This report covers:
- Comment
- My style
- No el-scoop-o
- The never-ares
- The OmniStorm
- The deal
- Summary
Today I’m doing a type of report that I used to do about once a year. I haven’t done one in a while and with the three-days-a-week schedule I won’t do one very often now. But when you read what I have to say today I think you’ll agree—this one was needed.
Comment
In looking for topics for this blog I read a comment posted to Part 1 of the Colt SAA pellet pistol from reader Bill who said:
“One more replica then. And quite aged ones. Could it be that PA want to promote sales of the kind? In any case I will keep trying to persuade Tom that testing newer models of air pistols, not only replicas, might be of interest to the readership here. Hatsan Velox comes to mind.”
First I have to respond. Pyramyd AIR does not tell me what to write about. In the 20+ years I have been writing this blog I think they have asked me to write about a specific product three or four times. They let me write what I want—good or bad. If you are newer to the blog type razor into the Search box and see that I once wrote seven reports about how to sharpen a straight razor! You won’t find topics like that on other airguns blogs. In fact there are people whose heads explode when stuff like that is done.
So I looked around for an airgun I could write about for Bill that was not a replica gun. And I found the Ataman AP16. I finished that series in 2020, so with the new .22 pellets that have come to the market since then I could write something fun and engaging. One problem though. The Ataman AP16 is no longer available. Oh, you will find it on some websites that don’t get updated a lot, but try to find one you can really buy. Normally that’s not a big deal but to me it is a huge deal.
“Yeah, BB, but the Ataman was too expensive! It was priced out of the competitive market.”
Is that so? Well it’s always something. Maybe that’s why I have never reviewed a Russian bullpup PCP. either.
My style
I like to wait until a product is mature enough to work well and I know it isn’t going to be abandoned / upgraded / etc. Sorry, reader Vana2, but there is a Swedish airgun maker who does just that. I used to report on their products all the time before they started changing the specs with every season change.
Once when I didn’t wait there was a Benjamin airgun I tested and discovered all its faults. The Gen 2 model fixed them, but that got me started on what Gen 2 products really are. In some cases they are fixes to products that were fielded too soon.
Other hand
On the other hand, I know that a Weihrauch spring-piston rifle is like Old Man River—always there! Try to find someone who isn’t bragging about their HW30S or HW50S or Beeman R7.
No el-scoop-o
There are some websites that “get the scoop” on the latest and greatest airguns. This blog doesn’t, but you probably know several that do. And then some of those products fail to meet their advertised objectives—not always, but sometimes. And airgunner John who lives in Keokuk, Iowa and can only afford to buy one airgun ends up with a turkey. I want to help him avoid that.
Because of that I try to hold off reporting on a product until it’s had a chance to publicly fall on its face. That makes me late on most reviews but then you don’t have to read about the wannabees that never are.
The never-ares
I can’t tell you how many airguns I have watched hit the market and evaporate within one year. You saw one that I reported on from Crosman—the Fire breakbarrel rifle. Remember that one? I did a seven-part series on it, showing a new airgunner how to break in and get used to a new airgun. I would have done a few more reports on it but, as I said in Part 7, “That’s as far as I’m going to take this report. It appears that Crosman is no longer selling the Fire.”
The OmniStorm
That brings us to the Air Venturi OmniStorm that we first saw at the 2025 SHOT Show. When Tyler Patner told me it would hit the market in May of 2025 I responded, “Oh, you mean we’ll have it by August?” It sounds like I’m dumping on Air Venturi but I’m really not.
Air Venturi OmniStorm.
The saying, There’s many a slip twixt the cup and the lip, applies to launching new products. I remember when the Umarex Hammer big bore air rifle was first launched they said it would be out in June. My joke for the next two years was, “Yeah but they didn’t say June of which year!”
The deal
And here is the deal. I know that when Air Venturi finally does launch a new product it will almost always be a good one. I say almost because anything man does can go wrong. But in my experience Air Venturi doesn’t allow that to happen very often. So, when the OmniStorm finally does arrive I plan to test it as soon as possible.
Summary
So my advice would be to cruise the other sites to learn about the latest and greatest. Come here to learn about what’s real and how it performs.
How about some reviews of top end PCP’s? I want to know what I am missing.
I think the Skout would fit the bill. I need a soothing voice when I miss…
-Yogi
Yogi,
There is one coming—I think!
BB
Yogi,
I used to own an HM1000X. I do not own it any longer.
My question to so many folks out there is why spend over $1000 when an air rifle for under $1000 will shoot just as well?
RR,
The three guys at the range that have HM’s all shoot 1/2-3/4 inch groups at 100 yards. What did your gun shoot?
-Yogi
Tom,
I wonder if anybody has developed some informal backyard friendly shooting games for beginners other than variations of kick the can? Something that can be easily set up without much special targets needed.
Siraniko
Siraniko,
This is a good idea. Can you explain it a little more?
BB
Tom and All,
Here we are, most of us happy to buy an accurate airgun and either shoot paper targets or plinking feral cans at various ranges. I’m thinking is there a way we can engage the younger generation to actually use the airguns available to them? With the collective wisdom here there should be some ideas that strike a chord. Shooting initially prone then sitting supported then kneeling before graduating to offhand is one way of keeping it varied. Springers (especially those bought from Wally world) may be given a handicap when shooting against MSPs and PCPs. Vana’s easy to make swinging targets (https://www.pyramydair.com/blog/2017/03/diy-spinner-targets/) are challenging enough at unknown ranges at various positions but not all of us are blessed to have a big backyard for it.
Siraniko
Air Gun Silhouette target shooting is fun and easy.
-Yogi
Siraniko,
I still occasionally hunt feral soda cans. I also would like you to take this idea a little further.
My buddy and I used to play airgun golf. Two practice golfballs placed at around 10 yds, and a hula hoop at around 50 yds. Try to knock your ball into the hula hoop. Plastic whiffle-ball style golfballs work OK, but the foam ones work better.
jiminpgh,
That’s a good one!
Siraniko
We kinda made up the rules as we went along. If I remember, once your ball went past the hula hoop, you started over at 10 yds. We tried it with larger plastic ball-pit balls from the dollar store, but they got torn up pretty quickly.
The dollar store is an endless source of fun targets.
I bought a small case of cheap lollipops then drilled some holes in a 2×4. The stick end of the lollipops fit into the holes. The game was to have 2 shooters, each start at one end and and try to obliterate the lollipops from each end; first one to the middle wins.
“Come here to learn about what’s real and how it performs.”
Yeah, B.B., I for one (and I’m surely not the only one) like the way you run this blog.
That’s why I’ve been reading it for years…keep up the good work! 🙂
Blessings to you,
dave
dave,
I have to agree with you. So many of the other sites I have let come and go, but it is here that I come almost every day.
Amen 🙂
Indeed! This is the one I always to first. We can not thank you enough BB Pelletier!
Since I was the one who inspired Tom for today’s blog I feel like I should make some comments. First and most important is that I don’t look for latest and greatest, certainly not in other sites. I am here many years before the “razor” series and I do not plan to leave, except only if I am blocked out. I know that I make “razor sharp” comments sometimes but never unfair or unjustified.
Now regarding my air pistols’ proposition, the Velox is not late or great entry but being a semi auto is a novelty worth reading about.
Now if it has to be Air Venturi the micro strike is an interesting concept despite being a Spa model with a stock. How about the Reximex Rpa?
Finally I admit that I myself, like Tom, don’t like that Swedish manufacturer for that same reason; bringing a latest and greatest every year.
Bill,
I considered ordering a Velox and saw that I’d already done the Sortie. Not that much different?
BB
I think they are different platforms. Not for sure.
Seems like the Golden Age of Airguns has turned into a hectic race to capture customers and their share of the market for profit at any cost. There are exceptions.
I personally don’t mind those ‘fly by night’ airguns as a collector. They are part of airgun history and can be interesting in their own way. Just be aware of what you are getting. However, an expensive rifle that will never hit what you aim at no matter what you do can be a big disappointment.
Now there are way too many new airguns to keep track of. BB makes it easy to find the best of what we are looking for.
All High-end PCPs need to be accurate so testing them is not all that important. Sales would drop immediately if they were not and the word gets out. And as BB points out, time, and the internet, will tell.
My advice, get one of the best for whatever category you want to shoot and get others for fun and diversity.
I guess I am technically a “collector”. Most of what I own is out of production. Some are waaaaaay out of production.
Those that you can still buy are “classics” of both the sproinger kind and the PCP kind. The most recent one that I bought was the .22 BSA R10 SE. It was at the end of its life cycle and has been replaced by the R12. Why? Because it is a bolt action and not a side lever. Big whoop. It will put ten pellets under a dime at twenty-five yards, and it is beautiful while doing it.
BB mentioned the OmniStorm. I am still trying to scrape up the change to get my hands on an HW90. Why would I want a cheap, Chinese copy of it when I can have the real deal?
There are airguns here at RRHFWA that are almost one of a kind and cannot be had for any amount of money. No, they are not the “latest and greatest”. So what? They are what was and what so many today aspire to be.
“I guess I am technically a collector’.”
RidgeRunner, I think you are more like a guy that owns some really classic airguns and shoots them! 😉
“Come here to learn about what’s real and how it performs.” Which is why FM has been coming here for a while now, appreciating the advice and insights shared which no doubt have saved him from wasting time and money on “turkeys,” possibly getting turned off this enjoyable pastime/hobby.
If FM were to give advice to the airgun industry – have no fear, they will not ask, what does he know? – it would be: “when designing, manufacturing and marketing your products, always go for KISS and consistency.”
Hi all – off topic here. I have a Crosman 99 and the CO2 seal where the cartridge is inserted, now leaks. In trying to find a replacement seal, I have had no success. Does anyone have any ideas where to find or adapt another product to use in place of the seal?
Thanks.
Fred (formerly of the Demokratik Peeples Republik of NJ now happily in GA)
Fred DPRoNJ,
Have you called PAir?
If they can’t help youthen: https://www.jgairguns.biz/99-c-78_89_181/crs99031-seal-p-11216.html
shootski
PS: You haven’t moved back to NJ :^0
For me staying OUT of the PR of NJ is a given i used to love that state 50 years ago.
I’m currently trying to figure out how to pole vault over MuderLAND to get to Pennsylvania and points North without needing to leave my 2A Rights behind or unloaded and locked away.
Stupid me, I hadn’t called PA. But I have found seal repair kits plus the actual part from third party sellers. I also found someone in the UK that makes a “boot” from TPU that fits over the CO2 cartridge tip and replaces the broken seal. JGAir was my first stop but they hadn’t gotten back to me.
I am planning to attend the NC show and have a table. The Crosman 99, R9, Webley Tracker and other collectibles will be for sale. Time to cull out the collection. Hey RR, be glad to let you place anything you want to sell on the table.
Thanks for getting back to me, Shootski.
Fred etc
Fred etc
Your welcome.
I hope to make it to the NC show this time if God grants me a few breaks and NO 1$ US Consulting Contract contingency activations.
shootski
B.B. and Readership,
The Side Lever Action probably moved from the BIATHLON world to other .22LR target rifles and eventually to airguns as trainers for Biathletes. Sadly most shooters are unable, or don’t know how to operate the side lever action to best effect. The action idea was to keep a gloved Biathlete’s hand coming off the grip thereby saving precious seconds. SO, if your trigger hand moves off the pistol grip of the stock during the cocking action you are doing it incorrectly.
Unfortunately many of the actions are not positioned correctly, or light, and smooth enough to do a quick thumb flick to chamber the next projectile without disturbing the hold.
If Tom tests another side lever action (straight pull) i ask that he please report on the operating technique and IF it works like an Anschutz 1827 Fortner Action or a 1727f.
I prefer a smooth old style bolt over a piece of junk side lever.
shootski
Shootski,
Have you checked out the RAW Pump action adapter kit for their side levers, Hard Air. May be too much leverage available?
Bob M,
I have…QUICKLY! It probably works given the ballbearings and apparent RAW quality but it still violates K.I.S.S. principal. It also requires removing one or the other hand from the rifle. I guess you could use it to do Arnold Style Action Cycling ;^)
As far as too much leverage could be. I have observed an adrenaline pumped guy tear off the pump grip from a Mossberg 590.
shootski
BB,
Tell Umarex you are eagerly waiting for them to send you their 400 fps CO2 pellet shooting Colt 1800’s Walker, Dragoon, Navy and New Navy Replica Revolvers for testing. I’d pay $200. for one that is as good as the SAA’s. A lot more gun.
There are plenty of notorious western celebrities to associate them with.
Bob,
Now you’re talking! A Walker Colt replica airgun. How cool that would be.
BB
B.B.,
With Lead (pb) ball loaded as in the Black Powder firearm?
Could be a PCP with a stock like this: https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/uberti-1847-colt-walker-reproduction-and-holster-belt-rig.111455/page-6
I think i would buy a stocked PCP version!
shootski
shootski,
Wow! The ideas keep getting better. I sure hope someone like Umarex is reading this!
BB
Still waiting for PCP versions of “famous auto/semi-auto weapons of WWII,” Allied and Axis. Keep the pellet/slug caliber at .177 so as not to get the PWASAPAE – People-Who-Are-Scared-And-Paranoid-About-Everything – too riled up, scared and paranoid. “Behave, FM!” -Mrs. FM
Wouldn’t be surprised, if one were to ask AI “what is PWASAPAE?,” it would come back with “it is a Neanderthal subgroup which became extinct during the Pleistocene because they were too fearful to hunt and/or gather.”
FawltyManuel,
.44 or BUST!
shootski
FM recalls his .44 S&W as a “hand buster.” Accurate, though.
FawltyManuel,
I do shoot my .44 4″ S&W with a great fitting shooter’s glove. It really helps a great deal even with the heaviest and hottest (fast powder) loads.
I have noticed that it causes some folks in other lanes to leave the range early.
shootski
Now that would be a serious must have airgun for collectors. Cost no object. I’ll bet firearms collectors would jump in as well.
It seems to me the RAW “Pump Action Kit” is a forearm sliding device so no hands off. Definitely no KISS here but simpler to cock?
Check out the KRAL arms Rambo pump action PCP
https://www.kralarms.com/rambo/
I have a Sliding Forearm / Pump cocking Kral PCP, not as tactical as the Rambo but it operates things in both directions and requires some concentration to operate. Not used to working things on the return stroke.
B0b M,
Presentation fitted wood box.
Long and short barrel; at a minimum.
Walnut stock.
Spare Cylinder.
Tools.
Accessories.
shootski
Evidently some of these vintage pistols were converted to use cartridges and a pellet could replace a percussion cap. The modifications for shooting pellets or .22 lead balls could easily be figured out. Loading would be part of the vintage shooting experience.
Shootski, something like this setup would be Outstanding!