Spring-piston pistols | Air gun blog

The Diana model 10/Beeman 900 target pistol: Part 4

Posted on November 30, 2020 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 53 Comments

by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

The Beeman 900 pistol is another form of Diana’s model 10.

This report covers:

The test
RWS Meisterkugeln Rifle
RWS R10 Pistol
Qiang Yuan Match Grade pellets
H&N Finale Match Light
No crazy person here!
…or?
Summary

Today I’m going back to the Beeman 900 that is a rebadged Diana 10 target pistol. I didn’t do so well in Part 3 and you readers were all over me to not rest the gun directly on the sandbag, but to rest my forearms on the bag and hold the pistol loose in front of the bag. So that’s what I did today — sort of. This turns into a much larger test than planned, and isn’t that always a good thing?

The test

I shot from 10 meters and at the start of the test I rested my forearms on the bag and held the pistol in my hands in front of the bag. I shot 5-shot groups because I wanted to test a lot of different pellets and the way things turned out, I’m glad I did! read more

The Diana model 10/Beeman 900 target pistol: Part 3

Posted on November 6, 2020 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 204 Comments

by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

The Beeman 900 pistol is another form of Diana’s model 10.

Part 1
Part 2

History of airguns

This report covers:

Godfather’s Gold Gun Giveaway
Shooting the Beeman 900/Diana model 10
The test
RWS R10 Match Pistol pellets
Qiang Yuan Training pellets
Gamo Match pellets
JSB Match Heavy Weight
H&N Match Green
Discussion
Summary

Godfather’s Gold Gun Giveaway

I am selecting the winner of the Godfather’s Gold Gun Giveaway this weekend. After my selection I will contact the winner to see if the airgun is legal in his locale. I hope to announce a winner on Monday.

Shooting the Beeman 900/Diana model 10

This is a day I have long awaited. I have shot these pistols in the past, but never under my strict test conditions, so today I hope to start the “book” on this one!

The test

I shot the pistol rested at 10 meters. The pistol was rested on the sandbag, touching the bag just ahead of the triggerguard. That is okay because the Beeman 900 is recoilless. read more

The Webley Hurricane: Part 4

Posted on April 10, 2020 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 114 Comments

by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Webley Hurricane

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

A history of airguns

This report covers:

The Great Enabler
Before we test
The velocity table
Air Arms Falcon pellets
RWS Hobby pellets
What happened?
A test
Crosman Premier Lights
Do you see what is happening?
But wait!
RWS Hobbys
Air Arms Falcons
A huge lesson!
Cocking effort
Trigger pull
Summary

Today is one of the best blog articles I have ever written. A series of what what looked like minor failures turned around and became a huge success and a fantastic learning opportunity. Today we test the velocity of the recently lube-tuned Webley Hurricane.

The Great Enabler

Spouses beware! Today I will once more demonstrate how I earned the title of The Great Enabler.

Before we test

I was as much in the dark as the rest of you. I had not chronographed the Hurricane until this morning, and I knew as much as you did about what might happen. I did note that the pistol now cocks smoothly, though I doubt it is much easier than before. Maybe just a little because there is no feel from galling. It also shoots very smoothly, where before it had a slight buzz. read more

Testing the Beeman P1 for accuracy

Posted on September 17, 2014 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 63 Comments

by Tom Gaylord, The Godfather of Airguns™
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Parts 1 & 2
Part 3
Testing the BSF S20 and the Webley Hurricane

Beeman P1 is a powerful, accurate spring pistol.

This report covers:

• Where does the P1 fit?
• Which is best — Scorpion or P1?
• The accuracy test
• Crosman Premier pellets
• RWS Hobby pellets
• RWS Superdome pellets
• Analysis
• Something to remember
• Blog navigation: One more change…and we want your feedback

Today, I’ll finish the test of spring pistol accuracy at 10 meters. I’m using the same pellets and holds that have been used throughout this test, so it’s apples to apples. This time, I’m testing the Beeman P1. I’d also said I would test the Beeman P17; but since it’s not a spring gun, that’s mixing things up too much.

Where does the P1 fit?
We’ve now looked at the accuracy of 3 powerful vintage spring pistols — the BSA Scorpion, the BSF S20 Target and the Webley Hurricane. Today’s question is how does the P1 compare to these handguns?

First and foremost, the P1 is as powerful or, perhaps, slightly more powerful than the BSA Scorpion that was the clear power champ among the vintage guns. Mine puts out 7.9-grain Crosman Premier pellets at an average 508 f.p.s., compared to the Scorpion’s 497 f.p.s. average. So, they’re very close. Hobbys go out of the P1 at an average 553 f.p.s., and from the Scorpion they exit at 545 f.p.s. So, the power of the 2 airguns is pretty much equivalent.

The P1 cocks with less effort than the Scorpion, and no cocking aid is required. Once cocked, the P1 is harder to load, because the space at the breech is tight and also located inside the upper half of the receiver. The P1 trigger has it all over the Scorpion trigger. Not only is it adjustable, it’s as crisp as you could ever want.

The sights on the P1 are finely adjustable, just like the sights on the Scorpion. I would call it a wash between the two guns.

The P1 holds like a 1911 firearm, while the Scorpion has an ergonomic pistol grip that sits below the barrel. When the Scorpion fires, the gun bounces in your hand. When the P1 fires, the sensation is more solid.

Which is best — Scorpion or P1?
It probably sounds like I favor the P1, and that’s true. I like the Scorpion, also, but I favor the P1 over it. That said, the 2 guns are pretty much equivalent in everything but size. The P1 is even smaller than the Webley Hurricane, and the Scorpion is the largest air pistol in this test. So, I can’t pick a winner. In some categories, one gun beats the other, but in other categories the reverse is true.

Accuracy is a big part of why we shoot. The outcome of today’s test will suggest which gun is the winner, or at least which gun seems to dominate the others. At this point, the Scorpion is leading, with the Webley Hurricane running a close second.

The accuracy test
I decided to shoot the P1 under the same conditions as the other 3 pistols. While the 3 pellets used in the previous tests may not be the most accurate in any of the guns, all had to shoot them and should give a general indication of accuracy. All are accurate pellets that I also use in many other tests, so nothing strange is being done.

Crosman Premier pellets
The first pellet I tried was the Crosman Premier lite (7.9-grain) dome. Shooting from a rested 2-hand hold, I put 10 pellets into a 1.454-inch group at 10 meters. That’s not very good! The Scorpion put 10 of the same pellets into a 0.699-inch group. That’s less than half the size!.

Premier lite pellets did not do well in the P1. Ten went into 1.454 inches.

RWS Hobby pellets
Next up were 10 RWS Hobby pellets. They did better, going into a group that measures 0.996 inches between centers. Nine of those pellets went into 0.653 inches. In the Scorpion, Hobbys made a group that measures 1.016 inches.

RWS Hobbys did much better. Ten went into 0.996 inches, with 9 in 0.653 inches.

RWS Superdome pellets
The final pellet I tested was the RWS Superdome. Ten pellets made a group measuring 1.257 inches, with no clumping of pellets within the group. In sharp contrast, the Scorpion put 10 Superdomes into 0.877 inches, with 9 of them in 0.592 inches.

Ten RWS Superdomes made this 1.257-inch group. Also not very impressive.

Analysis
From these test results, I have to say the BSA Scorpion was the clear winner among all 4 spring-piston air pistols tested. I also have to say that I was not expecting such a result. As large and powerful as the Scorpion is, I expected it to throw its pellets all over the place, instead of stacking one on top of the other.

But before we condemn the P1, remember, that I’ve tested it before. Look at what it did at the same 10 meters with 5 RWS R10 Match Pistol pellets 3 years ago.

Five RWS R10 Match Pistol pellets at 10 yards went into 0.375 inches at 10 meters. read more

BSA Scorpion air pistol: Part 3

Posted on September 4, 2014 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 47 Comments

by Tom Gaylord, The Godfather of Airguns™
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Parts 1 & 2

BSA Scorpion

This report covers:

• Powerful air pistol!
• How the test was conducted
• The trigger
• Crosman Premier lite pellets
• The next big test
• RWS Hobby pellets
• RWS Superdome pellets
• Overall evaluation

Today, we’ll look at the accuracy of the BSA Scorpion. In a moment, I’ll tell you what this test has inspired me to do. But first, let’s look at the Scorpion’s performance downrange.

Powerful air pistol!
We saw in Parts 1 & 2 that the Scorpion is a very powerful spring-piston air pistol. It pushed pellets out the spout at the same speed as my Beeman P1, which is another powerful spring-piston airgun.

We saw this Scorpion dominate my vintage BSF S20 Target pistol, which is probably in need of some TLC, and it also bested my Webley Hurricane, which was another contemporary during the day. The legend says the first Scorpions shot faster than 600 f.p.s. and exceeded the UK legal power limit for unlicensed air pistols (6 foot-pounds at the time).

How the test was conducted
I shot the Scorpion from a rested two-hand hold at 10 meters. I used the open sights as they were set when I got the gun. I shot at a 10-meter pistol target whose large bullseye gave me a good aim point.

The Scorpion sights are sharp and crisp. All I could ask for is a taller front blade and a wider rear notch; but as you’ll see, I was able to do pretty well.

The trigger
The trigger is single-stage and breaks at 3 lbs., 12 oz. While that sounds heavy, it’s actually not. This trigger is so crisp that the let-off feels like a full pound less than it is.

Crosman Premier lite pellets
The first pellet I shot was the Crosman Premier lite 7.9-grain dome. They fell deep into the breech. But from shot No. 2, I knew they were going to shoot!

I was holding at 6 o’clock on the bull and the pellet was hitting the paper about 2.6 inches high, which is above the top of the bull. Ten Premier lites went into 0.699 inches. For an air pistol this powerful, that’s very good!

Wow! Ten Crosman Premier lites went into this 0.699-inch group at 10 meters.

I was stunned by this first group. I hadn’t expected this big powerful pistol to be so accurate. This is rivaling what a Beeman P1 can do! And it inspired me to want to know more.

The next big test read more

BSA Scorpion air pistol: Parts 1 and 2

Posted on August 25, 2014 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 55 Comments

by Tom Gaylord, The Godfather of Airguns™
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

BSA Scorpion.

This report covers:

• Brief history of the BSA Scorpion pistol
• Description
• Velocity test
• Trigger
• Sights
• Cocking effort
• Evaluation so far

Brief history of the BSA Scorpion pistol
When I first started reading about airguns in the 1970s, things were similar to today. There were always some models I couldn’t get, or guns that I had missed getting when they were new. I didn’t find out about them soon enough. It created a feeling of inferiority — as if I’d missed the party and could tell it had been a good one by the wreckage that remained.

One of the airguns I missed out on was the BSA Scorpion. BSA has never been represented very well in the U.S. anyway, and the Scorpion pistol was one of those elusive airguns I never seemed to connect with.

One of the stories told about Scorpions was they were actually breakbarrel rifle actions that had been shortened and put into a pistol stock. Like the BSF S20 pistol, you can look at a Scorpion and figure that out for yourself, even if no one told you. And, because they were made from small rifles, the very first Scorpions were supposed to exceed the 6 foot-pound power limit the UK placed on air pistols of that time. They were supposed to shoot faster than 600 f.p.s. in .177 caliber. Supposedly, the UK Home Office (the UK equivalent to the U.S. State Department) requested that BSA lower the output power of the Scorpion because of this.

I can’t tell you if any of this is fact, rumor or urban legend — but it’s true that the Scorpion is a powerful spring-piston air pistol. In its day it was one of the top 3, with the BSF S20 pistol and the Webley Hurricane pistol being the other 2.

BSA Scorpion BSF S20 Webley Hiurricane
The big three air pistols of the 1970s are (top to bottom) BSA Scorpion, BSF S20 Match and Webley Hurricane. The Webley seems dwarfed by the other two, though it’s considered to be a large air pistol in its own right. Isn’t it interesting that all three pistols have a hooded front sight?

The Scorpion is related to the Meteor rifle that we’ve already looked at, though most of the internal parts are not interchangeable. The powerplant is of a similar size. The spring tube is very wide — 1.245 inches outside diameter, compared to 1.024 inches for the BSF.

The Scorpion I’m showing today was found at a gun show about 2 months ago from a dealer who didn’t want it because it’s an airgun. I traded him a firearm he could use. The pistol is like-new in the box and has the original BSA inspection certificate, the cocking aid and the removable front sight hood. It’s the very first version of the Scorpion, as designated by the prefix letters PA in the serial number. That puts its production between 1972 and 1985.

My Scorpion is a .177 caliber, but it was also produced in .22 caliber. The second variation of the gun started in 1985 and ended in 1994, when the gun was terminated. The Mark II versions have scope grooves cut into the spring tube, but my Mark I has then too, as well as a fully adjustable rear sight. I think mine must be a late Mark I that was made as the company transitioned to the Mark II.

Description
The Scorpion is a large air pistol. It measures 15-3/4 inches overall without the cocking aid installed and a whopping 18-1/4 inches when the plastic aid is on the gun. The barrel is 8 inches of that length. The pistol weighs 56 oz., which is right up there with the heavyweights.

BSA Scorpion cocking aid mounted
The plastioc cocking aid slips over the muzzle and around the front sight base.

Where the equally large BSF S20 doesn’t recoil as much as you would expect from its size, and the smaller Webley Hurricane is actually a pussycat, the Scorpion lets you know it has power when the sear releases. It doesn’t jump in recoil like Walther LP 53. It just pulses in your hand strongly enough that you know something has happened. There’s a fair amount of high-speed vibration, but not a lot of spring twang.

The barreled action is entirely blued steel, but the trigger blade is made of the same black plastic as the one-piece stock/grip. The grip favors right-handed shooters, as it has a thumbrest cast into the left side. The angle is very ergonomic, making the pistol point like a Luger.

Trigger
The Scorpion’s single-stage trigger is adjustable via an Allen screw buried deep inside the plastic trigger blade. Access appears to be through a thin slot in the plastic triggerguard, but the slot is too thin for the right wrench, so the action has to come out of the stock — which is not a small operation! The only adjustment is the pull weight and mine is fine, so I’m going to leave it alone.

BSA Scorpion trigger adjustment
The slot in the triggerguard isn’t wide enough for the Allen wrench to pass through. The stock must be removed to adjust the trigger. read more

Why powerful mainsprings don’t always increase velocity

Posted on July 30, 2013 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 56 Comments

by Tom Gaylord, a.k.a. B.B. Pelletier

Today’s report is the one I mentioned forgetting in last Friday’s blog! Blog reader Errol reminded me about it yesterday.

I hear this so often from airgunners — how they think they’re going to add a more powerful mainspring to their airguns and increase the power. It sounds logical, but it often doesn’t work; and it nearly always doesn’t work as well as you think it should. Today, I want to discuss why that is.

Fact 1
The Weihrauch HW 35 was always considered to be one of the most powerful airguns in its day — which was the 1950s. They delivered over 700 f.p.s. when new in the 1950s; and over time, this rose to 750 f.p.s. Careful tuning could get close to 800 f.p.s. from certain guns. This model is still being made today, but now it sells because it’s so pleasant to shoot and doesn’t produce excessive power. How times change!

The HW 35 was so-named because the length of the piston stroke is 35mm. Piston stroke is the distance the piston travels from being cocked to being at rest at the end of the firing stroke. When Robert Beeman set out to make what eventually became the Beeman R1 rifle, he used the HW 35 as the starting point and increased the piston stroke to 80mm. And that’s where the additional power comes from — the piston stroke length and not the strength of the mainspring. Greater stroke length means greater swept volume, which means more air to compress for the shot. It doesn’t matter all that much how fast the air is compressed, which is the only thing a stronger mainspring does.

Fact 2
Then, there’s the story of the man who wanted to build a supersonic .22 pellet rifle. So he took the Beeman R1 as a starting point and built one that was 125 percent larger. The late Steve Vissage built a Frankenstein rifle that I documented in a report called Steel Dreams. It weighed 11 lbs., took 53 lbs. of force to cock and was larger than the R1 in every way, save one. It developed the same power! Yes, bigger mainspring and wider piston did not increase the power of the gun one iota.

Why is this true?
I know you want an explanation of why a more powerful mainspring doesn’t necessarily increase power. Here it comes:

THE MAINSPRING DOESN’T ACT DIRECTLY ON THE PELLET

The mainspring pushes the piston. The piston compresses air in front of it, and it’s that compressed air that gets behind the pellet and pushes it up to speed. The mainspring never touches the pellet. So, changing the mainspring has no direct effect on the speed of the pellet.

Here’s a good example everyone will understand. We have a house with a hollow-core door as the front door. Forget the fact that it violates all building codes — your cheap Uncle Rufus put it on when the old front door finally broke. This one was dirt cheap, which is why he got it. But your Aunt Thelma is justifiably worried about a break-in; so when Rufus is out of town, Thelma has a locksmith install a super-duper triple deadbolt lock on the door. Is that going to protect her? Of course not. Any burglar can simply break the door apart with one good kick. The lock will still be secure, but there won’t be any door attached to it.

Do any heavy mainsprings ever work?
Am I saying that heavier mainsprings never work? No, I’m not. When I was testing the Beeman R1 for my book, I installed the Mag 80 Laza Kit from Venom in England. Ivan Hancock created a drop-in kit of parts that worked well in the R1/HW 80 and increased the power. The mainspring was a very long stiff spring with thicker wire, and it was coated with a black tarry substance that I named black tar in my newsletter articles. That’s where the term black tar comes from. Black tar is also called velocity tar in some circles.

The R1 went from requiring 36 lbs. of force to cock to 50 lbs. with this kit. But the heavy mainspring was not directly responsible for the power increase. The kit also included a new piston that had 6 synthetic bearings that are now called buttons. These buttons rode against the spring cylinder walls and kept the steel piston from touching the steel spring cylinder.

Here’s the deal. The new piston was harder to slide inside the spring tube because the synthetic bearings pressed tightly against the sides of the spring tube. The powerful mainspring simply brought the piston’s speed back to parity with the factory piston. What increased the power was a combination of a better piston seal and the elimination of all piston vibration when the gun fired. The gain was just a few foot-pounds of energy, but the rifle was now getting everything the R1 design could possibly give.

A parallel in the pneumatic world
Most of you readers are aware that pneumatics work within pressure limits, and over-pressurizing them doesn’t add power — it takes it away. The reasons are different, but the end result is the same as for heavier mainsprings. The design of the gun is being overcome by one thing (the mainspring in a spring gun, or too much reservoir pressure in a pneumatic) and the performance balance is tipped toward the negative.

CAN a heavier mainspring increase the power of a springer?
Yes, it can if you also change the rest of the powerplant along with the mainspring. And no, it won’t if a heavier mainspring is all you add. The secret to more power is to balance all the components so the gun performs at its optimum. With all airguns, there’s a limit to how far you can go. Where that limit is depends on the rest of the design — the parts that are too expensive to change.

You can break your heart trying to buff up a dirt clod to a high shine. Or you can start with a gun that has some potential and make real progress by artfully changing the things that matter. The secret is to know which is which.

One last remark
Pyramyd Air is stocking the most recent issue of Airgun Hobbyist magazine. If you want to try just a single issue to see if a subscription is worthwhile, now’s your chance.