Monthly Archives: September 2016

BSA Meteor Mark I: Part 3

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

BSA Meteor
BSA Meteor Mark I.

Part 1
Part 2

A history of airguns

This report covers:

  • Tune in a Tube
  • Baseline the Meteor
  • A second tune?
  • Disassembly
  • The compressor
  • What did I find?
  • The rest of the powerplant
  • Offset transfer port
  • The pivot point
  • What’s next?

Ho ho, hi ho; inside the gun we go! Today’s report brings a lot of topics together on one stage.

Tune in a Tube

One reason I’m doing this is because reader RidgeRunner has been touting Tune in a Tube — or at least I think he’s one. This is getting confusing, so please bear with me. Tune in a Tube is a tube of viscous grease that comes in an applicator that makes it easy to squirt the grease into the spring gun powerplant. It’s a type of lube tune that is simple and supposewd to be very easy to do. I want to find out if it’s a product that does what it says, because if it is there are quite a few spring guns that could benefit from it. read more

Mainspring compressor

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

mainspring compressor
Mainspring compressor.

This report covers:

  • Can you make a mainspring compressor?
  • BSA Meteor
  • Description
  • Bridge
  • Headstock
  • Tailstock
  • Legs
  • General

Today I’m going to show you a mainspring compressor that I will use in tomorrow’s blog. I was asked this week by a new reader to show the tools needed to safely disassemble a spring-piston airgun. Here is the request.

Sir,
Great web sight!  As a “newbee” to air rifles, I find it a wealth of info!  Having a hard time trying to start a new post in the blog forum..  Specifically, I’m looking to find out if anyone makes proper tools for the correct disassembly of the Benjamin Trail NP XL 1500.. Looking for a proper end cap removal tool, and a spring compressor.  I was an armorer for years in LE, with an incredible amount of proper tools for “firearms”.  Just want to make sure that maybe there’s a place to purchase proper tools for air rifles out there. read more

Air Venturi Rockin’ Rat target: Part 1

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Rockin' Rat
Rockin’ Rat.

This report covers:

  • Knocked down
  • Together in 3 minutes!
  • Instructions
  • Three minutes and done!
  • Now what?
  • Directions
  • Why the Rockin’ Rat?

Say hello to my little friend! I saw the Air Venturi Rockin’Rat target at the 2016 Pyramyd Air Cup and asked to have one sent for evaluation. This is the kind of product I would like to write about more, but how can I make a story out of it? This one looks so interesting that I’m going to try.

Knocked down

The target comes knocked down in a lithographed box. As a man, those words “some assembly required” started screaming in my head. That’s what took the fun out of many Christmas mornings for me when my family was young. Everybody else was passed out from their sugar comas, listening to carols, while I looked at sheets of papertelling me to “press tab A into flange B”. My most memorable moment was when I bought a youth bicycle wrapped in plastic shrink wrap, and all I had to do was straighten the handlebars and tighten one nut. Hurrah! read more

Air Venturi Air Bolt: Part 3

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Air Venturi Air Bolts
Air Venturi Air Bolts turn a .50 caliber big bore into an air bow.

Part 1
Part 2

This report covers:

  • Broadhead performance
  • How fast do broadheads fly?
  • Can a broadhead be stopped?
  • How to load broadheads
  • Robin Hood!
  • What about the Wing Shot?
  • Wing Shot accuracy
  • Summary

This is a continuation of the report I started last week. Although it’s titled Part 3, think of it as Part 2, because I’m finishing things I didn’t tell you last week.

Broadhead performance

We looked at the performance of the Air Bolt from Air Venturi with target points. Now let’s see what they do with broadheads. Last week I showed you those lethal points that open as they penetrate the target. When I was researching this report I heard all sorts of claims for them. First, that they penetrate so deeply that no arrow stop in the world can stop one — they will pass right through. Also, they are heavier and will drop a couple inches more as they fly. Also, they are less accurate because they have those razor blades hanging out in the breeze as they fly. And finally they are so sharp that there is no way to attach them to an arrow without a wrench. read more

Sheridan Supergrade: Part 1

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Sheridan Supergrade

A history of airguns

Sheridan model A, also called the Supergrade.

This report covers:

  • What is a Supergrade?
  • First sight
  • Only .22 caliber airgun Sheridan made
  • My impressions before owning one
  • Materials
  • Must be cocked to accept a charge
  • Power and accuracy
  • I no longer own a Supergrade

For many years I lusted after the iconic Sheridan model A, which is known among airgunners as the Supergrade. It was the first Sheridan air rifle to be produced and production commenced in 1947 — the year of my birth.

What is a Supergrade?

I was unaware of the existence this fine multi-pump pneumatic at the time when it was being sold, which ran from 1948 until sometime in the middle 1950s. Production ended in 1953, but stores continued to sell guns until their stock ran out. Supergrades sold for $56.50 in 1948, when Winchester model 61 slide-action rifle were selling for $44.50. Today a 61 that’s excellent in the box will bring $1,800-2,500, and a Supergrade in the same shape brings even more. This is one air rifle that has appreciated in value. According to the book, <i>Know Your SHERIDAN Rifles & Pistols</i> by Ronald E. Elbe, 2130 model As were produced. read more

Crosman 600 air pistol: Part 3

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Crosman 600
Crosman 600 CO2 pellet pistol.

A history of airguns

Part 1
Part 2

This report covers:

  • The test
  • First up — Crosman Premiers
  • Hobbys are next
  • Adjusted the sights
  • JSB Exact RS pellets
  • Where does that leave us?
  • Conclusion

tom at bench

Me shooting a Crosman 600 CO2 pellet pistol at the Pyramyd Air Cup. Photo courtesy of Bryan Lever.

Today is accuracy day for the Crosman 600 semiautomatic pellet pistol. Before I get to that, however, let me tell you about my experience with one at the Pyramyd Air Cup a few weeks ago. Bryan Lever brought one for me to try and we were virtually alone on the range while the competition was ongoing. We both got to shoot as much as we wanted.

Bryan’s 600 is much like mine except it had a knob on the safety switch that I had never seen before. It turns out this knob is supposed to be there, but it’s one of the first things to fall off. It does make operating the safety a lot easier because you can both feel and see where it is. read more

Why can’t I shoot better ?

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

This report covers:

  • Why can’t I shoot better?
  • B-I-L speaks
  • Plateaus
  • What could make me advance?
  • Better equipment?
  • The end

This is a question I am asked from time to time. Why can’t I shoot better? Recently several readers asked the question and my brother-in-law, Bob, asked it privately. I told everyone I would address this issue, and today is the day.

Why can’t I shoot better?

This is a question that’s not unlike the one we all asked as children, namely ” Why can’t I grow any taller?” Of course today you recognize that you were growing all the time, but the progress was so slow it was impossible to see. Someone, probably your mom, may have marked your height from time to time with a pencil mark on the woodwork of a door frame. As a kid you didn’t think too much about that process, but as time passed you had to admit the marks kept going up. read more