Category Archives: Roundballs

Roundballs category

Diana model 30 gallery gun: Part 1

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Diana model 30 gallery gun
Diana model 30 gallery gun.

A history of airguns

This report covers:

  • Description
  • Caliber 4.4mm
  • The fix
  • Power was intermittent
  • Rifled
  • Discussion
  • Summary

Apparently there have been three Dianas model 30. Blue Book of Airguns calls them out and tells us the differences. Last week there was some confusion about which Diana model 30 airgun I was referring to in a comment, and when I clarified it one of our readers asked for a report. It happened that I then visited a friend who has a model 30 gallery gun, and he told me it wasn’t working. I said I would try to get it working again if I could test it for the blog, so here we go.

Description

The Diana model 30 gallery gun is a spring-piston rifle that uses a bolt to cock the mainspring. It’s similar in function to a great many other bolt-action airguns like the Schmeisser model 33, the Anschütz model 275, the Haenel model 310 that copies the Anschütz, and even the Czech models VZ35 and VZ48. All of those airguns are rifles like this one, but if we expand the list to include smoothbores we have to acknowledge the Mars models 85, 100 and 115. There are probably others I haven’t mentioned. read more

The importance of bullet-to-barrel alignment and fit: Part 3

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2

This report covers:

  • Balls
  • Patched balls
  • Results of patching
  • Conical lead bullets
  • Pellet head
  • An experiment
  • Pellet skirt
  • Summary

Before I begin, I am enroute today to the Sig factory, here in America. They are bringing in a number of writers to show us their airguns and see their factory. I will take lots of pictures and tell you all about it when I return.

But I will not be able to attend to the blog the way that I normally do. I ask those readers who have been here awhile to help the new readers, just like you always do. I will be back in my office in Texas on Friday and things will hopefully return to normal.

Today I will finish the discussion of bullet-to-barrel fit and alignment. I will begin with bullets and then transition to pellets. read more

We The People BB pistol: Part 1

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

We The People pistol
We The People commemorative BB pistol from Sig.

This report covers:

  • Texas Airgun Show
  • E Pleb Nista
  • Description
  • Sig 1911s
  • Grip safety
  • Night sights
  • Controls
  • Field strip
  • Manual
  • Realism
  • The plan

Texas Airgun Show

Well, it happened a year later than I predicted, but it happened. The Texas Airgun Shot has sold out all the spaces in the hall, they have filled all the spaces on the porches outside the hall and now they are starting to fill a large tent outside the building. What this means is there will be more dealers than ever before and that means more airguns that we have never seen! I predicted this would happen last year, but the hurricane stopped all traffic from south Texas, and it also kept a lot of others away, even though it didn’t come close to where the show was being held. read more

Air Venturi Dust Devils: Part 4

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Dust Devil box
Air Venturi Dust Devils will hit the market in a few months.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

This report covers:

  • Initial tests
  • Accuracy
  • Velocity
  • Feeding reliability
  • Unplanned test at the NRA Show
  • Hard targets with a BB gun!
  • Simple test
  • Serious test
  • Summary

This report has awaited the launch of the Air Venturi Dust Devil BBs. That happened last week, so they are now available to purchase. If you are a fan of BB guns, you need some of these!

Initial tests

I was sent a sample of these novel new BBs when they were still in the pre-production stage. The first thing I noticed was the broad band around the middle. It obviously has something to do with manufacture, but I wondered what affect it would have on accuracy and velocity stability, so those were the things I tested first. read more

The TexanSS: Part 3

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

TexanSS
TexanSS big bore air rifle from AirForce.

Part 1
Part 2

  • Different
  • The challenge
  • Start — 210-grain SWC
  • 250-grain hollowpoint
  • Heavier bullets
  • Predator “pellet”
  • What I have learned
  • Noice

I finally got out to the range to test the velocity of the AirForce TexanSS. I told reader Aaron that I would report on that as soon as possible and today is the day.

TexanSS through chronograph
It takes a chronograph to test like I did.

Different

Aaron, I discovered that the TexanSS powerplant behaves differently than the .45 Texan I told you about. Today I will reveal what I have discovered thus far.

The challenge

The TexanSS is a .45 caliber big bore air rifle that has a bullet tuner on the left side of the gun. Some folks might be tempted to call it a power adjuster, because that is what it does, but it’s not there for power. It’s there to tune the rifle for each different bullet you shoot. That gets you the best velocity and accuracy, plus you don’t waste any air. You may see that in today’s report. read more

Air Venturi Dust Devil BBs: Part 2

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Dust Devil box
Air Venturi Dust Devils will hit the market in a few months.

Part 1

This report covers:

  • How to test?
  • Test 1. A single-stack forced feed BB gun
  • Daisy BBs in the Daisy 25
  • Dust Devils in the Daisy 25
  • Power in the Daisy 25
  • Test 2. Gravity feed with a magnetic breech
  • Daisy BBs in the Red Ryder
  • Dust Devils in the Red Ryder
  • Power in the Red Ryder
  • Test 3. A CO2 gun with cartridges
  • Daisy BBs in the SAA/li>
  • Dust Devils in the SAA
  • Power in the SAA
  • Velocity comparison
  • Feeding
  • What’s next?

Today I begin testing the new Air Venturi Dust Devil BBs that you read about in Part 1. To say the interest is high is an understatement.

How to test?

How do you test something that’s so new that there isn’t much precedent? I decided on the following. In Part 1 we learned that the Dust Devils weigh about 4.35 grains, so they will go faster than conventional steel BBs that weigh about 5.1 grains. I thought that was the place to start, but with a twist.
Instead of just doing a velocity test, I thought I would select three different kinds of BB feed systems and also see how well Dust Devils feed in each of them. There are more than three types of BB feeding systems, so we won’t cover everything today, however, once we see how the Dust Devils compare to standard steel BBs we may not have to test their velocity any further in the future. We will see as this test unfolds. read more

The development of the .22 rimfire cartridge: Part 1

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

A history of airguns

This report covers:

  • Two centuries?
  • Reverend Alexander Forsyth
  • Maintainence
  • Danger
  • Percussion cap
  • Flobert
  • Gallery guns
  • Galleries again
  • Recap

Today we begin a subject that lies at the heart of the airgun. Rather than try to defend that statement at this time, I will present evidence as we go, because the body of evidence is both large and spans much of the over two centuries of the rimfire cartridge history.

Two centuries?

Wait a minute, BB. I just read on Wiki that the .22 Short — the first .22 rimfire cartridge — was patented by Smith and Wesson in 1854 and launched to the public in their new revolver in 1857. Today is 2018. That’s only 161 years. How can you say the rimfire cartridge has been in development for over 2 centuries? read more