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11 August, 2010

AR2078A Air Rifle 10 Yard Test Target

Here's an Archer Airguns "Gold Service" test target for an AR2078A tested very recently. As you can see, the manufacturer's specification of 600fps was exactly met at 66 degrees F, meaning that this AR2078A has up-side muzzle velocity of 640fps at 86 degrees F.

My shooting was not too bad, with a 0.25-inch CTC group for 10 shots of unselected (and cheap) "The Peak" wadcutter pellets at 10 yards. And standard deviation was an average for QB78-family air rifles at just over 5 fps for 10 shots on a new gun.

Oh, and yes, this was shot off the target peep sights that are supplied with the AR2078A, AR2078 and AR2079A.

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09 August, 2010

Special Select Stocks Available Again for QB78 Family Air Rifles



As a new container of guns and parts has just arrived from the Shanghai factory, we now have Special Select grade stocks available for QB78 family air rifles again. As before, we have AR2078A and AR2079A stocks available, but also - for the first time - AR2078 "thumbhole" stocks in Special Select grade.

The wood on all these stocks is different, as you can see in the photo above - oops, you can also see my fingerprints on the Thumbhole stock!

Obviously these stocks are not intended to compare with custom Grade One Walnut, but they are handsome and show some grain and figuring - much more so than the fairly uniform-looking wood of standard grade stocks for these guns. And, of course the price is nothing like that asked for Grade One Walnut.

Special Select stocks are available in limited quantities and always sell out fast. I doubt that this year will be any different :-)

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07 August, 2010

Stoeger X20 Air Rifle Test Target


Here's the Archer Airguns Gold Service test target for a Stoeger X20 combo that I shot today.

As with the X50 test target posted previously, this 10-shot group shows that these are accurate air rifles! The gun was still dieseling a little at the time of the test. This means that muzzle velocity will probably settle-out to the 910 - 930fps range that's typical for Stoeger X10 and X20 air rifles after 40 or 50 shots. That's around 14.5 to 15.25 ft/lbs muzzle energy - a very handy figure for hunting small critters.

Although the muzzle velocity will drop slightly as the gun "dries out" (of course this applies to all spring piston air rifles, not just Stoeger models), the standard deviation - shot to shot difference in muzzle velocity - will probably also improve to the normal 7 - 8 fps standard deviation level over 10 shots for X10 and X20 guns. And that will further improve accuracy!

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04 August, 2010

Stoeger X50 Test Target

Well, I'm not the World's greatest spring air rifle shot, but I was quite pleased with this "Gold Service" test target that I shot recently. These Stoeger air rifles are more accurate than I am!

Apart from the good 10-shot group, you can see that this Stoeger X50 air rifle was shooting very consistently straight out of the box. A standard deviation (measure of shot variation) of only 7fps is really very good for a springer, especially for one in its first 10 shots of life! The muzzle velocity averaged well over 1000fps and the muzzle energy approached 20 ft/lb with Crosman Premier Light pellets.

And, as you can see, the trigger pull weight was only 4lbs 5 oz. Most of the Stoeger X10, X20 and X50 air rifles that we're shipping now have trigger pull weights in the 4 lb+ range, which are much lower than the X20 I originally tested some months ago. This is due to a revised trigger mechanism that can be identified by the ridged trigger blade.

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01 August, 2010

The Archer Airguns Summer Sale Starts Today!

The Archer Airguns Summer Sales starts today, 1 August. If you go to the Specials page in our store, you will find a range of air rifles, stock kits and pellet traps at very special prices.

Some of these guns are old stock, some have blemishes and a few have mechanical problems that need some tender loving care. Accuracy and muzzle velocity are not guaranteed. Look on them as ideal project guns. But all are new and shoot. Sorry, but we can't make a selection, it's first come, first served at these very special closeout prices. We have a limited number of QB36-2s available and they're sure to be popular...

The stock kits are seconds and have minor dings and blemishes, but none are badly cracked and they can be re-finished or "bedlinered" for very satisfactory service. And yes, we have some AR2078A stock seconds!

Also available are some seconds pellet traps with minor imperfections, but no serious cracks in the wood. They're perfectly usable, just not up to our very high standards for normal quality product.

Please note: at these Closeout Sale prices, we cannot accept any returns. If you cannot accept this restriction, please do not order these items.

Oh yes, I nearly forgot to mention - there's limited stock available of all the sale items. Have fun looking!

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Spring may be the nicest season, but springs in adjustable triggers aren't so nice.

By Steve_in_NC

Adjustable triggers need adjustment screws, and trigger adjustment screws (especially when used in springers) need some means of locking in adjustments. When I originally designed the GTX adjustable replacement trigger in 2004, the best means I knew of for adjustment screw thread locking was a compression spring. 


Thread locking springs work - but they're less than ideal for a number of reasons... 



1. Newly made adjustments tend to drift for several shots as the spring "settles in" to a new position, sometimes requiring frustrating repeated adjustments. 

2. Space must be provided to house the spring. In the GTX this required a bulky "spring chamber" that proved problematic in manufacture. 


3. Spring-locked adjustment screws need a head for the spring to rest on. 

All these issues can be annoying, but the worst turns out to be #3. Screws with heads are invariably designed as simple fasteners, rather than as precision setpoint adjusting screws. Consequently, the manufacturing process leaves their tips rough, unfinished and uneven.

The rough tips have an unfinished non-circular edge which... 

1. makes adjustment a hit-or-miss process, 
2. generates excess friction that creates a draggy, creepy pull, and 
3. changes trigger-pull geometry in unpredictable ways as they skid, tilt, and roll on the contact surface. 



Fortunately in the intervening years, I've had the good luck to hang around with knowledgeable people, one of whom is "Big Ed" Stack, and learned some useful things. One of these (thanks Ed!) is the availability of reusable (aerobic) polymer thread lockers (eg, ND Industries' "Vibratite") that make adjustment locking springs completely unnecessary.

The new (Generation II) GTX's trigger adjustments are designed around this technology, making possible the use of precision finished bearing-tip setscrews for adjustment, which dramatically improve the adjustability and feel of the new trigger.

One glace at these (unretouched) side-by-side photos (old GTX and screws on the left, new GTX and screws on the right) should provide all the explanation needed for why the new GTX is better than the old, not to mention better than any unauthorized knockoff.

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About This Blog

This blog shares information, ideas and knowledge about air rifles. It compliments the information Stephen publishes on the Archer Airguns website, on YouTube and the Chinese Airgun Forum.

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