Posts Tagged ‘spring piston’

A question from a reader – Part II

Monday, April 15, 2013

From last week’s blog, remember that Blair wrote in, asking:

  1. In your experience, what would you recommend as the best gun (top 3 in order) and caliber to purchase in order to maintain a regular food supply? I live in Georgia in a suburban area with woods all around. (squirrels, turkey & smaller deer) I don’t plan on being a collector of numerous airguns however, price is not a limiting factor.
  2. What are your preferred scopes and range finders?
  3. Since, in theory, the electricity may be out, I will need to hand pump the rifle. What is the best (most efficient, easiest to use and reliable) pump available?

Until recently, Blair, I would have recommended a multi-stroke pneumatic rifle as your first choice since they are self-contained and easy to shoot well, but my thinking has changed. The reason? One of my favorite MSP rifles failed simply by being stored in a gun closet. One of the seals failed, and the rifle would not pump and hold air.

And that is a problem with all MSP, SSP, CO2, and PCP airguns – they are seal dependent. If a single seal fails, the air rifle may quit functioning entirely, ruining its ability to gather food for your family. So unless you intend to stock a spare seal kit and learn how to repair the air rifle you choose, I would not recommend for your purposes an airgun with an MSP, SSP, CO2 or PCP powerplant. Don’t get me wrong: there are many wonderful MSP, SSP, CO2 and PCP airguns out there, and it gives me great joy to shoot them, but in the scenario that you describe, Blair, with the lights out and the need to gather food urgent, I would go with the most reliable airgun powerplant I could find.

Spring-piston air rifles (springers), on the other hand, tend to be fail-soft. You can burn a piston seal, kink or break a spring, and they will continue to launch pellets, albeit at lower velocity. I once asked Robert Buchanan, maximum leader at Airguns of Arizona which was the most reliable airgun powerplant, and he said, “Springers. We never get them back for service.”

So I would recommend a medium-power springer in .22 caliber. Specifically, an RWS34 in .22, a Weihrauch HW95 in .22, or, if you want a somewhat lighter, less powerful air rifle, the Weihrauch HW50 (the Brits, after all, have taken a lot of game with 12 foot-pound air rifles). As to scopes, the good folks at www.airgunsofarizona.com have more experience with the reliability of different kinds of scopes than I do, but I can tell you that my very first high-quality airgun scope, a Bushnell Trophy 3-12 x 40 is still alive and well after more than a decade of airgun testing. I use a Bushnell rangefinder, but I recommend that you learn to estimate range for yourself because you may need to do it quite rapidly in a hunting situation.

In addition, Blair, I reached out to Jim Chapman, who also blogs for Airguns of Arizona on hunting topics: http://www.airgunsofarizona.com/hunting/ . He is a knowledgeable and enthusiast hunter, and I deeply respect his opinion, so I asked for his take on your questions.

Here, verbatim, is his response:

Hi Jock;

This subject comes up quite a bit, my thought is that the airgun in this situation has a limited and specific role. If I could only have one gun in a true survival situation, it would not be an airgun, but rather a .22 rimfire that I could use for small game, head shoot a deer for food, and in a last ditch effort use for defense. Ammo is cheap and you could store vast quantities and high capacity magazines if you had to use it for defense.

The role I’d have for an airgun in a survival situation would be for stealth hunting to take small game without generating a lot of noise. Plus you could store thousands of pellets that cost relatively little and take almost no room to store. If the lights went out for good, this would be invaluable for harvesting plentiful small game.

The gun I’d choose for this would be a mid powered (circa 16 fpe) spring piston airgun in .22 caliber. I find that squirrels go down faster with a .22 than a .177 with a head or body shot, and if you need the food the last thing you’d want to see is your mortally wounded squirrel disappearing into its den to die.

My personal home survival kit is a supply of food and water to last my family for some time, appropriate centerfire rifles, pistols, and shotguns for hunting and defense, my bow for stealth hunting big game, and many airguns (I have a big collection after all) for small game. We live in a suburban are bordering lots of farmland and woods, and hunting for food might come into play, but mostly I’d want firepower to defend what we have.

Maybe not what folks would like to hear from an admitted airgun fanatic, but it’s the way I see things.

Regards,

Jim

PS; If I was stuck on an island with no dangerous game and no need for defense, the same airgun discussed above would be my first choice. In the right situations an airgun could keep you fed indefinitely.

Finally, Blair, whatever airgun you choose for food gathering, it’s important that you practice your skills before the need arises. You didn’t say anything about your hunting skills, so if you are inexperienced, you need to learn how to hunt and prepare game before you are forced to learn under duress.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

-          Jock Elliott

 

 

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Posted in Airguns | 7 Comments »

A question from a reader – Part I

Monday, April 8, 2013

First things first: my heartfelt thanks to the folks who read this blog. If you didn’t read it, then the good folks at www.airgunsofarizona.com would have no reason to sponsor it. In addition, although you probably don’t realize it, the readers have frequently come to my rescue with interesting questions that would be fun and informative to write about in this blog. For example, recently, I received this email:

Dear Mr. Elliott:

I am new to airguns and think they would be a great asset to have for putting food on the table for my family in case the electricity ever went out for any period of time.

  1. In your experience, what would you recommend as the best gun (top 3 in order) and caliber to purchase in order to maintain a regular food supply? I live in Georgia in a suburban area with woods all around. (squirrels, turkey & smaller deer) I don’t plan on being a collector of numerous airguns however, price      is not a limiting factor.
  2. What are your preferred scopes and range finders?
  3. Since, in theory, the electricity may be out, I will need to hand pump the rifle. What is the best (most      efficient, easiest to use and reliable) pump available?

Thanks for your time.

Blair

Well, Blair, the questions that you pose are interesting and ones that I have thought about from time to time over the years. In addition, my answer to the question of an airgun for reliable game getting has changed recently.

We’ll get to that in a little while, but since you said you are new to airguns, first let’s take a brief survey of airgun powerplants to see which types are available.

Multi-stroke pneumatic (MSP) airguns –require multiple strokes (usually 2-10) of a lever to store compressed air in an on-board cylinder. These guns are virtually recoilless, are relatively easy to shoot well, are completely self-contained, and are suitable to taking small game. In addition, the velocity and power of the shot can be varied with the number of pumping strokes (from, say, 300 fps to 800 fps, depending upon the gun). Once it is fired, a multi-stroke pneumatic must be pumped up again.

Single-stroke pneumatic (SSP) airguns require just a single stroke to charge the gun. Single stroke pneumatics are self-contained, easy to cock, and highly consistent. They are often very accurate over distances up to 20 meters. The power of SSP rifles is usually low, shooting relatively light match-grade .177 pellets at 500-600 fps. SSP pistols are even less powerful.

Pre-charged pneumatic (PCP) airguns use air from a SCUBA tank or a high-pressure hand pump that is stored a high-pressure reservoir on the gun. Many long-range varmint air rifles use this powerplant. These guns are powerful, virtually recoil-free, very consistent, highly accurate and, in some cases, offer on-the-fly adjustable power. They are not, however, self-contained. When the compressed air in the on-board reservoir runs out, you need a SCUBA tank or high-pressure hand pump to charge the gun again.

Spring-piston airguns use a lever (sometimes the barrel, sometimes a lever under the barrel or on the side of the receiver) to cock a spring. When the trigger is pulled, the spring is released, propelling a piston forward and pushing a powerful blast of air behind the pellet. This is the same operating principle behind the beloved Red Ryder. Spring-piston guns are self-contained, often powerful, and can be very accurate as well as relatively quiet. The cocking effort – sometimes as high as 60 lbs — can be challenging in more powerful guns. In addition, the movement of the action when released can make these guns difficult to shoot with consistent accuracy. There are also gas spring guns which use a gas strut instead of a spring to store energy. In my experience, the more powerful a spring-piston air rifle, the more difficult it will be to shoot it with high accuracy.

CO2 airguns use either 12-gram cartridges or transferred from a bulk tank into the gun’s on-board reservoir. They are recoilless, convenient, and (in high quality models) very accurate, and CO2 cartridges are easy to carry in a pocket. But these guns are not self-contained and velocities can sag at lower temperatures.

Okay, Blair, that’s the background information you need to make a sensible choice of an airgun to meet your needs. Next time, we’ll get to the specific answers to your questions.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

-          Jock Elliott

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Posted in Airguns | 4 Comments »

Another cure for the wintertime blues

Monday, March 25, 2013
The RWS 240 is simplicity itself.

The RWS 240 is simplicity itself.

A short while ago, I suggested that if you’re suffering from the wintertime blues and want to get  rid of the I-can’t-wait-for-spring grumpies, a little trigger time with some pistols indoors might be just the medicine that will soothe your soul while you wait just a bit longer for the temperatures to rise and the buds to appear.

Some folks are, by personal preference, training, or genetic proclivity, pistol freaks. I have a pal who wouldn’t walk across the street to shoot the best long gun in the world, but would put himself at considerable trouble to shooting an interesting new air pistol.

I realize, though, that pistols are not everyone’s cup of tea. So, what to do if you are a long gun enthusiast and seriously can’t whack up the ginger to shoot air pistols indoors?

Fortunately, I just recently shoot the answer: the RWS Model 240 Schutze. This is a small, light, low-powered air rifle that is just the ticket for low noise, high fun shooting indoors, even at very limited range.

RWS 240 004-001

The 240 stretches 41 inches from end to end and weighs just 5.7 pounds. At the aft end, you’ll find a soft rubber butt plate that is separated from the ambidextrous hardwood stock by a black plastic spacer. The stock is entirely free of any adornment such as checkering or grooves. The pistol grip is slanted at about a 45 degree angle and forward of that, a black polymer trigger guard surrounds a folded sheet metal trigger that can be adjusted for first-stage travel.

RWS 240 007

RWS 240 005

Moving forward, the slim forestock tapers slightly and has a slot underneath to provide clearance for the cocking linkage. Forward of that, you’ll find the barrel, which has a plastic fitting on the muzzle end that serves as a mount for the fiber-optic front sight. The front sight looks like a classic globe sight but has cut-outs on the sides to allow light to illuminate the red optical fiber. Moving back along the barrel, a notch-type rear sight is mounted on the breech block. It has green optical fibers on either side so that a proper sight picture looks like green-red-green dots inside the front globe. I found the buttstock has just enough rise in the comb to provide perfect alignment for my head behind the sights.

The receiver is fitted with dovetails for mounting a scope but no holes for anti-recoil pins. I am guessing that is because this air rifle generates very little recoil. The factory manual rates the velocity at only 490 feet per second (without specifying the pellet weight), and speeds of 565 fps can be generated only by shooting very light – 7.0 grain – RWS Hobby pellets. That works out to only 4.9 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle.  At the extreme aft end of the receiver is an automatic push-pull safety. That’s all there is to the 240. This is an air rifle of extreme simplicity.

To ready the 240 for shooting, grab the end of the barrel and pull it down and back until it latches. This requires only about 19 pounds of effort and opens the breech for loading. Slide a pellet into the breech, return the barrel to its original position, take aim, slide the safety off, and squeeeeze the trigger. The first stage comes out of the trigger at 12.9 ounces, and the shot goes downrange at 5 pounds, 2 ounces. While the trigger is a wee bit heavier than I would prefer, still I found the 240 a pleasure to shoot. It easily produced dime-sized groups at 13 yards with open sights.

This is a gun you could shoot all day in the basement, and the report is very mild. It is also a low-powered air rifle, so I wouldn’t recommend it for hunting or pest control, unless it is small game at close range, and you are very confident of your shot placement. In my casual testing of penetration with the 240, I found that, at 5 yards, a 7.9 grain pellet would blow through both sides of a tin can, but at 13 yards, it would penetrate only one side of the can.

But as a plinker or an indoor practice tool, this is a lovely gun, and it would make a wonderful gift for a youngster who wants to move up from a BB gun to his or her first “serious” airgun or an adult looking for something to do while waiting for spring.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

-          Jock Elliott

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Some friendly advice for outright newbies

Monday, February 25, 2013

The business of getting into a new hobby is a curious one. I should know; I’ve started enough of them to have some experience.

At the beginning of a new field of endeavor, it looks appealing, and you’re curious: what’s airgunning all about? What’s fun about it? What are the interesting activities that you might get involved in? And you begin to think about perhaps purchasing your first airgun.

It is precisely at this point that the trouble arises. If you have had any experience at all with starting new hobbies, you know that there are two potential traps you could fall into. The first is buying a really cheap piece of gear because “you’re just trying to get a feel for the hobby without spending too much.” The trap here is that often inexpensive gear often has some deficiency that seriously interferes with enjoyment. With airguns, specifically, that might mean a nasty trigger or a harsh firing cycle.

The other trap is going full-out and buying a really expensive piece of gear that is not the right fit for what you ultimately want to do. In airguns, this might manifest itself in buying a rifle designed for 10 meter Olympic competition or field target competition when ultimately what you want to do is plink in the back yard. On the online forums, occasionally someone will pop up requesting advice on buying an airgun. Often a forum participant will respond, “What do you want to do with it?” It’s not unusual to have the reply come back: “I’m not sure.” It’s a problem: how do you know what you want to get when you don’t know what you want to do with it?

So, having said all that, this blog is an attempt to help those outright newbies who might not know what they want to do with an airgun and don’t want to make a dumb (donkey) mistake in buying their first one.

The Daisy Avanti Triumph 747

If you like the idea of pistols and think you might like to plink in the back yard or maybe even get involved in some competition down the line, but you don’t have a need to kill pests in the garden or defend the bird feeder, I have one solid recommendation for you: the Daisy Avanti Triump 747 . This is a single-stroke pneumatic air pistol that is wickedly accurate out to about 20 yards, doesn’t generate a lot of power (It is completely unsuitable for pest control), and easy to shoot and maintain. All you need is one of these, some pellets, a pellet trap and targets, and some eye protection, and you’re set for years of fun indoors and out.

The Benjamin 392

The Benjamin 392

The Webley Rebel

The Webley Rebel

But suppose you’d like to dip your toe in the waters of airgunning and need to remove pests from the garden or defend the bird feeder, and you don’t want to spend a lot of money? In that case, I would recommend a multi-stroke pneumatic air rifle. These rifles are easy to shoot well and require multiple strokes of the pumping lever before each shot. The power can be adjusted by the number of strokes. If you want to shoot with iron sights, I would recommend the Benjamin 392  with optional Williams peep sight. If you would rather have an air rifle with a scope, I would suggest the Webley Rebel  with an optional scope.

The HW30S

The HW30S

But let’s suppose that you really have no clue what you want to do with an airgun but you want something that is fun to shoot and of decent quality to get started with. In that case, I would recommend the Weihrauch HW30S in .177.  It’s easy to cock, easy to shoot well (for a spring-piston powerplant) and generates enough power for pest control at short range (say, within 50 feet as a rough guideline). You can fit an HW30 with a peep sight or a scope, and with the right pellet, the HW30 is accurate enough that people (me included) have shot them in field target competition with some success. (You won’t be able to compete head to head with the high powered guns, but you’ll still have fun.)

So that’s my friendly advice for outright newbies. Remember, all of these airguns will need a selection of pellets, a pellet trap, targets, and some eye protection. And remember the Number One rule of gun safety: never, ever, point your airgun at anything that you don’t want to see a hole in.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

-          Jock Elliott

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Posted in Airguns | 8 Comments »

The astonishing Walther LGV – Part II

Monday, February 11, 2013

Walther LGV 005

Walther makes several “claims to fame” with the new LGV.

The first is zero play in the barrel hinge, thanks to the wedge lock, and cocking rod. The cocking rod is mounted in synthetic material and backed by compression springs so that scraping, abrasion, and scoring of metal parts are eliminated.

A rotary piston eliminates friction losses and also eliminates contact with the cocking rod when the piston moves forward. Piston rings made of low-friction synthetic material ensure that the piston does not touch the compression cylinder wall and ensures smooth, quiet movement. Further, the piston has holes drilled in it to gently brake the piston at the end of the compression stroke and to reduce recoil.

The LGV uses a specially tempered valve spring with ground spring ends to safeguard straight movement. Walther further claims that the LGV will not suffer from spring fatigue if left cocked for a long time. Those are the highlights of the claims made at the LGV website, http://walther-lgv.com/

Now, I’ve come to realize that the readers of this blog are a pretty sharp bunch, and you know as well as I do that all the verbiage in the world and a clever website do not mean squat unless the claims that are made actually come to fruition in the product.

Walther LGV 007

So what’s it like to shoot the new LGV? To cock it, you first have to release the barrel lock lever, which is done easily enough by pushing up with your thumb. Then pull the barrel down and back until it latches. (I estimate this requires slightly less than 30 lbs. of effort). You’ll notice there is absolutely no spring noise, no creaks, no groans, no noise of any sort, until the cocking mechanism clicks into its latch.

Walther LGV 008

Load a pellet into the breech and return the barrel to its original position. Take aim, slide the safety off, and take the first stage out of the trigger (this requires only about 14.2 oz. of pressure). Squeeeeze the trigger. In the sample that I tested, at 3 lbs. 3.9 oz. of pressure, the shot goes down range. The shot cycle is incredibly smooth, making a kind of muted “tunng” sound as the action cycles. The recoil is remarkably subdued, compared to other spring-piston air rifles that I know and like. At the time of this writing, there is no other spring-piston or gas-ram production air rifle that rivals the new LGV for quiet and smoothness.

The LGV launches 14.3-grain .22 caliber Crosman Premier pellets at an average of 622 fps, which works out to 12.29 foot-pounds of energy that the muzzle.  At 13 yards, from a rest, I found that it would allow me to shoot the center out of the target with shot after shot. At 32 yards shooting in January under fitful winds, the LGV delivered a 5-shot group that measured 7/8 inch from edge to edge. That works out to .655 inch from center to center.

The fit and finish of the LGV are excellent. My overall impression of it is that it is incredibly fun, easy, and smooth to shoot. When I was testing it, I didn’t want to stop enjoying the supple pleasure of shooting it.

I have not been this impressed with a new air rifle in a long, long time. I have only one thing to say to the team at Walther that developed this rifle: well done!

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

-          Jock Elliott

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The astonishing Walther LGV – Part I

Monday, February 4, 2013
The new Walther LGV with optional scope.

The new Walther LGV with optional scope.

Greg from www.airgunsofarizona.com was on the phone with me, discussing what airguns he was going to send my way for testing. “Walther has come out with a new LGV,” he said.

I got excited. “Really?!! Send me one right away!”

“Whoa,” Greg said. “It’s not the same as the old LGV. It’s more of a sporting rifle, but they’ve put a lot of new technology into it.”

“Oh,” I said, wondering if the latest incarnation of the LGV would be a disappointment.

The airgun industry has been around for quite a while, and airgun manufacturers will, from time to time, bring out a new rifle bearing an old name. The last time this happened (with a manufacturer who shall be nameless), the result was a rifle that was really very disappointing on many levels.

The original Walther LGV, image courtesy of Walther.

The original Walther LGV, image courtesy of Walther.

And to set up this story properly, you need to understand that the Walther LGV was a high-precision ten-meter target rifle introduced in 1964. It was a breakbarrel rifle with a positive barrel lock that insured that the barrel hinge always returned to the same position. Original LGVs are still prized as collector’s items today, and they are still fun to shoot.

Similar to the original LGV, the new LGV also incorporates a positive barrel lock to insure that the break barrel returns to the same position every single time. More about that later. Let’s take a guide tour of the new LGV. There are several different variations of the new LGV, which you can see here http://www.airgunsofarizona.com/WaltherLGV.html I tested the LGV Master Ultra in .22 caliber. It stretches 43.25 inches from end to end and weighs 8.85 lbs before mounting a scope.

Walther LGV 009

At the rear of the LGV is a thick ventilated rubber butt pad. It is attached to a fully ambidextrous hardwood stock. There is a slight bulge and rise on either side of the buttstock for a cheek piece. The pistol is sloped at a roughly 45 degree angle and is checkered on either side and engraved with the Walther name. Ahead of the pistol grip is a black metal trigger guard that surrounds a black trigger. I believe the trigger is plastic, although it might be an alloy (a metal “tuning” trigger is available as an option, according the manual), and it is adjustable for first stage travel and for trigger weight.

Ahead of that, the forestock is unadorned and tapers slightly to the end. The underside is fairly flat-bottomed, and toward the end you’ll find a slot for the cocking mechanism. At the far end of the forestock is a lever for releasing the barrel lock. Above that is the barrel (the LGV is available in both .177 and .22) and attached to that is a large metal fitting that serves as a cocking aid, the mount for the globe front sight (which has interchangeable inserts), and a knurled barrel nut which can be unscrewed to allow the mounting of Walther’s proprietary three-chamber silencer (where legal).

Moving back along the barrel, a micro-adjustable notch-type rear sight is mounted on the breech block. Moving further aft, the rear of the receiver has dovetails for mounting a scope and three holes into which anti-recoil pins may be fitted. At the very end of the receiver, you’ll find a push-pull safety which is resettable.

That’s all there is to the Walther LGV . . . or is there? When I took the new LGV out of its box, I notice a couple of symbols on the edge of the manual. One of them said “Vibration reduction system,” and the other said “Super silent technology.”

Curious, I looked up “Walther LGV” on the Internet and found that Walther had created an entire new website devoted to this new series of rifles. Obviously, the good folks at Walther were serious about the technology they had put into this new rifle.

We’ll get into that next time, in addition to shooting the new LGV.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

-          Jock Elliott

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Posted in Airguns | 3 Comments »

The greatest Christmas gift — Part I

Monday, December 10, 2012

It’s that time of year again when one of the cable stations will run a 24-hour-marathon of A Christmas Story, that great movie based on the writings of Jean Shepherd, in which all that Ralph Parker, a nine-year-old boy, wants for Christmas is a Daisy Red Ryder BB gun.

That film really resonates with me, on a couple of different levels. One is the way I received my first BB gun was just like in the movie. For months I had been lobbying my parents to receive a BB gun for Christmas. Finally, the day had arrived. I was sitting in the living room with my Dad and Mom. The opening of presents was over, and I was disappointed. I hadn’t gotten my BB gun. But, just like in the movie, my Dad said, “Wait a minute, there’s another present over there.” And he pulled a long, slim box from behind the couch. In it was my first Daisy.

Second, there is a line at the very end of the movie that strikes a chord with me: Next to me in the blackness lay my oiled steel beauty, the greatest Christmas gift I had ever received or would ever receive . . .”

In many ways, I think many of the experiences I have had with airguns have been an attempt to recreate the joy that I felt on receiving that first BB gun. In part, it was a rite of passage. My folks were saying to me, in essence: “You’re grown up enough that we trust you with the responsibility of a gun. Used improperly, it can hurt creatures and break things. Used rightly, it will produce joy and satisfaction. Welcome to the beginning of adulthood.”

In addition, receiving that BB gun was the beginning of many happy hours for me and my Dad shooting together.

So I would like to make a most proposal: if you would like to put a huge grin on someone’s face this Christmas, why not give them an air rifle combined with the gift of your time shooting with them?

HW30 Deluxe tricked out with optional peep sight.

If you roam around www.airgunsofarizona.com, you’ll see a lot of excellent air rifles, any one of which would make a suitable present. But if I had to choose just one that would be appropriate for a beginning shooter or a seasoned airgunner, it would be an HW30. The HW30 is light, easy to cock, fully self-contained, a delight to shoot, nicely accurate and capable of taking small game out to about 30 yards or so with proper shot placement. It’s an air rifle that is kind to newbie shooters, yet an old hand will happily shoot one all day.

The HW30 is good enough that both my brother-in-law and I have shot field target with the HW30 and done reasonably well. When a ham radio buddy, frustrated by the difficulty of shooting a higher power air rifle he had purchased, asked for a recommendation for controlling squirrels in his yard, I pointed him straight at the HW30. In a later conversation, he raved about what a great choice it was.

If you want more information, you can read my review of the HW30 De Luxe here: http://www.airgunsofarizona.com/blog/2010/09/hw30s-de-luxe.html

Of course, with the HW30, you’ll want a pellet trap, a selection of pellets, some eye protection, and perhaps a scope or peep sight to go with it. Ask the good folks at www.airgunsofarizona.com, and they’ll fix you up with what you need.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

-          Jock Elliott

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The surprising Crosman TR77

Monday, December 3, 2012

The Crosman TR77 is a break barrel air rifle with some surprising characteristics.

Recently, the good folks at Crosman Corporation sent me a sample of the Crosman TR77 air rifle. Right on the box it says “Tactical Break Barrel Rifle,” and that got me to wondering: what makes an air rifle “tactical?” Then I read further: “military-style all-weather synthetic stock” and “tactical muzzle break.” Then I got it: “tactical” is really marketing shorthand for “military look.” Okay, I’ll accept that.

This is what a “tactical” break barrel looks like.

The TR77 certainly is an interesting looking rifle. It stretches 43 inches from end to end and weighs just 7 lb. 6 oz. including the CenterPoint 4X32 scope and mounts. At the extreme aft end is a rubber butt pad which is attached to a molded black synthetic stock. The stock is fully ambidextrous and has a slight rise toward the rear that functions as a cheek piece. Ahead of that is a short section of stock that has a cross section like an I-beam. Ahead of that is the main receiver with a pronounced pistol grip at a fairly steep angle. The same black polymer forms a trigger guard around a black polymer trigger and lever-type safety. Forward of that, there is a slight indentation on either side of the stock, followed by a section of forestock that has fat ridges for easier gripping.

Underneath the forward end of the forestock is a long slot that allows clearance for the barrel during cocking.  Forward of that is the barrel, which has a fluted polymer muzzle break on the end that can be gripped during cocking. Moving back along the barrel, you’ll find the breech block and main receiver. Near the aft end of the receiver, there is a dovetail for mounting the CenterPoint 4X32 scope and mounts, which are included with the TR77.

To ready the TR77 for shooting, grab the muzzle break and pull the barrel down and back until it latches. I estimate that cocking effort is in the 30-35 lb. range, and the cocking stroke is surprisingly free of creaks or groans or other noise. This opens the breech for loading. Slide a .177 pellet into the aft end of the barrel and return the barrel to its original position.  Push the safety lever forward to the FIRE position, and squeeze the trigger. The first stage requires about 2 lb. 5 oz. of effort, according to my digital trigger gauge. The second stage is long, with lots of creep, and ultimately requires 6 lb. 7 oz. of pressure.

While this is clearly an air rifle that could benefit from some trigger improvement – either a trigger job or an aftermarket trigger – I found that I could shoot reasonably well with it and produced nickel-sized five-shoot groups from a rest at 13 yards using Crosman Premier 7.9 grain .177 pellets. I suspect that I could have achieved tighter groups with a higher-power scope, but the TR77 came with the CenterPoint 4×32 scope, so that is what I used.

What really surprised me was the speed and consistency of the TR77. It put 7.9 grain Crosman Premier pellets through my chronograph at an average speed of 943 fps, and the variation from high (946) to low (940) was only 6 fps! I find that quite remarkable in an unturned, inexpensive factory air rifle. Despite the TR77’s speed, the shot cycle was not harsh, and the report was typical of a medium-power springer.

 

The butt pad can be peeled off . . .

, , , to reveal storage spaces inside.

The other surprise that the TR77 has for the shooter is that the butt pad can be peeled off to reveal two small storage chambers inside the butt stock. This really spoke to me.

Ever since I was a kid, I have had a fascination with survival scenarios. Starting with Robinson Crusoe and the stories I would read in Boy’s Life and Outdoor Life, I loved reading about people who find themselves in survival conditions and the tools and ingenuity they use to stay alive.

In particular, I remember the story of three young men who decided to paddle the length of one arctic river. They had planned pretty well, but lost some of their gear (if I recall correctly) and found themselves in a subsistence situation. It seems to be that if game were available, an air rifle might be pretty useful for keeping body and soul together. I have even written about this idea a time or two in this blog and elsewhere.

So I could envision setting the TR77 up as a survival rifle, storing a supply of pellets, an allen wrench for the scope mounts, and some fire starting materials in the cavities in the buttstock. Maybe I would wrap some parachute chord around the I-beam section of the stock. The possibilities are endless, and I think the TR77 would be a fun gun for this type of project, defending the garden, or hunting small game.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

-          Jock Elliott

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The RWS Model 48 and Vortex Crossfire II scope

Monday, October 29, 2012

From time to time the good folks at www.airgunsofarizona.com send me a care package of guns and other goodies that they think I might like to play with and test. Usually the package contains the latest offering from various airguns manufacturers.

Recently, though, the AoA gang surprised me by sending an air rifle that I had been aware of ever since I became interested in adult precision air rifles over a decade ago but had never seen or shot . . . the RWS Model 48.

Now that I have handled and shot an RWS 48, I must admit that I am really astonished that there isn’t more buzz about this air rifle on the online forums. It really is a very nice gun that performs quite well. More about that in a little while. First, let’s take a walk around the RWS Model 48.

The cocking lever is mounted on the right side of the receiver.

The RWS Model 48 is a sidelever single shot spring piston air rifle. Available in .177 or .22, it stretches 42 inches from end to end and weighs 8.5 lbs without a scope. At the extreme aft end of the 48 is a soft rubber recoil pad that is attached to the ambidextrous hardwood stock with a white plastic spacer. The stock is completely unadorned with any checkering, slots, grooves, or other decorations. The fit and finish is very pleasing to my eye, and with the exception of the cocking lever being mounted on the right side of the rifle, it looks like it could be shot equally well by right or left handed shooters.

The pistol grip has a moderate slope to it and forward of that is a black trigger guard that surrounds the black metal T06 trigger. Forward of that, the forestock is smooth and tapered. Underneath, toward the end, a large screw helps to secure the action in the stock. Forward of that is the barrel, at the end of which is a molded plastic muzzle brake that also serves as a mount for the blade-type front sight.

Moving back along the barrel, you’ll find the receiver and a notch-type microadjustable rear sight. Behind that is the breech. A silver metal breech block slides back when the cocking lever is pulled back to allow loading of pellets. Further back is a dovetail for mounting a scope, and at the back end of the receiver is a push-pull safety. That’s it – the RWS Model 48 is simplicity itself.

Before you can return the cocking level to its original position, you have to press down this small metal tab on the left hand side of the breech.

To ready the Model 48 for shooting, grab the end of the side cocking lever (I usually prop the gun on my thigh with the muzzle pointed vertically) and pull it down and back until it latches (it takes just under 40 pounds of effort). Insert a pellet in the breech. At this point, the cocking lever is locked in the full back position to prevent the breech from inadvertently snapping forward and injuring your fingers. Before you can return the cocking level to its original position, you have to press down a small metal tab on the left hand side of the breech, otherwise you can’t close the breech.

Take aim at your target, ease the first stage out of the trigger (this takes about 1 lb. 8 oz. of pressure), and begin squeezing the second stage. At about 2 lb. 9 oz., the shot is goes down range.

The RWS Model 48 delivers a serious turn of speed, launching .177 JSB Exact RS 7.33 gr. pellets at 1058 fps average (18.22 foot-pounds of energy) and JSB Exact Heavy 10.34 gr. pellets at 853 fps average (16.7 foot-pounds).  The report is about what you would expect from a springer of this power: a WHACK that sounds a bit like someone hitting a board with a hammer.

The accuracy is also what you might expect from a springer of this power. From a rest, at 25 meters (27 yards), I put five JSB Exact pellets into a group that measured .875 inch edge to edge, or just under .7 inch center to center. That’s certainly good enough for defending the garden.

The Vortex Crossfire II 4-12 x 40 AO scope seems very solidly built and has a terrific warranty.

I tested the RWS Model 48 with the Vortex Crossfire II 4-12 x 40 AO scope aboard, and I’ve got to say that I continue to be impressed with these Vortex scopes. They are bright, clear, and appear to be very solidly built. The model I tested features the Dead-Hold BDC reticle, which provides multiple aiming points. Even more impressive than the construction and the reticle of this Vortex scope is the warranty: an unlimited, unconditional lifetime warranty through Vortex Optics. Clearly, the folks at Vortex believe their scopes can withstand whatever punishment we airgunners can dish out.

I mounted the Vortex using an RWS 1-inch Lock Down Mount that is specifically designed for RWS air rifles. It offers two anti-recoil pins, a very secure grip on the scope rail, and .025 inch elevation to compensate for the barrel deflection in RWS rifles. If you’re going to mount a scope on an RWS rifle, I highly recommend this mount.

In the end, I liked the combination of the RWS Model 48 and the Vortex Crossfire II scope. It’s a flat-shooting no-frills fixed-barrel combo that should provide years of shooting fun.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

-          Jock Elliott

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Posted in Airguns | 3 Comments »

How do you know if it’s you or the gun?

Monday, September 10, 2012

Wives . . . you gotta look out for them, ‘cause sometimes they will nail you with an insight that is just cosmic in its significance.

Here’s what happened, I was wandering through the house this am when I noticed the book my wife was reading. About two-thirds of the way down the front cover was a cloverleaf which, in this case, was a symbol for the Holy Trinity. For me, though, it brought something else to mind.

“You know,” I said, “just the other day when I was visiting with the airgun benchrest folks, I shot Todd Banks’ air rifle and produced a group just like that – a little tiny cloverleaf. It’s a really, really (I could have added a couple of more reallys) accurate gun.”

“Okay,” she said, “but weren’t you telling someone a story today about a day when you shot two air rifles, got the same crummy results, and concluded that you were the problem?”

“Yeah, so?”

“Well, how do you know that you weren’t shooting extra good when you got that cloverleaf? How do you know if it’s you or the gun?” she asked.

All I could say was: “Wow, sweetie, that is a darn good question . . . a DARN good question . . . how DO you know if it is you or the gun?”

So, in this blog I am going to attempt to make some progress on answering that question, but bear in mind that I don’t claim to have all the answers. So if any of the good readers of this blog have their own methods of sorting out whether it is you or the gun, you are cordially invited to post in the comments section of this blog.

From a theoretical standpoint, I think there are two key concepts in figuring out whether it’s you or the gun: (1) look for common factors and (2) eliminate variables.

Look for common factors. The day on which I shot two guns and got crummy results with both is a classic example of spotting the common factor. I was shooting a springer in the side yard and could not get it to group better than 1.5 inches at 20 yards. I stormed into the house, muttering darkly under my breath: “those darned springers are soooo difficult to shoot well . . .” I then grabbed a precharged rifle which I knew was a tack-driving sonofagun, shot it at 20 yards, and got nearly identical results. What’s the common factor here? The guy behind the trigger.

But if you shoot two different guns and get a good result with one gun and a bad result with the other, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you are not the cause of the bad result. I had a perfect example of that a few years back at a field target match. One of the fellows was shooting Hunter Division with a springer, and he beat me, fair and square, with a tuned springer. Afterwards, I asked if I could try his gun. I tried six times to drop a large target at close range and failed miserably, so much so that he thought maybe something had broken in his scope. He took the gun from me and promptly dropped the target. The problem was that I wasn’t holding his springer the way that he did. If I wanted to shoot his gun, I would probably have to re-zero it.

Here are some common factors you might look for: are you using the same scope on both guns? (A bad scope can really screw things up.) Are you shooting in conditions that are not typical of what you usually shoot in? (Wind from an unusual direction, even if it isn’t particularly strong, can wreak havoc with accuracy, just ask the benchrest shooters.) Are you using a particular tin of pellets with both guns? (Recently I talked with a shooter who has two “identical” tins of pellets – one shoots true, and the other habitually spirals the shot, and nobody can figure out why.) Have you recently changed your rests or shooting position? (That can mess things up in subtle ways. If you just changed rests and suddenly can’t shoot for beans, try reverting to your old rests and see if that doesn’t cure the problem.) Common factors will, in general, affect all guns that they touch. If it turns out that the common factor is simply that you are having a bad day, there’s hope that on another day things will be better.

The other thing that you have to do if you’re trying to figure out if it is you or the gun is to eliminate variables. With springers, in particular, you have to make sure that your scope mounts and stocks screws are snug. If any of those screws are loose, weird, erratic stuff can happen that can really affect accuracy. It should go without saying that, having made sure that none of the fasteners are rattling, you should test for best pellet by shooting groups off a rest. With precharged pneumatic airguns, make sure that you are charging to the correct pressure for that particular gun. If you are using a scope with a mil-dot reticle or any other reticle with multiple aiming points, make sure that you use those aiming points at the same power every time. If all else fails, try cleaning the barrel.

Every airgun sold by www.airgunsofarizona.com comes with a small pamphlet that I wrote on airgun maintenance. If you ask nicely, I bet they will send you a copy. The tips in there should prove pretty useful.

Okay, now, dear reader, it’s your turn: how do you tell if it is you or the gun?

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

-          Jock Elliott

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Posted in Airguns | 2 Comments »

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