Indians For Guns

On an impulse I ordered an SDB 65 0.22 cal air rifle from kovibazar.com. I paid Rs 4500 + Rs 600 courier charges online and received the rifle in 24 hours.

The rifle was in the original factory packing of SDB (Susanto Das and Bros) Kolkata but padded with extra foam and in a bigger box sent by kovibazaar. Although the rifle muzzle had tried to poke through one side of the double cardboard and foam packing - the rifle was undamaged and in good condition. The rifle came bundled with some cleaning lint and a bottle of gun oil, as well as 2 boxes of 100 Mastershot pellets

At this point I will not bother posting photos because anoher IFGian (msureshbabu00) has posted good images of the SDB 65 in his thread linked below
http://indiansforguns.com/viewtopic.php ... 65#p208924

One thing really scared me!! When I took the air rifle out - it was cocked. I uncocked it and a few minutes later I made ready to shoot the first shot. I cocked it again and tried to insert a pellet - imagine my surprise when I found that there was already a pellet in there. It looks like the rifle was cocked and loaded in the factory and shipped out. Judging fom the power of this rifle - it could have been a killer if it had gone off while handling. I say that it was probably cocked and loaded in the factory because the factory box was intact with staples and did not appear to have been tampered with at kovibazaar.

Why did I choose an SDB 65?

1. I already have an Orion and an IHP 35, but my favourite plinker was a 23 year old SDB 50 which was falling apart. Everything is loose and everything has ben replaced or modifoe by me

2. The price was just right for something that I am going to put to rough, regular and continuous use

Initial impressions:

• It is a longish rifle - but feels just like the old SDB 50 in weight and handling. It is heavier than the Orion.
• Cocking requires a bit of effort and seems a little unrefined
• Power is superlative. It seems as powerful as the Orion - possibly more. Power to penetrate both sides of an empty paint can
• Accuracy: Rifled barrel: I havent bench tested it. It came adjusted for 10 meters and I have found plinking accuracy to be excellent at 10 and 15 meters.
• Caliber and pellets: Like the old SDB this one appears to be comfortable with "narrower" 0.22 pellets. That means MS, AIMCO and Marshal shot pellets - all in the 5.6 mm range are fine. This rifle does not accommodate or entertain "widr bore" pellets like Precipell or GSmith which are in the 5.8 mm range. The rifle comes with a factory warning not to force in pellets that feel tight.
• Sights: For me the sights seem perfectly good. It comes bundled with a peep hole but I don't use that. The rear sight has windage and elevation and a locking screw to stop accidental change of windage while handling. For some strange reason I personally prefer this sight over the Precihole sights. I prefer a V over a U
• Trigger- a bit tight, single action. For my plinking neeeds - this is not an issue at all.

Overall impression: this is an excellent rifle for a person looking for a powerful and accurate air rifle within a budget less than Rs 5000.

Comparison with Precihole Orion: The Orion is lighter and more refined - smooth cocking and good power and accuracy. But the Orion is best with heavier pellets - particularly Precipell. Nowadays I use only Precipell with the Orion and they are more expensive.

Unfortunately the welding on my IHP 35 came loose in less than 1 year, requiring extensive repair. For that reason the IHP scores low in my estimate although it is a very accurate and powerul rifle. It had other manufacturing defects

My old SDB lasted for 23 years and possibly 10,000-12,000 shots - that is a respectable record. That is what made me choose another SDB to replace the old SDB

Dear benne,
You are another SDB lover like me.
I wish to see the pics.of rear sight in particular.
These guns shoot powerfully and accurate out of the box .
I will hammer them hard for leaving pellet inside for sure.
AimcoRH it loves best.

Enjoy .......

Basu

Basu - I have only one word for the power - it is vicious. Power never becomes obvious unless there is accuracy as well - but post lunch of Chicken curry I stood there without glasses and tin cans at 15 meters and the way they got hammered is delicious.No sooner have I pulled the trigger than the damn can is jumping like a Paki at the LoC. I must say I am savouring this. Will post relevant photos in due course.

Hearty Congratulations on your new acquisition bennedose - Enjoy!

Any plans to make plinking videos with your new AR - fully reactive cans?

LOL - cans are not only the best reactive targets - they are very forgiving for people who cannot get hole in hole from 3 meters. But you are giving me ideas - maybe I should make some can punching videos.

BTW - I need to make a correction regarding my post above.

i got a feedback call from kovibazaaar and I mentind the loaded and cocked rifle on delivery. I was told that ths is NOT the fault of SDB factory but probably one of the workers at kovibazaar who are tasked with tuning the air rifle before shipping. The person I spoke to apologized and acknowledged the gravity of the error and said that he would ensure that it never happens again.

Of course - on the positive side the rifle is tuned and firing on all cylinders from the word go.

Congrats bennedose on your acquisition of SBD 65 in 22 cal.....
Your description of power & accuracy seems the ideal combo any AR shooter would desire....
Waiting to see the pics + video of your can plinking.....
Briha
PS: Probably with a little "tuning" the performance may still improve

Congrats on your new acquisition bro...Waiting for pics.

Congratulations Bennedose for the new beauty.

Sent from my XT1022 using Tapatalk

msureshbabu00 has already posted good pics of the SDB 65 in the following thread - so I did not want to simply repeat the images.
http://indiansforguns.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=21479

Instead I have two images - one of them comparing the lengths of the Orion, IHP 25 and SDB 65 and the other a comparison of the rear sights

Dear benne ,
I always suspect the kind of rearsight used on SDB65 mainly because of its elevation dial , not kept under compression spring tension to keep it at same place all the time .
The other two rearsights have the same arrengement , where a pin ,under upward force , keeps the dial steadily at its own place.
The 'V' notch is a little wider. That gives larger vision to watch the reaction of the object.Perfect choice for a plinker.
Hope you throw some light into the matter.
A photo description would be even more easily understandable.
Regarding windage dial , I have no issues as a small screw is holding the position perfectly at its own place.
Out of the three guns on display , I am attracted by the looks of SDB65 most.

Basu

bennedose wrote:On an impulse I ordered an SDB 65 0.22 cal air rifle from kovibazar.com. I paid Rs 4500 + Rs 600 courier charges online and received the rifle in 24 hours.

The rifle was in the original factory packing of SDB (Susanto Das and Bros) Kolkata but padded with extra foam and in a bigger box sent by kovibazaar. Although the rifle muzzle had tried to poke through one side of the double cardboard and foam packing - the rifle was undamaged and in good condition. The rifle came bundled with some cleaning lint and a bottle of gun oil, as well as 2 boxes of 100 Mastershot pellets

At this point I will not bother posting photos because anoher IFGian (msureshbabu00) has posted good images of the SDB 65 in his thread linked below
http://indiansforguns.com/viewtopic.php ... 65#p208924

One thing really scared me!! When I took the air rifle out - it was cocked. I uncocked it and a few minutes later I made ready to shoot the first shot. I cocked it again and tried to insert a pellet - imagine my surprise when I found that there was already a pellet in there. It looks like the rifle was cocked and loaded in the factory and shipped out. Judging fom the power of this rifle - it could have been a killer if it had gone off while handling. I say that it was probably cocked and loaded in the factory because the factory box was intact with staples and did not appear to have been tampered with at kovibazaar.

Why did I choose an SDB 65?

1. I already have an Orion and an IHP 35, but my favourite plinker was a 23 year old SDB 50 which was falling apart. Everything is loose and everything has ben replaced or modifoe by me

2. The price was just right for something that I am going to put to rough, regular and continuous use

Initial impressions:

• It is a longish rifle - but feels just like the old SDB 50 in weight and handling. It is heavier than the Orion.
• Cocking requires a bit of effort and seems a little unrefined
• Power is superlative. It seems as powerful as the Orion - possibly more. Power to penetrate both sides of an empty paint can
• Accuracy: Rifled barrel: I havent bench tested it. It came adjusted for 10 meters and I have found plinking accuracy to be excellent at 10 and 15 meters.
• Caliber and pellets: Like the old SDB this one appears to be comfortable with "narrower" 0.22 pellets. That means MS, AIMCO and Marshal shot pellets - all in the 5.6 mm range are fine. This rifle does not accommodate or entertain "widr bore" pellets like Precipell or GSmith which are in the 5.8 mm range. The rifle comes with a factory warning not to force in pellets that feel tight.
• Sights: For me the sights seem perfectly good. It comes bundled with a peep hole but I don't use that. The rear sight has windage and elevation and a locking screw to stop accidental change of windage while handling. For some strange reason I personally prefer this sight over the Precihole sights. I prefer a V over a U
• Trigger- a bit tight, single action. For my plinking neeeds - this is not an issue at all.

Overall impression: this is an excellent rifle for a person looking for a powerful and accurate air rifle within a budget less than Rs 5000.

Comparison with Precihole Orion: The Orion is lighter and more refined - smooth cocking and good power and accuracy. But the Orion is best with heavier pellets - particularly Precipell. Nowadays I use only Precipell with the Orion and they are more expensive.

Unfortunately the welding on my IHP 35 came loose in less than 1 year, requiring extensive repair. For that reason the IHP scores low in my estimate although it is a very accurate and powerul rifle. It had other manufacturing defects

My old SDB lasted for 23 years and possibly 10,000-12,000 shots - that is a respectable record. That is what made me choose another SDB to replace the old SDB

Benndose, thank you for the nice review. Best regards, Pradeep

Basu wrote:Dear benne ,
I always suspect the kind of rearsight used on SDB65 mainly because of its elevation dial , not kept under compression spring tension to keep it at same place all the time .
The other two rearsights have the same arrengement , where a pin ,under upward force , keeps the dial steadily at its own place.
The 'V' notch is a little wider. That gives larger vision to watch the reaction of the object.Perfect choice for a plinker.
Hope you throw some light into the matter.
A photo description would be even more easily understandable.
Regarding windage dial , I have no issues as a small screw is holding the position perfectly at its own place.
Out of the three guns on display , I am attracted by the looks of SDB65 most.

Basu

Sorry Basu - I missed this post.

I had a lot of trouble with my IHP 35 rear sight. The "click" for the elevation dial is produced by a small rod supported by a spring that juts out from a hole. If you unscrew the dial the rod and spring can jump out and get lost forvere. Fortunately I did not lose them when I was playing with the IHP rear sight.

My pereference is for a "V" shaped notch because it allows me to adjust my aim more comfortably than a "U". But the difference is not great - given my level of aiming capability and the fact that 99% of my shooting is done standing with rifle unsupported in the artillery position.

Dear benne,
It is three months that you got SDB 65.
It is the time to do another review after break-in.
Hope it is on the way.

Basu

Basu thanks for the reminder. Maybe I will do a more thorough rview - but the rifle is lovably boring. It is unerringly accurate with the right pellets (I use Diana Flat Head) and grouping remains as good as ever for my level of accuracy. Need to do a review at 25 meter shooting.

Hi bennnedose,

I have bought the same gun from KoviBazar. But the gun I received has a very loose trigger. It takes a lot of effort to pull it but it moves from side to side and almost rattles in its place. Can you please check your piece to see if you have a similar problem.

Many thanks,

Ron