PCPs
AirForce Talon SS precharged pneumatic air rifle: Part 3
by B.B. Pelletier
AirForce Talon SS is a whole shooting system.
Today, we’ll take our first look at the accuracy of the AirForce Talon SS precharged pneumatic air rifle. Since I just returned from the NRA Annual Meetings and heard from a lot of owners what they think about this airgun, let me tell you what they all said. Many of them said they’ve never seen a more accurate airgun. Some do own other precharged air rifles, but admit that the Talon SS is equal in accuracy to the best of them.
A few years ago, I used to hear some criticism about the Talon SS trigger since it isn’t adjustable, but I guess people are shooting it more these days, because everyone I talked to at the NRA Show loves their trigger. They all confirmed that the trigger and safety both get lighter, smoother and easier to use as the rifle breaks in. One man was awed that his rifle had held air without leaking for seven months. Then, I told him about the prototype rifle I once found in the factory when I worked there. It was tucked under a work table and was covered with dust. It was still holding a charge after more than five years! So, they do hold their air indefinitely.
Many perspective buyers came up to me knowing a lot about the gun already, yet this was the first time they’d actually seen one. And a great many of them went to the airgun range and shot the Talon SS that was available to the public. After that, some of them came down to the Pyramyd Air booth and insisted on writing an order on the spot. If there had been working guns to sell, I estimate we could have sold quite a few during the show. And .22 caliber was the overwhelming choice of all buyers.
Scope
I used an obsolete Leapers Accushot 4-12×44 Mini SWAT mil-dot scope (without illuminated reticle) on the rifle. I mounted it in two-piece Leapers 30mm medium-height rings. Most shooters feel they need higher rings than I use because they don’t hold their rifles the same way I do. I get by with much lower rings because of this hold, so you may need more height than I do. Consider that when you buy one of these rifles.
I normally recommend an AirForce 4-16×50 scope for this rifle. It helps with the longer distances. But both of my AirForce scopes are on other airguns that are also being tested, so I had to use something different this time.
Sight-in
As I mentioned in the last report I had to install the factory 12-inch Lother Walther barrel that comes standard for this test, because I keep an optional 24-inch barrel in my SS at all other times. The benefit of almost doubling the power with the same amount of air is too good to pass up. I didn’t show the barrel changing process, but I will show it when I switch over to the 24-inch barrel in the next report.
So, the new barrel is in the gun and how many shots did it take to sight in? How about two? That’s correct. After two shots, all pellets were landing where I intended. This was not in the center of the bullseye, as I didn’t want to destroy the aim point.
Accuracy
As I mentioned in Part 2, there’s just one pellet for this rifle — the JSB Exact 15.9-grain dome. It’s true that the 14.3-grain Crosman Premier was once the most accurate pellet for the rifle; but as I mentioned, this particular JSB has replaced it in my rifle.
There were already 35 shots on the tank from the velocity test and two from the sight-in, but I dialed the power setting to 6 and proceeded to shoot a 10-shot group at 25 yards that measured 0.296 inches between centers. Getting 47 accurate shots on a single fill is pretty darned good.
Not too shabby for 10 shots at 25 yards! Group of 10 JSB Exact 15.9-grain pellets measures 0.296 inches between centers. Notice how round it is.
Then, I filled the tank and shot the next group on power setting 10. Same pellet, just going faster. And naturally because I said in the last report that power setting 10 was the most accurate, this time it chose not to be. A single pellet turned a 0.33-inch group into one that measures 0.394 inches between centers. Again, the group is fairly round, telling me that the gun has no hangups and is performing up to snuff.
On power setting 10, ten JSB pellets went into this group that measures 0.394 inches at 25 yards.
I mentioned earlier that I used to shoot 3/8-inch test groups at 23 yards when I set up a new rifle for an AirForce customer or when I tested a customer’s rifle after repairs, but that was always a 5-shot group. Three-eighth’s of an inch is 0.375 inches, so I’m actually getting 10 shots into about the same size group as I used to get 5. I guess what that says is that you have to move back farther to really test an air rifle this accurate.
What’s next?
If this was the final report on the SS, I would go into some other things…but there’s more to come. So, that’ll be it for today.
I’ve already been asked by one reader to test the CO2 adapter on the gun. As long as I’m doing that, I think I’ll ask AirForce if I can borrow a Micro Meter tank and test that for you, as well. Next up will be the gun with the 24-inch optional barrel, which is the way I keep my SS set up. It effectively doubles the gun’s power and makes a rifle that I believe to be the most flexible in the PCP world.
AirForce Talon SS precharged pneumatic air rifle: Part 2
by B.B. Pelletier
AirForce Talon SS is a whole shooting system.
Today is Part 2, the velocity test of the AirForce Talon SS. With an AirForce rifle, this could easily be three separate reports by itself because there’s so much flexibility built into the rifle that it takes that long to explain it all. The rifle isn’t complex, but the adjustable power and barrel options give the shooter a world of possibilities to explore.
I’m testing a box-stock Talon SS in .22 caliber. My rifle is around 10 years old, so it’s broken-in. New Talon SS rifles may not do what mine does right from the box, but keep shooting them a while and they’ll settle in like this one did.
Normally in the velocity test, I pick a range of pellets to test, but today I’ve selected only two. These are the two most accurate pellets in this rifle, and I don’t shoot anything else. What this allows me to do is show you what the adjustability looks like in operation.
Power setting 10
I learned many years ago that my SS likes power setting 10. Adjusting it higher only gets a few extra f.p.s., but the air is exhausted much faster. I get about 35 powerful shots from the 12-inch .22-caliber Lothar Walther barrel that comes with the rifle on power setting 10, and I’ll show you what that gives me. Refer back to Part 1 to see the power adjustment mechanism and what the settings look like.
The first pellet I shot was the 14.3-grain Crosman Premier. For many years, this was the hands-down best pellet in my SS and also in the hundreds of SS rifles I tested at the AirForce factory, where I used to work as technical director (2003-2005). I used to mount scopes on rifles that were sold directly and then I sighted them in. For this, I used the Crosman Premier pellet. I also tested every rifle that was sent in for repairs — including several that were simply sent in because their owner’s claimed they weren’t accurate. In the latter cases, I always tried calling the owner to ascertain what was going wrong, because in all cases except one the rifles were always deadly accurate. I may have had to clean the barrel, but afterward it always shot great.
I had only 23 yards of distance inside the old factory, so that was the distance at which the gun was tested, but I have shot the SS at 50 yards so much that I could extrapolate what it would do from a 23-yard group. The standard was about a 3/8-inch group of five at 23 yards, and, with one exception in three years of testing, that’s what I almost always got. In a couple cases, I got a quarter-inch group, and I envied the owners of those special barrels! By the way, this is where I developed my 10-minute sight-in procedure.
At power setting 10, my SS (filled to 3,000 psi) gets an average 854 f.p.s. with Crosman Premiers. The range is from 850 to 860, so the spread is 10 f.p.s. At the average velocity, the rifle produces 23.16 foot-pounds. This is fast for an SS at power setting 10. Most of the brand-new rifles I’ve tested get from 820-830 f.p.s. on the same setting, but as I said earlier, once they break in they go a little faster.
Then, I tested the JSB Exact 15.9-grain dome. This is now the best pellet in my SS, having passed the Premier a number of years ago. And that’s in both the factory 12-inch barrel as well as the optional 24-inch barrel I usually have on the rifle. On power setting 10, this pellet averages 823 f.p.s., with a spread from 821 to 825 f.p.s. That gives us a muzzle energy of 23.92 foot-pounds.
Can the rifle give more energy?
The short answer is yes. By loading heavier pellets, you’ll get increasingly higher energies. An SS is good for a bit more than 25 foot-pounds; but if you want to hit what you shoot at with my rifle, you’ll shoot either of the two pellets already mentioned.
Power setting 6
Okay, let’s back off the power and see what happens. On power setting 6, my rifle shoots Premiers at an average 787 f.p.s. The spread is from 775 to 800 f.p.s., so it has jumped from a 10 f.p.s. spread to a 25 f.p.s. spread. At lower power settings, you can expect your Talon SS to shoot less consistently than it does on higher power. However, you aren’t going to shoot 50-yard groups on power setting 6 if you want to do well, so it really doesn’t matter. At 25 yards, you won’t be able to see a difference between the rifle on 6 and 10. At 6, the pellet produces 19.67 foot-pounds, so it’s still as strong as many powerful spring rifles. The benefit of this setting is more shots per fill, but I get so many shots on power setting 10 that I never use anything else.
The heavier JSB pellets average 778 f.p.s. on setting 6. They range from 769 to 785 f.p.s., so the spread is a bit tighter than with Premiers. And the average energy with this pellet on setting 6 is 21.38 foot-pounds.
Power setting 0
I then adjusted the power as low as it will go. I call it setting 0, though there is no zero on the adjustment scale. On this setting, the rifle is quieter than a Red Ryder BB gun. Crosman Premiers average 486 f.p.s. with a spread from 451 to 522 f.p.s. The velocity has really opened up at this low setting. You can live with it if the distance is 10 meters or less, or you can bump the power up to setting 2 (on my rifle) and cut the velocity spread in half. At that setting, the velocity will average about 520 f.p.s. On setting 0, the power averages 7.5 foot-pounds, or just about what you get from a Diana 27 breakbarrel in good shape.
JSB Exacts 15.9-grain pellets average 507 f.p.s,. on setting 0 and they range from 492 to 521. Once more they produced the tighter spread, and this time they went faster, as well. They produced 9.08 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle.
Shot No. 35
People want to know how many shots a PCP has and the answer is always, “That depends.” In this case, the 35th full-power shot from the rifle set on power setting 10 was a Crosman Premier at 837 f.p.s. Remember, we were getting an average of 854 f.p.s. on this setting in the beginning of the fill. That should give you an idea of how many shots you can expect from a single fill.
Adjusting the top hat
The top hat refers to the end of the valve that is struck by the striker (through the bolt) when the rifle fires. It looks like an old top hat in profile. Back before the Talon rifle came out in 2001, AirForce rifles had no power adjustment mechanism. So shooters would put an o-ring under the top hat to cushion the blow from the striker. You could run the gun without the o-ring, which was wide open, or use the o-ring and get twice the number of shots at reduced power.
Another way to adjust power on that old model was to adjust the clearance under the top hat, so the valve opened for more or less time, depending on what you did. You loosened a single small Allen screw (just one in the old days) and screwed the top hat up or down to suit your intention. That is where the top hat adjustment came into being.
When the Talon first came out with its power adjuster, it was no longer necessary to adjust the top hat, but many owners didn’t get the memo and continued adjusting it anyway. The top hat can still be adjusted today; but it’s set at 0.080 inches from the factory on a Talon and a Talon SS, and there’s no good reason to change that setting. My tank is about a decade old, and its top hat has never been adjusted.
The space under the silver “top hat” (above the center of this picture) controls how far the valve opens and how long it remains open. Leave it alone. The bolt is pushed forward to cock the rifle and for showing the top hat in this photo.
Does adjusting the top hat change anything? Yes, it does. It changes the way the power adjustment mechanism affects the gun. Changing the top hat is like changing the tire size on your car. When you do, the speedometer doesn’t work correctly anymore, because it is calibrated to the original tire size.
My advice is to leave the top hat right where it is when you get the gun, unless you get it used from someone who has adjusted it. It that is the case, set it to 0.080 inches of clearance (Talon and Talon SS) and leave it alone.
Trigger
The trigger on a Talon SS is two-stage, and the factory rates it at 2.5-3.5 lbs. Mine, which has never been serviced in any way, probably has 10,000 shots on it and breaks at 25-27 oz. — just a shade under 2 lbs. It has no creep in stage two, though most brand-new triggers do have a little.
The safety is automatic, and you can usually push it off with your trigger finger. Some new guns are too stiff to do this; but when they’re broken in, most safeties are easy to release this way.
The trigger parts are case hardened and coated with a film of moly that lasts a lifetime. You never oil the trigger, as that will attract and hold dirt — but the dry moly coating leaves the steel parts looking silvery.
AirForce triggers used to be adjustable; but when they developed the current design, they removed that feature. The adjustment was for stage one, only. Stage two takes care of itself, as it must, since the trigger parts move as the gun is cocked. So they need to be free-moving to align perfectly every time. Don’t trust any aftermarket modifications, because many of them are not safe. I’ve seen them slip off the sear without external intervention.
Is it quiet?
Yes, and no. Compared to the precharged guns without silencers that preceded it, the SS is quiet. But it’s not silenced. To a shooter who has experience with a Korean PCP, it’ll sound quiet. Compared to a fully silenced PCP, it seems loud. At power setting 10, it’s as loud as a magnum spring rifle. On power setting 4, it sounds like a Sheridan Blue Streak on three pumps. On power setting 0, it’s quieter than a Daisy BB gun. If those comparisons mean nothing to you, on power setting 10 it sounds like hands clapping loudly.
We could continue
There are many power settings I haven’t tested in this report. I hope the ones I did test demonstrate the range of power that’s available. Between settings 2 and 6, the power changes very rapidly as the adjuster changes; then from 6 to the top, the changes are slower. The rifle is most stable around power setting 10. Each rifle will differ, and each rifle will also change as it breaks in — getting faster with time if left alone.
If you buy a Talon SS and don’t own a chronograph, don’t worry — all you have to do is adjust it to the setting that gives the best accuracy. That’s going to be somewhere near setting 10 on the coarse setting and forget what the number on the power wheel says.
I’ve also told you the two very best pellets for my rifle. Because I’ve tested so many of these guns, I know that these pellets will work well in any of them. That’s not to say that a better pellet won’t come along someday, but for right now — these two are the best.
Next, we’ll mount a scope and see what sort of accuracy we get from the rifle.
Crosman MAR177 test report: Part 4
by B.B. Pelletier
Crosman’s new MAR177 upper is big news! This view shows the front sight properly oriented.
Today is the first accuracy test day for the Crosman MAR177 upper, so let’s see how this baby shoots. Blog reader Darth Cossack pointed out that I had mounted the front sight backwards in the last report, so I fixed that for today’s photo. It wouldn’t have mattered from a shooting standpoint, but we do want the gun to look right.
On this AR-15, both the front sight and the rear sight adjust for elevation, while the rear sight also adjusts for windage. The front sight requires a sight adjustment tool that I don’t have and didn’t see packed with the upper. You can also use the point of a 5.56mm military round, which I have an abundance of, but doing it that way is very laborious. I’m hoping the rear sight adjustments will take care of everything that’s needed.
And one more time for those who didn’t read it — the MAR177 is purpose-built for the new sport of National Match Air Rifle (NMAR). NMAR can be shot with traditional 10-meter rifles (using the CMP classifications of Precision and Sporter) and the course is three positions — standing, kneeling and prone. You can continue to use your shooting glove, sling and shooting jacket for this sport, as well. Shooting trousers are not permitted.
The benefit of the AR-15 type rifle that the MAR177 is a part of is that it helps shooters transition over to National Match highpower shooting, because the lower that includes the trigger can be the same for both rifles. And from a competitive standpoint, the MAR177 is very affordable. The only other AR-type air rifle that’s suitable for this sport is made by Anschütz and sells for $1,850.
It cost me $450 to build my lower receiver, and half of that was the National Match trigger. If I wanted to build a lower on a budget, I could do it for under $200 by careful shopping. And I just saw a complete lower advertised in a local sale for $250. But the trigger would then be single-stage and heavier, though there are ways to gunsmith the pull weight down to the legal range of 4.5-5.0 lbs. And when I say the legal range, I refer to high-power competition, only. An air rifle has no trigger-pull limit, because Precision-class target rifles, which are the Olympic target air rifles, are permitted to compete in NMAR.
Why did Crosman make the MAR177 upper for a firearm lower?
This question is being asked by many airgunners. Why would Crosman knowingly make their upper to fit a lower that then classifies the whole rifle as a firearm under federal law? The answer lies in the tens of millions of AR rifles now in the hands of shooters and the extreme popularity of the model. Crosman is building for a market that is more than a hundred times larger than the current active airgun market in the U.S. Even if only a few percent of those owners decide to buy a MAR177, they represent more than all the active airgunners in the United States at this time.
But Crosman isn’t blind to the potential for sales of an MAR that’s not classified as a firearm. I have no doubt they’re working hard on a lower that will accept a modified MAR upper that will not be classified as a firearm. But these things take time. I would expect such a project to be on the fast track right now, but how long it might take before we see it is unclear.
The difficulties are enormous!
You probably think the MAR was easy to develop. After all — every AR is the same (they’re all held to certain specs), so don’t they just have to develop a gun for one lower that will automatically work on all the rest? Actually, no. When your upper has to interface with all the lowers on the market and all possible combinations of triggers in those lowers, there are bound to be some problems. Crosman did their due diligence in designing a universal upper, but there are bound to be some combinations of lower receivers and triggers that experience temporary problems. That would be true for any company designing any new AR-15 upper from scratch.
As I mentioned in Part 2, my Rock River lower and National Match trigger worked fine from the first moment I assembled the rifle, so every new owner can expect success, but there are bound to be some hiccups. There are synthetic lower receivers on the market that are being sold on a price basis that are known to have interchangeability issues with firearm uppers, and this is going to carry over to the MAR177 as well.
I’m not going to list those brands here, but if you do a search for AR-15 lower receiver problems, you’ll come up with a good list of what to avoid. The problems are both the lower receivers, themselves, and the separate parts kits to complete them. People are buying these receivers and parts based on price, alone, and they’re running into problems when one brand of lower won’t accept another company’s parts kit and then work with those three other uppers.
Somebody asked me why I chose a Rock River lower receiver and a Rock River parts kit, and I’m telling you why. There are other brands that are just as good, and a few that are even perhaps better, such as the Giessele National Match trigger that one of our readers mentioned, but you have to be aware of the fact that not all AR-15 uppers fit all AR-15 lowers.
What I’m testing
One final comment I want to make. Building a gun like this is full of decisions. You are free to choose whatever appeals to you; but once you choose, your path is determined by the decisions you make. As I said before, there’s no trigger-pull weight restriction in the NMAR class for air rifle shooting, but if I were to want to use the same lower in a match with a firearm, I would be restricted to a weight range for the trigger release and also the style of pistol grip. While I’ll probably never compete in a high-power military-style match, I wanted to shoot a gun that would qualify. It was a choice I made, and one that you do not have to follow. But that choice led me to a certain level of performance in the rifle I am now about to test.
I’m also shooting the military-style post front sight. An aperture front would allow more aiming precision; but if you want to use the MAR as a training tool for your high-power competition rifle, you’ll stick with the sights that come on the upper.
The test
I shot 5 shots per group off a rest at 10 meters with each pellet I tested. Since there’s going to be more testing with this gun, I didn’t try to test all the pellets I have, but I did try eight different ones.
Sighting in was done with the Crosman Premier Super Match target pellets that Crosman packed with my test gun. And they were astonishingly good! The group fired for record measured 0.144 inches between centers. That’s in the range for CMP (Civilian Marksmanship Program) and NRA Sporter class 10-meter rifles that have much lighter triggers and aperture front sights. I was impressed.
Crosman Premier Super Match pellets are great in the MAR177. Five shots went into a 0.144-inch group between centers at 10 meters.
Loading is not perfect
I used the single-shot tray for all this testing. This is the same tray that the Benjamin Marauder uses, and there’s a small gap just before the breech of the barrel. If you try to load the pellet tentatively, the head drops into the gap and binds. If you slam the bolt home too fast, the pellet jumps up in front and also jams. It takes a while to get the right closing speed so the pellet feeds smoothly. Not all pellets jam this way, but a couple are particularly bad. You’ll have to try it for yourself if you use the tray. I was able to get the feed right for every pellet I shot, so it’s not a problem — you just have to spend some time to learn the peculiarities of the gun with the ammo you choose.
You can see the gap at the front of the single-shot loading tray. You have to learn how fast to load pellets to get wadcutters past that gap.
Number two
The second-best pellet in the test was the Gamo Match. While the group they made looks large, it’s so round that it doesn’t take up that much room. In reality, this probably means they’re not really second best, but I may have made a small aiming error with one of the other pellets. However, it’s surprising that such an inexpensive pellet is also this capable.
Five Gamo Match pellets made this 0.136-inch group. Second best of the test, though it appears open.
Best group
RWS R10 7.7-grain pellets that are no longer available gave the best results, with a group size of just 0.106 inches between centers. I shot them early in the test and was probably more rested than I was later, so my eyes were working at their best.
RWS R10 7.7-grain pellets made this five-shot group measuring 0.106 inches. It was the best of this test.
The other pellets
Besides these three, I tried five other target pellets. They were all very equal to the Crosman Super Match, and the largest group fired during the test was 0.162 inches with RWS Hobbys.
JSB S100 Match
Conclusions
One test like this is not enough to determine the most accurate pellet. If I were to do the same test again, the results would no doubt change. Lots more testing is needed to find that one best pellet for this competition air rifle. However, one test was sufficient to prove that the MAR177 has everything going for it. It’s accurate, easy to use and conserves air like a free diver. It mates to an AR lower perfectly to become the best possible training system for AR shooters.
I have more plans for this rifle. Next, I plan to mount a scope and test the rifle with accurate domed pellets at 25 yards. I believe the MAR177 has more to show us.
Crosman MAR177 test report: Part 3
by B.B. Pelletier
Crosman’s new MAR177 makes a fine tactical target rifle when attached to an AR-15 lower.
Today, we’re going to see how the new Crosman MAR177 upper performs! Because this rifle is a precharged pneumatic, I used my Shooting Chrony Alpha chronograph to analyze the power curve. Though not absolutely necessary, a chronograph can eliminate a lot of shooting time and let you know how the rifle shoots on the first session.
The test rifle was showing a charge of just less than 1,800 psi when I started the velocity test. I chronographed Crosman Premier Super Match target pellets that Crosman sent with the upper for testing the rifle.
Pressure gauge is located underneath the end of the forearm. This is the pressure that was in the gun as it came from the factory — minus a couple of test shots. It reads just under 1,800 psi.
The first shot went 582 f.p.s., which sounded to me as though it might still be within the power curve. So I fired 16 more shots and the velocity ranged from a low of 559 f.p.s. for the final shot to the 582 f.p.s. that was the first shot. At that point 17 shots had been fired and the pressure gauge was reading 1,600 psi, so I guessed that the gun had fallen off the power curve. The average for these 17 shots was 569 f.p.s.
I filled the reservoir until the gun’s pressure gauge indicated 2,000 psi. I then fired five shots that ranged from a low of 580 f.p.s to a high of 585 f.p.s. It seemed the gun was certainly now on the power curve and that it hadn’t been that far off the curve on the first 17 shots.
But just to be sure, I filled the reservoir to 2,200 psi and fired another five shots. This time, the velocity ranged from a low of 578 f.p.s. to a high of 586 f.p.s. That’s not much different than the reading on the 2,000 psi fill, so the rifle is clearly on the power curve and has been since at least 2,000 psi. But then it wasn’t that far off at 1,600 to 1,800 psi, either.
To see if these assessments were correct, I filled the rifle to 3,000 psi — the top of the white sector on the onboard pressure gauge. If the gauge was calibrated correctly, the rifle should now be at the top of its power curve.
Filled to the top of the white sector, the onboard gauge now reads that 3,000 psi is in the reservoir.
Too much pressure
If you ever needed to see a demonstration of what over-pressurizing a pneumatic gun will do, this is it. The first shot after the fill went out at 549 f.p.s. and the next one went 537. In fact the first 11 shots were all below 550 f.p.s. Shot 12 went out at 551 f.p.s., and the pressure gauge on the gun read 2,900 psi. I accepted that this is the maximum fill pressure for this rifle. More than that shuts the firing valve too fast and costs velocity.
I then fired 33 more shots, for a total of 34 good shots (so far) on the 2,900 psi fill. The lowest velocity was 534 f.p.s. and the highest was 562 f.p.s., for an average of 552 f.p.s. At that velocity with this pellet, the rifle generates 5.39 foot-pounds of muzzle energy.
Having established the top fill pressure, I proceeded to test the rifle’s velocity with other pellets without refilling the gun. I tested only target pellets, but the test was more for the weight of the pellets than for their shape.
RWS R10 Match 7.7 grains
I tried the RWS R10 Match pellet that weighs 7.7 grains. This one is now off the market, and there is no replacement. It is in-between the RWS R10 Match pistol pellet that weighs 7 grains and the RWS R10 Match Heavy pellet that weighs 8.2 grains.
This one averaged 588 f.p.s. for 10 shots with a 13 f.p.s. spread from 581 to 594 f.p.s. That generates an average of 5.91 foot-pounds at the muzzle.
H&N Finale Match Rifle
H&N Finale Match Rifle pellets weigh 8 grains, even, and averaged 575 f.p.s. in the MAR177. The velocity spread went from 571 to 585 f.p.s. This pellet generates an average of 5.87 foot-pounds of muzzle energy.
RWS Hobby
The final pellet I tried was the 7-grain RWS Hobby. They averaged 609 f.p.s., but the velocity spread was larger than the other two pellets. It ranged from 593 to 625 f.p.s. At the average velocity, this pellet generates 5.77 foot-pounds of muzzle energy.
Back to Premier Super Match
After these three pellets had been tested, there were a total of 64 good shots on this fill. Remember — I’m counting the start of the fill from where it passed 550 f.p.s. for the first time. That was when the gun registered 2,900 psi on its gauge. I shot another 10 Crosman Premier Super Match pellets, and this time they averaged 567 f.p.s. The spread went from 559 to 571 f.p.s. At the average velocity, this pellet generates 5.64 foot-pounds of muzzle energy.
How many shots per fill?
I fired 74 good shots on the first fill, and stopped with 2,200 psi remaining in the reservoir. If I continued to shoot until 1,600 psi, as the testing indicates is possible, that would add another 50 shots, minimum, to the shot count, taking the total to 124 shots on a fill. That’s more than enough, but what I now know is that the gun likes the range of 2,900 down to 1,600 psi on the onboard pressure gauge.
The dynamics of the MAR177
The MAR177 is unregulated, so it relies on just the action of the firing valve to control the velocity of the pellet. In the data I’ve shown here, the lowest velocity for a Premier Super Match pellet that’s still on the power curve is 534 f.p.s. The highest velocity within the curve is 585 f.p.s. I’m getting the high velocity from the string fired on the 2,200 psi fill. So, this rifle has a large velocity spread ranging from 534 to 586 f.p.s. to get those 124 shots that I maintain are in the power curve. That’s 52 f.p.s., and normally we wouldn’t consider a range that large to be good. But this rifle is meant for 10-meter target shooting, and for that reason I doubt we will see any group enlargement due to velocity. However, I’ll conduct a test to see if there’s any vertical stringing, which is what large changes in velocity can cause.
If we were shooting the rifle at 25 yards and farther, then I would recommend using a smaller section of the power curve. It’s apparent that, as the air pressure drops below 2,000 f.p.s., the velocity rises to the highest it’s going to be with a particular pellet.
If the large velocity spread bothers you, you can limit the fill to 2,800 psi, and your slowest shot will be 535 f.p.s. Or limit it to 2,700 psi and the slowest shot will be 549 f.p.s. If you decide to do the latter, your total shot count will be 104 shots, and the total velocity spread will be 37 f.p.s. For my money, the 2,900 psi fill looks best, so that’s what I’m going to use to test this gun.
This discussion would be impossible without the use of a chronograph. You would just load the rifle and shoot until the point of impact started to wander. By using the chronograph, you can look at the performance from shot to shot and also understand that there are always going to be some anomalies in the data.
If a different pellet is used to baseline the rifle, things could change dramatically. Premiers are made from a hardened lead alloy, where the other three pellets are closer to pure soft lead. That will have an effect on the numbers you get.
A major lesson demonstrated
This test demonstrates clearly why you cannot simply act as though the pressure gauge on a PCP is reading correctly, and the valve is responding according to the specifications. I’ve said in the past and I’m saying it again — these small gauges can easily be off by 300 psi yet still be considered accurate. The same is true of the firing valve — it may operate at a slightly different range of air pressures than the spec states. If you want to know for sure, you have to use a chronograph.
What we have seen here is the fact that this gun operates on less peak reservoir pressure and also continues to operate to much lower ending pressure. Without these tests, that information would not be known, because you certainly can’t tell from the sound of the discharge. Instead of obeying the owner’s manual in rigid lockstep, we’ve used a diagnostic to learn how our particular gun performs. Knowing that, we can get the best performance that this individual airgun has to offer.
The muzzle compensator
I mentioned the compensator in an earlier report, but I wanted to show it to you here. You’ll see that the turbulent air gets stripped off and cannot follow the pellet downrange after it leaves the muzzle because of how this compensator is designed.
When the pellet leaves the muzzle, it passes through a separate piece that strips off the turbulent air and directs it to the side. The pellet is free to fly straight without the turbulent gasses acting on its skirt.
AirForce Talon SS precharged pneumatic air rifle: Part1
by B.B. Pelletier
AirForce Talon SS is a whole shooting system.
I’ve been meaning to write this report for a long time, and when we recently had a heated discussion about the rifle, I knew the time had come. This will probably be a longer report, because the AirForce Talon SS isn’t just one air rifle — it’s a whole shooting system!
The Talon SS was the very first air rifle to intentionally use a shrouded barrel to quiet the muzzle report. Ten-meter target rifles had been doing it unintentionally for years; but when John McCaslin, the owner of AirForce and designer of the rifle, put the SS together, he intentionally used the shroud technology for that purpose. Today, it’s hard to find an air rifle that isn’t shrouded, so it’s difficult to keep in mind that the whole movement to shroud began as recently as one decade ago.
The Talon SS is a single-shot precharged pneumatic rifle with a shrouded 12-inch Lothar Walther barrel. The frame extends several inches beyond the end of the barrel, and a special end cap strips off much of the energized compressed air that leaves the muzzle. The report of the gun is muffled, though it’s not as quiet as some silenced guns. I always tell people that a shot on high power sounds like hands clapping once.
The rifle is sold in all four smallbore calibers — .177, .20, .22 and .25. Because the barrel can be changed by the owner in about five minutes, each rifle is capable of being any caliber and also any of three barrel lengths — 12 inches, 18 inches or 24 inches. This is the only air rifle with that kind of flexibility. But only the 12-inch barrel has the benefit of a shroud.
Adjustable power
On the left side of the frame, a power adjustment wheel allows the shooter to adjust the rifle’s power across a broad spectrum. I will test my factory-stock SS for you to demonstrate the range, so we’ll look at that in the velocity test. But the power adjustment is somewhat confusing to new owners.
As the knurled wheel turns, the screw head moves inside the oval slot to the right, indicating the gross power setting.
The knurled wheel has numbers that align with a white index line on the right side. The Allen screw head in the slotted window to the right of the power wheel moves along a scale of numbers. These numbers are put there so the owner can return to certain settings. They do not indicate the same power level from rifle to rifle, because each rifle is different. But new owners often think that if someone else’s SS is doing well at a setting of 8.13 (the Allen screw on the number 8 and the power wheel indexed at the number 13), their rifle should do the same. It doesn’t work that way, because this isn’t a measuring device — it’s a memory marker for each separate gun. While the guns all perform similarly, each is also unique; and the power adjuster has to be set for just that gun.
Trigger
The trigger is two-stage and not adjustable. It typically breaks at between 2.5 and 3.5 lbs. in a new gun, and it usually has a little bit of creep in the second stage. This is another place where people get confused. The trigger in an AirForce rifle is a fairly complex set of parts that each affects the others. Some parts are case-hardened to a specific depth, so no polishing or stoning is recommended. All parts that move are coated with a dry-film molybdenum disulphide compound that bonds with the metal; and over time the trigger becomes both lighter and smoother in operation — not unlike the triggers in BSF spring rifles.
Leave the trigger alone and after a few thousand shots it will be perfectly crisp and light. But try to work on it, and you can ruin the gun in minutes — plus void the warranty. It was my experience with the AirForce triggers that cautioned me to leave the National Match trigger in my AR-15 alone. I know it will break in to be exactly what the spec states.
Along with the trigger comes an automatic safety. It sits in front of the trigger and is pushed forward to release. It’s a formed stiff wire that is often too stiff to push off with the trigger finger when the gun is new, but like the rest of the trigger, it breaks in and can be easily pushed off with the back of the trigger finger once the gun has broken in. At the LASSO shoot a couple weeks ago, Greg, the new shooter from Austin, Texas, borrowed a new Condor from the AirForce booth, and I noticed that the safety was as light and smooth as mine, so some safeties may be lighter from the start.
The trigger has an adjustable finger pad. Slide it low for the lightest trigger-pull. The red knob in front is the rifle’s automatic safety that is pushed forward to release.
Style and construction
AirForce rifles are all styled with a black rifle look. They are based on an aluminum frame that houses the action and barrel. Only the air reservoir, which also serves as the butt, is separate. There are two frame sizes. The AirForce Talon has a short frame, and both the SS and Condor have a long frame. The Condor has a longer carry handle than the SS, but otherwise the two frames are identical. Because of that, the SS can easily accept the optional 24-inch barrel, which effectively doubles the gun’s power with the same amount of air. I will explain more about that in a future report, but it’s one advantage you get from a shooting system, rather than a single rifle whose caliber and barrel length cannot be changed.
The frame has long 11mm dovetails along its upper and lower surfaces, as well as the top of the carry handle. As a result, the rifle can accept all manner of accessories like lasers, scopes, night vision, tactical flashlights, sling swivels, bipods and much more. It’s like a Christmas tree that’s ready to accept any and all ornaments you desire.
The construction of the rifle lends itself to manufacture by a CNC center rather than more costly human labor. As a result, AirForce is able to keep up with the thousands of orders they fill each year. They still have a workforce, of course, but they do the jobs for which machines are not adapted and those jobs requiring skills.
The finish has been a black anodizing since the beginning, but a couple years ago AirForce started offering guns in other colors — red and blue. They’re keeping their options open for other colors, though at present black still seems to be most in demand.
Plastic parts
There are parts of the gun that are not made of metal. The trigger shoe, bolt, power adjuster wheel and a few other parts are made from modern synthetics. The material for each part was chosen for its performance and not for manufacturing economy. As the airgun world learned from the Logun S16, an all-steel air rifle can also be a boat anchor when the weight gets to be too much. That isn’t a problem with the Talon SS, which weighs just 5.25 lbs.
Highly convenient
The light weight is coupled with a cocking effort of just 4 lbs., making the SS a breeze to carry and shoot. Because the weight is low, a larger, heavier scope does not weigh down the rifle like it would many PCPs, so the SS can accept a scope that’s up to its long-range capabilities. I personally find a 4-16x scope to be about ideal for both the SS as it comes from the factory and also when I install the longer barrel and double the power. The AirForce 4-16×50 scope is a perfect match for both the SS and the Condor.
Calibers
I maintain that the .22 caliber is best for the Talon SS, given its power potential. In factory trim, you can expect it to develop 23-25 foot-pounds maximum with accurate pellets. That can be boosted to 40-45 foot-pounds when the 24-inch barrel is added. Of course, any of the four smallbore calibers will work well with the rifle, and the beauty is that you don’t have to choose. Start with one caliber and add the others as you feel so inclined. The rifle I’ll be testing for you in this report will be a .22 caliber.
How the rifle comes
One of the things a reader had confused when we talked about the Talon SS a few weeks back was that the rifle can be ordered with or without a fill clamp. He’d purchased a used gun and didn’t get to see it as it comes from the factory, so I’ll show that here.
The Talon SS comes in a cardboard box with fitted foam inserts holding the rifle and air tank, a DVD of the owner’s manual, a paper owner’s manual, AirForce catalog and warranty card. If it was ordered, the fill clamp also comes in the box. The section containing the rifle has been brightened to show the dark gun more clearly.
The rifle is sold with or without a fill clamp so people buying multiple rifles don’t have to continue to pay for parts they don’t need. Many owners of AirForce rifles own more than one gun. I own three, and I think blog reader twotalon’s handle speaks for itself. So, AirForce made it easier to buy the rifle in the configuration that you need, rather than paying for parts you already have.
I have a special fill adapter that’s much simpler than the AirForce fill clamp and works better with the carbon fiber tank I use to fill the gun. I’ll show it to you in a future report.
Summary
This is where I’ll end this report, though there are several more general topics to address. I’ll cover them as we encounter them during the extended test. I’ll even show you how easy it is to replace barrels when I switch from the 12-inch barrel to the 24-inch barrel. Please ask your questions as we go, and I’ll try to answer them in the body of the reports that follow.
Crosman MAR177 test report: Part 2
by B.B. Pelletier
Crosman’s new MAR177 upper is big news!
Today, I’ll document the build of the AR-15 lower receiver that was required for the test of the Crosman MAR177 upper. This was a fascinating and somewhat scary project, because I was venturing into waters that, for me, are uncharted. On one hand, I know that the AR-15 is a popular firearm, so I expected to find all the information I needed to build the lower receiver on the internet. On the other hand, how good that info might be was completely unknown. I was scared because it has been over 30 years since I have had an AR apart, and even then it was only to clean the rifle after firing. I never had to build one.
After seeing my level of expertise with woodworking (the ill-fated Bronco article in which I destroyed the stock to mount a peep sight), you might feel some concern for my abilities as a gunsmith. Fear not. I used to make a nice part-time income from tuning single-action Colts, and I’ve tightened and accurized several M1911A1 pistols with demonstrably good results. Though I’m no craftsman, I can gunsmith metal parts when I need to.
It’s not that hard!
I needn’t have worried. The lower receiver of an AR-15/M16 is a very uncomplicated design and goes together without a lot of trouble. You do have to take some care with certain parts, as the receiver is made of aluminum and will break if handled improperly. Besides that and a couple small springs that fight to escape, there’s really nothing that’s too difficult if you take your time.
Step one was to photograph the parts that Rock River sent for the lower receiver. This soon proved invaluable when one of the smallest parts went missing for several minutes during the assembly. When I got to the place where I needed the part, a wee-teeny pin called a bolt catch buffer, but couldn’t find it, I assumed that Rock River had failed to send it. That infuriated me, because how was I supposed to know I needed one, since this was my first lower to build? This was the greatest fear I had about building this lower receiver.
The Rock River Arms lower receiver and the parts kit that goes into it.
I searched everywhere, even to the point of getting down on the kitchen floor (yes, I actually did do all the work on the kitchen table), where I found a small black beetle about the same size. He was dead, plus he didn’t have the same internal dimensions as the part I was searching for, so I kept looking. I even called Edith in on the hunt, since she has a better record for finding escaped parts.
After a while, I was certain Rock River had omitted the part from the kit they sent, so I checked the photo I had taken earlier of all the parts, and there it was. I had it when I took the picture, but not now, when I needed it. I then started putting all the parts back into their plastic baggie, thinking the build would be delayed until I got another part. And that’s when the part I needed fell out of another hollow part that was ever-so-slightly larger!
I had found a great website with step-by-step photos of the assembly, so everything was straightforward to a certain point. I was warned that certain small springs would try their best to escape, so I made a cloth-cushioned backstop to catch them when they flew. It was used about five times, so the warnings were well worth heeding. I also swept some small parts off the cloth work surface with the cuffs of my shirt, but fortunately Edith’s better eyes found them right away.
Hangup!
And then things came to a halt. I had ordered the National Match trigger and the internet instructions I was following were for the single-stage standard trigger. The parts I had didn’t match the instructions. Unfortunately, I was unable to locate any specific instructions for installing a Rock River National Match trigger online, and Rock River had only sent instructions for a person swapping a trigger in a lower that was already built up. At this point, I was on my own. Fortunately, this trigger/hammer combination installs on the only two pins that fit through the lower receiver, so it’s hard to mistake where they go. And the National Match trigger incorporates the disconnector — a part that’s separate and installed separately on the standard trigger. That caused me to stop and ponder a few more minutes, wondering if I was missing yet another part. But I used to write manuals for the Army and have seen inconsistencies like this before, so I figured it out after a short breather.
The Rock River Arms National Match hammer (left) and trigger. The instructions failed to note that the disconnector is part of the trigger assembly and doesn’t look like the one for a standard trigger. The hammer spring was also installed backwards, but proved simple to switch once the problem was identified.
Small parts and springs dictated a slow approach and a safety backstop (just out of frame to the right) to catch the parts when the springs launched them. It was put to the test!
Rock River had installed the trigger and hammer springs on those parts when they sent the kit, but unfortunately they got the hammer spring on backwards. So, there was another short delay while I figured that out. In the end, though, everything worked out fine and the lower receiver went together easily.
Once the lower receiver was completed, I installed the A2 buttstock I’d purchased, and that completed the project. The Rock River buttstock is colored medium gray, but they advised that a wipedown with a oily cloth would deepen the color. In time, it will turn to a matching black.
The lower is complete and the stock is attached. Wiping the stock with an oily cloth deepens the color.
I suppose I spent about three hours doing what might take 30 minutes for someone who’s familiar with the process. The proof of the project was that the trigger and hammer work as they should, and the safety is finctional. And never dry-fire an AR lower without an upper installed, because the hammer will crack the receiver’s walls.
With the lower receiver complete and functioning as it should, it was now the moment of truth. Would the Crosman MAR177 fit properly and function on what I’d just built?
Anyone who has ever learned to clean an M16 or AR-15 knows how the upper fits to the lower. Two captive pins at the front and rear of the lower hold the two assemblies together. When you clean the gun, you typically only remove one of the pins so the lower hinges away from the upper. That gives you access to the bolt carrier and all the parts that require attention. Connecting the lower I’d just built with Crosman’s upper took about 30 seconds. The hammer was already cocked, so I pulled the trigger — and nothing happened!
The MAR177 is very realistic. And the firearm lower means it can be the perfect low-cost trainer for your AR.
Once again, I had butterflies in my stomach. Since I’m not that familiar with the AR guns, I wondered what might have gone wrong. Then I remembered my time at the range on Media Day in January, when I first got to shoot the MAR177. It has to be cocked by pulling back on the charging handle! Once I did that the gun functioned as it should! Now, I am ready to test the MAR177.
The MAR177
If you look closely, you’ll see where the MAR177 differs from a regular AR. For starters, there’s an air reservoir underneath the barrel. And the shiny silver thing at the end of the forearm is the side of the built-in pressure gauge. The rifle operates on 3,000 psi pressure and looks easy to fill from a hand pump. As small as the reservoir is, it shouldn’t take too much effort.
The muzzle has an air compensator to strip off the high-pressure air turbulence for better accuracy. What looks like an AR magazine is a solid metal slug for additional weight. The MAR177 comes with a 10-shot magazine (a single-shot tray is optional, but Crosman sent me one to test) taken from the .177 Benjamin Marauder. The carry handle is split at the bottomfor easier loading. The forward assist on the right side of the receiver is just a casting; it does nothing.
The selector switch is attached to the lower receiver, so of course it’s standard. It is right where your thumb expects it to be if you’re right-handed, and after 35 years I had no problem remembering what to do without looking. Of course, an AR-15 is semiautomatic, only, so there are just two positions — Safe and Fire. If you want to rock-and-roll, you have to raise your right hand and swear the oath.
The rifle weighs 9.5 lbs. on the nose when set up as shown. That’s a hair less than a Garand and a touch more than an 03A3 Springfield. Under the rules, a two-stage National Match trigger is allowed to break at between 4.5 and 5 lbs. and here’s how mine went. The first measured shot, which was about the tenth shot since assembly, measured 6 lbs., 9 ozs. As I kept measuring shot after shot, the pull weight kept decreasing until it hit the 5-lb. level. There, it stabilized — and that’s where it’s breaking now. I will lube the sear contact points with some good moly grease and expect the pull weight to drop by a couple more ounces as the rifle gets used more.
The trigger is completely crisp on stage two — as a National Match trigger should be. It works well with the weight of the rifle, and I expect to have more to say about it when I start accuracy testing.
Notice that the pistol grip I chose is a conventional one. You can get all kinds of wonderful grips for your AR, but this is the one you must use in a match — so I went with it.
I’ll try the 10-shot magazine, but right now I have the single-shot tray installed so I can switch from one pellet to another as I learn the gun. The way I shoot airgun matches, I would probably keep the single-shot tray installed, but the magazine could be used, as well, by those who prefer it.
There’s much more to tell you about the MAR177, but I’m going to do that as we progress through the other parts of this report. When I left the Army in 1982, I never thought I would have one of these in my hands again, but Crosman has made the impossible happen.
LASSO 2012
by B.B. Pelletier
The Longrange Airgun Silhouette Shooters Organization (LASSO) 2012 meet last Saturday was a lot like the blind men examining the elephant. What it looked like depended on where you were. It was a renaissance fair of airgun gatherings, and I don’t say that lightly. I have been to all but one of the five events they’ve held, and this one was the best by far. Promoter Eric Henderson has delegated many of the organizational functions to the right people, and each took their responsibilities seriously.
The shoot was held on Terry Tate’s ranch, several miles south of Sulphur Springs, Texas. The land is flat, open and perfect for this kind of event; and Terry and his wife went out of their way to be gracious hosts. Weather is the one variable you cannot control, but this day was nearly perfect. It was a little breezy, but that just sharpens the competition. And it also keeps the bugs at a minimum and the hot Texas sun at bay.
The event exists to give big bore enthusiasts the opportunity to shoot their rifles (and a couple pistols) against one anotherand to see what’s happening in the world of big bore airguns. So, it’s not surprising that shooters drove in from Chicago, Kentucky and other regions equally far away. Driving over a thousand miles for a one-day event like this separates the serious from the tire-kickers, and these boys and girls were serious.
This telephoto shot of the big bore range shows targets out to 300 yards. The pond begins about 40-50 yards from the firing point. The first ram is at 100 yards.
The shooters were ready for a big day!
Chase, Clint and Chris are big bore shooters who drove all the way from Chicago to the LASSO shoot. The guy in the black hat is also a big bore!
Girls? Yes, this year we had our first female shooter on the line. Regina Williams asked for no special consideration and was just as competitive as the rest of the shooters.
Regina Williams was the first woman to compete in the LASSO match. She placed astonishingly high!
The big deal of the day
As Rosanne Roseannadanna said, “It’s always something!” This year, it was our most fundamental rule. What is a big bore airgun, you ask? Well, there are four smallbore calibers — .177, .20, .22 and .25. Anything larger than .25 caliber is considered a big bore. But this year, someone showed up with a .257 rifle made by Jack Haley that launches 75-grain bullets at 1,100 f.p.s. They develop over 200 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle.
For those who are unfamiliar with caliber designations, .25 caliber measures .257 inches in diameter. So, here was a gun in a caliber we have always called a smallbore but shooting much heavier bullets and developing big-bore energies. What to do? There was much hand-wringing the evening before the match, but in the end promoter Eric left the decision up to the shooters, who agreed to allow the rifle to compete to win. If they hadn’t, it might have been like ignoring the guns of another Roy Weatherby.
John Bowman shook everyone up with his Haley .257 rifle. We’ll see his picture again. I’ll bet he’s going to have the same impact as Weatherby when everything settles down.
I talked with John Bowman, owner of this scandalous rifle, and was informed that he lapped the bore himself after talking to Dan Lilja, no less. He claims the rifle will group inside two inches at 300 yards. We will hear more about this rifle in a bit.
Ed Schultz, Crosman’s head engineer, competed with his Rogue.
Chase used a shooting stick for his Quackenbush.
Not everyone used a support for their rifles. This is the classic military seated position.
The rifles that competed were by Quackenbush, Benjamin, Haley and AirForce. There might have been one or two other makes that I missed. The AirForce gun was a Condor converted to .308.
The smallbore range
Not everyone owns a big bore airgun, so blog reader David Enoch organized a smallbore component at this event for many years. This time, he had a beautiful 100-yard range set up with metal reactive targets from 20 yards all the way out to 100. And Jerry, who’s a new reader of ours, brought his faithful CZ 634 out to the range so everyone could see why he loves it so much. I had a chance to shoot it, and I see that this tuned Slavia springer is much better-behaved than my untuned 631. Jerry also brought out his new TX200 and started what I think will become a lifelong love affair with the rifle. The trigger was not adjusted and did have some creep, but the action and accuracy were pure TX200 — which is to say the best there can be.
David set out some quadrant sight-in targets at 35 yards, so people didn’t have to shoot at paper to get sighted in. They were a one-inch bull, a three-quarter-inch bull and a half-inch bull. You started on the one inch and worked your way over to the half-inch bull. By the time you were spinning the half-inch bull, your rifle was a good as it was going to be at that distance. David bought his targets online from Steelplinkers.
The giddy guy
I noticed a young man at the AirForce booth asking questions about the Condor, so as usual I butted in. Greg is from just north of Austin, Texas, and he drove out because he was hoping to see and handle some smallbore PCPs. I glommed onto him and took him over to the smallbore range, where he proceeded to have the time of his life! I started him with my Talon SS and learned that he had never looked through a scope sight before this day.
He was startled to see the crosshairs move, despite all he did to control the rifle. But after all of us assured him that it happens to everyone, he settled down and started shooting well. Reader new2this complained about a Talon SS in yesterday’s blog comments. Well this new guy, Greg, was hitting half-inch spinners at 35 yards in a strong breeze. Not just now and then — every time. He almost got bored from his success, once he figured out the gun. He was torn between a Condor and a BSA Hornet, which another shooter happened to have on the line, so he got to try that one, as well.
I know he shot a lot because I was refilling his air cyinders all day long. Greg was so caught up in the day that he reminded the rest of us what it was like, and we intentionally made certain that he got to try everything. He even hit a 75-yard spinner in the wind with a .177 Marauder! Now, that’s some real shooting!
Greg came to LASSO just to see a couple airguns he had read about. He wound up shooting his two top picks — this BSA and an AirForce Condor (as well as my Talon SS) and was completely satisfied. After an hour of shooting on the smallbore range, he was hitting half-inch spinners at 35 yards and full-sized spinners at 75 yards in the wind!
I mentioned Greg was a young man. Well, to me he is. But as youthful as he appears, he’s 50 years old. He’s a boxing instructor and boxes 72 two-minute rounds each week.
The smallbore range was just as active as the big bore range. David Enoch, left, ran it.
Lunch
Lunch was a bar-b-qued pig shot on Terry’s ranch the day before. Everyone loved the spread and it was part of the $10 entry fee for the match. For the same money, you also got a door prize ticket for valuable drawings. Among the prizes donated were a Sam Yang Dragon Claw big bore rifle from Pyramyd Air, a scoped Condor from AirForce Airguns, a Benjamin Marauder from Crosman and a Shoebox air compressor from Shoebox.
Jim Lowder was the lucky winner of the Sam Yang Dragon Claw big bore rifle.
Ron Robinson won the Benjamin Marauder .25 caliber. He almost dropped it in this victory dance! His brother Kim won the shoebox compressor!
Wes Fry won the AirForce Condor.
Winners
Someone had to win this match, and I told you we would be seeing John Bowman, again. That little Haley .257 of his won the day. So now all us silverbacks have to give up room on the branch to this upstart who dared to buck the system. But I’m warning you, folks, this will be the absolute last time we bend the rules for anyone! 
Eric Henderson, LASSO’s promoter is on the right. Next to him from right to left are John Bowman — 1st Place, Joey Tidwell — 3rd place and John Crumpley — 2nd place. The .257 Haley big bore took first and third place. A Quackenbush .308 took second.
This was a wonderful event for all who came and participated. It was a drive of over one-thousand miles for some, but they were glad to be there and will be returning next year.
