This review is a little dated, and for that I’m sorry. I had originally intended to post this back in early July but life, military duty, and a “Derecho” tearing through the Midwest delayed my plans. Better late than never!
Thanks to the excellent review posted by @franklink, I had decided to purchase this rifle. My goal was to have one rifle that could shoot multiple types of ammunition by simply changing the power level. I was originally considering the Delta Wolf but the delays and $3k price tag had me looking at other options. I had previously tried to meet my needs with both an FX Crown and FX Impact. Both of those were excellent rifles but changing power levels was tedious and not repeatable. I could change settings, but it was difficult to get things back to exactly the same place I had it before. I wanted to be able raise the reg pressure to shoot heavy pellets for a night hunt and then back down to normal levels for target shooting the next day without much fuss. If I had a bigger budget, I’d simply have one rifle for each caliber or pellet type I wanted to shoot but I’ve got a kid going into college and another in daycare so I’m fresh out of cash for the foreseeable future.
I’m not the most eloquent writer, so please bear with me. Here goes…
What did I get?
Daystate Red Wolf Standard .22 in walnut – GCU 2 version
0db compact moderator
ATN X-sight pro 4k
Eagle vision scope mounts (IPS-30)
Eagle vision dovetail to picatinny adapters
Eagle vision side rail attachments (for my IR light)
Negrini hard case
The good?
The bad?
First impressions
After opening the box and admiring the beautiful rifle, I had a couple questions.
What is this?
And why does it say 230 Bar? I thought the GCU 2 was supposed to be 250 Bar? The test sheet shows 44.7 FT/LB and the internal electronics are marked with “250 Bar”
Maybe I just got one of the first production runs of the GCU2? I noticed my serial number is lower than the one @franklink tested so it’s possible that it was a simple mistake. I sent an email to Daystate to confirm and also called AoA about the mysterious parts.
AoA confirmed that the parts were from the old-style magazine indexing pin. AoA had upgraded the rifle in the shop before sending it to me, but they included the old parts in case I ever wanted to switch back. I appreciate them doing this, but maybe labeling the bag would help avoid confusion. They also confirmed that my rifle should be good up to 250 BAR.
I said earlier that I also emailed Daystate directly. I wanted written confirmation that I was safe to fill up to 250 BAR – because I wanted the extra shot count but I also wanted it in writing so that I would know my warranty wouldn’t be voided in the future if I filled higher than the sticker on the rifle. A couple days later I got an email back from Simon Cockayne at Daystate England. He said that he checked my serial number and it was indeed a 250 BAR fill. There must have been a mix-up at the factory. He even offered to send me a new sticker to put on the rifle so it would be marked correctly. He sent it out right away and I received it a couple weeks later. I really appreciated that service from Daystate. Having it labeled correctly will help with resale, should I ever decide to sell the rifle.
Let’s start with the good stuff
That beautiful Minelli stock! This thing is a work of art.
I tested the rifle with several different pellets and slugs to see how it shoots and what kind of FPS I’m getting.
JSB 15.89 – 917 average FPS on low power
JSB 18.13 – 870 average on low power, 953 on medium
H&N 21.14 – 886 average on medium, 952 on high
JSB 25.39 redesign – 901 average on high
FX Hybrid 22 gr – 891 average on high
NSA 20.2 – 812 average on medium, 927 on high
I’m a dummy and forgot to mark each target with the ammo used so you can’t tell which group is which ammo, but these groups are all shot at 50 yards with the above ammo. The H&N, NSA 20.2, and JSB 18.13 gave me the best accuracy.
The trigger – I know it’s been said before, but the electronic trigger is just like clicking a mouse. Very little effort is required to fire the rifle and the trigger pull is consistent every time.
The electronics – I like the battery used in the Red Wolf compared to the 6x AA’s used in the Pulsar when it first came out. This new system is both rechargeable and lighter weight. I also feel that the battery placement in the grip helps with the overall balance of the rifle.
The ergonomics – it’s very comfortable to hold and shoot. The grip is nicely textured and the adjustable cheek rest provides plenty of height, even for my giant scope.
Noise – out of the box this rifle is very quiet. I’m sure that has to do with the shrouded and baffled barrel. Adding the 0db moderator made things whisper quiet and very backyard friendly.
The Scope
The ATN X-sight 4k has been reviewed many times so I won’t spend too much time on this. I went with this scope because I wanted the ability to store a ballistic profile for each pellet so the scope will then compensate and adjust the crosshair based on my actual distance to target and the profile I have selected.
It’s not perfect, but it gets me on target every time. I’m more concerned with hitting “minute of squirrel” than I am winning a benchrest competition. I will say that this scope is heavy and doesn’t give the greatest daytime image… but man is it good at night! This package is way more compact that strapping a Nite Site to a traditional scope.
I wish ATN also included dovetail rings in the box, but they only provide picatinny so I needed to purchase an adapter.
The rings
These Eagle Vision rings are NICE! Well built, and lightweight. I originally went for them because they were one of the few that offered a side mount picatinny attachment because I needed that to mount my IR light. However, I was very impressed with the quality of the product.
And now for the not so good stuff
The case (or lack thereof) - C’mon Daystate, why didn’t you include a case with this rifle? For $2,399 and up you should have included one. Your competition is including a case with their rifles that cost less. I’m glad to see that you’re going to be fixing this with the Delta Wolf.
I went and found the vendor who supplies the OEM cases for the FX and Daystate and bought one myself. I believe this is the same case that Daystate shipped with the Serie Rosso editions, only in black. I got mine with the pluck foam so I could mold it to my rifle. All it needs now is a nice Daystate sticker to cover up that Negrini logo!
Quality control issues - I already mentioned the SWP sticker being wrong earlier, but my biggest issue was a problem I found while shooting groups. As soon as I started my slug testing, I heard a loud POP and a rush of air blew in my face. I thought “oh great, I must have blown a breech o-ring or something” but after closer inspection I noticed something else:
Evidently, the barrel had not been installed properly, or at least not tightened down enough from the factory. It had come loose and was working its way out of the action. I pulled the barrel out and inspected everything. I couldn’t find any damaged o-rings and aside from a little scratching around the screw holes, everything looked ok. I re-seated the barrel and tightened down everything and it’s been good since.
Software support – the new magazines are great but Daystate didn’t update the software to match so the magazine counter is never accurate. If Daystate is going to start shipping all new rifles with the updated magazines I think they should have a way to update the software to reflect the new magazine capacity. Maybe an option through the programmer?
Speaking of magazines – it’s a good thing that my rifle got upgraded to the new style because I could see slight damage to the pellet probe on the day I received it. Since this was a new rifle, that damage must have happened in the short time it was being tested at the factory and/or dealer.
The safety – mine sticks just a little. This may just be a quirk of my rifle but I figured I’d mention it.
Is there anything I would change?
Not much, honestly. Maybe a black synthetic stock option with a factory picatinny rail would be nice, or perhaps the option for a larger magazine. Or maybe an included case! lol
Would I buy it again?
Heck yes! This gun is super accurate, quiet, and fun to shoot. I might pick up a lighter scope for daytime use to make the overall package lighter but otherwise I’m very impressed with my purchase. Aside from the few items I mentioned above, there is not much I would change about the rifle.
Thanks to @franklink and the folks at AoA for all your help getting this into my hands. If anyone has any questions, feel free to drop a line below and I’ll do my best to answer. Happy shooting!
Thanks to the excellent review posted by @franklink, I had decided to purchase this rifle. My goal was to have one rifle that could shoot multiple types of ammunition by simply changing the power level. I was originally considering the Delta Wolf but the delays and $3k price tag had me looking at other options. I had previously tried to meet my needs with both an FX Crown and FX Impact. Both of those were excellent rifles but changing power levels was tedious and not repeatable. I could change settings, but it was difficult to get things back to exactly the same place I had it before. I wanted to be able raise the reg pressure to shoot heavy pellets for a night hunt and then back down to normal levels for target shooting the next day without much fuss. If I had a bigger budget, I’d simply have one rifle for each caliber or pellet type I wanted to shoot but I’ve got a kid going into college and another in daycare so I’m fresh out of cash for the foreseeable future.
I’m not the most eloquent writer, so please bear with me. Here goes…
What did I get?
Daystate Red Wolf Standard .22 in walnut – GCU 2 version
0db compact moderator
ATN X-sight pro 4k
Eagle vision scope mounts (IPS-30)
Eagle vision dovetail to picatinny adapters
Eagle vision side rail attachments (for my IR light)
Negrini hard case
The good?
- Beautiful stock
- Electronic trigger
- High shot count
- Fit and finish is excellent
- Lights out accurate
- Quiet
- Customer service and warranty
The bad?
- Quality control from factory lacking on a couple items
- Does not come with a case
- No software update for new magazines
- Safety switch sticks just a little
First impressions
After opening the box and admiring the beautiful rifle, I had a couple questions.
What is this?
And why does it say 230 Bar? I thought the GCU 2 was supposed to be 250 Bar? The test sheet shows 44.7 FT/LB and the internal electronics are marked with “250 Bar”
Maybe I just got one of the first production runs of the GCU2? I noticed my serial number is lower than the one @franklink tested so it’s possible that it was a simple mistake. I sent an email to Daystate to confirm and also called AoA about the mysterious parts.
AoA confirmed that the parts were from the old-style magazine indexing pin. AoA had upgraded the rifle in the shop before sending it to me, but they included the old parts in case I ever wanted to switch back. I appreciate them doing this, but maybe labeling the bag would help avoid confusion. They also confirmed that my rifle should be good up to 250 BAR.
I said earlier that I also emailed Daystate directly. I wanted written confirmation that I was safe to fill up to 250 BAR – because I wanted the extra shot count but I also wanted it in writing so that I would know my warranty wouldn’t be voided in the future if I filled higher than the sticker on the rifle. A couple days later I got an email back from Simon Cockayne at Daystate England. He said that he checked my serial number and it was indeed a 250 BAR fill. There must have been a mix-up at the factory. He even offered to send me a new sticker to put on the rifle so it would be marked correctly. He sent it out right away and I received it a couple weeks later. I really appreciated that service from Daystate. Having it labeled correctly will help with resale, should I ever decide to sell the rifle.
Let’s start with the good stuff
That beautiful Minelli stock! This thing is a work of art.
I tested the rifle with several different pellets and slugs to see how it shoots and what kind of FPS I’m getting.
JSB 15.89 – 917 average FPS on low power
JSB 18.13 – 870 average on low power, 953 on medium
H&N 21.14 – 886 average on medium, 952 on high
JSB 25.39 redesign – 901 average on high
FX Hybrid 22 gr – 891 average on high
NSA 20.2 – 812 average on medium, 927 on high
I’m a dummy and forgot to mark each target with the ammo used so you can’t tell which group is which ammo, but these groups are all shot at 50 yards with the above ammo. The H&N, NSA 20.2, and JSB 18.13 gave me the best accuracy.
The trigger – I know it’s been said before, but the electronic trigger is just like clicking a mouse. Very little effort is required to fire the rifle and the trigger pull is consistent every time.
The electronics – I like the battery used in the Red Wolf compared to the 6x AA’s used in the Pulsar when it first came out. This new system is both rechargeable and lighter weight. I also feel that the battery placement in the grip helps with the overall balance of the rifle.
The ergonomics – it’s very comfortable to hold and shoot. The grip is nicely textured and the adjustable cheek rest provides plenty of height, even for my giant scope.
Noise – out of the box this rifle is very quiet. I’m sure that has to do with the shrouded and baffled barrel. Adding the 0db moderator made things whisper quiet and very backyard friendly.
The Scope
The ATN X-sight 4k has been reviewed many times so I won’t spend too much time on this. I went with this scope because I wanted the ability to store a ballistic profile for each pellet so the scope will then compensate and adjust the crosshair based on my actual distance to target and the profile I have selected.
It’s not perfect, but it gets me on target every time. I’m more concerned with hitting “minute of squirrel” than I am winning a benchrest competition. I will say that this scope is heavy and doesn’t give the greatest daytime image… but man is it good at night! This package is way more compact that strapping a Nite Site to a traditional scope.
I wish ATN also included dovetail rings in the box, but they only provide picatinny so I needed to purchase an adapter.
The rings
These Eagle Vision rings are NICE! Well built, and lightweight. I originally went for them because they were one of the few that offered a side mount picatinny attachment because I needed that to mount my IR light. However, I was very impressed with the quality of the product.
And now for the not so good stuff
The case (or lack thereof) - C’mon Daystate, why didn’t you include a case with this rifle? For $2,399 and up you should have included one. Your competition is including a case with their rifles that cost less. I’m glad to see that you’re going to be fixing this with the Delta Wolf.
I went and found the vendor who supplies the OEM cases for the FX and Daystate and bought one myself. I believe this is the same case that Daystate shipped with the Serie Rosso editions, only in black. I got mine with the pluck foam so I could mold it to my rifle. All it needs now is a nice Daystate sticker to cover up that Negrini logo!
Quality control issues - I already mentioned the SWP sticker being wrong earlier, but my biggest issue was a problem I found while shooting groups. As soon as I started my slug testing, I heard a loud POP and a rush of air blew in my face. I thought “oh great, I must have blown a breech o-ring or something” but after closer inspection I noticed something else:
Evidently, the barrel had not been installed properly, or at least not tightened down enough from the factory. It had come loose and was working its way out of the action. I pulled the barrel out and inspected everything. I couldn’t find any damaged o-rings and aside from a little scratching around the screw holes, everything looked ok. I re-seated the barrel and tightened down everything and it’s been good since.
Software support – the new magazines are great but Daystate didn’t update the software to match so the magazine counter is never accurate. If Daystate is going to start shipping all new rifles with the updated magazines I think they should have a way to update the software to reflect the new magazine capacity. Maybe an option through the programmer?
Speaking of magazines – it’s a good thing that my rifle got upgraded to the new style because I could see slight damage to the pellet probe on the day I received it. Since this was a new rifle, that damage must have happened in the short time it was being tested at the factory and/or dealer.
The safety – mine sticks just a little. This may just be a quirk of my rifle but I figured I’d mention it.
Is there anything I would change?
Not much, honestly. Maybe a black synthetic stock option with a factory picatinny rail would be nice, or perhaps the option for a larger magazine. Or maybe an included case! lol
Would I buy it again?
Heck yes! This gun is super accurate, quiet, and fun to shoot. I might pick up a lighter scope for daytime use to make the overall package lighter but otherwise I’m very impressed with my purchase. Aside from the few items I mentioned above, there is not much I would change about the rifle.
Thanks to @franklink and the folks at AoA for all your help getting this into my hands. If anyone has any questions, feel free to drop a line below and I’ll do my best to answer. Happy shooting!
