Category Archives: maintenance

maintenance category

Beeman QB Chief precharged pneumatic rifle: Part 4

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Beeman PCP
Beeman QB Chief precharged pneumatic air rifle.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

This report covers:

  • Remove the stock
  • The stock comes off
  • The trigger housing
  • Now to adjust the trigger
  • Trigger stop screw
  • Trigger pull adjustment
  • Put the action into the stock
  • Installing the safety lever
  • Summary

Today I will discuss adjusting the trigger in the Beeman QB Chief precharged pneumatic air rifle. I promised you a tutorial on the trigger and this is it.

Remove the stock

The first step to adjusting the trigger is to take the barreled action out of the stock. On this rifle that isn’t as straightforward as it sounds. There is just a single Phillips screw holding the action in the stock, and I trust you can all deal with it. But the safety lever on the right side of the triggerguard has to also be removed for the stock to slip off the triggerguard. read more

When you need it…

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

A history of airguns

This report covers:

  • US Army pocketknife
  • Supergrade safety installation tools
  • Crosman Pellgunoil
  • Pelican light
  • Midnight Manager
  • ATF Stop Leak
  • Scragging tool
  • Over to you

Before we begin I want to wish all of the United States a happy Memorial Day. This is the day in which we remember all those who have died for our country. I remember Grady Triplett, who died in Viet Nam far too soon. We were cadets together at San Jose State College in the 1960s. I have visited his name at the Viet Nam memorial several times, and I always think of the sacrifice he made.

Today’s report will be very different. I have wanted to do it for years and just never found the right way, but today I believe that I have. I am going to share with you a few (and I mean a very few) of the tools I use all the time. Then I want you to share with us those special tools you use and why they are so special. Once you read the report, I think you’ll get the idea. read more

Chinese B3 underlever: Part 7

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

B3
The B3 underlever from China.

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

A history of airguns

This report covers:

  • Refresher
  • The test
  • Sig Match Ballistic Alloy
  • Sight adjustment
  • On a roll?
  • Air Arms Falcon
  • POI change
  • RWS R10
  • Best for last
  • JSB Exact RS
  • Summary

Today was day of learning, or perhaps I should say remembering, because today’s test of the Chinese B3 underlever took me back to my early days with spring-piston air rifles. I will explain as the report unfolds.

Refresher

I found this tired old air rifle in a pawn shop many months ago. In this series I have replaced the breech seal with a faucet washer, opened up the powerplant, lubricated the moving parts with Tune in a Tube and shot the rifle for accuracy. That was when I discovered how accurate this old Chinese underlever is. So I vowed to shoot it for accuracy once more, now that the powerplant has been tamed. read more

Sheridan Supergrade: Part 3

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Sheridan Supergrade right
My new Sheridan Supergrade is in fantastic condition, despite the wood check at the butt.

Sheridan Supergrade left
The cheekpiece makes the Supergrade stand out!

Part 1
Part 2

A history of airguns

This report covers:

  • Adjustable trigger!
  • Trigger-pull
  • Courage arrives!
  • Safety
  • Adjust the bolt handle position
  • Velocity
  • Test 1.
  • Test 2.
  • Test 3.
  • Pump effort
  • Summary

We’re back at it with the Sheridan Supergrade today. I will get to the velocity testing, but there are still a couple more surprises before that.

Adjustable trigger!

That’s right; the Sheridan Supergrade came with an adjustable trigger! Imagine that — an airgun from the 1940s with a trigger that adjusts.

The trigger adjusted in a unique way — by changing the location of the sear spring on a notched bar. To do this the rifle has to be out of the stock, which is not as straightforward as it is with some guns, so I won’t do it today. But I may work up the courage to try it at some point in our test. read more

Sheridan Supergrade: Part 2

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Sheridan Supergrade right
My new Sheridan Supergrade is in fantastic condition, despite the wood check at the butt.

Sheridan Supergrade left
The cheekpiece makes the Supergrade stand out!

Part 1

A history of airguns

This report covers:

  • Chronograph
  • How long can a multi-pump be left fully pressurized?
  • The point
  • Smith and Hatcher were right!
  • Condition of the rifle
  • Last comment

Before we start I would like to introduce you to Jake. He is the best Sheridan resource I know. Here is his website. Much of the information I have is either obtained from or corroborated on that site.

Siraniko, you were right. I’m doing Part 2 today!

Chronograph

Reader GunFun1 wondered how velocity was determined back in 1947 and 1956, when General Hatcher and W.H.B. Smith wrote their reports on the Supergrade. Well, it’s found in that book nobody wants — Smith’s Standard Encyclopedia of Gas, Air and Spring Guns of the World, by W.H.B. Smith. At least the method that Smith used is found there. It was called the Potter chronograph and occupied several rooms at H.P. White Laboratories. At its heart was a quartz crystal oscillator that cycled 100,000 times a second. read more

Beeman R9 with Vortek center-latching air piston: Part 4

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

This report covers:

  • Important discovery!
  • Analysis
  • Setup
  • JSB Exact
  • Evaluation
  • Test restructure
  • Predator Polymag
  • H&N Field Target Trophy
  • H&N Baracuda
  • Crosman Premier
  • Benjamin Cylindrical
  • Velocity comparison
  • Retest of JSB Exacts
  • Cocking effort
  • Discussion
  • Going forward
  • Testing new designs

Today I will test the Vortek Center-Latching Air Piston in the Beeman R9, with the pressure set at 50 bar, which is 725.19 psi. This is the highest pressure to which I have set the unit, so today’s velocities should be the fastest we will see.

Important discovery!

Before we begin today’s test, a remark made by reader GunFun1 to the last report triggered some unplanned testing that revealed some surprising results. He was concerned by my remark that some spring-piston guns (and that is EXACTLY what this center latching unit is) need a “wake up” shot when they are first fired. I have seen this with perhaps half of the springers I have tested over the years. Here is what he asked me. read more

The Seneca Dragonfly multi-pump pneumatic rifle: Part 1

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Seneca Dragonfly
Air Venturi Seneca Dragonfly multi-pump air rifle.

This report covers:

  • Information
  • Irony
  • First impressions
  • Sights
  • Lubrication
  • Shot it immediately
  • Trigger
  • Reader’s comment
  • How hard to pump?
  • Nostalgic
  • Summary

There are always things at the SHOT Show that I am excited about testing, and today’s rifle is one of them. The Seneca Dragonfly is a new entrant into the multi-pump world. That’s a world that doesn’t get many new guns. It’s certainly not like the spring gun world! And yet the multi-pump camp has a host of dedicated followers who love it above all other airgun powerplants. I am excited to get a chance to test something new.

Information

The internet is both a blessing and a curse for every new product. On the positive side it gives broad exposure to each new offering. On the negative side it allows for uncontrolled gossip and innuendo. People can slander something they have never seen or will never see, and many who are gullible will believe them. read more