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I have been asked several times, will shooting heavy pellets damage my spring powered airgun?

The answer is simple, No Way, What fool has thought this one up?

I have no idea where this nonsense began but it is just that, non-sense.

Springs in springers will break, but the damage is not the cause of using heavy pellets, it’s poor material and workmanship in the gun and spring.

I have seen substandard mainsprings as well as springs that are too hard and brittle, these springs will have premature failures and best if avoided.

The main concern of damage caused by pellet weight or size would be pellets of the incorrect size (too small)

My second concern would be pellets that are too light, this allows the piston to slam forward to the end of it's stroke without an air buffer or (back pressure) to cushion the stop of the piston.

Heavier pellets will tend to increase the cushion giving a smoother landing of the piston resulting in less recoil and less jarring of the scope if you use one.

The best advise I can give, when it comes to potentially dangerous equipment is to buy the best you can afford and stay away from Chinese made goods including pellets.

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Copyright Nov 26 2007 by Ratite

Crosman Benjamin Super Streak

Crosman could have done better if they so desired; but they just took the easy path by dressing up a Chinese doll and called it there own. The Benjamin Super Streak is not a Benjamin, it’s not a Sheridan, it’s not even a Crosman, It is what the Chinese do best, find what sells make a cheap copy of it and sell it to the gullible consumer.

Chinese is Chinese and the reason folks like the Chinese airgun is it has/had a digestible price tag and the price allowed a lot of leeway into the custom airgun world.

I’m sure most of us have done it, taken a $20.00 $50.00 even a $150.00 Chinese airgun and put the works to it, and in the end we have come up with some pretty cool stuff, most of the time we put way too much money into the Shanghai airgun, the true meaning of, (I was Shanghaied) none the less we had the hobby and the enjoyment of triumph by turning a sows ear in to a shooting gem.

That’s what brought the interest to the Chinese airgun world, but now with the Chinese airguns reaching and sometimes surpassing the price of the first rate quality German made guns, to me it seems to kill the desire of owning a Shanghai made airgun, regardless whose name tag is being etched into the wood and steel.

Crosman Could Have Done Better

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Copyright Oct 16 2007 by Ratite

More thoughts on the new Crosman Benjamin Super Streak

Crosman again has taking the easy way out by contracting a Chinese airgun maker to manufacture or modify the new just in time for Christmas Chinese made Benjamin Super Streak.
Crosman is looking more and more like an import retailer of Chinese goods and less like an airgun manufacture.
Have they lost there mind or just there main idea man, It’s a sad day when a manufacture uses a quality vintage name like (Benjamin Sheridan) and slips in a Chinese re-make.
I can hear it now,, We can suck the last bit of the respect out of the Benjamin Sheridan name and laugh all the way to the bank without having to work a single day.
No new tooling
No Manufacturing,
No Ordering,
No Labor to worry about,
No Electricity cost
Hell lets close down the main office move all support to India get a couple low wage earners to package and ship new guns and parts and forget about it.
This Company seems to have lost all of its company pride and dignity, selling out to the lowest Chinese bidder.
It seems that with a little ingenuity something like the evolution of the Crosman 2240 into the 2300S and the 2300T.
The same could have been done with the legacy and it too could have been taken to the next level of fine American made airguns.

Crosman needs to watch there ass or one day the Chinese will make a move on them just like the Japanese did in the automotive industry and start opening airgun manufacturing plants here in the States.

We will then truly have an aggressive airgun manufacturing plant here in the USA it just won’t be Crosman Benjamin or Sheridan and the only competition they will have will be Air force . :7nf

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Copyright Oct 14 2007 by Ratite

Diana RWS 350 Magnum from the box to the field

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Copyright Aug 04 2007 by Ratite

More then one way to

~~Tune~~ Customize an airgun with many more ways to spend too much cash

I did see this a lot while working as a gunsmith, I should say gunsmith apprentice back in 1988 I then mostly swapped out stock barrels for the ever popular Douglass barrel, re-angle and polish ramps, remove and replace busted screws, drill tap and mount scopes, clean and lube the regulars before and after the hunting season. And on occasion permitted to do a complete rebuild of an antique firearm my favorite and most difficult was a Whitney Kennedy small frame 44-40.

Anyway back to airguns

In many cases you can buy a fine German made airgun for a few dollars more and in some cases a few dollars less, 3 guns off the top of my head.

Bam B40 is a copy of the Air Arms TX200

The B40 cost $285.00. the tune will set you back another $150.00 plus shipping $20.00 to and $20.00 from the tuner. That’s a grand total of $475.00 while the Air Arms TX200 will cost you $550.00 with free shipping. There you have a $75.00 dollar difference why settle for a copy and a tune.

B40 reviews TX200 reviews

The Tech Force is a copy unto itself cost ($179.00 in the TF form)(in the QB36-2 form about $90.00 to $100.00) with the $150.00 tune $240.00 to $329.00.

This gun could be compared to the German made Hammerli Nova price $299.00 has a life time warranty and a savings of $30.00 you get a better quality gun no tune needed

Tech Force / QB36-2 Reviews Hammerli Nova Reviews

Crosman Quest is another budget minded airgun at $125.00 it’s not a bad gun but then if you send it to a so called professional tuner charging you $150.00 for the tune your budget gun just became not so budget $275.00.

Crosman Quest Reviews

I’m not sure I get it!! Charging more for the tune up then the total cost of the gun this so called tune up is nothing more then a simple gun clean up with a drop in spring you may or may not need, spring guide and seal.

No so called tune-up is worth more then the gun without major parts being replaced or extreme modifications being made and certainly not a $150.00 that’s a brand new gun.

Sight Mounting Diagram

Chinese airguns have a value in the airgun world and a great gun for the price.

I have a few myself starting at the bottom Cummins B-3 it has the honed pressure tube I opted for the leather seal in one of my b3s as I like the durability and longevity if oiled will last 30 or more years and the Thompson Center sight all contact points cleaned and polished new spring and proper lubes and since I was looking at the crown I re-crowned it needed or not.

A Chinese B-3 is a good gun and worth the extra effort to get it right but there is no way the b3 is worth a $100.00 cleaning or “Tune-up from a so-called professional tuner” even when done right by a competent Gunsmith the amount being charged for repairing these guns is extravagant this is where the too much case comes to play a $20.00 Chinese airgun is and will always be a $20.00 Chinese airgun the quality in the metal & wood is poor and the workmanship is just as bad, its a $20.00 gun.

But and this is the big one even the $20.00 springer deserves the best.

For this gun we shortened the piston, lengthened the stroke adapted a synthetic seal honed the pressure tube crowned the barrel and did a small amount of work on the trigger and swapped the main spring for a heaver stronger spring.

The big chore on the Chinese b3 is the cocking lever and the lock up but with a little time and a small amount of effort the guy ended up with a nice little Chinese B-3 we charged $35.00 for the work and parts. This $20.00 Chinese Air gun total cost $55.00 including gun and custom work B3 Reviews

I should add as it was pointed out to us, someone wrote about the tophat & thrust bearings we install in springers and I quote:

” Manufactures would never put them in springer airguns because they are not designed for that kind of application and are not designed to take a constant smashing and hammering that happens inside the springer and have a good chance of breaking up the bearing cage as well as the rollers themselves. Just think of it as laying the bearing on a piece of steel and beating it with 3-400 pounds of impact with a hammer while rotating.”unquote View Article

Video of the tophat we manufacture for the Legacy 1000

It only took me a second to see the misunderstanding or total absence of true knowledge this person has about spring powered airguns.

If your springer is smashing and hammering there is something very very wrong with your gun especially if it's acting like you have a hammer capable of 300 to 400 pounds of impact kicking off inside your gun Ouch!!!!

Spring powered airguns properly maintained are smooth as silk and softly touch down at the end of there stroke, again this must be the difference between the (so-called professional tuner) and the Gunsmith.

There is no real secret to airguns they’ve been around for hundreds of years its a simple process of building pressure and then releasing it in a controlled manner be it compressed air that is held in a tank, inert gas held in a tank, self contained with a pump that holds air in a tank or directly in the valve, then there is the spring powered which is still compressed air but a one shot in a single smooth action.

I’ve been seeing this for years, someone comes up with an idea or an improvement and naysayers come out from all sides to condemn and criticize.

If naysayers & manufactures were the only guideline we use in modifying & repairing airguns none of us would have anything custom made, No advancements would be made until the manufactures thought it was time for us to have something new.

There will always be more then one way to skin a cat hence the word custom.

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Copyright Jul 02 2007 by Ratite

Sighting your airgun basics

Rear sight:

When using the rear sight you will move the rear sight in the direction you want the target impact to move

If the pellet needs to move up on your target you will move the rear sight up

If the pellet needs to go down on your target you will move the rear sight down

If you need your pellet to move to the right move your rear sight to the right

If you need your pellet to move to the left move your sight left

Front Sight:

When using the front sight you will move the front sight in the opposite direction you want the target impact to move.

If the pellet needs to move up on your target you will move the front sight down

If the pellet needs to go down on your target you will move your front sight up

If you need your pellet to move to the right move your front sight to the left

If you need your pellet to move to the left move your sight right

I like to start with the target at 10 feet or so that way I can hit the target without using the sights I like a guaranteed hit on the first shot,

Once I get sighted in I can double the distance to 20 feet not only will this give you a simple target it will also give you a basic idea with your gun, pellet and trajectory with the over and under compensation when shooting at a live target at variable distances.

Get to know your gun it will serve you well

Ratite

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Barrel Angle vs. Barrel Droop

For the last year I have been reading the term Droop

This is so very incorrect!

A gun barrel is not a wet noodle or a limp stick it’s a short steel rod that has been bored and then rifled.

Its not drooping it is bent it is bent up it is bent down or it is bent to the right or left or a combination of two but it is not drooping.

If your barrel matches any of the barrel descriptions below you have a drooping barrel and it is time to replace it
A Loose Barrel
A Limp Barrel
A Relaxed Barrel
A Floppy Barrel
A Sagging Barrel

But if your barrel is bent to correct the pellet trajectory to center your gun is OK

I adjust my barrel to center at a distance of 10 yards by bending

OR

I adjust my barrel to center at a distance of 10 yards by drooping

Better yet I don’t like a drooping barrel so I droop it straight and then droop my scope mounts to recompense for the lack of barrel drooping

I am sorry but the term drooping is just plain dim-witted not to the ones that use it but to the ones that pushed this incorrect term of a bent barrel.

In the real world it is called barrel angle only because no one likes to have a bent barrel

Is your barrel bent?

No it’s angled to correct for pellet trajectory!!!

Whoo I’m vented

And pleased to know my barrel is not drooping but carefully angled to adjust for pellet trajectory

I should ad your airgun is a real gun and real terms should be used when referred to.

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