We The People BB pistol: Part 3

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2

We The People pistol
We The People commemorative BB pistol from Sig.

This report covers:

  • The trigger reveals itself
  • Sights
  • Grip
  • The test
  • Daisy BBs
  • Hornady Black Diamond
  • Dust Devils
  • Blowback
  • Accuracy?
  • Discussion
  • Summary

Today is accuracy day for the Sig We The People 1911 BB pistol. Remember, there is a cartridge equivalent pistol, but I won’t be testing one of them.

Things I look at in a semiautomatic BB gun test

I do a lot of these BB-pistol tests and I thought I would take a moment to tell you what I look for. Since this is a BB gun the level of accuracy is not the same as I would expect from a pellet pistol. And it is certainly not what I expect from a single-shot pellet pistol! I know you guys are rolling soda cans with BB pistols like this, so that’s my criteria — is it that accurate and will you have fun shooting it that way? I do shoot it at paper but only for a visible record we can all see and discuss. read more

ASG CZ75 SP-01 Shadow BB pistol: Part 4

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

ASG SP-01-pistol
ASG’s CZ 75 SP-01 Shadow BB pistol is large and heavy. The guns they are shipping have red fiberoptic sights in front, like those found on the firearm.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

This report covers:

  • Why the firearm?
  • What is the Shadow?
  • Action
  • Trigger
  • Low recoil
  • Accurate
  • Accuracy
  • I am pleased

Today is the day I tell you about the performance of the CZ75 SP-01 firearm. You may remember I am doing an expanded series on this particular BB pistol because it resembles the firearm so closely. And many owners of the CZ75 have told me what a wonderful handgun it is. So, I bought one and plan to test it with the BB pistol.

Why the firearm?

This is something I don’t normally do, although this year I plan to do it several more times. The reason I don’t compare a firearm to a pellet or BB gun is there is so little to compare — until now. While talking to Bob Li from Action Sport Games (ASG), the importer and distributor of the ASG CZ75 SP-01 Shadow BB pistol, he told me he owned a 9mm CZ75 SP-01 pistol that he really enjoyed. Bob is in sales, and the Great Enabler met his match at this year’s SHOT Show. By the time the show ended, he had me wanting the firearm. read more

It’s always something!

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

This report covers:

  • Don’t dabble
  • Retail sales
  • Prisoner joke 49
  • Mr. Fix-it
  • Success — sort of
  • Sell your skill
  • Build a better mousetrap
  • What am I saying?

Today I am writing to those readers who think they would like to have a business that deals with airguns. I hear from people all the time who think they would like to be involved in the airgun business. Sometimes they ask for advice. Here it comes, whether or not you asked.

Don’t dabble

The first thing I look for in a person who wants to get into the airgun business (or any business, for that matter) is passion. Do they have passion for what they say they want to do? If a person tells me they are retired and just want to dabble in airguns I tell them that’s like dabbling in skydiving. At some point you have to jump, and then you DEFINITELY have to pull the ripcord! Skydiving gets real serious real fast. read more

Daisy Model 99 Target Special: Part 3

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

A history of airguns

Part 1
Part 2

Daisy 99
Daisy Model 99 Target Special.

This report covers:

  • The test
  • What is accuracy in a BB gun?
  • Air Venturi Steel BBs
  • Hornady Black Diamond BBs
  • Dust Devils
  • Daisy BBs
  • Daisy Avanti Precision Ground Shot
  • Discussion
  • 499
  • Summary

Today is accuracy day for the Daisy 99 Target Special BB gun. Up to this point I have told you the history of the gun and we have looked at its velocity. Daisy purposely made this BB gun as a target gun. That means target sights and a sling. It also means a good trigger. But what about the barrel? Unless they did something with that you aren’t going to see any more accuracy from this gun than you would from a Red Ryder. I owned a 99 many years ago but it’s been so long that I can’t remember what it was like. I’m learning about this gun right alongside you. read more

FWB 110 target rifle: Part 2

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Part 1

A history of airguns

FWB 110
FWB 110 target rifle.

This report covers:

  • Sliding compression chamber
  • Velocity
  • RWS Hobby
  • Vogel Match Green
  • Accuracy
  • How good is it?
  • Summary

Today I will finish the report on the FWB 110 target rifle. Some readers thought I was testing the rifle myself. Jerry and Tommy Cupples offered to leave it with me, but given its rarity and value, I declined. I would hate for anything to happen to it in shipping! So, they did the testing for me. Let’s take a look.

Sliding compression chamber

When you pull the sidelever back you also pull the sliding compression chamber back, which in turn moves the piston. The piston compresses the mainspring, and when the sear catches the piston, the rifle is cocked. I showed you the compression chamber open in Part 1, so link back to that (above) if you have forgotten. read more

Beeman QB Chief precharged pneumatic rifle: Part 6

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Beeman PCP
Beeman QB Chief precharged pneumatic air rifle.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

This report covers:

  • The test
  • H&N Baracuda Match with 4.50mm head
  • Bug Buster scope performance
  • JSB Beast
  • What now?
  • Summary

Today we see how the Beeman QB Chief precharged pneumatic air rifle does at 50 yards. Get ready for a pleasant surprise!

The test

I shot the rifle last Friday, which was my banner day at the range. The weather was perfect with no hint of a breeze — perfect for testing the accuracy of an air rifle. The test was ourdoors at 50 yards. I shot off a sandbag rest and the rifle was scoped with the UTG 3-12X32 Bug Buster scope.

Beeman PCP scoped
The Bug Buster 3-12 scope is a perfect match for the QB Chief.

I looked at the 25-yard test results and selected the two best pellets. First up was the H&N Baracuda Match with 4.50mm head. At 25 yards the QB put ten of them in 0.334-inches. Sight-in took several rounds and then I shot the first group. I filled the rifle after each group, as we have established that the QB Chief gets around 15 good shots per fill to 2000 psi. read more

The importance of bullet-to-barrel alignment and fit: Part 2

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Part 1

This report covers:

  • An opportunity arises
  • Cartridge comparisons
  • Disaster!
  • Ta-da!
  • At the range
  • The test
  • Final accuracy test
  • Discussion
  • Summary

Today is Part 2 of this report that may go one more time if I don’t cover everything today. I think I won’t, because today I am reporting on a big experiment that has taken me months to complete — plus a whole lot of money!

In Part 1 I talked about the importance of the alignment of the bullet to the bore of the gun. I hope you got something from that. Today I will begin discussing the importance of the bullet’s fit. And when I say bullet, I include pellet, though there are some things that are unique to pellets that will have to be discussed later.

An opportunity arises

Several months ago I was in a local pawn shop where I saw a Taurus revolver with two cylinders. One is chambered for .22 long rifle cartridges and the other is chambered for .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, or WMR. I thought, “What an ideal platform to test the importance of bullet fit for accuracy, since the .22 long rifle cartridge and the .22 Magnum cartridge do not share the same bore dimensions.” We discussed this in the 4-Part series The development of the .22 rimfire cartridge. read more