Posts Tagged ‘review’

Falcon T50 10-50×60 Field Target scope

Monday, November 12, 2012

The Falcon T50 10-50×60 Field Target is a large, impressive scope.

When I first became interested in adult precision airguns over a decade ago, one of the first things I encountered was the fine sport of field target. I noticed that a lot of the competitors shot with really large high magnification scopes on top of their rifles. I thought it looked cool, and I would later find out that there was a very good reason for those really big high-mag scopes.

We’ll get to that in a little while, but first some background. Field target involves shooting at metallic silhouettes of birds and animals. Each target has a hole in it – a kill zone – behind which is a paddle. Put a pellet cleanly through the kill zone, hit the paddle, and the target falls down. If you miss the kill zone and hit the face plate of the target or clip the edge of the kill zone with the pellet, the target locks in the upright position. It’s simple, neat, and a potload of fun.

What makes field target really challenging is that the range to the target may vary from 10 to 55 yards, and the size of the kill zone may vary from 3/8 inch to 1-7/8 inch. Further, there is no correlation between the range to the target and the size of the kill zone. A one-inch kill zone at 10 yards is pretty much dead easy, but that same one-inch kill zone at 50 yards starts to get, ah, “interesting.” In addition, a really fiendish FT course designer might stick a half-inch kill zone out beyond 30 yards, which will have many of the shooter muttering dark threats under their breath.

If that was not enough trouble for the field target competitor, there is one other factor to consider: compared to powder burning varmint rifles – which send bullets downrange at 2,000, 3,000 or even 4,000 feet per second – the airguns used in field target competition shoot slowly – usually well under 1,000 fps. Consequently, the field target competitor is going to want to know – with as much precision as possible – the exact range to the target. Why? So he (or she) can accurately compensate for the arc-like trajectory of the pellet.

And that’s where big, high-magnification scopes like the Falcon T50 10-50×60 Field Target come in. With a high magnification scope, the shooter focuses precisely on the target and then reads the range to the target off the side wheel (or the objective bell of the scope in the case of a non-side-focus scope). The higher the magnification, the easier it is to focus precisely, particularly at long distance.

The T50 is specifically designed for competitive shooting at less than 100 yards. It is 17.32 inches long, weighs 35.1 oz., features a mil-dot reticle, 1/8” MOA per click, and has been designed to provide range finding that is accurate within 1.5 yards at 50 yards, according to the factory specifications. The turrets are large, well-marked and can be reset to zero.

That hole allows a hex wrench to be inserted for tightening the side wheel on the side focus knob.

The T50 comes with a sheet of stick-on numbers so the shooter can set up the side wheel according to his or her preference.

The T50 comes with a large side wheel that clamps to the side focusing knob and aids in precise focusing and range finding. The side wheel is accompanied by a sheet of self-adhesive numbers that can be placed on the side wheel so that the competitor can do his own setup according to preference. Also included in the package are front and rear flip-up lens covers, a lens cleaning cloth, hex keys for the windage and elevation turrets and side wheel, an objective thread protector, and a threaded sunshade.

The knobs on the T50 are large and well marked.

I mounted the T50 on my Marauder using SportsMatch extra high 30mm scope rings, and found that scope delivers amazing magnification and sharp focusing at distance and also, surprisingly, sharp focus at 50X at just a bit less than 10 yards. Impressive.

Now, to be perfectly candid, the highest magnification scope I had used previously was a 32X. So when I tried the T50 at the highest magnification, I found it a little disconcerting how much movement (of myself) I was observing. But one of the nice things about the T50 is that you can turn the collar near the eyepiece and enjoy crisp clear views at slightly less magnification.

If you are looking for a 50X scope to aid your field target competition, the Falcon T50 10-50×60 Field Target may be just what you need.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

–          Jock Elliott

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The Webley Rebel – the New Kid in Town

Monday, November 5, 2012

The Webley Rebel with optional scope mounted.

When I first got interested in adult precision airguns about a dozen years ago, my very purchase was a Benjamin 392 multi-stroke pneumatic. And I can’t tell you how many airgunners I’ve talked to over the years who started with a Crosman, Benjamin, or Sheridan multi-stroke pneumatic . . . it has to be scores of them.

And little wonder – multi-stroke pneumatics (MSPs) have a whole lot going for them. They tend to be very reliable, they are easy to shoot well, and you can vary the power by varying the number of strokes you put into them. There is no recoil, they are self-contained, and MSPs can be left pumped up all day without harm. In short, I like MSPs.

So imagine my delight when I found out that Webley has introduced a new MSP airgun, the Rebel. The .177 caliber Rebel stretches 34.6 inches from end to end and weighs just 4.4 lbs. At the extreme aft end of the Rebel is a rubbery butt page, which is attached to the ambidextrous synthetic stock by a white spacer. The stock is finished with a fine pebbly surface, giving it a matte appearance. On either side of the pistol grip and forestock is a pattern of tiny bumps to improve grip.

The pistol grip and forestock have small bumps to improve gripping.

Forward of the pistol grip, a black plastic trigger guard surrounds a black plastic trigger and push-button safety. Forward of the trigger guard is the forestock which serves as the pumping arm to charge the action. Above the forestock is the barrel which has a plastic fitting on the end that serves as a mount for the fiber-optic front sight. Moving back along the barrel, you’ll find the receiver, which is molded out of black plastic and has a dovetail on top for mount a scope or rear sight.

The breech closed and bolt forward.

The breech open and bolt back.

On the right side of the receiver is the breech. At the end of the receiver on the right side is a lever. Press it down, and the bolt springs backward, opening the breech for loading a pellet.

The pumping lever/forearm full open.

To ready the Rebel for shooting, grab the air rifle by the pistol grip with one hand and the forearm with the other. Open the forearm all the way and return it to its original position for each charging stroke. Pump the Rebel up to eight times for maximum power. When you’re done pumping, click the lever on the right side of the receiver, and when the breech pops open, load a pellet and push the bolt back to its original position.

Ease the first stage out of the trigger, squeeze the second stage, and the shot goes down range. Now this is where everything starts to get very interesting. First, the Webley Rebel is supposed to have something called a knock-open valve. Now, to be honest, I am not entire sure of the design details, but I do know that it is supposed to mean that the more pumps you put into it, the harder it will be to pull the trigger. So I did a little testing. At three pumps, the first stage was 1 lb. 6.2 oz., and the second stage was 2 lb. 8.6 oz. At five pumps, the first stage was 2 lb. 2 oz., and the second stage was 3 lb. 2.3 oz. At eight pumps, the first stage was 2 lb. 7.9 oz., and the second stage was 3 lb. 9 oz. So, yes, the trigger does get heavier as you increase the number of pumps, but at no point was the trigger so heavy that it was bothersome. Quite the contrary, I found the trigger to be very crisp and manageable.

The velocity, too, varies with the number of pumps. Here are the chrony results with RWS 7 grain Hobby pellets:

4 pumps = 645 fps
5 pumps = 705 fps
6 pumps = 740 fps
7 pumps = 766 fps
8 pumps = 786 fps

This picture speaks volumes for itself.

I save the best part for last: the Rebel delivers excellent accuracy. At 17 yards, at five pumps, using Crosman Premier Light 7.9 grain domed pellets, I shot a five-shot group that measured just .31 inches from edge to edge or just .13 inches from center to center. In addition, at five pumps, the report is remarkably subdued, just a mild pop.

In the end, I can heartily recommend the Webley Rebel. It delivers a whole lot of airgunning performance for not a lot of money. With an inexpensive scope mounted, it would be an excellent choice for an old hand at airgunning or an outright newbie.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

–          Jock Elliott

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The RWS Model 48 and Vortex Crossfire II scope

Monday, October 29, 2012

From time to time the good folks at www.airgunsofarizona.com send me a care package of guns and other goodies that they think I might like to play with and test. Usually the package contains the latest offering from various airguns manufacturers.

Recently, though, the AoA gang surprised me by sending an air rifle that I had been aware of ever since I became interested in adult precision air rifles over a decade ago but had never seen or shot . . . the RWS Model 48.

Now that I have handled and shot an RWS 48, I must admit that I am really astonished that there isn’t more buzz about this air rifle on the online forums. It really is a very nice gun that performs quite well. More about that in a little while. First, let’s take a walk around the RWS Model 48.

The cocking lever is mounted on the right side of the receiver.

The RWS Model 48 is a sidelever single shot spring piston air rifle. Available in .177 or .22, it stretches 42 inches from end to end and weighs 8.5 lbs without a scope. At the extreme aft end of the 48 is a soft rubber recoil pad that is attached to the ambidextrous hardwood stock with a white plastic spacer. The stock is completely unadorned with any checkering, slots, grooves, or other decorations. The fit and finish is very pleasing to my eye, and with the exception of the cocking lever being mounted on the right side of the rifle, it looks like it could be shot equally well by right or left handed shooters.

The pistol grip has a moderate slope to it and forward of that is a black trigger guard that surrounds the black metal T06 trigger. Forward of that, the forestock is smooth and tapered. Underneath, toward the end, a large screw helps to secure the action in the stock. Forward of that is the barrel, at the end of which is a molded plastic muzzle brake that also serves as a mount for the blade-type front sight.

Moving back along the barrel, you’ll find the receiver and a notch-type microadjustable rear sight. Behind that is the breech. A silver metal breech block slides back when the cocking lever is pulled back to allow loading of pellets. Further back is a dovetail for mounting a scope, and at the back end of the receiver is a push-pull safety. That’s it – the RWS Model 48 is simplicity itself.

Before you can return the cocking level to its original position, you have to press down this small metal tab on the left hand side of the breech.

To ready the Model 48 for shooting, grab the end of the side cocking lever (I usually prop the gun on my thigh with the muzzle pointed vertically) and pull it down and back until it latches (it takes just under 40 pounds of effort). Insert a pellet in the breech. At this point, the cocking lever is locked in the full back position to prevent the breech from inadvertently snapping forward and injuring your fingers. Before you can return the cocking level to its original position, you have to press down a small metal tab on the left hand side of the breech, otherwise you can’t close the breech.

Take aim at your target, ease the first stage out of the trigger (this takes about 1 lb. 8 oz. of pressure), and begin squeezing the second stage. At about 2 lb. 9 oz., the shot is goes down range.

The RWS Model 48 delivers a serious turn of speed, launching .177 JSB Exact RS 7.33 gr. pellets at 1058 fps average (18.22 foot-pounds of energy) and JSB Exact Heavy 10.34 gr. pellets at 853 fps average (16.7 foot-pounds).  The report is about what you would expect from a springer of this power: a WHACK that sounds a bit like someone hitting a board with a hammer.

The accuracy is also what you might expect from a springer of this power. From a rest, at 25 meters (27 yards), I put five JSB Exact pellets into a group that measured .875 inch edge to edge, or just under .7 inch center to center. That’s certainly good enough for defending the garden.

The Vortex Crossfire II 4-12 x 40 AO scope seems very solidly built and has a terrific warranty.

I tested the RWS Model 48 with the Vortex Crossfire II 4-12 x 40 AO scope aboard, and I’ve got to say that I continue to be impressed with these Vortex scopes. They are bright, clear, and appear to be very solidly built. The model I tested features the Dead-Hold BDC reticle, which provides multiple aiming points. Even more impressive than the construction and the reticle of this Vortex scope is the warranty: an unlimited, unconditional lifetime warranty through Vortex Optics. Clearly, the folks at Vortex believe their scopes can withstand whatever punishment we airgunners can dish out.

I mounted the Vortex using an RWS 1-inch Lock Down Mount that is specifically designed for RWS air rifles. It offers two anti-recoil pins, a very secure grip on the scope rail, and .025 inch elevation to compensate for the barrel deflection in RWS rifles. If you’re going to mount a scope on an RWS rifle, I highly recommend this mount.

In the end, I liked the combination of the RWS Model 48 and the Vortex Crossfire II scope. It’s a flat-shooting no-frills fixed-barrel combo that should provide years of shooting fun.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

–          Jock Elliott

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Omega Carbon Fiber Tank

Monday, October 15, 2012

The Omega CTF75 carbon fiber tank.

Here at El Rancho Elliott, I probably have at least one example of every single type of airgun powerplant. There are things I like about each type of airgun powerplant, and some things that I’m not so crazy about.

For example, airguns that are powered by 12-gram CO2 cartridges are excellent for family shooting because the cocking effort is usually very low and are convenient because all you need to do is throw a handful of cartridges and a tin of pellets in your pockets, and you’re good to go. The downside of the CO2 powered guns is that their performance can suffer if the temperature drops below 50 degrees or rises well above 90.

Similarly, the good part about spring-piston airguns is that they deliver a fair amount of power for a single cocking stroke. The shortcoming is that you have to deal with the weird recoil of the springer powerplant. And so on.

When it comes to precharged pneumatic airguns, the big why-to-buy is that they are the accuracy champs and generally easy to shoot well. The disadvantage is that they have to be refilled periodically using a high pressure pump or SCUBA tank . . .  which brings us to today’s subject.

For almost a decade now, I have had an 80 cubic foot aluminum SCUBA tank that I have used exclusively for filling and refilling precharged pneumatic air rifles and pistols. The guy at the SCUBA shop regards me with deep suspicion (even though I am a certified diver) because this tank has never been in the water and in fact has never been mounted in a dive harness. “It’s just not right,” he says.

I finally bought him around to my way of thinking by bringing in one of the precharged guns to show him. “At 50 yards, this gun will put pellet after pellet in a group you can cover with a nickel,” I said. He reckoned that was pretty neat (he shoots black powder), and I pointed out that, as the owner of a dive shop, he wouldn’t have to worry about a plentiful supply of air.

But I have a love/hate relationship with my insect green aluminum SCUBA tank. It seems like every time I turn around the thing needs to inspected or “hydroed,” which means an extra charge and delay in addition to the normal fill-up.  Further, my aluminum tank can be charged only to 3,000 psi. Most precharged airguns take a standard fill of 3,000 psi. So that means as soon as you charge just one air rifle off the 3,000 psi aluminum tank, you will have knocked the pressure in the tank down some. The next gun that you need to fill you will not be able to fill all the way to 3,000 psi, and with each succeeding fill, the pressure will be a little bit less. This will continue until the pressure in the tank will get down to, say, 2,000 psi, at which point it will not be useful for filling precharged pneumatic airguns, unless you have to own a low-pressure gun, even though there is quite a lot of air left in the tank.

In addition, my aluminum tank has a standard SCUBA valve and filling yoke attached to it, which mean you need to have a safecracker’s touch to open the valve just a tiny bit so that you can fill the reservoir on your PCP airgun s-l-o-w-l-y.

The slow fill system makes it really easy to fill the reservoir on your airgun slowly, the way you are supposed to.

Not too long ago, the good folks at www.airgunsofarizona.com sent me an Omega CTF75 carbon fiber tank with a slow safe fill system, and I’ve got to say that it has changed my whole attitude about tanks. The tank is about two feet long and weighs 10 lbs empty. It can be filled to 4500 psi, which means that you can fill a lot of airgun reservoirs to 3,000 psi before you are not getting full-pressure fills. This means far fewer trips to the dive shop.

In addition, the slow safe fill system means that airflow into the airgun reservoir is automatically restricted, so you don’t have to worry about inadvertently opening the valve too far. It’s a lovely system, easy to use, and I am already addicted to it.

So, the bottom line for me is as follows: if you plan to shoot PCP air rifles or pistols and are thinking about getting a SCUBA tank for filling your PCP guns, if you have a shop or firehouse that can fill carbon fiber tanks to 4,500 psi, I would heartily recommend the Omega tank. Sure, it’s more money than an aluminum tank, but it is much more convenient and easier to use.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

–          Jock Elliott

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The Crosman 1720T Target Pistol

Monday, October 8, 2012

The Crosman 1720T is the only air pistol that I am aware of that was purpose built for Pistol Field Target. It can be used for unlimited class air pistol silhouette as well.

One of the cool things about being an airgun writer is that occasionally you get to hear some background on a product that you probably might not have known about otherwise.

The Crosman 1720T Target PCP Pistol is a case in point. Russ Page, Crosman product design engineer, was sitting at his desk one day when he gets a call from Ray Apelles. Ray and his father Hans are enthusiastic field target competitors and represent Crosman Corporation at various FT events as “Team Crosman.” Crosman, in turn, supports Ray and Hans with parts, guns, and so forth.

“Pistol field target is growing in popularity,” Ray says, “and we would like a PCP pistol specifically designed for pistol FT. Ideally, it would have a little longer barrel  and more air capacity than the Crosman 1701 silhouette pistol and would shooter faster too – over 700 fps with light pellets and over 600 fps with Crosman Premier Heavies.”

According to Page, “So we built a couple of prototypes using most of the lower from the Marauder and some parts from the silhouette pistol. We had to get a special barrel, a 12-inch choked Lothar Walther barrel, and the result, after some tweaks, is the 1720T.”

The 1720T is quite some air pistol. A single-shot, .177 caliber, precharged pneumatic, it stretches nearly 18 inches from end to end and weighs 2.8 pounds. It is the first pistol that I am aware of that is purpose built for pistol field target.

The 1720T can be set up with the bolt on the left or right hand side.

At the extreme aft end of the 1720T is the black metal bolt which can be set up for right or left hand usage. Below that is the pistol grip which is ambidextrous. Forward of the pistol grip is a push-button safety and a black metal trigger guard which surrounds a gold-colored metal trigger that is fully adjustable. Forward of that is a polymer forestock which has a circular pressure gauge set into the bottom.

The cap at the end of the air reservoir slips off to reveal a male foster fitting for filling the reservoir. The barrel above the reservoir is shrouded for a very neighbor-friendly report.

Above the forestock is air reservoir. At the end is a black plastic cap which slips off to reveal a male foster fitting for charging the 1720T. Above the air reservoir is a shrouded, choked Walther Lothar barrel. Moving back along the barrel, there is a band that connects the air reservoir with the barrel shroud. Moving back again, you’ll find the receiver, which has a dovetail in front of and behind the breech for mounting a scope. There are no sights on the 1720T, so you have to mount a scope or red dot for aiming.

To get the 1720T ready for shooting, charge it to 3,000 psi with a high pressure pump or SCUBA tank. Pull the bolt back, insert a pellet into the breech, and return the bolt to its original position. Click the safety off and squeeze the first stage out of the trigger. This took 1 lb 2.1 oz of effort on the sample I tested. At 2 lbs., 0.3 oz., the shot goes down range. With the shrouded barrel, the report is extremely muted – not dead quiet, but certainly quiet enough for suburban use.

In factory trim, the 1720T launches 7.9 grain pellets at 715-720 fps and will get about 30 shots per fill. It will send 10.5 grain pellets down range at 630-640 fps for the same number of shots. Page says, “You can play with the tuning to get 750 fps with light pellets, but you won’t get as many shots or as flat a shot string.”

The 1720T also comes with an additional transfer port that can be installed by an airgunsmith to lower the velocity to 550 fps with 7.9 grain pellets and about 70 shots per fill.

I shot this 5-shot group at 25 meters (27 yards) off a very casual rest with the 1720T.

In stock factory trim, shooting off a rest, I got a 5 shot group at 27 meters that measured 0.6 inches center to center, and Crosman claims they typically shoot 5 shot groups at 10 meters that measure .375 inches. Clearly, the 1720T has the accuracy necessary for field target and silhouette.

The plastic shoulder stock normally used on the Crosman 1377 pistol turns the 1720T into a very neat and handy ultracarbine. I used this rig to test the 1720T for accuracy.

To test the 1720T for accuracy, I mounted the shoulder stock that is often used on the 1377 pistol (it is not included with the pistol and is available at additional cost from Crosman), and I “discovered” that the 1720T makes a really cool ultracarbine, perfectly suited for defending the birdfeeder.

In short, I think Crosman has come up with a real winner in the 1720T – a pistol suitable for field target, unlimited class silhouette, plinking, or even close range small game hunting. What’s not to like?

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

–          Jock Elliott

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Going Rogue – Part II

Monday, September 3, 2012

The Rogue pushes into your shoulder and wants to lift the muzzle when the shot is triggered. I recommend shooting off a bipod.

To get the Benjamin Rogue ready for shooting, you first have to install batteries to power the electronics that control this air rifle. Lay the Rogue on its left side and remove the right side cover screws with a .0625 allen wrench. Install two AA batteries (the folks at Crosman recommend lithium batteries for long life) and replace the cover. Remove the cover on the foster fitting at the end of the air reservoir and charge the Rogue to 3,000 psi with a SCUBA tank or high pressure pump. The display on the left side of the receiver will tell you how much pressure is in the air tube.

The Rogue magazine holds six .357 caliber bullets.

Load the Rogue clip with six .357 bullets and slide it into the breech from the left-hand side until it clicks. Slide the bolt forward and down. This will push a bullet from the magazine into the barrel. Now, note this: the Rogue is designed with an extra position on the bolt. It has to be moved back about a quarter of an inch into the READY TO FIRE position before the electronic action can fire. To allow hunters to be able to walk around with the Rogue charged and loaded, there is a bolt activation lever just below the bolt that, when in the DISABLED position, prevents the bolt from inadvertently moving back into the READY TO FIRE position. The bolt activation lever enables and disables the bolt, and the push-button safety near the trigger enables and disables the trigger.

So, to fire the Rogue, flip the bolt activation lever to ACTIVE, pull the bolt back to READY TO FIRE, push the safety off, take the slack out of the first stage of the trigger, and squeeze the second stage.

A 145 grain Nosler Benjamin eXTREME Bullet next to a 7.9 grain Crosman Premier Pellet.

What happens next is really quite astonishing – the Rogue kicks. Ed Schultz says it has roughly the recoil of a 28-gauge automatic shotgun. (I’ve never shot a 28-gauge shotgun, but I’ll take his word for it.) The recoil is not punishing by any means, it doesn’t slam into your shoulder, but the Rogue definitely pushes back against you, and the muzzle tries to lift. When I first shot the Rogue at Crosman, I was using cushions for a rest, and it didn’t work very well. In fact, given the weight of the Rogue, and its propensity to recoil and lift, I consider that a bipod, which can be readily attached to the Picatinny rail under the forearm, is an essential accessory for this air rifle. A bipod makes the Rogue much easier to shoot well.

The report of the Rogue is about as loud as a subsonic .22 rimfire, but – thanks to the shrouded barrel – not nearly as loud as it might be. (The loudest precharged air rifle I ever shot was a Sumatra .22, which I thought sounded like a 12-gauge shotgun. I hated it.) The Rogue, considering the power it generates, is very modest in the sound it makes, but still it is not the air rifle for shooting in a suburban backyard . . . unless, of course, you have an urgent need to kill a coyote (even then, BE SURE to check with local authorities to make sure that shooting an airgun is legal where you are.).

I put six 145-grain Nosler bullets through the chronograph. Here are the velocities in order (fps): 783.2, 754.6, 750.9, 749.0, 741.3, and 739.1. (After six shots — a magazine-load — the air pressure drops to about 2,000 psi and the reservoir needs to be refilled.) That works out to 752.18 fps average and – drumroll please – 182.2 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle. That is one pot-load of power, roughly 50% more than a .22 rimfire. That’s about 10 times the power of most air rifles sold in the United States, power enough for hunting coyotes and hogs. That’s also enough power that you want to be extremely careful in choosing your backstop for target shooting with the Rogue.

Five shots at 50 yards with the Rogue.

Shooting the Rogue off its bipod at 50 yards, I put five Nosler bullets into a group that measured 1.4 inches from edge to edge.  A number of bullets are available for the Rogue, including a 95 gr. hollow point, a 170 gr. flat nose, a 159 gr. round nose, and a 127 gr. flat nose.

The power with which it hits is impressive. I’m told that when Crosman brought out the Rogue at the Northeast Regional Field Target Championship in 2011, they put a target on a cinderblock at 50 yards, and the Rogue punched a hole in the cinderblock.

Bottom line: I think a lot of hunters and pest control professionals will find the Rogue an interesting and useful tool.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

–          Jock Elliott

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Posted in Airguns | 6 Comments »

Going Rogue – Part I

Monday, August 27, 2012

The Benjamin Rogue is a big, powerful .357 caliber precharged pneumatic air rifle.

When I’m not writing this blog for www.airgunsofarizona.com, I occasionally have other writing assignments in the airgun field. For the past several years, for example, I have written the “airguns update” for the SHOT Show Daily newspaper that is handed out each day at the SHOT Show.

Now, there is too much going on at the SHOT Show to print each day’s edition of the newspaper fresh from scratch. That would be the road to madness. As a result, a considerable chunk of the SHOT Show Daily is pre-printed well ahead of the show. The article that I write about what’s new in the field of airguns is part of that preprinted material.

So here’s what happens: sometime in August (usually) my editor at the SHOT Show Daily will contact me and given me a deadline for my airgun article. The deadline is typically sometime in October. So I begin contacting all the airgun manufacturers and distributors who will be exhibiting at the SHOT Show and I tell them that I need the pertinent information about whatever new products they will be exhibiting at the SHOT Show by a date that is usually a week before the day I have to turn in my story to my editor.

As a result, I usually know about a lot – but not all – of the cool new airgun stuff that will be unveiled at the SHOT Show. I have to keep all of this information is strictest confidence until it is officially released at the show. I have also learned over the years that many of the new products that are announced at SHOT Show will not be commercially available until later – sometimes much later – in the year.

So I was talking with one of the nice marketing people at Crosman about some products that were announced at the SHOT Show 2012 when she asked, “Have you ever seen a Benjamin Rogue?” I had to admit that I had not and didn’t think anything more about it until three weeks later one arrived at my door.

Until the Rogue showed up, the largest bore airgun I had ever shot was a .25 caliber.  Quarterbore, as it is sometimes called, is a nice fat caliber that serves very well for hunting small game, varminting, and pest control, but the pellets might weigh, say, 19 to 25 grains. The Rogue, though, is a .357 caliber precharged pneumatic air rifles that launches “bullets” that might weigh as much as 170 grains.  You don’t have to be Einstein to figure out that if the Rogue could launch these pellets faster than I could throw them, it would be fairly easy to generate energy at the muzzle that would be in excess of a .22 rimfire cartridge. That’s a lot of power for an airgun. I didn’t think that the pellet trap I ordinarily use would be capable of stopping pellets from the Rogue.

Further, I figured any airgun capable of generating that kind of power was likely to be pretty loud. So immediately I had a problem: I needed to find a place where I could shoot the Rogue safely and where it wouldn’t disturb neighbors.  I mentioned this to the folks at Crosman, and one of them suggested I bring the Rogue with me when I covered the Northeast Regional Field Target Championship. I did, and the first time that I got to shoot the Rogue was in the company of Ed Schultz, who is the head honcho for engineering at Crosman.

This display and these three buttons serve as the control center for the Rogue.

The Benjamin Rogue is a big, hairy-chested, powerful precharged pneumatic air rifle. It weighs 9.5 pounds before you mount a scope or bipod, stretches four feet long, and is a six-shot repeater. At the extreme aft end of the Rogue is an AR15 style buttstock that can be expanded or collapsed after squeezing a release lever.  Forward of that is the receiver, which has a liquid crystal display on one side and three buttons for making various control selections. The Rogue is electronically controlled, including a digital pressure display and an electronic valve that precisely meters the amount of air that is used for each shot. The shooter can choose from two power settings and various bullet weights to custom-tailor the performance of the Rogue to their preference.

Crosman has recently simplified the software that controls the Rogue. “We realized the no one wants to shoot a big bore airgun on low power,” Schultz says, “so we eliminated that option.”

Below the left side of the receiver is an AR-style pistol grip and forward of that is the trigger and trigger guard, above which is a push-button safety. Ahead of the trigger guard, you’ll find the forestock, part of which is covered with a tan polymer guard that is textured for gripping. Beyond that, the rest of the forestock is black and has a Picatinny rail for attaching accessories.

Moving forward again, the air tube, finished in tan, has a screw-off cap at the end. Undo it, and there is a male foster fitting for filling the air reservoir. Above the air tube is the barrel, which is shrouded and has baffles to quiet the report. Moving rearward along the barrel, the receiver has a 3/8 inch dovetail for mounting a scope. In the middle of the receiver is the breech which has a slot large enough for accepting a 6-shot rotary magazine.

On the right side of the panel, you’ll find a removable panel, the bolt, and a small bolt activation lever. That’s it.

Next time, we’ll take a look at what’s it is like to shoot the Rogue.

Til then, aim true and shoot straight.

–          Jock Elliott

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The Morph

Monday, July 30, 2012

There is a part of me that never got over being ten years old, roaming the summertime woods and fields of the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont with my BB gun and the neighbor kid and his BB gun. Those were golden times. It was Big Time, Big Deal to walk over to the general store in Evansville (it was, in fact, the only store in Evansville) with a coin in our pockets to buy a fresh tube of BBs and maybe a Popsicle.

Those were golden times. I’ll never forget them, and they left me with a distinct soft spot in my heart for BB guns. Recently, the folks at UmarexUSA sent me one of the most unusual airguns that I’ve seen in my career as an airgun writer – the Morph.

The Morph in pistol configuration.

What’s a Morph? It’s a CO2-powered repeater BB pistol that morphs – changes – into a rifle and while it does that, it gain some speed and power and gets quieter. Neat trick, no?

The Morph is quite a stylish piece of goods. The heart of it – the pistol, fashioned to look like a semi-automatic – has a kind modern, semi-futuristic look to it that reminds me of a firearm I saw once, but I can’t recall the name. The entire Morph pistol is just 11.5 inches from end to end and appears to be constructed mostly of a matte black engineering polymer.

The piercing screw at the bottom of the pistol grip.

At the top back end of the receiver is a notch type rear sight with a green fiber optic dot on either side. Below that, on the back of the “slide” is a soft rubber flap that can be opened to access a velocity adjustment screw. The pistol grip is nicely tucked under the rear of the receiver and slanted. The rear of the pistol grip – the backstrap – can be removed to insert a 12-gram CO2 cartridge and the front of the ambidextrous pistol grip has finger indentations. On the bottom of the pistol grip is a piercing screw. More about this later.

On the left side of the receiver is a slot for loading BBs. Forward of the pistol grip, a black polymer trigger guard surrounds a non-adjustable black trigger. Forward of the trigger guard, the bottom of the receiver is fitted with a Picatinny rail for mounting accessories such as a laser or flashlight.

The front sight.

At the front of the pistol you’ll find the muzzle and above that, a red fiber optic front sight that is mounted on a dovetail on the top of the receiver. Behind the front sight is a long Picatinny rail that can be used for mounting a red dot, scope, or whathaveyou. Finally, on right side of the Morph pistol, just above the trigger guard, you’ll find a switch type safety.

You remove the backstrap on the pistol grip to gain access to the chamber for the 12-gram CO2 cartridge.

To get the Morph pistol ready for shooting, remove the backstrap by pressing the backstrap release button and sliding the backstrap down. Slide a 12-gram CO2 cartridge into the slot and tighten the piercing screw until you hear a hiss. Squeeze the trigger once and you should be rewarded with a loud POP. If you don’t hear a pop, try tightening the piercing screw to make sure the cartridge has been pierced and is releasing CO2.

You can see the BB loading slot on the left side of the receiver just below the top rail.

Next, put the Morph on SAFE and slide the BB follower (in the BB loading slot on the left side of the receiver) all the way toward the muzzle until you can push it down and lock it in the retention slot. Pour up to 30 BBs into the loading hole and gently release the BB follower when you are done.

Take aim at your target, flick off the safety, and squeeze the trigger. At about 7 lbs of effort on the trigger, the shot goes down range with a pop, launching BBs at around 418 fps average. That’s enough speed to punch through the side of a soup can at 7 yards and split the other side. Keep squeezing the trigger and the Morph pistol will keep sending BB down range until the magazine is empty. I estimate that you’ll get about 40-45 shots per cartridge.

As a repeater BB pistol in and of itself, the Morph acquits itself well. It’s a lot of fun to shoot for bouncing cans or whiffle practice golf ball around the yard.

But the Morph isn’t done. As they say in the informercials: “But wait, there’s more!”

The Morph also converts into a long-barrel pistol or a rifle.

The Morph with the forearm in place.

There are actually two ways to convert the Morph into a long-barrel pistol. The “Official” way is to slide the red fiber optic front sight out of its dovetail on the pistol, slide the forearm over the front the Morph pistol (the forearm has its own fiber optic front sight), and then slide the long barrel down the hole in the forearm and screw it into place.

The Morph with forearm and long barrel mounted.

The unofficial Uncle Jock way of creating the long barrel pistol is to skip removing the front sight and mounting the forearm and simply screw the long barrel into the muzzle of the Morph pistol. The result looks like some sort of assassin’s pistol with the world’s baddest silencer. (A little voice in my head kept saying, “No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die.”)

The Uncle Jock version of the Morph long barrel pistol.

Whichever method of creating the long barrel pistol you chose, the effects are the same: the loudness of the report goes down, and the velocity goes up, to around 584 fps average. As you might imagine, with the rise in velocity also comes a rise in penetration. The Morph now easily blows through both side of a soup can at 7 yards.

The Morph fully morphed into a rifle.

Finally, you can remove the backstrap on the pistol grip and attach a shoulder stock, fully converting the Morph from a pistol into a rifle.

The bottom line: I think the Morph is a whole lot of fun. I believe the Uncle Jock version of the long barrel pistol is the cat’s meow for hunting hornets in the back yard. The Morph combo would be a fun gun to use to teach a youngster to shoot. Just make sure that everyone is properly supervised (you have to be close enough to re-direct the muzzle if necessary) and that everyone wears eye protection (because BBs tend to ricochet more than pellets).

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

–          Jock Elliott

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Browning Buck Mark URX – the Plinkmeister

Monday, July 23, 2012

The Browning Buck Mark URX.

Every once in a while, I stumble on to an air rifle or air pistol that simply surprises me, and recently the good folks at UmarexUSA sent me an air pistol that does indeed astonish me: the Browning Buck Mark URX.

The Buck Mark URX is a break-barrel, spring-piston, .177 caliber air pistol that looks like the powder burning Buck Mark URX offered by Browning. The Buck Mark air pistol stretches just one foot from end to end and weighs 1 lb. 12 oz.

The Buck Mark URX is made of plastic and metal and nicely finished in matte black. At the aft you’ll find a false “slide” is made of metal, while the pistol grip below it is a very comfortable ambidextrous black polymer with molded-in finger indentations. At the juncture of the pistol grip and the trigger guard there is an inoperable button safety, molded in to look like the firearm. A black trigger guard surrounds a black non-adjustable trigger.

Forward of the trigger guard is the barrel which is black polymer molded around an inner metal barrel. The cocking linkage is just barely visible below the barrel. At the end of the barrel is a black blade type front sight. Moving back along the barrel, the top of the receiver has a Picatinny rail suitable for mounting a red dot. At the aft end of the Picatinny rail is a notch type rear sight that is adjustable for windage and elevation. The only other feature of consequence is a lever-type safety on the left side of the receiver just above the pistol grip.

The Buck Mark URX cocked and ready for loading.

To ready the Buck Mark URX for shooting, grasp the end of the barrel and pull it down and back until it latches. This requires just under 20 lbs. of effort, breaks open the breech for loading, and activates the automatic safety. Insert a .177 pellet into the breech and return the barrel to its original position. Take aim, flick off the safety, and squeeze the trigger.

There appears to be just one stage to the trigger and at about 6 lbs of pressure, the shot goes off. Frankly, I was surprised at the reading on my Lyman digital trigger gauge, because the trigger pull doesn’t feel that hard to me. It feels more like 4 lbs., and I had no problem shooting with it.

Now, here’s the surprising part: the Buck Mark URX is, hands-down, the wimpiest spring pistol air pistol I have ever shot. It launched 7 grain RWS Hobby pellets through my Oehler chronograph at an average of 333 fps. That works out to 1.72 foot-pounds of energy. Put another way, it’s not powerful enough to punch a hole in a soup can at 7 yards. This is not an air pistol that you would want to hunt anything with, except possible hornets or other insects.

Having said that, shooting the Buck Mark URX is a blast. At ten yards, I put five pellets into a group that measured 1.25 inches from edge to edge. This is the perfect air pistol for plinking, for knocking soda cans off a fence rail, for blasting a dollar store bag of plastic dinosaurs in front of cardboard box, or for assassinating animal crackers. It’s easy to cock, the recoil is manageable, and report is surprisingly quiet.

If you’re looking for a fun, easy-to-shoot pistol for pure plinking fun, I can highly recommend the Buck Mark URX.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

–          Jock Elliott

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Taking care of your “Precious”

Monday, July 9, 2012

The AoA Tactical Case, an excellent choice for protecting your precious.

I am a huge Lord of the Rings (LOTR) fan. I read the books years ago, and I have the extended Collectors Edition of each movie. LOTR is a story and a mythical world that really appeals to me. My wife thinks that I would prefer to live in Middle Earth, and there are many times that I think she is right.

One of the characters that I can relate to is Gollum, the little creature who had the Ring of Power, lost it to Bilbo Baggins, and has been on a quest to get it back ever since. He refers to the Ring has “my precious.”

While I don’t find Gollum a very admirable character, I will admit that when I get a new airgun, I become just a little tiny bit like Gollum: my latest acquisition become “precious” to me. I don’t want to see my newest pride in joy get banged up, scraped, knocked around, or otherwise molested in any way.  Bottom line: I like to take good care of my gear. I realize that some wear and tear in bound to occur if you actually use and enjoy airguns, but I like to protect them for as long as I can.

As a result, I have become a bit of a connoisseur of gun cases. My very first was a very inexpensive cloth case from a well-known discount chain. The padding was thin, and the case tapered rather sharply. Even though it was allegedly a case for a “rifle and scope,” there were a lot of rifle and scope combinations that simply wouldn’t fit with the case fully closed.

After the first cloth case, I experimented with three different models of hard shell plastic cases with foam lining. These cases work reasonably well but there are some limitations. The first is that not all guns will fit all cases. Some of the hard shell plastic cases are molded in such a way – with intrusions and the placement of the handle – that you can’t always get a gun with a scope to slide comfortably into position.

The second issue with hard shell cases is that, well, that they are “hard” shell cases. They don’t bend or conform to space constrictions. I had this demonstrated to me big time when my brother-in-law, his son, and I were headed to a field target match. We were taking my brother-in-law’s Honda Civic and had half the back seat folded down so that we could fit the gun cases. The problem was that when he showed up at my house, and we tried to slide my hard shell case into the car, it wouldn’t fit. There just wasn’t enough room for three hard shell cases in the space that was available. I put the gun in a soft cloth case, and then it fit.

So . . . all of the above was really just a long-winded introduction for what comes next. Recently, the good folks at www.airgunsofarizona.com sent me one of the nicest gun cases I’ve seen in a long, long time.

The Airguns of Arizona Tactical Case is a cloth case that is rectangular in shape, roughly 47.5 inches long by 13 inches high. That means that this case will accommodate some really large airgun and scope combinations. For example, I was able to place a Benjamin Rogue air rifle, which is one of the largest airguns I’ve seen in quite a while, with scope, inside the AoA case and zip it up completely.

The case can be completed unzipped and folded flat.

The outside is covered in what appears to be black ballistic nylon, and the inside is lined with the same material. Between the two is an impressively deep layer of foam that, it seems to me, ought to provide pretty good protection for your “precious.” A long zipper runs around three sides of the case, so that it can be unzipped completely and laid out flat, providing a convenient surface if you need to do some work on your air rifle.

The zipper has two pulls, so you can rapidly unzip one end or the other. At one end of the case, you’ll find a cloth tab with a metal ring which can be used for hanging up the case. You can also run both zipper pulls to the end of the case and run a lock through the holes on both zipper pulls as well as the metal ring. While this won’t provide ultimate security for your gun (after all someone could cut the fabric to access it), it will prevent the casually curious from getting at it.

Under the velcro flap are two large pockets.

On one side of the case, there is a large Velcro flap. Lift the flap and you’ll find two generous pockets suitable for holding a box of pellets, extra magazines, Allen wrenches, or whathaveyou.  Along the long edge of the case are two cloth carry handles, and on the opposite side of the case is a long padded shoulder strap that can be unclipped if you don’t want to use it.

On the back side is a carrying strap.

In all the AoA Tactical Case is an impressive piece of gear. It’s roomy enough to accommodate most air rifles and the extras you might need, padded well enough to provide a serious level of protection,  yet flexible enough to conform to odd-shaped spaces when needed.

The logo adds a touch of color to an all-black case.

If you are in the market for a soft case for your “precious,” the AoA offering deserves to be at the top of your list for consideration.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight,

–          Jock Elliott

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