Spending $2,500 on an airgun is not a light decision. Having a good reason is important (well somewhat). I shoot FT and my current TM 1000 more than met my expectations but, it is heavy and long, and when shooting from a chair is really tough to bring to bear and then return to its' holder. So my objective was to have a FT quality gun that was lighter and shorter, without sacrificing any accuracy. Enter the Pulsar. I've owned Daystate guns before and had been quite satisfied with them, so when it arrived I had great expectations. My 1000 weighed in at 12.5 lbs with a Sightron 10-50 scope and is 45.5" long to the end of the butthook. The pulsar only lost 1 lb, at 11.5 lbs (w/scope), but at 30" in length came in at 15.5" shorter.
The Pulsar has a butt plate that is adjustable up and down and can be adjusted for cant to the left or right. Nice feature, and may well substitute for a full blown butt plate, but further testing is needed.
Not being a computer savvy guy I always dread setting up the options on electronic guns. Well this one was super easy. It came on high power so I left that alone. Laser? Well I left it on for now, but will turn it off for FT. The last option was single shot or magazine (if using the mag it keeps track of your shots). I went with the included single shot tray. Two additional programs that are automatic are the low battery and low air indicators.
After a few minutes setting the options I did try using the mag. I shot 2 full mags and there was a really nice "click" as the next round indexed. No problems were noted with feeding. Another nice feature was you cannot shoot on an empty chamber. The gun won't fire until you reload. The single shot tray however, did not always slip a pellet into the breach. It would get hung up. Closer inspection showed that the tray appears just a bit low in the front so the pellet head can get hung up and needs some help to get in.
Next up was some crony testing. Daystate advertises this gun at 18 fpe. When I asked AoA they said 20 fpe. Well 20 it was. I averaged 935 fps with the JSBs 10.3 and with the Crossman CPHs I was at 910. I do not do long shot strings, but that being said the JSBs had a high of 937 and a low of 934. The CPHs were almost as tight, keeping the range under 10 fps. This was for about 6 shots for each pellet. Pellets were washed and lubed with FP-10, but not sorted.
Grouping was next. Naturally it was raining and windy the 1st two days I had the gun. Finally, the weather cleared with only a slight breeze on hand. The groups really surprised me. I figured JSBs were a no brainer, but the results spoke otherwise. These groups (see pic) were not cherry picked, just got set up on the bench and shot 20 rounds at 40 yds. The gun was rested front and rear. One possible explanation would be that the JSBs are flying too fast. I have the best results with them around 890 fps. The Crossmans like to go faster, so 910 seems like a good speed in this case.
I do not have the patience to count shots for a shot count, but can give a close guess. I was filling to 200 bar as my tank was low and got 30-35 shots before the warning beep for low air went off at 169 bar. Since the gun can fill to 230 bar, if my math is right, I should get about 60 shots. I guess I"ll find out at the next FT match if I miss the last two targets. Give me an excuse anyway.
A few other things that might be of interest. The cocking lever has no resistance when you cock the gun. This function must be entirely electronic with no hammer spring attached to the cocking action. Batteries are AA and can be changed by the shooter when needed. The gun comes with an awesome case, which has cutouts for a scope, but the Sightron, especially with the side wheel, is a no-go. Really too bad. The electronic screen gives you a reading in air pressure after each shot. Finally, the trigger is very wide, which I liked, but imo would be even better if you could turn it from side to side. Good shooting to all.
The Pulsar has a butt plate that is adjustable up and down and can be adjusted for cant to the left or right. Nice feature, and may well substitute for a full blown butt plate, but further testing is needed.
Not being a computer savvy guy I always dread setting up the options on electronic guns. Well this one was super easy. It came on high power so I left that alone. Laser? Well I left it on for now, but will turn it off for FT. The last option was single shot or magazine (if using the mag it keeps track of your shots). I went with the included single shot tray. Two additional programs that are automatic are the low battery and low air indicators.
After a few minutes setting the options I did try using the mag. I shot 2 full mags and there was a really nice "click" as the next round indexed. No problems were noted with feeding. Another nice feature was you cannot shoot on an empty chamber. The gun won't fire until you reload. The single shot tray however, did not always slip a pellet into the breach. It would get hung up. Closer inspection showed that the tray appears just a bit low in the front so the pellet head can get hung up and needs some help to get in.
Next up was some crony testing. Daystate advertises this gun at 18 fpe. When I asked AoA they said 20 fpe. Well 20 it was. I averaged 935 fps with the JSBs 10.3 and with the Crossman CPHs I was at 910. I do not do long shot strings, but that being said the JSBs had a high of 937 and a low of 934. The CPHs were almost as tight, keeping the range under 10 fps. This was for about 6 shots for each pellet. Pellets were washed and lubed with FP-10, but not sorted.
Grouping was next. Naturally it was raining and windy the 1st two days I had the gun. Finally, the weather cleared with only a slight breeze on hand. The groups really surprised me. I figured JSBs were a no brainer, but the results spoke otherwise. These groups (see pic) were not cherry picked, just got set up on the bench and shot 20 rounds at 40 yds. The gun was rested front and rear. One possible explanation would be that the JSBs are flying too fast. I have the best results with them around 890 fps. The Crossmans like to go faster, so 910 seems like a good speed in this case.
I do not have the patience to count shots for a shot count, but can give a close guess. I was filling to 200 bar as my tank was low and got 30-35 shots before the warning beep for low air went off at 169 bar. Since the gun can fill to 230 bar, if my math is right, I should get about 60 shots. I guess I"ll find out at the next FT match if I miss the last two targets. Give me an excuse anyway.
A few other things that might be of interest. The cocking lever has no resistance when you cock the gun. This function must be entirely electronic with no hammer spring attached to the cocking action. Batteries are AA and can be changed by the shooter when needed. The gun comes with an awesome case, which has cutouts for a scope, but the Sightron, especially with the side wheel, is a no-go. Really too bad. The electronic screen gives you a reading in air pressure after each shot. Finally, the trigger is very wide, which I liked, but imo would be even better if you could turn it from side to side. Good shooting to all.
