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Umarex Octane – Hits hard, shoots quieter

Monday, November 11, 2013

The Umarex Octane looks a bit unusual but feels great in the hand.

Over a decade ago, when I was just starting to write about adult precision airguns, a guru in the field told me a thing: “If you want a really sweet shooting springer, you want to get as close as you can to one pound of gun weight (including scope) for each foot-pound of energy that the gun generates at the muzzle.”

He was offering this as an explanation for why the humble Weihrauch HW30 is so enjoyable to shoot and why it is such a tackdriver for its power. And, over the years, his statement has pretty much proven to be true. Hold that thought, we’ll get back to it in a little while.

Recently, I had the opportunity to shoot the Umarex Octane in .22 caliber. It stretches just a half inch over four feet long, and tips the scales at 10 pounds, four ounces with the 3-9 x 40 adjustable-objective scope that comes with it mounted. The Octane incorporates both a gas piston – the ReAxis Reverse-Axis Gas Piston – and the SilencAir noise dampener.

The matte black polymer stock is ambidextrous.

At the extreme aft end of the Octane is a soft rubber butt pad. The entire stock, including trigger guard, is molded from a matte black polymer. The ambidextrous all-weather stock is a thumbhole design, but there is also a semi-circular notch at the top of the pistol grip where the shooter can rest his or her thumb if desired. The pistol grip has some molded indentations for improved grip, and forward of that, you’ll find the trigger guard surrounds a black metal trigger that is adjustable for first-stage travel and a lever-type safety.

The SilencAir system reduces the report and provides a mount for the front sight.

Forward of that, there is molded-in checkering on either side of the forestock and a slot underneath the forestock to accommodate the cocking linkage. Beyond the end of the forestock is the 19.5-inch barrel, at the end of which can be found the SilencAir, a five-chamber noise dampener which also serves as a mount for the red fiber optic front sight. Moving back along the barrel, you’ll find a micro-adjustable green fiber optic rear sight mounted on top of breech block.

The Octane comes with a 3-9 x 40 adjustable-objective scope.

Moving back again, a custom metal Pictatinny mounting rail is fitted to the top of the receiver, where it provides a secure mount for the scope that comes with the Octane.

To ready the Octane for shooting, grab the SilencAir at the end of the barrel and pull it down and back until it latches. This requires about 42 pounds of effort and is very smooth and noiseless, as is typical of gas-piston systems. Slide a pellet into the breech end of the barrel and return the barrel to its original position.

Now here is where things get interesting. As you take aim and flick off the safety, you immediately notice that the lever-type automatic safety works exactly the opposite way of the lever-type safety in many other airguns. To turn the safety off and ready the Octane for firing, you pull the safety lever toward the trigger. It took me a minute or two to become accustomed to this, but it works fine, and after a while I took no notice of it. Squeeze the trigger, and a 1 lb. 13.3 oz., the first stage comes out of the trigger. On the sample that I tested at six pounds even, the second stage trips, and the shot goes downrange. This is heavier than the factory-specified 3.5 lbs., but I did not find it annoying.

Even more interesting, the Octane is a hammer. It launched 14.3 grain Crosman Premier pellets at an average velocity of 838 fps for a very healthy 22.3 foot-pounds of energy. This is due in large part to the ReAxis gas piston. Its design reverses the conventional gas-piston design so that more weight is driving the piston down the compression tube. The result is more power.

In addition, because of the SilencAir, the downrange report is reduced. This is a powerful gun, so it is not dead quiet by any means, but it is quieter than it would be otherwise.

And now we get back to that business about one pound of gun weight per foot pound of energy. The Octane obviously violates that rule with more than two foot-pounds of energy for every pound of gun weight. In addition, I am admittedly not the world’s greatest spring-piston air rifle shooter. I found that I could occasionally achieve dime-sized groups with the Octane at 20 yards with Crosman .22 Premiers but it was far more typical for my groups to spread out to the diameter of a quarter at 20 yards. Perhaps a more gifted springer shooter could do better, but I couldn’t.

The Octane is not the gun that I would pick for doing head shots on squirrels at 50 yards, but for an air rifle to deal with the woodchuck in the garden at 50 feet or the raccoon that has been molesting the garbage cans, it would be among my top choices. (And with the gas piston, you can leave cocked all day without fear of damaging the spring, because there isn’t any!)

I genuinely enjoyed shooting the Octane, and I think any airgunner who wants to hunt or control pests at short to medium range will enjoy it too.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

Tags: air rifle, Airguns, break barrel, gas piston, review, spring piston, Umarex
Posted in Airguns | 36 Comments »

The surprising Ruger Talon

Monday, November 4, 2013

I mentioned a while back that I had been shooting some inexpensive – sub-$200, Tier One – air rifles, and today I’d like to share some of my experience with another one of these highly affordable air rifles, the Ruger Talon.

The Ruger Talon came to me through the good folks at Umarex USA. It stretches just under 45 inches from end to end and weighs 8 lbs. 6 oz. with the included scope mounted. The Talon is interesting to look at. The entire rifle is black, with four very small exceptions: the front and rear fiber optic sights and two red circles with the Ruger emblem on either side of the buttstock.

The butt pad slants into the butt stock at an angle.

At the extreme aft end of the buttstock is a soft rubber butt pad. This soft rubber section extends into the buttstock on a diagonal which is unusual but pleasing to the eye. The rest of the ambidextrous stock is made of matte black finished polymer. Underneath the comb of the stock are three horizontal slots. I suppose it might be possible to store some survival supplies in those slots – firestarter perhaps – and then cover the slots to contain the supplies.

Forward of that, the pistol grip slants at a modest angle and has checkering for improved grip. Moving forward again, the stock material forms a trigger guard that surrounds a black metal trigger. Just forward of that, there is checking on either side of the forestock. Ahead of that, you’ll find some decorative slots on either side of the forestock and a long slot underneath the forestock that provides clearance for the cocking linkage.

The five-chamber SilencAir helps to reduce the down-range report.

Beyond the forestock is the .177 caliber barrel, which is nearly 19 inches long. At the end of the barrel is the SilencAir noise dampening system that reduces down-range muzzle report. The five-chamber SilencAir also serves as a mount for the front red fiber optic sight. Moving back along the barrel, you’ll find a micro-adjustable green fiber optic rear sight mounted on top of breech block.

Moving back again along the receiver, a custom metal Picatinny mounting rail is fitted to the top of the receiver and provides secure mounting for the scope. (An aside: I am pretty much a fan of Picatinny scope mounting systems. It provides a very straightforward way of mounting a scope and heavy duty protection against the scope moving under the whiplash recoil of a spring-piston or gas-piston powerplant.) At the aft end of the receiver is a push-pull safety as found on many RWS airguns. The scope that comes with the Ruger Talon is a 4 x 32 with a non-adjustable objective.

To ready the Talon for shooting, grab the muzzle end of the barrel and pull it down and back until it latches. This requires about 30 lbs. of effort. Slide a pellet into the breech and return the barrel to its original position. Now, here’s where the surprise comes in: when I was cocking the Talon, I could hear no spring noise whatsoever. In my experience, it is highly unusual for sub-$200 spring-piston air rifles to be this quiet during the cocking stroke.

Take aim, ease the first stage out of the trigger (this required 1 lb. 13.3 oz. of effort on the sample I tested), and squeeze a bit more. At 4 lbs. 1 oz., the shot goes down range, again with no noticeable twang or spring vibration.

I was so surprised at this that I called Umarex USA and asked if maybe they were building the Ruger Talon as a gas-ram and hadn’t told anyone. No, they assured me; it really is a spring-piston powerplant, but they have been taking a bit of extra care in their quality control and manufacturing tolerances.

The Ruger Talon sample that I tested launched 7.9 grain Crosman Premier pellets at a sizzling 928 fps average for 15.11 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle.

I suspect that the four-power non-adjustable objective scope was the limiting factor in my accuracy testing.

I was able to achieve quarter-sized 5-shot groups at 20 yards with Barracuda Green .177 pellets, and I did nearly as well with JSBs. I suspect – but can’t prove – that the limiting factor here was the four-power non-adjustable objective scope. With a non-AO scope, if you don’t put your head in exactly the same spot behind the scope for every single shot, you can get point of impact deviations. This is an air rifle that I think would be improved with the addition of a higher power adjustable objective scope. Note well: the view through the 4x scope was crisp and clear and light years ahead of the terrible scope that was included with the Hatsan 95.

In the end, I liked the Ruger Talon. It’s pleasant to shoot and delivers good value for the price.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

Tags: air rifle, Airguns, break barrel, review, spring piston
Posted in Airguns | 5 Comments »

HW80 22, a true classic – Part II

Monday, October 28, 2013

The HW80 is a true classic. I just love the way it looks, feels, handles, and shoots. It stretches 45.3 inches from muzzle to butt pad and weighs 8.8 pounds.

At the extreme aft end is a brown rubber butt pad that connects to the hardwood stock with a black space. Forward of that, the stock is righthanded with a cheek piece on the left side of the butt stock, but I believe that it can be shot comfortably by lefthanders. The cheek piece is also low enough that the HW80 can be shot comfortably with iron sights. The pistol grips slopes gently and has checkering on either side.

Forward of the pistol grip is a black metal trigger guard that surrounds a silver colored metal trigger and a silver colored metal post that can be screwed in and out (through a hole in the trigger guard) to adjust the weight of the Rekord trigger. Forward of the trigger guard, the forestock is smooth and unadorned except for a slot for the cocking mechanism on the underside and a couple of black metal screws on either side.

Forward of the forestock, the front half of the breech block and cocking mechanism are visible. Beyond that is the 20 inch barrel. At the muzzle end of the barrel, on top, is a small dovetail that is used to mount a globe front sight with interchangeable inserts. Moving back along the barrel, a notch micro-adjustable rear sight is mounted on top of the breech block.

Moving back along the receiver, there are dovetails for mounting a scope and three holes for accepting anti-recoil pins. At the extreme aft end of the receiver, there is push-button safety that is automatically activated whenever the gun is cocked.

To ready the HW80 for shooting, grab the barrel near the muzzle and pull it down and back toward the pistol grip until the mechanism latches. Cocking effort is around 34 pounds. Slide a pellet into the breech and return the barrel to its original position. Take aim, snap off the automatic safety, and ease the first stage out of the trigger. Squeeze a bit harder, and the shot goes down range. The Rekord trigger is crisp and clean and can be adjusted from over four pounds to less than a pound.

The shot cycle of the HW80 is very relaxed. The gun goes ka-chunggg and that’s it. There is a slight bit of spring twang that is heard but not felt, and the report is audible – what you would expect from a spring gun of this power – but certainly not raucous. In all, the HW80 is a very pleasant air rifle to shoot.

The sample that I tested was launching 11.9 grain .22 RWS Hobby pellets at 850 fps, generating just a hair over 19 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle. With Crosman Premier pellets, I found I could shoot 5-shot groups at 32 yards that you could cover with a quarter.

The .22 HW80 can be used for hunting, pest control, or just general shooting. Mount a peep sight instead of a scope (and be sure to remove the notch sight mounted on the breech block), and you can make like Matthew Quigley.

I liked the HW80 a whole lot, and I think it would put a grin on the face of any adult airgunner. With proper care and the occasional rebuild, it will last a lifetime and you can leave it in your will. What’s not to like?

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

Tags: air rifle, Airguns, HW80, review, Weihrauch
Posted in Airguns | 6 Comments »

HW80 22, a true classic – Part I

Monday, October 21, 2013

Recently I had the opportunity to shoot classic air rifle that I had never shot before, the Weihrauch HW80 in .22 caliber. We’ll get to a description of this rifle and how it shoots in Part II of this blog, but first let’s consider the somewhat unusual history of the Weihrauch HW80.

To start, we have to go back, all the way back to 1978. Robert Beeman and his wife – the owners of Beeman Precision Arms and pioneers in bringing adult precision airguns to Americans – were puzzled. Why was it that the 8-pound Beeman/Weihrauch 35 would shoot at only 755 fps in .177 caliber while 7.2 pound Feinwerkbau 124 could crank out 800-830 fps? It appeared that the HW 35 should be more powerful; it had a larger diameter compression chamber and a more massive mainspring, but it couldn’t match the easier to cock FWB 124.

The Beemans had a very practical motive for their curiosity. Their dream was to create the first true “magnum” airgun with a spring-piston powerplant for the U.S. market. English and German airgun manufacturers weren’t generally interested in answering the question because of power limitations on airguns in their countries. So the Beemans enlisted the help of university engineer E.H. Epperson, an airgun enthusiast, to simulate on a computer the interrelationship of some of the variables in airgun powerplants.

Early in 1979, the Beemans presented the results to Hans Weihrauch and his wife (who was also his business partner; they were owners of the Hermann Weihrauch Company). Together, the Beemans and Weihrauchs agreed to collaborate – with Robert Beeman as the prime mover behind the big concept as well as the final details – on a new rifle for the American market. The new rifle was the first air rifle to be based on computer simulations. Previously, airgun prototype development and experimentation had been done on the “try it and see what happens” basis. Beeman also worked with custom stock maker Gary Goudy to produce several prototype stocks for the new rifle.

In an article on his website, Robert Beeman says, “As the primary development grew to a close, Hans Sr. gave us a choice: we could pay for the execution and tooling and have the exclusive worldwide rights to our model or the Weihrauchs would pay these costs on the agreement that the Beemans would have exclusive rights to the gun in the United States, and anywhere else that it was marketed as the Beeman Rl, and that the Weihrauchs could market other versions, with specifications appropriate to other markets, under the HW 80 label, outside the United States. In the interest of cost and cooperation, we chose the latter.”

In his book The Beeman R1 – Supermagnum Air Rifle, Tom Gaylord said, “the Beeman R1 is the rifle that brought America fully into the world of adult airguns.” The plainer Weihrauch HW80, designed for the European market where power and style were not so important, would be an offspring from the development of the R1.

Eventually the new rifle, called the Beeman R1 for Rifle Number One, made its debut in the United States in late 1981. In Robert Beeman’s words, “The resulting rifle was handsome, beautifully balanced at 8.5 pounds, and easy to fire accurately. It was engineered with an understressed, straight-forward powerplant, and the most solid, well-machined mechanism on the market. Muzzle velocities were in an astonishing new range: 900 to almost 1,000 fps in the then-most-popular caliber, .177.”

Beeman adds, “Ironically, delays in the production of the R1 stock, which required larger stock blanks than the shorter, rather Germanic HW 80 stock design of that time, resulted in the HW 80 being introduced a little before the U.S. debut of the Beeman R1 in late 1981. In any case, just as the Beeman P1 pistol was not developed from the HW45, the Beeman R1 rifle definitely was not developed from the HW 80. Both rifles were developed from our concept of the R1.”

Next time, we’ll take a tour of the HW80 in .22 and see how it shoots.

Til then, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

Tags: air rifle, Airguns, HW80, review, Weihrauch
Posted in Airguns | 2 Comments »

The Hatsan Model 95 Combo

Monday, September 30, 2013

The Hatsan Model 95 is a handsome air rifle.

Lately I have been testing some inexpensive air rifle/scope combos. The Hatsan 95 Combo is one of those. But before we get into that, let’s back up for a moment and take the 30,000-foot view.

In the online forums, it would appear that some airgunners simply don’t “get” the idea of the price/performance curve. It can be thought of as a graph in which you plot the price of a product on one axis and the performance of the product along the other axis. For almost every single product I can think of, the price/performance curve shows that, in general, you get what you pay for; that is, the more you pay, the more performance you get. (There are, of course, occasional exceptions, products that provide exceptional performance at a modest price, but these are rarities.)

Another way to look at this concept is in terms of tiers (this is quoted from a recent issue of SHOT Business magazine, if you want to read the whole article, you can see it here: http://shotbusiness.org/the-new-world-of-airguns/ ):

Tier 1, $20-$200 – These are the pump-up, spring-piston, and CO2 air rifles and pistols you are likely to find in big-box discount retailers and the airguns the public is most likely to know about. Familiar brand names in this category include Crosman, Daisy, Sheridan, and Gamo.
Tier 2, $200-$500 – These are the better made pump-up and spring-piston air rifles as well as less expensive PCP airguns that are sometimes carried by independent sporting goods shops. These are, by and large, “legacy” airguns that get passed from generation to generation. Familiar brands in this tier include Benjamin, BSA, Gamo, RWS, and Weihrauch.
Tier 3, $500-$3000 – These are the top echelon, elite performers of the airgun world. Comprised mainly of PCP rifles and pistols, this category also includes very high end spring-piston rifles. These airguns that will have the guys at the gun club drooling with envy, especially when your airgun customers outshoot them. Familiar brands in this tier include Air Arms, Air Force, Anschutz, Benjamin, Brocock, BSA, Daystate, FWB, FX, RWS, and Weihrauch.

Bear in mind that these tiers are generalities, designed to help independent gun dealers get their heads around why they should carry airguns, but typically in Tiers 2 and 3, you can expect very good to outstanding quality, and you can expect to pay commensurately for the privilege.

The Hatsan 95 features a Turkish walnut stock and a gold colored metal trigger.

Tier 1, however, is much more of a mixed bag, and it’s in Tier 1 that we find the Hatsan Model 95. Available in three calibers (.177, .22, and .25), this is a single-shot spring piston air rifle that stretches 44.3 inches from end to end and weighs 9 lbs. 1 oz. with the scope that comes as part of the combo attached. I tested the .177 version. Two things struck my eye when I pulled the Model 95 out of the box: the Turkish walnut stock and the gold-colored metal trigger. The result is a very nice looking air rifle.

The butt pad is a soft rubber-like material.

At the back end of the Model 95 is a soft rubber butt pad which is attached to an ambidextrous walnut stock. The modestly-slanted pistol grip has checkering on either side. Forward of that, a black trigger guard surrounds the trigger. Moving forward again, the forestock is checkered on either side, and underneath you’ll find a slot to provide clearance for the break barrel cocking linkage.

The polymer muzzle brake serves as a mount for the fiber optic front sight.

At the muzzle end of the barrel is a molded polymer muzzle brake which also serves as a mount for the red fiber optic front sight. Moving aft, you’ll find a green fiber optic micro adjustable rear sight on top of the breech block. Moving back again, the receiver has dovetails to allow mounting a scope, and near the aft end of the dovetails is a metallic scope stop that prevents the scope from moving backward along the scope rail when the shot goes off. Finally, at the extreme aft end of the receiver is a push-pull type safety. Other than the 3-9 x 32 non-adjustable-objective scope, that’s all there is to the Model 95.

To get the Model 95 ready to for shooting, grab the muzzle break and pull it down and back until the cocking mechanism latches. I estimate this takes a bit over 30 lbs of effort. Next, insert a pellet into the breech and return the barrel to its original position. Take aim, click off the safety, and squeeze the trigger. At 1 lb. 3.3 oz. the first stage comes out of the trigger, at 4 lb. 14.2 oz., the shot goes down range. The Model 95 launches 7 grain hobby pellets at 995 fps for 15.4 fp of energy at the muzzle.

The report is typical for a springer of this power, and the powerplant generates some vibration, but it is more heard than felt by the shooter. Hatsan says that the Model 95 is equipped with something called the Shock Absorber System, but I was unable to find out more about this system from the factory website. While it does not make the Model 95 recoilless, it certainly is not an unpleasant springer to shoot.

The Model 95 Combo, though, it not without problems. The scope and its mounts are basically junk. I had two scope mounts fail while testing the Model 95 (www.airgunsofarizona.com sent me replacements), but that is not the crucial problem. The scope, being non-adjustable-objective, cannot be focused. At 3 power, I could not see clearly at 13 yards, at 9 power, I could not see clearly at 20 yards. This made accuracy testing extremely problematic. I might have been the victim of unit-to-unit variation, but the scope that came with this sample was – flatly – useless. I would recommend either mounting a better scope or going the simple route and use the fiber optic open sights that come with the Model 95. (For the record, the good folks at Airguns of Arizona recommended to Hatsan that they either include a decent scope in the combo or don’t include a scope at all.)

I mounted a good scope – a Vortex – and tested the Model 95 for accuracy. Eventually, I was able to achieve at 5-shot group, shot with JSB Express pellets, at 32 yards that measured 1.1875 inch from edge to edge. That’s just a hair over 1 inch CTC. Now while that is hardly superb accuracy for a springer at that range, it is certainly sufficient for clearing the garden of pests at 100 feet.

In the end, the Hatsan 95 is a decidedly mixed bag. The scope and mounts are dreadful. The rifle itself, however, is nice looking and pleasant to shoot. The accuracy is not stellar but sufficient for plinking and pest control in the back yard at modest ranges. I’ve heard rumors that the .22 version is more accurate than the .177. Perhaps I’ll have the opportunity to test one in the future.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

Tags: air rifle, Hatsan, Model 95, review, spring piston
Posted in Airguns | 18 Comments »

FX Indy – Is this the ultimate answer? Part II

Monday, September 9, 2013

To get the Indy ready for shooting, first charge the air reservoir to 200 bar (not quite 3,000 psi) using a SCUBA tank or high pressure pump. Be sure to use the fitting that comes with the Indy because the male Foster fitting mounted on the Indy sits deeply in the hole in the stock and it can be difficult to get a grip on a normal (shorter) fill fitting. Alternatively, you can, of course, pump up the Indy using the on-board pump. I did this, and if I counted correctly, it took roughly 50 strokes on the on-board pump to get from empty to full charge. I don’t have any good way of measuring the amount of effort that the pumping requires, but I would estimate it to be around 30 lbs.

The rotary magazine slides into the breech from the right hand side.

Next, load the12-shot rotary magazine. To do that, first, rotate the clear plastic face plate counter-clockwise as far as possible. Now, while holding the face plate in position, flip the magazine over so you’re looking at the back side. You’ll see that a port has opened in the back of the magazine. Load a pellet backwards (tail first) into the port. This will lock the spring and keep the inner wheel from turning. Now, flip the magazine over and load the rest of the pellets by dropping them nose-first into the magazine while rotating the transparent cover so that the hole in it opens each of the pellet “bays.” Once you have filled the magazine, rotate the transparent cover back to its original position. Pull the breech lever to the rear of the receiver to move the bolt back. Now slide the magazine into the breech.

Push the breech lever forward to move the first pellet out the magazine and into the barrel. Take aim, slide the safety off, and squeeze the trigger. On the sample I tested, it required only 13.9 ounces to take up the first stage, and at l lb 4.1 ounces, the shot goes down range.

Over the course of 10 shots on high power, the Independence launched the 18.2 grain JSB Jumbo Heavy pellets at an average of 864 fps (high 888, low 832), generating about 30.2 (average) footpounds of energy at the muzzle. The report is a loud pop. With the shroud extension in place, the report is quieter but is still distinctly audible. Perhaps some additional baffling could be placed in the barrel shroud extension to knock the report down even more.

Accuracy was what I have come to expect from FX airguns: excellent. At 32 yards, off a casual rest, five JSB pellets fell into a group that measured just 5/8 inch edge to edge. That works out to .4 inches center to center.

This receptacle in the butt stock will hold a couple of spare magazines.

While doing research for another blog, I called Airguns of Arizona and found myself talking to Kip. He is an avid hunter, and he offered the opinion that the FX Indy could be the ultimate answer in the quest for an airgun survival rifle.

The case he made was this: “If you are in a survival situation, and you have a springer, you need to carry an extra spring and seal. When it comes time to fix it, you need a spring compressor or another person to help you safely disassemble and reassemble the gun. With the Indy, all you need is a small packet of o-rings and a couple of hand tools, and you can take care of it yourself.”

And that leads me to another thought: maybe someone (Airguns of Arizona perhaps?) could offer a seminar for FX Indy owners on how to maintain and rebuilt your airgun. It would have to be real hands-on stuff. Seminar participants would actually tear down and rebuild their own airguns so that if they ever needed to make survival-type repairs, they would know what to do.

The bottom line is that the FX Indy may well be the ultimate air survival rifle. Of one thing I am certain: it was a lot of fun to shoot!

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

Tags: air rifle, Airguns, FX, review
Posted in Airguns | 8 Comments »

FX Indy – Is this the ultimate answer? Part I

Monday, September 2, 2013

I never expected the good folks at Airguns of Arizona to try to pull a fast one on me, but apparently they have.

Here’s what happened: Brown Santa (the UPS guy) shows up the other day with a long slim package. This is a fairly normal occurrence at El Rancho Elliott. I lug it down to the basement, decant the packing peanuts, and pull out a black box. It says “FX Airguns. Made in Sweden.” It’s a bit shorter than the normal FX boxes, but I am unconcerned.

I am unconcerned, that is, until I open the black box and see what’s inside. It doesn’t look like any airgun I have ever seen. The only thing that my scrambling mind can come up with is that it must be a Photon Pulse Rifle straight from the weapons shops on Tatooine. Or, if by some outside chance the object in my hands is, indeed, an airgun, it just simply has to be the air rifle of a Jedi Knight. And the guys at www.airgunsofarizona.com are trying to pass this off as an air rifle from Sweden . . . Hah! They can’t fool me.

Well it turns out that Uncle Jock was wrong on all counts. This new rifle is indeed from Sweden; it’s the brand-new FX Indy, a bullpup air rifle with an on-board pump. It stretches just 29.5 inches from end to end, weighs just 8.7 pounds before a scope is mounted, and is available in .22 caliber, .25 caliber, or .30 caliber. Factory specs say the .22 version will generate 30 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle; the .25, 46 fp, and the .30, 75 fp. I tested the .22 version.\

This view shows the adjustable butt pad, the slot where extra magazines can be stored, the air gauge, the cheek rest on the top of the receiver, the breech, and the power adjustment wheel, just slightly ahead of and below the breech.

At the extreme aft end of the Indy is a soft rubber butt pad that can be adjusted vertically. It is attached to a one-piece matte black stock that is molded from engineering polymer. Just forward of the butt pad, there is a hole in the stock. It can be accessed from the righthand side and used to store extra magazines. Forward of that on the left side of the stock is another hole which contains a clearly marked air gauge. Forward of that on the bottom of the stock is a male Foster fitting for filling the on-board air reservoir with a SCUBA tank or high pressure pump.

Forward of that is the nearly vertical pistol grip and the trigger guard which surrounds a black metal trigger. Forward of that, the forestock is unadorned except for the extreme forward end, underneath which is a Picatinny rail for mounting accessories. Above the forestock is the air reservoir, and above that, the shrouded smooth twist barrel.

At the end of the barrel is a fitting that can be unscrewed, allowing the attachment of a barrel shroud extension. Moving back on top of the barrel, you’ll find a long dovetail assembly for mounting a scope.

On the left side of the receiver forward of the breech, there is a wheel that allows the power to be set at one of three levels. Just to the rear of that is the breech, into which a rotary magazine is inserted. Aft of that, on the left side, the rear of the receiver is covered with a smooth metal cheek rest.

The right side, showing the on-board pump arm and shroud extension fitting.

On the right side of the receiver, stretching back from the front end of the air reservoir, there is a long side lever that can be used for pumping up the air reservoir. That’s right: with this rifle, you are independent of the need for an external pump or SCUBA tank if you don’t want to use one. Hence the name: Indy.

Just aft of the breech on the right side of the receiver, you’ll find the breech lever and a lever type safety. That’s it.

The Indy is clearly one of the most unusual airguns I have ever seen, but it seems to be a case where form is driven by function. The Indy appears to be extremely solidly built and ready to face whatever challenges may present themselves.

Next time, we’ll take a look at how the Indy shoots.

Til then, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

Tags: air rifle, Airguns, FX, review
Posted in Airguns | 6 Comments »

Cricket Standard Tactical .22

Monday, August 5, 2013

The Cricket is a classic bullpup and measures just 27 inches from end to end.

Wikipedia defines a bullpup as “a modern firearm configuration in which the action is located behind the trigger group and alongside the shooter’s face, so there is no wasted space for the buttstock as in conventional designs.”

I had heard about bullpup airgun designs for some years and had seen some on various forums – including a “bullpump” Sheridan – but had never handled or shot one until the Kalibrgun Cricket Standard Tactical .22 showed up at my doorstep, sent to me by www.airgunsofarizona.com . The Cricket that I tested was fitted with a Hawke 4-12 x 50 AO scope on Sports Match mounts.

To be honest, I had some doubts about the whole bullpup concept. Yeah, sure, it produces a shorter rifle, but the idea of laying my face on part of the action while shooting didn’t seem like the world’s greatest idea to me.

My first impression of the Cricket was that, unlike some of the homebuilt designs I had seen online, it looked professionally designed and executed. The stock is molded from a single piece of engineering polymer, and all the metal bits, with the exception of the trigger and the bolt lever, are finished in black. The Cricket .22 Standard Tactical weighs 7.75 pounds before a scope is mounted and measures 27 inches from end to end.

Those round things in the buttstock below the receiver are holders for extra magazines.

At the aft end of the stock is a soft black rubber butt pad, which is separated from the main stock by a white plastic spacer. Immediately on top of the stock at the rear is the receiver, which has a slot for a 14-shot rotary magazine. On the right side of the receiver is the bolt lever and the silver colored magazine control lever or MCL. Below the receiver, in the stock are four holders for additional magazines. Moving forward, there is a large opening that allows the shooter’s thumb to wrap around the pistol grip, which is nearly vertical.

The metal cover surrounding the gauge slides forward to allow access for the fill port.

Beyond the pistol grip, stock material forms a guard around the silver metal trigger. Forward of that is the forestock which has indentations for gripping on either side. Above the forestock is the air reservoir, which has a large gauge on the end. The metal surrounding the gauge slides forward to allow access for the fill port.

The air gauge is unmarked but green is good.

Above the air reservoir is the barrel, which is shrouded. Moving rearward, you’ll find two metal supports that serve as mounts for the barrel and a scope rail. To the rear of that is another section of barrel that is bare, and behind that, another barrel mount and the receiver.

The magazine and the MCL, which is the silver lever at left.

To ready the Cricket for shooting, charge the air reservoir with a hand pump or SCUBA tank until the gauge is at the top of the green zone. Slide 14 pellets into the magazine, pull the breech lever back until it locks and slide the MCL back until the probe from the MCL can slide into the hole at the center of the magazine.

The breech lever pulled fully back.

Next, return the breech lever to the fully closed position and slide the MCL forward all the way and then down. There are two forward positions for the MCL. One allows the magazine to function, and the other does not. And this brings me to basically my only complaint about the Cricket: the manual is terrible. It is poorly written and reproduced. In my view, when you spend 1.5 kilobucks for an air rifle, you should get a decent manual. End of rant; back to our regularly scheduled review. (End of rant; now back to our regularly scheduled review).

Now you are good to go. Take aim and start the trigger squeeze. The first stage requires only 7.8 ounces, according to my Lyman digital trigger gauge and at 13 ounces, the shot goes down range. The trigger is very crisp, and there is a very positive “stop” between the first and second stages.

The shot goes off with a distinct POP which is about as loud as a loud springer. It is not raucous by any means, but you can definitely hear it. This gun would not be your first choice for maintaining stealth while shooting.

The Cricket launches 18.2 grain JSB Exact Heavy pellets at 887 fps (average), and delivering 29.2 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle.

Accuracy is top notch, and the Cricket seems to be un-fussy about ammunition. With Crosman Premiers, at 32 yards, it delivered a 5-shot group that measured just .675 inch from edge to edge, which works out to .455 inch ctc. With JSB pellets, I got a 5-shot group at the same distance that measured just .75 inches, or .53 ctc.

In addition, I found the shooting position very comfortable, with my cheek resting not on the receiver, but on the bare section of barrel just forward of the receiver.

If you’re looking for a short air rifle that is suitable for hunting, the Cricket Standard Tactical delivers the goods.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

Tags: air rifle, Airguns, Cricket, pcp, pellet gun, review
Posted in Airguns | 8 Comments »

Brocock Concept Super 6

Monday, July 1, 2013

The Brocock Contour Super 6 is smaller and lighter than the Brocock Specialist.

Those of you who regularly follow this blog might recall that recently I was pretty pleased with the Brocock Specialist. I applauded the Specialist because, at 6 lbs. 7 oz. with a scope mounted and only 34.5 inches from stem to stern, the Specialist seemed to embody the idea of a lightweight, easy-to-handle hunting rig. As I boxed up the Specialist to send it back to www.airgunsofarizona.com, I thought the subject of lightweight hunting rigs was pretty well closed.

Well, I was wrong. Recently I unzipped another long, slim package from the good folks at Airguns of Arizona to discover the Brocock Concept Super 6, and it – amazingly – is even smaller and lighter than the Specialist. It measures just 32.25 inches from end to end and weighs just 5 lbs. 9 oz. with a Hawke 4 x 32 scope mounted. At the aft end of the Super 6, you’ll find a soft black rubber butt pad that can be adjusted vertically. Forward of that is a hardwood skeleton thumbhole stock that is decidedly right-handed.

The forward edge of the pistol grip is nearly vertical and is checkered on both sides. Above the thumbhole is a vertical thumb rest. The wood of the stock forms a trigger guard that encircles a black metal trigger. Forward of that, the forestock tapers gracefully and features checkering on either side. Underneath the forestock is a single Allen bolt that secures the receiver to the stock.

Above the forestock is the air reservoir that has a black metal cap on the end that unscrews to reveal a male Foster fitting for filling the reservoir from a SCUBA tank or high pressure pump. Above that is the barrel which is shrouded. At the muzzle end of the barrel is a silver metal space which has a black metal fitting that can be removed for fitting a sound moderator (where legal).

Moving back along the barrel, you’ll find the receiver with has a slot on the right hand side for inserting the six-shot rotary magazine and a silver metal molt. The bolt has two positions: locked back and locked forward. On top of the receiver, forward and aft of the breech, are dovetails for mounting a scope. As with the Specialist, the Contour Super 6 has no air gauge and no safety.

To ready the Contour Super 6 for shooting, charge the air cylinder to 200 bar with a SCUBA tank or pump, pull the bolt back and lock it in the back position. You can now remove the rotary magazine and fill it with six .22 caliber pellets by inserting them nose-first into the back of the magazine. Move the bolt up and forward and down again into the forward-lock position to push a pellet out of the magazine and into the barrel. Take aim and squeeze the trigger. The first stage comes out at 1 lb. 12.3 oz; at 5 lb. 6 oz., the shot goes down range.

On the Contour Super 6 sample that I tested, I found that the trigger was noticeably stiffer than the Brocock Specialist. Since the rifle arrived without a manual, I do not know if the trigger weight can be adjusted. I also noticed that the report was quieter on the Contour Super 6 than the Specialist. To my ear, it sounds significantly more muted, which would make it more acceptable for shooting in close proximity to neighbors. It is, however, still clearly audible, and if you are looking for an air rifle that will be essentially unnoticeable, the Contour Super 6 would not be the best choice. The more neighbor-friendly report makes sense, because the Contour Super 6 makes about 15.5 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle, compared for almost 20 foot-pounds for the Specialist.

The Contour Super 6 arrived with a target, shot by Kip at Airguns of Arizona at 18 yards, that measured just .5 inches from edge to edge for a 5-shot group. I tried shooting at 32 yards with Crosman .22 Premiers and got groups that measure 1 inch edge to edge, but I think I know why I didn’t get results that were as good as those delivered by the Brocock Specialist. Quite simply, I couldn’t see as well with the 4-power scope as I could with a 10-power scope.

Still, for the airgunner who wants to spend some time afield with a lightweight air rifle that has enough power and accuracy for hunting small game, the Brocock Contour Super 6 offers a delightful choice.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

Tags: air rifle, Airguns, Brocock, pcp, pellet gun, review
Posted in Airguns | No Comments »

The Brocock Specialist – A diminutive tackdriver – Part II

Monday, June 10, 2013

Previous Post – The Brocock Specialist – A diminutive tackdriver – Part I

The magazine slides into a slot on the right side of the receiver.

To get the .22 caliber Brocock Specialist ready to shoot, unscrew the cap at the end of the reservoir and charge the reservoir up to 200 BAR from a SCUBA tank or high pressure pump. At this point, you will immediately notice one of the things that is missing from the Specialist: there is no on-board pressure gauge. As a result, you will have to use the gauge on the pump or the tank to determine when the reservoir has been filled. In addition, you will need to be aware of how many shots you have sent down range to stay within the shot curve.

Pull the bolt back and lock it in the open position. You can now remove the magazine by simply pulling it out of its slot. Push 6 .22 caliber pellets into the magazine (the side with the center bump faces toward the shooter). It’s super easy: just push the pellets in far enough so that the head of the pellet goes past the black o-ring that encircles the magazine. There is no twisting of a top plate to wind up a spring within the magazine. The cocking mechanism in the gun indexes the magazine, so there are no moving parts in the magazine. As a result, the magazines for the Specialist ought to be very reliable. When you’re done loading the magazine, slide it back into its slot in the receiver.

Lift the bolt out of its locked open position, push it forward, and lock it in the closed position. This pushes a pellet out of the magazine and into the barrel. Take aim, squeeze the trigger. At 15.4 oz., the first stage goes out of the trigger. At 3 lb. 2.7 oz., the shot goes down range with a POP. While the report is not as loud as some of the Korean airguns that I have shot, it is definitely much louder than many of today’s shrouded-barrel PCP air rifles. I guestimate that the report is roughly equivalent to a Benjamin 392 at eight pumps. This is not an air rifle that I would recommend for stealthy shooting in your backyard.

Did you notice what was missing from the sequence I described in the paragraph above? At no point, did I say, “switch off the safety.” That’s because there is no safety. You can render the gun safe by not cocking it after your last shot or by locking the bolt in the open position, but once you have moved the bolt forward and a pellet is in the barrel, there is no way to lock the action and prevent it from firing. There two keys to keeping the gun safe: (A) keep your finger out of the trigger guard until you are ready to shoot and (B) keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction until you are ready to shoot.

The Brocock Specialist launches 14.3 grain .22 Crosman Premier pellets at an average velocity of around 785 feet per second, which works out to about 19.5 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle.

Here’s the 5-shot group that Kip shot at 18 yards.

And the accuracy? Well that’s an interesting story. When I unpacked the Brocock Specialist, I found included with it a target shot by Kip at www.airgunsofarizona. It said “JSB 15.89 gr., 5 shots, 18 yards.” In the center of the target was a single ragged hole that measured just half an inch from edge to edge. That works out to .28 inch center-to-center. Not too shabby, I thought.

Here’s the 5-shot group that I shot at 32 yards.

So I charged up the specialist, pulled out my WorkMate, popped a couple of cushions on top of it, and banged off at shot at 13 yards. The Specialist appeared to be holding its zero from when Kip had sighted it in. I moved the target to 32 yards and banged off three groups with the same pellet that Kip had used, the JSB .22 15.89 gr. The best I could do were five-shot groups that measured .75 inch from edge to edge. That’s not a bad showing, but not as good as I had hoped for.

I was about ready to give up when I got that little internal nudge that says: “charge up the gun again and give a try with some Crosman Premiers.” So I did. My second group measured just .5 inch edge-to-edge at 32 yards, the same size as the group Kip had shot at 18 yards. I’ll take that kind of accuracy any day.

The bottom line: the Brocock Specialist is a light, easy to handle air rifle that is wickedly accurate. It’s a bit loud for shooting in close proximity to neighbors, but it ought to be just what the doctor ordered for a day afield.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

Tags: air rifle, Airguns, Brocock, review
Posted in Airguns | 4 Comments »

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Cricket Standard Tactical .22

Brocock Concept Super 6

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