Tag Archives: Daisy zinc-plated BBs

Sig Sauer Spartan BB pistol: Part 3

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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.

Part 1
Part 2 

This report covers:

  • The test
  • H&N Smart Shot
  • Hornady Black Diamond BBs
  • The trigger
  • Air Venturi Zinc-Plated BBs
  • Overall evaluation

It’s accuracy day for the the Sig Spartan BB pistol, and I have to tell you I am excited. The trigger on this pistol, while heavy, breaks so crisply that I am expecting good things.

The test

I shot from 5 meters, seated and resting my shooting arm on a UTG Monopod. The Spartan’s sights are fixed but they are wide enough for good accuracy and the front post is sharp. There was no problem seeing the sights on the target for a 6 o’clock hold.

H&N Smart Shot

I tried the H&N Smart Shot lead BBs first. I did that because the Spartan only got 40 good shots on a CO2 cartridge in Part 2 and I wanted the pistol to be as powerful as possible with this heavier BB.

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Sig Sauer Spartan BB pistol: Part 2

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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.

Part 1

This report covers:

  • Install the CO2 cartridge
  • Velocity with Daisy BBs
  • Recoil
  • Air Venturi Copper-Plated BBs
  • H&N Smart Shot lead BBs
  • Trigger pull
  • Shot count
  • Evaluation so far

Today we look at the velocity of the Sig Spartan BB pistol. The specs rate it at 410 f.p.s. Today we find out. I will also comment on things like the blowback and the trigger. Let’s get started.

Install the CO2 cartridge

The first step is to put a fresh CO2 cartridge in the gun. It goes into the grip, of course. Lift off the left grip panel and then pull the mainspring housing from the back of the grip. That is the lower flat part of the grip that’s has a coarse raised pattern in the metal for a better grip. In the 1911 firearm, it houses the mainspring, but on this BB pistol it’s the lever that pierces the CO2 cartridge.

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Gletcher Stechkin APS BB pistol: Part 4

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Gletcher Stechkin APS BB pistol
Gletcher’s Stechkin blowback BB pistol.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

This report covers:

  • Hornady Black Diamond
  • H&N Smart Shot
  • Daisy Match Grade shot
  • Shot uniformity and dimensions
  • Summary

Before we begin I want to alert you to the Friday blog. It’s going to be most unusual and unanticipated. It will be an historical report, but one I don’t think make of you will expect.

Today I will test the Gletcher Stechkin APS BB pistol all the ways you readers asked me to after the last test. This pistol has created a lot of interest because of its grouping ability that differs widely with the BBs used.

I shot the same way as in the last test — hand rested on the UTG Monopod. I was seated and the distance was 5 meters.

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Gletcher Stechkin APS BB pistol: Part 3

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Gletcher Stetckin APS BB pistol
Gletcher’s Stechkin blowback BB pistol.

Part 1
Part 2

This report covers:

  • The test
  • Daisy BBs
  • Correction to the hold
  • Hornady Black Diamond BBs
  • Air Venturi Copper-Plated Steel BBs
  • What gives?
  • Last group
  • Summary

This will be an interesting report. I had something astounding happen in this accuracy test, so let’s begin! Today we are looking at the accuracy of the Gletcher Stechkin APS BB pistol.

The test

I shot from a seated position at 5 meters from the target, using a UTG Monopod as a hand rest. Each group was produced by 10 BBs. I shot the pistol in the single-action mode for every shot.

Daisy BBs

I consider Daisy Premium Grade BBs to be a standard among premium BBs. They are no better than other BBs, but I have confidence that they are uniform and usually perform reliably.

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Gletcher Stechkin APS BB pistol: Part 2

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Gletcher Stetckin APS BB pistol
Gletcher’s Stechkin blowback BB pistol.

Part 1

This report covers:

  • Velocity day
  • Piercing pin
  • Daisy BBs
  • Slide stays back after the last shot
  • Air Venturi Copper-Plated BBs
  • Umarex BBs
  • Shot count
  • Don’t count on the brand of CO2 cartridge!
  • Recoil from the blowback
  • Trigger pull
  • Summary

Velocity day

We learned a lot about the Soviet Stechkin select-fire pistol in Part 1, or at least I did, when researching it. Today we discover how powerful this Gletcher Stechkin APS BB pistol is. I will also comment on the trigger and the blowback feel.

Piercing pin

The pistol is rated to shoot at 410 f.p.s., so let’s see what this one will do. Before we dive in, though, let me give you a peek at the piercing pin and corresponding CO2 cartridge seal.

Stetckin BB pistol piercing pin
The piercing pin is hard to see because it’s slightly out of focus. It’s a hollow tube that’s ground on an angle on one side to have a pointed tip on the other side. The green around it is the seal material that the face of the cartridge pushes into.

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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.

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Crosman’s M1 Carbine BB gun: Part 2

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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

A history of airguns

This report covers:

  • Cocking effort
  • 2013 test
  • Oiled the gun
  • Magazine
  • Velocity Daisy BBs
  • Air Venturi steel BBs
  • Hornady Black Diamond BBs
  • Trigger pull
  • Summary

Today we look at the velocity of Crosman’s M1 Carbine BB gun. You learned in Part 1 that this gun is based on Crosman’s V-350 powerplant which gets its name from the expected velocity — 350 f.p.s. That’s pretty hot for a BB gun — especially one from the era of the 1960s.

I may not have mentioned it before, but my Carbine weighs 5 lbs. It’s a good weight for kids. Too bad they can’t cock it!

Cocking effort

Let’s get this out of the way first. I think this will be the first time I have measured this effort, and I made a big deal of it in Part 1. So I placed the muzzle of the gun in the center of my scale and pressed down until the gun cocked. It took about 42 pounds of force to cock my gun. It was hard to measure it precisely because the gun jerked a lot while being cocked, but it was definitely greater than 38 pounds to engage the sear. No wonder kids had a hard time!

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