Posts Tagged ‘pcp’

Hammerli Pneuma – Part II

Monday, August 3, 2009

The single-shot Hammerli Pneuma has a side lever action.
I like the sidelever action on the Pneuma. It reminds me a bit of the Fortner action that is used so often on Biathlon rifles: pull back to load, push forward to close the breech. Simple, direct, easy, and I found it very easy to use when the gun is on benchrests.

To test the Pneuma for accuracy, I mounted a huge 6-24 x 56 mil-dot scope on 11mm mounts. My digital trigger gauge tells me it take about 1 lb to take the first stage out of the Pneuma’s trigger. At about 5 lbs pressure, the second stage trips, and the shot goes down range. The Pneuma manual says that the trigger is adjustable for trigger travel and trigger pull. I did not attempt to adjust the trigger travel, but I did attempt to lighten the trigger pull. This requires undoing the two screws that hold the trigger guard so that you can access a small screw immediately behind the trigger. Unfortunately, no amount of adjustment seems to have any effect. The trigger sear always seems to trip at around 5 lbs. I queried the folks at UmarexUSA about this, and the factory told them that the trigger should be adjustable down to about 3 pounds. Maybe it was simply a problem with my sample, but I couldn’t detect any adjustability. Nevertheless, as we’ll see, the trigger did not interfere with accurate shooting.

When the shot does go off, though, the Pneuma drives pellets with authority and with a report that is likely to attract the attention of neighbors, although not nearly as raucous as some of the big Korean hunting air rifles I have shot. The .177 Pneuma was pushing Crosman Premier Heavy (10.5 gr) pellets through the chronograph at 988 fps average. That’s 22.7 footpounds of energy. At 50 yards, I was able to put five Crosman Premier Heavy pellets into a group that measured just .61 inches CTC.

I tried JSB heavy pellets, Dynamic TM-1 pellets, and Beeman Kodiaks. All of them flirted with 1,000 fps or faster, and all of them produced much wider groups than the Crosman Premier Heavies. I don’t know if that is because those pellets weren’t a good match for the Pneuma barrel or if the pellets were simply going too fast for accurate shooting.

The .22 version gets about 20 shots before the velocity really starts to drop.

The .177version delivers about 30shots before the velocity drops too low.

I am not an airgun engineer, but my guess is that the Pneuma is wasting a lot of air and could benefit from some tuning that would make it more efficient and probably quiet it down a bit. The .22 version gets about 20 shots between 825-875 fps before the velocity really starts to drop, and the .177 version gets 30 shots per fill.

The sample I tested was 'minute of squirrel's noggin' at 50 yards.

My take on the Pneuma is that it is a worthy entry-level air varminter. It has the power and the accuracy to clobber vermin at 50 yards and beyond. If I were selecting my first air varminter with a close eye on my checkbook, I’d make sure the Hammerli Pneuma was on my short list.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

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Hammerli Pneuma – Part I

Monday, July 27, 2009

The Hammerli Pneuma has its own distinctive style.

The Hammerli Pneuma is an interesting newcomer to the entry level category of precharged pneumatic (PCP) airguns. Stretching 39.4 inches long and weighing 7.3 lbs without scope and mounts, it is a single shot, side lever action air rifle fitted with an ambidextrous matte black composite thumbhole stock that gives it a quasi military/tactical look. The Pneuma is available in .22 and .177. I tested the .177 version.

The rubber recoil pad is adjustable vertically.

Starting at the back of the Pneuma, there is a soft rubber butt pad that is adjustable for vertical position. Moving forward, you’ll find the black composite butt stock with the large triangular thumbhole. Just ahead of that is the pistol grip, which is nearly vertical and has checkering molded on each side. Ahead of that is the black metal trigger guard which houses a gold-colored metal trigger.

The gauge is located at the end of the air reservoir.

Moving forward again, there is the forestock. At the end of that is the air reservoir, which has a fill port in the side near the end and a pressure gauge gauge that reads in BAR at the very end. The air reservoir cylinder can be unscrewed and replaced, opening the door for shooters to carry spare cylinders in the field.

The fill port near the end of the reservoir can be seen below the barrel.

Above the air cylinder is the barrel. The muzzle is fitted with a ½ UNF connector for attaching a silencer (where legal), and it comes equipped with a cap to protect the threads. Just behind the UNF connector is the fiber optic front sight which has a knurled wheel for vertical adjustment. Moving rearward long the barrel, you’ll find two barrel bands. Moving back again, you’ll find the receiver which has a rear notch sight and dovetails for both 11mm and 22mm scope mounts. Partway back on the receiver is the breech with a gold-colored metal bolt. On the right side of the receiver is the black side lever, which the shooter pulls back to open the breech.

At the rear of the receiver is an automatic safety that engages whenever the action is cocked. The safety is pushed forward to ready the Pneuma for firing, but it can be pulled back again to safe the action whenever desired. When the safety is pushed in, a red dot appears on either side of the receiver to indicate that the rifle can be fired. At the extreme back end of the receiver is a flat spot in the composite stock that provides a convenient thumb rest for shooters who don’t want to use the thumbhole.

To get the Pneuma ready for shooting, fit the charging probe (included with the Pneuma) to your pump or SCUBA tank, slide the rubber plug out of the fill hole, and insert the charging probe. The Pneuma manual says “make sure the airgun is unloaded and not cocked.” I certainly agree that the Pneuma should not be loaded when charging, but I found that I could not get it to take a charge until the action was cocked. Charge the Pneuma to 200 BAR max.

To get the Pneuma ready for shooting, pull the side lever all the way back. This will open the breech, cock the action, and activate the automatic safety. Insert a pellet into the breech, return the sidelever to its original position, and push the safety in. Now you’re good to go.

Next time, we’ll see how the Pneuma behaves on the range.

Til then, 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 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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The FX Ranchero Pistol – Part I

Monday, September 1, 2008

Recently I had the opportunity to play around with a pistol that I had been curious about for some time: the FX Ranchero.

Right off, I’ve got to tell that I liked the Ranchero a whole lot, and we’ll get to the reasons why in just a little while, but first let’s take a walk around the Ranchero.

It’s a big pistol, stretching 18 inches from end to end and weighing 3.3 pounds without scope or red dot. The version that I tested had a beautiful sculpted walnut grip with a stippled pistol grip, palm shelf, and walnut trigger guard. The two-stage match trigger is adjustable, and just forward of it, underneath the forend, you’ll find a gauge that tells you how much air pressure is left in the reservoir.

Moving forward again, there’s a lip at the end of the forend. Above that is the air cylinder which can be unscrewed when it runs low and replaced by another so you can keeping on shooting during a day afield. At the end of the air cylinder is the quick-fill charging port, and you can fill the cylinder on or off the Ranchero. Above the air cylinder is the shrouded Lothar-Walther with a threaded muzzle for mounting a silencer where those are legal.

Moving back along the barrel, you’ll find the receiver, which is handsomely finished in gloss black and has scope dovetails along its full length except for the breech opening. At the mid point of the receiver is the breech, where a removable 8-shot magazine slides into place (in only goes in one way, so you can’t get it in backwards).

The left side of the Ranchero, showing the cocking lever and the power adjustment lever.

On the left side of the receiver, just forward of the breech, is a small power adjustment lever. Push it all the way forward, and the Ranchero is on low power (around 8.5 fp for the .177 version, about 9 fp for the .22). Put the lever in the middle, and the pistol is on medium power (12 fp for .177; 13 fp for .22, and when the lever is all the way back – bingo! – high power (15 fp .177, 16.5 fp .22). Unlike many other power adjustment systems, which rely on changing the loading on the hammerspring, the Ranchero varies power by changing the size of the transfer port through which air flows to the barrel. The result is very high shot-to-shot consistency, regardless of what power setting you select.

On the left side of the receiver just aft of the breech is the cocking arm. Pull it straight back, and it cocks the pistol and rotates the next pellet in the magazine into position. Push it forward, the action closes, and a bolt probe pushes the pellet into the barrel. At the tail end of the receiver, you’ll find two brass disks. The first slides back and forth as you activate the cocking arm. The second you pull back to allow the magazine to be removed from the breech. On the right side of the breech is a forward-and-back safety lever.

Next time, we’ll talk about shooting the Ranchero.

Til then, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

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Daystate Air Wolf – This airgun has it all!

Friday, March 9, 2007

We all crave power in our airguns, even though we also enjoy shooting quietly in our neighborhoods. There have been many attempts at bringing these worlds together, but none have worked perfectly in both areas. That is, until now. Enter the Air Wolf, Daystate’s latest advance in the electronic CDT firing system. By controlling the firing cycle electronically, Daystate has managed to not only increase efficiency by cutting off the valve-dwell duration, but they have tweaked the electronics to allow for consistent shot strings at power levels ranging between 12.5 and 40 ft/lbs! Via the 16-step electronic power adjuster, the user can adjust the power on the Air Wolf in about 1 minute’s time. You will need two tools, which Daystate conveniently included with each rifle; the safety catch and the trigger. The following is a brief summary of how to perform the power change with the rifle in hand:

Step 1: Power off the safety catch.
Step 2: Pull and hold the trigger, and power the safety catch on. (The rifle will beep once)
Step 3: Continue to hold the trigger back as the rifle completes several series of beeps, 2 beeps, 3 beeps, and so forth.
Step 4: After the rifle completes a series of 6 beeps, let go of the trigger. The rifle is now in power adjuster mode.
Step 5: For every pull of the trigger at this point, the rifle drops down one power setting. If you power the safety catch off without pulling the trigger, the rifle will set at full power.
Step 6: After you pull the trigger to the desired setting turn the rifle off.

That’s all. The rifle is now reprogrammed to the desired level, and will remain until you reset it. And, knowing that someone, somewhere would get mixed up and do something they did not mean to do, Daystate left a default sequence to reset everything back to the high power default. To default the rifle, simply power the safety catch off, pull the trigger back, and plug in the power charger (connected to the wall outlet). When you let the trigger go, the rifle makes a series of beeps and the default settings are restored. The user can rest assured that nothing can go wrong when adjusting the features.

Now, for the test, a .22 Air Wolf was used. The 16 steps gave the following results using the Beeman Kodiak 21.1 grain pellets:

 

 

Pulls of the Trigger = Power Output (ft/lbs)
0 = 38.47
1 = 38.21
2 = 37.96
3 = 37.70
4 = 37.37
5 = 37.12
6 = 36.29
7 = 34.98
8 = 33.70
9 = 31.20
10 = 28.88
11 = 26.08
12 = 23.23
13 = 20.11
14 = 16.42
15 = 12.57

 

Notice how the first-half of the settings are close together. Daystate did this so that the user can tune the rifle to the pellet of choice without losing much power. So, if your JSB Exact’s are a tad bit too light to perform down range, simply drop the power a bit and you are set. Then, if you decide to bring the Air Wolf indoors or into a backyard with nosey neighbors, you can dial the rifle down to the lowest setting and it becomes a silent plinker. And here is where Daystate’s CDT system shines above other power adjusters on the market. When powered down, the Air Wolf is not choking the air traveling through the valve; instead the rifle is actually firing as if tuned to the reduced power setting. This translates to better consistency from shot to shot, and better efficiency at the lower settings. When you dial it down to 12.5 ft/lbs, it shoots like a UK specification rifle through and through.

The fully functioning barrel shroud works great at maximum power, and gets better with every step down. At minimum power the rifle is mute. Add these features to the long list of features like pressure gauge, quick fill connector, zero-effort cocking, phenomenal trigger out of the box, and a whole host of electronic features and you have the most complete factory airgun on the market. When it comes to versatility, Daystate has the market cornered. Meanwhile, other brands will have to be customized one feature at a time to get close, and even then they fall short.

 

 

To read up on all the great features of the Daystate Airwolf, click here!

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FX Ranchero by ARTSR

Monday, July 24, 2006

Is this a spicy southwestern breakfast, or a really cool new pistol? Yes, I know, it’s a pistol. Picked up my pair Saturday morning, all that I could hope for and more. The brainchild of AOA, basically the action of the FX Cyclone with a shortened barrel and a diminutive air cylinder, set in a custom pistol stock designed by all the guys at AOA. When I first ordered mine from drawings, about 6 months ago, I envisioned a pistol shooting at 32 ft/lbs with about three shots. Yes, I could have lived with that, just enough shots for the wily pigeon. But, thankfully, they outdid themselves. With a new valve system and three power settings, 3–6–and maybe 8 of the eight-shot magazines are possible. The barrel is shrouded, with a ½” UNF threaded end. (The usual power wheel), and a gauge so you know what’s left in the cylinder. I mounted a Burris Compact riflescope on one, and a compact Leupold on the other (mine). As this pistol is not the slender, light 10-meter type, it has a substantial grip and stock to hold the basically full size action. For me, this doesn’t leave a straight-arm stance for a pistol scope, thus the riflescopes. I hold the pistol grip with my right hand, and a comfortable thumb rest, and cock the left hand flipper bolt with my left. Then, it is necessary for me to support the front of the gun with my left hand or use the left arm as a rest. The pistol has a modest pop with just the shroud. I mounted a compact Daystate C/F mod on one, and just a “phuuut” is heard. I mounted a full size mod on the other, and nothing is heard. As I only have a 30-yard range along side my house, I sighted them both in at that range. Within a few test shots I had them both making more or less the same hole. As I wanted to see what the pistol could do, I used a rest, and the pistol shoots better than I can. Nice…REALLY Nice! It’s like shooting my Cyclone, but in a much smaller package. I plan to carry it in the car…you never know!

Availability??? Ten units came in Friday PM; ten were gone by Saturday AM. Get on the list for the next shipment; I’ve already got mine, so go for it! Prices, pictures, and Chrono shot data should be coming from AOA. My Chrono died and I’m waiting for the replacement.

This is the ONLY pistol of its kind!

Best to all – ART SR. – HAPPY-ADDICT

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What is “Lean Charge”? Inside the Daystate CDT System.

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

As the new Mk3’s and Air Wolf’s arrive, the new concept of what Daystate refers to as ” Lean Charge” is leaving some in the dark about what exactly is so great about the new electronic firing system which Daystate has developed for their Electronic Series of airguns. The following is a brief explanation from David Snook, one of the instrumental minds behind the CDT system found inside the Daystate rifles:

“The original CDT units used a 7ms pulse where the voltage was adjusted to vary the power. This results in the valve being opened in a similar manner to a hammer and weight, where the valve is opened by the potential energy contained in the moving armature. I call this a “ballistic” valve.

Lean charge uses a different concept, it uses the maximum voltage level (approximately 70V) and adjusts the energy using the applied current pulse length, this can be between 1200us to 5800us depending on power level and solenoid design. This uses a combination of ballistic and magnetic valve opening and timing. The potential “ballistic” energy of the armature “knocks” open the valve and then the magnetic field sustained by the current pulse length determines how long it is kept open for. This has the following advantages:

1. The initial acceleration of the armature is greater due to more current being applied to the solenoid.

2. In turn the valve opens faster giving a steeper barrel pressure rise time.

3. The solenoid is then switched off allowing the valve to close rapidly under the air pressure behind it, rather than waiting for a ballistic hammer to decelerate and then close. This action allows the natural self-regulating properties of the valve to be more effective and gives a sharp pressure fall time saving air use.

4. The valve is opened and closed when the pellet is still in the barrel, this is difficult to achieve with a totally ballistic valve operation.

5. Muzzle energy can be tightly controlled using this technique.

The overall benefits are very fast lock times (typically less than 7ms), excellent air economy with attendant large shot capacity and reduced muzzle blast giving a very much quieter gun. The most surprising benefit is accuracy, where reduced blast lessens destabilisation effects on the exiting pellet.

Shooting a high powered lean charge gun is a culture shock, even with a very modest silencer it is a fast, quiet and very accurate gun.”

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Daystate Air Ranger Update

Tuesday, November 8, 2005
Shrouded Air Ranger in either 35 or 50 ft/lbs with the newly designed walnut ambi thumbhole stock.

Daystate has responded to customer request by fitting a very nice thumbhole walnut stock to the Air Ranger as standard. This stock is a very nice grade of walnut with an ambidextrous cheek piece and a thinner profile for increased comfort and decreased weight. Laser cut checkering and finely a curved buttplate add to the overall increased comfort.Daystate has also installed a factory-baffled shroud to the Lothar-Walther barrel. We now have a combination of high accuracy, high power, and ultra quiet report in the 35 & 50 ft/lb versions. The 80 ft/lb version sports a heavy unshrouded barrel with a 1/2″UNF threaded muzzle. The 35 & 50 ft/lb models are free floated wile the 80 ft/lb model has a barrel support.

80 ft/lb Air Ranger with barrel support in Daystate's newly designed walnut ambi thumbhole stock.
These improvements to what has been a proven performer come at no increase in price, making the Daystate Air Ranger factory-built with NO need for extra tuning and customizing! We are certain that you will agree that Daystate has designed a winner with the Air Ranger!For more information on the Daystate Air Ranger, please click this link!

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