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Education / Training Industry Brand B3-1 – Part 1

Industry Brand B3-1 – Part 1

by B.B. Pelletier

I’m writing this report for C-S and for all the other readers who ask about the Chinese airguns. I go back to the 1980s with the B3 design, because I bought one of the first ones through an ad in American Rifleman in the mid-1980s.

That rifle was the epitome of crude! It had poorly finished, poorly fitted metal parts sitting in a pallet-wood stock finished with too much orange shellac. The front sight was rotated to one side, and the synthetic breech seal was cracked and flaking off. The metal parts looked as if they had been dragged behind a tractor a few days, then given a blue from the 14th use of the salts. The word I’m searching for is disgusting.

And it shot like it looked. It was very buzzy; and although I did not own a chronograph back then, I’m quite sure it wasn’t producing more than half its rated 800 f.p.s. velocity. I base that on my back-door-to-the-hickory-tree chronograph.

Want to know why I bought it? Curiosity, pure and simple. Here was a Chinese air rifle selling for $49 that claimed to be made of all wood and steel. I wanted to look at the thing. I wanted to experience it. So, I bought one.

Although I wasn’t yet heavy into airguns at the time, I had already owned an FWB 124 and a Diana model 27, so I knew something about what a quality airgun should look and feel like. However, I had also owned two Chinese Type 56 rifles from VietNam, so I was also prepared for the shoddy woodwork and general lack of care. However, the B3 air rifle took shoddy to a whole new level! All the plastic parts were cracked and split when my gun came out of the shipping container. A sort of reversal of the Beeman experience, if you will.

Don’t get caught!
And there was also the liability issue with the original B3. There was no anti-beartrap device on the first imports, so there were several digit amputation accidents before liability suits forced the Chinese to rethink their design. The B3-1 rifle that followed has an anti-beartrap device, though I advise never letting go of the cocking lever while the sliding compression chamber is pulled back.


The B3-1 is quite evolved from the original B3 underlever.

The rifle
I actually did a short review of the B3-1 back in January 2007, but that wasn’t a complete report. This one will be. I’m aware that there are newer versions of this design, but a B3-1 is what I happen to have, so that’s what I’m testing.

The B3-1 is an underlever spring-piston air rifle that uses a sliding compression chamber, much like the TX200 and the HW77. The metal parts are finished with black oxide, which is what most “bluing” is these days. Not much work was done to prep the parts before finishing, so the finish is satin with a lot of tool marks. The stock is an upgrade from pallet wood and is some kind of hardwood with an uneven sprayed-on plastic finish. There are several spots where wood filler was used, with no attempt to conceal them. And, at $29 retail, why should they?

The front sight is riveted to the barrel inside a housing that contains a globe over a tall post. The rear sight is adjustable in both directions and looks like it belongs on a much more expensive rifle.


Front sight is an assembly riveted in place. Hope their jig was aligned!


The rear sight is too nice for this grade of Chinese airgun. Someone got carried away. Crisp click adjustments in both directions!

The underlever doesn’t go all the way to the muzzle and is held to the underside of the barrel by a sheetmetal clamp. It has a knurled metal handle that was flawed plastic on the B3.


The cocking handle is much more upscale than the original plastic one.

The wooden stock is finished brown rather than orange and is shaped a lot better than it was 30 years ago. I can see where a lot of effort has gone into making this air rifle more acceptable to a foreign market.

The rifle is 40.25 inches long with a 17.5-inch barrel. The pull measures 13.25 inches, which is a little short, but not as much as the SKS. In fact, I should say this now: the B3-1 reminds me of an SKS in profile. The weight is right at 7 lbs., but the weight of the wood will affect that some.

The trigger is non-adjustable, as you might expect. No one wants you messing with that part!

My rifle is bone-dry. When it’s cocked, it creaks like an old wooden ship full of empty glass bottles and at anchor in a storm. You can hear each coil of the mainspring as it slips into movement, and the cocking effort is definitely higher than the power would require. I’ll give you an exact number for that when I test velocity.

I’ve read reviews on this airgun from all over the internet, and they’re split into two opposing camps. One side hates the gun and has nothing good to say about it, while the other claims it will out-shoot all manner of world-class spring-air rifles. One fellow claims his will shoot groups the size of a penny at 50 yards.

I will pull no punches when I test it for accuracy. We’ll see what my rifle, at least, is capable of. And that brings me to my final comment for today. The barrels they put on these rifles can vary quite widely. They tend to run the rifling buttons too many times, and some guns will have tight bores while most are on the overbore side. If the button starts out a little large, it lasts longer…at least that seems to be the philosophy they follow.

116 thoughts on “Industry Brand B3-1 – Part 1”

  1. Thank you B.B. for this interesting blog ,it is good to see from time to time “el cheapo airguns” for us that like s to “have airgun grease on our paws” 🙂 bluing is not important at least for me -Slavia airguns as i said are prone to rust so nothing blue there -hovewer fatal flaw of this particular gun is trigger,i have chinesse airpistol and i know what B.B. means What can i say -exept thank you B.B. for this review :)! in signature C-S MILAN 😉

  2. BB.

    I owned one of these a while back. Bought it from Cummins Tool for 9.99 on sale. Guns 1 – 4 were obviously defective out of the box. Things like missing sights, cracked warped stocks, broken mainspring, bad seal and other problems.

    When I took the 4th one back I insisted they allow me to open the boxes and examine the guns. Three more clunkers b4 I found one that seemed to be in perfect operation condition and only minor filled areas on the stock.

    I think they advertised the velocity at 600 fps and with the lightest lead pellets it did slightly over 600 fps.

    It vibrated like crazy and had a lot of twang also. The trigger was horrible and worse.

    Accuracy was surprisingly good for a $9.99 gun. Like about .45″ – .70″ at 10 meters. I did not test it at longer ranges but at 10 meters I could hit quarter size targets and at 20 – 25 yds could hit pop cans consistently. Surprisingly it liked the Chinese “match” pellets which compasseco is still selling.

    Btw readers, check out those pellets at Compasseco. They have consistently performed close to RWS R10 match pellets being either slightly better or slightly worse than the RWS pellets in most of my rifles. In the Industry B3 they were way better!

    I had originally intended to make this a “project” gun but got the lust for a Disco and sold it to a buddy of mine for $25 to help finance the disco. He loves it!

    So in summary, quality control from the Chinese is dang poor. But it from some one local who has a no hassle return policy or better still ask them to open the box at the store. If you can find a nice one like I finally did, it is well worth the $29 non sale price. I only had mine about 3 months but put probably 2000 rounds through it and loved it! It was easy to cock, and I had lubed the trigger which helped immensely and I was able to ignore the buzz and twang and loved shooting it.

    What more could you ask from a $10 gun? Even at $30 if you can find a really good one I consider it a really good buy.

    • We have one of these garbage value guns too. It cost $17 at a cummins sale and was supposed to shoot 700 fps. Surprisingly it still shoots, although it is very rough. By the way, its a break barrel not an under-lever. The under leaver is now about $25.

      Bud

  3. Sorry OFF TOPIC:

    Slinging Lead,
    Going back to yesterday. I put that scope in my cart, but for the life of me I can not come up with a set of rings/mounts that I know would be appropriate. I don’t think I should have to spend more for them than the scope should I? And I doubt that my pistol would require double-strap mounts that a springer might. Am I thinking along the correct path? Do you have another good recommendation?

    Edith,
    Thanks, I never would have thought about looking up “used” items. Lot of good stuff there!

    rikib

    • rikib

      You do not need to buy expensive mounts. I like the Leapers/UTG/Accushot rings that are like $10 or so. You might need to ‘shim’ the rear ring to eliminate the effect of barrel droop which is normal. Don’t be intimidated, we can talk you through it. I recommend these:

      /product/leapers-accushot-1-rings-medium-3-8-dovetail-4-screws-cap?a=793

      I have about 4 sets of them.

      Charlie is adorable. Keep him busy. With a dog that smart, idle paws are the devil’s handiwork.

      PS- We have enough heat up here. The metro Atlanta area sits in a dead zone that gets little wind during the summer. Plenty windy when its 20 degrees though. Just going outside makes me feel like I am carrying a 400 pound sweaty gorilla on my back, while being attacked by wolverines. God Bless air conditioning.

      • SL,
        Thanks for that info, I’ll check them out.

        Yeah, already found out about idle paws. Charlie & my husky (Ayla) same age can really raise some heck. Charlie’s scheduled to go back into training Thursday, Ayla soon too follow. Other three dogs are older an set in their ways and not intended for service dogs.

        I’ll have check on those mounts though. I’m pretty sure my dovetail is “11mm”.

        Sure wish you’d take a little more heat though. Drove to town yesterday afternoon in my Wrangler with a/c dash temp gauge didn’t get below 105F.

        Anyway, thanks for all your help.

  4. Hello BB,
    Believe it or not, one of these B3’s got me into airguns as an adult. I was at one of those cheapo tool sales, Chuck Homier I think, at the local National Guard Armory maybe 8 or 10 years ago. They had these for only $15, so how could I go wrong? The tiny tin of pellets was $3, and they were far more crude than the B3, which I found out when the tin popped open and dumped the pellets all over the parking lot. They looked individually hand made! The first shot at home put a pellet all the way through a water filled gallon milk jug. Not too bad, I thought! Second shot nailed a tree rat at about 15 feet. Holy cow!! Well, random beginners luck. I’ve haven’t been able to hit a thing with it since.
    But the important point is that that B3 got me to searching the internet about airguns which is how I stumbled upon your blog. And you know the rest!

    Thanks for all you give to the airgun community,
    Lloyd

      • B.B.,
        Yes it is, and that gun is still in my garage attic, the victim of poor quality and worse modification attempts.
        I’ve been trying to piece bits of a timeline together and having some degree of luck, but I will get there.
        Lloyd

    • I have read many reviews on this rifle but never do i see a very important warning NEVER EVER PULL THE TRIGGER WHILE THE BREACH IS OPENED, i had a buddy of mine smash his fingers when the cocking lever swung up and hit all 4 fingers and nuckles leaving his hand 3 times the normal size.

      • Never, ever do this with any spring gun! Your friend is lucky he didn’t draw back a nub! I learned this on my first RedRyder as well as how much it hurts to get shot in the toe, through a shoe. And shooting at hard objects will produce ricochets in BB guns and lead shrapnel with pellets. Be safe and Don’t abuse your gun and it’ll last a Whole lot longer!

        Reb

      • Be glad it was just the relatively flat surfaces of a cocking mechanism…

        Take a look at a Diana m54 (or the others in its family)… and visualize what could happen if the anti-beartrap ratchet is stuck down and one has fingers in the loading port… The result is a large hole punch, capable of cutting fingers.

  5. Wow,this is extremely weird….A very irritating guy who frequents my favorite diner here in Alabama [think redneck “Cheers”only they serve food] asked me to look at a pellet gun he bought at the flea mkt.We go out to his pickup and he produces this greasy shiny mess of an underlever.I fight the urge to burst into laughter…it would have been apropriate,because this guy is allways smug and condescending,but I know that just means his inner child is insecure.So I proceed to examine this very model!! in an effort to be polite,I try to find positive things to point out to him.Well that aproach takes a hard left when he tries to sell it to me! “no good deed goes unpunished”.Cynical,but in this case true.I ask him,out of morbid curiosity,how much he wants…if it’s cheap enough I’ll just take it home,shoot it five times then dump it at the flea mkt.He wants 50$!!The condescending jerk! I know he paid about 10$!!!I have beautiful airguns from all over the world,compared to them that’s a boat oar.Now I get to find out what I passed up for free!!Thanks,BB :}

    • C-S,I never said it was garbage….I said I have fine airguns from around the world….12 or more countries…next to them it looks like an oyster covered in BP oil residue.

      • I over-estimated the number of countries,I think….England,Sweden,Belgum,Turkey,US,Spain,Russia,E.Germany,W.Germany,China, Checkoslovackia,If I could count US states of origin we get past a dozen easy!

          • I know about the present…I was going by what it says on the very colorful box for my that my “De luxe model R 619″…it’s a cute little springer equipped with a simulated leather sling! [.177]

            • Frank ,no hard feelings 🙂 we are all friends here 🙂 i have just pointed on the fact that Europe is in kinda mess ,i have just order spring for 34 from Bratislava and THEY HAVE YUGOSLAVIA LISTED even though Yugoslavia doesn t exsist any more and i should know this…i have lived there :)(or i still live ,same place-different name ) it is hard to keep up with all this changes even for us here…

              • C-S…I feel for you.I cannot imagine living in such turmoil.Here in the U.S. we take for granted so many blessings others cannot imagine having.I really appreciate your input here…and keep up the english!You are doing great man!If I knew how,I would send you that damn 34 spring myself!!!

  6. I got one of those at a Cummins sale for $20 just for grins. P.O.S. would be too high of a rating for it.
    I still have it. Only shot it a few times, but due to the crummy quality I am seriously afraid of loading it even while holding the lever down.

    I think the best thing I can do with it is saw it in half to render it safe, then send it to the dump.

    twotalon

    • Twotalon,

      When I was first getting into airgunning, I almost bought one of these things. It was CHEAP!! after all.

      I’ve learned a bit about airguns, thankfully.

      • I could tell that it was a piece of junk by looking at it, but thought for $20 why not.
        The only difference I see between mine and the pic that BB shows is the rear sight on mine is located in a dovetail at the rear of the gun instead of right in front of the chamber. Mine also has really cheap sling attatchments on the right side.
        The best airguns that I had owned at the time were a Crosman 1400 and a Blue Streak…..both from the early 70s. Had some other junky ones along the way, but nothing so bad as the Chinese junker.

        twotalon

  7. I took mine apart to see how it ticked and try and make it “better.” Part of the contraption that holds it cocked is a rough-stamped piece of steel that has to latch in what looks like a hammer dent in a piece of tubing. Frankly, it scared me. I put mine away, too.
    Lloyd

  8. rikib,

    If you put a Leapers Bug Buster scope on your 2240 pistol, you’ll need to buy the Crosman shoulder stock, too. You won’t get the proper eye relief with out it. Your eye will need to be located about 2″ from the rear of the scope. The scope is designed to mount to a rifle, not a pistol.

    Assuming you have the shoulder stock:
    The Leapers (Accushot) Medium or High rings would work, but there are a lot of variables and preferences. The medium mounts will likely allow for easier zeroing and should leave you more internal scope adjustment on the 2240. It will be harder to load the gun. The high mounts may require that you shim the scope in the mounts or use much of the elevation adjustment to get sighted in. Loading will be easier. You might want/need the Leapers offset mount to achieve the correct eye relief.

    Medium rings:
    /product/utg-accushot-1-rings-medium-3-8-dovetail-2-screws-cap?a=792
    or
    /product/leapers-accushot-1-rings-medium-3-8-dovetail-4-screws-cap?a=793

    High rings:
    /product/leapers-accushot-1-rings-high-9-5-11-5mm-dovetail?a=635

    Offset mount(this is a high mount):
    /product/leapers-accushot-1-pc-bi-directional-offset-mount-w-1-rings-high-11mm?a=2409

    Here’s the shoulder stock that you’ll need:
    /product/crosman-1399-custom-shoulder-stock-fits-many-crosman-pistols?a=198

    Apologies if you’ve already sorted all this out as far as rifle scope being mounted on a pistol… I’m working a lot and have missed many of the comments.

  9. The one thing I know for sure about these industry brand guns is that there are a lot of them out there. Mostly orange stock versions in this part of the country.

    I had cards printed up that say “I buy new and used airguns and bb guns. Cash on the spot.” I’ve handed them out to gun shops, pawn shops, guys with tables at gun shows, etc. At least once every couple weeks I get a call from someone that wants to sell me one of these chinese underlevers.

    kevin

    • Not only that Derrick,I also found another 600 near mint with the rocket box for $255 shipped to pair with my 677 “plink-o-matic”.I’m a sucker for a nice vintage Crosman Co2 pistol.I lack the two short barrel versions of the bulk fill,The 600 we talked about is now feeding flawlessly and the 14″ barrel makes it an absolute RIOT to shoot.I looked last night and I only have 1 S&W 78G in excellent shape but needs a valve reseal and piercer outer O-ring.Maybe you would like a Beeman Webley Tempest instead?Or a Marksman 2004 that doesn’t leak?

      • SlingingLead{except in California}….How eloquently put.Were it not for the legal issues,I would buy a lathe or mill and experiment with sound abatement devices…for my bigbores.They are so fun to shoot,but man are they loud!

  10. Hi BB,
    I have seen the B3 recommended as a good first gun to tune or customize. You can sometimes get these for around $20 at the Cummins Tool sales that set up in different towns occasionally. So, there isn’t much to loose and a lot to learn. It will definitely make you appreciate a nice German or even more modern Chinese gun.
    The Kermit Texas Airgun club had a B-3 build competition a few years ago. They also have some articles on tuning them. Here are some links I found:
    http://www.kermitairgunclub.com/b3-2contest/entries.htm
    http://www.kermitairgunclub.com/airguntips/b3-2/
    http://www.kermitairgunclub.com/projects/b3guide/B-3%20guide.html

    I think this club is now defunct so if you want this information it might be best to save it while it is still available. There is a lot of other good info on the web site as well.

    David Enoch

  11. B.B.

    I just dragged mine out and ran 5 cpl over the chrono.
    First 2 shots were 573 and 572. Dropped a lot after that with almost a 50fps spread. Av. mv was 54?.

    twotalon

  12. B.B. – Very interesting article. I’ve toyed around with buying one or more of these as training for learning how to work on airguns. Cheap, so I wouldn’t have to sweat messing them up. But with Vince’s help, (and with your comparison of airguns to lawnmowers in mind) I’ve learned that working on airguns is really not that complicated to begin with so I’ve passed on that idea.

    Most of the positive reviews I’ve read on this model have been after a ‘tune.’ Common references seem to make the point that you can spend $30 on the gun, a little extra money for supplies and some elbow grease and get a very nice gun in return. Will you be doing a review of your rifle as is and then follow up with a ‘tune’ and let us know if it improves any in handling and/or accuracy? I put ‘tune’ in quotes because I didn’t get the impression the reviewers professionally tuned the guns, I believe they just cleaned, deburred and lubed properly.

    • Fused,

      I find that with my current situation, I can’t really tune airguns. I don’t have the strength and my IV gets in the way.

      I have several guns already in the tuning que. My Webley Junior awaits a new piston seal. I found the leather, but I can’t take on the job yet. My FWB 124 also needs a final tune that I have had to put off for the same reason.

      If I lose all this excess “bling,” I will start to tune some guns and who knows what I might do?

      Until then, enjoy this series on tuning a Chinese sidelever that I wrote some time back:

      /blog/2007/1/tuning-a-cheap-chinese-airgun-part-2/

      B.B.

  13. The market here on the east coast of England was swamped with these rifles.
    Being a holiday resort we have all sorts of funny ‘Sports’ shops and market traders selling allsorts, crossbows,samurai swords,death stars and cheap air guns.
    “Right,we are going to Skegness on holiday so we had better get armed” lol
    This version of the B-3 never appealed to me but the B-3 AK lookey likey did.

    Off track a bit.The two finger salute,’V’ sign used by Churchill originated in the battle of Agincourt.
    English archers stuck the two draw fingers up to show the enemy(who cut off the draw fingers of prisoners)that they were still ready and able to fight.
    In light of the ‘bear trap’ hazard maybe us B-3 owners could adopt the ‘Thumbs up’ salute 🙂
    DaveUK

      • SL,
        My Brit wife seems too agree with both you and Dave. There was a historical point it was used, and it basically means politely so to speak “Up Yours!”. Hope I’m not speaking out of turn. 🙂

        rikib

      • SL,
        Sir Winston Churchill’s hand was turned in the opposite direction. Big difference! I just looked up the photo. 🙂 Should have done that first I guess, a slight hand movement can make all the difference! 😉

        rikib

        • Thanks rikib

          I guess palm out means ‘victory’ or ‘peace’. Palm in, especially with an upward thrust means nearly the opposite. I spent a few days in England during a high school trip. I didn’t see the ‘palm out’ victory sign as much as the other. There aren’t many men like Churchill out there anymore.

          • SL,
            I definitely remember the palm in “Up Yours” from the many years I spent in Wales and England as a serviceman. I actually still us it now. People probably wonder “what the hell”, but I’m sure they know it’s rude. 🙂

            rikib

  14. I also like cheap, challenged, project guns, even though I do have better. I have a few of these China rifles and have made some of them into nice shooters for 25 yard and under ranges. They are rough and not for folks who are used to things that aren’t less than perfect, even though their homes are probably full of things from the various china marts, that exhibit similar quality. I wouldn’t pay, and haven’t paid over $50 bucks new, for any of them. The B3’s were less than $20 ,all of them. I have also learned quite a bit about air guns from tuning them. As BB mentions, many have over size bores. I find that most like pure lead,thin skirt,pellets that run on the large size for caliber.
    IMO, the cheap Chinese fixed barreled guns are always better than any of their the break barreled guns. In fact, even though it is way, (light years ahead) better finished, I can make a B-3 underlever or B3-1, or QB 41/88/57/58, usually shoot better than a Quest, aka ,B-18/19. If you are going to scope it, usually any Chinese break-barrel will always be frustrating to group with ,beyond ten yards. I just chopped and tuned a B3 ,that will shoot JSB Exacts into 3/4″ for ten shots at twenty -five yards. It has the original leather seal and I used a RWS 4X compact scope in cheap rings.
    As far as the steel in the sears are concerned, for giggles I had the hardness checked on a Rockwell tester, and the results were in the 38 to 42 range on a few samples. There were also no cracks when checked for that either. I have a friend who is an inspector in a machine shop did this for me. I think that the folks that lost digits were just careless or probably shouldn’t mess with triggers and files, if they don’t understand simple levers. There are anti-bear traps on them now,and the recent sidelevers all have very positive hold open, locking latches, that must be depressed to close the loading port .
    BTW, the rear sights are not riveted on, they are tack welded in place, and are often not on straight from side to side. A slight twist with a ten inch cresent wrench will fix that. Also , I’ve never seen a checkered metal handle on one of these guns. They’ve all been a slip-on plastic sleeve on mine? Robert

  15. I gotta admit, I’ve had pretty good success with the Chinese guns, though mine have all been recent versions.
    Last year I replaced my Crosman Nightstalker with the XS-B9-1 (it looks like a tactical rifle and is a bullpup design with the pellet port sitting where your cheek rests on the stock).
    Cosmetically it was the equal of my Slavia…reasonable bluing with good, heavy plastic furniture. The only down sides were a missing crimp ring retainer on the pivot for the cocking arm…easily rectified, and a totally useless 4x scope. The scope itself wasn’t all that bad but it is (and says right on the scope) that it is a crossbow scope and has about 2″ of eye relief. This I replace with a Red Dot.
    Though I had some difficulty getting used to the parallax of the Red Dot (if the dot is even a very slight amount off center at less than 50 yds which is where it is parallax adjusted..it can be inches off of your aimpoint), it is quite accurate. If I’m doing my ‘bit’ I can now easily get 1.5″ groups at 30yds offhand.
    The real neat thing is that it is a sidelever repeater. A 12 shot clip slides into the stock and it is quite easy to get off 10 shots in less than 20 seconds.

    After my ‘success’ with this I decided to cave into the wishes of my boys. They are 7 and 9 and both feel they needed to step up from their Red Ryders. The oldest had a genuine concern…he can easily out shoot his Red Ryder. He has no problem picking off soda cans at 25 yds with my Slavia and was getting frustrated not being able to do so with the Daisy.
    And of course the 7 year old also has a genuine concern.
    Why should his big brother get a pellet rifle and not he as well!!??
    Well…it’s a genuine concern in his mind.
    They wanted something that looked ‘cool’ (military) but I wasn’t about to spend the big buck of the B9 on their first pellet gun…it was, after all $140 Canadian with the scope.
    So we opted for the B3-1. This is not the B3 in the test…it is a sidelever .177 rated at 500fps that is a copy of an AK-74 (actually it is a copy of the Chinese Type 81 with some parts shared with the actual powder burner).
    At $100 (CND) it is a steal in my opinion. It is about as rough as a real Chinese AK (I have shot one…they are NOT well finished!!).
    It was put together pretty well, though the wood looks like it has little in common with any tree I’ve recently seen.
    But after a bit of lube they are both putting 5 shots in a two inch circle at 20 yards with the stock open sights…which like the sights in b.b.’s test look like they should be on a rifle 2 or 3 times the price.
    But the boys were ecstatic (they got them the end of the past school year).
    The 9 year old is pegging soda cans at 25 yards…and the 7 year old is…still shooting his Red Ryder. Turns out the BAM is too hard for him to cock so he has decided to save it for next year when he is ‘stronger’. But he does sit and admire it every couple of days.

    So, in no way is this a real test…but if you keep in mind there shortfalls…don’t expect them to come even close to an RWS or HW…and (this is a big ‘and’) get a good one, for the price they are a load of fun.

  16. eric said i was the door working at a gun show and next door they had a tool sale Cummings i think ,the tool promoter ran up to me and asked to use my first aid kit, he had a man cock an under lever stick his thumb in the loading port and pull the trigger yuck took end of thumb off . to this day under levers make me nervous.

    • My 48 still makes me a little nervous in spite of the better quality and a very healthy looking anti-beartrap ratchet.
      I still block the lever while loading and keep my fingers away from where the lever lever closes along the side of the rifle. Just in case.

      twotalon

  17. Eric: That man’s actions proves what I mentioned above, he gets the gold star for stupid, and deserves what he got. This is why everything here costs more than it should. It is why the Daisy & Crosman air guns and ammo in the sporting goods stores are plastic clam shelled for sale. We have to protect the least common denominator from themselves, and provide compensation for those idots when they hurt themselves.
    CSD: I had a little time this morning and I ran some Super Domes shot from my.177 QB-57 ( bought 2009) over my Pact Crony. The high vel was 574fps at ten yards, and the low was 569fps, for ten shots, for 6.0 fpe. Also, an older, very rough,non-anti-bear trap, safety -less,.177 B3 with leather seal was 504fps, high and 496 fps low, for ten shots at ten yards, for 4.3 fpe. The QB-57 has the original factory plastic piston seal, and no tune. The B3 had been de-burred and lubed properly. but is stock other-wise. If I get time I will crony my chopped .177 B3 mentioned above and my.177 B3-1 AK varient, which has not been opened up. I also have a brand new B3 on hand which has never been fired, to test. I think those are some tight spreads for cheap guns,although the one has been cleaned up. Before I cleaned the old one up the gun did less than 300fps and the spreads were like Two Talon’s ,about 50 fps between shots. Robert

        • Chief…I think Kevin is saying there isn’t enough info to answer your question.
          Best hunting gun??!!…for what.
          Squirrels or ‘coons. In your price range you’ll get guns that will be great for squirrels at 20 yards but useless on a racoon. At the high end of your price range you’ll get the power to hunt a racoon…but if want to spend all day shooting at pests the cocking effort is going to become real tiresome on a higher powered airgun.
          As you’ve asked your question there are literally 20 applicable answers.

            • Chief, the Discovery is an excellent choice for pre-charged pneumatic. It’s also powerful enough for other small vermin. However, you will need to pump it up or have access to or buy a SCUBA tank. The rifle is sold with or without the high pressure pump and one charge is usually good for 35 shots. For a spring piston choice, consider the RWS34 – it’s a breakbarrel – I assume you are familiar with our terminology but if not, don’t be afraid to ask what that is. There really isn’t much of a difference between breakbarrels, side levers or underlevers – they’re all spring piston rifles but the RWS 34 is probably the least expensive for what you will get. You can go cheaper and get the job done but most people here will say for the money, the RWS is the leader.

              Fred PRoNJ

              • Chief

                If you are talking rifle only, I would get an Weihrauch HW50S. It is a break-barrel springer and available with good iron sights. It is made in Germany with fine attention to detail and it is dead accurate.

                If you shoot it for a while and don’t like it. You can sell it on the yellow forum http://www.network54.com/Forum/79574/ for dang near what you paid for it, as long as you have taken good care of it.

                If you want to use a scope, I would advise something else because that will bust your budget.

                Kevin is wise. The most information about what you want to do with this rifle will render the best recommendations.

        • Chief,

          Assume you’re asking for recommendations on an airgun for hunting under $350.00 US. To give you better suggestions please tell us what you’ll be hunting and at what distances.

          I don’t know what you mean or what you’re asking when you typed, “Pnumatic vs under lever vs side lever vs break barrel”

          kevin

            • Chief,

              Then I think you will be happiest with the RWS 350 Magnum. As Slinging Lead points out, you will have a large learning curve as you learn how to hold the rifle for accurate shots. But once you learn that, no other airgun of firearm will ever intimidate you again.

              The Benjamin Discovery is a bit more powerful than the 350 Magnum and a bit more accurate, but it requires no special technique to shoot well. Therefore, there is no learning curve.

              Here is a video about the Benjamin Discovery:

              /airgun-video

              B.B.

          • Chief

            Magnum springers are difficult for most people to shoot accurately because of what makes them magnums, a very stout spring. They recoil very hard. First backward, then forward. They will destroy scopes meant for firearms. You will have to practice a lot, and use perfect form to hit your target reliably. If you go for what you need rather than the allure of ‘more power’ you will be happier.

            That being said the RWS 350 Magnum is a fine rifle. Be prepared for a learning curve.

  18. We dont even have B3 airguns here in Croatia to buy 🙁 all we have is Shangaj i dont even know how to call this but …not an airgun- ok,maybe throwing money in the river 🙂

  19. B.B., I can’t wait to see what the Chinese have come up with now. My prediction as to why reviews of this gun vary is similar to yours I think: they vary. That Chinese quality control is all over the place with some very good rifles and some poor ones. It’s the luck of the draw.

    I wonder if the attitudes behind the airguns is based in their politics. Our family friend who was a Marine in Korea said that the human wave attacks that he faced were full of teenagers who in many cases did not have working weapons or weapons at all. There was one night attack where the unit was overrun, and the Chinese tried to tear the clothes off the Marines. It turned out they were so cold that they wanted clothing more than they wanted to kill anyone. Obviously, the creature comforts of the individual was not a high priority for their society.

    I thought you said that Mac’s expertise was with the rifle. If he’s not an expert with the pistol, he’s the next thing to it. Was he supporting his wrists on the bag for yesterday’s test the way you described the orthodox technique?

    Matt71

  20. BB

    Sentences that compare the B3-1 and the TX200 should contain phrases such as “completely opposite” and “night and day” not, “much like.” Don’t do that, it made me break into a sweat. ;^)

    I hope that you are feeling better and stronger each day. Still praying for a fast mend.

  21. Derrick, SL or Anyone,
    I’m showing my ignorance once again! I want to order some dovetail scope mounts and I don’t know how to determine if the dovetail on my 2240 steel breech is 3/8″ or 11mm. Derrick I used your installation instructions, you mentioned the dovetail on the steel breech, but not the size.
    I know I sound lame and I probably am. I just don’t want to order the wrong thing.

    rikib

    • rikib

      The Leapers mounts have adjustment built into the screws. It does not matter 3/8 or 11mm, they will fit. Just make sure the front and back are equally tightened and seated evenly in the dovetails. Since you are shooting a CO2 gun, you will not need to use the scope stop pins unless you want to.

  22. rikib,
    you won’t use the scope stop pin at all. Did you order a Crosman shoulder stock for your 2240 also? Otherwise, you will not achieve the correct eye relief with that Leapers Bug Buster rifle scope.

    • derrick,
      No, I don’t have the shoulder stock as of yet. I’m trying to do the best I can, grabbing deals where I can. I’m not an avid rifle fan, never have been even while serving in military.

      rikib

  23. 🙂 🙂
    Congrats to Me! First time Grand-Uncle today! I am a Grandfather, but this is first grand-uncle! By the way it’s a BOY! Also, he’s born on my Mum’s birthday! Sorry if I sound too happy, but what the hell I am! 🙂 🙂

    rikib

  24. rikib,

    Frightfully happy for you old bean.

    Congratulations and all that. I rather think anyone would be a happy chap should they find themselves in a similar situation.

    A boy, what what? Jolly good.

    🙂

  25. rikib,
    there’s a post I wrote up at 8:53 AM this morning that just went up a few minutes ago. It was slowed down due to all the links. It might help you mount that scope. You’ll need the shoulder stock to make it work. Let me know if you can’t swing one right now. I’m sure I have a spare 2250 stock around here that I’d be happy to send you.

  26. This article brings back memories for me. I’d say around 15 years ago, when I was in High School & shooting the tree out in our back yard, a buddy of mine sold me a “Chinese Training Rifle” which I suppose is the same as a B-3.

    I distinctly remember the orange stock, and lack of any safety. You loaded it, and it shot. The cocking was tough, but I don’t remember it sounding like an old door hinge. It did twang when it shot, and my buddy was the first to point out, if you sprayed WD in the chamber area, it would smoke when you shot it! I ended up sanding that stock down (really, it was ORANGE!), and staining it in walnut. Mounted a scope on the dovetail… which was not exactly attached to the receiver… and it shot ok.

    Today, I have a later model “Chinese Training Rifle” I picked up recently. This example has the anti-beartrap device, and a safety! The trigger seems to be “two stage” in theoretical operation only. I don’t feel a difference between the first & second stage. The stock is not as bright orange, but more of a fake woodgrain I suppose. Looks ok but yeah, you can see where they “fixed” the wood. This one creaks when you cock it, but there is no twang on fire. I think the previous owner lubed it pretty well, as it seems to be dieseling still. This model shoots quite well, when held correctly. The receiver on this model is grooved, which means if I scope it, the scope will not wiggle around LOL!

    Looking forward to seeing more on this rifle.

  27. The newer models are a lot better quality. I had one of the non bear trap ones in the early ’80s. Don’t remember how or why, but the under-barrel lever to cock it fired and the bar flew back up to the barrel thus smashing my pinky against the barrel. Busted my finger open, lost a nail, and blood blisters galore! I still have the scar. I made a habbit after that to hold the lever bar with my hand and the butt in my armpit whenever I was loading it. I used the thing until the stock split into along the botton starting at the base of the cocking lever.

    • Alex,

      Be specific. What all did you do when you oiled the gun?

      What do you mean by your gun won’t cock? Can you not pull the underlever out? Or is the sliding compression chamber not engaging the sear when it’s all the way back?

      We need details if we are going to help you.

      B.B.

            • That is still rather vague. It’s as informative as “I pushed the power button but my computer won’t start”. (which could be as simple as: no power to the computer, all the way up to corrupted boot block on the hard drive)

              What makes you believe the action has been cocked?

              Is the safety released?

              Does the trigger blade move — and if it does move, can you feel it engaging the rest of the mechanism. Are then adjustment screws on the trigger and have they been moved? Moving too far in one direction will prevent the sear from ever engaging, and the other direction could result in not enough movement to release the sear.

  28. Tvalenta,

    Welcome to the blog.

    This is a 3-part report. I did an accuracy test that might help you select pellets. Also read all the comments, as my readers often have suggestions on what pellet works best. Go here to see the other two parts of this report:

    /blog/2010/08/industry-brand-b3-1-part-3/

    B.B.

  29. I have the same B3 and I’m in need of the sight mechanism (really just the vertical panel piece with the notch and the threads in it, but thought I’d have better luck searching for the entire sighting kit.)

    Happen to have one laying around you are not using? If so, drop me a line.

    -greg

    • Greg,

      You have posted to a blog report that is over 13 years old. I am about the only person who ever looks at these postings.

      The B3-1 is no longer being imported, to the best of my knowledge. Used rifles often sell at airgun shows for $20-30. That would beb va great place to but the “part” you need. It would have the rest of the rifle attached.

      BB

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