At a time when airgun ammo is – if not exactly limited – less plentiful than usual, your friends at Airguns of Arizona have been introducing new brands of pellets and slugs. And they’re in stock!

First The Pellets

Norma is a familiar name among powder-burning shooters, but now they have introduced a range of airgun pellets. And AoA is among the first to have them in stock! They’re not on the website right now, but they’re definitely on the shelves – I’ve seen them myself.

You can order when you phone-in…

To start with, Norma pellets are available in .177 and .22 calibers only. There’s four different styles in each caliber, making a total of eight SKUs.

Norma S-Target Match pellets are flat-head, wadcutter pellets. These are intended for short-range target shooting in airguns with muzzle energies below 12 Ft/Lbs where the ability to create a nice, sharp hole in paper is a primary consideration.

Superpoint Strike pellets have a sharply-pointed head design. They’re primarily intended for hunting use. Being relatively light weight, the manufacturer says that they’re most suitable for use in air rifles with muzzle energies below 18 Ft/Lbs. That represents muzzle velocities of about 1,000 FPS in .177 caliber and 750 FPS in .22 cal.

In addition, there are two domed-head designs. Norma Golden Trophy FT and Golden Target FT Heavy pellets. Given this design, these are general-purpose pellets that are suitable for use on reactive targets and for hunting.

The difference between these two domed pellets is primarily weight and length. The length difference is shown in our comparison photograph above. Norma says that the lighter version is most suitable for airguns with less than 18 Ft/Lbs muzzle energy. (Around 990 FPS in .177 cal and 730 FPS in .22 cal).

The Golden FT Heavies are slated for use with air rifles having muzzle energies greater than about 18 Ft/Lbs.

Norma pellets have competitive Ballistic Coefficients too. For example, the .22 caliber 17.6 Grain Golden Trophy FT Heavies have a BC of 0.023. The Golden Trophy “non heavies” clock-in with a BC of 0.019 in .22 caliber.

All Norma .177 caliber pellets are packed in tins of 300 and have an MSRP of $9.99. In .22 caliber, it’s 200 per tin with an MSRP of $9.99.

Now For Slugs

ZAN Projectiles is a manufacturer of premium airgun slugs that’s based in Ljubljana, the capital city of Slovenia. Slugs are their passion and business – and now they’re in stock and available in the USA from Airguns of Arizona.

These swaged lead slugs include a deep hollow point and dish base. The use of soft lead leads to significant expansion in the target – even at long range or with low muzzle velocity. This means that they could be a great choice for hunting!

ZAN Projectiles slugs are available in .22 and .25 calibers. The diameters are sized to .218 Inches (5.53 mm) for the 22s and .250 Inch (6.35 mm) for the 25s. Currently, Airguns of Arizona has five weights available in .22 cal and seven in .25 cal.

Our photograph below shows (from left to right) .22 cal, 23 Grain; .22 cal., 25.5 Grain; .22 cal., 28 Grain and .25 cal., 33 Grain slugs.

Slugs of all calibers and weights are packed individually in trays of 100. There are two trays to a pack, making for 200 slugs per box.

The packaging is both well thought-out and stylish! Each tray is surrounded by a card sleeve with a colorful target printed on each side. To aid with measuring group sizes, there’s a ruler printed on either end – one Metric, the other Imperial units.

So you actually get 200 slugs plus four targets and four rulers per pack!

The photograph below shows a .22 caliber, 28 Grain slug.

Ballistic Coefficients for .22 caliber ZAN slugs range between 0.075 for the 23 Grainers to 0.107 for the heaviest 33 Grain projectiles. Of course, the heavier the slug, the higher the BC.

In .25 caliber, the BCs range up to 0.108 for the 41 Grain slugs.

Prices are in the $21.00 to $22.00 range for boxes of 200 slugs.

As everyone knows, it’s tough for any company to keep products in stock right now – in any industry. As you would expect, AoA is going the extra mile to ensure that they have ammo in stock for your favorite airgun!

               MTC Optics, makers of excellent telescopic sights out of Great Britain, go by the mantra: “Designed by shooters, for shooters”.  Their focus was always on bringing high quality telescopic sights to shooters at a reasonable price point and that mission has continued after their becoming part of the Diana family back in 2014.

In 2018, a prototype of the Cobra F1 was revealed at the SHOT Show and received much interest. Now part of the F1 series, I have the King Cobra F1 variable 6-24x50mm scope in my possession and am eagerly looking forward to mounting it on a newly released PCP air rifle for review. The King Cobra F1 moniker relates to the fact that this is a First Focal Plane scope, meaning the glass-etched reticle sits ahead of the magnification lenses. Therefore, the relation between the graduations and target stays relative to each other no matter the magnification level. It contains the exclusive MTC designed SCB2 style reticle. SCB2 is an abbreviation of: Small Caliber Ballistic, Second Generation. It is suitable for all air rifles as well as powder burners due to its multi-stadia design providing many reference marks for holdover, holdunder and wind deflection. The spacings are in MILs and at the highest magnification can be used for accurate ranging based on the markings of the parallax focusing turret. Additionally, MTC has included red illumination of the reticle with six brightness levels. A rheostat ring is located in the parallax turret with “off” settings between each power setting. This makes it easy to power off the reticle without having to rotate through all of the power levels back to a single “off” position, an excellent idea in my way of thinking. The unit is powered by one CR2032 coin battery located under the rheostat cap.

The scope is constructed of a 30mm tube and measures 14.4 inches long. It weighs 26.3 ounces and eye relief is spec’d at approximately 3.4 inches. The lenses are multi-coated from edge-to-edge, providing optimal light transmission and clarity. The scope is fully water, fog and shock-proof, plus each scope is purged with nitrogen gas. A diopter in the eye bell has an adjustment range of +2/-2. A side parallax adjustment turret indicates the range to be 15 yards to infinity and a large focus wheel option is available for it according to the Owner’s Manual. Our friends at AofA should be able to help with that detail. The elevation and windage turrets are lockable by pressing down on the turrets after making any adjustments. Additionally, an allen wrench is included for loosening the center turret screw, allowing the turret to be zeroed.

All-in-all a very well-built scope that should provide many years of service to the shooter if cared for. And, for all its bells and whistles, it still comes in slightly lighter than its cousin the Cobra F1, a 4-16x50mm model. The King Cobra F1 comes with plastic scope covers attached by elastic bands for use in dusty conditions, magnetic flip-up covers with the eye bell cover having a 2x magnification window so the elevation vernier setting can be read without moving from the shooting position. It lists on the AofA website at $629 and comes with a one-year warranty that can be extended to five years by the original purchaser by simply registering the scope with MTC Optics within the first 30 days of purchase. I understand a new F2 version of the King Cobra is coming soon so fans of Second Focal Plane scopes don’t feel left out!

Above. “Target”, AoA’s in-house mascot was keeping a close eye on me to make sure I got everything right!

You know Airguns of Arizona. You’ve bought air rifles from them. You’ve seen the test targets they supply. But maybe you do not know about all the secret air rifle preparation steps taken by AoA before they ship out your new PCP.

In this post, we’ll examine the huge amount of time and effort AoA invests to ensure that your purchase is perfect before it leaves their store. It’s more than any other other airgun dealer I know of. And it’s all performed at NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE!

Below. Logan Buchanan is at his work station, ready to show me how it’s done. Take it away Logan!

So why are these steps a secret?

It’s mainly because they are not called-out in any specific way by AoA. It’s just the company’s normal way of doing business. To my knowledge, this is the first time they have been recorded and publicized!

To understand everything that AoA does before shipping an order, I joined Logan – one of the AoA employees who does this work – and observed all the secret air rifle preparation steps for a customer order.

This is what he did – and what is done as a matter of course when AoA fulfills an air rifle order.

Below. There’s a checklist on the wall. Just in case!

In my view this is outstanding additional value that’s provided by Airguns of Arizona to their customers. Read on to see what’s involved…

Step One. Check The Order.

First Logan selected a customer order. It was simply the next one in his stack. Then he pulled all the items on the order from inventory to ensure that the order could be fulfilled.

Below. There’s a lot of Daystate air rifles in stock!

The order for this lucky customer comprised a Daystate Red Wolf Safari, together with a 0DB silencer, an Athlon Cronus BTR scope and SportsMatch rings. Oh and there were some JSB pellets included, too.

Up high for the scope!

Next, Logan carefully checked the Red Wolf Safari all over. Of course, Daystate airguns are justly famed for their quality of workmanship, but Logan was taking no chances. He went over the gun just like the proud new owner will – for sure.

Satisfied that there were no blemishes of any kind, he then he removed the stock to fully check the battery and re-attached the stock.

He also confirmed that all of the voluminous paperwork supplied by the Daystate factory was present and correct. Ditto for the accessories that are supplied with the gun, including the magazine. That was checked for correct functionality, too.

Next the scope was subjected to the same deep scrutiny. The illuminated reticle was checked for operation (and a charged battery). The paperwork and accessories were confirmed in order, too.

This level of detailed inspection was impressive enough. But then Logan explained something I didn’t know…

Scope Mounting And Silencer Secrets.

When a customer orders a scope and rings with an air rifle at AoA, the scope is mounted – and sighted in – for free! The fact that this can sometimes take – as I well know – over 30 minutes per gun is accepted by AoA as a cost they absorb to ensure the customer is delighted with his or her purchase.

So Logan used the “double bubble” technique (bubble level on both gun and scope) to position the scope in the SportsMatch rings on the gun.

Once satisfied, Logan snugged down the scope mount screws – not too tightly – and the scoped gun was ready for test-firing. Or so I thought…

For his next surprise, Logan explained that – as the customer had ordered a 0DB silencer, this would also be installed before test firing. The chances of pellets clipping the baffles in the additional silencer are remote, but he was going to check this just the same!

Accuracy And Velocity Testing.

Positioning himself at one seat in the AoA 20 Yard test range, Logan settled the Red Wolf on a rest and fully-loaded the magazine with JSB pellets. He fired a first shot, then sighted-in the scope with well-judged adjustments to the elevation and windage turrets.

Finally he fired a 5-shot group. The accuracy was judged satisfactory – a “one hole” group as you’d expect from a Daystate.

Then Logan printed-out an image of this from the AoA system and attached the image, together with a printout from the Ohler chronograph (only the best will do for AoA!) to the test certificate that’s sent out with every air rifle.

As this was a Red Wolf, Logan tested the velocity and accuracy at all three power settings: Low, Medium and High.

All in a day’s work for Logan, that was an extremely impressive amount of attention – and, yes, love – provided for that customer order. And it happens time after time, every day at AoA. This was emphatically NOT done just for my benefit…

Below. Logan completes the customer’s test target print out.

So these are the secret air rifle preparation steps that Airguns of Arizona takes for its customer orders. Yes, now they are no longer a secret: but that’s how it should be!

In fact, there was one additional step that this particular Red Wolf would take before being cleared for shipment. The customer had asked for a Picatinny rail to be installed in the forend of the stock. This would require machining in AoA’s Repair Department and was a chargeable additional service – the only one of all this additional value that the customer would be charged for.

After that had been completed, I’d meet the same Red Wolf order for packaging prior to delivery. That’s another whole story!

Note that this “secret air rifle preparation steps” are applied to the models that the company imports and for which they provide the warranty. For example: Daystate, Brocock, RTI, Weihrauch, LCS Air Arms, KalibrGun etc. If you have a question, call your friends at AoA for clarification.

The American Air Arms EVOL Mini is an outstanding, compact hunting air rifle that grows on you with use. The more I shot it, the more I liked it!

It will be loved by the hunter who wants an airgun that’s simple, unbreakable, accurate and oozes quality.

The EVOL Mini is a beautifully designed and manufactured air rifle. It’s designed for great shooting “as is”. There’s no externally adjustable settings – the gun is designed to operate out of the box with a wide range of pellets without adjustment.

So it’s not for airgunners who want to tweak, tinker and tune their gun. It’s extremely compact, balances well and has a fantastic trigger. Power is remarkable for an air rifle of this size and weight. And the consistency is outstanding.

And this is not a bullpup! For many people, this is a big deal!

What more could you want from a hunting gun?

Let’s put some numbers to that. The EVOL Mini featured here weighs-in at just 7 Lbs 4 Oz. And that includes the scope, rings and a full magazine of pellets. The overall length is just 31 Inches with the Magpul stock fully extended. When the stock’s retracted, it’s less than 28 Inches. Compact, or what!!!

In testing, I found a maximum muzzle energy of 33.64 Ft/Lbs when shooting 25.39 Grain JSB Jumbo Monsters. That’s very decent power for such a compact .22 caliber PCP.

So the EVOL Mini is for the hunter who just wants to shoot. Unlike many other PCP air rifles of this price, there’s not a seemingly-endless list of controls to adjust power and shot count. In fact, there’s no externally-adjustable controls at all. Just trigger, cocking lever and safety.

The EVOL Mini fills to a maximum of 4,000 PSI. This is coupled with a regulator set pressure of 1,950/2,000 PSI to give strong performance for such a compact airgun. Unusually, there’s a 5,000 PSI burst disk built-in to the design. This is a rarely-encountered feature in airguns but one that’s welcome in the EVOL Mini.

Among the great usability features is the positioning of the front (main) pressure gauge. Although the male quick disconnect fill nipple is positioned at the side of the tube while the pressure gauge is placed on the opposite side.

Here we have a front-mounted pressure gauge that does NOT require you to “look down the barrel” to read it. That’s simply excellent design by Tom Costan, American Air Arms owner.

The trigger of my EVOL Mini was set to an average pull weight of just 12.9 Ounces.

First, there’s an incredibly light, smooth first stage. That’s followed by a genuine “glass break” sear release that’s instantaneous, yet completely predictable.

I found this to be a near perfect trigger. However, it is adjustable and the pull weight can be increased if you prefer a heavier trigger for hunting.

In harmony with all physical aspects of the EVOL Mini, the side lever cocking arm is compact. However this short length has a slight downside…

Although the action is smooth and the knob perfectly-designed, the second half of the stroke becomes quite heavy. This is due to a – presumably – rather stout hammer spring being compressed as the stroke is completed. However I found it quite tolerable and not a problem in use.

The EVOL Mini features an Aluminum magazine is robust and easy-to-load. It snaps down very positively into its position in the magazine well – probably more precisely than any other PCP magazine I’ve ever tested.

Then it’s retained in position by a sprung ball bearing. This has to be good for the consistent, precise pellet feeding that’s a significant contributor to accuracy.

You’ll never be wondering if the mag really is perfectly located with the EVOL Mini!

All of this is very good – in fact excellent. However, you’ll have to keep track of the number of shots taken as there’s no way to see how many shots have been taken – or how many pellets remain in the magazine.

But let’s face it. Most hunters take a relatively low number of shots in a hunt, so this may not be a big deal for you either.

That means that the relatively low consistent shot count of about 30 shots per fill is unlikely to be a disadvantage for most hunters either.

For any air rifle of this power level, the EVOL Mini is very quiet. Yes, there’s no capability for attaching an aftermarket suppressor, but it’s not needed – at least in the my opinion. And why would you want to attach an additional silencer that would significantly increase the length of such a compact air rifle?

As expected, the EVOL is fitted with a Picatinny top rail for scope mounting. I wanted a relatively short, yet high quality, scope to match the design philosophy of the the gun.

So, I mounted a Sightron 3-16 x 42 scope using UTG Pro rings from Leapers. The result was very comfortable balance and a harmonious blending of surface finishes.

Like other Sightron scopes, this 3-16 x 42 model has a fine graduated reticle. It displays a sharp, high contrast image and is easily focused by the side-mounted parallax control knob. The covered elevation and windage turrets have 1/4 MOA clicks.

Overall, this scope complemented the EVOL Mini well, although some hunters might want the capability of an illuminated reticle for shots in deep cover.

For light weight, compact, yet stable support, I attached a Spartan Javelin Lite bipod to the front of the incredibly long lower Picatinny rail. As you would expect, this bipod is also available from Airguns of Arizona.

Machining, fit and finish of all metal exterior parts on the EVOL Mini were simply outstanding! I have no doubt that the same quality will be found internally as well.

The pistol grip and collapsible buttstock are – of course – primarily synthetic. These are Magpul parts and are of the expected high quality. The only issue is that the collapsible stock is somewhat loose and “rattly” but that’s down to Magpul rather than American Air Arms.

The EVOL Mini is designed for shooting, pure and simple. It’s amazingly compact and balances beautifully. That trigger is just sublime. Critters beware!!!

               As with practically every other industry in the world, Covid-19 rocked the airgun world as it pertains to parts shortages, production halts, transportation delays and so forth. One of the few bright spots was Umarex’s ability to intro the second generation of their extremely successful Gauntlet PCP rifle. That model led the charge for bringing accurate and affordable PCPs to the market.

               This new Gauntlet2 offers multiple upgrades and design changes while coming in at the same weight of 8.5 pounds. Starting at the back, there is a thicker black hard rubber buttpad attached to a new precision-shooting style Flat Dark Earth color stock. An adjustable cheek riser in contrasting black is also part of the stock. This was redesigned to be adjustable via two hex head screws as opposed to the original Gauntlet which required loosening of the rear sling stud to adjust the cheek rest. The new stock has a thinner cross-section up to the point where it flares to accommodate the pressure gauge and new, larger 24 cubic inch air tank. This new air tank also handles 4500psi compared to the 3000psi tank on the first-generation Gauntlet. Coupled with the regulated valve set to 1900psi, this combination yields over 50% more power than the original. The drawback is that the longer bottle makes the Gauntlet2 more muzzle-heavy. The cover that doubles as a forearm now incorporates several M-Lok slots on the sides and bottom for accessory mounting.  

The aircraft aluminum receiver houses an improved hammer and spring, reducing the cocking force by 15% according to Umarex. The hammer spring is still quite stiff and cocking effort remains stout on this model so Umarex added a knurled, oversized cocking knob in order to aid in cocking. For the additional power, most buyers would find this acceptable. It is currently available in .22 and .25 calibers, both using a spring-loaded rotary magazine. The magazine in .22 holds 10 rounds and two are provided with the rifle. For those who purchased a first-generation Gauntlet, those magazines will work fine in the Gauntlet2. However, if you regularly shoot Predator Polymags or longer waisted pellets, they will be too long for the magazine and you’ll have to revert to using the provided single-shot tray.

The barrel is rifled steel and 28.25 inches long. It is surrounded by a shroud incorporating a new four baffle design to make the Gauntlet2 even more quiet than the original, which it does quite effectively. When shooting outdoors it should not be necessary for the shooter to wear hearing protection. No provision is made for attaching additional suppression; however, the original Gauntlet spawned a bunch of aftermarket mods included threaded barrel adapters. Some of those mods may work on the Gauntlet2 and if they don’t, I’m certain it won’t be long before a slew of mods are available for this version. At an overall length of 47-inches, additional suppression may or may not be desirable.

The trigger is the same single-stage as on the original Gauntlet with adjustments for overtravel, weight and sear engagement. The average trigger pull on my sample gun was a mere one pound, 15.9 ounces out of the box! Since adjusting the trigger requires removal of the action from the stock, I was glad no adjustment was necessary as I prefer not to disassemble loaner guns. The safety is a rotary type in the front of the trigger guard and disengages the trigger. It is easily manipulated by the trigger finger, at least for right-handers.

              The Gauntlet2 comes without any sights, as was true with the original. An MTC King Cobra FFP 6×24-50mm with Illuminated Reticle scope reviewed here last month was installed on the 7.5-inch combination dovetail/picatinny rail using a no-name mono-mount in my possession being mindful that the rotary magazine projects above the receiver by ½-inch.  At 14.4 inches long, the 30mm tube gathers additional light, yet added 25 ounces to an already long and heavy rifle, but was manageable. It is a very nice scope that works well with this more powerful air rifle and even though I was not able to reach out past 25 yards during my testing, this combo should work well for Field Target or long-distance precision shooting.

AofA was kind enough to provide some of the new Norma pellets that they just started carrying (so new they do not have them up on the website yet). The Gauntlet2 seemed to like all but the Superpointstrike pointed pellets. Umarex touts this air rifle as capable of sending .22 lead pellets over 1000fps and that was my experience with the Normas under 16 grains. The Golden Trophy FT domed pellets at 15.9 grains averaged 1017fps with excellent accuracy. The Norma S-Target Match Flat points at 14 grains travelled at 1061fps and yielded very good accuracy. These “mid-range” pellets yielded over 35 foot-pounds of energy. Several of the heavier pellets tried generally exhibited excellent accuracy as did lightweight Predator flat point lead-free GTOs at 11.75. The drawback with the lightweight pellets is that they break the sound barrier at 1118fps, increasing the crack of the rifle and making it less backyard friendly.

The MSRP lists out at $449. AofA does not currently show this model on their Gauntlet page as Umarex is just now able to start filling backorders due to the aforementioned Covid-related problems. However, I’m sure they can advise customers as they come back into inventory.

It’s tough to develop new products when demand is so high that you can’t keep up with the current order rate. That’s the situation LCS Air Arms have been in since the beginning of their company.

But that’s not stopped them from slowly expanding the range of selective-fire SK-19 airguns. Following the initial .22 and .25 caliber models, they also introduced variants with attractive anodized highlights. Yes, that’s cosmetic, but – trust me – it still takes development time and effort to implement correctly.

And now there’s the .30 caliber version of the SK-19.

That increase in caliber makes a huge difference to the power. The SK-19 .30 caliber is actually about twice as powerful as the .22 cal model – on a shot-to-shot basis. We’re talking of a difference between 40 Ft/Lbs for the .22’s Muzzle Energy to 80 Ft/Lbs for the thirty cal.

This step up even from .25 cal. to .30 caliber requires the gun to handle a much larger volume of air per shot to create that additional power.

So the engineering skill and effort involved in this recent development should not be underestimated! It’s compounded by the full-auto capability of the gun. Full auto fire in .30 caliber requires the internals to handle a huge amount of High Pressure Air in a very short space of time.

The SK-19’s designers must have to have invested a significant amount of CAD design, testing and manufacturing programming time. And then more testing. Ever more testing…

You know they did this because it works!

In fact, the .30 caliber version of the SK-19 works faultlessly, just like the smaller calibers. That’s a big achievement for this relatively new company. We should not just take it for granted.

Although the .30 caliber version looks similar to the .22 and .25 caliber models, it actually features a longer barrel and longer bipod mount rail. That’s apart from the internal modifications, of course.

Let’s be clear, the SK-19 is not a cheap air rifle. The price is $2,199 for the .30 cal model. Then you need a quality scope and rings. Plus a robust HPA supply system (think heavy-duty HPA compressor plus large HPA tank). Then factor-in plenty of .30 caliber pellets at 10 – 12 cents each (you’ll be needing them). Plus, most owners will add accessories like a bipod and possibly an air capacity upgrade.

So yes, this is an expensive air rifle to own. It’s also particularly expensive to run in .30 caliber due to the ammo cost. But the performance is unmatched. And the best is (almost) always expensive…

The SK-19 .30 caliber sample I tested gave a Muzzle Velocity of 898 FPS with 44.75 Grain JSB Exact pellets. That represents 80 Ft/Lbs of Muzzle Energy – per shot.

The heavier, 50.15 Grain JSBs produced an average of 863 FPS – that’s 83 Ft/Lbs of Muzzle Energy.

Accuracy was exceptional, too. Shot at 20 Yards with 44.75 Grain JSB Exacts, this target gave a genuine “one hole” group for 10 shots.

Out at 50 Yards, I couldn’t resist setting the “fun switch” to full auto using the same pellets. The group was just 3-Inches high and 1.25-Inches wide. for all 17 shots from the full magazine.

It’s clear that the SK-19 .30 caliber  can really shoot – even on full auto!

In full auto mode, a quick “dab” of the trigger provides a “2-shot burst” capability. This is easy to do and is quite predictable. The main requirement is to completely release the trigger between “dabs” so that the action will re-set before firing again.

Holding the trigger back in full-automatic mode empties the magazine in less than 3 seconds. It REALLY brings the smile to your face!

All SK-19s are fitted with two safeties. One is located above the trigger on the left side of the gun. The other is part of the fire control selector at the rear.

But there is also an unannounced third “safety” that can be deployed for complete “belt and braces” security.

If you swing out the magazine locking lever – as in the photograph above – this prevents the magazine from indexing. The result is that no pellet can be placed in battery in the gun. If you pull the trigger with the locking lever out, all you will get is the sound of escaping High Pressure Air…

Thanks to Lauren Parsons for this tid-bit of information!

My .30 caliber test gun featured the standard 480cc tank, yet it still delivered 55 consistent shots before reaching the regulator set point.

There’s a larger, 580cc tank option that can be specified with the SK-19. The result – of course – will be a higher shot count.

Given the 17-shot magazine capacity in .30 caliber, it would make practical sense to re-fill with a full charge of of High Pressure Air after three full magazines of shooting (51 shots).

Of course, the SK-19 is all about shooting! Loading? Well that’s something you just have to do…

It’s steady, plodding work to rotate the magazine, then load three pellets – in the .30 caliber version – before deliberately rotating the magazine again to show another three empty chambers. Repeat…

The new longer, lower Picatinny rail that’s fitted to the SK-19 .30 caliber is beneficial. It allows a wider range of positions for attaching the bipod that will very likely be supporting the LCS when it’s fired on the range.

As mentioned above, the gun can be ordered with a 580 cc bottle, instead of the 480cc tank used for this test. In addition, there are double bottle adapters available – although then you are talking of a considerable increase in weight, along with the huge increase in shot count. Don’t forget to order that bipod!

There’s not a huge range of ammunition available for .30 caliber airguns. Mainly, it comes from JSB – under one name or another – while NSA also has some .30 caliber slugs.

But there is one type of pellet that will not fit the SK-19 .30 caliber – that’s Predator Polymags.

Even though the difference between the magazine depth and maximum Polymag pellet length was just 0.15mm (or about 6 Thou, if you prefer), it’s just too much. The gun will not accept them. All the conventional pellets fitted without any issues whatsoever.

But that Polymag issue is the only real problem I found with the .30 caliber version of the SK-19.

The selective fire capability compared with the quality, reliability, power and accuracy means that there’s nothing in the market that can compare with the SK-19!

That’s why so many avid airgunners have been happy to wait in line to receive their SK-19…

I realize Steven Archer has already provided his thoughts on the new Daystate Delta Wolf in his July posting.  Additionally, a background blurb was posted in March. Yet, as I have been provided with a loaner Delta Wolf in .25 caliber by the great people at Airguns of Arizona for articles in other publications, it seemed prudent not to let this opportunity go by.

               Anyone following the storied history of the maker knows they’ve been at the PCP game over 40 years. PCPs are all they make and the Delta Wolf is the culmination of their years of experimentation and experience at building some of the finest air rifles out there. And, while Delta Wolf is a nice, strong name for this new airgun, if Daystate had me working in their marketing department, I’d have pressed for the name “Sans Kitchen Sink” model because they’ve thrown in everything but the kitchen sink!

               Just to recap, in case you haven’t read the aforementioned posts, the Delta Wolf is an ambidextrous bullpup design sporting AR styling. It is the world’s first all electronically operated/controlled air rifle. That means the trigger control, hammer strike and dwell time on the valve are all controlled via a built-in computer and settable/programmable by the end user through an on-board touch screen. Air pressure is controlled by a Huma regulator that is easily adjusted by the shooter. The Delta Wolf is relatively light at 8 pounds and adding the new MTC King Cobra FFP 6-24x 50mm scope added another 1.8 pounds. Its picatinny scope rail is reminiscent of the carry handle on the original M16s with a built-in 3 degree slope and it is adjustable forward and back if the eye relief isn’t quite right. It uses an all metal flip open, easy-loading rotary magazine that has strong magnets to hold it in place. The magazine holds 10 rounds of .25 and easily accommodates long skirted or polymer-tipped pellets and slugs. Magazines can be inserted from either side of the rifle and that feature lends itself to another nifty trick of the Delta Wolf; two mags can be inserted – one on each side. Once one runs dry, the other can be pushed into place to continue shooting. Those Daystate engineers really had their thinking caps on!

               Additional cool features include a metal trigger shoe that is adjustable vertically and for cant. It is connected to a fully adjustable match trigger which was breaking out of the box at a hair-trigger 6.9 ounces according to my trigger gauge. The cheekpiece is adjustable forward or back and the rubber buttpad can be adjusted vertically. The 480cc carbon fiber wrapped air reservoir is removeable and safe working pressure is 250 bar. An ambidextrous safety lever that will feel familiar to AR users also controls turning the LCD touch screen on if it has gone to sleep. Filling is accomplished from the bottom of the rifle via a male nipple that is protected by a neat little magnetic cover plate. The long, female quick-connect needed is provided with the rifle. The cocking handle is large, easily manipulated and smooth as butter. It is also easily swappable to the other side. A true carbon fiber barrel shroud surrounds the 23-inch German-made barrel optimized by Daystate A.R.T. – Accuracy Research Team – efforts, to give unparalleled results. The muzzle is threaded, yet requires an adapter in order to use a DonnyFL, 0dB (Zero decibel) or other suppressor. Since this thing is capable of launching heavy pellets at supersonic speeds, sound suppression might be a good investment if you are going for the upwards of 100 foot-pounds this beast is capable of.

               The Delta Wolf is available in three other calibers: .177, .22 and .30, or the barrels can be purchased along with matching bolt probes and magazines and swapped out easily making this a most versatile platform.

               Several factory settings are permanently stored in the onboard computer with the capability of user-input settings that can be saved in the Advanced Mode of operation..  Additionally, AofA pre-programs five settings in each rifle that goes out with one having the clever acronym WARP – With All Reserve Power – as in warp speed, because it maximizes the Delta Wolf’s tuning automatically. How? By using the chronograph that is built into the carbon fiber shroud! Yep, the Delta Wolf has an onboard chronograph, but you can’t tell it’s there. The velocity of each shot displays on the LCD screen as long as the unit is turned on. The results are not recorded or reviewable as the info is used by the computer to calculate consistent shots based on the user input. Still, it is a built-in chronograph! How cool is that?

Everything is powered by a rechargeable Li-Po battery held in the buttstock.  It can be recharged using the supplied USB–C cable and any cell phone portable charging pack, wall charger or computer. Lastly, a Bluetooth module is incorporated to provide for future additional features and updates.

As you might have surmised, this kind of bleeding edge tech and engineering does not come cheap. AofA is the exclusive U.S. distributor for Daystate and Delta Wolfs are shipping now for $3395 as fast as they can get them in the door. It includes a 5-year warranty in the U.S., and comes in a nice, hard-side padded case with the aforementioned quick-connect fill adapter and 0-round magazine, a charging cord and package of O-rings. This new Delta Wolf air rifle has now set the bar for others to follow.

The 2021 Extreme Benchrest competition was the tenth annual “in person” event. As usual, it was held at the Rio Salado Sportsman’s Club in Mesa AZ, from October 7 – 10th.

And – of course – there was a winner of the ultimate competition, the Pro Class of the 75/100 Yard Extreme Benchrest Competition. This year that winner was Tom Adams shooting a Daystate Red Wolf. In fact – specifically – a Daystate Red Wolf High Power in .22 caliber with the Midnight blue laminated stock.

So now Tom’s name will be inscribed on the EBR Winners plaque (center below) for 2021. Also – please note that Tom also made all those beautiful wooden plaques that were presented to class winners. He’s definitely a man of many talents!

For his achievement, Tom won a check for $5,000 PLUS a 4×4 truck worth $32,000. WOW! BTW. The gentleman in the center of the photograph was presenting Tom with the keys to the truck.

Here’s the scores for the 2021 Extreme Benchrest Pro Class…
Tom Adams, 222, 3X
Nicolay Boldov, 218, 6X
Todd Blanchard, 214, 2X
Lauren Parsons, 214, 2X
John Bagakis, 211, 5X

As you can see, Tom won convincingly. But it should be noted that – out of the top five winners, three were shooting Red Wolf High Power guns. That’s Tom (obviously), Lauren Parsons and John Bagakis. Congratulations to all!

In fact, there was a large number of Red Wolves being fielded all down the line at Extreme Benchrest…

Moreover Tom placed strongly in every other class at Extreme Benchrest 2021. He used his Red Wolf for every course of fire, including the Extreme Field Target competition.

As a result, he placed third overall in the One Gun Challenge. This recognizes EBR competitors who use the same gun for every class at Extreme Benchrest. Here’s the results…
Jeffrey Hernandez, 752
Bobby Corcorran, 750.6
Tom Adams, 744
John Bagakis, 740
Nicolay Boldov, 735

Again, it’s worth noting that three of the top five One Gun winners were shooting a Red Wolf. Bobby Corcorran and John Bagakis had the same choice of air rifle.

But wait. There’s more!!!

Tom also placed top in the Speed Silhouette Pro Class. For this, he single-loaded his Red Wolf. Yes, amazingly, he did not use a magazine! Tom’s hands were a blur as the left hand fed pellets into the single shot tray and his right hand operated the cocking lever and trigger.

Somehow he also found the time to sight the targets and hit each one faster than everyone else!

Here’s the times of the top five competitors.

Tom Adams, 00:47.87
Nic Gregoria, 00:52.64
Anthony Turchetta, 01:07.65
Dave Corder, 01:10.78
Todd Hatfield, 01:12.07

Congratulations Tom! He’s certain to be back to defend his title at Extreme Benchrest 2022. With his trusty Red Wolf again, for sure…

The Weihrauch HW30S is a spring/piston air rifle air rifle that’s been available for many years. In fact, it’s no mistake to describe it as a classic break barrel airgun.

Yet it still sells strongly because this German-manufactured airgun offers outstanding quality. It combines this with great handling and is easy to shoot well. All at a very attractive price!

The HW30S is compact and is supplied with industry-leading open sights. It’s great for the whole family to use for plinking and informal target shooting.

Sure, it’s not a powerhouse hunting gun. But the limited power allows so many other positive attributes that most people will be happy to accept that and just enjoy the fun of shooting it…

Remarkably, the HW30S currently being sold by Airguns of Arizona for just $313.98. That’s outstanding value for money, particularly when combined with an amazing – for a gun of this price – limited lifetime warranty!

This price is really not so much more than that of many widely-available spring/piston or gas ram air rifles, yet the quality and shootability are “night and day” different.

So why is that?

Well, like all other airguns from the family-owned Weihrauch company, the HW30S doesn’t strive to attract customers with all the latest features and marketing buzzwords. There’s no “Zillion FPS” muzzle velocity claims, nor many of the other “bells and whistles” that are found on so many other breakbarrels.

Instead you have a simple, great-shooting gun that can provide tons of enjoyment for the whole family. You don’t have to be a body-builder to cock it, the weight is light and the recoil minimal.

The only downside is the relatively low Muzzle Velocity. Although that is precisely the reason for most of the other benefits…

With the Weihrauch HW30S we have a genuine case of “less is more”!

Most mid-range, domed pellets produced 615 – 640 FPS from the .177 caliber gun I shot. Typical Muzzle Energy is in the 7 – 8 Ft/Lbs range.

This is fine for plinking and informal target shooting out to about 40 Yards. But it’s not enough for ethical hunting use unless you’re an expert shot, the range very short and the quarry very small.

The best accuracy in my test was achieved by 8.64 Grain H&N Field Target Trophy pellets. However the HW30S was consistently accurate with a wide variety of pellets. It’s not at all “pellet picky” and that’s unusual.

Weihrauch triggers are always good. The HW30S I tested was no exception and was very pleasant. The trigger blade itself is metal, nicely-curved and ridged for good finger contact.

Touching the trigger brings a very light first stage into play. Then there’s a clear distinction with the second stage. Sear release is predictable and controllable. The average pull weight was just above 2.5 Lbs.

Cocking is smooth and quiet. There’s none of the roughness that sometimes afflicts springers. In fact the cocking action itself is actually very pleasant. There’s no whip or flexing in the action and the ball bearing lock-up is very positive and solid.

Cocking effort of the HW30S I tested peaked at about 24 Lbs. This would definitely be considered light or manageable by the vast majority of shooters. That makes the HW30 ideal for extended shooting sessions.

The relatively low muzzle velocity means that the HW30 is backyard-friendly, even with light alloy pellets. This makes it ideal for many airgunners whose range is in their back yard, garage or basement.

There’s no moderator, shroud or any silencing system fitted to this air rifle. But that’s because there’s no need for such equipment!

Weihrauch is one of the few airgun manufacturers which remain truly committed to open sights.

The rear sight has the expected click adjustment capabilities for windage and elevation. But look closer and you’ll see that this rear sight actually has a choice of four different sighting notches!

By pulling out and rotating the rear sight notch plate, you’ll find a choice of wide and narrow square notches, a V notch and a U-shaped notch. These are the perfect compliment to the interchangeable front sight elements – no less than six of them! – which are also provided with the HW30S.

That’s no less than 24 different combinations of iron sight configurations provided with the gun!

For my HW30 test review, I mounted a Hawke AirMax 4-12 x 40 scope using an one-piece mount. Such a scope would be a typical choice for many HW30 purchasers. It’s fairly light but has good optical quality and an Adjustable Objective (AO) for focusing down to 10 Yards.

Note that – if you order the scope and mount at the same time as the gun – AoA will carefully install and sight it in at no additional charge. That’s an outstanding free service !

At 12.9-Inches overall length, this is definitely the longest scope that it’s possible to mount on the HW30. Any longer and it would not be possible to break the barrel!

Even with the Hawke Airmax 4-12 x 40 scope mounted, the total weight of the HW30 was just 7 Lbs 3 Oz. That made it extremely easy to carry and hold.

The Center of Gravity was just where you want it: directly ahead of the trigger and in the natural position for the shooter’s forehand. So balance and handling were natural, neutral and easy to achieve. This was aided by the pleasantly-shaped ambidextrous buttstock.

With the low-mounted scope, I was able to achieve an excellent cheek weld against the stock, while the rubber buttpad gave a secure, grippy surface against the shoulder.

To summarize, the HW30 is a little air rifle that exudes quality.  Metal finish is exemplary, bluing is deep and even. The Italian Minelli stock is gracefully-shaped and has panels of sharply-executed checkering in the Beech wood.

Performance is outstanding so long as you can accept the limited power level available.

It also benefits from that outstanding limited lifetime warranty that’s fulfilled in the USA by Airguns of Arizona. That’s a huge benefit that shows that the quality impression is not just skin deep!

With more and more airgunners shooting at ever longer ranges, pellet consistency becomes increasingly important. But what should we expect as consumers from the pellets we shoot?

Dedicated Field Target and Benchrest competitors have long sorted their pellets. So there’s some experience that sorting by weight – and by head size, too – maximizes downrange accuracy.

Measuring pellet head diameters is easy. Just use a Pelletgage – it’s available from AOA.

First, let’s give the pellet manufacturers some congratulations!

Given that they’re mass-manufacturing and selling pellets for just a few cents each, the quality is really amazing. It’s clear to any enthusiast that the overall quality and consistency of our pellets has improved greatly over the years.

The head diameter of a pellet determines how deeply it engages with the barrel’s rifling. Variations in this degree of engagement can alter the Muzzle Velocity and result in downrange accuracy issues.

The photograph below shows two pellets of the same type. That on the left is un-fired. The one on the right has been fired. Grooves caused by the pellet’s head engaging the rifling are highlighted by the arrows. (The skirt also shows some grooves, as you can see).

As a result of a TON of measurement, we find that – on average – pellets work-out to have head sizes slightly larger in diameter than the nominal barrel diameter.

In fact, pellet head diameters average 0.51% larger than the caliber. This makes sense as – if the head diameter were to be smaller than the bore, the head would not engage with the barrel’s rifling and accuracy would be terrible!

The average difference in diameter between the smallest and largest pellets in a tin can be as high as 2.5%. But typically it’s more likely to be around 0.5%, as we can see here from this chart.

Generally, larger calibers tend to have head diameters that are proportionally greater, as we’ll see below.

Furthermore, heavier pellets in any specific caliber will tend to have head diameters that are larger. Lighter pellets in a specific caliber tend to have head diameters that are closer to the nominal bore size.

Take look at this chart…

As this chart shows, the percentage by which pellet head diameters measure above the nominal bore diameter increases with caliber. So – for example – .22 caliber pellets have greater head engagement in the rifling than do .177 caliber pellets.

It would be reasonable to expect that rifling depth is likely to be greater in larger bore diameters, so that makes sense.

But as we can see from the next chart, the variation in head diameter between the smallest and largest pellets in a tin tends to be greater in .177 cal than it is in .22 caliber.

That tells us that  – on average – there’s likely to be somewhat more benefit to sorting pellets if you use .177 caliber than if you shoot .22 cal. However, in each caliber a good number of pellets tested showed a difference of 0.02 mm – that’s about 8/10 of a Thou – between the largest and smallest in a tin. It’s the outliers that make the difference!

If we take the same data and express it as a percentage, the average difference between largest and smallest is less in .22 caliber than it is for .177. This is basically because a similar level of consistency is being applied to a different diameter. (The larger the bore diameter, the smaller the percentage).

All-in-all, this analysis demonstrates remarkable consistency in airgun pellet head diameters. However, it also demonstrates that – for best results downrange – sorting pellets for consistent head diameters is extremely valuable.

Consistent downrange accuracy requires consistent pellets. Somehow I very much doubt that any top competitors in Extreme Benchrest fail to sort their pellets!

For information, the pellet test data analysis here is based on measuring a total of 3,800 pellets. As you can see, there’s more data for .177 and .22 cal than for the larger calibers. But the general trend is pretty clear.

If you’re interested in accurate shooting and don’t have your own PelletGages yet, it’s time to buy some! They’re available in five common airgun calibers. There’s .177 and .22 calibers, of course, together with.20 cal, .25 and .30 caliber. AoA has them in stock…

The Diana 54 AirKing Pro is the latest version of a long-running classic. It’s a great buy for the airgunner wanting an unusual spring/piston air rifle.

At a price of $740, the AirKing Pro in its beautiful red laminate stock is near the top end of the pack for a spring/piston air rifle. Also it’s far from a new design, the Model 54 has been around for many years.

Yet this remains an outstanding air rifle. It’s powerful, the test gun delivered great accuracy with a wide variety of pellets. And it looks beautiful!

If you can bear to do without the red/black laminated stock and will settle for plain beech, the price falls to $660.

The Diana 54 AirKing Pro I tested proved to be both powerful and accurate in .177 caliber. You can compare the results I obtained to those for the .22 caliber gun tested some time back by Gordon Smith.

Muzzle Velocity peaked at no less than 1269.01 FPS with the lightest Predator GTO alloy pellets. They were accurate, too.

Maximum velocity with lead pellets was achieved with the 7.0 Grain RWS Hobby pellets. But accurate, they were not!

Underscoring the AirKing’s power, most of the pellets I tested pellets equaled or exceeded 1,000 FPS: the only exception being the heavy – 10.65 Grain – Baracuda Match pellets.

Such Muzzle Velocity numbers produce a high Muzzle Energy that’s around 19 Ft/Lbs for the majority of typical mid-weight lead pellets. The highest Muzzle Energy was delivered using H&N Field Target Trophy pellets. In this case, no less than 19.54  Ft/Lbs was achieved.

That’s well above the manufacturer’s claim and very strong performance for any spring/piston air rifle in .177 caliber. It was also very close to the maximum power of the .22 caliber model. That is a surprise!

Equally impressive is the ability of the Diana 54 AirKing Pro to provide great accuracy with a wide variety of pellets. This is not a “pellet picky” air rifle. Overall, the best accuracy was achieved using 8.44 Grain JSB Exacts, although others were very close.

Sub half Inch groups for 10 shots at 25 Yards are easily possible!

The T-06 trigger delivered a very light pull weight. It was also extremely consistent, varying almost imperceptibly from 1 Lb 2.3 Oz to 1 Lb 3.9 Oz. The average was 1 Lb 2.9 Oz, as measured using a Lyman digital trigger pull gauge. That’s perfect for all practical purposes.

As is the case with most spring/piston air rifles, the Diana 54 AirKing Pro is not fitted with a shroud or moderator. With mid-weight (~ 8 Grain) or heavier lead pellets, noise level was judged to be as expected. That’s fairly loud: marginally backyard-friendly if your neighbors are not too close.

Needless to say, the light alloy pellets caused the gun to sound like a .22 rimfire! Their very high Muzzle Velocities exceeded the Speed of Sound (approximately 1100 FPS) and therefore caused a loud sonic boom. You will not want to try this in your backyard with others around and no ear protection!

This is not a complaint about the AirKing Pro as such. However it’s typical of high-powered .177 caliber air rifles when used with light pellets – even if they are fitted with silencers.

If you want to go “old school”, the Diana 54 AirKing Pro is supplied with a set of traditional open sights. The rear sight has click-adjustable elevation and windage correction capability. The front sight provides additional elevation adjustment by including a dovetail-mounted front post that slides along an inclined ramp.

Are there fiber optic inserts on these sights? Definitely not! Traditionalists will be happy about this, too.

For this review, I installed a Hawke Airmax 30 WSF 4-16 x 50 riflescope. This was mounted onto the AirKing Pro using a solid pair of Hawke Match Ring Mounts.

In spite of the Diana 54’s reputation for fierce action recoil, the scope stayed in position correctly for the whole review period (and more). The Hawke scope also showed no ill effects from the AirKing’s recoil.

Overall, this was a very successful pairing of scope and rifle. At 13 3/4-Inches long, this scope was about the maximum length that will fit on the gun without interfering with access to the pellet-loading port.

Yes the Diana 54 AirKing Pro is heavy. With the Hawke scope mounted, the gun you see here weighs-in at no less than 12 Lbs 7 Oz. So this is an air rifle that requires a strong – and probably also large – shooter.

However the weight balances well for off-hand shooting. In some ways the weight even makes the gun easier to shoot as the weight seemed to dampen natural operator wobbles – at least for me.

But now a word of caution…

The fixed barrel, sidelever action of the Diana 54 AirKing Pro requires the shooter’s fingers to be inside the open, sliding breech to load pellets. This is just as it has always been with every sidelever springer!

Yes, the Model 54 is fitted with a mechanical anti-beartrap mechanism plus automatic cocking lever safety and that automatic trigger safety. However every knowledgeable airgunner ALWAYS loads these guns with his/her arm between the open cocking lever and the body of the gun. This is to provide additional protection should – by some unpredictable mischance – the action suddenly slam forward during loading.

To be fair, I have never heard of this happening with a Model 54. But if it did, the result would definitely be immensely painful and likely result in the loss of fingers!

So the Diana 54 AirKing Pro owner MUST learn to load this gun with care and with his/her arm in this “buffer position”. At first it can feel unnatural, but you’ll soon get used to it and do so. If you have any doubts, AoA’s experienced staff can help you out.

So if you’re in the market for a quality spring/piston air rifle – the Diana 54 AirKing Pro is great value for money – whichever caliber and stock you choose!

And did I mention that it’s beautiful???

The title is just a play on words to describe the 0dB .30 caliber silencer recently sent to me by AofA to test out. Obviously, silencers don’t completely eliminate the report of a shot, even on airguns. Although, shooting heavier pellets at subsonic speeds through a well-made silencer mounted on a PCP air rifle can reduce them to the level of a mouse fart.

I happen to be working with the .25 caliber Daystate Delta Wolf that AofA was kind enough to loan me in order to write about it. A barrel adapter was needed for its M20x1 metric threads in order to use my DonnyFL UNF threaded silencer so I requested for one. Only  expecting the adapter, when the package arrived I was pleasantly surprised to find a new product, the Magnum 0dB silencer in .30 caliber inside.

For the larger bore Delta Wolfs, the standard thread size on the muzzle is the metric M20x1 thread. This is approximately three-quarters inch across as opposed to the standard one-half inch seen on airgun silencers found here in the states. In order to keep with the tactical styling of the DW, this new Magnum model silencer has a matte black finish and is beefy without being very heavy. I wasn’t able to weigh the Magnum and the specs were not available at this time, however, the additional weight was not really noticeable once it was installed and it looks fantastic mounted on the DW.

Upon taking it out of its box and looking over the simple instruction sheet included I discovered that the adapter sold by AofA is actually not needed with this particular silencer. There is already a removeable “built-in” adapter that nests inside the M20x1 female threads so the silencer fits standard ½ x 20 UNF threads right out of the box. Spanner holes are located on either side of the face of the insert to provide a way to remove it and have access to the M20 threads required by the Daystate. No spanner wrench is included with the silencer but that is not a big deal as two small allen wrenches or nails could be used if needed to loosen the adapter.

While the DW’s shrouded barrel didn’t need additional help for the subsonic shots, lead-frees and lighter lead pellets could easily top 1100fps unless the DW was tuned down; and who wants less powerful shots? The Magnum only comes in a .30 caliber bore configuration and it did its work very well. I don’t have a decibel/sound level meter so my comments are subjective and yet I believe it was highly effective at taming the bark of the Delta Wolf sending 19 grainers at supersonic speeds. Of course, the Magnum will work on any .25 or .30 caliber air rifle you have with a threaded muzzle. It was, however, designed for the .30 caliber Delta Wolf with its capability of developing over 90fpe. Daystate claims extreme effectiveness in suppressing the DWs report and the Magnum gave no reason to doubt that claim.

Here is a link to the AofA website page for 0dB silencers although the Magnum is so new it is not showing there quite yet. Once the new Magnum appears on the page it will be listed at $279. If you have questions or can’t wait to get your hands on this impressive piece of kit, please contact the great people at AofA at: 480-461-1113.

Recently I visited Airguns of Arizona to find out on how the world’s leading high-end airgun dealership does things. In particular, I was interested to visit the AoA Service Department and talk to Shane, the Service Manager at AoA. That’s him in the photograph above.

I’ve known AoA for years and thought I knew everything about how they operate. Boy, was I wrong! Here’s eight things that I didn’t know about the AoA Service Department.

I’ll bet you didn’t know them all either…

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One: They Don’t Just Service Airguns They Sell

My guess was that the AoA Service Department would support just the guns sold by Airguns of Arizona. In fact, Shane told me, that’s not so.

The majority of work in the AoA Service Department is for non-warranty work and much of it is for airguns that were not even purchased from Airguns of Arizona, he explained.

AoA Service also handles warranty work for Precision Airgun Distribution (PAD) dealers around the country, when that is necessary.

While Airguns of Arizona Service has very wide capabilities, it’s impossible for them service every make and type of airgun ever built – mainly for parts availability reasons. (If you can’t source the parts, it’s very tough to offer a repair service). In this case, Shane tries to help owners by suggesting other reputable repair shops that may be able to help.

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Two: Sixty-Plus Years Of Experience

The AoA Service Department has three senior service technicians, Steve, Don and Kip. What I didn’t realize was that each of them has more than 20 years experience working on airguns. That’s a total of sixty-plus years experience among just these three guys!

Below. Left to right are Kip, Shane and Steve. Where was Don? We’ll see him below…

Steve is the Daystate and Brocock expert. He specializes on these PCPs, together with the BSA models. If you want AoA to provide a specific ART Tune on your Red Wolf for ultimate competition performance – a $400 special service requiring masses of detailed knowledge – it’s Steve who does this too.

In addition, Steve is a part owner of the company, along with his brother, Robert Buchanan. He’s been a mainstay of the AoA Service Department since the company started, waaaay back.

Don specializes in the LCS Air Arms models and the new Daystate Delta Wolf. A highly-qualified machinist who worked in a previous life for NASA on the Space Shuttle, Don has also been with AoA for many years. In his “other life” outside AoA, Don builds custom powder-burning rifles and is an avid competitor in long-range shooting competitions.

Below. Don Golembieski behind his favorite SK-19.

He describes the LSC SK-19 air rifles as “awesome guns but really too complex for the average owner to repair.” He encourages LCS owners always to never let HPA pressure fall below 125 bar as this is one of the secrets to a long, trouble-free shooting life for these guns.

Kip is well-known to many AoA customers as he answered phones in the Sales Department for many years, advising customers on their purchases. But he’s always worked on repairs too…

Nowadays, Kip’s the “go to” man for big bore PCPs. He’s also the Eastern European PCP specialist, working on RTI, AGT and KalibrGun models. In addition, he takes his hand at springers, too. That’s versatility for you!

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Three: The Best Way To Contact AoA Service

Most people naturally phone AoA and ask to be put through to the Service Department. In fact, Shane says, this is not the best solution as – due to the volume of phone calls AoA receives, it’s far better to send an email.

Although Shane is happy to help repair and warranty customers by phone, helping to diagnose issues and suggest a customer fix if applicable, he says the best way to contact him is via service@airgunsofarizona.com. He’ll get back to you asap.

Below. Service requires parts. AoA has a ton of them, as Steve Buchanan shows us…

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Four: Service Turnaround Time

“One week whenever possible up to about four weeks max,” says Shane. He explains further that some times of year are typically busier for repairs than others, obviously this affects turnaround time.

Also – while AoA keeps large stocks of service repair parts – if they need to order-in a part for some reason, then obviously that builds-in a lead time over which they have no control.

Basically, Shane explained that AoA Service always tries to do things correctly using their outstanding knowledge and experience. He stresses that often a quick repair is not necessarily a good repair!

AoA prefers to take more time when it’s needed. For example any PCP that’s in for leaking issues is going to have a 48-hour (or longer) leak test. It’s not gong back to the customer until it’s passed that test!

In addition, all repaired airguns are tested for Muzzle Velocity after repair to prove performance.

Below. AoA has machining capabilities to, in case they’re required.

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Five: How AoA Keeps Track Of Repairs

Every gun reaching the Service Department is registered into a specialized software system. This allows the status and location of every gun to be known and tracked at each stage of its journey through Airguns of Arizona’s Service organization, right up to final return to the customer.

AoA is not going to lose your gun!

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Six. What Guns Do They Work On Most?

PCPs make-up the vast majority of the service work for AoA. Shane stressed that the new Daystate, Brocock and Weihrauch models are all outstandingly reliable. His department typically only sees these models when they are old and have seen a huge amount of use.

And Weihrauch springers are “bombproof”!

In many cases, O ring issues are the “Achilles heel” of PCPs. Fortunately these are easy to source. This enables AoA to provide service coverage for a much wider range of PCP models than you might have thought.

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Seven: How AoA Handles Warranty Repairs

In the VERY unlikely event that warranty attention is required on a brand new gun for which Precision Airgun Distribution (PAD) is the US distributor, Airguns of Arizona will pay for shipping BOTH WAYS if the customer finds a genuine problem less than 30 days from receiving the product.

These brands are: Daystate, Brocock, LCS Air Arms, Weihrauch, KalibrGun, RTI, Diana, American Air Arms, Feinwerkbau, Western Big Bore, AGT.

I know of no other company that makes such generous coverage of return shipping costs!

Beyond 30 days, the customer is responsible for the cost of shipping back to AoA. The company then rectifies the gun and provides quality return shipping at no additional charge.

Finally, it’s important to understand that AoA does not provide warranty on all the guns they sell. Some of the cheaper products have their own warranty coverage and the customer will need to follow that company’s own support policies as appropriate.

But AoA does provide warranty support the vast majority of high-end products that they sell. The company is committed to providing outstanding warranty coverage for the products PAD distributes!

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Eight: Shane’s The “New Shane”

One final surprise. Shane is not a very common name, but a Shane worked for AoA for many years. Shane the Service Manager is NOT that same person. In fact, he’s the “New Shane” at AoA, having been with the company a little under a year.

He’s a great guy who has the customer’s best interests at heart and is keen to ensure that all warranty or service work is managed in the best possible manner!

There are a lot of scopes on the market today. Some good, some junk and then there are the quality scopes that deserve a shot at being the next scope on your favorite air rifle. Generally, the scopes coming out of Europe would fit that bill as some of the best lenses have come from that part of the world. Meopta is a Czech Republic company that has been in business since 1933 producing quality optics. They also are a leading manufacturer and partner to many of the world’s finest optical brands and their catalog even reaches into the semiconductor, medical aerospace and military industries.

The sample provided to me is their MeoPro 2-10×42 model, one without all the bells and whistles in order to compete with lower-end scopes on the market without sacrificing quality and value. Others in this Optika5 line include a 3-15x44mm, a 4-20 x44mm and 4-20x50mm or 4-20x50mm with illuminated reticle. The name for the scope series is derived from their 5x magnification capability (2-10 and 4-20…).

My sample is a beautiful scope with flawless finish. The image is bright and clear with a Second Focal Plane duplex style reticle Meopta calls Z-plex. Also available in this model within the series is holdover-style stadia called the ZPlus. In the 4-20x50mm models an additional BDC 3 “Christmas Tree” style reticle is an option. Rubber armored turret knobs and magnifying ring with raised triangular cuts make it comfortable and easy to grasp and turn the knobs. The scopes come with durable rubber lens covers having sturdy rubber bands rather than the wimpy elastic cords on most provided covers to keep them in place. The one-inch, single-piece aircraft grade aluminum tube makes for a strong scope body and is coated with a special abrasion -resistant matte black anodized finish that helps reduce glare. The turrets are zero-reset types that can be adjusted using a coin and the click adjustments for windage and elevation are in ¼-inch MOA. Proprietary advanced lens coatings provide true color representation and unsurpassed low-light performance in its class including MeoBright, the anti-reflective coating that provides up to 91% light transmission while cutting glare. All external optical surfaces are also coated with MeoShield anti-abrasion coating, plus a special hydrophobic MeoDrop coating to repel water, grease and dust. All Optika scopes are Nitrogen purged and waterproof. Additionally, these scopes are engineered to withstand heavy recoil and are built tough enough to handle the extreme bi-directional recoil of spring piston air rifles. A removeable throw lever is included with the scope and an optional sun visor is available.

Generally, European scopes run on the higher priced side of things. Because Meopta saves their costs by not advertising in magazines, etc., they pass those savings on to the consumer. As mentioned earlier, this Optika5 model is pretty much bare bones to keep its price point low so this unit does not have a side wheel parallax adjustment, but there is a version called the 2-10x42PA, with the “PA” standing for Parallax Adjustable. Additionally, the 4-20x50mm model comes in a version with an illuminated reticle.

The Owner’s Manual is printed in eight languages, which indicates the reach of Meopta’s market. Being made in a country that is part of the European Union, even instructions on how to handle the scope for recycling “after its useful life” are included because the EU is heavily committed to recycling. However, with reasonable care, this scope is sturdy and should last a long, long time. Costs are also saved on packaging as the box the scope comes in is entirely of heavy cardboard with corrugated supports to hold the scope in place. No foam or Styrofoam is used in the packaging of the scope. I suspect this is just a much because of the aforementioned EU recycling consciousness as it is for cost savings.

This unit will add 20.8 ounces to your setup and is just over 12 inches long. Its MSRP on this model runs $350, and that includes a Lifetime Transferrable Warranty for all Meopta optics sold in the U.S.; another indication of a quality product for the cost when a manufacturer stands behind their product with a lifetime warranty.

 While it is not yet showing on AofA’s ­­­­­Meopta web page, a quick call to my friends there should have you on your way to receiving one of these beauties on your doorstep.

The Umarex Hammer .50 Cal was a long time coming. But now it’s here and working!

At AoA’s price of $849.99, the Umarex Hammer .50 Cal can’t be beaten in terms of power for price. If you’re in the market for an air rifle to hunt big game at the lowest price, the Hammer is the obvious choice.

The Hammer provides a combination of uniquely-outstanding performance and somewhat unusual quirks. I found that it’s VERY ammo-sensitive. Michail Kalashnikov would definitely not have approved of this design!

But keep reading, there are some real benefits too…

First The High Points

Accuracy was very good indeed!

Given the design of the Hammer and its intended use solely as a hunting tool, I specified only two-shot groups when testing the gun. Why use two shots? Well the Hammer has a 2-shot magazine, so I wanted to see how it performed in a “rapid follow-up shot” situation.

At 50 Yards, using Umarex 320 Grain SLA bullets, accuracy was 5/8-Inch CTC for two shots. That’s definitely better than required for successful big game harvesting.

At 25 yards, Both shots went through the same hole!

For testing, I did not have access to the 550 Grain bullets that give the Hammer its’ claimed 700 Ft/Lbs muzzle energy. However, I saw a maximum Muzzle Velocity of 889 FPS with 320 Grain slugs. This represents a muzzle energy of 561.7 Ft/Lbs. This is a powerful air rifle!

The trigger of the Hammer I tested by had a rather long, and rather creepy pull. However the Umarex Hammer .50 Cal is not intended to be a target rifle. It’s a hunting gun and the trigger is perfectly usable for this task.

Trigger pull weight was also acceptably consistent. The average was 2 Lbs 13 Oz.

Next, The Unique Benefit

The Hammer .50 Cal is unique as the only regulated big bore airgun. Umarex claims that three full-power shots are available from one 4,500 PSI fill of High Pressure Air.

But as the Umarex Hammer .50 Cal I tested used 600 PSI per shot and the regulator is set to 3,000 PSI, it’s clear that – even when fully filled – the gun will give just two full-power shots per fill. The third will have – at most – 2,700 PSI to work with. As this is below the regulator set pressure, it will – therefore – generate a lower velocity.

So, the Hammer I tested gave just two really consistent full power shots per fill. However, two consistent shots is better than any other – unregulated – big bore out there, so this is a big benefit for the Hammer.

Another benefit for the Hammer is that those two FULL POWER shots are also available even when filled from a tank that only has 4,200 PSI inside.

In testing for this review, I was able to achieve no less than 14 full power shots from a 550 Cu. Inch tank with a starting fill pressure of 4,500 PSI. I filled the gun multiple times before the tank pressure fell to 4,200 PSI.

So, if you want to shoot a significant number of full-power shots in a day with a big bore airgun without having a portable compressor, booster pump or additional HPA tanks available, the Hammer is unique. There’s no other big bore that can match this performance!

But There Are Some Downsides…

With no less than three safeties, this is a complicated airgun to use. So it’s mandatory to read the Owner’s Manual before operating. But once you understand the workings, it’s not so difficult to shoot and handles surprisingly well.

The position of the Field Safety is fine for use by right-handers. However, it’s a pain for left-handed shooters as it’s located exactly where the cheek rests.

During testing, I experienced a couple of misfires when shooting the Hammer. However this was traced to operator error. I was being too gentle with the bolt handle!

Yes, it does say in the Hammer’s Owner’s Manual that the bolt handle must be pushed “ALL THE WAY FORWARD”. It fact, the bolt handle needs to be pushed all the way forward with a fair amount of force to ensure that it’s correctly engaged. Once I understood that, the gun worked correctly.

Also the Hammer uses a Ninja Paintball regulator and pressure gauge. In my opinion, this gauge is extremely difficult to read accurately. The graduated angle on the gauge plate is too small, the maximum indication (6,000 PSI) is too high and there’s no red warning section to advise that the HPA bottle is being overfilled.

In addition, the Hammer Owner’s Manual indicates (with a rare degree of honesty) that the gauge has an accuracy of +/- 10%. That’s a full 450 PSI either way at the full 4,500 PSI fill pressure!

So I agree wholeheartedly with the Owner’s Manual. When filling the Hammer, do not rely on this built-in gauge but consult the more accurate and larger gauge on the HPA tank or compressor being used to fill the gun.

One additional issue with the Umarex Hammer .50 Cal is also covered well in the Owner’s Manual. This is the considerable blast of air that emerges from around the magazine well when the gun is fired!

Because it has no conventional bolt, the Hammer fires slugs directly from the magazine. They “jump” across to the barrel at the moment of firing. The magazine is a close fit in the magazine well, but there are no seals, so air escapes from all around the magazine when the gun is fired.

In fact, a surprisingly large amount of 3,000 PSI air is expelled in this way when the gun is fired. You definitely do not want your hand or face in the way – or even to be next to the gun!

This means that fit of the slug (or bullet) in the magazine is extremely critical. Too loose and the slug can fall out of the magazine. Too tight and it will not load fully into the magazine.

Importantly, the difference between “too tight” and “too loose” is very small. This would have upset our Mikhail!

The diameters of the chambers in the magazines for the Hammer I tested measured 0.507 Inches. So, .510 caliber Umarex SLA ammo is – in theory – 3 Thou oversize. This allows the slug to be pushed into the magazine without too much force, yet there’s enough swaging effect of the ammo for the slug to be an appropriately-tight fit into the magazine.

In fact, the base of the SLA slugs measured a consistent .509 Inches diameter. They inserted perfectly into the magazine – all except one which measured .511 Inches. That did not.

The additional 2 Thou made all the difference. There’s a very fine balance here between ammo that works and that which doesn’t!

Yet if you are prepared to select or size your slugs carefully, the Hammer does deliver – very well. The AoA team will be pleased to help you decide if this is the big bore for you.

If you have an affection for older airguns, whether it is because you have been around long enough to have actually owned or admired one in your youth, or simply appreciate the lines and mechanics, you may have the need one day to have it restored. Should that be the case, I would like to put in a shameless plug for my friend Tim Smith of Smith Airgun Repair. Tim is the editor and publisher of Airgun Hobbyist magazine, yet still finds time to run Smith Customs and the repair business with the able assistance of his wife Sue. I’ve known Tim for over a decade, yet had not approached him until recently about restoring one of the old, dilapidated specimens I picked up at either a garage sale or gun show somewhere. I decided it was high time to pull the trigger (see what I did there?) on putting the Crosman V-350 in my possession back into shooting shape.

               Crosman introduced the V-350 single-shot, Slide Action Barrel Cocking (aka: push-barrel) BB rifle in 1962 when the company was just getting into spring-powered airguns. Up until this time they had been producing CO₂ and pneumatic guns since beginning operations in 1923. It was based on an old Quackenbush design and held 22 BBs. It continued production virtually unchanged until it was discontinued in 1969, by which time over a quarter million units had been made. The V-350 was modified with some improvements in 1969, including a Monte Carlo stock, and redesignated the Model 3500, which carried on production until 1975.

               The V-350 was in pretty rough shape when I sent it to Tim and Sue. The stock was beat up and most of the bluing was gone and there was some rust pitting on the barrel where the shooter grabbed it to push the barrel back into the receiver in order to cock it. It was also missing its front sight and was basically a mess that needed some tender loving care.

               After sending the air rifle off, I put it out of my mind as I was in no particular hurry and expected it would be at least a couple of months before I would be getting it back. To my surprise, after just three weeks it was on its way back to me. I couldn’t believe the transformation and to say I was pleased was an understatement. Not only did it look good, but it was a shooter again and shoots very accurately, for a smoothbore, out to about 30 feet. A complete breakdown of the replaced parts and labor costs is provided on your receipt. Of course, labor accounts for the majority of costs involved and the V-350 will become a wall-hanger, no doubt, since it has more nostalgic value to me than dollar value as a collectible. And, even though it has been professionally restored, the actual collectible value is less than what I have into it. However, if you have a valuable old airgun that you would like to have restored, reach out to Tim and let him know what you have to determine if he can do the work and come up with a cost estimate. He can be reached at: info@smithairgunrepair.com.

               Additionally, if you are into vintage airguns, be sure to check out AofA’s available inventory of used and collectible airguns on their website which can be found here. Bookmark the page and refer to it often if you don’t see what you are looking for as they purchase collections, attend airgun auctions and accept trade-ins on purchases, so the available items change often.

Those happy faces above are the combined KalibrGun and AoA teams at KaliberGun’s Booth at the 2022 SHOT Show. And they had plenty to smile about, as you can see…

The biggest news was the appearance of a prototype semi-auto Cricket! Although there’s understandably no specifications available yet, this new model is clearly a development of the recent – and highly-rated – Cricket 2 Tactical.

The give-away for the semi-auto action of this new Cricket 2 is the straight-pull cocking lever on the side of the receiver. There’s no sidelever cocking here!

But KalibrGun innovations don’t end there. Another highlight was carbon fiber stocks for Cricket models. I had not previously heard of a completely carbon fiber-stocked air rifle before. But KalibrGun have done it…

Carbon fibre stocks will be available in future for both Cricket and Cricket 2 Tactical models. They’re extremely light, durable and practical. They also look great!

It’s important to note that these stocks are build entirely of carbon fiber. They’re not just carbon-fiber-wrapped, as is often the case.

KalibrGun have also taken the opportunity to incorporate a bipod into the forend. Very neat!

The Cricket 2 Tactical was being shown with a stylish laminated wood stock that sets off the design very nicely, too.

In fact, the laminated wood stocks for the Cricket 2 tactical are planned to be available in multiple colorways, including blue, green and orange. They also include a monopod in the rear buttstock for additional stability in benchrest shooting.

Another air rifle you may expect to find at AoA in future is the new Diana XR200.

The Diana XR200 is the first model in what is promised to be a whole new range of PCPs. It’s made in Germany and is being shown for the first time at the 2022 SHOT Show.

The XR200 certainly is an interesting air rifle! It has some new and unique features, together with an impressive range of features. It’s to be available in four calibers: .177 cal, .22, .25 and .30 caliber.

One obvious feature is the position of the HPA pressure gauge. This is at the front of the pressure tube, however it faces backwards – towards the shooter – and is rotatable to be visible from either side of the gun. A big benefit here is one of safety: it’s not necessary to look down the barrel of the gun to read this gauge!

The Diana XR200 will be available with German Lothar Walther barrels. There’s also the option of polygonal barrels and slug-optimized barrels.

Diana has also taken steps to make the XR200 slug-friendly by having very deep magazines. These are able to accept slugs of up to 16 mm length, says the company.

Of course the XR200 is regulated. An Altaros regulator is included for consistent shot count. It’s adjustable and there’s a pressure gauge on the right side of the action to display the regulator setting.

Airguns of Arizona has long recommended and sold UTG scopes from Leapers. So it’s likely that they will also offer this new range of scopes…

At the 2022 SHOT Show Leapers celebrated both the launch of the Integrix scope line and the 30th anniversary of the company which – in the best American style – was founded by owner David Ding in his garage back in 1992.

Intergix riflescopes are developed, designed and manufactured completely in-house by Leapers. They’re the product of years of market research, design and engineering. With Integrix, Leapers is aiming to challenge the best scope makers at the top end of the market!

On show were Integrix 3-18×44, 3-12×56 and 1-8×28 scopes. Each is available in both First Focal Plane (FFP) and Second Focal Plane reticles. All include ultra-premium optical glass from internationally-famous glass founders Schott and Ohara as part of the goal to achieve top image quality.

I understand that Integrix scopes will start shipping in late Spring/early Summer 2022. So they’ll be here soon!

Airguns of Arizona is usually regarded as an outstanding supplier of “serious” – make that expensive and often PCP – airguns. But the company actually sells airguns of all types – including “fun pistols”

It’s such a fun pistol that we’re looking-at today. The SIG SAUER P320 M17, in fact.

SIG is unusual in that many of their CO2-powered centerfire replica air pistols are pellet-shooters. True, they do have some BB-firing models, but their specialty is pellet pistols.

SIG’s air pistols are almost all CO2-powered versions of the company’s centerfire models. That’s the case also with the P320 M17.

You see, the SIG Air P320 M17 air pistol is a remarkably realistic version of the US Army P320 M17 service pistol. Length, width, height and weight are all identical – or almost – to the centerfire original.

SIG sets high standards throughout the organization and its products. It’s clear that this is the most realistic pellet pistol that they have introduced to date. It’s thus ideally-suited for the training role that the company sees  as a key value proposition for its airgun products.

The P320 M17 air pistol features a fully-functional ambidextrous manual safety – a first for a SIG Air pistol and an exact match to the firearm.

There’s also a functioning takedown lever. Unlike previous SIG pellet pistols, the M17 can be field-stripped, which will please many people.

The drop-free magazine release is not ambidextrous. But this is a relatively small difference from the centerfire M17.

The overall appearance of the sights is very realistic. However, it’s true that that sights do not offer the night vision capability of the military firearm. Nor are they adjustable. This means that we need to be creative if your sample doesn’t shoot exactly to the point of aim.

One alternative would be to mount a small laser on the Picatinny rail and make aim corrections using that. This is a Leapers UTG LS200 Red Sub-Compact laser. As you can see, it fits onto the P320 M17 air pistol very conveniently.

Another is the the SIG M17 Pellet Pistol Reflex Sight.

This is a huge asset to the M17. It provides elevation and windage adjustment capability, combined with multi-brightness control of the projected red dot. It’s delightfully small and light and makes accurate shooting the M17 so much more enjoyable!

SIG claims that the P320 M17 air pistol is a perfect tool for M17 firearm owners to practice with and stresses the similarity to the firearm. I agree.

The manufacturer also claims a Muzzle Velocity of “up to 430 FPS” – depending on temperature and other environmental considerations. Unfortunately, the maximum FPS achieved by the P320 M17 air pistol I tested was just 310 FPS, with 5.56 Grain alloy pellets.

Now it’s true that this was recorded in a cool – 62 degree F – test range in up-state New York. It’s also true that the Muzzle Velocity for CO2-powered airguns varies by about 2 FPS per degree F temperature change.

However, even if the range temperature had been 92 degrees F in sunny Arizona, the test gun would have only achieved a maximum of 370 FPS. That’s the 310 FPS at 62 degrees + (30 degrees difference x 2 FPS) = 370 FPS.

Actually, a maximum of 370 FPS would still be a pretty good muzzle velocity for a CO2-powered air pistol. But it’s still 60 FPS short of the claim.

Is that a big deal? For most people who plan to use the P320 M17 air pistol for practice and punching holes in paper, the answer is “no”.

The P320 M17 air pistol I tested showed very good accuracy. The gun was certainly “minute of soda can” accurate at 6 Yards.

However, there was a clear tendency for the pellets to strike slightly to the right of the bull. This was not an issue at 6 Yards, however the group dropped down and to the right on the 10 yard target.

Accuracy was quite consistent with all the pellets I tried. The RWS Hobbys performed marginally best however, so these were shot at the longer, 10 yards range.

Although to pellets struck low and right at 10 yards, they were still within the “minute of soda can” – just not exactly in the right place! Overall, this was a very creditable performance and with one of the add-on sights you could easily be “spot on”.

The SIG P320 M17 air pistol offers a very realistic-feeling blowback, particularly with a new, full, CO2 cartridge. Felt recoil is surprisingly strong, another big improvement over previous SIG non-blowback pellet pistols.

One complaint is that the slide does not hold back after the last pellet has been fired. This is not unknown among CO2-powered replica firearms, however.

The trigger is double-action only and has a rather long pull. The pull weight of the test gun was rather heavy at an average of 9 Lbs 8 Oz.

Both pull weight and length are clearly related to the pellet feed mechanism. It is the trigger pull which advances the next pellet into battery for firing, rather than the slide recoil. So technically, the M17 is actually a revolver!

However, the pull itself felt consistent and predictable.

My SIG P320 M17 air pistol gave just over 60 shots before the Muzzle Velocity fell below 200 FPS. This is around average for a CO2-powered air pistol with strong blowback.

However, I kept firing and eventually achieved 80 shots before the gas was completely exhausted. That’s a very good count for a blowback air pistol, although the FPS for the final magazine’s contents was very low.

The CO2-loading system employed in the M17 is – in my opinion – the best there is at the present time.

SIG’s cam lever system is simple, easy and quick. There’s no screws to turn and no unsightly levers hanging down below the magazine. There’s no need for an Allen (hex) wrench either and no issues if that wrench were to become lost.

Incorporating the cam lever system into the magazine itself is also a significant operational improvement compared to having it located in the frame, as with some previous SIG models.

As with any replica air pistol – both BB- and pellet-firing, loading the ammo is actually the longest task of preparing the P320 M17 air pistol for shooting. But the new, 20-pellet magazine is really quite convenient to load. It also has no need for the owner to hold down a spring-loaded follower, as can become tedious with some BB pistols.

So if you’re looking for some fun plinking, or some serious training action for a centerfire P320, the SIG P320 M17 air pistol could be just what you’re looking-for.

And at $119.95, it’s not exactly going to break the bank!

I know what you’re thinking…

You’re looking to buy a quality PCP air rifle. You have a budget of about a Grand. Of course, you come to Airguns of Arizona!

Here you see quality PCPs from well-known brands like Weihrauch, Daystate and Brocock and more. Sure, most of them cost a little more than your budget – maybe $200 or $300 more. But, having got this far, you’re going to go all-in and swallow a few more bucks for a quality PCP.

Then you see the Benjamin Gunnar at precisely $999.99. What, a Benjamin for a Grand?

Sure the Marauder has built-up a great reputation over many years, but that’s half the price. But that Gunnar sure looks interesting. Hmmm…

And yes, the Gunnar is an interesting air rifle. It has the now-familiar “black gun” look about it, with an AR15-style one piece receiver, pistol grip and collapsible buttstock. It’s available in the current “must have” calibers of .22 and .25, too.

I’ve been shooting it and can report that it is a pleasant air rifle on the range. In .22 caliber, I’ve seen a very fair muzzle energy of 33.6 Ft/Lbs when shooting 25.39 Grain JSB Jumbo Monsters, together with 10-shot, 50-Yard groups of around 1-Inch when shooting un-selected JSB pellets of various types.

There’s not much wrong with that. So let’s look a little closer.

First impressions are definitely positive as the Gunnar is supplied packed in a heavy-duty synthetic carrying case. This case has side and end handles. It also has wheels, being suitable for dragging across solid surfaces like concrete.

That robust case will protect the Gunnar on its’ journey to you. And that’s a not insignificant benefit. It’s also large enough to hold the rifle with a substantial scope mounted on it. Sadly, that’s not always the case with other cases that are bundled with air rifles.

You’ll need to collapse the Gunnar’s multi-length AR-style stock to fit in the case, but that’s no real hardship.

The Gunnar has a large, alloy HPA tank that promises a good shot count.

The regulator is built-in to the tank assembly, rather than being integral to the receiver. However, the gun has to be de-gassed and the tank assembly removed and disassembled to adjust the regulator setting.

One secret benefit of this is that the “V block” holding the pressure gauge and quick disconnect fill nipple can be re-assembled with the gauge facing the opposite side, should that be more convenient for the user.

There’s a solid, two-piece Aluminum receiver. This provides a substantial housing for the trigger, hammer, valve, safety, bolt and and cocking mechanism. There’s also a front, underside Picatinny rail. Many shooters will want to install a bipod to this rail.

In front of the trigger, there’s a gauge showing the regulator output pressure. Surprisingly – perhaps – for 2022, the HPA tank fills to a moderate 3,000 PSI. The regulator is set to approximately 1,500 PSI when received from the factory.

Bolt operation is courtesy of a smooth sidelever mechanism. Two magazines are supplied with each gun.

The .22 cal mags hold 12 shots. In .25 caliber, it’s 10. They’re somewhat different to the traditional Marauder magazines – but the loading principal is the same.

The obligatory power-adjustment control is located on the left side of the receiver. This works by varying the size of the transfer port. The power control lever is provided with 5 positions.

But note that there’s no hammer spring adjustment capability on the Gunnar.

I used the top Picatinny rail to mount a Hawke Sidewinder 30 SF 4-16 x 50 scope. There’s a clear design benefit here as the magazine does not project  above the Picatinny rail. This allows a low scope height to be attained which many shooters will find to be a good thing.

Pistol grip and buttstock are AR-compatible units. The pistol grip is pleasantly grippy.

The buttstock is multi-length adjustable. The cheekpiece is also adjustable: not only for height, but also for position along the stock’s length. This is a pretty high-end buttstock!

Indeed, there’s also a third Picatinny rail on the underside of the stock. This can be used for mounting a monopod for benchrest shooting.

The barrel is fully-shrouded. However a replacement shroud end cap is also supplied with the gun. This can be screwed-into the end of the shroud to allow a moderator to be added, should extra quietness of report be desired. I installed a 0dB unit, of course.

So there’s a lot of positives in the Benjamin Gunnar.

If you talk to the knowledgeable staff at AoA, they’ll be able to tell you more, including the fact that AoA is offering a special of free shipping for a limited time…

It was great to get back to SHOT this year. Seeing old friends and wandering miles of aisles while experiencing sensory overload on all things gun related is always a fantastic time. A number of companies, both big and small, decided not to attend, which made the show floor seem somewhat deserted. In actuality, the show attendance was only down about 25% according to what I’ve heard. Even so, there were plenty of new airgun-related things to see despite dreaded COVID’s impact on these companies for two years. Just a few highlights are listed here to whet your appetite.

              Starting with my favorite purveyor at the show, AofA, (no money exchanged hands – honest!) they didn’t have a booth at the show, but KalibrGun did and a new semi-auto bullpup prototype was on display. In a tactical-looking thumbhole style laminated wood stock, it carries a 580cc carbon fiber tank. In .22, .25 or .30 caliber, t will have a fully adjustable trigger and allow adjustment of the hammer spring. The plenum volume is also adjustable from 38 to 53cc’s. The cocking handle can be swapped for left-handers. An option with a carbon fiber stock is planned as well. So new it had not been named, no pricing was available and I did not get info on the rate of fire.

Under the Western Big Bore brand, AofA also announced a carbine version of their .45 caliber game-getter. Another laminated wood stocked air rifle, this eight-inch shorter version will still be a powerful hunting arm, just much easier to field. A unique feature of this new version is that it will also shoot a proprietary arrow! Stay abreast of developments here.

              Speaking of arrow-firing capability, both AirForce Airguns and Umarex introduced new models this year. AirForce’s model comes in two flavors, a long version that shoots arrows and short version shooting bolts. Both utilize 4500psi tanks as shoulder stocks and are regulated to take the pressure down to 1500psi to launch the projectiles.

               Umarex also showcased a twin barrel arrow launcher called the Air Saber Elite X2. It only launches one arrow at a time using 1500psi from its 4000psi tank. One fill provides 25 effective shots, sending the arrows at 450fps. A second generation of their Air Javelin, the Air Javelin Pro. It now uses HPA as opposed to CO2.

               In airguns, Umarex launched quite a few new ones, however, the big news was a 20-gauge HPA shotgun named the Primal 20. Utilizing a 4500psi tank it is capable of sending a 395-grain fin stabilized slug at 700fps, generating 430fpe. It comes with a removeable choke so other aftermarket chokes can be installed plus the side-cocking handle can easily be swapped for lefties.

               Beeman introduced a new version of the Chief II model – the Chief II Plus. The air tank was changed to 3000psi which should yield 100 shots-per-fill. Available in .177 or .22 in synthetic or wood stocks. A regulated Commander model is also new this year and sports a more robust rotary magazine with a shot-count window.

               Benjamin introduced a new Bulldog model in .457 caliber. Having all the features of the .357 caliber version, it can fire 350-grain slugs at 760fps for 450fpe. As is the trend in airguns these days, its cocking handle can be swapped to accommodate left-handers. The Armada now comes in a semi-automatic version. It is housed in a chassis-style stock in .22 caliber only. Claimed velocities are 950fps.

               Of course, other interesting airgun related items and accessories were also introduced at the show. Be sure to contact AofA if you come across something in particular as they probably are already aware of it and can hook you up with so many of the great things associated with this hobby/lifestyle.