Birchwood Casey Off-Eye

Birchwood Casey Off-Eye

A lot of people don’t know that everybody has a dominant eye, this is not something that would usually come up, unless you try to shoot a bow or a shotgun with your hand that is the opposite to your eye. This is called “cross dominance” after a quick google, I have found out that cross dominance affects roughly 30% of men. A simple test to see if you are cross dominant is to hold your finger up directly in front of you, in line with an object. For example look at the picture below, now looking at the top of my finger, I have used the barrel of an Air Arms S510. Now close your left eye and open your right, if you are left eye dominant, your finger will no longer be lined up with the object.

Now we have explained the problem, let’s get onto the solution. The “OFF EYE” filters from Birchwood Casey have been designed to combat cross dominance, without having to close one of your eyes. They do this by restricting your dominant eye and causing your less dominant eye to work harder. This in turn allows you to correctly sight down your gun or bow, without double vision or your shots going off to the side. Whilst retaining your peripherals, this will also cause your perception of a moving target to be greatly increased. This could be particularly useful if you leave your door open when you’re sighting your gun in the garden and your dog comes running in from the side of your vision, because you can hold off on firing and save yourself from some expensive vet bills and some awkward questions!

There is one criticism that I have with this product and that is if you’re like me and you over fill your pockets you can crease the card that the filters are on and this can damage them but luckily with a retail price of around £10.60 these are a very affordable item and replacements can be bought fairly painlessly.

Lincoln Premier Compact

The Compact 20-bore is ideal for juniors coming into the sport and also suits ladies of a lighter frame, says Roger Glover for Shooting Times Magazine.

Among the cluster of gun makers nestled along the valley of the Mella river above Brescia in Italy is a company called Fabbrica Armi Isidoro Rizzini, otherwise known as FAIR. Since its inception in 1971, the UK distributor for FAIR guns has been John Rothery, with the guns bearing its brand name of Lincoln. Renowned for their robust simplicity, Lincoln guns have always had their fair share of the UK market, something that can only be accomplished with a product that matches cost to quality. 

The Lincoln range is quite extensive, with the entry-level shotgun called the Premier. This is a gun on a budget without doubt, yet it doesn’t fall short of being respectable enough for any shoot. Available in 12-bore, it is a man’s gun. It is also available as a 20-bore, with a dedicated action designed solely for that gauge. The 20-bore, with its lighter build, makes for a manageable medium-bore gun. There are those who require something of less proportion as well as light weight. Juniors coming into the sport or ladies of a lighter frame might benefit from the Premier Compact 20-bore.

Taking the Premier 20-bore as a base, this Lincoln has 28in barrels as opposed to 29in. The stock is shorter at 13½in, with the overall balance point barely ¾in forward of the hinge. At 44¼in overall length, the Compact is exactly that, yet isn’t so small as to be of limited use.

The stock of the Compact — and bear in mind that this is an entry-level budget gun — is walnut and a fair piece at that. So many low-end guns have such straight-grained wood that the stock simply becomes a handle, nothing attractive at all — but not so with this. While you would hardly rate it as glamorous, FAIR has made absolute best use of the grain to create a very attractive stock for this grade of gun. The fore-end is a little more straight grained and simple, but at least that leaves strength.

There is no palm swell to this stock; it is very slender in the hand and especially so at the neck, which

is ideal for smaller hands.

Super-smooth finish

Lincoln describes the finish as waxed, which it may well be, but the base of the finish seems to be a synthetic varnish with a slight pigment to it. It gives the stock a super-smooth finish and will no doubt repel the worst of weathers. The finish is even and does indeed bring out the best of the wood. The chequering is deep and crisp with sufficient area to give comfortable purchase.

The drop at heel is just on 2¼in, with what looks like a lot of cast due to the short stock but is actually just shy of ¼in. There is a 5/8in vented recoil pad to ease what little load there is on the shoulder.

Action and trigger

As regarding the action, these guns have changed very little since the start of production, though they have had the odd little improvement here and there. Advances in machining technology mean that all parts fit well and produce a basic but simple action that was designed from the outset to be a 20-bore. It is rather neat, with the ejectors set by tangs on the cocking rods so there are no moving parts of the ejectors in the fore-end iron. The single selective trigger breaks crisply at 4lb with selection by means of a sliding button in the automatic safety, which has a positive action and feel, yet is light in movement.

Internally, the trigger works on a standard inertia block system to engage the sears for the second barrel. Hammers are operated by coil springs set on guide rods, while strikers are angled on to the centre line and upwards or downwards for each barrel. Every part is well made; nothing looks rough or unfinished, which is quite unusual to see in a modest gun.

Externally, the action is finished in satin chrome with all-black furniture. Adorning this is laser engraved game scenes on each cheek and the front of the trigger-plate, with token scrollwork and borders.

Barrels and chokes

Barrels again are pretty straight forward, 3in chambered and chrome lined throughout with steel shot proof, which means you would have no problems with your pick of a cartridge.

The 6mm rib gives a clear sight picture and proportionally looks right above the barrels. The gun comes fitted with two choke tubes, improved cylinder in the bottom and modified in the top. You do also get a key and a third choke, cylinder, but looking at the patterns thrown, I don’t think you really need to go much tighter. What does impress, though, is the standard of finish on the barrels — much higher than I’d expect on this grade of gun.

It is difficult to test a gun that is built to suit smaller frames. I tend to need a relatively long stock so shooting this was rather awkward but despite that handicap, it is a gun with great balance and sufficient weight to absorb recoil but light enough not to fatigue. It will swing and continue to do so, which surprised me a little — I thought that at this weight it would be a bit of a pointing gun that would not carry much momentum.

An Orion Belter! The Cometa Orion Bullpup Review

The bullpup craze seems to show no signs of slowing down, and Spanish airgun makers, Cometa, have joined in the fun. They’ve taken the idea all the way, too, because their new Orion BP is just over 27” long, making it one of the shortest airguns I can remember. Surprisingly, for such a little gun it’s pretty hefty, weighing in at 8.6lbs, so it no floaty lightweight. It’s also got some very distinct styling, so it won’t be mistaken for any other rifle. As the name suggests, Cometa used their full-length, pre-charged pneumatic Orion as the donor rifle, and this can be clearly seen in the action. The receiver, bolt and magazine all look just like the full-length sporter, but apart from that, this presents as an all-new model.

It think it’s fair to say that the looks will be a ‘love it or leave it’ matter. As regular readers will know, bullpups aren’t my cup of tea, so there no point in me commenting on its appeal. The handling is just what you’d expect, but the contact points are not. The butt pad is like nothing I’ve ever seen, being a flat, rectangular shape with quite sharp corners, but once in the shoulder, I can honestly say that I didn’t notice it at all. It’s set sensibly low, which helps the overall handling. As a complete opposite to the butt, the pistol grip is beautifully curved and ergonomic, filling the hand very well. It has the look and feel of an aftermarket M4 fullbore rifle grip and is truly first-class.

DISTINCTIVE
Up front, Cometa has taken another big leap by fitting a vertical, combat-style grip, produced by UTG, a company famous for its huge range of firearm accessories and upgrades. I wonder if they supplied the grip as well. Bullpups are naturally tall, and this grip makes the rifle feel a long way above your hands. In fact, the barrel sits some six inches above the middle of the grip area.

It’s a very different feeling compared to conventional rifles, to put it mildly. I’m not sure if it offers any specific advantage, but I’m sure those who like military looks will love it, and for the rest of us, it’s easily removed. It’s mounted on a short section of Weaver rail bolted into the stubby fore end,
which will accept a bipod or perhaps a torch just as well. Behind the pistol grip there’s a pressure gauge, which I appreciated because every PCP needs one.

The high-mounted Weaver rail is
attached by two small blocks

The trigger blade is also distinctive, machined from thick aluminium plate and displaying a deep curve. I’m not sure if I can describe the flat steel plate below it as a trigger guard, but that’s the job it does. Like the rest of the styling, it’s pretty extreme. Above the trigger assembly there’s an aluminium extrusion with windows machined in it that gives a nicely finished feel and a place to mount the scope rail. This, of course, is Weaver standard and sits high so that you can see along its axis comfortably. What’s not so comfortable is resting your cheek against the metal dovetail on the top of the action. On the Cometa website, I noted a new model that had a small section of wood fitted here, so perhaps that will come along in the future. I have seen people buying the one that Daystate fits to its Pulsar bullpups to clamp onto rifles like this. It’s a neat, synthetic cover that fits directly to the scope rails so that your face is insulated from the cold, sharp metal, without adding unnecessary bulk or width. The rail sits on two cylindrical blocks that look quite slender compared to the very chunky look of the rest of the gun.

HAMMER TIME
Cometa is one of only two manufacturers who cold-hammer forge their barrels – the other is BSA. There are arguments that this manufacturing process is superior to others, but what counts is how accurate they are. Around the barrel is an aluminium shroud, which despite being so short, did a good
job of muting the muzzle report. Fitting an additional silencer would seem daft to me because the

A robust Forster connector gets top marks from me

whole point of this gun is that it’s so short. Below the shroud is a snap-on metal cover that protects the male Forster connector used to fill the air reservoir. The maximum fill pressure is 200bar which is good news because pretty much every dive bottle around will easily fill it.

Loading the magazine is a little different to others of this kind. You load every pellet from the rear of the magazine, skirt first, which seemed a little fiddly, but not difficult. The mags’ are pretty big, offering 13 shots in .22, and 17 in .177, and felt a little flimsy for a gun in this price range, but only time will tell how durable they are. I had no misfeeds or jams during my trial so there are no complaints from me on that account.

The fore end grip changes angle with the press of a button.

Over the chronograph, the Orion averaged 532 fps with the Air Arms Field Diablo pellet that weighs 16 grains in .22, which calculates to just over 10ft.lbs. Shot-to-shot consistency was good at just 7fps over 50 shots. This made me keen to shoot some groups to see if a cold-hammer forged barrel and excellent consistency would translate into fine accuracy. I gathered together my selection of pellets that have served me well for testing work, and readied my bench and support bags. At this point, I had to stop and work out how I could shoot from a rest. I decided to remove the fore end grip completely and experimented with different sizes and heights of supports until I could get comfortable.

SMOOTH AND SLICK
Cocking the Orion can only be done with the rifle in front of you, not from the shoulder. The bolt handle is so far back that it’s almost under your ear, but held in front of your body, it’s comfortable and natural to press your thumb against the stock as you pull the bolt with your fingers. The action was nice and smooth, plus I like the thick bolt-shaft that Cometa uses. Pulling the bolt fully back
allows the spring-loaded magazine to index the next pellet in line with the barrel, and then the probe drives it forward into the waiting barrel.

Unfortunately for my accuracy tests, the trigger was set very heavy, making fine control tricky. It was clean and consistent, but being that heavy works against precision. That being said, I got consistent ½” groups at 25 yards with H&N’s superb Field Target Trophy, a pellet that has proven accurate in
many test rifles over the years. If this were my rifle, I’d ask my gunsmith to adjust the trigger to a more comfortable weight, which I’m sure would release the full accuracy potential of the rifle. I believe the trigger is inherently good and worthy of that little extra effort to make the most of it.

The safety is manual and operated by a small tab that sits in front of the trigger blade. This position has a number of advantages, including being able to disengage it from the firing position, and makes it ambidextrous. In fact, the gun is completely ambidextrous with the exception of the bolt. As mentioned earlier, the stubby shroud did a good job of reducing muzzle noise, but the hammer spring
is quite loud and continues to resonate for some while after the shot is released.

HANDLING
What interested me most about the Orion BP was the handling. I don’t get the claimed advantages of bullpups because they don’t come naturally to the aim in the way a conventional sporter does. However, this rifle did point quite instinctively, so I tried to understand why. I noted that the rifle is
quite narrow, whereas many bullpups are wide, so they don’t slide nicely into the aim. The cheek piece, or lack thereof, carries on that theme and means that you can get behind the scope without needing to roll your head to the side to see down the centre of the scope’s bore. Then we come to the drop-to-heel measurement. On most conventional sporters this dimension is around 3½ to 4” and on the Orion BP it’s closer to 4¾”, so not too dissimilar. Many bullpups have only a tiny drop-to-heel dimension that forces you to shrug your shoulder up in a very unnatural way to hold the rifle on aim.

Finally, special mention has to go to the lovely pistol grip. It’s far and away the most comfortable and supportive one I’ve ever tried on a bullpup, and it’s quite superbly designed. The large and distinct palm swell along its back locates your hand positively and gives a good reach to the trigger blade.
It even has a storage compartment in its base where you could store spare pellets once you’ve found a small container to fit inside.

CREDIT WHERE IT’S DUE
Cometa deserves praise for delivering the BP in a neat, hard-shell case that’s deeply padded with foam. Why is that so noteworthy? Well, there are two reasons. One is that it’s a good money saving because bullpups won’t fit into most conventional rifle cases so you’ll need to budget to buy a
bullpup-specific one normally, but not with this gun. Secondly, the case accepts the rifle WITH THE SCOPE FITTED! So many hard cases become useless as soon as you put the scope on, which frustrates the hell out of me.

As mentioned, I’m not a bullpup fan, but I can really see the potential of this distinctive little rifle. The looks are controversial and some will love them while other simply won’t. It has a number
of stand-out features and some areas that could be improved, but I have to confess that it’s got my attention. Cometa isn’t a name that’s all that well-known to British airgunners, but I think this model could be the one that puts them on the map.

Plan Beta I.C.U

Plan Beta I.C.U

The Plan Beta Camera is an interesting little camera that is good value for money. It is available in 480p for the I.C.U and in 720p for the I.C.U.2. It has been made to fit onto any standard weaver or the video below to see how it holds up, when used with the Bisley shoot n’ smash chalk targets.

Attach to the picatinny rail and once on, when it gets tightened it should fit snugly with little to no wobble, perfect for plinking in the garden or taking out airsofting.

With this camera, when comparing it to other cameras that can be fitted onto airguns such as the go pro, the first thing to mention is this is not in the same class price wise or quality wise. This is a basic camera that is built to do a job at a much more affordable price without the need to buy mount kits and other accessories, whereas a go pro will set you back around £300 if bought new, plus another £30 -£40 for mounts, cases and other accessories. The I.C.U.2 is ready out the box for roughly £75 and the I.C.U basic for just £35-£40, so this makes it a much more affordable entry level camera.

Another thing to keep in mind, is if you were to take this camera out airsofting it has several advantages over other cameras, such as its light weight, and would not stick out when on a rail, so there’s no worry of catching it and knocking it off whilst you’re out in the field and it’s easy to use. With a single click of the pressure switch, you can start recording, this is perfect for just before you try and storm a bunker.

One issue I have with this camera vs the others on the market, is its battery life with only one hour’s worth of recording, you will have to pick your moments and try to record only at key moments rather than all the time, but if you have a battery pack, you can extend how much time you get by charging it during lunch and breaks.

Plan Beta have done several different tests to prove just how strong their little camera is. Please do click the links below as they are worth a watch and show just what this can withstand.

Water, Gravity, Ice, Car, Heat, Impact

Pros and cons

Pros

• ·         Small & Light Weight
• ·         Good Value For Money
• ·         Strong
• ·         Looks good
• ·         Easy to use

Cons

• ·         Low Battery life without battery pack   
• ·         Not compatible with a dovetail rail

     

          

Tactical Tools

As featured in Air Gunner Magazine:

John Rothery Wholesale is one of the biggest distributors of all things shooting, and I think it’s
fair to say that just about every gun shop in the UK will have an account with them. They recently told me that they’ve become the UK distributor for Walther’s huge range of knives and torches. These products have a distinctly military or police feel to them, which is all the rage today.

The first item they sent me was the Multitac multi-tool (tactical multi-tool?) which a large and solidly
built knife that features the usual 440 stainless steel locking knife blade, can opener and screwdrivers
and pliers. In addition to these, it has a really useful driver that accepts the standard hex ‘bits’, of which nine are included. This is superb because it allows you to pack along all the right ones for your stock and scope mounts, so that you never need worry about anything coming loose again. The tool and driver bits are supplied in a strong belt pouch that can be worn either vertically or horizontally.

The build feels very robust with even the handles being made of metal. The whole tool is coated
with a black, corrosion resistant finish, adding to the military look. I noted that there’s a built-in glass
breaker, to smash car windows in an emergency.

The second item is the (Slim Line Series) SLS110 which is a superb little LED torch that has two power levels: 10 and 100 lumens. I found it in use all the time on short, winter days and the high setting is powerful enough to see the ground in front clearly as you walk, whilst the low setting is ideal for close work. It comes with two slip-on, fibre-optic extensions that allow you to direct light precisely where you need it, even in the most awkward places. One unit is straight whilst the other
is curved at 90° –excellent for seeing into really confined spaces. It runs on a single AAA battery, keeping the body slender, as its name suggests. For me, it makes the ideal torch to add to your keys because it gives lots of power in a tough package without being too bulky in your pocket.

It looks like the Walther range of knives and tools do what they say on the tin, with features and the build quality where it counts. To find your nearest dealer visit www.bisley-uk.com and use their
‘Dealer Locator’ function by simply entering your post code.

Multitac RRP £34.95
Slim Line Series 110 RRP £26.95

How to fill an airgun.

How to fill an airgun

If you haven’t charged a PCP air rifle before do not worry, because charging a PCP rifle with air is not difficult but you do need to be careful if using a valve not fitted with a restrictor. Most modern valves now come with these but if they do not, it’s pretty easy to overfill a rifle which could cause it to break the receiver, something you don't want to happen as it'll go off with a bang. Now I've got your attention, hopefully you'll take care. Ideally get someone to show you how to do it until you're confident but when the time comes that you need to charge it yourself, here’s what you need to do.

 1. When you first get your bottle you'll need to attach the adaptor that came with the rifle to the end of the hose. It needs to be airtight but generally they only need to be tightened a bit more than hand tight. Be careful though as they're fine threads, often in brass and if you overdo it, you could damage the thread. Once it's on, leave it there. If you do have different guns, with various adaptors you can purchase a Best Fittings quick snap connector that can be used to quickly change the adaptor.

2. Ensure the adaptor is on the bottle and is hand tight. There's an 'O' ring on the bottle end that only needs to be hand tight to seal.

3. Tighten the bleed valve.

4. Check what pressure your rifle is designed to take and don't exceed it (on non-regulated rifles it's better to under fill by about 10 bar just to be safe).

5. Attach the adaptor to the rifle making sure that both the adaptor and rifle valve are clean and dry. Make sure it's fully engaged and never use oil or grease on any part of the filler or adaptor.

6. You're now ready to start filling. Make sure that the rifle is somewhere it can't fall over and use both hands to open the valve. As soon as it opens, close it off again quickly but gently. This stops you from venting 300 bar into a rifle designed to hold 180. It should now be much easier to open the valve and control the flow of air, once you've broken the initial seal and open it just enough for the needle to start moving on the adaptor gauge. Try not to rely on the one in the rifle, they're not very accurate and are very slow to move, lagging a bit behind the actual pressure. Aim to fill slowly, the process should take between 30 seconds and a minute. Don't be tempted to give it a quick blast at full pressure. You'll notice that the pressure rises quite quickly until it equalises with the air inside the rifle and then it slows as the rifle valve opens to receive air. Keep it going nice and slow until you reach your intended pressure.

7. Close the bottle valve firmly.

 8. Unscrew the vent valve and it will expel a blast of air. This allows the pressure to escape from the hose, so that when you remove the adaptor, it doesn't fly off at speed.

9. Uncouple the adaptor

10. Take care and have fun shooting your charged air rifle

Bisley Air Cylinders

Bisley Air Cylinders

The Bisley air cylinders from John Rothery Wholesale are a great item to add to any PCP owner’s kit to keep their guns filled and on point.  They come in three different sizes and are made from a single piece of steel and the amount of work that goes into making these cylinders can be seen in this video.  What impresses me is the sheer amount of pressure that these items can take and considering the thickness of the metal is only 3.7mm, it’s incredible that they can hold up to 300 bar safely. All cylinders for use with air rifles do require a check at your local diving shop every five years but if looked after properly, these can last you a lifetime.

When it comes to picking a size of air bottle it will come down to two things.  Do you have enough space to store a larger bottle and what sort of price you want to pay?  There is quite a variance with the amount of fills and shots when you compare the different sizes.  A rough guide to how many shots you will get is below.

15 fills approx. (about 1200 shots) from a 3ltr 300bar bottle

30 fills approx. (about 2000 shots) from a 5ltr 300bar bottle

40 fills approx. (about 3200 shots) from a 7ltr 300bar bottle

Cylinder vs air pump

There are many advantages to using a filling bottle over a stirrup pump. Firstly unless you are trying to shape up for the summer and get a good workout, there is much more of an advantage to using a cylinder as they aren’t as strenuous and do not require so much physical effort. They are quicker to fill and when they run out, you can take them to your local dive shop and get them refilled usually for under £5.

Another advantage to using a cylinder is the air from a pump can let moisture or grit in it when you come to filling your rifle, and this can cause severe damage to the inside of the air cylinder on your rifle, meaning you could eventually have to get your rifle stripped and the cylinder replaced, whereas the air from a dive shop will be clean and free from any moisture or contaminants.

One of the downsides however with a pump to a cylinder is that the pumps are usually quite lightweight and can be stored easily without risk of falling and damaging something. This is where cylinders loose out to the pumps because a cylinder is A LOT!! Heavier and if it falls and lands on your foot, you will know about it and this may possibly result in you needing to take a trip up to A&E. The Bisley 5 & 7L cylinders come with a boot on them to make them more stable but you will still need to be careful not to knock one of these over.

Warning!

One thing you need to remember when you are working or storing anything that involves high pressures is that if something does go wrong, it could go very wrong. You will need to take care of these cylinders because if you damage the valve, you have potentially got a rocket that could cause some serious damage; check out this video if you don’t believe me.