This is becoming habit, largely thanks to occasional AoA gift certificates I've snagged at TEXtreme Field Target competitions. And although this baby doesn't fit into my too-usual (nowadays) airgun priority of competition(s), in fact ANY kind of airgun competition, it fulfills a role lately on the back burner most of the time; NOSTALGIA gratification.
It having been over a quarter-century since I've owned or shot a Beeman P-1 "Magnum" air pistol, and despite those memories being tainted by a (resulting) admitted prejudice against springers, especially springer pistols, with a $150 A0A gift certificate burning a hole in my pocket I made the "mistake" of detouring from the Ammo pages of AoA's website to check out their Pre-owned offerings. "Oops!"
Given my inexplicable fetish for two-tone pistols now almost rivaling my fetish for pretty walnut stocks and grips, you get three guesses what happened when I saw this at what I considered a reasonable price even without the included shoulder stock, and even before applying my $150 GC-
No, the Leupold Gilmore red-dot scope didn't come with it. But I couldn't resist robbing it from another gun to compliment the two-toneness of the HW45 Silver Star.
IN YOUR FACE! Per my usual approach when buying pre-owned anything, I interrogated the AoA phone associate relentlessly. Then after having extracted the information I needed (think oral surgery), I dove headlong. As has been the case in other recent AoA Pre-owned gun purchases, their condition description proved happily conservative.
Based on the amount of heavy dieseling and complete lack of any evidence to the contrary, my Silver Star was
virtually unfired before it came to me. I do wonder whether the sharp cracks on firing were from excess lube detonation, supersonic pellet velocities, or (probably) BOTH! Depths of dents in a 55 gallon steel drum from unbelievably loud shot reports were deep; from normal reports only a pellet mark. Also suggesting the gun virtually unfired previously, things began settling down nicely within 30-50 shots.
The laminated wood and stippled SS grip is MUCH more comfortable and functional than slab-side, P-1/1911 grips. Otherwise the Silver Star is a dolled-up HW 45. Who says "You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig". Oh yeah, THAT guy! Well,
he's wrong (again).
Initial (casual) accuracy testing suggests my SS more accurate than my previous P-1s. Be that
actually more accurate, or just more accurate in my (quarter-century older) hands doesn't matter; it's more gratifying to hit reactive targets (tin cans) to greater distances than with previous P-1s. And considerably less frustrating than MISSING due to the inherently violent firing behavior of the only spring-piston air pistol ever marketed as "MAGNUM".
Should things continue going well in our relationship I might do as I often do with airguns of all types; trade a small amount of power for larger amounts of shootability/accuracy.
Because I'm quite smitten with this "pig"!
So much so I've broken my vow, "I'll own another springer pistol WHEN PIGS CAN FLY!"
. Anyone have .177 or 22 barrel they would like to sell. Thanks,Don
