Category Archives: replica airgun

replica airgun category

Old versus new

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

A history of airguns

  • Wait
  • Old airguns
  • Pistols?
  • Broomhandle Mauser M712
  • Lookalikes
  • Get it?
  • The moral

Are old airguns better than new ones? “Yes!” says the guy who likes them for their wood and steel. He doesn’t want any plastic on his guns. It bothers him that the firearm handguns of today are made from as much plastic as steel.

Wait

Hold on, brother! That plastic Glock that offends you so much has been test-fired 30,000 shots without a major failure. The 1911 you love so dearly was praised in 1910 for shooting 6,000 shots  with the same results. The Glock endured 5 times the punishment as your venerable Browning design.

The Glock is also built for ease of manufacture. It’s so simple that a guy can build one in his workshop, starting with a plastic frame that’s 80 percent finished. All it takes is a file, a drill and some time. Oh, and a lot of money! When it’s finished he will have about as much tied up as if he had bought the gun over the counter. But it is possible. read more

SHOT Show 2018: Part 3

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2

This report covers:

  • Gamo
  • Big bores?
  • Daisy
  • Gamo Urban
  • Winchester big bores
  • Diana
  • Umarex USA
  • Cowboy Lever Action
  • Single action
  • But wait…
  • And the show goes on…

We’re back at it today. I’ll start with Gamo

Gamo

Gamo is the one company that never gives me any information about their products. A few years ago their VP of sales was very helpful, but in the last 20 years of attending the SHOT Show, that was the only time anyone helped me. So I just read the signs and try to make sense of it.

Big bores?

Gamo has a line of big bore airguns this year. They look like Bizarro copies of AirForce guns — where the size and shape are similar but nothing is quite the same. These single shots are called the TC 35 and TC 45, indicating their calibers. They have carbon fiber air reservoirs that serve as the butt of the rifle. read more

Sig Sauer Spartan BB pistol: Part 1

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Sig Spartan BB pistol
Sig Sauer Spartan BB pistol offers a lot of pistol at a budget price.

This report covers:

  • Sig firearms
  • The airgun
  • Manual safety
  • Full blowback
  • Grips
  • Finish
  • Sights
  • Trigger
  • Magazine
  • Light rail
  • Evaluation

Today we begin looking at Sig Sauer’s latest BB pistol, the Spartan. It’s a faithful copy of their Spartan 1911 firearm, which has upgraded features that put it ahead of many production 1911s. And it’s made in Japan.

Sig firearms

I will say this about Sig firearms — when they decide to make something they don’t cut corners. I never had much contact with them in the past, but since they have started making airguns I have been giving their firearms a look, as well. I am a died-in-the-wool conservative when it comes to firearms. Don’t try to sell me on a process like metal injection molding (MIM) unless it performs better than machining in some way other than just the cost to manufacture. read more

Collecting airguns: Fakes and counterfeits 4

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Scarcity Part 1
Condition Part 2
What is collecting? Part 3

A history of airguns

This report covers:

  • Counterfeiting
  • The racketeer nickel
  • Made to deceive
  • The tale
  • People want them!
  • Fake airguns
  • Refinishing and modifying
  • Personality airguns
  • The Rosetta Stone

Here we go again. Today we will look at the shady side of collecting — the works of intentional deception. In some collecting fields fakes and counterfeits are so common that they have become a whole area of study within the field. Let’s look at the oldest of all — the counterfeiting of money.

Counterfeiting

Long ago it was more possible to counterfeit money because there were fewer ways of determining whether something was fake or real. It wasn’t until old Archimedes came up with a way of knowing how much gold was present in an object (Eureka!) that people had much of a chance of knowing what was real and what wasn’t. They learned to trust the money issued by certain governments (Rome) or kingdoms (Babylon) because those authorities made every effort to police their own money. The death penalty was usually the price for counterfeiting, because the authorities did not want the expense of policing the currency. read more

Poor man’s Garand — the Hakim

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Hakim
Egyptian Hakim was a “make-do” battle rifle, designed around cheap ammo.

A history of airguns

This report covers:

  • History
  • Development
  • Innovation
  • Cartridges thrown forward
  • Hakim action
  • Accuracy
  • However…
  • Why is the Hakim the “poor man’s Garand”?
  • Corrosive ammo
  • The airgun
  • Summary

You have read about Hakims in this blog many times already, but all of them were air rifles. Today is different. Today we look at the firearm that inspired the pellet rifle trainer — the 8mm Egyptian Hakim!

History

At the end of WWII, the Egyptians found themselves in possession of tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions, of rounds of 7.92 X 57mm Mauser ammunition — the 8mm Mauser round. The Germans had stockpiled it in Egypt, thinking they would be there for a long time. When they left, there were storehouses of munitions left behind that the Egyptians inherited. read more

ASG X9 Classic BB pistol: Part 3

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

ASG X9 Classic
ASG X9 Classic.

Part 1
Part 2

This report covers:

  • The test
  • ASG Blaster BBs
  • The eye is sharp
  • Hornady Black Diamond BBs
  • Recoil
  • H&N Smart Shot lead BBs
  • Evaluation

I had to go out of town suddenly today for a family emergency and I don’t know when I’ll return. I will do the best I can with the blog. Fortunately I shot and took pictures for today’s report before this happened.

Today we look at the accuracy of the ASG X9 Classic BB pistol. Let’s get to it.

The test

I shot from 5 meters using the UTG Monopod to rest my shooting hand. Because this pistol uses a lot of gas, a fresh CO2 cartridge was installed at the start of the test.

ASG Blaster BBs

First up were ASG Blaster BBs. I learned how to load the magazine in this part of the review and it went a lot easier than in Part 2. Put the BBs in the channel of the magazine with the follower pulled all the way down. Then tip the mag slightly back and they roll down to the hole, where they drop into the mag. Loading is much faster and easier that way. read more

Crosman’s M1 Carbine BB gun: Part 3

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Crosman M1 Carbine
Crosman M1 Carbine BB gun is a classic lookalike airgun.

Part 1
Part 2

A history of airguns

This report covers:

  • The test
  • Daisy BBs
  • Hornady Black Diamond BBs
  • Accuracy spoiler
  • Air Venturi Steel BBs
  • H&N Smart Shot BBs
  • Hornady Black Diamond BBs
  • Results
  • Value
  • Summary

This is accuracy day for the Crosman M1 Carbine BB gun we are testing. I have tested this BB gun several times in the past, so I have a pretty good idea of what it can do, but there is always the hope that a new BB that hasn’t been tried will surprise us.

The test

I shot from 5 meters (16 feet 4 inches) using a UTG monopod rest to steady the gun. I was seated for this.

Daisy BBs

I have tested Daisy BBs in this gun several times in the past, so I didn’t test them again. The last time I tested them at 5 meters, I put 10 into 5.148-inches, with 9 landing in 1.354-inches. I think that one wild shot was a fluke and the 9 shots better represent what this gun will do with this BB. In fact, I learned something in this test that probably explains that wild shot. I’ll tell you about it in a moment. read more