Post by desertguns on Jun 2, 2018 22:34:34 GMT -7
Last things first - This is my latest break barrel acquisition but am so impressed just had to get some thoughts down. It is also discontinued so, if you want one, get one before the warehouses are depleted. Yes it's a .177 cal Chinese Beeman. Your Crosman & Benjamins are to. get over it (assembled in US from Chinese parts) More about the whole Chinese airgun thing in a coming thread. The name? No it won’t fire a pellet at over 9000 mph. Why Mach 12.5? Not 12 or 13 but 12.5…go figure.
Be warned, this rifle w/ scope weighs as much as a loaded M1 Garand. It's 48" long & ties the top 3 or 4 hardest rifles to cock. It uses a steel spring that came well greased & had a nice thump when fired, as opposed to a Hatsan "twang".
It’s kind of rare that an Asian break barrel is nuts on target & consistent straight out of the box. This gun was. Using the stock 3-9x40AO scope against the dovetail stop block, siting in @ 10 yards was no trouble. Took the pellet trap out to 25 yrds & noted a minimal rise (not drop) in pellet placement, but still on center. Took the trap out 50 yrds & not appreciable drop. Have not chrono’d the gun yet but believe the published 1250 fps may not be far off in a lead pellet. Going to test groups at 60 & 75 yards this evening.
Here’s part of why the pellet flies so flat – while it is a .177, I’m using H&N Sniper Magnum rounds at 14.97gr. That’s slightly heavier than Crosman .22 cal rounds. The heavy pellet tames the overpowered gun by utilizing more available energy from the piston & the small cross section flies better than a .22 or .25 – similar physics in small caliber centerfire varmint rounds. It also keeps the round subsonic which adds stability & eliminates the loud “crack” of fast pellets.
I’ll do a more thorough field report later but, this is one of only 3 break barrels that got my interest level to 4 out 5 stars on the excite-o-rameter.