Stock is wooden. And while I do like a synthetic stock, there is something about wood in a stock. Be it the heft, the tactile feel of it, the look, or a combination of all of them. Photos just don't do wooden stocks justice. Because what you Get out of holding a wooden stock cannot be conveyed via photo. Like in the movie Star Trek First Contact when Capt Picard was touching the Phoenix and Lieutenant Commander Data the android couldn't understand what Picard was Getting out of the Touch.Anyway. Mounted on top is a Crosman Mil-Dot Scope... 3 - 9 x 40 10=>infinity parallax. As well as the dayglow open sights for if I ever get tired of using a scope.
The barrel breaks open with ease and cocking it just as easy. Of course, I am a guy who does a Physical job - but - my wife is able to cock it so great upper body strength is not needed to crack it open, fully cock it, load it, close her up and fire at least once.
Weight wise... I found no great effort required to hold it while shooting from a standing position, nor did my wife. And figure the brief time spent in such a postion while hunting would be negligible.
For testing purposes I used a variety of pellets. Because different pellets perform differently in different guns. They were...Match-Kugeln Flat/Wadcutter
Beeman H&N Match
Rocket (Gamo)
EXP Pointed
Winchester Round Nose - made in NZ
ProPell Round Nose
Crosman pointed-ish
Beeman RamJet
Pro Magnum (pointed-ish) by Gamo
JSB Exacts
Beeman Crow magnum
Beeman Silver Bear
Here they are pictured in the order mentioned above - going from left to right... Match Kugeln, Beeman Match, Rocket, etc. (All three rows are the same row taken from different angles)Haven't used the Rockets before so was Interested to see how they'd go. Would they be usable or just a gimmick, as I suspected, despite the overzealous reviews of them online? I was intrigued to find out. Because you just never know for certain until you give it a try. After all, the product description is "By utilizing a design compressing a round BB into a hollow-point pellet, the Rocket delivers maximum shock to the target, making it ideal for hunting." Of course, missing from that description is the word Accuracy - don't matter if they hit hard, if they can't hit where you aim, right? (Of course, with the box having attached Belt Clips, the box itself could come in handy for other things even if the pellets are crap - such as a small field first aid box with some cotton balls, band aids and disinfectant wipes; or a small fire kit with some BBQ fire lighters/starters and a box of matches or small cigarette lighter.)
Onward.
To sight in I used a Huge X target available from Bob Friesenhahn's site at http://www.simplesystems.org/users/bfriesen/airguns/targets/index.html. Aimed at the middle and shot a group, to make sure I could group. Then, made windage adjustments only, to bring it to center windage-wise. Then concentrated on Height Adjustment only to bring it to center of aim height-wise. Distance sighted in at was 10 metres. Conditions were Very Windy - 20 kmph. Seated at a bench but front supported by hand about a foot above the low bench.
Once sighted in I shot five three-pellet groups of each pellet at a 25 target sheet also from Bob Friesenhahn's site - 180 pellets in total at 10 metres. All pellets, unwashed, unweighed and unsorted, just used as they came out of the tin. Conditions were windy - the frame the target sat on was wobbling side to side as well as back to front at times. And first two rows were shot without a bench rest, just supported in my hand. The results are below...
As can be seen, the pellets which gave the best grouping under these conditions were...
JSB Exact
Beeman H&N Match
Crosman
Crow Magnum
Silver Bear
The worst by far were the Pro Pells. They were so bad, compared to what I'd already shot, I wondered if it was me. After all, I'd had to move shooting location for the second target sheet and was now shooting slightly downhill. But the Crosman groupings which followed proved it was the Pro Pell pellet which was pathetic. Having such a wide and high grouping as to prevent any use of the row of targets under the aim point. The ProPells are thus no good for target or hunting use... only being useful to plink aluminum cans and other similar fun stuff.
The RamJets did ok. As did the Pro Magnums with some wadcutter-like holes. And surprisingly, the Gamo Rockets. Although, the Rockets were the most inconsistent to load. Some slid in, some were tight. Whereas, all Winchester pellets slid in easily. And their groupings aren't that bad either.
Yes, there are other brands of Pellet on the market. But these 12 brands are the most readily available to me and easiest to obtain, at the moment. But additional pellets will be sourced and tested further along the track. For now, for the Review of the firearm, these pellets will suffice.
The recoil was quite manageable. After 180+ rounds my shoulder was none the worse for wear. And cocking the airarm was also easy in the seated position - with butt on leg near groin, my left hand easily pulled the barrel into the open position.
The safety engages automatically when cocking it. But it is easily pushed forward into the Ready To Fire position with your thumb. The trigger was consitent. Not too lose or light, nor too heavy. Somewhere in the middle. The doverails easily accommodate the once piece mount and hold it close to the barrel and in line with the barrel - no flat spot on the barrel for the Stop Screw to sit in, but movement shouldn't really happen, as after 180 shots there was no noticeable shift in the scope's position. There was no real noticeable barrel droop either as it was shooting high at 10 metres straight out of the box with the scope on. And there is a rubber recoil pad which is also not to hard nor too soft but somewhere in the middle.
I don't own a Chrony. And couldn't be bothered hiring the range Chrony. I was just there to get groupings for the pellets. Velocity can wait for another day at the range. But next time, I'll just use the five best performers as mentioned already.
Overall, the airarm has a solid feel, and one of Quality. I'm am pleased with its purchase and would buy it again if it were damaged beyond repair due to natural disaster.
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