Air Arms Alfa Competition pistol - Part 2

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1

Today, I'll look at the Alfa Competition pistol from Air Arms for a second time. You may remember me telling you that this would be a longer report because there are complexities with target guns that you don't normally encounter with a sporting gun. The biggest of these is finding the right pellet for the gun. That can take a very long time, so I'll tell you how I do it, but I'm not going to actually find the very best pellet for this particular pistol, because I haven't got enough time. That will be in another report, though.

Let's look at the power curve. I want to know if this pistol has enough air for a men's match, which is 60 shots, plus sighters. I'd normally skip this step because all the 10-meter PCPs pistols I've tested are regulated and have a more or less standard-sized air reservoir under the barrel. This one does not. It stores the air inside a small tank in the grip, so I added this important step just so we'd all know if the gun was useful for match shooting.

Filling the gun
Since this is an air pistol, I'll fill it with a hand pump. It takes so little air that i think a scuba tank is unnecessary. The number of pump strokes that are harder (i.e., those above 2,500 psi for me) is so small that it's easy enough to just grin and bear it.

The instructions say to fill to 200 bar. Since 3,000 psi is only 6 bar more, I filled to that pressure the first time, just to get a good look at both ends of the power curve. As it turned out, that was unnecessary, because this gun does not like to be filled even to 200 bar. I'll look at the velocity data and pick a better stopping point for the second fill. I'll talk you through the logic of how this is done, including some shortcuts.

You may remember that I dislike the Air Arms fill adapter. It works fine, but the gun always ends up in a strange position because of how the adapter fits, so it's not my preference. It does screw onto a standard 1/8" BSPP thread, though, and that's a known standard for PCP gun charging equipment.


This is the fill coupling on the butt of the pistol. The two o-rings needed silicone grease before the adapter would slide on.


The Air Arms fill adapter slips over the two o-rings and locks up with the gun through a key on the fill coupling.

Checking the power curve
Those who are thinking about getting into precharged airguns, this procedure is an important one. It requires a chronograph, which I feel is an essential part of PCP equipment. What you do is chronograph all the shots, using the same type of pellet.

A regulated gun will start at a certain velocity and remain close to that velocity until the pressure in the reservoir has dropped below the minimum pressure the reg can handle. After that, the velocity declines.

An unregulated gun will usually start slow and then climb if the gun is slightly overfilled. That's a good thing, because after you have the velocities recorded for all the shots you will test, a velocity curve will be revealed in the numbers.

The Alfa Competition Pistol is definitely unregulated, and the velocity curve shows it. Shot No. 1 with 7-grain RWS Basics was 395 f.p.s. Shot No. 2 was 411 f.p.s. and the gun never again dipped into the 300s. Shot No. 6 went over 420 f.p.s. But it took until shot No. 22 to go over 430 f.p.s.

Shot No. 34 went faster than 440 f.p.s., so the curve was still on the upward slope. Can you see clearly that this pistol exhibits the classic signs of being unregulated? And can you also see why this test was necessary? Until I know the performance curve, I cannot know how many good shots there are, nor can I know what the starting fill pressure really should be. This is why a chronograph can be so important when testing a new PCP. They don't all perform like it says in the book!

Shot No. 43 inched above 450 f.p.s  for the first time, but the velocity was still climbing. It didn't get back that high again until shot No. 50, but after that it didn't want to come back down, either.

Shot No. 58 topped 460 f.p.s. for the first time. And shot No. 74 went 474 f.p.s. At this point, I knew the pistol was not going to exhibit an inverted "bathtub curve" with an upward slope followed by a relatively large flat spot at which all the velocities are very consistent and then a similar downward slope. From my experience, this gun looked like it was going to keep rising and then flatten at the end for a short string, followed by a precipitous drop when it came off the curve.

Shot No. 98 finally topped 480 f.p.s. for the first time, and I expected the velocity to tank fairly soon thereafter. At shot No. 113, the falloff began. Shot No. 112 went 460 f.p.s. and the next shot went 435 f.p.s. Four shots later, we were at 415 f.p.s.--having fallen sharply off the performance curve.

So, what does this tell us? First, that this pistol is unregulated. Second, that no matter where we select the best fill level, we will have to be content with a broad velocity swing over the number of shots we've chosen. Target pellets are heavier than Basics, so the swing won't be as large as 40 f.p.s., but it'll be close.

At 10 meters, a 40 f.p.s. total velocity variance won't affect accuracy that much. While I would prefer less of a swing, I can live with it. So, let me look at the performance curve and try to select the best place for competition.

Since I cannot avoid going 480 f.p.s. (the fastest shot went 481 f.p.s., and there were only three like that), I selected the final shot of 460 f.p.s. (shot No. 112) as my end point. If I want 60 shots with five extras for insurance/sighters, that makes my first shot on this string go back to the first shot at 455 f.p.s. There were three shots before that were 450 f.p.s. or faster, so I credit this pistol with a total of 68 good shots. I'll predict the starting fill in a moment, but I'm not done with the analysis, yet.

Although my first shot is 450 f.p.s., the velocity does dip below that mark in this string. The slowest it goes is 443 f.p.s. The fastest is 481 f.p.s., so the maximum velocity variation in a string of 68 shots is 38 f.p.s. As I mentioned, a heavier pellet will tighten that variation a bit, so expect maybe 32-34 f.p.s. across a 68-shot string. That's more than I like, but for 10 meters it isn't going to make much of a difference. So, the question of whether or not the Alfa pistol holds enough air to complete a men's match has been answered. It does. If you have to shoot the extra 10 shots afterward, you'll have to refill the pistol.

Determining the starting fill pressure
The way to determine the starting fill pressure for a PCP is to keep decreasing the fill pressure by 100 psi, until the first shot out the muzzle is within the desired power curve. But I have a faster way to get there. Experience tells me that a partially valve-locked valve uses far less air than that same valve uses when it's shooting within the power curve. Looking at the total shot string I fired, it took me 48 shots to climb to where I wanted to start shooting. That's very close to half the total shots fired, but from an air usage standpoint, it's more like one-quarter to one-third the total air used.

I know the start point was 3,000, so I need to connect to the gun and determine the point at which it starts to accept a fill. In other words, the end point. Since I shot four shots after falling off the power curve, I'll add 100 psi for them and call that number the low end of the fill.

My low turned out to be 700 psi, even with that extra 100 psi added-in (hard to believe, isn't it?), so I guesstimated the high fill point to be at 2,300 psi. The first shot on a fill at that pressure went 435 f.p.s. and not until 14 shots later did I see 450 f.p.s.--missing the targeted start point by a total of 15 shots. On the next fill, I'll stop at 2,100 psi and see where that takes me.

My method takes far fewer times than the 100-psi-per-time method. As an airgun tester, I have to use it to cut down on my test times.

I know that there are those among you who want to know absolutely everything that happened in my tests. Herb, for example, will create several algorithms to construct an alternate universe from my data and then attempt to occupy that universe, even as Rocket Jane Hansen seeks to destroy the universe he presently inhabits ;-) You guys and gals are lucky I love you!

So for those who want to know, here are the data, in even columns as they were gathered. They run top to bottom, left column to right column.



I'm sorry those two columns are longer, but when dealing with 116 numbers in sequence and discovering that I screwed up the presentation around number 70, I just punted. The numbers are sequenced exactly as they were recorded and the one that is missing was a shot I lost. It actually went into the wall of my office, where it took my wife about 90 minutes to discover. She wants me to write yet another expose on how stupidents happen (stupidents are "accidents" that should never happen).

So, here's what I know. This pistol is going to want to shoot slightly heavier target pellets at around 435-460 f.p.s. I don't want to shoot any slower than that, so the total shot string is going to be about the same as it is now. Therefore, I will not adjust the gun's power.

That's it for this time. Next time, I'll look at some pellets.

Hey! You! Get offa my cloud! - Part 2

Introduction by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1

Boy, you guys don't cut any slack! You roasted me for splitting this huge report in two last Friday. But it was so large that I had to.

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Hey! You! Get offa my cloud! - Part 2

by Vince

In Part 1, I introduced the pellets and rifles I'll use in this test. Added to this mix are two pistols. Both are vintage Crosman CO2 guns that belonged to my dad, a Crosman 38T in excellent shape that I resealed a couple of years ago, and an early 1008 that's never been apart but still works well. I figured that if THESE guns wouldn't work with Super Pells nothing would--heck, the box for the 38T shows Super Pells on its cover!



So, a shootin' I will go. Rifle first, indoors, open sights, 10 yards. But before I relate the results, let me point out a few things. First, none of the tested pellets worked really well with any of these rifles (with one exception). I did not test any rifle with its favorite pellet. I'm comparing low-end ammo to low-end ammo and nothing else. That's one reason most group sizes seem inordinately large. The second reason is that as a marksman I stink. The last reason is that these are 10-shot groups, which tend to yield larger groups than the more common 5, especially when the marksman stinks.

With that out of the way, how'd my memories fare in comparison to cold, hard numbers?

1) Hammerli 490
Gamo: .80
Super Pell: .77
Beeman: .35
Daisy: .58
Industry: 1.14
Crosman: .64

The 490 setted down nicely after I got it straightened out. It really likes those Beeman pellets and really hates Industry. Will the other guns concur?

2) Gamo Sporter 500
Gamo: .74
Super Pell: 1.10
Beeman: .95
Daisy: .66
Industry: 1.19
Crosman: 1.41

This is a shock--Industry beat Crosman! And Super Pell is STILL not the worst!

3) Slavia 634
Gamo: .50
Super Pell: 1.16
Beeman: .97
Daisy: 1.07
Industry: 1.55
Crosman: .72

Super Pell does poorly, Industry does badly.

4) RWS/Cometa 93
Gamo: 1.04
Super Pell: 1.32
Beeman: .83
Daisy: .56
Industry: 1.00
Crosman: .52

AAACCKKKK!!! INDUSTRY BEATS SUPER PELL! Oh, the shame....

5) Diana 26
Gamo: .75
Super Pell: 1.04
Beeman: .68
Daisy: .72
Industry: 1.79
Crosman: .62

That's more like it.

There's one more rifle, but next, chronologically, were the pistols. Since I'm even worse at pistol shooting than at rifle (hard to believe, I know), I shot at 15 feet. The number of shots was determined by the size of the magazine. Again, open sights were used. All shots were fired single-action.

6) Crosman 1008 (8 shots)
Gamo: 1.00
Super Pell: .79
Beeman: 1.30
Daisy: 1.14
Industry: 1.36
Crosman: 1.08

What the...Super Pell was BEST? Take THAT, B.B. man!

7) Crosman 38T
Gamo: 1.00
Super Pell: .81
Beeman: 1.53
Daisy: 1.36
Industry: 1.97
Crosman: .75

Hmmm. Another GOOD showing for Super Pell. The newer Crosman beat it by a hair, but realistically it's almost a tie.

8) Finally, after letting its original leather seal soak oil for a few days, I took the Slavia 619 out for a whirl. Same as the other rifles...10 shots, 10 yards, open sights.

Gamo: 1.06
Super Pell: 3.70
Beeman: .61
Daisy: .59
Industry: 2.60
Crosman: .69

Nahhh, can't be....My trusty old Slavia would NEVER have been this bad with Super Pells! That's worse than some steel BB guns might do. But I noticed something funny thing about that group. Virtually all the spread is in vertical stringing. The gun didn't sound right, and the first shot with the next pellet (the Beeman) hit low by about 2" before they started grouping again. Since that first Beeman shot was obviously a fluke of some sort, I tossed it out. After running through the rest of the pellets, I gave the Super Pells one more chance and got 1.24" group. In case you're thinking of whining about my not giving Industry pellets a second chance, I've got two very good reasons for not doing so. First, the Industry pellets were scattered to the four winds and not just spreading up and down (indicating a gun problem). Second, I ran out. So there.

A side note: Just on a whim, I took 5 quick shots with the 619 using CPLs, and it delivered a .36" group, which shows that I've finally got the barrel back up to snuff after my ill-conceived butchery. I really don't think that even in its prime it would have ever shot any better than that. Given the sentimental value attached to it and my hearbreak when I thought I'd ruined the barrel, this is really great news to me.

In summary, where does that leave the Super Pell? In general, ranking the Super Pell averages #5 out of 6. Industry averaged 5.80, Gamo 3.50, Beeman 2.30, Daisy 2.20, and Crosman 2.70. If I take the average group sizes (for the rifles), I get .70" for the Daisys, .73" for the Beemans, .77" for the Crosman wadcutters, .815" for the Gamos, 1.10" for the SuperPells, and 1.55" for the Industry pellets. The overall ranking doesn't change.

According to my rifle results, was B.B.'s original statement correct? When put into a group--ANY group--of modern pellets, are the old Super Pells absolutely the worst! HECK NO! They're the only the second worst! Just as I thought. B.B. was exaggerating wildly! Well, maybe not wildly. Regardless, and far more importantly, are my memories vindicated?

I guess the best way find out is to put the old Super Pell container lid on top of the Super Pell group and see if I can place it so that all the pellet holes overlap it. They do! My memories ARE vindicated! Super Pells COULD consistently nail that bit of plastic at that range if the sights were dialed in just right. Take into account my better eyesight at age 12 and the fact that I would only hit it MOST of the time, and my childhood recollections remain undisturbed in their credibility.

But what about pistol results? First, let me say that I NEVER shot a pellet pistol as a kid, so to me the issue is far less important. But why on earth did the Super Pells do so well, even at 15 feet, being the best in the 1008 and the second best in the 38T?

It comes down to a question of "Who knows?" Certainly not I. But I can tell you that the 1008 box has a Herman's Sporting Goods price tag on it, and that dates it as a very early model (1991 or so). I believe Premiers started production in 1992, so it's possible that the 1008 was actually produced concurrently with the Super Pell. As can be seen by the box, the 38T certainly was. Maybe that's the answer--they were quite literally "made for each other."

What does all this say about the OTHER Chinese pellets--the Daisys and the Beemans? Generally speaking, pretty darned good for the money and quite adequate for shootin' "on the cheap." Good foolin' around pellets, I guess. Which is more than can be said for the Industry stuff. After seeing the incomparable spread of shapes and sizes in that tin, I wouldn't even use 'em as run-in pellets after overhauling a gun. Absolutely worthless, and I'm convinced that the not-so-bad RWS 93 results were a fluke.

There's a lot more I could do with this--shoot more groups (I'd have to buy more Industry pellets), do a comparative analysis of actual group sizes (my rankings are not very precise), shoot the pistols at longer ranges and so on. But thanks to Wayne, I'm rather busy at the moment and found out what I wanted to find out. In essence, B.B. was right--pellets have gotten much better over the past few decades (my pistol results notwithstanding). For a kid in 1970, Super Pells out of a rifled barrel were still light years ahead of anything out of a smoothbore Daisy. Lastly, joy of joys, my old Slavia is back up to snuff! And that, as they say, is priceless!


Vince mentioned in Part 1 that the Crosman "Flying Ashcans" had cupped heads, so I took this shot to show you what that looked like.

Hey! You! Get offa my cloud! - Part 1

Introduction by B.B. Pelletier

Well, good old Vince is standing on the turnbuckle, ready to pounce on me today with ABSOLUTE PROOF that B.B. Pelletier exaggerates! The nerve of that cheeky fellow!

Even so, I will permit his feeble attempt to embarrass me in front of all you readers, as we learn whether the old Crosman flying ashcans were really better or worse than cheap Chinese pellets.

Go on, Vince. Give it your best shot!

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Hey! You! Get offa my cloud!

by Vince
"Believe me, you wouldn't want to go back to those times! The cheapest Chinese pellets are better than what we used to get from Crosman."

Those immortal words, which cut me to the quick, were spoken by our very own B.B. back in Feb. 2008, and he was referring to the old "Super Pells" that Crosman used to make pretty much until the current Crosman pellets started production. I dunno what makes this guy think he can come along and just squish some of my fondest childhood memories just because he knows what he's talking about...but a-squishing he did go!

You see, one of the fondest joys of my preteen and early teen years was shooting the Slavia 619 my Dad gave me, one that I think he bought in the '50s shortly before I was born. Before he gave it to me, he made sure I understood that THIS WAS NOT A TOY, and it was light-years above the Daisy-Sears 1894 he had gotten me a few years prior. It had a RIFLED SOLID STEEL BARREL, just like the guns in the WWII fighter planes I read so much about, and it could actually KILL THINGS. He once did in a garter snake with it.

I shot the dickens out of that Slavia. I savored every trigger-pull as if I were unleashing some SERIOUS POWER on an unsuspecting tree, target or old model airplane. And it was ACCURATE! My Daisy 1894 couldn't hold a candle to it (my 179 pistol was a joke), and I prided myself on being able to whack the old metal Crosman pellet tins very consistently at about 30-35 feet. Doesn't sound like much now, but back then it would handily out-shoot any BB gun owned by anyone else I knew.

And it did all this usually while shooting Crosman "Super Pells." In fact, I remember when they phased out the metal containers and switched to plastic. As they got empty, I'd shoot at those little red lids (about 1-1/8" square). I usually did so with success. More often than not, I'd nail 'em, but they were certainly more difficult to hit than my usual victims. I seem to remember thinking back then that those were about the smallest targets I could reliably hit at that range.

So, 35 years later B.B. comes along and tells me that these pellets with which I dazzled my friends and myself were ever so horrible, so I'm thinking that I must be mis-remembering and overestimating my standards of youthful marksmanship. Because the "cheapest Chinese pellets," as most of us know, are the Industry brand globs that set a standard of inconsistency second to none. When I'd gotten back into airguns a mere 5 years ago, I made the mistake of assuming that pellets were all pretty much the same. After all, the Slavia of my youth didn't seem to care if I was using Daisy or Crosman. Predictably, then, I wasted a lot of money buying those Industry pellets before I discovered exactly how bad they really were (yes, sometimes I'm a little slow on the uptake!). If the old Super Pells were even worse than these, as B.B. says, I NEVER would have been able to shoot as well as I seem to remember.

A year or so ago, I bought a QB57 that included the NEW Industry brand pellets (in the red tin) which I coincidentally was itching to try out. You see, I knew that Shanghai was trying to clean up its act with its new series of airguns--the AR1000, QB15, QB18, and so on--and I figured that they MUST have done something about those horrible pellets. Well, they did something, all right. These are obviously from a different mold. When I finally got to try them, they seem to shoot just as badly. Maybe even worse.

Back to my snit. How could B.B. possibly say that the old Crosman flying ashcans were as bad as these Industry brand lumps? Is it possible that my memories are that horribly distorted? Or is B.B. wildly exaggerating and just playing games with my head? So, when my Dad recently gave me his old Crosman 1008 CO2 pistol with a couple of containers of Super Pells stuffed in the box,it dawned on me that I could find out for myself.

I decided to shoot these against the much-loathed Industry pellets just to prove a point. And I would shoot them against other inexpensive wadcutter pellets just to see how they fare against modern stuff that ISN'T crap-in-a-can.

The contestants


Starting at upper right, the tried and trusty Gamo Match had to be included in this test. After all, it's cheap--as low as $1.86 per tin of 250. Accounting for inflation, that's certainly cheaper than the 99-cent Super Pells of the early 1970s.

Next to the Gamos are the late, lamented Super Pells that were so callously slandered on these very pages, in the later plastic container. They look ready for a fight, don't they?

Middle left and middle right are two Chinese wadcutters that would prefer to pretend that they aren't related by nationality to the Industry Brand stuff. Both the Beeman on the left and the Daisys think of themselves as respectable pellets, even though either can be found for about $3 per tin of 500. Of course, ANYTHING with the Beeman name is going to be good, right? And as for Daisy, they call theirs "Precision Max." The "Max" stands for either "Maximum" or "Maxwell" (or "Maxine"?), and this test is gonna find out which!

Lower left is the Industry brand tin. As we'll see shortly, the container is made with infinitely more precision than the actual pellet.

Lower right is the tried-and-trusty Crosman Copperhead wadcutter. A lot of guys still like them. If you can still find them in the clear plastic boxes, you'll usually see that the price is often under $4 per 500.

You can doll up anything and make it look good, so let's strip away the fancy packaging and see what the pellets inside actually look like:



Ok, Ok. I'll admit it--the Super Pell doesn't look too good. In fact, it looks downright funky with that dished--yes, dished!--nose. Maybe it's a parabolic reflector that gathers up stray gamma rays and concentrates them onto the target to increase the destructive energy unleashed upon impact? I dunno. But it's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

For pure wonderment (or bewilderment), the Industry pellet rapidly draws the eye away from the roughly hewn Super Pell. To my eye, it sorta looks like it's in motion even while standing still. Maybe a little like a hula dancer in mid-hip-wiggle, or something like that.

Already I'm getting encouraged. But which guns to test with?

The weapons:
Since the Super Pells were designed back in the days before the magnum wars, it seemed only fair to avoid using the heavy-hitters in my gun closet. I'd want to use guns that were of the general velocity range that Crosman might have anticipated for these pellets.



Starting from the top there's my Hammerli 490, which after a going-through and a SERIOUS amount of coaxing in the pivot area has turned into a nice shooter. It's sort of a descendent of the old Shanghai-built Industry B2 except that it looks much better, shoots much better and is probably more reliable because it has a bit less power. It does mid-500s with normal weight pellets.

Next is a Gamo Sporter 500. The same basic gun has been around for quite a while and was also sold under the Daisy name a few years ago. It's typical Gamo in that it has a mediocre trigger, a lot of spring twang and is quite accurate with the right pellet. This gun tends to shoot around 700 fps. A while ago, an online dealer was closing these things out for $60 and I got two of them.

At mid-700s the Slavia 634 is a bit more potent than the Gamo, and is a better-made gun in every respect. It's one of the few guns I've got which has never been apart (except for the trigger) because it just didn't need any improvement.

The RWS 93 is the most powerful gun of the test, generally doing about 800 fps. It's full-sized and heavy for the power (heavier than a model 94), but is a very pleasant gun to shoot. It's made by Cometa of Spain and can be very accurate with the right pellet.

The next rifle is a Diana 26 I recently picked up used at a local, hole-in-the-wall gun shop. It's in decent shape and tends to shoot in the low 700s. A very nice rifle with the older T01 trigger, it's another gun that is a joy to use.

And lastly, but not leastly, is my old, trusty, still-in-very-good-shape 300 fps Slavia 619. But there's a little history here I oughta explain first.

The 619, like some other early Slavias, had a delicate post front sight. When I was a kid, I broke it off. For years, I made do with a makeshift front sight fabricated from a coat hanger and held on with a small hose clamp. When I got older, I decided to fix it right by brazing a new post in place. While doing so, I also boogered up the front 1-2" of the bore. Still don't know what happened, but to my horror the bore in that area got really rough and accuracy went in the toilet. Instead of seeking sage advice, I did the next worst thing: I drilled out the front 2" of the bore with a 13/64" drill bit and recrowned the now-recessed end of the rifling as best I could. That improved things, but it still shot poorly until I did a better job on the crown and scrubbed the bore really well with J-B Non-Embedding Bore Cleaning Compound and a brass brush. After that treatment, the bore and the crown looked REAL GOOD--but only shootin' will tell if it's right.

Well, that's the lineup for this test. Next time, we'll find out once and for all if B.B. Pelletier EXAGGERATES!

News from the 2009 IWA

Introduction by B.B. Pelletier

Guest blogger
Mel is a European blog reader who visited the 2009 IWA show--that's the European SHOT Show. He was kind enough to write this guest blog and provide these photos for us so we could take a peek at some different airguns. 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.

News from the 2009 IWA
by Mel

I had the opportunity to visit the IWA in Nuremberg. For those who don't know, it is Europe's largest sporting arms and outdoor exhibition and a good place to see what airgun makers have in the pipe. My visit there was not airgun-related, and the following report far from being comprehensive. But if you are interested to see a few of the new developments, join me on a little stroll through the IWA.

Ceska zbrojovka
Let's start with Czub, maker of the Slavia 631/634 springers and the Cz 200 that most of you know as the Air Arms S200. It is now available with a beautiful adjustable one-piece stock. This model is also fitted with Cz's diopter and 5-shot bracket magazine. Both accessories are already available.


Cz's new adjustable stock--and not the last one you'll see.

Cometa
Cometa is a Spanish company that sells mainly in Europe. Their new Fusion rifle is based on their 400 model and is equipped with an adjustable stock and a muzzlebrake that is meant to increase accuracy by stripping off the turbulent air.


This rifle has a silencer; the original Fusion comes with a small stainless steel brake.

Gamo
Did we have any adjustable stocks yet? The new Gamo SOCOM is another breakbarrel that follows this trend.


Gamo's new SOCOM rifle. Note the big air pistol advertisement in the background.

Diana
Diana had quite a few new products in their booth. Their new LP8 breakbarrel pistol looks a bit like the pistol equivalent of the Panther 21. Its 580 fps power, scope rail, aluminum frame and the mentioning of its low price makes sure we will hear more of it. Diana also introduced the model 470 Target Hunter--I guess they want a slice of the HW97/TX200 cake! It looks like it uses the model 52 action. Take a look at their catalog for more news. Also, have a look at the new color options for the Panther 21 and the new compact Panther 31 rifles. The catalog is complete except for one new model--the new 56, which is also available with an adjustable stock.

Crosman
I don't have to tell you Crosman exhibited the new Marauder PCP! Who am I to comment on it? You'll find high-quality pictures on the Pyramyd Air website and a thorough review by BB when the time comes. And, of course, there was the Recruit--a rifle based on the Powermaster with an adjustable stock.

Norica
Another Spanish manufacturer that exports guns to America--the Hammerli Storm, Razor and Nova rifles plus some Beeman breakbarrels. They decided to put some of their existing models in a glossy red/grey plastic stock:


In case you wondered, the stocks feel just as they look--hard and very smooth.

Based on their big advertisement videos, their new flagship is a new line of bullpup rifles. What looked like a PCP at first glance turned out to have a very conservative single-shot breakbarrel powerplant. Hmm...bullpups get used by military forces because they can have a longer barrel at the same overall length, at the expense of a long linkage between trigger and sear, and a line of sight that sits far above the barrel. The latter is not so bad for a military rifle, it helps to manage recoil and the resulting sighting problems on short ranges are negligible when your target is torso-sized. But a spring-piston airgun has no need for a long barrel. You could build a conventional airgun with the same length as the bullpup without sacrificing power or accuracy--and we tend to shoot at targets that are a lot smaller than the distance between bore and line of sight than Norica's new bullpup allows. [Editor's note: The problem with bullpup sighting is extreme parallax.]


Here they come in tactical black, digital camouflage green and "Aunt Judy's psychedelic carpet from the '60s" brown! The stock is adjustable, of course.

Hatsan
You've never heard of Hatsan? Sure you have. Hatsan is big. Think Gamo-big. They make the Daisy spring airguns; they make the new Pneuma PCP sold by Hammerli; they make the Walther Falcon Hunter and the Talon Magnum; and they make the Webley Jaguar, to name just a few! It's not the topic of my blog entry to discuss my fear what may happen when airgun manufacturers cease to make airguns and slap their names on a wild mix of products made by someone else. So, let's just say that Hatsan is really, really big and the first thing you see when you enter IWA is a very large Hatsan poster at the entrance.

Their flagships at this IWA were the PCP that has already hit the market, and their Torpedo line of underlever rifles. What makes these guns interesting from a technical point of view is the loading mechanism--the complete barrel can be moved in a sleeve to insert the pellet. [Editor's note: See the new Daisy from the first SHOT Show report this year.] What's really new is the model 95, a breakbarrel equipped with a shock-absorbing mechanism that seems to be simply a dampening plastic tube around the front screw that holds the action and stock together.

Norconia
Norconia is an importer of the Chinese Norinco airguns to Germany. This sounds like a boring company to US readers, but take a look at what they had in their booth: A real blast from the past--a Sharp Inova! This multi-pump pneumatic with its highly efficient blow-open valve was made in Japan and is now considered a sought-after rarity in the Western world. Production never ceased. It's made by Cannon Air and ZOSCN, but import stopped long time ago. Seeing this rifle available again will increase the heartbeat of many multi-pump pneumatic fans!


A real (plastic stocked) Sharp Inova! I was allowed to shoot a puff of air with it. I did so without cocking. It definitely has the original hammerless valve.

And now for something completely different
I must admit that I didn't expect much technical innovation in this economically shaky time. So far it was mostly true--a truckload of adjustable stocks, a traditional PCP here, an underlever version there, but nothing that I'd count as something really new. Until I came to the Armscor booth. For many years, this Philippine company has been the maker of a small line of CO2-powered airguns with the classic Crosman 160-style layout. You know what I mean--single-shot CO2, bolt pulls back, striker for the knock-open valve, etc. Frankly, this was not the place where I expected to find something out of the ordinary. But there it was--a beautiful .22 caliber PCP with an unusual mechanism. Mr. Chua, the chief designer, was in the booth and allowed me to handle the rifle. One could clearly see that he was proud of it and liked it a lot, which seems a good sign to me.


The picture was taken with permission from the Armscor page. You won't find airguns and pellets so close together at IWA!

What makes the rifle so special is its cocking and loading mechanism: A breech part swings to the side to give access to the free-floated barrel. This design carries a lot of advantages in it: First, there's no bolt probe behind the pellet, and the air passage channel in the breech part is curved. Both considerably increase the efficiency. Second, you can inspect the bore visually. Third, you can load a pellet without having to cock the rifle, which can be done when the rifle is already on the cheek by gently pushing the hammer with the thumb. The external hammer can also be decocked if needed. The power is adjustable with a wrench, but Mr. Chua said the rifles will be factory set for a 60-shot string at 850-750 fps (with normal weight lead pellets), as faster pellets enter the trans-sonic range and become less accurate. Thus, the rifle is advertised at the average 800 fps. What refreshing and rare honesty in today's airgun world! Other than that, it has a very good trigger, a threaded muzzle end, pressure gauge on the underside and a removable air tank with quick-fill valve on the front. I couldn't shoot it to test the velocity and, much more important, the accuracy. The PDF on their page looks promising but isn't proof. I left their booth feeling that this rifle will quickly win a lot of hearts when it is sold in the Western world!

How to quiet the big guns for indoor shooting

by B.B. Pelletier

I wrote this last year, but didn't publish it because there was some question about whether this constitutes a silencer. I don't believe that it is, according to the intent of the law. Dr. G. asked me yesterday about how to quiet powerful airguns for shooting in the home, and I thought about this report. So, today, I'm publishing it.

This one's for Anatoly, who asked about installing a shroud on his AR-6. It seems he'd like to shoot his rifle indoors. He's not alone. Many shooters have a powerful hunting air rifle they would like to shoot indoors. That's no problem as far as safety is concerned. Get a heavy-duty metal bullet trap designed for .22 rimfire and no smallbore airgun in the world will overpower it. But the noise these guns can generate is another matter.

I told Anatoly that it's possible to install a shroud on his rifle, but the fact that he was asking probably meant it wasn't a project for him. There's a lot of machining needed to shroud an AR-6. If you don't have the tools or the inclination, it's not a job to undertake. But that doesn't mean you can't enjoy a quiet gun indoors.

This trick is older than me and it's perfect for loud pneumatic and CO2 guns. It isn't as effective on spring guns because most of the noise they make is produced in the powerplant, where this solution has no effect. What is it? Nothing more than a simple cardboard box lined with sound-deadening material.

The portable silencer
The box has two holes cut in opposite ends. To be effective, it should be at least 18 inches long, but 24 inches would be better. It doesn't have to be a big box. The sound-deadening material can be any soft material, but pink fiberglass insulation is probably the best. This goes on all surfaces inside the box and can be held in place with staples or tape.

The box works by sticking the muzzle of the rifle inside at least one-third of the way. With experimentation, you'll discover how far is best. The holes have to be large enough so the sights or scope can see the target unobstructed. And the box needs a stand so it can be positioned.


The quiet box is simple to make from a cardboard box. It will reduce the report of your more powerful smallbore air rifles so they can be discharged indoors without disturbing the family.

Even though there's a large opening on the muzzle end of the box, the sound of the gun will be cut significantly. I call a 4-inch wide by 6-inch high opening a large one. That gives you plenty of room to aim the rifle but still traps most of the major sound waves. Those it doesn't trap get broken up. What escapes the box sounds much quieter in comparison. It must be obvious that an adjustable stand for the box is going to be essential, and that's up to you to make or find. It doesn't have to be that difficult. If you're a non-handy man like me and Red Green, you can bungee the box to a tall pole that has a firm base--like a light stand, for instance. Not elegant, perhaps, but entirely functional and adjustable.

Works for big bores, too!
I remember telling big-bore maker Gary Barnes about this trick and I'll darned if he didn't build one for his shop. He calls it his "ballistic mailbox," and it's made of steel with fiberglass insulation inside. With it, he can test 500 foot-pound airguns in his shop, which is located in town. Though he used metal, you don't need that kind of strength for a smallbore that's only producing 80 foot-pounds or less.

Don't like fiberglass?
You can use things other than fiberglass insulation to line the inside of the box. Other types of insulation would be a second choice, but even soft carpet will muffle the sound more than you think. Shag would be better than a Berber weave. What you're making is a variation of an acoustic anechoic chamber, which is a chamber that absorbs sound waves and doesn't reflect them back. The opening in the muzzle end of the box also disrupts the discharge sound waves and doesn't allow them to leave the box with the same strength they left the muzzle.

Give this project a try if noise is a problem in your house. Be sure to tell us the results!

Choices

by B.B. Pelletier

I have a new toy. It's a Remington rolling block rifle in .43 Spanish. I've wanted a good rolling block for 20 years, and I just stumbled into this one. Now, my world is suddenly in turmoil. Should I preserve this rifle as is or should I rebarrel it? If I rebarrel it, should it be to a caliber for which I already have the loading equipment or for a caliber I think I might like better than the ones I now shoot?

I want to shoot lead bullets, but the heavier they are the more the gun will recoil. On the other hand, a light 275-grain bullet doesn't carry as well as a 550-grain bullet. But at 550 grains, the bullets use up my lead supply much faster.

Should I just rebarrel it to .30-30 and shoot smokeless powder, or should I put a bull barrel on to increase the weight to 16-18 lbs. and chamber it to .45-90 to reach out real far? Of course, then I would have to shoot black powder, which brings up a dozen other major questions.

What should I do?
And then it hit me. This is the same process new airgunners go through all the time. If they spend all their money on that RWS Diana 54 or TX 200 I recommend, they have very little left for a scope and mounts. However, that Gamo CFX looks pretty good, and people say nice things about it. Would they like that just as much?

Is there any difference between my dilemma and theirs? Except for the topic, I don't think so. That's because every time you make a choice, you always do something else--you EXCLUDE all those other choices you had right up to the moment you decided. What a terrible thing! By choosing one thing you eliminate so many others.

Here's a good one. A guy wants a powerful pellet pistol. He examines the possibilities and comes up with this list: 

Beeman P1/HW 45
RWS Diana LP8
Crosman 1377
Evanix AR6 Hunting Master pistol

Before he did the research, he thought that 600 f.p.s. was as powerful as air pistols got. In doing the research, he learned about the AR6, which exceeds 600 f.p.s in .22 caliber and is actually three or four times more powerful than any of the other guns.

Now he has even more choices to make. Instead of narrowing the field, he broadened it.

That happened because he doesn't know himself very well. By that I mean he doesn't know what he likes until he sees it. And that's at the crux of many problems we have. Let me give you another example.

John has been reading about airguns for a while and he thinks he wants the most powerful pellet rifle made. So he starts looking around. At first, he finds the Walther Falcon Hunter in .25 and thinks he has found what he was looking for. Then he learns that Gamo will soon bring out their Hunter Extreme in .25 caliber. While he's reading about that, he stumbles across the .25 caliber Sumatra by Eun Jin and learns that it is more than twice the power of the big Gamo. Wow!

Unfortunately, John then finds out about big bore airguns and he progresses through the 9mm and .45s, on up to the 20mm super guns that are handmade to order. Now he thinks he needs a $1,500 custom big bore air rifle.

Unfortunately, John knows very little about himself. If he did, he might be surprised to learn that he lives in an apartment in Wilmington, Delaware, and seldom leaves town for any reason. If he's going to shoot, it's going to be in his apartment or nowhere.

But since he doesn't know himself, and since his tax refund was only $837 this year, he settles on the Sumatra and a hand pump.

Right after that, Pyramyd Air gets the calls:

"MAN! This air rifle is LOUD!"

Yes, it is.

"And this hand pump is hard to pump to 3,000 psi. And the gun goes through air really fast!"

Yes, it is and yes, it does.

John will probably give up airgunning and try something else pretty soon. But if he had just known a little more about himself we (all of you experts on this blog, along with me) would have advised him to buy an IZH 61. He could have safely shot it inside his apartment and his neighbors would never have known. He could have used the extra money he didn't spend to buy a Quiet Pellet Trap and lots of good pellets. Maybe even a nice dot sight or Bug Buster scope.

The answer
I lived about 55 years before discovering that this dilemma really can be solved. You have to be honest with yourself--brutally honest. Follow me, on the question of rebarreling my rolling block:

How often will I REALLY shoot this rifle? About 100-500 rounds a year.

Will I EVER hunt big game with it? Probably not.

Will I EVER compete in a big bore silhouette match with it? Absolutely not.

If I were to rebarrel it to a smaller, lighter caliber that's easier to reload for and easier to clean up after, how many shots per year will I probably shoot? About 100 to 500 per year.

Answer--leave the gun as is and just shoot it. If you feel the need for long-range big bore blackpowder fantasies, watch Quigley Down Under again.

For John in Wilmington--get an IZH 61 and shoot it until the barrel wears out (in 2,000 years). If you do win the lottery and move to Texas and buy a 10,000 sq. ft. house, buy a second air rifle.

And now, a word from our sponsor The Pyramyd Air moving sale

by B.B. Pelletier

Last week, I hinted at what's about to happen, and today I'll come right out and tell you. Pyramyd Air is moving! They've purchased a building and will move there this year--the exact date is still being determined.

Here's what the move will mean to you. They plan to have a blow-out sale of odds and ends to lighten their load. Last year's Garage Sale was just a warm-up for what's coming this time.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for airgunners to land some buys they'll be bragging about for decades to come. Pyramyd Air has more product to put into this excess sale than the entire inventory of many of their competitors.

Before we get into that, though, I'd like to give you a little history of the company.

Joshua Ungier was a dealer of gem stones, plus he owned a marble-importing business operating under the name Pyramyd Stone. Being a shooter and loving airguns in particular, he decided to open a mail-order airgun business in 1993-94. Pyramyd Air started in 440 square feet of Josh's basement. But it took off pretty fast and soon had to move into a larger rental space of 2,000 sq. feet. The new space was so large compared to the basement that Josh wondered if he would ever grow into it; inside a couple months, he had. He had to build a second level in that space just to be able to stay there awhile.

But even that space wasn't enough. So, once again, Pyramyd Air expanded into a similar space two doors down, doubling their size to 4,000 square feet. That held them for a few years, but then they outgrew that and had to move again--to their current 12,500 square-foot building.

But their current building isn't suited to their type of business. There are too many garage doors in back, which makes the place hard to heat in the winter. Being in Cleveland, it's winter for almost half the year. They also have too many passageways between what used to be separate businesses, so it takes forever to go somewhere inside their offices and warehouses. All the businesses that were there before had put in their own unique interior walls and doors. Pyramyd Air has tried to stay current, but they aren't about to gut a rental property and do a major remodel on something they don't own. The current situation is less than ideal. They also now have 43 employees, so their parking lot is maxed out.

They just bought a 20,000 square-foot building. This one they own and can do anything they like. And before they pack up to move, they want to clear out all the excess stuff that's piled up over the years. Let me tell you about some of that to get your imagination started.

Whenever a manufacturer has a new gun to sell, PA will buy samples to evaluate. This can range from one to as many as 20. It can happen 10-20 times each year. After the evaluation, they have these samples taking up space and getting older.

Then, there are the repair guns customers send in. When they learn how much the repairs will cost, they sometimes ask how much of a trade-in PA will offer on their old gun toward something new. That generates more old guns laying around.

There are also the hopeless basket cases that come from a number of sources. A pallet gets stabbed by a forklift during shipment, or a pallet falls over and smashes a few guns, or a repair job is abandoned by the customer or any of a thousand other things can happen. Now, you have more guns just laying around. Some get refurbished and sold, but many others do not. Some aren't worth the effort.

And, speaking of refurbished guns, what does that mean? At Pyramyd Air, they use a specific term to describe each type of condition.

Used guns are those that a customer has taken out of the box and fired at least a single shot. They're the guns I use to test for this blog. The point is, they have all been used and cannot be sold as new.

Refurbished guns have been gone through and brought back to original specifications. All parts that need to be replaced have been. They may have scratches and marks on them, but they should operate like new, and Pyramyd Air gives the original factory warranty--whatever it was--on refurbished guns.

Open box guns were sold to a customer who had buyer's remorse. He never shot the gun, but he did open the box. They are also guns that the Pyramyd Air staff has had to open the box to obtain some kind of information or take pictures for the website. An examination article, if you will. They are brand-new guns, but for some good reason the box is no longer factory sealed.

Basket cases are just what the name implies. Buy them at your own risk. These are great for hard-to-find parts or for experimentation.

Speaking of parts, PA has a ton of vintage new-old-stock Diana spring rifle parts. There are enough parts to build complete guns in some models. Barrels, stocks, sights, mainsprings--everything the hobby airgunsmith needs to get the job done.

And airsoft
Besides the pellet and BB guns, Pyramyd Air has a TON of airsoft guns they need to get rid of. There are customer returns, guns that didn't sell well, guns with known problems that Pyramyd Air withdrew from sale because they didn't know how they would last. I'm telling you, there are enough of these guns to start a small store! Unless they're marked otherwise, they all work when you buy them. Pyramyd Air estimates at least $60,000 worth of airsoft guns in this sale--not that they'll be charging that much!

Scope it out
And besides the airsoft guns, they have a huge inventory of used scopes. This sale is perfect for those serious airgunners who want parts, project guns and cheap accessories. It's also perfect for dealers who want to plus-up their inventory at a fraction of the cost.

Pellets galore
There will be the same pellet offer PA has made at Roanoke and the last garage sale. Four tins of premium pellets will be pre-bundled and sold for $20. It's a value of up to $40, depending on what you get. If you want to buy specific pellets in dented tins, please bring a written list. A Pyramyd Air sales associate will take your list into the warehouse and fill it to the extent possible.

As a special offer for this sale only, all dented tins will be repackaged in the new rectangular blue plastic boxes Pyramyd Air now uses for .25 caliber through 9mm pellets. These are rugged boxes with closures that stay closed all the time. Only pellets from dented tins sold at the moving sale will be packed this way.

An estimated $200,000+ worth of inventory is being put into this sale. It will be the biggest airgun sale anyone has ever seen.

Details, details
The details of the sale are still being formulated, but they want to hold it sooner, rather than later. John Goff from Crosman is coming down to flip burgers on the grill, and I will be there to meet everyone as well. There will be food and beverages at the sale. Once you arrive, you can shop 'til you drop. There will also be other attractions, but those details are still being worked out.

They're thinking that if you want to bring guns that you don't want to ship, they will have airgunsmiths on site during the show. Some work will be possible while you wait.

They're also thinking that you might want to bring your own airguns to trade in on new ones. This can be a real carnival if you embrace it.

What do YOU want?
Pyramyd Air would like some input from you. Is a one-day or two-day sale best for you? If it's two days, it'll be a Friday/Saturday. If one day, it'll be Saturday. What do you expect to see? Give PA some idea of what kind of things you're hoping to see at their sale by commenting on this blog entry. They carry over 5,000 different items, and all of them, plus things carried in the past, are fair game for the sale.

The only thing I will say about a two-day sale is that the sharp buyers get there on the first day and get the cherries. The second day is often just the dregs. And you can't ask PA to hold inventory for the second day--they want to get rid of this stuff. That's just my two cents from years of airgun shows.

Talk it up and get back with me on your thoughts.

Haenel Model 1 - Part 3A compulsive airgun buy!

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2

There's a new airgun social website to see! It just went live yesterday.

Today, I'll test the rifle for velocity. Remember, this is a .22 caliber breakbarrel in the same class as a Diana 23, which is to say a top-of-the-line youth model. I have to add that at 23-24 lbs. cocking effort, this one is a little hard for really young shooters, so I think of it more as an economy adult model, but it clearly isn't in the same power class as the Diana 27. I would expect velocities in the low to mid-400 f.p.s. range with light .22 pellets. With lighter .177 pellets, that would translate to the low- to mid-500 f.p.s. range.

The rifle shoots without vibration; just a solid thump. The trigger is single-stage and movement can be felt, but no creep. It releases suddenly, which feels crisp. As light as the rifle is, there's a forward jump at firing.

RWS Hobby
The RWS Hobby averaged 385 f.p.s. The spread was from 381 to 391, only 10 f.p.s., which is very tight for a spring gun.

Beeman Silver Bears
Beeman Silver Bear pellets averaged 373 f.p.s. and ranged from a low of 369 f.p.s. to a high of 377 f.p.s. Once again, just eight f.p.s. separates the high from the low.

Daisy Precision Max
Daisy Precision Max pointed field pellets are made in Spain and are not as precise as the other two. They weigh 14 grains, nominally, but the weight spread is broader than other premium brands. They averaged 317 f.p.s. and the total spread ranged from 310 f.p.s. to 326 f.p.s. Even a 16 foot-per-second spread is pretty remarkable in a spring gun.

Clearly, this rifle is well-tuned, because it shoots so consistently with all pellets. The velocity is a little less than I expected, but I don't have as much experience with guns at this level as I do with Diana 27-level guns. However, there was one thing left to do. The breech seal looks on the low side, so I thought I would put in a spacer and see what it does to the velocity. Before doing this, though, I felt around the breech when the gun fired, and there was no indication of air leaking.

The first test was with a plastic spacer and a new o-ring. That combination was too high, because the gun opened at the breech when fired about half the time. The average velocity with Hobbys climbed to about 396, so there was a slight speed-up.

Then, I removed the spacer and just left the new o-ring. The velocity remained the same. Next, I oiled the synthetic piston seal with a couple drops of silicone chamber oil. After a velocity drop for the first few shots, the average picked back up to 402 f.p.s.; so another small gain. On this string the low was 395 and the high was 406, so an 11 foot-per-second spread. That's almost exactly what it was before, except now the gun was 17 f.p.s. faster.

With the mainspring and piston seal in the gun right now, I believe the optimum velocity has been reached. It's a little slower than expected, but only a couple dozen feet-per-second. And like I said, I don't have much experience with spring guns at this level.

Next time, I'll shoot for accuracy and general enjoyment. I can already tell you this is a very quiet airgun, as you might imagine from those numbers. What's not to like?

S&W 586 - Ideal for Handgun Training

by B.B. Pelletier

Guest blogger
Chuck decided to gamble on a pellet gun he saw in this blog. Read what he thinks about it now. 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.

S&W 586 - Ideal for Handgun Training

by CJr


Smith & Wesson 586 is very realistic, as Chuck found out!

Let me start out by saying the Smith & Wesson 586 air pistol fits my needs perfectly. Of course, my needs may not be the same as most air pistol owners. I hear a lot of talk about accuracy, which is admittedly important, but that's not my primary reason for choosing this particular pistol.

I'm not interested in pistol competition/match shooting or even obtaining quarter-inch groups from this gun. Nor am I interested in its value as a collector's item, even though, from what I hear, it may be suitable for all the above. I chose this pistol because it resembles a firearm in feel, size, weight and operation. What's so important about that? Although it would be foolish to use an airgun for self defense (don't even think of doing that!), this one is ideal for self-defense training! I want to use it to practice shooting with confidence one-handed, two-handed, through the sights, sideways like a gangsta, from the hip and everything in between.

I own a firearm that I keep for home defense, a .38 Special +P Airweight. Someday, if my state wakes up, I will pursue a concealed carry license. In any case, I want to be the best I can be in handling and shooting my firearm of choice. Today, for me that firearm is a revolver because of its simplicity, safety and preparedness. So, how does that make the S&W 586 such a great choice? Why not just go out and practice with the real thing? I’ll tell you why. It’s darned expensive!

I first researched getting a .22LR version of my pistol. I found a couple companies that make them. The idea seemed plausible, and .22 ammo is certainly cheaper than the ammo my firearm uses. However, a visit to the local gun shop discouraged that notion right away. New .22 revolvers were selling for over $500 apiece. The cheapest .22 ammo I could find was $1.49 for 50. If I'm going to spend that much money, it should go into a really good air rifle. I considered looking for a used version, but I'm not knowledgeable enough to know a good used gun when I see one. I'd be lucky to find one even $100 cheaper, I thought. That's when the S&W 586 caught my eye.

I was rummaging through back issues of the Pyramyd Air blog when I came across a couple posts evaluating the S&W 586. Smith & Wesson 586 & 686 revolvers and S&W 586 & 686 pellet guns - Part 2. After reading those posts, I knew this was the tool I was looking for. I felt I could count on its quality and reliability. It's much cheaper than the firearm, plus the pellets will be a lot cheaper than .22LR, not to mention that I already have plenty of pellets because of my interest in air rifles. As an added bonus, I can practice in my 33' indoor range in any weather, any time of year and without driving 20 miles to the outdoor range.

I purchased the 586 (from Pyramyd Air) to see if it could live up to my expectations. I'll tell you right now it has. I was impressed with the gun as soon as I removed the box lid. If I hadn't known better, I'd have sworn they sent me a firearm instead of an airgun. When I took it out of the box, I noticed it was a little larger and heavier than my firearm. So, it won't be exactly apples to apples, but it's close enough for my needs.

My first concern, since it was a CO2 pistol, is if the cost of cartridges is going to be a factor. After shooting about 500 pellets, I found that CO2 is not going to be costly. The cylinders (magazines) hold 10 pellets, and I can shoot through six cylinders easily before accuracy begins to drop off significantly. Sixty pellets from one CO2 cartridge per practice session is within my budget.

The gun is very reliable and very easy to shoot in both single- and double-action. Very similar to my firearm. The only time I had a problem with jamming was when there wasn't enough gas pressure for the pellet to fully clear the cylinder, causing the pellet to stick half into the breech. Jams happened around 80-90 shots on the same CO2 cartridge. They're easily cleared with a rod down the barrel, forcing the pellet back into the cylinder. I use very thick weed trimmer line so I don't damage the crown. It also works as a great cleaning rod.

My first attempt at shooting was not very productive. In my book, 33' is a long distance for a pistol. I quickly moved up to 15 feet and worked my way back from there. I was shooting at an 8.5"x11" target. After eight sessions, I can now hit it consistently using the open sights at 33 feet. That size paper is smaller than a man's chest, so I'm in the ballpark without the recoil factor. From the hip...thats another story. Very small movements of the gun result in very large misses. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to master this. Only some very special people have. We'll see. I haven't tried "gangsta" yet.

I've found that I can be productive as long as I use the sights. My first priority was quick target acquisition with open sights. Since a defensive distance in my house will be about 12', I think I'm on the right track.

In the beginning, I fully expected to be able to consistently hit the vital areas of a man-sized target at 33' (with the actual firearm). I think my experience with the 586 has supported that goal. The only things I won't be able to practice this way will be the recoil of the firearm and the anxiety and stress of facing a real threat. The former, recoil experience, I can practice at the local gun range with the firearm once in a while. It is my hope and desire that I never need to experience the latter.

A postscript by B.B.
Edith and I try to visit the indoor gun range once a month to stay current with our 1911 defense pistols. As a comment to what Chuck says about quick sighting and 12' distances in home defense, we can relate to both of those. The Texas qualification course for a Concealed Carry permit has you shooting at 3, 7 and 15 yards. These are considered reasonable defensive distances.

When we go to the range, we always start out at 3 yards, then progress to 15 yards. I can vouch for the fact that my sights, which are called Heinie 8-Ball sights, are the fastest-acquiring sights I've ever seen. From a starting position, where the pistol is rested on the table, I can get two rounds through the 9- or 10-ring at 15 yards in less than 1.5 seconds. This level of shooting was never close to possible for me before getting these sights.

The 8-ball sight is two large white dots. One is on the front post and the other is centered below the rear notch. You stack them like the number 8 when you shoot--but in reality it's even faster than that. I just put the front ball on the spot I want to hit and the bullet lands within 3"...most of the time. I seldom even see the rear ball.


Heinie 8-Ball sights are the fastest pistol sights I've seen. Most of the time, all I see is the front ball, and that's where the bullet goes. The special handling technique I mention in the report is shown in this picture. My thumb is hooked over the manual safety, which counteracts muzzle flip during recoil. As a result, the 1911 becomes very controllable!

I've been a target pistol shooter all my life (shooting handguns for over 45 years), and it did me no good for defensive shooting. After reading one book on the subject three years ago and learning the importance of a proper grip on the gun, I've gone from being a plodder to a pretty fast reactive shooter. I'm 61, so this isn't the result of quick reflexes. It's the result of a technique that actually works. The technique makes the gun recoil so little that Edith became an enthusiastic .45 ACP shooter, where for the previous 20 years she loathed my loaded-down .38 Special loads in a heavy-frame .357 Magnum Ruger revolver.

Testing the Crosman 2200 - Part 3

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2

Today, I'll look at accuracy with the 2200, and I also promised another velocity test. The gun has more shots through it now, and we wanted to see if heating or break-in was responsible for the velocity increase seen during testing last time.

The scope
I was interested in the best accuracy the rifle could offer, so I scoped it, though that really would not be my preference. With a scope on top of the receiver, the rifle is harder to pump because your other hand has to hold it at the pistol grip. That separation of hands makes you work harder to close the pump lever.


Leapers 3-9 doesn't overpower the rifle. The loading port on the side makes a one-piece mount possible.

I selected a Leapers 3-9x40 illuminated scope for this test. I selected it mostly because of the 13.5-inch length of this standard-sized scope than anything else, though I must remark that this scope has a finer reticle than many Leapers scopes. The optics are very clear, plus my lighting was nearly ideal for this test. The range was 25 yards, and 9x is close to optimum for that range.

Eureka!
I also discovered how to load the 2200 so that pellets never turn around. They load perfectly this way. Hold the rifle normally, instead of tipping it on its left side to see the loading port. Place the pellet on the rounded loading port side and roll it into the port. At some point the pellet will jump from your hand because you can't hold it any longer. When it does, it's in perfect alignment! Remember, hold the rifle level!

Here we go!
Two shots to sight-in and the pellets were on paper at 25 yards. I decided to stop at 8 pumps instead of 10 because the pumping was so difficult. The first shots landed low and in line with the bull, and a few clicks of elevation got me into the black.

The first 5-shot group was about one inch, but the next one went into one hole that measures 0.42 inches. The rifle seems to want to be accurate and will lob several through the same hole, then throw a couple wide. Some of the groups opened up more than I thought they should, and I guess the reason is something like the barrel crown.


Some groups looked like this one. Two shots through the center of the bull.


The best group was this one that measured 0.42" for five Premiers at 25 yards.

I tried only Crosman Premiers. I was so fixated on them for the velocity test that I guess I overlooked other good pellets such as JSB Exact 15.8-grain domes and some others. That means the accuracy might be better than I suspect from these results.

The velocity retest
This is the test that's been under my skin all along. Did the 2200 start to break in and get faster in the last velocity test, or does the gun just go faster as it warms up. I waited two hours after the accuracy testing before testing for velocity again.

The drill here was 10 pumps and shoot a Crosman Premier. I'm also showing the 10-pump string from the last test that led me to this test. Remember, we want to know if my gun is breaking-in or if it's just shooting faster because I'm warming up the pump seal with all the shooting.

Before->Now
606------>596
597------>625
638------>602
603------>634
606------>609
601------>600
608------>632
605------>602
605------>637
602------>582

The average last time on 10 pumps was 607 f.p.s. with an extreme spread of 41 f.p.s. The average this time was 612 f.p.s. with an extreme spread of 55 f.p.s.

Then, I tried pumping 2 to 10 times to see what the velocity was.

Before->Now
2: 354----->342
3: 421----->412
4: 478----->478
5: 524----->499
6: 558----->553
7: 577----->574
8: 608----->583
9: 630----->625
10: 613---->644

But wait!
During the pumping on this test, I thought I discovered what was behind the faster shots. It had to do with how I pumped the gun. If I pumped slow and deliberate, the gun shot slower. If I rammed the pump lever closed as fast as possible the gun shot faster. Or at least that's what I thought. So, I tested the gun on 10 pumps:

Slow and deliberate
593

Rapid pump closure
652

But then I tried it again and got this:

Slow and deliberate
601

Rapid pump closure
603

The jury is still out on that one. I'd like any of you who own 2100 or 2200 rifles to try this and see what velocities you get.

This has been an interesting test. I never knew this old airgun had so much potential. And it still falls in the very affordable category. I paid $40 for mine.

One final note. I was also testing the work of airgunsmith Rick Willnecker in this report, because he resealed the rifle for me. I would say this last test demonstrates that his work can be quite good.

Rick Willnecker in PA. Visit his website, call him at 717-382-1481 or
email him.

Airgun sound level measurement

by B.B. Pelletier

I promised this report last September and Kevin reminded me last week, so here it goes. We're all concerned about the sounds our guns make. Sometimes, we make analogies about how loud or quite a gun may be, but these are rough approximations at best.

This information is extracted from an article that ran in Airgun Revue #4.

Sometimes, we buy "sound meters" that claim they will give us the intensity of a sound, but the meters available across the counter these days just aren't the right tools for the job. In his recent video, Airgun Reporter Paul Capello gives you a sound level for the Hammerli Pneuma. Paul says the gun sounds loud to him, yet the number his meter gives is 104 decibels. Actually, that is really very quiet and would be more the level of a low-powered Walther 55 target breakbarrel. The Pneuma is really more like 123 decibels, but Paul's meter doesn't show that high a rating because it isn't an impulse sound meter.

I was at Crosman a few weeks back and they were testing a very loud pneumatic gun in a room with concrete walls about 10 feet apart. The sound meter registered 118 decibels for what I felt certain was over 130 decibels of sound. That meter was also not set up for impulse sound measuring. Everyone in the vicinity of the shooting was wearing hearing protection.

I'm saying this because I had a professional sound tester in attendance at the 1998 Big Bore Shoot at Damascus, Maryland. Steve Lewis, a state-certified audiologist, had performed sound testing for the federal government and published papers on the subject. When he offered to test some of the big bores we had at the shoot, I welcomed him. On the day of testing, we expanded his test to include regular airguns, as well.

Steve used a calibrated "type 0" three-scale sound level meter (SLM) to measure these sounds. His equipment could measure the peaks of the impulse sound, which is what all those inexpensive "type 3" SLMs you buy at Radio Shack are cutting off when they give their numbers. The numbers Steve recorded were much higher and reflected the potentially damaging impulse sounds that OSHA measures to gauge the need for hearing protection in the workplace.

Steve's SLM also froze the readings on all three scales, so you didn't have to watch the meter all the time. On a low-cost SLM, someone has to watch the meter as the noise is generated. The number that appears on the gauge is just temporary.

This testing was conducted outdoors in an open wooded area. Steve set up the pickup 90 degrees to the right of the muzzle and exactly 10 feet away. If the pickup was placed in a different spot, all the readings would change.


Sound level information gathered at the 1998 Big Bore shoot at Damascus, MD. Courtesy Steve Lewis.

I find the above chart fascinating because of all the relationships it shows. Look at the Career 707 Carbine, for example. You would call that rifle very loud, but how many of you would be able to relate it to a Sharp Ace Hunter? And for those who aren't familiar with the Sharp Ace, it's a multi-pump pneumatic that has about double the muzzle energy of the Sheridan Blue Streak. We didn't get a number for the Blue Streak, but my gut tells me it might come in around 118-120 dB.

Look at the big, brutish Webley Patriot. Many would insist it would be louder than a Beeman R9 in .177, but on this day the numbers didn't work that way. My guess is that the R9 had a very loud powerplant.

Look at the Beeman Crow Magnum. I've had several shooters tell me that rifles with gas springs make an extra crack when they fire, but I've never been able to hear it. Apparently, the SLM could!

Notice the large difference between two Beeman P1s. Caliber, alone, does not account for this much difference.

BB, please relate all this to something I KNOW!
I'll try, and then you'll see why I can't. Do you know how loud a .22 long rifle cartridge sounds? Several of you have raised your hands, but you moved too soon. The sound will vary GREATLY depending on the length of the barrel of the gun from which it is fired and the type of cartridge you fire. What I CAN tell you with some degree of certainty is that, when fired from a 20-inch barrel, a .22 long rifle high speed cartridge will exceed 140 dB, if measured exactly like Steve set up his measurements. So, nothing on that chart is as loud as a .22 long rifle.

Some of you are saying that I'm wrong about that. You own a Career 707 and shoot it next to your Ruger 10/22, and it sounds about the same.

Sorry to tell you, but your ears, like the cheap type 3 SLM mentioned earlier, are degraded and cannot sense the peaks anymore. Shoulda laid off the Metallica! Curb yourself before the other elevator riders hear you doing rude things because you are assured they are completely silent!

Is this an eye-opener, or what?
I've known about this since Airgun Revue was published back in 1998. Whenever I brush off a sound meter test, this is what has been behind it.

Some of you will argue that if I give you a number, AT LEAST it will be relative from one airgun to another. Yes, it will be, but standing in ice with your left foot and boiling water with your right does not put you in the comfort zone. By that I mean that being imprecise in sound measurement does nobody any good. If the 118 dB that Crosman was measuring was really 136 dB, what does it matter?

OSHA says the threshold for pain from impulse sounds is between 130 and 140 dB, depending on the person. Pain equates to hearing damage. With impulse sounds it is the combination of the numbers of loud sounds and their intensity that affects a person's hearing. Therefore, knowing whether something is 118 dB or 136 dB really does matter.

At any rate, that's my report on sound level testing.

Haenel Model 1 - Part 2 A compulsive airgun buy!

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1

Well, this report really resonated with a lot of readers. Here are three observations I have from the comments posted to Part 1 and from other comments I've read since Part 1 came out. First, there are a lot of you who admire old vintage airguns like this one. Thanks to an anonymous reader who told me to look for the date stamp on the underside of the barrel close to the baseblock, I now know that my rifle was made in April 1928. That makes it the oldest airgun in my possession at this time. David Enoch told me that he really loves a Hy Score 801 that the same person who fixed up my rifle worked on. We agreed that Jim does the best work we have seen on wood and is also the finest shipping packer around.

The second observation I want to make is that a LOT of people have done business with Jim and all of them have found him to be just as meticulous as I have. So, my comment about safely buying used airguns over the internet extends to people like him, who have a well-documented reputation.

The third observation I want to make is that this blog can make things happen! There was a Hy Score 80-7 (Diana 27) for sale on the Yellow Forum classified ads when the first part of my report came out. Within two days of mentioning it in the remarks section of this blog, the seller had an offer pending. Since it hasn't been relisted, I assume it sold.

Normally, today would be velocity day, and I will get to that in the next report, but I first want to describe the rifle to you in greater detail.

Date stamp
As I mentioned, the date of manufacture is stamped under the barrel, around the point where the barrel enters the baseblock. It's very typical of German airguns to have a date stamp somewhere on the metal parts. I was surprised to see how old this airguns is.


Date stamps are common on pre-war German airguns. This shows the month and year, which is the most common method.

Other clues to the age
The phrase Made in Germany is stamped on the underside of the barrel. Since that changed after World War II and lasted until 1989, it usually means the gun was made before WWII. There are instances of Made in Germany being applied to post-war articles, which is where the sometimes-seen phrase Made in Germany West came from. Of course, the date stamp clinches it; but without that, the Made in Germany stamp is considered fairly conclusive.


D.R.P. stands for Deutsche Reichspatent (German Empire Patent). It was used ca. 1928-1945.

Front sight
The rear sight on this rifle is fairly plain for the era it was made. A simple screw with a large head adjusts elevation. But the front sight shows the company cared about accuracy. It's a simple post in a round hood, but they thought to engrave several lines on the front that align with a tiny mark made in the center of the barrel. The front sight can be drifted left and right in a dovetail, so there is a windage adjustment of sorts. Little touches like this are what endear these vintage designs to airgunners.


The five engraved lines refer the front sight to an almost imperceptible dot in the center of the barrel. It's barely visible in this photo as a tiny line directly under the center of the lines.

Barrel latch
The barrel latch is what makes it a Haenel. There are barrel latches on contemporary airguns. The HW 35 that is still being made and has one, as does the Slavia 630/631. All pre-war Haenels had them, too. When you cock the gun, your cocking hand first pushes straight back on the latch, causing the barrel to drop open at the breech.


Barrel latch is located on the right side of the baseblock. Note that the pivot bolt is locked in position by a screw that fits a recess in the circumference of the pivot bolt head. This kind of construction has gone the way of the dodo, but it's the stuff of airgun collector's dreams!


Breech is fully open on a cocked rifle. That squared-off bar on the side of the deep notch under the breech is the end of the barrel latch. The breech is held closed by a chisel detent that's located in the spring tube. The barrel latch pushes the detent back out of this deep groove, allowing the breech to drop open. Note the low height of the o-ring breech seal in this photo. I may experiment with a spacer after testing velocity. The lessons we've learned recently have sensitized me to the breech seal.

Air Arms Alfa Competition pistol - Part 1

by B.B. Pelletier

Before I begin, I have a big announcement for all those who own vintage CO2 guns. Pyramyd Air now stocks the 8-gram CO2 cartridges that so many vintage guns need. Guns like all of the old Benjamins, the Plainsman BB gun, the Schimel and other guns of the early 1950s. You can see them here.

Now, on to today's report.


Air Arms PCP 10-meter pistol

The Alfa Competition pistol is one I have wanted to test for three years. I'm so glad to finally be testing it for you.

On the surface, this looks like the CO2 pistol that Air Arms sold several years ago, and indeed it was created from that gun. But you don't just pump air into a CO2 gun and expect the exact same valve to work. At least you didn't until the Benjamin Discovery came out. But that rifle operates on 2,000 psi air pressure. If it used 3,000 psi, the CO2 operation would be curtailed.

So, some design changes had to be made before the Alfa pistol would work with air. I want you to notice that this pistol has its air reservoir in the butt instead of a tank slung underneath the barrel. That design was part of the economy of moving from CO2 to air, but it does mean this gun gets fewer shots that fall within the power curve than a pistol that has a much large separate air tank.

First things first
The first things I do with a new 10-meter pistol are adjust the trigger, set the sights and adjust the grip. The grip on the Alfa Competition pistol has no adjustments, so there's nothing to do. I measured the width across the widest spot in the grip, and it's just less than 50mm, so the gun will fit in the qualifying 50mm box that all international competition guns must fit.

On the minus side, there's no adjustable grip shelf. Fortunately, the grip on this pistol fits my hand very well that way, but if I were keeping the gun I would do some major reshaping of the wood. And the reason for that is the huge plus this gun offers.

Ambidextrous grip!
This is the first fully ambidextrous target grip I've ever seen on a competition pistol. Lefties get to play right alongside righties with nothing more to purchase. Of course, that means some tradeoffs had to be made, but a wood rasp and sandpaper can correct that. And no competitive shooter ever fits a grip so perfectly that some adjustment isn't required.

Adjustable trigger
Next, I adjusted the trigger. It adjusts for pull weight, length of first stage, one or two-stage operation, distance from the frame to the trigger blade, rotation of the trigger blade around the bar that holds it, angle of trigger blade on the bar that holds it (don't worry, a photo will make this clear) and the overtravel that stops the trigger's movement after the gun has fired. Like any 10-meter pistol trigger, adjusting one thing may change the settings of something else, so it took about a half hour to get everything the way I like. Fortunately, this pistol has a dry-fire training setting, so the trigger can be cocked and fired repeatedly without exhausting any air.


The trigger was adjusted to stick out to the side like this. I could have canted the trigger blade as well, but I chose to leave it straight up and down.

The ambidextrous grip is thicker than a normal grip, so the trigger had to be set up to accommodate that, and after shaping the grip it might have to be adjusted again. However, I was able to get things exactly where they felt the best with the standard grip that came with the gun.

Once set up, the trigger is without fault. I can easily identify stage two and there is zero creep in that stage. This is the lowest-priced 10-meter pistol I can say that about, for the IZH 46M does have some creep in stage two.

As you may remember, the international rule for a trigger on a 10-meter pistol is that it must hold a 500-gram weight. That's just over 18 oz. So I set this one up at about 19 oz. to be safe.

The dry-fire training mechanism is one that allows you to sight and fire a shot without releasing air or firing a pellet. Competitive shooters use the feature about five times more often than they shoot pellets, and a world-class shooter shoots about one complete match a day with pellets.


With the hook behind the cocking button (one on each side of the gun) you are in the dry-fire mode.

The pistol weighs a light 907.18 grams (exactly 2 lbs.) and comes with a 172.9-gram (6.1 oz.) removable weight. That's pretty light for me, so I positioned the weight close to the front of the track and it stabilized the gun very well.

The gun's velocity can be adjusted, as can many of the finer PCP target guns today. What I need to do is find a good pellet, then select a velocity that gives me the greatest number of useful shots on a single fill. Hopefully, that number will be larger than 60, so a complete man's match can be shot on a single fill. But for international competition, you need at least 70 good shots, because if you make it to the final round there are 10 more shots to be fired.

Sights
The last thing I adjusted were the sights. I don't mean I adjusted them by sighting-in. I simply adjusted the width of the front blade to fit the rear notch, so I could see the greatest amount of light on either side of the front blade. The rear notch width is fixed, but the front sight has three widths that can be rotated into the sight picture. I selected the narrowest one.


The front sight post can be rotated to present any of three widths, to suit your taste.

Is it accurate?
That's the big question everyone wants to know. Other budget 10-meter pistols sell on the basis of accuracy, and this one has to be as good or better to keep up. In traditional European fashion, the test target is attached to the Alfa's operation manual and serial-numbered to the gun, so there is no mistake. If you're not familiar with 10-meter pistols, this target may look like a lie, but rest assured that it is about what to expect from any world-class target pistol. Of course the Alfa sells for several times less than other world-class pistols, so there's a story here and that's why I'm so happy to finally test the gun.


Test target group is pasted to the back page of the operating manual.

Because this PCP-10 meter pistol has additional features that the lower-priced 10-meter pistols don't have, I'll probably have to do a more involved test. Just getting the right pellet could be a chore, and then trying to maximize the power setting after that promises to stretch out the time on this one.

Leapers green laser

by B.B. Pelletier

There is a new Airgun Reporter video report on the Hammerli Pneuma. See it here.

Okay, now the teaser I promised you in yesterday's comments:

When the old woman who lived in a shoe opened her home to her sister who had an equally large family, what did she have to do? That's right, she needed more room. So she traded in her size-nine loafer for a size-46 clown shoe. And when she did that, she thought that it was a good time to say goodbye to all those old socks, and only move the nice new socks.

Can you guess what's coming? If not, here's another tip. Last year many of you enjoyed the Pyramyd Air Garage Sale. Some even mentioned they wished they had been there to see them....

Okay, gotta get serious now.

I mentioned Leapers new green laser in my SHOT Show report, and CJr jumped on it! Then Kevin reminded me recently. So, here it goes!


Here is the Leapers green laser in its aluminum carrying case. The Weaver mount is permanently attached, so anything you mount to must have a Weaver base. The laser can be operated directly by a switch in the end of the tube or indirectly by swapping the coiled pigtail end cap for the direct switch. One CR 134A cell is required to operate.

What's so special about green lasers?
Compared to other colored lasers, the green laser appears approximately five times brighter in daylight and about 20 times brighter at night. Since we're talking about airgun and, more importantly, airsoft applications, the most common laser color is red.

Laser colors are measured by their wavelengths. A red laser is in the 635 or 671 nanometer (nm) wavelength. A green laser has a 532 nm wavelength, which you can see is noticeably shorter. The human eye responds more (is more sensitive) to light at this wavelength, so the dot is easier to see. At the SHOT Show, I've been able to see the dot against the black ceiling girders at ranges out to about 100 meters.

But you will probably not be using the laser in a building with a black ceiling--at least not all the time. What you want to know is how well this laser works outdoors in the real world. Let me demonstrate the difference between a red laser of comparable cost and quality against the Leapers green laser. The red laser is AirForce's LS-1.

Both of the lasers tested have a maximum output of less than 5 milliwatts. That's a requirement for the commercial market. By comparison, the industrial laser that put the words on the side of your Gamo air rifle puts out about 25 watts, and the Terminator tried to buy a 40 watt laser when he came back to LA to hunt Sarah Conner. The pawn shop wouldn't be getting lasers that powerful for another 30 years, so he had to go with a 1911 Long Slide with a laser designator.


Both the red and the Leapers green laser are shown on brick at 6 feet. At this distance, they appear of similar brightness, though the green dot seems larger.


In this shot, both the red and green laser are shown against a dark clapboard at 6 feet. The red dot is an oval from hand movement of the person projecting it, but it is easier to see that the green dot is brighter.


The red dot of the LS-1 has been projected about 40 feet against a fence board in daylight under overcast conditions. Once again, the person holding the laser is shaking. The camera was about three feet from the dot when the picture was taken.


The green dot is projected against the same board under identical conditions. It begins to become evident that the green dot is much brighter at this distance.

More on performance
Outdoors at 40 feet, my wife and I were both able to see both dots against a dark wooden fence on an overcast day, but the red dot was very faint at that point. If seen through a scope, visibility would extend to perhaps 50-60 yards on a similar day.

The green dot was still visible with the unaided eye at 50 yards. Seen through a scope, it would still be visible past 125 yards on an overcast day.

Why a laser?
What could you do with a laser? Well, they're used as designators--similar to sights but since they project, you don't have to look through anything. Once the dot is on target, and assuming the gun has been sighted-in, the pellet/bullet should go to the dot. The Terminator uses one in the first movie and Buzz Lightyear has about 10,000 trained on him when he lands on Zur's planet in Toy Story II.

But why a laser for airguns?
First of all, lasers are highly desired by the airsoft crowd. I shouldn't have to explain why to them.

For regular pellet guns, there's a purpose to having a laser mounted. You can sight it in for a close range--one at which your scope would be suffering a huge parallax problem, and leave your scope sighted-in for more distant targets. The US Department of Agriculture hunts feral pigeons nesting on bridge overpasses in big cities. They're reluctant to stick the barrel of their rifles out the car window most of the time, but they can rest the gun on the seat and use the laser out to 30 feet for deadly shots. The USDA has hundreds of airguns in this service around the US, and they've used this technique for a long time.

Pest exterminators might use a laser similarly. When encountering a squirrel in an attic or crawlspace at 20 feet, how nice to just project the dot and shoot. I had a possum on my back porch several nights ago. With my entire arsenal, I had no way of engaging the critter at 15 feet. And so it goes.

Why haven't we heard of green lasers before now?
Well, if you're in law enforcement or the military, you've heard of them. If you're a serious airsoft skirmisher, you've heard of them by now. But the rank and file is just now getting wind of them because as late as last year most green lasers were selling for upwards of $250-300. And this one sells for under $100. That's the real news, here. A green laser at an affordable price.

And don't worry, there are still green laser designators selling for $1,700, so if snob appeal is your thing, there are still some toys for you out there. But the common man can now afford join in the fun.

Diana 27 - Part 7

by B.B. Pelletier

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

See? I didn't make you wait very long. Today, I'll reveal the bias that unfortunately crept into my test. While it renders my findings inaccurate, it doesn't destroy everything. Though the velocities I have reported in this blog have all been potentially too low, they have also all been in the same region, relative to each other, and I think we can say that the new breech seals have worked. We just can't say it as precisely as I had hoped.

A funny thing happened
And not the ha-ha kind of funny, either. It was the,"Oh no!" kind that humbles us all.

As I was finishing the last of the velocity chronograph work with the higher leather seal, I happened to notice that the left forearm screw seemed to be loose. It was loose and so was the other forearm screw and the forward triggerguard screw. In other words, all three screws that hold the rifle tight in the stock had gotten loose, so I tightened them all.

The next shot through the chronograph was 30 f.p.s. faster than the one before it.

OH, NO!

I felt exactly like the time on my psych finals when I discovered at the end of the test that I had been using a plain No. 2 lead pencil to mark the answer sheet instead of the special blue/black mark-sense pencil we had been given at the start of the test (those were the '60s, don't you know). Could I ever go back and cover every pencil-mark answer made in the three-hour exam with the right kind of pencil in the five minutes that remained? I could--as things turned out.

And so I could go through all the velocity testing with the raised leather breech seal AND THEN reinstall the raised synthetic breech seal and completely retest the gun! I could do all that, and I did, but I couldn't go back and fix all the work that had gone before. Or, at least I am not anal enough to do it!

So, back through the tests I went and recorded new velocity averages with the now-tightened stock screws. I bet you want to know what happened. Right? Here you go. The BEFORE column is the average with the stock screws as they were. The AFTER column is the same test run with the stock screws tightened. And, yes, I did check the tightness of the stock screws as the test progressed, so the AFTER figures are all with tight screws.

SYNTHETIC RAISED SEAL

Before--->After

Eley Wasp
572----->598

RWS Basic
629----->658

Crosman Premier 7.9
579----->605

RWS Superdome
564----->586

RAISED LEATHER SEAL

Before--->After

Eley Wasp
587----->602

RWS Basic
648----->655

Crosman Premier 7.9
592----->609

RWS Superdome
568----->592

The gun works better (shoots faster) with tight stock screws. I'm sorry I didn't check for it earlier, but I had no idea there would be such a huge difference! I knew stock screws affected accuracy, but velocity?

Hold me!
Then I thought about some tests I had conducted back in the days of The Airgun Letter. Some airgun tuners told me there would be a velocity difference between a rifle held loosely and the same gun held tight. I tested it and there actually was! You can test this for yourselves. First test the velocity of a spring rifle held as loosely as possible. Next, hold the rifle with a death grip and press it tight into your shoulder. You should see a significant reduction in velocity when the gun is held tightly. My Diana 27 drops about 25-30 f.p.s.

What to make of all of this?
The data from each of the tests indicates that the rifle is now shooting faster with any of the new breech seals. The seals of low or intermediate height are testing very well, and I have every reason to believe they would also be affected if tested with tight stock screws.

Yes, the results of all the tests are now suspect, because I don't know the status of the stock screws for each of them. But the general trend toward better and faster velocity seems to hold throughout the series. I'm satisfied with the results of this exploration of breech seals and am ready to move on to look inside the Diana Model 27.

Before we leave this subject, however, let's take a moment to reflect on what we've learned. From the start of this series to now, the velocity of this rifle has been increased by 200+ f.p.s., depending on which pellet you look at. All that came from simply fixing the breech seal, so it leaks less air. That's a major boost in velocity, wouldn't you say?

Finally, I think I got a diagnostic out of all of this: when the velocity of a pellet fluctuates wildly, look at the breech seal before anything else. The standard tests of feeling for a blast of air or talcum powder may not reveal what's going on, so always suspect that seal first.

Haenel Model 1 - Part 1 A compulsive airgun buy!

by B.B. Pelletier


Haenel Model 1 is a pre-WWII breakbarrel of good quality. Despite the size of this photo, the rifle is on the small side.

Several of you were aware of my transaction a few weeks back (Feb 21) when I bought this breakbarrel spring-air rifle that was listed on the Yellow Forum classified ads. I had gone to the ads to confirm the URL before posting it in an answer to one of the comments on this blog and saw this rifle at the top of the listings. It had been up all of 16 minutes when I first saw it. Here's what I saw.

For Sale Haenel Model 1 .22 (lots of pics)
This gun is very clean and has been converted to a JM red Apex main seal, honed cylinder, and synthetic O-ring breach seal. I don't have a chrony, so don't ask. The beach stock has been refinished with aniline dye and JM Royal London oil. I'm asking $120 shipped to the lower 48, and the gun will be shipped with the action separated from the stock, in form-fitted rigid foam, then double-boxed. I'm on the BOI. Please check me out. If you don't like it, I'll buy it back. First committed E-mail gets it.

The 20 photos (he did say there were a lot of them) showed a vintage spring-piston breakbarrel air rifle with a barrel lock lever. I owned a Haenel Model III breakbarrel years ago, so I knew these guns are made with pre-World War II craftsmanship. Nothing like them is made today.

Things that impressed me about this ad and gun were the number of photos the seller was showing. He was obviously proud of the work he had done on this rifle. I was also impressed by his price of only $120 for the rifle, including shipping! I would expect to pay that price or more if I found this gun on a table at an airgun show.

The tuneup work done to the gun was similarly impressive--not because I knew the seller's work, which at the time I did not--but because he was able to tell me so much detail. He clearly knew this air rifle well and was aware of all its faults and features. And he was willing to buy it back if I didn't like it. The BOI he refers to is the Board of Inquiry, a feature of the Network 54 classified ads, where the buyers can tell of their experiences while dealing with this person.

It took me less than one minute to make up my mind to buy the gun, so I posted a "Sold" message on the forum. Within an hour, the first blog reader responded by mentioning that he had also seen the ad and wondered whether it was worth the asking price. Guys, this is where experience pays a dividend. This rifle was so clearly worth the asking price that I made a nearly impulsive buy, and that's uncharacteristic for me. Could it all have been a scam? Could I have lost everything? Of course! In fact, only a short time later one of our readers, the Big Bore Addict, had a misfortunate transaction while selling something on the same forum.

Let me draw a comparison for you that will help you better understand the value of this rifle--I consider this rifle to be equivalent in build quality to the Diana model 27. Oh, it's smaller and less powerful than a 27 and I'm not saying it should be priced the same; but in terms of how well-made it is, it's just as good. So when someone offers one at a reasonable price with all the work this seller was offering, I considered it a no-brainer. Get it, test it and if for some reason you don't like it, sell it for what you paid for it. How can you go wrong with a deal like that?


Diana 27 on top shows just how small the Haenel Model 1 is. It's more the size of a diminutive Diana Model 23, which is the top of their youth line from that era.

The seller got back with me quickly, and we clinched the deal. He sent the gun the next business day, and I sent the money his way. I explained to him that I wanted the gun to test it for you, and it turned out he has read this blog. He knew who I was and what I wanted to do, so he sent me more information about the gun. Here's what he wrote me:

I bought the gun as a basket case off one of the auction sites. It was plum-colored patina, and someone had carved some initials into the stock. I think I paid around $40 including shipping. 

I enjoy the challenge of restoring what was at one time, a fine piece of engineering. When I got the gun, I did my usual tear-down and assessment. In this one, the leather seal was (as usual) embedded with nails, and beyond repair. 

As I was cleaning and degreasing the main tube, I noticed that most of the patina was coming off with just Simple Green and a scotchbrite. So I kept at it for a while, and got down to pretty decent metal with no pits and some of the original bluing left. 

With a $40 gun, you're allowed to take some chances, so I wiped it down with Birchwood Casey Superblue, and it sprang right back. This one is by far the best home metal refinish I've ever done, and it was purely luck. After the re-blue, I used Minwax paste wax instead of oil, and it made it look almost new. 

I stripped and sanded the stock, and refinished it with a water-based aniline dye and Maccari's Royal London oil. It turned out quite pretty. 

Since the main seal was irreparable, I decided to fit a synthetic. I had a JM Apex that was close in size, so I spun it down to fit, made an adapter out of a conical plumbing washer, and slapped it in. This all happened late last summer. 

I was unable to go to Roanoke [last] year, so I sent the gun with a friend, and told him to sell it for whatever he could get. Well, nobody bit, so it came back home with my friend. I just got it back from him today. 

It was still shooting very low and slow in my basement, which is only 7 yds.  But after he left, I opened it up again, and determined that the main seal was a good fit. So I looked at what else might be a problem. I had read that leather seal guns rely on a mirror polish in the compression tube, and sometimes suffer when converted to synthetic. So I used a brake cylinder hone and scratched it up a bit. That may or may not have helped. But what did really did help was replacing the leather breach seal with an O-ring. 

The rifle now shoots well and seals well. No more low and slow.  Unfortunately, I don't have a chrony, so I can't offer any good data. But it now punches clean holes in a beer can, where before it was making big rips, so it's definitely shooting much faster. It's still no powerhouse, but it never was, even when new. 

It's a fun little gun, and I think you'll enjoy it. I look forward to reading about it.

Interesting about the breech seal, eh? Just the thing we've been learning about recently, thanks to Vince and all his rebuilding knowledge.

I'm surprised about the lack of interest at Roanoke. All I can say is that I didn't see this gun there. If I had, I think I would have bought it. And I know a couple others like my buddy Mac or Randy in VA who would also have been interested. No matter, though, because the gun is now mine.

However there is one last thing to tell you before I dive into the test. The seller of this rifle, who I will now call Jim, is a very careful worker. By that I mean a perfectionist. And not the kind who has to tell you all the time that he's a perfectionist--no sir! I'm talking about the real deal.

Pack your bags!
Jim told me the gun would be very well-packed when he shipped it to me. That's like saying the Mona Lisa is a famous painting! There are satellites going to Mars that aren't packed as well as this rifle was when Jim sent it to me. In fact, the packing is worthy of its own blog report, but not by me. So, Jim, if you are willing, I'd like you to tell everyone how you pack an air rifle for shipment. I feel like a hobo who ships airguns in wet blankets after seeing your work.

However, I won't keep you all waiting for Jim's writeup. Let me describe what I saw when I opened the box.


In this instance, a picture is not worth a thousand words, because it doesn't convey all the extra care that went into the packaging of the rifle. This is the dense foam block that held the two parts of the airgun during shipment. Missing from this picture are the many small pieces of foam that were wedged against the parts to hold them still. Also not shown are the nylon bags used to protect the finish.

The action and stock were separated and each was nestled (cocooned is a better term) in a fitted slot of dense rigid foam. Both the stock and the metal action were sleeved inside a heavy nylon stocking to protect the finish from any rubbing on the foam--though the fit of their compartments was so tight that any movement was impossible under normal circumstances.

The three screws that attached the stock to the action were sunk into the foam. Everything was labeled, so I knew what to do first and which side was supposed to be up. And every part was covered by wide clear tape, so any movement was arrested by the tape. There were foam inserts to prevent the slightest movement of any of the parts, and both sides of the foam were backed by cardboard for cushioning. There were cut lines around all the parts to separate them easily at their destination.

In short, the box was prepared for a short ride with a crash-test dummy. If they gave awards for packing airguns, this one would have won an Oscar! And it was the perfect set of credentials for a gun that had been worked on by the same fastidious airgunner. I knew after unpacking the box that I had just won a lottery for internet vintage airgun buyers.

And that's my story for today. It's possible for all you boys and girls in Keokuk, Iowa, and Gillette, Wyoming, to participate in the vintage airgun game at the same level as anyone else. All you need is an internet connection and some basic knowledge about what you want. Great buys don't come up every day, but as someone wiser than me once said, you'll probably see a once-in-a-lifetime buy about every year to 18 months.

Diana 27 - Part 6

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

Boy, do I have some neat stuff to share with you today! Some of it is so neat that it's prompting me to publish still another part to this test before tearing into the Diana 27 powerplant. Yes, I'm talking about a Part 7!

But let's do Part 6 first. You may remember that last time I tested the rifle with a synthetic breech seal provided by Vince. I installed the seal and showed you a picture of it, then I recorded the velocities with the same pellets that were used in the new leather seal report (Part 3). Before that, I had replaced the old leather breech seal with one I constructed from an old belt.

You may also recall that several of you felt I had trimmed the new leather seal too close, and you felt it could not seal as well as it would have if it were left standing proud of the breech. You chastised me and instructed me to make the synthetic seal stand proud of the breech. Vince even provided the new o-ring that became the seal, as well as a thin steel washer for extra spacing.


Several readers felt the new leather seal should not have been trimmed this close to the breech. They thought it would have lower velocity than if it stood proud of the breech a few thousandths.

So, the synthetic seal was supposed to increase velocity over the new leather seal.


The new synthetic seal stood proud of the breech face just a little. Several readers felt this was not high enough.

I showed you the velocity of the rifle before (with new leather seal) and after (with synthetic seal standing slightly proud of the breech), and we all saw that the synthetic breech made the gun slower with two pellets (RWS Basics and RWS Superdomes), faster with one (Crosman Premiers) and was an improvement with Eley Wasps, but it wasn't clear how much.

Several readers didn't like the outcome of that test and scolded me for not raising the synthetic breech seal high enough. I was instructed to repeat the test with a higher breech seal. Today, we'll see the results of that work.


When seen from the side, this is how high I originally installed the synthetic breech seal.


I cut a new plastic washer from a peanut tin top. This was installed behind the synthetic breech seal along with the steel washer that was already there.


This is what the synthetic breech seal looked like for this test.

Eley Wasp pellets
Eley Wasps hadn't worked well with the new leather breech seal I made for the gun. They shot in two different velocity ranges--or so it seemed at the time. The low range was from 242 f.p.s. to 269 f.p.s., and the high range was from 588 to 620 f.p.s. At the time, I believed those low velocities, but I have since learned that a lighting condition on my test range gives artificially low velocities with certain pellets. I can repeat the low velocities at will, yet bring the rifle back to full velocity just by moving the muzzle back one foot, so I now know the low velocity range I reported then was only a lighting trick. The leather seal was actually shooting from 588 to 620 f.p.s.  all the time.

With the first test of the synthetic seal--the one that may have been too low-- the average velocity jumped to 598 f.p.s., with a range from 588 to 612. In other words, not much different than with the new leather seal.

With today's higher synthetic seal, the velocity with Wasps averaged 572 f.p.s.. That's clearly a drop of 15-20 f.p.s. from either the new leather seal or the first (lower) synthetic seal.

RWS Basic pellets
RWS Basics gave an average of 658 f.p.s. with the new leather seal, and an average of 643 f.p.s. with the first synthetic seal.

With today's higher synthetic seal, Basics averaged 634 f.p.s.--a definite drop in velocity from the last two tests.

Crosman Premier 7.9-grain pellets
Crosman Premier 7.9-gain pellets averaged 588 f.p.s. with the new leather seal. With the first synthetic seal, the average increased to 605 f.p.s. Today's higher synthetic seal netted an average of 579 f.p.s, or a drop in velocity from both earlier tests.

RWS Superdome pellets
RWS Superdomes averaged 588 f.p.s. with the leather seal and 586 f.p.s. with the first synthetic seal. With today's higher seal, they averaged 564 f.p.s.--a pronounced drop.

What about a higher leather seal?
You didn't stop with wanting the synthetic seal to be higher. You also told me to raise the height of the leather seal to see if that had any affect on velocity. I removed the synthetic seal and replaced it with the leather seal that was used in the earlier tests in Part 3.

Both the steel washer and the new plastic washer were left in the seal groove, so the leather seal now stood very proud of the breech--for a while. After several breech closings, the leather squashed out in all directions and became visibly lower.


After closing the breech a few times the leather seal squashed out like this. Compare this to the height of  the first leather seal shown above and you will see that this one is higher. However, no matter how high you make the leather seal in the beginning, it will ultimately get smashed this low because the breech is tight. Leather cannot resist the smashing force of steel against steel, so it just squashes out until it fits the clearance perfectly.

Eley Wasps
Eley Wasps averaged 587 f.p.s. with the higher leather seal. That's a small drop from the first leather seal and the first synthetic seal.

RWS Basic pellets
RWS Basics averaged 648 f.p.s. with the taller leather seal. That's a drop from the new lower leather seal, but an increase from the first synthetic seal.

Crosman Premier 7.9-grain pellets
With Crosman 7.9-grain Premiers the average velocity with this taller leather seal was 592 f.p.s. That's a slight gain in velocity over the lower leather seal and a decrease from the average with the first synthetic seal.

RWS Basic pellets
Basics averages 648 f.p.s. with the taller leather seal. That's slower than the lower leather seal and faster than the low synthetic seal.

Crosman Premier 7.9-grain pellets
Premiers averaged 592 f.p.s. with the taller leather seal. That's slightly faster than with the lower leather seal and slightly faster than with the first synthetic seal.

RWS Superdomes
Superdomes averaged 568 f.p.s. with the taller leather seal. That's slower than both the lower leather seal and the first synthetic seal.

Before you jump me for not reporting how the taller leather seal relates to today's test of the taller synthetic seal, allow me to mention that NONE OF IT MATTERS, BECAUSE THE ENTIRE TEST IS BIASED.

Oh, yes, dear readers, the entire test has been biased from the start, and I will tell you all about it in the unprecedented Part 7. Coming very soon! Boy, am I learning a lot about this particular rifle!

Testing a tuned Tech Force 97

by B.B. Pelletier

Guest blogger
Vince rebuilt a Tech Force 97 and offered to let Herb test it. This report is the result of that test. 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.

Testing a tuned Tech Force 97
by Herb

Courtesy of Vince, I've had an opportunity to play with a .22 caliber Tech Force 97. According to Vince, this is a version of the standard Chinese QB36-1. Neither rifle is sold by Pyramyd Air. It's been fun and quite a surprise for me.

I've just been playing with lots inexpensive guns, trying to find one that I like. I bought a couple for various "experiments." Like most neophytes, I have now bought and tried enough inexpensive guns to determine that you get what you pay for. Actually, I've proven B.B.'s corollary--"You don’t get what you didn't pay for." So, there isn't a $100 gun that really performs as well as a $1,000 gun. At this point, I wish that I had just bought a Benjamin Discovery at the start, but that's how we all get educated--bad decisions.

Impressions of the rifle
The wood seems nice for a $100 gun. In this price range, plastic seems to dominate. Call me old-fashioned, but I like the feel of the wood on the TF 97 better than the synthetic stock on the Crosman G1, which I also have. I really liked the feel of my cheek to this rifle. It was just a perfect height for me with the scope. Although the TF97 has the same length of pull (LOP) as the Benjamin 392, the right-hand grip is sort of blocky and a bit large. The uniform extension of the forearm makes the gun nice to hold.


On the right, the Tech Force 97. Compare the length of pull and the shape of the pistol grip to the Benjamin 392 on the left.

The front sight was sheared off when Vince shipped the rifle to me. The front sight is obviously cast, then finished with a bit of machine work. The damage was not a big deal for me since I wanted to scope the rifle anyway. Even though there is a parts diagram in the rifle manual, there isn't any place listed to buy the parts. Vince told me that there is a dealer that sells parts for the rifle, so the diagram does come in handy.

The front sight has three removable parts--two hollow ferrules and an aperture disc. It seems like a nice sight. I'm uncertain if apertures may be bought for the sight, but it would seem simple to make some of your own. A nice fiberoptic front sight and a peep sight would seem to be a very interesting possibility.


Front sight of the TF 97 was damaged in shipping.

The rear sight seems to have quite a bit of adjustment with a very simple mechanism. I assume that the same rear sight is used on other Tech Force rifles. I wish the rear sight on my Benjamin 392 was this adjustable. Why doesn't Crosman spend just a tiny bit more and put better sights on the Benjamin 392/397?


TF 97 rear sight has lots of adjustability.

I did notice scratches on the cocking lever where the linkage has rubbed the stock. I can't really tell if the extension of the stock is warped or if the metal parts are slightly crooked in the stock, but the left edge of the forearm rubs the cocking lever. I didn't notice the rubbing when cocking the rifle. Again, for a $100 gun, you can't expect super-fine master craftsmanship.


Scratches on TF 97 cocking linkage.

I like the notion of having a fixed barrel. I think the fixed barrel removes a source of error in shooting, and any error reduction is a good thing.

Adding a scope
I used an 8-inch 4x Beeman scope on the TF 97. It was the scope that originally came with my Beeman RS-1. The short Beeman scope ends right at the end of where the breech opens. This made it fairly easy to load pellets with the scope on the gun. I also ordered a CenterPoint scope for another pellet rifle, and it's a full 13 inches long. Had I installed it, it would have covered the breech, making loading very difficult.


Scope shown above the rifle is obviously too long. The objective bell hangs over the loading port, making loading difficult.

Newbie lesson on ordering scopes
Here's a lesson for the newbies (like me). Even though all the scopes look the same size on the website, check the scope's length and weight before you buy. The CenterPoint scope, which I ordered for another gun, is much larger than I had expected. I didn’t even open the packaging. Pyramyd Air is willing to take back the scope for a full refund, but I created the problem when I ordered it. The length was given on their website.

Loading the TF 97
I loaded with the gun pointing straight up to balance the pellet on my thumb. Even though the TF 97 has an anti-beartrap mechanism, I held the cocking level with my left hand as I loaded a pellet with the right. I was careful not to pull the cocking lever all the way down with my left hand, but held it firmly at a loose position in the cocking stroke. I don't want the cocking lever bouncing on the anti-beartrap mechanism. The thought of getting a thumb stuck in the slamming breech is unnerving. With this rifle, take the simple extra precaution of always blocking the cocking lever while you the load pellets.


I hold the cocking lever while loading to prevent the sliding compression chamber from moving, even if the anti-beartrap mechanism should fail.

I had trouble a couple of times when cocking the rifle. The rifle seemed to be cocked, but I couldn't get the beartrap release to disengage. I then started cocking with a bit more authority, and the problem rarely occurred. Being able to get the gun partially cocked did nothing to bolster my confidence in the anti-beartrap mechanism.

Shooting the TF 97
The action has a nice solid thump. It doesn't seem as hard as the Crosman G1 or the Beeman RS-1 that I have. I'm guessing since this isn't a magnum trying to propel the pellet at the speed of light. The kick and recoil are somewhat subdued. The lower power level also makes cocking fairly easy. With the short cocking lever (about 14 inches), a magnum-power spring would make this rifle very hard to cock.

Vince also shared with me that the TF 97 has a leather seal on the piston. I guess a synthetic seal would require higher machining tolerances than this rifle has. Leather seals work and were used in a lot of airguns for a long time, so old technology isn't necessarily bad technology. The leather piston seals do need a lot of oil (this rifle smokes), but I never had a detonation. I assume that the modest power prevents that.

I tried shooting on a benchrest with the gun balanced at the balance point, on the end of the wooden forearm and by the band at the front of the barrel. There was some impact point variation with the holds, but it didn't seem to be particularly bad. I don't have much experience judging the hold sensitivity of springers, but I think the modest power kept the rifle from being too jumpy.

My biggest surprise? I really liked the trigger. I have no idea of how the trigger was before Vince tweaked it, but now it's sweet. It's the nicest one I've tried. It just seemed nice and crisp to me. A gentle squeeze and the trigger breaks. POW! Wish my Daisy 22SG was as nice. I've shot only cheap airguns, so don't be shocked that my standard isn't the two-stage Rekord. I don't know if I can afford to try one. If that gets to be the gold standard, like JSB pellets, this pastime is going to get even more expensive!

Vince also said he had cleaned the barrel before shipping me the gun. No surprise that JSB Exact Express pellets seemed to be the best of those I tested. The TF 97 doesn't shoot quite as well as my Daisy 22SG. With JSB Exact Express, 6 shots went into a less than dime-sized hole at 10 meters on Gamo Paper Targets. I like them because the center white spot is about quarter-sized, and the bold numbers make a good reference for the scope crosshairs. I won't claim to have the artillery hold down perfect, so the TF 97 might do even better in someone else's hands.


Six-shot group with JSB Exact Express pellets at 10 meters.

Ordering JSBs from Pyramyd Air is getting to be an expensive habit. How come no gun shoots the best with the cheap Walmart pellets?

In the table below are the chrony values that I obtained with the Alpha Master Chronograph. I can't explain why the 14.3-grain JSB Exact Express pellets don't follow the general curve of the other pellets, but I double-checked the values and they seemed consistent.


Average velocities for several pellets in the TF 97.

All-in-all, this has been quite fun. My impression is that the Tech Force 97 a nice plinker. Since the power seems a little low for hunting (but about the same as my favorite Daisy 22SG), I'd buy the .177 instead of the .22. The groups aren't PCP target-gun size; but for some good, plain fun, the rifle seems like a nice buy. With leather seals and a modest spring, this gun could easily be maintained for a long time. A little creativity in making some front sight apertures, a cheap rear peep sight and this might be a fun starting target gun too. Just remember to ALWAYS block the cocking lever when loading pellets!

Gamo Big Cat - Part 4

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3


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

This report is a special one. I completed the accuracy test of the Big Cat a month ago, but at the time I said I didn't like the Gamo scope and mounts that come with the rifle. I promised to return to the rifle one more time and test it with a more powerful upscale scope mounted in a good set of 4-screw scope rings. This is that test.

What I wanted to test was whether or not the accuracy of the rifle improved when the rifle was shot with better optics. The scope that comes with the gun was blurry at the 21 yards I shot, which is pretty bad for a 4x scope. They magnify so little that they should be clear at 21 yards. The scope rings were also suspect because they pulled the scope out of alignment when the two cap screws were tightened.

For this test, I used Leapers 3-12x44 Mini SWAT scope. This short scope has a 30mm tube and is brighter than most scopes in this power range. It has a mil-dot reticle and sidewheel parallax adjustment down to 10 yards. I've used this scope in numerous air rifle tests over the past several years, and I know it's a good one. Compared to the 4x Gamo, it was like looking through a clear window.

I mounted the scope in two-piece mounts of an undetermined nature, but UTG 30mm medium-height rings would have worked better. The rings I used didn't have a scope stop pin, so I had to use a separate Gamo scope stop behind them to tie into the scope stop hole on top of the Big Cat spring tube.


Leapers mini SWAT scope is small but loaded with features and as bright as you could hope for. The optics are clear and sharp. This scope is three times more powerful than the Gamo scope used in the first accuracy test.

The pellet of choice was the Crosman Premier 7.9-grain pelletr, chosen in the first accuracy test on the basis of accuracy and consistency. I started out using pellets straight from the box, but when the results didn't seem to favor the larger scope, I cleaned the barrel and oiled the pellets. While that sounds like special attention was paid to the gun during this test, I did it to avoid all the "what-ifs" that typically come afterward.

Crosman Premiers straight from the box
Shooting at the same 21 yards and using the same version of the artillery hold as in the last test, I quickly established that the Big Cat wasn't going to shoot any more accurately, despite using the higher-power scope.


What a teaser this target was. Unfortunately shot number 2 went to the right of the group. You could call it a flyer, though nothing different was noted while shooting. This was a typical group size the first time I shot the rifle with the larger scope, but this particular group was so tantalizing with those four shots in that tight bunch.

After shooting several frustrating groups like the one above, I decided to pull out all the stops and go for broke. I cleaned the barrel with JB Bore Paste and switched to oiled Premier pellets for the next series. The impact point moved up by an inch, but as you will see, very little changed.


Two rounds on the right and three on the left. More teasing! The group size is typical of the rifle after bore cleaning. I re-sighted the scope after cleaning the bore.


A tighter group that promises one-hole accuracy. This was the best I could get the rifle to shoot.


This is a typical group from the last accuracy test. As you can see, it's not much different.

In this test, the point of impact did not shift as it had in the last accuracy test. You'll remember the POI was walking to the right as I continued to shoot. Though the Big Cat is very sensitive to hold, the hold is a natural one and neither difficult nor painful. I used a straight artillery hold and laid the forearm in the flat of my left hand. It seemed best to push the off-hand forward of the balance point about an inch. Then, the rifle settled down and shot its best.

What was learned?
First, despite using a much more expensive scope sight that was three times as powerful, the groups were no smaller. Even though I felt better about the sight picture, the expensive scope wasn't needed for accuracy.

Next, I learned that the Big Cat barrel was not dirty for all the tests that went before. Nothing changed after this cleaning, so the bore must have been in fine shape all along.

I re-established the fact that 7.9-grain Crosman premiers are the best pellets for this rifle. I did try others in this test, but nothing measured up to Premiers.

UTG Navy SEAL MK23 spring airsoft pistol - Part 3

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2

I like to give good reports about a guns, but today that's not going to happen. Up to this point, I'd been really enthusiastic about the UTG Navy SEAL MK23 airsoft pistol, but today was the accuracy test and the gun did not do well. Since I've tested numerous other airsoft guns in the same price range, I do have the basis for comparison to say that.

I know I'm contradicting the opinions of a great many satisfied customers, but allow me to explain how the test went and you be the judge. Since I'd tested the Crosman M1 Carbine BB gun on Monday, I thought it would be interesting to use the exact same range to test this pistol. With other inexpensive airsoft pistols like this that I've tested, the accuracy has been good enough to beat the Crosman M1, and I thought that might be convincing to anyone who thinks an airsoft gun isn't worthwhile. So that's what I did.

But the gun didn't cooperate. It had everything going for it--a great trigger, good power, crisp sights. I thought it would be a walk in the park. It turned out to be a low-crawl through the confidence course on a rainy day with the machine guns shooting low!

Before I continue, let's all remember that airsoft pistols are not meant for target practice. They're minute-of-bad-guy guns to be used in skirmishing. With that understood, however, a number of inexpensive spring airsoft pistols are more accurate than this one turned out to be.

Air Venturi 0.20-gram BBs
The Air Venturi 0.20-gram BBs were first. I figured that if I could group well with them, I would fulfill a long-standing promise made to Air Venturi to test their BBs under field conditions. But at 20 feet, shooting with the gun held in two hands off a rest, I couldn't even hit the target PAPER! The target was a 3-inch stick-on Shoot-N-C bullseye that I figured to be more than large enough for a 20-foot shot. I could hit the same target at 15 yards offhand with a 1911 shooting .45 ACP. But this time I shot a 5-inch group of five on the target box that was used to hold the target paper. The gun was hitting to the left of the aim point by three inches at 20 feet.

So I pasted a second bullseye to the right of the first one, figuring to walk the shots in with Kentucky windage. But they still missed the 5 by 8 target paper, not to mention both bulls! Okay, clearly Air Venturi BBs were not the ticket in this gun.

Black Tokyo Marui 0.20-gram BBs
Pyramyd Air used to carry this BB, and I had found them to work very well in several spring pistols I tested in the past. But, once again, I could not hit the target paper at 20 feet from a rested two-hand hold.

Frustration caused me to drag the shooting table to 15 feet, which is BB-gun range. But BOTH BBs still missed the target more than 75 percent of the time. Clearly it was time to try something drastic. So I tried some TSD 0.25-gram BBs from 15 feet, and I saw what the problem was. They were curving wildly! Back to the 0.20-gram BBs and, yes, they were also curving. That was just the reverse of what the customer comments had said.

So I brought out the blue cheapies--a pile of generic 0.12-gram BBs that have no right shooting well in any airsoft gun this powerful. I bet you can guess what happened next.

The blue cheapies
They worked--but only in comparison to the others. At 15 feet, they wanted to group within the big bullseye. Finally!


Three hits out of five shots from 15 feet, rested. I could do this well offhand at 15 yards with a 1911 and .45 ACP ammo.


The first shot sailed through the 10-ring on this bull. I was encouraged that the gun was finally shooting where it should, but, alas, the next four shots only produced one more hit.


The only target with five hits was this one. I was holding the pistol off the bag, which seemed to settle the group a bit. The lowest hole actually passed two BBs.

What about the silencer?
I did try the gun with the fake silencer attached, but the first two rounds went 12 inches wide of the target box, a miss of about two feet at 15 feet, rested. That finished the test for me. Clearly the BB was hitting the inside of the silencer before exiting.

Magazines seemed to make no difference.
Since the gun comes with two magazines, I tried both of them. Neither seemed to offer any advantage, as far as accuracy is concerned.

Now adjustments for accuracy
If the Mk23 had adjustable Hop-Up, I would have fiddled with it to try to get the gun to group. That's not a complaint, because guns at this price rarely have that feature, but I just mention it because there was nothing left to try.

How fast do pellets go?

by B.B. Pelletier

This report is for Herb, who requested it several weeks ago. I'll present empirical (observed) data on this topic--not theory. I have been testing airgun velocities since the first day I got my first used chronograph in 1994, and I've learned quite a lot just by watching.

Can pellets go supersonic?
There have been several arguments over the years that, since they are driven by compressed air, pellets cannot go supersonic. Let me lay that one to rest right now. I've shot thousands of pellets faster than sound--the most recent was during the test of the Career Infinity a couple weeks back. Yes, pellets do go faster than sound.

When I first started chronographing pellets, I was curious to see if the .177 RWS 48 sidelever could drive light pellets to 1,100 f.p.s. Those were the days before trick lightweight pellets, so we relied on RWS Hobbys that were lighter than they are today. I saw many shots in the 1,050 f.p.s. region, but other than obvious detonations, I didn't see any that went 1,100 f.p.s. When you think about it, though, 1,050 f.p.s. is pretty fast.

Then came the 1250 Hurricane
The next big leap forward came when Gamo brought out the 1250 Hurricane, a breakbarrel springer they claimed could shoot 1,250 f.p.s. I was fully prepared for this gun to also shoot less than the claim, but to my surprise, it didn't! In the first test, I got a velocity of 1,257 f.p.s. with a Hobby pellet. The average speed for the string was less than that--about 1,220 f.p.s. as I recall, but the gun really did achieve its advertised speed. And it was so much faster than the speed of sound that nobody who witnessed a shot could doubt it and keep a straight face. The supersonic crack was convincing evidence, because it always came well after the sound of the discharge.

And then the AirForce Condor
Then I went to work for AirForce. For the first 18 months, nothing big happened in the supersonic realm, but then AirForce owner, John McCaslin, came out with the Condor--a rifle that exceeded 1,200 f.p.s. in .22 caliber. In fact, I test-fired each one of the first 100 guns to ensure they were going faster than 1,250 f.p.s. with Crosman Premiers. We didn't ship them unless they were because we knew there would be an army of new owners sitting out there with chronographs waiting to expose us if the guns didn't perform.

We kept a ledger of those first 100 guns, some of which exceeded 1,280 f.p.s. with .22 Premiers. They were the fastest .22 caliber air rifles the world had ever seen, though by this time I knew that certain Korean rifles like the Career 707 could sometimes get a first shot out the spout at 1,270 f.p.s. But the Korean rifles couldn't keep shooting that fast. They declined in velocity with each shot, while the Condor kept the first 20 shots faster than 1,200 f.p.s.

Believe it or not, it was nearly a complete year before anyone thought to test the Condor for the top velocity in .177 caliber. Heck--we were already over 1,200 f.p.s. in .22 with medium-weight pellets. How much faster did we need to go? However, the day finally came when AirForce wanted to know how absolutely fast the .177 could go, so I got tapped to test it. I already knew it would go over 1,300 f.p.s. with a .177 Hobby, but Skenco Hyper-Veloocity pellets were available then and they weighed over a full grain less than Hobbys, plus their bodies were plastic, not lead. Surely they would be the fastest.

And they were. I fired several 5.4-grain Skencos, and the fastest recorded shot went 1,486 f.p.s. Had I known at the time how big an issue this would become, I would have photographed the chronograph readout, but I didn't. As of today's date, 1,486 f.p.s. is still the fastest velocity I've seen from a pellet being driven by air, alone. I've seen plenty of shots powered by a fuel/air detonation that have wandered into the 1,700 f.p.s. realm, but those are shots from a firearm, by definition. When just air is the propulsive force, 1,486 f.p.s. is the best I have seen.

Gamo, again
A year went by and then Gamo brought out their Performance Ballistic Alloy (PBA) pellet, made from a non-lead casting metal plated with 18-carat gold. The Raptor pellet was the first PBA to hit the market, and it increased the velocity of almost everything it was used in. A year later, the Hunter Extreme came to market with the claim that it could shoot a pellet over 1,600 f.p.s. Actually, the gun bears a sticker that claims 1,650 f.p.s. Gamo even showcased the gun and pellet on Jim Scoutten's Shooting USA television program, where the camera recorded the rifle shooting a Raptor through the chrono at over 1,630 f.p.s.

So, I tested a Hunter Extreme. To my surprise, however, it failed to achieve even 1,400 f.p.s. The best I saw was 1,395 f.p.s. I asked other Hunter Extreme owners to report their top velocities to me, and the best I got was a third-party report of 1,425 f.p.s. What was happening?

What happened is very clear. The rifle shown on TV was detonating! I can get the Hunter Extreme over 1,600 f.p.s. by introducing a light oil through the air transfer port. Anyone can. When the piston compresses the air, the heat of compression ignites the oil droplets, causing an explosion. But I challenge anyone to shoot the rifle for 50 shots AND THEN chronograph it! I'm pretty sure they won't see velocities above 1,400 f.ps. with PBA pellets. I don't know if I've convinced you about this or not, but I am satisfied that the Gamo Hunter Extreme is not capable of achieving 1,600 f.ps. with PBA pellets in a supervised and honest test.

Before we move on, I have two more comments. First, 1,395 f.p.s. (the fastest I have ever been able to get a Raptor to shoot in a Hunter Extreme on air, alone) is not a poor performance! It's stunning! But it's not 1,600 f.p.s. and people need to know that, so when some gun really does shoot that fast it can get credit for doing it honestly.

The second thing is that Gamo now advertises their .22 caliber Hunter Extreme as shooting 1,300 f.p.s. in .22 caliber, which they say makes it the fastest .22-caliber air rifle on the planet. That statement is untrue--plain and simple. I have shot several shots from .22-caliber Condors faster than 1,300 f.p.s. I did it years ago, before Raptor pellets existed in .22 caliber. I always tested Condors with 14.3-grain Premiers, so all it took to pass 1,300 f.p.s. (with some guns--not with all of them) was to drop down to a lighter lead pellet. It was no trick; the gun was always that fast. Who knows how fast it would be with a trick pellet?

Enter, Dennis Quackenbush
I got a call from Dennis Quackenbush late last year. He wanted to test maximum pellet velocities because of things people were saying on the Yellow Forum. He constructed a special testbed smoothbore gun in .25 caliber and .375 caliber. We tested both versions at the 2008 LASSO big bore airgun shoot in Texas, and I filmed the test. That video is provided for you in a new article on the Pyramyd Air website. That article and video is the summation of this report.

So Herb, that's my report. It's as far as I've seen pellet velocity testing go to date. These numbers have all been witnessed--sometimes by over a million viewers, so nobody can argue they aren't real.

Crosman M1 Carbine - Part 3

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2

Before we begin I want to announce a new article on the Pyramyd Air website, plus the March podcast is up (including a link to download an mp3).

Today, we'll look at the carbine's accuracy. As I reported last time, I've never tested this carbine before, so I'm finding out all of this at the same time you are. The Crosman M1 Carbine I tested for The Airgun Letter was a wooden-stocked gun I owned long ago. It was less powerful than this one, and I hope less accurate, to boot!

But that turned out not to be the case. While it's more powerful, the accuracy of this gun is just about the same as the older one. There was, however, one BB that out-shot the others in this test. Before we get to that, though, how about a report on the shootability of the gun?

Trigger
This gun has a single-stage trigger, and all the guns I've shot felt the same. The trigger releases crisply after a moderate pull, but the thin blade does make it feel heavier than the 4 lbs. that it is. Sometimes, Crosman triggers need shims on either side of the trigger blade to cut down on wobble, but this one doesn't.

Firing
The gun fires with a quiet pulse. It's almost silent outdoors. The impact of the BB is much louder than the firing noise.

Sights
Crosman copied the later carbine sights that are fully adjustable, and the BB gun sights are, as well. The aperture hole is too large for precision. If you want better results, it would be the place to begin.

Let's move on to the accuracy test and learn which BB is the most accurate.

Crosman Copperheads
Well, it wasn't Crosman Copperheads! They went all over the place, as I thought they might, from the results of the velocity test. I remember measuring them a while back and found them to be the smallest of the popular BB brands, as well as the most irregular. The average group size in this gun at 20 feet, rested, was 2.625". Not a bragging group.


Five Crosman Copperhead BBs from 20 feet, rested. One BB went almost through the center of the bull, and another is very low on the paper.

Avanti Precision Ground Shot
Avanti Precision Ground Shot was the most uniform BB during the velocity test, and several of you thought it would be the accuracy champ as well. But it didn't happen. Not only was it not the best BB, it was very consistently not the best BB. That last statement may take some explaining. The Avanti posted group sizes from 1.9" to 2.75" at 20 feet, rested. Try though I might, I could not get it to shoot better. If I hadn't tried the next BB, I would have thought this performance was okay, but it wasn't, as things turned out.


One Avanti BB is close to the center of the bull and one is at 7 o'clock, just outside the bull at the upper right. This is the best Avanti group, and it's just under two inches.

Daisy Premium Grade BBs
The best BBs in this Crosman M1 Carbine were Daisy Premium Grade BBs. There was no challenge from the other two. The BEST group of Avantis was larger than the WORST group of these BBs. And the best group was an astonishing 0.80" for five at 20 feet, rested.


This worst Daisy Premium BB group measures about 1.5 inches.


The best Daisy Premium group is less than one inch at 20 feet. Three together in the center of the bull and two above that. One is in the white at 12 o'clock. This isn't representative of what the gun can do, but it does show that it likes this BB best.

I did remember to twist the barrel after cocking, so the sights were always in the same position for every shot. The Crosman M1 Carbine is simply not a precision BB gun--any more than the M1 Carbine is a precision centerfire rifle. Crosman copied that feature, too.

But nobody ever claimed that this was a gun for the International BB Gun Championships. Leave that to the 499. This is a fun gun, pure and simple. It's a can-roller and a blaster of plastic army men. For that roll, it's ideally suited.