Daystar Hunts!

[BBGunn]

I purchased a Reximex Daystar .22 during the recent labor Day sale.

The rifle arrived this past Monday and I went to work disassembling, checking parts and making some minor modifications. The most significant being polishing the bore, modifying the trigger to a crisp single stage and cutting the hammer spring to get the rifle's velocity in the range I wanted it to be.

The tune is shooting AEA 18.3gr at 890fps for 3-mags (36-shots) with single digit ES. More importantly, it shoots those pellets like they were 'on a string'! They fly perfectly down-range!

My normal 'Sage Rat' hunting rifle is my 3-decade old Falcon FN19 single-shot .22. It shoots AEA 15.9gr at 890fps. I limit my ground squirrel shots to 50yds with the FN19 and often squeeze a few kills to 53yds. With the new Reximex shooting superior ballistics to the Falcon I decided to push shots an extra 10yds to a maximum of 60yds.

I took the Daystar out for it's first hunt yesterday and it performed as well as I had hoped it would! My long shot was 61yds and many small 'sage rats' were sent to the 'big den in the sky' at 44yds to 53yds! The Daystar was 'sending it' at near perfection with only one miss over 33-shots fired. Mind you, I only shoot from a sitting position, often with a tree or rock to lean against, and using shooting sticks. Of course the laser makes the distance to target known and not a guess (unlike the old days).

In conclusion, if you do not wish to spend a lot on a capable hunting rifle, and you have some 'garage shop' skills, the Reximex rifles are capable.

Reximex Daystar .22 with Meopta Optika5 2-10x42 and Fox 300 suppression.

 

[Joedirt199]

How is the weight on that rifle?

 

[BBGunn]

How is the weight on that rifle?

I chose the polymer stock over the more pleasing, walnut or laminate to save weight. The Polymer is nearly 1lb lighter than the wood versions.

As the rifle is shown in the pic above it weighs 8lbs-14oz. It's not light weight, but certainly lighter than the majority of today's air rifles.

For comparison, my old Falcon FN19 single shot with scope & suppressor weighs 7lbs -10oz.

The weights listed were taken on a digital type postal scale.

 

[Joedirt199]

Had a Kral before and the Turks know how to tune a nonregged gun from the get go to shoot a long flat string.

 

[BBGunn]

Had a Kral before and the Turks know how to tune a nonregged gun from the get go to shoot a long flat string.

Yes, I agree.

I sacrifice overall shot count for tuning at the top part of the 'bell curve'. My starting fill pressure is only 195Bar. The key to getting an adequate amount of flat shots with a non-regulated rifle is to have a large volume air reservoir.

 

[JW652]

So what size groups are you experiencing at your 50 yd target ?

 

[Trucker3573]

Out of the box what was the 18 gr tune ? Thanks man

 

[BBGunn]

So what size groups are you experiencing at your 50 yd target ?

Since I've had the rifle less than a week I am not confident in reporting what the rifle averages at 50yds. The shooting I did on target at 50yds was just to check my ballistic/drop data against 'real' drops on target. Also checking the tracking accuracy for my dial-ups on the optic.

The limited shooting I did at 50yds was showing about 5/8" - 3/4" grouping. As I get a little more familiar with the rifle I'll take a morning and concentrate on a few 50yd groups and add that target to this thread.

For my squirrel hunting I like my second zero to be 38yds (first zero is 19yds). 38yds is the distance I fired a lot of rounds this week and refined my zero. I can tell you that the rifle was shooting 5-shot groups between 3/8" and 1/2" the majority of groups fired.

Sorry I don't have more 'solid' accuracy data to share. Just haven't had the rifle long enough yet.

 

[BBGunn]

Out of the box what was the 18 gr tune ? Thanks man

I can't answer your question as I never fired the rifle straight out of the box.

I have a Reximex Lyra which has the same barrel, air cylinder, trigger group and internals in the action/block as does the Daystar. The Daystar has more material machined off areas of the external action/block which I assume is for cosmetic affect and weight savings. The Daystar also has a different cocking lever and attachment points (screws) that mount the pic-rail to the top of the block than the Lyra.

Point is, I already knew from having the Lyra what the hammer spring length needed to be for the velocity range I wanted using the hammer spring adjuster. So, I cut the spring before firing the rifle for the first time.

I can tell you that the Lyra (mostly same rifle) fired 18.3s at about 940fps straight out of the box with the hammer spring adjuster full back (unloaded)!

These Reximex long rifles are basically the same internals of the now discontinued Benjamin Craftsman Series long rifles.

 

[Joedirt199]

Have noticed that the Turkish guns come a little over sprung and benefit from some tuning.

 

[BBGunn]

Have noticed that the Turkish guns come a little over sprung and benefit from some tuning.

Agree. For the pellet weights that most people like to shoot many of the Turkish long rifles are over-sprung.

With the spring the rifles come with they get good velocity with the heavier 22gr pellets for a 'cliff' tune. However there isn't enough spring, and air volume to achieve a 'bell curve' tune with those 22gr pellets and get many shots per fill.

 

[BBGunn]

Had the Daystar out hunting ground squirrels again today. Walked off my property at about 9:30 and home about 1:30. Only found seven squirrels today but the Daystar continues to impress and put them all down first shot! Long shot was 55yds and a few in the mid-40s range.

My old Falcon FN19 has more character, but 'she's' going to see a lot less days in the field as I am really enjoying the Daystar!

 

[EPG]

My .177 Rexi Daystar is a laser as a target rifle - unregulated. Essentially a .177 Benjamin Cayden - with a nicer stock than a Cayden. This 23 1/2” barrel in .177 gives a really nice mild tune and shot cycle.

-Ed

 

[BBGunn]

Sorry if I sound like a 'broken record', but just telling the truth for anyone who might be interested in the Daystar as a hunting rifle.

Yesterday I was in the field for 10-hours. The way I hunt ground squirrels is on-foot hiking and glassing for vermin. There are not high numbers in my area but there are plenty, they are just wide spread over the area.

The combination of Daystar & AEA 18,3s made some shots yesterday that left me verbally saying outload, "wow"! Twice I had squirrels just barely showing their eye and top of their heads as they peeked out of a hole looking for danger. With literally no room for error, the Daystar sent the pellet square into the skull cap! I even found a chunk of skull bone laying on the ground!

Long shot was 61.5yds with a perfect shot through the shoulder! No exit wound on that one. Several shots between 47yds & 53yds, all first shot kills!

Shot count was 20 for 22 but honestly, the 2-misses were my fault, not the rifle. Once the pellet hit the tips of some bitterbrush about 2' in front of the muzzle. Thought I had clearance to the left but I was wrong. The other miss was because I forgot to reset my turret after a long shot.

If you hunt ground squirrels you know that many of them make it back down their holes after the hit. Even with solid hits they can make it back down the hole in 1-second. But, of those that I was able to find, I was amazed at the precision of shot placement on the longer shots!

I have not been paid or compensated in any way from Pyramyd, Reximex or AEA for this review thread. Just giving an honest review to let folks know that you don't need to buy a $2000-$3000 air rifle to get a hunting rifle with superb accuracy!

It's impossible to convey emotion in written word, but I am still, this morning, feeling amazed at the performance I got from the Daystar/AEA yesterday!