AOA Blog

               MTC Optics, makers of excellent telescopic sights out of Great Britain, go by the mantra: “Designed by shooters, for shooters”.  Their focus was always on bringing high quality telescopic sights to shooters at a reasonable price point and that mission has continued after their becoming part of the Diana family back in 2014.

In 2018, a prototype of the Cobra F1 was revealed at the SHOT Show and received much interest. Now part of the F1 series, I have the King Cobra F1 variable 6-24x50mm scope in my possession and am eagerly looking forward to mounting it on a newly released PCP air rifle for review. The King Cobra F1 moniker relates to the fact that this is a First Focal Plane scope, meaning the glass-etched reticle sits ahead of the magnification lenses. Therefore, the relation between the graduations and target stays relative to each other no matter the magnification level. It contains the exclusive MTC designed SCB2 style reticle. SCB2 is an abbreviation of: Small Caliber Ballistic, Second Generation. It is suitable for all air rifles as well as powder burners due to its multi-stadia design providing many reference marks for holdover, holdunder and wind deflection. The spacings are in MILs and at the highest magnification can be used for accurate ranging based on the markings of the parallax focusing turret. Additionally, MTC has included red illumination of the reticle with six brightness levels. A rheostat ring is located in the parallax turret with “off” settings between each power setting. This makes it easy to power off the reticle without having to rotate through all of the power levels back to a single “off” position, an excellent idea in my way of thinking. The unit is powered by one CR2032 coin battery located under the rheostat cap.

The scope is constructed of a 30mm tube and measures 14.4 inches long. It weighs 26.3 ounces and eye relief is spec’d at approximately 3.4 inches. The lenses are multi-coated from edge-to-edge, providing optimal light transmission and clarity. The scope is fully water, fog and shock-proof, plus each scope is purged with nitrogen gas. A diopter in the eye bell has an adjustment range of +2/-2. A side parallax adjustment turret indicates the range to be 15 yards to infinity and a large focus wheel option is available for it according to the Owner’s Manual. Our friends at AofA should be able to help with that detail. The elevation and windage turrets are lockable by pressing down on the turrets after making any adjustments. Additionally, an allen wrench is included for loosening the center turret screw, allowing the turret to be zeroed.

All-in-all a very well-built scope that should provide many years of service to the shooter if cared for. And, for all its bells and whistles, it still comes in slightly lighter than its cousin the Cobra F1, a 4-16x50mm model. The King Cobra F1 comes with plastic scope covers attached by elastic bands for use in dusty conditions, magnetic flip-up covers with the eye bell cover having a 2x magnification window so the elevation vernier setting can be read without moving from the shooting position. It lists on the AofA website at $629 and comes with a one-year warranty that can be extended to five years by the original purchaser by simply registering the scope with MTC Optics within the first 30 days of purchase. I understand a new F2 version of the King Cobra is coming soon so fans of Second Focal Plane scopes don’t feel left out!

This Huntsman Revere is a beautiful airgun that checks all the boxes for the serious airgunner. Some of the nicest touches were covered in Part I and include the checkering on the gorgeous walnut stock, which also feels so nice in your hands; and a recess carved in the top as a thumb rest for the shooting hand to help you better align your trigger finger. The cocking lever can also be easily reversed if desired although I believe for a true left-handed shooter, the better choice would the slightly costlier true left-handed model with the proper cheekrest. It also comes with a single-shot tray and a flow control quick-connect valve that restricts airflow so the air cylinder doesn’t fill too quickly and generate a bunch of heat. Also mentioned in Part I was the extension of the warranty to five years instead of the three mentioned in the “Official Handbook” that comes with the airgun.

The two-stage adjustable trigger was great right out of the box although the takeup was a little long.  I did not attempt to change it and it requires a 1.5mm hex key to accomplish that. The Owner’s Manual indicates that removing the stock makes changes to the trigger easier. As stated in Part I, the trigger broke like glass at a light 1.7 pounds.

The standard working pressure (SWP) listed on the sample rifle was 220bar (3191psi). The cylinder volume is not huge at 162cc and my results were approximately 25 shots per fill with lead pellets on this non-regulated model. I experimented by adding the DonnyFL “Koi” silencer and it did make a difference on the report of the rifle, softening it noticeably. Even so, this is not something that is necessary on this .22 caliber as it has a low report, but if you would like to make it as quiet as possible, check out the silencer offerings here.

Accuracy is exactly as you would expect on an air rifle in this price range. The rings on the Mamba-Lite I had originally mounted to the rifle needed shimming as I ran out of elevation adjustment. I decided to switch to a Hawke scope, the Airmax EV 4-12x50mm with an adjustable objective bell using some Weaver rings and continued accuracy testing. Hawke makes excellent scopes and it was a handsome addition to the Revere. At 20 yards I was placing 5 pellets into a single ragged hole with the Predator GTOs pellets. Most other pellets tried with this air rifle shot very, very well also. Kind of unusual since most air rifles show a definitive preference with pellets and the Revere was liking everything I fed it. Results are shown in the table below along with average pellet speeds over a Chrony Alpha chronograph.

The only drawbacks of the Revere as I see it are the lack of a last round indicator on the rotary magazine and it will allow firing on an empty magazine. If the airgun was not a loaner, I would put a spot of paint on the rotary magazine to indicate the position of the last round. Additionally, it is possible to double-feed the Revere, so when in doubt, remove the magazine, point the rifle in a safe direction and fire it before running the cocking lever again. Better to be safe than sorry.

My friends at AofA are the major distributor of Daystate in the U.S. and can certainly put one of these fine pieces of British machinery in your hands. Reach out to them if you are ready to step up to a Daystate or want to add to your collection of fine air rifles.

It’s a .22 caliber carbine PCP stocked in beautifully executed Black Walnut made by Daystate. For those familiar with the brand, that is all I’d have to say and could end the blog right there. Just in case some reading this might, possibly, somehow not know about this 40-plus year-old airgun manufacturer’s products out of Staffordshire, England, please read on.

               Daystate was one of the early manufacturers to bring back pre-charged pneumatics to the marketplace. I say bring back since airguns using highly compressed air go back hundreds of years. A documented fact is that Lewis & Clark took one on their Corps of Discovery Expedition in 1804-1806.    

Sporting the Hunstman badge with a lineage back to the early Daystate lineup, this Revere lives up to its heritage. The sample rifle is a right-handed model in .22 with .177 or .25 calibers also available. An export version, avoiding the power limitations imposed in the U.K. forcing a 12 foot-pounds of energy limit, it is the first in the Huntsman line to incorporate the side-lever cocking mechanism. The breech has also been optimized to handle a new magazine designed by Daystate. This Revere was non-regulated, meaning there is no separate regulator controlling an exact amount of air being released per shot. For those shooting in competitions or longer distances, where shot-to-shot consistency comes into play, a regulated version utilizing the well-respected Huma regulator is offered. Additional included items were: a single-shot pellet tray, a Best Fittings brand quick connect coupler, a thread protector cap for the ½ x 20tpi muzzle and one of the new magazines. This magazine has a pivoting gate to ease loading and is self-indexing. Once its drum is rotated clockwise as far as it will go and the pellets have been dropped in nose first, the gate is closed and the magazine is ready to go.

               The gorgeous walnut stock is finely checkered at the fore-end and pistol grip. A large script “R” on either side of the grip stands proud of the checkering and the grip is capped by a contrasting piece of Rosewood. Incorporating a Monte-Carlo style cheekpiece, a true left-hand version (at additional cost) is available. The butt is capped with a red rubber pad to provide additional comfort. There is just something about holding a fine, hand-rubbed walnut stock and the elegance it provides to the highly crafted Daystate components. In this age of polymers it is so nice to handle modern works of craftsmanship that bring back the classic look and feel of high quality guns as they were made “back in the good ole days”.

               A trigger-blocking safety, located at the rear of the receiver, is easily manipulated by the thumb of the shooting hand without changing grip. The trigger is a two-stage adjustable match grade, adjustable for pull weight and length of the first stage. At an out-of-the-box pull weight of one pound, seven-tenths ounce; almost too light for hunting, but for my needs there was no adjustment necessary. The trigger trips the mechanical “Slingshot Hammer System” designed by Daystate and this system provides for the incredibly easy and smooth cocking of the Revere that is practically effortless.

               Its match-grade barrel is German made, 17 inches long and fully shrouded. While not terribly loud in .22, I opted to add a DonnyFL “Koi” suppressor and expect it will make the Revere even more pleasurable to shoot.

At an overall length of 36.5 inches, it is more a carbine and the weight without optics is 6.17 pounds. As Daystate is part of the corporate family that owns MTC Optics, naturally their scopes are recommended. My go-to scope is the MTC Mamba-Lite 4-16x42mm and so that is what I went with. Using Sports Match rings, I mounted the scope with the unloaded magazine in place to make sure everything had the proper clearance. Total weight with the scope and suppressor came to 8.25 pounds.

Daystate provides a full-color “Official Handbook” (in English only) on quality heavy stock covering the care and feeding of your new rifle, along with an exploded parts diagram and warranty information. There is a disclaimer related to errors or omissions that can creep into these manuals and an example is the manual showing filling the rifle with a probe when the sample rifle, made for export, has a male Foster quick disconnect nipple covered by removeable cap. Additionally, the non-transferable warranty is listed as three years in the handbook but is five years for U.S. customers. Additional paperwork included with each airgun is a factory Quality Control checklist and a completed Test Sheet showing a five-shot average of a specified pellet and the resulting energy statistics. AofA also typically includes a target showing accuracy results when they prep a gun for shipment.           

The MSRP on the AofA website lists the non-regulated version at $1365 and the regulated version at $1450. As mentioned earlier, a left-handed version is available for an additional charge and there is also an option to purchase an upgraded stock.

              As I received the Revere a few days prior to my scheduled posting date, there was no time to get behind the gun. Please stay tuned for those results coming next month. In the meantime, should you be looking to add this newest Daystate to your collection, or to purchase your first Daystate, who ya gonna call? AofA  at 480-461-1113 of course; they are the exclusive distributor for Daystate in the U.S.