How to mount a scope: Part 2

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Part 1

This report covers:

  • Rest of the story
  • Why did it shoot high?
  • Today
  • One last remark
  • “Level” the scope
  • You cant
  • The bottom line
  • Other than springers
  • What’s next?

Rest of the story

In Part One we learned how to properly mount a scope on a spring-piston air rifle. Today I’ll start by telling you what happened with my friend’s Gamo Whisper that I scoped in that report. I shimmed the tube on the rear scope ring because my friend told me his rifle was shooting all over the place. To me that’s code for the scope is adjusted too high. The majority of them are. He had taken the scope off before bringing me the rifle so I was just guessing. Thinking I knew the problem,  I shimmed the new scope in the rear. Then I gave it back to my friend.

A week later he called and said he had shot it at a box 150 feet away and didn’t hit it. So I walked him through the 10-foot sight-in. He did it and called back — the gun shot 2-inches high at 10 feet — not two inches low like I said it would. Oh, oh! read more

What do YOU want?: Part 1

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

This report covers:

  • In an air rifle
  • The marketing
  • Not my idea
  • Last visit
  • So what?
  • The $100 PCP
  • What do YOU want to see in an air rifle?
  • Over to you
  • Summary

In an air rifle

It was February 2006. I’ll never forget standing in the office of Crosman’s CEO, Ken D’Arcy after making my pitch about a single shot precharged pneumatic air rifle that only filled to 2,000 psi.  I was on fire that day, because Ed Schultz had taken my idea and in three days had prototyped two rifles — one in .177 and the other in .22. To his surprise — it worked! He had turned two Crosman 2260 CO2 rifles into prototypes of what the company would eventually call the Benjamin Discovery. [Note: Crosmnan has changed the rifle to a Sheridan 2260.] He was getting 20 shots at almost 1,000 f.p.s. in the .177 and he hadn’t even tweaked the valve yet! read more

The Benjamin Cayden: Part 1

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Benjamin Cayden
Benjamin Cayden sidelever repeater.

This report covers:

  • News from Benjamin
  • Craftsman Collection
  • Price
  • Description
  • Fill
  • Barrel not shrouded
  • Summary

News from Benjamin

I was contacted last week by the Crosman Corporation, They asked me if I would like to test one of the three new precharged pneumatic rifles from their Benjamin Craftsman Collection. You may recall that I showed you all three new rifles in Part 4 of my SHOT Show report, back in January. I asked to test the new Benjamin Cayden.

Cayden-1
The Cayden is a conventional-looking sidelever bolt-action PCP.

The Cayden looks conventional. The Akela is a bullpup repeater and the Kratos is a bottle-fed PCP. Both are repeaters like the Cayden and they all three come in .22-caliber. The Kratos bottle gun also comes in .25-caliber — the only one of the three that does. read more

The 788 project: Part 1

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

This report covers:

  • The Godfather’s Gold Gun giveaway
  • The rules
  • Design an airgun contest
  • The 788 project
  • Remington’s 788
  • First trip to the range
  • Free-floated barrel
  • Relieving the barrel channel
  • Ten-shot 50-yard group
  • Timney trigger
  • Glass-bedded action
  • So what?
  • Summary

The Godfather’s Gold Gun giveaway

Before we dive into today’s report I must tell you about a new feature on the Pyramyd Air website. It’s called Build Your Own Airgun. It’s an interactive set of pages that allows you to configure certain airguns the way you want them. Think of it as a custom shop where you are the builder. You put all the parts, features and finishes together for a certain airgun and then give your creation a name. Pyramyd Air will put your choices together and construct the airgun you have purchased. From that point on, every gun of that model with those same specifications will carry the name you have selected. read more

Airguns you never see

Posted on by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 69 Comments

by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

History of airguns

This report covers:

“Toy” BB guns
The heavy Daisy 179
FWB 125
Daisy Annie Oakley BB gun
Summary

Gonna have some fun today. Instead of testing something I want to show you some airguns you’ll probably never see. We’ll start with a couple Daisys.

“Toy” BB guns

Imagine you work at the Daisy Manufacturing Company around the year 1960. It might have been a few years earlier, but probably not much later.

You’re cranking out BB guns by the million each year, and the monotony is getting to you. So you decide to do something different.

In another part of the plant they make true toy guns that don’t shoot anything. These are noisemakers and smoke makers for the smaller boys and girls who aren’t yet ready for the responsibility of a real BB gun. read more

How to mount a scope: Part 1

Posted on by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 154 Comments

by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

This report covers:

  • The olden days
  • What needs to be done
  • Eliminate cant
  • The tale
  • More information
  • The scope must be angled down
  • Adjusting the scope too far right is also bad
  • Not experts
  • Position the eyepiece
  • Adjustable scope mounts
  • Is it enough?
  • Points to remember
  • Summary

The olden days

When I started shooting in the 1950s, scopes were not that common, especially on airguns. I was as intrigued by them as anyone, believing that they increased the accuracy of whatever they were mounted on. 

Well, they don’t. What they do is make it easier to shoot accurately with a given airgun or firearm. But they can only do it if they are mounted on the gun correctly and then sighted in properly. This series is dedicated to addressing all that is inherent in both mounting a scope correctly and then sighting it in properly.

What needs to be done

To properly mount a scope there are several things to consider. Here is a list. read more

Tuning up an older airgun

Posted on by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 60 Comments

by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

This report covers:

  • Lots of new airgunners
  • Time for the basics
  • Back to today
  • A joke
  • What’s up with the Gamo?
  • The solution
  • Tune in a Tube
  • Alternate method
  • Did it work?
  • Summary

One of the guys in my church asked me what to do about a scope that had gone bad on his Gamo rifle. He told me the reticle had tipped sideways inside the tube. After some discussion I learned that the scope had come bundled with the Gamo Whisper he had, and that told me most of what I needed to know. It was a bundled scope which means cheap. And it broke. I told him I had lots of extra scopes and I’d give him one — a better one than he had. But all that is for tomorrow’s report, so I’ll stop here,

Lots of new airgunners

Before I continue I was told by Pyramyd Air last week that they have bunches of brand new airgunners who have come on board only recently. I know why this is and therefore I know who these new airgunners are. They are firearms shooters who are having difficulty finding ammunition to shoot. That is one reason I started the “How to reload” report series. But not everybody wants to reload. For various reasons, many shooters just want to shoot and if they can’t get ammo for their firearms they turn to airguns. In their minds it’s better to shoot with something than to do nothing. I can understand that! read more