My Air rifles: SDB Artemis (Waiting for rebirth), Precihole SX100 Pegasus

[Anupam Goswami]

Hello and season’s greetings!

I have never used an air gun in my life. Even though for the past one year, I have been entertaining the idea of air gun shooting as a hobby; I decided to wait and see if I am able to keep the interest/want going.

I chanced upon this forum a while back, and would like to congratulate all of you for providing a platform for shooters and newbies alike.

I have decided to take the plunge now and am in the market for an air rifle.

I have following criteria for my first air rifle:
1. Overall budget of no more than INR 20,000/- for the rifle and its case. Sites and scopes will be considered later.
2. The rifle must be serviceable in India and spare parts must be readily available.
3. As I am a first time user, I might use/maintain the rifle in a manner not intended by the manufacturer. So, it must be, let’s say, newbie friendly.

I am also open to consider purchasing a used rifle, if it is well taken care of by an experienced shooter on this forum, and who is looking to upgrade to a more capable equipment.


Please give me your suggestions.

Thank you.

[vsraja]

you can get a precihole vx100.It is very cheap and good quality air rifle.Its better for you, as it need very less maintenance and care.It also performs well.Currently Precihole is the best company in air rifle in india. Spares also easily available online.Don't confuse on seeing the outer looks of other brand air rifles, precihole is gorgeous inside also.I can say that because i have many brands of air rifles.

[maanbirsingh]

you can get a precihole vx100.It is very cheap and good quality air rifle.Its better for you, as it need very less maintenance and care.It also performs well.Currently Precihole is the best company in air rifle in india. Spares also easily available online.Don't confuse on seeing the outer looks of other brand air rifles, precihole is gorgeous inside also.I can say that because i have many brands of air rifles.

and you can try the SX and NX models of Precihole as well..

[Anupam Goswami]

you can get a precihole vx100.It is very cheap and good quality air rifle.Its better for you, as it need very less maintenance and care.It also performs well.Currently Precihole is the best company in air rifle in india. Spares also easily available online.Don't confuse on seeing the outer looks of other brand air rifles, precihole is gorgeous inside also.I can say that because i have many brands of air rifles.

and you can try the SX and NX models of Precihole as well..

Thank you vsraja and maanbirsingh for your input.

I read a lot of posts about SDB Artemis here. It seems to be powerful and fairly accurate.
Is it not a good first time air rifle?

[Anupam Goswami]

On 4th December, 2018; I joined this forum and submitted my first post.

And somehow, I have managed to make it disappear a few minutes ago. Or, maybe, it’s in the works to get approved.

In that post, I rambled about how I had been toying with idea of taking shooting as a hobby and was in the market for a beginner air rifle. Vsraja and maanbirsingh suggested Precihole springers, and their input is much appreciated.

Then, I read a thread started by sam47 about the SDB Artemis. It beautifully documented his journey with the said air rifle and was richly contributed towards by Basu, targetpoint, vsraja and sagar12345.

I found myself torn between the Precihole’s assurance of workmanship and the SDB’s promise of power. “Well”, I reasoned, “so what if the Artemis is written about as less accurate; I probably am not going to take any AR to task anytime soon! And if, like how it appears, I have to tinker with it often, it might just test my waters whether shooting is going to be a lasting hobby of mine.”

Maybe Basu put it right, that all new shooters put power above other characteristics in an AR.

I called SDB, Kolkata late last afternoon and was directed to a certain Mr. Jha. Jha sahab was a bit taken aback as I unabashedly put down the order for one rifle in British Walnut stock. He apparently is a big distributor for SDB. But, he was polite and accommodating. He suggested United Shot pellets. I wanted pointed ones.

I have just made the payment and have been told to wait for eight to ten days for my AR.

As I type this, I am bursting at the seems with anticipation and already daydreaming about shooting one inch groups from great distances

I have drawn a design for DIY pellet catcher, and will start working on it soon with some scrap wood/plywood lying around my workshop.

Cheers!!

[Basu]

Dear Goswami,

My only suggestion to you is that to read various posts written by members and take your own decision.
Days back I was testing brand new Diana 34 Classic.
I was irritated by the cocking noise and being new, at 12 fpe , pellets were going everywhere except centre.
So any springer takes time to settle down.
Artemis is 13-14 fpe AR and beautiful.
It also takes time to to settle down than any 9.5 fpe AR.
Choice is yours.

Basu

[vsraja]

Nothing wrong in experimenting with any air rifle available in India. My suggestion was purely based on my own experience. My first one is ihp 35. Then SDB Apache, then Ak500, then hurricane and finally precihole vx100. Now I can compare my own experience with these toys.I do only target practice that too very short range, mostly 10yards. Even though I have urge to shoot long distances I can't do it, this 10yard range quench some thirst.A newcomer has limited knowledge. But I have knowledge based on my own experiences.Naturally it contains my own preferences and likings.we call this as personal biasedness. So even if somebody suggested me to buy a precihole rifle during my first purchase I would not bought it because I mostly valued them based on outer appearances rather than inner quality at that time.Even you will also be happy about other brands till you purchase a precihole.So happy shooting.

Sent from my SM-G610F using Tapatalk

[Anupam Goswami]

Yesterday, I made a pellet catcher.
It is 15 inches high as well as wide, and 6 inches deep.
I filled it with corrugated cardboard.

I made it with scrap wood/plywood lying around my workshop.

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I am not sure how it will hold up.
What do you guys think?

[Basu]

6" should stop the pellet.
You might as well experiment with coconut fibres.

Basu

[Anupam Goswami]

Today my Artemis was delivered. It was shipped in a plywood box which was nailed shut. The barrel and stock were separate and required only three screws to attach.

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The picture doesn’t do it justice. It really is beautiful.

A container of wadcutter pellets came free with the rifle. I haven’t tried them yet.

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I had asked for some pointed pellets and Mr. Jha sent these United shots superpointed.

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I shot three hundred of these pellets today in batches of thirty shots each. These pellets, though cheap, are not consistent in size and symmetry. Some fit tight in the breech while some were loose. Similarly, some pellets were skewed. But they cost only ₹160 per pack of 500 pellets.

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This is my first spread of thirty shots. These shots were taken from a distance of 40 feet, off hand, while seated on a chair. If you count, there are less than thirty holes. That is because some shots were so wayward that they didn’t even hit the paper. By the way, I printed this target myself. The bull’s eye is one inch in diameter. The pellet catcher I made a few days ago, held well. None of the shots managed to pass through.

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Midway through the third batch of thirty shots, I noticed that the screw on the front right side of the stock has become loose. I tightened it. The screws aren’t tempered and one can strip them if excess torque is applied. By this time, I also started experimenting with various stances. I attempted artillery hold and tried various postures. But throughout the afternoon, I couldn’t find any comfortable and stable stance. My leading hand(left) kept shaking minutely. Even though, at one point, I managed to put four pellets in the bull’s eye, I must say that my shots had no control and my stance lacked stability.

By the time I was done with my tenth batch of thirty shots, it was getting dark and my leading shoulder was sore. And my last spread of today was no better than my first one. I feel it is going to be a long journey from spreads to close groups.

[Vikram]

Congratulations on your new rifle. I hope you enjoy shooting with it.

[Anupam Goswami]

Congratulations on your new rifle. I hope you enjoy shooting with it.

Thank you.

[Vimalkarur]

Pellet catcher looks nice and compact. But using plywood as back stop is not advisable for safety reasons. While shooting scattered shoot it won't be a problem. If you start shooting at a single point it will make a hole through the plywood. So place a steal plate cut in the size of the cardboard. Place the steel plate first and fill the cardboard before it. So even if the pellets go through the cardboard, it will be stopped by the steel plate.

[Anupam Goswami]

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This is my first spread of today.
I used captain shot wad cutters that were supplied along with the rifle. Even these pellets are not consistent in shape and size.

But my spread has improved a lot. I even got s X shots on the bulls eye.

I used standing stance and attempted artillery hold each time.

[Vimalkarur]

What is the distance between you and the target. If this is a 25 mt target, it is ok if you are a new shooter. But you need to do a lot of practice. First try resting the gun and shoot less than 1" group at 10 yards, And move to 25 yards. This will improve your confidence and show you the real capacity of your weapon. Then you can try standing freehand shooting.

Also try different pellets, because each barrel likes particular pellet. Do some experiment and find the ideal pellet for your gun.