Airguns and the Black Rifle

Traditional shooter and new technology

Why bother to make an air rifle that is superficially appear to be mil-spec?

Witness the Crosman Armada and Bulldog. What is this Starship Troopers”?

No it is not and I think it is a good idea.

The Shot Show is all about the customer base. Those customers are a product of where they learned to shoot. The armed forces have been the primary teacher, and that training shapes what a lot of folks want to shoot in their off duty time or after separation.

For 40 years, that training has been with the black rifle.

What do you think they're going to want to shoot?

Ron

Ted Holdover's new airgun forum

Shot Show

Las Vegas, Nevada

January 22, 2015

Ted, Ted’s Holdover, announced that he is will be sponsoring an internet airgun forum.

The forum will be unlike others with a new format custom designed to encourage participation. Software will organize posts by subjects chosen by the originator of each thread.

When Asked when the new forum would be put online, Tenad said that it would likely be in March, but added that the date was tentative. “Sometimes it takes a while for life to unfold,” Ted said.

Ted suggested that interested folks keep an eye on his website for word on when the forum will open.

Ron

Daystate Pulsar

Shot Show

Las Vegas, Nevada

Daystate Pusar announced at Shot Show

I spoke with Tony Belas, Daystate sales manager, about the new Pulsar bullpup rifle. This rifle represents a departure from current Daystate designs in that it is both a bullpup and a side lever.

The placement of the but pad is interesting. Combined with the side lever it makes the rifle easier to operate than other bolt action bullpups where the bolt handle is situated just above the but pad.

There will be more to come on my interview with Tony.

Ron

Project Air Ranger

In 2013 and 1013 I shot a .25 Marauder at Extreme Benchrest. Last November  know Marauders can be modified into more consistent air rifles, but I didn’t want to get into that quest. Wandering the desert, like Coronado searching for the lost cities of gold, to get that magic group clustered on the ten ring.

So, I bought a .25 Daystate Air Ranger.

“Oh, You are going to buy your score by splashing out a lot of cash of that super air rifle”.

Even the super gun shooters have to shoot their own scores. Just think about the number of high quality air rifles sold each year and then at the number of folks that actually shoot in competition. It is the singer not the song.

I bought a Daystate Air Ranger in .25 caliber. I think .25 has good ballistics for long range and it is not as costly to shoot in terms of pellet and air as a .30. Also Daystate is a step up in the gee whizz factor and if you were to say that I was gratifying my consumer side, I would say, “guilty as charged”.

BUT an Air Ranger costs as much as three Marauders. Is that much money going to shoot that much better? I guess we'll just have to find out Between now and the middle of November when I go back to Arizona and shoot in the Extreme Benchrest tournament.

“Ron what about your two Marauders? You got a grand tied up in those two guns. Are they going to sit on the shelf?”

No, one is going to be the baseline for comparison with the Air Ranger.; The more accurate one of course. The other might get a .22 barrel for the 25 meter benchrest match, or it might be traded away. That all remains to be seen.

Air Ranger shot string.

1	887	.25 Kodiak Match 31 gr
2	891	Fill	3600 PSI
3	887
4	889
5	888
6	992
7	889
8	887
9	885
10	888
No pellet	:(	“FOUMB!”
11	885
12	887
13	880
14	876
15	874
16	870
17	874	High	892 feet/second	54.8 foot pounds
18	870	Low	864	51.4
19	870	Average	880	53.3
20	867	Extreme Spread	28
21	864	Standard Deviation	8
		Ending	2800 PSI

Goal: 20 shots, 2% extreme spread, average 880 fps

That is a conservative goal especially since you wasted air between shot 10 and 11.

Ron

An Airgunner in Winter

Each year the snow comes and that is temporally the  end of airgunning. I grew up in an avocado grove near San Diego, and even after 35 years in Idaho, winter and the snow is a special time that I enjoy very much. We had 14 inches of snow on Christmas day and it was great. Spending some quality time indoors with the wood stove. Older and wiser we took two weeks out to shovel the deck. Time will come when it will be necessary to go outdoors and shoot, but for the first month or so a warm fire is its own reward. 

 

There is a lot to do this year. I have a new Daystate rifle, and I am going to the shot show. I plan a lot more blog posts. My posts over the Extreme Benchrest taught me that that was the best way to build readership.

Thank you to all who read Blueflax Airguns This blog had 3500 page views in 2014, and I am hoping for 10,000 in 2015.

Ron