VarmintAir's Airgun Hunting Blog

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.  

   

 

Six Hunting Rifles In My Collection - That Are At the Top Of the Accuracy Pyramid.

FWB 300S sporter .177

Over the fifty plus years that I have been hunting, and shooting, both powder burners and airguns, there have been some rifles that have stood well above their peers in the accuracy department.  This FWB 300S is one of them.  I call it my 300S sporter.  It doesn't have the barrel sleeve, so that helps to keep the weight down, and the stock is some kind of hardwood that has been stained a dark brown.  I bought the rifle new, from Beeman, back in the early seventies, but there are no Beeman markings on the gun anywhere.  Interesting.

Accuracy wise, the gun is exceptional.  I use it to take ground squirrels, with head shots, out to 45 yards. This rifle will shoot either the 7.9 grain JSB Exact Express, or the 8.4 grain JSB Exact pellets really well, with a slight edge going to the 8.4 grain Exact .  The rifle generates just under 7 fpe at the muzzle.

With the race for more and more power in todays airguns, some folks miss out on just how effective, and efficient a gun like the FWB 300S can be, as a tool for controlling certain types of small vermin, such as ground squirrels.  

I've killed literally thousands, and thousands, of California Ground Squirrels with it over the years.  It's a keeper for sure.

FWB 300S Tyrolean .177

Another exceptional shooter is my FWB 300S Tyrolean.  It's basically the same gun as my 300S sporter, just sitting in a Tyrolean style walnut stock.  This rifle has the barrel weight/sleeve on it, and that adds some weight.  Especially out front.  Again, this rifle is death on ground squirrels out to 45 yards.  

The pellet of choice here is the 8.4 grain JSB Exact.  For some reason, the JSB Exact Express do not do well in this rifle.  It's a bit on the heavy side, but I really enjoy getting her out for a ground squirrel, or chipmunk hunt a couple of times a year.

FX/RWS/Rapier .22

The folks at FX Airguns in Sweden, make some exceptional air rifles. Somewhere along the way, they private labeled their Timber Wolf model as the Rapier, for RWS to market under their brand name.  The one that I own is one of the most accurate airguns in my collection.  In good conditions, it will literally put 18 grain JSB's through the same hole at 50 yards.  The sporter type turkish walnut stock, just adds to the classiness of this very accurate rifle.    

Instead of a magazine, this rifle has a two shot shuttle.  It works great, and I use it to hunt both ground squirrels in California, as well as tree squirrels and prairie dogs here in Arizona.

FX/RWS/Rapier .22 

FX 2000 .22, in factory walnut stock.

My FX 2000 was the first FX built gun that I purchased.  I acquired it used, and the fellow I got it from told me it was exceptionally accurate, and he wasn't wrong.  Like the RWS Rapier, this rifle will also stack 18 grain JSB's at 50 yards.

I used this rifle while filming the first half of my DVD, "Airgun Hunting the California Ground Squirrel."  The performance with both 15.9 grain JSB's, and 14.5 grain DYNAMIC tin pellets, has been exceptional.  This is the rifle that truly got me hooked on PCP's, pretty much for ever.

No recoil, superb accuracy, that easily surpasses many of my high dollar .22 rimfires, with power to cleanly take ground squirrels, and prairie dogs out to 100+ yards.  How can you not get hooked on that kind of performance.

FX 2000 .22, in custom Blackwidow laminate stock.

I have a Benjamin Marauder in .22, that I have been very, very, happy with, so when I heard that Crosman was going to bring the Marauder out in .25, I knew that I would have to add one to the collection, and I haven't been disappointed.  

My .22 Marauder is very accurate.  It hangs right with my AA 410 ERBSL, FX Whisper, and Logun MK II in that department.

My .25 Marauder however, is in that group I mentioned in the title of this story.  She is definitely at the top of the accuracy pyramid.

While pellet testing, I was blown away by the accuracy of this particular rifle.  The first year I hunted with her, I had her shooting the Beeman 31 grain Kodiaks.  I remember, that on my final sight-in target, she stacked five Kodiaks into a group at 65 yards, that I could easily cover with a dime.  I then went on to kill prairie dogs with her, out past 100 yards. Incredible accuracy and power, from a PCP that didn't cost a grand or two. This rifle is a keeper, and will remain in my collection for many years to come.   

Marauder .25, in custom laminate stock.

Last, but not least, in my collection of super accurate rifles, is the latest addition, my .22 caliber AA 510 TC.  I just added this rifle this past Spring.  

The design of this gun kind of intrigued me.  Instead of the usual big honkin bottle screwed into the end of the receiver, to increase shot count, the folks at AA went with twin cylinders mounted side by side. Much like with a side by side shotgun.

Having hunted quail with side by side 20's, and 12's, for many decades, I was curious about how this rifle would feel in my hands.   I love it.  It is a little bit muzzle heavy, and I like that in a long range varmint rifle.  I shoot from a Stoney Point telescoping bipod, and this rig sits very nicely on the bipod's yoke, and really helps when going for those long range shots in the wind.  

If you've followed any of my prairie dog hunt stories with this rifle, and watched any of the videos, then you've seen me take a bunch of dogs all of the way out to just shy of 100 yards with it.

The accuracy is definitely at the top of the accuracy pyramid in my collection.  Her pellet of choice is the 18 grain JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy.   

AA 510 TC .22

A lot of various guns have passed through my hands over the past five plus decades, but with very few exceptions, the ones that were exceptional, accuracy wise, are still in my collection. The vast majority of guns are accurate, but once in awhile, one comes along that is exceptionally so, and those are the ones that I really cherish, and they find a permanent home in my collection.

At the present time, these six rifles are the cream of the crop among the guns in my airsenal, and none of them are going anywhere, well............... except varmint and small game hunting.  

AA 510 TC - Does Two On The Town! - Part 3.

Been on the road for the past week, and just got back.  I wanted to get the third part of my prairie dog hunt with my new AA 510 TC finished and posted.

When this rifle was assembled at the factory, the planets must have been aligned just right, and the crew on the assembly line must have had an awesome weekend, and were in very high spirits, because this rifle went together perfectly.  Maybe the barrel came from a batch, that was just made with nice new fresh tooling, I don't really know, but the gun is extremely, extremely, accurate with the 18 grain JSB's.

I've got the trigger adjusted to 1.5 pounds, and it breaks nice and clean.  I don't like really light triggers on my field hunting guns.  The 1 to 2 pound range works just great for what I like to do.

When I doped the wind correctly, shots to 100 yards were almost to easy.  I spent three days hunting in the dog towns, with this huge, happy grin on my face.  A rifle this accurate will do that to you.

The following, are the last of the video clips from that hunt.  They may take 20/30 seconds to load, and run just about 5 minutes. 

 

Air Arms have really outdone themselves with this rifle.  I don't know if they all shoot like this one, but this particular rifle, accuracy wise, is definitely in the top 1 percent of the guns in my collection. 

I'm heading out later this week for a hunt with my .25 cal Marauder, which by the way, is right up there with this AA 510 TC in the accuracy department.  Stay tuned for another demonstration of the knockdown power of the .25 cal Marauder.

AA 510 TC - Does Two On The Town! - Part 2.

Every once in awhile, an exceptionally accurate gun comes along.  When I ordered my AA 510 TC .22 caliber rifle, I knew I would get an accurate rifle.  The other Air Arms guns I own are all accurate.  What I didn't know, was that I would get one that has turned out to be exceptional in the accuracy department.  As in ridiculously accurate.

Hunting prairie dogs in my corner of the world typically involves a lot of medium range, say 50 to 80 yards, and long range, say 80 out to 100 plus yards, shooting.  Not all guns are really capable of the pin point accuracy that is required to consistently take small critters, like prairie dogs, at 80 to 100 yards.

I'm very fortunate to now own four rifles, that have that extreme level of accuracy, and are my dedicated prairie dog hunting guns.

My Fx 2000 .22, RWS Rapier .22, Marauder .25, and now this new AA 510 TC in .22. All of those guns, with their prefered pellets, shoot well under half inch, five shot groups at 50 yards, in no wind, .

The most recent addition to that rather exclusive club, is the AA 510 TC. Last week, I had her out for a three day prairie dog hunt.  My last blog story was about hunting prairie dogs with her for the first time.  This story is part 2, showing how that hunt went, and the continued amazing performance of this new rifle.

As usual, the wind was not my friend in the dog towns, but I learned decades ago, to either learn to shoot in the wind, or go home.  Needless to say, I learned to shoot in the wind.

I like a heavy rifle in the dog towns.  I want some weight to help me hold on the dogs in the wind.  I've tried it, and a light rifle doesn't work for me in a windy prairie dog town.  It gets blown around too much, and makes it much more difficult to hold on a small target at long range.

The way I have this AA 510 TC set up, she weighs 10.25 pounds, with camera and mount.  The performance on prairie dogs, in the wind, has been exceptional. Everything I expected, and then some.

Below are some more video clips from last weeks hunt.  They may take 20/30 seconds to load, and run about 4 minutes and 45 seconds.  Sorry about all of the wind noise in the background, but that's just part of a prairie dog hunt.

  

Too much fun, if that's even possible.  When I first saw the AA 510 TC, I wasn't to sure about it.  Just from the unorthodox approach to the design that Air Arms took, but after getting one, and seeing the exceptional accuracy of this particular rifle, and then having a chance to use it in the field, WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE?  LOL! 

 

AA 510 TC - Does Two On The Town!

Last week, I finally had a chance to get my new AA 510 TC .22 cal rifle out for a prairie dog hunt.  Because of the two air cylinders, a buddy suggested that I should title this blog story, "AA 510 TC Does Two On The Town."  Meaning of course, the two air cylinders, and one prairie dog town.  I liked the Idea, thus the title of this story.

Just a quick refresher on how this gun shot on paper.  At 20 yards indoors, she was putting 18 grain JSB's through the same hole.

Five 18 grain JSB's in one hole at 20 yards indoors.

At 50 yards, out of doors, in zero wind, she was doing almost the identical thing.  I knew right then that this was going to be a really good long range shooter.

Five 18 grain JSB's in one hole at 50 yards, out of doors.

On day one of the hunt, I was in the dog town, geared up, and ready to hunt by about 6:45 AM.  It gets hot out there, and is usually in the low 90's by 10:30 or 11:00.  I don't handle the heat as well as I did when I was a lot younger, so I'm usually through hunting by 10:00, and on my way to a late breakfast by about 10:30.

The prairie dogs we have here in Arizona are the Gunnison's type, and they aren't as prolific as the Black Tail variety found in the Great Plains States.  I can't just set up in one place and shoot for several hours.  I have to get out on foot, and dig these guys out.  The terrain is rolling, arid, high desert.  The dogs danger zone is about 50 to 60 yards, so you need to be prepared for a lot of head shots at those distances.  As the ranges get longer, you will see more of the dog exposed.

The wind was blowing 5 to 6 miles per hour, almost from the get go, and picked up as the morning wore on.  

At the present time, I have a Nikko Sterling, 4-16x50mm scope mounted on the AA 510 TC.  At the higher power of 16x, I'm not real impressed with the image quality, but since I run my scopes at 8x, and the image quality is very useable at that setting, I find the scope adequate for what I'm using it for.  On the plus side, and something I really like, is the fact that the crosshairs are real fine, and the mildots are small. Nothing is more annoying in a scope, used for long range shooting of small critters, than crosshairs and mildots, that are so thick, they cover up the whole target.  I make small adjustments in my hold for shots at long range, and I need the fine crosshairs and small mildots to do that effectively.

The ranch I have permission to hunt on, is shot over by the ranch owner's son and his friends, shooting powder burners.  I learned early on, to get a good 300 yards into the town, and away from the road, before starting to hunt.  The kids drive the roads shooting along them, and the dogs, out to 300 yards or so, get educated real fast to the fact that an approaching vehicle can be bad news.

Once I'm away from the road a good 300 yards, I'll start to glass the area looking for prairie dog heads looking at me from behind the sage, or just sticking up from the prairie floor.  It didn't take long before I was spotting prairie dogs sitting on mounds, in the sage, and a few heads poking up out of the prairie floor.

The AA 510 TC .22 performed exactly as I expected.  Extremely accurate, and putting pellets right on target when asked to.  Hunting with a rifle this accurate is almost a religious experience.  Calling the shots in my head, and sometimes out loud, and then watching as the pellets go right where expected.  Man, that is just plain exhilarating, and never gets old.

I am really, really, pleased with the performance of my AA 510 TC on her first prairie dog hunt.  At the longer ranges, the excellent accuracy, really payed off in spades .

As a side note.  The cottontail rabbit population seems to be on the up swing.  The high desert versions of the little things, were running everywhere.

Below are some video clips I shot during the hunt.  They may take 20/30 seconds to load, and run about 3 minutes and 45 seconds.  Sorry about the wind noise in the background, but it just comes with the territory in the dog towns.

 

Those are just some of the clips I shot, as I have time, I'll get some more of them posted.

Hunting prairie dogs with airguns, is my second favorite kind of hunting, right behind hunting California Ground Squirrels with airguns, and then, only because the scenery in squirrel country is a lot nicer to look at, compared to this high desert terrain, but in the end, it's all good. 

  

 

 

 

AA 510 TC - Twin Air Cylinder .22 PCP - She's A Shooter Alright!

I finally had a chance to shoot my AA 510 TC, .22 rifle, using the 18 grain JSB's, on paper at 50 yards.  All I can say is WOW!!  Not really surprised though.   My experience with my AA 410 ERBSL .22 rifle, shooting the same 18 grain JSB Jumbo Heavy pellets was very similar.

The below target was shot a couple of years ago, during sight-in, with my AA 410 ERBSL .22 rifle. Five 18 grain JSB's in the 10 ring at 30 yards, and five in the head at 50 yards.

The 18 grain JSB's, and Air Arms PCP's just seem to be made for each other.  The accuracy in my guns, with that pellet, is truly exceptional.  

Wind wise, the mornings have been very calm, and I wanted to take advantage of that if I could.  I was out and set up to shoot by 6 AM. There was zero wind, none, zip, nada. Not so much as a whisper.  One of those rare mornings, when it was absolutely dead calm.  Exactly what I was hoping for.

No time to dawdle though, because I knew it wouldn't last.  As soon as the sun starts heating the ground, the updrafts start and the wind picks up.

I had my portable shooting stand set up, and portable target frame out in record time.  I was putting pressure on myself to hurry up and get things set up, because I knew the calm conditions can change in a heartbeat.  

I was shooting off of my Caldwell Shooter's Bag up front, and a Protektor heavy bottom Rabbit Ear bag on the rear.  I have found that combination to be very stable to shoot groups from.

Five 18 grain JSB Jumbo Heavy's shot at 20 yards indoors from AA 510 TC.

I had initially shot the gun at 20 yards indoors, and it was literally stacking the 18 grain JSB's one on top of the other.  Based on previous experiences with other guns, with that type of accuracy, I knew she would be a shooter at 50 yards out of doors, and she didn't let me down.

Unmolested Prairie Chuck target showing 1/4 inch orange dot.

Before starting to shoot, I filled the gun to 3000 psi.  While doing the initial chrony work with the AA 510 TC, I determined that 3000 psi was the best fill pressure to use with the 18 grain JSB pellet.

Sight-in target shot at 50 yards with my new AA 510 TC, .22 rifle. Five 18 grain JSB Heavy's, in the head of a Shoot-N-C Prairie Chuck target.

I settled the rifle in the rests, and fired the first shot.  I was holding center on the orange dot.  The pellet landed a bit high right, at 2 o'clock in the 9 ring. (see target above)  I made a small windage and elevation correction, to move the POI down and left, and fired the second shot.  It landed a bit lower and left of the first shot, at 2 o'clock in the 10 ring. One more minor scope adjustment, and I sent shot number three down range.  It took out the 1/4 inch orange dot in the middle of the 10 ring. WOW!  I love shooting an exceptionally accurate gun when there is zero wind. Technically, the pellet landed slightly left of center in the 1/4 inch orange dot, lol, but close enough for gov't work.

Okay, time to get serious about sighting this thing in at 50 yards.  I moved up to the eye on the prairie chuck target, and fired a five shot group.  My hold was at 6 o'clock on the Prairie Chuck target's eye.  The pellets simply followed each other through the same tiny bug hole. I covered the group with an ADVIL tablet.  Ladies and gentlemen, I do believe we have a winner in the AA 510 TC .22.  I added one click of right windage, and locked down the windage and elevation knobs.  

In my experience, the Air Arms PCP rifles are always accurate, but this one is proving to be exceptionally so.

Time to hunt!  I'll have this rig out in the local prairie dog towns next week.  More to follow. 

   

 

   

 

 

My Air Arms Trifecta - AA 410 ERBSL Rifle - AA 410 CRBSL Carbine - AA 510 TC Rifle

Normally, "trifecta" is a betting term, usually used in greyhound and horse racing, meaning that you picked the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners in a race, and they finished in the exact order in which you picked them.  In this case, I'm using the term to mean three absolutely first rate PCP air rifles.

The trifecta left to right ... AA 410 ERBSL .22 rifle ... AA 410 CRBSL .22 carbine ... and the AA 510 TC .22 ... twin air cylinder rifle.

Part one of the "trifecta"... My AA 410 ERBSL .22 rifle.

I purchased my AA 410 ERBSL rifle several years ago, right after the folks at Air Arms in England first introduced their new side lever action PCP's. Since I primarily hunt, and the distances to the hunted critters can sometimes get out there a ways, in very windy conditions, and I want the added energy and larger caliber wound channel carried downrange, I chose one in .22 cal.  The rifle originally came to me with the sporter stock on it.  I later acquired an AA 410 CRBSL carbine, with a thumbhole stock on it, and I now just swap the thumbhole stock between guns, as the mood strikes.

At the time I acquired the AA 410 ERBSL rifle, I was still working on my DVD, "Airgun Hunting the California Ground Squirrel", and was shooting the DYNAMIC PCP-2 tin alloy pellets out of her.  The performance with the tin pellets in this rifle is excellent, and she accounted for a lot of ground squirrels.

Shooting the tin pellets, she would typically give me 30 shots at 950 fps avg., for 29 fpe at the muzzle.  That is more than enough power to take ground squirrels out to 100+ yards.

It is most definitely a full sized adult PCP air rifle.  With the 30mm tube, MTC Viper 4-16x50mm scope, that I have mounted on her, she weighs right at 9.5 pounds.  I like a heavy rifle for some of my hunting situations, but not all.  The search for a lighter rig for tree squirrel hunting, led to my acquiring the second gun in my Air Arms "trifecta". The AA 410 CRBSL carbine version of the AA 410 series of rifles.

A group of ground squirrels taken with my AA 410 ERBSL .22, shooting PCP-2 tin pellets.

Part two of the "trifecta"... My AA 410 CRBSL .22 carbine.

When we moved to Northern Arizona, the challenge of hunting tree squirrels suddenly opened up for me.  The Ponderosa Pine forests, that cover the high mountains here in Northern Arizona, are inhabited by the Abert's Tassel Eared tree squirrels.  

These guys are large, well dispersed, and very challenging to hunt.  I knew I would be hunting them at elevations from about 7000 feet, to around 9000 feet.  Humping a heavy rifle, that I prefer for hunting prairie dogs on the relatively flat, windy, and lower elevation terrain that they are found in, at higher elevations for tree squirrels, isn't my idea of a fun hunt.

I really liked my AA 410 rifle, so I started thinking about the carbine version.  It wasn't long before I had an opportunity to pick up a used, but in like new condition, AA 410 CRBSL carbine, with thumbhole stock.  I really like thumbhole stocks for hunting with, so this was a real bonus.

After doing some pellet testing, I settled on the 15.9/16 grain JSB Jumbo pellet for use in this rifle.  The accuracy with the JSB's is superb, and the muzzle energy is 27 fpe, for 20 shots.  With the Bushnell Legend 5-15x40mm scope I mounted on her, the carbine comes in right at 7.5 pounds.  Two pounds less than my AA 410 rifle.  When hunting in the thin air found at higher elevations, carrying two pounds less, is huge.

This rig has become one of my favorite tree squirrel rifles.  I used her to hunt prairie dogs with only one time.  I had some success, but it was very challenging staying on target.  It's nice to carry a light rifle in a prairie dog town, but realistically, it's not the best choice.  It's always windy in the dog towns, and a light rifle makes it more difficult to hold on small targets in the wind.  You need some weight in the rifle, to give some ballast, and help with holding on target in those constantly blowing conditions.

The AA 410 CRBSL carbine has turned out to be just about perfect for the use I bought her for, and I'm glad I picked it up when I had the chance.

Abert's Tree Squirrels taken with my AA 410CRBSL carbine, shooting 15.9/16 grain JSB pellets.

Part three of the "trifecta"... My new AA 510 TC .22 rifle.

When I first saw the picture of this rifle, when it was introduced at this years SHOT Show, I thought, "hmm, not really too sure about this one." Then I started to hear a bit more about it, and it soon started to grow on me.  I decided, what the heck, let's add one to the airsenal.

Initial impressions have been very favorable.  Because of the high fire danger in the National Forest around me, it's closed to any and all shooting, so I haven't had a chance to shoot her on paper at 50 yards yet. At 20 yards indoors, she's stacking 18 grain JSB's one on top of the other.  I expect she'll be a shooter, out of doors, at longer ranges as well.

The way I have her adjusted at the moment, I'll run six mags, (60 shots) through her on a hunt.  She's launching the 18 grain JSB's at an average of 856 fps, for 29.4 fpe at the muzzle.  More than enough power to take prairie dogs out to 100 yards.

Air Arms makes some nice rifles, and I'm happy to have these three in my collection.

In summary, my AA 410 CRBSL .22 carbine gives me 20 shots at 27 fpe, my AA 410ERBSL .22 rifle gives me 30 shots at 29/30 fpe, and my AA 510 TC .22 rifle gives me 60 shots at a little over 29 fpe.  

No field experience with the AA 510 TC yet, but that will change here in a couple of weeks, when I get her out for a three day prairie dog hunt.

All in all, I'm very pleased with my "trifecta" of Air Arms PCP's.  The side lever actions are very smooth, the accuracy is top notch, and they are a ton of fun to own and shoot.

The other side.

Shooting - The AA 510 TC .22 - Over The Chronograph

To me, this part of testing any new gun is always very interesting.  I learned a couple of things about this new rifle, that are entirely different from my AA 410 ERBSL rifle, and CRBSL carbine.

First off, the power control adjustment works just the opposite from the other two rifles.  On the AA 410's, turning the knob clockwise, increases the power, which is sort of intuitive, and turning it counterclockwise decreases the power.  On the AA 510 TC, it's the exact opposite.

I thought I had the power knob turned wide open, and was about to lock it down, when I happened to glance at the power setting marks, and noticed that the index mark was showing that I had the power turned all of the way down.  Imagine my surprise, if I had fired the first shot over the chrono with the power turned all of the way down, while thinking that I had the power turned all of the way up.  WTH??  LOL. Fortunately, I noticed the difference before I had one of those, "say what?" moments.

The other difference that became immediately apparent was, unlike with my 410 ERBSL, and CRBSL rifles, locking the power knob wide open isn't the way to go with the 510 TC.

On my AA410's, doing that was perfect, the shot counts were well within spec, and the velocities were where I expected them to be.  With the AA 510 adjusted that way, the first 18 grain JSB showed a velocity of 980 fps.  That was smokin' hot.  I fired a couple more, and the last one was at 988 fps.  That was, way, faster than what I was looking for, and I figured it was time to do some experimenting with the power adjuster.

The two most accurate .22 cal rifles I own are my FX 2000, and RWS Rapier.  Both guns love 18 grain JSB's, and the accuracy is mind boggling when they are pushed along in the mid 850's range.  That was my goal for my new AA 510 TC.

After some trial and error, I finally got her adjusted for an average velocity, with the 18 grainers, of 856 fps, over 53 shots, with an extreme spread of 25 fps, for 29.4 fpe at the muzzle.  Just what I was looking for.

I'll post the shot string here in a second, but the thing that has really impressed me is, the very low sequential shot to shot consistency of this rig.  For the most part, across the entire shot string, the variation from shot to shot is less than 5 or 6 fps, and most of the time, just two or three feet per second.  That's very important to me.

A rifle that has a small shot to shot variation, shooting a very accurate pellet, with a decent BC, makes for an excellent long range shooting combination.  Since a lot of my shooting is at extended ranges, I get very excited about a gun that has very low sequential shot to shot consistency.  As you'll see from the shot string, this rifle is exceptional in that department.

After some experimentation, it was determined that the best fill pressure for this pellet was 3000 psi.

AA 510 TC...53 shot string...3000 psi fill...18 grain JSB's.  Velocities listed in feet per second.

1 - 840     10 - 853    19 - 860     28 - 864      37 - 858      46 - 852

2 - 845     11 - 852     20 - 865     29 - 865      38 - 860     47 - 849

3 - 843     12 - 858    21 - 861     30 - 862       39 - 857      48 - 847 

4 - 847     13 - 855     22 - 862     31 - 864      40 - 857      49 - 845 

5 - 849     14 - 855     23 - 861      32 - 859      41 - 858      50 - 845 

6 - 853     15 - 856     24 - 861      33 - 860      42 - 854     51 - 841

7 - 853     16 - 857     25 - 863      34 - 862      43 - 849     52 - 840

8 - 854     17 - 862    26 - 862      35 - 861       44 - 850     53 - 841  

9 - 851      18 - 862    27 - 864      36 - 860      45 - 851

AVG - 856 fps 

ES - 25 fps

At shot 54 the velocity dropped to 835, and shot 55 dropped to 831.  In an actual hunting situation, I will run six mags through her, keeping the last six or seven shots under 65 yards or so.

So far, I'm very pleased with what I'm seeing from this rifle.  Next, is to shoot her on paper at 50 yards and beyond.  Sight her in at 65 yards, and get after the prairie dogs. Stay tuned, more to follow.

   

 

AA 510 TC ERBSL .22 - Is Going To Be A Shooter

I couldn't stand it anymore.  I haven't had a chance to shoot her over the chrony yet, but what the hey.  I felt this need to put a few pellets down the barrel, so I set up my portable shooting stand, with front and rear bags, and shot a couple of groups indoors at 20 yards.  I cleaned the barrel, then filled her to 2900 psi, fired a few shots to get the scope adjusted close to my aim point, and shot one each, five shot group with 18 grain JSB's, and 21 grain Kodiaks.  I made a small scope correction after shooting the Kodiaks.  My hold was 6 o'clock on the black dots.

I tried some of the DYNAMIC PCP-2, 14.5 grain, 5.54mm head diameter tin pellets in her, and got no joy.  I'll try the 5.56mm version, and see if they are more accurate.  You just never know from gun to gun with various pellets.  My AA 410 ERBSL rifle, shoots the tin pellets lights out.

I have never had a gun yet, that shoots bug holes like this indoors, that doesn't shoot lights out at longer ranges out of doors.  This thing is going to be a ton of fun in the dog towns.  

Five 21 grain Kodiaks.

Five 18 grain JSB's.

Looking good so far.  Next, is to get the chronograph set up, and see what she's doing velocity wise.  Maybe tomorrow.

If it's not horribly windy on Saturday, I'll get out into the forest, get my wind flags set up, and see what she does at 50 yards.

 

AA 510 TC ERBSL .22 - Just Showed Up - Can't Wait - To Put Her Through Her Paces

I ordered this back, I think in February or March, anyway, they finally hit the good old U.S.of A., and mine showed up here in Arizona a couple of hours ago. The "TC" I presume, stands for "Twin Cylinders", because that's what she has.  I dropped a Nikko Stirling, 30mm, 4-16x50mm Nighteater scope, I had laying around, on her. Don't know if this will be the final scope selection, but it will get me started pellet testing anyway.

Really looking forward to running her over the chrono, to see what I've got here. Going to run her wide open, so' I'll pull the stock off and lock the power adjuster down. First up, pellet wise, will be some DYNAMIC PCP-2's. If she does well with those, I'll hunt some California ground squirrels with her, and if not, I'll find her favorite lead pellet, and hunt prairie dogs with her this summer here in AZ.

One of the things I've been curious about, is the material that the air tubes are made of. On my AA 410 CRBSL Carbine, and AA 410 ERBSL Rifle, the tubes are steel. A magnet sticks right to those. A Magnet will not stick to the AA 510 TC tubes. I wondered how they were going to keep the weight down, and now I know. Stay tuned, much more to come.