it seems to me

that there should be a "one gun to cover all"...but it ain't so...I've bought at least three of them that were supposed to "cover it all".

the current national craze is the AR (hybrid development of the M-16 rifle)

some now have developed what may very well be the 'perfect' all-in-one rifle built on the AR platform in spite of what i said above.

i read a recent news header about how an anti-gun person believes the AR is in it's "final year".

by that, i think he means he believes that the AR will be legislated out...not outdated or outmoded...OUTLAWED is more like it.

you see, legislators fear that which they feel might threaten them...oh, they'll use the old "it's for the good of all"...but you know that most legislators are lying when their lips are moving. or, at least you should know by now.

their main concern is having to face an angry nation of citizens armed with AR's. what the people want is secondary to them.

anyway...

many of today's AR's claim to have pinpoint accuracy out to 1000 yards and reliability beyond belief.

i had the opportunity to watch a soldier with an M4 carbine; i was NOT impressed.

on rapid fire, NOT full automatic, groups measured in FEET...not inches or even center of mass and that was from 25 yards! out of a full magazine of 20 rounds, there was only 2 center of mass hits!the rest were a minimum of 20" from center of mass.

I've also witnessed a civilian marksman use a semi-auto, 9mm, Ruger Carbine to shoot 10 rounds into a 4" group from 25 yards on semi-auto fire.

this type of performance was NOT what one likes to see from soldiers and their weapons. i would certainly like to believe that this one particular soldier and his weapon were NOT our average. if it is...we've got BIG problems. it's no wonder that big ordinance is required to take out enemy troops.

my personal opinion is that the military has put so much faith in the 5.56 cartridge since it's shockingly horrible appearance in Vietnam that they really haven't known what to do up until recently. they placed all their faith in "look, see how light the rifle is? see how much more ammo can be carried over the 7.62/30-06? see how many more can be produced for less cost?" when they should have been looking how woefully inadequate the 5.56 is as a combat round. I've seen AR's that weigh in at a staggering 13 pounds, too. the M-1 Garand i trained with weighed in at 10 pounds fully loaded...and that's with the venerable 30-06 cartridge.

"COMBAT" being the operative verb being spoken about. oh, sure at ranges of out to about 100 yards, it has lethality. but when one considers that General Petraeus himself was shot in the chest at point blank range in a training mishap and survived it gives me pause to think...had that been a 7.62 or an '06...I'm certain the outcome would have been a military burial instead of a hospitalization.

all that being said...i would like to have one of today's fine AR's for sporting purposes but i don't think I'd want to bet my life on the 5.56. the AR-10? now that's a different story.

the AR is here to stay whether legislators like it or not.

i sometimes wonder

why i do the things i do...

i, quite a few years ago, purchased a QB-78 CO2 air rifle.

it's not a high powered, hi tech, powerhouse, more a low-to-mid powered, inexpensive, easy to get, accurate, rifle with the potential to be made into a high powered rifle should you want to make it so. it's not what i would select as my 'go-to' hunting, air rifle.

just recently, i started getting into PCP air rifles. I'm finding they're much more to my liking and much more rewarding to me than CO2 or springers; not only that...they can be found in very high power calibers with accuracy beyond belief without a horrendous price tag. (unless you wish to go high dollar)you may even hunt big game with them. there's many articles about those who've taken deer, elk and American bison with high powered PCP rifles.

right now, i have two dedicated PCP rifles, one in .22 the other in .25...the QB-78 i mentioned above is .22 cal and i can use a hand pump to pump it up to pressures in the 1000 PSI range for good operation...but, the shot count is dramatically reduced. i can get only four full power shots per refill...mostly due to the capacity of the air tube.

by far, the .25 is the most accurate and powerful, out-of-the-box of the three...it has low shot count due to the air capacity of the air tube...only 16 shots per refill. when you have to hand pump every refill it becomes a 'chore' to try to make a day's fun of shooting this fine rifle.

the same can be said about the .22 insofar as the hand pumping operation. but it is a highly powerful and accurate PCP.

the QB-78? so far I've spent what a good PCP would cost me on it and i doubt I've put over 500 shots through it since i purchased it back around the year 2003. and it still stays in various stages of dis-assembly most of the time while I'm making a part, ordering a part or just trying to figure out what i want to do with it.

i was hoping to be able to convert it to operate at the same pressures as the dedicated PCP's but not so...from what I'm told, 1500 PSI is max operational pressure for this rifle so i think that's where i will leave it.

oh, there are the parts available to convert it to the higher pressures, but by the time i spent that kind of money on a conversion, i could purchase one that's already made to use high pressure...

the rifle itself, is no where near as "adjustable" as are the other two without disassembling and changing or modifying the internals.

it takes very little effort to pump it up to the 1000 PSI operating pressure i know it will function with and it's very accurate...but...the low shot count makes it impractical to take it afield for a days hunt so i guess I'll just leave it here at the house to 'plink' with.

seems the longer i go...

the farther into the PCP's i get.

i now have two dedicated PCP's and one I'm in the process of completing; my springers are now dust collectors.

the only real "problem" presented by a PCP is the pains it takes to refill them. however...I'm now set up to feed all three of them from the same sources...a hand pump and a SCUBA tank.

i wouldn't dream if doing some of the things with springers that is being done with PCP's now. i recently spoke to a well known airgunsmith who tells me he regularly takes coyote and javelina with his PCP. (i didn't think to ask him what caliber he uses, though, and I'd guess he opts for the .25 caliber as it's a "powerhouse")

over the course of my sixty-eight years I've done quite a lot of hunting with rifles, handguns, bows and airguns. in the course of those years I've done very little actual killing. to me, the kill is NOT the most important event of the hunt...the hunt itself is the result of cumulative experiences during that event and the actual kill itself is only one aspect of it. I've had more successful hunts without kills than with kills.

i had the occasion, once, many years ago, to hunt with a well-known, local, celebrity hunter whom i found it very disconcerting to be hunting with.

the hunt was all about 'him' and how great he envisioned himself to be.

you see, we had come back to camp with an empty game bag. that nite around the campfire, all he did was sulk and complain about how he "shoudda had one". we hadn't even SEEN any pigs that particular day. but...my day was VERY successful.

in the course of traversing the countryside in search of the javelina, i came on a rock formation that had a carving in it that i believe to have been a grave marker for an early explorer of the region; a double beamed cross with the date of, the best i could make out, 1786. i did not have my camera with me so i couldn't take a photo of it. (i always took one with me after that)

i suspect that, in the tradition of the day, someone fell (died) there is why it was carved into the rock. if i am correct and the date is indeed, 1786, that would have meant it was more than likely a Spanish explorer as that was about the time the Spanish settlers were inhabiting the area.

that is what makes a great hunt for me...something of that magnitude...not just the kill...

a problem solved

it's taken me a while to "figure it out" but i finally came to the conclusion and solution that i have three rifles that operate on HPA and i should have a common source to feed them...duhhhhh

every PCP and CO2 rifle in existence has a different charging method and it's up to the owner to "co-ordinate" that with sources of air (should they wish to).

i am not a fan of CO2; it's very susceptible to weather and environmental conditions, so i switched one rifle to HPA simply by installation of a foster fitting...the other two HPA rifles i have are fitted for HPA by the factory. and yes, I'm aware there is an entire cult of CO2 users out there for airguns and paintball and I'm not 'bad-mouthing' or 'dissing' them; there are some advantages to using CO2 as a propellant.

i solved my dilemma by installing a common fitting on the hand pump i have and it's mating fitting on the rifles/adapters. now I'm able to feed all three rifles with the same hand pump. saves a lot of time, effort and $$$$ and did not 'break my bank'.

as i see it, shooting HPA may be the only way to go in the near future...mostly due to legislative and financial issues that are looming on the horizon for the shooting sports; i would not be surprised to see an attempt to legislate a limit on the draw weight poundage of bows, too. that's another subject to be addressed at another time, though...so i guess I'll just go have another cup of coffee and pump up my .25.

wow!

i just got a new PCP; a .25 caliber Benjamin Marauder. what a rifle!

it is designed to operate on 3000 PSI but will operate at lower pressures.

it has a well designed and built trigger that's user adjustable (that in itself is almost, unusual, in today's airguns)

the stock is well designed and constructed from good American hardwood and is ambi-dexterous with a high comb on both sides of the butt for right and left hand shooters alike. it has good checkering and should be enduring for the years to come. one may remove the action from the stock for trigger and pressure adjustments by way of removing ONE, hefty Allen screw.

it has a built in pressure gauge that allows the shooter to monitor pressure quickly and accurately.

refill is easily accomplished by way of a foster fitting and may be accomplished by either SCUBA/SCBA tank or hand pump.

oh, and it has a great shrouded barrel. all one hears is the metallic ping of the hammer when shooting. I'm sure that will cause the legislators in many locations (especially kaliphornia) to weep, wail and wring their hands in anguish.

the rifle, as it comes from the factory, has no mounted sighting devices of any sort but comes with a built on rail to accommodate any optical devices one chooses. one should be advised, though, it is NOT equipped for open/iron sights so if you are an open/iron sight only shooter, this is NOT the rifle for you...unless you take it to a licensed gunsmith for installation of front sights of some sort. it's not impossible, but probably expensive and maybe "iffish" as they would have to mounted to the removable sleeve/shroud that encloses the barrel and it's possible the sleeve would rotate. i suppose there are those who will do it, though.

the rifle itself is surprisingly large, but not proportionally heavy. it weighs in slightly over 6 lbs. judicious use of aluminum and alloy helped to accomplish this fact. there is almost no plastic on this rifle.

there is little doubt this is a 100 yard rifle. it has the power and accuracy to reach out there for the taking of game with no hesitation or doubt and is proving as such with many hunters as we speak. however one must keep in mind, it is a PCP, NOT a rimfire or centerfire rifle so it should be judiciously used in the taking of LIVE game...in other words, don't expect to shoot deer, or similar sized game, with it. the taking of coyote and similar sized animals should be within it's capabilities at reasonable ranges, of course...

its proving to be accurate to say the least. right out of the box i was able to shoot a 5 shot group of less than 1" at a measured 31 yards. with some work with air pressure and pellet style, i suspect a a person could easily shoot near one-hole groups with it as the norm.

the single biggest flaw i find with this otherwise, fine, rifle, is the amount of air used; a 3000 PSI fill is good for only 20-25 shots before refill is called for.

i suppose one could enlarge the air tank but that would cause other factors to change. such as the weight and handling characteristics and i suppose there are those who will do something like that and I'm interested to see what they do. if one does nothing but range shooting i suppose it could be hooked tandem to a large SCUBA/SCBA set up for many shots...but...would it be worth the effort?

overall...i think Crosman/Benjamin have written themselves a ticket for a long, successful trip into airgun history with the Marauder.

ahhhh...i see...

since getting into PCP air rifles I've discovered there are a whole new kind of fanatics out there in the shooting world, the "clean machine" kind.

oh, I'm aware and very conspicuous about the cleanliness of my rifles and pistols. they must be kept clean in order to be reliable and accurate.

what I'm talking about is the cleanliness of the pellets fed to the PCP air rifles.

i recently purchased two tins of a well known brand of pellets to feed my Airforce Talon that were a lesson in eye-opening attention to detail.

these pellets were yielding, at best, ho-hum groups at all ranges. it was exasperating to me. no mater what i did, i could not get them to group satisfactorily at ANY range.

now, i hadn't been paying too much attention to the pellets as i fed them to the rifle but then i noticed small flakes of lead shavings around the tin i was removing them from. hmmmmmmmmmmm...maybe I'd better check the quality of them. i found many of them with lead shavings left inside of the skirts and found nearly, what i estimate to be, 40% of them, were disfigured or deformed badly enough to where they were unacceptable. WOW!

after sorting out the ones that were of better quality, i washed them in a solution of hot soapy water, rinsed them with hot clean water and air dried them overnite, lightly lubricated them with a light application of Break-Free CLP and headed out to the shooting bench with a fresh refill in the air bottle and a curiosity to see if that would do anything.

now, I'm fortunate enough to have enough property and live in a location where i can shoot my "shrouded" air rifle without fear of a SWAT team, Marines, paratroopers, rangers, FBI, etc showing up at my doorstep ready to "neutralize a threat".

i have read the instruction manual and watched the instructional DVD provided by Airforce and it is recommended by them that the pellets fed to their rifles be lightly lubed; i had been negligent in that suggestion. that suggestion might make some "springer" airgunners have a stroke...lubing pellets can cause 'dieseling' in springers...dieseling can cause internal damage to seals and pistons.

OK, OK...moving on...

i have three targets set up: 31 yards, 38 yards and 53 yards. two of them are 2'x2'x 1/4", steel plates for back stops and one is a huge dirt pile. all are more than adequate for stopping pellets.

i put a fresh sight in target at the closest one and proceeded to shoot for results.

i was dumbfounded!

the first five shots were almost one hole and centered almost dead center of the bulls eye! the group was no larger than a dime!

now I'm not certain that washing and lubing pellets will cause them to be at least 50% more accurate, but i do believe that combining that with sorting out the less than desirable ones DID make a huge difference.

i had, previously washed and lubed some other pellets...Spanish made pointed ones, that didn't seem to be affected one way or another by washing and lubing, but now...I've got to go back thru them and sort out the ones with any damage or disfigurement.

I'm not too keen on pointed pellets, most I've tried tend to be not too accurate at longer distances and seem to get worse as the distance increases, but kept within closer perimeters, they can be accurate to the extreme. those guidelines vary when the caliber and speeds of the pellets increase; heavy, bigger caliber, round nose pellets, tend to be more accurate at very long ranges (usually, 50 yards and beyond)than do pointed pellets.

since i have ordered a brand new .25 caliber PCP I'm gonna have to pay scrupulous attention to the pellets i feed it...i normally cannot get with in a reasonable distance to live game any more and have to rely on those bigger, heavier pellets.

this out to prove to be fun, interesting and challenging.

a little long between posting

it's been a while since I've made a post here...but...things are happening. things that have taken precedent over things that MUST be done versus things i WANT to do; things like TAX time...that being said, I'll comment further on my other BLOG, "Don't blame the legislators".

I've had to part with a few of my powder burners as of late and may have to part with more, times have changed...and not for the better.

as an example, i played back an incomplete recorded message on my telefone answering machine recently and it says that "they are trying to pass legislation to registers every long gun and shot gun purchased now"...i did not catch who "they" are...but again, i will address the subject on my other blog.

I've been getting more and more into the PCP air guns as of late. the peripheral support for these arms are not like any other in that there is VERY little in common with other methods of propulsion of projectiles...they're air/nitrogen-driven and utilize a valving system to release the propelling agent instead of igniting a propellant to drive a projectile.

with powder burners one must take precautions involving fire and fire prevention, with the air guns, particularly PCP, one must take precautions of working with HPA (High Pressure Air) the PCP's i have will run on 2500 PSI but are capable of holding 3000 PSI. "oh, that's not much", you say...well, consider this...your workshop compressor that you use to blow chips from your lathe, drill press or fill the wife's SUV tires with uses only about 80 lbs of compressed air to do those mundane tasks. the one i have, a Craftsman, is capable of delivering 150 PSI. that kind of air pressure wouldn't begin to power a PCP in .177 caliber, yet alone a .457, .308 or 9mm.

that's right...i said .457, .308 and 9mm...there are even bigger PCP air guns. air guns that are capable of taking large African game and have proven so. G. L. Barnes makes them in up to .60 caliber.

there are some negative involved, too. Price...and shots per air fill being two of the primary disadvantages.

price? a high quality PCP will usually start in the mid-to-high hundreds of dollars and rise rapidly from there. and that, like most firearms, does not, normally, include optics of any sort and more often than not, no sights of any sort are provided. but, like firearms, it doesn't limit the options...only you and your pocketbook limit them.

shots per fill? the higher the power, the more the air consumption per shot. it's that simple. just like a powder burner, the bigger the caliber/cartridge, the more propellant it burns per shot to drive the bigger projectile. a high-powered PCP will get some where around 5-10 shots per fill. not many considering what you may have to do to refill. you cannot carry the refill gear with you as you can cartridges. even as handy and portable as a hand pump is, it still cannot be comfortably carried with you like putting cartridges in a belt or back/fanny pack and it take considerably more effort than loading cartridges into a magazine of a rifle.

right now, i think one of the biggest reasons i am getting farther into PCP's is the fact they are not in as much of the sight of legislators as are firearms.

also, i can shoot them right here on my property (i live rurally) without fear of reprisal from law enforcement. even though it's not uncommon to hear gunshots here, i still prefer the "shrouded" barrels of a PCP. the paranoid laws of California are still in great fear of "silenced" firearms. California is in the "stone age" when it comes to firearms laws, remember.

my PCP's are powerful enough to hunt small game with and accurate enough to shoot serious accuracy with and yet are affordable and, for the moment, don't have to be "registered".

i guess I'll quit ranting for now and go do something productive