About Jock Elliott
Located in upstate New York, I never met a projectile launcher I didn't like. Besides fooling around with airguns, bows, and blowguns, I pick banjo and guitar. I share my life with my wife, son, and a variety of furry creatures.
Posts by Jock Elliott
If you like airguns it doesn’t take long before you realize that the hobby isn’t just about airguns, pellets, and scopes. There are a lot of other goodies that are useful, necessary or just plain cool.
The Wilkins pellet pouch, closed.
Okay, this is an audience participation question: everyone who has spilled a tin of pellets or a substantial portion of a tin, please hold your hand up. Just as I thought, just about everyone. The Wilkins pellet pouch, above, is just what you need for a day afield. The top unsnaps (below) and you can pour in a goodly quantity of pellets. Snap it shut and you can hang it around your neck or clip it to a belt loop.
The Wilkins pellet pouch, open.
Either way, it sure beats removing and replacing the lid on a tin of pellets while you’re out in the woods or participating in a field target match. The Wilkins pouch comes in two sizes and a variety of colors.
The LEDRay light is really, really bright!
The Hawke LEDRay™ Light attaches to your scope and provides a great lamping option without adding too much weight. Illuminated by a super bright LED, the LEDRay lamp provides an impressive amount of brightness in a package that is powered by four small batteries. It comes with a remote switch and rings for attaching to your scope.
This kit is made by Otis for AoA.
The Otis Airgun Cleaning Kit is made by Otis especially for Airguns of Arizona. It includes a pull-through nylon-coated cleaning rod, rod handle, patches, a special cleaner/degreaser that is safe for use on airguns, and a case to hold it all.
Protect your airguns with Napier field patches.
Napier VP90 Cleaning Patches are a simple way to carry an oily rag in the field. Wipe down the metal on your treasured airgun to protect it from rust and fingerprints. A package contains ten field patches, each sealed in it own individual tear-open packet.
Exhibit A -- Female Quick Connect
Finally, every pre-charged pneumatic (PCP) airgun enthusiast needs adaptors to get air into his PCP rifle or pistol. Exhibit A (above) is a Female Quick Connect. It screws onto the hose of your SCUBA fill adaptor or your pump. It will allow you to connect directly to Daystate, Benjamin, and some FX airguns or any airgun that has a male quick connect attached to the reservoir. It will also allow you to connect to the connects described below.
Exhibit B -- DIN with male quick connect.
Exhibit B is a DIN with Male Quick Connect and it works on guns with removable cylinders like FWB, Twinmaster, FAS. Steyr, and so forth.
Exhibit C -- FX probe with male QC.
Exhibit C is an FX probe with a Male Quick Connect and works with most FX guns, Webley, and the like.
D -- buddy bottle adaptor with male QC.
Exhibit D is a buddy bottle adaptor with Male Quick connect and works with BSA and Theoben bottles.
Fittings like these are available for most makes and models of airguns and allow you to change between the fill devices for different airguns without using a wrench.
Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.
– Jock Elliott
As part of my recent project involving .25 springers, Gamo sent me a sample of their .25 caliber Hunter Extreme. When I had a question about the rifle, I called GamoUSA, they said, “Wait – don’t test the Hunter Extreme, we’re going to be phasing that out. Instead, test the new model, the Socom Extreme in .25 caliber. We’re going to be introducing it January 1, 2011, but you can post a ‘first look’ on your blog.”
A few days later, a long slim package arrived at El Rancho Elliott, and a long, powerful air rifle emerged.
The Gamo Socom Extreme stretches 45.5 inches from end to end and weighs 9 lb 13 oz with its 3-9 x 50 scope (included) mounted. The Extreme .25 has an ambidextrous all-weather synthetic stock that is covered with a fine ‘pebbly” surface for easier gripping. At the extreme aft end is a soft rubber ventilated butt pad. Moving forward, the butt stock has a cheek piece on either side. The pistol grip is nearly vertical, and the trigger guard, which surrounds a metal trigger and push-pull safety, is formed of the same material as the stock. Above the trigger, on the left side of the receiver, the words “Socom Extreme” are printed on the side of the stock. Just ahead of the trigger there is a large screw that, in concert with two others on either side of the forestock, secures the action in the stock.
The Socom .25 has a bull barrel and comes with the scope pre-mounted on a one-piece mount. The utility of the Socom Extreme .25 is hampered somewhat by the scope having a non-adjustable objective. As a result, in order to get a clear view of the target at 20 yards, I had to reduce the magnification to the lowest level, 3X.
Cocking effort is 58 lbs, the highest of the .25 caliber break barrel rifles I have tested, and, typical of spring-piston actions, you can hear some spring noise while cocking. At 1 lb 14.8 oz, the first stage came out of the trigger on the sample I tested, and at 4 lb 10 oz, the shot goes down range with a bang. While the trigger is stiffer than I would prefer, I don’t think it interferes with accurate shooting, and it may lighten up and smooth out with repeated use. Nevertheless, after the 1-year warranty period is over, if the trigger is still not to your satisfaction, I suggestion installing one of the aftermarket triggers that are currently available. Airguns of Arizona should be able to advise you on which one to select .
The Socom .25 is the most powerful break barrel .25 rifle I have tested. It launches 21.91 gr Gamo Pro Magnum pellets at 742 fps average. That works out to 26.79 fp of energy at the muzzle. So while the Socom Extreme has the highest cocking effort, the reward for the shooter is that it also delivers the most power. I found I got the best accuracy results – about half-inch edge-to-edge at 20 yards, with JSB Exact King pellets.
If you want a self-contained air rifle that is suitable for dealing with pest wildlife or for hunting at short to medium range, the Gamo Socom Extreme delivers a boatload of power and then some.
Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.
– Jock Elliott
Recently, I have been doing a project for Precision Shooting magazine on .25 airguns. As part of the research, I have been fooling around with .25 cal springers. One .25 springers that I shot is the Weihrauch HW 80 in .25 caliber.
The HW 80/Beeman R1 is one of my favorite air rifles of all time. The chief difference between the HW 80 and the R1, as nearly as I can tell, is that the stock on the R1 extends far enough to cover the cocking linkage, whereas on the HW 80 it does not.
For a couple of years, I campaigned a Beeman R1 in .177 caliber in field target competition, most of the time with a globe front sight and a peep rear sight, and I did quite well with it. One of the things I liked best about it was that it was incredibly smooth shooting right out of the box. Many spring-piston air rifles virtually beg to be tuned by exhibiting fairly harsh firing characteristics as they come from the factory, but not the R1/HW 80.
But I had never shot an HW 80 in .25, so the good folks at Airguns of Arizona loaned me one. The HW 80 stretches 45.3 inches from end to end and weighs 8.8 lbs. At the end of the butt stock is a soft brown rubber recoil pad which is attached to the hardwood stock by a black spacer. The stock has a cheek piece on the left side of the stock and a slightly raised comb, but it seems to me that most lefthanders ought to be able to shoot an HW 80 without problem.
The pistol grip has checkering on either side, and forward of that inside a metal trigger guard is Weihrauch’s well-respectedtwo-stage adjustable Rekord trigger. Moving forward again, the forestock is unadorned except for two screws on either side that secure the action into the receiver.
Beyond the forestock is the barrel, which has a globe sight with interchangeable inserts mounted near the muzzle. Moving back toward the receiver, you’ll find the breech block which has the micrometer rear sight mounted on it. Moving back again, the receiver has a dovetail for mounting a scope and three holes for accepting scope mounts with anti-recoil pins. At the extreme aft end of the receiver is the Weihrauch pusbutton non-resettable safety. That’s all there to the HW 80.
To get the HW 80 ready for shooting, grab the barrel near the front sight and pull it down and back until it latches. It requires around 34 lbs of cocking effort. Stuff a pellet in the breech and return the barrel to its original position. Squeeze the trigger. It takes only 1 lb 2.8 ounces for the first stage, and at 4 lb 2.1 oz (on the sample I tested) the shot goes off.
I got roughly half-inch groups at 20 yards with the .25 caliber HW 80 (which is essentially the same accuracy I got with the other .25 cal springers I tested) with JSB Exact King .25 cal pellets. But the HW 80 shoots these heavy pellets very slowly – at around 500 fps. With lighter pellets, H&N FTT 20 grain pellets, the HW 80 launches them at 640 fps, generating 18.25 fp of energy.
Each of the .25 springers that I tested has its own charms. With the HW 80 in .25, I really liked the smoothness of the shot cycle combined with the crispness of the Rekord trigger.
Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.
– Jock Elliott
The Gladiator Tactical shoots as good as it looks.
To get the FX Gladiator Tactical ready for shooting, charge both reservoirs up to 200 bar. You can do this by inserting the charging adapter into the port on the front reservoir. Be sure to fill slowly and that it will take a lot longer than usual because there is a lot more volume to fill than on most PCP airguns. If you try to fill too quickly, you may get an indication from the gauge on the GT that the reservoir is full, but then the charge in the front reservoir will slowly bleed to the rear reservoir until the pressures in the two reservoirs equalize.
Put the safety in the non-fire position (full back). Pull the cocking lever full back, now pull the magazine release lever back. When the magazine release lever is fully back, the magazine will slide out the breech. Load it with the nose of the pellets facing toward the flat side of the magazine. Slide the magazine back in place and push the cocking lever forward. This slides the first pellet into the barrel. Now return the magazine release lever back to its original position, and the magazine locked firmly in place.
Now you’re ready to shoot. Take aim, flick the safety off, ease the first stage out of the trigger (13.2 oz) and squeeze gently on the second stage (1 lb 10 oz), and the shot goes down range. In stock trim, the high, medium, and lower power settings are for 32 footpounds, 24 fp, and 14 fp in the .22 cal version.
Pull the cocking lever back. You can push it forward again or you can simply let go of it and it will return to its original position on its own. Now you’re ready for the next shot.
Five shots went through those three holes. I love it when air rifles shoot like this!
Shooting JSB Exact Jumbo Express .22 pellets at high power, I put five shots into a group at 35 yards that I could cover with a dime. Then I decided to flip the power switch all the way down to low power. I put 5 pellets into a group that measures barely .5 inch edge to edge. That works out to just a bit over a quarter inch center to center.
Even better, the report was extremely muted, making a kind of “ching!” sound every time a shot goes off. The GT isn’t dead quiet, but it doesn’t sound like anything shooting either.
In the end, I liked the GT a whole lot. It gets a ton of shots per fill, has an excellent trigger, is a bona fide tack driver, and has a neighbor-friendly report. It puts all the good stuff together in one package, and I give it my hearty recommendation.
Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.
– Jock Elliott
Anyone who has read this blog for a while, or any of my other airgun writings, has probably figured out that I love – absolutely love – the way pre-charged pneumatic (PCP) rifles shoot, but I’m not so keen on the ancillary gear needed to charged them up.
I guess it’s a holdover from my summers in Vermont at my grandparents place. A buddy and I spent endless days roaming the woods and fields of the “Northeast Kingdom.” All we needed when we went out the door in the morning was our trusty BB guns and a tube or two BBs. It was freedom and glorious adventure.
So that’s why, even though my PCPs will shoot teensy groups at impressive range, you’ll most often find me packing for a day of airgunning with a self-contained air rifle and a tin of pellets.
But a rifle I tested the other day might change all that. The gun in question is an FX Gladiator Tactical (GT). It is an FX Gladiator fitted with the barrel, including permanently affixed sound moderator, from an FX Royale.
There are a bunch of things that I like about the Gladiator Tactical, but there are two things that really set it apart from all other air rifles that I have tested so far. The first is that the GT has two – count ‘em – air reservoirs that provide some 648 CC (500 cc rear, 148 cc front) of air storage.
That means that the number of shots you get between fills is absolutely staggering. For example, one of the guys at Airguns of Arizona (who supplied this gun for review), has a .22 cal GT set up for 28 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle (on high power), and he gets – are you ready for this? – 180 shots from a fill, with a 40 fps spread between high and low.
The power adjustment lever is just below "FX 25059."
The second thing that sets the GT apart is a little lever on the side of the receiver just forward of the breech. That lever allows the shooter to choose among high, medium and low power settings simply by sliding the lever to one of three settings. There are no springs to adjust, no internal fiddling to be done, just throw the lever to the power setting you want. Well, you don’t have to be Einstein to figure out that if you get 180 shoots on high power, if you slide the lever to medium power, you’re going to get a lot more shots, and if you drop the power to the lowest setting, you’re going to get even more shots before you have to refill.
I don’t actually know how many shots per fill you get from a .22 on low power, but 200-300 seems perfectly plausible to me. And that, dear reader, would send me out the door with the Gladiator Tactical in one hand and a tin of pellets in the other!
The aft end of the GT is the rear air reservoir that is wrapped in an matte black engineering plastic cover that provides a cheek piece and an attachment for the adjustable butt pad. Loosen an allen screw, and you can move the cheek piece/cover back and forth and angle it from side to side to suit your preference.
Moving forward, the main receiver of the GT is also wrapped matte black engineering plastic. The pistol grip is nearly vertical and has finger indentations. The plastic wraps around to form a trigger guard that surrounds an adjustable trigger. Forward of the trigger guard is an air guage. Moving forward again, you’ll find the forward air reservoir.
The left side of the receiver, showing the magazine, cocking lever, and safety lever.
Above that is the barrel with moderator. Moving back along the barrel, you’ll find the receiver, which is handsomely finished in gloss black and has scope dovetails along its full length except for the breech opening. At the mid point of the receiver is the breech, where a removable 8-shot magazine slides into place (it only goes in one way, so you can’t get it in backwards). On the right side of the receiver is the cocking arm. Pull it straight back, and it cocks the GT and rotates the magazine so that the next pellet is in position. Also on the right side of the receiver near the back end is the lever for activating the safety.
At the back of the receiver is a lever that must be pulled back to remove the magazine from the breech. On the left side of the receiver is the previously mentioned power adjustment lever.
Next time, we’ll take a lot at how the Gladiator Tactical performs.
Til then, aim true and shoot straight.
– Jock Elliott
For years, I have heard things like “spring-pistons don’t like heavy pellets” and “CO2, pre-charged pneumatics and pump guns are more efficient with heavy pellets.” I guess I just accepted these truths as an article of faith and never really thought much more about them.
But recently I have been testing several .25 caliber – quarterbore – air rifles, and the tale that the chronograph tells is interesting. Put simply, when it comes to power generation – that is, foot-pounds measured at the muzzle – springers tend to like light pellets and pneumatics prefer heavier pellets. Of course, it isn’t always a straight linear function, because there are other variables, such as how tightly the pellet fits in the bore.
It all started when I was chronographing a trio of break barrel .25 cal. springers. I was using Gamo Pro Magnum 21.91 gr. pellets to chronograph them, because I had a plentiful supply of those pellets. One of the rifles was slinging the Gamo pellets at 565 fps average, which works out to 15.53 foot-pounds average. I mentioned this to the importer, and he suggested trying JSB Kings (25.4 gr.). Somewhat counter to the “law” about springers, the heavier pellet did better in terms of power but slightly worse in velocity: the JSB Kings averaged 555 fps for 17.37 foot-pounds at the muzzle. But the real surprise came with the lightest pellet. 19 gr. Milbro Rhino pellets rocketed through the traps at 667 fps for a sparkling 18.7 foot-pounds. In this case, the law about springers proved right: the lightest pellet did generate the most power in this .25 cal. spring-piston powerplant.
Okay, I thought, but what about the pneumatic airguns, do they obey the “rules” or not? It was raining when I thought about answering this question, and I usually need to do my chronographing outdoors, so I turned to the respected varminter Cliff Tharpe. Cliff, whose online handle is VarmintAir, is producer of the Airgun Hunting the California Ground Squirrel DVD. He has deep experience in hunting and clobbering vermin with air rifles.
Cliff has a factory stock .25 Benjamin Marauder that he routinely uses to pop prairie dogs at 50-100 yards. He sent me some data on his experience chronographing different weight pellets through the Marauder, with the following note: “These were all shot at the factory settings, whatever those may be. All velocities were taken with the start screen 12 inches from the muzzle. I use a CED M2 Chronograph set up indoors, with the infrared screens. Two mags, for sixteen shots with each pellet. All pellets were weight sorted. This is with a 3000 psi fill. “
And here’s the data:
- JSB .25 Quarter Bore, 25.4 grain – avg. vel. – 881 fps – fpe 43.8
- Benjamin .25 dome head, 27.8 grain – avg. vel. – 845 fps – fpe 44
- Beeman Kodiak .25, 30.8 grain – avg. vel. – 821 fps – fpe 46.1
Here we have a straight linear relationship – the heavier the pellet, the lower the velocity, and the greater the power that is generated.
Now, having said all that, what’s the most important thing?
Accuracy, of course. A firearms expert once said, “A hit with a .22 beats a clean miss with a .45.” And he was right. If you can’t reliably hit what you’re aiming at, it doesn’t matter how much power you are generating. The first thing you need is sufficient accuracy to hit your intended target at the range at which you plan to shoot. If you are planning to hunt, once you have the accuracy, then you need sufficient power to humanely take whatever game you are after.
Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.
– Jock Elliott
The potent Benjamin Trail NP .25 caliber.
Until this year, I had never shot a .25 caliber air rifle. To be honest, I felt .25 was at the fringes of the airgun world, a caliber that was enthusiastically embraced by a small group of shooters, but wasn’t really “mainstream.”
Perhaps I was wrong in that assessment, but when Crosman Corporation announced early in the year that they would be introducing two .25 caliber rifles as well as .25 ammunition, I decided I better start paying attention to “quarterbore.”
So I tested the .25 caliber Benjamin Marauder and found it to be an entirely worthy air rifle capable of dispatching game at long range and a potload of fun to shoot.
For me, that experience was a game-changer. Suddenly I was a .25 cal enthusiast! Naturally I decided I better have a look at the other .25 cal air rifle that Crosman was introducing, the Benjamin Trail Nitro Piston .25 caliber (it’s official product designation is the Benjamin Trail NP XL 725, but I’ll refer to it as the Trail .25).
What sets the Trail .25 apart from other break break barrels that Crosman is currently offering is that it is (a) .25 caliber and (b) powered by Crosman’s Nitro Piston powerplant. The powerplant operates on the same principle as the gas struts that lift the back hatch on an SUV. This powerplant type is sometimes referred to as a “gas ram” or “gas spring.”
Inside the powerplant, instead of a spring, there is a cylinder that holds gas. When the barrel is pulled down and back to cock the gun, a piston inside the cylinder is driven backwards, compressing the gas. The gas is held under compression until the shooter pulls the trigger. The gas drives the piston forward, which compresses air ahead of it, squirting a blast of air through the transfer port and causing the pellet to shoot down the barrel and down range. What’s neat about the Nitro Piston powerplant is that you can leave cocked for as long as you like, and there is no torque or vibration when the shot goes off.
The Trail .25 is one of the biggest air rifles I have ever tested – fully 48.15 inches long and 8.8 lbs. It comes with a CenterPoint 3-9 x40 scope and a sling, so the whole package weighs 10 lbs. 9 oz.
At the aft end of the Trail .25 is a soft rubber butt pad, attached to the ambidextrous hardwood thumbhole stock by a white spacer. The rear sling stud is located on the bottom of the butt stock between the pistol grip and the butt pad. The pistol grip has checkering on either side, with a black cap and white spacer on the bottom. Ahead of that is the plastic trigger guard which surrounds and metal trigger and push-pull style safety.
The forestock has checkering on either side and the word “Benjamin” incised underneath. Ahead of that is a long slot to accommodate the cocking mechanism, and the forward sling mount is attached to one of the cocking pivots. Ahead of that is the bull barrel.
At the aft end of the barrel is the breech block. Moving back again, you’ll find the main receiver which has a weaver rail mounting system for the scope. That’s all there is to the Trail .25.
To ready the Trail .25 for shooting, grab the muzzle end of the barrel and pull it down and back until it latches. (It eases the process if you break the breech open by slapping the end of the barrel down). Cocking requires about 40 lbs of effort and is incredibly smooth and quiet. Next, stuff a .25 pellet into the breech and return the barrel to its original position.
Take aim and squeeeeeze the trigger. Now, here’s where things get a little weird. The Trail .25 has basically the same trigger system as the Benjamin Trail NP All Weather which I reviewed previously. At 1 lb 5.6 oz, the first stage appears to come out of the Trail .25’s trigger. Then there is a long creepy pull and a kind of “bump.” When the trigger goes over the bump, the shot goes off quite consistently at around 3 lbs. 3.4 oz.
So while you have this somewhat strange trigger that feels like it has three stages, it doesn’t interfere at all with accurate shooting. The Trail .25 launches Benjamin 27.8 grain .25 dome pellets at 633 fps average, which works out to 24.74 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle. Further, the shot cycle is extremely smooth, almost supple. Currently I am testing three different breakbarrel .25 cal air rifles, and I can tell you without doubt that the Trail .25 is the smoothest and quietest of the bunch.
A wise man once said there’s no such thing as a free lunch. So it is with the Trail .25. All that power means that you really have to do everything right, to bring all of your spring-gun shooting skills to bear, in order to shoot with high accuracy with the Trail .25 (or any .25 cal springer, for that matter). I found that, off a soft front rest, the Trail .25 would put 5 Benjamin pellets into a group that measured a half inch ctc at 20 yards. I’m pretty sure that better springers shooters could easily best that at longer ranges, but I couldn’t.
In the end, I think (for me, anyway), the Trail .25 makes a fine hunting and pest control air rifle for short to medium ranges. It’s the kind of gun you could keep behind the kitchen door to deal with that raccoon that been molesting your garbage cans out by the garage, and, with all that power, it’s highly likely you won’t have to worry about a second shot.
Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.
– Jock Elliott
Recently, a new gun store opened up not too far from where I live. Naturally, I had to go check it out, and when I arrived, I found a well-lit, well-organized place of business with lots, and lots, and lots of firearms.
I asked one of the fellows behind the counter whether they did anything with airguns, and he pointed me to a rack near the doors. There I discovered three less expensive Gamo air rifles and a Gamo Hunter Extreme in .22, emblazoned, of course, with the obligatory boast of how wicked fast it is with PBA ammo and with lead pellets.
I asked the clerk, “Did you know the Hunter Extreme is available in .25 caliber?”
Immediately he said, “How fast is it?”
I patiently explained that it wasn’t nearly as fast as the claims made on the receiver of the .22 Hunter Extreme, but that it shoots heavier pellets and makes a larger wound channel. I added, if you shot a raccoon that’s been molesting your garbage cans with the .25, chances are it wouldn’t get up again.
The whole encounter got me to thinking about how poorly we airgunners and the general public at large have been served by the marketing departments of some of the larger airgun manufacturers. In particular, I am irritated by the velocity race that has been taking place in advertising and on the sides of product cartons: 1,000 feet per second! 1,250 fps! 1,500! 1,650! When I see these claims, I want to grab a really large permanent marker, scratch out the velocity number, and write: REALLY STUPID!
Yeah, I know; I’m being an old retro-crank. But there are several things that really get up my nose with these velocity claims.
First, the claims are rarely true. Manufacturers often exaggerate how fast their guns shoot. Sometimes, they achieve their superfast results with ultra-light pellets that no one would want to use for any practical application. I know; I’ve tried some of these ultra-light pellets, and the accuracy quickly deteriorated as the range increased.
Second, even if an air rifle would routinely launch pellets at, say, 1,500 fps, would you really want it to? The answer I get from external ballistics experts is a resounding “NO!” Here’s why: in talking to long-range firearms varminters – the kind of shooters who can nail a prairie dog at 600 yards – I get the following argument. As a projectile approaches the sound barrier, it encounters a region in which there is a lot of buffeting and turbulence (check out the movie The Right Stuff for more about this) that throws off accuracy. When a projectile is launched faster than the speed of sound, if it slows below the sound barrier, it will encounter the same region of turbulence and buffeting that screws up accuracy. That is why most firearms varminters take care to launch their bullets well above the speed of sound, and they make sure that it continues to go at supersonic velocity until it reaches the target.
I have never heard of or seen any air gun powerplant that was capable of launching a pellet at supersonic speed (about 1,100 fps at sea level) and keeping it above the speed of sound for any appreciable distance. As a result, the best plan is to keep your pellets out of the region of trans-sonic turbulence. This is why most of the best field target shooters set up their air rifles to shoot in the low 900 fps range; it helps to keep the pellet as stable and as accurate as possible.
Third, the velocity race is just plain irrelevant. Imagine if you went to a car dealership and plastered on the windshield of every car were claims about speed: 120 mph! 143 mph! 160 mph! You would think the car dealer had gone insane.
In point of fact, pleasure to be had from an airgun has almost nothing to do with velocity. For example, airguns can be shot in many, many locations where discharging a firearm is absolutely forbidden. Many airguns are astonishingly accurate. They cost just pennies a shot, are a pleasure to own and are great fun to shoot. Further, even modestly powered airguns can do a worthy job of controlling pests in the garden.
Tell that to a firearms shooter next time he (or she) asks how fast your airgun is.
Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.
– Jock Elliott
The HW40 looks like a tactical pistol but it shoots like a match pistol.
In my previous blogs I have already admitted my fondness for single-stroke pneumatic pistols. The have a lot to offer: they require only one stroke for cocking; they exhibit negligible recoil, and they generally deliver excellent accuracy. That makes them “just what the doctor ordered” for an afternoon of easy-going, high-accuracy plinking. About the only downside to an SSP pistol is that none of them generate much in the way of power or velocity.
The Weihrauch HW40 is a single-stroke pneumatic pistol that stretches about 9.5 inches long and weighs about a pound and three-quarters. The entire frame appears to be molded out of some sort of matte black engineering polymer. Overall, I was well pleased with the fit and finish of the HW40. At the rear of the pistol is a silver “hammer,” the function of which we’ll discuss in just a bit. Below that is an ambidextrous pistol grip molded with finger grooves. I found that it fit my hand very comfortably.
Forward of the pistol grip, the polymer trigger guard encloses a silver-colored metal two-stage trigger. Above the trigger, on the left hand side of the pistol is a silver metal slide safety. Push it toward the muzzle to release the trigger for firing.
At the muzzle end of the pistol, just about the muzzle, is compensator that vents extra air as the pellet exits the barrel. Just aft of that is a red fiber optic front sight. Moving back along the top of the pistol is a dovetail to which a red dot or scope can be attached. Below the dovetail and above the trigger guard on either side of the HW40, you’ll find an “ejection port” through which you can actually see a portion of the HW40’s barrel. Moving aft again, at the top rear of the pistol, you discover a micro-adjustable green fiber optic rear sight. That’s all there is to the HW40.
Pulling the silver hammer back at the rear of the HW40 releases the "slide" for cocking and loading the pistol.
The HW40, ready for loading.
To get the HW40 ready for shooting, pull back the silver hammer at the rear of the pistol. This unlatches the rear upper half of the pistol – the “slide” if this were a firearms automatic. Next, grasp the rear of the slide and pull it up and forward as far as it will go. This open the action for the compression stroke and activates the automatic safety. Insert a .177 pellet into the aft end of the barrel and return the “slide” to its original position, making sure that the hammer snaps shut. (Although I have no good way of quantifying it, the last 1.5 inches of the compression stroke are fair stiff, so this is not the air pistol I would recommend for a youngster.)
The right side of the HW40.
Next, take aim, slide the safety off, and squeeze the trigger. It takes just a hair less than 11 oz to pull the first stage out of the trigger, and at 1 lb 0.6 oz, the shot goes off. The HW40 has one of the nicest triggers you’ll find anywhere in a single-stroke pneumatic pistol, short of an Olympic-quality match pistol.
My Oehler chronograph tells me that the sample of HW40 that I tested launches Crosman Premier 7.9 pellets at 365 fps average. That’s just 2.3 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle. The HW40 is satisfyingly accurate as well. With the right pellet (and presuming you are doing your job properly), the HW40 will shoot 3/8 inch edge to edge groups. At 10 meters.
In the end, I really liked the HW40. It’s an attractive SSP pistol that is easy to shoot well, has an excellent trigger, and is accurate enough to satisfy most pistoleros. It saddened me to box it up and send it back.
Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.
– Jock Elliott
