by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier
Kral Puncher Breaker bullpup with synthetic stock.
This report covers:
- The test
- The day
- JSB Exact Heavy
- Magazine is easy
- H&N Baracuda Match 4.50mm heads
- Trigger
- Wind picked up
- Crosman Premier heavies
- Evaluation
Today we will finish the report on the .177 caliber Kral Puncher Breaker bullpup PCP. I have taken longer to write this report because of the weather here in Texas. We have had a cold wet winter that has kept me off the outdoor range, and today’s test is the one at 50 yards. I learned a lot about the rifle in this test and when you see the results I think you will agree.
The test
I shot the rifle off a bench with a sandbag rest. The targets were 50 yards away and I shot 10-shot groups. Not only will I describe how the rifle shot, I’ll also give you a lot more detail on things like the trigger pull.
One of the nice things about this air rifle is its conservative use of air. The rifle was set just above the midpoint on the power adjustment and I knew there were at least 60 good shots at that setting.
The rifle was already sighted for 25 yards. All I had to do was make a few adjustments to get on target at 50 yards. Like always I did not shoot for the center of the bull, because I didn’t want to destroy the aimpoint.
I shot off that new benchrest I bought at the SHOT Show this year. I’m also learning about it, so I can write a report for you. It has taken me several times using it before I finally figured it all out, but I have now and can talk about it better.
The day
I wasn’t at my usual outdoor range. I went to Otho’s house, where he has a berm for shooting. I didn’t go there because of this rifle, but because I also tested the Hatsan Hercules that wasn’t sighted in yet. I wanted complete control of the range, so I could start shooting at 10 yards and back up as I adjusted the scope. I’ll talk more about that when I do that report.
The day started out calm with a breeze from behind me at a steady 5 m.p.h. As the test progressed the wind picked up and by the final group it was gusting to 10 mph and had shifted over to the left.
JSB Exact Heavy
The first pellet I tried was the JSB Exact Heavy that gave us a 0.494-inch ten-shot group at 25 yards. At 50 yards 10 pellets went into 1.369-inches between centers. It’s not a bad group, but it is a little horizontal.
Ten JSB Exact Heavy pellets made this 1.369-inch group at 50 yards.
Magazine is easy
I have had problems loading Kral magazines in past tests, but this time I found it easy. It was easy to load 10 pellets into the 14-shot mag and the magazine was also easy to install in the rifle’s receiver.
H&H Baracuda Match 4.50mm heads
Next to be tried was the H&N Baracuda Match pellet with a 4.50mm head. At 25 yards ten grouped in 0.43-inches. At 50 yards they spread out horizontally into a 1.739-inch group. That tells us that this isn’t the pellet for this rifle. At 25 yards it looked okay, but at 50 yards it broke down. Maybe a Baracuda with a larger head size would group tighter.
Ten H&N Baracuda Match pellets with 4.50mm heads went into 1.739-inches at 50 yards.
Trigger
I found the Kral’s trigger more difficult than I remembered. The pull is heavy but I can live with it. However, the bottom of the trigger slants too far forward for comfort. I would like blade to be straighter.
Wind picked up
At this point the wind started to gust faster. I waited out the gusts and shot when it was calmest, which was still about 5 m.p.h. and still from my back.
Crosman Premier heavies
The next pellet I tried was the Crosman’s Premier 10.5-grain dome. At 25 yards they gave us a 10-shot group measuring 0.429-inches that was the best of the test. A second 25-yard group measured 0.504 inches between centers. At 50 yards they fell apart — putting 10 pellets into 1.883-inches between centers.
Ten Premier heavy pellets made this 1.833-inch group at 50 yards.
Okay — by this time I was getting frustrated. Clearly the JSB Exacts were the best pellet so far, and I thought that first group was less than an inch. That’s how it looked to me. The wind was now gusting harder and also shifting to my left.
The Puncher Breaker had done so well at 25 yards with all three pellets that I had to give it one more chance at 50. I had to try it with the JSB pellets once more. The wind was gusting, but I waited for the gusts to grow calm for every shot.
This time 10 shots went into 1.128-inches. Is that the Puncher Breaker’s best? I doubt it. I have only tested a few pellets, and all of them at a single power level. I think with the right pellet and the right power setting the Puncher Breaker will put 10 into an inch or less at 50 yards.
This second group of JSB Exact Heavy pellets was the best of the 50-yard test. Ten pellets are in 1.128-inches.
Evaluation
I’m ending the test today. I have enjoyed testing the Kral Puncher Breaker and I feel that .177 caliber was the right choice to make. We have talked about the new price-point PCPs a lot in the past few weeks. This one isn’t that much more and offers a lot for the price. How the world of airguns has changed in the past 10 years!
I would also note the big difference in group sizes between 25 and 50 yards. That’s why a longer range test is always more revealing. Not only does it show which pellets not to choose, it also shows the pellet that stands out.
The Kral Puncher Breaker is heavy, so get a sling if you plan to hunt with it. And scope it with a compact scope — both to save weight and also to keep the overall package small.
If I wanted a powerful PCP repeater, the Kral Puncher Breaker would be on my short list.
B.B.,
Absolutely no difference in wind between where you were shooting from and the target? Could the horizontal spread be from the effect of wind near the target? I’m not going to ask for a re-shoot because of that though. The only way to determine that would be to do the 50 yard shot indoors. Which brings to mind the thinking of some people that practicing inside an indoor facility is equal to practicing in the shooting range, when in fact it is not.
Siraniko
Siraniko,
I do think that the wind could have caused the horizontal spreading. But I’m not sure because I waited out the gusts each time, and when the wind picked up, the last group was the smallest.
Who knows?
B.B.
B.B.
Can not wait to hear about the new rest.
-Y
Thanks for the report B.B. As I stated before I’m new to the pcp world. After reading what you wrote about adjusting the power on the Texan SS for best accuracy with a specific projectile, would the same hold true with any adjustable power pcp no matter the caliber?
Hess13,
Yes, it does hold for pellets as well. So, when you work with a gun that has adjustable power it takes a long time to find the best combination of pellets and power.
B.B.
B.B.,
I checked Chairgun, I did not have the exact numbers but it gave about 3.5 inches of drift at 50 yards with a 5 mph wind at 90 degrees. So is the wind could be making quite a bit of the horizontal scatter. I bet your groups would be significantly better on a calm day.
Don
Don,
It would be interesting to run some #’s on Chairgun and compare that data to Vana2’s wind flags and then do actual shooting.
Chris,
That would be interesting. Unless the wind is consistent in direction, velocity and all the way down range there will be some scatter. Or a large scatter with a pellet gun at 50 yards. If a person could take a picture of the flags at the same moment of the shot and compare each drift on the target that would be worth seeing. Even then the flags flap around even in a steady breeze.
For me I can get a rough guess on windage but don’t do well unless I get a range shot and the wind holds. Then I know where to shoot better with the second shot. Many times on a long shot at ground squirrels I shoot with the poa right on the kill zone and hope the squirrel stays put. Then I know just where to put the holdover and windage for the kill shot. Otherwise I think it is as much art as science.
The test would be very telling though. The wind flags may need a timed exposure with a half second before and after the shot to be representative.
I do have a weather station that measures and records wind speed and direction very well. A good start would be to try to calibrate Vana2’s flags to the weather station.
Another way would be to get four weather stations and set them up at the range. They do not react as quickly as the flags though so even that would be an estimate of the wind the pellet feels.
I don’t know wind is very tricky unless it is steady in direction and velocity.
I think your brain can figure things out better than a scientific approach buy setting up the flags and shooting thousands of shots with the same gun at different distances. Then you can develop a feel for where to aim.
My copy of Chairgun disappeared off of my computer. I did not remove it. That is a little concerning. The new version allows the wind velocity and direction to be input at different distances along the path to the target.
Well guess I got long winded.
Don
Don
When you say Chairgun disappeared off your computer, do you mean that the desktop shortcut disappeared? Windows updates will sometimes remove programs and shortcuts. Open your Windows explorer and click on “C” drive then look for the “Program Files” folder. Then open that folder and look for the “ChairGun4” folder. It that folder is still there then the program is still on your computer. Open the “ChairGun4″ folder and look for the chairgun4.exe file ( depending on your version it may be chairgunX”). Right click on that file and a menu will drop down. Select the “Send to” and choose desktop (create shortcut). A new ChairGun shortcut icon will appear on your desktop.
You may know all of this but I thought I would give you the information just in case you didn’t. I am a computer tech so I can’t help offering advice 🙂 Have a good one.
Geo
Geo,
The whole shebang was gone with no sign of it. Like I uninstalled it. All of my saved files were also gone. I might of hit it by accident when I was uninstalling something else who knows. I don’t show any signs of a successful hack.
I did not give it too much of an investigation though. I just went to the sight and loaded the new version.
Thanks for the help most of my computer skills are 20 years old. I get by but no longer get too deep unless I really need it. The Grandkids can run circles around me but I don’t even have a cell phone. Very old school mostly UNIX and I have forgot most of that. I used to go down into it for days before coming up. I spent 20 years writing engineering software in my spare time. On those programs you had to know what you were doing to use them. Now it is all outdated. It was fun while it lasted.
Don
Don
Very strange as to the reason that ChairGun disappeared, but it’s good that you were able to download and install the latest version anyway.
I am old school as well. My wife gave me her flip phone when she got a “smart” phone. I mostly leave it on my bathroom counter and only take it with me if she nags me about it, or I am going to be away from home for any length of time. I hate cell phones. The younger people don’t even use them to talk….just to text each other. That seems ludicrous to me.
I started working on computers as a hobby back in 1994. Back then we were still using DOS and the new OS, Windows 3.0. At work I used a PC and my Zeiss Coordinate Measuring machine which I wrote most of the programs for. That was UNIX also but had a graphical interface. When I had to do a backup to a tape drive I had to get my manual out because the command was too cryptic to remember it. I learned another machine programming language for a Sheffield Cordax coordinate measuring machine to and that was very proprietary. I wrote over 700 programs for that old machine. I retired in 2011 and they are still living on my old programs.
Don, let me know if I can ever be of any service to you. I use TeamViewer to remote access several of my friend’s computers to keep them running. I have been repairing computers and tutoring for almost 25 years. I have managed to keep up with most of the technology in computers but it moves pretty fast sometimes. I do enjoy the challenge of fixing them.
Take care,
Geo
Geo,
On my last update, my Chairgun got dumped too. No big deal,.. as I can reload it, but still. My Favorites got rearranged and my “add to dictionary” history seems to have suffered complete memory loss.
I have HP Smart Friend which is a monthly service for $14.99. They have fixed whatever was messed up at the time and will just do a random check on request. I recommend it for tech. dummies like me.
By the way, I can (REALLY) appreciate the Comments RSS feed that you so often touted,.. and sometimes had issues with. It is a life saver for quick catch ups. 200-300 comment blogs are impossible to stay up on otherwise. I only recently started to use it.
Just go back to the last time you were on, or posted, and read from there. Even showing new comments on blogs that are a decade old. Priceless!
Hey Chris
Yeah, I’ve seen that quite often happening with Windows 10. Microsoft thinks they know best what your computer should have installed. I have friends that travel down south in the winter months and they call me once or twice during their travels to say that their email program has stopped working. I have to use Teamviewer and fix their issue so they can get email and send pictures. Microsoft will be doing major updates in the spring and then in the fall. This update will completely reinstall Windows 10 to the new version. This one really messes with your programs and settings. BTW, you are spending $179.88 a year for that service. That’s crazy, you could spend that money on airguns and accessories. Stay away from the Geek Squad too.
You do have the option of undoing the updates by performing a “restore point” which will take your system back a day or more. It will not affect your settings or data, only programs that have been installed after that restore date. Oh, and Windows 10 does not have the restore option activated by default. You have to activate it yourself.
Yes, the comments RSS feed is really the only way to efficiently keep up with all the new comments. What I do is right click on the new (blue) comment and open it in a new tab. After reading the comment I close that tab which then goes back to the comments tab. Then I right click on the next one and open it in a new tab, and so on. You keep both tabs open and that way you don’t lose your place.
There is one little caveat though. If I want to reply to a comment, I have to log in to the blog and make my reply. Then I have to log back out before opening another new comment. If I don’t log out, when I right click on the comment it will not take me directly to the comment I open. If I log out first, then it takes me directly to the comment. It’s a little quirky but it works. If I don’t want to log out first, I observe the time stamp on the comment, then open it in a new tab and use the “Ctrl+F” which opens a field at the bottom of the page to enter a search. I enter the time stamp and that takes me right to the comment. Sometime I use the search to find specific names in the blog too. It will only search the current blog you are in though.
Hope this information is helpful to you…or anyone else using the blog. These little tricks make it much easier to navigate the huge amount of information.
Geo
Don
Pretty much how I do it also.
“Many times on a long shot at ground squirrels I shoot with the poa right on the kill zone and hope the squirrel stays put. Then I know just where to put the holdover and windage for the kill shot. Otherwise I think it is as much art as science.”
And I usually shoot over to the side of the squirrel say 10′. That way your less apt to spook the squirrel. Definitely easier than trying to figure what each wind flag does and make a shot.
B.B.,
You need you some of Vana2’s wind flags! 😉 They would be interesting to leave set up at Otho’s at say every 10 yards. Nothing can be said for sure when shooting in a wind/breeze. I have 4 made up and plan to do 25,50,75 and 100. It will be interesting to simply just watch them and compare them to what (grass, trees, leaves, weeds, limbs) is doing around them in the woods. It should be a good learning experience.
Good Day to you and to all,… Chris
Chris,
I can’t leave them set up all the time because Otho mows his field during the summer.
B.B.
B.B.,
Like you I prefer straight(er) triggers to curved ones. Do a lot of folks prefer curved ones? Maybe I’m trying to figure out why they are usually curved. The end of a straight trigger would provide significantly greater leverage and reduce felt trigger weight compared to the center of a curved blade.
Were I a machinist, I would consider making a straight trigger to replace the curved one in all my favorite air guns.
Michael
Michael,
I think the curved blades are a style choice. They just look better.
B.B.
Michael
you could get one of those crescent shaped motor keys and tape it to the face of the curved trigger. As a test piece. If it gives the right feel like that then it is just a matter of attaching it in a more durable way.
Gerald
For many springers at least, Rowan Engineering in the UK offers setback trigger blades in straight and curved.
For extra setback triggers, they offer only curved blades. Why?
-Y
Yogi,
Thanks for the tip regarding Rowan Engineering.
Michael
For those of you who are into long range shooting, here is a little product you might give some serious thought to.
https://heritage-arms.com/product-category/gun-parts/cold-shot-llc-adjustable-scope-bases/
I first saw this on a Up North Airgunner video. I am hoping to pick up one of these next year.
R.R.
Very interesting! Great idea! If they were not so darn expensive…..
Maybe, B.B. could test one?
-Y
RR,
I sure like the concept. For the price the tolerances should be there. I have tried those scope mounts that allow the scope to rotate out of the way so you can use open sights. I did not have good luck with consistency with those. I don’t like moving parts between the gun and the scope. These should be good though. I see why they cost so much. I would not trust anything that cost less.
Don
RidgeRunner,
I have had their page bookmarked for a long time. Either for myself or as a gift for my son and daughter-in-law. The problem for me is that with a mount like that you would only attach a scope that cost well North of the bases price. So we would be talking a top of the line scope from companies such as: Night force, Vortex, Schmidt & Bender or Kahles.
I’m saving my quarters
shootski
Shootski,
Oh, I don’t know about the scopes you suggest. Price is not everything. I know of several scopes in the $200 – $500 price range that would work very nicely. I personally like UTG and Hawke.
RR,
Wow,… I am not even sure what to say to a $400+ price tag for a scope base. I do like them and the concept. Are you sure that they are even applicable to air guns? For most people, 100 yards is the pinnacle of distance. I guess that I am failing (completely) to see your very strong attraction.
Chris,
My first encounter with this mount was with another Chris, the Up North Airgunner. Watch some of his videos and you will understand what has me up hot about this mount.
https://www.airgundepot.com/long-rangers.html
RR I had watched the videos on Up North Airgunner including him making a 1200 yard shot with a modified Airforce in .357. Unfortunately for those who missed it those videos are no longer there as his YT channel has been deleted.
Gerald
B.B.,
Interesting report on the KPB and nice teaser on the bench! You know it’s built by a bunch of Marines!
Is the Kral arms company the same Turkish outfit that build Powder Burners; such as the TriStar KRX Tactical shotgun?
Is the Kral Puncher Breaker barrel band contacting the barrel or is it “free”-floated? Is it locked down like a DAQ with setscrews? If it is in fact touching the barrel the observed 50 yd horizontal POI bias could be caused by that contact? A pattern of actual or potential contact would be interesting to correlate to the POI patterning.
shootski
I have always wondered about pellets/bullets and rifles that perform well at long range while other combinations that equal them at shorter range drop off. Once the bullet has left the muzzle, you would think that all the conditions are set and no more changes can be introduced. Otherwise, you would have what physicists call action at a distance or telepathy which is not supposed to exist. I suppose the answer must be that there are very subtle differences in bullet/gun combinations that only reveal themselves over longer distances.
I can’t do anything about wind gusts, but I have a recommendation for wet weather, at least for the shooter if not the equipment. I thought that I had complete rain gear. But the other day, while wearing a lighter version, I was surprised by a rainstorm and arrived at work, looking like a drowned rat. That’s it. Last night I pulled the trigger on Cabelas gear that promises to keep me dry in an extended downpour. Based on their products that I’ve seen, it is likely true, and I’m eager to try this out.
On the subject of technological change, I see that I’ve been around long enough to observe it myself. When I first got my Surefire G2 flashlight, it was on the cutting edge of new tactical flashlights with lithium batteries that were much brighter and more durable than anything previous. I noticed that the batteries didn’t last long, but otherwise I was satisfied. Then the other day, I was sent a cheap, $20 flashlight that takes regular batteries. It not only outshone my G2, but it has all these cool features like various brightness and flashing settings. The technology is changing before our eyes.
Matt61
Matt61,
Would not wind impact on a projectile be considered ” action at distance”?
Technology? I saw a rather thin jacket the other day,… $300+ and boasted specs. much higher than something much thicker. It would seem, that the Military snatches up all the “good stuff” and we small people get to have a go at it 5, 10 or 20 years later. I will say though,.. if anyone ought to have the best of the best, new and secret,.. it ought to be our men and women in harms way. With that in mind,.. I guess I can wait a bit.
Yes,… flashlights and LED’s in general are simply amazing anymore. Again,… how long has that technology “really” been around?
Chris