VALUE FOR MONEY

The Benjamin Fortitude is a new entry into the “$300 regulated, magazine-fed, silenced PCP air rifle” market created by the Umarex Gauntlet a year or two ago.

With good accuracy and a strong shot count, it’s difficult to argue against the Fortitude being outstanding value. Particularly when that’s combined with a 5-year manufacturer’s warranty!

Many will also be drawn to this “made in the USA” gun for patriotic reasons.

Compared to the single shot, unregulated, unshrouded Maximus which sells at a Street Price of $230, the Benjamin Fortitude is clearly outstanding value. Crosman – or Velocity Outdoor to give the company its correct, new name – is going to sell a ton of these guns!

BUY FROM PYRAMYD AIR
Benjamin Fortitude PCP Air Rifle, Regulated

BUY FROM AIRGUN DEPOT
Benjamin Fortitude Air Rifle

HAM Test Rating	84%
Value For Money	A great choice for a regulated, magazine-fed, shrouded PCP at this price.
Best For	General plinking and hunting small game.
Best Pellet Tested	JSB Jumbo Express 14.3 Grain
Street Price at Time of Test	$300 + scope
Caliber Tested	.22
RateAGun Score	Easy to Shoot

SPEED AND ACCURACY

The Benjamin Fortitude tested by HAM gave a maximum Muzzle Velocity of 846.19 FPS with the lightest Gamo alloy pellets. This still held up to 792.42 FPS with light, 7.0 Grain RWS Hobby pellets. This gun is in .22 caliber, remember.

You can see full details of FPS and Muzzle Energy below. As is normal for a PCP, the Muzzle Energy – or knock down power” of the Fortitude increases steadily with heavier weight pellets, in spite of the declining pellet velocity.

The factory test target shows a nice, one hole group at 10 yards, together with 735 – 744 FPS Muzzle Velocity with – presumably – 14.3 Grain Crosman pellets. This  closely matched the average 753.44 FPS achieved in HAM testing using 14.3 Grain Crosman Hollow point pellets.

As we normally find in HAM testing, the Benjamin Fortitude did not give great accuracy with alloy pellets. However it shot better than usual with the light RWS Hobby pellets and gave better results with mid-weight and heavier lead pellets in the standard HAM test suite.

Best accuracy at 10 yards was achieved by the 14.35 Grain JSB Jumbo Express pellets. So we shot the same combination at 25 Yards with the results you can see below. For a 10-shot group at 25 Yards, that’s excellent shooting for me, in spite of the heavy trigger.

It could possibly have been even better with a higher-power scope. Of course, it also could have been even better with a more accomplished shooter, but that’s another story!

BUY FROM PYRAMYD AIR

JSB Diabolo Exact Jumbo Express .22 Cal, 14.3 Grains, Domed, 500ct

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JSB Jumbo Exact Pelelts .22 cal

TRIGGER AND COCKING EFFORT

This is really the only part of the shooting experience that lets the Benjamin Fortitude down.

The trigger looks to be the same non-adjustable unit as fitted to the Maximus and inherited from the Discovery. The pull weight of the gun tested by HAM averaged no less than 5 Lbs 9 Oz. That is really much too heavy for consistent accurate shooting and very close to the 5 Lb 13 Oz average pull weight we found when testing the Maximus.

Cocking the Benjamin Fortitude is not so easy either. Unlike the Maximus and Discovery, which have very easy bolt operation, the bolt of the Fortitude is quite hard to pull back. It seems that there must be a pretty strong hammer spring inside the Fortitude!

And it’s important to pull the bolt right back all the way. If not there’s the chance of a double-feed or of no pellet feed.

Furthermore, the bolt handle of the Benjamin Fortitude is small and the shooter’s hand tends to be cramped in operation by the required scope. Fortunately the HAM Team used high rings for the scope in this test review. Medium rings would have made it even tougher…

COMPARISON TO MAKERS CLAIMS

The main specification claims made by the manufacturer for the Benjamin Fortitude are these: up to 90 effective shots/fill, maximum 800 FPS with lead pellets, maximum 900 FPS with alloy pellets.

Let’s start with the easy one! The Fortitude tested by HAM delivered a maximum of  792.44 FPS shooting the lightest lead pellets, RWS Hobbys. That is less than one per cent away from the manufacturer’s claim of 800 FPS. Claim met.

For the maximum FPS with alloy, Velocity Outdoors claim is 900 FPS with alloy pellets. In HAM testing, the Fortitude gave a maximum of 846.19 FPS using the lightest 9.7 Grain Gamo Raptor Platinum pellets. However, there are ave been some yet lighter Crosman alloy pellets with a weight of 9.5 Grains.

These 9.5 Grain Crosman SSP alloy pellets are not in our standard HAM test suite. They don’t seem to currently be available for sale either. However, we did have a tin in the HAM ammo dump and tried them out. The maximum we attained was 851 FPS with the Benjamin Fortitude on test.

(Don’t try this at home, folks. Feeding was very hard and caused considerable concerns about jamming to the HAM testers).

Now let’s discuss the shot count claim. The .22 caliber Benjamin Fortitude page at www.crosman.com states that the gun will deliver “up to 90 effective shots per fill”.

This may be true. However, it’s not the answer to the question most knowledgeable airgunners ask about a regulated PCP air rifle. That question is “How many consistent shots will I achieve per fill?” There’s a big difference between the meaning of the words consistent and effective…

HAM ran a shoot down test of the Benjamin Fortitude. The results are visible in the chart below. That shows that the Fortitude tested by HAM delivered 60 consistent shots from a fill – where consistent is taken to mean shots with a Muzzle Velocity difference of 40 FPS between highest and lowest. In this case that means between between 770 and 730 FPS.

Why 40 FPS? Well that’s widely considered by knowledgeable shooters to be the maximum difference in FPS before a noticeable difference in impact point is found at 50 yards downrange.

We stopped the HAM shoot down test after 70 shots. By this time the Muzzle Velocity had fallen below the regulator pressure point of 2,000 PSI – that was probably at around shot 55 – and was dropping steadily. The built-in pressure gauge showed 1,500 PSI at shot 70.

Maybe that would track down to a pressure of 1,000 PSI – where the yellow section begins on the Fortitude’s built-in pressure gauge – at shot 90. If so, would that mean that the Benjamin Fortitude is capable of 90 effective shots per fill? Maybe the answer would be “yes” for some people.

But let’s face it. 60 consistent shots per fill is a very good number for any regulated PCP of this price range, size and weight!

CONSISTENCY

Here’s the shoot down test results discussed in the section above.

The Benjamin Fortitude tested by HAM delivered outstanding figures for Standard Deviation, the mathematical expression of variation in FPS across a string. In fact, the average of just 3.23 FPS across the entire HAM test suite of 7 pellets is the lowest we’ve ever recorded for any air rifle at any time. Wow!

The consistency of trigger pull weight was also good. The trigger pull weights recorded by HAM varied by just 5 ounces either side of the average. That’s a pretty well imperceptible difference to most people. It’s a pity that they were all so high…

NOISE LEVEL

In a word “low”.

Subjectively, the Benjamin Fortitude tested by HAM was as quiet as our “Gold Standard”, the Benjamin Marauder. The Fortitude is definitely backyard-friendly, for sure.

SIGHTS AND SCOPE

As with many PCP air rifles, the Fortitude is not supplied with a scope. This is no hardship as just about everyone will want to fit a scope anyway and everyone has their own opinions about the scope they prefer.

For HAM testing, we mounted a Leapers UTG 3-9 x 40 AO scope onto the Benjamin Fortitude as we considered this would be a likely choice for many owners.

This scope worked well for HAM testing. Unlike many higher-power scopes, it’s not too long or heavy to make the Fortitude top heavy and overbalanced in either looks or weight.

The HAM Team found this Leapers/Fortitude duo to be a good combination for practical, cost-effective shooting.

SHOOTABILITY

The Benjamin Fortitude is light and easy to bring on aim. The Center of Gravity was just ahead of the pressure gauge with the Leapers scope mounted – just where it should be for easy shooting.

By sensibly using the Marauder 10-shot magazine, the Fortitude is easy to load in a way that’s well-known to many potential purchasers.

In out-of-the-box condition, the Fortitude’s shootability is compromised by the heavy bolt and trigger operation. At this price point, many purchasers will accept this. If not, the Benjamin Marauder has an outstanding trigger of course…

Regarding the stock, the HAM Team would prefer to see a more “grippy” buttplate than the shiny plastic one used here. That would help in achieving more consistent, accurate shooting.

Re-using the Maximus stock obviously makes sense from a cost perspective. However the Fortutude’s barrel is mounted higher due to the shroud and magazine-fed breech. This means that the stock no longer gives a good cheek weld in use. It’s actually more of a “chin weld”.

There’s a clear need for either an adjustable buttplate or adjustable comb on the stock for consistent, comfortable shooting with the Benjamin Fortitude.

APPEARANCE AND FINISH

Appearance is, of course, always a personal opinion. However, the HAM Team like the simple, slim lines of the Benjamin Fortitude.

The finish closely matches that of the Maximus, using the same stock and levels of external finish for metal parts.

That stock is generally well-molded. However it does have quite pronounced seam lines as we can see below. The inclusion of sling swivel studs is an useful feature and will be appreciated by those using the Fortitude for hunting.

Overall, finish is workmanlike, decent and practical. That’s pretty much what you would expect at this price.

BUYING AND OWNING

Given the extensive distribution network for Velocity Outdoor products, the Benjamin Fortitude is certain to be widely available for sale online and also in some physical stores.

The 5-year warranty is a great attraction for long-term customer confidence, of course. Beyond that, the ready availability of parts and parts diagrams is a great attraction for many owners of Crosman and Benjamin airguns. No airgun company does this better.

The substantial barrel band is also reassuring for its role in preventing the barrel/shroud assembly from being knocked out of alignment by minor unintended contacts.

Filling is through a standard “Foster” 1/8-inch NPT standard quick disconnect, this makes filling simple, with no need for adapters.

The pressure gauge is located under the stock, ahead of the trigger, in the normal location for Benjamin PCP air rifles. This is excellent for safety as it avoids the need to look down the barrel to check the gauge, as is the case with those PCPs having the gauge in the end of the pressure tube.

The Owner’s Manual for the Benjamin Fortitude is in the company’s usual “broadsheet” style. This is clearly-written and illustrated, with versions in English, Spanish, French, German and two other languages I can’t read – possibly Portuguese and Danish.

And it’s in the Owner’s Manual that you will find details for how to degas the Fortitude using a degassing tool. This tool is not supplied with Benjamin or Crosman PCP as it once was. However, they’re still available from aftermarket suppliers. The Discovery/Maximus tool will also fit the Maximus.

TEST TARGETS

BUY FROM PYRAMYD AIR
Benjamin Fortitude PCP Air Rifle, Regulated

BUY FROM AIRGUN DEPOT
Benjamin Fortitude Air Rifle

This entire article including scoring, test targets etc is Copyright Hard Air Magazine and may NOT in part or in whole be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the publisher.

The post Benjamin Fortitude Air Rifle Test Review .22 Caliber appeared first on Hard Air Magazine.

VALUE FOR MONEY

JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy 18.13 Grain pellets are a high quality pellet from the famous Czech manufacturer. As we can see from the chart below, they’re not much more expensive than the Median (average) price for .22 caliber lead pellets at just 4.40 cents each in a 250 count tin. This makes them excellent value for money.

In fact, if they are purchased in a 500 count tin, the price per pellet falls to just 3.70 Cents each, actually below the Median price per pellet. Predator International, the US distributor of JSB products, says these are their best-selling .22 caliber pellets. It’s easy to see why!

BUY FROM PYRAMYD AIR
JSB Match Diabolo Exact Jumbo Heavy .22 Cal, 18.13 Grains, Domed, 250ct

BUY FROM AIRGUN DEPOT
JSB Jumbo Heavy 18.13 Grain 250 Count

TEST DATA SUMMARY

COMPARISON TO MAKERS CLAIMS

The manufacturer claims that JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy pellets have a weight of 18.13 Grains. The sample of these pellets tested by HAM gave an average of 18.15 Grams – just 1.1% less than the specification.

HAM found that there were 249 pellets in the tin we tested. One short of the claim. In our experience, this is very unusual and we wouldn’t get too excited about it.

Head diameter is given as a nominal 5.5 mm. In fact, the average – and most common – head diameter of the JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy 18.13 Grain pellets tested by HAM was actually 5.52 mm.

JSB does not publish Ballistic Coefficients for its pellets. However, HAM testing established a BC of 0.035 for these pellets.

CONSISTENCY

No damaged pellets were found in the tin of JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy 18.13 Grain pellets.

As we can see below, head diameter was well controlled, with 54% measuring 5.52 mm in the sample of 50 pellets tested by HAM. This is good consistency from the price being asked.

As usual, weight was somewhat more variable. The most common weight per pellet was 18.15 Grains, with 18% of the pellets tested having that weight.

The variation between the lightest and heaviest JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy pellets tested was 2.23%. This is rather better than average, based on HAM’s highly standardized, precise test protocol.

As always, all weights are measured using on Hard Air Magazine’s incredibly-precise, laboratory-grade milligram balance. This is so sensitive that it even registers a person’s breath! That’s where HAM tester Doug Wall’s many years of research laboratory experience is vital for achieving such accurate measurements…

Normally in HAM testing, we find that pellet lengths are the least consistent. However, the JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy 18.13 Grain pellets showed good length consistency. As many as 38% of the tested pellets had a length of 7.77 mm. This is a very high figure!

The difference between the shortest and longest pellets tested by HAM was 1.81%. Again, this was a good result.

DIRTINESS

The JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy 18.13 Grain pellets tested by HAM had a total of 0.160 Grains of dirt per 100 pellets. Again, this is a good (low) figure.

Some residual dirt and dust is an inevitable part of manufacturing any lead pellets and a certain amount of it inevitably finds its way into the tin. The photograph below shows the amount of this “junk” which resulted from carefully washing these pellets.

DOWNRANGE PERFORMANCE

As usual, the HAM Team has used the Chairgun ballistic software application to derive the downrange performance of JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy 18.13 Grain pellets.

As we can see, the relatively low power of our “1,000 FPS standard” Beeman 1074 air rifle, gave a rather curved trajectory. However, this would be much improved with a more powerful gun.

Sighting-in at 30 Yards gives effectively “flat” shooting from 9 to 33 Yards.

HUNTING USE

The high Ballistic Coefficient of 0.035 means that JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy 18.13 Grain pellets slow down gradually with distance. This means that they retain a considerable amount of energy downrange. In fact as much as 70% of the Muzzle Energy is still retained by the pellet as far out as 55 yards downrange.

Combined with the relatively-high his means that these are a great choice for airgun hunting in .22 caliber.

Penetration into our standard ballistic soap block was a long 46mm using the Beeman 1074 air rifle. The diameter of the entry hole was 7.0 mm.

The photograph below shows the fired pellet after extraction from the soap – right. As we can see compared to an unfired pellet, the head diameter increased from 5.52 mm to 5.58 mm. At the same time, the length shortened from 7.78 mm before firing to 7.49 mm.

BUYING AND OWNING

JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy 18.13 Grain pellets are readily available online, although you’re less likely to find them in a big box sporting goods store.

The pellets are well-protected in transit by a foam disk in the top of the tin. However – as always – we struggle with JSB’s standard push-top tins. A screw top would be much appreciated by most shooters, we believe.

TEST DATA

For background details on HAM’s Pellet Test Review methodology, check out this link.

Chairgun is a product of Hawke Sports Optics LLC and is used with permission. Check out http://www.hawkeoptics.com

BUY FROM PYRAMYD AIR
JSB Match Diabolo Exact Jumbo Heavy .22 Cal, 18.13 Grains, Domed, 250ct

BUY FROM AIRGUN DEPOT
JSB Jumbo Heavy 18.13 Grain 250 Count

Understanding HAM Pellet Awards

HAM Pellet Awards come from the most rigorous, professional and comprehensive pellet testing by any independent publication. They are the result of much precise measurement and analysis using high precision measuring devices and highly-experienced testers.

Note that accuracy is a product of the complete “system” of airgun, scope, atmospheric conditions and shooter ability – not the pellet alone.

This means that no pellet test review can predict the accuracy of a particular pellet with YOUR individual air rifle. That’s why we do not measure accuracy in these pellet tests.

What HAM Pellet Awards do recognize is manufacturing consistency. Inconsistent pellets definitely will be inaccurate, consistent pellets are much more likely to be accurate.

HAM Awards also recognize value. There’s considerable variation in the price of airgun pellets. This means that an 8 cent pellet needs to score higher than a 2 cent pellet to achieve an award.

For full details of the HAM Pellet Award scoring methodology, please check out our Pellet Testing page.

For a full listing of HAM-tested Ballistic Coefficients, please see our Ballistic Coefficients page.

This entire article including scoring, data etc is Copyright Hard Air Magazine and may NOT in part or in whole be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the publisher.

The post JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy 18.13 Grain .22 Caliber Pellet Test Review appeared first on Hard Air Magazine.

Velocity Outdoor, Inc. – the company formerly known as Crosman Corporation – has announced that it has acquired Ravin Crossbows. This acquisition is in line with the new company’s stated focus on the hunting, shooting and outdoor markets, not just airguns.

This means that Ravin Crossbows joins Velocity Outdoors other brands such as Crosman and Benjamin Airguns, CenterPoint Archery and Optics, LaserMax, and GameFace Airsoft.

The official announcement from Velocity Outdoor describes Ravin Crossbows as the most revolutionary crossbow company in the outdoor industry and a is a leading designer, manufacturer and innovator of crossbows and accessories.

Ravin focusses on the higher end of the crossbow market. The company had developed significant intellectual property related to the advancement of crossbow technology and highlights. They promote this in unusual detail on the Ravin website.

Velocity Outdoors says that Ravin has established a reputation as a manufacturer of the industry’s most dependable, durable, accurate and technologically-advanced line of crossbows.

Robert Beckwith, CEO of Velocity Outdoor, commented, “Ravin Crossbows are hands-down the most innovative and exciting products in the archery space right now. We are thrilled to be adding Ravin’s high quality, premium performance and intellectual property to the company as a complement to our well established, market- leading CenterPoint archery business.”

Ravin Crossbows is headquartered in Superior, WI.

Velocity Outdoor itself is a subsidiary of Compass Group Diversified Holdings, LLC.

The post Velocity Outdoor Acquires Ravin Crossbows appeared first on Hard Air Magazine.

Registration for the 2018 Pyramyd Air Cup is now officially closed. But if you didn’t get a chance to register you can still attend and check out the competition. You can also try out the demo lane and win door prizes. So there’s plenty of reasons to attend the Pyramyd Air Cup, even if you’re not shooting!

Check out this list of prizes which have been donated by match sponsors! They’re for competition winners, as well as raffle prizes throughout the weekend:

– Air Arms FTP 900 Field Target PCP Air Rifle

– Feinwerkbau 800 Basic Field Target Rifle

– Ataman M2S Field Target Rifle

– Air Venturi 4500 PSI Air Compressor

– SIG Sauer ASP20 Gas-Piston Breakbarrel Air Rifle w/ W3 ASP 4-12×44 Scope

– SIG Sauer MCX CO2 Rifle, Black

– SIG Sauer P226 CO2 Pellet Pistol, Black

– Weihrauch HW97K Air Rifle

– Umarex Gauntlet PCP Air RifleWalther LGU Air Rifle

– Umarex Forge Breakbarrel Air Rifle with 4X32 Scope

– Legends Ace-In-The-Hole CO2 Pellet Revolver, Weathered

– SAR Embark Youth Air Rifle

– Hammerli AR20 Air RifleBenjamin Marauder Field And Target Air Rifle

– AirForce Condor SS PCP Air Rifle Kit, Spin-Loc Tank

– Cometa Indian Air Pistol, Nickel

– Hawke Sidewinder FFP 6-24×56 Scope, FFP MIL IR Reticle

– Hawke Sport Optics Airmax 3-12×50 AO Rifle Scope, Ill

– Hawke Optics 4-16×44 AO Vantage SF Rifle Scope

The Pyramyd Air Cup runs from Friday September 21st to Sunday September 23rd.

The venue is the Tusco Rifle Club, 2132 Midvale Mine Road SE Dennison, OH 44621. That’s the same as for the past few years.

For more details, check out http://www.pyramydaircup.com. You can see previous HAM reports of the event here.

Several members of the HAM Team will be attending and/or shooting. We look forward to seeing you there!

The post Coming Very Soon – The 2018 Pyramyd Air Cup! appeared first on Hard Air Magazine.

VALUE FOR MONEY

H&N Baracuda Hunter 18.21 Grain .22 caliber pellets are – as the name implies – an out-and-out hunting pellet. They combine heavy weight with a significant mushrooming effect on impact.

At a price of 4.99 cents each, these are about 1 Cent per shot above the Median (average) price of 4.00 cents per pellet in the US market. And – of course – the primary online resellers such as Pyramyd Air and Airgun Depot offer “buy three, get one for free” deals, meaning that the price you pay may be even lower.

This pricing, combined with the obvious benefits of mushrooming for achieving that ethical one shot kill, means that H&N Baracuda Hunter 18.21 Grain .22 caliber pellets offer great value for the hunter.

BUY FROM PYRAMYD AIR
H&N Baracuda Hunter, .22 Cal, 18.21 Grains, Hollowpoint, 200ct

BUY FROM AIRGUN DEPOT
H&N Baracuda Hunter Hollowpoint Pellets 200 Ct

TEST DATA SUMMARY

COMPARISON TO MAKERS CLAIMS

The manufacturer claims that H&N Baracuda Hunter 18.21 Grain .22 caliber pellets offer maximum impact, high penetration and controlled deformation.

It’s clear from HAM testing that maximum impact is certainly achieved with the deep hollow point configuration. Also, pellet deformation is clearly very well controlled, as we can see in the Hunting Use section of this review below.

Depth of penetration into the standard HAM soap block is lower than average, however this is entirely what we would expect taking the massive mushrooming effect into account.

HAM counted a total of 205 pellets in the tin of H&N Baracuda Hunter 18.21 Grain .22 caliber pellets in this review. That handlily exceeds the claim of 200 per tin.

That over-delivery of pellets in the tin was probably facilitated by the average weight of the tested pellets being 18.03 Grains – 1% the claimed weight of 18.21 Grains.

The label on the underside of the tin claims these pellets have a 5.50 mm head diameter. As HAM has consistently found with heavy pellets, the actual head diameter of the H&N Baracuda Hunter 18.21 Grain .22 caliber pellets was larger than this claim.

In HAM testing using a Pelletgage, the average head diameter of the pellets we measured was 0.73% larger at an average of 5.54 mm.

H&N publishes a Ballistic Coefficient of 0.026 for the H&N Baracuda Hunter 18.21 Grain .22 caliber pellets. In HAM testing, we achieved 0.024. These are reasonably close numbers, with the variation probably explained by differences in test protocol.

CONSISTENCY

Head diameter of the H&N Baracuda Hunter 18.21 Grain .22 caliber pellets tested by HAM was good. 76% of the pellets tested had a head diameter of 5.54 mm, with most of the remainder being 5.55 mm.

The variation between the smallest and largest head diameters measured was just 0.36%. This makes pellet-to-pellet head diameter consistency somewhat better than average.

Pellet-to-pellet weight variation was also around average for the H&N Baracuda Hunter 18.21 Grain .22 caliber pellets tested by HAM. The average weight was 18.03 Grains, with 12% of the pellets each being at closely-spread common weights of 17.95, 17.96 and 18.01 Grains.

However, the test sample also included a number of much heavier pellets, as we can see from the chart below. This drove the variability between lightest and heaviest pellets up to 3.02%. That’s still around average, but it could easily have been very much better!

Notably, we found no pellets in the HAM test sample with the claimed 18.21 Grain weight.

Length is always quite variable among the pellets tested by HAM. This was also true for the H&N Baracuda Hunter 18.21 Grain .22 caliber pellets, as we can see from the chart below. Average length of the pellets was 7.34 mm, with the most common length being 7.31 mm. 14% of the tested pellets were of this length.

The difference between the shortest and longest pellets was 3.89%. This is quite high and may be a result of the aggressive domed design of the Baracuda Hunters.

There were no damaged or malformed pellets in the tin tested by HAM for this review.

DIRTINESS

The H&N Baracuda Hunter 18.21 Grain .22 caliber pellets tested by HAM contained an average amount of lead shavings from the pellet-making process. Many of these are moon-shaped, as you can see from the photograph below of the dirt that was washed from the pellets.

In total, there was 0.818 Grains of lead in the tin, that’s 0.409 Grains per 100 pellets.

DOWNRANGE PERFORMANCE

As always, the following information is generated using Chairgun software.

The data fed into this program comprised the Ballistic Coefficient of 0.024 determined in HAM testing, together with the average weight of the pellets tested in this review and the average FPS of our standard Beeman 1074 test air rifle.

At a zero range of 29 Yards, the H&N Baracuda Hunter 18.21 Grain .22 caliber pellets shoot effectively “flat” between 9 and 32 yards, even using our low-powered Beeman 1074 standard air rifle. Of course, this performance would be improved using a more powerful airgun.

With 70% of the pellet’s kinetic energy retained out to 37 yards downrange, it’s clear that the H&N Baracuda Hunter pellets are well suited to long range airgun hunting.

HUNTING USE

Of course, hunting is what the H&N Baracuda Hunter 18.21 Grain .22 caliber pellets are all about!

The photograph below shows that the penetration into the soap test block was limited, the entry hole was 8.0 mm diameter as the pellet mushroomed out immediately upon impact. This means that the full kinetic energy of the pellet is transferred very rapidly into the target, helping to assure clean, single-shot kills.

And did we say “mushrooming”? Just take a look at what happened to the fired pellet! It’s compared to an unfired sample on the right. That would create a devastating wound in whatever it hit – within the power capability of the air rifle, of course.

The fired pellet expanded from 5.54 mm to 8.13 mm  diameter in the soap target. This represents an increase in area of 2. 15 times. That’s huge! At the same time it compressed in length from 7.31 mm to 5.42 mm.

BUYING AND OWNING

H&N Baracuda Hunter 18.21 Grain .22 caliber pellets are readily available online from the usual favorites.

The H&N screwed lid is – as always – excellent. It’s better than the push-fit JSB lids and not so incredibly tight as Crosman screw lids often are.

If your air rifle “likes” H&N Baracuda Hunter 18.21 Grain .22 caliber pellets and shoots accurately with them, this is clearly a “go to” pellet for airgun hunters.

TEST DATA

For background details on HAM’s Pellet Test Review methodology, check out this link.

Chairgun is a product of Hawke Sports Optics LLC and is used with permission. Check out http://www.hawkeoptics.com

BUY FROM PYRAMYD AIR
H&N Baracuda Hunter, .22 Cal, 18.21 Grains, Hollowpoint, 200ct

BUY FROM AIRGUN DEPOT
H&N Baracuda Hunter Hollowpoint Pellets 200 Ct

Understanding HAM Pellet Awards

HAM Pellet Awards come from the most rigorous, professional and comprehensive pellet testing by any independent publication. They are the result of much precise measurement and analysis using high precision measuring devices and highly-experienced testers.

Note that accuracy is a product of the complete “system” of airgun, scope, atmospheric conditions and shooter ability – not the pellet alone.

This means that no pellet test review can predict the accuracy of a particular pellet with YOUR individual air rifle. That’s why we do not measure accuracy in these pellet tests.

What HAM Pellet Awards do recognize is manufacturing consistency. Inconsistent pellets definitely will be inaccurate, consistent pellets are much more likely to be accurate.

HAM Awards also recognize value. There’s considerable variation in the price of airgun pellets. This means that an 8 cent pellet needs to score higher than a 2 cent pellet to achieve an award.

For full details of the HAM Pellet Award scoring methodology, please check out our Pellet Testing page.

For a full listing of HAM-tested Ballistic Coefficients, please see our Ballistic Coefficients page.

This entire article including scoring, data etc is Copyright Hard Air Magazine and may NOT in part or in whole be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the publisher.

The post H&N Baracuda Hunter 18.21 Grain .22 Caliber Pellet Test Review appeared first on Hard Air Magazine.

Now’s the time to get your American Airgunner gear! Since the new season is in full swing, American Airgunner TV lowered their T-Shirt and Hat Prices!

You’re an American Airgunner, so get your swag now!

Find out more on the American Airgunner website at http://www.americanairgunner.com/apparel/

The post American Airgunner Gear Prices Lowered! appeared first on Hard Air Magazine.

In the first three articles of this series on PCP airgun power, we have covered what the “lofty FPE goal” for any given combination of pressure and barrel volume might be, and the factors that influence your ability to approach that FPE level.

In this article, we will examine the effect of changing the port size on PCP airgun power.

When I use the term “port”, I am referring to the area between the air in the reservoir and the barrel. There are several distinct parts to this.
1. The valve seat and throat area, next the exhaust port in the valve.
2. There’s usually a “transfer port” which moves the air from the valve to the barrel.
3. The port in the barrel itself, where the air enters the space behind the pellet.

Some designs, such as the Air Force PCPs, use a linear or axial flow arrangement between the tank (which is the buttstock) and the pellet. This minimizes the twists and turns the air must make when flowing to the barrel. While this can have a flow advantage, it also increases the volume (length) between the valve seat and the pellet, causing slightly more pressure drop along the way.

Today I will concentrate on the “conventional” arrangement, where the valve is under the barrel, with its easily removable (and therefore tunable) transfer port between the valve and barrel.

How Port Size Affects PCP Airgun Power

The chart below shows the results I obtained with a PCP using primarily Crosman Discovery parts. However I substituted the air reservoir from a 2260 (half the volume), to minimize the number of pellets I had to shoot when testing.

I used the same 14.3 gr. JSB pellets for all testing, filled to 2000 psi for each string, and graphed all shots that were within 4% of the maximum velocity for each string. The only thing I changed was the transfer port diameter.

The stock transfer port size on a “Disco” is 0.140 inch, with the valve port being slightly larger, and the barrel port a bit smaller at 0.134 inch.

There are two important trends shown in this chart. Smaller ports reduce the velocity, but produce more shots in a flatter bell-curve, over a wider pressure range. Larger ports may increase the velocity slightly, but the number of shots decreases, and the bell-curve becomes shorter and steeper.

Smaller ports can therefore be used to tune for lower PCP airgun power, generally resulting in a greater shot count. This can also increase the efficiency by increasing the total FPE produced per fill for the same amount of air being used.

The opposite can also be used to increase PCP airgun power, but you must open all the ports to the same area.

I did this recently with a .22 cal. Beeman Chief to increase the power. JSB 18.1 gr. Pellets were used for both strings. You can see the results here.

The stock gun produced 16 shots averaging 25.4 FPE from 2000 psi down to 1500 with a port size of 0.138-inch. After I increased the port size to 0.203 inch I got 10 shots at 36.9 FPE from 1750 psi down to 1300.

The efficiency of both strings was essentially the same.

This shows how an increase of port size can be used to add power to a PCP. The ability to develop more power at a lower pressure can be used to great advantage in a regulated PCP, and I will address that in a later article.

Adjustable Ports are Possible

It is also possible to adjust the port size without disassembly and changing the transfer port, providing that this capability is designed into the gun.

A perfect example is the “Velocity Adjustment Screw” on the right side of the action on a Benjamin Marauder. Under a setscrew is an adjusting screw that can partially close off the transfer port to restrict the flow, reducing the power.

I have a similar arrangement in my receivers that use a “J slot” to retract the bolt handle. There is a pin that can be adjusted by a screw in the back of the receiver to limit how far the bolt handle can retract, as in this photo.

The red arrow points to the pin which is partially extended. The adjusting screw is directly behind the arrow.

I can position the nose of the bolt anywhere from completely clear of the barrel port to fully forward in the position used to load the pellet. At that adjustment the only air reaching the pellet is that flowing around the nose of the bolt, and the pellet velocity is so low you can see it arc to the target. Here is a chart showing just how effective this can be.

In this case I had 9 turns of adjustment between wide open and closed, and the change in port area that resulted is shown as the black line on the chart above. This adjustment allows me to quickly and easily test pellets at different velocities, to determine for example if they lose accuracy when driven too fast.

Port Size, Caliber and PCP airgun power

Just as there is a relationship between caliber and FPE, there is a similar relationship between port size and FPE.

You remember how the bore area varied by the square of the caliber, and the force on the pellet, for a given pressure, was proportional to that area? Well, it turns out that I have developed another “rule of thumb” to go along with my “lofty goal” formula.

There is no mathematics I can use to prove this, but after many years I have found this to be a useful guide for what to expect when you vary the port size.

Instead of squaring the caliber (and multiplying by PI/4) to get the area, I use this formula instead:
A = C x D x PI/4
(caliber C and smallest port diameter D in inches, area A in square inches, PI = 22/7)

When multiplied by the pressure and barrel length as before, you can produce PCP airgun power charts that look like this:

Each caliber and barrel length would have its own chart, of course. I chose a 24 inch barrel because not only is that size typical for PCPs, but it happens to be the divisor in my “lofty goal” equation.

The numbers plotted in the above chart are therefore simply the area A from the above formula, times the pressure P in psi.
Once again, these numbers are a “lofty goal”, and I have not exceeded them when using a pellet producing a velocity of 950 fps or above. It is possible, however, that by using a heavy pellet at a lower velocity (reducing the percentage of energy lost to accelerating the air) you may be able to reach, or exceed this power level.

For those of you that want the entire formula, here it is (for air, not Helium):
FPE = P x ( C x D x PI/4 ) x L / 24
(pressure P in psi, caliber C, port diameter D and barrel length L in inches) Note: D cannot exceed C.

In my next article I will be addressing how changing the hammer strike affects PCP airgun power.

The post The Effect of Port Sizes on PCP Airgun Power appeared first on Hard Air Magazine.

The latest video from AEAC’s Steve Scialli features the Weihrauch HW95 Luxus.

We’re glad to see that Steve’s Florida range has dried out sufficiently for him to be able to shoot there again. He’d been rained-out for some time!

The HW95 is a traditional spring/piston breakbarrel air rifle from the german Weihrauch company. Steve’s reviewing it in .22 caliber. However the HW95 Luxus is available in .177 cal, .22 caliber and .25 cal. It’s also one of the few air rifles that is available nowadays in .20 caliber.

The “Luxus” designation indicates an upgraded specification in Weihrauch terminology. Compared to the regular HW95, the HW95 Luxus has an upgraded stock with checkering and a longer forend. The wood is beech, walnut-stained. There’s also a muzzle break installed at the barrel end as a replacement for the open sights of the regular model.

For just $40 more than the regular 95, the HW95 Luxus has to be great value – just so long as you don’t want to shoot with open sights.

Steve shoots the HW95 Luxus with both alloy and lead pellets out to 50 Yards.

He has good success with both H&N Field Target Trophy Green and GTA alloy pellets at that range – as you’ll see in the video. In fact, he has better luck with the alloys than with the lead H&N Sniper Magnum pellets he also tries.

You can see more in the video, of course…

The HW95 Luxus has a limited lifetime warranty. That support is provided in the USA by Airguns of Arizona. They also have the gun available for sale – together many other models from the Weihrauch stable.

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HW95 Luxus Air Rifle

The post HW95 Luxus Air Rifle Video Review By AEAC appeared first on Hard Air Magazine.

Crosman Golden Powerlets. Yes, that’s right – GOLDEN Powerlets! They’re a real blast from the airgun past. Let’s take a look…

Every airgun enthusiast is familiar with 12 Gram CO2 cartridges. Or capsules as they’re called back in the UK.

We use them to power all those replica air pistols that are such a dynamic part of the current airgun scene. And they’re used to provide power for a number of other non-replica air rifles like the QB78 and the Crosman 2240 air pistol.

Crosman Powerlets were introduced over 60 years ago, in 1954/5. They accompanied the iconic Crosman 160 air rifle and 150 air pistol models which were introduced at around the same time.

We all know that 12 Gram CO2 cartridges contain – well, er, 12 Grams of CO2. But that was not always the case, as we can see from these Crosman Golden Powerlets!

For the old Crosman Golden Powerlets featured in this story are actually labeled to contain 12.5 Grams of CO2. That’s half a Gram of CO2 more than the specification in more recent times.

And there’s another difference between these old Golden Powerlets and current production. The Golden Powerlets has a “bottle cap” system to retain the CO2 inside the steel cartridge. This was prone to leakage. Modern Powerlets have a welded top which is far superior.

Above, the bottle cap closure. Below a comparison with the current welded method.

Another difference is that the Golden Powerlets were manufactured in the old Crosman plant by the Erie Canal in Fairport NY. The building is still there, used for a variety of light industry today.

Current production 12 Gram Powerlets are manufactured – of course – at Crosman’s HQ in Bloomfield NY, about 15 miles away.

Hard Air Magazine will be making a comprehensive review of currently-manufactured 12 Gram CO2 cartridges in the near future. Stay tuned for what we find out…

The post Crosman Golden Powerlets – Do You Remember Them? appeared first on Hard Air Magazine.

VALUE FOR MONEY

JSB Exact Diabolo 8.44 Grain .177 caliber airgun pellets have a great reputation for accuracy and consistency among serious airgun shooters. You’ll see them being used by many serious Field Target competitors, for example.

Surprisingly, they’re also not expensive! Just 2.8 cents each compared to the mean price for .177 cal lead airgun pellets of 2.7 cents each. And – of course – cheaper than that if you buy four tins from Pyramyd Air or Airgun Depot and get one for free.

That makes them outstanding value for money!

JSB Exact Diabolo 8.44 Grain .177 caliber airgun pellets are of traditional, conventional diabolo shape. They’re made of soft lead.

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JSB Match Diabolo Exact .177 Cal, 8.4 Grains, Domed, 500ct, 4.52mm

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JSB Exact Diabolo 8.44 Grain .177 Cal Pellets, 500 Ct

TEST DATA SUMMARY

COMPARISON TO MAKERS CLAIMS

There are few claims made for JSB Exact Diabolo 8.44 Grain .177 caliber airgun pellets. The main one is that the pellet weight is 8.44 Grains.

The sample pellets tested by HAM actually had an average weight of 8.41 Grains. That’s just 0.36% lighter than the claim.

The contents of the tin are supposed to be 500 pellets. In the tin of JSB Exact Diabolo 8.44 Grain .177 caliber airgun pellets tested by HAM, we received 503 pellets. That’s 0.4% more. As the tins are likely to be filled by weight rather than counting individual pellets, the slightly lighter average weight would almost exactly account for the overage of pellets.

The head diameter of 4.52 mm is indicated on the tin’s base label. However, the pellets tested by HAM had a head diameter of predominantly 4.53 mm when measured using our standard PelletGage. That’s a difference of just under 4 thou.

Here’s JSB’s full claims for this pellet on their website:

” The company’s best seller. It is absolutely the most popular ammunition at present. The weight has been designed so that it agrees with most of the FT air rifles on the market. It is a very functional profile common for the whole Exact series. It owes its stable flying properties especially to the higher weight and the ideal gravity centre placement. The perfect alignment once again guarantees a perfect grouping! “

Of course, accuracy will be a systems combination of pellet and gun – not to mention the scope and shooter. However, widespread experience indicates that JSB Exact Diabolo 8.44 Grain .177 caliber airgun pellets are indeed the pellet of choice for many different air rifles. You can see this for yourself in the results of HAM airgun tests in .177 caliber.

It’s very difficult to seriously disagree with JSB’s claims for these pellets.

CONSISTENCY

Consistency of head diameter was well controlled in the JSB Exact Diabolo 8.44 Grain .177 caliber airgun pellets tested by HAM. As the chart below shows, 80% of the pellets had a head diameter of 4.53 mm, with 10% each for 4.52 and 4.54 mm. This means that the variation between the smallest and largest head diameters measured by HAM Tester Doug Wall was just 0.44%.

Pellet weight was also well controlled. The average weight of the JSB Exact Diabolo 8.44 Grain .177 caliber airgun pellets tested by HAM was 8.41 Grains.

Just 4% actually met the 8.44 Grain weight claim,. However the spread between lightest and heaviest pellets tested was very well controlled at just 2.52%

Length was very consistent also. 49 out of 50 pellets had lengths of between 6.12 and 6.15 mm. This is far tighter consistency than that for most pellets tested by HAM.

The average length was 6.14 mm.

Only one pellet was a “flier” with a length of 6.19mm. This made the variation Between shortest and longest pellets 1.14% – still an excellent figure.

Of the 503 pellets contained in the tin tested by HAM, there was one damaged pellet. This had the skirt flattened, as can be seen from the photograph below. It’s not clear if this was a malformed pellet or the result of damage in transit. At any event, it was easy to identify.

DIRTINESS

A total of 1.018 Grains of lead dust was present in the tin of JSB Exact Diabolo 8.44 Grain .177 caliber airgun pellets tested by HAM. This translates to 0.204 Grains of lead dust per 100 pellets. Yet again this was a good performance by these pellets.

DOWNRANGE PERFORMANCE

HAM generated a Ballistic Coefficient for JSB Exact Diabolo 8.44 Grain .177 caliber airgun pellets pellets of 0.019.

Fired from our standard Beeman 1074 “1,000 FPS” pellet testing air rifle, this gives effectively flat shooting between 11 and 41 yards, with a zero range of 41 Yards.

As always, this data is produced from the Chairgun ballistics application.

HUNTING USE

Although not specifically intended as a hunting pellet, 70% of the original Muzzle Energy is retained out to 27 Yards and 60% at 40 Yards. This provides the potential to use JSB Exact Diabolo 8.44 Grain .177 caliber airgun pellets for hunting at short- to mid-ranges with an air rifle of appropriate power.

Penetration into the ballistic soap block was 56 mm. The entry hole of the wound channel was 7 mm in diameter.

When extracted from the soap, the fired pellet was seen to have expanded in diameter from 4.53 mm to 4.69 mm. That’s an expansion of 3.5%. The pellet shrank in length from 6.13 mm to 5.47 mm, as can be seen from the photograph below.

BUYING AND OWNING

JSB Exact Diabolo 8.44 Grain .177 caliber airgun pellets will not be found in big box sporting goods stores. However, they’re readily available from just about all specialist online airgun stores.

There’s a disk of foam padding inside the tin to help protest the pellets against damage in transit.

The only downside to these pellets is the push top tin. It’s best to transfer them to a spare screw top tin or other pellet container to avoid potential disasters in the field when trying to open JSB’s standard tins.

TEST DATA

For background details on HAM’s Pellet Test Review methodology, check out this link.

Chairgun is a product of Hawke Sports Optics LLC and is used with permission. Check out http://www.hawkeoptics.com

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JSB Match Diabolo Exact .177 Cal, 8.4 Grains, Domed, 500ct, 4.52mm

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JSB Exact Diabolo 8.44 Grain .177 Cal Pellets, 500 Ct

Understanding HAM Pellet Awards

HAM Pellet Awards come from the most rigorous, professional and comprehensive pellet testing by any independent publication. They are the result of much precise measurement and analysis using high precision measuring devices and highly-experienced testers.

Note that accuracy is a product of the complete “system” of airgun, scope, atmospheric conditions and shooter ability – not the pellet alone.

This means that no pellet test review can predict the accuracy of a particular pellet with YOUR individual air rifle. That’s why we do not measure accuracy in these pellet tests.

What HAM Pellet Awards do recognize is manufacturing consistency. Inconsistent pellets definitely will be inaccurate, consistent pellets are much more likely to be accurate.

HAM Awards also recognize value. There’s considerable variation in the price of airgun pellets. This means that an 8 cent pellet needs to score higher than a 2 cent pellet to achieve an award.

For full details of the HAM Pellet Award scoring methodology, please check out our Pellet Testing page.

For a full listing of HAM-tested Ballistic Coefficients, please see our Ballistic Coefficients page.

This entire article including scoring, data etc is Copyright Hard Air Magazine and may NOT in part or in whole be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the publisher.

The post JSB Exact Diabolo 8.44 Grain .177 Caliber Airgun Pellet Review appeared first on Hard Air Magazine.

In archery, the Robin Hood Shot is so-called after the mythical English medieval outlaw who split an arrow with the next one fired from his long bow.

Last time we checked, Rick Rehm – YouTube’s Shooter1721 – was not a medieval bandit However, he has matched the legendary outlaw’s feat by splitting an arrow at 100 Yards using an air rifle.

Actually, that looks very much like a Crosman arrow from a Pioneer Airbow!

Making this Robin Hood shot requires accuracy of just a few thousandths of an inch at 100 yards. The .30 caliber pellet is pretty-well a sliding fit into the arrow shaft, as Rick shows us at the start.

For this amazing trick shot, uses a .30 caliber FX Impact air rifle, together with an Aztec 2.5 – 25 x 50 scope, a JSB Exact pellet and an aspirin.

Why an aspirin? You’ll need to watch the video to see…

Outstanding shot Rick!

The post Rick Rehm Makes The Robin Hood Shot With An FX Impact appeared first on Hard Air Magazine.

The FX Ranchero Arrow is the latest product from the Swedish airgun company. The Ranchero has been around for a long time – but not like this!

Here we have the first arrow – or should that be bolt? – firing PCP air pistol.

The FX Ranchero Arrow is launched with an entertaining Airgun Depot video, with Jon of FX Airguns back at AGD demonstrating the product with Travis.

FX says that the Ranchero Arrow fires a 230 Grain bolt/arrow with a Muzzle Velocity of up to 240 FPS. That’s close to 30 Ft/Lbs of Muzzle Energy, which is VERY strong for any type of air pistol!

The Ranchero has enough air for 8 shots per fill, says FX. The company is promoting this as a hunting gun for use at ranges out to 30 Yards.

So sit back and enjoy the video. Remember, too, that the Ranchero Arrow is a seriously powerful airgun and not a toy, as they remind us several times throughout the video…

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FX Ranchero Arrow Air Pistol

The post The New FX Ranchero Arrow PCP Pistol appeared first on Hard Air Magazine.

UTG P.O.I scope rings are a recently-introduced line from Leapers. They are at the upper end of the company’s extensive range of scope rings and a set arrived in the HAM offices recently.

In this review, we’re looking at the medium profile UTG P.O.I scope rings with a Picatinny base which accept scopes with a 30 mm tube.

Now, hopefully I’m not alone, but I’ve never been too picky about scope rings. Scope rings are scope rings, right?

Well actually, maybe not…

It’s clear right away that UTG P.O.I scope rings are a considerable improvement on the “cheap and cheerful” scope rings I’ve typically been used to using. As with all Leapers rings, they are supplied with necessary tools – in this case a star wrench.

The P.O.I in the name stands for Precision Optics Interface and it’s clear that Leapers sees these as far more than “just scope rings”.

Leapers stresses that UTG P.O.I scope rings are designed and manufactured in their Michigan facility. They’re part of the company’s US-manufactured UTG Pro range.

The rings are manufactured from 6061-T6 Aluminum with some steel parts and a black anodized finish. They certainly give the impression of size and solidity compared to cheaper rings. Also, there are no projecting screw heads of locking levers that could become snagged on slings or clothes whilst in use.

Fit and finish is very good. the UTG P.O.I scope rings HAM tried were a very close fit onto both the scope tube and Picatinny mounting rails. As you can see, they were a good match for the finish on this FX Impact air rifle.

And unlike many Weaver/Picatinny rings, there’s a solid, rectangular-shaped lug that fits into the rail lugs. This is clearly a more secure method of counteracting recoil than the usual cylindrical cross bolt that’s typically found on cheaper rings.

The UTG P.O.I scope rings designed to fit airgun dovetails have an adjustable scope stop pin, as you would expect.

There’s actually 13 different versions of these rings manufactured by Leapers. They are available to fit both airgun dovetails and Picatinny mounting systems with different tube diameters and height profiles.

Leapers is very clear in defining the specifications for their products. This clarity extends to UTG P.O.I scope rings. The company identifies all the relevant product features, making it easy for the customer to make the correct choice among the various models. We’ve summarized this into the table below.

Note that the Maximum Ring Diameter information assumes a flat top to the gun between the rings and the front bell of the scope. If the scope mount is raised – as on the FX Impact in these photographs – you can use lower rings while still ensuring the front of the scope does not contact the barrel.

You can sort the information by using the up and down arrows in the table below…

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UTG Pro US Made 30mm Rings, Medium, POI Picatinny

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UTG P.O.I Scope Rings 30mm Medium Picatinny

The post New UTG P.O.I Scope Rings From Leapers appeared first on Hard Air Magazine.

The Kral Puncher Armour has been shown at the company’s IWA booth for a couple of years, as we can see from the photo below. But now it’s reached the USA in black, green and – yes – blue. Looks like the yellow model didn’t make it to these shores…

This is a very unusual-looking PCP air rifle. It reminds the HAM Team a lot of the Evanix Rainstorm in external appearance, with a strong metal “exoskeleton” around almost the complete action of the gun.

It’s also surprisingly big and heavy for a bullpup. That’s 9 Lbs plus scope and accessories. The Kral Puncher Armour is definitely a handful!

BTW. “Armour” is the British English spelling of the US English word “Armor”. It’s pronounced the same in either case.

There’s also a lot going on with this model. The gun here at the HAM offices is in .22 caliber. It’s supplied with two 12-shot magazines, a single shot tray, fill probe. And there’s a bipod, too. That’s it, below.

In addition, the Kral Puncher Armour is shipped in a hard plastic rifle case. This is an almost-great idea. There’s plenty of space in the case for the gun itself, but unfortunately not with a scope installed. Aw shucks

The forend hand stop can easily be removed. A Picatinny rail is revealed which can then be used for mounting the included bipod.

It’s easy to mount the bipod on the gun but actually extending the bipod legs is something of an initiative test! So that we don’t deprive you of all the fun, let’s just say that you may want to start by extending the legs before spreading them apart.

On top, the Kral Puncher Armour has an extremely long Picatinny rail for scope mounting. There’s a riser piece in case that’s required. However, we removed the riser and fitted a UTG 8-32 x 56 SWAT scope from Leapers. That’s a really mean-looking combination!

There’s a height-adjustable cheek piece included. However, this is suitable for right-handed shooters only. Given the bullpup configuration and sidelever cocking system, the Armour is never going to be a southpaw-friendly gun, anyhow.

The safety is large and easy to operate. And there’s also a power-adjuster knob just ahead of, and below, the magazine well.

However, the external covering does mean that it’s next to impossible to read the pressure gauge without looking almost straight down the barrel. The HAM Team really does not like this position for a pressure gauge on any PCP air rifle!

Overall, the Kral Puncher Armour certainly looks like a lot of airgun for the money. We’ll be testing it with interest in the near future. Keep checking HAM for our full review…

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Kral Puncher Armour PCP Air Rifle, Blue

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Kral Puncher Armour, Blue

The post Is It A Bird? Is It A Plane? No, It’s The New Kral Puncher Armour! appeared first on Hard Air Magazine.

VALUE FOR MONEY

The Glock 19 CO2 BB gun plays in a highly-competitive section of the market. $70 is the Street Price for plenty of excellent firearms lookalike BB pistols, together with some which are less accurate versions of firearm originals.

At this price point, most of the BB pistols are non-blowback, as is this Glock 19 CO2 BB gun.

Non-blowback replica pistols are often regarded as inferior to blowback models. However they usually give an increased shot count and higher muzzle velocity than their blowback cousins, as this HAM story explains. There’s also some evidence that they can be more accurate than replica BB pistols with extreme blowback.

And this BB gun has an unique benefit in the eyes of many shooters. It’s a Glock! It’s the first of the long-awaited range of Glock BB-firing replicas. That means a lot of Glock fans will want it. And so long as they accept it as a non-blowback action, they won’t be disappointed.

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Umarex Glock 19 Gen. 3 CO2 BB Air Pistol

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Glock 19 Gen. 3 BB Pistol

REALISM – LOOK AND FEEL

The look and feel of the Glock 19 CO2 BB gun tested by HAM were extremely good. This is an extremely close representation of the Glock 19 Generation 3 centerfire pistol – the compact version of the Glock 17.

At any range beyond about three feet, it’s impossible to tell the difference between centerfire and BB gun versions.

Size and shape are all but identical to that of the Glock 19 firearm. Weight is very close, too.

The Glock 19 CO2 BB gun tested by HAM weighed-in at 1 Lb 10 Oz (26 Ounces), while the centerfire version has an empty weight of 21 Ounces and a loaded weight of 30 Ounces. So, the Glock 19 CO2 BB gun weighs very much the same as a partly-full centerfire version.

The sharply-executed “Officially Licensed Product of GLOCK” wording on the right side of the pistol grip is a nod to the fact that this is a BB gun, but it’s not obtrusive.

Of course, this is the non-blowback version. That inevitably also means that few of the controls also function. The magazine release operates correctly, as does the trigger safety.

But don’t expect the slide, slide release, slide lock, extractor etc to work. They’re fixed moldings.

Concern for realistic appearance also extends right down to the base of the magazine – as we can see from the photograph below. Again, note the extremely sharp and realistic molding.

The back strap of the Glock 19 CO2 BB gun is removable for loading 12 Gram CO2 cartridges. However, this deviation in design from the centerfire version is so well executed that it’s not objectionable in any way to the HAM Team.

The removable back strap also holds a folding hex key which is used to tighten the CO2 cartridge retaining screw. That screw is completely invisible in normal use as it’s covered by the base of the magazine. Another example of very careful and clever design being incorporated into the Glock 19 CO2 BB gun.

ACCURACY AND POINT OF IMPACT

HAM Tester Doug Wall was impressed with the Glock 19 CO2 BB gun. He wrote in his testing notes: “Quite accurate and POI is right on when using a 6 o’clock hold”.

All 60 shots on the HAM test targets at both 6 and 10 Yard ranges hit the “soda can” section of the test target. This is very good accuracy from any BB pistol. As remarked earlier, strong accuracy is more common in non-blowback replica BB pistols and the Glock 19 CO2 BB gun conforms to that pattern.

In particular, the Point Of Impact at 6 Yards was very good – certainly better than the majority of BB pistols tested by HAM.

However, there’s plenty of space to mount a small laser like this UTG Red Sub Compact Laser from Leapers using the Picatinny rail at the front of the frame. This gives an easy option for POI correction with any fixed-sight replica pistol. Of, you may just prefer to use a laser for sighting…

COMPARISON TO MAKERS CLAIMS

Umarex claims that the Glock 19 CO2 BB gun offers “the unmistakable look of the original pistol and plenty of power”. HAM agrees!

The Muzzle Velocity claim is 410 FPS. For the first time ever, a replica BB pistol tested on the cool HAM range actually exceeded the manufacturer’s claims. HAM Tester Doug Wall saw a peak 10-shot string average of 412 FPS at 70 degrees F with Crosman Copperhead BBs. The fastest individual shots recorded 420 FPS!

We know that all CO2-powered airguns shoot faster in warmer temperatures by about 2 FPS per degree F. This means that – taking that 412 FPS average – the expected FPS for the Glock 19 CO2 BB gun tested by HAM would be as high as 442 FPS at 85 degrees.

Clearly, the manufacturer’s claims for the Glock 19 CO2 BB gun are very realistic and will be achieved by many shooters in practice.

CONSISTENCY

Consistency was also a strong suit for the Glock 19 CO2 BB gun tested by HAM.

FPS very uniform across the range of standard HAM test BBs. The Standard Deviation, the statistical expression of variability within a shot string was low at an average of just 6.13 FPS. This is very good performance for any airgun, especially a BB pistol!

Accuracy and Point Of Impact were also both pretty consistent across the range of test BBs, although the Crosman Copperheads just nudged ahead in Doug Wall’s hands.

Trigger pull weight of the Glock 19 CO2 BB gun tested by HAM was also very consistent. It varied by only +/- 4 ounces around the 6 Lbs 4 Oz average. This variability was undetectable to the shooter and – again – would be considered good for all but the most expensive airguns.

Below, the “Gen 3” designation for the Glock 19 CO2 BB gun is marked on the base of the packaging.

REALISM – TRIGGER AND ACTION

The trigger of the Glock 19 CO2 BB gun tested by HAM was very close in pull weight to that of the firearm original. Glock gives a specification of 6 Lbs 5 Oz for the firearm. The Glock 19 CO2 BB gun we tested recorded an average of 6 Lbs 4 Oz. It’s tough to get any better than that with any firearms replica!

The trigger features Glock’s iconic trigger blade safety. That works well in the Glock 19 CO2 BB gun.

So it’s particularly surprising that there’s a second, additional safety added to the trigger. This is a simple “push across” trigger block device that simply bears against the pistol grip to prevent a discharge.

Why two functional safeties? Who knows…

As a non-blowback model, the Glock 19 CO2 BB gun of course is limited in the realism that’s possible from its other features. It can’t be field-stripped and most of the controls don’t function – as already described. That’s just the way it is with non-blowback replica pistols.

But remember that you do get more power, higher shot count, better accuracy and a lower price in exchange!

SHOT COUNT

The Glock 19 CO2 BB gun gave an excellent 96 shots before the Muzzle Velocity dropped down to 200 FPS.

As we remarked in a previous HAM story about BB pistols, this is an outstanding performance – particularly given the high FPS it produces. Yes, that combination of FPS and shot count is higher than blowback replica pistols: it’s better than that of many non-blowback models too.

MUZZLE VELOCITY

Maximum Muzzle Velocity for the Glock 19 CO2 BB gun tested by HAM was an average of 412 FPS with Crosman Copperhead 5.13 Grain BBs at a temperature of 70 degrees F. That gives a Muzzle Energy of 1.94 Ft/Lbs, which is very creditable for a BB pistol.

APPEARANCE AND FINISH

There’s no question about it. The appearance and finish of the Glock 19 CO2 BB gun are outstanding! All the external plastic moldings are extremely sharp and well-executed. The engraving and printing on the metal slide is beautiful too. Just look at the close-up below…

Unlike most other firearms replicas, the Glock 19 CO2 BB gun has the obligatory legal information and airgun markings printed inconspicuously on the underside of the frame. And the printing is in low-contrast gray, too, not the stark white that sometimes disfigures otherwise-accurate reproductions.

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The Glock 19 CO2 BB gun is readily available from the major online airgun specialists such as Pyramyd Air and Airgun Depot. However, given the cachet of the Glock brand, we can see this being sold by big box sporting goods stores – and even smaller firearms dealerships – as a low cost trainer in future.

BB and CO2 loading has been very well thought-out in this product. The CO2-tightening hex key is cleverly located in the removable backstrap and swivels for use.

BB loading is an absoloute breeze! HAM Tester Doug Wall noted that the Glock 19 CO2 BB gun has “one of the best magazine loading systems out there”.

There’s an easy-to-use BB follower catch and a well-proportioned BB loading port. Why can’t all BB guns be as easy to load as this?

Of course, the high shot count makes the Glock 19 CO2 BB gun both economical to shoot and reduces the frequency of loading CO2 cartridges. It’s all good for increasing trigger time!

As usual with Umarex replica BB guns, the warranty period is only 3 months.

The owner’s manual is clearly-written and well illustrated. It’s in English, French and Spanish.

SAFETY FIRST. As with all BB-firing airguns, it’s necessary to wear shooting glasses when firing this airgun. Also do not shoot at hard surfaces or water. BBs tend to bounce off these surfaces and may hit you, or something other than what you intended. If in doubt, don’t pull the trigger! Due to the realistic appearance of this product, handle it as you would a firearm. Do not display it in public or in any place where it could be mistaken for a cartridge firearm.

6 YARD TEST TARGETS

10 YARD TEST TARGET

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Umarex Glock 19 Gen. 3 CO2 BB Air Pistol

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Glock 19 Gen. 3 BB Pistol

This entire article including scoring, test targets etc is Copyright Hard Air Magazine and may NOT in part or in whole be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the publisher.

The post Glock 19 CO2 BB Gun Test Review appeared first on Hard Air Magazine.

The Umarex Legends MP40 is one of the HAM Team’s favorite replica BB guns. It looks even better fitted with a leather reproduction MP40 sling!

It works well and looks great. In fact, it scored 96% and won a HAM Gold Award when we reviewed it!

But there was one niggling little problem….

For absolute authenticity, the Umarex Legends MP40 requires one very slight alteration to make it match the German service issue version.

It’s the front sling bar. This is mounted so that the MP40 sling is attached to the left side of the gun. It should be on the right.

With the sling bar on the left, the sling tends to catch the reciprocating bolt handle, with potentially unfortunate effects. Moving it to the other side removes that issue.

This change is actually quite easy to make to your Umarex Legends MP40. And now it’s even easier as Travis from Airgun Depot has produced this video showing how it’s done!

In fact, it’s so easy that he doesn’t even need a workbench. Travis makes the MP40 sling fix while holding the gun in his hands the whole time.

The one suggestion the HAM Team would add is that – as with undertaking any work on any airgun – it should be made safe and cleared first.

We definitely recommend removing the magazine from the MP40 when making the sling bar change.

Doubtless, the gun Travis modifies is safe and not gassed-up, but we are big fans of being ultra-cautious when working on anything that could go “bang” unexpectedly.

Thanks Travis!

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Umarex Legends MP40 CO2 BB Submachine Gun

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Umarex Legends MP Full Auto BB Gun

The post Umarex Legends MP40 Sling Fix Demonstrated appeared first on Hard Air Magazine.

For his latest video, Giles takes the new FX Wildcat Mark II UK version. This, of course, is a sub-12 Ft/Lbs model to comply with UK laws.

So the power is low by US standards, but the shot count is HUGE! Make that around 230 shots from one fill in .22 caliber.

Giles adds a couple of accessories to this shrouded Bullpup air rifle. These include a scope – of course – and a Huggett moderator to make it backyard-friendly.

The FX Wildcat Mark II UK Version – and other versions, too – use FX new Smooth Twist X interchangeable barrel liners . Giles sees slightly better accuracy than with the previous generation barrel using JSB pellets.

In this video, Giles also shows us barrel cleaning and removal, together with stock removal and the potential for trigger adjustments. (Not that the HAM Team has ever need to adjust the superlative triggers of any FX air rifle we’ve ever shot).

For the finale, Giles empties what seems to be the entire contents of his kitchen and bathroom and shoots them in 960 frames per second, ultra-slow motion.

It’s a ton of fun. But what did the good Mrs Barry say???

HAM tested the very similar “Mark I” version of the FX Wildcat but in US-specification. We loved it too and you can check out that review here: https://hardairmagazine.com/reviews/fx-wildcat-air-rifle-test-review-22-caliber/

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FX Wildcat Mark II Laminate Stock

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FX Wildcat Mark II Laminate

The post Giles Latest Video Review The FX Wildcat Mark II UK Version appeared first on Hard Air Magazine.

Day One of the 2018 Pyramyd Air Cup was mainly a sighting-in day. The serious competition starts tomorrow.

But if you looked closely – and sometimes not so closely – there were many new airgun products on display…

The most prominent new product to be seen at Day One of the 2018 Pyramyd Air Cup were the new Baracuda FT pellets. Florian Schwartz – the General Manager of H&N – had travelled over from Germany specially to launch these new pellets in the US.

And -as you can see – he had sample packs of differing lots and head sizes for PA Cup competitors to try out. Each pack included about 350 pellets. Not only that, but H&N is seeking feedback from those lucky enough to get the sample packs. That’s a great example of a company actively looking for customer feedback. Well done H&N!

Of course, HAM has all the samples and we’ll be checking them ourselves…

H&N says that Baracuda FT pellets are specifically designed for Field Target competition. They have a weight of 9.57 Grains in .177 caliber and are hand selected for great consistency, Florian told me. The weight tolerance is specified to a maximum of +/- 0.25%.

Baracuda FT pellets are produced in small batches. Each batch is test-fired on an indoor 50 Meter range and the canter-to-center group size must be just 12 mm ( that’s 0.47 of an inch) or less for 5 shots. Very impressive!

Another German company showing dedication to the US market at Day One of the 2018 Pyramyd Air Cup was Diana. International Sales Manager Tobias Schmidt was shooting a “left hand drive” version of the popular Stormrider.

Not only did this gun have left hand bolt operation, but it was regulated and fitted with a Diana barrel. Here’s the left hand breech…

And here’s a closeup of the air stripper mounted on the Diana barrel.

There’s a second gauge underneath the stock, showing the regulated pressure.

Tobias was shooting this special Stormrider with Hector Medina advising…

Another new air rifle to be seen at Day One of the 2018 Pyramyd Air Cup was the SIG Air ASP20. Yes, we’ve covered this new airgun in many HAM posts, but here it was on the Pyramyd Air demo line for anyone to shoot.

Dani Navickas from SIG Air was present to provide support. Everyone I saw seemed to love this new break barrel model. HAM will have one to review within the next month.

Last, but not least, was the sneak appearance of a Umarex Gauntlet in .25 caliber. This is the first public appearance that I’ve seen of this model. Umarex USA tells me that production Gauntlets in .25 caliber should be shipping very soon.

There will be many people very happy about that!

Although Day One of the 2018 Pyramyd Air Cup was not a high pressure shooting day, everyone had a great time catching-up with friends, talking airguns and sighting-in their rifles.

The serious fun begins tomorrow!

The post Many New Airgun Products At Day One Of The 2018 Pyramyd Air Cup appeared first on Hard Air Magazine.

HAM’s 2018 Pyramyd Air Cup Day Two report begins with an apology…

Yesterday I thought that I had ferreted-out all the unannounced new products that were at this event. But I was wrong!

In fact, Yvonne from the Leapers team was field-testing a new, unannounced UTG Bugbuster-type scope as she shot the Field Target competition.

Below is a close-up of the scope. No details yet, but we can see that it’s a zoom scope with 12 x maximum magnification and what looks like a 40mm objective lens. HAM will  bring you more information as it becomes available…

The main competitions began on the 2018 Pyramyd Air Cup Day Two. These were the Field Target match and the Pyramyd Gunslynger speed silhouette shoot.

The weather was overcast, but everyone appreciated the cooler, less humid weather!

Over 100 competitors were registered and shooting at the 2018 Pyramyd Air Cup Day Two.

Among those competing were Team Puerto Rico. That’s Manuel Morales, Edwin Tubens, Waldemar Gorldis and Pedro Abreu. They were having a great time, as we can see below!

Match Director Tyler Patner had so much to do that he didn’t have time to shoot. However, he was still enjoying the event immensely. Thanks for all your hard work, Tyler!

Every air rifle was tested to ensure that it was producing less than 20 Ft/Lbs Muzzle Energy. Pyramyd Air had a chrony set up specifically for this purpose, as we can see below.

Here’s the members of Team Leapers. That’s Ming, Yvonne and Kiyo. All were shooting and also answering many questions from other competitors on Leapers products.

During the morning, there was also a Juniors competition on the Practice range. This young girl was knocking down cans well with a BB gun, well supervised by her Mother and Father, of course!

Interesting to me this year were the large number of left-handed shooters…

Unfortunately, the Pistol Field Target competition scheduled for Day One had to be cancelled due to concerns over the weather. But Eric Jones proudly showed me his highly-customized Crosman MK I air pistol – running on HPA – that he would have used for that competition.

Below is a close-up of this beautiful and unusual pistol.

So that’s what the 2018 Pyramyd Air Cup Day Two looked like. Tomorrow, Day Three will see the second round of the Field Target competition and the finals of the Gunslynger shoot.

Stay tuned!

The post 2018 Pyramyd Air Cup Day Two Report appeared first on Hard Air Magazine.

Sunday was the final day of the PA Cup. So here we have a report and news of the Pyramyd Air Cup 2018 winners.

I’m proud to say that HAM team members shot very well in this competition! Sean McDaniel and Greg Shirhall both won their classes, while Eric Brewer came fourth in his class. Congratulations gentlemen!!!

Above. That’s Sean McDaniel who joined the Pyramyd Air Cup 2018 winners by placing first in the Hunter PCP Class. Sean was delighted with his win – “I couldn’t believe it!” he told me afterwards. He was even more blown away to win a $2,400 Ataman M2S air rifle as his prize!

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Ataman M2S Field Target

In Hunter Piston, HAM Field target editor Greg Shirhall placed first. We can see him in action below.

HAM pistonl air rifle tester Eric Brewer placed fourth this time. He made up much ground with a great Day Two to the PA Cup, but was recovering from a – for him – poor Day One. Here’s Eric below.

Other Pyramyd Air Cup 2018 winners were Nathan Thomas in WFTF Piston and Will Piatt in Open PCP. Greg Suave and Jerry LaRocca tied in the WFTF PCP Class – at the time of writing, I don’t know who won the shoot out. Congratulations to all!

Of course, Pyramyd Air Cup 2018 winners also included those who drew success in the raffle and – actually – everyone…

You see, every person I spoke to was having a great time and really enjoyed this annual event. As you can see, there’s lots of friendly conversation among competitors in between their turns to shoot.

Below. This young lady was obviously having a great time shooting with her Dad…

Glenn Thomas is one of the few competitors consistently choosing a front AO scope. His choice to miss-out on the otherwise almost universal side AO doesn’t stop him from always shooting strongly!

John Eroh was having good success shooting Nielsen slugs through his Air Arms S500 Extra. This unusual choice of ammo obviously worked well for him as he scored 85 – only just outside the Top Three places.

Here’s a close-up of these 15.5 Grain hollow point slugs.

Dennis Himes always shoots well with his Daystate Red Wolf, below, as does his brother Tom. They field identical rigs and often achieve exactly the same – often winning- scores! This time, Dennis placed third in the Hunter PCP class with a score of 86. Tom was just one shot behind with 85!

There were also several “Tactical Strollers” in use for carrying equipment.

HAM covered a particularly fine example in this story about Pete’s Tactical Stroller some time back. It’s easy to build your own…

Thanks to the whole Pyramyd Air Team for all their hard work in planning and running the annual Pyramyd Air Cup! In particular Kristen Coss and Tyler Patner take the lead. We all benefit from their efforts!

If you missed our Day Two report on the 2018 PA Cup, the link is here. See you again next year…

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