AOA Blog

Airguns of Arizona carries a selection of barrel adapters and cans, designed for airguns only, from a purveyor I’ve come to know for his high-quality products as well as integrity. DonnyFL is one of those “kitchen table” companies that started out as a way to fill a personal need. Donny purchased his first PCP air rifle, an Edgun Matador in 2014. The only drawback was the report of the rifle might disturb his neighbors and that started Donny on a path to make his entry into the PCP world more “backyard friendly”. While keeping a day job, Donny continued to experiment and expend funds on his goal. Even without formal training in acoustic science, he kept working at it until he had a viable working silencer for his air rifle. Others in his shooting circle took notice, which was quickly followed by requests for “could you make one for my airgun?”  Donny obliged and this led to referrals to others wanting his product so his business was born.

               Soon after that Donny started his website to grow the business and grow it did. Now, as a thriving business, DonnyFL also offers his products through dealers and distributors like AofA. Today his products are highly regarded by many airgunners to be the some of the best available. His cans are given Japanese inspired names and are well-made and effective, plus they look good and are reasonably priced.  Also, the range of adapters found on the website cover most makes of PCP airguns as well as a number of non-PCP models. In addition, they will make custom adapters based on user specifications. Prices start at $50 and can go up depending on the amount of material required. Custom adapters are not warranted the way standard adapters are, so exacting measurements are critical for you to be satisfied with the final product.

              Of course, all businesses claim to have good customer service, however, small businessmen like Donny have to actually back that up in the real world. I had first-hand experience with that side of it when an adapter I had ordered for an older AirForce Escape was too tight to seat properly on the muzzle. I had gotten it on far enough that I could not remove it, yet it was nowhere close to being fully seated. After communicating with Donny via email, he suggested sending the barrel with the stuck adapter to him and they would take care of the situation. Just before boxing everything up I was finally able to separate the adapter without harming the barrel. I followed through with mailing the two items to the Florida address and was expecting several weeks to go by before hearing back from them just as a normal course of specialty work taking time. To my surprise, I heard back the same day the package was expected to be delivered by FedEx! The gentleman who does machining work for them, Izzy, spoke with me about the work and we decided a new adapter was in order. I authorized the work and DonnyFL was willing to give me credit for the original adapter, however, I had heated the unit in an attempt to get the metal to expand so I could get it off the barrel and just planned to pay for the new adapter and have the old one sent back with the new one. The new adapter was ready in a day and to my surprise, they also reamed the original, steel adapter so it now fits and I have a choice as to which one I want to use! The price was $60 and that included the return postage.  To say I am pleased with DonnyFL and their service is a bit of an understatement. I highly recommend their products if you are in the market for a quieter airgun. Please check out AofA’s pages of DonnyFL products and give them a call if you don’t see what you need.

While a lot of things got put on hold during the Covid pandemic, a couple of bright spots were forthcoming. New slugs were introduced last year under the Daystate banner and are named “Howler” slugs. Made in the U.S.A., the slugs come in .177, .22 and .30 calibers for your shooting enjoyment. Specially designed to provide the best performance out of Daystate “Accuracy Research Team” rated barrels, Daystate teamed up with Nielson Specialty Ammo to create these little beauties. Utilizing a hollow-point design, the .177s weigh 12.6 grains and are packaged 600 to the screw-top tin and retail with our friends from Airguns of Arizona for $33.99. In the .22s the 20.3 gr. slugs come 375 per tin and retail at $23.99. The .30s sell for the same $23.99 price and contain 140 slugs per tin. As an added bonus, each tin you purchase comes with a cardboard token that is worth $2.00 toward your next purchase of Daystate/MTC Optic product. These tokens have no expiration date and can be saved up to accumulate up to $100.00 toward an airgun or $50.00 toward an optic.

               My home range limits me to 25 yards so I am looking forward to taking them out to my gun range and trying them at longer distances through several high-powered air rifles. There is little doubt these slugs will live up to the expectations due to the reputation of NSA products and testing Daystate put them through before placing them under their brand.

               The other bright spot was the introduction of a line of pellets from the famous Swedish cartridge maker, Norma. Known for their high-quality and highly respected ammunition, they have been at it since 1902 and are a purveyor to the Royal Court of Sweden. The company is always improving and expanding their line as well as keeping an eye on market trends, so it was a natural extension for them to utilize their expertise in making lead bullets to begin making quality pellets in-house.

               Available now through Airguns of Arizona come four new pellets in .177 caliber and four in .22 caliber. First, for the hunters and Field Target folks in the crowd, is the Golden Trophy FT Heavy, a domed pellet designed for energy transmission to the target. At 9.1 grains in the .177 with 300 pellets per tin and 17.6 gr. with 200 pellets per tin, these are meant for use in more powerful air rifles (Norma suggests above 17fpe). Next up are the Golden Trophy FTs, a bit lighter version still designed to deliver energy on target. The .177s come in at 8.4 grains with 300 per tin and the .22s weigh 15.9 grs. and 200 pellets per tin. Again, Norma suggests an airgun that generates at least 17fpe for best results with these pellets. Take your pick at just $7.99 right now at AofA.

               Next up are the S-Target Match pellets. Designed for accuracy, these flat-nosed pellets come in 300-piece tins and weigh 8.2 grains. The .22s weigh in at 14 grains and come 200 to the tin. Norma suggests use in airguns under 12fpe and they retail for $9.99 on the Aof A website.

               Last, but not least, come the SuperPointStrike pointed pellets. Designed for penetration on small game and pests, the Norma suggestion is for use in airguns under 18fpe for best results. The .177s weigh 8.2 grs. and come 300 to the tin, while the .22s weigh 14.5 grs. and 200 per tin.

               Give ‘em a shot (I know, terrible pun. Just couldn’t resist.) The prices are certainly right and it is the summer season here in the U.S. so, plenty of opportunities should present themselves to get out and enjoy some shooting!

Of course, all of us want our airguns to be more powerful, don’t we?

Well actually that is not always the case. The enduring popularity of the Weihrauch HW30, for example, shows that there’s a strong demand for quality, lower-powered air rifles.

Such lower-power air rifles offer the lure of great handling, light weight and easy shootability for the whole family.

Another quality, low-power air rifle that’s a delight to hold and shoot is the BSA Ultra PCP air rifle.

So if power is not the most important consideration a lower-powered air rifle has attractions of it’s own.

If you have a basement range – as many do in the North East, for example – then low power is actually a benefit. Likewise if you shoot in your home’s garage.

Low power can also be a benefit for some types of close-range hunting. Birds, mice, squirrels, rats and other small critters needing to be taken at close quarters could be the reason here.

Another hunting-related need for low power could be due to the surroundings. What if you miss the target? Low-powered airguns will cause less damage in that case.

In fact, the probable originator of the compact PCP air rifle concept was the BSA Ultra. This British-made model has been available for some years. In fact, AoA has the previous model available as a special right now!

Now there’s a new version – the BSA Ultra CLX.

At just 32 Inches long, this is a miniature “full length” airgun, not a bullpup. It has a 12.5-Inch barrel and weighs-in at just 5 Lbs 11 Oz.

In the hand it feels just a pleasure to hold. Handling and “pointability” are absolutely outstanding – everything just feels so good. It’s definitely not a toy, nor is it an out-and-out kid’s gun.

During a recent visit to Airguns of Arizona, I had the opportunity to investigate this compact PCP air rifle. So I mounted an MTC Optics Viper Pro scope (it’s on offer right now at AoA) and did some shooting!

The first surprise was that the MTC scope – a chunky 10 x 44 model with an overall length of 14.5 Inches – did not overwhelm the Ultra CLX. The handling and balance remained outstanding!

The second surprise was the quality of the trigger. The gun I shot was pulled completely at random from stock but the average of five pull weight tests was just 11.1 Oz. Yes, that’s zero Pounds 11.1 Ounces!

The trigger has an adjustable blade and the pull length can be adjusted by the user. The feel was very good, too…

The Ultra CLX has a threaded muzzle and is supplied with an air stripper as standard. In fact, the noise level was a little sharper than I expected in this configuration.

However it was easily hushed simply by screwing a 0dB dedicated airgun silencer into place in replacement for the stripper.

So, we have a beautiful little air rifle with a high quality Minelli hardwood stock, a terrific trigger and outstanding handling.

BSA claims up to 72 shots per 3,365 PSI (232 bar) fill for the .22 caliber model I was shooting. And the newly-designed 12-shot magazine – red for .22 caliber, blue for .177 – was easy to load.

The only immediate downside was the bolt action. It’s not at all bad, but I usually prefer a sidelever. However BSA PCPs are all bolt guns, so that’s just the way it is.

As for power, the manufacturer rates it to stay within the restrictive UK 12 Ft/Lb legal limit. So you can expect a maximum of somewhere around 11.5 Ft/Lbs.

I shot the gun with H&N Field Target Green alloy pellets. These 9.57 Grainers gave an average of 670 FPS and a Standard Deviation of just 5.1 FPS across a 10-shot string.

The Muzzle Energy works-out at 9.54 Ft/Lbs with the “Greens”. That’s quite reasonable given that the gun has to hold down below that 12 Ft/Lbs limit even with heavy lead pellets and that heavier pellets always have more power in PCPs.

Sure, I didn’t have the time to run a full test, but I did have the time to enjoy myself with the Ultra CLX – as you can probably tell from reading this post.

It was a clear reminder that power is not always everything and that a low-powered, compact PCP air rifle can be a ton of fun!

The Ultra CLX is on the AoA web page and they’re in stock. You can order by phone if you prefer, of course. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at this new little air rifle…