Fun at the flea marketFinding a Haviland & Gunn BB pistol

by B.B. Pelletier

One of the things I miss about the days of The Airgun Letter was the local flea market my wife and I attended every Sunday for two decades. It was a gold mine for rare and vintage airguns--some of which I bought and others I let slip through my fingers. Today, though, I'd like to tell about the gun my wife, Edith, found. It turned out to be the best deal we ever closed at that market!

I have told this tale briefly in the blog twice before, but today you'll read the entire thing.

The Columbia, Maryland, flea market was held in the parking lot of the Columbia Mall. Once every month, it expanded many times in size and called it Super Sunday.

On the day in question, the flea market had actually become smaller and less exciting for us. It had already given up many super finds, and I guess we'd become jaded by our success. You know how it is. You go there with the idea of finding a new-in-the-box Sheridan Supergrade and are disappointed at having to put up with not one but two tinplate Sentinel BB guns for $100 each. As well-worn as they were, they were only worth about $600-800 each, so you wisely passed them up. Thank goodness they never had the bad manners to ever appear again! Unfortunately, neither did that Sheridan in the box.

On the Sunday in question, I'd gone to the flea market and made a quick pass-through on my own in the morning. Gotta get there early if you wanna get the worms! But this day, Edith was also set on going, so I went back with her that afternoon.

She was eyeballing the contents of a glass case filled with an assortment of trinkets...Avon containers, jewelry, scarves, wrist watches, plastic squirt guns and more. She saw a shiny object sticking up through the jumble and carefully dug in to pick it up. As she pulled it out, she noticed it was a gun. It didn't look like any gun she'd ever seen, so she asked the vendor if he knew what it was. He thought it was a metal squirt gun that was missing the stopper on the water reservoir. Edith turned to me and said that she didn't think it was a squirt gun, then offered the guy $5--and he was glad to get it.


Small cast iron pistol was a puzzlement to the vendor who sold it.

The pistol was a small cast-iron gun with screw threads in the bottom of the grip. I noticed that the base of the butt had a spring retainer plate screwed in, so I unscrewed it. Out came the spring retainer, a coiled steel spring and a steel rod with a leather washer in the shape of a fat doughnut between two metal plates. That was a spring-piston powerplant, no doubt. It had nothing to do with water!


Disassembly revealed a spring-piston powerplant. No doubt this is an airgun!

The pistol has a breech that is obviously sealed by a part this gun was missing. I assembled the parts after oiling the leather seal, then I loaded a .177 round lead ball in the barrel and held my finger over the breech. When the gun fired, the ball came out with some force! This was definitely a BB gun.


A breechblock is missing. It fits in the groove at the base of the breech to seal the air generated by the piston--another leather breech seal.

The Blue Book of Airguns wasn't published in those days, but if it had been I would have learned that we had a Haviland & Gunn model of 1872. According to the price guide in the latest book, the value today is about $500 for what we had, though a buyer might be willing to pay more, because of the rarity of the piece. The spring retainer plate is stamped with a May 21, 1872 patent date.


The gun is cocked by pulling down on the steel piston rod. Seeing those threads in the base of the grip, the vendor thought a water hose was supposed to be attached to the gun. It fit the story he made up, and I guess he believed it.

After showing the gun around at the next Roanoke Airgun Expo, collector Roger Blaisdell told me a friend of his would make a breech for the gun if I wanted. I had it made and the little gun actually fired after a fashion

Three years after Edith made her find, a friend of mine bought a rare Pope air pistol at the same flea market. My own list of finds from there runs into double digits, with some of them being quite remarkable. But nothing ever equaled that penny-on-a-dollar find Edith found that Sunday so many years ago.

A look back in time - the Beeman SS2 short scope

by B.B. Pelletier

You readers seem appreciative of the vintage airguns I show you from time to time, so today I want to show you something else that's old and wonderful. The Beeman SS2 is a short scope made for Beeman by Japanese scope manufacturer Hakko. When it sold from the mid-1980s until well into the '90s, it was part of a trio of short scopes Beeman offered. The SS1 was a 2.5x16 scope that was the smallest of the trio and the SS3 was a 1.5-4x16 scope that was just a quarter-inch larger. The SS2 was the largest and most feature-filled of the three.


The Beeman SS2 short scope looks right on this Diana model 27. It would need some kind of scope stop to stay in place.

At just a quarter-inch under seven inches long, the SS2 was one of the shortest scopes of its day. It was available as a 3x and a 4x fixed-power scope. Both had 21mm objectives; and because the mounts were built-in, their entire optical package was the same size. Despite being smaller than a one-inch tube, the SS2 has a bright exit pupil and the image appears full-sized.

The SS2 had adjustable parallax, and I was surprised when researching this report to discover that it went down to LESS than 5 yards! My own example seems clear at 12 feet. Shades of an early Bug Buster. In fact, it was the SS2 that primed me for the Leapers compact scopes when I first saw them at the 1996 SHOT Show. They were priced in the $35-50 range back then, while the SS2 was selling for $305 to $370! Yes, the SS2 was expensive.


AO rings goes well past the 5-yard mark. This scope is clear enough to see screw threads from 12 feet away. An early Bug Buster?

Illuminated reticle
The top-of-the-line SS2, designated as SS2L, came with an illuminated reticle. In those days, illuminated reticles were not common, so this was considered an important feature. Of the three SS2 scopes I've owned over the years, one had the illuminated reticle, plus I had all the color filters that went with it. The reticle was illuminated by a skylight overhead that brought ambient light to the reticle. Colored filters let the user change the reticle color to suit personal taste. There was no electric illumination, but a frosted dome was screwed over the skylight to gather ambient light from every direction. This proved very effective until the ambient light failed altogether.

Optically, the SS2 is a bright, clear scope. The low magnification guarantees that to a great extent, just as it does the close focus, but the optics were still very good for their day. Collectors will still pay premiums to get these scopes for their small bright optics, though I have to observe that a Leapers 4x40 Tactedge scope is just as bright and clear.

Integral mount
Another good feature of the SS2 is its integral mount. The 11mm jaws are held parallel by a set of pins that can be swapped to fit any size base in the 9.5mm to 13.5mm range that 11mm scope bases may be. Different length pins held the tops of the base farther apart or closer together and allowed the base jaws to be perfectly parallel and square to the receiver. Because the scope and mount are one, the scope tube cannot be rotated to level the reticle, so being square to the receiver is important. Many of the scopes that still exist will not have their pins any longer, so look for them if you want a complete set.


Here's the thousand-word picture. The pin you see is one of two (the other one is still in place) at the top of the mount to keep the jaws parallel and the scope reticle aligned. Every scope came with a set of pins of different lengths for different width scope bases.

The one drawback of this scope is the lack of a scope stop. It's ideal for pneumatic and CO2 guns, but there's nothing to prevent it from moving in the rails of spring-piston guns. However, there are many solutions for that. You can use either a separate scope stop, which will position the eyepiece farther forward. That must be taken into account. Or you can jam something in the scope stop holes on the gun and have it make contact with the integral scope base. That isn't the best solution, but it could be made to work in a pinch.

The duplex reticle was fine for the lower magnification offered by the scope, but many would find it coarse today. It's certainly not a target reticle.

Though the years have passed and other great scopes have entered the market, airgunners still hold the SS2 in high regard. It continues to command a value of several hundred dollars in trades at airgun shows. I have no idea what one is actually worth today, but I think it's more a case of what someone is willing to pay. Usually, it's safe to say that optics keep getting better with time, but this is one scope that may be an exception.

Diana 27 - Part 4

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Today, we'll look at velocity after fixing the Diana 27 breech with a new leather seal. Vince is our resident spring rifle expert, and he voiced some concern about the new seal being cut flush with the breech face. I admit to the same misgivings, but when I looked at other vintage breakbarrels, I've noticed they all look the same--a flush seal. And they all work well. I think maybe the leather acts in a dynamic way when hit with the high-pressure airflow from the transfer port. It moves to seal the breech.

At any rate, I tested the same pellets that were used in the failed velocity test before, so we have a direct before and after comparison.

Eley Wasps
Before the seal replacement, Wasps averaged 444 f.p.s. before oiling the piston seal and 225 f.p.s. after.

The Eley Wasp is not readily available anymore in the U.S., but I still have a few tins set aside for tests like this. It's very oversized for the .177 Diana breech. As a result, a considerable portion of the bottom of the skirt remains outside the breech. The Diana breech is cut on an angle; so when the pellet is seated, the bottom goes in last. The Wasp doesn't go in all the way. When the breech is closed, the pellet is actually damaged at this point.


Eley Wasp is a domed pellet that's large in both .177 and .22 calibers. It's not a premium pellet in price but does shoot surprisingly well in many guns.


Wasps are large and don't go into the barrel as deep as they should. Because the breech face is angled, this lip sticks out and gets damaged when the breech closes.


When the breech closed, it bent the lip of the skirt up. That's hard to see in this photo, but you can see where it smashed the side of the lip against the breech face. It actually did this on both sides of the skirt, but the field of view is so narrow that the opposite side is out of focus.

Because of that (I think) the velocity with Wasps was very erratic. They recorded several in the 588-620 f.p.s. range, but others went 242-269 f.p.s. I wondered about that and decided to seat them deeply in the bore with a ballpoint pen. That put them about 1/8" into the bore, where no skirt damage was possible. But it also delivered only the lower velocity range, and there was usually a spray of oil from the top of the breech. When I seated them just by finger pressure, there was no spray. Wasps don't seem to be a good pellet for this rifle.

RWS Basics
The RWS Basic is a wadcutter that weighs 7 grains. Before the breech seal was replaced, they recorded an average of 475 f.p.s. when the piston seal was dry and 212 f.p.s. after it was oiled.

After the seal was replaced, they averaged 658 f.p.s., with a tight spread of 650-666 f.p.s. They fit the breech very well and may turn out to be a great pellet for this rifle.

Crosman Premier 7.9-grain pellets
Before breech seal replacement, light Crosman Premiers recorded 580 f.p.s. before oiling the piston seal and 321 f.p.s. after. After seal replacement, they recorded an average of 588 f.p.s. with a spread from 577 to 595. They're a very good fit in the breech and will possibly be another accurate pellet in this rifle. Notice that they came the closest to the after velocity before seal replacement. I'm not sure what that means, but it's worth noting.

RWS Superdomes
RWS Superdomes seemed to be the least affected by oiling the former bad breech seal. They recorded 412 f.p.s. before oiling the piston seal and 393 f.p.s. after oiling.

After breech seal replacement, Superdomes averaged 591 f.p.s., with a range from 582 to 601. They fit the bore well and look like yet another candidate for an accurate pellet for this gun.

This breech seal replacement seems to have worked well. The rifle has all the power we expect from a Diana 27, and I note that much of the spring twang is now gone. That must mean the internals are in good shape.

The rifle has gone from average to excellent with just a breech seal replacement and a trigger adjustment. The next step is to pull it all apart and dive into the internals.

I'm currently under the gun on several deadlines, so the next report isn't going to happen soon. But I want you to hold me to it, because this is one rifle you will all want to see revealed.

Diana 52 - the tactical version Part 2

by B.B. Pelletier

Guest blogger
Mo's finishing up his Diana 52, as he converts it from a mild, unassuming air rifle into a tactical gun. If you'd like to write a guest post for this blog, please email me.

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.

Diana 52 - the tactical version
Part 2

by Mo

Part 1

In this segment, I'll paint the metal parts, reassemble the gun and add some tactical accessories.



Before and after pictures of the triggerguard.



The breech before and after sanding, cleaning and rubbing. I put more work into the breech after I disassemble the rifle.

Now, I'll prep the barrel.



I used double-sided tape to seal off the muzzle. Trim off the ends (before attaching the tape) so the front of the barrel gets an even coat. Use masking tape for the end that contacts the action. Always cover a large part as the paint tends to fly onto parts you dont want to coat.


Here's the barrel after 1 coat of primer, 3 coats of paint and 2 coats of clear. I removed the paint from the barrel due to a large scratch, then repainted it.

The cocking arm needed attention too. I did not disassemble it from the
action since it needed only a touch up. I covered the surrounding parts
with paper and masking tape. If yours needs a proper paint job, disassemble it and pay close attention to the joints and hinges. Painting them could hinder free movement. Quickly clean off those parts after each coat to prevent sticking. A light coat of mineral spirits on these parts before painting will prevent the paint from adhering.


The cocking arm painted and drying.

Now, to the buttpad, which is made of three parts:

1. A white plastic spacer that contacts the stock wood.
2. A black rubber spacer that contacts the plastic spacer.
3. A thick brown rubber end that contacts the black spacer.

It takes a bit of work to separate these components. I cleaned the black rubber and the white plastic thoroughly to get them back to their original condition. Then, I installed only the white plastic sleeve and the black rubber part. The end pad was discarded so it doesn't spoil the new look. Plus, the scope relief feels better and so is the hold because the rifle now has a shorter pull. Of course, you may not like a shorter pull, so you'll have to consider that when you transform your rifle. The only flipside is that the buttpad cannot be rested on a smooth surface since only the screws make contact.

Here's the finished rifle.








Here are some general tips I'd like to pass along to you. If you've done a lot of painting, you may already know this:

Each coat should be a full coat to maintain consistency.

DO NOT paint the stock in installments as the coats may dry as different shades.

Monitor how the paint responds to different holds, distances, etc., and use it to your advantage for a perfect the job.

Once all the coats have been completed, give it a couple of days to dry
completely. Paint may appear dry on the outside, but will need 12 hours to fully dry. Leave it for a few days and then apply the clear.

Once the painting is done, give it a couple coats of clear following the same guidelines. Just because it's transparent doesn't mean you can slack off. If not done properly, clear coats will ruin all your work. If done properly, they'll preserve and showcase the finish for a long time.

Wait for a couple days before reassembling it and shooting.

To complete the look, I fabricated a muzzle weight/suppressor and had it painted in matte black. It' made of steel with aluminum alloy baffle inserts and is secured with two grub screws. A suppressor is legal in England but illegal in the US unless licensed. More info about silencers and airguns can be found here.



Seen here with the silencer attached. It's the same diameter as the action and 20cm long.

I do a lot of my shooting seated. The 52 is very forgiving when it comes to hold, so decided to attach it to my camera tripod.


Tripod mount that attached to where the sling stud used to be.


This is the tripod. It's a Sony VCTR640 and extends from 20" to 60" high. Costs $49.99.



Here's the rifle mounted on the tripod. The groups didn't suffer one bit.

Now I can say for sure that the rifle shoots as good as it looks!

Diana 27 - Part 3

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2

If you can remember back to the .177 Diana 27 I started testing in December, you'll remember that the breech seal was destroyed and needed replacing. Several readers suggested I use a modern synthetic breech seal, but I wanted to keep the look as original as possible, so I opted to try a leather breech seal first.


This is the old breech seal. Bits of leather have torn out and an oil spray comes out of the breech with every shot.


You can see the groove the new seal must fit. This photo is like an Escher print until you decode it in your mind. We're looking at a breech that's pointing up--away from us. The groove for the seal is wide and flat and there's a stub of the barrel in the middle. This is where the new leather seal has to fit.

I was going to cut out the new seal with a razor knife, but someone pointed me to a set of nine punches that Harbor Freight sells for $5, and I could hardly argue with that price. Of course, shipping more than doubled the cost, but it was still a no-brainer. What I wasn't prepared for was how nice the punches would be. They are well beyond my expectations and went a long way toward making this job an easy one. They took a couple weeks to arrive; and when they did, I went straight to work.


Nine good punches for five dollars is too good to pass up.

I knew the leather belt I used would work for this job because I've used it for similar projects in the past. But for those who wonder, I measured it with a dial caliper and found it was thicker than the depth of the breech groove.


I measured the leather belt to make sure it was thick enough to make a good breech seal.

I foolishly thought this job was going to be straightforward and quick. Boy, was I in for a learning curve! The hard leather belt chosen for the seal material resisted the punch, making it impossible to cut. However, I've worked leather before and know wet leather works better than dry, so the belt went into the drink for several days. After that, the punches cut it like warm butter. I backed it with a 4x4 timber when punching, and that soaked up the force of the blow so the punches didn't dull.

The outside diameter of the seal was easy to cut, and there'gs a punch in the set that is within a few thousandths of being the exact size. When I tell you how I work the seal into the groove, you'll appreciate that a few thousandths is immaterial--it's an exact fit. So, the outside was easy to punch out. It was the inside hole that fought me.

There's an inside punch that's also very close to the outside diameter of the breech stub. That one will cut the inner hole--making a leather doughnut to fit into the groove at the breech. But this time there was a real problem. The outside of the punch is tapered. When it cuts the hole, it also squeezes the leather away from the hole it has just cut. That makes the hole too large. It took several attempts to discover this.


The taper on the outside of the punch spread the inner hole too much when cutting the leather. I had to use a smaller punch to get the hole the right size.


Once I discovered how the job was done--a thoroughly wet leather and cutting the inner hole first--the job went fast. Notice that the bottom three seals are torn. That's because I cut the inner hole last and used too large a punch. The top three seals don't look nice, but any of them will work well, because they will be mashed into the seal groove.

Also, no matter how carefully I worked, I could never get the center hole in the exact center of the outer hole. It just didn't want to cooperate. So I sat there wondering what to do next, and that's when it hit me. I was working with leather! Good old pliable, malleable leather. It didn't HAVE to be centered! The way to finish this job is to pound the leather seal into the groove and trim it to the right height. The wet leather will flow into every crevice that way, and when itll be the perfect shape when it dries.

To get the best possible shape from my work, I cut the inside hole first. If it looked good, I then cut the outside. Doing it the other way ruined every seal I made.

I selected a seal that was close to the fit I wanted and pressed it into the open breech seal groove of the gun, with the finished side of the leather down toward the bottom of the groove. I used a plastic mallet to hammer the seal into place until it seemed to go in no farther. The hammering spread the leather in all directions, so I know it fits the groove perfectly. At that point, I had a mass of leather spread out all over the breech, but you would have thought from a glance that it would never fit properly. The final step was to trim the leather flush with the breech face, giving me the fit you see here. For this trimming, you need a razor-sharp knife, and maybe some of you will remember that we had a lively discussion on this blog about sharpening knives. I used an Opinel kitchen paring knife, sharpened on my Warthog sharpener that I reported on at the end of this report.


This is what is in the gun now. It's flush with the breech and looks good.

After trimming, I oiled the seal heavily over the next several days. The oil soaked into the new seal, giving me what you see in the photo.

And how does it work? Well, you'll just have to wait for the next report to find out!

VZ35 and VZ47 - two interesting military trainers

by B.B. Pelletier

I promised this report to Chuck late last year, and now we have another annonymous reader who wants a military "BB gun" with more power than the Crosman M1 Carbine. Well, neither one of these rifles is really a BB gun, but the round lead balls they shoot look enough like BBs that many people think of them that way. These two air rifles are perhaps the finest military trainers of all time!

Please forgive the black and white photos. I took them from the files of The Airgun Letter, because the color slides are too time-consuming to locate. But the color images I show convey the warm look of the VZ35.


VZ35 is a handsome full-sized military trainer. This one is missing the upper handguard.


VZ47 looks nice by itself, but suffers next to the older 35.

History
After World War I, the allies imposed restrictions on the defeated nations regarding the firearms they were allowed to make and use. They also imposed limits to the types of forces they could raise and maintain. At first there was strict adherence to the rules, but over time the guard was relaxed and creative things were done to circumvent the restrictions. The military training airgun was a direct result of this, though there had been a BSA artillery trainer several decades earlier. But the two Czechoslovakian airguns we will see today are intended as airgun analogs for military service rifles. They look the same, and the earliest one--the VZ35, could accept the same bayonet that was standard on the CZ 24 Mauser rifle of the era. I owned an example of both rifles for several years, which gave me the opportunity to test and shoot them at my leisure.


VZ35 has a bayonet lug that accepts the same bayonet as the CZ24 rifle. Note the robust end cap!


In contrast, you can see how the 47 was made to be cheaper to produce. No bayonet lug and look at the stamped-metal end cap.

VZ35
The VZ35 was made by the Czech State Arsenal in Brno before World War II. The label VZ35 means model 35, or something to that effect. It was a stand-in for the Czech service rifle, the Mauser CZ 24 that some experts consider one of the finest model 98 Mausers ever made. Certainly, no one can fault the Czech arms-making ability then or now.

The air rifle is full-sized, weighing over 9.5 lbs. and measuring 43.5" overall. It's the same size as the Mauser it copies. The stock on mine appeared to be made of blond ash or oak, but many of them seem to be made of dark beech. All the metal is highly polished and deeply blued except for a few parts, like the rear sight leaf, which are left in the white. The stock has two sets of sling swivels, allowing the soldier to sling it underneath or along the left side.


The VZ35 butt has two sets of sling swivels


VZ35 forearm has a matching set of swivels. You can see the place at the top of the band where the upper handguard goes.

Bolt-action
The bolt-action is unique. At rest, the bolt sticks straight out to the right side. When you want to cock the rifle, swivel the handle straight up, where it aligns with another length of lever concealed inside the stock and action. Aligned like that, they make one longer lever that is pulled back and down to pull the powerful mainspring and piston into lockup with the sear. It takes a powerful pull to cock this rifle.


Lift the bolt handle up like this, then rock it straight back to cock the rifle.

Gravity-feed magazine
Both rifles have a gravity-feed magazine that I used when helping Daisy fight their lawsuit from the Consumer Products Safety Commission, which tried to claim that Daisy's gravity-feed BB magazine was flawed. With these two examples and a Gatling gun, I showed them the weakness of that argument, which proved to be the last argument in their case. They reached an out-of-court settlement shortly after their lawyer was shown how reliably such mechanisms work. Since you have to hold the rifle in a certain position to work the bolt when cocking, the BB was always ready to drop into the loading trough once it opened. On the 35, the magazine is a fancy steel funnel located atop the receiver. You pour 4.4mm lead balls into the space until it's filled, then snap the spring-loaded cap in place to secure them. After that, the rifle can be fired as fast as the shooter can work the bolt.


VZ35 magazine is gravity-fed through this hopper. Those are 4.4mm copperplated lead balls.


On the 47, the makers simplified the flip-up magazine cover to a sliding sheet metal cover.

The firing mechanism is a classic BB gun type--part catapult and part spring-piston. The catapult gets the ball moving, then a sharp blast of air accelerates it to its 425 f.p.s. top speed.

A rifled barrel imparts a spin to the ball that delivers half-inch groups at 5 yards and decent groups at 10 meters. The rear sight is graduated out to 25 meters, but I found accuracy dropped off pretty sharply after 10. Since everything works on both models, they can be used to teach safe gun-handling techniques with far less danger, not to mention cost. When the soldiers were ready to graduate to their 8mm Mausers, the 5-lb. trigger-pulls must have seemed light compared to the 11-12 lb. pulls on the air rifles.

Airgun writer and collector Larry Hannusch wrote about seeing a sporter variation of the VZ35. It lacked the upper handguard and the military end cap/bayonet mount. He thought that was a special model, since the ones he'd seen were missing the national crest, but my own 35 was also missing the crest and the upper handguard. And mine had all the military mountings on the stock. I think there was some kind of soldier send-back program that caused the rifle to be disassembled and that's where the handguards went. As for the missing crest, I can offer no explanation.

I had occasion to completely strip and overhaul the VZ35, which is how I learned about the BB gun nature of the internal parts. The mechanism is very complex, and I don't recommend anyone following in my footsteps. No velocity improvement seemed possible at that time.

VZ47
After WW II, the Czechs produced a simplified second model they called the VZ47. In function, it copies the VZ35 closely, but many corners were cut to lower production costs. The 47 does not accept a bayonet, and all the hardware is made from stamped metal instead of forgings. Everything is thinner and lighter, resulting in a rifle that weighs about 8.5 lbs.

The finish is also noticeably of a lower standard on this rifle. The bluing is matte and not as deep as on the older airgun. The wood finish seems lacking and nondescript. However, if a VZ47 was all you saw, you'd be impressed. Only by association with the 35 does it suffer.

An importer brought in several hundred VZ47 rifles in the 1990s, and I helped them spread the word. The first batch retailed for $225 and the last batch for $260. The rifle was just as accurate as the older airgun, and many of them had unit markings on the stock.

Production air rifles will never again be made to this quality level, which is why I go to the airgun shows as often as I do. You wanted to see some bolt-action air rifles? Well, here are two of the best.

.177 Gamo Big Cat - Part 2

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1

First, a big THANK YOU to all the volunteers who are answering reader comments for me. Your help has given me back a couple hours a day, and it has made a difference.

Today, I'll look at velocity of the Gamo Big Cat. Before I do, I want you to know that I spoke with the new Gamo CEO Lou Riley at SHOT, and he confirmed that the company is now finishing the trigger parts better than before. That's why I noticed such a big improvement in the trigger-pull during the first test, and you will, too. The trigger is now a real two-stage with a repeatable first-stage stop. It comes out of the box feeling like a vintage Gamo trigger with 4,000 shots on it. I can't say enough good things about how much better it feels.

Second, I remember that the Whisper was a delightful gun because of easy cocking. Well, the Big Cat is exactly the same. The breech detent is light but smooth, and cocking is a dream. Only 26-27 lbs. is needed to cock the rifle--almost as easy as a youth gun. With the power potential Gamo advertises, that's a Beeman R9 by another name. No Rekord trigger, of course, but it's also less than one-third the price.

Air Arms domed field pellets
Air Arms domed field pellets are made by JSB, I believe. They weigh 8.4 grains and are ideal for a spring rifle of this power. They averaged 906 f.p.s., and the spread was from 899 f.p.s. to 919 f.p.s. That's just 20 f.p.s. for a brand-new spring rifle! The energy calculates to 15.31 foot-pounds for the average velocity.

RWS Hobbys
The 7-grain RWS Hobby is the vintage speed-demon of pure lead pellets. It averages 983 f.p.s., with a spread from 971 to 996. Gamo advertises the Big Cat at 1,000 f.p.s. with lead pellets and this is pretty darn close! The muzzle energy comes out to 15.02 foot-pounds.

Raptors
Gamo's own 5.2-grain Raptor is the only lead-free pellet I tested. It averaged 1151 f.p.s. with a low of 1133 f.p.s. and a high of 1167 f.p.s. That's a total spread of 34 f.p.s. for a pellet close to the sound barrier. Not too shabby in my book! Muzzle energy averages 14.71 foot-pounds for this one. Gamo advertises 1,200 f.p.s. with PBAs, so it's off by a little but in the same neighborhood. I tell you guys and gals, I'm pretty impressed by all the performance I'm seeing here.

Gamo Master Point
Another Gamo pellet, the Master Point, was the only one of the four that fit tight in the breech. It's a pure-lead pellet that weighs 7.9 grains, so it's in the same weight range as the Air Arms dome. They averaged slightly slower than the Air Arms pellets at 905 f.p.s., and I think the tight fit is the reason for that. The spread went from a low of 893 f.p.s. to a high of 919 f.p.s. Muzzle energy calculated at 14.37 foot-pounds.

The test rifle shoots with almost no vibration. The easy cocking, smooth trigger and smooth shot cycle combine to make the Big Cat a winner in my book. It's easier now to see where all the good customer reviews are coming from. There is but one more hurdle to clear--accuracy.

Diana 52 - the tactical version Part 1

by B.B. Pelletier

Guest blogger
Mo bought a used Diana 52 and converted it into a tactical rifle. He took some great pictures that give you a step-by-step reference in case you want to do the same thing. If you'd like to write a guest post for this blog, please email me.

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.

Take it away, Mo!

Diana 52 - the tactical version
Part 1

by Mo

When Diana saw success with the model 48, they asked themselves how to make the 48 better. The answer was the model 52, which had a Monte Carlo stock with a raised cheekpiece.

Now, that was nothing but a cosmetically enhanced model 48. Of course, the increased length of pull benefited some. But that just wasn't enough. The 52 could look different. Really different.

Enter the Diana 52 Tactical.

Before we go into the works, here's the setup:

• Custom-tuned with V-Mach Venom Kit. You can also use the Air-Venturi Pro-Guide and get similar results.
• Bushnell Legend 5-15x40 scope with mil-dot reticle.
• Uncle Mike’s quick-detachable swivel and studs. Here a similar product.
• Remington leather sling. Here's a sling with swivel and studs included.

Here's a shot of the gun before my changes.




Notice the buttpad in the above two pictures.


The barrel that broke my heart with the bluing or lack thereof!

The buttpad clearly needed replacement if it was to complement the new look and do its job. For the time being, I took a shortcut to make it match the rest of the gun.

Before you start...
Before you paint your stock, practice on a cheap stock or another piece of wood identical to the stock you're going to paint. Observe how the paint settles on the wood. Find out the optimum distance to ensure the thinnest, most consistent coat.


These are the paints I used...which were spray cans. If you have a compressor, use it. I didn't use the thinner shown to clean the gun. To clean the stock, use surgical spirit (called rubbing alcohol in the U.S). The thinner was used to remove paint from metal parts if needed.

Let's get down to work!
First, separate the stock from the action.



Remove all parts from the stock--triggerguard, buttpad, slings, studs, rails, bipods, etc.

Make sure all surfaces to be painted are free of dust, dirt, oil and grease. If the stock has any damage, tend to that first.

See if the checkering has thinned out anywhere. Use a toothpick or something similar to try to deepen the checkering. The same method can be used to remove excessive paint from the checkering. DO NOT apply multiple coats here. Multiple coats will thin the checkering. Once you achieve a satisfactory coat, mask it with tape after it's dried or the tape will peel off the paint.

Caution: Remember to paint in a well-ventilated, dust-free area. Don't paint near an open flame or where there's a risk of sparks flying (cigarettes, fireplace, etc.). Wear gloves, eye protection and a mask over your mouth and nose. Make sure everything you need during the job is within easy reach.

Sand the wood, as this will make sure the paint sticks to the surface. If it's not properly sanded, the paint may peel and chip. Don't remove too much wood and be especially careful around the checkering.

Paint in one direction to get a consistent finish. Don't spray sporadically or hold the spray too long onto one particular area. Use a fluid motion. If you miss an area or if it's too thin, it'll get covered in the next coat.

I shake the can between coats and clean the nozzle after each coat to prevent droplets from spattering.

Start with a coat of wood primer and the apply the first coat of paint


Here, the first coat has been applied over the primer. The light areas will be covered by the second coat.


After the first coat has dried, I applied the second coat. The stock now appears evenly painted and darker.

I used a toothpick to remove excess paint from the checkering--after it dried. Then, I masked the checkering and added another coat to the rest of the stock.

Depending on the paint and your climate, it may take from a couple of hours to a day for the paint to dry. After each coat, look for deformities, missed areas, etc. Missed areas can be given a short extra blast and deformities can be sanded to perfection.


The final coat has been applied and the stock is now drying.

If you dust or if fibers stick to the paint, do NOT try to remove them immediately. The paint tends to stretch if it's cleaned before drying. You can rub out these after the paint has dried.

In part 2, I'll paint the metal parts, reassemble the gun and turn it into a real tactical rifle.

The 2009 SHOT Show report - Part 2

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1

I remained at SHOT two more days, so one report just isn't enough.

Daisy
I already reported on Daisy, but I didn't touch on their 1888 commemorative gun. They've recreated the wire-stocked first model BB gun they made back in the 1880s, when they were still the Plymouth Iron Windmill company. These fully functioning BB guns will be produced in one lot of 1,000 guns--making them as rare as the originals. An original Iron Windmill gun brings $10,000 and up today.


First Daisy BB gun is reproduced in this limited edition replica.

To reserve one for $300, you have to join the Friends of the Daisy Museum and reserve a gun. This will be an instant collectible when it's issued.

Umarex USA
I shudder to report on the Umarex booth because they have so many brands it would make a report in itself. But I shall make an attempt. They have a new Makarov CO2 pistol, called the PM, that's a 16-shot BB gun. I'll test it as soon as possible, but the velocity is reported to be 380 f.p.s., so there are probably lots of shots per cartridge.


New Makarov is a looker.

They also have a new HK P30 BB pistol and a USP pistol that I'll try for you. Both are highly realistic and both shoot in the 360 f.p.s. range. The P30 holds 15 rounds, while the USP has 22.


HK P30 pistol is very realistic.

Walther
The Walther SG9000 is a tactical BB shotgun that shoots single shots and 3-round bursts. This one uses an 88-gram cartridge. It resembles an airsoft gun, but this one shoots steel BBs. Loaded with tactical mounts for accessories and no buttstock--just a rear pistol grip.

Ruger
Ruger added the new Blackhawk rifle, an Air Hawk in a black synthetic stock. Shades of the RWS 34 Panther!

Hammerli
The Hammerli Pneuma is a new single-shot PCP rifle that delivers over 1,000 f.p.s. in .22 and 1,200 f.p.s. in .177. The styling is modern (black and tactical), and I got the impression that it might compete on price. As soon as I can, I'll test one for you.


New Hammerli is a powerful PCP sporter.

Browning
Browning's model 800 pistol is a breakbarrel single-shot that offers smashing power (up to 700 f.p.s. is what the ad says). It has an anti-recoil system, so it's either recoilless or has less recoil. I hope to test it soon.


Browning 800 is a powerful new springer pistol.

RWS
RWS has a new breakbarrel pistol as well--the LP8 Magnum. It's another smasher that comes in both both .177 AND .22 (hurrah!). Like the Browning, it's rated to 700 f.p.s. in .177, so it's not slow by any means.


RWS will bring out another screamer called the LP8.

Also, the RWS droop-compensation sight base was shown. While it has been out for a while now, I have held off reporting because there were some design issues. I was told they have been resolved, so there's another log for the fire!

All things considered, Umarex USA wore me out! But there was more show to see.

Leapers had a ton of exciting new products, including a host of new scopes, tactical flashlights, green lasers and M4 platform airsoft guns with upgrades. I saw a pistol scope they say we'll see the middle of this coming year! And they have a new type of scope knob that's quickly lockable and resettable. There's a lot to test.


Leapers president, David Ding, shows me his new lineup.

They're now selling a green laser for under $100! They sold for over $300 a few years back. Green lasers are bright enough to be see in the daytime at long distances and have been the traditional lasers of law enforcement. I'll put it to the test for you.

Their tactical flashlights are a real bargain price. The ones I saw will force compliance at night, giving you time to run or to swing a baseball bat. Anytime you can do that for less than $100, it's worth exploring. I'll try to convince Pyramyd Air to carry them, because I think they'll make a wonderful addition to a carry gun.

Russian PCPs
You know those Russian PCPs that everybody has seen on the internet? Well, they were there, and they appear very well made. But they're not ready for production yet. It seems the company is having difficulty finding shops who can hold their tolerances in manufacturing quantities, which is the same problem we find everywhere. When they do become available, though, they'll be something to see! They had several models, as well as very nice cutaways to show the inner workings. I hope to see them again next year.


Russian PCPs appear well-made and attractive, but they're not ready for production.

Air Arms
Air Arms had a new EV2 stock on display, and I wanted you to see it. Both the buttplate and cheekpiece are mounted on a ball swivel so they can be positioned anywhere and locked down. Great idea. Wish'd thought of it.


EV2, which won the world FT championship, has a new stock.


Cheekpiece and buttplate are mounted on a ball swivel.

The show was so much larger than what I have shown you here. I'm sure there were new airguns there I didn't see. I estimate that I saw only a third of the show, so that's a safe bet. The Airgun Breakfast was a wonderful start and the show blossomed before us with the talk of the new television program. I was running too fast between appointments to take it all in. This year is going to be a landmark for airguns.

For the Rekord! - Part 2

by B.B. Pelletier

Guest blogger
This is the second installment of Vince's guest blog about the fabulous German Rekord trigger and the Chinese copy of it. If you'd like to write a guest post for this blog, please email me.

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.

Now, on to our guest blog!

by Vince

Part 1

Machining
As expected, the stamping and machining is cleaner on the German original; but where there's a sliding interface between two surfaces, the parts on the Chinese gun are smooth. Since my B20 is a fairly high-mileage gun, I think it's safe to say that these areas were worn smooth rather than delivered that way from the factory. The German-made trigger also exhibits this same effect, although the smoother factory surfaces make it less obvious.

Rough-from-the-factory sliding surfaces translates into greater friction, which translates into greater trigger effort. But the only sliding surfaces that could affect trigger-pull are the interfaces between lever 4 (the trigger) and lever 3a, and between 3b and lever 2 (refer back to the first image in part 1).

Since the design of the trigger and the four levers works to reduce the sliding friction that the trigger blade feels, it turns out that those surfaces are lightly loaded. And where there's little load, there will be relatively little friction. So, while the feel of a new BAM trigger tends to improve as the parts wear in, the improvement might not be as pronounced as it would on a cruder design. The two-lever affair (found on the old BSA Meteor and the Shanghai B3/B4 rifles) or the three-lever arangement (used in the Gamos, the Crosman Quest variants and the Remington Genesis) probably have more to gain through the break-in period than the B20/B26 trigger.

While the machining of individual parts in the BAM trigger group is not as good as it is on the much-more-expensive Rekord, any disadvantage here will likely be minimal and eventually go away. Of course, the tinkerer can always help matters along by disassembling the trigger and working those areas himself. Again, there might not be as much to gain as on some other guns.

Geometry
The third thing that needs to be compared between these two mechanisms is the exact geometry between the parts. Are the pivots located in the same relative positions, and are the lever moment arms the same length? This can be critical, as subtle changes in geometry can translate into significant changes in behavior.

To evaluate the geometry of levers 1 through 3, I measured the relative position of the pivots for those levers. Since the levers are almost identical to their Rekord counterparts, this should help complete the picture.

Without going into all the details, I can say that the pivots for levers 1 and 2 are in the same relative locations to each other. But there's a difference in the pivots for 3 and 4. On the BAM unit, both pivots are closer to the front of the trigger by about .020", which is a bit more than one would expect just from production tolerances. But the distance between the pivots, which is the more important dimension, remains about the same.

While I was playing around with the partially disassembled trigger units, I noticed that the seocond stage on the BAM assembly seemed to lift levers 3a/3b a lot quicker than on the Rekord. To confirm my suspicions, I measured total trigger travel (measured at the tip of the trigger lever) and compared it to the total lift imparted to lever 3a (measured at the forward engagement adjusting screw):



The lift/stroke ratio on the BAM trigger turns out to be .66, on the Rekord the same value works out to .53. So the BAM trigger is lifting the lever about 25% faster than the Rekord, which means it has less mechanical advantage and therefore is going to take more effort. That 25% is an average of both the first and second stages. Since the first stage seemed about the same, the percent increase in just the second stage is going to be even greater than that.

This led me to believe that the trigger profiles (where the triggers meet lever 3a) must be different. Unfortunately, this was one thing I couldn't observe with the triggers still installed. Despite my earlier resolution not to undo any factory peening, I drifted out the trigger pins and pulled out the blades.


When compared side by side, it becomes obvious why they lifted at different rates (Chinese on the left, German on the right).

The nubs on the Rekord trigger for the first and second stages consist of steel pins set into the aluminum trigger blade, but on the BAM gun the nubs are part of the steel trigger. The first-stage nub is located in approximately the same position on both trigger blades, but notice how the second-stage bump on the BAM trigger is further away from the trigger pivot pin. It lifts faster but loses mechanical advantage, and that's where the trade-off of greater trigger weight comes in. This situation is exacerbated because that second-stage bump then contacts lever 3a closer to its pivot pin, which further increases the lift rate and thus the pull weight.

This trigger profile seems to be THE culprit in making the BAM trigger operation inferior to the Rekord. Why the trigger was designed like this is anyone's guess, and I'm not even gonna go there because, frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn. I just want my trigger improved.

At this point, the rest is easy. How easy? About 5 minutes with a Dremel tool, and that's because I didn't feel like going out to my workshop to use the bench grinder (which would have done it in about a minute). I cut back the rear of the trigger to give me a new second-stage bump in pretty much the same place as the Rekord trigger.


About 5 minutes with a Dremel too, and my Chinese Rekord trigger looks like the German version.

Back together with the BAM trigger group to evaluate the results. I didn't bother measuring the new lift-to-stroke'ratio because, well, I simply forgot! Besides, the proof's in the pudding, as they say, and I wanted to try out that trigger. I was anxious to find out if the feel improved as much as I hoped it would and if the trigger would still fire the gun. Now that I got the mechanical advantage I wanted, the trigger has to move more. It was possible that the trigger would run out of travel before tripping the sear. But I didn't think this should be a problem, and as it turns out...

I was right!

The trigger works great, and the difference in feel between the BAM trigger and the real Rekord has largely evaporated. The B20's trigger has an ever-so-slightly softer transition into the second stage, probably because I should have dished the top of the trigger between the first- and second-stage nubs. And it's still just a smidgen heavier in the second stage than the Rekord when set to the same first-stage tension (about 4 oz. or so). Realistically one can hardly feel the difference, but it did have me wondering until I remembered the stiffer trigger spring in the BAM unit. That's probably the reason for it. No matter, as I said the difference is minimal. Realistically speaking, the B20's trigger is pretty much as good as I'd want it.

As a side note, I'm going to mention a trigger issue I've seen on the BAM B26 model, which is supposed to be the improved and better-built version of the B20. And from BB's latest test of that gun, I suspect that his gun suffered from the same problem. In both these guns, there was no discernable second stage in the trigger. Since the stock BAM geometry produces a rather drastic increase in pull-weight when the second stage is reached, this seems rather odd. As it turns out there WAS no second stage in the gun I was shooting, and for a very simple and fixable reason.

If you look at the diagram of the trigger mechanism (refer back to part 1), you'll notice that there's a metal tab sticking down that functions as a forward stop for the trigger (lever 4). Now, imagine what happens to the trigger blade if that tab is located further to the rear. The trigger starts moving through the first stage; if the tab is back far enough, the trigger is completely through the first stage and starting on the second. Well, that's exactly what happened on my B26. Maufacturing tolerances, I guess, had that tab too far to the rear. A little grinding or bending (I don't remember which I did) allowed the trigger blade to come forward more. Voila! My first stage was back.

There you have it. Did BAM really copy the Rekord trigger? The answer has to be a qualified yes. They did a fair job of it; and with a little massaging, you should be able to just about replicate a real Rekord's excellent characteristics. Why on earth did BAM make it a little different? Who knows! Seems strange that they would come so close and then stop just short of delivering a very good airgun trigger. Fortunately, it isn't that hard for the owner to take it the rest of the way.

The 2009 SHOT Show report

by B.B. Pelletier

The Airgun Breakfast kicked off the show with a real bang! First, Josh Ungier of Pyramyd Air presented Shotgun News editor Bob Hunnicutt with a plaque that honored him for his editorial support of the airgun community. Next, the NRA presented their Youth Shooting programs and introduced the ambassadors from each of those programs. The airgun community was amazed by the numbers of young shooters in this country. Then, Paul Capello aired the trailer video about American Airgunner and the room went wild! To a person, the attendees, who are the movers and shakers in the worldwide airgun community, proclaimed that television was a dream come true. Wherever we went, we heard the same remarks throughout the entire first day of the SHOT Show.


Joshua Ungier (r) presents a plaque to Bob Hunnicutt, editor of Shotgun News.

The first news came from the Gamo booth, where we saw a new breakbarrel called the SOCOM Extreme. The Whisper is being revised to be even quieter than before.


Gamo SOCOM Extreme.

The Hunter Extreme will now be available in .22 and .25. So you hunters have a choice of breakbarrels once more.


Gamo has added .22 and .25 calibers to their Hunter Extreme lineup.

But the biggest news in the Gamo booth was the new BSA R10 PCP that was on display. The "R" stands for regulated, and the rifle is a completely revised S10 that is a much sleeker version of the rifle. It now features a full shroud and a quick-fill port that allows the air tank to remain on the gun. I'll get one of these as soon as they become available. I smell a fight with the S410 in the offing.


This new BSA PCP is going to give some European guns a run for their money!

Scott Pilkington has a new M16 upper PCP target unit for the new Service Air Rifle class in the CMP. I hope to get one for testing when he gets into production. Imagine an upper that fits your AR-15 and is a target pellet rifle unit. I guess I have to get me a black rifle now!


Scott Pilkington holds a nifty new invention that'll turn your AR-15 into a pellet shooter.

At Crosman, I saw the real Marauder, which is somewhat different than the one shown on the internet. And the new 10-meter target rifle is completely changed from what you've seen. The adjustable triggers on both rifles are the same and are adjustable down to a gnat's eyelash, which is to say very light and crisp.


Heather Parcells, co-host of American Airgunner, holds the new Crosman Marauder.


Heather and the new 10-meter target rifle from Crosman.

At Beeman, I saw the HW30S, which isn't a new rifle by any means, but it is a rifle Beeman is now importing. The new 30S has fiberoptic sights front and rear and the Rekord trigger. The stock has the long forearm that extends past the barrel pivot bolt.


The HW30S is now being imported by Beeman.

Beeman also had a very intriguing second target rifle--the FWB 500, which looks like a budget-priced target rifle. It just arrived, and they had no information on it. It'll take some time before a price will be available. Heather Parcells, the co-host of American Airgunner, found the rifle lightweight and adjustable enough for her tastes. I think a lot of plinkers will want one if the price is good.


FWB 500--a perfect fit!

At Daisy, I saw a new powerful underlever spring rifle called the 1025. It features a unique barrel-loading mechanism. There was also a full-dress CO2 pistol called the Powerline 5502 that includes a dot sight, tactical flashlight and a laser on a very sexy-looking pistol.


Daisy's new underlever spring gun.

Speaking of lasers, Leapers has brought out a green laser that will be bright enough for use in the day. The retail will probably be under $100, which represents a two-thirds price drop over similar equipment. They also have several very sharp new scopes with all the bells and whistles. I'll do some reports on them when I get them.

The final products at Leapers were several new tactical flashlights that I hope will be stocked by Pyramyd Air. I've used my lights for several years and find them invaluable for a multitude of jobs--not to mention self-defense.

I did lots of other work yesterday, but those are the new guns for now. Bear in mind this was only the first day of the SHOT Show and already my feet hurt!

For the Rekord! - Part 1

by B.B. Pelletier

Good morning! I'm attending the Airgun Breakfast at the 2009 SHOT Show in Orlando, where the airgun community is being shown a trailer video of American Airgunner--the first television program devoted entirely to airgunning! Remember the big bore hunt I went on, back in November of last year? We were filming the pilot episode, from which the teaser was made.

I'll get a link to the trailer for you shortly.

American Airgunner is a half-hour video magazine that explores all aspects of airgunning. We chose big bore hunting for the pilot for several reasons. One, because it's so amazing that such airguns exist (the wow factor) and that they are capable hunting arms. Another reason is because the outdoor networks will recognize big game hunting, even if they've never heard of airguns that can do it.

We are meeting with potential sponsors at the SHOT Show and hope to have the bulk of the first season budget nailed down by the show's end on Sunday. This will be a prime-time broadcast of 13 episodes the first season. We have not finalized which network we'll sign with, so I can't tell you where to watch for it, yet.

I write the show, and Paul Capello is the host. We have secured Heather Parcells as our co-host, and I can tell you she is a dynamic and attractive young lady, as well as being very polished on camera.

There will be a website, and we'll be in-tune with our viewers. So, there's the possibility of another airgunning website on the horizon.

Guest blogger
Vince wrote today's guest blog. If you'd like to write a guest post for this blog, please email me.

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.

Now, on to our guest blog!

by Vince

When Weihrauch developed the 4-lever Rekord trigger system a few decades ago, a new standard in airgun triggers was set. Here was a trigger with a genuine 2-stage action that could be adjusted to give a very light and crisp second stage and be safe while doing so. If you pulled the trigger though the first stage and released it, the internal mechanism would reset itself to the just-cocked position. There are quite a few trigger designs that can't do that; and if you released the trigger after pulling it part way, the internal mechanism would stay right where you left it. This could be right on the edge of the second stage and very close to firing. Since the trigger blade will probably return to its normal position (it usually uses a separate return spring), the shooter might not even know he or she is handling a gun that might be unstable and could go off if bumped or jarred.

The Rekord trigger, installed on several Weihrauch guns (and the Beeman-badged variants), quickly established itself as the one to beat. But as the old saying goes--if you can't beat 'em, join 'em--and that's where the Chinese come in.

China had been making low-quality airguns for quite some time, but BAM (Best Airgun Manufacturer) was genuinely trying to produce a better product. They produced close copies (not clones, mind you, the guns were never identical) of Gamo and Diana rifles and of the Beeman R9 (Weihrauch 95). The R9 Chinese copy was called the B-20. The later (and slightly revised) version was the B-26. They sold for approximately one-third of what the R9 sold for and was supposedly equipped with the same fabulous Rekord trigger.

Of course, it didn't have a REAL Rekord despite what the ad copy always suggested. It was understood that it was a Chinese COPY of a Rekord, and exactly how good a copy was always a matter of debate. Some shooters claimed it was very good, others that it was horribly unsafe. Personally, I exchanged a B20 after it went off unexpectedly upon closing the breech and punched a hole in a wall, although I eventually learned what caused that mishap and how to prevent it. I did get the trigger on the second one adjusted and found it to be pleasant and reliable once I figured out how to keep the tensioner from backing out during use.

Still, I always wondered--if the B20's trigger was nice, how much better would the real Rekord be? I thought I'd never own a real R-series Beeman or the Weihrauch equivalent, being the cheapskate that I am, but I found a gun shop that had a used R10 sitting on the shelf. I thought the asking price was a steal, so I jumped on it.

Turns out that the price was, well, so-so, and the gun had a bad piston seal to boot. But it DID have a real Rekord, and I'll be darned if it didn't feel nicer than the trigger on my B20. With a smoother and lighter second stage, the real Rekord certainly lived up to its billing. When I looked at the mechanisms side by side, I sure as heck couldn't see what the difference was. I don't like mechanical mysteries, so I decided to find out the differences.

I removed both triggers from their respective rifles (which does not require pulling the spring), dismantled them, and compared the parts and construction. There were three general categories of comparison I was looking at: overall trigger design, quality of machining and lever geometry. I wanted to find out--for the Rekord (sorry!)--exactly what was the same and what was different between these two triggers.


This is a clear, functional diagram of the workings of the Rekord trigger. We'll use this as a reference for the rest of this article.

Overall Design
I dismantled the triggers as far as I could take them easily. I wasn't looking to grind off any factory rivets, welds or peening. As it turns out, both triggers had 2 pins peened in place, so I initially left those alone. Besides, I believed I could find out what I wanted to find out without disturbing those pins.


This is what I found when I laid out all the parts side by side (German Rekord is on the right).


As for levers 3a and 3b, which remained inside the trigger group, this is what they look like from the top.

It's pretty obvious that BAM had copied the design of the trigger--lever-for-lever, screw-for-screw, spring-for-spring and pivot-for-pivot. With the trigger assemblies apart, there are few detail differences visible to the naked eye that distinguish one from the other. The outer shell is dimpled on the Rekord, smooth on the BAM. BAM uses a black finish on levers 1 and 2, the Rekord has a bright (probably nickel) finish. The Rekord trigger blade is made out of aluminum, steel on the BAM. The forward face of the Rekord is grooved, while the BAM trigger is smooth. The head on the tension-adjuster screw is larger on the BAM trigger and the screw itself is shorter. The rear triggerguard screw fits into a threaded hole on the Rekord but into a semi-captive nut on the BAM unit.

So far, it doesn't look like there should be any functional differences between the two.

When I started measuring everything, I found that the exact dimensions of most of the parts vary a few thousandths here and there (and pin diameters vary), but certainly not enough to seriously impact trigger performance. The two hairclip springs were virtually identical, although the trigger-return springs were not quite the same. The Rekord spring was made from a slightly thinner wire and had one more coil, which means that it is softer than the BAM spring by about one-third. Since this spring operates directly on levers 3a and 3b, which in turn are lifted directly by the trigger, this tells me that the BAM trigger effort will rise faster than the trigger effort for the Rekord. So I've got at least part of my answer, but I'm thinking there might be more to it than that.

There was one other significant difference I found at this stage of the comparison. The rear locating bushing on the BAM trigger was located about .035" further forward than on the Rekord. This has no bearing whatsoever on trigger operation, but it does insure that the trigger assemblies cannot be easily interchanged.

Unfortunately, I had no way of quantifying the relative hardness of the steel used in either trigger. I would expect the German original to be harder, but I have no way of knowing for sure. But the well-used B20 trigger parts betray no sign of excessive wear, so I don't believe the Chinese copy is particularly deficient it this respect.

Read the second part of Vince's guest blog on Monday, Jan. 19.

B.B. tells all - Part 2

by B.B. Pelletier

Good morning. In a few hours, I'll be on my way to Orlando and the SHOT Show. I just wanted to congratulate our own Wacky Wayne, whose raised beds were the editor's choice in the current issue of Organic Gardening magazine. Wayne is now beside himself, having one of those bittersweet moments in life when the walls fall down and the dancing girls come in. I'm speaking of more success than a business can stand.

He'll survive, because everyone does. On the other side, he'll be wearing a broad smile on his sleepy puss. Right now, though, he's busy putting out the fires he started. Well done, Wayne!

For today's blog, Mo asked if I would change anything in a post I made back in June 2006--BB tells all. It was an answer to a new reader named Cesar who had the same kind of questions I often see from new readers. I don't know if Cesar still reads this blog, but since Mo wanted to know if my answers would change today, and CJr seconded his request, I thought I would update that blog post for you.

Here's the original post, with my updates in italics:

Today I'd like to answer several questions submitted last week by new reader Cesar.

What is the best air rifle, right out of the box, that you have ever owned?
Spring rifle - TX200 Mk III (SEE, CF-X guy?). Actually a Whiscombe is slightly better, but since John Whiscombe has stopped making them, there will be no more boxes to take them from.

Still holds true

Spring pistol - Diana M10

Still true

PCP rifle - Talon SS from AirForce

Today it's a tie between the SS and the Benjamin Discovery.

PCP pistol - I didn't own it, but I did shoot an FWB P34 that I loved

Still true

CO2 rifle - Crosman 160

CO2 pistol - Crosman 600

Yes to both

BB gun - Daisy No. 25 pump, 1930 model

No change there, either

What's the best group you have ever made?
I once shot a 5-shot group at 40 yards that was so tight, a .22 pellet would not fall through. It was shot with a 12 foot-pound British Skan R32 PCP rifle.

That's still the best group ever.

What is your favorite air rifle moment?
I like the moment in the movie A Christmas Story, when Ralphie gets his "Red Ryder carbine-action 200-shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing which tells time." Even though no such BB gun ever existed, it was nice to see a young boy get the object of his dreams.

That's still the best airgun moment I have, however, I forgot to mention that my wife, Edith, made a moment like that for me years ago. I knew I was receiving a Beeman R1 for Christmas (the rifle that gave me the idea for the R1 book). What I didn't know was that there was going to be a SECOND air rifle under the tree that year. It was a tuned Beeman HW77 carbine that I had agonized over after seeing it at Atlantic Guns. I really wanted it but thought that one air rifle was enough. Edith obviously thought otherwise and completely surprised me that Christmas.

Now, Cesar, I'd like to answer a couple questions you didn't ask (but I wish you had).

What's the stupidest airgun ever made?
The Wham-o Kruger cap-firing BB pistol takes this honor. If there is a weaker BB gun on the planet, it wouldn't be able to shoot BBs all the way out the barrel. A new Kruger will fail soon enough and fall into that category.

Now that I have written a big article about Wham-o airguns and firearms for Shotgun News, I have to temper my remarks about that BB gun. It's still the stupidest one ever made, but now I like it a lot more


The Kruger used toy caps to propel a BB almost as fast as a three-year-old-child could throw it! The guns usually failed after about 50 shots.

What's the best airgun for the least amount of money?
Does anyone think there could POSSIBLY be an answer to that question?

I still feel the same about this question. It's like trying to say that if they are cheap enough, lima beans taste just as good as Godiva chocolates. No, they don't, and no amount of money will ever change that.

How far will an airgun shoot?
How long is a piece of string?
No. Hao Long is a village in Vietnam.

Same thing. There cannot be one right answer to a question like this. And, after you explain in detail why that is, the questioner says something like, "I understand all of that. I just wanted to know how far my Gamo Hunter Extreme would carry."

Then why didn't you ask THAT?

It is often said that a powerful airgun shooting a diabolo pellet will shoot out to 500 yards and no farther. In American Rifleman, I once read that a rifled slug from a 12-gauge shotgun had a maximum range of 800 yards, so the 500-yard range sounds correct; but as far as I know, it has never been tested.

DON'T FORGET
Tomorrow's blog will be published later than usual. It will go live at 7:30 a.m., Eastern, to coincide with the Airgun Breakfast, where we will reveal our secret to the airgun community. You will be the first to learn about it among those who are not at the SHOT Show.

Also, I will try to publish Friday's blog from the SHOT Show. There won't be many words, but pictures of some of the interesting things I see during my first day at the show.

Walther Lever Action CO2 rifle - redux

Introduction by B.B. Pelletier

Guest blogger
CJr wrote today's guest blog. If you'd like to write a guest post for this blog, please email me.

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.

Now, on to our guest blog!

by CJr


Walther Lever Action CO2 rifle...a magnificent replica by any standard!

I just got a Walther Lever Action air rifle. Long-time readers of this blog may remember that B.B. wrote a three-part review of it back in June 2008. I can't improve on that review. Read his if you're interested in this gun and then come back to mine. All I'm doing is adding my personal impressions to his detailed description.

It almost feels like Christmas again
The package was delivered today from Pyramyd Air. It was over $150, so shipping was free. Because it included CO2 (40 cartridges!), they shipped it ground. Besides the gun and CO2, I also ordered some pellets and Pellgunoil for the rifle. I was all set to wait for the five-day delivery, but it arrived in two. My heart rate has increased at the anticipation of opening the package!

First, I slid the gun boxout of a protective cardboard box. A box within a box within a box. Cut tape here, cut tape there, now the box is opened...and there it is. What a remarkable replica! Dark wooden stock and black receiver and barrel. Looks like a Winchester 94 to me. Very pleased!


Here's a picture of the rifle if you haven't visited B.B.'s review yet.

Let's savor its externals before going to work
Picked the gun up. Seems smaller than I fantasized. Like movie stars when you see them in person, they don't look as big in real life as they do on the silver screen (I must go to the gun shop soon and see if I can hold a real one and compare). But this one has good heft, feels like a firearm, is solid and has excellent quality. All metal including trigger, hammer and cocking lever. However, the front and rear sights and the barrel bands are plastic. Doesn't make sense. Shouldn't cost that much more to make them metal. The front sight is hooded (plastic also). Not sure if that's authentic. Looks good, though.

I don't know what kind of wood is used for the dark reddish-brown stock, but I like it. The finish is slightly rough to the touch, not smooth and shiny. The carving of the upper stock from the receiver to the comb is beveled with angular edges rather than a smooth, rounded contour. I don't think it's authentic, but I like it. It is, in my imagination, what I'd expect if I was to go buy one at the Wagon Wheel general store in Durango in 1894. From the comb on back, the upper and lower buttstock is rounded like any other rifle stock.


Notice the angular carving of the stock in front of the comb. It adds an antique look to the stock.

OK now, let's put 'er to work
I took the gun down to my indoor range and got out the tin of RWS Hobby pellets. I want to use these since they're tried and true and, well, they're already opened. When I used them up, I loaded a few Gamo Match.

But wait, I'd better put in the CO2 before I shoot. I pulled out the apparatus that holds the two 12-gram CO2 cartridges. I see two already in there--bonus, I incorrectly think (more on this later). I lock it back in. Removing and reinserting it works smooth and positive. I'm pleased.

I loaded up the two magazines that came with the rifle. Nice! They're metal, not plastic. Very good quality. The eight pellets fit snugly. I have to press them firmly to get their tails flush with the holes. They definitely won't fall out if you turn over the mag. There's a slot in the right side of the receiver with a hinged door that looks and acts just like where you'd put in the cartridges, just like the firearm. Except that no cartridges go in it. Pressing it releases and pops open the magazine loading door. The mag has a hole in the center. Slip that hole over the post in the door, close the door and I'm ready.


Here's a look at the breech before inserting the magazine. Note the mounting post above the red strip, which puts pressure on the mag so it doesn't spin freely.


Here it is with the mag inserted.

Time for some shootin'!
I cocked the lever to chamber a round. Now were talkin'! It feels just like the real thing to me. This is what I was looking for when I ordered the gun. I aim down range. It feels comfortable, reach is good for me, hits my shoulder right. The rear sight is a standard blade. The front is a post in a tubular hood. I take careful aim, pull the trigger and..."click." Whoops! I check everything over, check safety, it's off. Must be the CO2. I remove the CO2 apparatus. Everything looks good. Put another twist on the cartridge seating bracket thinking maybe they weren't seated for transit. Try another shot...nothing but "click." Turns out the cartridges inserted in the gun were empty. Well, that's ok. I suppose they were used to test fire the gun and left in as shipping protection for the cartridge seats, or to keep air pressure in the gun, maybe. I pulled out the old, drop in a drop of Pellgunoil in each seat (you see B.B., I do pay attention), insert two new cartridges and I'm ready to shoot.

Replacing the cartridges was easy. I didn't like tightening the CO2 cartridge bracket down because it took a lot of effort, and I couldn't tell when the carts were pierced. I was very afraid of over-tightening and ruining the gun on my first venture. I reread the directions and it said to tighten until the handle stops, then back off and lock in place. I guess, maybe, it can't be over tightened unless you go past "stop."

Now that the bugs are worked out....
Shooting the gun was fun and fast, with a very audible pop and everything I hoped it would be. The report is loud at the muzzle, louder than any of my springers or single-stroke pneumatics. It has a distinct pop to it. If you want to shoot discreetly, this won't do it. I don't think this is news to you experienced shooters. I understand this is typical of CO2.

I'm terrible with open sights, so I can't speak about accuracy. B.B. covered that very well in his review. I believe him. I did hit several 8 and 9 rings and one X. I don't have a chronograph, so you'll get no techie stuff from me.

I went through those first two CO2 tubes pretty quick and felt like I got a lot of shots. The mag holds eight pellets and I found it hard to count to eight, and there's no external way to tell how many shots are left so I had quite a few dry fires. I found I could open the mag carefully, count, then carefully close and keep on counting as long as I didn't move the mag. I also noticed that, even though I pressed the pellets in tight, firing jars some of them loose and they'll fall out if you're not careful while opening.

Let's do a little pellet counting
On the second set of CO2 cartridges, I tried to count how many shots I got before having to change. I counted out 75 pellets and placed them in the tin lid. I remembered B.B.'s review using 60 as optimum, but I'm here tonight to have fun not win a contest. With my poor use of open sights, I stayed inside two inches at 10 meters for the whole 75, plus about 5 extra dry fires because of my can't-count affliction. I loaded up two more magazines and still stayed within two inches on the first then started dropping off on the second. I loaded up two more and started shooting six inches low and progressed inch by inch off the paper. It dropped that fast.

One more little bug
While shooting, I also adjusted the sights. I had to adjust the rear sight up two clicks. That was easy to do. I was shooting left alot so I adjusted the front sight left until its base was flush with the mount. That's a lot of left. I had to figure out how to adjust the windage on my own because the instructions didn't tell me how. It just said that if you're shooting left...adjust left. Yeah, but how do I move the thing? Turns out it's a friction fit. Just slide it the direction you want it to go. No screws to turn, no ratchets to ratchet, just slide it. Is that cheesy? No way to lock it in. You have to remove the hood first but that just clips on in some grooves. Carefully pry it off with a flat blade. I would imagine the front sight becoming loosey goosey in its mount if it was adjusted very often. This is the only part of the rifle that I really didn't like. I could scope it but I don't want to. Rooster Cogburn didn't scope his, did he?

One final point
There's a special safety under the stock that the cocking lever must return to and hold in or else the gun won't fire. This is no problem and requires no extra effort on the shooter. After cocking and returning the lever to the shooting position, it snaps up and presses in the safety. B.B. said in his review that the rifle he tested didn't have this feature but mine does. They must have added it later or given him a prototype.

My final impression? It's almost exactly what I was looking for (getting rid of the plastic would get rid of the word "almost"). It's fun to shoot, it's well made and it's a good purchase for me. I'll get many enjoyable shots out of this rifle and hopefully accolades for its showcase qualities.

Diana peep sight

by B.B. Pelletier

Before we start, I have a favor to ask. Some of you have indicated you wouldn't mind helping me answer the blog comments. If you want to do that, click on this email link. Please provide your name and/or screen name in the body of the message. The subject of the email will fill in by itself. Don't change it as it will help me quickly recognize those who want to help out.


Diana 27 with Diana peep sight installed. It's a different look.

The sight I'm showing you today was a gift from Kevin. He said he wanted me to see what a neat addition it made to the Diana 27, but told me it was actually from a Diana 75. Of course, the sidelever model 75 is just the latest version of the Giss anti-recoil system that began with the breakbarrel Diana model 60 and progressed through the models 65 and 66.


Diana peep sight is a real target rifle rear sight!

When he described the sight, I thought it was one of the old sporting rear sights that Diana had adapted to an aperture by putting a peep hole where the rear notch would be. When the sight arrived, I saw that it was actually much nicer than that. This is a purpose-built sight with the same adjustability as the top 10-meter sights. I assume Diana no longer makes it. If that's true, it's a shame.

This sight answers a question that bothers many airgunners: What's the purpose of the cross-grooves on top of the Diana rear sight base? That's the base we all assume is for a scope.


Many Diana 27 rifles, including this Hy-Score 807, have a rear rail like this for mounting a peep sight.

On the bottom of this sight, we see the answer. A foot that's grooved with a matching pattern that adjusts down to interlock with the grooves on the rail, thus creating a positive mechanical lock for the sight. Though many of the Diana spring guns don't recoil much, others do. Diana knew that clamping pressure alone wasn't enough to hold the sight still.


The ridges on this part interlock with the top of the rear sight rail.

I had to use my .22 caliber Hy-Score 807, which is a Diana 27 under another name, because the .177 Diana brand model 27 I got at the Roanoke show didn't have the sight base on the receiver. Kevin wanted me to also swap the fixed front sight of the 27 with one that has a removable insert. I have several of them; but when I went to fit one to the rifle, I discovered the dovetail on this sight is very narrow. None of my other front sights fit. Still, the 27 front sight is a crisp post, so it works well.


The 27 front sight is fixed, but it does work well with a peep.

Before testing the peep I shot the rifle with the standard open rear sight it came with. It's not too shabby! It features micrometer click adjustments in both directions and a crisp rear notch.


The 27's rear sight is a very nice adjustable unit.

Going all the way back to 1979, the pellets of choice for this rifle have been RWS Superpoints. That's when I bought my first .22 caliber model 27. There may be a better pellet, but I sure don't know what it is. We're looking at velocities in the 475-490 f.p.s. region, which suits me fine with this rifle. And I have the trigger adjusted to a crisp two-stage pull that' entirely predictable, so control isn't an issue.

The 27 is one of my old "go-to" airguns, so it was pretty close to right on at 10 meters. Only a couple clicks of windage brought the group to the center of the bull. And the 27 sight adjusts with crisp clicks, so you know what you're doing.


This is a representative target OF FIVE SHOTS at 10 meters with this .22 caliber Diana 27. This was shot with the original open sights.

Changing the sights was a one-minute job once I figured how to get the rear sight off. The peep sight simply slides on the dovetail and clamps wherever you need it for eye relief. Once on the gun, it's rock-solid. Of course, the location moves from the rear of the barrel (where the original rear sight was) to way back of the action, where a peep belongs.


Diana peep attaches all the way at the rear of the rifle's action.

Like the original sight, the peep needed only a couple clicks to bring it to the center of the target at 10 meters.

Back to the task at hand, the sighting wasn't much easier, but the sights were defined better. And the results of that showed up in the groups I shot. While they're not astounding, they do represent a reduction of about one-third in size.


With the peep sight, the group shrank by about a third.

So what do I think? For starters, this peep really works well with this rifle. The 27 is such a smooth shooter to begin with, and the Diana peep just makes the experience that much better. With a sight as precise as this, a nice old air rifle like the 27 can go to a new level of accuracy. Consider that any good peep sight will usually improve things about this much over sporting sights, and this sight was specifically made for rifles in the Diana line.

Thanks to Kevin for his generosity that made this test possible.

And now a word from our sponsor Packing and picking pellets

by B.B. Pelletier

When I was whining about how busy I am on Wednesday, a couple of you got the idea that Pyramyd Air was somehow to blame. Please understand, my friends, that they have never been anything but kind and generous to me. I'm entirely responsible for creating the situation I find myself in, and they would be only too happy to bail me out if I would just tell them how.

And Wayne, on the S200 testing deal, again it was my decision not to get the same rifle in two different calibers. Pyramyd Air bends over backwards to keep me in blogging guns, pellets and equipment. I'm just too much of a cheapskate to run a test like that, because of what it does to their inventory.

Well, today I want to pay them back just a little for all their support. As America's largest airgun dealer, they also get their share of unfavorable customer comments, and perhaps pellet orders lead the list of topics. There are two big complaints that I will address:

Damaged pellet tins and customers who receive only three tins of pellets when they believe they deserve four.

Damaged pellet tins are the bane of all companies selling pellets in tins. Crosman was so wise to sell their Premier pellet line in cardboard boxes for many years. They're still packed that way, but no others are. Whenever pellets are packed in metal tins, they'll show the results of impact suffered during shipment.

And, though it may go without saying, I do want to say that the reason people don't like dented tins is because it's obvious the soft lead pellets inside will be damaged at the same time. The tins don't have to be dented for the pellets to be damaged, but it's pretty certain they will be damaged when the tins get dents.

Damaged pellet tins - part 1
There are two times when a pellet tin is in jeopardy. The first is when it's shipped to Pyramyd Air from the manufacturer. Tinned pellets come packed in cardboard sleeves that are usually packed inside cardboard boxes. These boxes are then secured to pallets by shrink wrap and sometimes by banding. If a pallet of pellets falls off the forks of a forklift during handling, or if the forks hit the pallet too high, or if the pallet catches on something in the warehouse as it passes by, there can be impacts that dent tins. The pallets arrive at Pyramyd Air and are inspected. They contain perfect tins, slightly dented tins and heavily dented tins. There are also tins that have been destroyed, with loose pellets scattered everywhere.

One thing about pellets is that they're generally made of lead. Being heavy, you only want to send them one time. That's anywhere! So you can forget returning a bad shipment of pellets; it doesn't happen! Pictures are taken and sent to the manufacturer and invoices are reworked when something bad happens--all of which takes time. Then, there's the time taken by management and the warehouse staff to sort pellet tins and segregate them in inventory. Next, there's more time to conduct special sales of dented tins. When all is said and done, nobody makes anything on a dented tin.

Damaged pellet tins - part 2
The other times pellet tins can get damaged is when they're shipped to the customer. Here, Pyramyd Air has more control. They can pack those pellets better and get more of them to the customer in perfect shape. The question is: Better than what? There are not a lot of solutions to shipping low numbers of pellet tins.

Over the years, Pyramyd Air has simply put the tins in small boxes stuffed with peanuts. That turned out to not to work very well. Then, they tried wrapping them in bubble wrap. That worked better, but was more time-consuming to pack. When you're trying to package an order as fast as possible, anything that takes extra time stands out like a sore thumb. Cling wrap works even better to keep the tins closed during shipment, but does little about crush and dent protection.

So, they've very recently come up with a new way to pack pellets for shipment. That's what I'd like to show you now.


It begins with a sheet of high-density foam.


The sheet is cut into quarters.


Here is a typical order. Note that the tins are different sizes and heights. They are also different calibers. This is a common order, with the "Get the 4th tin free" promotion.


The first foam square is cut to fit the largest-diameter tin.


The first tin is placed in the foam square.


And covered by a cardboard square. These squares have to be cut and warehoused, too.


Then the next tin is packed on top and so on.


Foam with tin, cardboard square, foam with tin, cardboard square until the entire order is packed.


The stack goes into a box.


The cutouts go in the box to pad the stack. Nothing is wasted.


The box is sealed.

Kudos to Pyramyd Air
The forums are buzzing about this new pellet-packing method. Long-time customers are saying this is the way they want their pellets packed from now on. But there's more.

Get the 4th tin free!
Some customers are grumbling about not getting the 4th tin of pellets for free, the way the promotion states.

Well, actually this used to be a bigger problem than it is now. In the past, if the 4th tin wasn't picked by the customer, it wasn't shipped. Some customers didn't understand how the software worked and assumed it was going to select the 4th tin for them, so they didn't pick a 4th tin.

That was in the past

Pyramyd Air now has a prompt in the ordering program that reminds the customer to select the 4th tin. That has fixed the problem.

However, there will always be a few scattered cases where the customer really does order 4 tins and gets only 3. That is a packing mistake, and has to be corrected by calling Pyramyd Air when the shipment arrives.

I tell you this because of the old software problem and some people who haven't ordered pellets from Pyramyd Air in several months are not aware that it's been fixed.

The 4th (free) tin cannot cost more than the lowest-priced tin of the other three tins.

Wow, a long one today, and I'm sorry that I didn't give you grist for the weekend gabfest. Well, you guys will just have to get that one going yourselves. See you Monday!

How fast can an airgun shoot? - Part 1

by B.B. Pelletier

Good morning, everyone. Although I didn't respond to most of you yesterday, I did read what you said. I'm in the process of asking for some more permanent guest bloggers, and we're looking into the "Recent Comments" widget. At this point we think we have to write the code ourselves. Does anyone know of a similar widget that already exists?

I'm sorry if I sounded like a whiner yesterday, and I hope I didn't scare my old Airgun Letter readers into thinking I was abandoning them again. I assure you, nothing of the kind is in the works.

But there IS something very exciting in the works, and I will tell you about it in this blog a week from today. On that day, Thursday, Jan. 15th, which is the first day of the SHOT Show, I will be attending the Airgun breakfast that Pyramyd Air is hosting in Orlando. A huge announcement will be made at the breakfast at around 7:45 a.m. Eastern time. I am scheduling that day's blog to publish at the same time, rather than the normal 6:30 Eastern time it now publishes. You'll hear the news in the blog at about the same time it is announced to the airgun industry. I will say no more about this until that morning.

Now, let's get to today's report.

Let me begin by saying that I do not know exactly how fast an airgun can shoot. But I have done some testing and I have observed some things, so I'm at least qualified to talk on this subject from my personal experience.

Why am I waffling so? Because this topic is a hot button in the airgun community. There are endless discussions on forums, and many "experts" present their data and formulae to prove this or that point. The ones I enjoy most are the guys who admit that they don't own a chronograph or even have access to one, but they offer scientific "proof" that it's physically impossible for an airgun pellet to exceed the sound barrier when powered by air only. They may actually have a minor point, since the Cardews (The Airgun From Trigger to Target) proved that all spring-piston guns over a certain velocity diesel with every shot, but that doesn't take pneumatics into account. I plan to.

I'm going to share what I know for sure, and you guys can take it from there. I'll also write a short article on this subject for the Pyramyd Air website and accompany it with a long video of Dennis Quackenbush and me doing some testing at the 2008 LASSO big bore shoot.

I'll give all the support I have for what I tell you, but I'm not going to postulate why things are the way they are. My science background is not strong enough to support that discussion [Jane Hansen--Are you reading?], so I'll just share the actual data I've seen and collected.

This discussion probably started back in the early 1970s, when the 800 f.p.s. "barrier" was first broken. Maybe it was broken before then, but I know for certain that the long-stroke FWB 124 in .177 caliber could reliably exceed 800 f.p.s. with some light pellets, and the airgun community treated it as a BIG DEAL.

Yawn.

No doubt Vince is wondering if I've lost my mind by rambling on about 800 f.p.s., but the 1970s were a time when that was considered big stuff. And then 1,000 f.p.s. was exceeded in the early 1980s, and a few years later Diana topped 1,100 f.p.s. with their new sidelevers. Finally, Ivan Hancock built the Venom Mach I, a breakbarrel spring rifle that exceeded the speed of sound...and everything was up to date in Kansas City.

For a decade, the goal for a powerful smallbore airgun was to exceed 1,100 f.p.s. and go supersonic, if possible. Before you tell me, I know the sound barrier can also be below 1,100 f.p.s., but it was always held separate from the chronograph readings, so I'm reporting it that way.

In 1999, Gamo decided we hadn't gone far enough, and they brought out the Hunter Hurricane 1250. That's right, it was supposed to shoot 1,250 f.p.s. Well, as I was writing The Airgun Letter at the time, I decided to test it. Who did Gamo think they were, making a claim like that?

The thing is, their rifle REALLY DID shoot that fast. Or at least the one I tested did. Those where the days before we had the lightweight trick pellets, so they had to get there with an RWS Hobby, which weighed 6.9 grains back then. I saw several shots from my test rifle go faster than 1,250 f.p.s., and the fastest one went 1,254 f.p.s. The velocity race went into overdrive.

In 2006, Gamo transformed the 1250 Hurricane into the Hunter Extreme, and, by virtue of the new Raptor PBA pellet, they now advertised it at 1,600 f.p.s. And right there, history was made.

That was the first hyper-velocity pellet rifle I saw that failed to live up to the hype. I tested it for you in this blog.

Stop right there!
In my test, the Hunter Extreme went up to 1,395 f.p.s. Not bad at all, but a far cry from 1,600 f.p.s. To add insult to injury, Gamo now laser-engraves the expected velocity on the compression tube of the rifle, and there it says to expect 1,650 f.p.s. I got 1,395 f.p.s. I asked you readers to give me your velocities and nobody did. Other airgunners I contacted told me their Hunter Extremes went as fast as 1,425 f.p.s. Again, not too shabby, but not 1,600 f.p.s., either.


Gamo ENGRAVES the expected velocity on the steel compression cylinder of the Hunter Extreme. In all my testing and correspondence with other Hunter Extreme owners, this number has never been approached, except when the rifle detonates some fuel.


This is the average velocity I saw from the Hunter Extreme shooting Gamo Raptor PBA pellets. The top speed I recorded was 1,395 f.p.s.

Just as I was recoiling from that test, Benjamin brought out the Super Streak, which they advertise to shoot up to 1,500 f.p.s. That threw me back into the testing mode again, and I came up with a top speed of 1,323 f.p.s. with Raptors. Nowhere close to 1,500 f.p.s. In fairness, the Crosman Silver Eagle pellet line was new about the same time, and I didn't try them with this rifle. The hollowpoint is only 4.8 grains and has been beating the Raptor in velocity tests, so it might have boosted the number a little. But not enough.

While I was still on the ropes from the Super Streak, RWS Diana brought out the 460 Magnum--a rifle that was advertised to reach 1,200 f.p.s. in .177 (though one airgun internet retailer has it listed at 1,350 f.p.s. for some reason). Have you noticed anything strange yet?

What's strange about this trend?
What's strange is that the top velocities advertised are FALLING, rather than increasing. Gamo still advertises 1,600 f.p.s., but Benjamin, who came out later than the Hunter Extreme says their hyper-velocity gun is 100 f.p.s. LESS. And now the RWS Diana 460 Magnum drops another 300 f.p.s in their claim. And it's an important 300 f.p.s., because some airguns really can go 1,200 f.p.s. I actually got up to 1,155 f.p.s. from the test 460 shooting Raptors. I point this out without comment.

Then why do they advertise 1,600 f.p.s.?
They advertise it because the rifles can do it. With a little oil down the transfer port, the Hunter Extreme can go faster than 1,600 f.p.s. It takes a small explosion to go that fast, or at least in my experience there has never been a test rifle that went that fast without a violent detonation. And therein lie several problems.

Problem 1 - blown seals
Back in prehistoric airgun times, Weihrauch had the Barakuda EL-54 ether-injected breakbarrel rifle that was built to propel a 15.3-grain .22 caliber round lead ball to 1,000 f.p.s. H&N even made a special 21-grain lead diabolo pellet for the rifle they called the Baracuda. Later, Beeman called it the Kodiak. Read about that rifle here.

The trouble was that with all the explosions, the Barakuda rifles couldn't keep their leather seals from blowing. It was an idea ahead of its time.

Problem 2 - it's not an airgun
The definition of an airgun varies by country. The U.S. is pretty open as far as power and velocity go, but a firearm cannot be an airgun.

Who said anything about a firearm?

Well, to paraphrase the legal definition of a firearm, it's "any device that propels a projectile or projectiles by means of an explosion."

Yes, certain springers achieve super-high velocities, but to do so seems to take an explosion. If that's true, we're not talking about airguns anymore.

The gun that fired the .22 Daisy VL caseless cartridge used a spring-piston powerplant to heat the air that ignited the compound on the base of the bullet. That compound then burned rapidly enough to seem like an explosion. Therefore, the Daisy VL system was considered a firearm

Okay, there's some food for thought. In the next part, I'll tell you what Dennis Quackenbush decided to do about it, and I'll also share my experience of the fastest true airgun shot I ever witnessed.

It's about time

by B.B. Pelletier

Today is the second time in the life of this blog that I have not written about airguns. The other time was years ago when robot spammers attempted to hijack the blog for their own use. I had to initiate the word verification you all hate. We still get spams even with word verification turned on, but it's much harder for them to do and, most importantly, it sucks up their time. They don't like that.

Time is today's issue, as well. My time.

For the past several months, I've been taking longer than ever to respond to the reader comments. Every day I get 60 to 100+ comments addressed to me or buried so far in the past that only I know they have come in. I cannot continue to answer comments like I have been--there's simply not enough time in the day. A blog posting takes me from 2 to 6 hours, depending on what's involved. If I have to go to the range, disassemble an airgun, do a lot of comparative testing or take a lot of pictures, it takes longer. I bet I don't write two blogs a month that take less than three hours.

For many years that was okay. I could keep up with the blogs and the comments because my workday can expand into the evening and weekends. However, a year ago my wife and I started taking Saturdays off, just to get a break. Our work doesn't leave us out of breath or give us sore muscles, but it does consume a lot of time. And now I have run out of time.

Something has to change for this blog to continue. Please understand that I want this blog to continue very much. Some of you may be aware that when we ran The Airgun Letter, we suddenly and without warning shut down The Airgun Forum one day. I was the one who made the decision to do it, because it was taking 18 hours of our time every day to administer. That's seven days a week! No slack for holidays. If that forum went down or even slowed for any reason, our email box began filling up and the phone began to ring. I shut it down in self-defense.

This blog is far more significant than The Airgun Letter. It doesn't cost anyone anything to read, while the newsletter required a subscription. We had only a couple thousand paid subscribers, while many thousands of others were receiving copies from their friends. But this blog is free and publishes 2.5 to 5 times more airgun information than the newsletter ever did. There were only 99 newsletters published in nine years, but there have been over a thousand blog postings in less than four years. This is definitely the way to go.

I've asked the more knowledgeable readers to help out with the answers to comment, and they've done a good job. Unlike me, they cannot easily see those questions about the "Benjamin Franklin" air pistols that trickle in every day on a 2005 post. I use that as an example, but they come from everywhere, and they cover the entire airgun spectrum.

When a person asks me a question, the teacher in me is motivated to give them the entire answer--even if they don't fully understand all they've asked. If I give a short answer, I may raise 20 more questions, and that's a trend that I see happening more often these days. I say something and the person turns out to want a short course in how all airguns work. "Define the universe and give three examples."

All of this is happening because this blog is a huge freakin' success! Other airgun blogs are ghost towns compared to this one. I want that trend to continue and even to continue to grow. To do that successfully, there have to be some changes.

I don't know what all the changes will be. I'm just alerting you to the fact that they will be coming.

One thing I will begin doing starting today is responding less to the comments. Yesterday it took me from 6:30 to 10:30 in the morning just to clear out all the questions that were on the computer when I started. Last Friday the same thing took until 3:00 p.m!

But yesterday I answered Wayne so fast that the whole answer was wrong. I find myself worrying more about volume rather than correctness in my answers, and that's a disturbing trend that's been on the increase for many months. If I continue to do that, pretty soon I won't make any sense at all.

I'm no longer going to respond to as many comments. I'm not being standoffish or thinking I'm a rock star, I'm just trying to preserve my time for things that will benefit as many people as possible. This will take some learning and adjusting for me, and I welcome all the help you readers can give.

A year ago I used to shoot airguns for 10 percent of my working hours. Now it's a fraction of that. I need to get that shooting time back, or I'll start to become a legend in my own mind--a gun writer who relies more on a Smith-Corona than a Smith & Wesson to get the job done. That's an age-weighted wry comment that may tickle people over 55 years of age. The rest of you can do a Google search on "typewriter."

This editorial took me about 90 minutes to compose and edit. It was the fastest blog I've written in many years. That's not because there was no substance to it, but because these issues have been flooding my mind a long time, and today the dam burst.

What can YOU do?
I don't want any of you to change in any way. Keep on asking your questions, Keep on offering your opinions. Keep on being the readers who have made this blog the success it is. And know that I still enjoy you all, even if I don't say it to you individually as often from now on.

I will still answer reader comments, but I'm going to be more selective about those I answer.

S&W 586 & 686 pellet guns - Part 1

by B.B. Pelletier


Smith & Wesson 586 is a beautiful air pistol.

Wayne asked for this report on the S&W 586, though I think you will see (from the comments we're bound to receive) that a lot of readers either already own this gun or have seriously thought about it. When it was first rumored (early 1998) that Umarex was creating this revolver, I was excited because I'd tested their earlier pistols and found them excellent. If they put the same thought and care into the 586 platform, the results had to be good!

As good as their word!
In November 1998, a friend who worked at Smith & Wesson brought me an advance production model of the black-finished 586 with 6" barrel, and I saw that Umarex had outdone themselves. This was their finest replica CO2 handgun ever--a position it retains to this day, in my opinion.

Very close to the firearm it copies
Let's start our analysis with the prototype S&W 586 revolver in .357 caliber. I'll lump together the 686 and the 586 because the two are identical except for the steel they're made of (the 686 is stainless). The 586 has S&W's L-sized frame (medium-sized) with the K-sized grip (small). That makes a rugged magnum revolver that's easier for most shooters to hold. By swapping grip panels, they can size the gun to personal tastes over a broad range of hand sizes.

IN MY OPINION, the 586 is second only to a Colt Python as the finest .357 double-action revolver in the world. I won't get into all the rationale behind that opinion, but I've thought about things like the smaller and more compact Model 19 which is even easier to handle but is not as rugged with full-house .357 ammo. Your opinion may differ, of course. But regardless of who you are, everyone who enjoys a modern double-action revolver thinks pretty highly of the S&W 586.

Two signature features of the 586 firearm revolver are a smooth double-action trigger-pull and a super-crisp single-action pull. Only the Colt Python is better, and not by that much. I was delighted to discover that the 586 airgun had an even better double-action trigger-pull than the .357, and a single-action pull with only a trifle of creep. Among non-10-meter air pistols, it has few equals, although the Crosman Mark I and II pistols might be two.

I have owned at least one 686 firearm, and possibly more that I can't remember. Being stainless, the 686 revolver didn't interest me as much as a 586 would have, and I parted with it some years ago. But not before verifying that it shot as well as any S&W .357, which is to say very good, indeed.

I bought one of the first 6" 586 pellet pistols to be sold by S&W. The starting MSRP price was high--about $230 in 1998. The street price was more relaxed, at about $190. That initial price pitted the revolver against the Walther CP88, the Colt M1911A1 and the SIG CP225 (which were also made by Umarex and each selling for much less). I believe that slowed the initial acceptance, and the gun never recovered.

Realistic cylinders
The revolver is a 10-shot true revolver with a swing-out cylinder/clip that comes off the crane for loading. The .177 pellets are much smaller than .357 rounds, so more care must be taken to load them right. Although the cylinder swings out to the side on a real crane, it isn't as long as a firearm cylinder and some people object to that. They do so without thinking it through. If the cylinder were full-sized, it would weigh more than a pound, giving them something else to object to. Colt discovered that in the late 1800s when they converted their Single Action Army revolver into a .22 rimfire. Even though the thin cylinder looks odd, there's a real reason it's so thin and it does make sense.


Ten-shot clips slip off the cylinder crane for loading.

Grippy grips
You get something with this pellet gun that even S&W doesn't offer--a pair of molded rubber grips. Smith & Wesson wood grip panels don't fit every hand, like mine for instance, so many shooters replace them with rubberized grips from companies like Hogue. This pellet pistol comes that way from the factory. Since I'm used to Hogue grips, I view this as a bonus. The drawback is that there are no aftermarket grips available, as far as I know.

This is a CO2 revolver, and the cartridge resides inside the grip, of course. The right panel pops off to expose the place where the cartridge lies, and Umarex designed a lever mechanism at the bottom of the frame to push the cartridge up for piercing. They knew appearances were important with this pistol and it would not do to have an ugly winding key exposed under the grip.


Right grip pops off for access to the CO2 cartridge. The complex hardware inside the molded rubber grip is the reason aftermarket grips are not available. 

Barrel swaps
Another wonderful feature of this revolver is not based on Smith & Wesson revolvers but on those of Dan Wesson. It has interchangeable barrels! Owners can change to 2.5", 4", 6" and 8" barrels at will. During the glory days of the gun, Umarex sold a pistol pac, not unlike the ones from Dan Wesson. In that set you got a single frame with the 4", 6" and 8" barrels and shrouds. Those are collectible sets now, and the gun usually sells as a fixed-length barrel, only. You can still buy spare barrels and shrouds of different lengths, and a plastic wrench that comes with every gun lets you make the switch.

Size and weight were close
The specifications of the pellet pistol were remarkably similar to the firearm. My unloaded 6" 686 weighed 45.8 oz., and the 586 pellet pistol weighs 46.5 oz. with a CO2 cartridge installed (but no pellets in the cylinder). The length, width and height are all within hundredths of an inch of those on the firearm. A Smith & Wesson owner will feel comfortable with this gun, which has no plastic on the outside.

I no longer own the pellet pistol, so this report is based on tests I did and photos I took when I had it, plus S&W sent a couple pistols with different barrel lengths for me to sample. I tell you that now so you will understand why I cannot expand my report beyond what I'm giving you. Next time, I'll finish with the velocity and accuracy.

.177 Gamo Big Cat - Part 1

by B.B. Pelletier


Gamo Big Cat is an impressive breakbarrel for an impressive price!

Certain readers have been after me to review the Gamo Big Cat for close to a year, and today I'll start! I'm already impressed by the current crop of Gamo rifles, as evidenced by my 8-part report on the Whisper. When I opened the Big Cat box, it gave me the same instant appeal--a lightweight air rifle with a stock made for adults. There are no high cheekpieces, no thumbholes or oddly shaped pistol grips to contend with. It's simply built right. If you enjoy a Winchester 1894 or a 1903 Springfield, the Big Cat just may be the spring-piston breakbarrel for you.

Wanna know another reason I'm looking at this air rifle? Because, as of this morning, it has 50 reviews on the Pyramyd Air website and an overall rating of 4.5 stars! That's incredible! There are guys who wouldn't give a five-star rating to a million-dollar cash prize and a date with Cameron Diaz. They'd complain about the taxes and having to get dressed up! So a half star down from the top IS the top on our survey. And I wanted to see just how nice a $140 scoped spring-piston rifle could be.

You're going to have to take the scope with the rifle because that's the only way it comes. There are no open sights on the gun. I think a good analogy for the Big Cat is a Whisper without the silencer. It's about a pound heavier at just over 6 lbs., which makes it a featherweight spring gun in this power class. It has a synthetic-jacketed barrel that's sculpted with deep flutes running nearly the full length of the barrel. The dark gray synthetic stock is a smooth with a pebble finish on the forearm and pistol grip. The butt has a thick, black ventilated recoil pad that grips your shoulder well. I like the low cheekpiece and comb that allow me to get down on the gun when I'm aiming.

The scope rail grooves are cut into the mainspring tube, and Gamo drilled a rear scope stop hole--bless their hearts! So any scope mounts that have a vertical scope stop pin will work. This airgun has the earmarks of a very well-designed spring rifle.

The trigger
I have to comment on the Gamo trigger on this particular test rifle--and maybe this is happening on all Gamo rifles these days. Although the design doesn't seem to have changed, the finish of the parts has improved significantly. That means the creep that used to be there is reduced by quite a lot. This Big Cat's trigger is a very crisp two-stage unit that worked just as well right out of the box as a vintage Gamo trigger with several thousand shots on it. The second stage still has some creep, but the overall performance is many times better than other Gamo triggers I've tested.

The trigger on my test rifle breaks very consistently at 4 lbs., 3 ozs. And that's when it's brand-new. No doubt it will drop a few ounces and smooth out even more during the break-in.

The safety is manual, thankfully, so all you do is cock, load and fire the gun. But Gamo has installed an anti-beartrap mechanism that prevents firing the gun until the barrel is closed, so de-cocking isn't possible. In this litigious age, that feature is almost mandatory.

Cocking
And cocking is another revelation I must share with you. The Big Cat has an articulated two-piece cocking link that lets the barrel break back to an extremely acute angle. The result is a long, easy cocking stroke. Gamo engineers have obviously studied their physics and applied them to the geometry of these new rifles.

The powerplant has very little in the way of vibration during the firing cycle. Things are over quick, and the rifle is quiet afterwards. I can't help wondering how it would be with an Air Venturi Ram Air gas spring installed, but I have nothing but praise for the way it works in factory trim.

The scope
The 4x scope is a cheap one, as you knew it had to be to allow the package to sell at such a low price. That said, the scope seems clear and will certainly do the job until you're ready to spend money on something more expensive. I'll use it for the accuracy test, so you can see its capabilities. And please don't ask me to repeat the test with a more powerful scope so you can see the incremental improvement!

The two-piece scope mounts have caps with two screws each, but they seem more robust than average mounts. They have the required vertical scope-stop pin and come attached to the scope. All you have to do is attach their bases to the rifle and tighten the base screws--not more than a 5-minute job for a new shooter.

What are you saying, B.B.?
Just so you're clear on this, I'm saying that now that I've handled the Gamo Big Cat, I'm beginning to understand why it got such a high rating from so many shooters. I'm saying that if you're in the market for a budget breakbarrel, the Big Cat MIGHT be one to consider. I'll reserve the final judgement, just like the rest of you, until I see the numbers and the targets. But I have a hunch this is a good one.

Field target for the rest of us

Hi, guys. I DID have a blog for today...but, when Edith showed me this one, I realized this was the perfect Friday "get the gab started" piece. For those who don't remember, Edith is Mrs. B.B. Pelletier, and she's giving me the day off.

by Edith Gaylord (Mrs. B.B.)

Tom used to be the match director for the field target club we helped start at our Izaak Walton League in Damascus, Maryland (often called the "Dam Ikes"). I didn't participate in the matches but was happy to register the shooters, collect the money, recheck the score sheets and post the match results on our website. Well, I was uninterested in shooting field target until they invented the Wacky Match!

No rules...just right
The Wacky Match was a field target match that had no rules. You might say it was an unmatch...or even a mismatch.

It didn't have a lot of participants because most field target shooters are serious about the sport. They'd invested a significant amount of money into their guns and gear, and some had spent several hours on the road to get to the match. It wasn't a time for silliness.

The targets were set up the morning of the match, which was a half-size match. We wanted to finish early enough to enjoy the cookout provided by the club. It was their way of thanking the shooters for supporting them during the match year.

My weapon of choice
A shooter could use any airgun (20 ft-lbs or less...to preserve the targets), scope, sight or support he wanted. I selected a Sharp U-SL CO2 rifle with a thumbhole stock. I'd shot it before in our basement and really liked how it felt, it came easily to my shoulder and it was more accurate than I was (not a great feat, but still important). I used open sights because I don't especially like scopes (more on that in a future blog). I had spare CO2 cartridges in my pocket and kept my pellets in a pouch hung around my neck. I traveled light and was ready for anything. Oh, yes, there was one more piece of equipment.

I brought a chair, because I wanted to sit while shooting. This was a special chair...one that I'd used while shooting BRV (which I'll write about at another time). It's comfortable, collapsible and steady on uneven ground. The first Wacky Match was held in October, and the ground was moist. I don't like sitting on icky, wet ground covered with creeping critters I can't identify and who-knows-what hiding under the damp leaves.



Here I am holding a great little airgun. I LOVE this Sharp rifle. It's lightweight, not very long, powered by 12-gram CO2 cartridges and--most importantly--quite accurate.

No one's keeping score
The foundation of the Wacky Match was that everyone was a winner. This was about fun, not results. Yet, I remember what I shot. I smacked a number of target faceplates, which didn't count as hits, and knocked down only two targets (yes, I had a score of 2 out of 30). I bet I could have done better if I'd thrown rocks! Thank goodness I'm a better shot when it really counts...with my .45 ACP.

I didn't shoot in all of the Wacky Matches because CO2 isn't cold-friendly. One Wacky Match was held in January, with a fresh layer of snow...and then it started snowing during the match! Come to think of it, I should have shot that match...it would have been the perfect excuse for such a low score. I guess I really am an airgunner--always blame the equipment!

2008 in review

by B.B. Pelletier

Happy New Year! I'd like to thank everyone from around the world who wished us a Happy New Year on this blog. This one will be a quickie.

2008 was a real good year for airgunning, but before I look at a few of the highlights, I have some super news for those who are looking for good deals. These are models that are being discontinued; after the guns in stock are gone, there will be no more. Pyramyd Air has also cut the prices of both models quite a lot.

RWS 46 Stutzen. Down from $536.25 to $399.99.

RWS Diana 52 Luxus. This is the walnut-stocked version with basketweave checkering. These are available in both .22 caliber and .177. Pyramyd Air bought out the remaining stock from RWS and expects to receive them soon. Down from $595.00 to $419.99.

2008 started off with a big bang for me because the Benjamin Discovery was about to be launched. I took the concept for the rifle to Crosman a year before and I worked with them throughout 2007 to make the new rifle a reality. Now, at the start of 2008, I was about to travel to the SHOT Show where it would be unveiled.

The Disco, as it has become known, is the best entry-level PCP ever made, in my opinion. It has the benefits of price, a 2000 psi fill level, dual-fuel capability, and many other high-grade features packed into a neat package. In fact, the package with a hand pump was part of my original concept. The gun comes to you ready to shoot. I've wanted a gun like that for two decades, and now it exists.

Air Venturi gas springs also made a big splash this past year. I actually began testing them back in December 2007, which is when I tested the incredible Gamo Whisper with a gas spring. That rifle continues to be the smoothest gas spring conversion I've ever tested...bar none! I then tested the Webley Patriot with a gas spring--the rifle made in the UK, that is. I raved about how smooth the gas spring made the gun, but then you readers took things even farther when you started talking about the Walther Falcon Hunter with a gas spring. You said the gas spring changed the nature of the gun, which they will do.

I continued to test Gamos with gas springs and even today I'm far behind the power curve in that testing. But gas springs are here to stay!

In the middle of the year, Leapers brought out their new scope base for RWS Diana spring rifles. I'd also worked on it in 2007, similar to the Discovery. Instead of something brand new, this base was the answer to a question that I had been dealing with since I began writing about airguns in 1994. Namely, how to mount a scope on an RWS Diana spring rifle.

The new base tested well, but as they were sold we learned that not all rifles suffer from barrel droop. In fact, the RWS Diana 350 Magnum rifles don't seem to have much droop at all. So, Leapers rushed to create a base with zero droop. And by the end of the year, there's a scope mounting solution for all RWS Diana spring rifles except the model 46, which doesn't have the same base on the receiver. This new Leapers base has become an important part of a spring airgunner's tool kit.

I also tested both the Evanix Renegade rifle and the pistol for you last year. They offer a greater number of shots and fast double-action shooting for those fast follow-up hunting shots. Air management with the rifle is quite good, and accuracy is certainly where it needs to be. There are still two Renegades yet to be tested in 2009.

The AirForce Edge target rifle didn't make it to market in 2008, but the sight set almost did. I got to test both front and rear sights, and we know that a great alternative to the $400 European sights is coming down the pike.

So, where are we headed?
I have a few projects coming in 2009, too. One is a new kind of pellet that, if it works as envisioned, should impact hunting in a positive way. I'm also associated with the development of a new type of powerplant that promises huge gains in efficiency. And there's another project that I will announce in two weeks--on day one of the SHOT Show. That project, which is as real as it gets, could change the lives of American airgunners in a very positive way.