This report covers:
- Smaller
- HOWEVER
- Meopta
- MeoSport R 3-15X50 RD SFP
- AirForce Airguns
- At the RAW bar
- Oehler
- Was there more?
- Summary
Smaller
Today I started walking the 2022 SHOT Show. So many huge displayers were absent and so many people didn’t attend that it looked like Day Four instead of opening day. On Day Four about 75 percent of the people have left and you can get around much easier.
The Europeans and Asians didn’t attend and that’s about 40 percent of the crowd. And, as one manufacturer observed, the gun store owners who can’t stop selling because of the nation’s current political environment couldn’t come — they were too busy minding the store!
Add to all of that the Las Vegas restriction that requires face masks inside all public buildings. ARE YOU GUYS OUT OF YOUR MINDS? Why not just make gambling illegal and turn off all the lights? Being a blue state sometimes gets in the way of life, like untied shoelaces.
So this year’s show was smaller. A lot smaller.
HOWEVER
Sometimes it’s the little things that make the biggest news — right?
Meopta
My first stop was with Meopta. As you know I am in love with their optics for very good reason. Those who have bought the products I have tested have said the same things as me, so I know I’m telling the truth.
I was shown the products by Meopta engineer Jiri Burian from the Czech Republic and their American PR representative, Shannon Jackson. Jiri knows his optics well and told me Meopta tests each model of scope on a recoiling test jig that uses a pneumatic hammer to generate up to 1,000 Gs.
Well, now it’s time to open your leather resource retainer, boys, because Meopta has something for you that I have never seen. It’s so simple that I wish I had thought of it, being somewhat simple myself.
MeoSport R 3-15X50 RD SFP
This is an entry-level scope for those who want a Meopta but don’t want to pay great big bucks. Unfortunately they can’t just give it away, either. So it’s priced at a retail of $450. It has a 30mm tube for a bright image. But here is the deal. It isn’t just the scope, it also comes with the mounts. And the mounts are kinda special.
The bottom of the scope tube has a straight line etched into the surface.
Oh, look! There is also a line at the bottom center of the scope ring. What could a fellah could do with that?
This is pure genius and I am crying in my beer because I didn’t think of it! These parts were made on a CNC machine, so those two lines are exactly where they need to be for you — I don’t know — to level the scope? There goes ten good blogs BB could have written about leveling scopes after installation. Here is my prediction — you’re gonna see a lot more of this in the future on other scopes as well! At least I don’t think that it’s possible to patent a line.
I also looked at the new Meopta binoculars that are priced affordably and are the optical equal of my MeoStar 10X42 binos. But for a lot less money. And they are lighter.
They asked me if I would like to test a pair. Talk about enablers! Yes BB would like to test a pair, and no, he won’t be shipping them back. I’m gonna test that new scope for you too. When I walked it over and showed it to Pyramyd AIR, they saw the same thing I did, so you readers will be able to get one this year. Wives — BB has been a bad boy today!
AirForce Airguns
So, what’s new at the booth with the black guns from Burleson? Well, this year they showed two new arrow launchers. People are getting into arrow shooters these days and if they are pneumatic we know they are either near the top of the crossbow velocity range, or they are more powerful. AirForce showed me two. The first one was a long one that shot longer arrows, though not as long as some that are on the market.
AirForce owner, John McCaslin, holds their new airbow. This one is the big one that uses their conventional tank and gets around 450 f.p.s. with a 275-grain (or so) arrow.
But John McCaslin told me something interesting. In their testing AirForce has discovered that shorter arrows fly truer and are more accurate. Of course longer arrows get a longer push from the air, so they go out faster. That makes BB want to test the next airbow I was shown — the carbine.
The AirForce airbow carbine is not just shorter overall, it also uses their smaller tank from the TalonP pistol and Edge rifle. This looks to me like a handy arrow launcher for the woods!
At the RAW bar
Then we walked over to the RAW display and John asked me if I had heard that they are now threading their barrels for add-on silencers. No screwing them into a shroud and setting up harmful harmonics. Nosiree!
Yep! RAW now offers a threaded barrel — not the shroud — to keep the harmonic disruptions to a minimum.
And, as if that wasn’t enough — they showed the RAW hunting carbine. It looks like a long pistol until you deploy the side stock. Hunters are gonna love this one!
I don’t know what RAW plans to call it but I’m calling it their hunting carbine.
And the stock is deployed. Sorry the pistol grip of the gun in the rack above hides the back of the stock.
Oehler
So I am on my way out of the show and I stop by the Oehler booth. Dr. Ken and his wife, Margie, were not able to attend this year but — OH MY GOSH! They still make the 35P chronograph, but the System 89 BC chronograph is now the top of the line. The BC stands for ballistic coefficient. Yepper — this machine calculates the ballistic coefficient for your round!
Oehler System 89.
Now, you can buy a radar chrono that will do this if you have a spare hundred thousand dollars lying around. Or you can buy the System 89 from Oehler for $3000 and get the same thing. I know — it’s still too much money. It is for me, too. But BB will save his nickels and dimes and see what miracles may come. Because the BC for bullets is nothing. This thing will tell the BC for PELLETS!
Was there more?
Of course there was more. Yes, Kevin, I went to the Skout booth and saw what they say is “The world’s most advance competition air rifle.” So — is it? With a tagline like that I went in spring-loaded to pounce and educate. After 20 minutes at their booth I called Rossi Morreale over to film them.
Yes, Kevin, I will have pix and info. Just not today. I’m tarred!
Yes, Michael, I pumped and shot the Dragonfly Mark II. Yes, it has an interesting story that I plan to tell. Just not today.
Summary
This year’s SHOT Show is slower all around, but I think it might be better for it. At least it gives me time to talk and learn things without getting bumped aside by the 11:30 appointment.
BB,
Can’t wait for the other stories you will tell. So no Gamo and Diana representation? We call those carbines with folding stocks riptols around here.
Siraniko
Siraniko,
Yes, there is no Gamo representation, and with them of course is also Daisy, so no Daisy, either. I don’t think there is any Diana, but also no Air Arms, either.
There is more that I’ll tell about what didn’t make it here in tomorrow’s blog.
BB
Siraniko,
In case you didn’t see it, there’s a report at Hard Air Magazine about gen 3 versions of the Gamo Swarm.
https://hardairmagazine.com/news/gamo-introduces-new-swarm-gen3i-air-rifles/
B.B.
Sounds like you had fun?
-Y
Yogi,
Good perception! Yes, I had fun because for once I wasn’t competing with dozens of other guys.
BB
BB,
Very interested in the Dragonfly Mk2, so let’s get our priorities squared away, OK?
Laughed my *ss off over the not so polite political statement on masking in a state that doesn’t have much going for it other than its indoor tourism. Me thinks Donkeys are dumb.
Half
PS “thinks” is code for “am certain”
Halfstep thanks for the chuckle
White line on the bottom of the scope, white line on scope ring, well…. duh. Why didn’t we think of this fifty or sixty years ago.
rk – the idea of the line sounds great – but I think this will not always help. Some people hold the gun slightly turned in one direction. This might be the reason why nobody do the marking lines for a true zero angle. Many people will be surprised and thinking the line is not correctly marked 🙂
tomek,
I thought about that and you are right. In fact that is why I have to write so many reports about how to level scopes — because nothing on a rifle is level.
What this line does is take the guesswork out of the equation. Now BB has to find ways to tell shooters how to find their own level! Ha, ha! 😉
BB
Exactly BB 🙂 Without a line you have to explain where is this line, and with the line marked you have to double explain why the line is not “the line” but there is “this line” there 😀 I think people went already this way and that’s why there are no zero lines on each scope you can buy hehehe 🙂
BB
Put mil dots on both sides of the line and assume canters can count.
Good report and especially the humor. We each have our version of what truth is and isn’t but funny is funny.
Deck
Canters can count? Of course! They count measures and rest beats all the time. (Wink, wink.) Sight-reading is an impressive skill.
Michael
Deck
I like that. To all us canters out there. 😉
B.B.,
You NEED to be ON THE LEVEL about this topic.
shootski
Shootski,
And level-headed. ;^)
Michael
Shootski
The problem is it always seems to go (deeper) than level. 😉
FM appreciates that admonishment – it’s all about ensuring there is a level playing – and shooting – field.
Rk
Right then hold your gun and shoot and see what happens.
And at different distances.
I’ll be waiting for the results.
Gunfun1,
Ahh! INDEX to thin air.
Indexed to the Sky Hook Balloon?
Too soon old too late shmart….
shootski
Maybe the SHOT Show organizers should “think” of moving their event to Florida, not only The Sunshine State but also in many ways The Saner One when it comes to dealing with life in pandemic times. FM does not get why in some of what you would think are the more “rugged individualism” places you have the most onerous restrictions and annoying bureaucratic rules in place. Having said that, let’s all be careful – within reason – out there. Just don’t stop living!
Thanks for putting up with all that and reporting on the “goodies” you discovered at the show, B.B. End of rant.
FM
Covid gets us again.
Huh.
I read the first few paragraphs of this blog, concluded I must have stumbled onto some political site, and moved on directly to the make a comment box. I do hope the air gun site I’ve read religiously for 12 or so years will return soon and not become yet another a right-left / left-right back alley.
Of course by writing that I might have pried open a Pandora’s Box. This is one of only a handful of Internet places I can enjoy that is free from political barb-trading from the two sides of bitter American political discourse. I am so nauseated by the constant politicization from all sides of absolutely everything in our culture. Can’t any pleasant thing be left free of political vitriol, be it subtle and snide or straight-up vicious? Not one of my air guns has a political point of view. Can’t anything remain innocent?
Here goes nothing. I challenge my fellow air gun enthusiasts not to respond to this plea with political ripostes of any side, right or left.
Michael
Michael, thanks for articulating what I was unable to!!
AP
Michael and Mr AP,
I am sorry if what I wrote offended you today. But I am in the middle of it and cannot ignore the stupidity I see everywhere. The casino employees aren’t obeying their own mask regulations (excuse me, Las Vegas regulations) and about a quarter of those in attendence in the casinos and at the SHOT Show aren’t either. There are many kinds of violations — masks below the nose, people with drinks who are mask-free, etc. Guys — that is just lying for the sake of it! And pretending that we are all doing it for safety.
Sorry, but I don’t get exposed to this in Texas. If a person wants to wear a mask, so be it. None of this catting around and laughing up their sleeves. But BB keeps his mask on as the rules require — getting hotter under the collar every minute!
Rant over. 🙂
BB
B.B.,
I didn’t expect you to be the one to fail to meet my challenge by making a “political riposte” (in your case an angry and aggresive one). You are the only regular here who had the capacity to actually sadden me, and you have.
Are you sincerely sorry if what you wrote offended me and Mr. AP? After that you called those in Las Vegas whose political views differ from yours stupid, lying and catty. Those are personal insults, not political debate. Perhaps “Sin City” has temporarlily turned the needle of your moral compass beyond how you think it has. I am disappointed. And it took you barely more than half an hour to do so. Should one blame his anger on others? Are Las Vegas politicians responsible for your behavior? Please search your heart for the answer to this.
I do hope your rant is indeed over, and I pray for you not to be so easily led away from your beliefs, which I have thought resilient.
Your Friend,
Michael
Michael,
No more rants! BB is well. 🙂
BB
BB
My brother in law told me I should move to Texas.
FM (does not stand for Face Mask) believes a lot of the pushback about “one size fits all” mask requirements are not political but are driven by reaction against control-freak fearful types lacking sufficient scientific knowledge and having too much authority and time on their hands to come up with mandates which in many cases do not make sense and do little to protect people in general and yet are impacting their lives and livelihoods in a very negative way. Also, there is understandable resentment about the “do as I say not as I do” mentality and actions behind some of these arbitrary rules.
Case in point: at the postal distribution facility where FM performs his vending contract job for his good friend and despite orders from the Federal government, it took THREE months after the pandemic revved up in 2020 for postal management to require their employees to wear masks inside the huge building, and since then compliance has been spotty, at best. On the other hand, FM and friend from Day One started masking up, wearing gloves and liberally using sanitizers on ourselves and the machines. We went by the Rule of Common Sense, in no way basing our precautions on politics. We based our decisions on the fact that we are two old flatulent types, one of which has some health problems which could make him vulnerable to Covid. By the way, one of us is a Donkey, the other an Elephant. But we’re still good friends; nay, more like brothers. Neither likes senseless “one size fits all” arbitrary and capricious rules put in place by those who do not want to play by the rules.
Apologize for ranting on – again.
Michael
I, too, thank you, Mike. You saved me the trouble and were likely more polite than I might have been.
Ed
Michael,
Bravo! Very well said. I completely agree with you. This blog is a site that must be kept politics free so that it is a welcome place for all airgun enthusiasts regardless of their political views.
Michael
To late. 😉
I agree with Michael. I much prefer the blog when it is apolitical.
Michael,
Deplatforming…
shootski
Michael,
Some air gunners may not be interested in politics, but politics are surely interested in air gunners, and they will eat our lunch and pop our bag unless we boldly address them according to truth and within the scope of our wheelhouse.
Stay strong, Mr. Gaylord; do not fear to tell the truth.
Daniel Krebs
Hear, hear….
I’ve been one of the “silent” readers of this blog for many, many years. I have found the articles to be both informative and educational. However, I won’t be reading it anymore. But I had to register today after reading this particular article. I’m sick and tired of the cavalier and selfish attitude of people who deny the science of mask wearing. Hundreds of thousands of people have died because of these selfish attitudes. People who don’t want to “mask up” or refuse to get the vaccine because of mis-directed political opinions just grate on my nerves. You should have stuck to your excellent reporting of the shot show and not ventured in to the murky waters of conspiracy and denial. Thank you for the past years of reading enjoyment and I wish you the best. Good bye.
chasblock,
I’m not going to allow myself to get caught in the vortex on the blog that is bending towards the political. Instead, I would like to focus on science.
You insinuate that the “science of mask wearing” justifies the mandates.
New York Times best selling author Alex Berenson is one of the few unbiased, independent and apolitical reporters left in the world. He’s written 4 booklets related to COVID since it began. These are not opinion pieces but rather fact based and include direct links to the CDC reports, scientific papers, etc. that are the reference material that the booklets are based upon. He does not offer conclusions but rather is disseminating facts that allow you to arrive at your own conclusions.
His first 3 booklets have been combined into one and among other things address the effectivenes of mask wearing against COVID. Strongly encourage you to read these:
https://www.amazon.com/UNREPORTED-TRUTHS-ABOUT-COVID-19-LOCKDOWNS/dp/1953039103/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=alex+berenson&qid=1642603753&s=books&sr=1-5
Linked In, too. Don’t know if it’s rightly or wrongly.
Michael,
Is anyone “uncontroversial” today?
I said Mr. Berenson is unbiased. In my view a true journalist that disseminates facts not opinions.
I don’t use Titter or Twitter and never have. From much I’ve read about twitter if I were to be banned I’d wear it as a badge of honor.
As always, I appreciate the dialogue with you.
Chasblock
Very knowledgeable people were I work have been let go because of mask mandates. What I admire is the people that didn’t give a shit and quit. And all because of a mask.
Who would of ever thought that 3 years ago.
Politics suck. As usual.
I have more to say if you want to go there. Not afraid to say on my end. 🙂
I’ve always respected your previous contributions to this blog so in the interests of civility, I won’t get into a discussion with you. Take care.
Chasblock
It is what it is.
Well fed up with covid is the best I can say.
For those interested, “Proof That Face Masks Do More Harm Than Good” by Dr Vernon Coleman can be downloaded (free) here: https://vernoncoleman.org/books/updated-proof-face-masks-do-more-harm-good
Are you seriously citing Dr Vernon Coleman? Among other things Coleman has claimed that COVID-19 is a hoax, that vaccines are dangerous and that face masks cause cancer. All of which have been debunked by the medical community.
I’m done here, I can’t stand the ignorance.
Y’all take care and stay safe in whatever means you feel comfortable with.
chasblock,
A man of his Word is to be given respect.
I RESPECTED your Good Bye…why don’t you.
See my post below before you go,
Thank You!
shootski
B.B.,
Thank you for taking the time to visit the Skout booth. Anxious to hear more about your thoughts.
kevin
Kevin,
Yes! I just saw a segment on American Airgunner on Skout.
Michael
Michael,
Thanks for this. I’m going to have to google American Airgunner since I’m trying to learn more about Skout. The little I know so far is intriguing.
Kevin,
Their trigger system sounds very innovative, allowing a big bore trigger to feel more like a 10 meter trigger. Also, it is a 4500 psi air rifle which is regulated, depending on caliber, down to 400 psi! Not a typo — 400 PSI! It can be user-tuned to be a few-shot powerhouse or a mega-shot-count plinker. Finally, it is ambidextrous.
Michael
Michael,
Very interesting. Thank you
Michael
400 psi. Who would of thought.
BB,
Glad to hear you are having a good time at the show. Too bad on the reduced attendees and participants,…. but that gives you some extra breathing room. From the news, a lot of companies did virtual presentations at the recent Consumer Electronics Show. I suppose some of the air gun companies will be doing the same on their web sites. I did catch yesterdays report. Looking forwards to more.
Be well,…….. Chris
Chris,
Last year NAMM, one of the biggest trade shows in the U.S., did their entire show virtually, and many responded that it went reasonably well.
Michael
B.B.,
Please find out from Skout (to be revealed by you in a future blog, of course) how many shots one might get with their platform in .177, filled to 4500 psi, and tuned to the lowest shot pressure / shot power setting. I would guess we’re talking hundreds of shots per fill.
Michael
BB, I have learned that I need to tie my shoes if I dont expect to trip over them, because my head is up’ in the clouds’ most of the time anyway. I see also that I may need/want to adjust my scope center a degree or so one way or the other, depending on the current circumstances. I think most shooters will see the value that those indicator marks make in making that adjustment, in red states, blue states, and the very rare and illusive purple ones in this country, as well as the other ones.. The government has just now figured out we need home test kits and a national database if we want to manage our economy responsiby. Not exactly in front of it?
Aim for the soft gushy middle.
A nice stock really stands out in the crowd, more growth rings please.
Glad you blew off some steam!
R
Tom,
Thank you for stopping by the Oehler booth. Please note the 35P is not discontinued. It is in full production and available through our webstore. Thanks!
Oehler! The stuff of my dreams! Some day my Prochrono (which serves me well) will be retired, and I will purchase an Oehler 35P. That is the chrono of my (attainable) dreams. The chrono of my pipedreams, however, is the System 89 BC Chrono! But we can’t have everything. :^)
Michael
Justin,
That’s great news. Thanks for the info.
BB
My trusty 35P is still going strong after many years of use. I would recommend one to anyone. To paraphrase the old ad- ‘When it absolutely, positively has to be the right number’. Remember, the ’P’ stands for ‘Proof’.
Competition Electronics’ Pro Chrono is my backup/teaching/lending unit. Mine is an older one with an add on blue tooth. The new ones have the blue tooth built in. Pro Chrono’s app works well. Also, they are made right here in the USA.
paco,
Sorry to disagree, but the P in 35 P stands for printer.
BB
Tom, I know you’ve had one forever, but actually the P does stand for “Proof” which references the dual velocity measurements. At one point the 35P was sold both with and without a printer, now it is only made with the printer.
Enjoy the rest of the show! Ken says hello.
Justin,
Well shut my mouth! Okay, BB is learning! 😉
BB
Paco,
Well, now we both know that BB was wrong. The P does indeed stand for proof.
BB
B.B., Justin, Paco,
My guess would have been that the P stood for “Perfect.”
Michael
B.B. and US READERSHIP (Regardless of your political views,)
I am offended not by Tom voicing his Bill of Rights Protected Opinion but rather I am offend by the responders who don’t respect his right to give voice to what he has experienced.
This Republic is under siege by nefarious forces that wrongly call it a Democracy. They are trying to change good Parliamentary procedures (that are intended to protect EVERY minority) to fulfil those undemocratic aims!
If you don’t realize that you live in a Republic or know what that provides you get educated before it is lost FOREVER.
Shame on you and yours if you don’t!
shootski
(A Naturalized Citizen who served for decades to protect the Republic and your Right to LIBERTY!)
Shootski
Then start educating.
I just keep getting amazed here lately how educated I’m getting.
And how about what is happening to those that don’t have a job anymore.
Can’t wait to see what the government thinks when they don’t have any tax money coming in from all the places shutting down and nobody working.
When they don’t get any income from us wonder what will happen next.
I’m just way beyond words of what to think about how the government is handling all this. I really just can’t think how they believe that things will go forward and we will all be back to normal. Or do they think they really know what normal is.
No probably not. God help them is all I can say anymore. And even more so us.
Gunfun1,
Although I like the idea that the primary purpose of Tom’s blog is all things airguns at times that subject can dip into the realm of politics when the government makes policy without referring to the founding documents as legally amended; not Executive Ordered without true emergency need.
In a republic, a constitution and/or bill of rights protects certain inalienable rights that cannot be taken away by the government, even if it has been elected by a SIMPLE majority of voters. … In a “pure democracy,” the majority (SIMPLE) is not constrained in this way and can impose its will on ANY minority. (I’ll explain Simple Majority: 50%+1 is a Simple Majority.) Our USA Founding Fathers were wise enough to know that minorities are protected by having the paperwork say the Majority needs to be bigger by some percentage than half to ensure that any and every minority is certain to at least be heard.
So that is what is at RISK when our nation’s elected leaders are ignorant of, or choose to wilfully ignore, the form of the USA’s federal government.
Lots more education is available to avoid the shame of not knowing what is real and in the founding papers and what is Cancel Culture!
shootski
B.B., so excited about all your blogs coming on this show. I’m really interested in the Dragon Fly too. I will try and wait till I see it in the blog, but, when I look at it, I can’t help but think of the Benjamin Pump Assist you did a report/review on. Looks like the same system.
/blog/2016/12/pump-assist-benjamin-392-part-1/
Doc
Doc,
I believe it is the same system. The inventor sold (I hope) the design to Crosman which opted not to manufacture it. Then Crosman sold (I hope) the design to Air Venturi. Pyramyd AIR will sell them (I hope) to retail customers soon. ;^)
I have wanted one of these for ages. /blog/2007/11/the-pump-assist-benjamin-392-part-1/
Michael
Michael
Me too. The ASP20 comes close in that effort required is about the same from start to finish when cocking the barrel.
Deck
Michael, Correct. Funny I read all those reports again today. 2007 yet seems like yesterday. What I really wanted and let get away was the Bejamin pump that conserved air. I can’t remember the name of it. It could be pumped up then shot two or three times without pumping on low power, or on high power just one shot but only requiring 3 or 4 pumps to top off.
I want to say BB wrote a review on it, but don’t hold me to it as I couldn’t find it.
Doc
Doc,
Are you referring to the Benjamin 700?
/blog/2018/08/benjamin-700-multi-pump-repeater-part-3/
I still have it and it is for sale. I meant to take it to the Arkansas airgun show, but somehow it missed getting packed.
BB
B.B.,
No that isn’t it. I looked it up. Custom Benjamin 392 Air Conserving Pumper (ACP) MkII. I don’t think PA ever offered it but I’m not sure. You and Halfstep talked about it in the comments on the following blog: /blog/2018/05/the-seneca-dragonfly-multi-pump-pneumatic-rifle-part-2/
Doc
Doc,
I think you’re right. That one never came out.
BB
Doc and B.B.,
Airguns of Arizona used to sell them. I believe they sent stock Benjies to a customizer and then sold them on their site. They could be configured for multiple medium power shots with ten pumps or some combination of full powered shots and . . . I don’t remeber.
They could be quickly identified by a small button on the bottom of the pumping lever.
Michael
Michael, that is correct! I just didn’t want to mention who used to sell them on here. It’s a shame that gun didn’t make it. It had a sear with two power levels. And yes the little “button” stuck out once charged.
Doc
Here’s another application”
Michael
Michael,
I so hoped for this designed hand pump to make it. I still think it would be a game changer as a lot of people say a hand pump it too hard for them and an tank or electric pump is too expensive.
Doc
Doc,
I would pay twice the price of a new hand pump for the prototype in the photo (if it’s a working one).
Michael
Michael,
I bet a lot of people would once they realized how easy it would be to pump. The only negative I could see (other than lawyers and pinched skin lol) is that I’m told pumping should be slow. That if the pump got hot, you should pause for a bit. With this being easy, people would probably pump fast, thus maybe getting the pump too hot.
Doc
B.B. has demonstrated that with both hand pumps for PCPs and multi-pumpers, it is almost always best / easier to pump slowly. So it might not matter given how I would approach using it.
Doc,
The systrem is identical. The inventor is the same person. There is a large back story that I’ll put into the report.
BB
B.B.
Looking forward to it!
Thank You!
Doc
B.B.,
Do you remember if that prototype was a functional one or just a mock-up for the show? If it was a working prototype, do you know where it is and if it might be available?
Michael
Michael,
I don’t, but I bet it was a mockup.
BB
B.B.,
For quite some time now I have thought about going to a machine shop with all the images I have along with my Hill pump and see if it could be done and about how much it might cost to have one made for me.
Hey, if the patent-holder won’t get them manufactured (even if only for the sake of humanity), perhaps I should take the bull, or butterfly, by the horns. :^)
Michael
Ladies and Germs, May I present the Custom Benjamin 392 Air Conserving Pumper (ACP) MkII (text swiped from an obsolete, offline AG of AZ web page):
“Developed by Steve Woodward, the Benjamin ACP takes pump-up rifles to the next level. Utilizing state-of-the-art technology in air conservation, the Benjamin ACP uses less effort to achieve full power shots, and is significantly quieter than the standard model. By installing a hammer debounce device, the otherwise wasteful valve now conserves most of the stored air for use in the following shot. By simply pumping the rifle initially to the full 8 pumps and firing at full power, the next sequential shots only require 3 pumps* to achieve the same full power. This drastically reduces the amount of time and effort between shots, making follow up even quicker. Plus, the conservation of air greatly reduces the muzzle blast that a standard Benjamin would have. In order make the rifle less complicated to use, the ACP comes with a simple pressure sensor module which protrudes when the rifle is fully charged with air. This eliminates the risk of overcharging the rifle and locking the valve. When the pressure sensor protrudes from beneath the stock, the rifle is fully charged. Added to the innovative valve design is the reknowned SuperSear trigger, installed. This sear changes the factory trigger configuration and produces a true 2-stage trigger.
The latest MkII version comes with new features which make this rifle even better! The pressure sensor module has been modified to include a travel limiter, which eliminates the risk of the sensor causing pain while pumping. The trigger sear is replaced with a Dual-Power SuperSear, which restores the key feature of a pumper, the multiple power settings. And, while multiple power settings are handy on a standard pump rifle, the Benjamin 392 ACP MkII enters a new category as a self-sustained precharged rifle. On lower power from a fully pumped (8) charge, the ACP MkII gives 3 consistent shots at 500 fps with 14.3 grain pellets before it needs just 5 pumps to recharge!
*3 pumps are standard, but occasionally 2 or 4 pumps are required.”
$339 once upon a time.
Note, this is a Steve Woodward design, not the Robert Moss design. Different air rifles with different improvements
Also, note that it’s like a turkey! The button pops out when it’s ready!
Michael
Michael,
To this day I still like the idea of this rifle. I like it. A pumper that doesn’t work you as hard.
Doc
It went political indeed…this crazy time of mind polarization. I spend most of my life on so called education. Both – official on a university of applied science and personal. At some point in time, some point of crashing my mind with more and more information and disinformation I realized that one thing I know for sure is: I don’t know nothing for sure.
What I do know for sure about the airgunning is:
1. There is one target.
2. There is one gun.
3. There is one shooter.
Simple and beautiful. After you shot everything is crystal clear. You hit the target, or you miss it. No discussion anymore. Simple truth which is for sure. I love it.