Ruger 10/22 Air Rifle: Part 3

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2

Ruger 10/22 Air Rifle
Ruger 10/22.

This report covers:

  • First try
  • Cartridge failed to pierce
  • Second try
  • H&N Finale Match Light
  • RWS Hobby
  • Air Arms Falcon
  • Shooting characteristics
  • The second time
  • After the first four strings
  • Velocity with bolt cocked versus just trigger pulled?
  • Magazine worked easy
  • Trigger pull
  • Next
  • Summary

Today we look at the velocity and power of the new Ruger 10/22 Air Rifle. The rifle takes two 12-gram CO2 cartridges, so they went in first.

First try

On my first try I got a total of about 22 powerful shots before the velocity started dropping linearly. I won’t give the velocities, because they aren’t representative. But I will tell you that I got velocities that were just as high on this try as on the next one.

Cartridge failed to pierce

With a shot count that low I knew what had happened. One of the two cartridges had failed to pierce. The rifle was running on a single cartridge. In the beginning that doesn’t make any difference, as CO2 is a self-regulating gas, But you do run out of gas sooner, which is exactly what happened. read more

Air Venturi TR5 Multi-Shot Target Air Rifle: Part 1

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

TR5
Air Venturi TR5 repeating pellet rifle.

This report covers:

  • TR5 is a close copy of the IZH-61
  • Discovering the IZH-60
  • We bought them like hotcakes
  • The rifles
  • Accuracy!
  • Politics
  • TR5
  • The magazines
  • How to uncock the rifle
  • Read the manual
  • Importance of the TR5
  • Summary

TR5 is a close copy of the IZH-61

Today I start the report on the Air Venturi TR5 Multi-Shot Target Air Rifle. This rifle is a close copy of the IZH-61 repeater that no longer can be legally imported into this country. So, a little background is in order.

IZH-61
The IZH-61 that cannot be imported into the U.S. any longer is a unique repeating sidelever youth pellet rifle.

I have reported on the IZH -60 and -61 many times in the past.

IZH-61 Sight Options
IZH-61 magazine test
Mac tests an IZH 61 with metal clips
IZH-61 — Part 4 New gun – Now we’re cookin’!
IZH-61 – Sight options
IZH-60 Target Pro air rifle read more

Old Blue and White

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Daisy 110
Daisy’s model 110 Rocket Command BB gun.

A history of airguns

This report covers:

  • The deal
  • What is it?
  • Earlier model 26
  • Blue Book of Airguns
  • Trigger
  • Stock
  • Description
  • Sights
  • Comparison to the 27
  • Summary

Sputnik

When I was a kid in the 1950s, western movies where the big thing. We saw them in the theaters and we also saw westerns on TV. This trend continued into the 1960s, but another trend overlaid it and eventually eclipsed it. In October of 1957 the Soviet union launched the first man-made satellite into orbit. Most people know Sputnik. Technologically it was both crude and incredibly advanced. But what it did to society far eclipsed anything that it did for science!

Sputnik ushered in the space age. Until then only scientists and nerds knew anything about rockets and space travel. After then, space was all that anyone could talk about. read more

Diana model 26 breakbarrel air rifle: Part 1

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Diana 26
The Diana 26 air rifle.

A history of airguns

This report covers:

  • The deal
  • What is it?
  • Earlier model 26
  • Blue Book of Airguns
  • Trigger
  • Stock
  • Description
  • Sights
  • Comparison to the 27
  • Summary

I have written a lot about Diana air rifles over the course of this blog. A quick look finds 2 articles about the Diana model 25, and 6 articles about the Diana 27. There are probably more on each rifle, but they may be titled so I can’t find them. While I have written a lot about these Diana models, I never heard of the Diana 26 until reader Carel from the Netherlands told me he had one.

The deal

Back in February I mentioned on the blog that I would like to find a Diana model 35 to detune, just to see how sweet it could be. Carel contacted me and told me he had a nice old one I might like. Then he told me about this model 26. I had never heard of it, and he tells me they are quite scarce in Europe, too. I think the gap between the models 25 and 27 was too narrow to support another model. read more

AirForce Edge 10-meter rifle: Part 2

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Testing Baracuda FT pellets — Part 3

AirForce Edge
The AirForce Edge target rifle.

This report covers:

  • How more air helps power
  • Linked to the Baracuda FT test
  • Fill the Edge
  • The test
  • JSB Exact RS
  • H&N Finale Match Light with 4.5mm head
  • RWS Superdome
  • Sig Match Ballistic Alloy
  • I wonder…
  • Air Arms Falcon
  • RWS R10 Match Pistol with 4.5mm heads
  • More fun
  • H&N Match Green
  • Second group of Sig Match Ballistic Alloy pellets
  • Ten shots
  • Aluminum tape on the back of targets
  • Summary

Today I’m doing something fun — for me. I’m testing the accuracy potential of the AirForce Edge target rifle that reader Ridge Runner has modified by adding a larger firing chamber. There were some questions last time about how just adding an empty chamber after the regulator can add power to a regulated target rifle. Here’s how.

How more air helps power

We know that the regulator takes the high-pressure air in the reservoir and steps it down to much lower pressure. We also know — or should know — that a gun that gets filled to 3,000 psi does not put anything like that kind of pressure behind the pellet when it fires. If it puts out 1,000 psi, that’s a lot. read more

Compressor talk

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

This report covers:

  • PCPs are becoming mainstream
  • The price has dropped
  • Disco
  • Economic hostage
  • DON’T BUY A CHEAP AIR COMPRESSOR!!!!!!
  • Inexpensive compressors you can trust
  • AirForce E-Pump
  • Value compressors
  • Stand-alone operation
  • Commercial compressors
  • Even higher?
  • Consider your probable use
  • Some simple thoughts about air compressors
  • Summary

Air compressors are a product that many of us want and some even need, but they aren’t airguns, so many people dislike having to buy one. Let’s face it — for many of us a high-pressure air compressor isn’t a necessity. But it is a huge convenience.

PCPs are becoming mainstream

Ten years ago, precharged pneumatic airguns (PCP) were considered special, and by many they were called the Dark Side. Too much was uncertain about them, there were too many fears and not enough reliable information.

Most shooters knew that a PCP wasn’t as sensitive to the hold as a spring gun was and they had the potential to be far more accurate than most springers, but they seemed too complex. What fill pressure is right? Did you want a gun with a regulator? How many shots do you get on a fill? What is meant by the power curve? Could a high pressure air tank hurt you if it’s stored in your house? read more

Springfield Armory M1 Carbine BB gun: Part 1

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

M1 Carbine
Springfield Armory M1 Carbine BB gun.

This report covers:

  • Me and the M1 Carbine
  • Crosman M1 Carbine
  • The real deal
  • NOT invented by “Carbine” Williams
  • The Carbine program
  • Firepower
  • Hundreds of manufacturers
  • Three principal variations
  • Springfield Armory M1 Carbine
  • Description
  • Small details
  • No disassembly
  • Overall evaluation

Today I start the report on the M1 Carbine from Springfield Armory. I normally don’t like making comparisons, but in the case of lookalike airguns I have to. So today I will tell you what I really think about how closely this BB gun resembles the firearm it copies.

Me and the M1 Carbine

When I was a kid, I saw my first M1 Carbine at a friend’s house. Until that moment I didn’t know this firearm existed. My friend’s father had purchased his Carbine from the NRA for the magnificent sum of $20. Of course in those days that was a lot more money than it is today. It was more like $100-$150. read more