Sig Sauer P226 - First Impressions

Ok so for anyone that’s been living under a rock the past few days Sig Sauer have started releasing their own range of airguns, both rifles and pistols. Now the rifles have been delayed as they want to get the QC sorted and make sure everything is 100% before they hit our shops, which is good to see from companies these days that are all too often driven by instant profit etc etc etc....
So what we have here is the P226, now unfortunately i’ve been able to get out and get a review filmed as its just been awful down here weather wise but i have had it up the club a couple of times and spent enough time with it to give you my first impressions, so here they are!

First thing i noticed was the weight of this thing, it certainly weighs the part and feels solid to hold, notable is the fact on the safety is functioning externally with no slide release catch or take down lever, these are all just formed pieces of the frame. The decocker does however function as a safety which is good, once applied the gun decocks, you can continue to pull the trigger but it will not fire, which is something i like.

The magazine is also fairly neat too with a dual end drop out stick magazine, with each end having its own 8 shot rotary magazine which i have to say i was a bit doubtful about when i first picked the pistol up, but it seems to work nicely with a relatively smooth trigger action. Long story cut short but each time you pull the trigger you index the magazine around to the next round, so with previous pistols this has been a laboured affair, but not with the p226!

Also noted is the really neat way in which the Co2 loads into the grip, it has to be seen to be believed! It’s a really interesting pivot system that just closes up and gasses the gun. Long are the days where you have to faff around with a small tab or an allen key, simply put the Co2 in – close the grip up and job done! I will cover this more in depth though when we get the full review and the video review done as its a real stand out feature.

This however is where the tone of this first impressions write up changes, sorry! Because once you’ve fondled the pistol and loaded it - it’s time to fire it, and this is where it lets itself down massively! Now yes the blowback is strong resulting in a nice kick, but that’s about the only highlight... I’ve been called “too negative” before but sometimes things have to be said, and this is one of those times.

Today during testing we were getting about 20 shots per Co2, which is very poor, especially when the packaging said it was efficient, i beg to differ! I’ll be honest, it was only around 12 degree’s today, so some may argue it was cold, but all the other pistols we had on test today were managing normal numbers still and to be honest we weren’t shooting this sig quickly, i genuinely wanted to get the best from it! Accuracy wise its OK, nothing special and certainly not one of the most accurate i’ve come across, but it was usable.

Now i’ll get a full review put together once i’ve done some more testing and i’ll get you a video review too, but until then these are my thoughts. Now i know it’s not all good but with the hype that surrounded the release of these guns from Highland Outdoors i was genuinely expecting more. Soon we are due the rifles but to be honest i’m not sure i’ll be getting one, as i fear i’ll just end up being disappointed again. So would i buy this pistol again from what i’ve found so far? No i’m not sure i would, i think if i were in the position for a new gun i’d be heading straight to my nearest Umarex dealer, as these guys never seem to let me down! Thanks for reading guys and i’ll get more information for you as soon as i can!

Happy shooting!

Initial Testing - FN Five-seven

finally found time today to dig out the Five-seven for some initial testing and a bit of a plink, so here are my thoughts.... yes it's full plastic construction but its a solid pistol, it's safe to say though that the magazine is where all the weight is kept, it's massive! that said this gives the pistol a really nice balance point with most of the weight being centred around the hand, which i like!

the second thing i noticed was how high this pistol is in the hand! as you can see from the picture it towers above say the G17 for example, you have to adjust the way you bring up and sight the pistol, as its a tall beast! this for me took a few magazines as it just feels odd holding the pistol lower to align the sights, this may be as i'm used to "normal" height pistols such as sigs and glocks but i'm sure i'll adjust in time.

 One thing i can't quite make my mind up about is the position and design of the magazine release button, now yes it sticks out so that it's easier to use, giving faster reloads and all that tech rubbish, but again it just feels odd! unlike most pistols i've come across this mag release doesn't let you forget its there and is easy to knock if your hold is slightly off, but again i don't know if this is just because i'm not used to pistols of this design...

overall though it was a good laugh to shoot and really is something different, as soon as weather and time permits i'll get out again and give it a few more mags and get back to you!

Weihrauch HW100 - Update

ok, so a bit of an update on the Weihrauch HW100... i've been using this rifle now for a few months nearly everyday, be it through work or when we're up on the farm, and i have to say - it continues to impress! it seems like most reviews are done when the product is brand new out of the box but for the HW i've decided to put it through its paces before i put together a full length review. Now this is the KT version so as you may expect going from the Daystate Ltd Air Wolf to this the shot count is a lot less than what i was used to, which i may or may have forgotten a few times and then panicked when it came of reg, much to the amusement of the guys i shoot with. Other than that, accuracy continues to impress, when twinned with the JSB Match Diabolo Exacts (or daystate sovereigns - same pellet basically! ) the rifle gives some impressive results, it's far more accurate than me that's for sure! i would say with the amount of rounds we've put through it that it's had enough time to bed in, but truth be told it never really needed any running in, we recorded a 5 fps variant during the initial testing on it's first outing, now if that isn't consistency then i don't know what is!

the plan was to change the moderator too, as lets face stock mods are often a bit questionable, but the stock Weihrauch moderator is as quite as a mouse's fart, it can be hard to tell when a shot has been fired if you're any more than 60ft or so away, so the stock mod can stay! what we have worked out though is that of a full charge you can get 4 magazines worth out of the rifle, which works out as 56 shots (roughly), so the easy thing to do here was to get 4 magazines, as they're not that expensive when compared to others, and just refill after those 4 mags, every shot will be full power and you've got a bit of wiggle room before you drop off reg, and you'll know when that happens trust me! Anyway, we'll bring you a full review soon, but not before some more "testing"! just one more thing, make sure if you're looking at getting a HW that it's stamped with the Hull Cartridge Company's stamp, as their support and warranty is second to none!

Boker Plus Subcom 42 - Heinnie Edition

And now for something a bit different, the Boker Plus Subcom 42, Heinnie style! Different for us as we've never done a knife review before, but this one has pleased me. I've owned a Subcom for a while now and it comes with me most places thanks to its small size and low profile, It slips in behind belts quite nicely making carrying it completely effortless. So you can imagine when I saw Heinnie's version with the carbon fibre scales and a VG10 blade naturally my head turned.

I'm yet to really use the VG10 blade that's found on the subcom, but I have to say that out the box it's satisfyingly sharp, cutting most things I've tested it on with ease. Often referred to as the super steel amongst other things I'm sure with a small amount of tlc this will easily become one sharp little blade! As per the Subcoms standard counterparts the blade is a very familiar shape but unlike the other Subcom I have this uses slightly different studs, which at first I wasn't a fan of, but after giving it some thought and getting a feel for the fairly generic looking studs I have to say they feel comfortable enough when you glide the blade out with your thumb. That all too familiar Heinnie logo can also be found tucked neatly at the top just under the ample jimping on the spine of the blade which offers a great place to rest your thumb on top for maximum control when you're doing the fiddlier tasks in life

As you can see the Subcom came sporting these rather fetching Carbon Fibre scales, which for me were the main attachment to this knife. Now i'll be honest, this is the first knife I've ever owned with carbon scales and at first they felt odd, being used to the orange Zytel I wasn't expecting what can feel like a bit of a rough texture that's found with the carbon. That said they're fine, it's just me being really picky! This aside they certainly look the part and weigh the sum total of nothing! As a bit of a carbon fan i have to say they really do suite the knife perfectly and will challenge the titanium version for the lightest Subcom title.

One thing i will say though, do not be fooled by the frame lock appearance of the frame, this is one very UK friendly slipjoint! That means the Subcom will never have to leave your side, which with all its cracking features is one of the best parts about the whole package. For under £50 you'll be hard pushed to find another knife on the market with a VG10 blade, carbon scale, oh and the custom red belt clip, almost forgot to mention that. The black and red colour scheme is certainly striking yet subtle at the same time, everything a good EDC should be. I'm not sure this'll enter my EDC purely for one reason, its just too nice, my normal run of the mill Subcom will have to continue doing the day to day tasks I think. If you're still interested in this fine piece then pop across to Heinnie's page as last time i looked they were showing as limited stock and with a limited number of 200 and a great price this'll be sure to fly off the shelves.

http://www.heinnie.com/boker-plus-subcom-42-titanium-24284

New Rifle - FX Impact!

It's new rifle time again and this time i've really gone for something a bit different; it's the new FX Impact, As we speak it's currently on preorder and is due in the new year. I've heard nothing but good things about FX and their growing popularity seems to be matched by the guns performance and price, as it' a lot of gun for the money! 

Now what makes this so different? well its a take down rifle, or TDR for all the tacticool shooters out there, it's also a bullpup! what this means is you effectively get a full length barrel but with carbine length, giving you super pointability and manoeuvrability in confined spaces, which was part the reason i've decided to opt for the impact over other rifles on the market today. 

As you can see as it stands at the moment there are 2 different colour options, full back and this rather smart silver version to, i've decided to go all black, just to keep things low key. for all you none UK readers out there it'll be a fully interchangeable set up with multiple calibres and adjustments available to you but i'll just be sticking with the sub 12 ft/lb version in .177.

One thing i am yet to decide though is what optic to blt onto the top of this superb piece of Swedish engineering... i had thought stick with what i know and go for the Hawke Sidewinder, just with a slightly smaller objective than my current 56mm ones. but then the thought occurred, why not change? i've had my eye on the MTC connect scope for a while but never really got to test one out fully, which is a shame, as the £245 asking price is a fair old price tag for a scope i have little to no experience with. then theres the Nikko Sterling scopes, they've always been a solid choice for anyone, but again i have little experience with them, I think the size will be a big factor, which is why  i think the connect is a stand out option, but we'll see! 

credit where credit's due, some of the only pictures i could find of this rifle in person were from ted's post on airgun nation, if you haven't seen his channel please go and check it out, his video's were part the reason i started hunting rather than just target shooting, simply search for teds holdover and his video's will pop straight up! So until i finally get my hands on this fine rifle here are a few pictures and a short video i found on youtube of it being tested! 

Hawke LRF 600

I don't know about you, but i struggle with rangefinding, always have and chances are i always will. but one thing i can say is picking up a rangefinder, such as this Hawke LRF 600 has certainly helped. now if you're only going to be shooting air rifles i might say save the added expense and go for the 400 or something a bit cheaper from another company, but i can safely say this has been one of those things that has really helped my shooting leaps and bounds. it won't solve all your problems, to which practice is the only solution, but once you learn your holdovers and get a general vibe of windage you'll notice how much easier the LRF makes your life. it even has a load of settings for rain etc, but being a "bloke" i'm yet to read the instruction manual so i'll get back to you on that one!

The Names Bond....

James Bond time!

I've just found these two pictures on my computer from the time the guys at Ronnie Sunshines Devon had this gem in their range, its the BSA scorpion, made famous after its appearance in the James Bond film Octopussy. As a massive Bond fan it was a privilege to get to see this piece of history in the flesh, let alone fire it ( big thank you to the owner for allowing me to!). The Scorpion was used to represent a tranquilliser dart gun and with its traditional looks it certainly played the part perfectly and can be seen several times in the film in the set up you can see above!

There have been several different Mk's of scorpion since they first went into production in 1972 and it's safe to say its certainly a age old legend. This one felt as good as the day it came out the box for the first time with a really crisp trigger, firing a springer though was certainly a shock to the system though seeing as i'm used to pcp's and Co2 pistols, that said it was still really accurate! by all accounts they were £20 when they came out originally, you certainly wouldn't get a pistol of this calibre and spec for that kind of money these days, especially when this one gets to pull the featured in bond card!

Anyways, a big thanks to the team at Ronnie Sunshines Devon and to the owner for letting me have a few shots of this rather iconic pistol, we'll try and get up there again soon and give thier indoor range a bit of a whirl!

Hawke Endurance ED 10x42

Hawke Endurance ED 10x42. RRP £199.99 (available in green or black)

I have had these for a few weeks as replacement for my old simmons 8x25 bino's, what a difference hawke have done it again,crystal clear optics, super sharp focusing and fully waterproof.in the box you also get lense caps front and rear a nice neoprene strap, semi hard storage case and small cleaning cloth.  The first outing for them was the deer rut in Exmoor, with typical October weather, dull and wet, so all the features got tested being fully waterproof prevented and misting and the low light performance is fantastic especially for the price band they are in, less than 200 quid you can't go wrong; the body is rubberised in a black of green finish which is grippy and hard wearing.

The only real negatives i could find was that the objective lense covers could do with being a couple of mm’s larger or a different material because they keep falling out - you don't lose them because they are attached to the body of the bino's it's just annoying. the other negative, it’s not a negative  more me being picky, it would have been  nice to get one of the larger black cleaning cloths like what come with the hawke rifle scopes.


Over all brilliant kit. would I  buy again? Yes without doubt.

Available from most gun / outdoor shops.

http://www.hawkeoptics.co.uk/endurance-10x42-binocular-black.html


PM
31oct15

Initial Testing - 5.11 Tactical Rush 24

Initial testing of our new 5.11 Tactical Rush 24 pack is going really well! as day bags go this really does tick all the boxes. ok if we wanted a true day pack then we should have gone for the 12 but with the amount of kit i often find myself carrying the 24 made more sense. all the pockets have really handy organisers to keep everything all safe and easy to find which has proven really helpful so far. i've also discovered its just large enough to be used as a range bag, with plenty of room for ammunition, rangefinders and anything else you could possibly need. we'll bring you a full write up as soon as i've had a bit more time to abuse this pack some more up on Dartmoor, if it can survive the harsh terrain up there it'll survive anywhere!