RWS Superdome pellets | Air gun blog

The Diana model 50 underlever: Part 4

Posted on September 11, 2017 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 29 Comments

by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Diana 50
Diana model 50 underlever.

This report covers:

Low light
The test
RWS Superdomes
RWS Superpoints
Falcon pellets
Discussion of the results
Next

Today we are back with the Diana model 50 underlever spring rifle, shooting at 25 yards. I have a couple things to tell, so let’s get started.

Low light

First, my quartz light that I always us to illuminate the target was on the fritz, so for all of today’s shooting I illuminated the target with a powerful flashlight. It wasn’t ideal, but I believe it worked okay. I learned one thing for sure — I need a backup quartz light!

I remembered to switch the front sight post to the large square-topped one that’s best for target shooting. I wouldn’t have that as an excuse for poor marksmanship!

The Hatsan Sortie PCP pistol: Part 2

Posted on September 7, 2017 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 42 Comments

by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Hatsan Sortie precharged pistol.

Part 1

This report covers:

Three magazines
Filling
RWS Superdome
Loading
H&N Field Target Trophy (5.55mm)
Hand pump
JSB Exact RS
Discharge sound
Is this a semiautomatic?
Trigger
Evaluation so far

Today we look at the power of the new Hatsan Sortie semiautomatic air pistol. I told you in Part 1 that it is a 12 foot-pound gun, so the discharge sound shouldn’t be too great, but we will find out today.

Three magazines

I didn’t show you the stuff that comes with the gun in Part 1, so let’s look at it now. First and foremost, there are three magazines in the box with the pistol. That’s very generous of Hatsan, and the two extras save you about 50 dollars! You also get a fill probe and a set of o-rings and a seal for the gun.

The Sortie comes with 3 magazines, a probe and a set of seals.

Umarex Forge combo: Part 3

Posted on August 10, 2017 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 108 Comments

by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2

Umarex Forge.

This report covers:

What we know
Say hello to my little friend!
Today’s test
JSB Exact RS
Rested on the bag
Was this a fluke?
Air Arms Falcons
Trigger report
RWS Superdomes
H&N Baracuda Match 4.50mm heads
Evaluation
HOWEVER

Today we begin seeing how accurate the Umarex Forge is. Many of us are holding a lot of hope for this air rifle, because so far it seems to have the stuff of greatness. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there was a fine air rifle priced where this one is?

What we know

To this point we have discovered several things. The power ranges from 12.8 to 14.5 foot-pounds. So it’s probably a solid 14 foot pound gun with the right pellet.

The trigger is 2-stage and breaks very heavy. I will discover more about the trigger when I shoot the rifle for accuracy today.

We know that the cocking effort is 26 lbs., which is light for a gas spring. It’s entirely suitable for the power this gun puts out.

Gamo Swarm Maxxim: Part 4

Posted on August 9, 2017 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 34 Comments

by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Gamo Swarm Maxxim repeating breakbarrel air rifle.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

This report covers:

The issues
Things I like
Recoil Reducing Rail
The scope
Sight in
First group
Second group
Third group
The best hold
Evaluation and summary
2017 Texas Airgun Show
Pyramyd Air Cup

Big day, today. We learn whether the .177 Gamo Swarm Maxxim multi-shot rifle I’m testing is accurate, or not. You may recall in the last test that the scope was the big issue. The one that comes with the rifle isn’t very clear and I attributed at least half the group size in the last test to that.

The issues

There are two issues to examine today. This first is that scope I just mentioned. The second is what kind of hold the Swarm likes. Several owners have said their Swarms like to be held firm — not with the artillery hold. A couple say it doesn’t seem to matter which hold you use. I will try holding the rifle firmly today and we will see how that affects things.

Dinosaur ballistics

Posted on July 18, 2017 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 127 Comments

by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

This report covers:

Reading room
Discussion
The absurdity of sub groups
What lit the candle?
Why?
Advertisers
10-shot groups and dinosaur ballistics

Yesterday’s series on collecting was a story that just burst out of me. I couldn’t stop it — it’s writing itself. Well, today’s report is the same way.

Reading room

Like so many of you I have a dedicated reading room in my house. It’s a small room across the hall from my office, and I go there periodically throughout the day to sit and ponder the meaning of life. I also do other things, but they aren’t the subject of this report.

I was in my reading room last Friday, flipping through the pages of the September 2017 Guns magazine, when I came across a statement that stunned me. It was the caption to a table of group sizes for the .22-caliber Ruger American Rimfire Target rifle. I’ll present it here and then discuss it.

Checking out a Diana RWS 34P: Part 6

Posted on July 11, 2017 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 99 Comments

by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

The Diana RWS 34P is a classic breakbarrel spring-piston air rifle.

This report covers:

Drooper
Sight in
The groups
One last time
Different pellets
RWS Superdomes
BKL adjustable scope mount
Summary

Today I scope Geo791’s Diana RWS 34P and shoot it for accuracy at 25 yards. We already know this rifle is accurate from the test with open sights. Today we discover how much it droops and whether enough correction is possible. Let’s start with the scope mount.

Drooper

I suspected this rifle was a drooper just because it’s a Diana 34. Most breakbarrels droop and all of the Diana 34s I have seen have had severe barrel droop. With some breakbarrels you can put shims under the rear of the scope to elevate it a little, but with this model shims usually don’t work — the droop is too great. If you used enough shims to raise it as high as it needs to go, you would damage the scope tube. So, I start out with a scope mount that’s made for a drooper. In this case I used the BKL 1-piece adjustable scope mount with 1-inch rings, because George has a scope with a one-inch tube. If this works I plan to send his rifle back to him with this mount installed, so all he has to do is mount his scope in the rings and sight in.

Checking out a Diana RWS 34P: Part 5

Posted on July 5, 2017 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 87 Comments

by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

The Diana RWS 34P is a classic breakbarrel spring-piston air rifle.

This report covers:

How to tell if the mainspring is broken
Tight piston seal
JSB Exact RS domes
RWS Hobbys
RWS Superdomes
Where are we?
Did the rifle smooth out?
Cocking effort
What are the advantages?
The rest of the story

Today we look at the results of yesterday’s tune on Geo791’s .22 caliber Diana RWS 34P. I talked to Tom Gore, the owner of Vortek, and asked what kind of results I could expect from this kit. He said this one was designed to make the rifle perform at the factory spec, but with much longer spring life. When I told him how the rifle had tested before he said he felt it was right on spec already. I felt so, as well. And of course that was with a broken mainspring.

How to tell if the mainspring is broken

Several of you have asked me whether it’s possible to know when a Diana mainspring has broken and I said no. If just one end of the spring is broken the gun will shoot smoother than before and will have the same velocity. I think the broken piece winds itself into the new end of the mainspring (it always does) and helps dampen vibration. Unless you are observing the performance of your rifle very carefully and watching for this you’ll never see it.