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.
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
