This report covers:
- That’s up to you
I write these reports and you guys correct them for me all the time. And sometimes your comments have more information in them and are actually better than my report. I’m taking today off. You guys can write the blog.
I’m giving you a bunch of words and asking you to put them together to make a report.
Let’s see how creative you are.
I will give you these words and you have to put them together to make a blog report. Try to use each word I gave you at least one time in your report. You choose the other words that go with them. For extra credit, make your “report” about a PCP or a slingshot or something that these words don’t support.
breakbarrel
buzzy
pivot bolt
thrust washer
moly grease
record
Rekord
crazy
well
spell
disassembly
assembly
re-assembly
general assembly
bushing
seal
scraped
scrapped
trigger
releasing
mainspring
tutu
break
brake
held
remainder
qualify
if
and
an
in
on
is
of
but
buy
big
under
obfuscate
Oompa-Loompa
so
endear
sew
And give me a summary that puts a special finish on your report.
B.B.,
HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! I’ll look for my round tuit first!
Siraniko
Some one help BB. I think he has gone over the edge. 😉
My Re-introduction to Airguns: the Umarex Embark.
I happen to be up late catching up on work after my own vacation has now come to an end, so I thought I would spare a few minutes before turning in, to tap out an answer to B.B.’s challenge. Especially since it seems my prior comment may have triggered this special event in the history of the Blog, BB’s second day off.
My story is perhaps a familiar one. My father grew up hunting to supply much-needed protein to his family of 9 in war-torn Greece. After emigrating to the U.S., he took up hunting for pleasure as much as for food. He gave me my first gun, a Crosman 760 Pumpmaster, when I was about 10, and my uncle taught me some of the finer points of rifle marksmanship. After getting my first hunting license and “graduating” to firearms, the 760 and the remaining pellets were left to oxidize in the damp basement of Dad’s house, forgotten. Until, that is, it came to time to teach my own kids how to shoot a gun. That’s when I began to get reacquainted with airguns, but I never imagined the breadth and depth of the airgun world.
After much research and hoping that the SAR program might find its way to our neck of the woods, I selected the Umarex Embark as the teaching tool I would use for my kids. As many of you know, the Embark is a breakbarrel springer. At the same time, I ordered a bunch of accessories as well as a fair variety of pellets to start with. I ordered a big Plano shooting “tackle” box and filled it with Ballistol, moly grease, JB Non-embedding Bore Cleaning Compound, patches, cleaning jags, bronze bore brushes, tune in a tube, shooting glasses, pellet pens, pellets, targets and many other treasures, all from Pyramyd AIR. I ordered a Dewey cleaning rod and an MTM shooting table, and a pellet trap. I built a backstop out of 3/4 inch plywood that looks like a giant pellet trap.
I read all of B.B.’s blogs about teaching folks how to shoot, and set out to teach his “triangulation method.” All the kids passed with flying colors. However, when the day finally came for the first shots from the Embark, the results were less than encouraging. The gun was woefully inaccurate, and the kids were losing interest fast. Which brings me to the first piece of advice I would give to the general assembly of parents in my situation: Don’t clue in the kids to their first airgun until you know it shoots accurately. They get very excited to shoot it, but they are quickly disappointed not to hit what they are aiming at.
After giving shooting a break for a spell, and since the return policy had lapsed, I set about in earnest to get that little gun to shoot like the competition target rifle it was meant to be. After all, I didn’t want my first airgun purchase to just get scrapped without giving it the old college try. First, I purchased eight more varieties of pellets to add to my collection and then began shooting each one. I found that the gun seemed a bit buzzy (or so I thought) and the trigger had a long and creepy second stage–it was definitely not a Rekord. The gun creaked a bit as I cocked it–metal scraped on metal somewhere–and it honked softly when it fired. I discovered the reverse recoil of springers for the first time and tried to apply the artillery hold. The rear sight had to be adjusted almost all the way to the left. I figured the barrel must have been misaligned at some crazy angle at the factory. A well-meaning fellow reader suggested I check the pivot bolt and the stock screws. I figured while I was at it, I might go for applying a modest amount of TIAT to the mainspring. For the record, I am a pretty handy guy, but as William Munny said, a man has to know his limitations, and I knew that the re-assembly might end up to be more difficult than the disassembly. So I resolved not to go beyond removing the stock initially, especially since I did not have proper gunsmithing tools, and I don’t know the difference between a thrust washer and a bushing. I removed the screws holding the stock to the action and applied just a tad of TIAT to the mainspring. I wiped everything down with Ballistol, oiled all the moving parts of the cocking mechanism, and screwed everything back together tightly. Assembly completed, I put a couple of drops of silicone chamber oil down the air transfer port and left the gun standing up on its butt overnight, to make sure the main piston seal was well lubricated.
Satisfied, I began to shoot all the pellets again for record, hoping to unlock the secret to accuracy. Slowly, the groups began to tighten. Perhaps my skills were improving (probably), or perhaps the gun was breaking in (more likely). Then I remembered one comment from a blog entry about cleaning the barrel on a new rifle, especially one not manufactured in the USA or Germany. I unwrapped my new Dewey cleaning rod, loaded up a bronze brush with JB and went to town on the barrel, exactly as B.B. has described many times in this blog. After about 10 passes back and forth, I could feel the barrel smoothing out, and after 20 it was feeling pretty good. I finished cleaning the barrel, and just like that, I was getting groups! Second major piece of advice to the general assembly: When you get a new airgun, don’t wait around; get to shooting as soon as possible, so that if you truly get a lemon, you have time to return it and either get a better gun or pick another model. Also, the 10-for-$10 Test seemed much more worth it after all this work.
After shooting about 1,000 or so pellets, the trigger also started smoothing out, although the long travel really obfuscated when it would break, and made it very important to concentrate on how the rifle is held. However, all that concentration accelerated my shooting technique. I started shooting the occasional half inch group, which was very encouraging, and very satisfying. The trigger was still releasing after a short first stage and a heavy second stage, with some creep about half way through the second stage. But as the trigger wore in, the creep became a smoother spot where more pressure was needed to get it over the “hump,” and then the break was just on the other side.
The next chapter in my adventure was when I purchased a peep sight. The brake is now off, and my foot is on the gas pedal. At this point, the gun seems to want to shoot most pellets well, and some pellets very well. With the right pellets, this gun could sew a button onto my backstop (as long as the button has 0.5 inch holes). My best 10-shot group is under a third of an inch at 10 yards. With the proper barrel cleaning and break-in period, this rifle can qualify as a buy. I wish there was a way to replace or adjust the trigger to get rid of the loooooong and creepy second stage. That is really my only complaint.
Otherwise, with its light cocking effort and mild recoil and report (no one in the house knows that I am conducting a marathon target practice session in the basement at night), I am so endeared with this rifle, that I was planning to write a guest blog about my accuracy results with various pellets. Until then, there is nothing remaining for this Oopma Loompa to do, but to get back to work (I’m leaving my tutu at home).
P.S.: I know that last sentence was a stretch, but hey, it’s late.
All the best to all of you, And now, B.B. and everyone else, you may correct MY spelling…. Ha-ha!
–Roamin Greco.
Roamin Greco,
Wow! Excellent work! And you got the tutu! 😉
BB
I worked on this in MS Word and I had all the listed words in bold, italics, and underlined, but when I cut and pasted into the comment box, all the formatting went away. However, I am fairly certain every word on your list is represented. Thanks for the challenge. Now I am looking forward to some trigger time with the Embark and completing my accuracy report. I ordered a peep sight for my Beeman R7, and I look forward to some trigger time on that as well. So far, I am on blog number 192 in my goal to read the blog from the start. My wish list is growing….
(The sound of loud, long, shrill whistling and wild applause) Awesome! Most especially with the stretch! It is a shame that you did not get any extra credit though. 😉
I look forward to your accuracy results.
Thanks. It looks like I will have some interesting results.
Hi mainspring enthusiasts!
Just for the record, I will be releasing this information before this general assembly of breakbarrel-crazy readers. This will probably not even qualify as a report, so go ahead and sew me.
Ok, let me break it to you:
When I was just an Oompa-Loompa, my parents went to buy an Opel Rekord. The dealer obfuscated the fact that it had trouble with the bushings and seals. But during the test drive it was smooth as moly grease and well… sometimes we were even able to brake. So it managed to endear itself to us and my parents scraped together the remainder of their money and pulled the trigger on it. The weirdest thing under the hood was the horn. It didn’t even honk but only made a buzzy “tutu”. They must have done something crazy during assembly.
Of course, all the defects would spell disaster and the car was in a state of increasing disassembly. Soon, the number of problems was so big that re-assembly didn’t even seem worthwhile anymore.
So we scrapped it and it was turned into thrust washers and pivot bolts as it should have been long before that.
Stephan
Stephan,
Oh my! Completely unexpected and in a second language, too! I am laughing out loud!
Guys — this is what can happen with a good education and a wit that’s as sharp as a straight razor! 🙂
BB
Stephan, excellent work!
Hi guys,
I’m not sure abouth the straight razor part. Maybe like a well-maintained Swiss Army Knife 🙂
I do have a bit of a talent for language and like to play around with it. But then, the only languages I am any good at are German (native tongue) and English.
When I should have learned French in school, I was deep into puberty and didn’t really care. I also never had much use for it, so I have now forgotten almost everything.
In contrast, I have also always been into video games, computers and technology. You practically can’t help learning English that way. The Internet only amplifies this.
Stephan
Crs Remington Summit NOW Inaccurate! Now shooting 1.2–2.2″ 5-groups! 🙁
Info: ~3000 shots fired to date, smooth 3.9 lb trigger: moderate noise & recoil
Bench-rest shooting: rest pt ~3″ ahead of trigger guard
Best pels were JSB Exact & Gamo Match (latter a surprise!) HAD yielded 0.9–0.4″ 5-grps at 51 ft
Same 3×9 AO scope: seems steady/sharp/clear/solid mount
ALL screws are tight, incldg muzzle-brake/grip screws
Remedial work that did not help:: cleaned bbl: was ok,
added light Tune-in-a-Tube
checked trgr: stil l3.8 lbs
noted breech seal FLAT: replaced w/new Crs part: looks ok,
but while new seal does “stand proud”, it still blows off TP piece on testing
Borescope exam looks fine inside…
Breech gap: NONE, per visual and feeler-gage tests…
Still 13.4 ft-lbs energy w/ Crs PHD pels
Maybe change scopes? ANY ideas, guys????
How did you clean the barrel? And how do you know that you have same foot pounds? Do you have a chrony? If so, is your velocity more variable than before?
Barrika, I’ve been thinking more about your problem today. It seems like your most likely culprit is the scope. Search this blog for how to fix scope problems. You may want to try to dial down the elevation and shoot for groups. Another idea: I was able to do an internet search and found Pyramyd Air’s page for this rifle (it doesn’t come up for me using the PA website’s search box), and it looks like there were no open iron sights. But a 2005 blog by BB has a picture that shows the rifle with a scope and iron sights. So my suggestion is if you have open sights: shoot at a target at a known distance with your best pellets, and just see what size groups you get. Make it a 10 shot group. Or even a few 10 shot groups. Then remove the scope and shoot with the open sights at the same distance. Same pellets, same hold, etc. If the groups with the scope are not significantly larger (not more than 2x larger) then perhaps the scope is OK. If anyone thinks I’m not on the right track feel free to let me know. Can you switch scopes with another gun that you know is shooting well? Set your phone to a low resolution and send some pics of your groups. There may be clues in the way the groups look, for example, if there is vertical stringing or two sub-groups. Keep us informed of what you find out. Good luck.
Barrika,
Seems that you have checked all the appropriate points. Sounds like a scope issue…
Are you at the extreme end of the scopes adjustment range? The erector tube might be “floating” if the springs are too slack.
The rifle is rated at 1200 fps, pretty hot for a springer – is the firing cycle harsh? The scope may have been damaged.
The only other possibility I can think of is that the cocking aid on the muzzle might have shifted and the pellets are clipping it.
Good luck with finding the problem, please post the solution when you find it.
Hank
Hank, how can one tell if pellets were hitting the muzzle extension?
Roamin,
Pellets will usually leave a gray streak if they clip something. I use a black marker to color the area when looking for clipping. On nonporous surfaces, the marker ink is easily removed afterwards with a bit of isopropyl alcohol.
Since the muzzle extension is used to increase leverage when cocking the barrel I figured that it could be pulled out of alignment. It’s something else to check.
Hank
Thanks for all replies so far! More info:
1) Yes, I’ve chrono’d this rifle, and it is similar to its prior performance
2) NO sign of pellets hitting the muzzle/hand-brake
3) Bore cleaned thoroughly AND verified by a borescope
4) This rifle has NO iron sights to compare to accuracy w/Scope…
!!!! 5) Shots today DO show vertical stringing AND 2 seperate “groups”
Net result: gotta get another scope on this beastie THEN test it again.
A number of you recommended I buy a Bug-a-Salt, and yesterday morning I bought a 3.0 model at a local hardware store. Apparently the 3.0 is an improvement over the 2.5 in that it has a much lighter and more crisp trigger (although it still is not a Rekord). It also has a manual safety, and it really seems to have crazy power. Yesterday I eliminated more than a dozen flies in a large screen tent at distances as great as 10 feet. (Nevertheless, it would not be effective at great distances in huge rooms such as the General Assembly of the United Nations.)
I loaded it with a teaspoon of regular table salt, and after yesterday’s shooting, I glanced at the remainder of salt, and it seems not to be depleted by more than a pinch or two. I haven’t tried to chrony it, but I shot the palm of my hand at a distance of at least 18 inches, and it smarted much more than a rubber band snap would have. It is a little buzzy, but the action seems pretty quick.
It definitely is a lot of fun.
Michael
Michael
Glad you got one. They are worth the money no doubt. I think anyway.
Today’s report is on a little-discussed subject, the Oompa-Loompa method of processing coconuts for candy making. It is a type of slinger/cleaner/crusher/grater that processes coconuts from their bulk state into a finely grated state of readiness before it can be added to the chocolate as various recipes dictate.
What does this have to do with air guns? Nothing at all, except for today’s blog with instructions to use a list of words that our fearless leader set down for us to use as we will. My entry is as follows:
I took out my old game of Mouse Trap and played it with my friend, the lead Oompa Loomp (O.L.). I could see his big eyes light up with delight with the game’s machinations and how he might use this fantastic technology in his own craft.
After an excellent game of Mouse Trap, he immediately set to work. The first order of business was to make some sort of trebuchet item (his idea) with an articulating mandible and a mainspring that would pluck ripe coconuts (debushing), and fling them up into a hopper at the top of a general assembly of ramps and traps, supported by gantries and props that, bound together, resembled an odd kind of roller coaster, where his process would take place.
The trebuchet, with a shady rattan operator’s cabin, was operated by a graceful seal wearing a pink tutu, with her name tag, Moly Grease, sewn to the tutu. Moly endeared her supervisor to qualify her this position, but was specifically advised that she may not buy too many coconuts for her own consumption, or to obsuscate her work with play time.
The first process is the peeling station, which gives them a buzzy “haircut” that removes the coconut’s fibrous covering. They would be then be placed into an inclined trough and roll along to the thrust-washer breakbarrel station to be rinsed.
After a spell, they were clean and the breakbarrel would rotate, by means of a pivot bolt and empty them onto another inclined trough, releasing them to roll toward the hull grinder.
Our intrepid O.L. based this station on the concept of a Rekord player, combined with a scrapped industrial cheese grater, propped over the top. This crazy assembly of two machines scraped off most of the dense hull without breaking through the tender white flesh.
The softness of the processed coconut would trigger their release from the under the grater and free them to roll off the outer edge of the rotating disk and into a circular collection trough, where they would naturally roll toward the next processing area.
After re-assembly in a collection well, they would be held until the weight of the tender spheres would cause the well to tip them toward the next set of ramps to the remainder of their journey.
The coconut spheres roll through dividing manifold troughs with chokes to brake their progress, so that individual Oompa Loompas can use their knives to scrape any remaining cuticle from the sweet flesh.
A final group of O.L.s act as an inspection team, record the number of out of spec coconuts and place them onto a separate “disassembly line” for evaluation and process remediation.
The coconuts then sent down a chute into the hopper of the Shred-er machine that finely grinds the flesh like a snow blower and shoots the pulp onto sun-drying mats to dry.
Summary:
The ingenuity of my Oompa Loompa friend is commendable and he cleverly designed each station for ease of assembly and disassembly and all the troughs and chutes are made from simple straights and curves, like an electric race car track. All this took the better part of one day to complete and the line has been in operation for the remainder of the day, providing the downstream chocolatiers with plenty of coconut for processing into sweet treats for themselves and the office staff. A world beater of a coconut processing machine!
breakbarrel
buzzy
pivot bolt
thrust washer
moly grease
record
Rekord
crazy
well
spell
disassembly
assembly
re-assembly
general assembly
bushing
seal
scraped
scrapped
trigger
releasing
mainspring
tutu
break
brake
held
remainder
qualify
if
and
an
in
on
is
of
but
buy
big
under
obfuscate
so
endear
sew
And give me a summary that puts a special finish on your report.
Will,
Superb! 🙂
BB
“re-assembly” -> “rebuilt”
After reading B.B.’s excellent write ups on the new Bug Shred-ER, I went to get one from their main site, but saw that they were sold out (perhaps due to B.B.’s reports, with which I’m sure they are most pleased, due to their rise in business).
However, I do have a lot of tissue paper, and my Dad used to tie flies; so I recalled what Hank (Vana2) said, “I would suggest sticking a layer of ’tissue paper’ to the magazine with the dubbing wax, filling with salt and capping with more tissue.”
Hence, I got on eBay, and found a “rebuilt” Crosman 357 for $55; then jumped on Amazon and ordered my dubbing wax. So, my next step will be to get out the salt and the tin foil, and try Hank’s trick, and see if I have a wasp-blaster ir not. I’ll let you all know how it works out. Thank you.
Blessings to all,
dave
Dave,
Good for you! That will be one to watch.
BB
Thank you; I’m just waiting on the wax! =>
Inspired by the free-for-all quality of today’s blog and mention of tin foil, FM decided to share a true anecdote in order to enlighten us to The Many Useful Uses of Tinfoil.
Many years ago when a young and naive FM began his Alice In Wonderland-like journey as a claims rep in the bowels of the US Social Security Administration, one fine day he interviewed a character we could refer to as TFM, short for Tin Foil Man. He sported a semi-raggedy piece of shiny tinfoil stuck right in the middle of his forehead, and covering most of it. Naive FM asked the decorated gent what his purpose was in visiting the office. “I am here to file a disability claim.” “Ok,” replied FM, adding “may I ask why you have tinfoil on your forehead?” The allegedly-disabled applicant squinted his eyes and replied, in a conspiratorial manner, “so the mind-control rays The Government is beaming at me will bounce off and not affect me!” FM almost asked if that worked for him, but thought better of it and proceeded to process TFM’s claim.
Do not remember if he was approved, but do remember weeks later reading in the newspaper he’d been arrested after tussling with the local deputies after TFM was apparently reported by a good citizen who witnessed erratic public behavior on the part of a tinfoil-decorated man. Evidently the foil could not paralyze or deflect the physical energy of the local constabulary.
So now you know – good old tinfoil! Good for cooking and wrapping, good for airgun hobbyists, good for keeping one from losing one’s mind to GMCR – Government Mind Control Rays! FM certifies this story is true. Names have been changed/altered to protect the guilty.
Dave
They are always sold out from what I see.
Sign up for a email notification of when they are in stock. That’s what I did and I got a notification a day later they was in stock. I ordered and went back and checked thier site and it was already out of stock.
If you really want one I would try that.
And will be waiting to see how Hanks idea works out. I think you will have some surprises when you try the wax. Let us know.
“Sign up for a email notification of when they are in stock.”
Gunfun1
Yes, you’re right; that’s exactly what I should have done. But Hank (Vana2) is a crafty fellow; and I will try his plan just as soon as the wax arrives.
Take care,
dave
Dave
Definitely interested in how your reloading the salt clips go.
Me, too! I’ll post some pics once the wax arrives. =>
Dave
Ok will be waiting for the pictures.
B.B. and Readership,
I went to bed early!
Had chores to get done early so didn’t get to read the blog until after lunch.
Some fantastic responses to Tom’s challenge had already posted; BRAVO, BRAVO, BRAVO!!!!
So i read over the LIST:
breakbarrel
buzzy
pivot bolt
thrust washer
moly grease
record
Rekord
crazy
well
spell
disassembly
assembly
re-assembly
general assembly
bushing
seal
scraped
scrapped
trigger
releasing
mainspring
tutu
break
brake
held
remainder
qualify
if
and
an
in
on
is
of
but
buy
big
under
obfuscate
Oompa-Loompa
so
endear
sew
(read list X2)
Twice and what to my surprise did I find! NOT a single reference to CHRONOGRAPH…How on earth can you write a blog about airguns without at least a comment on SPLATOLOGY or Chronographology!
shootski
Shootski
Now there’s a good point. What has the blog come too.
I for sure would of included chronograph over a few other words that was chosen.
BB
Definitely a lot more reading I done today than usual after only 21 comments at this time. Was definitely different.
Hopefully tomorrow Tom will be back and we got a nice exciting technical blog or something.
Even a blog on reloading the Bug A Salt Shred er clips would be nice.
Gunfun1,
If he goes to the Range today he will have a perfect opportunity to write about Advisory Level HEAT and the airgunner!
If he is out and about I sure hope he is staying HYDRATED!
Got my outdoor chores done way early and I’m CHILLING this afternoon.
shootski
Shootski
Same as you.
Dave’s Tale of Woe
“So,” B.B. has thrown down the gauntlet, “and” while I am not sure I’m up to the challenge, I’ll see “if” I can expand upon the tale I laid out for CaptSteelToe a few days ago. While it may not “endear” me to many readers here, I do believe I can, without undue “obfuscation,” set down for the “record” a blog that utilizes most of this word challenge. Six months ago, I was still working at a nearby Air Force Base, where, “on” a “crazy” side note, I had a friend and co-worker whose wife told him she thought she looked like “an” “Oompa-Loompa” “in” her current winter coat (What “is” a husband to do? Buy her a new coat, dude! =>). “But,” I digress; the point is that I left my job early to ensure my wife’s safety (note: I took that “under” advisement with my wife prior to giving notice). While I scored “big” points on the home front for that, I also put our finances “under” some pressure due to the reduction in income. “Well,” that caused my wife to put the “brakes” on much of my prior overspending lest I “break” our new budget. Sadly, I still “held” onto my old ways of thinking, and was itching to “buy” a new airgun…the question was, how do I break the “spell” of this new budget? I looked into getting a used “breakbarrel,” and I found one that was really cheap…cheap, as it had a messed up “pivot bolt” and was lacking a “thrust washer”…hence, I “scrapped” that idea, as, while I can “sew” a button on, I did not feel that I would “qualify” as someone who could work on such an “assembly.” Then I saw that I could get an XS25S from Flying Dragon for $130; in order to “seal’ the deal, I had to sell my wife on the idea that I couldn’t get any more .22LR ammo, so how would I take care of varmints once the “remainder” “of” it runs out? I pointed out that, thanks to PAs buy-3-get-one-feee deal on pellets, .22 pellets were something I could get. So, she agreed to the $130 air rifle, and I “scraped” up the extra $100 in order to get one that was fully tuned. When I spoke with Mike Melick about the tune, he said that after the “disassembly,” and prior to the “re-assembly,” he would call a “general assembly” to discuss things like whether to keep the stock “mainspring” or if the gun might need some “moly grease” or a new “bushing.” While I had some issues with the scope mount (perfect now), the gun itself is quite nice; it is not “buzzy” at all, and while the “trigger” is no “Rekord,” I find it releasing quite well, leading to good accuracy. So, my tale of woe ended well; I now have a nice 15 fpe varminter…just in case I run out of .22LR ammo. And while it might have been nice to have had my wife approve something on the order of an Air Arms TX200, there is something else that’s good about this budget rifle: if I drop it in the mud down by the pond, I can just clean it off, rub it down with some Ballistol, and keep on shooting it; while if I was to drop a TX200 in the mud…I would cry like a 5-year-old ballerina girl wearing a “tutu.” =>
Sounds like your tale of woe had a happy ending after all. Nice job!
LOL! Thanks, man; it did.
Dave,
Good for you! 🙂
BB
I think I used every word on your list, LOL! Please let me know if I missed one. =>
Off topic question: how do you dispose of an el cheapo airgun that is just not worth repairing? Just hide it in the garbage?
I hacksawed the barrel off flush with the compression tube and recycled the steel.
Should work; you can always disassemble and scatter the parts in the garbage. At least it won’t smell like ripening iguana.
I think I will disassemble. I may learn something along the way. Thanks.
“Rebuilt” Crosman 357 from the 80s – Dave’s Tale of Happiness
Well, while the dubbing wax did not arrive, the Crosman 357 did…so I put it away to wait till the was arrive…NOT! Like any airgunner with a new toy, I put the pistol together (the seller shipped it with the barrel removed to fit it in a smaller box to cut down on my shipping costs…cool) and went outside to check it out…even though it’s 100+ degrees outside, with a humidity factor that could drown a fish…oy! #_#
Anyway, the pistol came with one of the 10-round speedloaders, and I did order a set of three of what Crosman calls their “10-shot SpeedLoader Clip,” which is supposed to fit their Vigilante and also their 357W; thankfully, they arrived today, and they are identical to the speedloader that came with the pistol.
After doing B.B.’s old trick of putting one drop f Crosman Pellgun Oil on top of the CO2 cartridges (the seller sent two of those, along with 100 pellets to try out the gun…nice!), I snugged up the screw in the grip, heard a hiss for one second as I tightened it, and then…nothing, as the gun held the CO2…praise the Lord!
I had a small (7.5 ounce) soda can, so I set it up at 10 yards, and sat on the end of the deck and shot at it off-hand (but with two hands). The first shot (single-action) knocked the can over; the second shot (also single-action) hit the bottom of it and flipped it over…after that, the next 38 shots were all double action, fired as fast as I could shoot…man, what a load of fun! And while not every shot hit it, most of them did, and the thing looks like a Swiss cheese. =>
Since I DID finally listen to B.B.’s advice and GET a chronograph, I dug it out of the garage and fired 3 shots each with the wadcutters (could be Daisy, could be Crosman; the seller said he was sending 100 “Polymags,” but the tin they came in said they were Crosman 7.4 grain Destroyer pellets) and the “Polymags” (which are actually “Destroyers”), with the wadcutters averaging 410 fps and the Destroyers averaging 400 fps.
Before switching out the CO2, I fired 10 more shots to verify the seller’s claim of “50 good shots.”
I then put in a fresh cartridge, and fired a Destroyer at 328 fps…what?!?…must be an error…I fired a second one at 320 fps…what’s going on here?…*smacks head*…yeah, like a dummy, I THOUGHT about changing out the CO2 cartridge, but didn’t actually DO it. Hence, these two shots were actually shots #51 and #52 on the original CO2 cartridge.
OK, with a fresh cartridge, I got an average of 440 fps with the mystery wadcutters, and 430 fps with the Destroyers. Since the Destroyers are a known weight, we can see that the pistol is a 3 fpe gun…about the same as my Tempest.
Although I was dripping sweat at this point, and really just wanted to go in for a drink, I figured I needed to rig up some kind of target, and see what kind of accuracy potential this thing has.
First, I shot one of each type of pellet into a piece of pressure-treated fencing; both pellets buried themselves into the wood. Hence, while this thing is no hunting rig, it might allow you to “save the day” on the odd chance that your wife happens to someday call out, “Oh my God, there’s a rabid chipmunk in the living room…it’s foaming at the mouth!…quick, DO something!”
Anyway, I flipped the board over and set it up at 30 feet against a pair of tent stakes (like I said, it was HOT, no time for formal target action). I made a red “X” for the Polymags (Destroyers); it’s small, as I only had 3 of those pellets left, and I expected a small group (I later found a few more so I could get a 5-shot group). Then I made a green “X” for a target for the wadcutters. The two holes, circled in red, that go all the way through the board are the nail holes.
Even shooting off a sandbag, the Destroyers showed really bad vertical stringing…definitely not the pellet for this gun. The wadcutters, though it’s certainly nothing to write home to Momma about, made a 1-5/8” group.
[Note: pellet strikes aimed at the red “X” are circled in green; those fired at the green “X” are circle in red]
But the wadcutter group was left of center; I had to adjust the rear sight to the point where I covered up part of the rear dot on the right side in order to get pellets to strike to center. After I got that pellet to hit that green vertical line I drew, my next 3 shots took down cans that were sitting end-on on the 15-yard range. So, while this is certainly not a target gun, it is a great little plinker; and it’s a ton of fun for fast double-action shooting…I’m happy with it. =>
Hence, even if it fails the Hank-salt-loading-procedure (which I fully expect it to pass), I already like it a whole bunch, and consider it to be well worth its $55 price tag.
Anxiously awaiting B.B’s return (so no one has to listen to my ramblings),
dave
BB, thank you, I will stick with my tubing blocks and dull HSS bits, shakespear I am not.
However, my doctor is an overachiever, he may want some xtra credit. He works for Kaiser. I was not aware that is where overachievers work, I found it reassuring to hear that from the young attractive intern, no doubt getting a little xtra credit herself it seems. Still no idea why my dog craps better than me. Guess its called getting old (er).
When I try 42 yds with the Bandit and a 21x scope, I get the happy feeling, 14ft/lbs seems so easy.
The R10 helps with pespective too, it is almost as good.
Rob