by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier
The new Colt Peacemaker is also available with ivory grips.
This report covers:
- Backwards!
- Fresh CO2
- Air Venturi Steel BBs
- The test
- H&N Smart Shot lead BBs
- Plastic BBs
- JSB Exact RS
- Discussion
- Shot count
- Trigger pull
- Summary
Backwards!
Today we look at the Colt Peacemaker BB revolver with the 7.5-inch barrel. This test is the one I’m doing backwards. You will recall that I did Part 2 as an accuracy test, so today we look at velocity. That’s out of order but I think it won’t matter that much. Let’s get started.
Fresh CO2
Part of the velocity test is determining the shot count, so I removed the 12-gram CO2 cartridge and installed a new one. I knew the moment the cartridge was pierced because I heard it, so the test began with the first shot.
Air Venturi Steel BBs
First up were Air Venturi Steel BBs. Six of them averaged 413 f.p.s. The spread went from 407 to 421 f.p.s., so that’s just 14 f.p.s. After this first cylinder, however, all shots were slower. This was probably caused by part of the liquid CO2 coming through the valve and evaporating in the barrel.
The test
I allowed the gun to recover temperature for at least 10 seconds between shots. If you don’t do that, most CO2 guns get slower with each shot, because they are getting colder.
H&N Smart Shot lead BBs
Next to be tried were H&N Smart Shot BBs. They averaged 343 f.p.s. with a low of 315 and a high of 366 f.p.s. That’s a spread of 51 f.p.s. On this cylinder every shot went slower, even though I rested between shots.
Plastic BBs
Okay, here is what you have been waiting for. The next BBs I tested were those plastic BBs that came with the ASG X9 Classic BB pistol I reviewed a few weeks ago. They weigh 1.2 grains, but they jammed in the X9 Classic. I thought this pistol could handle them better because of how it works (it’s a revolver and it’s firing from a cartridge). I have no idea where to buy more of these. They did okay in the accuracy test, which surprised me. Now let’s see how fast they went.
Six plastic BBs averaged 650 f.p.s. Yes — that’s very fast! The spread for 6 shots went from a low of 628 to a high of 669, so 41 f.p.s. The velocity dropped with each shot.
JSB Exact RS pellets
Remember I tested this revolver with JSB Exact RS pellets, too. They averaged 381 f.p.s. The spread went from 375 to 387 f.p.s., which is just 13 f.p.s. And this time the velocity did not drop with each shot. It dropped with the first three shots and increased with the second three. The final shot was 387 f.p.s. — the fastest shot with this pellet.
Discussion
The gun handles BBs well, but the velocity does drop as you shoot. It shouldn’t affect accuracy at close ranges, which is all this gun was meant to shoot. Now it’s time to find out how many total shots are in a typical CO2 cartridge.
Shot count
By this time in the test there were 39 shots on the cartridge. Some did not register through the chronograph. Shot number 40 was an Air Venturi Steel BB that went out at 392 f.p.s. Remember, the average I got before was 413 f.p.s. Here’s a list of velocities with the same BB after that.
Shot……..Velocity
50………….407
61………….408
70………….399
80………….378
90………….376
100……….. 331
110……….. 279
120……….. 237
When the velocity starts to drop like you see around shot 80, it means all the liquid CO2 has evaporated to gas and that is what’s powering the gun. From that point on, the velocity can only decrease. You can still shoot safely and still be accurate, but at some point you will notice the BBs are dropping more and the discharge will be quieter.
I went farther in this test to show you what happens. I could tell by around shot 110 that the gun was slowing down from the discharge sound. I stopped at shot 120 because I didn’t want a BB stuck in the barrel. But any way you look at it, this revolver gets a lot of shots at reasonable velocity.
Trigger pull
The trigger is single action only, of course. That almost always means that is is single-stage, as well. The hammer must be cocked manually each time you shoot, both to ready the gun to fire and to advance the cylinder to a new chamber.
The trigger breaks cleanly at between 3 lbs. 1 oz. and 3 lbs. 3 oz. That’s better than a stock Colt SAA revolver will do!
Summary
This revolver is very nice for many reasons. First, I like the 7.5-inch better for its balance best of all the SAAs. The 4-3/4 is the fastest, but this one is the easiest to handle.
Next, I like the imitation ivory grips. They are smooth and well-fitted to the gun, plus they are on very tight.
I also like that the 1860 Colt Army grip frame was used instead of the SAA grip frame. That gives you larger grips and makes the gun easier to handle. Of course it is needed to hold the 12-gram CO2 cartridge.
The cartridges go in and out of the cylinder easily, plus they are very easy to load with BBs. I would rather load BBs in the bottom of the cartridge than in the nose. It seems more natural.
If you like single action airguns, this is definitely one to consider.
I myself would have to go with one of the weathered Duke models. I never much cared for all that shiny. I bet these are fun to use on the feral soda cans, but you would have to have a bunch of cartridges for it.
Nice product test, plus, you got try out the plastic bb’s and pellets (in a bb gun). I am still not sure of that proud hammer. I think that if I was in charge of gun design that I would have tried to avoid that all cost by a design around.
It does look good and perform well though,.. and should fill the niche for any wannabe “Cowboys” in the crowd.
Good Day all,…. Chris
Chris,
If B.B. tries those plastic BBs with every BB gun he tests, he’ll use them all up in no time! :^) All of us need to try to find out how to purchase these plastic BBs. Then I’d like to see them tried in many different low powered air guns such as the Daisy 179 (O.K., a catapult gun) and other weak but nice pistols and revolvers.
Michael
I know velocity is not very high, but that is a TON of shots for one CO2 cartridge! Also pretty interesting about the plastic BBs, which really seem to give a boost to low-velocity BB guns like this one.
When my Crosman 2240 sends .22 pellets down range at over 400 fps I can’t help but wonder why the velocity is so anemic in the Umarex revolvers. I’m assuming that better seals in and out of the cylinder would compromise the realistic functions that Umarex put so much effort into attaining.
Coduece,
How many total shots do you get per cartridge? That is where the difference is.
B.B.
Coduece
The 2240 BB is testing is a different valve for starters. Plus the transfer of the air charge is different to the barrel. Plus the pellet is loaded directly in the barrel instead of a simulated gun cartridge.
Alot more ways for efficiency to be lost in the gun BB’s testing verses a 2240.
But yes I bet the gun BB’s testing could possibly shoot 600 fps. But I also bet is won’t get but a dozen good shoots. Maybe a dozen. And a half. But I bet that’s pushing it.
Suppose to say the 2240 has a different valve than the gun BB is testing.
Don’t know how I messed that up.
Ok so valve timing, or port sizing to increase the number of shots per co2 cartridge was the priority for Umarex. So they could take it the other way and produce more power? Maybe even enough power for .22 pellets?
Coduece,
I don’t see why not. Crosman had a .22-caliver Single 6 revolver in the 1960s. It only got about 30 shots per cartridge and they were inb the low 300 f.p.s. range.
/blog/2005/07/crosmans-single-action-six-another-blast-from-the-past/
B.B.
Powerlets are cheap give me power.
I know now that power doesn’t always equate to accuracy but this gun was designed for fun, and that being the case the increased report would for me anyways increase, the fun and realism quotient exponentially. However I live in a rural location so maybe a quiet gun has more appeal for most.
BB I bought a Plainsman pistol last Saturday. (Middletown NY gun show) It had an old , empty , 8 gram co2 cylinder in it. It had the same kind of seal that a modern 12 gram cylinder has. I shot pistols with the 8 gram cylinder in the 1950,s. I used these cylinders to power the balsa wood race cars that were popular at that time. I do not remember them using the bottle cap seal. Did 8 gram cylinders have bottle cap seals? When was the change to the current seal made? I am waiting for my * gram cylinders to arrive. I am anxious to compare it to the one in your report. ———Ed
Ed,
Crosman was the only company that used the bottlecaps, so they were all 12 gram. It ended sometime in the ’60s.
B.B.
Based on my revolvers, I would have guessed that a 7.5 inch barrel was very front heavy. If I was getting a Western style revolver, I would go for the 4 and 3/4 inch barrel for its handling.
Gunfun1, we’re in deep waters with the gas pressure and bullet/pellet performance, and I have no explanation why low pressure would cause your pellets to move left. I would be a little surprised if that is due to the rifling. The only effect I’ve heard of rifling is that it will cause the gun to recoil left or right very slightly. That could, in turn, influence the point of impact but indirectly. And since rifling plays less of a role with airguns than with firearms, I also tend to doubt its influence, but I don’t really know.
Matt61
Matt,
While the weight issue might be as you mention for a BB gun, it iis far less so for a Colt .45. There is a lot less metal out there because of the bigger hole.
B.B.
Matt61
I don’t know about that. Alot of things happen with pellets in relation to pressure of the air behind the pellet.
A multi pump air gun is a good one to use to experiment with to see what happens.
A big advantage to the 7 1/2 inch barrel is a lot less barrel rise in recoil. It makes the gun much easier to control in recoil.
Mike
Thanks for the link to the article about theCrosman SA 6 love it I would buy a vintage model if one came up, or a new one if Crosman would step up. Those .22 pellets are so much easier to handle. And one more thing hope your sisters recovory is going well kudos to you for stepping up to help.
BB
Thanks for doing the velocity test on the plastic bb’s.
I wish Pyramyd AIr would start selling them.
GF1,
Last Monday I put in an order for parts and a Crosman 1322. I ordered two Maximus barrels one was the original with the sight cutout at the muzzle. The other is the newer version with the threaded end. I ordered both barrels in .22 caliber. I wish now I would have ordered one in .177 caliber. At least they were only about $28 one was a little more than the other. I have not decided if I want to go with the Discovery trigger or not. I might build a split two piece wood stock that will fit over the 1399 stock.
This along with the Daisy 499 should keep me busy while I wait for calm days to finish tuning my Marauder. Guess I will never finish the Marauder, I just realized it has already been two years.
Lots of options, The Maximus barrel should fit right in the Apache Fireball, the Apache multi-pump has all the power needed for one of these barrels, I would need to enlarge the loading port for pellets though.
I wonder how good a Crosman 2260 would be with the Maximus barrel??
And I don’t have much of an excuse for not getting a pump, My shop compressor may only need to come on a few times to fill a small tank with the Air Venturi Booster pump.
I was trying to find the picture? u tube of your 1377 rifle. Is it still around?
Don
Don
Glad you got those barrels. And as easy as they are to swap out you should definitely try one one your 2260. You don’t know how many times I almost bought a 2260. I’m serious too many times.
I would like to see what the .177 Maximus barrels are like. I think it would be a very good barrel in that caliber for a steel breeched 1377 rifle conversion.
And yep here is the only video of the 1377 Discovery conversion I still have. That gun went to a new home. And hopefully it is a good new home. Which I do believe it will be. Maybe more on that later. But here is the video. It’s not a very good video though. And turn your volume down. I don’t remember if I muted the sound.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2g7QSCknKI
BB,
You touched on a subject that I’ve been curious about since I started shooting more CO2 guns. If the cap end of the cartridge is below the liquid level inside as would be the case when shooting into a tree top, what keeps the gas pressure from pushing all the liquid into the valve and out the barrel, leaving you with an abnormally low shot count ? Same question if you have a rifle’s butt resting on the floor as you pierce the CO2. (Most of my rifles would have a cap-down orientation on the CO2 cartridge ) Can you get more shots if you keep the gun level or cap-up?
Halfstep
The liquid flashes to gas.
I know it don’t sound right. But here check this out.
http://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycling/636398-pressure-inside-co2-cartridge.html
Halfstep,
The orientation of the gas cartridge is what keeps the gas from pushing the liquid through the valve. So some guns are better at it than others.
B.B.
BB— thanks, it is nice to know that my 63 year old memories re the 8 gram cylinder seals are still sharp and clear. But if these 8 gram cylinders were not made by Crosman, who made them?—–Ed
Ed,
I don’t know the name of the company (s) that made 8 gram cartridges, but you need to know that Crosman is a very small maker of CO2 cartridges. They make for themselves and fort others, but on;y the 12 gram model.
B.B.
BB—Thank you for the information.—–Ed
Great to see you shoot’n hoglegs again.
Randy,
Or should I say Dakota?
Welcome to the blog.
Folks — Randy was the full-time outlaw at Frontier Village, where I also worked.
B.B.
You folks my thank B.B. for helping you with airguns. He was a huge influence on my young life way beyond our common enjoyment of guns.
Dakota,
Same back atcha! 😉
B.B.