Liking the new air rifle

[Bill in Oregon]

A fellow over at Airgun Nation recently imported a pallet of the Spanish-made Cometa spring-piston air rifles. I have had a couple of the pricier German Weihrauchs, Beemans and a Diana, but the Fenix 400 USC Premier Star clicked a lot of boxes so I ordered/traded for one. I'm happy to say I am very pleased with the quality and accuracy potential. It comes in under 7 pounds, has a very good trigger and is easy to cock and a quiet shooter despite putting out an impressive 16 foot-pounds in .177. I don't have much more than half a tin through it but it is starting to share its secrets (it seems to like being very lightly held in a Protektor owl-ear bag just ahead of the trigger guard). I shot these in the house at 12 yards and know that once I get more consistent it will be a one-holer. The importer is Keystoneairguns.com.

[Ray]

https://keystoneairguns.com/collections/airguns

Thanks wilhelm. I have an entry level "100" on the way for gatos y ardillas dissuasion.....

[GunnyMack]

The springer guns are very sensitive to how they are rested. My RWS 350 is extremely accurate as long as I get it on the bags the same every time.

I got some of the H& N Crow Magnum pellets that are accurate and very deadly- I shot a fox at about 45 or 50 yards and it took a few steps and died. Surprised the heck out of me! I only shot it because it was trying to get at the puppies!

[Bill in Oregon]

Look forward to your report, Ray. Will, that Diana 350 is nothing to sneeze at in the power department, putting out up to 23 foot-pounds.

[GunnyMack]

Yeah Bill that's one of the reasons I bought it! I also have a model 45, gotta be 40 years old. In my young & dumb days I made a solid mould for .177 ( hunk of steel and corresponding Number drill ) ans was trying 20-ish grain slugs and they worked well until the spring broke !!
If ya break a spring don't think twice about fixing it yourself SEND IT BACK! I got a spring from RWS, then it took me 2 days of head scratching to figure out how to compress all 3 feet of spring into the receiver- pipe clamp was employed as well as pin punches and lots of dirty words!!!
The 45 is a real tack driver, I used to shoot playing cards on edge, match heads in the basement.
As kids in our Crossman pump guns we would shoot live small rifle/pistol primers , as long as ya hit goot hard surfaces they would pop nicely!

[gamekeeper]

The Spanish airguns are certainly impressive I may upgrade mine as I only bought it as a plinker but it has downed many a Squirrel.

IMG_20200627_145814.jpg

[Bill in Oregon]

John, I haven't had a lot of luck with the Gamo stuff, but Cometa and Norica -- bueno.

[gamekeeper]

John, I haven't had a lot of luck with the Gamo stuff, but Cometa and Norica -- bueno.

My little gas ram Norica has been perfect for what I wanted, it's only a junior powered rifle as I wanted something lightweight, up till now I have only used the fiber optic sights but due to my eyes not cooperating like they used to may have to scope it. Your Cometa looks good so I will keep it in mind although they are restricted to 12 ft lbs in the UK.

[Scott Tschirhart]

Gamekeeper,

I’m curious how anyone would ever know that you owned a spring powered gun that exceeded the power limit?

[gamekeeper]

Gamekeeper,

I’m curious how anyone would ever know that you owned a spring powered gun that exceeded the power limit?

The most likely way would be getting questioned by the police after someone who doesn't like shooting called them in. Happens quite often in the UK, I know of a guy who had a police helicopter order him to lie on the ground until a swat team arrived, he was legally shooting rabbits on private property with an air rifle.
We can own high powered air rifles but they are restricted like firearms and thus harder to acquire...

[Bill in Oregon]

John, that's a downright frightening scenario. Hope he didn't have a Boy Scout knife on him!

[Nath]

Nice air rifle Bill. Always got time for and airgun me.
Started counting in June but last weekend I got #50 squirrel in my garden all taken with air.
Even like to inspect recovered pellets.

IMG_20231209_093741.jpg

[Bill in Oregon]

Nath, that pellet is in wonderful shape showing the rifling grooves and all. What rifle and pellet is your favorite for the squirrel work?

[GunnyMack]

I was wrong Bill, NOT the Crow Magnum pellet but the H&N Baracuda Hunter Extreme

20231215_172938.jpg

This is the pellet I have my 350 sighted in with, also the one that gave the fox the dirt nap.

[Nath]

Nath, that pellet is in wonderful shape showing the rifling grooves and all. What rifle and pellet is your favorite for the squirrel work?

Hmm, don't have a particular favourite Bill.

That pellet I photographed is a Crosman 22.
To be honest they don't seem very good on squirrels. Shot from a Diana 48.
It's splitting hairs really but I fully expect a centered squirrel to run a ways before falling off a limb dead. Short of head shots of course.

Funny thing springers, the Diana hates it if I rest off anything! A little light BSA/Gamo break barrel I have doesn't mind being rested one bit!

One pellet that does seem to work well in 22 is the now no longer available eley wasp.
There is a new version, just called wasps, although different they also work quickly.

In 177 the 10.5gn pellets worked good on squirrels and h&n trophies.

Taken a pasel of foxes too over the years too.

[Streetstar]

Nice!

I’ve been trying to figure out how to budget in a Weirhauch 97 since one of the members here showed off his years ago (RJohns94 ? Maybe? ) — but this would get my feet wet at half the price

[6pt-sika]

Your thread reminded me I’ve yet to blood my air rifle ! Antlerless only season starts on 1/7/24 think I’ll try then .

[Scott Tschirhart]

I’d like to find a nice light spring gun. Doesn’t have to be super powerful. Just something trim and handy.

Beeman catalogs used to fascinate me. I had an R1 for a long time but I would rather have something lighter and trimmer.

[Bill in Oregon]

Scott, the little Fenix comes in .22 and .25 as well -- giving about 18 foot pounds.

[Bill in Oregon]

Just tested three pellets in the Cometa Fenix at 12 yards indoors this afternoon and it clearly prefers the Air Arms Diabolo 8.4.

[Nath]

That's interesting, I always thought they and the jsb were the same pellets!

[Bill in Oregon]

Nath, they are made by JSB, but the design and mold is made to Air Arms's specs. All three pellets are labeled 4.52 mm, but the JSBs were looser in the chamber of my rifle than the other two.

[GunnyMack]

Bill look into the rest of the H&N line, become new favorites for me.

[Bill in Oregon]

Will, I also tested some H&N Field Target Trophy 8.64s I have on hand. The AA Diabolos are still in the lead, but I have at least one other H&N, and of course ... ahem ... a "bottom load" of Crosmans to try as well. The current thinking is that Crosmans are made from an alloy with more antimony and your barrel may require cleaning after shooting them before you can shoot the purer pellets to best advantage.

[Walt]

Scott, I have an R! which is a great rifle but my favorite is my R7. It is much smaller and lighter than an R1, shoots at a bit lower speed but is a marvelous rifle. Hopefully you can locate one.....you'll love it.

[GunnyMack]

The new Crossman pellets are terrible, not enough skirt expansion like the old style. I liked those older ones, also the old Daisy pellets. Then I found the Meisterklugen match pellets and wow were they accurate out of just about everything.
I must have at least a dozen tins of different pellets around here somewhere...

[AmBraCol]

Bill, I've got the Fusion which is the same power plant as yours but different barrel. Cometa turns out some decent guns. Also have a couple of 300's from "back in the day" that I've traded for and am getting ready to switch over to the modern synthetic seal instead of the old leather type. Also have a Cometa 5 I picked up to play with back in 2020.

As for springs and such, Air Rifle Headquarters makes great springs and seals which I use to refurbish all kinds of springers. A good quality spring compressor is important if you're working on the typical looong, heavy springs that the Brits rate "FAC". Funny thing, you can get too much spring in there and it's counter productive. I had one Crosman Optimus that increased power when I cut off a couple of coils.

Anyway, I recently traded off my Cometa Fusion in 5.5mm for one in 4.5mm and haven't had time to really shoot the "new" rifle much at all. I'm contemplating the use of heavier pellets, the 10.3 and some Hatsan 9.??? I've got around the place. A too heavy pellet can work your spring over and cause early breakage, but springs are consumables and with a proper fitting guide should give a few thousand shots before "dying" on you. Having a poor fitting spring guide, on the other hand, leads to premature wear and breakage. I need to have a couple guides made up, but need to track down a good machinist that won't charge the equivalent of a new rifle for the work.

Some friends over in the UK are giving good reviews on the recent production Crosman Ultra Magnum pellets in 5.5mm (what they call 22 in the US) but I've not found any in 4.5mm to test. Each rifle tends to like different pellets, although I had one Fusion that didn't like anything, bad barrel. Finally got one from Canada mailed down, it made it through customs and everything. That's the 5.5mm one I traded off. It shot OK, but I really wanted the 4.5mm as it's more useful for the type of shooting I usually do.

[Bill in Oregon]

Paul, can you order pellets from, say, Pyramyd Air here in the "Estados"?

[AmBraCol]

Paul, can you order pellets from, say, Pyramyd Air here in the "Estados"?

That's a grey area - which means essentially "No." There shouldn't be any trouble other than the weight as they don't meet the definition of "ammunition" that is controlled by the government. But where bureaucrats are in charge that doesn't matter a lick. So I carry down occasionally or more often simply buy locally and pay a huge premium from folks who jump through the hoops to bring them in.

[Ji in Hawaii]

I'm a tad late to the party, but since you'll are talkin' one of my favorite subject matters (air rifles), I thought I'd chime in. Back in the summer of '22, for a while we were having trouble with our Hawaiian bald tailed squirrel population going where they weren't supposed to go. The old Daisy model 10 levergun just wasn't cuttin' it, so I decided to search Amazon for something with a tad more oomph, and found a Spanish beauty at a reasonable price, a GAMO model 6110017154 Varmint in .177. Including a 4 x 32 scope it came in at a very reasonable $94.99 with free shipping. It was rated at 1250 FPS. It was more than I needed, but no complaints. I set up a 25 yard range, and this thing shot minute of Micky no problem.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01AP ... =UTF8&th=1

About a year later I received an offer from Amazon that I could not refuse. This was for a .22 caliber air rifle for $84.42, a Umarex Syrix air rifle, including again a 4 x scope. This rifle was rated at 1000 FPS. This gun is fun too though maybe a tad too loud for suburbia. Sure do miss living in rural Maui.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08SH ... =UTF8&th=1

Now I have my eyes set on a 30 caliber break barrel, a Hatsan Mod 130S Vortex QE. This one has a muzzle velocity of 590 FPS, and 34 foot pounds of energy. This one's a tad pricey @ $239.99 but I hear they go on sale often, so I shall wait since my first two will keep me occupied.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DK9M8K8/?c ... _lig_dp_it

[gcs]

Ji, I recently got a Hatsun 95 22 from Pyramyd air on sale , I've yet to try it out but it's a BIG gun and very heavy, not something you want to walk around with very far...Just so you know...

[Bill in Oregon]

Ji, you might want to wander over to Airgun Nation to check the vibe on the big Hatsan. Also, the reviews on it at Pyramyd Air are worth reading.
Gcs, I had the Hatsan 95 in .25 and found it extremely hold sensitive, but it sure carried the freight. The 95 in .177 and .22 is supposed to be less sensitive.
The nicest .25 I owned for power, accuracy and very mild report was a Benjamin Marauder -- but being a PCP it required endless pumping, or an expensive air compressor.

https://www.pyramydair.com/air-guns/rif ... and=Hatsan

[Ji in Hawaii]

Ji, I recently got a Hatsan 95 22 from Pyramid air on sale , I've yet to try it out but it's a BIG gun and very heavy, not something you want to walk around with very far...Just so you know...

My Umarex Syrix .22 is heavy too at 8.6 pounds. I got mine on Amazon, where the weight is listed at 4 pounds, which I knew had to be a typo. Great gun for shooting from the bench, but a walk in the wood carrying this behemoth might get tiresome. I still consider it money well spent.
According to Hatsan website the 30 caliber Hatsan Model 130S Vortex QE weighs in at 9.4 pounds, so not a ballerina. Amazon has it's weight listed at 6 pounds even, wishful thinking.

[Ji in Hawaii]

Ji, you might want to wander over to Airgun Nation to check the vibe on the big Hatsan. Also, the reviews on it at Pyramyd Air are worth reading.
Gcs, I had the Hatsan 95 in .25 and found it extremely hold sensitive, but it sure carried the freight. The 95 in .177 and .22 is supposed to be less sensitive.
The nicest .25 I owned for power, accuracy and very mild report was a Benjamin Marauder -- but being a PCP it required endless pumping, or an expensive air compressor.

https://www.pyramydair.com/air-guns/rif ... and=Hatsan

I will check out Airgun Nation for recent scoops on the Hatsan 30. I'm in no rush to get one, but curious as to it's reliability. Thanks!

[Bill in Oregon]

Ji, the gas-piston driven Hatsans are somewhat controversial. On some models, you can apparently refill the piston, On others, it is difficult or impossible. Hatsan's customer service in the USA wins no awards.

[Ji in Hawaii]

I have heard horror stories on both Hatsan, and Umarex as far as customer service is concerned. I guess they don't want to keep first time customers. I hope mine never needs warranty work.