Media day
Day One
Day Two
Day Three
This report covers:
- Long-range benchrest
- Umarex
- Hatsan
- Crosman
- AirForce Airguns
- Hatsan again
- Umarex again
- Emerge 12-shot breakbarrel repeater
- Announcement
- Summary
Today I want to cover some of the stuff I saw at the SHOT Show last week that didn’t make it into the reports. I also want to address some basic things I see happening in our hobby. I’ll start there.
Five years ago the big news in airgunning was the sport of field target. Though most people didn’t actually participate, they talked about it. Airguns, scopes and pellets were evaluated for their usefulness in field target. That isn’t the case today.
Long-range benchrest
The sport that has replaced field target is long-range benchrest. There are several variations on this sport, but 100 yards seems to be the holy grail distance. Calibers are restricted to .35 and below and only diabolo pellets can be fired. Slugs are not permitted in Airgun Sporting Association competitions — yet.
The rules for this competition are in a state of flux, just as field target rules were in the 1990s. The local venue still has a lot of influence on what may or may not happen at their events.
I tell you this because at this year’s SHOT Show I saw a rifle that was developed especially for long-range benchrest. It was the Epoch rifle from Skout Airguns. I showed it to you in the Day Two report.
The Skout Epoch PCP air rifle was made specifically for long-range benchrest competition.
The other trend at this SHOT Show was hunting. Four companies emphasized it to the max — Umarex, Hatsan, Crosman and AirForce.
Umarex
Umarex is coming out with a 20-gauge air shotgun that shoots slugs. And they gave away a coin that celebrates 2022 and the year of the airgun hunter.
Umarex gave out these coins at Media Day. They are serious about hunting with airguns.
Hatsan
Hatsan is bringing out an 800 foot-pound big bore air rifle this year. That’s not for shooting tin cans!
Crosman
Crosman has been promoting hunting with airguns longer than most. They even put the type of game their rifles are good for right on the box!
AirForce Airguns
And AirForce Airguns has been cranking out Texan big bores in all their configurations for years. The Texan is the rifle that has set the standard for what a big bore needs to be.
Those are the trends for 2022 — long-range benchrest and hunting. Of course not all airguns will be built for these things, but a large number will be.
Hatsan again
And now for some of the guns and other stuff that didn’t make it into the first reports. We’ll start with Hatsan.
Hatsan’s new model 65 breakbarrel.
I didn’t show this rifle last week, but it takes the place of several Hatsan spring-piston rifles, including the 125 and 135. It has a shrouded barrel with a built-in suppressor. It features the Quattro trigger and the SAS shock absorber. The sights are fiberoptic and are adjustable. The stock is walnut.
Hatsan also has a new portable compressor that runs on household current or a car battery. It’s for filling airguns, not tanks.
Hatsan Tact Air Volt compressor runs on household current or a car battery.
Umarex again
The Notos is a new PCP pistol and rifle from Umarex. Both are in .22 only and feature 7-shot rotary magazines. They seem to be identical except for the stock and look different enough that I’ll have to try one.
The Notos from Umarex comes as either a pistol or a carbine.
Emerge 12-shot breakbarrel repeater
The Emerge breakbarrel repeater actually came out earlier but because there was no SHOT Show last year it was overlooked. It’s a 12-shot breakbarrel repeater with a rotary magazine. It’s also .22-caliber only.
The Umarex Emerge is a new breakbarrel repeater.
Announcement
I told you last week that there would be an Air Venturi Dragonfly Mark 2 waiting for me when I got home. That was a mistake. I have the Benjamin Gunnar, which I will start looking at tomorrow but the Dragonfly Mark 2 is going to be a while yet.
Summary
The 2022 SHOT Show proved that companies aren’t sleeping at the switch. Umarex, Hatsan and Crosman all have many new guns and there are other things like the Skout air rifle and the Apolos pellets that we will have to wait for. This year should turn out to be a good one!
Notos, (Greek god of the south wind) a very unusual name for an airgun..
I wonder what made them name it that?
Could this is the intro into an entire line of Greek mythology names from Umarex?
Ian.
45Bravo – they are already successful. Look, they’ve piqued your interest 🙂
As much as I am proud being Greek I think that the Notos is a disguised Artemis (more pride?) PP750. The shroud and the right side (I presume) lever lead me to believe so.
By the way isn’t it time for Airforce to lead again with a repeater?
It seems to me that Chinese R&D and marketing departments are working overtime…
Bill,
The PP750 is longer and has the cocking lever on the right, this one looks to be on the left.
Hank
Looks like a PP750 to me. That cocking lever is the hook it’s hanging on?
“It was the Epoch rifle from Skout Airguns” – very interesting. Some airgun specifically designed for long range bench rests. I think accuracy is redefined there. Looking at the 2×3 screw scope rings above, hmm… and I had my doubts about the need for 2×2 at all.
B.B.
Do you have a place where you can test these 100 yard guns? Is it possible to make a gun that is inaccurate at 25 yards but dead on at 100?
-Y
Yogi – in my decent experience so far, the airgun, which is accurate to 25 yards with a given pellet, is just accurate. Airguns that are not accurate will spread less or more at all distances and with all pellets used. The main problem can be the flight behavior of the pellets. Some are accurate up to a certain range and then start to destabilize. Some aren’t ultra-accurate at close range but remain similarly accurate at relatively long range, eventually being better choices at 100 yards but not the best at under 50 yards.
Actually, your question would be a great basis for a blog.
Bad BB, what do you think? Of course, many parameters such as cal, muzzle velocity and mass of the pellets, BC of the pellets, barrel crown, etc. need to be considered.
Tomek,
I’ve found that marginal pellets/tunes/rifles often shoot ok out to 25 yards then start to show their true accuracy capabilities/limitations beyond 35 yards.
For testing I have settled on 40 yards as the optimum distance to test more powerful (30+ fpe) airguns. …Far enough to see what is happening in the group size and not too far that I’m the biggest influence on poor groups 😉
For lower power airguns I use a 25 yard distance as I rarely shoot sub-30 fpe airguns beyond that range anyway.
Hank
Vana2 – sub-30 fpe is already pretty much 🙂 I mean if it is in range 20 fpe to 30 fpe. I agree that you need to adapt the distance to energy/cal/mass of the pellet. Similar to your practice – if airgun-pellet is accurate on 25yd then I check it at 50yd usually, then sometimes another pellet occurs to be visible better.
You know that question some ladies ask: how much are you getting? And the answer: under 15000 per month follows :D:D It’s nice, especially when it’s 1200 per month, hahaha – it’s under 15,000 anyway.
Tomek,
My methodology might be a bit strange but there is a method to my madness LOL!
I select a pellet (for my PCPs) test and tune at 40 yards then I test for the maximum effective range (all shots in a 1 inch circle) of the whole system (pellet, rifle, sights, rest method and shooter) to determine what’s the maximum range at which I will shoot that gun when pesting or hunting.
There’s no restrictions when shooting paper, extreme range shots are encouraged 🙂
Hank
Yogi,
I wouldn’t say it is impossible, but I don’t believe that it is.
BB
Sorry Yogi,
If it ain’t gonna do it at 25 yards, it ain’t gonna do it at 100.
I had a Gamo CFX that would shoot a ten shot group at 25 yards that could literally hide under a dime and at 50 yards you could not hide the group with a piece of notebook paper.
Yogi,
I have been shooting to 100 and well beyond for decades with airguns. I have never seen a case of poor groups at 25 turning into better groups at 100 using the same airgun, projectile and power level. Even when changing power levels holding the rest the same I have never experienced that. MOA/MRAD measured precision grows with increased distance proportionally, given you are holding the setup the same, almost without exception. I will say that that is at n indoor range. Once you get outside in the wind and other climate factors it is almost alway impossible to see much of anything else once past 100 since wind read failure will bury much of anything else you try to predict. With diabolo shaped projectiles the loss of velocity becomes so great you might as well call it Bench Mortars
shootski
I noticed you have not said anything concerning Diana. I guess after their last fiasco with the EMS, we should not be surprised that they are going to do the same thing with the PCP line. They have apparently dropped their top shelf PCP from the production line and are bringing out the XR200.
https://hardairmagazine.com/news/new-diana-xr200-pcp-air-rifle-launched-at-shot-show/
I wonder how long before the various bits and pieces will come to market?
Gamo and Stoeger have a couple of PCPs out this year also.
RR,
Yeah. As far as I know, Diana was not at SHOT. They may have had a rep there but no one from the company.
I think that Hard Air article is from a press release.
BB
Very well could be. All the fereners stayed home, I guess. And it seems most of the locals.
That Hatsan Air Volt might be worth considering, once the full details come out and there are trusted reviews available, for us who want to dip our toes a little further into the Good Dark Side.
FawltyManuel,
I’m watching for that one.
Doc
BB, Guys,
I saw this VOLT Hatsan compressor…
I have a general question regarding PCP air compressor to pump airguns only (not big bottles). Do you think that these compressors without big oil / water circuit will last some reasonable time and do the job?
Here please see example I meant: like the GX CS2 or GX CS3.
I try to upload the comparison table I just found, it is up to date:
300barcompressortable.JPG
This is a part of it but you can see what I mean. The first two from the left are 8kg and 7kg light. The price is now approx. 500EUR / 400EUR for each those two mentioned. The rest is less expensive but full with oil/water circuit and weight around 18kg. The price goes even down to 200EUR. The bestseller from this list is now 279EUR which seems not to be soo expensive for 19kg device. Power consumption is also much higher by the heavy ones: 1.8kW vs. 0.25kW. Seems to be quite a different approach.
There is much to read but nothing really reliable… I don’t have much experience with 300bar air compressor so far :/ I have this small thing to pump tires using 12V plug, don’t think I may conclude something regardind PCP air compressor from it. Appreciate some advice 🙂
(Of course there are some crazy robust and safe German compressors but the price is higher then 1kEUR… so…)
tomek,
Re: Do you think that these compressors without big oil / water circuit will last some reasonable time and do the job?
I don’t have any personal experience with these small compressors designed for filling airguns NOT tanks but I have read an awful lot about them.
They all have one thing in common. They have short lives and need to be rebuilt. This usually requires new o rings, sometimes, valves, etc. but can be done by you with a little help from youtube videos.
For these reasons I would suggest that you make sure the tutorials are availble to rebuild the model you’re considering purchasing AND make sure that rebuild kits are available. Since some of these small compressors don’t work out of the box it’s also important to verify that a return shipping label from the manufacturer/distributor is part of the deal and verify that this type of customer support has been tried by others and has been successful.
Kevin – thank you! You confirmed what I was afraid of…
I have a reliable hand pump, but… you know, I’m not getting any younger 🙂
tomek,
Don’t be afraid. Many folks have used these small compressors for years. Just know going in there’s going to be regular maintenance. This is the trade off for a lower cost compressor. There is no free lunch.
But if you keep moving and exercising – pumping by hand counts – you will stay younger longer. Granted, FM is looking down the road when he might not be able to hand-pump efficiently anymore, so that is when a decent airgun-only pump would come into play.
Speaking of staying in shape, in the local news last night there was a report that people who have cataracts and go thru the necessary surgery improve their chances to avoid dementia by 29% compared to those who just let their eyes deteriorate. So FM would say keep your eyes sharp and practice sighting and shooting frequently and you’ll be able to engage in your favorite sport/hobby for much longer. 🙂
Tomek,
I have had the Hatsan Spark for a year and used it to fill my semiautomatic Marauder and my Fortitude. There is a good maintenance video on YouTube. There are also good threads on the GTA Forum. I’ve performed no maintenance yet.
There are many similar looking ones likely from the same manufacturer and rebadged by resellers.
I really like not manually pumping; it has preserved me from injury—in the beginning I pumped manually and it affected my shoulder.
So far, so good here! I’d recommend the small inexpensive compressors as long as you can readily return them if they fail early on.
AP
Tomek-
The little guys work fine they just require more frequent maintenance and have a shorter lifespan. They fill different niches. Think diesel engine vs 2-cycle engine. You probably don’t need a big diesel engine to run your chainsaw 4 hours a year, and if you are hauling freight a million miles a year a 50cc engine isn’t going to cut it.
Thank you all Guys for advice. I guess I have a potential point for the present list. I will look for some small one according to your experience.
BB
The Notos PCP pistol looks very similar to the HW44 which is a sibling to the HW110.
The .22 caliber HW44 makes a great plinker! Expect that the Notos would be good in that role as well. The Canadian version of the HW44 (limited to 495 fps) gets a good 70 shots (@ just over 8 fpe) on a fill.
Hope you get to test the Notos, I’d be curious to see how well it performs.
Seems that Umarex has followed the same path of making a pistol/rifle set.
Hank
B.B.,
“The sport that has replaced field target is long-range benchrest.” Why do you suppose that is? An aging generation of enthusiasts? A less physically demanding (but demanding nevertheless) competition to draw beginners?
Michael
Michael,
It’s hard to say why long-range benchrest is as popular as it is. Certainly it is less physically demanding than field target. But I think the distance is another attraction. That is the same thing that happened back in the 1920s when the centerfire rifle guys chased after 10-shot one-inch groups at 100 yards. They also pursued 3,000 f.p.s. velocities.
BB
B.B.,
Yes. The lure of distance will have airgunners competing at 200 – 300 yards just as soon as advancements in our equipment make it remotely exciting.
Daniel
Michael,
I think that you’ve hit on several reasons that long range benchrest has become “the thing”. Let’s also recognize that many newer introductions of airguns have made 100 yard shooting a realistic and repeatable endeavor.
Tom, always appreciate reading your column. Great insight into the new airguns at Shot Show.
Just curious why you did not visit the Barra Airguns booth, or comment on some of their new products.
Their new Barra 400, battery powered AEG, full auto (select fire) .177 steel BB, assault rifle, looks like a game changer. Battery is said to be good for more than 1,000 shots, no CO2 cool down drop off, and not as temperature sensitive. That’s a lot of CO2 cartridges, one battery could replace. Could be serious competition for the Crosman line of full auto CO2 rifles. And a new take on Crosman’s old logo “Power without Powder”.
Also, they featured a CO2, pellet shooting, lever action air rifle, styled after the Winchester 1866. This is a welcome addition, as most of the current western lever action airguns (Daisy 1894, Legends Cowboy Lever Action, Walther Lever Action) are copies of the Winchester 1894.
As well as a PCP hunting rifle, and a dual-caliber break barrel.
That seems like a lot of new airguns for a small company that was not even around in 2018, and only had a small table in the annex, at the last Shot Show (in 2020).
I would call them the winner of the airgun part of Shot Show 2022, for all the new airguns & innovative technology they have come out with. For a small airgun company, they certainty “punch above their weight”
I’m anxiously awaiting the new AEG full .177 steel BB gun. Barra says it will be available for sale in about 3-4 months. If so, Umarex could learn a thing or two about announcing new products and bringing them to market. I’m still waiting to add the Umarex Legends M3 Grease Gun, that was announced almost a year ago, to my WWII replica collection of machine guns that already includes the M1A1 & the MP40.
Be well, and happy shooting.
BB1Shooter,
What can I say? I missed it.
BB
Hey no problem Tom. Shot Show (& Vegas) can be an overwhelming experience, even after a number of visits.
Maybe at some point in the near future, you can do an article on Barra. And get your hand on the .177 AEG steel BB gun, and maybe the 1866 lever action, CO2, pellet shooter, and provide us with your comments on them.
Always look forward to your down to earth, factual, gun reviews.
BAD B.B.
Almost got me to chime in yesterday but after careful consideration I decided it would have been unwise of me to reveal any ” TOP SECRET ” national security items from the past.
Good Blog!
BobF
B.B.,
I guess a bit over a quarter century is how quickly we can anticipate the big changes to take hold in the World of Airpower.
Long-range benchrest is going to stay at 100 for a long time; most shoot directors across the USA (and most other countries) are hard pressed to find anything longer easily and affordability comes into play too!
I believe air powered hunting is the area that will see the largest growth with Solids, bullets (slugs,) and arrows being the big players. Diabolo shaped projectiles are severely Gravity challenged much beyond 100 yards/meters.
shootski