Tag Archives: S&W

Smith & Wesson M&P 45 air pistol: Part 3

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by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2


Smith & Wesson M&P air pistol is highly realistic. It shoots both pellets and BBs.

Today is the day we answer the long-awaited question of how accurate the Smith & Wesson M&P 45 air pistol really is. Is it capable of shooting out a one-inch bullseye at 23-24 yards, as one owner claimed, or does it conform to what we know about this level of air pistol?

Two different types of ammo
For starters, this pistol shoots both BBs and pellets. Usually when a gun does that, it has to give something away for the compromise, because BBs are much smaller than pellets. They are also made of steel and cannot take the rifling; so when you shoot a BB, you have to shoot it as a smoothbore. I tried them first. read more

Smith & Wesson M&P 45 air pistol: Part 2

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by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1


Smith & Wesson M&P air pistol is highly realistic. It shoots both pellets and BBs.

Today, we’ll look at the velocity of the Smith & Wesson M&P 45 air pistol. Of course, this pistol shoots both BBs and pellets, so we’ll have to look at the velocity for both.

Two different clips
I told you in Part 1 that the pistol uses two different clips — one for BBs and the other for pellets. It’s important to use the correct clip for each type of ammunition to avoid feeding problems and possible jams. I’ll start with BBs

BBs are pushed into the black plastic clip from the side that doesn’t have the ratchet teeth. The BBs are held in by pressure, alone, so loading them correctly is important. read more

Smith & Wesson M&P 45 air pistol: Part 1

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by B.B. Pelletier

1
Smith & Wesson M&P air pistol is highly realistic. It shoots both pellets and BBs.

Today, I’ll start looking at the Smith & Wesson M&P 45 air pistol from Umarex. This is a CO2 pistol with a rifled barrel that shoots both BBs and pellets, so I know there will be a lot of readers who’ll like it. This type of air pistol is becoming more popular all the time, and nowadays a maker can use synthetics in their guns because the firearms they copy also have them.

The gun’s price is low; and according to the one review posted on the website, it’s also accurate. No, make that highly accurate, because the reviewer said he shot out a one-inch bullseye at a range of 22 to 24 yards. I find that difficult to imagine, because I would have a hard time shooting that well with a .22 target pistol, but you know I’m going to put this pistol through its paces. If it really is that accurate, this will be a best buy! read more

S&W 78G and 79G – Part 3

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by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2

Before we get started with today’s report, here are a couple of announcements. First, Dee Liady told me she is going to offer Fred’s remaining airguns at the show. When he sold his collection to Robert Beeman, Fred kept his airguns made by Gary Barnes. They will be available at the Roanoke airgun show along with any other airguns he may have had.

And, second, for AlanL., who wanted to know the velocity of a stock S&W 78G, Derrick has generously chronographed his stock pistol with the same pellets I tested in Part 2 of this report. He shot at 68 deg. F, with the muzzle 14 inches from the start screen of his Chrony Alpha chronograph. He had a bubble level attached to the gun and used a fresh CO2 cartridge for each shot string. He also adjusted power from high to low with the RWS Superdomes, so we get the entire power spectrum that’s possible with a stock 78G. read more

S&W 78G and 79G – Part 2

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by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1

Today, we’ll look at velocity and power of the S&W 78G. I’m getting reacquainted with this pistol because I’d completely forgotten how it performs. For starters, I’d sent this gun to Dave Gunter in Oregon to reseal and soup it up. Dave and I decided that I wanted the maximum power I could get from the gun, so that’s what he gave me.

Dave also told me I’d get only a few shots from a CO2 cartridge at this power level. I accepted that because I seldom shoot CO2 guns, anyway, so gas conservation isn’t high on my list, but in this case performance was.

In Part 1, I neglected to tell you about the pistol’s other modifications. At some time in the past, the former owner had the trigger turned into an adjustable one. Though it’s only a single-stage regardless of where the trigger is set, the let-off can be adjusted down into the dangerous range. It was set that way when I bought it through the internet, and I asked Dave to adjust it to a safe level as long as he was working on the gun. read more

S&W 78G and 79G – Part 1

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by B.B. Pelletier

Nobody asked for this report, but after completing the report on the Crosman Mark I and starting the report on the Crosman 2240, I thought I’d complete the circle by reporting on this pistol, as well. Why this one, you ask? Because, back in the day, the 78G was a competitor of the Mark I in both power and accuracy.

I reported on the 78G as recently as last year, but that report was thin. Now, with both the Mark I and the 2240 getting a full three-part test, I feel I have to include this gun as well, to round out the field.


This is my S&W 78G in the box. Many of these guns have their original boxes because they were sold as new old-stock just 10 years ago. read more