Airguns...my thoughts and 'project's

quest for "a better mouse trap" I've taken another step towards finding one...i think...I'm not satisfied with the sighting device (scope) on my Avanti 853 so I'm gonna make better open sights for it. having the scope on it makes it difficult to load with the scope tube in the way so i decided to go back to the original daisy sights that came on it on the rear, I'll have to make one for the front as i cannot locate the original. it'll be fun and challenging.

testing with pellets to select the most accurate one for my Airforce Talon. come to find out the Benjamin domed, diabolo was the most accurate with the Beeman Crow Magnums i mention earlier coming in last. i also discovered the arc for this rifle when shooting on a higher power setting is pretty flat. the Beeman Crow magnums were not as bad as some other pellets I've used in the past, though. in all i had a very productive session not to mention the fun.

"tinkering" again with my Airforce Talon. i was constantly getting cut and jabbed in my hands when handling the rifle due to the sharp, pointed ends on the scope/accessory rail i added (the standard factory accessory rail) so i decided to mill the offending points off; i did so with no problems. this was done after i did a modification to the shroud I've been wanting to do for a while and just didn't make time to do. after completing said modifications, i set about to re-sight the rifle and set up a target at twenty (20) yards and proceeded to feed it twenty (20) grain Beeman Crow Magnum pellets. the "bull" i drew was slightly less than 1" in OD. the first shot was less than 1/2" to the direct, center, right of the black at 3 o'clock. WOW! not bad! a few more shots...a few clicks of adjustments and Wahalla...i was eating away the black of the bull...heh hehe...time to try a little bit longer distance. i walked the target out to my 50 yard dirt backed target site and proceeded to fire a group of five more 20 grain Crow Magnums. walk to the target and look; not bad. the group was low, left and three out of the five were in the black and could be covered by a half-dollar piece. for the moment, I'll take that. during the course of the 'zeroing', right after, i should say, a set of bunny ears appeared in the rear left of my dirt abutment. i carefully centered the target, squeezed the trigger and heard the resounding "whack" of a solid hit. the 20 grain Crow Magnum had gone in between the ear and eye of the unfortunate bunny passing thru the head, leaving a mess upon existing. i think i'm there on the sight...almost...one or two clicks should do it...I'll let you know.

i'm about to get another 'new' air rifle; another RWS only this one is in .22 caliber. i've decided that the .177's are not really my 'cup'o tea'...now i'm not "bad mouthing" the .177...not by any stretch of the imagination. i like the ones i have, i just don't want any more unless they're a high powered PCP. i know there are those on the market that are capable of 1200 fps (so the manufacturer says) that makes some pretty decent FPE in the hunting department for small game. one of my biggest complaints about the tiny .177 is exactly that; it's too small for me to handle well. i have a hard time grabbing the tiny pellets and sometimes even a worse time trying to load them in a rifle. i actually traded off one underlever becasue it was so difficult for me to load. anyway, the rifle i'm getting is an RWS 48 in .22 and i'm hoping it will prove to be as much fun and be as hard hitting as i've heard they are. oh, by the way...i plan on using open sights on it...

i'm about to get another 'new' air rifle; another RWS only this one is in .22 caliber. i've decided that the .177's are not really my 'cup'o tea'...now i'm not "bad mouthing" the .177...not by any stretch of the imagination. i like the ones i have, i just don't want any more unless they're a high powered PCP. i know there are those on the market that are capable of 1200 fps (so the manufacturer says) that makes some pretty decent FPE in the hunting department for small game. one of my biggest complaints about the tiny .177 is exactly that; it's too small for me to handle well. i have a hard time grabbing the tiny pellets and sometimes even a worse time trying to load them in a rifle. i actually traded off one underlever becasue it was so difficult for me to load. anyway, the rifle i'm getting is an RWS 48 in .22 and i'm hoping it will prove to be as much fun and be as hard hitting as i've heard they are. oh, by the way...i plan on using open sights on it...

shopping for another air rifle already and i don't even have my marauder broken in. the single biggest reason is not performance or accuracy, it's economy of operation. i get only 20-24 shots per refill. what do i expect? a .25 caliber (and larger) take more air; it's that simple. what I've found, may offer me the best of two worlds; economy of operation and power and accuracy all in one. from what I've seen advertised on the website I've visited, it offers up to 80 shots at full power in .22 @ 900 fps. that ain't too bad my friend. good 'nuff to drop most small critters hereabouts. that's more what I'm looking for at the moment. time will tell if I'm ever able to get the rifle though, other things have to happen first. anyway, it appears to be a top notch rifle and appears it will be rugged, reliable, accurate and well designed. well, i hope i will be able to see in the not to distant future. it won't mean getting rid of what i now have, just a new addition to what i have already.

how much i like open sights and how accurate they really can be. I've been caught up in the 'scope' for everything. now, i know, understand and accept the fact that a properly installed and adjusted scope can be of extreme value to the experienced shooter. but what I've neglected in the recollection of the use of open sights is for use on close in targets like those more like encountered by us that use airguns to hunt with. just like in bow hunting; de closer de better...pr3cision placement is indeed desirable, too. i understand that. however, ever notice that the wood rat you just drilled with your XXX magnum pushing a 14.3 gr pellet at 600-700 fps didn't care? you'll notice that the pellet, more than likely destroyed it no matter where you hit it. that's what I'm talking about. the 14 grain pellet hitting that rat would be somewhat like the human body being hit with a golf ball moving at 600-700 fps. pretty awesome, huh? the last few rats I've shot were pretty well destroyed from hits with a 6 fpe .177. it makes me wonder if the extra expense and work involving the mounting and calibrating of a scope is worth the effort when hunting with an air gun. yes i will concede there are advantages to the scopes like being able to see a very minute target in detail but, again, that rat doesn't care where you hit him. i think about how easy it is to handle a rifle without all the high sitting apparatus, and the lesser worry about sights being knocked out of calibration or damaged by falls or contacting immovable objects such as rocks, trees etc; iron/open sights are less likely to be damaged. military/LE snipers shoot for center-of-mass (but are capable of very precise hits, too) but they normally are shooting loooong distances compared to us airgun hunters. i have centerfire rifles that are highly capable of precision long range shots...but they have no iron/open shots and i, personally do not choose to use iron/open sights at ranges exceeding 100-150 yards. yes, the scope has a lot to offer, but don't forget those open sights either; there's lots to be had from them, too.

it's been a while since i posted here and lots of lead in the form of pellets has gone downrange since. rnrnsince i last posted i've come into possession of a Benjamin Marauder in .25 caliber. a purchase i'm glad to have done.rnrni may have the opportunity in the near future to secure another rifle and it may be a Benjamin Marauder in .177...time will tell.rnrnright now i'm also considering some other 'projects' on the 52 and the RX-1. namely, getting them 'tuned'/rebuilt professionally.rnrnthe RX has reverse barrel 'droop' and i don't know how to correct and the 52 lags in velocity (indicating worn seals) and i may have it upgraded to .20 caliber.rnrnall these projects are subject to my getting off my duff and doing something about them...

this is NOT good airgunning weather we're having right now where i live. it's cold, raining and...miserable at times. i haven't been doing much in the way of launching pellets. i did set up a large steel plate as a back stop at 35 yards, though. i was sighting in the RWS 52 at that range and discovered the pellet 'splash' on the steel makes for a good point to zero on. it worked fine for me. the 52 is now zeroed quite well. i also shot a wood rat with my Beeman R-10. the dumb thing thought it was out of sight...surprise...the RWS Superdome tore away one side of it's head on exiting. it's (the R-10) scope is right on...dang...i sure like that R-10.

I've been in and out of air rifles over the years and probably the best thing I've ever done involving my air guns is to get back one that i dearly regretted letting go of. i traded it to a near and dear friend who had it for a while and then we 'traded' again...i got it back. I'd forgotten how much i liked it first time around. it's quite powerful for a springer...the RWS model 52 in .177 caliber. i was out shooting it yesterday during a lull in the winter storms we're now experiencing here in southern California. i have a 30"x36"x 0.125" piece of plate steel set up at thirty-five (35) yards as a back stop for my 'sighting in' or just plain ole target shooting. i wanted to try some RWS Superdome pellets thru it in an accuracy/performance test. the pellets make a very noticeable "clank" when striking the plate and leave a very visible bright mark so i decided to just use the pellet marks to 'zero' the scope with. i was astounded with the ease of adjustment and accuracy. it took me only six (6) shots to be 'dead on'. i was not using any other target other than the highly visible pellet strike marks and it worked beautifully! it may not be "new" to some, but to me, i just saved myself the time and effort of purchasing/constructing targets. tomorrow, weather permitting, another air rifle will be sighted in.