On Fri, 06 Jun 2008 21:14:14 GMT, Trevor Jones
wrote:
RAM³ wrote:
He may have minor difficulties with the pot metal that's often used for
their receivers...
I've seen a lot of Chinese springer airguns, and I've never yet seen
one that was not made of plain old steel.
Some of the finish work was in a range between bad, and worse, but the
steel was still steel.
Cheers
Trevor Jones
This air rifle is made entirely of steel, with hardwood stock..grain
appears to be stained birch, or even a fine grained walnut or 9.
Finish of metal is decent enough, wood is ok, about equivalent to a
cheap .22 of US manufacture such as the Marlin 60
Stamped in the top of the (steel) receiver tube is "TFA" inside a
logo, with the words 'Sharpshooter" below it. Front sight (hooded) is
a course post
On the side of the barrel chamber is " Cal 4.5/.177" and "Made in
China"
some investigation shows that TFA appears to be one of the more
prolific chicom air rifle makers and appears to be distributed by
several US importers, such as
http://www.xisicousa.com
field testing....
I took it out to the back 40, and using Crossman .177 flat nosed
pellets, at a measured 30 feet, fired at a target of 3/4" MDF, using a
'shotgun' type of aiming, using the front post (coarse front post
inside of hood, top of which was approx 1" above bore centerline)
A serious attempt was made to keep the same stock weld each time.
shots were a verticle string, approx 6" below aiming spot.
Verticle stringing usually indicates loose stock screws, and yes, they
were. Tightening them brought the grouping to about a 1.25 circle
But still 6" low.
three holes in the rear sight location..so using the biggest
one..nearly a #10, I screwed in a 1" long 10-32 for an impromptu rear
sight and used it to align the front sight, top of the rear, top of
the front....squeeze
About 1.75 high and to the right about .75"
Ground the rear sight screw (!) down to about .75" above
centerline..and came pretty close to the aiming spot.
5 shots went into a .65"
not partrcularly good, but considering I was just lining up a pair of
posts..some indicator that the air rifle can shoot.
i was shooting into a piece of 3/4" MDF..and the pellets were lodged
right at surface level...the hollow bases right at flush.
I dug around for another container of pellets I remembered
having...Crossman 'copperhead' pointed pellets..with a moderate point
and much heavier.
they shot to point of aim....and buried themselves about .010 below
the surface of the mdf. Impact sounded harder and they knocked a bit
of dust off the board with every shot.
they shot thru a bit of well seasoned 3/4' pine board, with each shot.
the flat headed pellets not making it through, though going deep
enough to not be able to see the bases.
All and all..not as powerful as I expected, but not all that bad
either. One assumes that proper oiling and lubrication will help.
It did turn out to be about as accurate as I expected..with some
potential for more.
I just dropped an email to the Contact Us at the above distributors
service email addy with the info and Ill see what happens about
getting a new rear sight.
I could probably mill up a base for an old rifle sight, but would
rather do something more productive on the 3 days I have at home this
weekend.
there was also a bit of horizontal movement in the barrel/receiver
hinge, so tightened up the hinge screw..it made the movement much
smaller..but still not totally deflectionless. I may have to ream and
make a new shoulder bolt. shrug...its a chinese air rifle after
all.....
But putting scope on the reciever would be a lesson in
frustration..horizontal stringing would be a killer.
Gunner
Gunn er
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
..
at yoyodyne they were all veterans of the psychic wars
exiled from the eighth dimension where the winds of limbo roar"
* * * * * * *mariposa rand mair theal