Posts Tagged ‘RWS BBs’
Colt 1911 Special Combat CO2 BB pistol: Part 3
by B.B. Pelletier
Colt’s 1911 Special Combat BB pistol is a knockout for looks!
Happy Independence Day!
Happy Fourth of July to my U.S. readers! And to everyone else, happy Wednesday!
Today, I’ll look at the accuracy of the Colt 1911 Special Combat BB pistol. We discovered in the velocity test that the pistol doesn’t quite reach the velocity advertised. That made it possible for me to start using and testing the new Winchester Airgun Target Cube that serves as a BB/pellet trap. We also learned that the pistol shoots at dramatically different velocities in single- and double-action. Naturally, I looked at both modes in this test.
The test
I shot the pistol at 16 feet (as close as possible to 5 meters — the international BB-gun distance) from a rest. A fresh CO2 cartridge was installed at the start of the test and was used for the entire test.
The first 10 shots were to ascertain how the sights were set. Also, I knew from the velocity test that this pistol needs a couple shots to “wake up” the valve and get up to its top velocity. So, the first 10 shots were just sighters.
I discovered the rear sight needed some elevation. Happily, the sight is completely adjustable, but the direction for a vertical increase isn’t clear. The straight arrow doesn’t tell you which way to turn the screw. Fortunately, the sight works like most other rear sights, and a counterclockwise turn provides elevation. There seemed to be no click detents in the adjustment, so I watched the orientation of the screw slot.
First up were Daisy zinc-plated BBs, and 10 were loaded into the stick magazine. Then, I fired the pistol single-action, using a 6 o’clock hold with the sights. Yes, at just 16 feet from the target, I could hardly miss, but this was a test of the pistol — not of my shooting ability.
Ten Daisy BBs went into a group that measures 1.58 inches between centers. It proved to be the best group of the entire test.
Ten Daisy BBs made this 1.58-inch group at 16 feet.
Next, I loaded 10 more Daisy BBs and shot them double-action at a fresh target. As expected the group opened up. This time ten went into a group measuring 2.606-inches between centers. Although, the double-action trigger-pull is relatively light, it stacks at the end and is difficult to control. Nevertheless, this accuracy is minute-of-pop-can at the same 16 feet.
Ten Daisy BBs fired double-action made this 2.606-inch group. A stacking trigger-pull was the culprit.
RWS BBs
Next, it was time to try the RWS BBs. Though they appear to be even smoother than Daisy BBs, I find the two brands about equal in most guns I have tested. The first ten were fired single action, making a group that measures 2.369-inches between centers. That is nearly as large as the Daisy BBs fired double-action!
Once during the 10 shots, there was a double-feed, and two BBs went down range together. This never happened again, so I don’t think it’s a problem. And, if the wide shot from that double-feed was eliminated, the remaining 9 BBs made a group measuring 1.668 inches between centers — much more in line with what the Daisy BBs did.
The RWS BB single-action group looks large because the hole at the upper right is one of two that went down range together. Take it out, and the group is much closer to the single-action Daisy BB group. Overall group measures 2.369 inches, but 9 shots went into 1.668 inches.
On double-action, I was able to see several of the BBs as they went downrange. They seemed to all be curving to the left — almost as though the gun had a Hop-Up that wasn’t quite adjusted. This reminded me of the gun’s airsoft heritage. Ten shots landed in a 2.128-inch group, besting the single-action group, but only because of the double-feed while shooting single-action. This group also bested the Daisy double-action group
Ten RWS BBs went into 2.128 inches shooting double-action.
Winchester Airgun Target Cube
I used the Winchester Airgun Target Cube for this accuracy test. It’s a new combination BB/pellet trap that I’ve been eager to include in my testing. The trap is a cube of dense foam that has a metal plate inside. Shoot at it on one side, and you’re just shooting at foam, unless you chance to hit the edge of the metal plate. That’s the side for velocities below 350 f.p.s. Orient the cube the other way and the plate’s in the middle. That’s the side for velocities above 350 f.p.s.
The paper targets were all taped to the front surface of the cube. The solid backing of the cube helped define the BB holes a little. And as light as the cube is, it never moved when hit. The sound when hit is quiet, but it’s noisier than a Quiet Pellet Trap.
Daisy markets this cube and says the side of the cube that’s rated above 350 f.p.s. is good up to 1,200 f.p.s. for .177-caliber pellets. I won’t be testing it at that speed. Several shots in the same place might blow through the metal plate inside the cube, and I’m not a testing laboratory for Daisy or anyone else. I’m interested in how many practical shots we can expect from this trap, so I plan to keep a record. Hopefully the number will be in the thousands, like other commercial BB traps.
The Winchester Airgun Target Cube has its first 50 shots. Ten were from the sight-in.
The BBs all stayed inside the cube, but it’s too early to say how long this trap will last. As I use it, the tendancy will be to strike near the center of the cube, so in time we will see what effect that has.
What I like about this pistol
I like the trigger in both the single- and double-action modes. I like the adjustable sights, and I like the way the sights look when shooting the gun. I like the snazzy appearance of the gun and the way it is exactly the same size as a 1911 firearm. I like the drop-free magazine/CO2 holder. And I like the velocity that gives a lot of shots per CO2 cartridge. This gun is very quiet and only rates a two on the sound scale!
What I don’t like about this pistol
The accuracy could be better.
The bottom line
This BB pistol has to compete with many other 1911-style BB pistols that all offer a lot for the money. This one probably leads them all in looks, but it trails the field in accuracy. In the end, though, it’s more than accurate enough for a BB pistol.
Colt 1911 Special Combat CO2 BB pistol: Part 2
by B.B. Pelletier
Colt’s 1911 Special Combat BB pistol is a knockout for looks!
Wow! Today’s test is as different as any I’ve done! This air pistol surprised me completely, with results I’ve never before seen from any airgun.
The Colt 1911 Special Combat pistol shoots BBs, so a velocity test is going to be pretty humdrum. There are a limited number of different BBs to try, and they aren’t going to give fantastically different results like lead pellets do. So, usually a velocity test with a BB gun is a no-brainer for me. Shoot and record the numbers — plain and simple. But not today.
Both single-action and double-action
This pistol fires in both the single-action and double-action modes. For you newcomers, single-action is where the trigger performs the single functon of releasing the hammer to fire the gun. You have to manually cock the hammer before each shot — the trigger doesn’t do it.
Double-action, in contrast, is where the trigger both cocks the hammer and releases it, all in one smooth pull. So you just keep on pulling the trigger. As long as there’s ammunition, the gun keeps on firing.
Because the trigger is doing more for double-action, it’s always harder to pull in that mode than it is for single-action. So a semiautomatic pistol that has single-action operation will normally have the very best trigger possible. If a gun functions in either single- or double-action like most revolvers, the single-action mode will give the best trigger-pull. The double-action mode is reserved for when you want to fire a lot of rounds very fast.
There’s more to it than that, of course. Some semiautomatic pistols such as the Beretta M92/M9 fire either single- or double-action; but when they fire, the slide comes back and cocks the gun for the next shot. These guns are quick to fire the first shot, since you can carry them with a round chambered and just pull the trigger to get them started. They also have the advantage of switching over to single-action once they begin firing.
At any rate, when I have a CO2 pistol that’s both single- and double-action, I test it for velocity both ways. That often gives results that favor the velocity on one or the other of the two modes. But this gun was vastly different. It varies by about 100 feet per second greater velocity in the single-action mode. And there’s even more to report, so read my results carefully.
Single-action
I started out shooting the pistol with Daisy zinc-plated BBs in the single-action mode. The gun is rated to shoot at 400 f.p.s., so I expected something in that neighborhood; with BBs, there isn’t much variation between brands. So, I was surprised to see the first shot on a fresh CO2 cartridge register only 205 f.p.s. But sometimes pneumatics and CO2 guns need to “wake up” when they first start shooting after a rest, so I kept on shooting and watching the chronograph. The next shot went 203 f.p.s., but the one after that went 334, then 345, then 366 f.p.s. That last shot was as high as the pistol wanted to go.
My first good string of shots on single-action averaged 363 f.p.s., with a low of 360 and a high of 375 f.p.s. That’s good consistency, after the valve had woken up. I figured shooting the gun on double-action would give similar numbers. Guess again!
On double-action with the same Daisy zinc-plated BBs, the velocity averaged 252 f.p.s. The low was 224 and the high was 280 f.p.s. What a spread, and what a difference from single-action. Next, I shot two more shots single-action to see what had happened, if anything. They went 337 and 321 f.p.s., respectively. The gun was shooting slower, but it was still much faster in the single-action mode.
I then tried the RWS Match BBs that Pyramyd Air doesn’t carry. I’ve found them as accurate and precise as Daisy BBs, and sometimes they give slightly different results. This time in single-action, they averaged 319 f.p.s. with a spread from 280 to 344 f.p.s. In double-action, they averaged 240 f.p.s. with a spread from 227 to 250 f.p.s. And shooting single-action immediately following the double-action string gave me two shots at 324 and 302 f.p.s., respectively.
I was concerned that the pistol seemed to be running out of CO2, so I fired it 20 more shots double-action with no BBs in the magazine, then I fired another shot single-action (with the RWS BBs) that went 321 f.p.s. So, it wasn’t out of gas just yet!
How many shots per cartridge?
At this point in the test there were 63 shots on the cartridge. I fired another 10 blank (no BB) shots double-action and then fired an RWS BB single-action that registered 335 f.p.s. At 84 shots, the gun is still going strong.
I next shot a single Daisy BB on single-action to see if there was still such a difference between the two brands. This one went 327 f.p.s., so both BBs are going about the same speed. The initial string of Daisys was just a little faster for some reason.
I shot another 10 blank shots double-action and then an RWS BB at 327 f.p.s. So, at 96 shots, the CO2 cartridge is still going strong. Then another 10 blank shots, followed by a Daisy BB at 323 f.p.s. That was shot number 107 on the cartridge.
Another 10 blanks shots were fired double-action and then an RWS BB went 331 f.p.s. That was shot 118. Then another 10 blanks, followed by a Daisy BB that failed to register. Then a second Daisy BB went 325 f.p.s. for shot 130. Then another 10 blank shots were followed by shot 141 — an RWS BB at 321 f.p.s.
My gosh — this pistol is starting to remind me of the AirForce Talon SS using the Micro-Meter tank! Another 6 blanks were fired and then the remaining gas spontaneously released from the cartridge. All gas was exhausted, and it was all over. This cartridge had maintained its velocity down to almost the end of the CO2 charge — something I’ve not seen in a long time. For the record, I got a good 140 shots from a single cartridge.
What about the large velocity variation at the beginning of the test? I think we can chalk that up to the gun breaking in. After several hundred shots have been fired, I think the gun will perform more consistently; but I’ll come back in a special test, after we look at accuracy, and rerun the velocity test again.
Trigger-pull
The double-action trigger-pull broke at an average 10 lbs., 6 oz. of effort. The range went from 9 lbs., 6 oz. to 11 lbs., 5 oz. The faster the trigger was pulled, the lighter it became. The pull effort increases rapidly (stacks) the further back the trigger is pulled.
The single-action pull was a very consistent 3 lbs., 7 oz. The second stage is very apparent (I mean there’s a definite hesitation of the trigger blade at the start of stage two), and there’s just a hint of creep in the second stage.
So far, this ranks as a very interesting BB pistol. The test pistol fell short of the advertised velocity, but delivered a huge number of good shots from a cartridge. I think the way it turned out was better than if the velocity had been higher and the shot count less, because high-velocity in a BB gun is about the worst thing you can have. Given the tendency for BBs to rebound with great speed, you really don’t want them going too fast.
Accuracy testing is next.
Mayhem .45 Sport Tactical air pistol: Part 3
by B.B. Pelletier
The Mayhem .45 Sport Tactical air pistol is a big, heavy airgun.
Well, it all came down to accuracy, and the Mayhem .45 Sport Tactical air pistol has it in buckets. However — and it’s a big one — the trigger is so hard to pull and it’s also double-action only that it creates a problem shooting the gun accurately. If this had a single-action trigger, I bet I could shoot half-inch groups with it — especially at 15 feet. But I’m getting ahead of the story.
The first BBs I used were the RWS BBs that I’ve mentioned in the past. They seem to group just as tightly as Daisy’s zinc-plated BBs, and I wanted to give them a chance in this pistol.
I started the test at 15 feet, and the nature of my range dictates a one-hand hold at that distance. I didn’t expect very much until seeing the BBs all go to the point of aim. However, I wasn’t able to hold the gun still enough to pull the trigger, which requires over 12 lbs. of effort, and still keep the pistol steady.
At 15 feet, the pistol shoots to the point of aim, but the heavy trigger-pull caused it to move around more than a little. This 10-shot group measures 1.468 inches between centers.
Since it shot so straight at the close distance, I decided to back up to 25 feet and try it. Normally, I don’t shoot BB pistols that far back, but at that distance I could use a barricade rest and this pistol might surprise me.
Barricade rest
A barricade rest is a very steady hold for a handgun — especially an air pistol that doesn’t recoil. I grab onto the barricade, in this case a door jamb on my right side, with my left hand and rest my right (shooting) hand on top. Then, I lean into my hands to further steady myself. This eliminates the shakes and allows for a good arm’s-length sight picture.
The Mayhem trigger-pull is so heavy that, after the first group at 15 feet, I had to pull the trigger with my middle finger because my index finger was out of strength. The BBs also went slightly higher at 25 feet.
A fair group from 25 feet with a BB pistol. There are 9 shots in 2.192 inches.
After this group, I reloaded the magazine with Daisy zinc-plated BBs for another try. My trigger finger was giving out at this point, so this was the last group I would be able to shoot with any accuracy.
This time, I gave it my best for 10n shots. From where I stood, every shot looked like a perfect release; but when I walked to the target, I saw that the group was more spread out. Ten shots went into 1.873 inches.
The final group of Daisy BBs did best at 25 feet.
Summary
The Mayhem BB pistol has several things going for it. It gets an incredible number of shots per CO2 cartridge, yet the velocity remains high. The BB magazine is very easy to load and manage. Accuracy is also well ahead of many BB pistols.
On the down side, the sights aren’t adjustable. As we see from this test, it would have been nice if they were.
But the trigger is the biggest sticking point I had with this pistol. It’s double-action only, so there’s no possibility of relief from the excessive pull. I’m usually pretty neutral when it comes to triggers. I shoot so many airguns that I can adapt to just about anything. But this one is too much even for me. I know I could have shot better with a trigger-pull half as heavy or with a single-action pull.
Walther PPQ/P99 Q CO2 pistol: Part 3
by B.B. Pelletier
Walther PPQ/P99 CO2 pistol
We’re going to finish the Walther P99 Q air pistol today with accuracy tests of both pellets and BBs. Several readers suggested that the double-action only trigger-pull would lead to larger groups, and I have to admit I thought so, too. A DAO pistol can be made to be very accurate, but it entails gunsmithing of the trigger that costs many times the price of this pistol. As they come from the factory, there are but a few DAO pistols, whether they’re air-powered or firearms, that have what I would call decent triggers.
Trigger
The P99 Q trigger is one that “stacks” as it approaches the release. Much like a Colt revolver of the 1920s, the trigger-pull increases in weight dramatically just before the sear releases the hammer to fire the gun. Smith & Wesson found a way to overcome this and as a result they surpassed Colt as the world’s premier maker of revolvers before World War II. The stacking invariably causes the shooter to pull shots to the side opposite the shooting hand. A right-handed shooter will pull shots to the left while a lefty throws them to the right. This can be overcome with a lot of training, but it has to be practiced all the time, or you’ll revert to pulling your shots.
I’d earlier estimated the trigger-pull at 12 lbs.; but after firing about 100 careful shots, I have to say that it varies between 12 and 15 lbs. I had to use two fingers to keep from throwing my shots. That’s one finger on either hand, as shooting this gun was a two-handed proposition.
Lighting
Having learned some lessons when shooting the Bronco with open sights and reading glasses last week, I was able to shoot that same way for this test without any problems. Instead of using a 75-watt shop light, I illuminated the target with a 500-watt quartz lamp that defined the bull very well. The rear sight was also sharp against the bull, and I don’t think I gave away any accuracy.
Shooting position
I shot from a standing strong-side barricade position for the whole test. That means I used a support to steady my right hand while shooting. I was standing for all shots and the pellets were shot at 25 feet, while the BBs were shot at 20 feet.
The P99 Q isn’t a target pistol, and we shouldn’t think of it that way. It’s a plinker and an action air pistol with minute-of-pop-can accuracy at 20-25 feet. If I could show that to you here, I would. But for this blog paper targets still work best.
Accuracy
I first tried RWS Hobby pellets. They turned out to be a very good choice, but I had to shoot about five clips before I found the best way to shoot the gun, so the first targets of Hobbys only hinted at what they might do. Once I was using two hands with two fingers on the trigger, I was able to lob pellets into a fairly tight group that was only limited by the gun’s slow gas flow.
This is a good group horizontally, but variations in velocity made it string vertically. Shots were fired in intervals of five seconds or less. Group measures 1.801 inches between the widest centers.
When I waited a minute or more between shots, the CO2 gas had time to flow through the small pierced hole and into the valve, making velocity a more stable thing. These Hobbys went into a group measuring 1.191 inches between centers.
The next pellet I tried was the JSB Exact RS, a domed pellet weighing 7.3 grains. They shot tantalizing groups with but a few strays, and I thought I was onto something, but no matter what I did I couldn’t get all the pellets to go to the same place.
This is a perfect illustration of what the JSB Exact RS pellets were doing. Five went into a tight group, but three strayed out for no obvious reason. Group measures 2.43 inches between centers.
Again, the JSB Exact RS domes were tantalizing. The dark smudge on the target is a black bull drawn on the back for a different project. The felt-tipped pen seeped through the paper to make the smudge. One shot is in the darkest part of the smudge, and the hole at the lower right has two pellets. Group measures 2.055 inches between centers.
I did try other pellets like Gamo Match and JSB Exact 8.4-grain domes, but they were not as accurate as these two. Now it was time to switch to BBs.
Several readers correctly predicted that BBs would not be as accurate as pellets in the pistol, and with what we know about the situation, I’d have to agree. Not only are BBs round and made of steel so they cannot be spin-stabilized in flight, they’re also smaller than pellets and therefore do not fit the bore as well. There’s no way they’re going to be as accurate. As I mentioned in the beginning of this report, I moved up from 25 to 20 feet for BBs because I wanted to keep them all on the target paper.
The first to be fired were Crosman Copperhead BBs. They fit the BB clip (loading from the front, only!) very well and functioned perfectly.
Crosman Copperhead BBs made this 3.782-inch group at 20 feet. This was shot with the same two-hand hold described for the pellets, above.
Next, I tried some RWS Match Grade BBs that Pyramyd Air does not carry. They were a tighter fit in the clip and produced a smaller 8-shot group. Both BBs seemed to group to the same relative place as pellets, though with much larger distributions.
The RWS BB was more accurate, grouping eight in 2.996 inches at 20 feet.
Summary
Well, that’s it for the P99 Q. There were no malfunctions during the test once the pellet-seating tool was used. The gas flow problem I describe in this report is an issue if you want to fire the gun fast, which is what action pistols are designed for. Backing off on the piercing screw seemed to work when I let the gun rest for at least 10 seconds between shots, but shooting faster than that knocked the velocity down in a noticeable way.
This is a fine action pistol for the price. Considering that it accepts both BBs and pellets, it’s very accommodating. Buy it for fast plinking fun, and you’ll be getting a lot for your dollar. Just remember that it’s a double-action only pistol, so you’ll need a strong trigger finger.
The Umarex Steel Storm – Part 3
by B.B. Pelletier
Umarex Steel Storm.
Today, I’m testing the accuracy of the Umarex Steel Storm BB submachine gun. Of the three BB guns I’ve been testing…this, the HKMP5 K-PWD and the Umarex EBOS…only the Steel Storm lacks a shoulder stock. Shooting for accuracy means I have to hold the gun in two hands as far in front of my face as I can reach, to allow me to see the rear sight notch adequately. So, that was what I did, but this is not a natural way to hold a gun.
As I mentioned in an earlier report, submachine guns are not target guns in any sense of the word, and people usually walk their shots into the target while firing from the hip. With some subs like the H&K MP5 that isn’t as necessary as it is with guns like the Mac 10 and the M3 grease gun, but I find most people do it anyway because it’s fun. No doubt that will be how people shoot the Steel Storm most of the time, but I wanted to show the potential for accuracy in this report.
As with the other BB guns, I stood 15 feet from the target. Ten shots of each type of BB were fired at a 10-meter pistol target using a six o’clock hold. Unlike the HK-MP5, the Steel Storm did not always shoot to the point of aim. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
I also tested the gun on full-auto, which with the Steel Storm is a 6-shot burst, only. The guns shoots very fast in this mode; much faster than most firearm submachine guns. I found that actually helped with accuracy more than I would have imagined before testing it.
Daisy zinc-plated BBs
The first test was with Daisy zinc-plated BBs. I shot 10 rounds for accuracy using the semiautomatic mode, where there’s only one shot per pull of the trigger. They gave pretty satisfactory results.
Best group of the test was this one with 10 Daisy zinc-plated BBs. It was deliberate, aimed fire.
After semiauto, I moved the selector switch to rock and roll and shot three 6-round bursts at another target at the same 15-foot distance. It didn’t surprise me when the group opened up wide, because full-auto fire without a ground mount or pedestal mount of some sort is usually woefully inaccurate. I was wrong about the cause, but didn’t know it at the time.
Three bursts of six shots on full auto with Daisy zincs opened up to this big spread at the same 15 feet. I attributed the group to instability with full-auto fire, but was soon proven wrong.
Crosman Copperheads
After the Daisy BBs, I tried the same exercise with Crosman Copperhead BBs. They grouped just about the same as the Daisys, though just a trifle more open but without several groups of each BB it’s tough to say they’re not just as accurate. However, that wasn’t what surprised me.
This group of 10 is nearly as tight as the Daisy zincs. It would take several groups with both rounds to determine if there’s a clear advantage to either one.
On full-auto bursts, the Copperhead BBs stayed together much better than the Daisys. It wasn’t due to my technique or from gaining experience with the gun. These BBs just went where the gun was aimed! So, it isn’t the full-auto nature of the gun that’s opening the other groups. This gun just seems to like Crosman Copperhead BBs.
Three bursts of Crosman Copperhead BBs stayed together better than the same with Daisy BBs. This was not due to technique or learning. The gun just shot better with Copperheads in the full-auto mode.
Finally, I tried the Steel Storm with the RWS BBs that I’m evaluating. They’re very smooth, and I’ll be testing them with many BB guns to find out if they offer any clear advantages. With the Steel Storm, however, they don’t seem to. Not only was the semiauto group the largest of the three BBs tried, they also didn’t shoot to the same point of aim as the other two rounds.
RWS BBs
The point of impact shifted to the left, and the group size opened just a bit with RWS BBs in the semiautomatic mode. And, the first shot of the 10 missed the trap entirely at 15 feet.
The group is only a little larger than the other two, but the point of impact has shifted to the left.
When I went to full-auto, I aimed for the center of the black bull, just to keep all the impacts on the paper. The RWS BBs went everywhere! Obviously, these are not the best BBs for this particular Steel Storm.
Three bursts of RWS BBs on full-auto fire made this wide group.
Overall impressions
The Steel Storm has much to recommend it. It loads quickly and easily, it has plenty of power and the accuracy is pretty good for a gun without a shoulder stock. Shooters are going to love the high rate of fire in the full-auto burst mode. It’s the least expensive of the three BB submachine guns I’m testing, yet it offers a lot of nice features. One of the best features is the lack of fiddley loading and gas-charging procedures. I can see cutting soda cans in two with this all day long!
H&K MP5 K-PDW CO2-powered BB gun – Part 3
by B.B. Pelletier
Umarex HKMP5-K-PDW is a lightweight, handy BB-firing semiauto.
Today, I’ll begin the accuracy testing of all three of our BB submachine guns, beginning with the first one I tested, the HKMP5-K-PDW.
This gun is semiauto only, so there are only two settings on the selector switch — fire and safe. On fire, you get one shot per pull of the trigger, which is semiautomatic fire.
The trigger-pull is long and somewhat heavy but without any creep. You just feel the movement of the trigger blade until the gun fires. Creep is that nasty start-stop hesitation in a pull that messes with your concentration, and this gun has none of it.
You may remember that I commented on the rear sight being all wrong for this gun. For some reason, the maker put notches in the back instead of the MP5 apertures. You cannot see a notch when it’s so close to your eye, and I assume some of the openness of the groups I got is due to the imprecision of the sight picture. This would have been so easy to fix in the design stage, but now it’s a hindrance for accurate shooting. Not that most people will be using the sights, which are non-adjustable. Submachine guns are meant to be fired from the hip in close assaults. They’re not a precise weapon, although I do admit that the groups that use the MP5 firearm are being trained to use the sights with great effect. But they don’t use notches this close to their eyes!
I need to make one more observation before getting to accuracy. As I loaded a fresh CO2 cartridge into the gun, the tightening screw happened to stop just after the cartridge was punctured. I wasn’t ready for it, and I lost about a quarter of the gas charge while I repositioned my hand to tighten the screw further. This is the same complaint other owners have made, only they pierced the cartridge only to have it loosen during operation. For some reason, the face seal that contacts the small end of the CO2 cartridge on this gun is unlike all others that simply swell and seal the gun instantly when the cartridge is pierced. You can overcome this by learning to hold the winding screw in such a way that you can continue to tighten it all the time, but it is bothersome.
Accuracy
For this test, I shot 10s round offhand from 15 feet, which is close to the distance used in international BB gun competition (16.4 feet). As I mentioned, the rear sight notch was very hard to see, and I had to hold the stock funny so I could hold my head as far back on the comb as possible. Each shot was deliberate, and I took great pains to hold the sights at six o’clock on the bull.
Crosman Copperheads
The first BBs I tried were Crosman Copperheads. They shot exactly to the point of aim, more or less, which was gratifying. I kept the six o’clock hold only because it’s more precise than trying to guess where the center of a dark bullseye is.
Crosman Copperhead BBs shot to the point of aim at 15 feet, but the group was extended vertically. Party of this is due to the difficulty of seeing the rear notch that’s placed too close to the eye to resolve. Group measures right at two inches vertically but only one inch horizontally.
Daisy zinc-plated BBs
Next, I loaded 10 Daisy zinc-plated BBs into the stick magazine. You’ll recall that Daisy BBs are ever-so-slightly larger than Copperheads. They also shot to the aim point and gave me a group that was more rounded than the Copperheads. This group measures just larger than 1-3/8″ and is wider than it is tall. So, the vertical stringing is not due to the sights like I originally thought.
Daisy BBs gave the tightest group of this test. They also shot to the point of aim at 15 feet and did not string out nearly as vertical as Crosman Copperheads.
RWS BBs
As a surprise, I also shot a group with RWS BBs, which I told you appear to be made as uniform as ball bearings. I’m definitely going to give this BB a test for ultimate accuracy some day soon. However, in the HK MP5, they lagged behind the Daisys, due to a single flyer. I didn’t call that flyer, so we must assume the BB went where it did on its own. If we discount that single BB, the RWS BBs equalled the Daisys with a 1-3/8″ group, so I’m hopeful they’ll continue to make a good showing in future tests. Pyramyd Air doesn’t carry RWS BBs yet, but if I can give them a good reason with these tests, I know they’ll reconsider it.
A great target, if only that one shot up away from the main group can be discounted. Certainly, RWS BBs are going to get a lot more testing from me in the near future.
Overall impressions
If it had no competition, I think the HK MP5 would do very well. Its one big drawback is the lack of a full-auto burst-fire mode that the other two guns (the Steel Storm and the EBOS) have (three, if you count the Drozd). I like the trigger, and the power level is much greater than advertised. But the method of loading the CO2 cartridges requires too much work, and the sealing issue when piercing the cartridge that I mentioned in this report is bothersome. However, if you want a gun with just semiautomatic fire, this is the only BB submachine gun that has it.
