VarmintAir's Airgun Hunting Blog

Airgun Hunting Small Game and Varmints - For Me - Is About Accuracy First - Power Second

FWB 300S .177, 5 shots at 35 yards, with 8.4 grain JSB Exact, generating about 6fpe at the muzzle.

I talk to guys all of the time, that are coming over to airgunning from a lifetime of shooting powder burners, and the one thing they are almost always focused on is pellet velocity.     

Show them an airgun, and the first question is, "how fast does this thing shoot a pellet?"  That's usually where the education about the differences between hunting with small bore airguns, and small bore powder burners begins, with the emphasis on accuracy, not power.

Small bore powder burning cartridges, like the .17HMR, .22 Mag, .223, .22-250, and .220 swift, are high velocity death on small vermin like ground squirrels, and prairie dogs.  Highly explosive projectiles, such as the Hornady V-Max, and Nosler Ballistic Tip bullets, when driven at high velocity, literally detonate small rodents on impact.

At impact, a tremendous amount of energy is released by the polymer tipped bullets rapid expansion. I have hit ground squirrels with a 50 grain V-Max bullet, fired from a .22-250, doing over 3500 fps at the muzzle, (1360 fpe) where there was literally nothing left of the squirrel but red mist and hair blowing in the wind.  Impressive power to say the least. You're not going to get that with an airgun pellet.  Hunting with small bore airguns is about accuracy, and very precise pellet placement, not high power.    

When shooting powder burner varmint rifles, supreme accuracy was always a pursuit of mine, but for a slightly different reason than when shooting my airguns.  Supreme accuracy, lets met reach out farther with my powder burners, 400 yards and beyond was common.  I wasn't so much concerned with placing a Ballistic tip bullet on a precise spot, like the earhole of a ground squirrel, as I was mostly interested in putting it center of mass, on the squirrel or prairie dog at long range, and the highly explosive bullet would take care of the rest.

With my airguns, I also pursue high levels of accuracy, but with these guns, it's because I need to place a pellet precisely where I want it to go. Airguns do not blow things up, they kill by putting a pellet through one or more vital organs of the critter being hunted.  That means a high level of accuracy is required, to consistently put a pellet precisely where it is wanted, on demand.     

The guns I hunt with, all have one thing in common.  They are very, very accurate.  The power levels vary from about 6 fpe on the low end, to 46 fpe on the high end. Not enough power to vaporize rodents that's for sure, but still enough power to kill cleanly, within each guns accuracy capabilities and power limitations.

For example, the above photo of a target, shows a five shot group at 35 yards, fired from one of my FWB 300S, .177 cal, recoilless springers. This gun  generates about 6 fpe at the muzzle.  The orange dot is half inch. This rifle is death on ground squirrels, with head shots out to 45 yards.

A typical adult California Ground Squirrel, or adult Gunnison's Prairie Dog's head, is a target that measures roughly 2 inches wide by  2 inches high, and about 2.5 inches front to back.  Inside of that, you have about a 1.5 inch kill zone.  Include the neck, and upper chest, heart lung area, and we now have a kill zone that runs about 1.5/2 inches wide by about 4 inches tall. 

Not an impossible target, all the way to 100 yards, but it takes a very accurate airgun to stay inside that 1.5/2 inch wide kill zone at that distance.  Especially when shooting in the wind.

Depending upon where and what I'll be hunting, I use various guns that all have excellent accuracy, but cover a wide range of power levels.

If I want to reach out a bit farther than my 6 fpe FWB 300S allows, but want to hunt a gun that's short and light, I'll grab my Marauder pistol/carbine.

Below target, Marauder .22 pistol/carbine, 5 shots at 40 yards, with 12.8 grain Sn-2 tin pellets, generating 13 fpe at the muzzle.

I'm very comfortable using my Marauder pistol/carbine, for heart lung, or head shots on ground squirrels out to 65 yards.  The accuracy and power, at 13 fpe, is more than enough for California Ground Squirrels at that range.  Last year, I used it exclusively for hunting ground squirrels, and the performance was simply amazing.

If I'm looking for a bit more power, and reach, in a nice light rifle, I'll hunt with my Benjamin Discovery.  

Discovery .22, 5 shots at 30 yards, with 16 grain JSB Exacts, generating approximately 23 fpe at the muzzle. 

My Discovery has been a ton of fun to hunt with.  The accuracy and power, let me take ground squirrels out to 75/80 yards, and the light weight of the gun makes it a dream to carry all day long.

Below are other sight-in targets from some of my other hunting PCP's. The power may vary from gun to gun a bit, but the common denominator through out all of these PCP's, is their excellent accuracy.

There is also a wide range of gun prices represented in this blog story, but accurate, is accurate, whether the gun cost $250, or $1600. That doesn't matter to me, because I'm mostly interested in what a given gun can do down range with a pellet.  That's where the real work gets done with any gun, and my less expensive PCP's shoot right along with some of their higher priced cousins.

I've used all of the following guns to take ground squirrels, and prairie dogs out to around 100 yards.  The targets show the performance, of each gun, when sighted in with its tested pellet of choice.

RWS Rapier .22, 5 shots at 50 yards, with 18 grain JSB Jumbo Heavy's, generating 30 fpe at the muzzle.

AA 410ERBSL .22, 5 shots at 50 yards, with 18 grain JSB Jumbo Heavy's, generating 30 fpe at the muzzle. 

Benjamin Marauder .22, 5 shots at 50 yards, with 14.5 grain DYNAMIC PCP-2 tin pellets, generating 27 fpe at the muzzle. Half inch orange dot.

AA 510 TC .22, 5 shots at 50 yards, with 18 grain JSB Jumbo Heavy's, generating 29 fpe at the muzzle. 

Benjamin Marauder .25, 5 shots at 65 yards, with 30.8 grain Beeman Kodiaks, generating 46 fpe at the muzzle. 

FX 2000 .22, 5 shots at 100 yards, with 21 grain Beeman Kodiaks, generating 31 fpe at the muzzle. Red dot is one inch.

With the exception of the .22 cal Marauder, none of these guns are driving their pellets over 900 fps, and a couple, the Marauder pistol/carbine, and FWB 300S, are under 700, and 600 fps respectively. Not tons of power (13 fpe and 6 fpe) for sure.  Yet both guns are very efficient killers of California Ground Squirrels.

Anyone who has followed this blog, the past several years, has seen stories, and videos of these guns being used to hunt with, and when used within each guns capabilities, and power limitations, they have all performed the task at hand very, very well indeed.  

All of these guns are superbly accurate, and that's the focus when it comes to hunting with small bore airguns.  We need enough power, along with the accuracy, to deliver a pellet cleanly to the vital organs of our chosen prey.  We will never have the kind of velocities and power, that the powder burner varmint cartridges generate, but we don't need them either.

Hunting with small bore airguns, isn't about high velocity and loads of muzzle energy, it's really about accuracy, and precise shot placement, and for me, that's what makes it so challenging and fun.  

 

   

Scopes For Airgun Hunting With PCP's - How Much Do You Really Need To Spend?

Above, are some of the scopes that I find work just great for the type of hunting that I do with my airguns. Top to Bottom.  MTC Viper 4-16x50mm, Leupold Vari X II 4-12x40mm, Bushnell Legend 5-15x40mm, and a Leupold 3-9x33mm EFR.  In addition to those shown, I have others from Crosman, Nikko Stirling, and Simmons that are mounted on various guns, and ready to hunt.

When talking about scopes and prices, the sky is the limit, $800, $1500, $2000+, Swarovski, Zeiss, Leupold are some examples, and there are others up there as well. For sure there are some differences in the mechanical build, and optical quality, between the premium priced scopes, and the value priced units, but do I really need that difference on guns that have no recoil, and rarely get shot past 100 yards.  I decided some time ago that the answer is no.

Up until four or five years ago, I had a couple of Leupold 6.5-20x40mm EFR models mounted on a couple of my air rifles, and they were really nice scopes.  Around that same time, I picked up a used FX 2000, and started looking for some glass to put on it. I settled on a Bushnell Elite 3200, 7-21x40mm with mildot reticle.  At the time, I think it was around $325 bucks.  It turned out to be a very nice scope mechanically, and optically, and the performance on various hunts, was everything I could ask for and then some.

I sold off the Leupolds, and bought myself a nice AA 410ERBSL .22 cal PCP with the money, and at the time, dropped a $200 dollar Bushnell Legend 5-15x40mm scope on it, and never looked back

I currently hunt with scopes by CenterPoint, MTC, Bushnell, Simmons, Nikko Stirling, and Leupold.  The price range is from $114 dollars, to around $400.  Some were picked up on sale, and others were purchased at the going price of the day.

The big CenterPoint, MTC, and Nikko Stirling 4-16x50/56mm scopes are all on my prairie dog rifles, and they work great when looking to put a pellet through a prairie dogs head at 100+ yards.  With these scopes, I can easily spot a prairie dogs head sticking up out of the prairie floor at 100 yards, and dropping a pellet onto it is not a problem.

A high dollar scope might also let me see the whiskers, on the prairie dogs nose, but do I really need to see the whiskers, to drop a pellet down a dogs ear hole, that I can plainly see with my value priced scopes?  Not really.  A nice clear image of the dogs head is all I need to get the job done, and all of these value priced scopes that I use, give me that.

Some of my hunting rigs, and the scopes I run on them.  All the scopes are variables, and set at 8X.

Leupold 3-9x33mm, on my FWB 300S .177, duplex crosshair.

Bushnell Legend 5-15x40mm, on my Benjamin Discovery .22, mildot reticle.

Leupold VariX II 4-12x40mm, on my RWS Rapier .22, duplex crosshair. 

Bushnell Elite 3200 7-21x40mm, on my FX 2000 .22, mildot reticle. 

Nikko Stirling Nighteater 4-16x50mm, on my AA 510 TC .22, mildot reticle.

Simmons Whitetail Classic 6.5-20x50mm, on my FX Whisper .22, mildot reticle. Thick crosshairs, but this is a dedicated cottontail rifle, so it's a non issue.

MTC Viper 4-16x50mm, on my AA 410ERBSL .22, SCB reticle.

CenterPoint 4-16x56mmAORG, on my Benjamin Marauder .25, mildot reticle.

CenterPoint 4-16x56mmAO, on my Benjamin Marauder .22, mildot reticle.

With just about any of these scopes, I can see the ticks in a jackrabbits ear at 90 yards. With a much more expensive scope, I might be able to tell the gender of the ticks in that jackrabbits ear, but I don't really need that capability to drop a pellet down that hares ear canal.

So like I tell folks all the time, when it comes to scopes for airguns that are recoilless, and rarely get shot past 100/120 yards, it's your dime, spend it how you want, but for what I do with my PCP's, these value priced scopes have all performed to perfection for me.  Never an issue of any kind with any of them, and I have never thought to myself, "man, I've got to get some better scopes."  YMMV.  

 

Crossman CenterPoint - Power Class 4-16x56mmAO - Mounted On My Marauder .22 - This Scope Has Got To Be A Best Buy

Marauder .22, with CenterPoint 4-16x56mmAO scope mounted.

I have a CenterPoint 4-16x56mmAORG, mounted on my .25 cal Marauder, and have hunted her hard for a couple of prairie dog seasons now.  The combination of that scope and rifle, have been amazing out in the dog towns.  They have allowed me to make head shots on prairie dogs all the way to 100 yards, and the optical performance of this scope is a big part of what has allowed me to do that.

Marauder .25, with the CenterPoint 4-16x56mmAORG mounted.

I was so impressed with its capabilities in the field, that I picked up this CenterPoint, Power Class 4-16x56mmAO, to put on my .22 cal Marauder.

The only difference that I can see, between the two scopes, is the 4-16x56mmAO does not have the illuminated red/green reticle feature, that the 4-16x56mmAORG, on my .25 Marauder has. Since I don't use that feature, I opted for this model without the illuminated reticle.  I picked it up at Walmart online for $114.  I don't know if that's a close out price, but as far as price performance goes, this scope has got to be a best buy.  

The specs are the same as my first CenterPoint, excluding the R/G illuminated reticle. Coated lenses, 30mm tube, side focus, 1/8 MOA click value on the W/E turrets, all weather construction, mildot reticle, lockable turrets. It also comes with a 4 inch sunshade, popup lens covers, and fast focus eye piece.

The weight runs 27 ounces, just what I'm looking for when I want to add some heft to a rifle I'll be hunting prairie dogs with in the wind.  I really like the clarity of the two that I have, and the side focus is nice also.

One of the things that I really like about both scopes, is the size of the crosshairs and mildots.  I run my scopes at 8x, and the crosshairs are thin enough, and the mildots are small enough, that they do not completely cover small critters, like prairie dogs, even at 100+ yards. This is very important to me, because I make some very small corrections in my hold sometimes, and it's nice to be able to see the critter behind the crosshairs, even at long range.

This is not a small, light weight scope, so it's not one that I will be putting on one of my carbines any time soon, but for what I bought it for, like on my .25 cal Marauder PCP, this will be a very nice addition to my .22 cal Marauder rifle.

The below targets show how she shoots at 55 yards.  I was sighting her in with the 18 grain JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy's, and fired this five shot group in a light switching breeze.

 Five shots easily covered with a dime.

Now I've got twin Marauders, not quite identical, but close.

Marauder .22 with CenterPoint 4-16x56mm scope mounted, and ready to hunt. 

 

 

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.

 

   

FX T-12 Whisper - .22 cal - Shooting The Baracuda Green - 12.6 Grain Tin Pellets - Over The Chrongraph

I picked this gun up new in early 2007.  It has been a stellar performer, and starred in the second half of my DVD, "Airgun Hunting the California Ground Squirrel."  

I decided, that since it has been awhile since I had run her over the chrono, that I would shoot a string, using the 14.5 grain DYNAMIC PCP-2, tin pellets, and see how she's doing compared to a couple of years ago.

On a 3000 psi fill, she is still real close to the original 36 shot string (3 mags).  This time, the average velocity is just a bit higher at 882 fps, compared to 871 fps the first time.  The ES is 33 fps, compared to 27 fps the first time, but still good enough for my hunting needs.

Since the DYNAMIC tin pellets have become very difficult to come by, and I have a couple of situations where I must use non-lead pellets, if I want to hunt those properties.  I'm curious to see how the performance of the relatively new H&N Baracuda Green tin pellets stack up against the DYNAMIC PCP-2's, in a few of my guns.

I previously tried them in my AA 410CRBSL carbine, and determined, that from a shot count perspective, they are less efficient when it comes to air useage, but beggars can't be choosy, and though they aren't as efficient as the heavier DYNAMIC PCP-2's, they would certainly suffice in a pinch.

I also wanted to see how the Baracuda Greens would perform, from an air use efficiency stand point, in my Whisper.

What I found, was a situation similar to what I saw with the AA 410 carbine.  On a 3000 psi fill, a 36 shot string with the 12.6 grain Baracudas, showed an ES of 77 fps, where the 14.5 grain PCP-2's only showed an ES of 33 fps.  For my hunting application, an ES of 77 fps is just to great, and will have a negative effect on POI, especially at longer ranges.  

If I stopped at 24 shots, with the Baracuda Greens, (2 mags) the ES was a very low 17 fps.  It was with the third mag, that the velocity started to drop like a free falling safe, and the ES climbed like crazy.

I could probably improve things a bit by going to a higher fill pressure, but I don't like exceeding the manufacturers recommended max fill specification, so in actual practice, with this pellet in this gun, I would simply shoot two mags, and then refill the gun.

At this point, I've still got a good supply of the DYNAMIC PCP-2's on hand, so there is no need to switch to the Baracuda Greens just yet, but I always like to have a plan "B" just in case.

Next, I need to give them a good accuracy test at 50 yards.  There is just too much snow on the ground right now to be able to do that, but both this Whisper, and the AA 410 carbine look like they want to shoot this pellet pretty well.  I've only had a chance to do a small test at 25 yards, but they look like they have serious potential.

So, if you are in need of a non-lead pellet, for what ever reason, check out the Barracuda Greens, at first glance, they look like they could be a good substitute for lead pellets.  At least in some guns.

 

  

 

AA 410CRBSL - .22 cal Carbine - Power Turned Down To 20 FPE - Shooting The Baracuda Green - 12.6 Grain Tin Pellets Over The Chrongraph

The first thing that I had to do, was to remove the barreled action from the stock, so that I could access the set screw that locks the power control knob down.  That's an easy task, because the barreled action is held into the stock with one allen head screw, located just ahead of the trigger guard.

Allen screw loosened, to allow the barreled action to be removed from stock.

With the stock removed, I was able to access the setscrew that is located directly below the power control knob.  I had the power control set to maximum, and had it locked down so that I wouldn't accidentally move it while hunting.  To turn the power down, I had to loosen the setscrew so the power knob would again turn freely.

Location of setscrew, with allen wrench inserted.

Once I had the setscrew loosened, I put the gun back into the stock, and got ready to do some chrony testing of the Baracuda Green, 12.6 grain tin pellets.

As a starting point, I set the power control to the half way point.  I aired the gun up to 3000 psi, loaded a mag with ten Baracuda Greens, and started to shoot.

When hunting in an area where I must use non-lead pellets, I shoot the DYNAMIC PCP-2, 14.5 grain tin pellets in this gun.  They give me 20 good shots, with an ES of 29 fps at 27 fpe, before I need to refill with air. Turning the power down, looking for about 20 fpe, I expected to pick up a few more shots, but as we'll see, when also switching to a lighter weight pellet, at the same time the power is turned down, doesn't necessarily mean an increase in shot count. 

What actually happened, when shooting the lighter weight Baracuda Green pellets is, I was barely able to keep the original 20 shots with an ES of 31 fps.  By the time I got to 25 shots, which was my original goal, the ES was 75 fps.  Even though the power was turned down, shot count didn't improve with the lighter pellet, and ES had more than doubled by shot 25.    

I have seen this phenomenon before, when testing light weight lead pellets in a gun, compared to it's performance when shooting heavier pellets.  A heavier pellet seems to cause the gun to be more efficient in the use of air.  I think it probably has something to do with a higher back pressure on the valve when heavier pellets are used.

Next, I again aired the gun up to 3000 psi, and switched to the heavier DYNAMIC PCP-2, tin pellets.  I left the power adjuster at the previous half point setting, and started to chrony the DYNAMIC PCP-2 tin pellets.

Now this was more like what I was looking for.  The 25 shot string started at 777 fps, peaked at 791 fps, and ended at 762 fps.  The ES is 29 fps, and the fpe is 19.7 at the muzzle.  

I wanted to try the BARACUDA GREEN tin pellets, as a possible alternative to the hard to get DYNAMIC PCP-2's, and they could certainly still be used, but seem to be a bit light in this gun.  

I wonder if a regulated gun would maybe overcome this problem of inefficient use of air?  I don't have a regulated gun, so until I get one at some point, this question will remain unanswered.

I still have about 10,000 PCP-2's left, and will continue to use them in the AA 410 carbine.  I tried the Baracuda Green pellets in my FX Whisper, with similar results. I'll get that information posted at a later date.

I could certainly use the Baracudas in my AA 410 carbine, but would obviously need to refill more often, and that wasn't my goal.  But, if at some point they are the only choice in a quality non-lead pellet, I'll certainly do whatever I need to, to keep on hunting in a lead free area.

I've again locked the power control down, except this time it's at the mid setting on the power scale.  We are now ready to get after some California Ground Squirrels here in about four or five weeks. 

 

 

 

How Do I Clean My Airgun Barrels? - With A, J. Dewey Coated Rod - Pro-Shot Spear Tip Brass Jag - Pro-Shot Cotton Patches - and Beeman MP 5 - Rust Inhibiting Oil

Every once in awhile, somebody asks how I clean the barrels on my various airguns. Nothing particularly magic about it.

I've been using a J. Dewey, one piece nylon coated rod, with a Pro-Shot spear tip brass jag on it for many, many decades.  The J. Dewey rods are superb quality.  Ball bearings in the handle let the rod easily rotate as it pushes a brush or patch through the bore, and the nylon coating is first rate.

I was a Dealer of theirs for many, many years, and sold thousands of their cleaning rods. I never had a single rod returned for any reason whatsoever.  Really good stuff.

For cleaning PCP barrels with shrouds, I prefer the Pro-Shot spear tip jag, to the one that Dewey supplies with their rods.  When I am going through several baffles before coming to the barrel muzzle, the spear tip jag holds the patch better than the original jag, which has a tapered tip without the straight portion, that the Pro-Shot spear tip jag has.  There is a short female to female adapter that is required to allow the use of the spear tip jag on a Dewey rod.  The adapter is also made by Pro-Shot.

Pro-Shot spear tip jag, with adapter for use with the Dewey rod.

I clean from the muzzle, because when cleaning with a rod, that is typically the only option on most PCP's.  Once I start the patch into the end of the shroud, I do not change direction.  Not even a little bit. That will knock the patch off in the baffles.  Once I start, I just keep the forward motion going, and I haven't found hitting the bore to be difficult at all.  I haven't knocked a patch off in the baffles in years.

I use Beeman MP5 as a cleaning solution, and put a couple of drops on a proper size Pro-Shot cotton patch.  I run the patch down the barrel in a short back and forth scrubbing action, until it exits at the chamber end of the barrel.  

I will typically use four or five patches with MP5 on them, and then switch to clean dry patches, until one comes out clean enough that I'm satisfied.

Some barrels clean up really fast, and others take more scrubbing with MP5.  I just eyeball the patches, and decide by their appearance when the bore is clean.

Pro-Shot spear tip brass jag with patch.

I always laugh when I see the internet gurus telling folks that they will ruin their airgun's barrel if they use a cleaning rod on it.  Like these barrels are made from the same stuff that drinking straws are made of. I've checked all of mine with a magnet, and they are all made of some type of steel.  Much harder than the pellets I shoot in them, much harder than the brass jag I clean them with, and no, the barrel won't bend if you lean the gun against it in the corner. 

Use a quality one piece coated rod, with a brass jag, using quality patches, and the idea that you are somehow going to damage the barrel is total nonsense.  Myself, and several friends have been cleaning our airguns this way for decades.  Never an issue of any kind, and some of our guns are close to 40 years old, and shoot as good today as when they were new.

To hear the gurus tell it, these barrels are very delicate, and you have to pull the cleaning patch through from the chamber to muzzle, and you must use patches made from a 15 year old virgins belly button lint soaked in extra, extra virgin cleaning solution.

They seem to imply that just leaving your gun in the same room with a cleaning rod could do serious harm to your barrel.  Where do these guys come up with this stuff?

Anyway, I've been using this method successfully for many decades, on a lot of expensive and very accurate airguns, and don't see any reason to change, and not only that, but 15 year old virgins are getting harder, and harder to find.