Daisy Avanti 853CM

A sporter gun is like a sports car. It needs to have the right parts and right balance to perform well. With that analogy in mind, I would characterize the 853CM as a "Want-to-be sports car that needs heavy tuning". In my opinion, the gun has an awesome power plant (precise barrel and consistent pump), and a great concept (single-stroke pneumatic). But, that is where the benefits start blurring away. The PLASTIC trigger is rather spongy and with long and uneven relatively hard pull. It was absolutely horrible at first and improved a bit after it broke in (after about 1000 shots or so). But even after a few months of use the parts inside seem to make light screeching noise sometimes, while pulling the trigger. It makes the gun feel cheap. I found the gun to be unbalanced, especially for the standing position. The double muzzle weight overweighs the light hollow polymer butt stock, and it is hard to find comfortable balanced rest position. It also increases fatigue.

Removing of the second muzzle weight has helped the situation. I do not see a compelling reason for installing of the second weight with such light weight stock. Next is reloading. I like the 5-shot clip concept. But without auto-advance it loses its effectiveness. It is like driving in the dark with the lights off. There are no visible markers on top of the flat rubber strips, and you have to guess how far you need to push the clip to align the pellet with the barrel. If you miss, the front of the pellet can get scratched and the skirt also can get bent during reloading. This can affect accuracy, especially with wadcutter pellets with less slanted top edges (e.g. Crosman Competition). I actually had to extract or shoot away a few heavily bent pellets. The reloading without auto advance also creates another problem. Fatigue. While you advance the clip, you would typically put most or all weight of the gun onto the slightly bent left arm.

After about 1/2 hr of shooting or so your left arm can start feeling the fatigue, affecting accuracy and the joy of shooting. The sights have no luxury in the construction - metal and plastic. But, they do the job. My biggest complaint is about the placement of the diopter sight mounting screws. They are on the right-hand side and right above the bolt (BTW, the bolt is also made out of plastic). So, you constantly bump or scratch your fingers. Overall, I was expecting more from an air gun worth over $300. It feels CHEAP, not well thought out and consequently it under delivers. Yes, it has potential, but that requires a trigger mod, adding clip auto advance, removal of the second muzzle weight and making the stock butt heavier, at least. Using of plastic for the trigger, bolt and sights is simply unacceptable for this class of gun in this price range! I wish Daisy made another model (e.g. 854/954) with at minimum a two-stage metal trigger, bolt and sights.

Accuracy!!! I made this purchase to practice. As I tried several different pellets to see which would shoot best at 10 meters. None of my groups were bad, all of my groups had all 5 of the test shots connected. When I got to the H&N Sport Match Pistol (7gr.) I had a very good group of under.180". To make sure this was not a fluke I shot 4 more groups with the worst under .200" and the best of .125". I don't anyone can ask for better from a pellet rifle at this price point. other pellets such as the RWS R10 and RWS Misterkugeln (7.0gr.) were nearly as good. This was done with the provided diopter sight and stock trigger.

Trigger has along and gritty pull but I performed the easy Pilkington modification and all is right with the world.

Use caution installing the front sight and don't over tighten the set screws, remember the barrel is a tube and may be damaged if you are too aggressive. I have been shooting and gunsmithing for 40 years and this rifle surprised me.

It is light and well balanced. Very accurate rifle. I enjoy shooting it. Single shot adapter is handy and well designed so that the pellet rolls into position without any fiddling. The front sight broke when I assembled it. Pyramyd sent a new one right quick. I got a better fiber optic front globe and it is a good deal easier to hit the bull.

It is a good sporting target rifle for the price and I enjoy it.

I give this rifle 5 stars because of its accuracy. The front sight broke when I was mounting it just as it did with a fellow airgunner and reviewer. Still 5 stars because of Pyramyd's quick shipment of a new sight and a new weight after I sent a photo of the broken sight. MacMillan style stock is good. If you find it to thin, duck tape a sponge on it. Once the sights are working and dialed in, the barrel on this rifle will really sling them in there. Because I have to work a little harder to stay on target for my follow through, I feel I am improving my shooting. It's also very light and well balanced so an hour of shooting is no big deal.

A better quality front sight. A lollipop insert.

This could be a wonderful rifle. I do not understand why we get a beautiful choked Lothar barrel combined with the crappiest polymer front sight I've ever seen. If Daisy would mix the polymer better before they poured it there would not be a problem. Again, with just a little more effort from Daisy this could be the niftiest go to target rifle around for under $600.

Easy loading,ACCURATE, great sights,just right for me at 70y/o.

Better stock butt pad. This one is good, but could be better.

As always read reviews on any rifle or gun you buy. Reading is a lot easier than an unsatisfactory purchase on the buys part.

Great rifle for the price, excellent shooter, great feeling, and just a good feeling air gun in my hands.

Make it auto indexing as the othe rifles with the pellet clip.

Is not AUTO INDEXING as was indicated in initial advertisement from Daisy.

Very accurate gun. Very easy to shoot accurately since it's not a springer. The trigger will seem nice if you're used to firearms or lower end springers. It's not awesome though. I do like the magazines it comes with. Kinda wish this model did the autoindexing too.

The front site broke while trying to mount it. It's cast plastic, so the tolerances weren't good enough to mount without requiring excessive torque and breaking it. I figure it will be hit or miss about whether you can use the original front site. Pyramid compensated me for a better sight. But the front site is nice if you can put it on without breaking it.

I got the airforce sight to replace the front site. I like the glass sight, and the larger size of it, but it sits too high. I can't adjust the rear sight high enough to compensate. Would need a riser on the rear sight, but then I'd need to build a higher cheek piece. I'm thinking I will buy the other glass sight on Pyramid's site. It looks like it'd be a more direct replacement. Also, the Airforce sight takes some modifying to fit the 3/8's rail.

I like the accuracy, the Walther barrel, and the looks and feel of this target rifle. Great weight ballance for target shooting. And the sights are a good match for this rifle. Also, it's very accurate and easy to cock load and shoot off hand, and in the sitting position.

They should have made the large rear sight clamp screw to fit on the left side, so it does not interfear with the thumb cocking of the breach. I have big hands.

It comes with five 5 shot repeter clips and an extra single shot adapter. This is a real accurate rifle. Although made for youth, it is a fun for adults too. Great accuracy, and the trigger is easy to adapt to. Also, Pyramydair delivers fast; got it in 3 days with free shipping. I find this 853CM to work best with RWS Meisterkugeln 8.2gr rifle wadcutters. I tried the crosman competition and the beeman coated pelets and they work good. But for better accuracy offhand, I like the RWS 8.2 gr.

Great accuracy with the Walther barrel. I also like the ease of cocking and loading the rifle. It has great sights and the monticarlo stock feels comfortable and is great for desert climates. The extra weight on the barrel also helps add more stability and weight to this light weapon. Some say they don't like the trigger, but I find it to be very good, and feels just about right for a sporter target rifle; like 2 to 3 lb pull.

Add more girth and weight to the stock forarm and but. This is a youth weapon and the stock has a thin cheek rest.

As an adult, I find this great fit for target shooting, as it is a competition sport target rifle. Know that it is not a hunting or field airgun. There are better field airguns with more power. Nevertheless, this 853CM shoots well with any wadcutter. The micro click sights are solid the rear sight is made out of metal and the front sight globe is poly material with 4 other inserts. Mine came with 3 different inserts and 2 are the same type. The shight can fine tune well and hold their zero even after removing the rear sight and re-mounting it. The Avanti 853CM is so fun to shoot, you must keep track of the time. I ended up shooting 140 rounds the first day I spent with this 853CM. This rifle is accurate, I was hitting 5 shot groups smaller than 3/8" bench rested at 10m. The rifle comes with the manual for the 853C, which is different such that the 853CM does not have a auto feeder for the 5 shot repeting function, and the sights are also different. And the 853CM is about 20 fps slower. But with the Walther barrel and accuracy of the 853CM, who cares about 20 more fps.

For the price this was a good purchase. It allows me to practice in doors through the winter.

The triger is very rough and has excessive take up. This affects accuracy or forces you to concentrate on your hold through the long take up.

If you want a clean trigger break spend more money.