Archive for April 2012

The Industry Brand AR2078A

Monday, April 30, 2012

The Industry Brand 2078A, an excellent rifle for plinking.

I like plinking. Some of the happiest afternoons have been spent shooting targets of no great consequence — cheese puffs, spinners, little green army guys, bottle caps, tin cans, acorns and the like – in the company of my brother in law.

Now, a plinking rifle must have certain qualities that are different from what I would look for in a hunting or pest control gun or an air rifle suitable for, say, field target competition.  It must be easy to shoot, not have any bad habits, such as heavy recoil or heavy cocking effort, and not require frequent fill-ups from a tank or pump. It must also be reasonably accurate. Power, frankly, isn’t all that important.

The Industry Brand AR2078A pretty much fits the definition of a plinking rifle.  It measures 39.5 inches from buttstock to muzzle and weighs just a couple ounces shy of seven pounds without scope. The fit and finish of the wood and metal on the AR2078A is commensurate with an air rifle that costs only about  $200, base price.

The 2078A has the looks of a target rifle.

At the aft end of the AR2078A, you’ll find a rubber butt pad. The hardwood stock is setup for a right hander and has a deeply sculptured stock and nearly vertical pistol grip.  Moving forward from the pistol grip, the trigger guard is metal and so is the trigger.

The globe front sight has interchangeable inserts.

Moving forward again, the forestock is nearly flat underneath, the rounded edges. This makes the AR2078A easy to shoot from a rest.  At the end of the forestock is the CO2 reservoir and above that, the barrel which has a tapered muzzle weight and a bracket that includes the front sight.

I mounted the peep sight for testing.

The AR2078A is a bolt action single shot, and the sample that was sent to me was a .177 caliber. The receiver has dovetails for scope mounting to the rear of the breech. The AR2078A comes with two rear sights: a notch-type sight and a peep sight. I mounted the peep sight for my testing. At the end of the barrel, the globe-type front sight features interchangeable inserts.

To ready the AR2078A  for shooting, cock the action, unscrew the cap on the reservoir at the end of the forestock and drop in two 12-g CO2 cartridges; the first goes in nose-first, the second nose out. Screw the cap back down, fire the gun once, and you’re good to go.

When you lift the bolt handle, you’ll find that the bolt jumps backwards a little bit, driven by a small spring. Pull the bolt all the way back, drop a pellet into the breech, and return the bolt to its full-forward, closed breech position. It takes a bit more effort to return the bolt to its original position because you are working to cock the action. Ease the slack out of the trigger’s first stage, now squeeeeeze the trigger. Pop! The shot goes down range. Coming out of the box, the first stage is extremely light at about 10.3 oz, and the second stage measured about 1 lb. 14.9 oz.

The AR2078A launches 7.87 JSB pellets at an average of 571 fps and 5.5 gr. JSB lead-free pellets at 627 fps. JSB pellets produced roughly half-inch groups at 10 yards. In my view, that’s good enough for casual shooting at informal targets in the back yard. You can probably expect 60-70 shots out of two CO2 cartridges.

I found the AR2078A extremely pleasant to shoot.  With the globe front sight and rear peep sight, I think this would be an excellent rifle for a kind of casual “air Quigley” which would involve seeing what’s the maximum range at which you could clobber a 12 oz. beverage can. It’s a pleasant, solidly-built air rifle that delivers a lot of fun for anyone who wants to have while away some pleasant afternoons shooting with the family in the back yard.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

- Jock Elliott

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The handsome – and accurate – FX T12 FT – Part II

Monday, April 23, 2012

 

I find the FX FT very pleasing to the eye.

To ready the FX T12 FT for shooting, attach the filling probe to your high pressure pump or SCUBA tank and charge the reservoir to 200 BAR.

To load the magazine, begin by turning the transparent lid to the magazine counterclockwise until it stops. Put one pellet in the open slot on the rear (black) side of the magazine so that the tip of the pellet is pointing out of the hole. This locks the magazine spring in place.

Next, turn the magazine so that the transparent lid is facing you. Turn the lid clockwise one slot at a time and fill the slots with pellets with the tip of the pellets facing into the hole. When all the slots have been filled, slide the lid back into its starting position.

Pull the bolt lever all the way back and insert the magazine, black side toward the muzzle, into the breech from the right side. When setting up the FX T12 FT, make sure the scope mounts are high enough that no part of the scope interferes with the magazine sliding fully into place. If you are purchasing an FX T12 FT and scope from Airguns of Arizona, the good folks there can make sure you have the proper height scope rings.

 

The trigger is light and crisp.

Now you are ready to shoot. Push the bolt forward, flick off the safety, and squeeze the trigger. The first stage required only 10.4 ounces of pressure on the sample that I tested. At 1 lb. 4.4 oz., the shot went down range. This is an excellent trigger that is a pleasure to shoot, and while it is adjustable, I really can’t imagine why anyone wouldn’t be delighted with the trigger just as it comes from the factory.

The built-in moderator subdues the report of the FX FT.

The FX T12 FT launches 18.2. JSB pellets at average of 836 fps, or 28.1 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle  and delivers 50 shots per fill with a 35 fps spread. Even with the built-in barrel, there is a significant POP when the shot goes off, but it is not nearly as raucous as one would typically expect from a .22 caliber PCP generating this kind of power. Still, this is not the air rifle you want to be shooting in the back yard while your neighbor is catching up on his sleep from the night shift. But this a hunting gun and out in the field the report should be just fine.

I have yet to test an FX rifle that was anything but a tackdriver, and the FX T12 FT is no exception. At 13 yards, from a casual rest, the FX T12 FT will put pellet after pellet through the same hole. At 30 yards with JSB pellets and fitful winds, I put 5 shots into a group that measured just .625 inch edge to edge. That works out to well under half an inch center to center.

The FX T12 FT is a handsome air rifle that shoots as good as it looks. It should put a smile on the face of any air rifle enthusiast.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

- Jock Elliott

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The handsome – and accurate – FX T12 FT – Part I

Monday, April 16, 2012

The FX T12 FT is one handsome bit of goods.

I try not to get emotionally involved with the airguns I am testing. I have learned – the hard way, I might add – that beautiful rifles that make my heart go pitty-pat can also break my cardiac organ when it came down to shooting them. And I’ve seen ugly airguns that suddenly became beautiful based on their performance on the firing line. As the hot-rodders say: “There’s show, and there’s go, and the two don’t always walk hand in hand.” So I try to stay dispassionate when I crack open the box of a new airgun.

The FX T12 FT, however, snuck up on me. When I lift the lid on its carton and slid away the foam insert that cradles it, I said, “Wow, that is one good-looking air rifle!”

The cheek piece is adjustable.

And indeed it is. The T12 stretches 44.75 inches from end to end and weighs just 6.8 lbs. At the extreme aft end of the T12, you’ll find a rubber butt pad that is vertically adjustable. Just loosen a single screw and slide it up and down as needed to achieve an optimal shooting position. Forward of that is a black plastic spacer and, moving forward again, an ambidextrous hardwood stock which features an adjustable cheek piece. All you have to do is loosen a couple of set screwes and slide it to the position you want.

 

The forestock has checkering on either side.

 

Moving forward some more, the nearly vertical pistol grip has checkering on either side. Ahead of that is a black metal trigger guard which encloses a black metal trigger that is adjustable for first stage length of pull and second stage weight of pull. A couple of inches forward and underneath the forestock is a single Allen head bolt that secures the action in the stock. The forestock extends forward and has checkering on either side for a secure grip.

Beyond the end of the forestock, the air tube extends another seven inches. There is a pressure gauge at the end of the air tube and a port for a filling probe just behind it. Above the air tube is the .22 caliber Smooth Twist match-grade barrel with built-in moderator.

Moving back along the barrel toward the receiver, there is a gold colored section on the barrel where it fits into the breech block. The bolt probe is also gold colored, as is a spacer between the air tube and the receiver. On top of the receiver, fore and aft of the breech, are dovetails for mounting a scope. The breech is wide enough to allow – with a bit of fiddling – single loading of pellets but is designed primarily to accept the 12-shot self-indexing FX magazine.

The black metal bolt protrudes from the right hand side of the receiver, which is equipped with two slots for locking the bolt in either the forward or aft position. That’s it. The T12 FT is a very smart, efficient-looking air rifle, nicely highlighted with gold accents in a couple of places.

But the most important question is this: does the FX T12 FT shoot as good as it looks? Next time, we’ll find out.

Til then, aim true and shoot straight.

- Jock Elliott

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Sight, glorious sight – protect yours!

Monday, April 9, 2012

When I was a kid, I loved to watch cowboy movies on TV. A time-honored gimmick in some of them was to have an interjection: “Meanwhile, back at the ranch,” and the scene would shift to the ranch, where something important was going on.

Well, I have a “meanwhile back at the ranch story for you.” This one comes from El Rancho Elliott, where yours truly tests airguns in upstate New York. About a year ago, I noticed that I was having trouble focusing on thing with my right eye, and that a kind of halo would appear around bright lights.

I went to the eye doctor, who said that I was developing a cataract in my right eye. The cataract was changing the optical characteristics of the lens in my right eye, which was making it difficult to focus. I got a new eyeglass prescription for the right eye, and that improved focusing, but I was still having problems with halos around lights.

Over time, the problem got worse. I could still shoot well  if I was using a telescopic sight, but after a while, my general vision in my right eye was like walking around with a piece of waxed paper over my right eyeglass lens. Finally, I decided I just had to do something.

About two weeks ago, I had a cataract operation on my right eye. The doctor made a 3mm incision in my right eye, inserted an ultrasonic probe into the lens capsule, broke up the right lens, and then sucked out the remains of the lens through the probe. Next, a folded plastic lens was inserted and allowed to unfold. Before the operation, I could barely read the second line on the eye chart. Now my vision corrects to 20/25, and the doctor expects even more improvement may be possible.

Just minutes ago, I came in from testing two airguns, and what a pleasure it was to shoot with good vision in both eyes! I was even able to shoot an air rifle with globe front sight and peep rear sight, something I hadn’t been able to do for some time. I am deeply grateful for the improvement in my sight. It’s simply glorious.

All this points out that sight itself is a gift, and that the smart move for you – and me – as airgun shooters is to protect that gift. That means that whenever you shoot, you and everyone else on the shooting line should wear protective eye wear. I normally wear polycarbonate lens eye glasses to correct my vision.

If you don’t wear something similar to protect your vision, let me humbly suggest that you try these shooting glasses. In fact, pick up a few pairs so that you have enough to protect the folks on the firing line. The cost is miniscule, particularly when compared to the cost and hassle of an eye injury.

Finally, to further protect your sight, take care in your selection of targets. Remember that BBs tend to ricochet when shot against hard targets. A soft backstop works best with BBs. On the other hand, shooting resilient spherical targets with a high-powered pellet gun tends to result in the pellet coming straight back at the shooter. My favorite backstop for pellets is a pellet trap that is filled with Ductseal. The pellets bury themselves in the Ductseal and stay there. So take a tip from Uncle Jock, who just had a reminder about the importance of eyesight, and protect your eyeballs when you shoot.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

- Jock Elliott

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Defending the Garden – Part III

Monday, April 2, 2012

My first job was to check out the guns for 10-meter accuracy. While all of them come equipped with iron sights, I decided to test them with optional scope or peep sight mounted. As you might expect from telescopic sights that cost less than $30, neither the Crosman nor the Daisy scope would make any of your shooting friends insanely envious, but at the same time, if what you are looking for is a sighting device that is adequate to the task of removing vermin from the garden at relatively short range, these scopes are up to the job.

When it got down to the actual evaluation, I decided to test the air rifles at two pumping strokes less than the maximum the factory allows. Experience has shown that the extra two strokes add only a little to the velocity. Incidentally, despite what you might have heard from other sources, pump up airguns are extremely consistent in their velocity. You can even pump one up, let it sit for half an hour or more, and still get very consistent results.

At eight pumps, the Daisy 22X happily shot 1-inch (edge-to-edge) groups at 10 meters with most pellets, including Daisy MaxSpeed .22 wadcutters and Crosman .22 Premiers. Group size dropped to 3/4 inch with RW Meisterkugeln flat-nosed .22 pellets.

At 8 pumps, the Crosman 2200B was extremely finicky about pellets. It shot huge groups – some over three inches — with every pellet but the RWS Meisterkuglns. With these pellets, groups settled down to 1 1/16th inch, not a great showing, but sufficient to the job. (Crosman tells me that its quality standard for the 2200B is 1 1/2 inch groups at 10 yards, with 1 inch being typical.)

The Benjamin 392, at 6 pumps, was the least pellet-sensitive gun tested, shooting half-inch groups with almost any pellet I fed it.

Then it was time for the can test. Shooting from a sitting position at 20 meters, I shot at steel soup cans with each gun, using Meisterkugln pellets and the same number of pumps as I had used at 10 meters. All three guns easily hit the can in the center mass and punched through one side. The 392 dimpled the backside of the can trying to make an exit hole.

At 15 meters, the Benjamin 392 went in one side and out the other. The Crosman 2200B went in one side and made a large dimple on the back side. The Daisy 22X pierced on side and made a smaller dimple on the back side.

At 10 meters, both the 392 and the 2200B blew through both sides of the can like a hot knife through butter. The Daisy 22X pellet lodged in the exit hole on the backside. Note well: these shots were made with wadcutter pellets. They generally do not penetrate well, but when they do, the typically leave large wound tunnels. Dome-headed pellets certainly would penetrate more efficiently.

It is also important to note that two air rifles of the same model, but two serial numbers apart, can perform better with radically different pellets. So, just because my Crosman 2200B achieved a certain level of performance with Meisterkugln pellets, that doesn’t mean your 2200B will perform similarly with the same pellets. Testing with different pellets is the only way to find out what works in your gun.

The bottom line: The Daisy 22X pumps the easiest, offers moderate accuracy, but penetrated the least on the can test. The Crosman 2200B offers moderate pumping effort, good penetration in the can test, but the lowest accuracy. The Benjamin 392 pumps hardest, hits the hardest, and offers the most accuracy, but costs nearly twice as much as the others. As the man said: “Ya pays yer money, and ya takes yer choice.” Any of these guns could be used for defending garden at 60 feet or less, but my first choice would be the Benjamin 392 if my wallet could stand it.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

-          Jock Elliott

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