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22 November, 2010

Another Stoeger X20 Independent Test Review

An excellent, unbiased review of our Stoeger X20 has just been published on the "Yellow" Forum by the Forum owner, "Steve in CT".

As you can see, he also fits the aftermarket "GTX" Trigger (available in our store).

You can see Steve in CT's review here.

This review was posted earlier in 2010 on the GTA Forum.

Both reviews stress the excellent performance and finish for the price. Both reviews also say that an aftermarket trigger (such as the GTXaa) makes a huge improvement in the shootability of these guns.

Happy reading!

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21 November, 2010

New Parts Packs For QB78 Save Money

Just available on our "Specials" page are some new combination packs of Archer Airguns most popular parts kits to tune QB78 family air rifles, including the QB79, AR2078 and AR2079. Each pack provides significant savings on the prices of the individual kits.

The Archer Airguns Performance Pack for QB78 Family Airguns includes our XP Tune Kit to add 100fps to the muzzle velocity of a factory QB78, the HDD (Hammer Debounce Device) that provides over 40% more shots per fill of CO2, and our Two-Stage Trigger Kit that improves trigger "feel", and therefore, accuracy.

There's also a QB78 Rebuild Pack, including seal kit, workshop manual and Crosman Pellgun Oil, a QB78 Handling Pack with Muzzle Brake, Oversize Bolt Handle and sling kit with swivels.

And for the person who wants it all - or almost all - we have the Full House pack for QB78 Family Airguns. This includes XP Tune Kit, HDD, Two-Stage Trigger Kit, Seal Kit, Oversize Bolt Handle, Workshop Manual and Crosman PellGun Oil. Everything you could want to up-grade your QB78 family air rifle!


Of course, these kits also fit the corresponding Tech Force TF78 and TF79 air rifles, as well as those sold as SMK models in the UK and under different names in other countries.

Have fun!

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10 November, 2010

Free Pellets with Stoeger Airguns - a $31.00 value!



For a limited time, you can get 1,000 free .177 caliber premium pellets - a $31.00 value - when you purchase a Stoeger X10, X20 or X50 air rifle combo from Archer Airguns!

This special promotion is unique to Archer Airguns and gives you a chance to save money and try these new, premium, German-made Stoeger pellets before they officially reach the market.

For the remainder of 2010, every Stoeger air rifle combo we sell will ship with 500 Stoeger X-Power premium heavy pellets and 500 Stoeger X-Magmum ultra-heavy pellets.

The X-Power pellets are premium, copper-washed, domed, heavyweight hunting pellets weighing 10.19 Grains. The MSRP for these German-made pellets is $16.00 for a tin of 500 in .177 caliber.

The X-Magnum pellets are also German-made. These are ultra-heavy pointed pellets with a weight of 11.57 Grains and an MSRP of $15.00 per tin of 500 in .177 caliber.

So here's your chance to receive 1,000 free pellets when you purchase a great-value Stoeger Airguns combo from Archer Airguns, and be among the first to try these exciting new pellets. But be quick, this offer will not last forever!

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07 November, 2010

So does the QB78 HDD fit the Crosman 160?

Given the excitement over the QB78 Hammer Debounce Device (HDD), it's not surprising that many people have asked if it will fit the Crosman 160.

But does it? Here's what I've found through testing on my own Crosman 160 - a "Model 3" with the cast trigger guard (same as the QB78 style).

The short answer is "yes, the QB78 HDD fits the Crosman 160". But, unfortunately it doesn't work like it does with the QB78 - at least not on my Crosman 160.

Now I purchased my Crosman 160 several years ago at the Baldwinsville Airgun Show as a "leaker". I don't know what it's life was before that but I fitted it with an Archer Airguns "2X" Seal Kit and replaced the original valve with one of our replacements. It's a strong gun, giving about 580fps at 65 degrees F and has a very smooth and light trigger pull weight of 1 lb 9 oz.

As this is my only Crosman 160, I can't make comparisons with other examples of the same model. But, what's for sure is that the QB78 HDD sadly doesn't provide any benefit to my Crosman 160.

Why not?

Well we know from our extensive testing that the QB78 HDD works best with shorter hammer springs and my 160 hammer spring is long and feels stouter than the QB78 versions. It may simply be over-powering the HDD. Also, we know that the QB78 HDD doesn't work with guns that have had their hammer pin slots polished, as some people do when tuning these guns. Over the course of maybe 50 years, the hammer pin slots on my 160 have effectively been polished by firing innumerable times. Probably a combination of both factors has rendered the QB78 HDD unable to show it's 40+% improvement in muzzle energy and useable shots that we've seen in multiple test on QB78 family air rifles.

Here's the Crosman 160 / QB78 HDD test target.


As you can see, there were 66 shots - fired one every 30 seconds at 63-64 degrees F - with muzzle velocities above 300fps. That's the same as without the HDD fitted.

I wish I could say something different, but that's what I found...

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03 November, 2010

QB78 HDD test with XP Tune Kit

Here's one of the final test targets from our extensive QB78 HDD test program.



It shows a test of the HDD using just one 12g Powerlet with a 59mm (average length) spring and a very light hammer weight of 53g (which was achieved by cutting off the end of a 57g factory hammer).

The .22 caliber QB78 was fired once every 60 seconds and I was NOT AIMING at the target. The gun was on a rifle rest, but I was concentrating on exact shot timing, not the point of aim!

Anyhow, you can see that, even with just one Powerlet, 30 unaimed shots went into a ragged 3/4-inch hole before the point of impact seriously dropped as the gas was used.

Ambient temperature in the range was 65 degrees F and the gun temperature in this test held fairly constant at 61 - 62 degrees F over the first 30 shots.

Average muzzle velocity for shots 1 - 10 was 589 fps. For shots 11-20 it was 572fps and shots 21-30 averaged 522fps. The muzzle velocity did not drop below 500fps until shot 29 (still 502fps at shot 28), but then dropped rapidly.

Holding nearly 30 shots before a significant muzzle velocity and point of impact decline for this HDD plus XP Tune Kit combination with only ONE POWERLET compares to previous tests of the XP Tune Kit without HDD but with TWO POWERLETS where about 35 "good" shots were achieved.

This was one of many tests where the HDD designed by Steve_in_NC proved it's ability to provide over 40% more muzzle energy from the QB78 than without and how this translates into many more useable shots per fill of CO2.

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01 November, 2010

The QB78 HDD is Now Available!




The QB78 HDD is now available. AND IT WORKS REALLY WELL!

Our tests show that it provides between 40 and 50% greater total energy than a QB78 family air rifle in factory condition.
And that means a whole lot more shots per fill of CO2. And no reduction in muzzle velocity takes place either.

Steve_in_NC's design is highly sophisticated and produces remarkable results. Yet it looks so small and light...

I'm certain that we've given this product far more testing than any other QB78 family aftermarket accessory ever to reach the market - thousands of shots and dozens of installations. All that work has enabled us to really understand why and how the QB78 HDD works, together with its limitations - which are very few.

Here's what we find:

- The HDD will work with all QB78 family models.

- It works with the entire range of factory hammer weights. However, it performs somewhat better with lighter weight hammers (59 Grams and below).

- It works with all factory hammer springs of 62mm length and less. That's about 90% of the known population of factory springs. Shorter springs give better results. A few factory guns have hammer springs of about 66mm length and these will show a lesser improvement.

- The HDD works with 90% of the hammer pins in factory guns. For those hammer pins that are too fat, a little gentle filing will provide the required clearance. And we'll have CNC-manufactured pins to the correct dimensions available with the kit shortly.

- As the HDD requires friction against the hammer pin slots to work, it will not work in guns where the surfaces of these slots have been smoothed, such as can be done in tuning.

- It works with the XP Tune Kit. The XP/HDD combination gives tremendous performance from any QB78 air rifle without the need for an expensive tune. And you can do it yourself!

- The HDD significantly reduces temperature fluctuations in the main tube compared to a stock gun. These temperature changes are less marked due to the better use of gas and they result in less shot-to-shot differences in muzzle velocity. More consistent shooting is the result.

- Installation requires a different technique from that I normally describe. So we've written careful and explicit instructions for how the HDD should be installed.

Phew!

Thanks for your patience. I know that many of you have been waiting for this hammer debounce device. I'm glad to confirm that it's now ready for prime time. You can see it on our website.

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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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