by Tom Gaylord, a.k.a. B.B. Pelletier
Fabbrica d’Armi Pietro Beretta is one of the oldest companies in the world. They were founded in 1526, at a time when wheellock guns were high-tech and the flintlock was still a century in the future. On top of that, the company has remained under family control all that time!
Before the U.S. military adopted the model 92 as their sidearm, all I knew about Beretta was that they made some odd-looking handguns in small pistol calibers and they made fine shotguns. Since the 92 became the M9 pistol, Beretta has forced its way into the limelight in the U.S. gun culture. Still, what I know about the handgun models they make is very limited. So, when I first saw a picture of the Beretta model 84 FS BB pistol, it looked like a rehash of the 92 FS to me.
Well, it isn’t! The 84 FS is two-thirds the size of the 92 and more closely related to a pocket pistol, though the width of the frame that accommodates a double-stack magazine makes it too fat for such a role. The firearm is called the Cheetah and comes in .380 a.c.p. caliber. Given the width of the grip frame, it must be a mild gun to shoot with such a light cartridge. The double-stack magazine holds 13 rounds, so buyers living in states with magazine capacity limits have to either get a smaller mag, or avoid this gun altogether. Or, they can enjoy it in this BB gun version!
The BB gun
I am looking at the BB gun, which is powered by CO2 and has blowback that moves the slide and cocks the hammer for the next shot. The trigger operates only in the single-action mode, so the hammer must be cocked every time for the gun to fire — you can’t just pull the trigger and fire the gun unless the hammer is cocked.
The trigger-pull is unusual for single-action. It’s a long pull that has an increasing resistance as the blade nears the back of the triggerguard. It feels more like a smooth double-action pull; except that with the hammer being cocked by the slide, it cannot be by definition. There’s no pause before the sear releases, so the double-action pull metaphor holds all the way until the sear releases.
The safety is ambidextrous and is a thumb-actuated lever at the top rear of the slide. As small as this pistol is, the safety is easy to put on and take off with just the thumb of the firing hand.
The magazine is a drop-free design with the thumb-release button on the left side of the frame, behind the triggerguard. The bottom black portion is synthetic, while the silver top portion that contains the firing valve is metal.
Beretta model 84 FS BB pistol magazine.
At the bottom of the magazine, the CO2 tensioning screw handle is spring-loaded to cling tight to the floorplate of the mag until you need it. Although it’s visible from the outside of the gun, the designers have taken steps to ensure that it isn’t obvious. This is a big red flag to BB pistol buyers, and it looks like the designers knew that.
I said this pistol is small, so the weight of 1.4 lbs. is lighter than that of a larger handgun. The overall length is 7 inches, and the smoothbore barrel is 3.6 inches. The single-stack BB magazine (single-stack for BBs, double-stack for .380 cartridges) holds 17 BBs plus the CO2 cartridge.
The sights are a fixed post in front and a fixed notch in the rear. The rear sight is cast with details to look like it drifts side-to-side, but it doesn’t. Given that the 84 FS is a self-defense type pistol, the sights are in keeping with that theme.
The rear sight looks like it slides in a dovetail, but it’s really just a sharply detailed casting.
The majority of this gun is made of metal; and the grips are plastic, held on by two steel screws, each. Besides the safety, the slide hold-open lever and the disassembly lever are both functional. And that’s all the controls there are on this handgun.
The Beretta 84FS is at the high end of the price spectrum for a BB pistol. It has blowback, which shooters desire, but the rest of the gun is as basic as the firearm it copies. It will take this review to determine if this will be a desirable BB gun for the target consumer.
Another thing buyers want to know is the gun’s pedigree. The gun is made in Taiwan and distributed by Umarex. Those are 2 positive marks, because Umarex is known for distributing realistic airguns, and Taiwan is known for making many other fine airguns.
Well, I’ve never had a lot of love for the Beretta pistols as firearms (lots of design decisions go against my own preferences), but they obviously run well and a lot of people like them. I do look forward to seeing how this one performs in the BB mode, as another data point.
I really want to know the accuracy of the pistol.
What kind of range is a comfortable range for a bb pistol?
And on another note. BB where in the heck did you find in the synthetic stock Marauders owners manual about the guns having some foreign products in them. Is the manuals that are on the PA website different then what comes with the guns? I didn’t see anything about that listed.
GF1,
A couple of years ago I made a brief foray into the world of CO2 with a Crosman 1088. No, I was not about to win the Olympics with it, but it did surprisingly well for such a cheapo thing. I could consistently kill soda cans with pellets at 10 paces if I let it warm between shots. At 5 yards it would group pellets 1″ – 2″. BBs on the other hand… I could probably take a handful of BBs and throw it at the target and do better.
Hopefully this one will have a barrel sized exclusively for BBs and do much better than that. If it will kill soda cans at 10 paces, you have a winner.
GF!,
It’s on the cover, at the bottom, in small print.
B.B.
Since BB guns seem to be lower powered,~350 fps or less,
is there a speed at which BB accuracy (such as it is) starts
to break down?
It seems that I read something about this a few years ago
but can’t remember.I think it may have been here on the blog.
Anyone have any theories or opinions?
JTinAL,
I don’t know about the accuracy breaking down, but I have shot BBs at over 700 f.p.s and they still did okay for BBs.
B.B.
Here is my opinion/theory steel bbs do better in smooth bore barrels than rifled ones(no spin at all) example a pellet shape will make it spin the same way every time like throwing a foot ball if you are right handed the ball will spin to the right clock wise its impossible for a righty to make it spin left so you have a consistence every time. But a bb will have a small difference from shot to shot like some time it might clock wise sometime no spin sometime rotate downward, similar to a baseball pitcher depend on what spin he can throw cure ball or a nose dive. I would say 400fps-500fps is at the max speed for the light 5gr bb. I shot bbs out of my Gamo shadow 1000 at long distance about 200ft into a pond at a 2litre plastic soda with some sand to weigh it down some shots curve really bad off by 4ft.
Chris,
Steel BBs are also undersized for the bore of your Gamo. A steel BB measures 0.173-inches across, while a pellet measures 0.177-0.178-inches.So the BBs rattle down the bore of your rifle, bouncing randomly.
B.B.
Good point. Do you suspect that co2 air pistols have similar bore like 499 Champion Daisy. Or is that barrel special or is it the cost.
There were some very accurate European bb rifles way back. Simular to 10meter guns and of course fps was not something they were trying to push. I guess that there is no way to advance the design of bbs any more. While there is still room for improvement for pellets
Chris,
Regular BB guns — long and short — have more tolerance in their barrels than the 499, but they are much tighter than a .177 bore. Also, the “barrels” used in regular BB guns are just tubing with broad specification tolerances. The 499 barrel, in contrast, is held to much tighter tolerances, which is why all 499s are equally accurate.
B.B.
I wasn’t interested in that pistol. I tought it looked ugly and cheap but looking at the pictures you took I may have to rethink my first impression.
I have a nice little collection of action CO2 pistols like this one. For us Canadians it’s the only way we can shoot pistols without spending a lot of money and driving to a range (you can’t shoot or transport even a .22 pistol anywhere but the range) and if the barrel is too short it’ll be prohibited.
So yes, I like those not very accurate BB guns a lot as they are a lot of fun to shoot and kill cans with.
J-F
B.B.,
As I have large hands, I have found the various airgun versions of the 92FS to feel pretty much like a natural extension of my hand, extremely comfortable and “point-able.” Two of my favorite pellet guns are my Umarex Beretta 92FS and my Crosman/Kimar CK92. While the frame of the 82 looks quite a bit smaller than its big brother’s, the grip looks about the same in size.
By any chance could you provide a pic of the two (real firearms and/or airguns) next to each other for a size comparison?
Thanks very much,
Michael
Michael,
I would have done that, if I could have. But I don’t have a 92 FS.
The 84 FS is really smaller than the 92. So think of a grip that’s 2/3 as long and 2/3 as wide.
B.B.
B.B.,
Thanks for the comparison. It sounds like the 84 is not necessarily for me, then. The particular contours pf the 92 grip along with its hand-filling size make it, for me, a joy to hold.
Michael
Sigh.
Sure wish Umarex would make pellet shootin’ pistol replicas. Crosman only releases a new model every blue moon so the big U is the only game in town pistol guys like me.
That combined cartridge holder/magazine is a deal breaker either way though-no way am I paying half what the gun costs for spare mags. (see P08, or the new Mauser)
Can’t you set these guys straight BB?
Scratch the P08 part, you can’t even GET em for that gun!
And that should have read “only game in town FOR pistol guys like me.”
Fast brain but slow fingers. : (
dangerdongle,
What about the Walther CP 88, CP 99, Colt M1911A1, Desert eagle, S&W 586, Walther Lever Action rifle and others? Umarex makes scads of pellet-firing replicas.
B.B.
And also they have a pellet pistol firing Beretta 92FS and Beretta PX4. There’s even a pellet firing rifle, the Beretta CX-4. They are all on PA’s web site….I’d like to have them all ;o)
The PX4 is cool because it shoots both bb and pellet. It has one of those 2 sided no spill mags, 8 on each end.
B.B.,
I guess I’m in the minority here, I love the 84 Cheetah. Was my first carry pistol, and it fit my hand like no other gun since. I traded it, thinking I needed something bigger than a 9mm short. I never handloaded, but did run many boxes of Fiocchi ball through it, dropped it on cement a couple times, in dirt and mud, and it always ran fine. I really miss that little pistol. I used to shoot it for relaxation, but with ranges as noisy as they are and ammo prices still high, I just don’t go anymore.
Have you written an article about using a replica like this exclusively for home training? I see the link about maintaining firearm proficiency and I know you’ve mentioned it a few times in past writings. I would love to see a series on home range set-up, back stops needed for the larger silhouette targets, distances you recommend, how it realistically works out, etc. I would like to start shooting pistol again, but want to get most of my practice at home using a similar design as my carry gun.
-h
Hank,
I haven’t written an article like that. I guess I could, although since I don’t practrice at home I may not be the best person to write it. I reload for the .380 and I shoot my carry gun often when I’m at the range, so home practice isn’t needed.
Was I correct is assuming the 84 FS is a very light-recoiling pistol? With such a wide grip and shooting the .380 I don’t see how it can be otherwis.
B.B.
Tom,
Yes, the 84 has a very mild shooting behavior. They are very inexpensive to buy on the second hand market, as most are nicely beat by now. I think I’ll go look for another one…
-h
FWIW, Hank, I am operating on a similar interest in personal training, but I’ve pretty much mentally decided on Airsoft rather than BBs as the platform for it. There are several reasons for my own choice there, but the one you touch on here is commonality of design with the firearms you’re training with:
Absolutely. And in general, what I’ve found when looking is that you are far more likely to get a pistol design that’s faithful to your firearm with Airsoft than with BBs. Just consider the case of the 1911 design. Among the BB pistols available are the following:
– From Colt (!!!), the Special Combat Classic, which has a trigger that is fundamentally different than the 1911 design.
– From Winchester, an otherwise promising looking Model 11, that uses a stick magazine that in no way approximates a real 1911 magazine.
– From Crosman, the GI Model 1911, which combines the double-action trigger and the stick magazine with a safety that is located on the right side of the frame at the slide stop pin.
I’m sure that some will think me nitpicky…and I’ll accept the charge happily. For training to save my life, at the worst moment thereof when despite all my efforts I have finally failed to avoid a lethal fight, these things are not trivial. I do not want to be confused, at that moment, with how the trigger operates, how to execute a reload, or how to operate the safety. And it seems pretty universally agreed that people will fight how they train. (I certainly count on it!)
From what I’ve seen, it’s not that choosing a BB pistol to train with is impossible (for 1911 people it seems that the KWC Blackwater BW1911 or the Tanfoglio Witness 1911 would be perfectly acceptable), but much if not most of the available field seems to have deal-breaking design flaws, for the purpose of training. Keep in mind, too, that I’ve not been comprehensive about all gun designs, either–it’s quite possible that other designs are covered much more faithfully. Maybe 1911 copies are simply the worst of the bunch.
But…by contrast, the Airsoft world seems to be really good about triggers, safeties and magazines working exactly like the firearm counterparts–after all, that seems to have been one of the big points behind the origins of Airsoft in the first place.
If, like me, you’re designing your whole strategy up front, so that your investments are most efficient, you might find the above useful.
Or, not. Nobody has ever successfully accused me of not having an opinion. 🙂
I’m going to ask another one of those crazy Gunfun1 questions.
The reason I’m going to mention this pistol is because it is supposed to be available in a steel bb version and the airsoft version if I remember right. The Tanfoglio Gold.
But here is the question. It sounds like the steel bb pistols could be good out to maybe 10 yards or so. And the air soft version about the same.
But have you ever done a test on a airsoft pistol verses the steel bb pistol of the same gun manufacturer at lets say 10 yards? I would like to see how they compare.
GF1,
Not yet. The one I am about to do on the Tanfoglio will be the first.
B.B.
Good deal BB. I think that will be a interesting one.
As will I. Maybe I’m investing too much hope here, but I suspect that will be a very informative, well controlled comparison. It sounds like a lot of us are interested in seeing what we’ll learn.
I was thinking of getting my wife a Beretta 92fs co2 $199 from PA. She got the 92fs firearm for home defence so she can practice at home not just shooting but to know all the features. I’m worried she will forget to take safety off in an emergency.
Are you aware of the “straight-thumbs” grip technique for slide-mounted, Walther PP-style safeties such as the 92’s? As I understand it (I tend to avoid that safety design as being ergonomically backwards, but lots of others have nonetheless become very efficient with it), the cognoscenti of that design have come up with a solution to ensure that the safety always comes off reliably when necessary. (It’s not enough to say “just don’t use the safety”; especially in a home-defense gun, what happens if the lever gets pushed on inadvertently?) This involves a grip in which the thumbs of both hands ride high–above the slide release lever, in the same position that they would rest on top of a 1911’s thumb safety. By stabbing the thumbs forward, the safety is effectively cammed off and out of the way. (Note that the Beretta 92 has a large grip frame which is not terribly friendly to small hands; if the “straight thumbs” technique is not mechanically feasible it may be a good idea to consider a different piece.)
Anyway, if that’s the gun you’re running, and you don’t already know about it, you might find that useful. I know that Massad Ayoob has covered the technique in many places; I want to say that among those was his update of the periodically revised Gun Digest “complete book of handguns”. He tends to articulate technique very well, usually with good pictures, and his proficiency with that design (and direct knowledge of how others deal with it) is as solid as anyone I know of.
In a way, that technique works for both the high-mount safeties, and 1911 style (both of which have a pivot point to the rear). Pushing a thumb forward along the lower edge of the slide should push a 1911 type down and off, or a slide mounted safety up and off. Long used on S&W models (39/59, 439/459, 3904/5904 — and similar in other calibers, as with my 4006).
Won’t work with a Ruger .22, as that safety doesn’t pivot, it slides. (unless you have really firm thumbs so that sliding over the top of the rounded safety knob nudges it down)
Yeah, I’m pretty sure that one of the attractions of the “straight thumbs” technique is its adaptability to both the 1911 style frame-mounted, down-for-fire design and the PP-style slide-mounted, up-for-fire design. (Those at the top of the game with Berettas, 39/59 Smiths and the like often seem to be pretty good with 1911s as well.)
In this it’s kinda like the thinking about how to train to chamber the first round from a slidelock reload. Lots of very experienced people have evolved their thinking so that they never bother with the slide-release lever anymore–they simply tug the slide fully to the rear and chamber the same way as from Condition Three. On one hand it seems like a little thing, but…it means that the concept of “load the gun” is exactly the same no matter what the position of the slide is; it works right- or left-handed, on designs with or without a slide release, and it overcomes the problem that some designs can have with needing that extra little distance of travel to guarantee 100% reliability in chambering. And it covers Glocks, 1911s, Smiths, Berettas, SIGs, Walthers…
I have a question on another topic. Hope it’s OK to ask it here? So I bench rest my Mrod which has a good Hawke AO scope and stare thru the scope at an object, in this case 23 yards distant according to my Redfield rangefinder. Then I lift my head from the comb and move my eye deliberately back and forth and adjust the objective till I take out all the motion in the crosshairs. Then I look at the dial on the scope and it reads 23 yards–excellent. But then I stare at the object and adjust the objective knob till the target is in full focus and then read the dial again and it’s 18 yards. Not good, because if I focus on a wild turkey head that I want to shoot, I cant trust the range I read on the dial, and I wont be shooting with zero parallax error. I have a cheap AO scope on another pellet rifle and its variances are even greater. Your thoughts?
Best focus and parallax elimination don’t occur at the same place without calibration, which requires occular adjustment. The range reading may need to be corrected.
This is the original and still the best article on the topic:
http://ateam.alotspace.com/ateamh/A_Team_Parallax_adj.htm
Great answer–thanks! Here’s another off-topic question. I bought a .25 Mrod 2 years ago from a smith who prepped it for me. When it arrived, I noticed the barrel band near the muzzle was rotated hard to the left and pushing against the shroud. It’s taken me all this time to get far enough along with the gun so that I know it’s accuracy problems are inherent and not mine. I have put a great scope on it, modded it for bench rest shooting, learned to clean it properly etc. It shoots 2 MOA at best: a full 1″ group at 50 yards with a few fliers. I know that lots of .25 Mrods shoot 1 MOA, which is where I would like to be. So recently I loosened the barrel band and let the shroud float. No surprise, I had to click the windage WAY over to align the cross hairs with the new POI. I don’t mind paying to have an aftermarket barrel put on it, but from reading on the web, it seems almost likely that the problem is an eccentrically bored breach. Any suggestions on where to go from here?
Si,
You may also have a bent barrel. Or your scope might be pointed in the wrong direction. Let’s not assume anything yet.
Give us specific information about the pellets you use, how far in which direction they are impacting, and most importantly, how the scope is adjusted at this time i.e. how high and how much to which direction.
B.B.
good questions! I use JSB exact match pellets, always have. To answer your next set of questions I’m thinking I’ll take the scope off the rifle, optically center it both for windage and elevation, then re-install it, shoot a group, and report to you the distance and where the group landed both in elevation and windage relative to the mark the crosshairs were centered on?
Si,
That’s the stuff! Tell me the weight of the JSB pellet you are using, too.
B.B.
My JSB EXACT KING .25 pellets weigh 25.4 grns. My gun shoots them at about 860 fps. the center of my scope is 1.75″ above the center of my barrel. Shooting a group of 3 at 11.5 yards just now I got an almost round hole that was exactly 1″ to the left and just under 3/4″ down from my aim point.
the shroud is full floated in the barrel band–no contact at all.
Si,
Okay, that makes a big difference! I thought you had a .177 rifle.
The .25s are supposed to be the least accurate of the Marauders, because .25 caliber in general isn’t as accurate as .177 and .22. That’s just general information for you.
If your rifle shoots 3/4″ low at 11.5 yards and the scope is mounted 1-3/4″ above the center of the bore it is shooting exactly where it should be shooting at that distance. At 20 yards it will probably be spot-on for elevation.
The shooting to the left is extreme, however. Is your rifle still under warranty? If so I would return it with a complete explanation oif what it is doing, because it isn’t supposed to do that. Not al all.
Please tell me if you cannot return it and we need to work with what you have. I think you’re going to need a new barrel.
B.B.
I’ve had the gun for 2-1/2 years, so it’s no longer under warrantee. After getting your reply just now, I took the scope out of its mounts to refresh my memory on how I had mounted it. The reason it’s spot on vertically when optically centered is because I had put 2 beer can shims under the scope above the rear mount. there were no side shims as they were made unnecessary by the smith when he aligned the barrel with the receiver by forcing it to the right by rotating the barrel band to the right. I’m not opposed to trying a new barrel, would probably get a fully prepped LW barrel from Marmot Militia. I’m a bit intimidated by the thought of replacing the barrel myself, but willing to give it a try. My main concern is that if I have an eccentrically bored breech, a new barrel is not the answer. Not sure if any Mrod enthusiasts are following this thread, but marmot militia offers a drop forged domestically made barrel for the same price as the LW. Does anyone have experience with these?
Si,
Go below.
B.B.
I was wandering the internet today and I came across something curious. I believe it is New Hampshire that is requiring bb guns like the red ryder to be registered and treated as real firearms now and they are prosecuting anybody that is found in possession of an unregistered bb gun including children with the penalty being confiscation, a 3 year felony prison sentence and harsh fine, and they are enforcing it. I’m not entirely sure if this is true, but if you live on the east coast, look into your new gun control laws and be sure you are not in violation by buying and not registering your bb gun as a firearm. I hear prison is not fun and going to prison for an unregistered bb gun might be beyond no fun at all. I have heard of one adult and one child facing prosecution under this law. The adult was shooting at a rubber duck with an airsoft gun in his own yard. The child was plinking a pop can in his back yard. Neither one was harming anything.
My error. It is New Jersey that has this law.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/12/10/bb-gun-control-in-new-jersey-kids-rite-passage-could-mean-felony/
So be careful with your bb guns. Looks like New Jersey is scared of them.
I bought this gun as soon Pyramyd AIR posted on the web site. It is a exact copy of the firearm, shoots very well, it is a little bit loud for the size, you can shoot up to 70 good shots from a 12 gram CO2 cartridge before the gun stops cocking the hammer. If you have big hands it is NOT for you. I love the blowback action, gives the gun that kick of a real gun. As I experienced is pretty accurate at about 15 to 20 feet. Be sure to order another magazine, 17 BB’s go really fast and since the CO2 is on the same magazine you will get over 100 shots from both magazines.
Many years ago, I bought a Walther ppk for use as a carry gun (and home defense). I made a habit of keeping the safety OFF. Every Friday evening I went to my club for pistol practice and matches. At the end of the session , I would unholster my ppk and fire a magazine at the target. After doing this for 6@ months, I drew the pistol, and it would not fire. It took me several seconds to realize that the safety was ON. In a real life scenario, that delay could have cost me my life. The next week the ppk had a new owner and I replaced it with a .44 spl Bulldog revolver. The only problem was that I later became a suspect in the son of Sam murder case (he used the same model pistol). If anyone is interested I can relate an interesting story that shows how desperate the police were, how taxpayers money was wasted and registered gun owners were inconvenienced (and rather humorous , now). But its a long story that has nothing to do with airguns, but it is why none of my carry guns have safetys. Ed
Ed
I’d like to hear the story. Sounds fascinating.
I prefer manual safeties if I can get them, myself, although I also will carry designs that don’t have any (Kahr, Smith J-frame). I rather like the idea of the manual safety being confusing–to someone else. Mas Ayoob calls this a weapon-retention feature, and on that point I’m inclined to agree with him.
I’m not worried about me–if there is a safety on the piece I train to use it–but there have been many documented cases in which an attacker manages to wrest a gun away from its owner, but can’t then figure out how to “make it go” because the safety is on. If it takes him 3-5 seconds to figure it out, that’s 3-5 seconds I have to go with Disaster Plan B: either execute a disarm, go to a backup weapon, or escape. 🙂
ok Slinger, here it is. At the height of the son of Sam crime spree, Someone in the police department noticed that Charter Arms Bulldog revolvers were new, and not too many people had them. They decided to test every legally owned and registered Bulldog. I got a call from a policeman in Manhattan asking me to bring my pistol in for testing.( I was living in Nassau county, long Island, And had a permit issued on long Island). He did not know that my permit was invalid in nyc, but he promised to send me a letter that would cover me when I brought the pistol into the city (I never got it). Then I said ” there is another problem, I will have to bring the gun to work with me, to bklyn and take it to his precinct after work” He said” so why is this a problem “? I replied that I was a teacher and that I would have to tell my principal that I would have a pistol with me because the police suspected that I might be the son of Sam! He asked me to have the principal lock it up, in the school safe. I said that I would be giving my gun to a man who could not legally possess it, who would then place it in a safe. At least 15 other people had access to the safe. If the gun was stolen, the police would have to investigate the crime, in the middle of one of the biggest manhunts, that already was using every available cop and detective. He said that he would get back to me. I then called the lawyer for the Nassau county gun clubs. He told me that he had been flooded with similar calls. He said that I should not bring my pistol into nyc, no matter what they said. Several weeks later , the Nassau county police called and told me that they were now testing Bulldogs for the city police. I brought my gun to Mineola, police headquarters, on a Saturday. The officer let me watch as he fired a full cylinder into a large tank of water. He used police ammo. I saw him empty the fired cases into a huge trash can filled with hundreds (perhaps thousands) of empty .44 spl cases. A huge amount of taxpayer money was spent on ammo, and the labor of police officers in testing every legally registered .44 bulldog revolver. They never found the killer , until they checked parking tickets at the crime scene, and that led them to the son of Sam. I made the mistake of telling my neighbors and co-workers my story before s. o. Sam was captured. I got the feeling that they were disappointed that it was not me. I hope you enjoyed reading about on of moderately exiting events in my life Ed
Ed
That IS fascinating. And it just goes to show you how little law enforcement knows about the laws they are supposed to enforce. They will tell you that you can’t do things you have every right to do, and they will tell you to do things (as in your case) that are in fact unlawful, and could get you in huge trouble. Typical.
Thanks for the story. Glad you aren’t a crazy serial killer.
Interesting story indeed. Thanks for sharing!
If the cops knocked on my door accusing me of being the son of Sam I’d have told them my dad’s name is Larry.
Case closed!
Ed,
What a story that is! Man, I’m glad that happened to you and not to me. What a hassle!
Thanks for sharing it with us,
B.B.
Ed,
having grown up in Queens, NYC and being familiar with the area, I also followed the SOS story. It never would have occurred to me to worry that I was breaking the law if I had traveled into Manhattan with a handgun (Sullivan Law) and I’m sure that cop would have either arrested you, confiscated your handgun or both had you done so. Of course, back then I hadn’t gotten into shooting sports. Just goes to show that even if you’re not worried about involvement in a crime being investigated, spend the time and consult a lawyer!
And all this time, I thought you lived in Zimbabwe.
Fred DPRoNJ
correction-the last line should be —— -one of the moderately exiting events— Ed
I was going to say this the other day and forgot with my work schedule going on right now.
I think BB that you mentioned that the airsoft guns run on lower pressure than the steel bb version. If I remember right. (you know how my memory goes) And if so then you could get more shots per cartridge with a airsoft gun if that’s true. And maybe less slow down when rapid firing also.
I know you said your going to do a comparison of the two types in the future but I wanted to throw that out there.
Si,
I have to tell you I am worried that you airgunsmith may have done something to the gun to make it be like it is now. I don’t know what I would do, but I was worried when you told me he sent it back to you with the shroud forced to one side like that.
Please keep us informed of what happens?
B.B.
B.B.: thanks for your support! I think I’ll try shimming the scope sideways a bit so my POI is closer to my optical center. then I’ll shoot it that way with the shroud off and see how accurate it is. if it’s pretty good, I’ll put the shroud back on, be sure it’s fully floated, and test it again. If it’s still pretty good, I’ll be OK for turkey season this year (for turkeys, you really want that shroud)
If at any point I decide it’s not good enough, I will take the barrel off and roll it on a glass table. If it’s bent, I’ll treat myself to an aftermarket barrel. If the barrel is straight then I have a bad breach. As long as it’s not turkey season, if I ever have the gun apart and cant get it back to shooting right, i can always send it off to a (different) smith.
thanks again!
Si,
I have avoided mentioning this until now. You seem like a reasonable person, so here goes. You can straighten a bent barrel. Here is a link to how to do it for very little money:
/blog/2012/09/bending-airgun-barrels-part-4/
Note there are 4 parts. Read all of them.
B.B.
Question. Why did it go to the gunsmith in the first place?
Something that was wrong with my Marauder pistol is the threaded piece that is attached to the reciever that the shroud screws onto was not square.
So when I screwed the shroud on it spun out of round.
If I loosened the shroud just a little it would make the barrel follow and change the Point Of Impact big time.
It would bump the shroud depending on how tight I had the shroud tightened.
Ihope your gunsmith didnt have that going on and tryed to correct it with the barrel band.
Scarry.
It should say.
The shroud would bump the barrel band in different locations when I loosened the shroud a little.
I’ve seen a video where a guy screwed his shroud into place on the rifle, cinched it lightly, then backed it off a turn or so. Seems like this might eliminate the problem? I don’t think the shroud has to be cinched to the receiver to stay in place.
B. B. thanks for the note about barrel straightening, but I have to say that it seems like a big project with uncertain results. For now, with double-stick tape and beer can shims I’ve got my optically centered scope looking pretty close to my POI at my near zero range. I also followed the instructions on how to align my scope’s focused range with my zero parallax range, and I was surprised and gratified to see how far I had to move the eyepiece to accomplish this, plus how crisp the crosshairs were when I’d done so. I’ll take the rifle to the 50 yard range on Saturday and let you know how tight it groups.
I didnt mean to get in the middle of your coversation with BB but I had simmilar problems and wanted to let you know.
I appreciate your thoughts! You helped me understand why cinching the shroud could shift the POI. thanks!
si
No problem. I have spent alot of time on the Benjamin and Crosman Pump guns and PCP and the Co2 guns and ran into some interesting things. Haven’t done much with the spring or nitro piston guns though.
Alot of the pump, Co2 and pcp Crosman/Benjamin guns can interchange parts after you start messing with them and learn how their made. I have a few guns that were made from switching parts and they are in a close tie in best shooters with my other guns. Again Was Just sharing something that I had happen to me. Have fun shoot’n.
Dear Fred, I have made several hunting, fishing, sightseeing trips to Zimbabwae, so I chose to use it. I am sorry that you thought that I lived there, but you don’t think that goatboy has 4 legs and a tail, or that desertdweller lives in——–well,maybe he does . Regards, Ed
tell me you didn’t teach at Forest Hills High School back in the 60’s and your real name isn’t Frank Briggs.
Fred DPRoNJ
Sorry, I am not Frank Briggs and I did not teach at Forrest Hills High. However my childhood friends , the Segal brothers ( Bernard and Seymour ) did. I heard that Bernard became the bio. department chairman . I lost touch with them in the early 60’s. When I was in grade 6, my class visited Forrest Hills HIgh (1946-7), But that is the only time that I was there. My school was p.s.35.My family moved to Bklyn., In 1947 and I went to Erasmus Hall High School. Ed
B.B. (and anyone with an opinion) just a crazy question, thinking about steel BBs being smooth and round, would putting “dimples” on it like a golf ball help it fly further? It certainly helped the golf ball. I know, it’s silly, just pondering that. Thanks, Bradly
Bradly,
Several people have wondered the same thing. I wonder if it will ever be trued?
B.B.