SDB Apache SE

[GNV]

Some ten days ago ordered an SDB Apache SE for a friend of mine from a dealer in Kolkatta with the help of a fellow IFGian friend and received it today.It was shipped using the IPS Regd post. Surprised by the size of the box. Then guessed the action was removed from the stock to reduce the box size. The gun was shipped in a compact yet sturdy wooden box. The photos are below.

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Added in 43 minutes 30 seconds:
The action was literally drenched in engine oil. Took some tissue paper to wipe the oil out. They also included a spare synthetic piston seal also. A spare breach seal also would be much appreciated by all. The piston and spring seems to be coated with moly grease. After wiping all the oil off the action fitted the action in the stock. The metal to wood fit is perfect. Even though the gun weighs about 3.5 kg the balance is so good I didn't feel the weight when I mounted the gun. It felt very good.

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The pull length is 14" and is perfect for me.
Then I cocked the rifle. There are all sorts of noises from the inside of the receiver tube. Not at all smooth. Shot a few pellets and noticed that there was no dieseling. Shot three United Shot Power Ranger Round Head pellets recommended by the IFGian friend at a shoot and see target at 10 yards with open sights resting my elbows on a table and surprised at the resultant group. I simply aligned the sights. My eye sight is so poor that if I focus on the target the sights become blur. If I focus on the sights the target becomes blur. So I aligned the sights roughly on the Red Spot in the target and squeezed the trigger. The trigger is heavy but feel is very good. I think after breaking in period and tuning the trigger would be a joy to use. The group is below.

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Added in 1 minute 21 seconds:
This gun definitely needs some serious consideration.

[00satendra]

Hi GNV Sir,

This looks neat. Good packaging. Thumbs up for the spare synthetic seal.
Do you reckon any early changes or minor work (since the trigger is heavy)? I have my eyes set on SDB for some time now, do inbox me the price details.

Thanks & Regards,
SK

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[anoop]

Dear GNV, is it possible for you to check velocity of Apache with Marvellous Diana shot flat head pellets? Thanks Anoop

[GNV]

Sorry Anoop,
I don't have those pellets. I don't use Flat Heads. However I have some Diana Shot Round Heads and i'll post the fps after chronographing the gun.
Regards,
GNV

Added in 27 minutes 23 seconds:
Specifications of the gun.

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[anoop]

Thanks GNV. Anoop

[GNV]

The gun has nice dovetail grooves and three arrestor pin holes spaced at half inch distance. The holes are not drilled through and are very small.Also the middle hole is off center on my gun.

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The grooves have only 4 - 3/4th inch usable length only. My one piece scope mount is 4 " long and it just fits if I use the rear most arrestor pin hole. The other two holes would be of no use. For two piece mounts there would be no problem.
The holes need to be enlarged and drilled through.

Added in 32 minutes 26 seconds:
I simply don't like the open sights of this gun. They work perfectly but I don't like the design of the rear sight and the poorly made front sight.

Front sight mounting grooves are deep and well cut. The barrel also has a muzzle crown.

Front sight pix

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The didn't bother to debur the holes and clean them after drilling and tapping them. All it takes is a few swipes of a needle file and I don't like incomplete jobs.
Whenever I started to curse them I kept telling myself the price of this gun and that helped.
May be they thought that air gunners love to work on their guns. But working on the internals of an air gun to improve its performance is completely different and an enjoyable task and these small things which reflect the negligence of the manufacturer are not enjoyable to correct.

Added in 15 minutes 12 seconds:
I removed the extra metal and cleaned them.

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The front sight fixing screw holes are not straight in line. They are at an angle. There is nothing I can do to correct it so left it as it is.

The rear sight is of thick metal sheet fabrication and works well. The windage adjustment knob is smooth yet firm. But the elevation dial is very tough to turn and not smooth at all. It has no click stops. It may smoothen with use but the thing I really didn't like is its open design and construction. It would be impossible to keep dust from entering the assembly and to clean it one has to take it off the gun. Not a good thing for people who use their guns in dusty environment like me. It means extra unnecessary work after a shooting session. A totally enclosed design like the rear sight on PH Guns would have been much better.

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Added in 7 minutes 28 seconds:

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Added in 26 minutes 51 seconds:
The rear sight notch plate and spring are too flimsy. The plate is very thin and gets bent easily.

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A little thicker plate with simple screw to fit would be much better.

I suspect there is a tiny barrel droop but don't think it would affect scope usage. I can tell only after shooting it with a scope.

The rubber but plate is comfortable but the rubber used is not good. It is staining my clothes like a Tyre would.

I have come to the end of my fault finding session of Apache's Externals. Already 400 pellets passed through its barrel. Once 1200 pellets pass through its barrel( hopefully in a couple of days ) I'll strip it and start another fault finding session. Eagerly waiting for that.

As of now the gun is shooting nicely but with a lot of spring noise. I couldn't feel any extra vibrations.

The extra piston seal.

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Regards
GNV

Added in 57 minutes 38 seconds:
Of all Indian Air Rifles Hurricane has the lowest cocking effort.

Added in 2 hours 14 minutes 9 seconds:
Tried to mount a scope. I have 4 different mounts and none of the arrestor pins from them fit the holes on the Apache

[Basu]

Dear GNV,
I feel apt to tell you that you have nice hands and ability to shoot a new AR right on target.
I had one gun that had thick rear sight 'V' notch , I used to get reflection from the thick part , hampering my sighting.
Now I intend to reduce the thickness further by making a V notch of shaving blade , gluing it and then colouring with permanent marker.
I must have to appreciate that you are left with ample strenght to fire 400 shots in a day.
Probably wheneven I fired SDBs, I always felt the need of fine tuning the gun.
I am looking forward to know about the best grouping that you received from which brand of pellet.
I was told Predator returns very tight group at 20 yds.

Basu

[GNV]

Dear Basu,
The group is not because of me but the gun.
About the rear sight notch plate. I wanted it to be sturdy enough to withstand use because I feel it is pretty fragile. I have no use of open sights because of my eye sight. I need optical sights.
After those 400 shots my arms are aching like hell. But I wanted to shoot at least 500 pellets today but I couldn't do it and when I set out to do something I usually do it. You see I am a little bit mad and bull headed some times ( wife says most of the times). But today I failed. Age I guess. Tomorrow it would be my friends turn to shoot. And I hope to get at least 1200 pellets to pass through the guns barrel in the next 2 days. Today I took a day off from my plantation work. Normally I never drink during day time when I am at home. But today I took a large peg of whisky to sooth those aching muscles in my arms. Wife is out of town and won't be back for another two days . I am in a hurry to open the gun.
I was not trying to shoot groups. I was simply loading and shooting at the target. I wanted the gun to beak in as soon as possible so that I can open it. Didn't even bother to chronograph it. It had been decades since I shot such a group with open sights.
Also the gun is not only tough to cock but also very stiff after cocking and closing the barrel. Not about the barrel latching. But during the return of the cocking link. I want to know why.
Despite all other set backs the AARMR Hurricane is the smoothest gun to cock that I had ever handled.

Good Night

GNV

[ganeshn]

I was told Predator returns very tight group at 20 yds.


Basu

is it some new kolkata pellet or referring to JSB, if its JSB predator it would be helpful to know how to coax it into the barrell, the SDB bore are 5.38mm.

[Basu]

Yes.....it is JSB Predator..
It sits pretty tight but does excellent in terms of accuracy.

Basu

[jksunwar]

GNV Sir,

Namaskar! After reading lots of good things about SDB Apache SE in this forum, I was about to get one. However, now since your review of the Apache has come up, I may as well wait for you to complete your final report. Your views mean a lot to newbies like me.

The SDB 2000 also interests me quite a lot. Read somewhere in this forum that SDB 2000 is their best product. So how does the two SDBs compare against each other? Besides the checkered stock, what is the reason for the price premium one has to pay for the 2000? Your kind insights will be appreciated.

Cheers!

- Jai

[GNV]

G Smith Pellets and All imported Pellets don't fit the barrel of this gun properly. They need to be forced in. All Indian cheap pellets are no problem. I only tested the gun for accuracy with United Shot Power Ranger Round Heads at 10 yards and they were quite good. I was told this gun likes 12 grn and less than 12 grn pellets. At 10 yrds they may be quite sufficient but at longer ranges I doubt their efficiency in terms of accuracy. I may be wrong though because I have not tested any pellet yet at any range except the USRH at 10 yards. I had used up all the cheap pellets of Indian make to break in the gun and I have only 500 USRH pellets with me which I kept for later use.

Today I opened the gun and found that the Price reflects the quality of the internals. The worst part is the piston. The piston rod is off center and not concentric with the piston. The spring is of very poor quality. Spring guide sucks. All three parts need to be replaced to make this gun good.

Right now I am too much disgusted with me and elaborate my findings later.

Regards,
GNV

[main13]

Today I opened the gun and found that the Price reflects the quality of the internals. The worst part is the piston. The piston rod is off center and not concentric with the piston. The spring is of very poor quality. Spring guide sucks. All three parts need to be replaced to make this gun good.

Right now I am too much disgusted with me and elaborate my findings later.

Regards,
GNV

Sir I must say you're one deadly critic... Mikhail Kalashnikov was lucky you were not born in Dera Adam Khel!!!

[GNV]

Dear Main13,

As I had told in many of posts I am neither an expert nor a critic. I am just a reporter of faults I find in my ARs from my point of view as an engineer and I hate improperly done jobs. That is all.

GNV

[greenrifle]

Thank you GNV sir , for your information kindly post further details of upgrade you made to the rifle and what is the best suitable way to tune the rifle to match the quality of precihole sx or nx series , and most importantly how much it costs because many like me see budget for tuning Air rifle

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