Cricket vs Colibri - First Impressions!

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Matt_Dubber

Member
May 5, 2015
160
59
Eastern Cape
Two beautiful little bullpups arrived for me today. These have been sent to me on loan from Airgun Warehouse in Johannesburg, and I'm going to be putting them though their paces throughout the next few weeks. Both of these are in .22 Caliber. The Cricket is an airgun that I have had plenty of experience with before, and a gun that is very well documented online. The Colibri, or "Hummingbird", is a completely different story.

Very few people seem to know much about the Hummingbird. There has been a fair bit of hype around the launch of this little guy, but Kalibrgun kept postponing the launch date because of various kinks they needed to sort out. When I first heard about this gun, everybody was stating that it would be a semi-auto. This is definitely not the case. 

While the Cricket cocks and cycles using a side lever on the breech, the Colibri uses a simple sliding bolt on the left hand side towards the middle of the gun, which makes it extremely easy to cock while keeping your eye on the target. To put the myth to rest - You DO need to cock the gun between each shot.

Here are a few more initial thoughts and observations:
  1. The Synthetic stock on the Hummingbird is much nicer than the Synthetic stock on the Cricket. I have handled a synthetic Cricket before, and the feel and quality of the material is nowhere near as nice as the Hummingbird's textured stock.
  2. Neither of these guns can compare to the Daystate, Air Arms or Weihrauch guns in terms of quality of materials. It's very clear that the British manufacturers hold a higher standard for their metalwork & machining, and the Walnut stock on the Cricket is nowhere NEAR as nice as the stocks that Minelli makes.
  3. That being said, the Russian & Eastern European airguns always win points in the "performance" category. Both of these guns are incredibly efficient on air, very consistent and extremely accurate.
  4. Both guns are regulated as standard
  5. Both guns have CZ barrels (Which are ridiculously accurate)
  6. Straight out the box, the Cricket is shooting at 900 fps with 18.1gr JSBs. The Hummingbird is shooting at 820 with 15.9gr JSBs.
  7. Both these guns are ridiculously quiet.
  8. The trigger on the Hummingbird seems much nicer than the trigger on the Cricket - It's not that fat, flat trigger that nobody likes.
  9. The magazine system on the Cricket is very reliable. But it can be frustrating to change mags, as a lever needs to be pulled back to do this and therefore two hands are required.
  10. The magazine system on the Hummingbird is very different, as the rotary clip is housed in a machined metal case which slides into place. This is supposed to eliminate the problem with the Cricket's magazine, but it just keeps getting jammed - Almost as if it wasn't machined to fit correctly!
  11. This one's IMPORTANT: After a day of using these two guns, the Cricket is working as it should and seems to be quite robust and reliable - But the Hummingbird has already given me problems. The rod connecting the trigger mechanism isn't fixed properly and keeps disconnecting. The bolt often doesn't close properly or keeps jamming. It's a little frustrating, and I get the feeling that perhaps the release of this cleverly designed mini-pup was rushed a bit. There are still a few issues that need to be sorted out for sure.
    [/LIST=1]
    I am planning to film full reviews of both of these airguns. I'll post links to this forum once I'm done. Just thought you might like to hear my first thoughts, as there's very little info on the Hummingbird online!

    PS: I am still trying to make up my mind whether I want a Wildcat or a Cricket. The Wildcat is a few hundred dollars more expensive here in South Africa, so I need to think carefully. Some input from guys who already own these beauties would be much appreciated!

 
"Ted"Heck of a start, Matt! Looking forward to further analysis. I gotta admit, the dead-even length of the air cylinder and shroud make the colibri look pretty cool. :) The old Matador used to look like that. I liked it. Sometime around 4 years ago, it was universally 'decided' that the barrel shroud must be longer than the cylinder.


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I love the "out of the box" thinking behind the Colibri. There are some fantastic ideas behind the design! I'm just a little disappointed that there are so many small problems with it. It makes me want to cry a little - Like your visible disappointment when you found out the HW100 .177 was shooting too hot:) You know the feeling
 
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Hi Matt

I picked up my Colibri from AGW a couple of weeks ago and I love it.

Here are a few things to check/do (apologies if you already know this):

1. The HST was turned in way too far by whomever fitted the stronger spring. Mine was turned in all the way. Turn it out 'till it is flush or just proud with the receiver body. I get a very consistent 905 fps with the AA 16gr like this.

2. I hear you about the trigger link. Bend the hook where it connects to the lever at the back in slightly so it is just less than 90 deg. Did this on mine and it stays put now.

3. Grease the cocking rod, hammer cocking lever (not the hammer itself) and indexing arm lightly with Moly grease. (It's well oiled from the factory but a thin oil.) This makes the action much smoother. Coupled with pulling the bolt and letting go so the spring closes the action completely removed misfeeds for me with close to a 1 000 pellets through it by now. 




 
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"OneEyeLeft"Hi Matt

I picked up my Colibri from AGW a couple of weeks ago and I love it.

Here are a few things to check/do (apologies if you already know this):

1. The HST was turned in way too far by whomever fitted the stronger spring. Mine was turned in all the way. Turn it out 'till it is flush or just proud with the receiver body. I get a very consistent 905 fps with the AA 16gr like this.

2. I hear you about the trigger link. Bend the hook where it connects to the lever at the back in slightly so it is just less than 90 deg. Did this on mine and it stays put now.

3. Grease the cocking rod, hammer cocking lever (not the hammer itself) and indexing arm lightly with Moly grease. (It's well oiled from the factory but a thin oil.) This makes the action much smoother. Coupled with pulling the bolt and letting go so the spring closes the action completely removed misfeeds for me with close to a 1 000 pellets through it by now. 




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Great, thanks! I will certainly do that. If I can get it running smoothly I will be a happy man!

Matt
 
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I love the "out of the box" thinking behind the Colibri. There are some fantastic ideas behind the design! I'm just a little disappointed that there are so many small problems with it. It makes me want to cry a little - Like your visible disappointment when you found out the HW100 .177 was shooting too hot:) You know the feeling
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Yes, I do. That is still my most depressing video to date. :D
 
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Thanks for the review Matt.

I've owned both the Cricket and the Colibri.

The Cricket was built like a tank and I had no issues with it. On the con-side, I thought the synthetic stock was too heavy and wayyyy too bulky. As for carrying 4 magazines in the stock...well that was the first thing I removed...LOL

As for the Colibri, what a light weight and well balanced gun, great trigger and extremely accurate. And the mid-gun cocking handle is easy and smooth to operate. This is a 'love at first sight gun'.
On the con-side, I had blow-back and indexing issues. Steve at WWAG had me send the gun to Ernest. Not sure what all he did, but it's been months now and NO issues and the Colibri is a delight to shoot... Maybe Kalibrigun needs to contact Ernest for updates on the gun...LOL

 
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I got a Cricket .25 today with a synthetic stock. I have read a few post from people saying it was heavy. I didn't find this to be the case at all. Maybe I have Incredible Hulk-like strength or something but compared to every other PCP gun I own, it feels incredibly light due to the center balanced bullpup design. I can literally shoot it one handed if I wanted. I think that some of you need to get yourselves to a gym to build up those teeny tiny little girl arms... The Cricket is certainly no heavier than most other PCP guns and compared to a Marauder, it shoulders like a (great) dream. I love holding it.

The .25 Cricket is also the quietest airgun I have ever heard. It is noticeably quieter than my .22 Hatsan AT44 QE which is a very quiet gun.

The stock material feels good but I am not convinced it will be hard wearing. The stock and metal seem easy to scratch and the side lever is not that sturdy for a gun in this price range. These complaints are minor though. Overall, I love it and it makes me want to sell all my other PCP guns.

The only thing I really don't like on the Cricket is the Mags. They are terrible. You have to fiddle around to make them sit properly in the gun and if the arm on the gun doesn't slot into the crenellations on the mag then it won't cycle and results in dry firing. This can happen even when the mag has clicked into place. Certain .25 pellets have to be forced past the o-ring which means they won't last long either. Putting the O ring on the outside of the pellets instead of the inside is a stupid idea. The mags are too thin for the 43g Eun Jin pellets which is also stupid. They gain nothing from adding this limitation. The gun is certainly powerful enough for 43g pellets so why give us thin mags??? The mags feel cheap and look horrible too. Whoever is responsible for the mags at Kalibrgun should be fired and put in prison. The mags on entry level guns like the Marauder and the Hatsan AT44 are much, much (much) better in every way. It is hard to believe that Kalibrgun has another model with even worse mags.

I'm not sure it matters with the Colibri because it doesn't look like they will ever be properly available in America but it doesn't seem like we are missing anything. I can't really see what it does that the Cricket doesn't. It is just another model for the sake of it. The Colibri is just a less powerful, less reliable and longer gun than the Cricket. It is probably better for Kalibrgun that they had problems bringing the Colibri to America. With those reliability issues, it would have hurt their reputation. Once people loose trust for a brand, they rarely get it back. 

Kalibrgun doesn't need another .22 bullpup like Daystate doesn't need another super heavy air rifle with nice walnut. They should focus on the Cricket and fix some of it's minor limitations. Move the side lever forward. Fix the mags. Use titanium or carbon fiber cylinders and shrouds for the people with girl-arms etc. 

 
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"zebra"I got a Cricket .25 today with a synthetic stock. I have read a few post from people saying it was heavy. I didn't find this to be the case at all. Maybe I have Incredible Hulk-like strength or something but compared to every other PCP gun I own, it feels incredibly light due to the center balanced bullpup design. I can literally shoot it one handed if I wanted. I think that some of you need to get yourselves to a gym to build up those teeny tiny little girl arms... The Cricket is certainly no heavier than most other PCP guns and compared to a Marauder, it shoulders like a (great) dream. I love holding it.

The .25 Cricket is also the quietest airgun I have ever heard. It is noticeably quieter than my .22 Hatsan AT44 QE which is a very quiet gun.

The stock material feels good but I am not convinced it will be hard wearing. The stock and metal seem easy to scratch and the side lever is not that sturdy for a gun in this price range. These complaints are minor though. Overall, I love it and it makes me want to sell all my other PCP guns.

The only thing I really don't like on the Cricket is the Mags. They are terrible. You have to fiddle around to make them sit properly in the gun and if the arm on the gun doesn't slot into the crenellations on the mag then it won't cycle and results in dry firing. This can happen even when the mag has clicked into place. Certain .25 pellets have to be forced past the o-ring which means they won't last long either. Putting the O ring on the outside of the pellets instead of the inside is a stupid idea. The mags are too thin for the 43g Eun Jin pellets which is also stupid. They gain nothing from adding this limitation. The gun is certainly powerful enough for 43g pellets so why give us thin mags??? The mags feel cheap and look horrible too. Whoever is responsible for the mags at Kalibrgun should be fired and put in prison. The mags on entry level guns like the Marauder and the Hatsan AT44 are much, much (much) better in every way. It is hard to believe that Kalibrgun has another model with even worse mags.

I'm not sure it matters with the Colibri because it doesn't look like they will ever be properly available in America but it doesn't seem like we are missing anything. I can't really see what it does that the Cricket doesn't. It is just another model for the sake of it. The Colibri is just a less powerful, less reliable and longer gun than the Cricket. It is probably better for Kalibrgun that they had problems bringing the Colibri to America. With those reliability issues, it would have hurt their reputation. Once people loose trust for a brand, they rarely get it back. 

Kalibrgun doesn't need another .22 bullpup like Daystate doesn't need another super heavy air rifle with nice walnut. They should focus on the Cricket and fix some of it's minor limitations. Move the side lever forward. Fix the mags. Use titanium or carbon fiber cylinders and shrouds for the people with girl-arms etc. 

Click to expand...
Wow. Talk about criticism and love at the same time. :) The cricket isn't a perfect gun (heck no gun really is) but you will fall in love with it soon. All the issues you speak of in the cricket are initial limitations. You get used to them post the first Few hundred shots. The magazine cycles and sits properly, the pellets load much smoother into the mag. The o rings don't wear off. All these get fixed once the gun settles in. It's smooth sailing after that.
 
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