Okay fellows, as promised here is the first of two project rifles I decided to do after deciding on the FX/AoA boycott.
I've had the Hammerli Pneuma .22 for some time. As most of you know, it's a low-end PCP (seem to recall I paid $299 for it), so it's something of a "sow's ear." But it's surprisingly powerful (I have it set at 25-32 ft-lbs, depending on the pellet being used) and stock accuracy was okay (the best pellet grouping was 1/2" at 25 yards). One of the niches I had intended to fill with the Impact before deciding to cancel my order was a lightweight, easy-to-handle .22 hunter to be used primarily for hunting rabbits. So the project started with ordering a bullpup stock from fellow member Baxter Walton, and as I noted in a previous post, the stock was top-notch: American Walnut with a nice grain and contrasting black forend tip.
I drilled a hole in the Pneuma trigger and mounted the linkage rod to the trigger with a small bolt (which allows me to easily transfer the action back to the original stock if I so desire). The trigger on the Pneuma is somewhat renowned for being impossible to adjust. There are two adjustment screws: The one in front of the trigger adjusts 1st stage length of pull; the small bolt behind the trigger supposedly adjusts pull weight. But most reviewers have commented that turning the screw is an exercise in futility as it does nothing to effect pull weight, and that's been my experience as well. Obviously adding a bullpup linkage is going to make the problem better...NOT. So that's the major weakness I've discovered in the conversion as the pull weight has gotten even heavier. But I have noticed that the pistol grip does make it easier to manage the heavy weight, and as I tested various pellets the pull did seem to get better (perhaps it was the weight lifting I was doing with my finger that was building up muscles).
As Tominco has reported in his posts, here in Colorado it tends to be somewhat windy. But I took the Pneuma out to the range today to test it anyway. I was shooting at 25 yards off a range bag on a shaky table, so it was impossible to keep the crosshairs steady. But the results were promising nonetheless. I limited pellets tested to 21 grains or less given the power of the Pneuma. Here are the results:
Polymag 16 gr: 3/8" (one ragged hole)
H&N Silver Point: 3/8" (one ragged hole)
--Experience has shown that both the Polymags and Silver Points to be excellent performers on game. Interestingly, the Silver Points grouped poorly in the factory stock.
Barracuda Match 21 gr: 1/2"
Hunter Spitz 16 gr: 9/16"
Diablo Exact 14.3 gr: 11/16"
Crow Magnum 18.2 gr. hollowpoint: 7/8"
The gun weighs just under 9 lbs with scope (that's only 7.1 lbs if you convert it to FX Swedish weight
), so it's not exactly lightweight. However I notice that with all the weight rearward it feels much lighter and is really settles into the arms for offhand shooting.The TKO moderator makes it MFQ (mouse-fart quiet).
All in all, I'm well pleased. Next project is the .30 caliber Condor SS; still waiting for parts.
Thanks.
