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GAMO TC45 Field Review

Several months ago we reached out to Gamo USA and were awarded a chance to field review the TC45 Big Bore. This is GAMO’s newest entry into the Big Bore Airgun market and was something I thought may fit well with an extended use review. The TC45 has been branded by GAMO but is essentially modeled after the Evanix REX platform of Airguns.

GAMO TC45 STATS

Gamo TC45 Big Bore PCP Air Rifle

  • Precharged-pneumatic
  • Single shot for maximum ammo flexibility
  • Integrated noise dampening
  • Adjustable 2-stage trigger
  • 480cc carbon fiber air cylinder fillable to 250 BAR (3,625 psi)
  • Highly efficient in-line valve system
  • Weaver/Picatinny optics rail
  • 10-40 shot count, may vary depending on projectile and settings

Gamo is diving headfirst into big bore pre charged pneumatics with the all-new TC45 PCP air rifle.  This PCP hunter is built for one thing, and one thing only–delivering huge lead into medium to large game. The TC45 has a large 480cc carbon fiber cylinder, sheathed by a rubber-coated polymer stock designed to provide the ideal cheek weld.  Each cylinder includes an easy-to-read integrated manometer and the cylinder itself is removable for easy takedown and transportation. When you’re ready for a scope, a long tactical Weaver/Picatinny rail awaits your choice of optics and an adjustable 2-stage trigger awaits your preferred pull. Featuring an innovative underlever cocking system, the trigger guard acts as the cocking lever that simultaneously opens the breach. Load up a .45 cal. round, and send it downrange at speeds up to 900 FPS. This is definitely huge air power, but the TC45 includes an integrated suppressor to keep the noise down a bit. Lastly, the TC45 features grooved and textured AR style grip is interchangeable with other AR15 grips. Gamo’s TC45 gives shooters huge rounds, good power, in a streamlined frame filled with added features, and the result?  A big bore that’s more than ready to face most hunting situations.

Caliber 0.45″
Max Velocity 900 fps
Muzzle Energy 248 ft/lbs
Loudness 4-Medium-High
Barrel Length 24.24″
Overall Length 47.13″
Shot Capacity 1
Barrel Rifled
Front Sight none
Rear Sight none
Scopeable Weaver/Picatinny
Trigger Two-stage adjustable
Buttplate Rubber
Suggested for Hunting
Action Underlever
Safety Manual
Powerplant Pre-charged pneumatic
Function Single-shot
Body Type Rifle
Weight 8.0 lbs
Cylinder Size 480 cc
Shrouded Yes

I received the rifle and was given several months to conclude my review, this so I thought would be more than adequate time. My first impression of the rifle was the weight, it feels extremely lightweight and well balanced considering it’s length. The TC45 felt very sturdy and well made right down to the finish on the gun, the only plastic on the gun was the AR style grips. My first course of action was to mount a scope, I had chosen a Trinity Force 1-4X28 tactical style scope.

This is a great scope for short ranges and fit the gun well with it’s tactical style mount and the ability to accept a light for night hunting. I looked over most all of the physical aspects of the gun and will show the best details I can. TC45 comes in at 8.0 lbs and that’s partly due to the 480cc carbon fiber bottle that’s able to lower the overall weight as well as to fill to 3600psi or 250BAR. The bottle is easily removed by loosening the locking ring and simply unscrewing it from the receiver. This is a nice feature to the gun as it’s easily able to pack into a small case.

The TC45 is uniquely designed with an underlever that is part of the trigger guard. To open the breech this lever is simply pulled down and forward.

 The loading port on this rifle is very large and has plenty of room for a variety of different length Slugs and Pellets. Having a large loading port is especially important when we may be reloading quickly and have no time to fumble. The lever itself has a small latch on the right side that acts as somewhat of an Anti-Bear Trap that keeps the lever from accidentally getting slammed closed. This is an interesting feature but one that’s certainly important for safety of our fingers and accidental discharge. The lever does have a little bit of play in it but nothing out of the ordinary or sloppy. The safety sits just above the trigger on the right side of the lower part of the receiver, simple design that works well. Moving on we look at the barrel system that includes a full length shroud and built in moderator. I inspected the inside of the moderator and discovered that it had no baffles or any other form of deadening material to quiet the gun.

 I have concluded that this moderator is most likely for cosmetic purposes and serves little to quiet down the guns bark. This most likely was added to stiffen the shroud and through design it was made to be a larger diameter to enhance the appearance to the front of the rifle. My initial inspection was to see if it may unthread and would allow for the installation of an aftermarket moderation device, it doesn’t. The barrel system on this rifle is very strong and had no flex or movement whatsoever, this is a great stiff system. After checking the gun over and making sure everything was tight it was time to pack it up and ready it for a day of shooting.

The following weekend Terry, Marley and I drove several hours North to a location that has excellent space to set up for longer range shooting. We arrived fairly early and were met by a good amount of wind that never makes for great shooting conditions. We had brought a 12″X12″ steel freestanding plate that would be set to 50/100/200 yards.

We aired up the rifle to 3600 psi and loaded it with some Neisen Specialty Ammo 196gr Slugs, these were the lightest weight swaged slugs he had. Through some chronograph reading I had concluded that this ammo would give 3 shots at close to 300 fpe.

We set the plate out at 50 yards and proceeded with taking three shots. The trigger on the TC45 was set up good out of the box and gave a very predictable feel with smooth break to it. The trigger is adjustable but after extended use it seemed to get even smoother.

We moved the plate out to 100 yards and this is really where the wind started howling as well as my camera giving me some difficulty and ultimately needed a major cleaning. The wind had blown some debris into the internals causing some distortion to the picture.

After taking a break and having lunch I hiked out to 200 yards with the steel plate, setting it up just above the creeks bank.

Making it out to 200 yards was no easy task and quite honestly took quite a bit of practice to find the correct hold. The wind at that range was just killing me!! Although the rifle was able to reach out I felt is was a bit much, especially with slugs. The rifle faired well at closer ranges but just did not seem to have enough power to push the 196gr slugs at extended ranges. We packed up and headed back down the mountain and called it a day. The TC45 is a very enjoyable rifle to shoot, has a little kick but super manageable and predictable at shorter ranges. I was happy with the first test run and was excited to move forward with the review.

Several weeks past due to rain and some roads being closed that kept me away from my normal shooting areas. When the rain finally let up I headed over to a nearby private range to conclude my testing of the TC45. I received some Air Venturi 138gr diabolo pellets, these were the most lightweight cast pellets I could find.

The Gamo TC45 seems to like lightweight “pellets” that not only bring up the speed but bring up the shot count of the rifle. I spent some time over the chronograph and was able to achieve the provided shot string over a 3600 psi fill. The sweet spot seemed to be in the 3400psi range giving me 8 shots, most were all declining but somewhat close in numbers.

The rifle produced 8 shots with the highest at 236 fpe, I felt this was fairly conservative and more in range with the overall power it’s best suited to. For accuracy out to 100 yards these fared ok, the main benefit was to increase the shot count for field use. I had some fun with blasting some pumpkins and a water bottle at 100 yards, 200+fpe was a pleasure at that range.

This rifle is no doubt a bunch of fun to shoot and pretty accurate out to 100 yards, beyond that it was kind of hit or miss and just didn’t seem consistent enough for long range. I can see this being an excellent predator hunting gun, being lightweight and having a fair shot count with good power. The following week I had planned to head into the remote mountains for several days of hunting with the GAMO.

We have received quite a bit of rain here in California that has made getting into the field difficult. Most of the areas we hunt require traveling dirt roads that don’t fair well during the winter months. I finally had some time to head out to a familiar location for several days and hunt with the TC45.

I left the house and headed into the mountains that took Marley and I several hours into a remote location where I would be spending several days. My hopes were to try for some Jackrabbits, Ground Squirrels and Coyote’s as this area has plenty of all three. We arrived to an area I frequently camp and was quick to find a good amount of Ground Squirrels running about in a nearby field. The temperature was a bit cold and the ground was still very saturated from the several inches of rain the night before. I was quick to set up camp and to ready my gear for a short hike into the field.

The clouds were passing over quickly giving several minutes of sunshine before being gloomed over again by large thunderclouds. This area was very beautiful and certainly starting to look a lot like Springtime. Everything was so green and I could loads of ground squirrel holes scattered around every few feet. The first shot I took was on a large Ground Squirrel at 65 yards, made the shot only to have it move into it’s hole just as the pellet hit. I think many times they can actually see the projectile coming towards them. After making the shot most of them cleared the field and down into their holes to safety. This Big Bore is fairly loud and gives a good amount of feedback depending on the environment such as hills and canyons, this is where I would have liked to see the gun a bit quieter. After sitting for a bit longer watching the clouds roll by I spotted a Ground Squirrel come out at 55 yards in front of me. I took the shot that whalloped right in the center mass, near exploding it.

After the squirrel explosion I headed back down the hill as it started sprinkling enough to make me not want to use my camera. Near camp was an old abandoned barn that gave me a great opportunity to take some photographs of the TC45 as well as to dry off my equipment.

The weather started getting pretty bad after I finished up with taking my photographs so we ended up staying in the barn for several hours. I was as usual just happy to be out enjoying the trip with Marley and being able to relax a bit in such a beautiful place. After having a late lunch the rain stopped so Marley and I headed out again with the hopes of finding some more varmints moving about.

After a few minutes of walking through the field I was able to spot a few more Ground Squirrels peering from their holes. Most of them were beyond 100 yards and wouldn’t keep still long enough to give me adequate time to set up my shots.

I was able to take several before giving myself enough time to set up the camera, thankfully for future hunts a scope camera will be in order. This trip was especially difficult considering everything was wet and much more care needed to be taken with the video equipment. Keeping the lens dry was my biggest problem and some of the footage was later discovered to be unusable. Marley and I continued hiking in a large circle that eventually made way towards a steep ravine where I flushed several Jackrabbits. I took a shot on one of them at 60+ yards that was sprinting up an embankment but fell short by several inches. Over the next hour we saw very little action and ultimately headed back to camp as the rain was moving back in again. Back at camp it was now getting into evening and I decided to pack up as the rain was coming down fairly hard. The goal of the trip was to document some hunting but unfortunately my camera gear is just not suited to moisture. Hunting in the rain is usually slim to none anyways, the animals are hunkered down and out of sight.

Marley and I headed down the road just before dark thankfully because the road can get pretty nasty and flooded.

The following weekend the weather was much better so we headed several hours south of us to a large farm. This farm is a great location and has plenty to hunt such as Coyotes, Ground Squirrels, Rabbits and Birds. We had just acquired a new motorhome so this trip would be our main voyage and something we looked very forward to. My friend Ron who frequents the farm is a long time Airgunner and has spent a good amount of time on this particular permission. I had planned to gather some footage for several reviews and to use the GAMO TC45 for a night hunt against some Coyotes and Rabbits.

This farm has large fields full of brush piles and fallen citrus trees, the perfect habitat for Cottontail rabbits. Over the two days I hunted some Ground Squirrels, Eurasian Collared Doves and Jackrabbits. Saturday night Ron and I set up our guns with low powered lights, thankfully that evening would be a full moon. The sun went down and the temperature dropped very quickly into the low 40’s, still the moonlight made hiking around much easier. Ron was kind enough to loan me one of his lights that mounted perfectly on top of the Trinity Force 1-4X28 tactical scope. Ron showed me a bit about the poor man’s night vision that uses an adjustable green laser. These can be found fairly cheap on Amazon and work very well out to 150 yards.

Ron discussing how to use the green laser with his scope

Ron, Marley and I hiked around for a bit looking for “eyes” to shine back at us using the laser and the mounted light.

Ron scanning the brush piles

Ron and I both took shots on several rabbits as far away as 130 yards, it’s amazing how little light it takes to spot the eyes. I was able to connect with a small cottontail at 20 yards that was hiding is a brush pile.

This was Marley’s first time hunting at night.

After about an hour of hiking around Ron became frustrated with his batteries in the laser as well as having some pain in his leg from a previous injury.

At around midnight Ron packed it up and went back to the shootin shack to call it a night. Marley and I however were not tired and continued along making several kills within the next few hours. Most of the rabbits we spotted were all within 50 yards moving about in the grassy fields around the brush piles.

The nights chill finally took it’s toll on me around 3:30am so we headed back to the motorhome to get warm and hit the sack. The following morning I spent several hours filming for another field review before packing up and moving down the road to home.

My time spent with the GAMO TC45 was just a bit over three months, much longer than anticipated. Normally a review may take up to 4 weeks but this took much longer due to camera problems and poor weather conditions. This was not a paid review and a project I took on freelance to be able to give a real honest review of it. I really appreciate GAMO sending me this rifle to use as any end user would. I will enclose my final honest thoughts on this rifle as well as the video portion of the review.

         PROS

  • Lightweight and easy to pack
  • Easy to fill
  • 3600 psi Carbon Bottle
  • Nice underlever
  • Good trigger
  • Very durable
  • Well balanced
  • Large Loading Port

         CONS

  • Loudness
  • Needs lower picatinny rail
  • Underpowered for large Slugs

Here are links as to where to purchase this Air rifle:

Gamo
PyramydAir

 

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Pest Control on the Farm

by Dana Webb

Several weeks ago I had received a call from a good friend of mine who kindly invited Lindsey, Marley, Buddy and I to spend the weekend on one of the farms he frequents. This was an excellent opportunity for us as we had just recently purchased an R/V for extended trips and to make room for our new larger dog Buddy. Friday afternoon I loaded up the R/V with all of my camera equipment, Airguns and gear so we could get started on the road early Saturday morning. My friend had informed me that the Ground Squirrels and Collared Doves were plentiful and ready to be thinned out a bit. Saturday morning we left the house for our several hour trip down to the farm, the weather was a bit chilly but bright and clear. We arrived to the farm by 9:00 and were kindly greeted by the farms owner. We drove in slowly as the road was still a bit muddy from the several days of rain we had had. All the rain has turned the hills grass so green, something I have not seen in many years.

This farm has many acres of prime huntable land that offers a great place to target shoot as well. The panoramic views were just gorgeous with the green grass and snow capped mountains in the background. I had brought several Airguns with me but had planned to use my American Air Arms EVOL .30 for most of the weekends hunting. I started off the day by unpacking the gear from the motorhome and to situate it for the several days of being parked. After setting things up I was eager to set out on foot and have a look at the property as well as the varmint activity.

As we made way down an animal trail that weaved through the many fallen citrus trees I noticed a ton of Rabbit and Ground Squirrel activity. This trail made way around the property and ultimately led up to a small abandoned shack. This shack was a great place to stay hidden from the many Eurasian Collared Doves that flock into the branches of the fallen citrus trees.

I set myself up inside towards the back wall that left me some great shots between 20 and 60 yards. After waiting for several minutes sure enough a good size flock of Eurasians came in to perch on the branches just ahead of me.

The Eurasian Collared Doves are becoming more and more abundant here in the Western states and can be found near almost all agricultural properties. In many cases the populations have simply become far out of control and at times may need to be thinned out. No species of bird has colonized North America at the speed with which the Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) has marched across the continent. Many invasive species have a negative impact on native species, particularly species that are similar to the invader.

Eurasian Collared Doves can be easily identified by the black ring that goes from the back of the neck and stops halfway around the front with a sharp taper. Most states have no limit on these invasive species and are in some cases encouraged to be taken. Air Rifles are near the perfect tool to ethically hunt the Eurasian Collared Doves, especially in a farmyard type environment. When hunting on any permission it’s imperative to be safe and know your surroundings. Under some circumstances the use of a large caliber may be a poor safety choice. When hunting birds we are most likely always aiming upwards and sometimes near buildings or livestock. We always need to be aware of what’s behind our line of sight and to be conscious of the surrounding areas.

 

Over the next few hours I had some great success with taking many Collared Doves and ranges out to 60+ yards. My rifle is outfitted with a DonnyFL Ronin moderator that quiets the report down considerably making the birds a lot less skittish to land.

Many of the times I was able to take several sitting on the same branch. The fallen citrus trees had many California Ground Squirrels that burrow in and around these areas.

Marley and I spent enough time on the birds so we headed back to the motorhome for some lunch and a bit of relaxation. This area was a pleasure to hunt and definitely had given me the most fun I’ve had hunting birds in a great many years. After lunch I topped off the EVOL with air and filled my bag with some more NSA .300 47gr hollow point slugs. I have used these slugs for the majority of the hunting I do here in CA as they’re extremely accurate and carry much better BC than that of a standard diabolo pellet. After reloading my pack and putting a fresh battery in my camera Marley and I set out again, this time we were going after the California Ground Squirrel. This farm has several large pastures that are bordered by some large citrus groves. When Springtime comes the Ground Squirrels move into the groves and cause serious damage to the orange trees, killing many of them. Our goal was to eliminate some of the larger adults before having a chance to create offspring that can explode the population in less than several weeks.

I walked around the property and noticed quite a few large adults in an area approximately 40 yards from the edge of the citrus grove. These areas all had very large mounds with active holes set several feet apart. Marley and I set up on the very edge of the northern part of the field between 65 and 100 yards of most of the active holes.

In most cases hunting Ground Squirrels requires a good amount of patience and quiet time. When hunting like this we sometimes may be waiting 20 minutes before we get a good clear shot. After a short wait I spotted several large adults congregating just outside one of the large mounds at 67 yards. With careful aim I was able to take a great headshot that threw the Ground Squirrel down lifelessly.

A short time later I spotted another one at 72 yards and was able to take it down with another perfectly placed headshot. This field looked to be pretty active but after killing several off they became extremely skittish and stopped coming out. At this time I decided to move a bit higher up on the hill where I could get more of a long range view of the field. This hill gave me a great view but took me out of the shelter of the wind. The next adult ground squirrel was across a ravine at 112 yards, somewhat of a tricky shot in heavy wind. I took the shot and was a bit low hitting it in the shoulder sending it into a flip. Not much can survive a shot like that and sure enough Marley found the squirrel expired just under a nearby bush. After several hours of some casual pest control we headed back to the motorhome to relax and to take a short walk with the dogs. That evening my friend and I had planned to take a trip out for some rabbits, skunks and coyotes.

After having a nice relaxing dinner in the warmth of the motorhome my good friend and I got ready for a night hunt. I would be using the GAMO TC45 loaded with 138gr Air Venturi diabolo pellets.

This is a rifle I have been working with for several months doing and in depth review on. I have found it to be an excellent short range big bore that’s an excellent choice for small to medium game. This rifle is easy to carry and with the Trinity Force 1-4X28 scope I’m able to mount a light very easily onto the tactical rail. This area gets very cold at night so we quickly found that most battery powered devices lose power due to the low temperatures. This evening I was hoping to spot one of many coyotes that frequently roam throughout the farm looking for rabbits as well as trying to enter a nearby chicken pen. Due to the cold we called the night short but not before I was able to take several cottontails moving about through the thick areas of a large field.

The following morning I got up fairly early to head out to film some shots for the enclosed video. Over the next year I plan to do add some more hunts like this into the “Farm Series” of videos. This has been a great experience for me and was happy to have the opportunity to try something new. Most of my hunting is done in very remote and hard to reach natural terrain, this has opened my eyes to a different form of hunting. I was happy to have put a dent in the pest populations on this farm as well as opening the door to future visits. I apologize for the short post but have found it to be increasingly difficult to produce both videos and written reports together. Over the past several months I have been working on several amazing projects with some very interesting Airguns that will be shared very soon. Enclosed is the video I hope you may enjoy!!

 

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Seneca Aspen Field Review

Several weeks ago I received a package from Air Venturi containing the new Seneca Aspen PCP rifle. This is a rifle I had some great interest in as I felt it was something different and unique from other Airguns. The Seneca Aspen is a very innovative Air Rifle that is built with a pump integrated into it, this means we always have an available air source to keep us in the field. The Aspen is what I would call a “survivalist” type Airgun, great for long extended trips where weight may be a factor. Here are some factory stats on the rifle.

Seneca Aspen PCP Air Rifle, Multi-Pump PCP 

  • Pre-charged Pneumatic (PCP) Air Rifle with built-in pump
  • Side Lever Action
  • Two Stage Velocity Adjustment 
  • Fires up to 17 Shots with 40-60 Pumps
  • Two-Stage Adjustable Trigger
  • Synthetic Stock
  • 250 BAR / 3,600 PSI Fill Pressure
  • On Board Pressure Gauge
  • Automatic Overpressure Air Release
  • Manual Safety
  • Fully Shrouded Barrel
  • Rifled Steel Barrel
  • Pump Lock Carry Handle
  • Overall Length:  43.3 Inches
  • 11mm Dovetail Rail
  • Includes 10-Shot Rotary Magazine 
  • Includes Fill Probe
  • Includes Single-Shot Tray
  • Includes 4×32 AO Scope
  • Weight 8.0 lbs

Two Stage Velocity Adjustment

  • .22 Caliber: Low Power= 700 fps, High=900+ fps

As one of the most innovative options in PCP airguns, the Aspen uses an integrated pump to fill its 3,600 PSI/ 250 BAR cylinder. Once filled, you can shoot up to 17 shots with 40-60 pumps. Pumping the Aspen up is quick and easy, only requiring about 28 lbs of effort at 3,600 PSI. Once fired, your shots can reach speeds as high as 900+ fps in .22 caliber. The Aspen features a two-stage velocity adjustment to keep you firmly in control of your shot’s power. With a flick of the dial, hunters can switch to high-power for devastating knockdown shots and be ready for the next shot 5-6 pumps later. With its dial set to low, target shooters can take almost 20 shots before you need to pump again.The Aspen features a two-stage trigger to cater to preferred pull weight. These features alone make the Aspen worth the $400 price of admission, but what if you already have a fill source? If you want to fill faster, the PCP still includes a Male QD probe with standard foster fitting to fill up your airgun the old-fashioned way. With adjustable power, adjustable trigger, magazine, single shot tray and a 4×32 AO scope, and no fill source needed, the Aspen is an attractive and affordable option for PCP airgunners new and old.

The Aspen came packaged very well and included instructions, spare o’rings, fill probe, magazine, single shot tray, silicone oil and scope. My first impression was the stock that was obvious plastic and had a “hollow” type feel to it. I shouldered the rifle and was happy with it’s weight distribution, it felt very natural and the pump handle made a nice rest for my hand. The rifle felt very solid and the metal finish was very well done, especially the shroud.

I went ahead and mounted the 4X32 AO scope that came with the Aspen, this is a fair scope for short distances but difficult to use for precision shooting beyond 30 yards. The rifle thankfully does include sling studs on both the buttstock and forend that make the gun ready for a sling. I liked how the stud on the forend can be mounted to either left or right side depending on how you carry the rifle. The following morning we would visit the range to sight in the gun and do some chronograph readings.

Today we visited the local range where we tested several different types and weights of pellets, for accuracy as well as to chronograph the rifle on high power. We tested the speed using the .22 H&N Sport Field Target Trophy’s that come in at 14.66 grains. These are great pellets, and through the years have found they work well in the majority of the .22’s I have field tested. We first tested a 10 shot string at a 3000psi fill pressure.

The 3000psi fill brings the gun to about 22fpe using the 14gr pellets, these are fair numbers considering the small size of the Air cylinder. Next we would fill the gun to the maximum pressure of 250BAR or 3600psi for our next 10 shot string.

With the 3600psi fill we are now reaching close to 30 fpe, a great amount of power for hunting most all small game animals at extended ranges. We tested the accuracy at 35 yards, because the 4X32 AO scope was a bit underpowered to make precision shots at 50+ yards. No doubt with a scope upgrade this gun is capable of great accuracy, still I used the gun just as it came from Air Venturi. 

H&N Field Target Trophy .22 Cal, 14.66 Grains, Round Nose

JSB Match Diabolo Exact Jumbo Heavy .22 Cal, 18.13 Grains

JSB Redesigned Monster Pellets .22 25gr

The 25gr JSB redesigned pellets worked very well in the gun although they were going considerably slower, and not shooting very flat. I was pleased with how all three shot, but still felt the 14gr H&N’s may be the best match for flat shooting out in the open desert. The single shot tray as well as being able to fill the gun with my SCBA tank made the range a whole lot more enjoyable. The gun was easy to fill, but the only thing that got annoying was having to remove the small rubber dust cap from the fill port. My large fingers had a difficult time reaching in to remove it, a small flat blade screwdriver may have made things go faster.

After we had finished our work at the range I left the Seneca Aspen with 3000psi to check for leaks the following morning.

The following morning I woke up at 5:30 am and proceeded into the shop to check the gun for leaks, and to pack the Jeep with all the gear I would need for my several day field trip. The Aspen had held the 3000psi overnight just fine so I loaded it into the case and into the Jeep. Our drive would take us several hours North through the remote mountains to a familiar vast wilderness. This area is very remote and always requires great caution due to weather conditions and road hazards.

 

The weather was cold with rain clouds rolling in towards the West, at this point I had expected the hunting to be very slow over the next few days. I unpacked the Jeep, set up camp and loaded my pack with all my camera gear, water, snacks etc,

The area we were hunting resembles East African terrain. It is home to animals such as Pronghorn Antelope, Tule elk, Fox, Coyote, Mountain Lions, Wild Pigs and a wide variety of birds. The area is vast and consist of approx 38,900 acres of huntable area, one of the more remote locations I frequent. Marley and I hiked a bit North from camp where we immediately spotted one of the many large Jackrabbits that frequent the area, most we encountered were well beyond 100+ yards and well out of reach of the .22 caliber.

  We hiked for several miles up over a mountain where we finally made our way down through a steep ravine hoping to flush some Jackrabbits. I had taken several shots along the way at ranges no closer that 80 yards. The rifle carried very well and I much enjoyed using the pump arms locking handle to carry the Aspen with. The 8.0 LB rifle really shined in conditions where I was having to climb steep hills and switch my carry from sling to the handle. 

Marley and I came down a steep mountain that fed us into a huge open field with sparse vegetation throughout the hillsides. It had just rained several times in the past week so the green grass was looking somewhat like Springtime.

 The area was a great place to take a break as well as to film for the video portion of our review. I took a few shots with the Aspen, plinking at some rocks and just getting comfortable with some of my holdovers at various ranges. I found the rifle to be very easy to pump from 3000psi to 3600psi, the key is to go slowly and smoothly as to not allow the pump to heat up. It’s important to go slow, this will maintain the longevity of the o’rings.To fill the rifle from empty to full takes about 60 pumps, once the gun is to 3000psi it becomes very easy to get to 3600psi. I found that taking several shots and then pumping about 13 times would keep the power up.

  After a few hours of hiking around marley and I headed back to camp to have some lunch and to find a good location to take some scenic photographs of the Seneca Aspen.

Marley and I headed out again not far from camp and were able to take several shots, one that was a near miss at 83 yards.

It can get pretty frustrating sometimes when we are trying to “film” the excitement of a hunt, people like to see success more than failure. When hunting we never have a guarantee, all we can do is try our best and to enjoy the experience and relaxation of the location. By this time it was getting late and the temperature was dropping as the evening approached. Marley was getting a bit grumpy, guess she didn’t have enough action and she was exhausted. I put her to bed and made a nice campfire to stay warm for a few hours.

 

A few hours later it started raining fairly heavy, making it apparent we may move to a different location the following morning.

The following day I packed up the Jeep and decided to head home due to the rain making for very poor hunting and filming conditions. Several days later Terry, Marley and I traveled to another remote location in the high desert near Mojave. This area has a good variety of small game to hunt such as Ground Squirrels, Jackrabbits, Cottontail and Quail. We arrived to the location very early with the temperature being in the high 40’s, the plan was to hike the steep hillsides as the sun came up. We parked the Jeep in a very rocky area, a place we call “The Hills Have Eye’s” from past trips. 

Terry, Marley and I hiked along this small animal trail that took us alongside of a large mountain, as the sun came up the Jackrabbits and Cottontail usually start moving about. Terry and I both took several shots on a few Jackrabbits, it was still a bit dark so spotting them was difficult. Marley flushed one from a nearby sagebrush and nearly grabbed it by the back legs. She was so happy and excited to be out with the boys on this great morning. As we circled back I had spotted several large Jackrabbits scatter, two of them stopped high above me on the hillside at 85+ yards. I moved as slowly and quietly as possible getting myself just in front of a large bush at 75 yards. 

 I took the shot that put the 14gr H&N right into the Jackrabbits chest, that ‘THWAAAP’ echoed through the canyon like it got hit with a baseball. Marley and I moved as quickly as we could up the side of the steep hillside to recover our kill and to relax in the shade. Terry and I both were surprised how quick that large Jackrabbit went down!!

It was a great morning so far, very pleased with my 75 yard kill, good size one too!

After a short break we continued along the trail and circled back towards the Jeep where we had planned to drive down lower into the valley and check for Ground Squirrels.

 

This area is normally crawling with Ground Squirrels in the Spring and Summer months but I had expected to see a few adults out and about considering how nice the weather was.

I had decided to load the magazine with some NSA .217 19gr slugs, wanted to see how slugs would shoot out of the Aspen.

We headed along a cattle trail that ran parallel with a dry creek bed, trees, fallen logs and rock outcroppings were abundant here. 

  We hiked for a bit and saw very few Ground Squirrels, the few we did see were extremely skittish and difficult to get close to. Terry, Marley and I sat under a large Oak tree and waited for several to pop their heads out from under a fallen tree.

  

After spending about an hour or so in several spots we had concluded this area had very little action, my guess was the temperatures were still much to cool for busy activity. We moved back to the Jeep where we set up a few things to shoot at 35 yards. Terry was excited to get to shoot this really cool rifle.

Terry was impressed with the entire rifle, especially the trigger that I have concluded is one of the best out of the box I have field used. The Seneca Aspen is a great gun, has excellent power, sidelever is very smooth and the ergonomics such as the pump handle work very well to the entire package. After lunch we packed up the Jeep to head down the long road and head back towards home. Turned out to be a great day just to get out with Marley and my good friend Terry.

Later that evening I wanted to document a bit of preventative maintenance to the Aspen in video form. I went ahead and removed the shrouds end cap to see if the shroud may have had any baffles or any form of sound deadening material. 

The shroud does not have any baffles between the 4″ muzzle and end cap. The Aspen is very quiet but I can see how some baffles can easily be fitted to quiet the gun even further. (I personally see no reason to quiet the gun further) Next I looked to the small air tube just under the shroud, it has a knurled cap that can be removed. What is this? The direct answer for this is to service the pump tube at the factory and serves no direct purpose to the end user. My guess is it may be to remove the tube from the air tube assembly. Moving on I wanted to show the points of lubrication that include the breech o’rings, the Aspen includes a small bottle of silicone oil. We will use a Q-Tip to apply a small amount of silicone oil to the breech o’rings.

Next we will apply some silicone oil to the pump o’ring, this hole is visible when we open the pump handle arm all the way.

This is a good time to lubricate the pump arm linkage as well as to brush off any debris that may have accumulated on or around the pump area. After the rifle is broken in after about 500 shots it’s necessary to increase the hammer preload. The Seneca Aspen comes with a small allen wrench that fits in the small hole in the stock just behind the breech.

After the rifle is broken in the hammer spring will start to settle, to bring the power of the gun back up we turn the the adjustment 1 full turn “clockwise”. I would not recommend going further with the chance of either spring failure or causing binding issues. This adjustment would come in great for those who have a chronograph and want to “fine tune” the rifle. Modifications and adjustments beyond what’s in the user manual will most likely void the warranty. 

My time with the Seneca Aspen has been great, this truly is a worthy field gun and one that would impress even the high end Airgun snobs. This rifle has passed the test of being rugged and I feel with proper care it’s something that will last under heavy use in the field. Enclosed are my final honest thoughts on this rifle.

                   PROS

  • Great power
  • Shoots a variety of pellets well
  • Great metal finish
  • Smooth solid Sidelever
  • Great trigger
  • Lightweight
  • Handle is very useful
  • Sling studs
  • Inexpensive magazines
  • Solid shroud and barrel band 
  • High/Low power setting
  • Great safety
  • Can pump or fill with a tank 

                  CONS

  • Scope, difficult to use at longer ranges
  • Stock feels hollow
  • Cover for probe is difficult to get off

Overall this is one heck of an Airgun, perfect for a first PCP being it has the pump built into it. The sidelever, trigger, metal finish and high/low power settings are features found on guns costing near three times as much. People may complain about the stock but the reality is that it’s very durable and weather resistant. As mentioned, my only real complaint is the scope, the accuracy of the gun is well worth the upgrade in my opinion. Even without the scope the gun is well worth $400. For an out of the box $400 PCP this is no doubt one of the best performing rifles I have ever field used, perfect survival rifle being independent with air and shooting a variety of pellets well. Air Venturi was smart to brand this rifle and I see them selling a ton of them over the next year. From an Airgunner that likes to tinker and tune I can see this being a winner as well, capable of much more than it gets out of the box. I hope this review may help others decide on this rifle as their next purchase. Enclosed is the review in video form as well as the link as to where to buy it. Remember “The best Airgun is the one you’re shooting”

     

BUY NOW

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Brocock Bantam Sniper HR/Range Test&Field Review

by Dana Webb

Over the past several weeks we have been busy with several new products that have arrived for review. Two of these products arrived swiftly from Airguns Of Arizona, a .22 Brocock Bantam Sniper HR and a MTC Optics Cobra F1 FFP scope. The rifle was packaged very well and had the Cobra F1 scope mounted and ready for the range. We were provided with the included Single shot tray, 10 shot magazine as well as an extended female foster fill fitting and spare o-ring set.

This all new Hybrid air rifle is short and does not require the long troublesome trigger linkages required in a traditional Bull Pup design. The Brocock bantam Sniper comes standard with features found on much higher priced rifles. The purpose built breech block is made from high quality aircraft grade alloy and finished to provide to an almost indestructible level. The ballistic nylon synthetic stock has shooter inspired features like a adjustable cheek piece and butt pad with a removable picatinny rail on the forearm. Performance features include a HUMA regulator for more consistent shot fps numbers that in turn creates a very accurate Air Rifle. The HUMA system is easily adjustable in pressure by the shooter for tuning purpose. The regulator can be adjusted without removal of the stock or any disassembly of the rifle from a port behind the fill nipple. The Bantam Sniper houses two pressure gauges that show the pressure from the carbon fiber bottle with the other showing regulator pressure. On the right side is a power adjuster with a large control knob gives the shooter the flexibility of long range varmint control to short range plinking in seconds with a satisfying click of the knob when needed. This feature is very useful when shooting in a structure sensitive or urban environment, or to conserve air consumption. The American market demands have been met with a picatinny scope rail with an included 11 mm option for more traditional shooters, and a large diameter barrel shroud system for reduced report. Further noise reduction is possible with the 1/2 UNF threads on the muzzle end. The all new Bantam Sniper will be equally at home or on the range with accuracy provided by the Lothar-Walther barrel and adjustable trigger unit. The ten shot magazine is cycled by the large tactical style bolt and single shot magazine is included for target work.

As mentioned the rifle came outfitted with the MTC Cobra F1 FFP Scope, a great combination for any small game hunting kit.

Designated ‘F1’ to mark its lenses’ optical configuration, the Cobra will prove popular with shooters who favor the less complicated sight picture offered by FFP scopes, where the relationship between target and crosshair size remains constant throughout the scope’s entire magnification range. This is particularly advantageous when allowing hold-over and hold-under on targets – scenarios aided further by MTC’s multi-stadia SCB2 crosshair that provides numerous aiming points to counter trajectory and windage deviation.

The Cobra F1’s First Focal Plane crosshair has MIL click-stop adjustments (1 click = 1cm @100m) via lockable, finger-adjustable elevation and windage turrets, and can also be illuminated to one of 6 intensity settings to suit any lighting condition in the field or on the range. The new F1 also boasts sidewheel parallax adjustment to eliminate aiming errors and assist in range estimation from 10m to infinity. To maximize light transmission and maintain a bright sight picture, the specially-coated lenses of the 50mm diameter objective have been matched to an oversize, 30mm tube – and besides a fast-focus eye-piece, the Cobra F1 also ships with the standard magnetic, flip-up lens covers with inbuilt magnifying pane to assist with turret scale reading.

  • First Focal Plane reticle: aim-points do not change with magnification adjustment
  • Glass-etched crosshair: design exclusive to MTC Optics
  • Edge-to-edge multi-coated lenses: bright, clear picture quality
  • Side parallax adjustment: eliminates parallax error and assists in range-finding
  • 10-yard minimum focus: suitable for airgun use and ultra-close-range shooting
  • Reticle illumination: assists with tricky background and lighting scenarios
  • 30mm body tube: more substantial build quality and light transmission
  • Fully water, fog and shock proof: increases longevity of the scope
  • Nitrogen purged: internal regulation of scope’s high-end performance
  • (NOTE) This scope works excellent in low light conditions, the lighted reticle is one of the best we have seen. For hunting purposes this is a very ideal scope with very useful features. +1 

 

We took a trip to our local private facility to test the Bantam Sniper at the 55 yard range, the rifle was sent to us with the regulator set to 130 bar. Through testing several different pellets we found a thorough barrel cleaning was in order, immediately our groups were improved with the .22 25gr JSB Monsters.

The regulator is easily turned up externally with a small flat head screwdriver. The method for doing this is to cock the gun and turn screw counter clockwise very slowly while watching the regulator gauge. A chronograph is needed to achieve desired tuning results, we do not recommend going over 160 bar as efficiency will be poor. We were able to achieve very consistent velocity in the low 800’s with the 25gr and 880’s with the 18gr JSB’s. We found the heavier pellet to be a better match for accuracy as well as having a bit more weight against the slight wind.

This Air Rifle has a great design and allows for easy adjustments via the “power wheel” on the right side of the breech. We kept our power at max levels throughout most all of our shooting at the range, we were setting the gun up for our several days of hunting. (Note) The gun needs to be filled very slow, no hot fills. The reason for this is the male foster fitting on the rifle has a small debris filter as well as a spring, if the gun is filled to fast the spring can get stuck open. This happened to us as the foster fitting had to be removed and manually closed. These are the things that are important for us to learn here at the range and not out in the remote wilderness. The trigger on the gun came to us set just under 1.5 lbs, perfect for me and ideal for most shooters. I have been told that Brocock has improved the trigger over the older design and the trigger on this model is highly adjustable, but felt no reason to change it. The safety on the Bantam Sniper is one of the best I have seen and is a paddle style, something new that I very much enjoy. Very quick on and off with a solid and smooth “click”, very well designed system.

The performance of this rifle grows on me the more I use it, the weight of the gun balances very well and the synthetic stock feels extremely sturdy in the hands. The guns weight is just over 8.5 lbs with scope and our Accu-Tac bipod.

Overall Length 34.6″
Barrel 18″ Lothar Walther -Choked/Crowned
Weight 7lbs
Magazine 10 shot capacity
Trigger 2 stage
Regulator Precision Huma

My good friend Claudio Flores had been staying with us for several weeks visiting from Chile, you may recognize him from his popular YouTube channel “Patagonia Airguns“. Claudio has hunted with many well known Airgunners from around the world such as Matt Dubber, and is one true professional Airgun hunter. Claudio had brought his Brocock Bantam Sniper that Airguns Of Arizona outfitted him with for our several day trip into the remotes of Southern California wilderness.

Claudio’s custom Painted Bantam Sniper topped off with a Khales scope and Accu-Tac bipod.

Claudio and I packed the Jeep Thursday night and headed out early Friday morning where we would spend several days hunting a variety of small game in some very remote terrain. The weather was much cooler than weeks before but still extremely hot in the first location of the high desert. We unpacked our Air rifles, loaded our magazines and set out to pursue some large Blacktailed Jackrabbits. We started our hike into the mountains a bit late unfortunately just as the sun had brought temperatures up into the high 80’s by 8:30am.

Claudio, Marley and I hiked up a steep ridge that overlooked the valley floor with hopes of getting a better vantage point over the large Jackrabbbits. We spotted several that were far out of range and the few that were close soon disappeared in the thick brush. I spotted a good size one at 80+yards but as we set up the camera it soon sprinted away and far out of range.

Over the next few hours we unfortunately had very little luck even spotting any as by this time it was much to hot and the Jackrabbits have moved to much thicker cover. The temperatures were by now in the mid to high 90’s and making hiking around near unbearable. After taking a break at the truck I decided to pack up and take Claudio to a different location 1 hour South of us, an area with more shade and cooler temperatures.

This area is fairly new to me and has plenty of small game opportunities such as California Ground Squirrels, Cottontail’s and Jackrabbits. We drove near 15 miles on dirt to an area that has tons of fallen trees, rocks and a much more mountainous terrain.

Claudio was much happier here with the cooler temperatures and the possibility of hunting some California Ground Squirrels. After setting up our camp, Claudio, Marley and I took a very short walk and soon spotted several Ground Squirrels moving about over the many fallen trees that scattered the area. Most of the shots were between 45 and 65 yards, nice range for getting good video and scope camera footage.

The rest of the day was fairly slow with the Ground Squirrels, they were not as active as from previous trips. We stayed fairly close to camp most of the day and had planned to venture away as the evening came, was nice to just sit and relax with not a care in the world. That evening around 5:30pm we headed out from camp into the mountains where we spotted a covy of some California Quail, a beautiful bird that can be hunted with Air Rifles. We didn’t take any unfortunately due to being more than a month out of season. We spotted a large Bobcat, Deer as well as many different types of birds. We spotted no rabbits or Jackrabbits on our hike but Claudio did get to see the beautiful wilderness California has to offer Airgunners. These areas are somewhat difficult to hunt but I will say the Brocock Bantam Sniper was a pleasure to carry, the MTC Cobra F1’s glass was a perfect match and the illuminated reticle at lower magnification made quick acquisitions very easy. After our hike we made way back to camp where Claudio and I made a small campfire that I used to make some toasted Turkey sandwiches. The evening sky was super clear and not very cold at all, perfect camping weather.

The plan was to get up early and hunt for the many large Jackrabbits that roam the area in early mornings.

Saturday morning I awoke to Marley licking my face and her whining, “C’mon dad, GET UP, lets go hunting”. I climbed out of the Jeep quietly as Claudio was still asleep in the tent, I sat with my coffee drink and had my morning cigarette. The sunrise was absolutely stunning, after several minutes I pulled out my monocular to glass the nearby hillsides for Jackrabbits.

I spotted several moving about several hundred yards from camp, so was quick to wake up Claudio. After a few minutes he was ready and we headed slowly away from camp where we stopped at 120 yards from the several Jackrabbits standing in the open field. I had the large 4k Cannon movie camera in tote, along with the quite heavy tripod to be able to film the action as it unfolded. Claudio took a shot on one that went a bit low sending them both running in different directions, the smaller of the two stopped just behind a small bush with just it’s ears visible.

Claudio took the shot on the smaller one hitting it just behind the shoulder putting it down with authority. Nothing like the sound of a loud THWACK echoing through the canyon, very distinct sound. Marley didn’t waste any time going for the recovery, took her a few minutes to locate as she was not able to see exactly where Claudio had made the hit. We made our way over the small ravine and into this big open field where Marley had finally recovered the expired Jackrabbit.

Claudio and Marley with his first Jackrabbit taken with the Brocock Bantam Sniper .22 at 120 yards

I was so happy for Claudio as I felt he was starting to get frustrated with the very slow and difficult few days we had with hunting. I did explain to him that California can be a difficult place to hunt, the terrain and hot weather make for quite the workout. When we hunt with Airguns we are trying to stalk in close, especially with the smaller calibers such as .22. The Bantam Sniper performed wonderfully and in some ways Claudio almost made it look easy, fabulous 120 yard shot!! We spent the rest of the morning hiking around where we both were able to take several more Ground Squirrels before packing it up and heading to another location.

Brocock Bantam Sniper HR .22 fitted with MTC Cobra F1, Accu-Tac bipod…stunning piece of hunting kit

Our next stop is a very familiar place to me and one that offers one of the best natural Ground Squirrel habitats in California. The area is nestled high in the coastal mountains and has some very rugged terrain with both Pine trees, Oak trees and miles of open pastures to roam.

Claudio and I parked the Jeep and proceeded along a small animal trail that was very close to several large Oak trees.

Claudio and I both almost immediately spotted several Ground Squirrels moving about through the many holes under the Oak trees, most were around 60 yards or so. Claudio missed his first shot going just high nearly missing a perfect headshot. We continued down the small trail that weaved through the center of a large field where I was able to take a Ground Squirrel sitting atop a fallen branch at 45 yards, THWACK, lights out. The trail took us further down a hill where we spotted several moving about next to a small fire road. Most of these shots were all over 100+ yards.

Claudio and I both sat patiently under a nearby Oak tree that provided some good shade from the heat of the day as well as some cover to hide us from the Ground Squirrels.

After taking more than 15 Ground Squirrels we moved back up the hill to the Jeep where I drove us to a more secluded location to take a break and have lunch in the shade. After my quick lunch I decided to up the power of the Bantam by turning the regulator up to 150 bar, WOW what a difference in power, this thing was fairly beastly now and still holding great accuracy. The gun was near 42 fpe now and made longer shots much easier with the extra power. The 10 shot magazine was a breeze to load and gave no feed issues so far, easy to see red dot on side to keep track of how many shots left.

I had filled the gun to 250 bar and had gone through about 4 or 5 magazines with no POI shift, this 480cc bottle holds a TON of air. This is near the perfect gun for this type of varmint hunting where we may be hiking most of the day. Very pleased with having such a high shot count, somewhere near 90+ shots is pure awesome. To be honest I probably could have filled the gun at home and gone on this trip without a tank, hypothetically of course. After shooting the gun a bit more Claudio spotted a large adult Ground Squirrel climbing on a fallen tree at 65 yards.

 THWACK, blew him right off the log with a plume of dirt from it’s fur flying up in the air. The power increase really shined and this Air Rifle is no doubt deadly to any varmint within 85 yards. The past several days with these Brocock Bantam Snipers has been an absolute pleasure, so thankful Airguns Of Arizona gave me the privilege to review such a beautiful kit. The rest of the day was spent taking some photographs and enjoying this amazing wilderness we have here in California.

 

 

 

 

 

My final thoughts on this rifle are as follows:

PROS

  • Well made and rugged
  • Regulated
  • Very accurate
  • Massive shot count
  • Easy loading reliable magazine
  • Externally adjustable power
  • Adjustable stock
  • Picatinny rails top and bottom
  • Easy to read gauge’s
  • LDC ready (quiet as is)
  • Magnetic dust cap for foster fill
  • Excellent placement of safety

CONS

  • Fairly heavy
  • Slow fill only
  • Barrel needs to be cleaned frequently
  • Can double load
  • No magazine stop when empty

Over the past several weeks I have enjoyed my time spent with this beautifully made Air Rifle, I want to once again thank Airguns Of Arizona for setting me up with such an awesome kit to review. I hope you enjoyed our adventure and won’t hesitate to reach out to them for more information on the Brocock Bantam Sniper HR.

Enclosed is a video of our Airgun Adventure with this rifle and would appreciate you SUBCRIBING if you enjoy our reviews.

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Rainstorm .30 Resurrection

by Dana Webb

Saturday morning Terry, Marley and I left my house at 4:45 am to head hour North to the mountains. I had recently acquired a Brocock Sniper HR that I wanted to field test as well as to set it up for review. Terry has been working on Rons Rainstorm thats been converted by American Air Arms to .30 80 fpe beast. This was the Air Rifle used to develop the American Air Arms EVOL model rifles. About a year ago the sling’s quick release failed and the rifle dropped and broke the stock beyond what was thought could be repaired….Well Terry fixed it stronger and better than new. The full write up of the work he had done can be found here. He wanted to take the rifle out for it’s first main voyage so what better than a Jackrabbit hunt. We stopped in an open area first and spent about 30 minutes sighting in both rifles at 50 and 100 yards. We then headed another 35 minutes driving into the hunting area where I have spotted some very large populations of Jackrabbits.

The morning was very nice at 70 degrees by 8:00am, great for hiking around and refreshing after the many months of 100+ degree temperatures.

We arrived to the location, aired up our Air Rifles, loaded our packs with water and proceeded up on top of a hill. I immediately spotted a Cottontail at 130 yards moving through some thick brush that covered the hillsides. I sent Marley down to try flushing some Jackrabbits but I think we may have arrived a bit late to find them in the usual spots. We moved slowly around to the left side of this field where the brush got thicker with several small animal trails that weaved through the hills. I spotted two Jackrabbits moving away from us headed for a deep ravine where they usually will hide out. Terry moved ahead of me and I told him I suspected several would be in the ravine, they generally get spooked and will run up the other side offering an excellent opportunity to make shots. As soon as we hit the edge of where the ravine was sure enough a Jackrabbit started moving up the hillside diagonally.

Terry made several shots finally connecting with a shoulder shot at 100 yards, this Jack was moving fast, great offhand shot at that range. Terry sent Marley in pursuit and she was able to locate the Jackrabbit high up in the thick brush.. WOW were we excited when we saw her return dragging this kangaroo in her mouth. Pretty exciting to watch her retrieve from such rugged terrain.

Marley with her monster bunny recovery

I have seen many Jackrabbits in this area but this no doubt is one of the largest I’ve ever seen. I think Ron will be pleased with how this rifle performs, gun looks really cool as well.

Terry with the custom Rainstorm .30 with Tj barrel

The rest of the day was spent scouting new locations as well as some photography work I had for several new projects coming up that I have been working on. This area is absolutely stunning for this type of work, excellent photo opportunities.

We found several areas that had Ground Squirrels but the activity was very slow, we did find several spots that had some moving around.

Terry spotted several at 120 yards moving around on some rocks.

The scope he had mounted had no mil-dots so judging holdover beyond 100 yards made shots very difficult, that .30 44gr JSB gets out quick with little effect from wind.

The rest of the day was not very eventful, I really just enjoyed being out with my two friends enjoying the mountain air. I was able to gather some great product photographs as well as getting to try out an awesome new gun. We are working on several new field use projects that should make for some exciting videos, so stay tuned and SUBSCRIBE!!!!

Brocock Sniper HR .22 with MTC Cobra F1 scope courtesy of AOA 

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Cometa Lynx V10 Long term review/hunt

by Dana Webb

 

Friday evening I packed the Jeep with several days worth of supplies as the following morning Marley and I would head several hours into the remote mountains of Southern California. About 8 months ago I did a field review of the .22 Cometa Lynx V10 thats distributed by Airforce International. Since I had done the first field review Airforce was kind enough to let me keep the rifle to continue using. As soon as I had confirmation to keep the Air Rifle I went ahead and stripped the black painted finish off, sanded and applied several coats of durable clear semi gloss lacquer. The natural wood grain was beautiful and felt it was a shame to cover with paint. I did some minor trigger work as well as wrapping the shroud and bottle with camo tape to protect the finish as well as to quiet the gun when hiking through thick brush.

Saturday September 8th Lindsey, Marley and I headed out several hours into a familiar location although this time we would be exploring much further into the mountains than on previous trips. This area has been very dry from the lack of rain so through some work on Google Earth I was able to locate an area that looked to have a water source. The narrow dirt road went on for miles and just before we started heading down into the valley floor we just had to stop and take in the beautiful scenery.

Over the next several miles we encountered some cattle next to the road as well as many California Ground Squirrels scurrying about on the many rocks and fallen trees.

Marley was getting very excited as she knew as well as I did the area was plentiful with varmints to hunt. The fairly smooth fire road eventually became very rugged with several creek crossings, rocks and off camber turns.

After a few more miles we came to a flat area that had many Ponderosa Pines, fallen logs and an abundance of green bushes. We set up our camp where we would spend the next two days enjoying ourselves. As I was setting up the tent I noticed quite a few Ground Squirrels just around our camp sitting atop the many tree stumps and broken timber. After everything was set up at camp Marley and I headed out in a Northern direction following a small animal trail. The trail took us atop a hill that looked to be an excellent place to hunt Cottontail’s and Jackrabbit’s. We sat down next to a bush facing down through a canyon where after several minutes I ended up spotting a large Jackrabbit.

I tried to be as quiet as possible while setting up my camera that had to be adjusted for the off camber, range was 83 yards with calm wind conditions. I set up my rifle, took a breath and the Jackrabbit just hopped away like it knew what was about to happen. UGGGGGGG gets frustrating but I know after years of doing this it’s just part of the work we put into hunting and filming our experiences. Marley and I sat for a few more minutes glassing for any further Jackrabbits or Cottontails sitting in the shadows before moving on. Anytime I hunt new areas I always like to get a lay for the land and become familiar with the terrain as well as areas that may be better to hunt from. I was checking the ground and it became very apparent this was extremely active with wildlife. We found a wide variety of animal tracks, droppings everywhere as well as fresh urine in forms. Forms are the best sign that an area has large Jackrabbit populations, these are small indentations that are only about an inch deep. These are spots that Jackrabbits sit on a regular basis like clockwork, usually in the morning or evenings are best times to spot them in their forms. Marley and I hiked in a big loop for about two hours before heading back to camp, during the hike we flushed many Jackrabbits, Quail and Cottontails. Back at camp Lindsey was busy working on some Jewelry that she will be selling on her Etsy store. She made these really neat pendants out of stones she found near camp and then wrapped them with 18 gauge copper wire. One of the pendants looks like it was a lower jawbone from a Ground Squirrel, haha never seen that done before. We were all having a great time enjoying one another’s company as well as being secluded away from people and noises, this place was so nice and quiet.

After a late lunch I topped off the Lynx V10 with air, packed a few bottles of water and Marley and I headed back out into the hills for some rabbits. We took the same route as before but now having the lay of the land I knew better where to look as well as good vantage points. The sun was just about to head down over the mountaintop bringing the 87 degrees down to about 73 degrees, much better to hike in. We sat next to a large manzanita bush that overlooked a canyon with a hillside 65 yards across, great vantage point. I soon spotted some bunny ears from behind a bush moving out into the open, I unfortunately took the shot before I could situate the camera but did manage to catch marley making way to recover. This was a nice headshot and a very healthy looking Cottontail with a fairly wild coloration to the fur, almost reddish brown.

Marley carried that bunny all the way back to camp and was proud to show Lindsey what she had done, I got to say she moved really quick up that hillside to recover. She was one pooped pup by the time we made way back to camp. That evening was just beautiful, nice and cool but not cold at all.

That evening we had a small campfire that I was going to use to cook the Cottontail, I had left it on a tree stump to process and when I went to get it Marley had only left the head and foot. She ate the whole thing, guess she didn’t feel like sharing that night. We stayed up for a few hours watching the stars, was a long day and the plan was to get up early for some more.

Sunday morning I woke up to Marley whining, sounded like “Dad, get up, time to hunt” UGGGG. I made way out of the tent, got my boots on and grabbed my morning coffee drink to get me started. I loaded the pack, loaded my two magazines with 18gr JSB’s and we proceeded the same route as the day before. We took it very slow and were as quiet as can be as we made way to the top of the hill, to my amazement there were Jackrabbits everywhere, spotted at least seven of them, most were 100 yards or more away. Marley and I inched our way alongside this field where I spotted three of them moving up a hillside at 65 yards, I took a shot on one, missed and shot at the second one that was towards the bottom….THWACK right through it’s side, collapsed and rolled down the hill into a bush. Marley made a quick recovery and dragged it back to where I was sitting.

By this time it was about 8:15 am and the sun was making for some nice T-shirt weather, about 79 degrees. We headed back to camp and my plan was to hunt the Ground Squirrels that were plentiful all within 50 yards of camp. The area was covered in fallen trees, stumps and a few rocks that they had burrowed under. Marley and I sat in the shade and waited for them to come up from the holes and move about across the fallen trees. After a few minutes we spotted several that were sitting in front of a fallen tree at 68 yards.

The shot went just below it’s ear and made a very loud distinct catchers mitt THWAPP!!! It’s amazing how tough these little squirrels can be, even with a devastating blow they still will sometimes make way back down their hole.

Over the next few hours I was able to take about 30 California Ground Squirrels with the Cometa Lynx V10, I hunted all day on a single fill taking over 40 regulated shots at 30 fpe.This gun has treated me well and has proven to be a very rugged little gun. The only issue I have had in the 8 months of owning it was the magazine coming unwound and breaking. I did a search for replacements and found they wanted $75 for one. I ended up trying a .22 Marauder magazine and found that they fit a bit tightly but when inserted correctly they function perfectly. To use the Marauder magazine the single shot side pin just needed to be removed, was very simple and easy to do.

That pin is used to mount the single shot loader, with the pin in the magazine wasn’t able to slide in far enough. I think if I sanded the marauder magazine down a bit it would work even better, the way it is now I have to make sure it’s not in to far or else the bolt won’t close. This is the only issue I have faced with this rifle and am beyond pleased with it’s performance. 

I continued to take quite a few Ground Squirrels from 25 yards out to 80, they just kept popping up all around us. At 30 yards I had taken one that was moving through a pile of cut up wood, really hit it hard, enough to fling in back several feet.

The hunting was a lot easier than I’m used to, we usually have to work hard and do a ton of hiking around with only a few down by the end of the day. This was very enjoyable being able to sit in one spot and almost have them come to me haha.

We had a great day but unfortunately had to start packing up the Jeep and making our way back to civilization. I hope some may enjoy this adventure and will consider the Lynx V10 when looking for a great small game Air Rifle. I will enclose a description of what was done to the rifle to make it field friendly as well as a video. Till next time, “The best Airgun is the one your shooting”

Cometa Lynx V10 .22

  • Stripped black paint down to natural wood and applied clear lacquer
  • Added sling studs
  • Applied camo wrap to shroud & airtube
  • Adjusted trigger
  • Added more spring preload
  • Removed single shot pin for Marauder magazine use
  • Scope (UTG 3-12×44 Mini Swat mil-dot
  • Harris 24″ Bipod

Here is the VIDEO of our adventure, please help us by hitting the SUBSCRIBE button.

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Varmint Hunting In Extreme Heat

By Dana Webb

 

Thursday morning we left the house and drove several hours into the remote mountains of Southern California. Terry and I set up in a location away from our campsite to check zero on our Air Rifles and to scout several new areas for hunting Ground Squirrels. The temperature was in the high 80’s so the new EZ-UP helped immensely in keeping us cool.

Terry and I set up targets out to 100 yards and were happy to have zero wind that is a rarity in this part of the valley floor. We had a great time shooting both the EVOL .30 and the .22 Tapian Mutant Bullpup, both amazingly accurate Air Rifles.

American Air Arms EVOL .30 with DonnyFL Ronin Moderator

After some practice with the rifles we packed up and headed down the road to a spot I had previously seen some Ground Squirrel activity. By this time it was the middle of the day and the temperature was rising into the 90’s making hiking around a bit unpleasant.

Terry making his way back to the Jeep with is Tapian Mutant

After about a half hour of looking for Ground Squirrels we packed the guns up and headed about another 14 miles into the mountains to around 5,300 ft elevation. We had chosen this location as it would be cooler with many Ponderosa Pines that were nestled throughout the vast canyon. The area too had several creeks that are fed by natural springs where Marley could swim and play.

I was quick to set up camp as well as the new EZ-Up canopy, that thing is an absolute necessity on trips like this. The Jeep was loaded with several coolers packed with water, ice and plenty of food for the several days in the wilderness. Ater setting up camp we set out down a nearby trail that followed the creek and gave some shade from the scorching Summer heat.

  The terrain was quite rugged and in some areas was near impossible to cross over the creek due to the steep embankments. I found an area overlooking the creek where I had spotted several Ground Squirrels moving from the many holes and fallen trees.

One of the Ground Squirrel holes at 55 yards

I sat for awhile and spotted several Ground Squirrels going in and out of this hole, made a shot on one of them and missed. After making a poor shot i knew I would have to wait for a while before one would pop back out again. Within about 15 min one decided to show itself again where it was met with a 44gr JSB.

I moved a bit further up the hill as I could hear the distant bark of several more Ground Squirrels moving about around the many fallen trees. I spotted one standing on a fallen log just down the hill overlooking the creeks embankment at 68 yards.

The angle I had to shoot from was a bit awkward to work with as well as having to move my cameras tripod legs to keep upright. The shot was a bit low and made a gut shot sending the Ground Squirrel flying backwards. Almost immediately after I spotted another Ground Squirrel barking high up on a fallen log to my right at 83 yards.

 I took the shot on this one and hit just low sending a chunk of wood right into him, the heat was really getting to me and the sweat in my eyes was making it difficult to see well. I could hear Terry making several shots so went to meet up with him, together we hiked down next to the creek to try and get cool.

Marley and I were perfectly happy staying down by the creek and not moving around much, we sat for awhile and spotted several Ground Squirrels moving around the embankments. We were able to connect with several of them although most were on the run. This was such a beautiful place to hunt despite the brutal Summer heat, was happy to just be able to get out and enjoy. Later that evening the plan was to try finding some Cottontail rabbits that may be moving about and to hopefully cook that evening. We made way back to the camp where we set up some targets along with a steel plate at 125 yards.

Terry’s Tapian Mutant .22

After dragging that heavy steel swing target out to 125 yards I took a break for awhile before shooting again. I watched Terry do some 100 yard practice before getting on it with the EVOL .30, the wind conditions were nice and predictable for late afternoon. After a few shots I was getting amazing groups with my gun at the shorter ranges and finally decided to move out to the 125 yard steel.

I put 3 shots in a nice 1″1/2 cluster and think with better setup such as bags I could have done much better. Shooting like this really makes me appreciate how far modern PCP’s have come. Later that evening after we had rested a bit we took a walk around near the campsite searching for Cottontail rabbits. I had seen plenty of droppings as well as tracks but no movement at all, I think the heat has made them resort to coming out after sundown. After Marley and I took our stroll looking for bunnies we came back to camp and decided to cook up some chicken for an early dinner.

The moon was near full that night and was thankfully much cooler making things much more bearable and relaxing.

That next morning my plan was to wake up early before the sun came up although I slept so well that I didn’t awake till around 6:15am. Terry had already been gone when I woke up so Marley and I ventured away from camp about 3/4 of a mile to a big open field, perfect area to spot both Cottontails and Jackrabbits. 

I decided to hike up the barron hillside and work my way around looking for movement in the large open fields. Hunting this type of terrain on flat ground is difficult and usually never works well without a shotgun. Marley and I spotted several Jackrabbits moving up the hillsides at some 200+ yards away but nothing within reasonable range for and Air Rifle. By this time it was apparent that the day was going to be another scorcher, already had my jacket off by 6:45. Marley and I picked a spot in the small amount of shade next to a bush and waited near 20 minutes before we spotted several large Jackrabbit moving in the field at close to 100 yards. I took a shoulder shot on one that sent it running up the hillside before collapsing, the second one was at 98 yards just next to a bush. The Jackrabbit gave me a nice side profile to line up for a perfect headshot that sent it into a flip. Marley ran to recover as it was wildly flipping all over causing a huge dust cloud. I went and recovered the first and met up with Marley where she had recovered the second large Jackrabbit.

American Air Arms EVOL .30 at 85 fpe

 

Marley and I were both happy our patience had paid off and were able to get two huge Jackrabbits within several seconds of one another. We took a break before throwing them into the pack and heading back to the campsite where Tom from American Air Arms would be showing up to spend the day. As marley and I hiked back we spotted several deer as well as many chipmunks moving about near the creekbed. This area is loaded with larger animals such as Deer, Coyote, Bobcat, Mountain Lion as well as many types of birds.

We made way back to camp where Tom had just arrived just in time for the heat to really become overbearing at 90 degrees by 8:30am. Tom had brought a new Air Rifle he has created that shoots a 27gr .22 slug putting out 60+fpe, he spent some time shooting that against a small 2″ spinner at 125 yards just under the steel plate. Enclosed is a previous photograph of the rifle, we will take a more in depth look at this very advanced Air Rifle in our next article.

American Air Arms EVOL TAC .22 High Power

After our shooting session at camp we all headed back out to seek out some Ground Squirrel action, I headed East following the creek the other direction. Marley and I crossed to the other side of the creek and set up just under the shade of a large Pine tree.

This looked to be a great location and offered a great unobstructed view in near all directions of the large area. To our right as well as in front of us were huge fallen trees that had Ground Squirrel holes all around them. I spotted several Chipmunks running back and forth from one tree to the next as well as the several periodic Ground Squirrel barks. I took a shot at several of the Chipmunks that were sitting on a root from one of the Pine trees next to the creek. These shots were all around 30 yards, close range shots that required some hold-under for once.

After a few minutes I spotted a fairly large Ground Squirrel sticking it’s head up from behind a log at 115 yards.

I made the shot a bit high and it came down right on the back of his head drilling him right into the ground behind the fallen tree.

This area looked to have a large population but I think the heat had kept most of them in the Ground as it was well up to 100 degrees out. I can’t stress enough how important it is to carry a large amount of water, more than you think you need. This environment dehydrates you so quickly that heat exhaustion can happen very easily. When we are out in the wilderness like this, nobody will find you and when they do you just may be dead. With Marley I have to be especially careful about making sure she has enough water as well as keeping my eyes open for Rattlesnakes. Having her bit by a venomous snake is one of my worst nightmares, miles from any type of help. After sitting for about 20 more minutes with no action we looped around back towards camp following the other side of the creek. As we moved through the tall Ponderosa Pines I could see a Ground Squirrel in the distance moving about on a huge fallen tree. I set up the camera the best I could and tried to follow it with the lens while trying to set up the range and gun at the same time, very frustrating. The Ground Squirrel was at 68 yards but moving further up this fallen log.

I made the shot that finally ended at 73 yards sending the 44gr JSB right into his back sending up a cloud of dust as it smacked. The past two days were a great time spent with friends but the heat made moving around quite miserable. Marley and I continued back to camp where it by this time was around 12:30pm, we packed the Jeep and waited for Tom to get back before heading out. This was a slow few days of hunting but was very happy with how well it turned out considering how hot it was. As I’m writing this we are already planning for the next trip, can’t wait to share. Enclosed is the video of our adventures, hope you enjoy and will help us by subscribing.

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Air Rifle Varmint Hunt

by Dana Webb

 

Saturday morning Marley and I fired up the Jeep and drove several hours into the Mojave desert where we had planned to meet up with Terry, Tom and Brian who was visiting from Michigan. The area was well known to us and we thought it would be a great location to take Brian for his two day visit to California. This area is prime habitat for the California Ground Squirrel and offers a huge amount of property to varmint hunt on. We arrived in Mojave late morning where we met Terry at the gas station to fill up our cooler with ice and water before caravaning another 50+ miles into the rugged mountainous outback.

As we pulled off the highway we made our way to the top of the mountain that opens into a huge desert valley bordered by Oak trees, fallen logs and enormous rock outcroppings. Tom and Brian had already been hunting for several hours before we came and were set up with targets set at 175 yards when we arrived.

The day before I had spent several hours with Doug Noble reconfiguring the power levels of my EVOL .30 so I needed to spend some time sighting it in. This area can sometimes have a good amount of wind that makes it a somewhat difficult Airgun friendly location. This particular day was quite windy with gust near 40+mph at times. Marley and I sat under a giant oak tree and zeroed the rifle as well as getting familiar with the new holdovers.The EVOL is topped with a Hawke Frontier scope and DonnyFl moderator that keeps the noise down very well. This rifle is regulated and getting near 34 shots at near 90 fpe using the NSA 47gr slugs, an excellent long range varmint setup.

After spending some time getting comfortable with the new configuration it was time to get down to business and try finding some live targets. All of us spread out in several directions with me heading up a hill and along a fence that opened up into a large field near infested with Ground Squirrels. Most of the shots were all over 100+ yards with several approaching the 200 yard mark. ( check video at bottom of page) I found a nice spot to sit in the shade with some cover from the wind as well. I had spotted several Ground Squirrels moving about on the rocks and had ranged them at 98 yards out to 160 yards. Tried to film as much as I could but the wind was making it very difficult to keep the camera steady with the lightweight tripod I had brought along.

I spent several minutes waiting for this particular Ground Squirrel to stay still enough to make a shot leaving only a 1/4″ killzone as he peered over the top of the outcropping.

After spending a few more minutes waiting for more Ground Squirrels to move about I decided to hike a bit further down through the large Oak tree covered field to look for more. Within several minutes I spotted another that was sitting on top of a fallen uprooted pine tree at 78 yards.

After connecting with a shot to the chest sending the Ground Squirrel into a flip it rolled down into the thick branches and under the log. From previous experience I don’t generally like to recover many Ground Squirrels as this habitat is home to many rattlesnakes. Last year I went to recover several only to find several rattlers coiled up in and around the many holes. Marley and I made way back to find the others that were set up against a large outcropping that looked out into a giant field.

Brian with the American Air Arms High Power .22

left- Dana Webb and Tom Costan with the American Air Arms High Powered .22

After spending some time hanging out we all set ourselves up to what looked like a Ground Squirrel “Shooting Gallery” with live targets out to 300+ yards. Tom was using the experimental regulated .35 Air Rifle that shoots 81gr JSBs as well as putting out 150 fpe using the 95gr NSA slugs. This rifle is based on the Slayer platform and it’s long range capable topped with a Valdada 4-28 IOR Recon scope with the furthest kill of the weekend at just over 227 yards.

We spotted several Ground Squirrels on the rocks on the other side of the field out to 159 yards where Tom and I both were able to hammer several. In windy conditions the high BC slugs are far superior to that of a diablo type pellet, the energy is carried and the wind drift is near cut in half making these shots much more enjoyable. Brian was using the High Powered .22 EVOL thats been fitted with a dedicated slug barrel and is capable of 80 fpe although the gun is currently tuned for 60 fpe using the 27gr NSAs that have a BC around .09. Tom was giving the data through his StrelokPro application on his phone and giving the correct holdover that was allowing Brian to make shots out to 200 yards. The wind was getting very strong and in honesty was very surprised we were making as many hits as we were.

As I sat behind the gun I could hear the distant crack of Terry making hits with his .22 Tapian Mutant bullpup. In just a few minutes he had gotten 8 confirmed kills with some out to 100+ yards using the Predator Polymags.

After taking a break from our hunting we decided to move our camp to a more suitable location that would shelter us better from the wind and offer better clearing to have a campfire. We moved several miles up into a canyon that had a good flat area to park the vehicles as well as some good hunting spots within walking distance. After setting up our camp we headed down into the open desert to try for some Jackrabbit hunting into the evening.

We headed up towards the mountains and had planned to make a big giant loop around and back to the Jeep. As we moved away from the Jeep I had spotted a good size Jackrabbit moving just behind a Joshua tree and up a small animal trail where we soon lost sight of it. These Jackrabbits are so elusive and hard to spot in the thick sagebrush, they blend in and disappear so easily. We hiked and were able to spot several more but the area seemed to have very little activity. We all took several shots but none were connected as the flats make it so difficult to get a good open shot. Once the Jackrabbits are startled enough to run they usually will not stop for 100 yards or so, gets very frustrating. We hiked for several miles as the sun went down and after no success made it back to the Jeep.

That evening back at camp was very relaxing after a long day of hiking around, my feet were killin me and I know Marley was pretty beat. We stayed up for awhile and had planned to get up early the following morning to head to a new spot for Jackrabbits as well as Ground Squirrels.

This morning we woke up at about 6:00 am and took the Jeep and Terry’s truck several miles back down into the desert to a spot we call “The Hills Have Eyes”. This area is very rocky and gives a very being watched feel to it along with having many vantage points to hunt from. We moved down the very narrow path that leads around the side of a rock covered mountain with several scattered Joshua trees and Juniper bushes. As we hiked slowly down the narrow steep trail Terry spotted several Squirrels sunning themselves on the rocks at 85 yards.

Terry and I spent about 20 minutes in this area making several shots on Ground Squirrels and Chipmunks both.

Brian and Tom continued on along the side of the mountain about 100 yards in front of Terry and I, we were glassing the lower areas for movement and were able to spot several Jackrabbits moving about. I took several shots over 200 yards missing by several inches on both. I think the wind from the day before may have trained my shots to give more holdover than was needed. I will say it was just nice to just be out with friends and getting to enjoy this beautiful territory. As we hiked I could hear the distant crack of the high powered .22 EVOL , Brian sounded like he was busy and had connected to something. We made way through the many boulders where I could see Brian moving down the side of the hill, he had made a connecting shot but had lost the Jackrabbit in the very thick sagebrush that was covering the hillside. We took a break as it was now getting fairly hot somewhere in the mid 80s, still very cool for this part of the desert. During summer it can reach as high as 116 degrees, near impossible to hunt in. Terry and I turned back as it was a fairly long hike back to the vehicles and all uphill for the most part. We spotted several more Jackrabbits on the way back, I even made a solid heart/lung shot on one that we spent some time looking for, ultimately lost in the thick brush. If Marley can’t find the Jackrabbit it’s a very rare case but can sometimes happen, amazing how tough they can be. By this time it was approaching noon and time for us to head back to camp where we hoped to try for some more Ground Squirrels before we packed up and left for home.

Tom and Brian set up in some rocks that generally are filled with Ground Squirrels, very difficult to spot but they are usually found sunning high up in the rocks.

Brian using my Cometa Lynx MK2 .22 and Tom with the High Powered .22

Several Ground Squirrels were moving around over 80 yards up in the rocks offering not more than a headshot, very difficult shots. Tom was able to connect with one near 90 yards making a perfect headshot that gave a very distinct THWACK!! Brian against my suggestion decided to climb up into the rocks that most likely had many snakes. Sure enough he found one on his climb up….

Brian standing just above Toms Ground Squirrel kill

We had a very eventful few days and hiked near 17 miles through this amazing property. The total between all of us had to be over 50 Ground Squirrels taken, this is a very low number but we have been hunting the area over the past several months. I think we all had a great time and was happy that we were able to host Brian in such a great location and give him a chance to hunt with some truly unique Airguns. We packed up once again and left down the dirt road with some great memories I’m happy to share through writing, photographs and video. Over the two days I was able to gather some footage, the wind made it very difficult to film in but here is a link to what was produced. VIDEO

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Airgun Ground Squirrel Adventure Hunt

With the recent wind and rains here in California it has been difficult to get away to do some hunting. My good friend Terry and I had planned to leave early Friday morning and head out to a familiar stomping ground several hours away. Terry, Marley and I had planned to stay for several days where we would scout several new areas as well as film for several upcoming videos. The night before it had rained quite heavily so I was a bit skeptical about the road situation going into the hunting area. This area is many miles off the main highway and heads into what I call an oasis in the desert.

Road heading in approx 6:45am

The recent rains had left everything green and full of life, Terry and I stopped near a large Oak Tree where we planned to site in the rifles and scout a portion of the valley for Ground Squirrel activity. This area is one of the best habitats for the California Ground Squirrel with it’s many fallen trees, rocks and hillsides to dig their holes in. After Terry, Marley and I spent some time getting the guns ready we hiked around and could hear the distant bark as well as the occasional Cottontail rabbits moving about. (out of season)The morning was still a bit cold and the sun was not in full effect, nevertheless Terry still managed to hammer a Ground Squirrel out of its hole at near 55 yards. After about an hour we packed up and moved to the area we had planned to camp about a 1/4mi North. This area had a great place to park the vehicles and spot Ground Squirrels all over the many large rock outcroppings.

We unpacked and proceeded to hike around looking for a good area to sit an eradicate them from distance.

Terry glassing for Ground Squirrels

After a bit of hiking around we settled down in a nice spot that looked to be very active, just needed to be patient and wait for them to come out.

Marley’s running the camera

It didn’t take long for us to spot several squirrels moving about and both Terry and I had our sites on several.

Terry and I were both getting connections from 55 yards all the way out to 70+ yards.

Result of a .30 47gr NSA HP to the head.

Terry and I spent about an hour or so moving along the hillsides where we frequently could spot Ground Squirrels sunning themselves on the rocks. This place was beautiful and had some pretty amazing views of the vast Oak tree covered valley below.

Terry and Marley taking a break.

After some time taking a break Terry proceeded down the hill where there were many rocks, Marley and I stayed above. After a few minutes I could hear barking and soon after the distant CLAP of a Ground Squirrel receiving a headache.

Tapian Mutant .22 at 30 yards,that shut him up.

Marley and I sat under an Oak Tree for about 45 minutes where I was able to take down several Ground Squirrels at various ranges.

A few screen-shots of the video.

Marley was having a great time hiking around with us but by this time we needed a break so headed back to camp for some water and snacks.

After a short break we decided to stick around camp and look into the nearby rocks where occasionally one would appear. I had spotted one high up on the very top of a rock outcropping at 75+ yards. I manned the camera while Terry took the shot with his Tapian Mutant.

Good shot considering the wind.

As our long day was coming to a close and the sun was going down the temperature dropped near 30 degrees making “camping” sound horrible. We both decided to pack up and head home as the night and lack of dry firewood would have been simply unbearable. We headed out the long dirt road back to civilization left with the memories of yet another successful adventure.

I hope some may enjoy this write up and be inspired to get into the field and enjoy the outdoors. Airguns have brought much joy into my life and have enjoyed sharing it with the community through video and writings. Enclosed is the video documentation of our adventure along with some bonus content regarding the Nielsen Specialty Ammo 47gr slugs as well as the Tapian Mutant bullpub. Till then, the best Airgun is the one your shooting.

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Cometa Lynx V10 .22 Field Review

Several months back I found myself researching some possibly overlooked Air rifles and came across a few reviews of the Cometa Lynx V10 rifle. Most of the reviews I saw were all in Spanish and really didn’t give me a good overall opinion of the rifle. After some further research I decided to reach out to Cometa that is facilitated in Spain. Within about a day I received a very nice email back passing on my information to the US distributor Airforce International. In particular, the main parts of the airguns such as the barrel, stock and tube are manufactured and controlled by Cometa itself. All the airguns are individually tested and calibrated by them; the speed is controlled under the laws of each country. Within a few more days I started corresponding with Airforce International and they were most helpful in providing me with a .22 Lynx V10 PCP rifle that got shipped out to me very quickly. The rifle was packaged very well and included a single shot side load magazine, 13 shot rotary magazine, several extra o’rings as well as two allen keys to make adjustments to both the power output and trigger.

  • Maximum pressure 200 bar/3000 psi.
  • Constant regulated pressure. Included pressure gauge.
  • Easy loading of pellets with multi-shot magazine.
  • High precision cold hammered barrels with 1/2” UNF thread.
  • Adjustable two stage trigger and manual safety.
  • Ambidextrous stock with a modern checkering.
  • Power is easily adjusted by the user*. It allows the shooter to use the air rifle for hunting, Field target, long and short ranges, etc.
  • Great number of shots per charge, offering up to 1,000 shots in some configurations**.

* Maximun power limits set according to the Laws of the Country of destination.
** 400cc tank offers huge shot count.

After spending a few hours getting the gun sighted in with the Leapers ACCUSHOT UTG 30mm 1.5-6X44 I packed it up into the Jeep where it would be traveling deep into the Mojave desert for a several day adventure hunt. Marley and I left late friday afternoon to arrive to our camp to meet my good friend Mike by 8:45pm, the weather was getting extremely cold and I had just hoped we would have a few good days with no wind. Upon arrival to our camp we started a large fire that kept us warm while we cooked dinner.

That night the temperature plummeted into the low 20s and made me thankful I had chosen to stay in the Jeep rather than a tent. The following morning was equally cold until the sun finally made its way over the mountains to raise the temperature into the mid 70s by 9:00am. Mike, Marley and I had set off a little prior to field use another product so this particular hunt didn’t start till around 11:00am. The Lynx V10 is right from the start a very well balanced rifle and shoulders very comfortably. Marley and I set off South from camp and walked down a trail that nestles between many boulders, fallen trees and huge rock outcroppings followed by miles of Oak tree pastures.

This area is supreme habitat for the California Ground Squirrel, these squirrels are said to hibernate this time of year although when it’s warm they occasionally come out for sunning. Within about 5 minutes of walking down this trail I spotted a large Ground Squirrel sitting on top of a large boulder.

I crouched down next to a tree and set myself up for the 72 yard shot.

I lined up my shot and did the best I could to adjust for the slight breeze from left to right, I squeezed the trigger and sent the 14gr H&N field Target Trophy right into the squirrels neck. The Ground Squirrel violently flew back and rolled off the backside of the rock.

Marley and I attempted to recover the Ground Squirrel but unfortunately it was lost down inside a rock crevice. We continued our walk down through the valley stopping frequently to look for movement in the many rocks and fallen trees. This area was a bit slower than it is in in Spring and Summer months but still had a small amount of activity left.

As we took a break and did a bit of film and photograph work I was just enjoying being out in such beautiful country.

After our short bit of film work we continued on a small animal trail that weaved through many trees and as we came around into a clearing I spotted another Ground Squirrel sitting up on top of a boulder at 68 yards. I was easily able to make a headshot that really gave a smack with instant lights out.

As Marley and I continued on the small animal trail I had spotted several more Ground Squirrels moving about through some fallen branches. We sat 50 yards away under the base of an Oak tree and waited for one to hopefully show itself.

Within about 10 minutes I finally spotted a tiny head poking up from behind a crack in the very top of the large outcropping.

I was able to make another headshot that sent the Ground Squirrel sliding down through the crevice. By this time it was getting late in the day and I still had quite a bit of film work to get to so we headed back towards camp.

The .22 Lynx V10 is pretty much an all day gun getting about 70 shots per fill as well as being reasonably quiet. The hammer forged barrel has really shined in this gun and I felt pretty confident with it out to 75 yards. The safety on the gun was my only little issue I had as it felt like it could be a bit smoother, I think with some use it may smooth out. The black wood stock may scratch easy as well as being susceptible to pressure dents. The natural wood finish may last longer cosmetically but really may not be an issue if the gun is cared for. The Lynx is fairly easily adjustable such as the power level and two stage trigger although I was very pleased with everything right out of the box. During field use we can sometimes find things about a gun we would never find from the bench, this is one reason I enjoy this type of review. The majority of buyers may not just be paper punching but using this gun for hunting, one reason I wanted to document its field test. My overall impression of this gun is pretty high considering price, features and accuracy that can compete with guns twice the cost. I will include this video documentation of my review along with the hunt. The goal of this review was to share my experience and hopefully to be the deciding factor in purchasing a Lynx V10. Here is the link to Cometa’s US distributor Airforce International who I would like to thank for the use of this fine rifle.

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