by B.B. Pelletier
Before we begin, a teaser. In about a week I will have an announcement for you 10-meter rifle collectors. I’m not talking about the new AirForce Edge rifle, although that will be coming soon, I hope. There’s another great new product ready to pop onto the market. For those of you awaiting the new RWS Diana rifle scope base, I’ll blog it soon. It should be on sale some time in June. Now, let’s return to those thrilling days of yesteryear and examine further my HW 55SF, with our eyes focused on the famous Rekord trigger.
Easy out
My rifle has been apart so many times in its life that I had it out of the stock in less than 5 minutes. The fact that it has just one forearm screw in the center of the forearm instead of one on each side sped things up. Once out of the stock, I was able to see the bridge that holds the two-piece cocking link close to the spring tube, allowing the stock to have a short cocking slot.
I flipped the rifle on its back and the Rekord trigger blade stuck straight up. Just drift out two crosspins, and the trigger comes out as a unit.
The Rekord trigger is entirely modular. It can be cocked and fired by pressing down on the rear of the large hook, so it is caught by the sear hook. An inspection hole in the sheet metal housing lets you see the sear engagement on both the first and second stages.
No safety on the target version
The special target Rekord has no provisions for a safety. Safeties are uncommon on target guns to begin with, and the elimination of this one made for a lighter, more positive pull.
The common Rekord
The more common Rekord, in contrast, does have an automatic safety. This is the trigger found on the R7, R9, R1 and all the HW spring rifles except certain less-expensive models like the HW 25, some varieties of the HW 30 and the gas-spring HW 90. It’s the same size as the target version, but the rear of the sheet metal housing is cut out at the top for the safety. The target trigger will fit in the other guns, but it isn’t safe in them.
New safety spring
While reinstalling the safety, I bent the return spring, so I pulled a ballpoint pen apart and made another spring in less than a minute. The Weihrauch safety spring is a bit on the weak side, and I like power in my springs to keep the trigger reliable, so I cut the new one long.
Reinstalling the trigger
The Rekord goes back into the action easily, as long as you know a few things. First, both types of Rekord like to be cocked before installation. Just press down on the back leg of the piston hook to cock the trigger. Second, remember that the longer crosspin goes toward the front of the gun. Finally, the safety goes in before the trigger. It must be depressed as you align the crosspin holes.
Reinstalling a Rekord trigger takes some time the first time around, but after you’ve done it several times it goes back in as fast as it came out. The only adjustments are the two I’ve shown you. The lubrication I’ll leave up to your individual tastes.
Hi BB>
I’m one of your faithful readers from Northern Canada, and I have a question for you:what do you know about the new Benjamin pcp rifle which I believe is called the Discovery?
Thanks
Well, I developed the rifle with the Crosman team and I tested it all last year. What do you want to know?
B.B.
And again I will return to the master.
I have an off topic question that I find puzzling.
My two main shooters are an Avanti 853 and a Slavia 630. The Avanti I shoot only in my basement (10m range set up) and my new purchased Slavia was meant for plinking.
So I sighted in the Avanti and have settled on my pellet of choice, etc and have been happy…on a regulation target I nail the x about 40% of the time and am never out of the 9. In local competitions I have done fairly well…I’ve been pleased.
But I wanted to to a little test to see how the Slavia actually performed. So I took a regulation 25 foot pistol target and fired 5 shots freehand standing with both rifles.
After doing this a number of times I was surprised to find that the groupings with the Slavia are better…literally 5 shots/one ragged hole…the Avanti nearly so but not quite.
Is this reasonable?
The only answer I can come up with is that with the Avanti and it’s aperture sight I spend a markedly longer time lining up all the variables…centering the bull in the front ring…the front ring in the rear aperture…etc.
With the Slavia I raise the rifle, and the sight picture with the iron sights just seems so much quicker and I spend far less time ‘aiming’.
Is it me, something wrong with the Avanti or the nature of the beast.
Hi anonmyous check out the blog from 2 days ago shooting the 10 meter pistol and how long to spend on taking the shot which will answer your question.
Avanti,
STOP DOING THINGS THAT RUN COUNTER TO WHAT WE ALL KNOW TO BE TRUE!
On a lighter note – wow! I don’t think it’s the 853’s sights, but if you are not yet using a front clear aperture sight element, it could be.
Of course the Slavia has the better trigger.
Are you shooting everything at 25 feet? Is that all the distance you can get, because 10 meter is 8 feet farther.
You are really shooting that Slavia well, but as the range increases, I would expect the 853 to do better. That’s a hint that I don’t want to hear any more of these contrary reports! 🙂
Your friend (if you get back in line),
B.B.
B.B.
So what sets the great Rekord trigger apart? Is it something in the design or is it the workmanship.
The B30 trigger has been quite an education. After my experience with the IZH 61 trigger, I decided I wanted the lightest trigger possible. The B30 came with just about the heaviest; it must have been 10 pounds. There were two distinct stages, but the second stage felt like I was pushing against a wall and required a considerable effort to set off. I got out the screwdriver and turned for all I was worth. Since the only screwdriver I could fit through the hole in the triggerguard was not exactly the right size, it chewed the adjustment screw all to hell.
The trigger that resulted was light as could be. BUT the two stages had disappeared, and I was out of control. Try as I might, I could not prevent fliers from shooting all over the place. I got out the screwdriver again and went back to work on the screw, this time chewing it up past all use. But I did manage to just recover the second stage. Maybe there’s just a tiny bit more weight than I would like, but hardly noticeable. The rifle now shoots fine. I have to disagree with CharlieDaTuna who I otherwise greatly respect who told me that he would not be able to make a match trigger out of the B30. My trigger could hardly be improved upon. On the other hand, I’ve never experienced a Rekord trigger.
Anyway, I’m now thinking that a crisp break trumps the weight of the trigger although I don’t know if it’s possible to generalize.
Matt61
B.B.
I just read that even expert, experienced shots cannot concentrate for more than 100 rounds at one session. What do you think? Maybe I could be saving myself some expense with ammo.
Matt61
Yes…though I have a measured 10m distance (admittedly to me, not the front of the barrel), I just had some 25′ targets on hand.
And I think some of it may be the trigger…I had the Slavia adjusted to be at it’s lightest…you really do need only to breathe on it.
I wouldn’t say I am really disappointed with the Avanti…again it seems to hold it’s own at our local competitions (very informal)…but man, I am impressed with that Slavia!!
Matt61,
The Rekord, besides being more adjustable than most spring gun triggers, breaks with glass-rod crispness. As for the build, very few triggers for sporting airguns are made better.
B.B.
Matt61,
BB’s right, the Rekord trigger is the gold standard. (OK, OK, BB, then the Venom Trigger is the Platnium) And the Air Arms triggers are also right there.
But, Matt, you need to shoot a real 10-meter rifle to experience what a truly great trigger feel like. After you take up the first stage, there’s an ever so slight pause, then you just think “fire” and a hole simply appears in the target.
Derrick
BB,
Completely off topic. I replaced my stolen R1 .25 cal with a .22 cal model from Pyramid Air a month ago. Rifle shoots great, no problems at all. But, I miss the .25 cal and have literally thousands and thousands of .25 cal pellets. I’d like to just convert my .22 cal R1 to a .25. Do you know where I can buy the .25 cal barrel/breech block/cocking arm assembly? I contacted Beeman, they said contact Weihrauch. HHW e-mailed me back instructing me to contact Beeman. ?
Any ideas?
Derrick
Derrick,
I ordered a .22 caliber barrel for an R-1 years ago to replace the .177 from Beeman. It was not in stock at the time so it took a couple of months to get. The wait was not that bad but the price was half the cost of a new R-1. Not sure if that is still the case. Just as a thought, I recently wanted a .25 cal and added a BSA Lightning XL to my collection, with the same theory of having a lot of pellets left from a .25 cal Webley Patriot. Unfortunately, 90% of all the .25 caliber pellets I had were too large for the breech. That said; I found pellets that will work and enjoy the BSA. (B.B. told me what would fit) It is also a great excuse to add another airgun. Someday I will sell the rest of the .25’s on ebay.
Derrick,
Yes. Go on the American Airguns free classified page and advertise for the barrel. That is the most popular selling place on the internet for airguns, and someone may well have what you want.
http://www.airguns.net/classifieds/classifieds.html
B.B.
derrick, how fast did the .25 R-1 shoot?
I think I would have honed out that tight breech.
BB, that’s a great idea. I guess I was just thinking I had to have a new one. That’s not the case at all, as they don’t wear out.
Thanks for the quick reply!
Derrick
pa gunner,
I had a Beeman “Laser” mainspring kit installed. If I recall, it was high 5 to very low 600’s depending on the pellet. Shot mostly Beeman Ram Jets. It was just deadly accurate out to about 35-40 yards.
Derrick
Annonymous,
I know what you mean about “half the cost of a new R1”. I feel the pain. I can probably buy a Walther Falcon in .25 for the same cost as an R1 barrel assembly, but you know, once you shoot Weihrauch guns…
Derrick
First look at BB’s new Diana mount appears in yesterday’s SGN delivery. I’m a bit curious why SGN got the scoop ahead of PAM??
Derrick,
“once you shoot Weihrauch guns…”
I think I’m getting to know this problem. After shooting my HW57, I kept my eyes on PA’s used list and found an HW90 .177 with a Theoben gas ram for $475. What with BB and everyone praising the gas ram’s shooting behaviour, and the fact that it’s a Weirauch, I broke down ordered it after seeing it on the list for 3 days. It should show up at my office on Friday. And I don’t even have my Izh 46 broken in yet. Such problems….
/Dave
Derrick,
Okay, that does sound different. What kind of 10 meter gun gave you this kind of trigger?
Matt61
BB,
Now that we are with triggers, can you please compare the TX200 trigger with the Rekord?
What is the equivalent Rekord as used in pcps?
I liked triggers.
David
David,
The TX 200 trigger, which is also in the Pro Sport and Hunter Carbine, is more adjustable than the Rekord. The length of the first stage can be adjusted, along with the sear engagement and the return spring strength.
The Rekord stands out because it was the first, and is now over 50 years old.
PCPs have no equivalent trigger, but many of their triggers are just as good or better. Instead of restraining hundreds of pounds, a PCP trigger only has to restrain a few pounds, so they can be made lighter.
B.B.
On HW airguns…………..
This is going to sound a little goofy, especially since ninety percent of my collection has been in HW guns, so first I will agree not much compares favorably to them. I have gone to great lengths to get them so I can even own ones not readily available in the States.
Two of them have gone off to one of the top tuners out their, for full spring and trigger tunes that cost ¾ as much as the guns do. But sometime the predictability gets boring. My tuned HW97 in .177 is so smooth, so quick, and with a trigger that breaks in the ounces not lbs – that it gets a little mundane shooting with it. How can you miss? Maybe if I had a longer distance, but 45 yards is all I have. On the other hand, the real low end rifles are almost offense. So I can’t see owning one.
When I received the BSA the first thing I noticed was the plastic end cap. The Beeman catalog phrase, “tap the cap” quickly came to mind. The stock had one tiny bubble in the finish. You could see grinding marks on some of the metal. The breech was crazy tight. Surely I was being punished for not following Dr. Beemans’ advice. I called the tuner and asked about the breech, he advised against changing it and said to look for smaller pellets. I actually felt a little embarrassed that I bought it speaking with him. Kinda like I was telling a Harley guy about my new Moped.
But the bottom line is that the BSA is fun light carbine that shoots 15-16 fps in .25 caliber and is easy to caulk and carry with decent mid level quality. I like shooting it! So if that .25 cal barrel eludes you, maybe give one a try. It is the only mid level quality .25 caliber springer I know of in the States.
Just don’t tell anyone.
Okay…so I reread the 10m pistol blog and gave it a try last night.
Took my metronome downstairs, set if for a 1 sec beat and tried shooting with the Avanti, aiming for 5 sec or less before firing.
I was a bit suprised…no better than what I’ve been shooting, but a heck of a lot less time and definitley less fatiquing on both eyes/arms/brain.
I have a feeling that once I get used to it my scores will improve..
Please, I am getting desperate. We all know that the Gamo stock triggers are horrible. This is an understatement. I’ve read about upgrade triggers, GTX-111 etc. WHER CAN I FIND THEM?????? HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Joe,
The correct nomenclature for the replacement trigger is GRT III. Charlie da Tuna sells them. Just Google his name.
B,B,
Could you steer me in the right direction to a book on airguns that would show diagrams of exactly how a PCP works internaly? I have seen “home made” PCP airguns that look very wild and would like to make my own. I have been a mechanic for 40 years and I hate using anything without understanding how it works. Thanks, Charles Tait
Charles,
The book you want is titled “The Modern Pneumatic Airgun,” by Howard Buckley.
Good luck locating one. Try Googleing it.
B.B.