Daystate Huntsman Revere Full Review
Several weeks ago I received the New Daystate Huntsman Revere in .177 caliber courtesy of Airguns Of Arizona. This new modernized Huntsman has been upgraded to a sidelever as well as a few other features we will explore in this review. My initial thoughts of this rifle were very good, the quality was quite obvious upon my inspection. I decided to go with the .177 caliber as I had not used one on a serious level in many years and thought it may get me back to my roots. My first outing with the rifle would be over 4 days where I planned to use the gun and learn the pros and cons to be able to pass on through this full review.
THE HUNTSMAN REVERE
THE ICONIC HUNTSMAN GETS UPGRADED
With classic sporter looks, sleek design and a lineage that can be traced back to the inception of the company over 40 years ago, Daystate’s Huntsman series is one of the most iconic lines the Airgun world. Often copied, but never bettered, the Huntsman remains Daystate’s best-selling model, with its 2013 Regal variant attracting record global demand from shooters after the perfect combination of performance, handling and style. For 2020, Daystate announces the next edition in this time-honoured line-up: the Huntsman Revere – an aptly-named sidelever version that will sit alongside the popular bolt-action Regal. Sidelever actions are especially popular with shooters of higher-powered air rifles because the system greatly reduces cocking effort. And, thanks to further developments of the Huntsman’s patented hammer and valve system, along with the inclusion of a HUMA-Air Regulator, the Revere offers up to 40 ft/lbs of muzzle energy (in .25 calibre), with high-power performance up to 18 and 30 ft/lbs also available from .177 and .22 models respectively. Additionally, the Revere sports a new-look breech and an action optimized to work with an all-new gate-loading self-indexing magazine system, which itself sports an even greater payload in .177 and .22 calibers. And included in the Revere package is Daystate’s latest single-shot loading tray for those not after the speedy re-loads offered by a magazine. Of course, standing alongside the Revere model’s upgrades are all the features that have made the Huntsman the benchmark of PCP sporter design. Features like a shrouded match-grade barrel– two-stage adjustable trigger and its magnificent sporter stock that cradles a lower-seated action to maximize handling. Also available in ‘true’ left-hand configuration (with left-hand cocking lever and magazine access), the new Huntsman Revere takes the world’s most iconic sporter to a whole new level.
After spending four days in the field with the Daystate Huntsman Revere I felt it was time to start the review. I loaded up the Jeep and headed several hours into the remote mountains of Southern California. The weather here has been very hot and the air quality very poor due to the many wildfires throughout the state. The location chosen for the review was a new area I had not yet hunted so thought it may offer some good hunting as well as some stunning scenery.
I found a good location to set up the gun and begin filming my review of this rifle. We first took a look at the shrouded 17″ Lothar Walther barrel that’s incorporated 1/2″ UNF threading to accommodate a variety of aftermarket moderators.
The shroud is held to the 162cc air reservoir via a barrel band, very secure and aids in creating a rigid barrel system. This design not only adds to the classic style but keeps things in place during those times of rugged use. The airtube is fitted with a finely machined endcap that not only protects the pressure gauge but hides the fill port.
Although I’m not a big fan of fill probes this one works very well to fill the rifle to the 250 bar fill pressures. My only dislike to fill probes is they can get lost or misplaced, I made sure to keep this one attached to the fill whip. Moving down we take a look at the newly designed breech that accommodates the sidelever and new magazine system.
The breech features 11mm dovetail that had plenty of room to comfortably mount the MTC-Optics Mamba Lite 3-12×42 scope. The sidelever on the Revere is very well made and smoothly operates open and closed with one finger.
One thing I look at on sidelevers are the pins that hold the entire mechanism together, these were thankfully over-sized and very strong in design. I really like how they designed the new breech block, they kept the classic look to the rifle with some very smooth lines. Moving back just behind the receiver is the manual thumb safety.
This is one thing that has been kept the same from previous design and works very well with the stock design. Down and to the left the safe is “on” and up and to the right is “off”.In some shooting situations I found it to be awkward to use partially due to my large hands. The anodized tab is a beautiful touch along with the subtle indent in the stock. (NOTE) The Revere is offered in a left hand version. Moving down we looked at the fully adjustable two stage trigger.
This unit has a well machined blade with the classic styled trigger guard. I found the trigger to be very predictable and offered the best balance of both benchrest and hunter. The pull was just over 1lb and can easily be adjusted down for some dedicated field target or benchrest shooting. Just under the Revere’s forend is the HUMA regulator gauge, that shows the pressure in bar. This looked to be set near 140 bar yielding near 46 shots at near 20 fpe. The regulator can be adjusted as well as the hammer by removal of the action from the stock. (NOTE) Adjustments should only be made by experienced airgunsmiths, this is not a tinkering gun.
The overall fit and finish of the stock is near the best I have seen and has obviously been overseen by someone at Daystate. My visit to Airguns Of Arizona allowed me to investigate several rifles to check differences in stocks.
Most all were very similar in color with a few that were darker in contrast, each with a unique beauty. The overall length of the Revere is just 36.5″ and the weight is just over 6.0lbs making it somewhat compact. This is a good size for carrying through heavy brush and light enough to carry all day and shoulder with ease. Many of the longer barreled guns need to be carried differently as well as being much more front heavy for offhand shooting.
The Revere is an excellent choice for those wanting a traditional style rifle that works well for offhand shooting. Daystate hit the money and added checkering in just the right places to not only add to the elegance but to give some good grip for those offhand shots. Now that we have looked at the overall specifics of the Revere it was time to shoot some groups. The new magazine system is a very clever design and something I had already grown to enjoy.
The new design is all aluminum construction and in .177 holds 13 pellets in the rotary cylinder. Whats unique about these magazines is they have a magnetic door that opens to expose the entire cylinder.
Besides being much easier to load I feel this also makes it possible to clean them out in the event any debris get jammed. The magnet keeps the magazine shut as well as holding it firmly into the breech of the rifle. As well as the magazine the Revere comes supplied with an equally well made single shot tray for those of you who prefer to single load from the bench.
Over the past two weeks I had tried many different brand pellets in the Revere and found most all of them shot well but feel the heavier ones seemed to shoot the best. I decide to use the 10.3 gr AirArms brand diablo’s that were shooting at 921 average over 46 shots,the 13.4gr JSB’s shot equally as well but were going just a bit slower. I set a target out to 50 yards and would be shooting from the prone position using some Caldwell bags. This was not the best of setups but considering the location was the best I could do to try eliminating as much error as possible.
The wind wasn’t to bad and I was able to shoot a nice 13 shot group that made me giggle like a schoolgirl. Not bad at all, was kinda surprised the wind didn’t effect as much as I had anticipated. The two stage trigger played a huge part in holding accuracy, buttery smooth and very predictable. Besides the trigger the HUMA aided in keeping the numbers tight and consistent, no doubt a solid bench could have rocked a much better grouping.
After my paper punching session I pounded a Dr.Pepper, filled it with sand and set it out to 40 for a quick plinking session.
By this time it was late in the afternoon and the temperature was still in the high 90’s, thankfully the breeze and the abundance of Ponderosa Pines kept the heat bare-able. Marley and I would be spending the night and the plan was to do some hunting and exploring in the early evening once the temperature cooled down.
To tame the bark I had brought a 0dB 110C moderator that can easily install to the front of the Revere using the 1/2″ UNF threading. This is a great feature of the gun and will allow a variety of moderators to be used.
I like the 0dB as it’s a slim profile design and adds just 4.3″ keeping the gun still short and manageable through heavy brush. When hunting areas that have canyons I like to keep things quiet as the feedback from the shot cycle can spook animals. Rabbit hunting requires us to be fairly stealth, quiet is the key!
Before heading out we had some late lunch and I packed plenty of water for both Marley and I, especially important when it’s this hot out. The plan was to head towards the West away from camp and do about a two mile loop I had previously scouted on Google Earth.
This area has many rolling hills with sagebrush, scattered manzanita plants and scrub oak, great habitat for both Jackrabbits and Cottontail. We didn’t make it more than 100 yards from camp before spotting the first Jackrabbit at 60 yards moving up the hillside.
I started the Tactacam to record the action and took the shot that put it down with authority with Marley quickly behind.
This was a fairly large one and Marley had a heck of a time even lifting it, although she did. What a fantastic shot, happen so quickly I was happy to have been able to record it all on the cameras.
Very exciting to get such a good sized jackrabbit, and with a small caliber as the .177 made it even more special. Something tells me we were in the right spot to be able to get a kill within 5 minutes of our hunt. I packed the Jackrabbit into my backpack and we continued on up the hill following our loop.
Marley and I followed a ridgeline down along a steep ravine that I hoped may offer a good view of any movement below, we hiked for close to a mile before coming to a creek bed. Marley couldn’t resist and just had to do a little swimming, as hot as it was I can’t blame her.
After spending a few minutes relaxing in the much cooler temperatures we headed on and continued our loop into the approaching sunset.
Arriving back at camp I had lots to unload from the Jeep as well as to set up the tent and clean the Jackrabbit for cooking.
When processing animals it’s always best to do so away from camp as to not attract unwanted animals. This area has Mountain Lions, Coyotes, Bobcats and Bears so it’s imperative to take precautions with food. I brought my Coleman stove with me to be able to cook and make my usual pot of coffee.
The mosquitoes were driving me crazy as well as some strange abnormally large beetles that would occasionally fall from the trees. This area is truly wild and untamed, reminded me of something out of an old western. I seared the two legs of the Jackrabbit on the grill and then pulled all the meat off the bone and cut into small pieces. After cutting them up I added some salt, pepper and three chunks of peanut butter of all ingredients.
After cooking thoroughly I heated up some chicken noodle soup to go along with the Jackrabbit, not the best combination but I worked with what I had. This recipe as I guess you would call it tasted really well and would recommend it to anyone wanting to field cook these Jackrabbits. After Marley and I had dinner I fired up the old peculator for some late night coffee time and to film a few segments of the enclosed video.
The night was extremely quiet and had thankfully cooled down enough to enjoy a long day of hard work. As much fun as we have it really is a ton of behind the scenes work. I spend many hours gathering video for sometimes just moments of video footage, running back and fourth setting cameras etc, It get exhausting. After spending some time watching the stars and enjoying the night air I put Marley to bed and soon joined her. See you all in the morning!
The following morning we woke up around 7:00am to make coffee and sit to watch the sun come over the mountains.
I could tell it was already going to be a hot one, most likely up over 100 degrees by the middle of the day. My plan was to continue the same loop as the evening before and to make it back to camp to start packing. I loaded the pack with plenty of water and Marley and I headed out westward to follow our big two mile loop.
As we made our way over the first hill I spotted some ears just behind a manzanita bush at 70 yards, I took the shot that I think actually pierced his ears just missing his head. He ducked down and sprinted off in a flash leaving nothing but dust in his path.
Marley and I continued on taking several breaks along the ridge line, the heat was getting pretty bad as we had very little shade.
The area was indeed some untouched wilderness and has been thankfully untouched since the Chumash Indians called this place home. At some point I plan to make a larger expedition of this area and may even do a little Gold prospecting. Look for that video in the future! Marley and I eagerly made our way back to the shade of camp and each drank about a gallon of water from the cooler, it was baking. This was a fantastic trip and was so happy I had the chance to document it to share with you all. I really want to thank Airguns Of Arizona for sponsoring us to come out with the Daystate Revere and show this honest field review. I will enclose my final thoughts of this rifle along with the enclosed video. Until then, The best Airgun is the one you’re shooting!
PROS
- Sidelever
- Regulated
- Accurate with variety of pellets
- Good Shot Count
- Excellent Trigger
- A+Build Quality
- Lightweight/Short
- Moderator Ready
- Metal Magazine
- Single Shot Tray
- Durable Barrel System
CONS
- Fill Probe
- Safety (Not great for large hands)
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Nice review and a great rifle indeed!