The Lady Arrives - Madam Discovery .177 !
Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 5:29 pm
The HW-77K, after many months of bachelor-hood, finally got its companion - a Crossman (Benjamin Sheridan) Discovery .177. I'd like to call her Madam Discovery as 'she' is quite light weight and looks slim and trim compared to the HW.
The marriage was originally proposed by Dev san after due research and suitability to this household of the Delhi Darlings, and Big Gun Abhijeet promptly seconded the alliance with a shower of encouragement and excitement. Now, this was to be a international affair as this lovely bride was a naturalised US citizen having been conceived and born into the family of Benjamin Sheridan of America. Considering the prior blessings by way of exemption of Customs Duty and CVD by the Government, it was the go-ahead for the engagement to be finalised. We requested Mac1 AirGun to undertake the rituals of 'mehndi' (read henna) ceremony for the bride, wherein they ensured that 'she' was 'done up' and 'well tuned' and all her 'vitals' were ready for the rigors of married life. The 'Mehr' was paid to Mac1 for the final trip - home.
Journey to India took about 19 days and every movement of Madam Discovery was tracked via the USPS website. They finally announced that she had reached the India Foreign Post Office but the Customs had grabbed her and weren't willing to let go of her until they met with the Pop-In-Law ! So a few days later I was served with a 'Show Cause Notice' to explain how I dared to import Madam Discovery from America. My efforts to get the lady released from their clutches without this notice (in fact to save them the hassle of issuing it in the first place and saving on a few days) were futile.
So I waited with dreary eyes for Madam to arrive somehow pacifying the HW to hold on. When finally the Notice arrived, I rushed to the Customs guys. They only open 'seized' packages on Mondays and Thursdays. Now they wanted to 'strip-search' her and as if this was not enough, take her X-Ray ! Maybe they believed that there was more than what met their eye as the physical stripping / searching might not reveal some things in her belly ! It would take a few days more as the X-Ray people were hibernating.
Finally, a trip later, after physically stroking and admiring Madam Discovery and noting her vital stats, the file was moved to the Asst. Commr of Customs for signing. All documents are checked in original. Despite my hope of him becoming the 'master of ceremony' by quickly passing the import of Madam Discovery, he refused to accord to the privilege. According to him, a mere membership of a rifle club / association was no ground for claiming 'free duty'. He wants a letter from the Club /Association stating that the person is a 'Registered Shooter' ! Now whatever that means is open for interpretation and discussion. His example of "getting membership of a Golf Club doesn't mean that you know how play golf" was in bad taste !! Fifteen minutes were spent in explaining that anybody who spends 21K to get a NRAI membership must be really keen into shooting and that the Association could only give a membership card with a membership number. My arguments fell on deaf ears. However my Arms license and Delhi State Shooting Certificate saved the day, and he relented, but warning his juniors not to release / pass air-guns untill 'that' letter was obtained. In undertones, he was breathing fire pointing out the staggering loss to the national exchequer due to remission of customs duty.
So lets put the past aside and raise a toast to the fact that the Delhi Darlings' family has another beauty to admire and pat. But make no mistakes, at 1000 FPS and both compressed air and CO2 as fuel, she is very very mean and strikes with a deadly force. She does make you exercise your shoulders to pump in the 2000 PSI of air, before you can 'use' her. In the hands of Dev san, she 'lifted off' a glass at nearly 20 mtrs, and created a small crater in the cement floor when shot into the ground. With me, she punched a hole right through an iron sheet at about 30-35 mtrs which I thought was a safe back-stop. She was eating Crossman Premiers Ultra Magnum 10.5gr pellets, all along this devastation. Yet to see how she'll react to paper...
The HW is feeling shy now as his lady is more powerful than him. But all said and done, HW's personality, feel and grace is far superior to Madam Discovery. Germany vs. America ? They make a happy couple nevertheless, for the moment !!
Specifications
Model Number - BP1K77GP
Power Source - PCP
Caliber- .177 (4.5 mm)
Velocity - 1000 fps
Weight - 5lbs 2oz
Length - 39in
Barrel Material - Rifled Steel
Front Sight - Fiber Optic
Rear Sight - Fully adjustable
Safety - Cross bolt
p.s please upload some pics if possible ..
Congrats Olly ,