This past year, I worked with a new fella in my office, who I found out later, owned an airgun. This, I would consider unusual in the very liberal Toronto, and especially in a white-collar industry like IT, where opinions, just like the technology are considered and even expected, to be progressive. You can imagine how much I stick out like a sore thumb, and being an Asian gun enthusiast as well, which nowadays is pretty rare. There are less than a handful of people on my whole account (and customer site) who own any type of gun, much less holds a firearms licence. So it always intrigues me to meet people who have even a passing interest in guns.
This guy I worked with happened to own a similar airgun as one of the many that I own. He owned a Walther CP Sport. I have since sold mine, but I have a review on this blog, so check it out if you are interested in this gun. But anyway, it's a CO2-powered semi-automatic .177 caliber air pistol. It's also one of more weaker airguns out there, shooting at a maximum of 360FPS, which, I will concede, is not as weak as airsoft, but don't expect it to be a pest control gun.
My colleague, keeping his voice low, shared with me that he bought the airgun with the sole purpose of using it as a self-defence weapon. When I heard him say that I was shocked. I asked him how many guns he owns, and he said just that one. He said that he thought it was pretty powerful. I asked him if he had any idea what the impact of a .177 caliber pellet at 360FPS (maximum) would be? He didn't, so I gave him some perspective. The Canadian firearms classification starts with fired projectiles travelling at 500FPS or higher AND generating more than 4.2FPE (foot pounds energy). You cannot even humanely kill or even injure a squirrel with a 450FPS airgun (a small mouse, yes, but nothing larger). So don't expect to take down a home invader.
It has been said that part of the Canadian government's classification numbers may have to do with the penetrating effect of a projectile, given a certain velocity and transfer of energy. I have never heard this officially substantiated by the Canadian Firearms Centre, but it does make some sense, in terms of how to classify something as a firearm (ie. can it cause serious or lethal injury).
I gave him some more perspective - a CO2 semi-automatic may sound cool, with rapid fire and an eight-shot magazine, but as anyone who knows anything about airguns can attest, the faster you fire a CO2 gun, the more velocity you lose on subsequent shots - it's because of the cold gas that is released by the CO2 cartridge everytime you pull the trigger. A colder environment inside the gun makes a pellet go slower (another knock against CO2 guns being used in the wintertime). So that maximum 360FPS will turn out to be in the mid-200 to 250FPS, which will cause a slight bruise for someone running around naked, but will hardly penetrate thick clothing, much less skin. If nothing else, your home invader or bad guy will simply get irritated at the fact that you're trying to shoot him and now it gives him the licence to exact maximum injury on you, now that he knows you don't have a "real gun". My friend said that the replica nature of the CP Sport may be a deterrent enough. Personally, I wouldn't put my life on the line for a possibility.
Finally, I shared with him the fact that the most powerful airgun I own is the Gamo Viper Express .22 Caliber Air Shotgun / Rifle combo. This gun requires a firearms licence, and shoots either a very limited of #9 lead shot at around 1200FPS (maximum) or with an chamber adapter, shoots .22 caliber pellets at 850FPS (maximum). Remember, a heavier pellet like a .22 will impart much more energy on impact than its smaller counterpart, at the same velocity. All that being said, despite the fact that the Viper Express is a firearms-rated airgun, I would not recommend anyone to use it for self-defence. The power is just not there. Some self-defence experts would even contend that the lower-velocity rimfire type of firearms are inadquate for self-defence, despite the fact that they will shoot a .22 caliber bullet at generally over 1000FPS. In my view, where you can maybe come close is having something like a Ruger 10/22 with a Butler Creek 25-mag, full of CCI .22 LR Stingers. Those will shoot over 1600FPS, but their accuracy suffers. But problem with using anything rimfire is that likely you will need more than one shot, and that's going to be hard to explain to the cops why you shot the bad guy full of holes.
Some have said that having something is better than nothing, but I disagree. Having nothing at least poses no resistance to the perp, and unless he's hellbent on killing or raping you, it may be in your best interest to simply let him take whatever he wants. Now, I know home invasions don't always work that way, but imagine this - you are stumbling in the dark, reaching for your airgun, hoping that the CO2 still will carry at least 8 shots. Even if you get your shot off, you are looking at reduced stopping power for subsequent CO2 shots. That is the nature of a CO2 gun. You will need a lot more than one shot to stop the intruder, and so a CO2 airgun is a really poor choice, even a CO2 repeating air rifle that requires a firearms licence. In essence, with airguns you are stuck with several problems: 1) multiple shots are needed, but the effect of subsequent shots make it useless on a CO2 gun, 2) there is no no-CO2 repeating airgun, and 3) you definitely don't want to rely on something that is single-shot, spring-action or break-barrel.
Now, the one caveat here - an airgun can be used IF you are such a good shot that you can hit the bad guy in the eye every time. Most airguns will rupture an eyeball without much difficulty, but getting to the point where you can take out an eye is a pretty gruesome thought, and given the fact that the conditions in which you may actually have to do this are less than ideal (low light conditions, time of night and exhaustion issues, movement and space issues, not to mention the fact that you're likely crapping your pants at the time), it's probably more pie-in-the-sky thinking than anything else.
Have airguns ever been used successfully to ward off an attacker? Probably. In fact, I know of a case in South America where a guy was able to chase away a bad guy by shooting him with a relatively low-powered airgun. But remember, if you put all your eggs in one basket with exceptional-case scenarios such as this, you are not looking at the possibility that there are many criminals who aren't so easily chased away. Remember, the criminal mind does not think long-term. Some criminals will kill you for looking at them the wrong way. Don't assume that you'll be able to scare off or chase off most criminals. If they are indeed packing heat, then you pulling out an airgun has just authorized them to shoot you with a real gun in supposed self-defence. Do you want to take this chance?
I have heard of people who still believe airguns are worth using as self-defence and will alter their airguns so that they are multiple times more powerful. Personally, I think these people are playing with fire, since doing this is not only illegal, but can likely get your arrested, since if you alter an air pistol to shoot over 500FPS, you are now looking at a restricted or even a prohibited weapon, according to Canada's fiearms classifications. Very likely the gun will not even be classifiable, since it wasn't manufactured that way and registered with the Canadian government. But let's hypothesize that it was legal to do this (which it definitely is not, I want to emphasize). I still don't believe an airgun shooting a .22 CAL pellet at around 16.2 grains, at a velocity of 500-1000FPS is suitable. Remember, rimfire .22 bullets are around 32 or 40 grain, go at least 1000FPS in general, and I (and others) do not consider them to be viable for self-defence.
Then there are the obvious legal issues. Now, I have previously said that if you are planning to have anything for self-defence, that you had better be prepared to use it to STOP the bad guy, only in situations where you fear for your life or the life of a loved one. Never shoot to kill - your intention should not be pre-meditated killing. Shooting someone for stealing your TV is not excuseable. That being said, the ability to stop the bad guy is not so much determined by your skill level or shooting ability than by what you choose as your self-defence weapon. As I already mentioned, I do not believe airguns to be sufficient. In my humble opinion, the best home defence weapon (for reasons beyond the scope of this blog entry, though I write about this elsewhere on this blog) is a 12 or 20-gauge pump action shotgun, that you can quickly load with something like #3 buckshot, or lower. Be forewarned though - this is a very lethal combination and if you plan to use this, be prepared to accept responsibility for your actions.
In Canada, specifically, buying arms for self-defence is frowned upon, and discouraged. Reason is, unlike the U.S., there are stringent safe-storage laws in Canada. So a person who has any type of firearm in Canada is legally required to keep them unloaded, and locked up in a suitable gun cabinet or safe. The ammo also needs to be locked up separately. Now, think about this - given these legal requirements, how likely is it that you can have a fully functional ready-to-go self-defence arm? If you happen to be very fast and can get to all these individual components, unlocking / relocking and loading your arm all within the span of a couple of minutes, the Canadian government can charge you with unsafe storage, no matter what you say otherwise (their argument is that the laws make it virtually impossible to get to your gun for self-defence, so there's no way you should have been able to do it unless you weren't following safe storage laws). Moreover, if you end up shooting someone, even in a justified self-defence response, and they somehow manage to live, be prepared to be tried as a criminal and having your firearms confiscated as a result, even though you're the one who was violated. Sad, isn't it. Welcome to Canada.
Showing posts with label air gun. Show all posts
Showing posts with label air gun. Show all posts
Friday, October 31, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Gamo Viper Express Air Shotgun / Rifle Review
This may be a bit counter-intuitive, in reviewing a product that some stores are seemingly pulling off their shelves, and given rumours that Gamo may completely discontinue this product, but for the benefit of those who have access to purchase this very unique product, I will share with you my thoughts on the Gamo Viper Express Air Shotgun / Rifle Combo.
First, you may ask, what the heck is an air shotgun. And what does combo mean? Yeah, I had a similar sentiment when I was first introduced to the Viper Express. What I can tell you in unequivocal terms, is that this is not a "real" shotgun. In other words, don't buy this to go duck hunting. Or shoot skeet or trap. There's not enough power, despite Gamo's claim to the contrary. Plus, the shells all use #9 shot, which is like, the smallest and weakest shot you can buy. Add to that that it is air-propelled rather than gunpowder propelled, and you get the point.
The reason why this gun is so attractive is because of its uniqueness, not because of any superior functionality or raw power. I don't want to say that it's not powerful, since it does shoot the #9 shot at 1200FPS (according to Gamo - I haven't put this over a chrony yet) and 850FPS using a .22 caliber pellet. It also does require a firearms licence to purchase (at least in Canada) but compared to a "real" shotgun, there's no contest. I'd say that this gun is good for target shooting and also for pest control, though we're not talking raccoons here, but smaller rodents.
A little about the gun - it's mainly a shotgun that is break-barrel. The functionality of this is quite simple, and is not much different than many other break barrels. With not a whole lot of cocking effort, the shooter would break the barrel (bend it down until it clicks and engages), load in your shotgun shell (which is extremely small - maybe the size of the standard drywall screw plug), pull the barrel back up so it locks in place, release the safety, and then point and shoot (just like a real shotgun, there are no sights - just the bead near the end of the barrel). Once shot, the shell has to be manually removed by breaking the barrel.
It is also a rifle, because the Viper Express comes with a chamber adapter that is the same size as the shotgun shell, but is brass and it allows a .22 caliber pellet to fit into it. Loading and shooting is the same except that there is no shell to remove.
The gun is about 37-40" or so in length, including the barrel (I don't have the specs in front of me so my number may be a bit off). It is not that heavy. Most of the gun is made of a grey plastic compound. There are checkered grips on the gun, for the shooter to be able to hold it comfortably. In fact, the colour and the rubber grips are pretty much the only thing that distinguishes the Viper Express from the Viper Shadow (which is about $50.00 cheaper, but also looks considerably cheaper). Both models feature a vented rib barrel, which looks cool, but serves absolutely no purpose, since there's no way the barrel will ever get hot enough to vent fumes or gas. Also, while the external diameter of the barrel does make it look like a real shotgun barrel (at least from the side), looking from the front, you'll see that obviously the opening is much smaller than the side profile would suggest.
The safety is in front of the trigger and is easy to use. It comes also with mounting rail slats so you can choose to attach any number of optional optics to it, if you wish.
Because it is a break barrel, you obviously do not have to worry about noise - if you've ever heard a shotgun blast before (a real one), it's pretty loud. You'll get more of a "doink" or "chunk" sound coming from this for the #9 shot, and a slighly more prounced "thunk" when using pellets.
Now, some pros and cons.
PROS:
1. Good construction. I remember handling this the first time I saw this in the gunstore and I thought, "feels great". Not too heavy, not too light. Rubber checkering on grip areas are well thought out and feel excellent to the shooter - it just feels solid.
2. Innovative product. Sure, it may not be able to be best-in-class for either air shotgun or air rifle, the fact that Gamo took the risk in producing a combo gun, should be applauded.
3. Great alternative to a "real shotgun". Sometimes you just need a gun that you don't have to aim and sight in. Perhaps you are in an area where you will be in severe crap if the neighbours hear anything resembling a firearm going off, but you need to take care of some pest control or want to hunt some small game (like smaller birds, squirrels, etc.). This is a good choice that will likely not result in the cops being called.
CONS:
1. In order to facilitate the ability to shoot shot out of this gun, the barrel is, to no one's surprise, smoothbore. However, the decision to make this a combo gun is a poor one, based on the smoothbore. Without a rifled barrel, your .22 caliber pellet ain't going to shoot very straight, or achieve much accuracy. Maybe close distances are fine, but that sort of defeats the whole purpose of a rifle, doesn't it? Anyhow, even though I have the chamber adapter, I never use it - just keep it as a shotgun.
2. The air shotgun ammo is expensive and cannot be found anywhere...and from what I can gather, it only comes from Gamo. I made the decision, even before I bought the Viper Express, to stock up on the shells, since I knew I'd be buying it at some point. At around $7-$8 for a box of 25 or so, that's not a great deal. Now, I know what you'll tell me - I can go out and buy a box of 25 Winchester AA 20 ga. shells for the same price, but remember, you are getting very little shot here in a much smaller package. And while it is technically possible to be able to reload the plastic shells, it is not like the usefulness of spent 12 or 20 ga. shells that can easily be reloaded and re-crimped. Plus, if Gamo ever discontinues the ammo, you're now stuck with this as a crappy .22 caliber inaccurate rifle.
3. It is either discontinued, about to be discontinued, or is not selling well. As a result, you'd be hard pressed to find too many gun shops that carry this.
All that being said, I am pleased to have purchased this. It is a unique product that will turn heads, but also has some limited use as a pest control gun (I use it as neither - for me, it's more of a novelty, albeit an expensive one). I would have perhaps put some wood into it, so it doesn't look 100% synthetic, or design it so that it has interchangeable barrels - this would make this a more attractive option as a rifle.
First, you may ask, what the heck is an air shotgun. And what does combo mean? Yeah, I had a similar sentiment when I was first introduced to the Viper Express. What I can tell you in unequivocal terms, is that this is not a "real" shotgun. In other words, don't buy this to go duck hunting. Or shoot skeet or trap. There's not enough power, despite Gamo's claim to the contrary. Plus, the shells all use #9 shot, which is like, the smallest and weakest shot you can buy. Add to that that it is air-propelled rather than gunpowder propelled, and you get the point.
The reason why this gun is so attractive is because of its uniqueness, not because of any superior functionality or raw power. I don't want to say that it's not powerful, since it does shoot the #9 shot at 1200FPS (according to Gamo - I haven't put this over a chrony yet) and 850FPS using a .22 caliber pellet. It also does require a firearms licence to purchase (at least in Canada) but compared to a "real" shotgun, there's no contest. I'd say that this gun is good for target shooting and also for pest control, though we're not talking raccoons here, but smaller rodents.
A little about the gun - it's mainly a shotgun that is break-barrel. The functionality of this is quite simple, and is not much different than many other break barrels. With not a whole lot of cocking effort, the shooter would break the barrel (bend it down until it clicks and engages), load in your shotgun shell (which is extremely small - maybe the size of the standard drywall screw plug), pull the barrel back up so it locks in place, release the safety, and then point and shoot (just like a real shotgun, there are no sights - just the bead near the end of the barrel). Once shot, the shell has to be manually removed by breaking the barrel.
It is also a rifle, because the Viper Express comes with a chamber adapter that is the same size as the shotgun shell, but is brass and it allows a .22 caliber pellet to fit into it. Loading and shooting is the same except that there is no shell to remove.
The gun is about 37-40" or so in length, including the barrel (I don't have the specs in front of me so my number may be a bit off). It is not that heavy. Most of the gun is made of a grey plastic compound. There are checkered grips on the gun, for the shooter to be able to hold it comfortably. In fact, the colour and the rubber grips are pretty much the only thing that distinguishes the Viper Express from the Viper Shadow (which is about $50.00 cheaper, but also looks considerably cheaper). Both models feature a vented rib barrel, which looks cool, but serves absolutely no purpose, since there's no way the barrel will ever get hot enough to vent fumes or gas. Also, while the external diameter of the barrel does make it look like a real shotgun barrel (at least from the side), looking from the front, you'll see that obviously the opening is much smaller than the side profile would suggest.
The safety is in front of the trigger and is easy to use. It comes also with mounting rail slats so you can choose to attach any number of optional optics to it, if you wish.
Because it is a break barrel, you obviously do not have to worry about noise - if you've ever heard a shotgun blast before (a real one), it's pretty loud. You'll get more of a "doink" or "chunk" sound coming from this for the #9 shot, and a slighly more prounced "thunk" when using pellets.
Now, some pros and cons.
PROS:
1. Good construction. I remember handling this the first time I saw this in the gunstore and I thought, "feels great". Not too heavy, not too light. Rubber checkering on grip areas are well thought out and feel excellent to the shooter - it just feels solid.
2. Innovative product. Sure, it may not be able to be best-in-class for either air shotgun or air rifle, the fact that Gamo took the risk in producing a combo gun, should be applauded.
3. Great alternative to a "real shotgun". Sometimes you just need a gun that you don't have to aim and sight in. Perhaps you are in an area where you will be in severe crap if the neighbours hear anything resembling a firearm going off, but you need to take care of some pest control or want to hunt some small game (like smaller birds, squirrels, etc.). This is a good choice that will likely not result in the cops being called.
CONS:
1. In order to facilitate the ability to shoot shot out of this gun, the barrel is, to no one's surprise, smoothbore. However, the decision to make this a combo gun is a poor one, based on the smoothbore. Without a rifled barrel, your .22 caliber pellet ain't going to shoot very straight, or achieve much accuracy. Maybe close distances are fine, but that sort of defeats the whole purpose of a rifle, doesn't it? Anyhow, even though I have the chamber adapter, I never use it - just keep it as a shotgun.
2. The air shotgun ammo is expensive and cannot be found anywhere...and from what I can gather, it only comes from Gamo. I made the decision, even before I bought the Viper Express, to stock up on the shells, since I knew I'd be buying it at some point. At around $7-$8 for a box of 25 or so, that's not a great deal. Now, I know what you'll tell me - I can go out and buy a box of 25 Winchester AA 20 ga. shells for the same price, but remember, you are getting very little shot here in a much smaller package. And while it is technically possible to be able to reload the plastic shells, it is not like the usefulness of spent 12 or 20 ga. shells that can easily be reloaded and re-crimped. Plus, if Gamo ever discontinues the ammo, you're now stuck with this as a crappy .22 caliber inaccurate rifle.
3. It is either discontinued, about to be discontinued, or is not selling well. As a result, you'd be hard pressed to find too many gun shops that carry this.
All that being said, I am pleased to have purchased this. It is a unique product that will turn heads, but also has some limited use as a pest control gun (I use it as neither - for me, it's more of a novelty, albeit an expensive one). I would have perhaps put some wood into it, so it doesn't look 100% synthetic, or design it so that it has interchangeable barrels - this would make this a more attractive option as a rifle.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Crosman Phantom .22 Caliber Air Rifle Review
I had thought that I had pretty much sworn off on Crosman airguns. There are those in the sport who would say that they are decent, value-priced guns that perform decently and geez, they are made in the good ol' USA. Then there are those who say that due to their price point, you can't expect Diana/RWS-like quality. And then there are those who avoid them like a bacterial infection of the rectum. I tended to waver between perception number two and three, more so due to my previous experience with a Crosman T4. Now, I know what you may be thinking - just like anything else, you can't judge your overall view of a company based on one experience. That is generally true and it is a principle I hold when buying things from companies. My Dad reminded me of this fact lately as I was griping about the really crappy Honda dealership, of which my wife and I used to be regular patrons.
So, seeing how I would like to take my own advice on things like this, I thought I'd give Crosman another chance. This wasn't a CO2 pistol anyway, so we're talking about a completely different animal here (the Phantom is a break-barrel/hinge action spring rifle). What I got was the Canadian .22 caliber non-PAL version (even though I have my firearms licence, I still enjoy checking out under-500 FPS offerings). I say Canadian version because as far as I am aware, you can't get a .22 caliber Phantom in the U.S. And the higher velocity Phantoms are all .177 caliber anyway. I bought this in December 2007, taking advantage of a generous store-wide discount that was available.
It so happened that I bought the last one in the store, and heading out of the store with it, one of the gunshop guys remarked, "Why are you buying that? It's a toy!" That didn't exactly give me the warm fuzzies, but for $100.00, I was willing to check it out.
The first thing I noticed was that the box was pretty heavy. I was pretty sure it was the rifle, not the packaging. And sure enough, I was right. As far as air rifles go, the Phantom carried a decent amount of weight (I think it was 6 lbs+ - more if you scope it). It came with the manual and the frequently distributed plastic Crosman cross-block trigger lock. As it was sub-500FPS, I wasn't going to keep the trigger lock on it - may sell it on eBay if I get a chance. After taking apart the contents, I took it to the local range to check out (can't really shoot it in my backyard (neighbours too close and municipal bylaws) or in my house (kids and municipal bylaws). The first thing I noticed was that I couldn't break the barrel. It was solidly stuck. Now, I am not a strong guy, but I am not a weakling either, and based on my previous experience with several break-barrel rifles, this wasn't normal. I spent considerable amount of time trying to break the barrel before I realized that I probably bought a lemon. So I drove back home, but not before taking the barrel and hitting it against a chair in disgust - it actually broke at that point, but no way I am going to be hitting it on a chair every time.
I looked online for suggestions and it turns out that this is common with the Phantom - that you need to "slap" the barrel, sometimes significantly hard, in order to get it to break. That really sucks. So I said, "forget this", and proceeded to take it back to the store, from where I bought it. The guys in the gunshop, to my surprise, indicated that there is nothing wrong with it, and they were easily able to use the open side of their hand and slap that barrel to break it. Even after breaking it, they indicated to me that the spring was REALLY tight, and that likely, I may have an anomaly on my hands - that is, that I may have a spring that will produce velocities of well over 500FPS, putting it into firearms grade (interestingly enough, even though I verified this, they told me I need not worry about contacting the Canadian Firearms Centre to register it). Anyhow, they told me there was nothing wrong with it; that higher end spring-loading air rifles occasionally need a snap. Besides, at least I know the locking hinge is working properly. I suppose. So I took it back and figured that if it really became a problem, I'll just send it back to Crosman Canada (which has since turned over its support and parts operations to a company called Gravel Company in Quebec).
So back to the range I went, with the knowledge that to use this Phantom, I would have to give the barrel a big old slap (which on a skinny solid metal barrel, does hurt the hand somewhat). Most times I needed both arms to pull down the barrel to cock it. I suspected that maybe the guy was right - that the spring was indeed a Phantom 1000FPS version - that would make my gun a very rare item. Anyhow, I'll worry about that later. After exhausting myself in cocking the rifle, I loaded a pellet into the barrel, but not before I noticed that there was a tremendous (and I mean tremendous) amount of grease all over the gun. In subsequent research sessions, I also found out that this was not unusual with the Phantom, but it's still kind of gross having to get grease all over your hands. But that's a minor thing. So I simply decided to test-fire it (not dry fire, which you never do with a spring loader).
Well, after my first shot, I smelled this nasty burning smell. I knew it wasn't from any gunpowder or primer from people around me, as there was no one beside me on my lane at the time. Of course, it was only a minute later that I realized that the burning smell came from the rifle, as smoke started rising from it. No word of a lie - white smoke from an air rifle. In subsequent research, I learned that this was also not unusual and in some air rifles, this smoking gun effect, called dieseling, was simply a way for the gun, when shot, to deal with excess oil and grease (of which the Phantom had plenty). I'd say after about 75-100 shots, it went away. But between that and the barrel not breaking without slapping it, I wasn't overly impressed.
The Phantom, despite common perception, is actually not the same rifle as the popular Crosman Quest. Some believe it is the same rifle, with only a synthetic vs. wood stock being the only difference. The Quest has its own share of quality control problems, but that is another conversation for another day. Anyhow, the Phantom is more along the lines of a stripped down Crosman TAC-1 tactical air rifle (which is not cheap, but mostly due to all the crazy stuff that comes with it).
As for performance, I finally have some good news. The Phantom hits the targets hard and is very accurate (I had on it initially for my tests my Bushnell Sportsman 3-9x32mm w/ AO scope, though I have since moved the scope to a better rifle and put the cheapo Crosman 4032 4x32mm scope on it - both scopes were fairly accurate within 30 yards, producing somewhat close groups (I won't give the actual measurements since I'd like to believe what I shot was considered close groupings, though in all likelihood it probably wasn't). Now, I had to satisfy my curiosity about the theory that I inadvertently received a stronger spring in my rifle, so I decided to take my trusty F1 Chrony and measure velocity. Well, I can say that I won't have to deal with legal issues with having a "oops" model - the chrony recorded average velocities between 470 - 480 (the box advertised it as up to 495, which was obviously correct).
The Phantom comes with a trigger safety (pull it toward the trigger to activate the safety) inside the trigger guard. The length of the rifle is around 44.5", which is a pretty decent length. With the scope attached, you definitely feel the weight.
All that being said, I think it's safe to say that my opinion of Crosman hasn't changed. And since then I have also heard that Crosman has pulled all of its "fireball" pellets off the shelves for serious quality control and worksmanship issues (inconsistent skirts on the pellets, nicks on the same, etc.). I won't return the Phantom, even though it's under warranty, since I already got by the dieseling issues. The slapping of the barrel is a royal pain in the butt, but I can live with it. I'd just hate to sent it to Gravel and get a replacement that has the same issue (in the past, Crosman has been known to simply issue a new replacement, sealed in package), or worse, send it to Gravel, and I never see it again. But I'd seriously need some convincing to buy another Crosman product. Sure, the Discovery is out and the Benjamin line is great, but the old adage applies - you get what you pay for. Crosman is great for backyard plinking and not-too-serious target shooting, but if you're looking for performance and quality, you'd probably want to consider some of the other brands of air rifles on the market.
So, seeing how I would like to take my own advice on things like this, I thought I'd give Crosman another chance. This wasn't a CO2 pistol anyway, so we're talking about a completely different animal here (the Phantom is a break-barrel/hinge action spring rifle). What I got was the Canadian .22 caliber non-PAL version (even though I have my firearms licence, I still enjoy checking out under-500 FPS offerings). I say Canadian version because as far as I am aware, you can't get a .22 caliber Phantom in the U.S. And the higher velocity Phantoms are all .177 caliber anyway. I bought this in December 2007, taking advantage of a generous store-wide discount that was available.
It so happened that I bought the last one in the store, and heading out of the store with it, one of the gunshop guys remarked, "Why are you buying that? It's a toy!" That didn't exactly give me the warm fuzzies, but for $100.00, I was willing to check it out.
The first thing I noticed was that the box was pretty heavy. I was pretty sure it was the rifle, not the packaging. And sure enough, I was right. As far as air rifles go, the Phantom carried a decent amount of weight (I think it was 6 lbs+ - more if you scope it). It came with the manual and the frequently distributed plastic Crosman cross-block trigger lock. As it was sub-500FPS, I wasn't going to keep the trigger lock on it - may sell it on eBay if I get a chance. After taking apart the contents, I took it to the local range to check out (can't really shoot it in my backyard (neighbours too close and municipal bylaws) or in my house (kids and municipal bylaws). The first thing I noticed was that I couldn't break the barrel. It was solidly stuck. Now, I am not a strong guy, but I am not a weakling either, and based on my previous experience with several break-barrel rifles, this wasn't normal. I spent considerable amount of time trying to break the barrel before I realized that I probably bought a lemon. So I drove back home, but not before taking the barrel and hitting it against a chair in disgust - it actually broke at that point, but no way I am going to be hitting it on a chair every time.
I looked online for suggestions and it turns out that this is common with the Phantom - that you need to "slap" the barrel, sometimes significantly hard, in order to get it to break. That really sucks. So I said, "forget this", and proceeded to take it back to the store, from where I bought it. The guys in the gunshop, to my surprise, indicated that there is nothing wrong with it, and they were easily able to use the open side of their hand and slap that barrel to break it. Even after breaking it, they indicated to me that the spring was REALLY tight, and that likely, I may have an anomaly on my hands - that is, that I may have a spring that will produce velocities of well over 500FPS, putting it into firearms grade (interestingly enough, even though I verified this, they told me I need not worry about contacting the Canadian Firearms Centre to register it). Anyhow, they told me there was nothing wrong with it; that higher end spring-loading air rifles occasionally need a snap. Besides, at least I know the locking hinge is working properly. I suppose. So I took it back and figured that if it really became a problem, I'll just send it back to Crosman Canada (which has since turned over its support and parts operations to a company called Gravel Company in Quebec).
So back to the range I went, with the knowledge that to use this Phantom, I would have to give the barrel a big old slap (which on a skinny solid metal barrel, does hurt the hand somewhat). Most times I needed both arms to pull down the barrel to cock it. I suspected that maybe the guy was right - that the spring was indeed a Phantom 1000FPS version - that would make my gun a very rare item. Anyhow, I'll worry about that later. After exhausting myself in cocking the rifle, I loaded a pellet into the barrel, but not before I noticed that there was a tremendous (and I mean tremendous) amount of grease all over the gun. In subsequent research sessions, I also found out that this was not unusual with the Phantom, but it's still kind of gross having to get grease all over your hands. But that's a minor thing. So I simply decided to test-fire it (not dry fire, which you never do with a spring loader).
Well, after my first shot, I smelled this nasty burning smell. I knew it wasn't from any gunpowder or primer from people around me, as there was no one beside me on my lane at the time. Of course, it was only a minute later that I realized that the burning smell came from the rifle, as smoke started rising from it. No word of a lie - white smoke from an air rifle. In subsequent research, I learned that this was also not unusual and in some air rifles, this smoking gun effect, called dieseling, was simply a way for the gun, when shot, to deal with excess oil and grease (of which the Phantom had plenty). I'd say after about 75-100 shots, it went away. But between that and the barrel not breaking without slapping it, I wasn't overly impressed.
The Phantom, despite common perception, is actually not the same rifle as the popular Crosman Quest. Some believe it is the same rifle, with only a synthetic vs. wood stock being the only difference. The Quest has its own share of quality control problems, but that is another conversation for another day. Anyhow, the Phantom is more along the lines of a stripped down Crosman TAC-1 tactical air rifle (which is not cheap, but mostly due to all the crazy stuff that comes with it).
As for performance, I finally have some good news. The Phantom hits the targets hard and is very accurate (I had on it initially for my tests my Bushnell Sportsman 3-9x32mm w/ AO scope, though I have since moved the scope to a better rifle and put the cheapo Crosman 4032 4x32mm scope on it - both scopes were fairly accurate within 30 yards, producing somewhat close groups (I won't give the actual measurements since I'd like to believe what I shot was considered close groupings, though in all likelihood it probably wasn't). Now, I had to satisfy my curiosity about the theory that I inadvertently received a stronger spring in my rifle, so I decided to take my trusty F1 Chrony and measure velocity. Well, I can say that I won't have to deal with legal issues with having a "oops" model - the chrony recorded average velocities between 470 - 480 (the box advertised it as up to 495, which was obviously correct).
The Phantom comes with a trigger safety (pull it toward the trigger to activate the safety) inside the trigger guard. The length of the rifle is around 44.5", which is a pretty decent length. With the scope attached, you definitely feel the weight.
All that being said, I think it's safe to say that my opinion of Crosman hasn't changed. And since then I have also heard that Crosman has pulled all of its "fireball" pellets off the shelves for serious quality control and worksmanship issues (inconsistent skirts on the pellets, nicks on the same, etc.). I won't return the Phantom, even though it's under warranty, since I already got by the dieseling issues. The slapping of the barrel is a royal pain in the butt, but I can live with it. I'd just hate to sent it to Gravel and get a replacement that has the same issue (in the past, Crosman has been known to simply issue a new replacement, sealed in package), or worse, send it to Gravel, and I never see it again. But I'd seriously need some convincing to buy another Crosman product. Sure, the Discovery is out and the Benjamin line is great, but the old adage applies - you get what you pay for. Crosman is great for backyard plinking and not-too-serious target shooting, but if you're looking for performance and quality, you'd probably want to consider some of the other brands of air rifles on the market.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Hammerli Air Magnum 850 .22 Caliber CO2 Rifle Review
Well, it's been a few weeks since I last posted. I've since become a father once again (yay!), so I've been taking it easy for the online activities. Anyhow, I have a few moments between diaper changes and such, and since my son is sick today, I'm home with him. He's napping now, so I have an opportunity to get back into the swing of posting here.
Well, lots to post about, and we can talk parenthood and fatherhood and childrearing and what not in future posts for sure, but for the avid air gun and air rifle enthusiasts out there, I want to make sure I put a review in your hands of what I consider to be the absolute best air rifle that I have owned thus far. It is the RWS (rebranded Hammerli by Umarex) Air Magnum 850, in 22 caliber. This is, without a doubt, the sweetest shooting CO2-powered rifle one can get their hands on. In Canada, this baby requires you to have a gun licence, or a PAL, so if you want one of these, go for your CFSC safety course and exams and be prepared to wait a bit, not to mention the mandatory registration of this rifle with the Canadian federal long-gun registry.
First, a little about the rifle. It is an all-black synthetic stock CO2 rifle, which uses an 88gram canister. I guess for those who play paintball, you'd be used to 88g markers, but make no mistake, this ain't no paintball gun, folks (the fact that you need a firearms licence to possess would make that obvious). It comes in .177 and .22 caliber, but why anyone would want the .177, I do not know. It weights around 5.5lbs, and is a little over 40" long (maybe 43 or 44"). It has rails built-in, should you wish to add scoping optics. It uses an 8-round cylinder magazine, which is extremely well made. It also features and automatic safety, and it uses a bolt action system. The factory specs on velocity for .177 and .22 are 760FPS and 655FPS respectively. On a 88g cartridge, the manufacturers say that you can get around 200 shots with it.
At around $250.00 + tax, this rifle is not one of the cheaper ones. But once you get the box in your hands, you'll know that like anything else, if you want quality, you're going to have to pay for it. The rifle arrives in a fairly large box, which upon closer inspection is actually a fitted foam box with an outer wrap-around cardboard shell. Regardless, you should know that your rifle will not arrive damaged. It is packaged really well, with the rifle itself being wrapped in a plastic bag, and includes a nice big bag of silica salt to ward off moisture (of course, I just bought a huge box of silica salt the week before, but that is neither here nor there). It comes with a manual, and two 8-shot magazines. You'll have to buy your own CO2, but that's OK, since they're around five to six bucks per 88g canister.
The feel and weight of the gun is really good, even for my stature. The CO2 is inserted in the front of the gun in compartment, of which the snappable plastic cover removes quite easily (the downside is that it feels a little too plasticky and can eventually break). The CO2 canister is screwed in tightly and then turned about a 1/4 turn counterclockwise (don't worry, the gas will only leak for about one second). Now, with 200 shots, you're probably thinking whether it's wise to get this, since you may not use 200 shots and as such, be releasing the rest of the gas out, wasting it. I know of this concern, as I had it myself, but in looking further and talking with airgun experts, it is actually OK to leave your CO2 cartridges in your rifles and pistols, despite what the manufacturers say. More damage can be done to the O-rings if you were to release the gas manually, freezing the rings. Besides, leaving the gas cartridges in the gun keeps the seals from drying out, and dust out as well. I've done this with no adverse effect on any of my CO2 guns. Still, if you're ultra-paranoid, you can always buy the additional attachment that allows you to use two (2) 12g cartridges instead of a single 88g unit. However, the adapter runs around $100.00, and in my opinion, is not a worthwhile expenditure.
The automatic safety is right on the back of the breech, and you need to manually disengage it with your thumb before taking the next shot (it's a two-stage safety, more or less, with a bigger external button and one inset button that have to be pressed to disengage the safety). This is OK the first time, but when you have to do this 100+ times in a row, it gets a bit annoying.
The bolt, I will have to say, is one of the nicest features on the rifle. It is a huge side bolt and pulls back very nicely. The cylinder magazine is loaded from the left hand side and is locked into place by a switch on the same side. The rifle features fiber-optic sights, but no doubt you'll want to put a scope on this thing. Another additional item you can add is the muzzle-brake, to give it a more tactical look (my wife thought it looked like a silencer, but it's not, since silencers are illegal in Canada).
OK, performance. I found that out of the box, the 850 Air Magnum will shoot around 620FPS when chronied. Now, for a firearms-grade airgun, that may seem rather low, but this is not a hunting rifle, and you can't expect supersonic performance with CO2 anyway. This is probably the fastest and most powerful CO2-powered gun you can buy. Of course, bear in mind that with CO2, the faster you shoot a repeating airgun, the lower your velocity will drop. So while you can probably train yourself to cycle the bolt and safety pretty quickly, don't expect consistent velocity as a result. This rifle's use is really in plinking, target shooting and if you must, small rodent control (and I mean small rodents). The report of the rifle (sound) is not too bad - lot loud at all, and shooting decent groups is possible (provided you have a half-decent scope attached - I use the Bushnell Sportsman 3-9x32mm with AO).
I don't believe you get get a better rifle for the money. There's not a whole lot of .22 caliber CO2 rifles out there anyway, and even less in the firearms-rated range, so this is definitely a must-have for any airgun enthusiast.
JUNE 2008 EDIT: It has become abundantly clear to me that this gun is not designed for Crosman Premier Hollowpoint .22 pellets. Avoid these at all costs. The intial few were fine, but then I started experiencing extreme jamming when the cylinder magazine was cycled. Then somehow, one of the pellets fell back into the bolt action (DO NOT LOAD THE MAGAZINE WITH THE RIFLE POINTING UP). That jammed the bolt action to the point where I could not even remove the magazine since the bolt pin was in the way. Eventually, through shaking it here and here I managed to get the magazine out, but then the bolt would only retract 90%, which of course is useless. I was about 10 seconds from looking to disassemble it (and knowing me, I would have likely destroyed the gun as a result), when I put a Q-tip into what I could see of the bolt and trigger assembly and did some more shaking, and lo and behold, the bolt cycles now. That being said, I looked online and from the people who have experienced similar bolt problems, they said it is either Crosman Premier's or Beeman pellets that contribute to these problems - not to mention a poorly designed cylinder magazine with which the pellets can fall out, skirt-first, into the action. I have read that RWS Hollowpoints or RWS Hobby pellets are the only way to go here, as the mag is only designed for RWS (but not Superpoints). *sigh*
Well, lots to post about, and we can talk parenthood and fatherhood and childrearing and what not in future posts for sure, but for the avid air gun and air rifle enthusiasts out there, I want to make sure I put a review in your hands of what I consider to be the absolute best air rifle that I have owned thus far. It is the RWS (rebranded Hammerli by Umarex) Air Magnum 850, in 22 caliber. This is, without a doubt, the sweetest shooting CO2-powered rifle one can get their hands on. In Canada, this baby requires you to have a gun licence, or a PAL, so if you want one of these, go for your CFSC safety course and exams and be prepared to wait a bit, not to mention the mandatory registration of this rifle with the Canadian federal long-gun registry.
First, a little about the rifle. It is an all-black synthetic stock CO2 rifle, which uses an 88gram canister. I guess for those who play paintball, you'd be used to 88g markers, but make no mistake, this ain't no paintball gun, folks (the fact that you need a firearms licence to possess would make that obvious). It comes in .177 and .22 caliber, but why anyone would want the .177, I do not know. It weights around 5.5lbs, and is a little over 40" long (maybe 43 or 44"). It has rails built-in, should you wish to add scoping optics. It uses an 8-round cylinder magazine, which is extremely well made. It also features and automatic safety, and it uses a bolt action system. The factory specs on velocity for .177 and .22 are 760FPS and 655FPS respectively. On a 88g cartridge, the manufacturers say that you can get around 200 shots with it.
At around $250.00 + tax, this rifle is not one of the cheaper ones. But once you get the box in your hands, you'll know that like anything else, if you want quality, you're going to have to pay for it. The rifle arrives in a fairly large box, which upon closer inspection is actually a fitted foam box with an outer wrap-around cardboard shell. Regardless, you should know that your rifle will not arrive damaged. It is packaged really well, with the rifle itself being wrapped in a plastic bag, and includes a nice big bag of silica salt to ward off moisture (of course, I just bought a huge box of silica salt the week before, but that is neither here nor there). It comes with a manual, and two 8-shot magazines. You'll have to buy your own CO2, but that's OK, since they're around five to six bucks per 88g canister.
The feel and weight of the gun is really good, even for my stature. The CO2 is inserted in the front of the gun in compartment, of which the snappable plastic cover removes quite easily (the downside is that it feels a little too plasticky and can eventually break). The CO2 canister is screwed in tightly and then turned about a 1/4 turn counterclockwise (don't worry, the gas will only leak for about one second). Now, with 200 shots, you're probably thinking whether it's wise to get this, since you may not use 200 shots and as such, be releasing the rest of the gas out, wasting it. I know of this concern, as I had it myself, but in looking further and talking with airgun experts, it is actually OK to leave your CO2 cartridges in your rifles and pistols, despite what the manufacturers say. More damage can be done to the O-rings if you were to release the gas manually, freezing the rings. Besides, leaving the gas cartridges in the gun keeps the seals from drying out, and dust out as well. I've done this with no adverse effect on any of my CO2 guns. Still, if you're ultra-paranoid, you can always buy the additional attachment that allows you to use two (2) 12g cartridges instead of a single 88g unit. However, the adapter runs around $100.00, and in my opinion, is not a worthwhile expenditure.
The automatic safety is right on the back of the breech, and you need to manually disengage it with your thumb before taking the next shot (it's a two-stage safety, more or less, with a bigger external button and one inset button that have to be pressed to disengage the safety). This is OK the first time, but when you have to do this 100+ times in a row, it gets a bit annoying.
The bolt, I will have to say, is one of the nicest features on the rifle. It is a huge side bolt and pulls back very nicely. The cylinder magazine is loaded from the left hand side and is locked into place by a switch on the same side. The rifle features fiber-optic sights, but no doubt you'll want to put a scope on this thing. Another additional item you can add is the muzzle-brake, to give it a more tactical look (my wife thought it looked like a silencer, but it's not, since silencers are illegal in Canada).
OK, performance. I found that out of the box, the 850 Air Magnum will shoot around 620FPS when chronied. Now, for a firearms-grade airgun, that may seem rather low, but this is not a hunting rifle, and you can't expect supersonic performance with CO2 anyway. This is probably the fastest and most powerful CO2-powered gun you can buy. Of course, bear in mind that with CO2, the faster you shoot a repeating airgun, the lower your velocity will drop. So while you can probably train yourself to cycle the bolt and safety pretty quickly, don't expect consistent velocity as a result. This rifle's use is really in plinking, target shooting and if you must, small rodent control (and I mean small rodents). The report of the rifle (sound) is not too bad - lot loud at all, and shooting decent groups is possible (provided you have a half-decent scope attached - I use the Bushnell Sportsman 3-9x32mm with AO).
I don't believe you get get a better rifle for the money. There's not a whole lot of .22 caliber CO2 rifles out there anyway, and even less in the firearms-rated range, so this is definitely a must-have for any airgun enthusiast.
JUNE 2008 EDIT: It has become abundantly clear to me that this gun is not designed for Crosman Premier Hollowpoint .22 pellets. Avoid these at all costs. The intial few were fine, but then I started experiencing extreme jamming when the cylinder magazine was cycled. Then somehow, one of the pellets fell back into the bolt action (DO NOT LOAD THE MAGAZINE WITH THE RIFLE POINTING UP). That jammed the bolt action to the point where I could not even remove the magazine since the bolt pin was in the way. Eventually, through shaking it here and here I managed to get the magazine out, but then the bolt would only retract 90%, which of course is useless. I was about 10 seconds from looking to disassemble it (and knowing me, I would have likely destroyed the gun as a result), when I put a Q-tip into what I could see of the bolt and trigger assembly and did some more shaking, and lo and behold, the bolt cycles now. That being said, I looked online and from the people who have experienced similar bolt problems, they said it is either Crosman Premier's or Beeman pellets that contribute to these problems - not to mention a poorly designed cylinder magazine with which the pellets can fall out, skirt-first, into the action. I have read that RWS Hollowpoints or RWS Hobby pellets are the only way to go here, as the mag is only designed for RWS (but not Superpoints). *sigh*
Friday, February 1, 2008
Getting a Firearms Licence (P.A.L.) in Canada
A lot has changed in the past ten years in terms of how one acquires firearms in Canada. Now, irrespective of you gun politics and what you think of this, it now requires a bit more work in order to get a licence to possess and acquire firearms. In the old days, you'd just need to drop by a police station to get the application form for the Firearms Acquisition Certificate, or F.A.C. Send it in, along with a fee, and once they do a background check on you in sufficient time, they will issue you a F.A.C. The F.A.C. was not needed to possess firearms, just acquire them. Technically, you could have had a Posession Only Licence (P.O.L.) which allowed you to keep the firearms you already had, but not get any more. Ammunition back then did not require a firearms licence, but rather, you just needed to be over 18 and show a valid driver's licence.
In 1998, the Chretien Liberals scrapped that and replaced it with a licence called a Possession and Acquisition Licence (P.A.L.), which is not as easy to get. Now, you are required to pass two exams (one written, the other practical - which involved actually handling firearms) for the Canadian Firearms Security Course. Then comes the application itself which you require your spouse to sign off on, two references, a photo, etc. It is also a long wait to get your licence, since there are mandatory waiting periods. Also, there are different licences that you can get: the common non-restricted P.A.L. is for long guns: essentially rifles and shotguns. The restricted P.A.L. is primarily for handguns (some rifles apply to this - there are some measurement details). There is also a licence to acquire/possess prohibited weapons, but that is next to impossible to get, and the Canadian government have only issued a handful of those. Further, there are other licences you can get, like the Minor's Licence, which allows those 12-17 to use firearms as long as they are in immediate direct supervision of a person legally licenced to possess and use the firearms that the minor is using. And there are some other stipulations and / or exceptions for those who hunt to sustain their families (ie. Aboriginals on a reserve, etc.). The Possession-Only Licence was scrapped in 2001, so that is no longer obtainable, unless you are renewing an existing one.
Why was I considering getting a P.A.L.? As an avid recreational airgun shooter, I was quite happy at the selection of under 500FPS pistols and rifles that were available. Airgunning has grown in popularity and there are shooting clubs which are more or less for airgunners (I am a member of one here in the Toronto area). Still, there is an entire class of airguns which require a firearms licence - because they exceed the Canadian government's criteria of exceeding 500FPS velocity and exceeding 4.2 FPE (foot pounds energy) - as such, these primarily air rifles are classified as firearms and require a P.A.L. to purchase. That being said, right now the highest velocity air rifle shoots at around 1600FPS velocity (not sure of the FPE on that) with a special .177 caliber alloy pellet. Most P.A.L. rated air rifles will shoot between 700-1000 FPS. Consider that your average centerfire cartridge yields over 3500 FPS velocity and well over 1000 FPE, you can see that side by side, the most powerful air rifle still cannot hold a candle to its gunpowder-based comrades. Essentially that is why I originally chose and continue to choose airguns to shoot. I've been to several shooting ranges and while under 500 FPS airguns work at ranges which have its targets at 20 yards, you lose performance very quickly when shooting at the professional grade shooting facilities, built for centerfire rifles and handguns, which has the target around 50-100+ yards away. As such, I thought it would be good for me to get my P.A.L. in order to acquire better performing airguns (and one of the few air shotguns out there requires a P.A.L. - my local gunshop has this on hold for me).
Of course, I consulted with my wife first, who is not a firearms afficianado per se, but recognized my serious interest in sport shooting. She was more than happy to OK my request to attend the Canadian Firearms Safety Course one weekend, and was also OK that I applied for a firearms licence, since she knew why I was doing so. At the course, a few people looked at me strange, since most of them were getting their P.A.L. because they wanted to hunt, or because their job/vocation called for them to obtain a P.A.L. (ie. security guard or police officer). I simply want to be able to get better airguns - I have no interest in hunting - never have, never will, as long as I can buy my food at the grocery store (I'll let someone else deal with the mess in the slaughter house). Besides, I don't like the gamey taste of wild meat anyway.
So I thought I'd get a leg up by buying the course materials (which are only available from certain places, like some shooting ranges and of course, from the certified firearms instructors (see here for a list: http://www.fseso.org/),
signed up for the course, which ran one weekend. You don't need to buy the manuals before the course, but as I said, I wanted to get a leg up on the materials and read them beforehand - otherwise, they are supplied by the course instructor at the class itself (they are $15.00 per manual). The course itself is $120.00 for the non-restricted firearms course and $120.00 for the restricted course. You can take both together for $200.00 on the same weekend.
Despite my instructor strongly encouraging me to take both non-restricted and restricted, I was pretty adamant in taking the non-restricted only. I have no interest in handguns and since there are virtually no air pistols that are firearms-grade, I had no reason to take it, despite the savings (why pay for something I will never use?) Even for airguns, I far prefer the rifles over the pistols, due to the amount of tweaking and accessories you can get - I am a sucker for optics like scopes and sighting devices. So I signed up for the non-restricted P.A.L., which will allow me to purchase the higher-powered air rifles and should I be interested later on, in rimfire (maybe) and centerfire (probably not) rifles as well as shotguns (the only shotguns I could see myself buying are for skeet shooting, but I think I just prefer the stationary paper targets).
So one Friday evening early last month, I went directly from work to a shooting facility about 30 minutes from my home and sat with a class of 10 other people who were looking to get their P.A.L. for one reason or another. Now, I have to confess, I was expecting to see a certain demographic of people there, especially when this facility was far away from Toronto in a more rural area. I was expecting to see your standard stereotypical redneck in suspenders, unwholesome bikers, mafia and other crime types, and some loner types, all of whom were Caucasian. I was quite surprised (and glad) to see that my perceptions were challenged. I ended up sitting at the same table as an older Greek grandfather guy who was a retired medical doctor. In front of us was a 20-something Black girl, who was a university student. Beside me sat an young Asian couple, who were also students in their 20s, there were a couple of Italian tough-guys behind us, but in conversations with one of the guys the next day, he was telling me that they were to-be hunters and he had people give him strange looks about taking the course (probably assumed he was a mobster as well) - and he said that criminals wouldn't be taking firearms safety courses, showing their face in public, etc. That is true. We also had a younger guy who was a security guard, and a couple of other guys who were a bit harder to read, though one of them was a married Russian guy - the other guy may have been the aforementioned loner type). Shortly before class began, two East Indian young guys walked in, with baggy pants and all, who wanted to take the restricted course to get their handgun licence - they didn't want to take the mandatory non-restricted course...I wondered about those guys...). Anyhow...
For those who have never handled a firearm or any type of gun in your life (squirt guns don't count), this course is a MUST. There are some firearms enthusiasts who don't have their P.A.L., but have worked with firearms long enough to know the terminology and parts and ammunition, that they would likely be able to pass both the written and practical portions of the RCMP-issued exam (the pass for both written and practical is 80% and you MUST pass BOTH). For me, it was a non-issue, since knowing the parts and workings of an airgun hardly qualifies me as knowledgeable in firearms. I'm glad I took the in-class portion. For the non-restricted course, it was about 12 hours of instruction in total. Some of the course involved videos, but the bulk of the course was the instructor going through the course manual piece-by-piece, giving a comprehensive understanding of the history of firearms, the class of firearms, the types of firearms, the types of ammo, and of course, the heavy component which involve gun safety from usage (loading/unloading/shooting), choosing and using the right ammunition (and recognizing the differences), using safeties to transport and storage, and social responsibilities, all of which was under the ACTS and PROVE principles (the course explains all this). You will get an opportunity to interact with different types of long-guns (rifles/shotguns), none of which actually involve live firing.
Most of the FSESO instructors will run their course as a "one-stop shop" for the whole process. They will administer the actual course, and will provide you the manuals, provide the P.A.L. application forms and run through the process with you, but the administering of the exams will be done by a third party examiner brought in. For the exams, you will fail if you get under 80%, but also, an instant fail is given if at any point, the firearm is pointed at someone, including yourself. You will lose points for not identifying the right ammo, and lose points badly if you put your finger inside the trigger guard or on the trigger at any point during the practical test. I scored 100% on the written test (much of this I attribute to reading the manual before the class and remembering a lot of it - which wasn't all that hard, since I had a keen interest in this stuff to begin with), and I scored 98% on the practical hands-on portion (only point I lost was when I did not check the size of the shot shell that I grabbed from a pile of ammo, before loading it into a pump-action shotgun - I already knew it was a 3" shell, but they docked me points for not checking before loading).
Once the course is done, the tests are all sent to the Chief Firearms Officer in your province to certify, after which they will send you back a copy of the test results by mail. At that point, you would fill out the application for the P.A.L., get your spouse (if you have one) to sign, get two references to sign, include a copy of your test results, include a photo that is to the government's guidelines, have a photo guarantor sign to confirm that that's you, and include your fee ($60.00 for non-restricted, $80.00 for restricted) to pay for your licence (which is good for five years).
Any time you subsequently buy a firearm (whether it be a gunpowder based firearm or a high power air rifle), you will need to show your P.A.L. They will then ring up the sale and if it is a good store, they will actually register the firearm with the federal government's gun registry for you while you wait (yeah, the gun registry sucks, but that's another discuss for another time). The gun registry is used by police, amongst other things, to alert them to a potential household that may have firearms if they are responding to a call (ie. domestic abuse, etc.). Of course, from what I understand, there have been search and seizure of homes that house firearms without notice (though those who fear this happening to them have not really read the cases where this has happened - the cops always have reasonable cause to ring your doorbell and ask to look at your firearms - they don't just do this out of the blue).
Except for the long gun registry, I personally like this process. It sure beats the U.S., where anyone can go into a store and buy a gun, with only a quick background check to verify non-criminal behaviour. That's how guys like Seung-Hui Cho, the Virginia Tech gunman, was able to buy his guns, even though he had severe mental and emotional problems. Sure, it's a pain in the butt for me to have to wait months (literally) to get my P.A.L., but I'd rather them go through this process and cause a legitimate law-abiding citizen like me some inconvenience, rather than to not do the due diligence and issue firearms licences like they were free tickets. The government has turned down thousands of P.A.L. applications and have revoked many others. And while some may view the safety course as an impediment, its value to any one handling firearms is invaluable.
In 1998, the Chretien Liberals scrapped that and replaced it with a licence called a Possession and Acquisition Licence (P.A.L.), which is not as easy to get. Now, you are required to pass two exams (one written, the other practical - which involved actually handling firearms) for the Canadian Firearms Security Course. Then comes the application itself which you require your spouse to sign off on, two references, a photo, etc. It is also a long wait to get your licence, since there are mandatory waiting periods. Also, there are different licences that you can get: the common non-restricted P.A.L. is for long guns: essentially rifles and shotguns. The restricted P.A.L. is primarily for handguns (some rifles apply to this - there are some measurement details). There is also a licence to acquire/possess prohibited weapons, but that is next to impossible to get, and the Canadian government have only issued a handful of those. Further, there are other licences you can get, like the Minor's Licence, which allows those 12-17 to use firearms as long as they are in immediate direct supervision of a person legally licenced to possess and use the firearms that the minor is using. And there are some other stipulations and / or exceptions for those who hunt to sustain their families (ie. Aboriginals on a reserve, etc.). The Possession-Only Licence was scrapped in 2001, so that is no longer obtainable, unless you are renewing an existing one.
Why was I considering getting a P.A.L.? As an avid recreational airgun shooter, I was quite happy at the selection of under 500FPS pistols and rifles that were available. Airgunning has grown in popularity and there are shooting clubs which are more or less for airgunners (I am a member of one here in the Toronto area). Still, there is an entire class of airguns which require a firearms licence - because they exceed the Canadian government's criteria of exceeding 500FPS velocity and exceeding 4.2 FPE (foot pounds energy) - as such, these primarily air rifles are classified as firearms and require a P.A.L. to purchase. That being said, right now the highest velocity air rifle shoots at around 1600FPS velocity (not sure of the FPE on that) with a special .177 caliber alloy pellet. Most P.A.L. rated air rifles will shoot between 700-1000 FPS. Consider that your average centerfire cartridge yields over 3500 FPS velocity and well over 1000 FPE, you can see that side by side, the most powerful air rifle still cannot hold a candle to its gunpowder-based comrades. Essentially that is why I originally chose and continue to choose airguns to shoot. I've been to several shooting ranges and while under 500 FPS airguns work at ranges which have its targets at 20 yards, you lose performance very quickly when shooting at the professional grade shooting facilities, built for centerfire rifles and handguns, which has the target around 50-100+ yards away. As such, I thought it would be good for me to get my P.A.L. in order to acquire better performing airguns (and one of the few air shotguns out there requires a P.A.L. - my local gunshop has this on hold for me).
Of course, I consulted with my wife first, who is not a firearms afficianado per se, but recognized my serious interest in sport shooting. She was more than happy to OK my request to attend the Canadian Firearms Safety Course one weekend, and was also OK that I applied for a firearms licence, since she knew why I was doing so. At the course, a few people looked at me strange, since most of them were getting their P.A.L. because they wanted to hunt, or because their job/vocation called for them to obtain a P.A.L. (ie. security guard or police officer). I simply want to be able to get better airguns - I have no interest in hunting - never have, never will, as long as I can buy my food at the grocery store (I'll let someone else deal with the mess in the slaughter house). Besides, I don't like the gamey taste of wild meat anyway.
So I thought I'd get a leg up by buying the course materials (which are only available from certain places, like some shooting ranges and of course, from the certified firearms instructors (see here for a list: http://www.fseso.org/),
signed up for the course, which ran one weekend. You don't need to buy the manuals before the course, but as I said, I wanted to get a leg up on the materials and read them beforehand - otherwise, they are supplied by the course instructor at the class itself (they are $15.00 per manual). The course itself is $120.00 for the non-restricted firearms course and $120.00 for the restricted course. You can take both together for $200.00 on the same weekend.
Despite my instructor strongly encouraging me to take both non-restricted and restricted, I was pretty adamant in taking the non-restricted only. I have no interest in handguns and since there are virtually no air pistols that are firearms-grade, I had no reason to take it, despite the savings (why pay for something I will never use?) Even for airguns, I far prefer the rifles over the pistols, due to the amount of tweaking and accessories you can get - I am a sucker for optics like scopes and sighting devices. So I signed up for the non-restricted P.A.L., which will allow me to purchase the higher-powered air rifles and should I be interested later on, in rimfire (maybe) and centerfire (probably not) rifles as well as shotguns (the only shotguns I could see myself buying are for skeet shooting, but I think I just prefer the stationary paper targets).
So one Friday evening early last month, I went directly from work to a shooting facility about 30 minutes from my home and sat with a class of 10 other people who were looking to get their P.A.L. for one reason or another. Now, I have to confess, I was expecting to see a certain demographic of people there, especially when this facility was far away from Toronto in a more rural area. I was expecting to see your standard stereotypical redneck in suspenders, unwholesome bikers, mafia and other crime types, and some loner types, all of whom were Caucasian. I was quite surprised (and glad) to see that my perceptions were challenged. I ended up sitting at the same table as an older Greek grandfather guy who was a retired medical doctor. In front of us was a 20-something Black girl, who was a university student. Beside me sat an young Asian couple, who were also students in their 20s, there were a couple of Italian tough-guys behind us, but in conversations with one of the guys the next day, he was telling me that they were to-be hunters and he had people give him strange looks about taking the course (probably assumed he was a mobster as well) - and he said that criminals wouldn't be taking firearms safety courses, showing their face in public, etc. That is true. We also had a younger guy who was a security guard, and a couple of other guys who were a bit harder to read, though one of them was a married Russian guy - the other guy may have been the aforementioned loner type). Shortly before class began, two East Indian young guys walked in, with baggy pants and all, who wanted to take the restricted course to get their handgun licence - they didn't want to take the mandatory non-restricted course...I wondered about those guys...). Anyhow...
For those who have never handled a firearm or any type of gun in your life (squirt guns don't count), this course is a MUST. There are some firearms enthusiasts who don't have their P.A.L., but have worked with firearms long enough to know the terminology and parts and ammunition, that they would likely be able to pass both the written and practical portions of the RCMP-issued exam (the pass for both written and practical is 80% and you MUST pass BOTH). For me, it was a non-issue, since knowing the parts and workings of an airgun hardly qualifies me as knowledgeable in firearms. I'm glad I took the in-class portion. For the non-restricted course, it was about 12 hours of instruction in total. Some of the course involved videos, but the bulk of the course was the instructor going through the course manual piece-by-piece, giving a comprehensive understanding of the history of firearms, the class of firearms, the types of firearms, the types of ammo, and of course, the heavy component which involve gun safety from usage (loading/unloading/shooting), choosing and using the right ammunition (and recognizing the differences), using safeties to transport and storage, and social responsibilities, all of which was under the ACTS and PROVE principles (the course explains all this). You will get an opportunity to interact with different types of long-guns (rifles/shotguns), none of which actually involve live firing.
Most of the FSESO instructors will run their course as a "one-stop shop" for the whole process. They will administer the actual course, and will provide you the manuals, provide the P.A.L. application forms and run through the process with you, but the administering of the exams will be done by a third party examiner brought in. For the exams, you will fail if you get under 80%, but also, an instant fail is given if at any point, the firearm is pointed at someone, including yourself. You will lose points for not identifying the right ammo, and lose points badly if you put your finger inside the trigger guard or on the trigger at any point during the practical test. I scored 100% on the written test (much of this I attribute to reading the manual before the class and remembering a lot of it - which wasn't all that hard, since I had a keen interest in this stuff to begin with), and I scored 98% on the practical hands-on portion (only point I lost was when I did not check the size of the shot shell that I grabbed from a pile of ammo, before loading it into a pump-action shotgun - I already knew it was a 3" shell, but they docked me points for not checking before loading).
Once the course is done, the tests are all sent to the Chief Firearms Officer in your province to certify, after which they will send you back a copy of the test results by mail. At that point, you would fill out the application for the P.A.L., get your spouse (if you have one) to sign, get two references to sign, include a copy of your test results, include a photo that is to the government's guidelines, have a photo guarantor sign to confirm that that's you, and include your fee ($60.00 for non-restricted, $80.00 for restricted) to pay for your licence (which is good for five years).
Any time you subsequently buy a firearm (whether it be a gunpowder based firearm or a high power air rifle), you will need to show your P.A.L. They will then ring up the sale and if it is a good store, they will actually register the firearm with the federal government's gun registry for you while you wait (yeah, the gun registry sucks, but that's another discuss for another time). The gun registry is used by police, amongst other things, to alert them to a potential household that may have firearms if they are responding to a call (ie. domestic abuse, etc.). Of course, from what I understand, there have been search and seizure of homes that house firearms without notice (though those who fear this happening to them have not really read the cases where this has happened - the cops always have reasonable cause to ring your doorbell and ask to look at your firearms - they don't just do this out of the blue).
Except for the long gun registry, I personally like this process. It sure beats the U.S., where anyone can go into a store and buy a gun, with only a quick background check to verify non-criminal behaviour. That's how guys like Seung-Hui Cho, the Virginia Tech gunman, was able to buy his guns, even though he had severe mental and emotional problems. Sure, it's a pain in the butt for me to have to wait months (literally) to get my P.A.L., but I'd rather them go through this process and cause a legitimate law-abiding citizen like me some inconvenience, rather than to not do the due diligence and issue firearms licences like they were free tickets. The government has turned down thousands of P.A.L. applications and have revoked many others. And while some may view the safety course as an impediment, its value to any one handling firearms is invaluable.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Walther CP Sport Air Pistol Review
In the spirit of providing (hopefully) decent air gun / pistol / rifle reviews for your consideration so you can make an informed choice, I am providing the latest review on a popular air pistol, which is one of those "love 'em or hate 'em" models: the Walther CP Sport.
This CO2 pistol is modeled after the CP99, but a more compact version that is more "plasticky" in feel. Walther, of course, is famous world-wide for their real-life pistols, most notably James Bond's PPK. The replica air gun models are licensed and manufactured by Walther (and distributed by Umarex in North America - I believe Umarex is somehow affiliated with Crosman).
The CP Sport is a double-action .177 repeater, that is fairly light to handle and comes with an 8-shot rotary clip. Now, I believe the velocity is around 430FPS or something in that range, but one thing for sure - this is meant for close-range target shooting. There are accessory rails on the gun if you want to mount a laser sight, but it looks really, really dumb, since it's under the barrel rather than at the top.
Several people have suggested this pistol as something worth trying out, considering my disappointment with the Crosman T4 (see my other review). For one, the big selling point is accuracy, which make sense, considering the fact that the CP Sport has a rifled steel barrel built in. I can attest that with the open sights, the CP Sport is fairly accurate for close-range shooting - it is by no means a match gun, but it's decent enough - far better than your standard pellet gun. It's also slightly smaller than the T4, so it's easy to handle. Its loading port is much more user friendly and the rotary clip drops in place and stays in place unlike the T4. However, that's about all the benefits that I have experienced with the CP Sport and I'd have to say that it's a tad overhyped.
The downsides to the CP Sport are few, but the few are significant. One is the fact that the safety is not easy to operate (for me anyway). It's a two-stage slide safety on the right hand side of the gun. You basically have to press in a little button and then in the same motion slide the safety switch backward (to take it off SAFE). To put it on SAFE, it's just s simple slide forward. Perhaps I'm not doing it right, but these kinds of things should not be rocket science. Here's where I like the Crosman T4 and 2240's cross-bolt safety (though the cross-bolt safety has its own inherent problems, not the least of which is causing a false sense of security in the shooter in that he/she assumes which side is the SAFE and which side is the FIRE position. With the CP Sport, you'll always know it's more difficult to put it on FIRE than it is to put it on SAFE.
The second thing I do not like about the CP Sport is the heavy trigger. Some people have advised me of this, but I always though - you just get used to it. Not so. Unless you have finger and hand muscles that rival those of WWF (sorry, it's WWE now) wrestlers, you will likely struggle with the trigger - and that does affect your accuracy to a degree since you are straining to pull the trigger and even the little shakes of your hand will cause your shot to miss its target. I heard that this can be modified, but I'm not yet a airgun gunsmith, so I won't even bother trying. Besides, my wife will kill me if I have air gun parts lying all over the kitchen table.
Finally, the last thing I find not so endearing on this pistol is now the 12g CO2 cartridge is loaded. As with most air pistols of this variety, the cartridge is behind/inside the grips of the gun. That is not a problem. The CP Sport's CO2 compartment release switch is near the trigger guard and easy to use. However, when the CO2 compartment is released, there are several steps that you will need to do. First is turning the boot of the compartment more than 180 degrees (one side to open, one side to close/lock). I thought that that was unnecessary until I realized that turning it back to the locking position pierces the CO2 canister. However, that is not possible until you turn this brass notched wheel to tighten the CO2 canister before moving the boot lock. Honestly, with so many steps, it is a bit obtuse and takes the fun away from a quick CO2 load (with the T4, it's a quick two step insert and snap the cartridge in place, which pierces the canister). Now, this is just the insertion of the CO2 cartridge part to which I am referring. If you happen to not spend all of the gas and wish to release it (good idea since it won't wear), you eject the compartment and then slowly turn the boot to let out the gas. When I mean slowly, I mean slowly - like turtle-slow. What I thought was slow ended up having the leftover gas spray all over my hand and shirt, and that is not pleasant as the CO2 is very cold and you can theoretically develop frostbite if you expose your skin to too much of it.
One last thing - I am all for warning text and labels, but there is so much writing on this gun, it looks like a billboard from an NHL hockey rink or a NASCAR driver's outfit. But this may be by design, since it's a pretty decent replica of a Walther product, so the text is probably there to ensure no one mistakes it as a real pistol (and of course, you should never try to paint over this text to make the gun look more "authentic").
There is a front and rear sight (one of them is adjustable, I believe it's the rear), and both are a white-dot colour - really easy to see. The gun also gets decent life on your CO2 canisters - you may get around 50-60 shots, which is pretty decent, in my view. Also, the loading port latch is very easy to use and is sturdy (unlike the T4's flat-against-the slide one).
Overall, the CP Sport is a decent air pistol. It's not the best out there, but it's hardly the worst. If you don't mind a little bit more work with the trigger pull, and some of the other idiosyncrasies with this gun, it's worth your consideration. It does seem solid and well built.
This CO2 pistol is modeled after the CP99, but a more compact version that is more "plasticky" in feel. Walther, of course, is famous world-wide for their real-life pistols, most notably James Bond's PPK. The replica air gun models are licensed and manufactured by Walther (and distributed by Umarex in North America - I believe Umarex is somehow affiliated with Crosman).
The CP Sport is a double-action .177 repeater, that is fairly light to handle and comes with an 8-shot rotary clip. Now, I believe the velocity is around 430FPS or something in that range, but one thing for sure - this is meant for close-range target shooting. There are accessory rails on the gun if you want to mount a laser sight, but it looks really, really dumb, since it's under the barrel rather than at the top.
Several people have suggested this pistol as something worth trying out, considering my disappointment with the Crosman T4 (see my other review). For one, the big selling point is accuracy, which make sense, considering the fact that the CP Sport has a rifled steel barrel built in. I can attest that with the open sights, the CP Sport is fairly accurate for close-range shooting - it is by no means a match gun, but it's decent enough - far better than your standard pellet gun. It's also slightly smaller than the T4, so it's easy to handle. Its loading port is much more user friendly and the rotary clip drops in place and stays in place unlike the T4. However, that's about all the benefits that I have experienced with the CP Sport and I'd have to say that it's a tad overhyped.
The downsides to the CP Sport are few, but the few are significant. One is the fact that the safety is not easy to operate (for me anyway). It's a two-stage slide safety on the right hand side of the gun. You basically have to press in a little button and then in the same motion slide the safety switch backward (to take it off SAFE). To put it on SAFE, it's just s simple slide forward. Perhaps I'm not doing it right, but these kinds of things should not be rocket science. Here's where I like the Crosman T4 and 2240's cross-bolt safety (though the cross-bolt safety has its own inherent problems, not the least of which is causing a false sense of security in the shooter in that he/she assumes which side is the SAFE and which side is the FIRE position. With the CP Sport, you'll always know it's more difficult to put it on FIRE than it is to put it on SAFE.
The second thing I do not like about the CP Sport is the heavy trigger. Some people have advised me of this, but I always though - you just get used to it. Not so. Unless you have finger and hand muscles that rival those of WWF (sorry, it's WWE now) wrestlers, you will likely struggle with the trigger - and that does affect your accuracy to a degree since you are straining to pull the trigger and even the little shakes of your hand will cause your shot to miss its target. I heard that this can be modified, but I'm not yet a airgun gunsmith, so I won't even bother trying. Besides, my wife will kill me if I have air gun parts lying all over the kitchen table.
Finally, the last thing I find not so endearing on this pistol is now the 12g CO2 cartridge is loaded. As with most air pistols of this variety, the cartridge is behind/inside the grips of the gun. That is not a problem. The CP Sport's CO2 compartment release switch is near the trigger guard and easy to use. However, when the CO2 compartment is released, there are several steps that you will need to do. First is turning the boot of the compartment more than 180 degrees (one side to open, one side to close/lock). I thought that that was unnecessary until I realized that turning it back to the locking position pierces the CO2 canister. However, that is not possible until you turn this brass notched wheel to tighten the CO2 canister before moving the boot lock. Honestly, with so many steps, it is a bit obtuse and takes the fun away from a quick CO2 load (with the T4, it's a quick two step insert and snap the cartridge in place, which pierces the canister). Now, this is just the insertion of the CO2 cartridge part to which I am referring. If you happen to not spend all of the gas and wish to release it (good idea since it won't wear), you eject the compartment and then slowly turn the boot to let out the gas. When I mean slowly, I mean slowly - like turtle-slow. What I thought was slow ended up having the leftover gas spray all over my hand and shirt, and that is not pleasant as the CO2 is very cold and you can theoretically develop frostbite if you expose your skin to too much of it.
One last thing - I am all for warning text and labels, but there is so much writing on this gun, it looks like a billboard from an NHL hockey rink or a NASCAR driver's outfit. But this may be by design, since it's a pretty decent replica of a Walther product, so the text is probably there to ensure no one mistakes it as a real pistol (and of course, you should never try to paint over this text to make the gun look more "authentic").
There is a front and rear sight (one of them is adjustable, I believe it's the rear), and both are a white-dot colour - really easy to see. The gun also gets decent life on your CO2 canisters - you may get around 50-60 shots, which is pretty decent, in my view. Also, the loading port latch is very easy to use and is sturdy (unlike the T4's flat-against-the slide one).
Overall, the CP Sport is a decent air pistol. It's not the best out there, but it's hardly the worst. If you don't mind a little bit more work with the trigger pull, and some of the other idiosyncrasies with this gun, it's worth your consideration. It does seem solid and well built.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Beretta CX-4 Storm Semi-Automatic .177 Carbine Review
For those airgun enthusiasts who are looking for the ultimate tactical unit, I'd encourage you to check out the Beretta CX-4 Storm. This gun is not very easy to get - you won't find it at your local sporting store per se, since one of the well-known airgun collectors in Toronto told me recently when I visited his shop, that if there is one gun that is an exact replica of the "real thing", but uses gas-powered powerplants, it is the CX-4. Most stores don't want to carry it, just in case some psycho decides to buy it and then hold up a bank with it (or worse). Until recently, I only saw photos of the unit, and when comparing it to the actual CX-4 in photos, you will be hard-pressed to see the difference. Even in real life, it looks pretty authentic (some airguns look absolutely cheesy, but not this one).
Now, some quick comments on it. If you're looking for power, this is not the gun for you. On a typical shooting chrony (I have an F1 model), the Canadian model will get around 350-380 FPS on it (despite what the box says), well under the Canadian legal limit of 500 FPS. Apparently the U.S. version will go up to 600, but in all honestly, CO2 semi-autos as a general rule cannot fire the projectiles at a consistent rate with rapid pulls of the trigger - the colder the environment (and with each firing the CO2 canister gets considerably colder) - the slower the pellet travels. It uses .177 caliber pellets so we're talking not a whole lot of power here. All that being said, the big selling point to this carbine is the fact that it uses a 30-shot rotating belt-style magazine, which is very uncommon for airguns. As mentioned, it is a semi-automatic, that is powered by an 88gram CO2 canister. Some people have written that this airgun is good for target practice (I say yes) as well as personal defence (I would vehemently say no - most airguns are very poor self-defence choices, due to lack of power - the ones you get that are over 500FPS are usually rifles, and even then you are looking at mostly .177 caliber, which is fine for hunting birds and squirrels and such, but hardly has the stopping power for the two-legged variety of varmints.
You can get some mountable options such as scopes and laser sights for this. Even with open sights, the adjustment is interesting - the front sight adjusts for elevation, while the rear sight adjusts for windage. The carbine is fairly light at around 5 lbs., and its length is around 30 inches (maybe slightly more). Of course, the thing is black as night.
If you are looking for this airgun, you can get it through airgun-specific shops like D&L Airguns out of B.C., or you can find some local private dealers that can buy them directly from the manufacturer (if you live in the Toronto area and don't know any, just email me and let me know). At a little under $300.00 for these things, they aren't cheap, but if you're wanting the tactical look and don't care about the power loss, I'd say that it's a pretty good deal.
Now, some quick comments on it. If you're looking for power, this is not the gun for you. On a typical shooting chrony (I have an F1 model), the Canadian model will get around 350-380 FPS on it (despite what the box says), well under the Canadian legal limit of 500 FPS. Apparently the U.S. version will go up to 600, but in all honestly, CO2 semi-autos as a general rule cannot fire the projectiles at a consistent rate with rapid pulls of the trigger - the colder the environment (and with each firing the CO2 canister gets considerably colder) - the slower the pellet travels. It uses .177 caliber pellets so we're talking not a whole lot of power here. All that being said, the big selling point to this carbine is the fact that it uses a 30-shot rotating belt-style magazine, which is very uncommon for airguns. As mentioned, it is a semi-automatic, that is powered by an 88gram CO2 canister. Some people have written that this airgun is good for target practice (I say yes) as well as personal defence (I would vehemently say no - most airguns are very poor self-defence choices, due to lack of power - the ones you get that are over 500FPS are usually rifles, and even then you are looking at mostly .177 caliber, which is fine for hunting birds and squirrels and such, but hardly has the stopping power for the two-legged variety of varmints.
You can get some mountable options such as scopes and laser sights for this. Even with open sights, the adjustment is interesting - the front sight adjusts for elevation, while the rear sight adjusts for windage. The carbine is fairly light at around 5 lbs., and its length is around 30 inches (maybe slightly more). Of course, the thing is black as night.
If you are looking for this airgun, you can get it through airgun-specific shops like D&L Airguns out of B.C., or you can find some local private dealers that can buy them directly from the manufacturer (if you live in the Toronto area and don't know any, just email me and let me know). At a little under $300.00 for these things, they aren't cheap, but if you're wanting the tactical look and don't care about the power loss, I'd say that it's a pretty good deal.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Gamo Recon Combo Scoped Rifle - A Great Value
I had the opportunity recently to test out a few air rifles that have been available for some time. Without having a PAL, I was legally limited to the under 495FPS set, which is really all I need, since I don't hunt and as a result, I don't need the additional firepower. Both rifles that I tried use standard .177 calibre lead pellets. Both are fairly entry level rifles.
I tried the Crosman Quest first (500 model). Not bad, but a bit too much of a heavy trigger. Seemed kind of heavy as well. Plus, I did not really like the wood stock. Cocking effort is not bad (most air rifles are break-barrel, which means that you literally pull the front of the barrel downward in order to build the air pressure in the rifle), and accuracy is OK. Sometimes, the pellets jammed in the Quest, so it wasn't a 100% good experience.
What I really liked was the Gamo Recon Combo. It's called a combo because it comes with a mountable scope (don't have the specs with me, but I believe it was an entry level 4 x 20). Now, Gamo is a Spanish company, and for whatever reason, people either like their guns or hate their guns. I think it's more the pistols that are on the crappier side, but I was impressed with the Recon Combo. I found it to be a slightly lighter rifle (around 4.5 pounds, compared to the Quest at between 5.5 - 6 pounds - and then there was the Hammerli 490C which was a whopping 8lbs.), and a a result, a shorter rifle, so it feels good in the hands of someone who is not that tall, and is asthetically pleasing to the eye as well (especially with the thumb holes in the stock). The trigger pull is of reasonable weight, and accuracy is really good, given the price of the unit - you do need to adjust your windage and elevation to get the rifle to shoot decently - once you set it, though, you can be assured of decent shots. The only downside is that the scope is pretty cheap and not that great quality (can't expect much else for the price), but at least it's included. The only other problem is that it appears to be pretty picky with the pellets. While it's true that most guns have their own preference (based on manufacturing, etc.) on what pellets it likes, this rifle seems to be extremely picky and that a change of pellet brand may cause some major differences in where the groups land, not to mention, causing constant adjustments to the scope. Of course, that is fixed by just using the same kind of pellets (find what you want that works) and getting a totally different scope (RWS, Bushnell).
The rifle does have several safety features including anti-bear trap locking mechanisms - it's not a big deal anyway, since the cocking effort you can do pretty easily. It has a manual safety as well as a trigger safety. It has a tactical look with a thumbhole in the stock for comfort and ease. It has a rifled bull barrel, and has an all-weather synthetic finish. Yes, there are some plastic parts, but that's OK. I haven't had a chance to chrony this thing yet, but since the box has 525FPS and the PAL limit is under 500, I'll assume it's 495FPS or thereabouts.
I tried the Crosman Quest first (500 model). Not bad, but a bit too much of a heavy trigger. Seemed kind of heavy as well. Plus, I did not really like the wood stock. Cocking effort is not bad (most air rifles are break-barrel, which means that you literally pull the front of the barrel downward in order to build the air pressure in the rifle), and accuracy is OK. Sometimes, the pellets jammed in the Quest, so it wasn't a 100% good experience.
What I really liked was the Gamo Recon Combo. It's called a combo because it comes with a mountable scope (don't have the specs with me, but I believe it was an entry level 4 x 20). Now, Gamo is a Spanish company, and for whatever reason, people either like their guns or hate their guns. I think it's more the pistols that are on the crappier side, but I was impressed with the Recon Combo. I found it to be a slightly lighter rifle (around 4.5 pounds, compared to the Quest at between 5.5 - 6 pounds - and then there was the Hammerli 490C which was a whopping 8lbs.), and a a result, a shorter rifle, so it feels good in the hands of someone who is not that tall, and is asthetically pleasing to the eye as well (especially with the thumb holes in the stock). The trigger pull is of reasonable weight, and accuracy is really good, given the price of the unit - you do need to adjust your windage and elevation to get the rifle to shoot decently - once you set it, though, you can be assured of decent shots. The only downside is that the scope is pretty cheap and not that great quality (can't expect much else for the price), but at least it's included. The only other problem is that it appears to be pretty picky with the pellets. While it's true that most guns have their own preference (based on manufacturing, etc.) on what pellets it likes, this rifle seems to be extremely picky and that a change of pellet brand may cause some major differences in where the groups land, not to mention, causing constant adjustments to the scope. Of course, that is fixed by just using the same kind of pellets (find what you want that works) and getting a totally different scope (RWS, Bushnell).
The rifle does have several safety features including anti-bear trap locking mechanisms - it's not a big deal anyway, since the cocking effort you can do pretty easily. It has a manual safety as well as a trigger safety. It has a tactical look with a thumbhole in the stock for comfort and ease. It has a rifled bull barrel, and has an all-weather synthetic finish. Yes, there are some plastic parts, but that's OK. I haven't had a chance to chrony this thing yet, but since the box has 525FPS and the PAL limit is under 500, I'll assume it's 495FPS or thereabouts.
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