RAW: Light and Short Options

[bowwild]

I've only been involved in serious air rifles for a while. I've been thinking about the RAW for about a year. I bought a couple Daystates (Wolverine and Regal XL) last winter instead. As I write this I'm visiting in Clarksville, TN, not terribly far from Martin's shop. Not sure if I'll buy another air rifle. If I did I'm torn between the Daystate Air Wolf MCT and the RAW. I had the Daystate Air Wolf Extreme in .25 for a couple of days and returned it. Just too long. Boy, I sure loved those electronics though, and the shot count was amazing although I shot the rifle only about 20 pellets before calling AZ to exchange for the Wolverine Hi-Lite.

So many here are fans of the RAW and I'm sure know something about the variations that can be purchased. Is this set of specs possible?
- Walnut Stock
- .22 Caliber
- less than 8 pounds
- less than 44"

I would be squirrel hunting with the rifle with 15-50 yards shots being the norm. 

Thanks

 

[jimmiezz]

Nice review. I've been looking at the Warp

 

[John "spysir" Blount]

So many here are fans of the RAW and I'm sure know something about the variations that can be purchased. Is this set of specs possible?
- Walnut Stock
- .22 Caliber
- less than 8 pounds
- less than 44"


Thanks





Your answer is yes.

John

 

[bowwild]

Thanks John.
Roy

 

[Scott_MCT]

I had my RAW side by side to my AirWolf last night and they are the exact same length. Granted I have a full 7" Neil Clague LCD on my AirWolf, but I also have the extra length Factory LCD on my RAW. If you asked me which one I favor over the other I couldn't tell you, there lies the dilemma. 

 

[zebra]

"bowwild"I've only been involved in serious air rifles for a while. I've been thinking about the RAW for about a year. I bought a couple Daystates (Wolverine and Regal XL) last winter instead. As I write this I'm visiting in Clarksville, TN, not terribly far from Martin's shop. Not sure if I'll buy another air rifle. If I did I'm torn between the Daystate Air Wolf MCT and the RAW. I had the Daystate Air Wolf Extreme in .25 for a couple of days and returned it. Just too long. Boy, I sure loved those electronics though, and the shot count was amazing although I shot the rifle only about 20 pellets before calling AZ to exchange for the Wolverine Hi-Lite.

So many here are fans of the RAW and I'm sure know something about the variations that can be purchased. Is this set of specs possible?
- Walnut Stock
- .22 Caliber
- less than 8 pounds
- less than 44"

I would be squirrel hunting with the rifle with 15-50 yards shots being the norm. 

Thanks

That's going to be a question that is best for RAW to answer as it is clearly not available as an off-the-shelf option on their website. 

One thing I would say though, on making it less than 8lb, you can make any gun lighter, even if it is not a factory option. 

The most obvious ways are getting a custom lightweight stock and possibly a shorter barrel. 

On some guns you can save 2lb by changing the stock and the RAW stocks look to be fairly chunky benchrest designs. There is a lot of extra material that is great to weigh it down if you are looking for an ultra stable bench gun but less important on a lightweight hunting gun.

Without having weighed the RAW stocks, my bet would be that saving 1lb would be possible if the right stock design is chosen. If you weren't tied to walnut it would be almost certain.

Other options that might be even easier are removing adjustable butt plates and cheek pieces. Those adjustable mechanisms weigh a ton. I pulled an adjustable butt plate off a stock with an adjustable length of pull and the plate with screws weighed over 2lb on it's own. 

On the other hand, it might just be easier to choose another rifle that is already as you want it. The FX Royal 400 walnut version, for example, or the BSA R10 MK2 are both decent bottle guns. The Cricket carbine 22 is not a bottle gun but it is an awesome 22 rifle with a Walnut stock. 

If it was me, I would be looking to get something a little different as you already have a nice 22 bottle gun with a Walnut stock but I like variety.

 

[jps2486]

I have a 12 fpe RAW HM1000 in .177 that I use for BR and FT. It is shorter than the 20 fpe model by about 4 inches and weighs about 8 pounds with the walnut thumbhole stock. This is the most accurate rifle I own. Call Martin. He will build you whatever you want.

 

[Scott_MCT]

If your squirrel hunting 15-50 yards I would not grab my RAW, AirWolf, or Cricket. I'd grab my .22 WildCat 365 days of the year. Need to choose the right air gun for what your needs are.

 

[bowwild]

Thanks Scott_MCT.

Because of your post I did some looking at that Wildcat. Considering this and other posts above, since I don't want to own more than 3-4 air rifles, and I already have 4, I probably should stay away from the RAW. My Wolverine is my "big gun" (.25, long and sort of heavy). That wildcat would be very handy and if in the "tactical" finish it would be easy to care for in the woods. 

The new Impact was seeming to be a pretty cool rifle at the beginning of the year, but all the issues folks are reporting make me leery of this one. I know we mostly hear about the problems and several folks probably have none with he Impact?

 

[jp_over]

Just joined the forum to subscribe to this thread - excellent info. I've been recently looking at the RAW too for a "walking" / hunting gun but have heard much the same that it would need to be a completely custom job.