Author Archives: B.B. Pelletier

SigAir ProForce MCX Virtus AEG airsoft gun: Part 4

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Virtus AGE right
SigAir ProForce MCX Virtus AEG right side.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

This report covers:

  • A discovery!
  • The test
  • ASG 0.25-gram Open Blasters
  • TSD Bio 180 0.26-gram BBs
  • TSD 0.28-gram Tactical BBs
  • ASG 0.30gram Blaster Devil BBs
  • Full-auto
  • Summary

Today I’m shooting the Sig ProForce MCX Virtus AEG  with heavier BBs than Sig recommends. You will be able to compare today’s groups with those from Part 3 to see which BB you think is best.

A discovery!

Before we begin I need to tell you about a discovery I made. In the last report the 0.20-gram BBs that Sig supplied with the gun were not feeding well from the magazine, nor were 0.25-gram Stealth BBs. In today’s first test I had the identical problem and discovered that it isn’t the BB; it’s the magazine. It does not like feeding the last four BBs when it’s in the semiautomatic mode. So, for all of today’s test I filled the mag with way more than the 10 shots I needed and after the target was finished I went full-auto outdoors in a safe direction with the BBs that remained. All four of the BBs I tested today fed perfectly that way. read more

AirForce Edge 10-meter target rifle: Part 3

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Edge
AirForce Edge.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
AirForce Edge 10-meter target rifle: Part 1
AirForce Edge 10-meter target rifle: Part 2

A history of airguns

This report covers:

  • Accuracy day
  • Dropped a shot
  • What was happening?
  • The problem
  • Went to AirForce
  • Adjusting an Edge top hat
  • Purpose of the o-rings
  • Adjusted the top hat
  • RWS Basic
  • H&N Finale Match Light
  • RWS R10 Match Pistol
  • Sig Match Ballistic Alloy
  • Shot count
  • Off the regulator
  • One last thing
  • Summary

Oh, boy! Every once in awhile something big happens with this blog, and today is a report on such a time. This is about the AirForce Edge.

To tell the complete story I first have to tell you some bad news. I want you to read it without getting angry, because if it hadn’t happened as it did I would not be able to tell you the extraordinary news I’m about to tell you.

Accuracy day

This report was supposed to be the first test for accuracy. I knew there were going to be several accuracy tests, but this would be the first one. Except the rifle didn’t cooperate. read more

Diana 23: Part 2

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Diana 23
Diana 23.

Part 1

A history of airguns

This report covers:

The back story
Watch Ebay
Get ready
RWS Hobby
Crosman Premier Lights
JSB Exact RS
Cocking effort
Trigger pull
Summary

Today is the big day because today we discover what the velocity of my Diana 23 is. A couple readers have guessed it will be in the low 300s, and to keep the test fair I will shoot a couple lightweight pellets with perhaps one of medium weight.

The back story

I didn’t tell you where I got this Diana 23 yet, did I? I held back on that in Part one. In fact I held back on a lot more than that! Some of you who have been readers a longer time may remember that this isn’t the first Diana 23 I have tested. It is the second one. I tested the first one several years ago — from September 2013 to July 2015. The average velocity for that one was 381 f.p.s. for Hobbys and 452 f.p.s. for JSB Exact RS pellets. But I never completed that test, because the final thing I wanted to do was strip off the bluing and show you how well Blue Wonder cold blue works. Well, I stripped the metal in the early part of July, 2015, and that was as far as I got. Edith went to the hospital on July 14 and passed away on the 26 and I had projects laying everywhere that were never completed. The parts I stripped back then have now corroded again and I need to clean up the metal all over again. read more

Choosing an airgun

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

This report covers:

  • What to do?
  • Electric bicycle
  • No idea
  • A bonus
  • My eyes were opened
  • The upside
  • What I learned
  • New eyes
  • PCPs
  • Get what you want
  • Summary

I was going to do a test today, but this subject popped up and I think it should be addressed. I recently started a review of the Benjamin Fortitude Generation 2 PCP air rifle. The Fortitude Gen 2 is a price-point PCP (PPP). So far the review of that rifle is going well.

On Tuesday of this week I started my review of the Air Venturi Avenger PCP air rifle, another PPP. From our first look at that rifle it also looks very promising.

Now, some comments have said that if the airgun is a precharged pneumatic, the rifle doesn’t stand alone. You need a way to get compressed air into the rifle, and that costs more money. So, the cost of the rifle is not the end of the story for PCPs. But with a spring-piston airgun, the rifle does stand alone. Except for the pellets that all pellet guns need, everything you need to shoot is there when you purchase a spring-piston airgun. With a few exceptions like some spring-piston rifles that come without sights, I have to agree with that reasoning. read more

Benjamin Fortitude PCP air rifle Gen2: Part 3

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2

Fortitude
The Generation II Benjamin Fortitude.

This report covers:

Through the receiver
Man plans…
Power adjust instructions
Testing the rifle  at its lowest power
High power
Adjusting the power down
Air Arms Falcon pellets
How is the air?
What I haven’t told you
Summary

Today we continue the velocity test of the Benjamin Fortitude Generation 2. We are doing this because Crosman has made the Fortitude velocity adjustable by the owner. 

Through the receiver

The Fortitude allows the user to both adjust the velocity as well as depressurizing the rifle in case of an overfill or a need for maintenance. The optional degassing tool fits through the hollow head of the Allen screw that adjusts the velocity, so you use an Allen wrench to adjust power. It’s a regular 3/16-inch Allen wrench, and the head of the bolt that must be turned is near enough to the end of the receiver that the short end of the wrench will work. Both the power adjustment wrench and the degassing tool fit through an opening in the rear of the receiver. The Allen bolt head has been drilled out so the degassing tool will fit through, so don’t be fooled by the looks. read more

Air Venturi Avenger repeating air rifle: Part 1

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Avenger
Air Venturi Avenger.

This report covers:

  • The Avenger
  • The lowdown
  • Features
  • Performance
  • Description
  • Fill
  • Two gauges
  • Manual
  • Where is it made?
  • Silencer?
  • Summary

You readers know that I select the topics I write about and the guns I test. Pyramyd Air who owns this blog has given me great latitude to run the show as I see fit. And that arrangement has worked well for 15 years.

However, every once in awhile Pyramyd Air gets a product they would like me to test. They are taking a risk, because they know that I will test it and report whatever happens — both good and bad. I try not to insult anyone when I write about a product, but I also tell the truth as it unfolds, because I worry about the guy who can only afford that one airgun and may base his decision on what I write. Pyramyd Air knows that and trusts that I will be as honest as possible. read more

AirForce Edge 10-meter target rifle: Part 2

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Edge
AirForce Edge.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 1 of this series


A history of airguns


This report covers:

  • Edge production
  • Edge valve
  • Edge owners
  • The test
  • Test strategy
  • H&N Finale Match Light
  • RWS R10 Match Pistol
  • Sig Match Ballistic Alloy
  • RWS Basic
  • How fast is the regulator?
  • Shot count
  • Discussion
  • Trigger pull
  • Discharge sound
  • Summary

Today I will be shooting the AirForce Edge as a 10 meter target rifle for the first time since 2010. And this one is my own rifle! I have a lot to tell you.

Edge production

When the Texan took off in sales recently,  AirForce struggled to meet the worldwide demand and Edge production was set to the side. When you have solid orders for a thousand guns you have to address that before making 25 of another model.

That time gave AirForce a chance to think. The Edge has not been a high volume seller for them — partly because once a team or individual owns one it lasts forever and the demand goes away. And also partly because of the cost. A buyer has to be serious to spend the kind of money that an Edge sells for. Ironically the Texan that is outselling it costs even more, but those sales are too hot to ignore. Big bore airguns are the hot ticket everywhere and ever since the Texan came out this year in .50 caliber at 800+ foot-pounds they can’t make them fast enough. read more