2011 SHOT Show Notes Roy Welch
Air Guns Air guns were very much in
evidence at the 2011 SHOT Show. Cros- man Corporation displayed a variety of pump, break barrel (spring piston and Nitro Piston), and pre-charged pneumatic (PCP) air rifles under the Benjamin, Sheridan, Remington, and Crosman brand names. The new multi- shot Benjamin® Rogue™ air rifle, a .357 caliber electronic PCP (ePCP™) rifle capable of pushing a 145-grain Ben- jamin eXTREME™ Bullet by Nosler® at 800 feet per second (fps) is suitable for larger-sized game such as turkeys, coyotes, and hogs out to 75 yards. There are two additional new bullets for the Rogue rifle, the Benjamin Pursuit™ Hol- low Point at 90 grains and the Pursuit™ Round Nose at 175 grains. Crosman/ Benjamin also produced a chart to aid the selection of air gun hunting rifles and pellets. The chart highlights different air rifle products, matches them to pellets and optics, and lists velocity, energy, and effective maximum distances for small-, medium-, and larger-size game ranging from rats to hogs. The chart clearly shows that with the exception of PCP rifles in .22, .25, and .357 caliber, the effective maximum range for small- and medium-sized game varies from about 10 to 45 yards depending on the rifle, caliber, and accuracy of the shot. The trend in PCP rifles suitable
for varmints and small game is also reflected by the FXairguns and Daystate Ltd. PCP rifles produced in Sweden (FX) and England (Daystate), and distributed in the United States by Air Guns of Arizona. The FX Royale 400 is a 12- shot repeater suitable for hunting and target shooting with 60 shots per fill in the air reservoir. The new FX Royale 500 in .25 caliber is suitable for coyotes out to distances of 50 to 60 yards. A unique feature of the FX rifles is the patented “smooth twist barrel.” The barrel is not rifled. Instead the muzzle end of the barrel is swaged to produce a slightly constricted bore with sufficient (invis- ible) grooves to impart a spin to the pellets. Groups of approximately 0.5 inch are obtained at 50 yards.
The Daystate PCP rifles in .177 to
.25 caliber are very “high tech.” They have a battery powered computer chip that displays battery voltage, power setting, air pressure in gun, and number of shots fired. The Grand Prix model in- cludes a built in chronograph to record velocity.
Velocities are kept below the speed
of sound to insure maximum accuracy. These high-end rifles have stocks with raised combs and are intended for use with scopes. CZ-USA is marketing the CZ 200
S high-power precision adjustable PCP air rifle that drives .177 caliber pellets up to 800 fps. The rifle has a red laminate competition style stock optimized for use with optics and suitable for both three-position and off-hand shooting. It comes with a 4x32 scope that is parallax adjustable down to 10 yards. AirForce Airguns produce PCP ri-
fles with interchangeable barrels in .177, .20, and .22 caliber, and has added .25 caliber barrels to their product line. Air Venturi/Pyramyd Air offer a complete range of air rifles. Beeman is planning to introduce .25 caliber PCP models in the coming year. Umarex USA introduced the Ruger CO2 powered Liquid Gas Rifle (LGR), the spring-break Ruger Air Magnum .177 rifles, and the under-lever action Browning® Leverage Air Rifle available in both .177 and .22 calibers. Manufacturers of traditional break
barrel (spring or gas piston) rifles such as DIANA® and Gamo have new spring piston air rifles and are pursuing devel- opments in PCP and gas piston rifles. DIANA, for example, is offering a new fixed barrel Target-Hunter line that includes the 440 TH, 470 TH, and 56 TH models, with the 470 TH and 56 TH available in .25 caliber as well as .177 caliber. These rifles have under-lever or side cocking systems, thumbhole stocks, and the new T06 match trigger. They are suitable for hunting and field-target use. Plans are in the works for a PCP model. Gamo Outdoor USA, parent company of BSA Optics, displayed their new spring piston SOCOM® Extreme rifles in .177, .22, and .25 caliber, the new Varmint
Hunter HP rifles in .177 and.22 caliber, and the Whisper® CFR fixed-barrel under-lever rifle with integrated noise dampening system. Lead-free pellets are becoming
popular in air rifle circles. Gamo’s non-lead Bullet PBA® (Performance Ballistics Alloy) pellets are available in .177 caliber (7.1 grains) and .22 caliber (14.1 grains) and can be driven to higher velocities than conventional lead pellets. H&N, a German firm founded in
1825, produces .177, .20, .22, and .25 air rifle pellets for Beeman, and is a sponsor of the USA Shooting Team. They have released a new target pellet made of tin, the Field Target Trophy Green, an extra hard hunting pellet, the Field Target Trophy, and another hunting pellet, the Rabbit Magnum II in .22 caliber that weighs 25 grains. Predator International has a new
polymer-tipped caliber hunting pellet, the Predator Polymag™ in .177, .20, .22, and .25 calibers. They also are offering .177 caliber lead-free pellets made of bismuth and tin for schools and junior ROTC programs that do not allow the use of lead pellets. These Predator Get The Lead Out (GTLO™) pellets weigh 5.5 grains and deliver accuracies com- parable to lead pellets. BArrels
There were a number of rifle bar-
rel makers at the SHOT Show including Badger, Bergara, Krieger, E.R Shaw, Lothar Walther, and Bill Wiseman. Both Badger and Bergara were displaying new products of interest to the varmint hunter. Badger is producing 1:8-inch twist barrels for .22-250, .22-243, and .22-308 cartridges for use on Northern Competition’s AR-10 Cheetah rifles. Bergara Barrels, a relatively new name in rifle barrel production with an of- fice in Duluth, Georgia, advertises a complete line of sporter, target, and varmint barrels that are manufactured in Bergara, Spain to specifications devel- oped by Ed Shilen, the well-known U.S. barrel maker. Of particular note is their premium replacement barrels for Rem- ington 700 rifles which utilize a barrel- nut system similar to that employed on
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