Author Archives: B.B. Pelletier

Benjamin 310 BB gun: Part 8

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7

A history of airguns

Benjamin 310
A Benjamin 310 multi-pump BB gun from 1952.

This report covers:

  • The test
  • Hobbys
  • Sig Match Ballistic Alloy
  • H&N Baracuda Match
  • Falcon
  • Discussion
  • Summary

Today I test the Benjamin 310 BB gun with pellets. We learned in the test of BBs that the gun does like to shoot with the larger BBs. Let’s now find out how that translates to pellets.

The test

I shot the gun off a sandbag 10 meters from the target. I used the plus one pumping routine that worked so well for BBs. That works like this — the gun has air remaining from the previous shot and I pump one time after each shot. I get a stable velocity with that routine. Let’s see what she will do. read more

What is it about old guns?

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

A history of airguns

This report covers:

  • I like old airguns
  • Garand
  • Peabody
  • What about old airguns?
  • Hakim
  • Falke 90
  • FWB 124
  • Summary

Today I am writing about something that moves me as a shooter and as a writer — old guns. Because this is an airgun blog I will talk about old airguns, too, but even old firearms really get me excited. Why is that?

I like old airguns

I have been holding off on a special blog series about a Webley Mark VI pellet revolver with a battlefield finish that I have had on order since June. See — BB has to wait, just like everybody else. This revolver also comes in a plain blue finish and a silver finish that I guess passes for nickel, but it’s the battlefield finish that I want. Guns with the two other finishes are in stock and have been for months — only the battlefield finish is backordered. Why is that? Why is it that more people want something that looks worn and used, rather than something brand new and pristine? read more

Scoping problematic airguns

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

This report covers:

  • The problems
  • Problem 1 — All rifles are droopers!
  • Problem 2 — horizontal alignment
  • Problem 3 — scope eyepiece is in the wrong place
  • What is the solution?
  • Clearance
  • Summary

Today’s report was partly inspired by reader Decksniper, who asked this about the Seneca Aspen rifle:

“I am interested in the shim you used to mount the Bugbuster on the too narrow dovetail. A closeup picture would be helpful.”

I told him I would photograph the shim in the next part about the Aspen, and I will, but this morning (yesterday for you) I was faced with scoping another rifle — the Diana Stormrider Generation II PCP, and it suddenly dawned on me that scoping airguns is one of the biggest challenges I face in writing this blog. As I pondered that it occurred to me that scoping guns is a challenge for all of us. Some may not have realized what a challenge it is because they have become adept in avoiding the problem altogether, but a challenge it is. read more

Air Venturi Match pistol: Part 2

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Part 1

Air Venturi V10 pistol
Air Venturi’s V10 Match pistol.

This report covers:

  • R10 Match Pistol
  • H&N Finale Match Light
  • Sig Match Ballistic Alloy
  • Discussion
  • Cocking/pumping effort
  • Trigger pull
  • Surprise!
  • What’s happening
  • Summary

I was surprised by the amount of interest the Air Venturi Match pistol generated in Part 1. A lot of you are interested in it, so besides reviewing it in the usual fashion I’m going to show you some things about this pistol and about single stroke pneumatics in general that aren’t widely known or discussed.

Today is velocity day, so I will begin there. Because this is a target pistol I’ll test it with target pellets. It’s rated to 400 f.p.s., so let’s find out what this one does.

R10 Match Pistol

I’ll begin with the RWS R10 Match Pistol pellet that is often extremely accurate in target air pistols and even in air rifles of lower power. In the test V10 they averaged 379 f.p.s. for 10 shots. The low was 377 and the high was 383 f.p.s., so a total spread of 6 f.p.s. Single stroke airguns are usually very stable, so this low spread is not surprising. At the average velocity this pellet generated 2.23 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle. read more

Air Venturi Seneca Aspen precharged pneumatic air rifle: Part 4

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Seneca Aspen PCP
The Air Venturi Seneca Aspen precharged pneumatic air rifle.

This report covers:

  • Trigger adjustment
  • Scope mounting
  • Accuracy test
  • Air Arms domes on high power
  • H&N Baracudas with 5.53mm heads on high power
  • How is it going?
  • JSB Jumbo Monsters on high power
  • Low power
  • Air Arms domes on low power
  • Screamer!
  • JSB Monsters on low power
  • Impressions
  • Summary

Today we begin testing the accuracy of the new Air Venturi Seneca Aspen PCP with a built-in pump. I am so glad I did the extensive velocity test in Part 3, because it set me up for today’s test. There are almost limitless combinations I can test with a multi-pump that is also a PCP and has two power levels. By the time you factor in different pellets and distances, the possibilities are staggering. I need to test the rifle for accuracy but eliminate most of the peripheral possibilities. I need to find an accurate pellet, which power level it works best on and the distances at which the rifle will perform. read more

Johnson Indoor Target Gun: Part 2

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

  • Johnson Indoor Target Gun
    The Johnson Indoor Target Gun is a catapult BB gun that was made in the late 1940s for youth target practice.

Part 1

A history of airguns

This report covers:

  • Operation
  • Cocking
  • Trigger
  • Serendipity
  • Pat is not pending
  • Adjustable sights
  • Repeater
  • Summary

I was going to write about something else today, but the response to Friday’s report convinced me to stick with the Johnson. Several of you said that you enjoyed the detailed photos. Today I will tell you about how the gun is constructed and how it operates, plus some special features. Grab your coffee cup and let’s go!

Operation

The Johnson gun is a catapult gun, and in Part one I showed you the broken surgical tubing in my new gun. Now, take a look at a gun with tubing in working condition.

Johnson rubber working
This is how the rubber is supposed to look when it’s properly installed. The ends of this surgical tubing are held together with small cable ties. We are looking at the inside of the top cover of the gun. read more

Johnson Indoor Target Gun: Part 1

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Johnson Indoor Target Gun
The Johnson Indoor Target Gun is a catapult BB gun that was made in the late 1940s for youth target practice.

A history of airguns

This report covers:

  • Who was Johnson?
  • The M16
  • Airgun
  • The gun in hand
  • Discussion
  • Summary

Yes, I’m reviewing a Johnson again. For some reason I keep coming back to this one. I did a short piece on December 28 2015, and before that an article on December 22 2005. Finally I did an initial very short introductory piece on October 2, 2005. That’s a lot of articles. So, why am I writing about it again? Well, the gun we are looking at today is a nearly-new Johnson that I got in the box at the Texas Airgun Show this year. It has many thing that I can show you, plus I will do a complete report on this one. So grab your coffee, boys — this series should be good. read more