Crosman Premier lite pellets | Air gun blog

FX Dreamlite precharged air rifle : Part 5

Posted on October 30, 2019 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 45 Comments

by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

FX Dreamlite precharged pneumatic rifle.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 1 UTG 4-16 OP3 Compact scope

This report covers:

Mounting the scope
Sunscreen
Clear, clear, clear!
First target
Target two
JSB Beasts
Crosman Premier Lights give strange group(s)!
Crosman Premier Heavy
Second attempt
Summary for the UTG scope
Summary for the FX Dreamlight

Today is really two reports in one. I’m covering the new UTG 4-16 AO Compact scope and this is also the fifth report on the FX-Dreamlite precharged pneumatic air rifle. I’m glad I got back to it because I found a second good pellet for the rifle today. But first the scope.

Mounting the scope

Because the FX Dreamlite is such a drooper I tried to use the Sportsmatch 30mm high adjustable scope mounts. The would have been ideal, but they don’t work because of the FX 21-shot magazine that sticks up so high above the top of the receiver. I ended up using the True Strength mounts that came with the UTG scope and I shimmed under the scope on the rear ring. The scope barely fit so the magazine can be installed. And yes, I am aware there is a Mini FX 10-shot rotary magazine available. I just don’t have one. But that’s what this rifle needs.

The new UTG OP3 scope mounted on the Dreamlite looks like it was made for the rifle.

The 21-shot magazine just clears the scope. A 10-shot Mini Mag would be better.

Sunscreen

This UTG scope comes with a separate sunscreen that screws into the objective end of the scope. It’s three inches long, so it provides good protection from the sun. If you have never experienced it, when the sunlight falls on the objective lens it flares up as a bright spot that ruins your aim. You loose the reticle and sometimes even the target when this happens. But this new scope has you covered.

Clear, clear, clear!

Sight-in started at 12 feet and then moved to 10 meters. When I got back to the shooting distance of 25 yards I got the scope fully adjusted and the image was crystal clear. I could not see the thin black crosshair over the bull, so I turned on the illumination — exactly as I did with the Meopta Optika6! Then it was clear as a bell and I could also see the 10-dot of the bull. This scope is as clear and sharp as I told you yesterday. Now I’m going to switch to the report on the rifle, but I have more to say about the scope as we go.

First target

I sighted-in with 8.44-grain JSB Exacts that so far were the most accurate pellets for this rifle. So, the first target was a group of 10 of them. The group measures 0.454-inches between centers. It’s higher than the center of the bull to preserve my aim point. It’s also a little left of center.

The first 25-yard group of JSB Exact 8.44-grain pellets measures 0.454-inches between centers.

Target two

I adjusted the scope several clicks to the right and several clicks down and shot the second group with the same pellet. This time 10 JSB 8.44-grain pellets went into 0.388-inches at 25 yards. This group is also rounder than the last. I think I was getting into the groove. The FX trigger is light and crisp, but I shoot so many airguns that I forget how each one likes to be held and shot, and it takes some time to remember them. The Dreamlite holds steady and the trigger is superb!

This 25-yard group of JSB 8.44-grain domes measures 0.388-inches between centers.

I would also like to point out that this UTG scope is displaying absolutely no stiction. When the adjustments are made the pellets go to the new location on the first shot. That is something I seldom see in a scope test. It usually takes one or two shots to jiggle the erector tube to the new setting.

JSB Beasts

I tried the JSB Beast pellet again. This time they were all over the place and only 4 of 5 hit the target paper. They measure 2.215-inches between centers, but without shot 5 they aren’t a real group. I quit this pellet after 5 shots.

JSB Beasts are not for the FX Dreamlite.

Crosman Premier Lights give strange group(s)!

Next I tried some 7.9-grain Crosman Premier lights. Would their harder lead be better in the Smooth Twist II barrel? I only loaded 5 pellets after seeing what the JSB Beasts had done.
The first 5 Premiers went into 0.371-inches. Huzzah! Had I finally found the second good pellet for the Dreamlite? I do note that these pellets shifted off to the left on their own. The scope adjustments were not touched.

I then loaded a second five Premier Lights to complete the 10-shot group. The first shot hit the target paper an inch to the left of the last group. Huh? I had not changed a thing — and for those wondering about the barrel stability, I had not bumped the barrel when I reloaded.

These 5 Premier Lights went into an IDENTICAL 0.371-inch group whose center is about nine-tenths of an inch to the left of the first 5 shots. This is the strangest group I have ever seen and I wouldn’t believe it if I had not been there to see it! Obviously something is up, but I don’t have much to go on yet. I checked the air pressure in the reservoir and it was sitting around 180 bar at this point. That should be good. The 10 shots measure 1.158-inches between centers.

Twin 0.371-inch groups of Crosman Premier Lights are 0.9-inches apart at 25 yards. The entire groups measures 1.158-inches between centers. I have no idea what happened, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the pellet.

Crosman Premier Heavy

The last pellet I tested was the 10.5-grain Crosman Premier Heavy. Because of the previous strange double group I refilled the FX to 250 bar. I know from all the testing that’s been done that the regulator is working well in this rifle and I can trust it when it’s full.
I loaded 5 pellets and shot at the bull on the left of the paper. The first pellet barely nicked the left edge of the target paper. I shot the other 4 and got what appeared to be a tight little group that was right on the edge of the paper, but the pellet shift was noteworthy — very similar to that of the Premier Light.

Second attempt

I cranked a lot of right adjustment into the scope and shot a second group. This time 10 pellets were loaded into the mag. And, shot after shot, they kept going to the same place! After the fifth pellet I couldn’t see the hole grow any larger. Ten Premier Heavys went into 0.353-inches at 25 yards. Folks, we have a winner! This is the second pellet that the Smooth Twist barrel likes.

Ten Crosman Premier Heavy pellets went intro 0.353-inches at 25 yards. Yeah — that’s a group!

Summary for the UTG scope

The UTG Scope is everything I thought it would be. It’s clear, the reticle is very useful, the illumination works great (yes, I turned it off after shooting!), the mounts work great and the scope has zero stiction. The only concern is that this is a compact scope, so there are fewer placement options when mounting. Should you get one? Only if you are looking for a superlative small scope that won’t break the bank!

Summary for the FX Dreamlight

I am so glad I did today’s test. The Dreamlite is still sensitive to what pellets are used, but it now likes at least two.

The issue of the double group of Premier Lights needs to be investigated. I won’t tell you what I suspect so you can discuss it without any bias. But I do plan to test the rifle again to see if I am right.

If I hadn’t done this test I would have written the Dreamlite off, and that would have been unfortunate because there is a lot of innovation here. This rifle needs to be played with to sort things out as our friends in the UK would say. But there is a worthy air rifle here. It reminds me of my TalonSS with so many features and adjustments that it takes real dedication to get to know it. But the journey is worth the effort.

Diana 35: Part 3

Posted on May 31, 2019 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 148 Comments

by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Diana 35 pellet rifle.

Part 1
Part 2

A history of airguns

This report covers:

The test
Sight in
Air Arms Falcons
Season the bore
Other pellets
RWS Superdome
RWS Superpoint
Discussion
Summary

I’m testing the accuracy of the Diana 35 today. I hadn’t planned to do that before I opened the rifle and at least lubricated it, but I’m now glad that I did. The trigger on this rifle is adjusted as good as I can get it, but it’s still a bit vague where stage two begins. I think a good lubrication of the trigger parts will help that a lot. So, what you see today could improve.

Also, I note that this rifle is cocking as easily as a Diana 27, yet it is more powerful. It isn’t up to the full spec of a 35, but the cocking effort is so much less that, unless the mainspring is severely canted, I might just leave it as it is. It’s sort of exactly what I was hoping for when I dreamed the whole thing up while working on Michael’s Winchester 427/Diana 27.

The test

I’m shooting off a sandbag rest at 10 meters today, using a modified artillery hold. I’m holding the rifle more than the classic artillery hold, but not as tight as a conventional hold. With the shape of the buttstock and the slipperiness of the plastic buttplate, I can’t really hold it with a conventional artillery hold.

I’m shooting 5-shot groups, so I can shoot many more types of pellets before I get tired. That really paid off.

Sight in

I had the rear sight completely off the rifle and broken into all its parts, so a sight-in was necessary. I sighted-in with Air Arms Falcon pellets for no particular reason. The first shot hit 2 inches high and slightly to the right. It took two more shots to get in the center of the bull. After that I never adjusted the sights for the other pellets.

Air Arms Falcons

First to be tested were the Falcons I sighted-in with. The first group was well-centered but vertical. It measures 0.442-inches between the two widest shots of the 5-shot group. Not a bad start!

Five Falcon pellets went into 0.442-inches at 10 meters. Very encouraging!

Season the bore

I was so impressed by the first group that I thought I needed to shoot a second one. Then I heard you guys telling me I needed to season the bore for this pellet. Well, I won’t shoot enough for that, but I might as well shoot that second group right now.

The second group of Falcons went to roughly the same place and was even more tantalizing. Four of the pellets are in 0.123-inches. But one additional shot opened the group to 0.396-inches. I have no idea which of the five shots that one was. This rifle likes Falcon pellets.

Five Falcon pellets went into 0.396-inches with 4 in just 0.123-inches. Almost a screamer!

Other pellets

Then I tried a host of other pellets that all gave good groups but not great ones. Rather than flood you with a bunch of mediocre pictures, I’ll just list the pellets I tried.

RWS Hobby
RWS Meisterkugeln Rifle
H&N Baracuda Match with 4.53mm heads
Crosman Premier 7.9-grain
JSB Exact RS
JSB Exact Heavy pellets

The largest 5-shot group made by these pellets measures 0.718-inches between centers, so we are not talking about poor accuracy. I’m simply cutting to the chase and showing groups made by the best pellets, because we all know they are the only ones I will try, out of this batch, from this point on.

RWS Superdome

I hope you’re paying attention here, because the next two pellets both come from RWS. I think I mentioned awhile back that vintage Diana airguns favor RWS pellets. The current Diana guns do, too, though they also like other premium pellets, like those from JSB.

Five RWS Superdomes went into 0.553-inches at 10 meters. The group shifted its point of impact a little, but that’s to be expected when a heavier pellet is fired.

Five RWS Superdomes made this 0.553-inch group at 10 meters.

RWS Superpoint

The last pellet I’ll show was made by the RWS Superpoint. I wasn’t going to test it until I remembered that in my .22-caliber Diana 27 the Superpoint is one of the very best pellets. So, I gave them a try and, lo and behold, they turned in a 0.459-inch group that was just behind the two groups of Falcons.

Five RWS Superpoints made this 0.459-inch group at 10 meters.

Discussion

This 35 is one of the first, vintage .177 Dianas that has proved to be accurate for me. I include in that list the underlever Diana 50 that I tested for you a couple years ago. It did well at 10 meters, too, but fell apart at 25 yards. Of course that rifle is a taploader and I know that has some bearing on the accuracy. I haven’t shot the 35 at 25 yards yet, but I’m hoping it will do okay.

Now, as for this 35, I like it. I like the size. I like the shape of the stock. I like how easy it cocks. And I like the accuracy.

I don’t care for the trigger — yet, but I think I can do something about that. I also don’t care for the vibration and jolt when it fires, but again I believe I can fix it.

Summary

I set out to get a Diana 35 working as smooth as I could, so I would have an adult-sized air rifle that was also pleasant to shoot. So far this one is better than I was hoping for. Now — if I can just do my part!

Ruger 10/22 Air Rifle: Part 5

Posted on April 18, 2019 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 41 Comments

by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Ruger 10/22.

This report covers:

Mounting the dot sight
The R47 sight
Can you see the front sight through the dot sight?
Sight-in
The test
First group
RWS Superdome
Crosman Premier Light
Sig Match Ballistic Alloy
Ten-shot group
Discussion
Summary

Today I will test the Ruger 10/22 at 25 yards. I’m doing this so the rifle can go back to Umarex, because they are apparently waiting for it. Other writers, I suppose.

Mounting the dot sight

As I mentioned in Part 2, Umarex sent an Axeon R47 dot sight to test on the Ruger, and today I will mount it and sight it in, then test the rifle at 25 yards. To mount any aftermarket sight to a 10/22 you have to first install Weaver bases. I showed you the factory-drilled holes for those bases in Part 2. I took a new package of two-piece Weaver bases and screwed them to the top of the receiver. That took 5 minutes.

The Weaver bases screwed directly to the 10/22 receiver.

The Aexon R47 holographic dot sight was attached to the Ruger.

The R47 sight

The Aexon R47 dot sight is a holographic sight that offers a choice of 4 different reticles and 7 levels of light intensity. It adjusts via Allen screws (booooo — I would rather have controls that don’t require tools), but they have the same 3mm heads as the scope base. At least one tool does it all!

The reticles are very bright, so I used the lowest illumination for the greatest precision. I used a plain dot that is best suited to a bullseye.

Can you see the front sight through the dot sight?

No. The R47 is so much higher than the standard rear sight that it looks over the front sight altogether. You don’t need to remove anything when using this dot sight with the 10/22.

Sight-in

I sighted-in at 12 feet, then 10 meters, using RWS Supermag pellets. After three shots I was on target, and back at 25 yards it took 2 more shots to refine the zero. I wasn’t worried about an exact zero as I am testing the rifle with 4 different pellets. Group size is important — not the score. When I finished the shots were hitting the bull. I will add that the dot sight is so high that my head had to be higher on the stock to see it in line with the target.