Monthly Archives: June 2009

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1/blog/2009/06/crosmans-new-nitro-piston-short-stroke-part-1/

Today, I’ll look at the velocity of the new .22 caliber Crosman Nitro Piston Short Stroke breakbarrel rifle. There was a lot of interest in part 1, and I see that a few other writers are starting to test the guns, as well. So far, the interest seems to be all positive.

Cocking effort
I measured the cocking effort by pressing the muzzle down on a bathroom scale and breaking the rifle to the cocking point. This was a tricky rifle to measure, because if I went fast the effort increased by 8 lbs. If I went slow and deliberate, the rifle cocked with just 30 lbs. of effort through almost the entire cocking stroke. It actually falls off by a few pounds toward the end of the short stroke. As the shooting continued, I found that I was cocking faster every time, so I’m not so sure the slow part really does anything useful, but the deliberate part sure does! read more

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2

Today, we’ll look at the accuracy of the Hammerli Pneuma, and I know from the comments there are several of you hanging around to hear what I have to say. Let me make it simple for you–buy the rifle. In my test that follows, I found the .177 Pneuma to be very accurate.

I did not follow my own plan of shooting enormous groups this time, because I was under time constraints to test a couple of different airguns and one .22 rimfire. The day was very nearly perfect, which was a blessing, because the past two times at this range I had to shoot in high wind. So, I made only five-shot groups on this day, so I could finish the testing for all the guns before the wind picked up. read more

by B.B. Pelletier

I always feel guilty when I get this far off track, because I know fewer of you will be interested. But Fridays are my “play days,” and I try to write about light topics, because I know you just enjoy chatting with each other all weekend.

Having said all that, I think most people need at least one tactical flashlight. The reason? Simple! Tactical flashlights are the highest form of flashlight and they have more than one purpose in life. A regular flashlight is for seeing in dark places, but a tactical flashlight is for something else. A real tactical flashlight can also be used to temporarily disorient and even blind an assailant, giving the user time to either run away or defend himself in some other way. Here at Pelletier Acres, we are armed with the .45 ACP, so anyone who hears me yell, “FREEZE, DIRTBAG!” would be well-advised to cease and desist. Actually I plan to yell something more colorful than that, but Edith advised me not to print it here. read more

by B.B. Pelletier

Well, nobody can say that moss grows on the Crosman Corporation! In two years, they’ve set the pneumatic world on edge with their price-busting Benjamin Discovery and their feature-loaded Benjamin Marauder. But they haven’t put all their eggs in the pneumatic basket, either. While the airgun world was watching them break ground there, they were quietly developing the new Crosman Nitro Piston Short Stroke series of spring-piston guns with gas springs. And now they’re bringing them to market.

History
I first saw the new gas spring rifles during a visit to the Crosman plant earlier this year. Ed Schultz, their director of engineering, asked me to step outside on the back side of the plant. What he had was a prototype breakbarrel that, frankly, didn’t look any different than a hundred others I’d seen. It had a fabricated Delrin can for a muzzlebrake, but knowing that springers don’t make much noise at the muzzle, I was unimpressed. Then Ed said to me, “Tom, what part of a spring rifle makes the most noise?” read more

by B.B. Pelletier

I’ve had a sample Air Venturi HaleStorm on hand for a couple months, awaiting their arrival at Pyramyd Air so I could report on them. I want the things I cover to be in stock, or at least for them to be due in within days of the first report. Nothing worse than whipping you into a froth that cannot be satisfied!

Okay, let’s get this out of the way right now, because if I don’t the rumor mills will start cranking. This rifle is made in Turkey. Except for the repeating mechanism and the stock, it looks very similar to the Hammerli Pneuma. Testing will show how close the performance is. Rather than ask why the single-shot Pneuma costs more than the HaleStorm, I would think you would want to buy the one you want and not draw attention to it. But that’s just me. read more

by B.B. Pelletier

Before we begin, I have an announcement. On Thursday I’ll start the Nitro Piston review.

Today’s report is for Bob from Oz, who asked for it long ago and has been more than patient. As we consider this operation, we must acknowledge that BB guns come in many different styles, and they don’t all come apart the same way. Therefore, this report will deal with those Daisy guns made from around 1915 to around 1970, which includes a large segment of what’s on the used market today.

Older and newer guns may vary a little or a lot from the ones shown with this procedure, and there are models within the same timeframe that vary because of their unique design. Also, non-Daisy guns may sometimes vary. However, fundamentally, most inexpensive BB guns are designed and assembled in pretty much the same way. If slight differences are encountered, it should be easy to adjust your methods to accommodate them. read more

by B.B. Pelletier

Here’s a popular airgun many of you have been asking about. It’s the Blizzard S-10 from Evanix, a 10-shot repeater with good power and quiet operation. Many shooters feel it may be the most significant Korean PCP to come to market in a long time. This test will look into those areas for you, and we’ll see what this new rifle offers.

The Blizzard S10 is an all-new rifle. It’s a sidelever-type bolt-action revolver with a 10-shot cylinder that advances as the action is cocked. The revolving cylinder is actually a clip that is removed to load. And this one holds 10 pellets, so it’s larger in diameter than the cylinders that hold six. This one sticks above the receiver, so two-piece scope rings are required. read more