by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier
My Swedish Excellent CII rifle is a multi-pump pneumatic.
This report covers:
- 6 strokes are minimum
- Slow or fast?
- Why just 3 shots?
- Interesting observation
- 8 pumps
- 10 pumps
- Lobo 6 pumps
- Lobo 8 pumps
- Lobo 10 pumps
- Summary
Today we look at the power of the Swedish Excellent multi-pump rifle I recently acquired. Remember that this rifle is an oddball caliber that shoots lead balls measuring 0.213-inches in diameter. I discovered that Argentinian lead balls branded Lobo measure 0.214-inches and will work in the rifle, too. Today I will test them both at differing numbers of pump strokes.
6 strokes are minimum
Right away I discovered that 6 pump strokes are the minimum necessary to shoot this rifle reliably. I stuck several balls on 4 pump strokes. But that was not the only discovery I made.
Slow or fast?
My experience with multi pumps has taught me that by allowing a little time after the pump piston head is fully extended, more air is drawn into the compression chamber, resulting in higher velocity. That does not hold true for the test rifle, though. When I pumped the rifle and allowed one second for air to rush into the compression chamber by pausing at the top of the pump stroke, I got the following results with Swedish Excellent balls.
Shot………..Velocity (f.p.s.)
1……………….220
2……………….263
3……………….187
That’s an average of 223 f.p.s., but a spread of 76 f.p.s. for just three shots! However, when I pumped continuously without pausing, I got the following on the same 6 pump strokes.
Shot………..Velocity (f.p.s.)
1……………….258
2……………….284
3……………….228
The average is now 257 f.p.s. and the extreme spread is 56 f.p.s. From this it seems to me this rifle wants to be pumped continuously without pausing. So from this point on all pumping will be continuous.
Why just 3 shots?
I restricted the velocity test to just 3 shots for a few reasons. First, I have a limited supply of ammunition and I want to conserve it. Also, this rifle is hard to cock. My thumb was sore after this test and I don’t think I could have gone the full ten shots like I normally do.
Interesting observation
One more thing I notice about the Excellent. The pump handle does not creep back up after the pumping stops. Older Benjamin multi-pumps are especially bad about the pump handle creeping back up or open after the pumping stops. That can be from a small amount of compressed air that did not go into the rifle on the last pump stroke, or there can be a leak in the inlet valve. Either way, the Excellent doesn’t do it, and I think that has a lot to do with the design of the mechanism.
Also, for those who wondered, the trigger does not become harder to pull as the number of pumps increase. This design doesn’t seem to affect the trigger pull.
8 pumps
Increasing the pumps to 8 boosted the average for 3 shots to 339 f.p.s. The spread went from 326 to 358 f.p.s., so a total of 32 f.p.s. Not great, but smaller than at 6 strokes.
Shot………..Velocity (f.p.s.)
1……………….331
2……………….358
3……………….326
10 pumps
With 10 pump strokes the average jumped to 372 f.p.s. with a low of 360 and a high of 382 f.p.s. The 22 f.p.s. spread was the smallest seen in the test with the Swedish Excellent ball. Now it was time to try the larger Lobo ball.
Shot………..Velocity (f.p.s.)
1……………….382
2……………….360
3……………….378
Lobo 6 pumps
The Lobo ball is larger, which the rifle does not like. My three shots registered like this.
Shot………..Velocity (f.p.s.)
1…………………66
2……………….149
3……………….174
That’s an average of 130 f.p.s. and a huge 108 f.p.s. spread. Obviously 6 pump strokes are not enough.
Lobo 8 pumps
Eight pump strokes made the rifle settle down. My three shots registered this.
Shot………..Velocity (f.p.s.)
1……………….238
2……………….225
3……………….224
Interestingly the velocity dropped by 100 f.p.s. from that of the Swedish balls, but the spread of velocities also dropped to just 14 f.p.s. I might have to try the Lobo balls for accuracy, just based on this test. The average for these 3 shots was 229 f.p.s.
Lobo 10 pumps
I was thinking 10 pumps would be the best. Here’s what I got.
Shot………..Velocity (f.p.s.)
1……………….269
2……………….268
3……………….213
Until the final shot I was ready to say 10 pumps was magic, but then the bottom dropped out on that final shot. I have no idea why (maybe a slightly larger ball?). The average is 250 f.p.s
Summary
Like most of you, this is my first experience with this airgun. I bet many of you never even heard of it until this report.
The Swedish Excellent is sort of the Stanley Steamer of multi-pump airguns. It’s fun to look at and quirky to shoot, but it will never be anyone’s everyday airgun.
BB,
No access port for placing PellGun Oil into the pump? That might be why the velocity dropped suddenly. Another reason I can think of is that by the last set of tests that method of pumping is definitely going tho wear you out causing you to pump just a little bit slower.
Would this be Part 1 or Part 2? I did a search and found nothing! Semper fi!
J.Lee
This is Part 2. Under the picture is with the label My Swedish Excellent CII rifle is a multi-pump pneumatic.
is
A history of airguns (in blue)
Part 1 (in blue)
Those are links you can click.
BB,
I could see where running your more traditional test would be quite exhausting and how a multi-pump would not likely be someone’s favorite plinker, most especially if you are having to pump it 10 times per shot.
It is a quirky little thing, but I have seen that style breech on two different PCP pistols recently. You have to wonder at the coincidence of such.
That is interesting about pausing between pump strokes to allow the air to fully rush in. I had not heard of that before but it makes sense. Perhaps too,…. a leather seal benefits from the faster pumping due to some heating of the leather pump seal?
BB,
Speaking of curiosities, whatever happened to the MODOC? I have been wondering what kind of accuracy can be expected from this thing.
RR,
The Modoc was a dismal failure. The second one I tested failed just like the first.
They never got the air cartridges worked out and there have been accidents where the cartridge let go with an open breech. The gun is still for sale, but I don’t think they are selling very well.
B.B.
Ouch! That’s a shame. That would have looked good hanging on the wall of my log home. It looked like it would have really fit in with me.
B.B.,
The Swedish Excellent sorta reminds me of a professor of mine way back. To preserve his anonymity I’ll change his last name and call him “Dr. Murphy.” He insisted his students call him by his first name, which was Dean (his real first name) . So everybody referred to him as “Dean Murphy.” As a result, probably most of the students thought that in addition to teaching classes, he was also a Dean.
My point is that the Swedish Excellent does indeed appear to be excellent in name only. But think of that. In practice people would drop the “Swedish.” Instead it would be, “I was shooting my Excellent air rifle yesterday.”
Clever product naming.
Michael
So a more apt name would be “The Swedish balls rifle”, then?
=-)
Carel
Pardon the pun, but it doesn’t sound like it’s so “Excellente” at all with those muzzle velocities.
it has been quite a while since I have posted here. I fell and broke my leg in Omaha, and a week later my wife had a heart attack.. We were in two hospitals 300 miles apart. The bills are coming in now like artillery shells.
I wanted to say that the last two topics were especially interesting to me. I hope the “Jack and Jill” story was real and not just a baby boomer fantasy.
The steam weapon story (I can’t spell it) had me going for awhile. It would have flown in the face of the current thinking in artillery deployment at the time. If I remember correctly, The concept of “flying artillery” was the current “big thing” back then. This contraption would be the antithesis of the theory of light, mobile artillery. It would probably take all day to set up or reposition, And at a range of only a few hundred yards. It was easy to believe it was overrun. Nowadays, I suppose the concept of “flying artillery” would involve a AC-130.
Les
Les,
Welcome back! I’m sorry to hear about your illnesses. May you recover completely and soon.
B.B.
Sorry to hear that. It makes my broken foot seem trivial by comparison. But as the Bible says, these things shall pass away…
Matt61
Matt,
I actually was relieved to find out I had broken my leg rather than my foot. Broken feet can be much harder to fix. My leg was internally braced, no cast. I have progressed from a walker to a cane, and recently was given the OK to drive again.
I was never in danger of losing my life, but my wife was. She had pneumonia on top of COPD, and that caused her heart attack. She is on oxygen 24/7, and has lost most of her lung capacity.
Les
Les,
I will add her to my daily prayer list.
B.B.
Desertdweller,
Yes, welcome back and best wishes and prayers on getting everyone back on the “up and running”.
And I can relate to the “incoming” from a past marriage, so I feel for ya’. Even with insurance, the balance is enough to break the “average Joe”.
Chris
Thanks, Chris.
She used two hospitals, I used one. We each had an ambulance ride. Plus we each had specialists and a lot of drugs. I won’t be buying any more guns for awhile.
Les
Les,
Well, enjoy what ya’ got. That is good advice for even when things are going well. Add some problems,… and it becomes even more crucial.
Be happy in that you are both 6′ up and not 6′ down.
As for $. There is options. One that I thought I would never take. I did. It all worked out. That is from someone working hard all their life and paying cash for what you want. Do it again? Yup. Hard? Yes.
Hey,…. you got to look out for you and your wife first.
Nuff said. Keep checkin’ in. Chris
I haven’t seen anything to match the Benjamin 397 series of multi-pumps. One memorable comment about them was: “You get great power from three pumps. Who would need nine?!”
ChrisUSA, thanks for your comments about my expertise. Time does fly along. When I joined the blog about 10 years ago, I was the most ignorant of readers not far removed from pulling the trigger for the first time on an airsoft rifle. I have picked up a few things since then. But as you can see, much of my knowledge is skimmed from other sources or takes the form of association. For hard-core technical knowledge, I am not your best source.
Anyway, regarding the comments by you and Gunfun1 on the FBI tests, they compared only iron sights and reflex sights and said nothing about scopes. But I don’t think it is hard to infer how scopes would compare. Below 15 yards, scopes would definitely be slower to acquire than either iron sights or reflex sights. In theory, scopes would be more accurate, but with the distance so short, I expect the difference would be small to insignificant. Above 15 yards, scopes would outpace both iron sights and reflex sights in accuracy, iron sights probably faster than reflex sights. I don’t know that scopes would ever be faster than either, but you would reach a point where the difference is not significant. As for the point where scopes would surpass reflex sights, that would depend on a number of things, but my guess is about 100 yards. I’ve never heard of reflex sights being used beyond that distance.
On another subject, I am reading a very interesting author named Eric Greitens. He is a Rhodes Scholar, Navy SEAL, champion boxer and martial artist. How is that for your complete man? He seems to have a grounding in the classics which you would expect from an Oxford education, and he offered this very interesting quote by the ancient philosopher Epicurus: “Our abundance lies with what we enjoy, not what we have.” Epicurus was a philosopher of pleasure, so he knew whereof he spoke. I take this as a reason not to buy that HW 30S and to try to enjoy the guns that I already have.
Matt61
Matt,
Your quote “Our abundance lies with what we enjoy, not what we have” struck a chord with me. In my attempt to remove what was making my wife have recurring upper respiratory infections, I hired a professional (hazmat certified) cleaning company to clean out my house. Everything was removed and moved to storage. My upholstered furniture and bed were thrown out, and my carpets were pulled up and discarded. I bought replacement furniture, and hardwood flooring. My son-in-law, Dean was very helpful in installing the flooring (teak-stained bamboo) and letting us stay with his family. When he told me he admired my Daisy 25 I had bought as a junker and rebuilt, I gave it to him.
This gave me an opportunity to inventory my collection. Not counting the Daisy 25, I had 13 long air guns and 2 air pistols. Plus 1 air pistol and 1 pellet rifle that didn’t work, 1 air pistol that belongs to my wife, and three powder burners. I had fallen into the beginner’s trap of buying everything that I could afford that caught my eye. Out of the 15 air guns, how many do I actually shoot? Perhaps 5. Out of the powder burners, 2 out of three. One is a valuable family heirloom I cannot afford ammunition for ($50/20 rnds), one is my go-to range gun, a .22 Henry lever-action, and the other is my concealed carry pistol which I do frequently carry. I was wearing it when I broke my leg, but remembered to take it off before going to the hospital.
Tom wrote about the beginner’s desire for that next air rifle, the one that will surely make one a “rifleman”. While none of my airguns are expensive (all under $200) it still can be a hollow quest, The key lies in the gunner more than in the gun.
Les
Les,
Well said. I could say more,….. but darn it,…. you said it pretty darn well. I will leave that one “as is”.
Hi Matt61,
Re your last comment about Epicurus, that is the same reason I sold seven airguns this year and bought the HW30S. Going to try to shoot only one rifle for a year. Maybe I will become feared! I’ve read so often about that!
Matt61,
Good comments. As BB has said,…. “before going into new territory,…. study those that have gone on before,…first”,…. or at least something to that effect. You do that well and I admire that. While no secret, I am a bit of an experimenter. I try to do what I can on learning, but more often than not,…. I dive right in. Time is time and inspiration is inspiration. With less of the first, and more of the second,…… the second usually wins out.
I believe it is Ridge Runner that wants just a few guns that one can shoot well. I aspire to that.
That said,…. B.B., P.A., constant improvements and comments,…. make that a daily fight! 😉