Posts Tagged ‘Airguns’

Installing the Benjamin Supersear

Monday, March 2, 2009

If there is one complaint that can be made about the modern crop of Benjamin and Sheridan multi-stroke pneumatic rifles (such as the Benjamin 392 and 397 and the Sheridan CB9 and C9), it’s that the trigger in these air rifles is mediocre. The pull is heavy, and there is a lot of creep to the trigger.

For example, my Sheridan C9 measured right around 6 to 6-1/4 lbs of pull, and there is a lot of movement between where the second stage of the trigger engages and the shot is finally triggered.

If you want a better trigger quickly and easily, buy a Benjamin SuperSear and install it yourself. What follows is an account of how I installed the SuperSear in my C9.

First, look underneath the forestock just ahead of the trigger guard. You’ll see a Philips head screw recessed into the forestock. Using a Philips screwdriver of appropriate size, remove this screw by turning it counterclockwise. With this screw removed, you can now slide off the buttstock. (Two notes: [1] You might want to open the pumping arm slightly to make it easier. [2] Every time you remove a screw or small part, put it in a safe place like a small plastic dish so it won’t wander away.)

You will now have an assembly that looks like the picture below.

Next, remove the two Philips screws that are on either side of the air tube just above the trigger assembly. This will allow you to remove the trigger assembly, resulting in an assembly that looks like the one below. (Note the spring and black steel spring guide that sticks out of the air tube; you can put these in a safe place with the other small parts.)

Next, remove the two screws that hold the cover on the trigger assembly, remove the cover, and you’ll be able to see what’s inside:

Notice the arrangement of the components inside the trigger assembly: the trigger (with a coiled spring to the left of it), the sear (at the top right of the assembly, with the wire spring hooked into it), and the safety (sticking through a hole in the trigger guard, with the wire spring pressing against it). Notice that there is a pin that goes through a hole in the trigger and goes into sockets on each side of the trigger case. The sear also rides on a pin that fits into sockets on each side of the trigger case. Also notice that there is a tab on the trigger that presses on the “tongue” of the trigger sear when the trigger is pulled.

Finally, notice the trigger case post which is just below the tab on the trigger. Because the SuperSear has a longer “tongue,” you will need to grind, file, or drill the trigger case post so that the SuperSear can operate without interference. The picture below shows the trigger case with everything removed, clamped in a vice, ready for grinding down the trigger case post.

The next picture shows the post ground down (I used a Dremel mototool and a small grinding wheel – don’t forget your eye protection) so that it is level with the trigger pin socket. A vital step in the process that follows the metalwork on the post is cleanup of the abrasive debris that will have been produced (e.g., metal chips and grinding wheel grit) before reassembly. Forgetting to do this will do no good for either the feel or longevity of your new trigger. A blast of compressed air (if available) can be used to blow the muck out, or a quick rinse with soapy water works too. Then dry and relubricate.

The next picture shows the trigger, SuperSear, wire spring, and safety reinstalled. All that remains is to reinstall the coil spring between the trigger and the two cast tabs and put the cover back on the trigger case. The trigger assembly slides back into the air tube (don’t forget to reinstall the spring assembly in the correct orientation) and put the two screws back in place. Finally, slip the buttstock on and put the screw back in place. You’re done!

To optimize my SuperSear Installation, I polished the engagement surface of the sear (indicated by the arrow in the picture below) with Arkansas stones that I use for sharpening knives and chisels. I started with a fairly rough stone, moved to a medium stone, and then a smooth stone. I finished the polishing with some emery cloth. Finally, I sprayed a drop of silicone lubricant on my fingertip and wiped it on the working edge of the sear.

So how does it work? Quite well, thank you. What once had been a creepy 6+ lb. trigger has been transformed into a crisp two-stage trigger that lets off at an average of 3 lb 11 oz. That’s significant improvement and results in an air rifle that is a lot more predictable and more fun to shoot.

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RWS 54 – A Recoilless Springer

Monday, January 19, 2009

The thing about springers is that they can be downright exasperating to shoot. On one hand, they are self contained and require only one cocking stroke per shot. That makes them darned near perfect for a day afield. No tanks, no CO2 cartridges, just you, your rifle and a tin of pellets.

On the other hand, there’s the whole matter of how a springer’s powerplant behaves. When you cock a springer, you drive a spring and piston back until the assembly latches. When you trigger the shot, the spring and piston (sometimes amounting to half a pound of metal) go rocketing forward compressing air in front of the piston. This creates backward recoil. As the spring and piston assembly near the far end of the compression chamber, the piston rebounds in the opposite direction off the mass of compressed air in front of it. This creates recoil in the opposite direction and blasts compressed air through the transfer port, propelling the pellet out of breech and down the barrel.

The real “gotcha” is this: all this movement of the spring and piston and the accompanying recoil and reverse recoil happen before the pellet leaves the barrel. With a consistent loose hold and practice, springers can be shot with superb accuracy. But if you get it wrong, well . . . it can mess up your accuracy to a fare-thee-well. As a result, sometimes I can shoot a springer with sublime precision, but other times the exact same spring-piston airgun simply drives me nuts.

The RWS 54, with its recoilless powerplant, makes it easy to shoot a springer well.

So that’s why I thought the RWS 54 sounded like a really good idea. Available in .177 and .22 cal, it stretches 44 inches from muzzle to buttplate and weighs nine pounds. What sets this air rifle apart from all other spring-piston air rifles that are available new today is that the Model 54 is designed to be recoilless.

Here’s how it works: The entire receiver of the RWS 54 rides on rails within the stock. When you cock the Model 54, you grab the end of the side cocking lever and pull it back until it latches (it takes around 40 pounds of effort). This moves the receiver and barrel assembly forward, locks it there, and slides the breech open for loading.

When you pull the trigger, the entire receiver slides backwards about a half an inch in the stock. This has the effect of “absorbing” all the recoil effects of the springer and turning it from a Wild Thing into a docile pussycat. From the shooter’s perspective, you don’t feel recoil and, you don’t lose the sight picture. Suddenly you can shoot extremely well without a whole lot of effort. As my brother-in-law put it: the RWS 54 is a springer that behaves like a precharged rifle.

I tested both versions of the RWS 54, and I liked them both. I mounted a CenterPoint Optics 3-12 x 44mm compact scope on the .177 version. At 35 yards, the RWS 54 delivered a 5-shot group that measured just .38 inch ctc. At 50 yards, 5 shots fell into a group that measured .95 inch ctc. That’s excellent accuracy in any springer.

The best accuracy came from Crosman Premier Heavies (10.5 grain, nominal) pellets. The RWS 54 launched them downrange at an average of 845 fps, producing 16.6 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle.

I equipped the .22 version of the RWS 54 with an RWS 4-12x50CI scope with the RWS one-piece mount. At 50 yards, with JSB Jumbo Express pellets, the air rifle produced a five-shot group of 1.16 inch ctc. Velocity with those pellets averaged 779 fps, generating 21.4 fp of energy.

James Brinkley produced this group at 80 yards, with a tuned .22 RWS 54.

James Brinkley, shooting a “Rich from Mich” tuned .22 RWS 54 on a sunny day with no wind, was able to produce a 5-shot group at eighty yards that was scarcely bigger than a quarter. He was shooting RWS Super Dome pellets using a bipod and a rear rest.

Unlike the other, “conventional” springers that are in my gun closet, the RWS 54 seems not to care what position you shoot it from. You can shoot it off a rest, off your knee, or offhand without the point of impact changing with your shooting arrangement. There is one minor complication: the center of balance is significantly forward of the spot – just ahead of the trigger guard – where the RWS 54 produced the best accuracy results for me. As a result, when shooting off the kind of rests that centerfire benchrest shooters use, I had to hold the buttstock down to keep it in place on the rear rest. This was a bit of a nuisance, but I also got excellent results resting the length of the forearm on an old boat cushion. It sounds like Brinkley might be on the right track with his bipod/rear rest combo.

I think there is a whole lot to recommend the RWS 54: it’s self-contained, easy to shoot well, and accurate enough for varminting or long-range plinking.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

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The Powerline 22SG – Great for Defending the Garden and Training Young Shooters

Monday, December 22, 2008

If you have rabbits in the garden, squirrels in the bird feeder, or perhaps a youngster or a young person you would like to introduce to the joys of marksmanship, the Powerline 22SG combo may be just what you are looking for.

The 22SG (the SG stands for Small Game) is a.22 caliber multi-stroke pneumatic air rifle that is 37 inches long and weighs 4.5 lbs. It has a wooden buttstock with plastic buttplate, wood forearm, metal receiver with dovetail for mounting a scope, and a 20 inch rifled steel barrel.

The Powerline 22SG combo includes a Powerline 4×32 rifle scope that has mounting rings already fastened in place. Just remove the 22X and the scope from its blister package, loosen the large knobs at the bottom of the scope mounts, slip the mounts over the scope rail on top of the receiver, and tighten the knobs. That’s all that is required for setup. Now, you’re ready for sight-in. The hardest thing in the whole process is getting the blister pack open!

The action of the 22SG is charged using the pumping lever which sits between the two halves of the forearm. The pumping effort is remarkable light, and the air rifle can be pumped up to a maximum of 10 times to deliver maximum velocity of 550 feet per second with light pellets. The pumping effort increases very little during the pumping process.

To load the 22SG, first open the breech by pulling back the bolt on the right side of the receiver. This also cocks the action. With the scope mounted on top of the receiver, loading requires placing the pellet in the slot on the top of the receiver just to the right of the breech and rolling the pellet into the breech. It’s pretty straightforward once you get the hang of it.

Now you’re good to go. Take aim, squeeze the trigger, and you’ll discover that the 22SG has a remarkably light and crisp trigger for an inexpensive air rifle. There is a muted “pop” as the shot discharges, and the pellet goes down range. At 10 pumps and 11 yards, the Daisy 22X will readily shoot nickel-sized groups (edge to edge) with the right pellet, and at 20 yards, the 22SG has the power and the accuracy to protect the garden or the bird feeder.

In his fine book American Air Rifles, James E. House said this of the 22X: “ . . . it represents a fine balance of size and weight with power and accuracy. Because of the easy pumping action of the 22X and its overall size and weight, it would be a good choice for a youngster accompanied by an adult who wants to hunt small game or shoot pests. It is a favorite of my wife . . . “

He adds, “[it] is an ideal choice for a light, trim .22 caliber pellet rifle.” I agree.

— end —

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My New Favorite Air Pistol

Monday, December 8, 2008

Before we get started this time, there is a new video in the Airguns of Arizona video showcase. You might want to check it out.

Okay, now down to business. Brown Santa (the UPS guy) showed up the other day with a small box. In it was a Benjamin EB22 air pistol, and I’ve got to tell you that after playing with it for a little while, it is my new favorite pistol.

The EB22 is a .22 caliber, single-shot, bolt-action, CO2 powered pistol. Overall length is just nine inches, and the weight is 28 ounces. Let’s take a brief tour. The fit and finish are, I think, just right for a pistol in this price range. All the metal is black with the exception of the silver metal trigger and silver bolt at the back of the receiver. Under the receiver is the metal pistol grip frame, which is fitted with a couple of dark-colored hardwood grips. Ahead of the grips is a safety button. Push it full left to allow the EB22 to fire. Just forward of that is the silver metal trigger inside the black metal trigger guard.

Above the trigger guard is the tube that holds the 12-gram CO2 Powerlet that powers the EB22. At the end of the tube is a black knurled metal knob, the filler cap. Above that are the muzzle of the 6.38-inch brass barrel and the front sight. Moving back along the barrel, you’ll find the breech and the loading port. Behind that are the rear sight and the bolt.

To get the EB22 ready for shooting, remove the filler cap and insert a CO2 Powerlet small-end-first into the tube under the barrel. To ease removal of spent Powerlets, it’s helpful if you smear a dab of Pellgunoil on the end and around the neck of the Powerlet. Replace the filler cap and make sure it is completely screwed into place. Cock the action by rotating the bolt knob ¼ turn counterclockwise and pull it full back until you hear two clicks and it stays back. Put the EB22 off “safe” and pull the trigger. This should puncture the CO2 Powerlet, and you should hear a “pop.” If not, reactivate the safety, tighten the filler cap, and repeat the procedure.

Once the CO2 cartridge has been punctured, safe the pistol, cock the action again, insert a pellet into the breech, close the bolt and rotate it clockwise until it locks. Now you’re good to go. Take aim at your target, click off the safety, and squeeze the trigger. At around 2.5 pounds pull, the shot goes down range at velocities up to 430 fps, depending upon the pellet weight. You can expect 25 to perhaps 35 shots per cartridge before the velocity really starts to die.

There a bunch of things I like about this pistol. First is how well made it is – it’s all brass, metal, and hardwood; you won’t find a scrap of plastic on it. The second is its handy, compact size. Third, the EB22 appears to have sufficient power for defending the bird feeder or garden at short range. Crosman rates the EB22 as useful for target shooting, small pest control, and large pest control. Based on my casual tests on inanimate objects, I believe it. Fourth, the accuracy is decent – a bit better, at 7-10 yards, than what I can achieve shooting a Beeman P1 standing and two-handed. Fifth, the EB22 is just plain fun. Thanks to the CO2 powerplant, it’s a low-effort pistol. No pumping, no heavy cocking effort; just load and shoot.

To me, it’s a wonderful pistol for an afternoon of “competitive plinking” in the back yard.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

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Benjamin Discovery Shines in .22

Monday, November 17, 2008

Where I live in upstate New York, this is the time of year when the window of opportunity for 50-yard airgun testing begins to close, at least for me. The days are shortening; the weather is cold and damp; and once the serious snow flies, I won’t be able to get to get to the 50-yard range at the gun club at all. Once that happens, the longest range that I can conveniently manage at home is about 39 yards. (Besides, I rarely do my best work when my teeth are chattering.)

But every once in a while in November, we get a nice warm day like last Friday (November 14, 2008). As the temperature headed toward 60, I called my friend Dick Johnson (an excellent centerfire benchrest competitor). We agree to meet at the range at 2 pm. He brought his Oehler printing chronometer and his “professional” bench rests, and I brought three .22 air rifles.

The first, which I won’t mention here until I get some more time to sort it out, didn’t do so hot. The second was an RWS54 in .22. It turned in entirely worthy performance, and I will be writing about it here in a future blog. But the big surprise of the day was the Benjamin Discovery in .22.

The Discovery delivers worthy performance for a surprisingly modest price.

The Discovery is Crosman Corporation’s inexpensive pre-charged pneumatic air rifle. By inexpensive, I mean it can be purchased with a pump for less than $400, and without a pump for less than $250.

Weighing just 5 lbs 2 oz and stretching 39 inches end to end, the Discovery is a bolt-action, single-shot rifle that is available in either .177 or .22. It has the capability to run off either compressed air or CO2. You can fill it with compressed air from a hand pump or tank or with CO2 from a paintball tank using an optional filler hose. In addition, the Discovery is a low-pressure PCP, which means you have to fill it only to 2,000 psi, not 3,000 psi or higher, as is common with other pre-charged pneumatic air rifles.

After mounting a Leaper 6-24 x 56 scope and sighting it in, I pumped the Discovery up to 2,000 psi and settled it onto the rests. I tried 5-shot groups with Discovery .22 hollow points, Dynamic SN-2 pellets, and JSB Jumbo Express Exacts and got mediocre results. Admittedly by this point in the afternoon, conditions were deteriorating. A front was moving into the area; the wind was gusting intermittently; the temperature was beginning to drop; and the sun was dropping toward the horizon.

Then I switched to .22 Crosman Premiers, and magic happened. Five shots landed in a group measuring 1 inch edge to edge (that works out to .78 inch ctc). After the first two shots, there was a lull in the wind. The next three shots really got my attention: they created a single hole in the target measuring .375 edge to edge. That’s .155 ctc. Not too shabby.

Shot at 50 yards, the first two shots are just above the quarter. The last three shots are just below the center circle.

Considering that this was an absolutely box-stock, unmodified, factory fresh .22 Discovery, I am very impressed with the results.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

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The Gamo Compact

Monday, November 3, 2008

There is something that I really like about target air pistols. Maybe it is the sheer joy of spending a few hours on an afternoon doing nothing more productive than trying to put some pellets through the 10 ring.

The Gamo Compact is an entry-level target air pistol. Weighing a just under 2 pounds, it stretches 12.6 inches from end to end, and delivers a wealth of goodies for a very reasonable price.

Let’s take a walk around the Compact and see what I mean. The first thing you notice about the Compact is the anatomically sculptured right-hand walnut grip with adjustable palm shelf. To the best of my knowledge, the Compact is the only entry level pistol that comes standard with such a grip.

Just forward of the grip underneath compact is the trigger guard, it – and the rest of the receiver and upper unit of the pistol, is made of an engineering plastic. The sides of receiver are reinforced with metal straps that are also part of the cocking mechanism. Unlike some plastic air pistols that I have shot, I have seen no flexing of the plastic while cocking or shooting the Compact.

Inside the trigger guard is the trigger. The first stage of the trigger is adjustable for travel, and the trigger blade can be swiveled to match the shooter’s finger. The manual says the second stage of the trigger is set by the factory at 750 grams, and it is not adjustable. Like many target pistols, the Gamo Compact does not have a safety. Once it is cocked and loaded, it is always live and ready to shoot.

At the front end of the Compact, on top of the upper assembly is the blade front sight. Just below is the muzzle, which is recessed into the plastic upper assembly. Along the top of the upper assembly is a wide plastic ridge. While the ridge is not a dovetail, I have successfully used it to clamp red dot sights to the Compact.

At the rear of the upper assembly is the rear sight, which – like virtually all target sights – is adjustable for elevation and windage. What sets the Compact’s rear sight apart is that the width of the rear sighting notch is also adjustable, simply by turning a screw on the left-hand side of the sight. As far as I know, this is the only entry-level target air pistol that offers such an adjustment, and I find it really handy for matching the sight picture to varying lighting conditions.

Underneath the rear sight, at the extreme aft end of the receiver, is a rectangular gray plastic button. To get the Compact ready to shoot, depress the gray plastic button. This releases the upper assembly which can then pivot forward. With the upper assembly fully extended, insert a pellet into the back end of the barrel. Now return the upper assembly to its original position so it latches. This cocks the single-stroke pneumatic action and requires about 21 pounds of effort.

Now you’re good to go. Take aim at the target, ease the first stage out of the trigger, and squeeze a bit more. The Compact gives a muted pop and launches medium weight pellets down range in the mid-300 fps. I find the trigger to be pleasingly crisp.

The Compact is not a powerful pistol. I wouldn’t use it for hunting anything bigger than hornets (or perhaps mice at very close range). But it is quite accurate. The factory says it will deliver .20” groups CTC at 10 yards. I seem to recall a test in IHMSA news in which a fellow achieved nearly the same size groups at 20 yards indoors under windless conditions.

In the end, I find the Gamo Compact an entirely worthy air pistol that I enjoy shooting very much.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

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The Noise in the Attic

Monday, October 6, 2008

Every fall, as the temperatures start to drop, uninvited guests show up at El Rancho Elliott. Mice, in particular, decide it’s oh so much more pleasant inside the walls of our house than outside in the freezing cold.

So when the temperature drops below 40, you can expect to hear the occasional scratching in the walls at our house. We become accustomed to it after a while, and our cat thinks it is high quality entertainment. Sometimes he gets sufficiently motivated to go on the hunt. It’s at this point that you have to be careful, because you never know where you will find a “do it yourself mouse kit” left by our cat as a trophy someplace in the house. I can tell you with absolute certainty that if you happen to be padding barefoot across the kitchen floor in the middle of the night, you really don’t want to step on the remains of kitty’s latest victory.

Anyway, from fall through winter to early spring, odd noises in the Elliott house are simply part of our acoustical landscape. As a result, I thought it unremarkable when my wife announced, “I think there’s something in the ceiling over the upstairs bathroom.”

“It’s probably a mouse,” I said absentmindedly while pecking away at an assignment.

“I think it’s bigger than a mouse,” she said. “Maybe you should come up here and have a listen.”

I trudged upstairs and stuck my head in the bathroom. It sounded like Seal Team Six was conducting close quarter combat drills overhead, complete with Pointy Objects of various sorts.

Outwardly, I tried to sound casual: “Yeah, it sounds bigger than your average mouse. I’ll take a look.” Inwardly, I was flipping out. It sounded waaaaaaay bigger than your average mouse.

Now at this point, you need to understand something about the layout of our house. It’s small cottage with two bedrooms and a bathroom on the second floor. At the top of the stairs, there’s a small landing with a bedroom to the right, another to the left, and the bathroom dead ahead. To access the attic, there a small hatch directly over the landing. You push the hatch up, slide it to one side, and then, standing on a chair or stepladder, you can look around the attic.

Standing on a chair, I pushed up through the hatch and shined a flashlight toward the attic above the bathroom. There, just under the edge of the roofline, was the culprit: a squirrel. Not just any squirrel, mind you, but a highly successful squirrel, judging from the plumpness of his physique and his glossy coat.

As I trained the flashlight in his direction, Mr. Bushytail stopped what he was doing. He looked at me. I gave him my best Clint Eastwood “this attic ain’t big enough for both of us” stare and slowly retreated back down through the hatch, pulling the cover in place behind me.

My mind was racing. Clearly this squirrel needed a pneumatically-induced “retirement.” An air rifle would be too cumbersome. Getting it through that 2’ x 2’ hatch with me and then drawing a bead on the squirrel would be laborious and time consuming, but at the same time, I didn’t want to take the chance of wound the squirrel and having it go berserk in the attic.

The Beeman P1.

Finally, I grabbed my red-dot-equipped .177 cal Beeman P1 pistol and loaded it with Gamo Raptor PBA ammo. Even though the distance was less than a dozen feet, I wanted a flat trajectory and excellent penetration. I pushed my way back through the attic hatch and flipped on the flashlight.

The squirrel was gone. Now what?

To be continued.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight!

– Jock Elliott

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Tackdriving fun – the HW 97

Monday, September 29, 2008

I generally have the most fun when I am shooting an air rifle that is really, really accurate. Whether I am competing in field target competition or simply plinking in the back yard, it’s more fun when the gun is a tackdriver.

And when I say “really, really accurate” I mean three things. First, that, once you find the right pellet for the rifle, it will shoot very tight groups consistently. For me, anyway, in field target competition, I’ve found that confidence in the gun is critical when you get to the shooting line. If I know that the gun will do its job – if I do mine – that gives me assurance I need to do my best. By contrast, I’ve had the experience of having an air rifle produce “mystery shots” that missed the target, but I had no idea why. That is a pure nightmare and no fun at all.

Second, the rifle has to maintain a consistent correlation between point-of-aim (where I am aiming) and point-of-impact (where the pellet actually lands), so that I have confidence that the gun will shoot where it is aimed each time I use it. This is not a trivial matter. I once owned an air rifle that had to be re-sighted-in each time I used it. It drove me nuts. Some guys like to fuss, fiddle around and tweak their equipment all the time. Not me – I’m a shooter. I want take the gun from the case, shoot a couple of shots to confirm it’s still “on,” and get to work.

Third, the air rifle has to be easy to shoot well. Some air rifles (springers in particular) are notorious for requiring that you do everything “just so” for them to deliver their best accuracy. Some folks call this “hold sensitivity” while others insist that there is no such thing as hold sensitivity, there are only “shooter problems.” Okay; I’ll concede the point and rephrase: for an air rifle to be really accurate, it has to be tolerant of my mistakes.

The HW97 MkIII delivers excellent accuracy in a handsome package.

Just a few days ago, I had opportunity to shoot an air rifle that fits my definition of a tackdriver, the Beeman HW97, MkIII. Weighing 9.2 lbs and stretching just over 40 inches long, the HW97 is a fixed barrel, underlever air rifle. It has Weihrauch’s excellent Rekord trigger and a Weihrauch barrel. At the end of the barrel is a handsome muzzlebrake. The righthand hardwood stock has a rubber recoil pad at the back, a raised cheekpiece, and checkering on the pistol grip and forend. The HW97 is available in .177 and .20 cal. I shot the .177 version.

To get the HW97 ready for shooting, you push a button on a latch just under the muzzlebrake. This releases the underlever for cocking. Pull the lever down and back until it latches. The cocking effort is around 35 pounds, and the cocking stroke is very smooth. The cocking stroke slides open the breech and also activates the automatic safety. The sides of the breech are cut down on both sides, so it is easy to slide a pellet into the aft end of the barrel from either side.

All that is left is to return the underlever to its original position (which also closes the breech) and push the button, located at the rear of the receiver, that de-activates the automatic safety. The HW97 is now ready to shoot.

Ease the first stage out of the trigger, and you’ll feel a distinct “wall” where the second stage begins. Squeeze a bit more (how much depends on how you adjust the Rekord trigger) and the shot goes down range. On the sample that I shot, the shot cycle ended with a tiny hint of vibration – tungggg – but it was vibration that was heard and not felt through the gun. As a result, that slight bit of vibration was a non-issue for me.

The HW97 is wickedly accurate. Some time ago, a nationally ranked field target shooter sent me a target he had shot at 50 yards from a sitting position with his HW97. You could cover the five-shot group with a dime! The HW97 launches 7.9 grain Crosman Premier pellets at 847 fps, producing 12.6 foot-pounds of energy.

When I shot the HW97, it had been quite a while since I had launched any pellets with a recoiling spring-piston air rifle. I was delighted to find that HW97 made it easy to produce pleasingly small groups.

In my opinion, the HW97 is an excellent choice for any shooter who wants to have some fun with a bona fide tackdriver.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

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HW90 – Smoooooooth!

Monday, September 22, 2008

One of the great things about doing a blog like this is that it lets me give free reign to my curiosity. If an airgun looks interesting, I give the good folks at Airguns of Arizona a call. If they have a sample of the airgun I’d like to see on hand, pretty soon it’s on the way to me. (Some of the extremely popular guns are just about impossible to keep in stock, so for those I’m on a waiting list.)

The HW90 is one smooth-shooting air rifle.

One of the air rifles I’ve had a hankering to shoot is the Weihrauch HW90, which is an air rifle equipped with a Theoben gas ram powerplant. I had seen a lot of favorable comments on the airgun forums about the RX-2 (which is the Beeman equivalent of the HW90), so my curiosity was on high alert.

My first impression on taking the HW90 out of its box was: “Boy, this looks very, very familiar.” And indeed it does. The HW90 is extremely similar in appearance to the Weihrauch HW80, which is one of my favorite air rifles. Both the HW90 and the HW80 are just a bit over 45 inches long, weigh 8.8 pounds, and have a 20-inch barrel. And both are extremely pleasing to look at.

The HW90 is available in .177, .22, and .25 calibers. Of course, what really sets it apart is the gas ram system. But what is a gas ram? Well, if you’ve ever seen a “lift back” truck or automobile that had pneumatic struts that lift the back hatch and hold it open, you’ve seen the basic working innards of a gas ram. That pneumatic strut operates on the same principle as a gas ram: compressing and decompressing gas within an enclosed space.

On the practical side, a gas ram air rifle works exactly like a spring-piston air rifle. With a spring-piston you break the barrel or pull a lever that drives a piston back and compresses a spring until it latches. When you pull the trigger, the latch is released, the spring and piston go rocketing forward, compressing air in the compression chamber and launching the pellet down range.

With the gas ram, when you cock the gun, you’re compressing the gas ram, increasing the pressure inside of it, instead of compressing a spring. When you pull the trigger, the gas inside the ram is allowed to expand, pushing the piston down the compression tube, compressing air in the compression chamber, and sending the pellet toward the target.

From a shooter’s perspective, the HW90 feels different. When you cock the rifle, there is no spring noise whatsoever. Further, unlike a springer, where the cocking effort tends to increase toward the end of the cocking stroke, the effort to cock the HW90 feels constant throughout the stroke at around 46 lbs.

When you pull the trigger on the HW90, the action feels quick – super quick – and smooth, a bit like a custom-tuned springer on 28 cups of coffee. I tested a .22 cal. version of the HW90, and I really enjoyed shooting it off-hand with the iron sights that came with it. Even though I wear old-guy glasses (no-line bifocals), I had no trouble with the sight picture, and when I triggered a shot standing up, the HW90 just felt supple. When I was shooting from a sitting field-target position, I felt more of a jolt from the gas ram action, but I still really liked this air rifle.

If this were my air rifle, I’d keep it simple and shoot it with the iron sights or perhaps fit it with a peep sight. It seems like the perfect airgun for a stroll in the woods and fields. Slip a tin of pellets in your pocket, and you’re good to go.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

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The FX Ranchero Pistol – Part II

Monday, September 8, 2008

The Ranchero has it all: an excellent trigger, match pistol accuracy, neighbor-friendly report at low power, and it's a repeater.

To get the FX Ranchero ready for shooting, charge the cylinder up to 200 bar (you can do this on or off the pistol). Put the safety in the non-fire position (full back). Pull the cocking lever full back, now pull the magazine release knob back. You’ll find that, with the exception of the cocking lever which has a small click-detent when it closes fully, everything moves smoooooothly, like it is on oiled bearings.

When the magazine release knob is fully back, the magazine will slide out of 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 will also return the magazine release back to its original position with the first pellet slid into the barrel, and the magazine locked firmly in place.

Now you’re good to go. Take aim, flick the safety off, ease the first stage out of the trigger and squeeze gently on the second stage, and, at about 14 oz. of pressure, the shot goes down range. Pull the cocking lever back, push it forward again, and you’re ready for the next shot.

Now, an aside: when I was ready to trigger my first shot with the Ranchero, I was all ready to flinch. Why? Because I have had experience with other precharged pneumatic pistols that were raucous beasts that annoyed my ears. But I was shooting the Ranchero on low power and that, combined with the shrouded barrel, made the report remarkably docile. It wasn’t dead quiet by any means, but it was much quieter than I had expected and quieter than even some CO2 pistols I’ve shot.

I tested the Ranchero at ten meters, shooting with a rifle scope mounted and off a rest. I found I was getting the same kind of accuracy you’d expect from a target pistol: shot after shot through the same hole. And the two-stage trigger was crisp and clean, making it easy to get really good results.

In the end, I found there was a whole lot to like about the Ranchero: target accuracy, an excellent trigger, a neighbor friendly report on low power, a pressure gauge (PCPs without pressure gauges force me into counting shots, which I’m not good at), interchangeable cylinders, and the ability to mount a rifle scope, pistol scope or red dot, as your needs dictate. And, yes, it does come in a lefthand version with the action reversed, making it truly left handed..

A pistol like this could take “defending the bird feeder” to a whole new level!

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

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