I just love this forum that Mike has created. So many terrific members. Many of you I now feel like I know though we have never met.
One of the rifles I was missing from my collection of highly accurate springers, was a nice .177 Air Arms Pro Sport. With the current pandemic, no new ones were available anywhere, including Krale or overseas. So, I a few weeks ago, I posted a WTB on the AGN Classifieds. After a few days, Gerald Long from NC wrote to me and introduced himself to me, indicating that while he had not intended to sell one of his Pro Sports, he had one he would consider selling if it (A) would go to someone who would appreciate it, (B) would go to someone that would take care of it, and (C) I would commit to giving him the first chance to buy it back if I would ever wish to sell it.
It turns out that this particular rifle, was custom tuned and modified by legendary tuner air gun tuner Paul Watts, for John Ulrich, and then acquired by knowledgeable collector, Brad Warren, who eventually sold it to Mr. Long. After several communications and a terrific introductory phone conversation, I agreed to purchase it for a price I deemed to be very fair, considering the rifle's appearance, the performance data Mr. Long submitted, and the rifle's legacy. Mr. Long is a true class act and gentleman in every regard. He delivered or exceeded every commitment made. In short, I would trust him going forward without hesitation.
The rifle arrived, packaged perfectly, in very short order. Using Sports Match high adjustable rings, I mounted a Hawke 6-24x56 Sidewinder Scope SFP scope on it, and proceeded to sight it in, using my indoor 18 yard range. Once sighted in, I proceeded to shoot two 10 shot groups for each of seven different pellets, over the chronograph, the results can be seen in exhibit 10 attached, and in the chart shown as exhibit 8. While the Paul Watts tuned power plant was as smooth as any I have ever shot or in my current possession, producing a SD of only 1 fps with the JSB 8.4s, I must confess that I was disappointed with the groups, given the test results Mr. Long had provided, and the knowledge that any one of my other springers would shoot as well or out perform the groups I was getting at any point in time.
I then checked the stock screws, and firmed them up, as they were close to snug. Next, I took out some JB bore paste, scrubbed the bore using my patch worm, followed up by Ballistol and patches until the patches came out clean (the bore was very dirty), and then finished by double stacking two sets of felt cleaning pellets and sending them down range. After 10 shots or so, the rifle came into its own, and the improvement in the groups, led to what I expected the rifle's potential to be what I fully expected could be realized. I once again, using the five best performing pellets from the acquisition test, reshot the 18 yard test groups, achieving the terrific results as shown in the attached photo.
After completing the 18 yard comparisons, I moved next to my long indoor range, and proceeded to shoot the three most promising pellets as determined by a combination of the 18 yard group results and chronograph data, at 50 yards, again two 10 shot groups each. The results can be seen in exhibit 11 and on the table in exhibit 8. It is always amazing to see how the performance changes in a springer from 18 to 50 yards. This case was no different as the "best" pellet at 18 yards became the "worse" performing pellet at 50 yards. In the end, I settled on the Air Arms Diablo Field Heavy 10.3 grains for the final rifle set-up. Upon examining all of the enclosed data, I think you will see why. This rifle is a tack driver, and the shot cycle is incredibly smooth.
This was a fun and great acquisition exercise, largely due to the change to get acquainted with Mr. Long, and to acquire a rifle with this heritage. I don't think Gerald will get the chance to buy it back from me.
One of the rifles I was missing from my collection of highly accurate springers, was a nice .177 Air Arms Pro Sport. With the current pandemic, no new ones were available anywhere, including Krale or overseas. So, I a few weeks ago, I posted a WTB on the AGN Classifieds. After a few days, Gerald Long from NC wrote to me and introduced himself to me, indicating that while he had not intended to sell one of his Pro Sports, he had one he would consider selling if it (A) would go to someone who would appreciate it, (B) would go to someone that would take care of it, and (C) I would commit to giving him the first chance to buy it back if I would ever wish to sell it.
It turns out that this particular rifle, was custom tuned and modified by legendary tuner air gun tuner Paul Watts, for John Ulrich, and then acquired by knowledgeable collector, Brad Warren, who eventually sold it to Mr. Long. After several communications and a terrific introductory phone conversation, I agreed to purchase it for a price I deemed to be very fair, considering the rifle's appearance, the performance data Mr. Long submitted, and the rifle's legacy. Mr. Long is a true class act and gentleman in every regard. He delivered or exceeded every commitment made. In short, I would trust him going forward without hesitation.
The rifle arrived, packaged perfectly, in very short order. Using Sports Match high adjustable rings, I mounted a Hawke 6-24x56 Sidewinder Scope SFP scope on it, and proceeded to sight it in, using my indoor 18 yard range. Once sighted in, I proceeded to shoot two 10 shot groups for each of seven different pellets, over the chronograph, the results can be seen in exhibit 10 attached, and in the chart shown as exhibit 8. While the Paul Watts tuned power plant was as smooth as any I have ever shot or in my current possession, producing a SD of only 1 fps with the JSB 8.4s, I must confess that I was disappointed with the groups, given the test results Mr. Long had provided, and the knowledge that any one of my other springers would shoot as well or out perform the groups I was getting at any point in time.
I then checked the stock screws, and firmed them up, as they were close to snug. Next, I took out some JB bore paste, scrubbed the bore using my patch worm, followed up by Ballistol and patches until the patches came out clean (the bore was very dirty), and then finished by double stacking two sets of felt cleaning pellets and sending them down range. After 10 shots or so, the rifle came into its own, and the improvement in the groups, led to what I expected the rifle's potential to be what I fully expected could be realized. I once again, using the five best performing pellets from the acquisition test, reshot the 18 yard test groups, achieving the terrific results as shown in the attached photo.
After completing the 18 yard comparisons, I moved next to my long indoor range, and proceeded to shoot the three most promising pellets as determined by a combination of the 18 yard group results and chronograph data, at 50 yards, again two 10 shot groups each. The results can be seen in exhibit 11 and on the table in exhibit 8. It is always amazing to see how the performance changes in a springer from 18 to 50 yards. This case was no different as the "best" pellet at 18 yards became the "worse" performing pellet at 50 yards. In the end, I settled on the Air Arms Diablo Field Heavy 10.3 grains for the final rifle set-up. Upon examining all of the enclosed data, I think you will see why. This rifle is a tack driver, and the shot cycle is incredibly smooth.
This was a fun and great acquisition exercise, largely due to the change to get acquainted with Mr. Long, and to acquire a rifle with this heritage. I don't think Gerald will get the chance to buy it back from me.
