VarmintAir's Airgun Hunting Blog

AA 510 CRBSL - .22 Carbine - Turned The Power Down To 18 FPE - Shooting 14.5 Grain DYNAMIC Tin PCP-2's

AA 510 .22 cal Carbine.

If you follow the airgunning scene at all, you are probably aware of the race for ever more power.  Guns generating, 50, 60, 70, 80, 100, 200+ fpe, and more at the muzzle, are now readily available.  Big bore airguns in, 40, 45, and 50 caliber, have taken airgun power levels to amazing new heights.  Guys are hunting deer, bear, hogs, elk, and other large critters with airguns these days.  More, and more states are making hunting big game with big bore airguns legal.  

But, you know what, the thing that originally attracted me to airgunning, was the quiet, low power finesse, that I found challenging and exciting, when hunting with traditional small caliber airguns, and I'm starting to reconnect with what brought me to the party.

My first, really good quality adult airguns, were an FWB 300S, and an FWB 124D. Both were in .177 caliber.  They were doing about 7 fpe, and 12 fpe respectively, and I had a blast with those guns. A lot of vermin and small game have fallen to both of those rifles.

Somewhere along the way, I started to become a power junkie, and started chasing higher fpe guns.  Nothing wrong with that, they have their place, and I've had a blast acquiring, and hunting with the more powerful rifles, but last year, I got a reminder about the fun, that comes along with hunting guns that put out less than 25/30 fpe at the muzzle.

Long range prairie dog hunting requires some power to reach out in the wind, and bag those guys at 100+ yards.  Thirty to fifty fpe can be a good thing for that application. But, a lot of my ground squirrel, and tree squirrel hunting, is done in areas where a 70/80 yard shot is definitely the exception, and most shots are in the 40 to 65 yard range, and high power just isn't needed.

The thing that got me to thinking about all of this, was last spring and summer, when I did all of my ground squirrel hunting with my new Marauder PCP pistol/carbine.  

My Marauder pistol/carbine, with factory settings, was doing 13 fpe at the muzzle, shooting the 12.8 grain DYNAMIC Sn-2 tin pellets.  It pretty much killed every ground squirrel I got the crosshairs on, all the way out to just past 60 yards, and 99% of all shots were complete pass throughs. Obviously plenty of power.

There were a few areas though, that I hunted, where some of the shots were at 70/75 yards, and because of terrain, I couldn't close the range, and didn't want to chance a shot, at that range, with a 13 fpe gun, so it got me to thinking about having just a bit more power.  Not 30 or 40 fpe, more like 18 to 20 fpe.  Kind of splitting the difference.   

Rather than modify my Marauder pistol for more power, I decided to turn down the power on my PCP carbines.  I have two, an AA 410, and a new AA 510, both side levers.

I have already adjusted the power down on the AA 410, but I like to have a backup gun, as well as a loaner, so I decided to do the same to the AA 510 carbine, shooting the DYNAMIC PCP-2 tin pellets.

One of the things that I want to see in a shot string, from a non regulated gun, is a very low velocity difference in sequential shots.  In other words. I want shot two, to be very close in velocity to shot one, and shot three to be very close to shot two, etc.

The reason has to do with followup shots.  My first shot kill ratio is very high, but it isn't perfect, and when taking a shot, I'm very focused on the location of the crosshairs, and the result of the shot.    

If the critter drops as intended, all is good, but I if I miss, I want to know where the pellet went, how and why I missed, and what I need to correct on the followup shot, assuming that I get one, to make a second shot kill.

Some times I can actually see the pellet in flight, see exactly where it went, and why I missed.  Maybe high left, or low right etc.  Other times I can tell from the dust kicked up at pellet impact, where the pellet went compared to where I was holding.

I want to know that the next pellet up, is going to track down, as close as possible, the same trajectory path that the shot I missed with took.  That way, I know the correction I make in my hold is good, and the next pellet I fire, is going to track very close to the first shots, trajectory path, and not be high or low, because of a large velocity difference between the two shots. Low sequential shot to shot velocity variation, is key for accurate followup shot placement.

As you will see, the sequential shot to shot variation with this AA 510 carbine, is exceptional.  For the most part, very low single digits.

AA 510 side lever carbine, 30 shot string, with the power turned down to 18 fpe, shooting the DYNAMIC PCP-2 tin pellets, on a 3000 psi fill.

1 - 748 fps  11 - 747        21 - 736

2 - 748        12 - 746       22 - 736

3 - 750        13 - 745        23 - 739        

4 - 750        14 - 747        24 - 740

5 - 746        15 - 744        25 - 736

6 - 749        16 - 743        26 - 733

7 - 748        17 - 742        27 - 736 

8 - 746        18 - 740       28 - 731

9 - 749        19 - 738        29 - 733

10- 748       20 - 744       30 - 734

AVG. - 742 fps

ES - 19 fps

FPE - 18

I could flatten the string out a bit more, by using a 3050 psi fill, but I can more than live with the results this 3000 psi fill gives me.  Thirty shots with this kind of squential shot to shot consistency, is going to be awesome in the field.  I can hardly wait to get her out on a hunt.

Air Arms builds some fantastic PCP's, and the new AA 510 carbine is no exception.

 

 

 

Benjamin Marauder - .25 cal, and Air Arms AA 510 TC .22 - Two Rifles I've Set Up Specifically - For Hunting Prairie Dogs

Benjamin Marauder, .25 cal, with CenterPoint Power Class 4-16x56mm scope.

I just looked at the calendar, and realized, that it's only about four weeks until I'll be able to squeeze in a bit of prairie dog hunting before the season ends on March 31st.

Prairie dog season here runs from June 16th through March 31st of the following year, but they are in hibernation mode from around early November, until the third or fourth week of March.  Come the tail end of March, as they are emerging from hibernation, I'm always looking to get in a hunt or two before the season ends.  The dogs are just starting to come above ground, so there aren't usually a lot of them out yet, but it can be worth a day trip or two. 

I've set up two rifles specifically for hunting prairie dogs with.  I've learned, that in the windy dog towns around here, I have the best success with a heavy gun.  I do all of my shooting from the standing position, with the rifle rested on a telescoping Stoney Point bipod, and the wind will definitely blow a light rifle around, making it very difficult to hold steady on small targets at long range.

Can you say windy?  Typical wind in a local dog town. 

A heavy gun resting on the bipod, is easier to hold on target in the wind, than a lighter gun is.  I've learned this through many windy, and frustrating hunting experiences.

With my Marauder .25 cal, I've added a laminate stock that weighs about 8 ounces more than the factory stock does.  I've also selected a large scope, in the CenterPoint, Power Class 4-16x56mm variable.  This scope has a 30mm tube with large glass, and adds another 26 ounces to the overall weight.  With scope, scope rings, camera mount, and video camera, the total weight of this rig comes to just shy of 12 pounds.  Just what I'm looking for in a long range (by airgun standards) prairie dog rig.

The accuracy of this rifle is as good as it gets.  It's an 8 shot repeater, and I take a lot of prairie dogs all of the way out to 100+ yards with it.  This rig is more than capable of making head shots at that distance.

The targets below, show the final sight-in group, shot at 65 yards, 5 shots with Beeman 30.8 grain Kodiaks, easily covered with a dime.  This rifle also shoots the Benjamin 27.8 grain dome head pellets just as well.  

The power level of this rifle, when shooting the 27.8 grain Benjamin domes, is 44 fpe, and 46 fpe when shooting the 30.8 grain Beeman Kodiaks.  More than enough power to blow clear through prairie dogs at 100+ yards.

Marauder .25, 5 shots at 65 yards, shooting 30.8 grain Kodiaks.

Covered with a dime.

The .25 cal carries some serious energy down range, and this rig is absolute death on prairie dogs at long range.  

Air Arms 510 TC .22cal, with Nikko Stirling 4-16x50mm scope. 

The second rifle that I have set up, specifically for prairie dog hunting, is my AA 510 TC .22.  It's a 10 shot repeater.  This gun is a little different from most PCP's, in that it has twin air cylinders mounted side by side, like the barrels on a shotgun.  As shown below. 

The obvious advantage of that is, more air equals a much higher shot count.  In this rifle, I shoot the 18 grain JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy pellets, which generate 29.4 fpe at the muzzle.  For hunting purposes, this rig gives me 60 shots on one air fill, where my .25 Marauder gives me 16.

The reality though is, I rarely get enough shots in our local dog towns, on a morning hunt, to use even the 16 shots I have with the Marauder. The exception to that general rule is, from about mid June, to early July, when the years new crop of pasture poodles come above ground.

They are young and dumb, and haven't quite figured out, that coyotes, badgers, hawks, and a dude with an airgun, can be hazardous to their health.  During that time period, the shooting can pick up substantially.

Again, for long range shooting in these dog towns, I need guns that are accurate in the extreme.  The AA 510 TC more than qualifies in that respect.  The below targets show the final sight in target shot at 50 yards.

The three pellet holes in the bullseye, were made during scope adjustments, with the final shot of the three, taking out the small orange dot in the middle of the 10 ring. That group near the eye, is the final five shots, that essentially went through the same exact hole easily covered with an Advil tablet. I would call this rifle a tack driver, but it's way better than that.

The rifle, with Nikko Stirling, 4-16x50mm scope, with 30mm tube and big glass, scope mounts, camera mount, and camera, weighs just a tad over 11 pounds.  Again, this beauty also holds nice and steady in a windy dog town.  

AA 510 TC .22, 5 shots at 50 yards, with 18 grain JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy's. 

Covered with an Advil tablet. 

Next up, I'm going to clean their barrels, clean the lenses on a my binos, and range finder, make sure the scope lenses are clean, check my day bag for appropriate magazines and ammo, and we're ready to kick off the 2012 prairie dog games.

If you would like to see some video clips of these two rifles in action, go to the side bar on the left of this page, scroll down to the "Hunting Video Library" category, click on that, and then scroll through the videos, clicking on the ones you want to view. They start, with some AA 510 TC hunting videos, with a lot of .25 cal Marauder clips in there as well.  

   

 

AA 510 CRBSL - .22 Carbine - Has Adjustable Power - What Exactly Does That Mean?

Power control knob on right side of receiver.

One of the features on the Air Arms 410, and 510 models of PCP's, that until recently, I have never used, or given much thought to, is the adjustable power capability.

Because most of the shooting that I do is considered "long range" as far as air gun ranges are concerned, I normally run my guns wide open for max power.  

However, I now have a hunting situation where I don't need or want max power, so I decided to use the power control on my AA 510 side lever carbine, and turn the power down to around 18 to 20 fpe.

Since I would need to use my chronograph to accomplish this, I figured what the heck, lets take some time and see just what "adjustable power" really means, and find out the range of power the controller would let me choose.

Some other PCP's have adjustable power also.  Some have the power control located where you need to remove the gun from the stock to reach the control, and others have the control located on the receiver, where it is readily available.

The AA 410, and 510 series of PCP's, have the power control located on the right side of the receiver, as seen in the picture above.

As seen in the picture below, on the opposite side of the receiver, there is a power scale with five index marks, with + (plus) on the right, and - (minus) on the left, and three in-between.  On the end of the power control shaft, is a groove, that's used as a pointer (looks like a screwdriver slot) that shows where the power is currently set at.

It would be nice if there were a detent, click stop, at each of the index marks, but there aren't.  The only two settings that are easily repeatable, are + High power, or - Low power.  There are stops at both of those settings, everything in-between, is continuously variable.

I decided to shoot a string at each index mark, and see what the power and shot count would be at each of those settings.  My pellet of choice is the 16 grain JSB Exact Jumbo.  Starting with + HIGH, and working down to - LOW, here are the results of those tests.  I could probably drop the ES a bit by playing with the fill pressure some, but for this test it's close enough for govmint work.

HIGH                  MED HIGH          MEDIUM          MEDIUM LOW               

3000 psi fill       3000 psi fill         3000 psi fill      3000 psi fill                

Avg - 922 fps      Avg - 874              Avg - 712            Avg - 573

ES - 33 fps          ES - 33 fps            ES - 33                ES - 36

Shots - 20           Shots - 25             Shots - 30           Shots - 40

Fpe - 30              Fpe - 27                 Fpe - 18              Fpe - 12

 

LOW

3000 psi fill

Avg - 481

ES - 18

Shots - 50

Fpe - 8

That's a pretty wide range of power.  On the Low setting, 8 fpe isn't a whole lot more than my FWB 300S, and the shot count would keep you going for a while.  

Medium low, at 12 fpe, isn't much less than my 20 cal R9, and Medium power, at 18 fpe, is about the same as my .20 cal Theoben Crusader generated when I still owned it.

Medium high, at 27 fpe, is the same as my AA 410SL carbine generates at high power, and High, at 30 fpe is the same as many of my other full size PCP's generate at full power.  

Change the pellet weight, and all of these numbers would obviously change, but this gives a good reading on just what "adjustable power" means, when talking about an AA 510 carbine.

I sure wish the in-between settings had click stops.  Oh well.

After the above tests, I set the gun up for 18 fpe, shooting the 14.5 grain DYNAMIC PCP-2's, and using the set screw located under the power control knob, locked the control in place, so I don't accidentally move it while hunting.

All in all, I'm very pleased with the performance of this carbine so far, and now I know what the different power settings really bring to the party.

Picture of set screw location, with allen wrench inserted, used for locking down the power control knob.

AA 510 CRBSL - .22 Carbine - Added To The Airsenal

I really, really like the Air Arms PCP air rifles.  I have the AA 410ERBSL .22 rifle, the AA 410CRBSL .22 carbine, the AA 510 TC .22 rifle, and have just recently added the new AA 510CRBSL .22 carbine to the collection.

I recently made arrangements with Steve, over at Pomona Airguns, to get rid of the last remaining under lever, and break barrel springers in my collection.  I've gone PCP 24/7. For what I do, a PCP is just a much better tool.

My rule of thumb is, monies generated from the sale of airguns, gets reinvested in airguns or airgun stuff.  The springer dollars went toward picking up the new AA 510 carbine from Steve at PAG.

I'm curious to see how she compares to my AA 410 carbine.  The first difference, that is immediately noticeable, is the longer air tube.  The AA 410 carbine's air tube holds 180cc of air, while the new AA 510 carbine's air tube holds 242cc of air.

Below:  The AA 410 carbine, with short air tube on top.  The AA 510 carbine, with longer air tube on the bottom.

Another difference, is the way the power control operates.  On the AA 410, to increase power, you turn the knob to the right, much like increasing the volume on a radio by turning the volume control knob to the right.

On the AA 510, it is just the opposite.  No big deal, but if you own both 410's and 510's, it's something to be aware of.

The first thing I did, was to swap stocks between the two carbines.  My 410 has a thumbhole stock on it, and I really prefer that stock when hunting.  The new 510 came with an ambidextrous stock that is fine, but I much prefer the thumbhole for field use.

Speaking of the stocks, the ambi stock has a LOP of 14 inches, and the thumbhole stock is a half inch longer at 14.5 inches.  The thumbhole stock has an adjustable butt pad, where as the ambi stock's butt pad is fixed.

As usual, the fit and finish of the AA 510 carbine are excellent.  Air Arms puts out a really nice, high quality product.  I've been happy enough with their guns, that I now own four of them. 

Next up, I'll get the chronograph set up, and see how she does, power and shot count wise, compared to my AA 410 carbine.

I've been a bit under the weather lately, so it's nice to get a new toy to spend some time with.

More to come.