I had to do was mount the base, attach two rings and slap in a scope. The new base ended up with the vertical adjustment of the scope between the midpoint and the three-quarters point when the pellets were landing on target at 20 yards. That means the gun can be shot out to a great distance by using the internal scope adjustments because the base preserves most of their adjustment range.


The recoil shock shoulder hangs down in front of the new base to contact the front of the rifle's base. After that, no movement is possible.


At the back of the new base, a relief cut prevents the base from touching the big-headed screw on the back of the rifle's scope base. See that deep hole in front of the relief cut? That is a vertical scope stop screw for those who want to use it. It isn't necessary, but Leapers put it there because they know some people will want to use it.

Watch the video, if you can
The RWS Diana rifles have gone from being the most difficult rifles to scope to the easiest because of this new base. Paul Capello made a short video that shows how easy it is to now mount a scope. That video is on both the video page and on the product page with the new bases. Since some of you can't watch videos, I'll show you how to mount a scope using this new base. I will use the 34 Panther for my description and photos, but the procedure is exactly the same on all RWS Diana rifles and for either new base.

Installation
Loosen the screws on the sideplate of the Leapers base and slip it into the dovetails of the base on the rifle. Slide it back until the recoil shock shoulder contacts the front of the rifle's base. It won't move any farther. Snug it down. The base is installed. Time: about a minute, working slowly.


The RWS rifle's base has 11mm dovetails to accept the Leapers base.


Leapers' new base simply clamps on the rifle's base. The recoil shock shoulder rests against the front of the rifle base. Now, the airgunner is presented with numerous slots to which Weaver rings will attach.


All Weaver rings have a 3.7mm-wide key across their bottom. It fits into one of the slots in the Leapers base. The Leapers base is cut with 5mm Picatinny slots, but don't despair - hundreds of thousands of centerfire rifles also use a Picatinny base with Weaver rings. Just slide the ring to the rear of the slot before fastening.

Next, install two Weaver rings in the slots of the Leapers base. Position them far enough apart for the scope you're using and back far enough for good eye-relief when holding the rifle. Time: about two minutes, working slowly.

It's best to use scope rings with four cap screws on all RWS Diana guns, so the caps are wide enough to provide maximum clamping pressure on the scope. Medium-height rings will be high enough for all scopes, because the Leapers base also raises the scope. Low rings will work with many scopes.


Attach two Weaver rings to the base. Separate them as far as the scope tube requires, and don't forget to check the scope's eye relief.

Last, install the scope in the normal fashion, using the instructions I provide in the scope-mounting article. Time: about 10 minutes, working slowly.


Lay the scope on the rings and fasten the top straps.

You're done!
The new base takes care of two things:

1. The barrel droop is corrected by the slope built into the base. Your scope will be on paper during sight-in and not too far from where it needs to be.
2. The new base puts an end to scope base and ring movement. The recoil shock shoulder cannot be budged and the base slots and Weaver keys form a positive locking system for the rings.

If you'd like to print out directions, Leapers has a step-by-step sheet that is linked to both scope mount bases in the left column on the product page (under "Manual").

The last report
This new base puts an end to barrel droop and all the problems associated with scope creep (broken big screw heads and narrow scope stop pins gouging scope bases on the rifle). It cuts the scope mounting time by two-thirds, and takes the operation from trial-and-error to plug-and-play. Now we can put our time to more profitable enterprises.

Webley Raider 10 - Part 1

by B.B. Pelletier

This test is for DH and for all of you who like to hear about fine PCPs. Pyramyd Air sent me a .22-caliber Webley Raider 10 some time back and it was working its way to the front of the queue when DH asked about it. This is the 10-shot model, not the 2-shot rifle.

Like a carbine
The Raider 10 is light weight at 6.6 lbs. and short, at just 38 inches. It's really more of a carbine than a full-sized rifle, but that should make the hunters happy. The metal is evenly finished in most places, with a few tool marks showing through on the receiver and some dull patches on the reservoir. The finish is a medium shine that's brighter than matte, but not the deep black of some other airguns.

The beechwood stock is highly figured for beech and as attractive as many walnut stocks. It is fully ambidextrous, as well, though the bolt action is suited to right-handed shooters. The raised comb rolls to both sides of the butt. The cut-checkered pistol grip has a slight Wundhammer palm swell on the right side, but lefties will not find it bothersome.

Shrouded barrel!
The Raider 10 has a fully shrouded and baffled barrel, so I will be making comments on the noise signature. The power is not adjustable, and there are 10 pellets in each clip (which the owner's manual calls a magazine).

Dealing with the fill adapter
I thought I'd do something new with this test. I'll show you what I do when I receive a new PCP like this. The Benjamin Discovery and any AirForce rifle can be purchased ready to go, but no other PCP comes that way. Inside the package with the gun comes a fill adapter. In the case of a rifle from the UK, it's threaded to screw into a 1/8" British Standard Parallel Pipe fitting (BSPP). That's a standard among UK PCPs. I own a Hill hand pump that has a hose that also has the other end of a 1/8" BSPP fitting, so many folks would be tempted to just screw the two together. A lot of the time that would work, but sometimes not, so let me tell you what I do.


Would you know what to do with this adapter? This is what you get with most PCPs. It has to be attached to a hose that accepts 1/8" BSPP threads. Those two o-rings need a light smear of diver's silicone grease so they don't nick or tear when inserted into the probe hole in the rifle.

Teflon tape
I wrap the threads of the quick-disconnect (probe-type) fill adapter with three wraps of Teflon tape (also known as plumber's tape). If the seal in the hose is compromised in any way or even missing, this takes care of it. I wrap the tape in the direction opposite the one the adapter will be turning when I thread it into the hose.


If you're going to shoot PCPs, get used to this stuff. It's Teflon tape wrapped three times around the threads to seal the adapter to the hose fitting. Wrap it in the opposite direction that you will screw the adapter, so it doesn't get loose when attaching the adaptor to the hose fitting.


This female 1/8" BSPP fitting on the end of a hand pump hose accepts the Raider adapter.

The two o-rings on the adapter get a light coat of diver's silicone grease. Please don't write me and ask what you can substitute for diver's silicone. Just get some. A quarter-ounce jar will last a lifetime.

The rifle also has a plug to seal the fill port when the adapter isn't installed. It has an o-ring, as well, so I also greased it.

Pump her up!
The Raider 10 took 128 pump strokes to go from completely empty to 200 bar. By the way, when the Hill pump gauge says 200 bar the pressure gauge on the rifle reads 150. That's a difference of 750 psi! It's a huge difference, but be aware that it can happen. I will use the pump gauge because it has worked well in the past. When I get to velocity testing, I'll refine the max fill number by watching the chronograph to determine where the gun comes up on the power band. Yes, you need a chronograph to do this and, yes, it's worth it.

The bolt on this brand-new gun is incredibly hard to cycle! I had to strike it with the heel of my hand to get it to work. The clip didn't always index properly in the beginning, but I think both of these things will even out as the rifle breaks in.

Trigger
The two-stage trigger is adjustable for first-stage length, second-stage letoff and sear engagement. It seems nice enough as it comes from the box, so I'll leave it as it is. There's no safety on the rifle.

We'll do velocity next.

HW 55SF - Part 3 Shooting behavior and velocity

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2

Let's look at how the HW 55 SF performs, in terms of firing behavior and power. I told you about the rifle in the first two reports, but I didn't dwell on how it shoots. First, the 55 is delightfully easy to cock. An effort of only 20 lbs. cocks the gun, due in great part to the length of the 18.5" barrel. Because this is the rare SF model, there's no barrel latch to contend with, but the flip side of that is, of course, a stronger breech detent holding the barrel shut. Years of fooling with Beeman Crow Magnums and Webley Patriots makes me slap the muzzle of every breakbarrel now to open it, so this is not a problem.

Firing the gun
The feel of firing this rifle is STRANGE! You hear the sound of faint spring buzzing but you don't really feel it! Though the rifle is only 8 lbs. (very light for a target rifle), the cocking slot in the bottom of the forearm is abbreviated because of the two-piece articulated cocking lever. Robert Law made a big deal of this in his catalog, and I'm finding that it's really true. He said the more solid forearm attenuated most of the shooting vibrations, resulting in a smoother-feeling rifle, and I have to agree. I have owned or had other HW 55 rifles for testing, but I cannot ever remember this trait. Perhaps it's due to the last tuneup it had.

How fast?
You've learned in this series that this HW 55 is made on an HW 50 spring tube and should perform like an HW 50. Except that the HW 50 we know today is not the same gun as the HW 50 of the 1960s, when this one was made. The current model is actually based on a different spring tube and is a more powerful airgun. The HW 50 of the 1960s had leather piston and breech seals, a smaller spring tube and was a 700 f.p.s. rifle in .177 caliber.

While good for sporting purposes, 700 f.p.s. is too fast for a target rifle. It doesn't necessarily make the rifle less accurate; but if you don't need the speed, why bother with the extra pounds of cocking effort? To make the 55SF, Weihrauch installed a weaker mainspring. This particular rifle has been tuned at least twice since it was built, so the original mainspring is probably no longer in the gun. I was concerned to see just how powerful it is, hoping that the last tuner hadn't tried to hot-rod it.

I tried RWS Hobbys first and got an average of 631 f.p.s. The range was quite large - from 614 to 652, which leads me to believe RWS Hobbys are not right for this airgun.

I have H&N Match pellets, but only the light ones for pistols. This is one time where it matters. The average of 622 f.p.s. is a little too brisk, though the range was much tighter. Just 19 f.p.s separated the low of 614 f.p.s. from the high of 633. Much better performance, but still on the hot side.

RWS Meisterkugeln pellets dropped the average to a more sedate 543 f.p.s. The spread was from 536 to 554 or just 18 f.p.s. The tightest spread of the three pellets.

The rifle could stand to go a little faster, but 542 with a qualified rifle pellet like the Meisterkugeln isn't bad. Today's pneumatics would only be at 575 or so. In the mid-1960s, target airguns were in a bit of a velocity race that ended abruptly in the 1970s. Target rifles were pushing pellets out at 640-650 f.p.s., because the competitors had yet to be heard. When they were, velocities dropped back below 600 f.p.s., where they remain today.

What's it like to own and shoot a vintage 10-meter rifle like this one? I have owned a few vintage airguns that were not unlike owning a Stanley Steamer. Once they get going, the statistics can be impressive but you wouldn't want to rely on them all the time. This rifle is not like that. While no one would confuse it with a world-class target rifle, it's still good enough for informal target shooting and the occasional grudge match. It has no funny quirks or surprising traits, in fact just the opposite. It's easy to cock, has a trigger too light to measure and a firing behavior that endears itself to every new shooter. It quickly becomes a "go-to" rifle if you give it half a chance.

We have one more report coming on accuracy, unless there's else something you want to know that I've overlooked.

Discovery barrel - to glue or not to glue

Introduction by B.B. Pelletier

Guest blogger
Wayne Burns is a new reader of this blog, though he's been an airgunner most of his life. But he's learning about new kinds of airguns here, and sharing those experiences with us. Today, he tells us about a modification he made to his Benjamin Discovery rifle.

If you'd like to write a guest 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.

Discovery barrel - to glue or not to glue

by Wayne Burns


My brother-in-law's Discovery and mine. Both .22 caliber.

I'm not an experienced airgunner, but I got the bug bad . So bad, in fact, that I thought other babyboomers must be getting it, too. So, I've been testing low- to mid-priced air rifles with the intent of opening an air rifle range in the near future.

When I read B.B.'s reviews of the Benjamin Discovery, a gun he helped design, I got excited like a million others and got in my order at Pyramyd Air. The wait was worth it. I must have been one of the first to get one, because my review at PA (without the pump) is at the bottom of the list now.

In the beginning, I really didn't notice that the barrel could flex back and forth with easy finger pressure. After about 2,000 very fun and mostly accurate shots, I noticed the flex and was sort of outraged. Then, I said to myself, "It's been shooting fine, the air tank protects the barrel from getting wacked, and light gauge material keeps it low cost and light weight." BUT how can it be as accurate as it could be, if the barrel flexes? Without much thought, I removed the fill cap and put a couple of drops of Super Glue right where the barrel touches the air tank near the fill cap (being sure to not get glue where the cap goes on). I let it dry overnight, and the next day no flex.


>My sloppy glue job with super glue. Note that I took off the fill cap before gluing.

I promptly complained to B.B. about the "flexing" barrel in this forum, (I should have complained before the gluing) and B.B.s' polite reply was:

Wayne,

I have to caution others to not Super Glue the barrel to the reservoir. The reservoir moves as air is exhausted and if the barrel is attached, it will walk as the pressure changes.

What did I do?
I wrote back and said something like, "It seems to still shoot as accurate as before."

B.B. replied, "That's what counts."

But, I wasn't sure. Because, as the pressure in the tank drops below about 1,200 psi, the pellets hit lower because of lower velocity. But B.B.'s comment made me think that maybe they were dropping because the air tank was pulling down on the barrel as the pressure went down.

I told B.B., "My brother-in-law, Randy, has a Discovery I gave him for his birthday that is not glued." (He waited to see what happened to mine.) "Maybe I could do some sort of test." B.B. said, "Why not make it a blog?" So, here we are.

At what pressure do pellets start dropping from lack of velocity? When we know that, we can see if the pellets from glued or unglued barrels are dropping differently. I thought it was after about 30 or 35 shots in my rifle when I fill it to 2,200 psi.

The test
My test was to have Randy and me shoot each rifle down to the red sector on the gauge with the same type pellet.

First attempts at testing failed due to human error. It's too hard to know what is human factor, pellet factor or scope movement. All three proved to be problems.

So, I bought two Benchmaster rifle rests at a local shop. They eliminated the human factor, pretty much.


The Benchmaster, the cadillac of rifle rests, is similar in function to the Gamo Air Rifle Rest.

Next, which pellet?
While testing for the best pellet, we found that the 4-16x50 Leapers scope on my rifle would not stay adjusted, so we changed to the rock-solid 3-9x40 CenterPoint on each rifle. They're not as great for field target, but fine for this indoor test at 60 feet.

After much testing, we found that the 15.8-grain .22 cal JBS Exact Jumbo pellets were just a little better than the 14.3-grain Crosman Premiers. Premiers average 791 fps, and the heavier JBS was 773 fps.

First, we shot the non-glued Discovery to find out at what point it dropped from lack of pressure. Then, how much the glued Discovery dropped at the same point on the pressure gauge. Not very high tech, but that's all I could think of.

What the heck?
Randy filled to 2,200 psi and had a problem. This is a problem some other novice airgunners might run into with the Discovery, so, at this point, I will just show you my email to B.B. (Tom Gaylord).

Hi Tom,

Randy and I are testing tonight, but the crony tests I did earlier today - filling on the scuba tank that was down to 2,000 lbs. - are puzzling. The crony shows that when the we fill to 2,000 psi, it takes about 8 or 12 shots to get to peak velocity. That seems strange. I would think that the more pressure in the tank, the more f.p.s. But the strings on the crony for the RWS Superpoint start at 786 and climb pretty steady up to 821 on the 13th shot, then - 823, 815, 820, 820, 817, 820, 822, 820, 814, 811, 810,796,804,795,786, 782 and 780, where I stopped.

Randy filled his rifle from the new tank, so it got filled to about 2,200 psi. He started the test having not shot his Discovery for a few weeks, so when the first shots were low, he adjusted his scope accordingly and found the center for awhile. Then his shots started going higher. He adjusted the scope again to the center and stayed on target (see target number 4). By this time, he had fired about 45 shots. Then his pressure continued to drop and he got a great 6 shot group 1-1/2" low. Then the needle on the gauge went into the the red and his next shot dropped a full 3".

He didn't tell me what he was doing. When I heard, I showed him the crony test from earlier. It matched his results. We both wondered why it has less power and shoots slower with more pressure in the tank. Here are some photos from that first test.

This makes our test more difficult, don't you think? HELP!


52 shots at ~60 feet, indoors with the air tank filled to about 2,200 psi. These were before we were using the Benchmaster.

Tom wrote back:

Wayne,

You are encountering valve lock. A valve is balanced to the pressure at which it operates. When I designed the Discovery, I told Crosman that an airgun could be just as powerful at 1,800 psi as it was at 3,000 psi. They didn't believe me, but when they built the first prototype, they discovered that it worked.

The pressure at which a valve operates can be changed by changing the spring rate of the valve return spring or by changing the valve diameter or by changing the valve seat angle or by changing the weight of the striker or by changing the striker spring rate or by changing the valve stem height. Any of those six things can change how a valve works.

Even YOU are over-pressurizing your gun by filling to 2000. The proper fill level is the pressure at which the first shot comes out at full power.

Shoot the gun until the velocity rises to what you consider to be the ideal velocity. That sounds like 820 for your rifle. Then stop shooting and try to fill the gun at that point. Note the pressure at which the gun begins accepting air. I'm guessing your rifle will like a fill of 1,800 psi. They will each differ a little, so don't go by the 2000 psi on the gauge. Learn the fill your rifle likes, then fill to that level and stop.

Why doesn't more pressure make the pellet go faster? Well, answer this: why doesn't more gas in your car's gas tank make the car go faster?

Because a car doesn't work that way, you say. Well, neither does an airgun. There is a range of pressure at which the valve opens to the maximum and stays open the longest time. Within that range you will get the maximum velocity that valve is capable of delivering. Tests have shown that the Discovery gets 21-26 shots in a tight velocity spread. Some people will shoot up to 35 shots because they will accept a larger velocity spread. A person shooting groups at 50 yards will notice a POI shift resulting from a velocity variation sooner than a person shooting groups at 10 yards.

Each PCP is unique and needs to be tested to determine the max fill pressure. It is impossible to manufacture two PCPs that work exactly the same, just as it's impossible to manufacture two cars that have the same top speed. You can adjust and modify two guns to perform similarly, but even then you cannot get them to be exactly identical.

You mention opening a scuba tank's valve when the tank pressure gets to 2100 psi. You think that is okay. I shudder, because you are overfilling the gun. Think of going to the gas station and, after your car's tank is full, you pump the rest of the gas out on the ground, so the number on the pump reaches an even number of gallons. That's what you are doing when you fill like that.

Stop looking at the numbers and start learning your rifle's individual performance characteristics.

Starting over
We had to start over, initially filling until the Discovery gauge reached about 1,800 psi. With the guns filled to 1,800 psi and shooting off the bench rests, we shot a few more tanks of air - only trying for 30 to 35 shots.


It's hard to tell with 35 shots on one target, but the non-glued barrel did a little better on the first 35-shot test.

In this first test, the non-glued barrel had the best 35-shot group. We found it better to shoot groups of five at different targets, so we could see more detail. Notice that when you shoot over and over at the same spot on a thick board, it will break...and that's a 2x6!

We eventually found that our guns did best starting at 1,700 psi, and going for only 20 or 25 shots if we didn't want to change our aimpoint. If you're willing to adjust for the different impact point that comes from a lower velocity (aiming high for the first 10 shots or so, then right on for 20 to 25 shots, then high for the last 10 shots or so), you can get 40 or 50 shots on a tank filled to 2,000. It's not so hard to learn how to adjust your aim, and worth it, if you're hunting. For shots over 30 yds., I have to start aiming high anyway.

In the second test, with both guns filled to only 1,700 psi, the gun with the glued barrel did a little better than the one that wasn't glued. I noticed that the chrony and the accuracy say that shots 1 and 20 are close to the same when starting at 1,700 lbs. Keep in mind that you still have 10 or 12 more shots if you want to aim high, but they still have enough wallop to kill a starling at 25 yds.


The glued barrel (lower board) did a little better in the second test with only 20 or 25 shots.

Conclusion
If it really bothers you (like it did me), it probably won't hurt to glue your barrel. It could be that the cheap super glue I bought flexes enough to give with the movement of the tank. Or, the air tank is strong enough to not flex as the internal pressure drops. [Note: It isn't - Ed.] By far, the more important factor for accuracy in the Discovery is the proper fill pressure. Then get to know where the valve lock occurs and how it affects accuracy in your particular gun...if you want to stretch the number of shots you get from a fill.

Another fix, is to add another barrel band, or move the one closer to the end if you think the flex is a problem at all.

Gamo Compact vs IZH 46 - Part 6

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

I've been remiss in reporting the final part of this report, where I shoot the IZH 46 for accuracy. A reader signing in as fstrnr@yahoo.com mentioned my oversight this weekend. I promised to finish the job, and today's the day. If you remember the series, you'll recall that I discovered a pumping secret about the IZH 46 that almost turns the standard model into the more powerful M. I used that technique in this test.

Chinese pellets
I've always used Chinese target pellets in this pistol since discovering years ago that they're the most accurate. However, this test showed something quite different. You can't buy these pellets anymore, so I guess it's a good thing, because they may not be the most accurate any longer.


Five Chinese target pellets made a 50 when fired from a rest.

H&N Match
H&N Match pellets are always worth a try. They are often the most accurate in a particular airgun. This batch has 4.50mm heads.


Five H&N Match pellets made a better-looking 50 than the Chinese pellets.

JSB Match
JSB Match pellets turn out to be as good as any other JSBs. They grouped tighter in my pistol than the Chinese pellet of choice. Of course, they weren't available in this country when I selected the Chinese pellet about 10 years ago.


Five JSB Match Diabolo pellets made the tightest group, and a score of 50. These would be worth testing long-term, to determine if they are better for this particular pistol.

How the IZH 46 helped me
The 46 has a much better and more adjustable trigger, so of course it is easier to shoot than the Gamo Compact. This trigger is not perfect, or even close to perfect, but shooters who have never felt a real 10-meter trigger will probably feel better about this one than anything they have ever tried, once it is properly adjusted. The sights on this gun are also very nice. Because this pistol is as long as it is, the separation between front and rear sights helps to define the sight picture.

Finally, I must mention both the grips and the weight distribution. Since I own the IZH 46, I've made the grips conform to my hand. Naturally, they fit me much better than the large grips on the Compact. That's not a strike against the Compact - just a word about making a 10-meter gun fit you. However, the weight distribution, which is very far forward on the 46, is a real plus for me. I need a heavier pistol to keep my arm from moving, and the 46 is really heavy for a 10-meter pistol - especially for the guns of today. Think about that when you consider it as a possible target pistol.

The final word
Well, there weren't too many surprises in this comparative test. Except for the adjustable rear sight notch on the Gamo, I think everything else was expected. The Compact is a wonderful target pistol at a great price, but know that the grip probably needs to be slimmed, and the trigger is somewhat heavy. The IZH 46 is a great starter 10-meter pistol, as long as you can handle the weight.

Beeman Crow Magnum/Theoben Eliminator - Part 2

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1


I call it the .460 Weatherby of airguns, the Beeman Crow Magnum/Theoben Eliminator is an impressive air rifle.

This is a continuation of the report from Friday.

Cold test!
Some readers advised me that gas springs are very susceptible to cold weather, so I tested them at 10 deg. F, 45 deg. F and 80 deg. F. It turned out that the gas spring lost less velocity in the cold (at 10 degrees) than a steel spring R1 I'd tuned. It did lose velocity, but not as much as the gun with all the grease on the coiled steel mainspring. When I reported that, I learned that some "professors" (that's what I call guys who always have a theory they can "prove" but never bother to test it) could explain in writing why my test was flawed. The gas spring should have lost much more energy than the steel spring, because gas loses pressure in the cold. Well, despite a cold soak of TWO HOURS, mine didn't!

If you're beginning to suspect that I used the Crow Magnum as a tool to test a lot of the street knowledge and myths about the performance of gas springs, you're right!

Endurance test!
Then came the 5,000-shot endurance test I mentioned last Friday. I filled up the gas spring back to the 33 foot-pound level for this test. The pellet I chose for the test developed just over 30 foot-pounds. I could only cock the rifle for 50 shots per session, so I tried to do two sessions a day. By shot 1,000, the Crow had lost considerable power and I shipped it back to Beeman. Don Walker told me it had just been over-pumped, so he let some air out and sent it back. But the best power with that test pellet was now just 28 foot-pounds.

I never did learn why the power declined, but it was a couple foot-pounds below where it had been at the start of the test. No amount of careful filling could get those foot-pounds back, so I released even more air and continued the test at 27 foot-pounds. But that episode took the wind out of my sails! I felt I was struggling to prove a point that nobody cared about, because those who will buy the Leupold scope I mounted on it will do so with or without my test results, and those who won't will not be convinced by me. So, I set the rifle aside for two years and did other things.

What I should have bought...
But our Airgun Letter readers didn't forget. Along with Ben Taylor, they were telling me that I had picked the wrong caliber for the rifle. They said the .20 caliber was what I really should test.

I sent our rifle to Davis Schwesinger at Air Rifle Specialists for a caliber conversion. Dave was the first U.S. Theoben importer and he had many parts on hand, plus he knew the Theoben system better than anyone. Dave happened to have a customer who really wanted a .25, so he swapped our barrels and did a checkup on my rifle at the same time. He said it was in top shape, but on Ben Taylor's recommendation and with parts Theoben donated, Dave rebuilt the gas spring and gave me a new piston seal.

The .20 was not as accurate as the .25!
I shot and shot the rifle with the new .20 caliber barrel to no avail. The power was back up but the accuracy was horrible! I couldn't shoot a group smaller than 1.25" at 40 yards to save my life. Our readers and others on the internet were convinced, I am sure, that I had it in for Theoben, and this was a long drawn-out plot to discredit them. This was reported in November of 1999.

At the 2000 SHOT Show in February, Ben Taylor met me and we sat and discussed the rifle. We talked at length about scopes, shooting positions, handling and pellets. I assured him I was using Crosman Premiers, which he said were the absolute best for the gun. Then he asked me how often I cleaned the barrel. I said never. In those days I believed that cleaning an airgun barrel only promotes wear and damage. That was about to change.

...and that's where the cleaning comes from!
My friends, the ranting I do about cleaning air rifle barrels with JB Non-Embedding Bore Cleaning Compound came out of this conversation! Taylor told me that Crosman pellets are made from hard lead that smears on the inside of any steel rifle bore and eventually has to be removed. I had no idea what the guy who owned the barrel before me had done to it, but I bet he never heard of this, either. I went home from the SHOT Show and immediately cleaned the bore Taylor's way, then re-tested the rifle. Hallelujah! It worked! Finally, I had an accurate Crow Magnum. I could then report the super groups everyone had come to expect.

I was now able to group five Crosman Premiers inside 0.318" at 35 yards with a clean barrel. Five Beeman Kodiaks grouped as small as 0.335". Finally, I saw the accuracy that everyone had been shouting about, and I had to admit it was good. The rifle was now delivering about 24 foot-pounds, which is very good for a hunting air rifle.

When RWS brought out their 20 foot-pound .22-caliber Theoben-built RA800, I knew it needed a clean barrel, so there was never a bobble testing that gun. It took much less effort to cock than the Crow Magnum, and I always thought it was a great rifle. Too bad they discontinued it so soon.

I eventually sold the Crow Magnum, because The Airgun Letter bought most of the airguns for testing. We couldn't afford to sit on a huge inventory of guns we no longer needed. Had the rifle been my personal rifle, I might not have sold it.

So, Timothy and all others who have contemplated a Theoben Eliminator, I've told you what I know about them. They're great air rifles, as long as you know what to expect.

Beeman Crow Magnum/Theoben Eliminator - Part 1

by B.B. Pelletier


I call it the .460 Weatherby of airguns, the Beeman Crow Magnum/Theoben Eliminator is an impressive air rifle.

This one is for Timothy and anyone else who has a hankering for a powerful gas spring breakbarrel. The Beeman Crow Magnum is no longer made, but the rifle was essentially identical to the current Theoben Eliminator, except for the stock.

A loooooong test!
We purchased our Crow Magnum II for The Airgun Letter in 1995, and I tested it and wrote more about it there than any other airgun model except the Beeman R1, and I turned those nine articles about that rifle into a book. Out of the box, our rifle cocked with 59 lbs. of effort. I measured that by placing the muzzle on a bathroom scale and bearing down on the gun until it cocked. It's a very accurate method of measuring cocking force, as long as you allow for the normal inaccuracies of bathroom scales.

Our .25-caliber rifle shot Beeman Crow Magnum pellets the best, which was easy to remember. They delivered 33.15 foot-pounds of muzzle energy and 0.75" groups at 25 yards.

Advice from the peanut gallery
I want to report on some immediate observations I made following the first test report. I was flooded with email and letters saying the gun was more accurate than that. Well, mine wasn't, I told them. During this mini-furor, I discovered that nearly all those who were concerned about my report didn't actually OWN a Crow Magnum. They were just sitting on the sidelines and, having read the Beeman catalog, didn't see how a thousand-dollar air rifle (actually $1,200) could not do better. I was debating the product with people who had never seen one, held one or shot one. That's a theme that's repeated many times since.

Try it yourself!
As for the cocking, I can write 59 lbs., and a hundred people can read it and not five of them appreciate what it means. So I started taking the Crow Magnum out to public events and letting others try it out. That's when I learned that less than 10 percent of all men were able to cock the rifle on the first try! That's right, all those big strong airgunners who were so savvy on the internet had trouble when the rubber met the road. Heck - so did I! The Crow Magnum is a two-handed cocker for most men when it's pressurized to the max.

None of this is meant as a criticism of the rifle. It was fine. But those who had never encountered it had stars in their eyes from the dazzling descriptions written about it.

Super trigger!
The trigger was and still is one of the finest triggers I've encountered on a sporting air rifle. It was glass-rod crisp and light. I had mine adjusted to about 2 lbs., which I felt was ideal. I could feel stage two, but it wasn't hard to break the sear (fire the gun).

Smooth firing!
The rifle just pulsed when it fired. If you held it light for best accuracy, there was no vibration and the recoil was surprisingly light for such power. That's characteristic of all gas springs, and one of their most endearing attributes.

Looks!
The wood stock was as gorgeous as it always looked in the magazine and catalog photos. The African Heydua wood was highly figured and sculpted with an extremely high cheekpiece that was ideal for scope use. I had a Leupold Vari-X-II mounted on the rifle, and readers told me the gun was going to break the scope. The Vari-X II is a budget line within Leupold. I scheduled a 5,000-shot endurance test, to see if the scope could stand up.

Depressurize for best results
Before that test, however, a reader suggested that I let some air out of the gas spring. He said cocking would get easier and I wouldn't lose that much power. He was right. I dropped the cocking effort back to 45 pounds and the muzzle energy was still 27.5 foot-pounds. What a difference that made! In those days, Theoben made their rifles to be accessible to the owner, so gas spring pressures could be controlled and adjusted by means of an external "slim jim" hand pump. They stopped doing that when most owners over-pumped the guns and burned out the piston seals. Later, when I met Ben Taylor at the SHOT Show (the Ben in Theoben), he told me depressurizing was what the company had always recommended. He said that Beeman was selling the rifle on the basis of sheer power, but that Theoben had always emphasized the smooth firing characteristics with a little less pressure in the spring unit.

I did lots of other things to this rifle, so I have broken this report into two segments. The second segment will run on Monday.

Gamo Recon - Part 3

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2

Today we'll shoot for accuracy with the Gamo Recon. That means I had to mount the 4x20 scope that comes with the gun because it has no other sights. Many customer reviews said they liked the rifle but not the scope, so I'm prepared to give you my opinion. Also, I've heard from many readers who love their Recons, so I had the sense that this was going to be a good test.

Mounting the scope
When I mounted the scope, I came face-to-face with what all the critics have said. This really is a cheap little scope that doesn't belong on a rifle as potentially nice as the Recon. This is a $5 scope at best; the cheap little claw mounts held together by a single screw were enough to convince me of that. The rifle has no true scope stop, so I did what everyone probably does - I butted the rear scope ring against the plastic end cap...and hoped it wouldn't move. As far as I can tell. it never did...but I shot the gun only about 100 times.


I didn't care for the scope mounts that seemed fragile, though they held up through the test. Note the open hole directly into the spring cylinder. Careful owners could use it for a vertical stop pin, as long as the pin never extends below the bottom of the hole.

Sight-in
If the mounts give a bad impression, just wait until you look through the muddy optics! They were blurry and out of focus at 20 yards, though they do clear up around 25 yards. The edges of the viewing area are dark, which, considering the narrow viewing angle you start with, is like looking through a rusty water pipe. Still, this is the scope the gun comes with, and I wanted to see what it could do.

How the gun handled
I neglected to report earlier that the stock's length of pull is 12.5 inches. An adult rifle would have a pull between 14" and 14.5". When I settled into the shooting bench, this short pull and small scope combined to bring my head down low on the gun and very far forward. I have a long neck and the stock was actually too short for me when shooting from a bench. I compensated, but I'm mentioning it in case you're thinking of getting one for yourself. Offhand, it's still fine.

No artillery hold
I got on paper right away at 20 yards with 7.9-grain Crosman Premiers, but my groups were large and strung out vertically. I played with the hold and finally decided to abandon the artillery hold. The Recon is so light that it doesn't seem to respond well to a light touch. I switched to a more conventional hold where I grasped the stock but didn't pull it tight to my shoulder and managed to get an acceptable group with the Premiers.


This 20-yard group of five Crosman Premier 7.9-grain pellets measures 0.695" c-t-c.

While shooting, I was reminded of the easy cocking and the smooth breech detent - both of which will be good for younger shooters. I was reminded of the light trigger when the gun discharged several times before I was expecting it.

The next pellet I tried was the Gamo Match, and it was surprisingly good. Again, the lighter hold wasn't what the rifle wanted. I used a firm but not harsh grasp and didn't pull the rifle hard into my shoulder. I was rewarded with the best group of the day.


Five Gamo Match pellets went through this 0.516" group at 20 yards. This was the best group of the day. Gamo Match groups averaged more like 0.75" - 0.85".

I still got vertical stringing with the Gamo pellets if I allowed the stock to move in any way, so I determined to hold it as tight as I could by pulling it straight back into my shoulder. That did not work well, though. I got good groups of three shots with two fliers that I could not anticipate. The best hold I was to discover all day was a gentle but firm hold with the off hand grasping the stock and the butt against my shoulder with solid contact but not too tight.


Five RWS Diabolo Basic pellets gave this 0.870" group at 20 yards. This was the best these pellets did, which is more like the average for Gamo Match.

RWS Diabolo Basic pellets were not as good as Premier lites or Gamo Match. They would be okay for shooting pop cans, but for serious shooting look for something better. I also tried the 8.4-grain JSB Exact domes, but they weren't even as good as the Diabolo Basics. I guess they're too heavy for this small powerplant.

The bottom line on this gun is this: I like the ease of cocking, the light weight and the lighter, if creepy, trigger. The short stoke and low-mounted scope made it difficult to shoot from a bench, but that's no strike against what is supposed to be a kid's gun. Accuracy is all I could ask for and probably better than I was able to show. The Recon is a winner that belongs on your short list for youth rifles.

Photographing airguns - Part 4

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Today, I'll show you the camera I use, and I'll talk about photographing pellets, plus how to take macro shots without a macro mode. Let's do the macro mode first.

Connect the dots
Many of you have never opened the manual that came with your camera. You know it has more features than you use, but as long as it takes nice group photos, you really aren't interested. You have what is known as a point-and-shoot camera. It's time to face the facts. If we were talking film cameras, there are things you can do with even a cheap camera - like use a film with a lower ISO number. With a digital camera, you have software that adjusts the ISO (film speed, meaning how grainy the film looks after its developed), but the "size" of the image produced means a lot more. The size of the image in the digital world means the number of dots in it, at 72 dots per inch (on most cameras). And here's the bottom line - if your camera has only two megapixles (the number of dots the image is wide times the number of dots high it is), there is nothing I can do for you. Your resolution is too low to do what I'm about to describe.

Where megapixels count
However, you would almost have to have a dinosaur camera to have that low a resolution. Most of you have at least 5 megapixels or more, and it's hard to buy a camera these days that doesn't have at least 7. The problem is that most of us are using our cameras in the default mode, which the camera maker assumed meant taking pictures for the internet. They know most of you don't know how to get the pictures out of your camera and printed on paper! So, the default mode of your camera uses about 0.3 megapixles - even though it says 7.2 on the front of the camera in shiny letters. To put it into automotive terms, you have pulled 7 of the 8 sparkplugs out of your car's engine to save gas, and then you wonder why it won't go faster than 15 m.p.h.

Read the manual and set your camera on the highest resolution it's capable of - and you may discover that instead of 335 photos you can now only take 7 because your memory card is too small. If so, you may want to upgrade. Both my cameras call this the "Quality" setting, and it isn't that easy to find in the manual. On my point-and-shoot camera, the quality is a menu selection, but on the bigger camera it's a dedicated button.

Taking a macro picture without the macro mode
When you take the picture at a close but non-macro setting, you'll be enlarging the image in software. Yesterday, I showed you some bullets that looked like this:


This is the image just as it was taken.

Here is what I can do with that image because my camera is set on the highest quality or resolution:


This is the bullet on the right in the photo above. Making a macro from a non-macro photo requires the camera to be set at the highest quality or resolution (number of pixels).

Photographing pellets
Now for the toughie. Pellets are difficult to photograph because it's hard to get close enough to them even in the macro mode. That's why I love the second, super-macro mode, of my Fuji S9100 camera (the big one). I can get almost 1:1 images, and, with this camera, that means a photo of a dime can be a magazine-quality, full-page spread. I don't usually need anything that big for most work. Although I use super macro, I don't get close enough for that much enlargement.

To cancel the foreground and background I use a sheet of printer paper held down in front by tape and in the back by a weight. I have photographed this setup for you to see what I mean.


RWS Hobby pellets in .177 caliber. I usually show the profile and the hollow skirt of a pellet, so people can see the important dimensions. This image has a slightly yellowish background because the paper background was on a slight curve.

The camera was casting a shadow, so I painted the pellets with light like I described in an earlier segment of this report. The lens was about 1.5 inches from the subject.


Photographing pellets requires you to get very close to the subject.


Here you can see the camera's shadow better. That's why I painted the subject with light.

My big camera
I use a Fuji Finepix S9100 camera for all my serious work. Although it doesn't have interchangeable lenses, the one lens it has is razor-sharp and zooms from a true 28mm to 300mm! It also has ISO speeds from 80 to 1600. At 1600, I can hand-hold the camera in a dark barn and get good closeups without blurring. My friend, Earl McDonald, who is the lead photographer at the National Archives, has used this camera in just 3 foot-candles of light, which is darker than most restaurants. The camera focused fine and held the shutter open as long as required.

This camera is not a professional digital camera, but it has many of the features I need for professional work. And it also shoots video, so I no longer have to take a separate video camera to airgun shows. They give these things away for as little as $335 on the internet. It takes pictures with up to 9 megapixels, which is 50 percent more than the Fuji S2 professional camera. I've been using it for three years and I recommended it to Pyramyd Air for all their product photography. I cannot think of a better camera for less money.

Learn the language!

by B.B. Pelletier

Before we begin, Joe is looking for information about how to convert a CO2 gun to air. He asked for a blog, but I told him several of you readers have done quite a bit of converting already. Is anyone up for a guest blog on what you've done?

Today's post is a rant, but a useful one. It strives to lower the confusion that arises from the improper use of words and terms. Let's begin.

Bullet tips and bullet noses
A very well-known airgun maker astounded me one day by referring to some lead bullets he was shooting as bullet tips. I asked him to explain. He said if what you put into a firearm (he called it a real gun) is called a bullet, then the lead that sits on the end of the bullet and goes downrange when the gun fires should be called a bullet tip.

"Okay," I said, "I'll grant you that, but who ever said that what you load into a firearm is called a bullet? It's a freakin' cartridge, consisting of a cartridge case, a primer, some gunpowder and a BULLET. It isn't a bullet tip, bullet nose or bullet head; it's just called a bullet."


These are bullets - every one of them. Not a bullet nose or a bullet tip in sight.


These are cartridges.


These are the components of a cartridge. They consist of a bullet, a cartridge case, a primer and gunpowder.

"Okay," sez he, "then what do people load into muzzleloading rifles? Those aren't bullets, too, are they?"

"Yes, they are! What else would they be?"

"Well you call them round balls. I've heard you."

"Yes, they are both bullets AND round balls - just like cake is both dessert AND fattening!"

You may think I'm poking fun at someone who just uses relaxed speech, but when ANOTHER airgun retailer then offers to order 1,000 .22-caliber bullet NOSES for me to use in a test, I know we have a problem!

Language is supposed to promote communication, but in the past five years I've seen it do more to confuse than to promote. Here are a few examples.

The person who shoots his spring rifle enough to get it past the BREAKING period. I'm sure he means the break-in period, but the next person he talks to may not know that.

Here is one from a recent forum post:

"...even thought they are true to stage triggers the slopiness make for very creapy triggers."

You know, that sentence is very close to the Chinglish or Engrish that everyone makes fun of. Only that sentence was written by an American who, presumably, went to school.

I think he means, "Even though they are true two-stage triggers, their sloppiness makes for very creepy triggers."

Or what about the PCP shooter who puts air into his resolver instead of his reservoir?

Or the thousands of shooters who load the pellet into the breach instead of the breech. It's not a big deal, but a breach is a forced opening, like a hole in the wall of a dam, or even a breach of contract, not a gun part.

Or the tuner who shoots through his chronometer instead of his chronograph. I sure hope the watch wasn't on his wrist when he shot through it!

Or the gunstore owner who tells everyone he has a single-pump rifle made by Gamo. It's really a breakbarrel or just a spring-piston air rifle and many people think I'm being too critical when I call him on it. But if he persists, what will he call the powerplant of a Daisy 853? "Oh, it's a one-pump gun too, only it uses air." So, what does the Gamo use - peanut butter?

This is the reason I go ballistic about airsoft ammo being called BBs. First, because they're 6mm (.236 caliber) plastic balls and second, because if they are BBs, then the guns they are shot in become BB guns by association. I know they're not and maybe you do, too, but what happens when the mom goes to buy her son a BB gun and all the packages at Wal-Mart proclaim airsoft guns to be BB guns? And then she learns her town has an ordnance against discharging a BB gun in town. What product is she supposed to be buying and is it really illegal in her community? Airsoft guns may not be illegal to shoot, while BB guns, and now I mean real BB guns, are.

I've lost the battle on the BB/airsoft gun issue, but I don't want to concede the rest of the fight, just yet.

Gamo Recon - Part 2

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1

Okay, today I'll shoot the .177-caliber Gamo Recon for you. Once again, I must comment on how easy this rifle is to cock. That's going to make it a great kids' gun, if it's also accurate.

There continues to be a buzz from the powerplant with each shot. It isn't a bad one, but it was there with four different pellets, so it's probably not going away without a tune.

Trigger-pull
If only all Gamos had a trigger like this! It's light and easy, though not overly smooth. The breaking weight in stage two is 2 lbs., 9 ozs. Stage one is a short take-up, and stage two is a long, creepy pull until the letoff at some indiscriminate point. It isn't a great trigger by any means, but compared to the triggers on Gamo's more powerful rifles, this one is at least user-friendly.

Most kids' rifles are cursed with triggers that many adults find hard to use, and that doesn't help the kid one bit. This trigger is very usable, and a surprise on an inexpensive rifle. I suppose the lightness is due to the low power of the rifle, but I'm not complaining. I checked the customer reviews on this gun and several praised the trigger as well, so I'm not alone in thinking it's a pretty decent unit.

There is one shortcoming, though. The blade rotates back and up as it's pulled, like most Gamo triggers. That's one aspect I'd like to see them redesign. A trigger should travel in a straight line to be the most effective.

Velocity test
7.5-grain Gamo Match pellets went an average of 476 f.p.s. The low was 469 and the high was 487. For a new gun, an 18 foot-second spread is pretty tight for a string of 10, so they'll make it into the accuracy test. The average muzzle energy was 3.77 foot-pounds.

The 7.9-grain Crosman Premiers averaged 451 f.p.s., with a spread from 443 to 466. Even 23 f.p.s. isn't that outrageous for a new spring gun. They'll probably get into the accuracy test, as well. The average energy is 3.57 foot-pounds.

I wanted to try out a different light pellet than RWS Hobbys, so I used the RWS Diabolo Basics that weigh the same 7 grains as Hobbys. They averaged right at 500 f.p.s. and gave me a 20 foot-second spread from 489 to 509. That velocity averaged 3.89 foot-pounds, the best reading of this test, and they'll make it to the accuracy test, as well.

The one pellet that won't be in the accuracy test is the 5.4-grain Raptor. I fired only three shots, which registered 432 f.p.s., 345 f.p.s. and 383 f.p.s., from first to last. The only reason I tried them is because I wanted to see if they would respond to a low-powered powerplant, and of course they don't. Gamo doesn't advertise them for this rifle, so I take the credit for their failure.

Backwards breech
I overlooked a detail in the first report - the fact that the breech is reversed from the norm and the breech seal is around the transfer port instead of the breech. When I checked the seal, however, I noticed that it is cut pretty bad on one side. Guessing that this could have affected velocity, I removed it and flipped it over, then reinstalled it with a smooth side out. I applied a thin coat of silicone grease to the seal to prevent it from tearing again. I did re-test the velocities, but there were no appreciable changes.


This seal looks compromised, but reversing it didn't make any difference.

Accuracy next
Gamo provided the scope, so I'll install it for the accuracy test. Several customers have complained about the small size, but we'll judge by what happens of paper.

10-meter pistol shooting - Part 6

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

Someone asked for a listing of 10-meter pistols similar to the one I did for 10-meter rifles. I'll get to that, but today I want to finish the training session. I mentioned last time that I would tell you how to go from a 550 average to world-class, even though I've never done it. Well, knowing "how" and "doing" are two different things.

In the words of Jedi master, Yoda, "There is no try. There is only do or do not." That's the secret of the Olympics or Carnegie Hall or any other pinnacle of excellence. It probably sounds like I'm saying, "Hang in there and one day you'll come out on top," but I'm not. That's the slogan of the loser. If you "hang in there," you'll be certain to hold down the bottom of whatever it is you're trying to accomplish.

See the win
What I am talking about comes up in all the books on becoming a top shooter. It also comes up in all the writings of anyone who has made it to the top of any field. You must be able to visualize the win before it happens. That's what I meant when I said this session was going to sound new-age. It isn't at all, but until you understand what it is, that's the impression most people have.

The master's routine exposed for everyone
Before a performance or contest, every top master has a routine they go through to get ready to perform. This routine was portrayed on the silver screen in two different movies about sports that I'm aware of. The first was Kevin Costner acting as a baseball pitcher in the 1999 film, For Love of the Game. He has a routine in which he says to himself, "Clear the mechanism." When he says it, all outside sounds fade away. You get the impression that he is aware of his surroundings only to the extent that he has to be to pitch the ball. After watching the movie several times I got the impression that he may have had hypnosis and this key phrase was his way of auto-hypnotizing himself to concentrate and focus on what he had to do to win.

The other film that illustrates visualization is The Greatest Game Ever Played, based on the true story of U.S. Amateur golfer Francis Oiumet playing in the U.S. Open against the greatest golfer who lived up to that time, British Open champion Harry Vardon. Interestingly, it is Vardon and not the principal character who demonstrates visualization. In this instance, both extraneous sights as well as sounds vanish, and the viewer is left with the impression that Vardon could see only the cup, with nothing between him and it but grassy space.

The winner's circle is in your head
Both films are wrong, of course, but they have to be, because both attempt to take an average person - a viewer in the audience - into the mind of a champion. That's a place few people would recognize. I have been there for brief visits, but I never found the key to a more permanent residence. But those short visits taught me that the place is real, and it's where you have to go if you want to win.

Watch a winner!
The summer Olympics are coming up soon. You may be able to see from the outside what I'm talking about. I've seen clips of downhill skiers and high jumpers (especially high jumpers!) just before they started their run and they look like they've lost their minds. In fact, they're entirely focused inside their minds at these moments, mentally running the course and visualizing a perfect run or jump. If you were to ask them a question during this routine, they would not hear you - not the champions, at least. You can see them with their eyes closed and their heads bobbing up and down as the tape runs in their mind. Over and over they run the tape, seeing every step or move along the way, until any other type of performance is foreign and unrecognizable.

A 10-meter air pistol champion has to focus like that before every shot in a match. They have to visualize the ten before the trigger breaks. I have talked about this before - that once you get to a certain level of excellence, the trigger starts breaking without your conscious effort. You don't have to pull it, because your finger does it before you can think to tell it to. This is where thousands of hours of dry-fire practice come to bear on the subject. Your body is so used to the pistol that your finger knows to hold the shot until your eye sees the perfect sight picture. You cannot force this - it has to start happening on its own, and the catalyst that makes it happen is practice. Like I said, I have seen this level of concentration, but I have not devoted what it takes to make it my permanent shooting style.

Now if all this means to you is that a positive attitude is necessary to be a winner, you're missing the whole point. Attitude is meaningless, or rather, this goes way beyond attitude and intrudes forcefully into behavior. What you are doing is creating a mental image of the universe in which you intend living. The win is in that universe.

At this level of performance, a trigger with 5 grams of creep before the letoff feels like ten miles of bumpy road. A gun that flips up a half-inch at the muzzle feels like a .44 Magnum. The recoil of a 7.5-grain pellet feels like a bucking bronco. This is also where you learn to slow your heartbeat so the shot can occur between the bumps. It's not an easy place to find but the rewards make the journey worthwhile to those we call champions.

The AirForce Condor - Part 4 Micro-Meter tank

Andreas - this is for you!

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

When I started this series on the AirForce Condor, it quickly became apparent that our readers have a lot of questions about this rifle. I tried to answer those questions in the series, but as soon as I answered two, you asked me three more. There are two that are still unanswered, so today I want to get to one of them.

Andreas from Cyprus asked this question many months ago. I thought I could get to it quickly, but some problems delayed me until now. AirForce was out of 24" .177 cal. barrels and I don't own one. I had to wait for them to arrive and be processed before I could borrow one for this test. Andreas joined the military for two years just last week, so he may not get to read this report for some time, but I still want to do it now, just in case he can get to a computer that connects to the internet.

Andreas told us that in Cyprus only .177 caliber is legal to own, so even though he wanted a Condor, it had to be a .177. He wanted lots of shots for hunting small birds, and the Condor isn't really made for that. It gets about 20 shots on full power and perhaps 40 shots on reduced power, so one of our readers suggested that he buy the CO2 version of the gun that gets several hundred shots per tank. Well, it turns out that CO2 is also illegal on Cyprus! That left only the Micro-Meter tank with the special low-flow air valve, if one of the goals was a high number of shots.

In the time, since he posted the question, Andreas revised his thinking and now believes a Talon SS with an optional 24" barrel is probably more what he needs, but he asked me to do this test just the same.

How many shots can you get from an AirForce Condor in .177 caliber when using the Micro-Meter tank?

An unlikely pair
I doubt this test has ever been conducted, because it just isn't in the mainstream of the technology. The Condor is capable of 65 foot-pounds in .22 caliber, which is its recognized forte. The MicroMeter valve is capable of giving lots of low-powered shots for indoor shooting and plinking in any caliber. Today, these two converge in a most unlikely test.

I'll test the velocity difference between the power wheel on the lowest setting and the highest setting, and the velocity of a couple of heavy pellets on high power. I filled the Micro-Meter tank to 3,000 psi with a 12-year-old hand pump. It's entirely possible to fill an AirForce tank from empty (I've done it many times), and hand pumps don't have to break or wear out over time. There are two quick object lessons before we start shooting!

I cleaned the barrel in the recommended way with JB Non-Embedding Bore Cleaning Compound before testing. I used Crosman Premier 7.9-grain pellets for the bulk of the test. It really doesn't make any difference what pellet is used, as long as it remains consistent throughout the test.


These are the recorded velocities for Crosman Premier 7.9-grain pellets for the first 63 shots. Those shot numbers with three zeros, like shot number one, were shots where the chronograph failed to record anything. Shot 34 is probably a Crosman 10.5-grain pellet that was loaded by mistake.

We learned several things
The table shows several things. First, the total number of shots seems to be less than 100 with the Condor powerplant. I stopped at shot 63 because the velocity dropped below 790 f.p.s., but anyone can draw the cutoff point anywhere they desire. Second, if we use an average velocity of 833 f.p.s., which was certainly available for the first 30 shots, the Condor produces 12.23 foot-pounds of energy with a 7.9-grain Crosman Premier pellet. I expect that energy to rise slightly with a heavier pellet. The third thing we learned is that the power wheel does not control power when the Micro-Meter tank is used. So you might as well run the gun at the lowest setting. Finally, shot number 34 must have been pulled from a box of 10.5-grain Premiers that were sitting close to the 7.9s. In the second test you will see that's a velocity more appropriate to that pellet.

A second look
After the first string of shots the pressure in the tank had dropped to 2,250, which is pretty standard for a Condor. I refilled it with the pump, and that took 112 pump strokes, for those who like to keep score. On the second string, I decided to test the heavy pellets to establish the rifle's maximum power with the Micro-Meter tank.


The second string lasted six more shots before 7.9-grain Crosman Premiers dropped below 790 f.p.s. The numbers below 10.5 are for heavy Crosman Premiers and the numbers below 10.6 are for the Baracudas/Kodiaks.

String two has some slight differences from string one. First, it starts faster; second, it lasts longer. The differences are not large enough to concern us, but they do need some explanation. The first tank was stored overnight, then used the next morning, so there could have been a small pressure drop as the compressed air cooled. However, the tank was filled from a pump, so the temperature drop would not have been as large as if it had been filled from a scuba tank.

On the first string I adjusted the power to as high as it would go for 14 shots (shots 22 through 34). Although the velocity didn't appear to increase on those shots, it is possible that more air was lost that way. It just doesn't make a lot of sense, in light of the 24" barrel and the velocities that were obtained. The only other explanation is that the gauge on the AirForce refill clamp may have read slightly wrong or I may have misread it on the two fills.

Don't obsess over small inconsistencies like these, because you will always have them. However, the data are clear enough to catch obvious errors like shot number 34 on the first string. That one wasn't a blip in the gun or tank - it was the wrong pellet.

How much power?
The 10.5-grain Crosman Premiers averaged 761 f.p.s., for a muzzle energy of 13.51 foot-pounds. The 10.6-grain H&N Baracudas (Beeman Kodiaks) averaged 769 f.p.s. for a muzzle energy of 13.92 foot-pounds. That's seven-tenths of a foot-pound higher than with the 7.9-grain Premiers, so heavy pellets produce greater power in PCPs.

This much power
Andreas wanted to know if a Condor could be used to take small game when fitted with a Micro-Meter tank. I think this test proves that it can. He wanted a lot of shots. I thought we would see more, but the number we did get is quite useful. I don't know when he will see this report he waited so long for, but Matt61, who loves to relate life to novels, will tell us why I feel like the main character in The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman, because I'm posting this for Andreas without knowing when he'll read it.

The one Condor question that remains is one Mr. Experience has stated - that a Condor filled to 3,000 psi and set on a low power setting will soon float up to full power. Dr. G. agrees with him. This isn't anything I've ever tested, so that will be my next look at the Condor.

Gamo Recon - Part 1

by B.B. Pelletier

Those who follow this blog on a regular basis know that I am always on the lookout for an airgun suitable for young shooters. "Kids' guns" we used to call them. As I've reviewed them over the past several years, some basic facts have stuck in my mind. To be a success, a kid's gun has to be cheap. There is no way around it. People simply will not pay a lot of money for something they think a kid might grow out of. So, cost will always be a major factor with these guns, and the main reason why the Beeman R7, while suited to shooters of smaller stature, can never be considered a kid's gun.

Kid's guns have to be light, and easy to cock. They should have safety features that actually work to keep the shooter safe, and while a safety is, by name, such a device, it doesn't do what the name implies unless there is a solid foundation of gun safety training to go with it. The Recon's safety is manual, which most gun handlers prefer. The gun should not have a trigger that's too light, because nervous inattentive fingers can cause a disaster if the trigger releases at the wrong time.

The final feature I want to see on a kid's gun is a good set of adjustable open sights, because if we don't train the new shooter how to sight the gun, we have done him or her a gross disservice. Scopes are nothing but aids for greater sighting precision.


Gamo Recon is a dressy kid's airgun with modern styling.

The Gamo Recon has met most of the requirements listed here, lacking only one. It has no open sights, so a scope or dot sight is mandatory. The price is under $90 for the rifle with scope. That puts it on the high end of the price spectrum. A velocity of 525 f.p.s. pits it against Crosman's 795 breakbarrel that does have open sights but no scope and gets an advertised 600 f.p.s.

A look at the rifle
The Recon comes in a black synthetic stock that has a tactical profile. The butt has been skeletonized and has a thumbhole cutout, as well. A high rollover cheekpiece makes the rifle 100 percent ambidextrous. Contrary to many synthetic stocks these days, most of the butt feels solid rather than hollow. Only the pistol grip is hollow, and you can actually see up into it from underneath. The forearm is sculpted for an offhand shooter's hand to grasp, and I found it fit me rather well in the offhand position. The length of pull (distance from the center of the butt to the trigger) is just under 12-3/4", making the rifle suited to smaller shooters but not uncomfortable to adults of average size. The stock surface is textured but slick to the touch. The buttpad is a thick, black ventilated pad.


Pistol grip is hollow.

The receiver is metal, as are the trigger and safety blades. The barrel is a thin steel liner encased in a synthetic sheath. The outer surface of the barrel is fluted for a very technical look. It also makes the barrel fatter, which provides a better grip when cocking. Cocking effort on the test gun is just 16 lbs. - a full 3 lbs. lower than what's advertised. Light cocking is important on kids' guns, and this one is well into the range where younger shooters will be able to handle it. The weight of just over 4.5 lbs. makes it well-suited for kids, but also for adults who want a plinking rifle that won't weigh them down.


Barrel is a thin steel tube encased in synthetic material.


Muzzle is recessed inside outer plastic sheath.

The trigger is rated to break at 3 lbs., and I'll test that when I test velocity. It has a fairly smooth second stage, but of course the GRT-III trigger from Charlie da Tuna will fit perfectly and should lower the pull weight substantially.

I'll also report on the firing behavior when I do the velocity test. However, with just the few shots so far I can say there's some spring buzz when the rifle fires.

Starting your own field target club Getting and maintaining targets

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1

I started this series for Wayne in Ashland, but since we won't be running the Pyramyd Air field target course this year, I am going to present as many of the classroom segments of the course as possible in the blog. This is for anyone who wants to shoot field target but doesn't have a place to do it.

In Part 1, I told you how to start a club and how to find land for the field target course. Let me add that if you can't find as much land as you think you need, there are things you can do creatively to expand the use of very little land. Let's suppose that you can get access to a very small patch of land. It's 100 feet wide by 200 feet deep - that's less than one-half acre, or not much larger than a suburban tract house lot. But, it's large enough to hold a field target match under the right conditions.

If the downrange area (the area beyond the end of the plot and about the same distance to either side of downrange) is safe from accidental intrusion (people or pets walking through), you can fit about 7 or 8 field target lanes in the 100 feet without too much crowding. The 200 feet is the depth of your lanes, but here is a trick to multiply the number of lanes. Use two different firing points on each lane! I've drawn a diagram to make it clear how you do that. First everyone walks down path one, then they all walk down path two and engage the same targets from different firing points. Obviously the reset strings have to run back to the firing point farthest to the rear.


This small course is crowded but not overly so. By putting some targets in trees you can keep things interesting. Use the terrain to help divide the lanes.

How 16 targets become 64
If you count the number of targets on our hypothetical course, you'll see there are 16. But you will have each shooter fire two shots at each target, so that's 32. And there are two different paths to shoot from, so that makes a total of 64 shots we can get from just 16 field targets.

But where do I get my FIRST target?
I currently own about 10 field targets, but it took several years for me to acquire that many. There was a time when I had none. You read in the first part about how I was able to borrow 20 field targets from another field target club in my area, but what if you don't have one of those nearby? Well, do you remember the friend I told you to find? Here's where he pays off. You and your friend hold a field target-making party. Then you follow the plans set forth in the article on the AAFTA website, How to make field targets.

You can also buy field targets, but here's a tip. Don't buy too many of any one kind until you have time to evaluate them. At DIFTA, we found that targets from some makers were finicky and difficult to emplace and keep running (reliably) while others were no trouble at all. Once we learned what the good ones were, we bought them exclusively. There are more good field target makers today than ever before. Back in the 1990s, Rick Stoutenberg made targets that would function in almost any sort of situation. I don't know if he still makes them, but if he does, he's a great resource. Dick Otten's After Hours target company still makes targets, and his mechanisms are different but just as reliable as Rick's.

Of course, you can also buy ready-made Gamo field targets from Pyramyd Air. At just $20 apiece, these are a bargain. I've never used them so I can't comment on how reliable they are, but they have very good customer reviews.

The good thing about Gamo targets, besides the low price, is the ability to change the target faceplate with another animal silhouette. You can have quite a few different types of animals. They come with a huge 2-1/2" kill zone, but each target also comes with a set of kill-zone reducers of 1-1/8", 3/4", 1/2" and 1/4" - all very handy FT sizes. And, the replacement target faces also come with a set of kill-zone reducers.

You have to make money for the club
This ties in directly with the targets and other equipment. It all costs money. Nothing is terribly expensive, but 10 Gamo targets represents $200, and nobody is going to want to spend their own money that way. So, you charge for shooters to shoot every match. At DIFTA, we charged $10 a match, but we discounted $5 to those who helped set up or run the course. We didn't make a bucket of money, but it was enough to buy and maintain targets. We also started an airgun show that generated several thousand dollars in revenue. That went to the local Izaak Walton league, but we were favorably considered whenever we requested funds for our projects. However, if you feed cash directly into the FT club, it's yours to spend as you desire.

What do I mean by target maintenance?
The field targets do have a little maintenance, depending on the models you have. Lubrication of the hinge is the big one and general cleaning (knocking the dirt off) is the rest. But you also have target reset strings and hardware that has to be made and maintained all the time. You will start breaking reset strings in your first match, so some small amount of money will have to be spent on a regular basis. I used to paint the targets before each match and during the match at the lunch break, so the cans of flat black and international orange paint are a small ongoing expense. Every little thing adds up, and you'll want to have a budget to draw upon. In the beginning, the money comes out of the founder's pockets, and when you start holding matches they get repaid, plus you build a cash fund for club operations.

Next time, I'll tell you a lot more about the targets - like emplacing them, permanent stands (these are great!), reset string hardware and the art of maintaining a reliable field target.

Leapers base for RWS Diana rifles - Part 2Testing

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1

In the beginning, we learned a lot
When I started the Leapers base for RWS Diana rifles development project, I didn't know what all the variables would be, but that is to be expected in the beginning of any development project. Often, something that sounds dirt-simple will surprise you with nuances and variables you couldn't imagine before doing a little testing. Which is why the first two batches of prototypes I tried were complete failures. But, we did learn a lot of useful things from them; the most important was that an obvious approach toward making this base will absolutely not work. I'm not going to explain what we discovered, because Leapers deserves some consideration for all the effort they put into the project. It's enough to say that the obvious approach to solving this problem of barrel droop on Diana rifles does not work. Learning that lesson added several months to what I had expected to be a quick development.

What range would work?
Once we did discover a method of droop correction that worked, we uncovered several more surprises. Leapers allowed me to control the technical specs we were after, which shaved a ton of time off the development. I didn't have to test anything to know the ranges we were after with this base. I knew we wanted an initial zero of 20 yards, which will put all of these rifles back on zero at 30-36 yards. There is no other distance at which the trajectory is so flat within the useful range of any of the Diana spring rifles.

No two scopes alike
Now what I mean by "an initial zero of 20 yards" is that I wanted a scope base that put the scope at zero at 20 yards when the vertical reticle was adjusted somewhere near the center of its range. Every scope on the market has a different amount of adjustability range (the number of inches of adjustment from one end to the other), but they all have a center. If I could determine the best slope for every scope, so that no matter what scope was mounted they would all be approximately in the center of the vertical adjustment range, then airgunners would have the maximum number of clicks in both directions once they'd obtained a 20-yard zero. And, since the 20-yard zero really puts them on target from 20 to 30 (or even as much as 36 yards), depending on the velocity of the rifle and the pellet style used, this setup would give them the absolute greatest flexibility with their scope, regardless of the make or model.

Not everyone is an airgunner
This is not an insignificant fact. I have heard through the grapevine that some European designers have worked on a similar problem and selected 10 meters as their initial zero point. Ten meters is the worst possible zero point, because the scope and the barrel are not in alignment and must be made to converge. The scope has to be slanted downward to intersect the pellet in flight. By choosing a 10-meter zero, a scope would have to be on such a severe slant that much of its vertical adjustment would be wasted. You'd get only one or two yards with the pellet at the same height. With a 20-yard zero, the greatest amount of useful adjustability remains and the trajectory is the flattest over the longest distance.

What does useful range mean?
To determine useful adjustability, I took into account the fact that very few airgunners will ever attempt to shoot their RWS Diana rifles at ranges beyond 100 yards. In fact, very few will ever intentionally shoot past 50 yards. The fact that the gun will shoot farther is mitigated by the fact that nobody will use it that way. I selected the range within those limits over which the airgunner experiences the flattest trajectory, and they can adjust the reticle if they want to shoot at other distances. With that slope built into the base, the scope always has the adjustability for the other ranges.

A lot of drop!
When I discovered the amount of drop we had to build into it at 20 yards, it was stunning! The barrel was pointing so low we had to make a slope of more than 20 inches to get the scope to the center of the adjustment range with the reticle zeroed. I tested and retested to make certain the slope was correct, but it was. Then it hit me: What if all RWS Diana rifles don't have the same slope as the RWS Diana 34 Panther I was using for testing?

In fact, no RWS Diana air rifle has exactly the same barrel droop as any other RWS Diana rifle. They're each unique unto themselves. Diana doesn't intentionally build barrel droop into each gun. It just happens because of how the rifles are designed...mostly how the breech is made. I won't go into the reason why they're like that because we don't have time for it now, but a study of the design will reveal a barrel slope that's consistent within certain limits. Unless the barrel has been intentionally bent, it will always droop within those limits. However, that's true only for the breakbarrels.

Fixed-barrel droop
The fixed-barrel models also droop but not for the same reasons and not by the same amount as the breakbarrels, so I also tested the new base with an RWS Diana 460 Magnum rifle - an underlever rifle whose barrel is pressed into the receiver rather than into a pivoting baseblock. Because of this, the amount of downward slant may be more calculated than with the breakbarrel models. If the fixturing were totally random, I'd expect to find rifles that shoot high as well as low. While there are a few Diana fixed-barrel rifles that do shoot high, they're rare compared to the number that shoot low. In fact, you can just about bet that a Diana fixed-barrel will shoot low, though the amount of droop is less than that of the breakbarrels.

Not everyone needs one
Many scopes can actually be adjusted for the droop that a fixed-barrel RWS Diana rifle has, and because of that there are a lot of airgunners who don't even acknowledge the problem. Their scopes are all adjusted up nearly as high as they'll go, but they're on target and therefore satisfied. That may be all they need. If they never shoot beyond 40-50 yards, they may never run into the upper limit of their scope's adjustment. Those shooters don't really need this new base. But breakbarrel owners will hit the limit much sooner than fixed-barrel owners. Plus, everyone who wants to have some scope adjustment remaining will want the new base.

So what about the fixed-barrel owners? Do we give them the same base as the breakbarrel owners, or do we make a base just for them? The decision was up to Leapers, and they decided to do it right the first time. They made a second base just for fixed-barrel guns that was engineered to the slope I measured on the 460. I checked myself and tested the base on the 460 magnum as well as a sidelever RWS Diana 48 - another type of fixed-barrel Diana rifle. Like I said earlier, no two rifles will ever be exactly the same except by coincidence, but I did establish that the breakbarrels tended to be close to each other and so did the fixed-barrels.

Later testing
All this testing was proven in the third prototype which performed well, except that Leapers wanted to establish that the recoil shock shoulder was a better design than a vertical adjustment screw, so they built two different prototypes - one with the shock shoulder only and the other with the vertical pins only. Of course, by this time, there had to be a prototype set for breakbarrels and a second set for fixed barrels. I had to test both types of recoil restraint in the third prototype, and that added time to the development. In the end, the shock shoulder proved to be the superior design, and the vertical pins weren't needed.

I took the third prototype to the 2008 SHOT Show and talked with the engineer who was doing the design development at Leapers. We could have gone into production at that point, but Leapers wisely wanted to test the base as thoroughly as possible, so they built a fourth prototype that was essentially the finished base except for some cosmetics.


I discussed the third prototype with Leapers at the 2008 SHOT Show.

Fourth time's the charm!
On the fourth prototypes and also on the production bases, Leapers put both types of recoil stop - the shock shoulder and the vertical pin. Shooters who feel more comfortable with a vertical pin can have one, though everyone has to use the shock shoulder. It's really all you need. The base absolutely cannot move once it's correctly installed, because the recoil shock shoulder bumps against the front of the rifle's base and comes to a dead stop. It's the same thing we did by hanging the vertical stop pin in front of the rifle's scope base all those years. Now, there's a huge bearing surface, and the new base very nicely conceals the fact that the shock shoulder is hanging over the rifle's base.

I think in my next installment I will share some of the astounding test data with you (targets used to determine drop), plus I'll give you a review of installation - what little there is to say. This new base is the fastest, most reliable scope mounting system ever developed for a spring air rifle, and it will cut your scope installation time in half or less. Far less if you were also using adjustable mounts to get rid of the droop.

The FWB 124 - 30 years later

Introduction by B.B. Pelletier

Guest blogger
Greg Anderson fell in love with the FWB 124 years ago. After all these years, it's still his favorite, and in today's blog, he tells you why.

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The FWB 124 - 30 years later

by Greg Anderson

Everyone has a story about a gun he owns. After reading B.B.'s report on the FWB 124 - a classic pellet rifle some time back, I thought I would add my experience with the 124.

In the beginning....
I first read of the FWB 124 in a boilerplate magazine article about the best firearm of each general class of firearms. It was the usual article. The best shotgun was the Remington 870, best pistol was the M1911 and best revolver was some S&W kit gun. It was the kind of article we’ve all seen a hundred times. But what was different in this article was that it included an airgun.


The FWB 124...still a great gun 30 years later.

The airgun they puffed about was something called a Feinwerkbau Model 124. Well, I'd never heard of Feinwerkbau or their rifle, but when I read that it didn’t require CO2 or pumping and that it needed just a single cocking stroke to propel a .177 pellet at 800 fps, I was intrigued. Eight hundred feet per second was getting close to rimfire velocity, making this more than a teenager's toy.

My first adult airgun
I ordered a copy of the Beeman Precision Airgun Guide, and it had detailed information on the FWB 124. The catalog was also a wealth of information on what Beeman called "adult" airguns. Anyway, I was sold. I wasn't so much sold on airguns as I was on this particular airgun. It appeared to be powerful, accurate and a masterpiece of practical engineering.


My FWB 124 loves these pellets. Wish they were still made today.

I bought a new FWB 124D from Beeman around 1978 or 1979. Along with the rifle, I bought 10 boxes of Beeman Silver Jet pellets, which they recommended for the 124. At the time, Beeman was also pushing their overpriced scope, insisting that other scopes would be beaten to death by the recoil, but I passed on it. As I recall, the scope with mounts was around $100. That was a lot of money back then.

I called several scope manufacturers to see what was available for airguns. The folks at Weaver told me their Marksman K4 scope (4x32, steel body) would handle the recoil, and they'd adjust it for 50-yard parallax. In addition, they recommended mounts for the gun that would stay put under the sharp recoil of the piston slamming home. The mounts looked like the ordinary 3/8" dovetail units found on most .22 rimfires, except for a row of hardened steel teeth on the clamps. I installed this scope on the rifle with these mounts, zeroed it and started shooting. At that point I had about $400 in the gun, scope and ammo. (A year or two after I bought the 124, I ordered the new aluminum trigger to replace the plastic unit. It's still in the original bag. The plastic trigger just keeps getting the job done.)


Who says plastic triggers don't last? Here's the replacement aluminum trigger I bought for the 124, because I figured I'd need it down the road. I never installed it, and almost 30 years later the plastic unit still works like a champ!

Figuring things out for myself
I'd never used a spring airgun before and there was little adult airgun information available at the time. Generally, what little information there was came from Beeman. I found that shooting technique was critical. You could not zero the gun off a sandbag and then expect accuracy when shooting off-hand. You couldn't zero shooting off-hand with a sling and then expect accuracy from an off-hand snap-shot. I didn’t find that the loose hold advocated now was superior to any other hold. The one critical item for accuracy was that, regardless of how you held the rifle, you had to hold it exactly the same way for every shot. Once I got that figured out, the 124 became old reliable.

Over the years, I've used that little rifle to shoot just about anything you'd normally shoot with a .22 rimfire. While it's certainly no .22 rimfire in the power department, it's adequate for everything squirrel size and smaller out to about 20 yards. In fact, its lower power is an asset when shooting red squirrels or starlings off the side of my house because the pellet rarely penetrates the creature with enough velocity to damage my siding.

30 years old, but it's just like new!
I've used this rifle for nearly 30 years now. In spite of all the dire warnings of it being hard on scopes, I've never even had to adjust the zero. I've always used the Beeman Silver Jet pellets (8.39 grains, out of production for some years), so there was never a need to re-zero for another pellet. I have about 700 pellets left of the original 5,000, so that's at least 4,000 shots through the rifle. I recently removed the Weaver scope because my eyes are getting bad and I needed a scope with more focus adjustment in the eyepiece. When I pulled the mounts off the receiver the "teeth" on each mount had impressed a neat row of notches in the dovetail cut on the receiver. There was no evidence the mount had ever shifted in 30 years.


This Weaver scope really came through. My FWB 124 never shook it loose or shifted aimpoints.

As long as I was going to invest in a new Leapers 4x32 scope, I thought I should replace the piston seal and mainspring. I decided I would chronograph the thing before I tore it apart so I could have a benchmark for the seal and spring change. The chronograph showed the gun still drove Silver Jets at 780 fps and it made 830 fps with Beeman Lasers, so I just changed the breech seal and put on the new scope.


Old gun, new Leapers scope.

It's still my favorite air rifle
I have around a dozen modern airguns. I have three other rifles, all of them more powerful and newer than the 124, including a Beeman R1, an RWS 350 and an RWS 54. Yet, the 124 is still my favorite. It's the gun I always reach for if I just need to shoot something quick. It's light, effortless to cock, quick to mount, powerful enough, quiet and more accurate than I am. Yeah, maybe its trigger isn't perfect, but it's such an elegant little rifle in every other way that I can overlook the trigger. If I have one regret about the 124, it's that I didn't order it with a Beeman custom walnut stock. If I remember correctly it added around $165 to the 124D's price, which, at the time, was a lot of money. Still, in retrospect, I wish I'd scraped up the cash to get it.


The 124 in the Beeman catalog...it started a 30-year relationship that's still going strong.

To answer the old gun magazine question, "If you could own just one airgun, what would it be?" Well, even after 30 years, if I could only own one airgun, it would still be the Feinwerkbau 124. In my opinion, it's still the standard against which all other air rifles are measured.

Airguns are too easy!

by B.B. Pelletier

I have a lot of interests besides airguns. Recently, a friend gave me a small electric RC helicopter that awakened a desire to fly. It's good when I get to encounter new things, because it reminds me of the difficulties new airgunners face when they enter our hobby. Keeping that in mind helps me write more clearly.

Well, with RC helicopters there's a lot to learn. You don't just take up this hobby and immediately move up to the biggest and best equipment. You can't, because flying an advanced RC helicopter takes experience and skill. If you were to buy the biggest whomptydoodle RC helicopter on the market, you wouldn't even know enough to get it prepared to fly! That's good, because the moment you did you'd crash.


A newbie doesn't stand a chance flying one of these.

The same cannot be said about airguns. Any fool with money can buy an FWB 700 rifle identical to the rifle an Olympic shooter would use. Or, he can buy a USFT rifle without a clue how to use it or what it even does. He would be at no risk to himself or his equipment to own and shoot an Evanix AR-6 rifle, as long as he practiced the basics of safe shooting.


But anyone can shoot one of these.

With a .90 RC helicopter capable of 3D flight (that's a really big radio-controlled helicopter that can fly full aerobatics that even full-sized helicopters cannot duplicate), a beginner would have a flaming mass of ruined parts in no time. Life would severely correct the beginner's lack of experience and start him or her on a very expensive learning path.

But, anyone with money can buy an RWS Diana 350 Magnum - shoot it for an hour - and then complain to the world that it doesn't do everything the reports said it could. The air rifle doesn't burst into flames or reach back and slap the silly shooter in the face.

That's where the questions come from. Here's one I get all the time. "I'm having a hard time choosing between a .177 Benjamin Super Streak or a Career III 707 in .22. I want something that'll be accurate out to at least 75 yards but also quiet enough to not disturb the tenants in the next apartment. Which airgun should I buy?"

You SHOULD buy an IZH 61 or a Beeman R7 and learn how to shoot before talking about shooting 75 yards with an air rifle. That's what you SHOULD do!

But you don't want to do that. You want to go to the head of the line by starting at the top of the hobby. Tell me - where in your apartment do you even have 75 yards to shoot?

If we were playing violins, you'd want to own a Stradivarius, despite the fact you sound more like a jug band. Thank God a Strad costs millions of dollars, so only the very best violinists can afford to play them. And half of them don't even own the instruments they play - they're on loan for a lifetime by others who appreciate talent.


Even a Stradivarius requires talent to make beautiful music.

Please don't misunderstand me. I am not saying that you should be denied the best equipment until you prove yourself as a shooter. I'm simply saying that in our hobby it's too easy to own the very best without the skill to use it. Then, when he gets his Strad, he scratches the bow across the strings and says, "I don't see what everyone is talking about. This thing don't sound so purdy." No, it don't!

Now, that small RC helicopter my friend gave me is at the bottom of the heap of beginning RC helicopters. It is the RC helicopter equivalent of a Crosman 760. It doesn't even have the ability to hover. But guess what? After flying it for three months, I discovered that on my own, and I learned something about RC helicopters. I'm now ready to move up to one that can hover. But I'm far from being ready to fly that whomptydoodle model that looks so sexy in the hands of an expert. I may never get that far in the hobby - but at least I know it. That's what three months of experience has taught me.

My bio information listed at the top right of this blog says there are no stupid questions. I'll stick by that, because I want you to be able to ask about anything. That's what this blog is here for. But sometimes questions are asked before the person doing the asking has bothered to learn anything about the subject. I don't call those questions stupid, but they're uninformed. Here's an example, "I want to be able to hunt whitetail deer with an air rifle. I notice that a round ball shot out of a Big Bore 909 goes faster than a 200-grain pellet. I want to be able to kill deer out to at least 250 yards, so would I be better off using round balls instead of pellets?"

No - you would be better off:

1. Moving out of your apartment in Manhattan, where the whitetail deer are scarce.

2. Learning something about ballistics before using just one fact - velocity - to invent a universe that doesn't really exist.

3. Learning to shoot.

4. Waiting until you're 18 years old, so you can do all of this legally.

Today's blog sounds like a rant and it probably is. But I had to get it off my chest. I still love all of you and I want you to continue to ask your questions and try new things.

I, on the other hand, will concentrate on hovering.

When bad things happen Airgun accidents

by B.B. Pelletier

I'm talking about airgun accidents today - real accidents, not just the lies a kid tells when he's caught shooting another kid just to see what will happen. Bob C. asked for this one, but I bet a lot of readers will be interested.

Starting with springs
Mainsprings are usually under a lot of tension even when the gun isn't cocked. If you're not careful when you release the spring, something bad will happen. The first time I disassembled a Beeman C1 made by Webley I didn't use a mainspring compressor. The end cap that weighs several ounces got away from me and flew six feet before hitting a wooden desk drawer divider, which it broke in two. Now, this was not an accident. This was a "stupident." An accident happens when something you could not control goes bad - like a bridge collapsing during an earthquake. A stupident is when you do the wrong thing and get caught by fate.


The C1 end cap hit this desk divider to the right of the crack (see the dent in the wood) and busted it in two.

Another spring tale
A gentleman was disassembling a spring gun at an airgun show and did not have the use of a mainspring compressor. The spring got away from him (stupident - not accident) and flew across the aisle, hitting a person in the head. No real damage was done, but the hittee didn't appreciate the event! I heard this report from the person who was hit.

Spring gun stupident
At another airgun show, a dealer had loaded a spring gun with a pellet and realized he had nothing with which to extract the pellet. The gun was a low-powered pellet rifle, so instead of going to the trouble of walking outside the show and shooting into the ground, he put the palm of his hand over the muzzle and pulled the trigger. After all - it was just a low-powered spring rifle - how bad could it be?

Here's how bad - a friend had to drive him to the emergency room of a nearby hospital so they could dig the pellet out of the hand. It penetrated out of sight. I heard this report from an eyewitness. Ironically, the person who committed this stupident also committed the one before.

Two for one stupident
Sometimes it isn't enough that just one person is stupid. Two people are even better! I had a loaded Daisy No. 25 pump BB gun on my table at Roanoke (stupident number one) and while I was away from the table a guy came up and pumped the gun. He didn't want to buy it, he was just kicking the tires. My wife, who didn't know it was loaded, told him to uncock the gun, but of course that's not possible with a Daisy 25. So he put the muzzle on top of his shoe (to cushion the piston, I presume) and fired (the other stupident)! The result was instant and painful. He felt so embarrassed that he bought the gun. I only heard the story after returning to my table - whereupon I checked all my other guns to ensure they were unloaded!

CO2 stupident
At another airgun show, a dealer was disassembling a CO2 pistol that discharged during the work. The pellet that was in the barrel struck the leg of a man standing 20 feet away. The breech of the pistol was open when the gun discharged - otherwise the pellet would have penetrated the man's leg after passing through his jeans.

The worst CO2 stupident
I was sworn to secrecy on this story. The teller who committed the stupident told me I could tell people it happened but I was never to reveal his name. When you hear what he did I think you'll understand why he wants to remain anonymous. He was working on a Benjamin 252 CO2 pistol, trying to solder the sight fixture on the front of the barrel to the CO2 tube below. He knew there was a CO2 cartridge in the tube, but he thought he could do the job quickly enough that it wouldn't matter. You see, as CO2 is heated, the pressure increases. Soldering temperature is above 400 degrees F, so that raised the pressure of the gas high enough to blow the threaded CO2 cartridge cap off the gun! It buried itself in a wall but fortunately no one was hurt. He probably wouldn't have been just hurt. He probably would have been killed.

One from my wife
My wife remembers a stupident that could have been deadly. Here's her story: At the Little Rock Airgun Expo, a man in his 30s told me he liked to teach youngsters how to use and handle guns. One day, he had a pellet pistol while outside with a group of kids, when the gun jammed. He tried to unjam it but couldn't figure out what was causing the problem. For a closer look, he held the muzzle close to his eye and repeatedly pulled the trigger so he could examine the mechanism! He didn't realize what he'd done until much later, but the horse was already out of the barn, as all the kids in the neighborhood got to see how to "safely" handle a loaded gun! I am stupefied that he managed to live to adulthood!

Wrong gas stupident
PCPs run on air, but the hospital employee had access to tanks of oxygen. Oxygen is like air, isn't it?

NO!

But this kind of stupident is not that uncommon. Apparently some hospital employees are not trained in the dangers of pure oxygen gas.


This is what happens when a VERY HOT flame is held against aluminum for a long time! It looks like a cutting torch has been used on this gun from the inside out.


Note the discoloration of the anodizing. Forensic scientists use clues like this and the bending of the steel barrel to determine how much heat caused the damage and how long the fire lasted. An oxygen fire is a dangerous thing. This rifle was returned to Pyramyd Air as defective.

Recent stupidents
I have committed a couple stupidents in the past five years. One involved a Chinese rifle I was testing, and the other was a vintage German gun I bought. The pictures below tell the tale.


I shot the couch! Because the aimpoint was four inches above the couch, I didn't move it out of the line of fire, and a Tech Force 99 made this hole. It's been there four years, as a reminder of how stupid and lazy I can be. Believe it or not, my wife never said one bad thing about this stupident because I think she knows how bad I feel.


I let my guard down and the trigger of my new/old BSF 55N slipped when I closed the barrel the first time, putting this hole in the ceiling of my office. That's why I advise BSF owners to not adjust the triggers too light.

Stupid is as stupid does. I tell you these tales in the hopes of increasing your awareness of the potential dangers of our hobby.

Parker-Hale Dragon

by B.B. Pelletier

Okay, the field target course will have to be postponed until 2009. We didn't get the students we need. But we'll select some dates very soon and everyone will know when the first class is next year. I'm also looking into ways of reducing the length of the course to make it easier on the students.

Hey - what they ought to do...
How many times have you heard someone "invent" a gun he thinks ought to be made, only to discover that it actually was? I know this is a common occurrence for me.

One gun I hear about a lot is a powerful single-stroke pneumatic. After they discover the powerplant, some shooters become enamored with the fact that the single-stroke is pneumatic, so it shoots without vibration or movement and it takes only a single stroke of the lever to charge the gun. The only thing the makers forgot to do was make it powerful. So, these hopeful shooters do that in their mind and then wonder why the engineers overlooked such an important thing.

It's the same as wondering why the car manufacturers won't release that 100 mpg carburetor, now that we really need it.

Why don't "they" make a powerful single-stroke pneumatic air rifle?
"I would buy one in a heartbeat if airgun manufacturers would just get off their collective butt and design what 'we' want. We want a single-stroke pneumatic air rifle with enough power for hunting." That's exactly what Parker-Hale did. Or rather they accepted the design of an independent airgun designer and put it into production. A single-stroke pneumatic rifle with enough power for hunting.

Well, I lucked into a chance to see and operate a Dragon at the 2008 Little Rock Airgun Expo, and I knew I'd be reporting it to you readers someday. When a reader recently saw one for sale on the American Airguns free classified ads page, he asked about it. I answered his question and asked if he'd like a report, which brings us to today. Since I've never tested the rifle the report will have to be thin, but I've added some detail photos that you won't see anywhere.


The Parker-Hale Dragon is a large single-stroke pneumatic rifle that shoots like a PCP. The owner shoots his rifle at the 2008 Little Rock Airgun Expo.

Enter the Dragon
The Dragon is an 11-lb. single-stroke pneumatic air rifle that looks like a PCP with a pump added on. It shoots at just under the British legal limit of 12 foot-pounds, so those .22-caliber Crosman Premiers will probably be going out the muzzle between 575 and 590 f.p.s. Being middle-weight pellets, they have to be lower in energy so some super-heavyweight doesn't push the rifle over the legal limit. The lever is attached to the right side of the action and pivots near the muzzle. It swings through about 105 degrees of arc to compress all the air it takes to generate 12 foot-pounds.

Make no mistake, the rifle has the firing characteristics of a PCP. There is zero recoil and vibration when the shot takes off. Because of the low muzzle energy, the report is relatively low, too. About like a Sheridan Blue Streak with five pumps of air. Thank the longer barrel for that. And thank the weight of 11 lbs. (before adding the scope) for the stability of a field target rifle. The weight seems to come from the extensive - nay, dare I say universal, use of steel components and parts. The Dragon is a lead-sled, compared to a normal PCP. Most of that weight is in the extra pumping mechanism, but the use of steel in the parts is a driver, too.

Make ready!
Ever watch the film Patriot and thank God you didn't live at the time of the American revolution? Getting a flintlock ready to fire was no simple task. Well, if the rifles had been Parker-Hale Dragons instead of flintlocks, the revolution would probably have lasted a few more years. Compared to a flintlock, making the Dragon ready to fire is a chore.

I forget all of the steps to making the gun ready, but here are the ones I do remember. First, you simultaneously lift up on the safety button and push the trigger forward to set the valve. Then, you pop the pump handle away from the stock, but that requires you to pinch two sheet-steel cams together while simultaneously pulling them away from the stock. Once the lever joint has been properly freed, you swing the lever out and up to the top of its arc, just past the muzzle of the rifle. Next, you close the lever, compressing the air. Then, you cock the rifle, which retracts the bolt, allowing you to load a pellet. Close the bolt and you may be ready to fire. I forget if the safety comes on automatically at this point.


Before you push the trigger forward to close the firing valve, the safety button in front of the trigger is pushed straight up.


Once the safety is up and out of the way, the trigger is pushed forward to close the firing valve.


The next step is to pump the gun, but before that, the pump lever link is simultaneously squeezed together and pulled away from the stock to free the joint.


Now the pump lever is swung forward past the muzzle and then returned to the resting point alongside the stock. After that, all that remains is to cock and load the gun.

It may sound as if I am criticizing the Dragon's design as I describe the process to make it ready, but that's not my intention. I was given a rare opportunity to examine this strange and almost handmade air rifle mechanism, and I vowed to report the process to my readers, if and when I wrote about the rifle. Where else are you going to get this kind of information? I know for a fact it wasn't reported in the airgun magazines when the gun was new, because I was interested in this rifle for myself.

The trigger is light and crisp - just what you'd expect from a top-grade PCP. In its day, the Parker-Hale Dragon was on the pricier side of the cost spectrum, but it didn't last very long. As I recall the gun was available for only a year to 18 months before it was pulled from the market in 1997. Parker-Hale stopped making firearms and airguns of any kind in the year 2000. The Dragon is not a common model. That's why I told the reader who inquired that the $600 asking price for a non-functional gun was a no-brainer. It's no doubt worth twice that and more.

The bottom line
At this point a few thousand of you readers know a little something about an exotic airgun that had a very short life. That will not prevent someone from saying, "You don't understand. When I said I wanted more power I meant 30-40 foot-pounds. When is someone going to make a single-stroke rifle like that? And I'd like the weight to be 8 lbs. with a scope. Yeah, that sounds about right!"