by Tom Gaylord, a.k.a. B.B. Pelletier
Hakim is a large, heavy military trainer made in the 1950s by Anschütz.
This report covers:
• You can never go home
• RWS Superpoint pellets
• Firing cycle
• JSB Exact Jumbo RS pellets
• RWS Hobby pellets
• Eley Wasp pellets
• Evaluation so far
• Tech Force 90 dot sight
You can never go home
Today, I’ll shoot the Hakim trainer for accuracy. This is like returning home for me. Of course, you can never go home, again, because things have changed — and this Hakim is different from all the others I’ve owned and worked on. But just like your old neighborhood, there are always some things that never change. Things that remind you of the good things from the past. This Hakim has those, too.
You saw in the velocity testing that this isn’t a powerful air rifle. And it doesn’t have to be. That’s not its charm. Its charm comes from the rifle’s rugged build and heavy weight of wood and steel. And, in the case of this particular Hakim, the wood is a striking piece of walnut that shows lots of contrasting grain.
Hakim trainers are also quite accurate at short range. Let’s see if this one is, as well.
In the past, I’ve shot only 5-shot groups, but these days I shoot 10-shot groups. So, I expect to see the groups increase in size by about 40 percent. That’s what happens when you shoot those 5 additional shots, and only if you maintain correct shooting discipline.
RWS Superpoint pellets
As I explained in Part 2, I’ve found RWS Superpoint pellets to be the best in this rifle because their thin skirts flare out in the loading tap when hit with the piston’s air blast. At least, that’s always been my theory.
I had no idea where this rifle was sighted, so this was like shooting a new gun right out of the box. The only thing going for it is the excellent condition and the care with which the wood stock parts were fashioned. That tells me the former owner cared about his rifle — so I expected it to be pretty close to the mark from the start. And it was!
The first pellet struck the bullseye a little to the right of center and at about the right elevation at 10 meters. Because I know Hakims are accurate, I stopped looking and just fired the remaining 9 shots. That gave me 10 rounds in a group measuring 0.524 inches between centers. True to expectations, that’s about 30-40 percent larger than my 5-shot groups used to be. This Hakim is exactly like the rest of them!
Yep, RWS Superpoints are as accurate as I remember in Hakims. These 10 shots measure 0.524 inches between centers, where 5 shots would probably be 0.35 inches.
Firing cycle
This rifle really buzzes when it fires. It distracts from an otherwise nice experience. I want to find out what’s causing the buzz and do something about it.
JSB Exact Jumbo RS pellets
Blog reader Kevin suggested I try JSB Exact Jumbo RS pellets and Air Arms Falcons because their skirts are also thin. I don’t have any .22-caliber Falcons on hand, but I did try the JSBs next. Because the rifle was hitting slightly to the right, I adjusted the rear sight notch to the left just a bit.
Same drill this time. One shot to check where it went. This time it was just above the center of the bull, so I stopped looking through the spotting scope and fired the remaining 9 rounds. They gave me a nice 0.495-inch group that also had a bit of verticality to it.
Ten JSB Exact Jumbo RS pellets went into 0.495 inches at 10 meters.
Because the shot group is now relatively centered in the black, I decided not to adjust the sights further. So the next 2 groups were made with this same sight setting. One last note. The RS pellets were so small that they fell to the bottom of the tap. No other pellet did that.
RWS Hobby pellets
The next pellet I tried was the lightweight RWS Hobby wadcutter. These have a thicker skirt than the first two pellets, but their light weight makes them a good match for this low-powered rifle.
Ten Hobbys made a very round 0.426-inch group. Because they’re wadcutters, they make a group appear larger.
Ten RWS Hobbys made this round group, which measures 0.426 inches between centers.
Eley Wasp pellets
The last pellet I tried was the 14.5-grain 5.56mm Eley Wasp. It’s a larger pellet, yet it still enters the loading tap deep enough to be used in this rifle. The Wasp has a thick skirt, so I’m relying on the overall size of the pellet rather than any flaring of the skirt to seal the air. Wasps put 10 into 0.349 inches at 10 meters, which was the best group of the session!
Ten Eley Wasps gave the best group of the session, going into 0.349 inches between centers. This is a wonderful group of 10 shots. If it were just 5, it would be around a quarter-inch.
Eley Wasps are supposedly obsolete, but I laid in a large supply for my Webley Senior pistol many years ago and have enough to use in this Hakim, as well. [Editor’s note: Eley Wasps are still being made and sold, but I’ve been told by at least one UK blog reader that the pellets available today are not of the same quality as those made 20 years ago when I bought mine. If this is incorrect, I apologize. I also see Eley Wasps available on eBay, but those appear to be vintage tins.]
Evaluation so far
This Hakim performs just like all the others, plus it looks much better. I discovered that it’s dirty inside when I adjusted the trigger, so I’ll be taking the rifle apart to clean it and also get rid of some of the vibration upon firing. Before I do that, though, I want to try one thing.
You asked me if this rifle can be scoped. I used to mount a Beeman SS2 scope on my Hakims, and it worked wonderfully. Well, that scope is still available, though no longer made by the same people — but it’s very pricey. I’ve decided to try something different.
TF 90 dot sight
Right now, Pyramyd AIR is blowing out an older Tech Force 90 dot sight that I used to use on a lot of airguns years ago. They have a large number of them, and they’re priced to sell at just $19.99. I watched the development of this dot sight by Compasseco in the late 1990s, and I know that it’s extremely good. It was made in a plant that makes sights for the military. And, now, it’s available at a price that can’t be beat. So, I’ll mount one on the Hakim and try the rifle again at 10 meters — and perhaps at 25 yards, as well.
I noticed the TF90 for the first time yesterday or so, I meant to ask if anyone knew anything about it but apparently forgot I’m really glad it’ s high quality and very glad you mentioned it, otherwise I’m sure I would’ve missed out on it.
wanna know what’s causing all that buzz too, I’ve been shooting the QB-36 quite a bit recently and it’s got quite a bit that seems to dissipate fairly quickly, actually starting to appreciate the fact that it’s trigger ain’t too bad, I think it’ll clean up pretty good,I can’t wait to get into this gun so I can start making things better.
Thanks B.B.
Reb
B.B.,
Your information is correct. The current eley wasp pellets don’t perform anywhere near the originals in .177 or .22. I haven’t tried other calibers but am very disappointed in the folks that took over the eley wasp production. Can’t speak to the ebay offerings.
Interesting about the jsb rs pellets having such small skirts that they fell to the bottom of the tap.
Not sure what you mean about the “current production of SS2 scopes being pricey”. I bought a new one for around $65.00 and it was tremendously overpriced for what I received. Awful optics.
kevin
Was your ss2 made in Japan?
Pop’s SLR,
No, the new “replica” blue ribbon scopes are made in china. The original “Beeman” Blue Ribbon scopes were made by Hakko in Japan.
kevin
I’ve heard the new SS2 is pretty bad. Might be worth $50 where a good Beeman Blue Ribbon SS2 is worth $250-350.
David Enoch
Kevin,
I guess I looked in the wrong places. I did know that the current SS2 isn’t the same as the original, so I stay away.
B.B.
How much of a problem is wandering poi due parallax with a dot sight?
Pop,
I haven’t found it to0 be a real problem, but I haven’t shot that many dot sights, either.
B.B.
Pop, That’s supposed to be one of the main advantages of using a dot sight,0 parallax. I only have one and it’s made by Daisy(electronic point sight),it only has 2 brightness settings. If you move your head to the side you can see the dot follow your target.If the dot wasn’t so big it would be even better. With no magnification and a dot that stays the same size it’s only good for close range work or the dot will completely obscure the target. I would suggest getting one with more settings and like what I’ve read about this TF-90, it just looks a little bulky. We’ll see what it looks like when B.B. mounts it on this Hakim.
Reb
Reb,
I use dot sights on my pistols frequently for silhouette shooting and I’ve found them to be very accurate and dependable out to 18 yards (which it’s not real easy to hit the rams at that range by the way but I’m working on it). Yes, on bright days I have to brighten up the dot but it’s never gotten too big. Not even when shooting at the chickens(10yds).
G&G
G&G,
I’m guessing yours has more than 2 settings. I currently have mine on my 953 and they’re a perfect match out to about 30 yards. Now if I could just get my left hand to hold steady.I have a 3 pound dumbell I’ve been holding out at arm’s length trying to strengthen my hold. about the only way I can be sure of hitting my target reliably is by fully resting the gun. I’ll have to try the 880 that I sold to my brother to see if less weight may help.
Reb
Reb
Have you tryed a shooting stick? steve talked about them a while back. I use one now if I’m standing when I shoot. Well sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t. But it does help out.
Yes I have considered building one for use with my rifles.
Reb
I have used dot sights out to 50 yards. It all depends on what your target size is. This is just a example.
I can hit a soda can at center mass as well as something like a starling. But if I tryed to hit a mouse at 50 yards my kill rate will not be as good if I had a dot sight verses a scope.
So its important to figure out what type of sight you use for the type of target you are shooting at. I could maybe hit the mouse more than I think with the dot sight. But I would be more confident with a scope that’s for sure.
And you know some people can adapt to different sights better than others. And some people can shoot any sight with success. My .177 Disco with a Tasco red dot was a killer combination if I kept it inside of 50 yards.
Any chance you will be reviewing those Dan Wesson pellet revolvers?
I see PA is already out of the 6″ barreled version. As a man with a birthday coming soon they are really tempting.
StevenG,
As soon as they come in I will get one to review. They haven’t arrived yet.
B.B.
Man! I will definitely be keep in my eyes peeled for one of these Hakims.
I myself prefer the older air rifles. They are solid built and though they may not have the power of the new ones, at least you can hit your target with them.
I like ’em all!
RR
What new ones are you talking about?
Pretty much any of them. So many rely greatly on polymer and aluminum components and most of the steel components are stamped out without much time and effort invested in removing rough edges. Quality control allows for greater tolerances. Even many of the nicer ones produced today can benefit from a good “tuning”. Unless you are willing to spend a lot of money, you are not going to get a real nice wood stock.
My 1906 BSA is all machined steel and walnut and the craftsmanship exhibited in it’s construction is almost unheard of today. The barrel and breech block is machined from one piece of steel and the joint between the breech block and the compression tube is almost invisible.
RR
Can’t argue with that. But there are modern air gun makers that are at least trying to make quality production air guns.
I guess that’s another thing I don’t know about the old airguns. Were they mass produced like today’s air guns are? Or was they produced in smaller quantity’s? That I’m sure would make a difference in quality.
And guns and cars of the older days did have some unique features that’s for sure.
I think they made about ten thousand of these in 1906. In later years (around 1910 I think) they made some design changes to make production simpler.
These were not cheap air rifles in their day. The average bloke could not afford one. Ten or fifteen guys (and girls) would get together and form a shooting club, pool their money and buy one.
Yes, there are some companies out there that are making very good quality air rifles. But quite often it can be hit or miss with even them. Let us take Weihrauch as an example. Two guys buy an HW50S. One shoots nice and smooth with not too much vibration, but the other is real buzzy and not so smooth. One obviously needs a proper lube. The other one would probably benefit from a tune also. A little lube, file sharp edges. Why is that? Should they have not performed these tasks at the factory? I have heard of the most wondrous TX200 MK3’s being the same way.
My BSA has been sorely abused over the years. Someone has been shooting it without a piston seal. Someone has been shooting it without any lubrication. The signs were there. It was pretty rough inside when I opened it up. However, because there was something to work with I was able to restore it to great working condition in a couple of days of piddling with it. Remember BB’s Meteor?
RR
Yep I remember the Meteor.
And I do like theses military trainers that BB has been talking about. So just maybe If things work out I will get to the Texas air gun show and find me one. Or maybe I should look into a vintage air gun and give one a try. I guess it doesn’t necessarily need to be a military trainer. I need to start researching to figure out what I think I may like first I suppose.
If you can pick up a Lincoln Jefferies BSA, I highly recommend it. I have been seeing them in the $200+ range. If you don’t like it, I will buy it from you.
RR
That’s what you got right. Did you have to do much to yours to get it shooting?
And whats funny about me is I can take something new and modify the heck out of it. But just like cars and old air guns. I just don’t like restoring or working on the old stuff any more.
And I guess there is company’s out there making air gun restoration parts like they do for cars. Is there?
Diaboloslinger,
I just got back from GB and saw 3 or 4 for sale.They ain’t cheap!
Reb
Glad you’re keeping’ an eye out…how much were they ask in? I’m going to a show in early August, but I’m sure they cost even more here in California.
Wulfraed,
About that Talon SS I am building.
.30 caliber 50 grain pellets at 800-1000 FPS. Oh yeah, Babe!
RidgeRunner,
It sounds like you hit your mark!
The 1000 FPS is with a 24 inch barrel. I am planning on a 16 inch barrel, so I should be able to push it out at 800-900 FPS. That should make it easy to quiet down but still have adequate power and accuracy for my needs. I am hoping to be able to tune it to get sub 2 MOA at 50 yards. Who knows, I might get 1 MOA.
RR
I just don’t know what to think about the big caliber air guns yet.
Cost and ammo choice is one thing. And maybe if there was more offerings of the bigger caliber guns at a lower price. Like if somebody would make a Disco version of a .300 cal. gun. Is there something like that out there?
And as it seems so far they are marketed as specialty guns. And it would be one heck of a hunter gun or long range gun. But it sure would add up in cost to operate it. I thought that was a benefit of a airgun. It cost less to shoot one.
And I think you posted here and other sites that what is 500 fpe if you can’t hit what your aiming at.
And is that .300 cal. more accurate? Or does it need to be developed more. Just like the .25 cal. Its finally starting to have more projectile choices. I know there are people messing with the bigger calibers but I just don’t know what to think about them yet. And look how much air you have to use to get any result out of them. I could carry a .25 cal. in the woods for a longer day of shooting then I could a.300 cal. Well I guess you could tune them down to get more shot count. But then you would only be a little over the fpe of a 25 cal. gun. I just see a bunch of question marks right now. Sorry
As far as accuracy, a .30 won the Extreme Bench Rest last year. Talon Tunes is starting to produce a drop in kit for AirForce rifles that will make 5 shot clover leafs at 50 yards.
Normally I do not care for a lot of power as most of the time I am just punching paper or killing feral soda cans, but this is going to be my hunter. I was going to build it up as a .25 because of the larger offering of pellets, but after seeing how well the .30 is doing, I decided a little more force on target would be nice. Also the heavier projectile will be less affected by a slight breeze.
There are as of this moment two companies that I know of that are producing .30 air rifles and I am quite sure there will soon be others. Lothar Walther is already making a barrel. AirForce is supposedly working on a .50 that you can swap barrels for smaller calibers.
Very soon I expect most of the pellet companies will be producing .30 pellets of their own. I do indeed believe the .30 is the next .25.
RR
I guess this will be the next evolution of air guns that I hope to see. Its definitely exciting stuff to me.
It does take me a bit to get pushed in a new direction. But if that extra .050” and more weight can be efficiently slung accurately I’m sure I will want one at some point in time.
Ah… Fully custom then, as that’s not a stock barrel.
Well, something’s gotta be changed if you’re gonna double output.
Not yet anyway. However it is a LW barrel. I also will be replacing the breech block and the valve stem. Talon Tunes is building kits, but I will be making my own barrel.
I do believe that .30 is the new .25. You also are going to start seeing a lot more .357/9mm.
My Talon SS was a custom build from the get go. It is one of the original frames and has an old style high flow valve and had a 24 inch .177 Weihrauch barrel. That was WAY too much power for that caliber. It would sling Silver Points downrange at close to 1200 FPS and even Eun Jins were going supersonic.
I was going to convert it to .25, but I have been hearing some real good results with .30, so I decided to go with it.
RR
I hope you do build the .30 caliber gun. If it works out for you it may convince me to give it a try. Definitely let us know how it turns out. Like BB always tells me. That sounds like it would be a good guest blog. 🙂
I have indeed decided to go that route with it. First I have to finish up with these two FWB300S’s so as to free up time and finances. As far as a guest blog, don’t hold your breath. I have tried a couple of times now to write one, but I do not have the discipline to sit and write one. I think it has to do with the fact that I have ADHD. It is hard to do such unless I sit down and do it all in one sitting and life rarely allows me such a luxury.
RR
Whats hard is to word things so somebody don’t get offended. And make the wording as open as possible. By time you think it through about what somebody might think. Well you just don’t feel like continuing or the thought process was lost. Yea I know what you mean.
I have never been accused of being politically correct and have no intention of starting now. I have to put up with them, they have to put up with me.
RR
Can’t argue with that. 😉
I’d have no fear of available projectiles, where I live right now the local “front stuffers” ensure adequate supply of ammo
Reb
B.B.,
Will the TF90 stay put on a Beeman P1?
Mark N
Mark,
The TF dot sight I tested on a P1 was smaller than the TF90. I think the TF90 is a bit too large for the pistol.
What happens is the sight slides forward under recoil and eventually stops against the front sight. It will dent the front sight over time.
B.B.
B.B.,
Sorry but I’m confused. I was asking abut the TF sight you just wrote about. Are you saying it’s too small ??
I don’t know. what a P90 is?
Are both sights incompatible with the P1?
Mark N
Mark,
I wrote too fast. The sight is called the TF 90 and I am saying that it is too large for the Beeman P1 pistol. The smaller dot sight was the TF 90’s predecessor, and is no longer available.
I have corrected my previous comment.
I will try to show the scale of the TF 90 when I show it with the Hakim the first time.
B.B.
I want the smaller one.
Reb
When I lived in the Peoples Non Republic of New Jersey
I lived near Navy Arms and at that time Navy was one
of the largest military surplus dealers around they sold the
Hakim but the clerk was too busy to go to the warehouse
and get one, so I lost out and he wouldn’t sell the display.
I did see it up close and the wood grain was beautiful
They never had it again.They were asking $75.00 in 1995
and SKS’S and Mauser’s were under $100.00 but I did buy a
Chinese youth trainer copy of the AK47 and a Polish Army
air pistol copy of the Walther.At the time I thought it was
a very powerful rifle and the clerk thought so to.You don’t
see too many places like that anymore and the surplus market
dried up.It seemed to dry up when I got my Curio and Relic license
how’s that for luck.I wish if you had the time,You could put
together in one book a selection of the blogs of the older now
long gone air guns.
BB
I’m also interested about what you do to eliminate or reduce the vibration/buzz from the gun.
And the gun seemed to like all the pellets you shot really. I thought they were good groups.
And that sounds like a good combination for a military trainer. A dot sight. I think we could be surprised at how well the gun does at 25 yards with the dot sight.
And one more thing. Maybe this would be a good gun for you to give the See All Sight another chance. I have really good luck with mine at 25 yards. Matter of fact mine is going on the hopped up 953 target pro I have today. I want to use it exclusively for 25 yrd. shooting just to see if I can get some one hole groups out of the gun. But first I got to get the grass cut. Then hopefully it will be time for fun.
GF1,
Don’t think the SeeAll will work. It will be right up against my eye.
B.B.
BB
Yep your right. I wasnt thinking about that on your gun.
The See All Sight likes to be mounted more towards the middle of the gun so the tringle is the right size. For me anyway.
And darn I was hoping you would try it on another gun.
I wanted to make sure you saw this,http://hsrd.yahoo.com/_ylt=AjctaD6DO1U6oHJQIMIiVmWbvZx4;_ylc=X3oDMThnYTlncGFkBF9TAzIwMjM1MzgwNzUEYQMxNDA3MTEgYXV0b3MgZG9kZ2UgY2hhbGxlbmdlciB0BGFpZANpZC0zNDk3OTQyBGNjb2RlA2dhBGNwb3MDMwRlZAMxBGcDNzFjNTJhNjItYmRlMC0zN2VkLTk4MGEtOThkZGFjNmNkYzZmBGludGwDdXMEaXRjAzAEbHR4dANGYXN0ZXN0bXVzY2xlY2FyZXZlcgRwa2d2AzQEcG9zAzAEcgNEZGlCVDhBVllPVVFQaDByR1BVK1RXcE9EMEJWVTVmalAxM2NJcW0vBHNlYwN0ZC1mZWEEc2xrA3RodW1ibGluawR0YXIDYXV0b3MueWFob28uY29tBHRlc3QDOTAx/RV=1/RE=1406313219/RH=aHNyZC55YWhvby5jb20-/RO=2/RU=aHR0cHM6Ly9hdXRvcy55YWhvby5jb20vYmxvZ3MvbW90b3JhbWljL2RvZGdlLWJlYXRzLWZvcmQtLWNoZXZ5LWZvci1mYXN0ZXN0LW11c2NsZS1jYXItZXZlci13aXRoLWNoYWxsZW5nZXItaGVsbGNhdC0xNTMxNTA1MDEuaHRtbA–/RS=%5EADA1DiKw5e72JqaWNfpmRqAj2T1aPw-
Reb
I will have to check it out later. Im on my phone and takes forever for things to load sometimes.
Reb
If they make it Plum Crazy Purple and put some kind of silver stripes down the side I think I will have to go into some serious debt again. Way to cool.
Maybe they will have one at the Dodge test car drive. I have got invited to that before but never went. It was like 2 or 300 dollars if I remember right. They had some cool SRT’s there though. I should of saved up the money to go. I could of at least drove one of their hot rods.
And if I ever won the lottery watch out. I think I would go stupid cray and by up some new and old muscle cars. And defiantly I would have me a nice display of airguns. Yep air guns. Not firearms. Well maybe a few fire arms. Lets see a M1, a Mosin Nagant, a Barret .50 cal.
Well I’m sure you know what I mean. 🙂
A true turnkey 10 second doorslammer!
Reb
You forgot one important word. ”Factory”
BB,I finally found a allen wrench small enough to fit that top hat on the talonP.It is now tight for the first time sense I’ve had it and I’m hoping even a little tad bit more accuracy will haping because even after only five rounds the top hat would turn back little over half a turn so that to me would affect accuracy to a tiny degree because the farther the top hat is back the less air that can pass, correct? The bolt is not as tight as I would like to see it but I believe that is just the nature of the gun.I will not brag on the five shot pattern I got this morning with the talonP at 130′ because some will certainly say “ya wright”.Any way it pleases me and that all that counts.And Gunfun1,Think I’ll wait a little closer to squirrel season to remove the Hawk from the Mrod and adjust that bolt tension.I’ll let ya know how it went.Thanks you two for the advice,good day.And PS to BB.I’m glad that “Johnny” ask you that last night and you replied because I’ve wondered the same thing but I kinda knew the answer as soon as he made the comment.
steve
I have had pretty good luck taking scopes off and back on and still be sighted pretty good. Maybe just a few clicks off on the side to side. Up and down is usually still dead on.
I take a measument with a machinist scale from the back of the reciever to the back of the scope ring. That works pretty good for me. If you try it let me know what happens.
Gunfun1 and BB,Trying to reply by have trouble with my server.Typed a paragraph and lost it so before I throw this in the creek I’d better just shut it down.Good day
I’ve even swapped guns and been within a few clicks
Steve,l
No, the bolt opening does not affect accuracy, unless it blows open and lowers velocity. They all do it and they are all accurate.
And so do most other PCPs that have a similar bolt lock.
B.B.
And BB,this is why I did not respond to ”how this blog has changed my life” because when ya type a few paragraphs and loose it,well ya loose it.
steve if Im on my computer at home I have been hi-lighting my comment then right clicking my comment and copy it to save it.
That way if it dont go thru I can click on the reply then right click and paste it again.
That use to aggrivate me when that happened. Thats why I dont like replying with my phone. You want to post something important then it gets lost. Then the person waiting for the response is wondering whats going on. Its happened to me before also.
Me three! I don’t know all those little tricks so I just do it the old fashioned way. 🙂
I’m pretty sure this is indicative of a problem.
There goes a perfect example..Into the Abyss, all my ramblings. Consider yourselves fortunate,Earthlings.
Marvin’s outta this world!
Reb
And where are our replies really going. Maybe the aliens are grabbing our comments and trying to learn. Or maybe we have succeeded to confuse them. 🙂
It’s a good thing ol’ Marvin doesn’t have much air to work with!
No Fear, I’m wearing my “foil” hat.
Reb
Reb,as for the foil hat my wife said it didn’t work for me.I figured sense the hat is kinda a dish shape all it did was concentrate those signals deeper in my brain. I just believe its a conspiracy theory set up by the little green people and that the foil really acts like a medal signal receiver and this is all one big lie.And I swear I’m OK OK ok ok……….
Maybe they’re scrolling through the universe like the prologue to Star Wars as we write.
Reb
Ha Ha you might be right.
And this is off subject also. But has anybody gone lightning bug hunting lately? And no not the old fashioned way catching them and putting them in jars.
I’m talking about getting some super soaker water guns and going out in the yard or a field at night time when they of course are active. And hunting them down and blast’n them with the super soaker water guns.
Call me crazy again but me and my daughters had a blast. My wife thinks I’m crazy. But oh well it was fun. And if its related to shooting and its fun well, I don’t care what my wife thinks this time.
And I think I’m about to get in trouble again. 😮
Gunfun1,You Arda try shooting um over your shoulder with a mirror and my Diana P5 in the dark with night vision goggles after a few stuff ones no less then 90 proof but make sure your alone cause ya could put somebodies eye out “sorry” had to say it. I’ve never tyred it,but did shoot a dragging fly out of the air last year with that pistol and man was my friends impressed and I just stop shooting cause it was luck but made me look like Roy Rogers.
steve
Night vision goggles?!? All you got to do is watch for the flash and be quick on the trigger finger. I even found that all you got to do is know ahead of time when they are going to flash.
And of course I’m full of bologna. 🙂
Gunfun1,did you say bologna?
Or something like that. 🙂
I’m hungry.
I’m afraid the war on Mosquitos has cost us the majority of lightning bugs here in my neck o’ the woods. 40 years ago they were so thick you could barely dodge them, Now you have to go to an isolated field to see just a few. Makes me wish we hadn’t smeared so many on each other back then.
Reb
Reb
I guess your talking about how they use to go around with trucks and spray for mosquito’s. They use to do that when I was a kid. All the kids use to go running behind the trucks through the fog. I never did. I told them they were crazy if its killing mosquito’s whats it going to do to you.
But none of that affected the lightning bugs by us. They are like what you talked it use to be like by you. They are so thick that you bump into them all the time.
My oldest daughter has always been interested in bugs for some reason so she studies about them a bit. She says you have to have tree’s (which we have all those woods behind the house) and a area with lots of grass. Which we have also. Supposedly the male lightning bugs are the ones that fly around flashing looking for the females that are in the trees or the grass. So like anything you have to have the right conditions for something to live there. Maybe that’s part of the reason why they ain’t by you also?
And I hope this off subject story about bugs; Well ain’t bug’n anybody. 🙂
Gunfun1,your daughter is correct.Here were I live we have lots of open hay Fields and very thick forest.The lighting bugs really thrive in these hay Fields and they are very thick here in KY.Down at my fishing hole just at dark there thousands and thousands just like when I was a kid. Now after these light bugs phase is over in a few weeks then the really creepy thing appears and don’t go away until the first frost. Its the orange type of web stringing spider. They are every were! their butts are about the size of a dime and there really creepy.I have jumped off my ATV while its on the move when one of these things get on me.You have to carry a stick and keep waving left and right as you walk to keep um off you. I have three ends of fishing rods drilled in the front of my ATV to catch the …. things cause they will be strung all over my ATV trails.If ya ain’t figured it out by now even being a country boy these things scare the dickens out of me even after all these years I can’t shake the fear.
steve
Are they Banana spiders? We have them and they are notorious for building their big webs across paths in the woods. But maybe not. The Banana spiders are yellow and black and they get to big for me that’s for sure. Is this what your talking about.
http://img.thrfun.com/img/005/910/banana_spider_m.jpg
And we have big wolf spiders also. They are furry and look like little tarantulas. And the dang things can jump a foot high.
http://www.brockettsfilmfauna.com/images/spiders/wolf%20spider%20pic%20two.jpg
Spiders are definitely not my favorite insect.
My wife is arachnophobic and it drives her bonkers that I will pick up spiders and check them out up close and personal. My favorites are the jumping spiders. We have spiders around here that I think are wolf spiders that get big enough to cover the palm of your hand.
RR
I have seen the Wolf spiders as big as the palm of my hand by us. And bugs don’t bother me at all. But it would sure be a surprise to find one of them crawling up my leg. And picking them up and looking at them. Well that’s my older daughter. The youngest daughter and my wife freak out if you just say the word spider.
Gunfun1,Nope we call them garden spiders here in KY.Try throwing a grasshopper into its web and watch how fast it can wrap that thing up in a web in seconds! The center of its web looks like a zipper and yes they get mighty big! Now for the wolf spider ours is much,MUCH bigger then the one in the picture.These things could set on a fruit jar lid and still there legs would hang over the edge.At night there eyes will reflect light just like a deer,all eight of um.And if your ears are good you can here them running on the basement wall kinda a clicking sound. Years ago I had one on my kitchen ceiling ”13 feet high” and could not reach it to kill it.I wasn’t about to go to bed with that thing alive in my cabin so I shot it with the 22 and when it hit the floor it went ”thunk” that’s how big they are!Next day I had to patch my roof.So if there is one now I redneck it up a notch and remove the pellet from a PCP and put the barrel about three inch’s from the spider a pull.Nothing left but maybe a leg ”poof” gone nightmare over.Raid just pi…. these things off! Usally I run and scream like a little school girl and let the wife take care um and I’m not ashame to admit it.
steve
Just replied to RR. And yep I have seen the wolf spiders as big as the palm of my hand here. And I have seen the banana spiders with there legs all stretched out to be I’m sure 8” in diameter from tip of one leg to the tip of the other.
And it don’t bother me if I can see them. But when they just pop out of no where. Well then that’s another story.
And she told me something else. Those lightning bugs that people call flashers. Well they flash to attract other lightning bugs to eat them.
Well ain’t that just great. Modern day cannibal lightning bugs. Now if we could just get them to eat the mosquito’s.
Never heard of those…
What I have read of is that the females don’t spend time flying around. They’re the ones that climb onto a tall blade of grass and flicker in response to the males that are flying around. The males tend to flash while pulling some species specific aerobatics (think a check-mark drawn in the air).
Wulfraed
The flashers flash like a continious strobe light flash. They dont stop. There aint as many of those.
And if you read farther up I said the females are in the grass and the trees sitting. And like you said and I said the same that the males fly around.
But the flashers are differnt. And supposedly they eat the wings off of the other lightning bugs.
Oh and I dont know about the check mark flight though. I will have to check it out and tell my daughter.
Reb,used to spread those lighting bug glow stuff on my dogs nose when I was a kid.Freaked him out.
Has anyone heard much about the 1700p? I saw one on GB the other day for $200. Considering the work and extra parts involved in converting one of the 22xx’s, I considered it a viable option. My little bit of research showed it to be a fairly new offering. Someone musta had a lotta confidence in it because it only lasted a couple of days. I started to give Ya’ll a heads up on it but guess I missed my chance.
Reb
Reb,
That pistol is called the Sihouette. I reviewed it here:
/blog/2011/05/crosman-silhouette-pcp-pistol-part-3/
B.B.
Thanks B.B.! I’ll go see how it turned out.
Hmmmmm… I will bet you money that Lloyd’s PRod Double kit will fit that.
Reb
If I was looking for a used pcp pistol I would rather have this gun because of the shroud. I had one and it was one of the better shooting guns I had. And it was quiet. And if I could find a used one of these for 200 dollars I would be all over it.
/product/crosman-1720t-pcp-target-air-pistol?m=2705
But the Silhouette would probably be my next pick if the 1720T never would of been made.
Gunfun1,
Ouch! I’ll have to stick with the 2400 I have in my cart for $98.68. I chose the brass muzzle brake for the extra weight after all that’s really all it is, I’ll probably Krylon it flat black to keep down the glare.I also like the idea of being able to use co2 while saving for the pump and Hi-Pac. Did you read about the resettable target I mentioned? It’s used but still gotta lotta shots left in it.
Reb
Reb I left you a comment about the target. Go back and check out what I wrote.
And that’s what I was thinking about the 2240. I set up my Disco barrel and breech on my other 2240 and sighted in the scope. And my hi-pac arrived today in the mail. Installed it on the 2240 and thats all I shot today. All I can say is I hope BB does part 2 of the conversion with the hi-pac soon. I’m having really good luck with it is all I can say.
Reb
Save your money on the muzzle break. I don’t know what they cost. But money is money. And the 2400 will not kick when you pull the trigger. That will just add extra weight to the gun that’s not needed. And that’s another benefit of the gun.
The Co2 and pump pistols are very smooth shoot’n guns. I don’t use no kind of counter balance on them. If a counter balance was needed I would put one on spring or nitro piston gun.
Didn’t you say you got a modded 760 if I’m remembering right. It don’t kick right? The 2400 will shoot like that but more accurate.
Was it just me or did the blog go down again?
Reb
Well this Hakim seems to be pretty interesting and accurate and I enjoyed reading about it. In the last report someone mentioned a Stutzen and I have been interested in the one that Diana offers, the “430 Stutzen” for awhile now but besides 3 brief reviews not much is out there to go on.I am wondering if any one has had personal experience with this model type as I’m looking also for accuracy in a 22 cal.?
I am always amazed by the off topic tangents that show up on this blog . Perhaps it,s time for my contribution. One of my many pet peeves ( I am lucky that they don’t eat, or I would go broke buying pet peeve chow) is the term TACKDRIVER, because its so imprecise. How large is the tack, how far away is the tack, how many consecutive shots hit the tack, etc. I wonder how many members of this blog agree with me? If it were up to me, I would remove tackdriver from all shooters vocabularies, and restrict it to those people who drive tacks with hammers. One peeve down, 234 left to go. Ed
You have a point there if I should use that term.
But I think we should call it needle threaders when we are talking about air gun precision. 😉
Gunfun, How big is the needle? How large is the eye? I would prefer terms like minute, half minute, or actual group size in inches or mm. Ed
zimbabwea ed
And we would think to call it something. And somedy else would want to call it something different.
But if we have a picture then what would we call it?
A Very good description!
And again I should proof read.
”And somedy else would want to call it something different”.
It should be.
And (somebody) else would want to call it something different.
Ed,
While you,I and many other regulars here on the blog may carry a slide rule in their pocket whilst plinking, anyone else who may pop in on the daily blog might have to stop reading the article to research the terminology.This may break their rhythm(I know it did with me) not everyone who visits the blog wants to get that in depth.I found this blog while looking for information on modifications to my guns and after I found the information I was searching, for had questions which were answered in Plain English and made me feel more comfortable and accepted than someone speaking Tech-Jive would have.If you’d like to know just how accurate someone means, by all means ask, I’m sure you may be surprised how accurate descriptions can be without researching terminology for 1/2 hour. One step at a time/KISS..No blood-No foul.
Sometimes it’s more about fun than accuracy.
Reb
Anyone going to the Baldwinsville NY Airgun Show this weekend July 19th-20th. Ill hoping to find a nice pump gun like a Benjamin/Sheridan/SW77 a few springers like AA pro elite, Diana 27,Diana 36/38k, Fwb124/127,R1/HW80 .20k.HW55 or any UK springer or any target springer. For those who cant make it Ill take pics and post what I got..Oh I did get a HW50 Friday in .177 4 tins AA diablo 8.4 4 tins Beeman Kodiaks 10.65 so far I love it. PA shipped it and got here three days..
chris
Cool you got a HW50. Let me know how it goes with yours.
I got a lot of pellets through mine now and the 2.5-10 power Hawke scope on it now also. It just seems to get better each time I shoot it. It is real smooth and the trigger is broken in nice now. And it is definitely a shooter. At 50 yards or closer its game on. And it will shoot fair at farther distances. But like I said 50 and in watch out.
But glad you got one. And like I said I would like to now how yours is. Now and as you get more time on it.
Gunfun1 again just typed a few paragraphs and lost them again referring to the spider thing. My sever is having problem’s today again and this sight I could not get on a few hours ago so I’m calling it quits for now.
Steve,
You got caught in the spam filter. I just approved your original message. It’s now live.
Edith
Edith,Thank you.
Steve,
One more thing. It wasn’t your server having problems, either. Pyramyd Air’s server for the blog went down. Stuff happens, and we all have to wait for a fix.
Edith
Edith,
If you happen to find my comment regarding bicycles could you please approve it?I couldn’t remember what I said as soon as it didn’t show up.
Reb
Reb,
It’s already live. Click on this link, and it’ll take you right to your comment:
/blog/2014/07/hakim-air-rifle-part-2/#comment-272837
Edith
Thank You Edith! I’ll go see what I said.
steve
I responded to your reply up above about the spiders.
Hang in there Steve, it’ll get better as soon as this giveaway’s over and I get my goodies.