This year Air Arms had released the New version of the classic S510 Take Down Rifle. The new version of the rifle is modeled after the S510xs that is now a regulated sidelever TDR. The older classic model TDR’s were non regulated bolt action, this is a wonderful step up to it’s design. It took me several weeks to finally get my hands on this rifle, was one that I had had my eye on for awhile.
Pyramydair was kind enough to sponsor Marley and I to head out into the field and show this rifle in action under some rugged conditions. On our first outing we spent a good portion of the day in the mountains where I did some target shooting and testing of various pellets. Over the day I spent some time shooting the rifle out to 65 yards with a variable 5/10mph wind. The TDR gets 26 regulated shots at a 250 bar fill putting out 31 fpe using the 15.89gr JSB's.
The wind was not helping my groups but I was still able to get the gun to shoot very predictable.
I was able to get a nice 10 shot group that to be honest surprised me considering I was using such lightweight pellets. Normally I like the 18gr JSB’s but the 15gr were much more predictable even out to extended ranges in the wind.
The TDR shoots pretty good off bags in the prone position and very well offhand, totally my type of gun. The overall feel of the rifle is a joy to shoulder and carry, after spending the day setting up the rifle and getting familiar with it’s features I was ready to get it out in the field for some real world hunting use.
The following day California had several brush fires that broke out making traveling very difficult throughout most of my area. After the fires had cleared the following week Marley and I packed up the Jeep and headed several hours North to a familiar location in the very rugged mountains.
This location is one of my favorites for hunting the California Ground Squirrels, great habitat with the many Oak trees and rock outcroppings. Normally Spring and Summer months are the best time to hunt these areas, now that the temperatures have dropped the hunting does become slower. During late fall and winter these varmints are much less active and really make us work hard to find them.
Marley and I headed down a small cattle trail into the lower portions of the valley that offer a larger population of Ground Squirrels. The temperature was in the high 70’s as we hiked down through the tall dry grass. I was not seeing much activity until we came to a more wooded area, from here I was able to spot a good sized adult at 70 yards. I used a tree stump as a rest and was able to make a perfect headshot.
Marley excitedly made her way out to where the squirrel had fallen and we did a little bit of filming for the enclosed video.
The TDR in .22 caliber works pretty well for most all small game and varmint hunting, it’s lower power keeps the gun quiet with a good shot count. The Q-Tec moderator worked very well on this rifle and brings the noise level to a minimum. After our short filming session we moved along the cattle trail and were able to spot several more Ground Squirrels with one connecting at 43 yards.
Through the day I was able to capture most of the action using a new camera from TactaCam. This camera with the FTS mount has worked pretty well for me over the past month I have used it. This camera can be WiFi directly to my smartphone, this allows me to make adjustments as well as to play back in the field. I plan to do a more detailed review sometime very soon. Moving down the trail we changed directions and moved diagonally along a hillside under a large oak grove.
These Ground Squirrels blend in so well, perfect camouflage for the backdrop of dry grass and rocks. Many times I can sit and spot them with careful scanning of the terrain. Usually all that’s visible is the head or eyes, this can sometimes get frustrating when looking for an open shot. During the heat of the day the Squirrels can usually be found sunning themselves, during fall and winter months they seem to be a bit more hidden.
This definitely felt like a trophy type hunt where we are after the smarter adult Ground Squirrels. Most of this area had been hunted so all that’s left are those stragglers that have been elusive to both humans and natural predators such as birds of prey, Coyotes and Foxes. As the day moved on I had managed to take about 8 Ground Squirrels at ranges out to 75+ yards. The TDR was a joy to carry and hit near everything I aimed at as long as I did my part. Marley and I made way back to the Jeep and moved to a more wooded location that gave us some shade for a nice lunch break. After lunch we headed in a Northern direction in underneath the many trees.
This area was thick and had many fallen logs and branches to maneuver through.
Being able to store the magazines under the cheek of the butstock was a nice feature and one I was happy to have. With my fingers I bent the clips a little tighter as I was worried one of the magazines may get snagged on my clothing or some branches as I moved through the bushes. After the adjustment the magazines fit much more snug into the clips. Things like this are what you would never find from a typical bench review and one of the reasons I love doing this job. As Marley and I made our way through the field of fallen debris we came to a log that gave a nice rest looking upward onto the hillside.
I was able to make a perfect headshot at 62 yards that sent out a loud THWACK that echoed through the canyon. I wanted to retrieve the Ground Squirrel but the area was much to thick for even Marley to retrieve. After spending another 30 minutes here with no action we headed back to the Jeep where I filmed a few more segments for my video.
The several weeks spent with the TDR was an absolute pleasure, I learned a lot and was happy to have some success on this hunt. Air Arms has done an excellent job building a mid level hunting rifle, worked very well under heavy field use. The weather has been getting much colder here so this may have been our last Ground Squirrel hunt till Springtime. Enclosed is the hunting footage I uploaded to Google Drive hope some may enjoy.
*VIDEO*
Pyramydair was kind enough to sponsor Marley and I to head out into the field and show this rifle in action under some rugged conditions. On our first outing we spent a good portion of the day in the mountains where I did some target shooting and testing of various pellets. Over the day I spent some time shooting the rifle out to 65 yards with a variable 5/10mph wind. The TDR gets 26 regulated shots at a 250 bar fill putting out 31 fpe using the 15.89gr JSB's.
The wind was not helping my groups but I was still able to get the gun to shoot very predictable.
I was able to get a nice 10 shot group that to be honest surprised me considering I was using such lightweight pellets. Normally I like the 18gr JSB’s but the 15gr were much more predictable even out to extended ranges in the wind.
The TDR shoots pretty good off bags in the prone position and very well offhand, totally my type of gun. The overall feel of the rifle is a joy to shoulder and carry, after spending the day setting up the rifle and getting familiar with it’s features I was ready to get it out in the field for some real world hunting use.
The following day California had several brush fires that broke out making traveling very difficult throughout most of my area. After the fires had cleared the following week Marley and I packed up the Jeep and headed several hours North to a familiar location in the very rugged mountains.
This location is one of my favorites for hunting the California Ground Squirrels, great habitat with the many Oak trees and rock outcroppings. Normally Spring and Summer months are the best time to hunt these areas, now that the temperatures have dropped the hunting does become slower. During late fall and winter these varmints are much less active and really make us work hard to find them.
Marley and I headed down a small cattle trail into the lower portions of the valley that offer a larger population of Ground Squirrels. The temperature was in the high 70’s as we hiked down through the tall dry grass. I was not seeing much activity until we came to a more wooded area, from here I was able to spot a good sized adult at 70 yards. I used a tree stump as a rest and was able to make a perfect headshot.
Marley excitedly made her way out to where the squirrel had fallen and we did a little bit of filming for the enclosed video.
The TDR in .22 caliber works pretty well for most all small game and varmint hunting, it’s lower power keeps the gun quiet with a good shot count. The Q-Tec moderator worked very well on this rifle and brings the noise level to a minimum. After our short filming session we moved along the cattle trail and were able to spot several more Ground Squirrels with one connecting at 43 yards.
Through the day I was able to capture most of the action using a new camera from TactaCam. This camera with the FTS mount has worked pretty well for me over the past month I have used it. This camera can be WiFi directly to my smartphone, this allows me to make adjustments as well as to play back in the field. I plan to do a more detailed review sometime very soon. Moving down the trail we changed directions and moved diagonally along a hillside under a large oak grove.
These Ground Squirrels blend in so well, perfect camouflage for the backdrop of dry grass and rocks. Many times I can sit and spot them with careful scanning of the terrain. Usually all that’s visible is the head or eyes, this can sometimes get frustrating when looking for an open shot. During the heat of the day the Squirrels can usually be found sunning themselves, during fall and winter months they seem to be a bit more hidden.
This definitely felt like a trophy type hunt where we are after the smarter adult Ground Squirrels. Most of this area had been hunted so all that’s left are those stragglers that have been elusive to both humans and natural predators such as birds of prey, Coyotes and Foxes. As the day moved on I had managed to take about 8 Ground Squirrels at ranges out to 75+ yards. The TDR was a joy to carry and hit near everything I aimed at as long as I did my part. Marley and I made way back to the Jeep and moved to a more wooded location that gave us some shade for a nice lunch break. After lunch we headed in a Northern direction in underneath the many trees.
This area was thick and had many fallen logs and branches to maneuver through.
Being able to store the magazines under the cheek of the butstock was a nice feature and one I was happy to have. With my fingers I bent the clips a little tighter as I was worried one of the magazines may get snagged on my clothing or some branches as I moved through the bushes. After the adjustment the magazines fit much more snug into the clips. Things like this are what you would never find from a typical bench review and one of the reasons I love doing this job. As Marley and I made our way through the field of fallen debris we came to a log that gave a nice rest looking upward onto the hillside.
I was able to make a perfect headshot at 62 yards that sent out a loud THWACK that echoed through the canyon. I wanted to retrieve the Ground Squirrel but the area was much to thick for even Marley to retrieve. After spending another 30 minutes here with no action we headed back to the Jeep where I filmed a few more segments for my video.
The several weeks spent with the TDR was an absolute pleasure, I learned a lot and was happy to have some success on this hunt. Air Arms has done an excellent job building a mid level hunting rifle, worked very well under heavy field use. The weather has been getting much colder here so this may have been our last Ground Squirrel hunt till Springtime. Enclosed is the hunting footage I uploaded to Google Drive hope some may enjoy.
*VIDEO*
