Monthly Archives: February 2016

Haenel 310 bolt action trainer: Part 2

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Haenel 310
Haenel 310 is a different kind of trainer.

A history of airguns

Part 1

This report covers:

  • How does the magazine work?
  • Velocity
  • Oiled the leather piston seal
  • Re-test velocity
  • Smart Shot lead BBs
  • Conclusions

Today we look at the velocity of the Haenel 310 trainer. I was asked by one reader whether the Smart Shot lead BBs will work in the gun, so we will also look at that.

How does the magazine work?

Another thing I was asked by a reader is how the magazine works. You saw a picture of the mag in Part 1, but the angle was wrong for understanding how the balls feed. Here are three pictures that tell the whole story.

Haenel 310 mag with follower down
Here the steel ball follower is held down by the magazine feed pawl (arrow). This spring-loaded pawl is pushed down out of the way by the bolt as it passes. read more

The Gat’s where it’s at!: Part 2

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Gat
The Gat is a timeless classic air pistol. Shown uncocked here.

A history of airguns

Part 1

  • Hard cocking!
  • Air Arms Falcon pellets
  • RWS Hobby pellets
  • H&N Finale Match Pistol pellets
  • RWS R10 Pistol pellets
  • RWS HyperMAX pellets
  • Darts
  • Took longer to shoot
  • 2016 Texas airgun show

Today we look at the Gat’s power. I was also going to combine an accuracy test with today’s report, but I spent so much time just determining the velocity that I will only report that.

Hard cocking!

I reported in part 1 that the Gat is hard to cock. To cock the gun the barrel is pushed straight back, like a Quackenbush or a Crosman M1 Carbine. By the time I had tested 5 pellets and a series of darts, my left palm was sore!

hand
After about 31 shots, my hand was sore! I had to stop shooting.

Air Arms Falcon pellets

First up were Falcon pellets from Air Arms. These fit the breech rather loosely, though I didn’t know that until I had tried other pellets. They averaged 186 f.p.s. The spread went from a low of 165 f.p.s. to a high of 197 f.p.s. I had guessed that the Gat was a 200 f.p.s. pistol, so this was very close. read more

Morini 162MI 10-meter match pistol: Part 2

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Morini 162MI pistol
Morini 162MI 10-meter match pistol.

Part 1

This report covers:

  • The trigger
  • Velocity
  • H&N Finale Match Pistol pellets
  • Sig Match Ballistic Alloy pellets
  • Qiang Yuan Olympic
  • RWS R10 Match Pistol pellets
  • Test

Today we get the Morini 162MI 10-meter match pistol into action and test the velocity with a wide range of target pellets. The manual says the gun was set at the factory to shoot at between 492 and 508 f.p.s., so we shall see. Because this is an air pistol, I will mostly use the lighter pellets from each manufacturer, when there is more than one weight to choose from.

The triggers

Before we get to that, however, a reader mentioned that he wanted to examine the trigger. Here you go!

Morini 162MI pistol trigger
This is the trigger with the pistol grip removed. Yes, that plate covers the internal parts, but the schematic below should help with that. read more

Air Venturi ISSC M22 BB pistol: Part 3

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Air Venturi M22 pistol
Air Venturi ISSC M22 BB pistol.

Part 1
Part 2

This report covers:

  • Daisy Premium Grade BBs
  • Air Venturi Copper-Plated Steel BBs
  • Long trigger pull
  • The trigger
  • H&N Smart Shot copper-plated lead BBs
  • The sights
  • Overall impression

Today we find out if the ISSC M22 BB pistol from Air Venturi can shoot. As I always do with BB guns, I shot at 5 meters and used the UTG Monopod to rest my hand. This resulted in a steady hold, though I must comment that the second stage trigger pull is so heavy that it took concentration to remain on target.

Daisy Premium Grade BBs

First up were Daisy Premium Grade BBs. The first two shots landed higher, then the rest of the shots walked down to about 1.5 inches below the point of aim. They were also slightly left of center. Since this was the first group I didn’t know what to make of it, but as the test progressed it turned out that the point of impact was where the last 8 Daisy BBs landed. read more

The power band of a precharged airgun

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

This report covers:

  • Difference between a precharged airgun and a multi-pump
  • Balanced valve
  • Benjamin 700
  • Benjamin 710
  • Benjamin 600 Automatic
  • How a PCP valve works
  • Run out of barrel
  • Power band = 1000 psi?
  • The power curve
  • Why don’t they…?
  • What should you do?
  • Last tip — worth the price

The topic for today’s report comes from reader GunFun 1, who asked me to discuss the useful power band of a precharged pneumatic (PCP). Some of you are thinking about getting into PCPs and you wonder how they work. Today’s report should clarify some of that for you.

Difference between a precharged airgun and a multi-pump

I’ll start with the main difference between a multi-pump and a PCP. A multi-pump like the Benjamin 392 that many of you are familiar with, fills with air that you pump in manually. It all gets exhausted with the one shot, or at least it is supposed to. Fill with many pumps and then exhaust all at once — that’s something many airgunners know. read more

Hakim — Egypt’s pellet rifle trainer was better than the firearm: Part 2

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Hakim
Hakim is Egypt’s air rifle trainer for their 8mm battle rifle.

A history of airguns

Part 1

This report covers:

  • My first Hakim
  • Navy Arms
  • Power
  • Little Rock
  • You won’t believe this one!
  • More Hakims
  • Parts and pogosticks
  • Even more Hakims
  • One last rifle

Today we look at the performance of the Hakim trainer. I don’t know exactly how many of these I have owned. I lost count years ago at 15. I’ve seen them in all states of tune, from barely functioning to red hot and everything in-between. So let’s start there.

My first Hakim

My first rifle was purchased from a newspaper ad in the late 1980s. It was advertised as an Anschütz training rifle and I had no idea what it was. When I saw it, though, I knew I had to have it. Here was a full-stocked underlever training rifle with an automatic loading tap. And it was in .22 caliber. I hoped it would shoot. read more

Haenel 310 bolt action trainer: Part 1

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Haenel 310
Haenel 310 is a different kind of trainer.

A history of airguns

This report covers:

  • History — Haenel 33 and 33 Junior
  • Haenel model 49 and 49a
  • Haenel 310
  • Magazine
  • Cocking
  • BB gun action
  • Accuracy

I’m starting this report to address a question from one of our readers. J. Lee asked how well H&N Smart Shot lead BBs would work in a Haenel 310. The 310 is nominally built for 4.4mm lead balls and the Smart Shot BBs are supposed to be 4.35mm. Will a difference of 5 hundredths of a millimeter really matter? That’s just under two one-thousandths of an inch.

Also, I’m calling the 310 a trainer, but it’s different from all the other trainers we have looked at. Those other trainers all copy or attempt to copy certain military models, while the 310 is a copy of nothing. It is simply a straightforward bolt action repeater that fires round lead balls through a rifled barrel. What makes it a trainer is the fact that it was built for target shooting and marksmanship training, rather than as a general-purpose air rifle. It was built to train shooters. read more