Good Grief!

WEST NEW YORK - A man was arrested after accidentally shooting his girlfriend in the thigh with a plastic BB gun Sunday, police reports said. Pedro Dubon, 38, of the 200 block of Cliff Street in Cliffside Park, was charged with aggravated assault and unlawful possession of a weapon, reports said.

The woman was shot in the upper right thigh with a plastic pellet fired from an air-powered rifle at a home on 50th Street and Bergenline Avenue at 12:44 p.m., reports said. Jersey City Medical Center responded, but the woman refused
treatment, reports said. The man appeared to be "playing around with the gun" and the bullet ricocheted off a wall before hitting the victim, reports
said.

"No one should be using any kind of weapon indoors," West New York Police Director Oscar Fernandez. "It might not kill someone but it could injure someone seriously."

Note how an Air Soft pistol becomes a "weapon"? Even more amusing alarming, note how a plastic pellet becomes a "bullet"?

Air Soft Safety

Early Morning Shot

An early morning shot while having coffee.....
There is an advantage to having an accurate airgun in the house........you don't need a cat.

Hit on the run at 15 feet. The cat can stay on the front porch.

IZH46M

Storing & Collecting Airguns

Jogging around the gun-blogosphere, I see more and more gunnies beginning to appreciate airguns. With quality airguns like the IZH-46M available for a pittance, that is not surprising. They are a different animal than regular firearms though, and a new owner must adjust.

B.B. Pelletier at The Pyramyd Air Report has given an answer to the question of storing your airgun charged or discharged. It does make a difference in the longevity of the gun's seals. BB has also shared some insights on advanced air gun collecting. If you enjoy airguns, don't miss this blog!

IZH 46M....This'un aint no toy!

When I bought a Winchester 1000XS, I knew it was likely to happen. Being able to walk out your back door and shoot targets with an accurate gun at any time you like has amazing appeal. The Winchester air rifle is nice. It is accurate. But I'm much more a pistol shooter than a rifle shooter. Thus, the search for an accurate, well made and cost efficient air pistol was under way.
Through several weeks of internet research, one pistol kept popping up. The IZH-Baikal 46M Match pistol was repeatedly heralded as one of the world's best single stroke pneumatic pistols made. The 46M has won many international competitions competing against some of the best German made air pistols, and it's available at less than half the cost! That sounded like the pistol for me. I placed an order to Pyramyd Air.

Today, I recieved a world class target pistol in the mail for a paltry sum of $269. The 0.177 caliber instrument (I hesitate to even call it a pistol) has a micrometer adjustable rear sight with replaceable steel blades. The front sight blade is also easily swapped out. It has a fully adjustable two-stage trigger that can be adjusted down to telepathy release. The IZH 46M will propel a pellet at 500 ft/sec.

As I stated, this precision instrument is no toy. There is not a shred of plastic on it. Even the knobs on the rear sight are aluminum instead of polymer. I wanted to monkey with the trigger, but I held off and read the manual first. That did not help much. The adjustment instructions presumed knowledge I do not yet possess. I decided to shoot the gun first.

I immediately noticed the Ruskies must have terribly small hands compared to us Americans. I had to sand the grip, especially the bottom piece to accomodate my ham fisted mitts. A little Dremel work, a little 320 grit, and some tung oil, and they were made just for me. Custom grips are available.

The real question though, is how does it shoot? I went out in the back yard and set up some informal targets about 20 feet out. I loaded up the pistol with Daisy flat nosed ammo and nailed every McDonald's toy I shot at. I hung up a few dot targets, and the IZH 46M showed every inadequacy I had shooting off hand. My groups were good, but I knew the gun could do better. So, I benched the pistol and rested it's cylinder on a couple of sandbags. With my inadequacies out of the equation, the gun was a consistent one hole shooter at 30 feet.
The under barrel cocking lever charges the pneumatic cylinder with almost no effort. There is no discernable recoil when firing. The sound it makes is an audible pffffffft. The sound of the pellet hitting the target is potentially more audible. If a shooter uses a padded backstop, a neighbor will never know marksmanship training is occuring next door. The IZH 46M is, of course, a single shot pistol.

Red dot scopes and Weaver scope mounts are available for this pistol. Baikal has a winner here. For under $300 you will likely not find a better made, more accurate true target gun anywhere.

Pyramyd Air Report on the IZH-46M

Winchester 1000XS Review

I never thought I would own an airgun. Sure, I had shot a few as a kid.......they were little better than BB guns, although you could occasionally get lucky and bring down a blackbird with one. I began shooting .22LR early, and never saw the need for an airgun. Then, as an adult, I eventually settled into a house in a historic district on a river. It is a neighborhood infested with racoons, o'possums and squirrels. I recently found an attractively priced airgun in one of my favorite pawn shops. After shooting it behind the pawn shop, I decided to buy it. It was a Winchester 1000XS.

The Winchester 1000XS is manufactured by Daisy Outdoor Products, and is relabeled Winchester, along with it's airgun scope. It is a break action single shot .177 caliber pellet gun. Length is 45 inches, weight is 6.6 pounds. It has an advertised muzzle velocity of 1000fps at 17.1 ft/lbs. MSRP is $159.......my pawn shop price was $80. This rifle has a nice walnut stock, and a rifled barrel with a target crown. The sights and the safety lever are fiber reinforced polymer, ie. strong plastic. The scope rings are the see through type, so either scope or sights can be used.

It has been said the only interesting guns are accurate ones. To a great extent this statement is true. If so, the Winchester 1000SX is a very interesting gun. Pictured is one of my better targets, 3 shots at 30 feet. The rifle consistently shot < 1 inch groups, easily capable of hitting a squirrel or other varmit. The nice thing is those varmits can be taken out in the neighborhood without the neighbors complaining. Now that is cool! The scope held it's zero, and I had no problems at all with the rifle. The trigger could stand a little improvement, and I may tear things down to see if I can lighten it up a tad. As it is, it is quite useable. I am just used to my lightened 10/22 triggers.

Oh yeah.......this was supposed to be my little girl's Christmas present. I wonder if she would like some diamond earrings instead...........

Pawn Shop Circuit: Shotguns and Air Rifles

Neil's gun shelves had not changed much. He did have some really slick 5 and 8 string bass guitars out of hock, probably from New Orleans. Neil also had a Winchester 1894 30/30 with some nice wood for $150. It had a scope mounted on it, and it was a newer rifle, not an old one. I might go back for a gander on that one later.

Dave had a beater Remington 870 for $109. That was kind of interesting, except I prefer a Mossberg, and I have enough shotguns already. His Rossi revolver was still on the shelf along with a few black pistols.

Amber had a Taurus 80 revolver for $139. It was kind of neat, a nickeled Brazilian version of S&W's famed Model 10. I'm considering it, just to have a Model 10 copy.
Amber also had a very interesting rifle, a Daisy/Winchester 1000XS air rifle. This was a one pump, break action rifle that came with a scope. She had it priced at $80, and it functioned fine.

So, now I was torn.........This rifle would allow me to shoot varmits invading my attic with abandon, and it would also allow my daughter to shoot in our backyard. She already has a trimmed down Ruger 10/22, but she must go to the range to shoot it. This rifle is still a bit big for her, but she would grow into it.........The stock has a beautiful grain......it has the heft of a real rifle.....a good scope......Amber let me take it out back and pop a few cans.............it was accurate as all get out. Sold!
Now I just have to keep from shooting my little girl's Christmas present........of course, I have to do a safety check, I am a good Daddy..........and a function check.....and I have to dial in the scope.........make sure it's durable.......