SharpsShooter
04-19-2009, 12:31 PM
The weather finally cooperated with my schedule and I got in a full day at the range. A shooting friend is also an air gun fanatic and he brought along his Airforce Condor in .177 and .22, but the real interesting one was the Dragonslayer .495. In between supervising my son with his #4 Rolling Block and shooting my Mossberg 144 LSA, I got to sample all the airguns. All three are Precharged Pneumatics type, also known as "PCP" and we filled the reservoirs with a scuba tank that was kept handy to the bench.
The airforce guns are tack drivers at 50yards and well beyond. With the 22, I managed to keep the small bore rifle ram swinger busy at a 100yds without a great deal of effort until the wind came up. The wind added greatly to the challenge and fun too. The airforce guns are good for 40-50 shots before recharging, so you spend plenty of time shooting and aren't chained to the scuba tank. In comparison, my own Benjamin Discovery will go 20-25 shots before a refill. The airforce .177 and my Discovery, also a .177 were a super challenge in the wind. With winds of 10mph and gusts from 9 o'clock keeping either one on the turkey swinger at 75 was tough, but when the wind laid for a bit, regular hits are not unusual.
Enter the Dragonslayer (pardon the pun) Firing a .495 round ball at 700fps, well this ain't a Red Ryder. My first five shots at 50 yards were a ragged hole that barely measured .600". Then it was time for a refill since the dragonslayer requires such an increased amount of air propellant, 5-7 shots are all ya get without velocity and accuracy diminishing quickly. Recharging takes about a minute and is a simple task. I wish I could say the accuracy was as good at 100 as it was at 50, but the best I could do was just under 2" for 5 shots. The great trigger helped a lot along with good optics. The best of the day was 5 out of 5 hits at 130yds on a 4" square steel swinger.
The noise level of the 50 is considerable, sounding not unlike a 22mag or possible a 22 revolver perhaps. The rifle itself is hefty and it's stock configuration is comfortable and finished reasonably too.
The dragon is not a backyard gun, unless you have a big backyard. Casting for it is a plus and the accuracy at distance is truly amazing. Oh and the fun factor is way off the scale with any of the above mentioned. While I would not recommend the DragonSlayer for the novice, it certainly fills the bill for a hard hitting air gun for the advanced plinker / shooter or serious air gun hunter.
SS
The airforce guns are tack drivers at 50yards and well beyond. With the 22, I managed to keep the small bore rifle ram swinger busy at a 100yds without a great deal of effort until the wind came up. The wind added greatly to the challenge and fun too. The airforce guns are good for 40-50 shots before recharging, so you spend plenty of time shooting and aren't chained to the scuba tank. In comparison, my own Benjamin Discovery will go 20-25 shots before a refill. The airforce .177 and my Discovery, also a .177 were a super challenge in the wind. With winds of 10mph and gusts from 9 o'clock keeping either one on the turkey swinger at 75 was tough, but when the wind laid for a bit, regular hits are not unusual.
Enter the Dragonslayer (pardon the pun) Firing a .495 round ball at 700fps, well this ain't a Red Ryder. My first five shots at 50 yards were a ragged hole that barely measured .600". Then it was time for a refill since the dragonslayer requires such an increased amount of air propellant, 5-7 shots are all ya get without velocity and accuracy diminishing quickly. Recharging takes about a minute and is a simple task. I wish I could say the accuracy was as good at 100 as it was at 50, but the best I could do was just under 2" for 5 shots. The great trigger helped a lot along with good optics. The best of the day was 5 out of 5 hits at 130yds on a 4" square steel swinger.
The noise level of the 50 is considerable, sounding not unlike a 22mag or possible a 22 revolver perhaps. The rifle itself is hefty and it's stock configuration is comfortable and finished reasonably too.
The dragon is not a backyard gun, unless you have a big backyard. Casting for it is a plus and the accuracy at distance is truly amazing. Oh and the fun factor is way off the scale with any of the above mentioned. While I would not recommend the DragonSlayer for the novice, it certainly fills the bill for a hard hitting air gun for the advanced plinker / shooter or serious air gun hunter.
SS