Posts Tagged ‘Airguns’

Capstick, ballistics and airguns

Monday, April 5, 2010

My rampant bookaholism is already known to the readers of this blog. I remain an unrepentant devotee of used bookstores because, like Jim Hawkins on Treasure Island, you never know what goodies you are going to unearth. Recently I scored on a stack of Peter Capstick volumes. Capstick was a professional hunter in Africa for many years, a frequent contributor to shooting and hunting magazines, and one of my very favorite authors of all time.

I was happily cruising through one of Capstick’s volumes entitled Last Horizons when I encountered some thoughts that might shed some light on the occasionally heated discussions of ballistics as pertains to airgun hunting that pop up from time to time on the online forums. It is a subject of great interest to me because, while I am not a frequent hunter, I am sometimes called on to do a pest control favor for a neighbor, and when that happens, I want a decisive, humane outcome.

In an article called “Use Just Enough Gun,” originally published in the Guns & Ammo Annual in 1976, Capstick said:

“It ain’t if you hit ‘em, it’s where you hit ‘em. Nothing counts like bullet placement, and if you expect to knock buffalo and elephant over with bullet energy, you’re in a for a rude and possibly fatal update in your thinking.”

Now, to be sure, Capstick was writing about hunting big game with large caliber rifles, but the principle remains the same even if you’re out to assassinate squirrels with your airgun: you have to hit the game where it counts, no matter what caliber you employ.

Capstick goes on in his inimitable way:

“It’s a sad fallacy of hunters unfamiliar and unpracticed with the cave-bore Magnums who have, mixed up somewhere in their awe of that great, gaping muzzle, the sure knowledge that all that is necessary for success is to hit meat and arrange of the taxidermy. I have been to some really nifty funerals that would refute that point.”

It’s probably a safe bet that none of the readers of this blog are likely to be trampled to death by a wounded ground squirrel or fatally gored by an enraged woodchuck, but just because you’re launching a large caliber pellet at your prey doesn’t mean you will automatically achieve the desired outcome.

Elsewhere in the book, Capstick says:

“Of course, many drop instantly to the shot, but only because of bullet damage to a vital spot such as brain, neck or spine.”

Capstick isn’t alone in this belief. One day I was googling “wound ballistics,” and I found http://www.firearmstactical.com/pdf/fbi-hwfe.pdf. It is a report by the FBI Academy Firearms Training Unit on “Handgun Wounding Factors and Effectiveness.”

Most handguns are, like airguns, pretty slow, so I was intrigued by the following:
“The human target can be reliably incapacitated only by disrupting or destroying the brain or upper spinal cord.”

A disclaimer: I am emphatically not interested in shooting people, but the principle still holds when hunting small game with an airgun: if you want an instant “lights out” shot, you have to disrupt the brain or upper spinal cord.

So it seems to me that there are four key factors in successful airgun hunting (beyond the bushcraft of finding and stalking your prey):

• an accurate weapon capable of hitting the brain or upper spinal cord at the range at which the shot will be taken,
• enough power to disrupt the brain or upper spinal cord,
• the patience to wait for the right shot to be taken, and
• an adequate knowledge of the anatomy of your prey so that you can aim at vital areas.

Having said that, Cliff Tharpe, producer of Airgun Hunting the California Ground Squirrel, observes that as he goes up in caliber, he sees more “bang-flop.” In other words, a larger pellet, properly placed, is more likely to produce instant lights-out.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

– end –

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Posted in Airguns | 4 Comments »

The little air rifle that could – the Ruger Explorer

Monday, March 29, 2010


A while back I was considering the vast array of airguns that are available for purchase today, and it came to me that there was a hole in the marketplace. What was needed, I thought, was a “transitional” gun – one that filled the place between BB guns, like my beloved Daisy Model 25, and the more serious small guns like the HW25L or HW30.

The gun would have to be small, reasonably light, easy to cock with one stroke, affordably priced, and usable by the whole family. It wasn’t long thereafter that a package arrived from UmarexUSA with a Ruger Explorer in it, and it seems to be just what I had in mind.

The Ruger Explorer is a “youth” airgun with a spring-piston powerplant. It’s only an inch over a yard long; the length of pull is just 12 inches, and it tips the scales at just 4.5 lbs. When I pulled it from the box, my first thought was: “Wow, this is really light and easy to handle.”


The most striking feature of the Explorer is the ambidextrous black composite all-weather thumbhole stock that is just loaded with swoopy styling. Starting at the rear, the butt pad is made of a polymer that is softer than the rest of the stock. Moving forward, the buttstock itself is so radically abbreviated as to almost not be there. The checkpiece is ventilated; the pistol grip is nearly vertical, and underneath it you’ll find the Ruger logo.


Moving forward, the trigger guard is molded into the stock, and it encloses a metal trigger fashioned from sheet metal. Ahead of that is an indent (where I place the crook of my arm when shooting from a sitting position), following by a contoured had grip on the forestock.


Ahead of that is the barrel, which is clad in polymer and has a molded-in muzzle break that incorporates a mount for the front red fiber optic sight. Moving backwards, you’ll find the breech block which mounts an adjustable rear sight with green optical fiber. To the rear of that is the rest of the receiver which has dovetails for mounting a scope, followed by a screw-and-tab gizmo that functions as a recoil stop for a scope. At the very tail end of the receiver is a black polymer receiver cap and a black polymer push-pull safety.

The specs on the Ruger Explorer claim 495 fps, and I got 483 average, launching 7.9 gr Crosman Premier pellets through my Oehler chronograph, which works out to about 4 foot-pound of energy.

To get the Explorer ready to shoot, grab the muzzle break and pull the barrel down and back until it latches. This take about 16 or 17 lbs of effort and open the breech for loading. Stuff a .177 pellet in the aft end of the breech and return the barrel to its original position. Take aim, push the safety off with your thumb, and squeeze the trigger. At about 1 lb 7 oz, the first stage comes out of the trigger. At 4 lbs, 13 oz, the shot goes down range. The report is a muted “doink,” and recoil is almost non-existant.

I tried shooting the Explorer with Crosman Premier light pellets at 13 yards from a sitting position using the fiber optics sights and got 1.25” edge to edge groups. So I ran to the workshop, grabbed a 3-12x44mm scope and mounted it on the Explorer. (Now, I know what you’re thinking: why in the world would anyone mount a $190 scope on a $60 air rifle? I have three really good reasons: (1) it was already sitting out on my work bench, (2) the mounts were already on it, and (3) it looks really cool.) I went back outside and tried again from a sitting position at 13 yards, but this time using Daystate FT pellets. This time, the five-shot groups shrank to just a hair over .5 inch CTC.

Would the Explorer do better with different pellets from a steadier rest? Maybe. Certainly it’s plenty good enough for assassinating a bagful dollar store dinosaurs at 10-20 yards and nailing soup cans at much longer range.

I predict that if you slap a cheap scope on a Ruger Explorer, sight it in, and hand it to any kid who has even the slightest interest in shooting, you’ll have them grinning in no time. I found this gun so much fun to shoot that I predict the kid will have a hard time getting the Explorer out of Dad’s hands.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

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Posted in Airguns | 15 Comments »

The Browning 800 in .22 — for survival?

Monday, March 22, 2010


Every once in a while someone on one of the airgun, survival or preparedness forums raises the question: “What would be a good choice of airgun for a survival-type situation in which you need to shoot small game for food?”

I love to watch disaster movies and read books about people suddenly thrust into survival situations (when I’m in this mode, my wife just looks at me, shakes her head, and sighs), and I’ve thought about the question of which airgun would be best.

For a survival airgun, here are the characteristics that I would prefer:

1. Portability. That means either a pistol or a rifle than can be readily broken down. That eliminates many air rifles.

2. Self-contained. I want to reduce the need for ancillary equipment and consumables. That eliminates all CO2 airguns (which don’t work well in cold weather) and pre-charged airguns which require a tank or pump for recharging.

3. Sufficient power for taking small game. Target air pistols won’t get it done. Some springer pistols make 6 foot-pounds of energy, which is sufficient if you skills allow to stalk within 10-15 yards on small game. Some multi-stroke pneumatic pistols make 8-10 foot pounds of energy. Most air rifles generate enough energy to do the job. I have reliable reports of one shooter killing a feral goat with a multi-stroke pneumatic rifle, and another shooter inadvertently killing a deer with a cheap Chinese spring-piston rifle (he was trying to chase it away from the plants in his yard and caused a pneumo-thorax).

4. Stealthy report. I don’t want to be noticed. Spring-piston powerplants are inherently quieter than most others because of the smaller quantity of air used to drive the pellet. Multi-stroke pneumatics tend to generate more noise than springers, but can be quieted with barrel shrouds or by reducing the number of pumps (which reduces the power).

5. Easy to shoot well. Spring-piston powerplants are the hardest to shoot well because of their whiplash forward and back recoil. Multi-stroke pneumatics are easy to shoot well.

6. Reliability. Airguns dealers tell me that springers are the most reliable powerplant. You can usually put at least a couple of thousand rounds through one before a rebuild is needed, and some are far more reliable.

7. Ease of maintenance. Spring piston powerplants typically require a spring compressor for assembly and disassembly. MSPs usually can be taken apart with hand tools.

The careful reader will have noticed that sometimes these characteristics are at odds with each other, so you have to make your gun selection based on what’s most important to you.

Recently, the folks at UmarexUSA sent me a sample of the Browning 800 pistol in .22 caliber and it appears that it meets many of the criteria above. The 800 Mag is a large air pistol. It stretches 18 inches from the muzzle to the end of the receiver, weighs 3.9 lbs., and has an anti-recoil rail system that reduces felt recoil and makes it easier to shoot well. For a more detailed physical description of the Browning 800, please check out my blog on the .177 version here.

What makes the .22 version of the Browning 800 of particular interest is that launches .22 cal Crosman Premier 14.3 gr. pellets at an average velocity of 501 fps (516 high; 485 low), for just about 8 foot-pounds of energy, which ought to be sufficient for dispatching small game at modest ranges. Further, the .22 version seems to shoot much smoother than the .177 model, making it easier to hit what you’re pointed at. From a Creedmore position outdoors with a red dot mounted, I shot a .65 inch CTC 5-shot group at 13 yards with Gamo Hunter .22 pellets. Because of the energy transmitted to the sighting system by the anti-recoil setup, you will still need a high-quality scope or red-dot if you plan to mount one.

In all, I found the Browning 800 in .22 has a lot going for it: portability, self-contained, sufficient power for taking small game, stealthy report, easy to shoot well (for a springer pistol), and probably highly reliable (although only time will verify that). I keep one with a Bushnell Trophy red dot handy by my desk in case the bird feeder needs defending.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight,

– Jock Elliott

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Posted in Airguns | 17 Comments »

Big Kahuna – The RWS Model 56 TH – Part II

Monday, March 8, 2010


Before we get into the performance of the Model 56, the key thing to remember is that, like the model 54, it is a recoilless spring-piston air rifle. Here’s why that is a Big Deal: when you cock a spring-piston air rifle using the barrel, under lever or side lever, you’re driving back a spring and a piston until it latches, holding it in place like a sprinter in the blocks. When you pull the trigger, the spring and piston rocket forward in the compression tube, creating recoil in the opposite direction. As the spring and piston near the end of the compression tube, they bounce off the wad of compressed air at the end of the tube, creating recoil in the opposite direction. So the spring-piston air rifle recoils first in one direction and then the other.

Now, here’s where it gets really interesting: all this forward-and-back whiplash recoil happens before your carefully aimed shot exits the barrel. That’s why so many shooters have to work really hard to shoot springers well.

The Model 56, however, has a neat trick that helps to tame that recoil and make accurate shooting easier: the entire receiver of the air rifle rides on a sliding rail system. When you cock the Model 56 with the side lever, it drives the receiver forward. When you trigger the shot, the receiver is allowed to slide backwards. The end effect is that the shooter feels much less recoil; it is easier to shoot well, and more of the shock of recoil is transferred to the scope. It also means that you want a high quality scope sitting on top of the Model 56.

When I pulled the Model 56 out of its box and saw the knee-riser design of the stock, I thought this is an air rifle that just begs to be shot in field target competition. So I slapped a scope on it, threw on my SteadyAim Harness and went outside to see what it would do from a sitting position at 35 yards. Since Crosman Premier Heavies had worked well in my Model 54, I tried those.


After a little bit of fooling around, I shot a five-shot at 35 yards that you could cover with a dime. The group measured just .5 inch from edge to edge, which works out to .323 center to center. That’s pretty darn good accuracy at that range. The chronograph revealed that the 56 was launching 10.5 gr. Crosman Premiers at an average of 872 fps. My Lyman digital trigger gauge confirms what my finger could feel: the newly designed trigger is excellent. One pound five ounces takes the first stage out of the trigger; at 1 lb. 8.7 oz, the shot goes off. Sweet!

To say I liked the Model 56 is a gross understatement. My feeling is that, with the 56, Diana has drawn a line in the dirt that says “Here’s what we can do when we decide to build a wicked, gnarly, accurate springer that is second to none.” I would love to see what a really talented field target competitor could do with one of these. I think it could be impressive.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

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Posted in Airguns | 37 Comments »

Big Kahuna – The RWS Model 56 TH – Part I

Monday, March 1, 2010


Every once in a while, an airgun comes along that really impresses the heck out of me, one that perhaps has the potential to be a game changer.

The RWS Model 56 Target Hunter by Diana is just such an air rifle. Available in .177 or .22, I call the Model 56 the Big Kahuna because it is the heaviest air rifle I have ever handled. It weighs fully 11.1 lbs without a scope (two pounds more than a Model 54) and stretches 44 inches from muzzle brake to butt pad. With the Model 56, Diana has improved on the Model 54 (which I consider an underappreciated classic) in fit, finish, and performance.

We’ll get into how the Model 56 performs in a little while, but first, let’s take a guided tour. At the back end of the 56, you’ll find a rubber butt pad that can be adjusted vertically. Just loosen a screw and slide it up or down to where you want it. Just forward of that, the hardwood stock is emblazoned on either side with a stylized “TH” for Target Hunter. The buttstock is fully ambidextrous with a cheekpiece on either side. Moving forward again, there is a large opening for the thumbhole, and the pistol grip is checked on either side.

Just ahead of that, the trigger guard houses a metal grooved trigger that the manual says is adjustable for length of first stage and second stage weight. I made no attempt to adjust the trigger.

Forward of that is a flat section of the stock that is extended downward almost on the same level as the trigger guard, like a knee riser block. This section is checkered and says “Diana” on it. Moving ahead, the forestock tapers and is checkered on either side. Beyond that is the barrel with a substantial muzzle break at the end.

One of the most interesting things about the Model 56, besides the metal trigger and metal safety, is that most of the metal parts, including the barrel and receiver, are given in a satin finish that is very distinctive and attractive.

Moving back from the barrel, you’ll find the receiver, and a little further back, the silver breech block. The opening for the breech is cut lower on the right side so that when the cocking lever is pulled back, and the breech slides back, it is easy to load pellets from the right hand side. The cocking lever is on the right side of the receiver, and a small pushbutton anti-beartrap latch is on the left side.

Further back along the receiver is a scope rail with a couple of recesses for anti-recoil pins. At the tail end of the receiver is an all-metal push-pull safety which is resettable. That’s it. Overall, I think the fit and finish of the Model 56 are excellent. If pride of ownership is your thing, the Model 56 has it in spades.

Next time, we’ll have a look at how the Model 56 performs.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

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Posted in Airguns | 10 Comments »

The FAS 604 Standard Pistol

Monday, February 22, 2010


I have a serious weakness involving air pistols. I like them all, but there are some days when a single-stroke pneumatic pistol is just the right thing for shooting casually at 10 meter pistol targets, knocking a bagful of dollar store dinosaurs off a fence rail, or chasing a wiffle golf ball around the yard.

Single stroke pneumatic pistols have a lot to offer. They are self-contained, so you don’t have to fuss with CO2 cartridges, pumps or air tanks. Only one cocking stroke is required for each time you shoot it, so the effort per shot is agreeably low. Accuracy is typically superb. Triggers are usually good to excellent, and the report is generally pretty low. The downside of any SSP pistol, if you can call it that, is that they don’t generate much power. You certainly wouldn’t want to use one for hunting anything bigger than a mouse or maybe even a hornet. But even that is an advantage when you realize that you don’t need a tremendously strong target backing to stop pellets from an SSP pistol.


So when Airguns of Arizona told me that they would be importing the FAS line of pistols, I couldn’t wait to try one. A few days later, an FAS 604 standard pistol showed up in its foam-lined plastic case, and it makes a really good first impression. Stretching just under a foot long and weighing a smidge less than two pounds. The 604 is lovingly crafted out of metal and wood. I surmise that plastic must be some sort of dirty word at the FAS factory, because I certainly couldn’t detect any on this pistol.

The grip appears to be carved out of a single piece of hardwood and is fully ambidextrous. Grooves on either side of the top of the grip help to position the thumb and forefinger, and stippling helps the other three fingers to stay in position. Forward of the grip is a metal trigger guard which is integral to the metal receiver and houses an adjustable metal trigger.

At the forward end of the receiver is a pivot that allows the entire top of the receiver to rotate for the cocking stroke. The front sight, naturally, is located at the front end of the receiver, and the micro-adjustable rear sight is located at the extreme aft end. The whole thing is solidly built yet retains a certain amount of rakish style.


To ready the 604 for shooting, you press a small metal lever located on the left side of the receiver just about the pistol grip. This releases the rear end of the top receiver half so that it can pivot upward and forward. This pulls the piston back to the beginning of the compression stroke and exposes the aft end of the barrel so you can load a pellet in the breech.


Once a pellet has been loaded, grab it near the rear sight and return it to its original position. This pressures the action. The website says this takes about six pounds of effort, but I suspect it is a bit more.

There is no safety, so all you have to do now is take aim and shoot. Squeeze the trigger, and on the sample that I tested, the first stage came out of the trigger at about one pound, two ounces. Squeeze a bit more, and shot goes down range at 1 lb. 9.5 oz. The trigger is crisp and highly predictable, and the FAS 604 launched Beeman .177 Laser pellets at around 380 fps and RWS Meisterkugeln 8.2 grain wadcutters at about 345 fps.

In all, I found the FAS 604 standard to be fun, accurate, and built to last a lifetime or two. It saddened me to send it back.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

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Posted in Airguns | 39 Comments »

The return of an old dear friend

Monday, February 15, 2010


As I explained some time ago, my very first airgun was not the legendary Daisy Red Ryder or a Crosman or a Sheridan. Instead, it was the Daisy Model 25, the pump-action BB that many of us older airgunners owned. It predates the Red Ryder by a good many years.

The Model 25 was first produced in 1914. Some fifty-three thousand were produced in that first year, and the Model 25 remained in continuous production until 1978, when it was discontinued. It was brought back briefly in 1986 as a Centennial Model, and then it disappeared again.

The first time that I spoke with Joe Murfin, vice president of marketing for Daisy, I waxed eloquently about how I loved my old Model 25. I remember him says, “Yeah, that’s the one rifle I really wish we had back in our lineup again, but the tooling was destroyed.” He and I commiserated for a while and then got on to other things.

Still, whenever I think of an airgun or mull over airgunning in general, almost everything gets measured against the yardstick of how much fun it was to shoot the Model 25.

So imagine my glee, my absolute joy when I found out that the Model 25 was going back into production. Even worse, I couldn’t tell anyone about it! No kidding. I found out in September, 2009, while preparing the airgun roundup for the SHOT Show Daily newspaper, but I had to keep it secret until the SHOT Show.


Now, of course, the reintroduction of the Model 25 is public. Joe Murfin from Daisy was kind enough to send one to me. It stretches 37 inches long and weighs just 3.1 pounds. Starting at the back end of the Model 25, there is a plain wooden stock that attaches to the metal receiver with several screws. On either side of the receiver is engraving depicting a hunting scene. On the left side of the receiver is a bolt (and a nut on the right side) which can be removed to break the Model 25 into two pieces. Beneath the aft end of the receiver is the metal trigger guard which houses a plastic trigger and push-button safety mechanism.


Forward of that are the various parts of the pump mechanism, which terminates in a wooden pump handle. Moving forward again, you’ll find the barrel. The muzzle has a knurled edge which is helpful in unscrewing the shot tube to remove it. On top of the barrel is the front sight. At the extreme aft end on top of the receiver is the rear sight, adjustable for elevation and windage, which can be flipped from iron sight to peep sight.


To load the Model 25, you unscrew the shot tube from the muzzle, push a slide down and lock it, and then pour BBs into the loading port until the shot tube is full. All that remains is to screw the shot tube back into the muzzle, and you’re good to go.

Pump the action once, flick off the safety, and squeeze the trigger, and the Model 25 launches BBs at around 325 fps.

I always thought that the Model 25 was better than the Red Ryder. It’s just plain easier to maintain a bead on the target while working a pump action than it is while working a lever action. Red Ryder enthusiasts point out, however, that the Red Ryder is shorter and lighter than the Model 25, and it holds more BBs. But for me, the Model 25 will always define what a BB gun should be.

I loaded mine up and strolled outside to take a few shots in the back yard. I brought the Model 25 to my shoulder and the years just fell away. Suddenly I was awash with memories of the grand times my buddy and I had roaming the fields and woods of northeastern Vermont with my trusty Model 25. It was, as Jean Shepherd put it: “The best Christmas present I ever got.”

This new Model 25 will enjoy a place of honor in my gun cabinet.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

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Posted in Airguns | 4 Comments »

Hey, this is nice – the HW97 Thumbhole

Monday, January 18, 2010

The Weihrauch HW97 is one of the world’s classic underlever spring-piston air rifles. It has been around for a number of years and has a devoted following who think very highly of this German made tackdriver.

For a while now, I’d been hearing rumors that there was a factory thumbhole version of the HW97, and recently the good folks at Airguns of Arizona sent me a sample in .177 caliber to check out. I can tell you straight up that I really don’t want to send it back.

Before we get into the particulars of the HW97K (the K stands for Karbine) thumbhole, I should explain that several years ago, I owned a Venom-tuned HW97K with the standard stock. It had “stout” cocking effort, a very quick firing cycle, and was very accurate if you did everything just right. But I had never shot an untuned HW97, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect from the fresh-out-of-the box HW97KT (the T, of course, stands for thumbhole).

According to the factory specs, the HW97KT is a tenth of an inch longer than the HW97K, and the HW97KT weighs 9.37 lbs, compared to 8.8 lbs for the HW97K, but there are lots of other differences as well.

Starting at the aft end of the HW97KT, you’ll find a soft rubber recoil pad. In the center of the pad, there is a screw. Loosen the screw, pull the pad back a bit, and you can move the butt pad up and down to fit your anatomy. There is a metal plate attached to the recoil pad and another metal plate on the buttstock. Each has metal teeth that engage with each other when the screw is tightened so that the adjustable butt pad will not slip out of its intended position.

The stained beech stock is truly ambidextrous. There is a slight cheek swell on either side of the buttstock and a modest cheek piece. Below that is the thumb hole. Forward of the thumb hole is the pistol grip which has stippling on either side. At the top of the pistol grip are grooves on either side of the stock to accommodate the shooter’s thumb and forefinger.

Moving forward again, you’ll find the metal trigger guard, inside of which is the Rekord trigger and trigger adjuster, both of which are gold colored. Forward of the trigger is the forestock which is laser checkered on either side. The end of the forestock is swept backward slightly, complementing the sleek looks of the the thumbhole stock.

The cocking lever protrudes from the forestock, the free end of which is captured by a latch that is attached to the muzzlebrake/silencer at the end of the barrel. Moving back along the barrel, you’ll find the receiver and the silver colored breech plate. Moving aft again, there are scope dovetails on top of the receiver with sockets for anti-recoil pins toward the back of the receiver. At the extreme back end of the receiver is the small push-button safety.

Overall, I’m very impressed with the fit and finish of the HW97KT. The stock looks very streamlined and purposeful, and the finish on the metal is what you would expect from an adult precision air rifle in this price range.

To ready the HW97KT for shooting, press the small black button just under the muzzlebrake. This releases the cocking lever. Pull the lever down and back until it latches. This cocks the action and also slides open the breech plate, exposing the breech. Thumb a pellet into the breech and return the cocking lever to its original position. Take aim at the target, click off the safety, and ease the first stage out of the trigger. Squeeze just a bit more and – tunk! – the shot goes down range.

I really, really liked shooting the HW97KT. The report was remarkably subdued – not dead quiet, but certainly low enough to keep the peace with the neighbors. I could hear just a touch of vibration when the shot goes off, but I couldn’t feel any of it through the stock, so basically the vibration becomes a non-issue for me. I particularly like the fit of the stock for me, and I found it very easy to shoot this gun well. At 13 yards, I was easily able to shoot ragged one-hole groups where all the pellet holes overlapped each other. It strikes me that this is an air rifle that, with the addition of your choice of scope, could easily be campaigned in field target competition.

The powerplant in the HW97KT is identical to the powerplant in the HW97K, and typically should deliver around 850 fps with Crosman Premier 7.9 gr. Pellets. The HW97 is also an incredibly accurate air rifle. A few years ago, Brad Troyer sent me a target he had shot at 50 yards from a sitting position with his HW97. The five pellet holes I saw there could be covered with a dime.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

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Posted in Airguns | 15 Comments »

Brocock Returns – Part III – the Contour

Monday, December 7, 2009

When I spoke with Nigel Silcock, owner of Brocock Airguns, to find out how his company had scrambled back from the edge of oblivion after the British government banned their cartridge guns, he was forthright about their objectives: “We knew we had to come up with an action, a reservoir, and plan to produce a whole family of successful airguns.”

If you think about it, it makes a lot of sense: if a company can create one really good basic action as a base for their airguns, they can then fiddle barrel lengths, reservoir sizes, and valving to produce a wide range of air rifles and air pistols. And that appears to be exactly what Brocock has done and done very successfully.

The Contour is a compact air rifle that ought to put a grin on a lot of airgunners faces. When I first pulled it out of the box from Airguns of Arizona, I thought: “Whoa! I know a lot of hunters who would love to take this beauty out in the field.”


The Contour measures only 27.5 inches from end to end and weighs just four pounds. No, that’s not a typo; four pounds. I can’t think of any other precision air rifle that weighs so little.

Starting at the back, a soft rubber buttpad that is adjustable vertically is mounted on the skeletonized thumbhole wood stock. Moving forward, a cheek “piece” sits over a large cut out in the buttstock. Ahead of that is the thumbhole, which also has a spot for resting your thumb on the rear of the receiver if you prefer that position while shooting.


The pistol grip has checkering on each side, and “Brocock” is emblazoned on the bottom of the pistol grip. The trigger guard is comprised of wood, and inside the trigger guard is a metal trigger which is wide, slightly curved, and is apparently made out of a single chunk of metal. Moving forward again, you find a single Allen head bolt which secure the action into the stock.

Ahead of that is the forestock, which is checkered on either side. Beyond that, the air reservoir protrudes from the forestock. A threaded metal cap on the end of the reservoir protects a male foster fitting which is used to charge the reservoir from a SCUBA tank or high pressure hand pump.

Above the reservoir is the .22 cal barrel which can be fitted with a silencer where legal. Moving back, you’ll find the receiver, which has an opening in the middle for the breech and dovetails for scope mounting. At the rear righthand side of the receiver is a lever that, when pushed down, allows the bolt to spring backward and open the breech. At the extreme back end of the receiver is a knurled knob which is the aft end of the bolt.

Now, here’s where I get to tell on myself again. When I first shot the Contour, I didn’t read the manual. I just charged it up, pushed the lever that opens the breech, slipped in a pellet, and tried to shoot . . . but the gun just wouldn’t go off! Maybe it has a safety, I thought.

I ran to the basement, pulled out the manual and read. The Contour has NO safety, it clearly said. Then I realized that I had not cocked the action by pulling the knurled knob back until it clicks. I did that, and it shot just fine. In fact, my trigger gauge told me that 10.9 ounces of pressure takes the first stage out of the trigger, and at 2 pounds 4 ounces, the shot goes off.

With a 2900 psi fill, the Contour will deliver 21 shots with JSB 15. gr. pellets. High velocity is 678 fps, low 641, average 661, which is about 15.5 fp of energy at the muzzle. Shooting at 13 yards in my side yard, with Crosman .22 Premiers and a four power Hawke scope, I found that I could shoot the exact spot that I wanted. First I blew out the center of the target, then I concentrated on precision sniping the small fragments of bulls eye left around the center. This is the kind of accuracy that I really enjoy and that would give me confidence in making accurate, humane shoots for pest control.

And if you want to load your Contour and put it on safe for travel in the field, just press the bolt release lever, but this time, do NOT pull the bolt back to cock the action. Now, load a pellet, and close the breech again. Now you’re set up to carry the Contour, loaded, but not cocked. When you want to make a shot, press the bolt release lever, pull the bolt back to cock the action, then close the bolt again. You’re good to go, quickly and easily, and with no fumbling for a pellet.

I think Brocock has another clear winner with the Contour, and I can’t wait to see what they come up with next.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott
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Brocock Returns – Part II – The Grand Prix

Monday, November 30, 2009

In last week’s exciting episode, we found out how Brocock airguns had nearly been put out of business when the British government banned manufacturing, selling, purchasing, transferring or acquiring any air weapon using a self-contained gas cartridge system. The ban ripped away half of Brocock’s business. Even worse, it was the most profitable half of the firm’s business.

But Brocock didn’t take the blow lying down, and they took decisive action when they saw storm clouds headed their way. One of the most decisive steps was to hire the chief designer for now-defunct Falcon Pneumatics to create a new line of precharged pneumatic air rifles and pistols. The first of the new line was introduced in January, 2009, and has been met with better than anticipated demand.

It’s easy to understand why; I’ve been testing two samples from the new
Brocock line of airguns, and I think they are just terrific. This week, we’ll be taking a look at the Brocock Grand Prix.

The Brocock Grand Prix is a precharged air pistol. Stretching 15.5 inches long and weighing 2.8 lbs, it is available with and without sights. The sample that Airguns of Arizona sent me was the “sightless” version, but was fitted with a Hawke Red Dot sight which appears to be a notch above the quality of a lot of other red dots I have seen.


Let’s take a walk around the Grand Prix. It Grand Prix has an ambidextrous wooden “stock” with checkering on either side of the pistol grip. The rear of the stock overhangs the pistol grip by about an inch, so that the pistol nestles comfortably into the web between the shooter’s thumb and forefinger. While scarcely a match grip, the pistol grip is contoured nicely, including a lip at the bottom to support the shooter’s little finger, and I found that it felt very comfortable in my hand.

Moving forward, the trigger assembly is surrounded by a wooden trigger guard. Inside the trigger guard is the trigger assembly. The metal trigger is wide, slightly curved, and appears to be machined out of a single piece of metal. Just forward of the trigger guard is a single Allen head bolt that secures the receiver into the stock. Moving forward again, the forend is flattened, which allows the Grand Prix to be rested easily.

Ahead of that, you’ll find the air reservoir which has a screw-off metal cap. Under the cap is a male foster fitting for charging the air reservoir from a SCUBA tank or hand pump. Above that is the .22 cal. barrel. The muzzle has a screw-off fitting which reveals threads for fitting a silencer where legal.

Moving aft, you’ll find the metal receiver, which has an opening for the breech in the middle and dovetails for scope mounting fore and aft of the breech opening. On the right side of the rear section of the receiver, there is a lever, and at the very aft end of the receiver is a knurled knob. Overall, I found the fit and finish of the metal and the wood on the Grand Prix to be excellent and very appealing.

To ready the Grand Prix for shooting, remove the protective cap on the foster fitting and charge the reservoir to 200 bar/2900 psi. Press the lever at the rear of the receiver down, and the knurled knob springs backward, opening the breech. Pull the knurled knob backward until it clicks, and you have cocked the action. Insert a pellet into the breech, push the knob forward until it clicks to close the breech, and you’re good to go.

On my Lyman digital trigger gauge, it only took 11.4 ounces to ease the first stage out of the trigger on the Grand Prix. At 1 pound 7.5 ounces, the shot went off. I found the trigger to be crisp and predictable. With a 2,900 psi fill, the Grand Prix will deliver 35 shots. With JSB 15.9 gr. pellets, the high was 570 fps, the low 519, and the average 543, which works out to about 10.4 foot pounds.

I tried shooting the Grand Prix from a Creedmoor position at 13 yards with Crosman .22 Premier pellets, and I found that several times I put pellets in the same hole. When I can shoot that well with an air pistol with a red dot on it, that puts a smile on my face.

The bottom line: it looks to me like the Brocock folks have hit a home run with the Grand Prix.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

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