Here are some rules for testing Air Guns that might, prove useful to you in your own testing:
Ignore the looks of the gun.
> A gorgeous gun can shoot well, but so can an ugly gun. Of course, it’s doubly nice if you find a great-looking gun that’s a real shooter. Let the gun speak for itself. Don’t pre-judge based on anything. If there is one thing that drives me nuts, its people who decide that a particular gun can’t possibly be any good, based on absolutely no first-hand experience. Good manufacturers have occasionally produced less than admirable guns, and manufacturers who have a reputation for producing inexpensive air guns have sometimes fashioned some real winners.
Let the gun chose the ammo.
> Sometimes you’ll have to try lots of different ammo to get something that works well in a particular gun; sometimes you’ll get it on the first try. Remember the price/performance curve. All air guns are built to be brought to the market at a particular price. Sometimes you can get really excellent performance for less money. For more money, you’ll usually get more, superb performance, outstanding fit and finish, and often more advanced features.
> Keep in mind there is no such thing as a “perfect” air gun. Perfection depends on the characteristics that are most important to the shooter and what the intended application is. What’s the thing that causes most concern is “Accuracy Testing”. Just because you get a particular accuracy result with a certain gun and pellet combination, that doesn’t necessarily mean that if you buy the same model gun and use the same pellets, you will get the same results.
> There’s too much involved, precision engineering of the barrel, the perfect match between the breech & transfer port, the ratio between the tube & piston (diameter / length / weight) , quality of spring / seal, the length & OD of the rear spring guide and of course the finesse of the trigger mechanism.
> Finally, what’s the worst thing about testing air guns?
• Velocity of the ambient air – affects pellet flight path, also varies with pellet shape and weight
• Mode of shooting – Hand held, Bench rest, Bean bag rest, Bi-pod rest
• Open sights Vs Peep sight Vs Scope
• Frame of the shooter’s mind – there are days when you hit everything you aim & shoot & days when you are way off mark
> Still, air gun testing is a lot of fun, and I would really enjoy hearing from the people who read this post.
Till then, aim true and shoot straight.
Cheers
Brihacharan
