AirVenturi Avenger 1100
Airgun Review – Written By,
Rick Eutsler
Editor / Owner www.AirGunWeb.com
editor@airgunweb.com
Review Product & Supplies
Provided by: www.pyramydair.com
When did shooting in the back yard become so serious? Manufactures are promising 1200, 1300, and even 1600 FPS. Interestingly enough, I don’t see any accuracy claims to go along with those velocities. Also, what is with the trend to make everything “composite?” If only there was a quality airgun that was fun and easy to shoot, was accurate, and didn’t take three weeks of training at the gym to be able to cock it. It would be even better if it was made of wood and steel like things used to be.
Enter the AirVenturi Avenger 1100 air rifle imported by AirVentui, made by Mendoza. If you are looking for an inexpensive, fun, easy to shoot, accurate, quality breakbarrel, then you are in luck. The Avenger 1100 is all that and more. I’ve been a fan of Mendoza guns since my first RM200. It was not fast, but it hit accurately and was very inexpensive. It was easy to cock, easy to shoot, and hit the bulleye without little or no effort. The Avenger 1100 is a step up from the RM200 and delivers about 100 more FPS at the muzzle.
The Avenger 1100 is a very traditional breakbarel with a couple unique features. First of all, the rifle is all wood and steel. There is minimal use of plastics on this rifle. You can find plastics in the front and rear sights, safety, and trigger guard. That’s it. The metal is a dark, dark, blue and the stock is a pleasant blonde. The stock is setup for right handed shooters with a raised cheek piece on the left side. Lefties should still be able to enjoy this rifle however.
The rifle ships with front and rear fiber optic sights which are very clear and easy to use. The rear sight should have been micro-click adjustable, but for this price point, I guess they just kept the standard “push ramp” for elevation. You’ll need an Allen wrench to adjust for windage. My rifle did not have enough adjustment to get it on precisely target, so I opted to mount a scope. Given my eyesight, I was going to add a scope anyway.
Perhaps the nicest feature of the Avenger 1100 is the unique Mendoza, double blade, trigger. Instead of having a 2 stage trigger with one blade, they have a 2 stage trigger with 2 blades. The first blade must be pulled back to meet with the 2nd blade in order for the gun to fire. There is NO creep in the 2nd stage of the trigger, just a clean, crisp break. I absolutely love it.
The safety system on the avenger is located at the rear of the receiver. It is a simple push – pull safety and it resets between shots. It is ambidextrous and can be returned to the “safe” position if you decide not to take the shot. I’m not a fan of automatic safeties, but as they go, this one is pretty easy to get used to.
When it came to optics, I chose my favorite brand Leapers. Leapers scopes have proven to be reliable and affordable and they are my “go to” scope brand when I need to add optics to a rifle. I chose the Leapers 3-9×40 AO, MD, IR scope along with a set of Accushot 2 piece rings for this application. They are a perfect match for this rifle. If your don’t care to spend the extra for the Illuminated Reticule (IR) you can save a few bucks and get the Leapers 3-9×32 AO, MD scope which is also a very good option.
Shooting the Avenger 1100 is a dream. You can shoot it all day and not get tired. It takes very little effort to cock the rifle. While it is a springer and requires some technique, because it is not a “magnum” springer, it is beginner friendly. I let many people try this rifle and they all loved it for its ease of use and accuracy out to 20 yards. Here is a sample shot group from 20 yards. Not too shabby!
.22 caliber Mendoza rifles have a particular quirk. They only like one or two types of pellets. The most readily available pellet is the RWS Superdome. The other is the 16.0 GRN. .22 cal LOGUN Penetrator, but good luck finding them. Awesome pellets though. Fortunately the Superdomes work just as well and are much easier to find. Believe me I’ve tried every other .22 call pellet and the Superdomes are the ones to use. They weigh in at 14.5 GRN. and produce an average velocity of 589 FPS in the Avenger. That comes out to about 11.17 FTLBS at the muzzle. Velocities on the Avenger are not meant to impress, but remember this is not built or marketed as a “magnum” spring rifle. You can expect RWS Hobby pellets top out in the mid to high 600 FPS.
Here are the stats for the RWS Superdome Pellets, .22 cal, 14.5 GRN.
High: 594, Low: 586, Average: 589, Difference: 8 FPS (Very consistent velocities!)
I found only one or two down sides to the Avenger 1100. First, the open sights did not have enough adjustment to get on target at 10 meters. They may have been fine at 20, but I can’t see well that far away without a scope, so they are of no use to me. Secondly, the rifle takes a very long time to break in. I shot well over 500 rounds before the dieseling settled down and the velocity stabilized. Then I shot another 200 to 300 rounds before the rifle smoothed out. Given the low price point, I expected some of that, but I was just about to give up when it started shooting great groups. The lesson here is, don’t give up too soon.
Written By, Rick Eutsler
Editor / Owner www.AirGunWeb.com
editor@airgunweb.com
Copyright 2010, Dog River Design, LLC – All Rights Reserved.
Benjamin Trail NP XL w/ Centerpoint 3-9×40 AO Scope
Airgun Review – Written By,
Rick Eutsler
Editor / Owner www.AirGunWeb.com
editor@airgunweb.com
Review Product & Supplies
Provided by: www.pyramydair.com
Everyone likes to have the biggest stick on the block. Well Benjamin has certainly created a very big stick with their new Trail NP XL rifle. I’m impressed when a break barrel can push a .22 cal pellet over 800 FPS, but when it can push lead over 900 FPS, that is really something.
Not too long ago Crosman made a very smart, strategic move introducing rifles based on their new “Nitro Piston.” I even had the pleasure of reviewing one of the first NPSS rifles in .22 cal. They have “taken it up a notch” with the Benjamin Trail NP XL by adding a totally new scope mount, built in sling mounts, and a very powerful power plant.
I think the designers must have been sitting around one day and thought “Hey.. I wonder what it would look like if we crossed a Remington NPSS with a Benjamin Super Streak?” The stock of the gun is undeniably similar to the Super Streak. It is an all wood stock with raised cheek pieces on each side making it suitable for right and left handed shooters. It has some nice checkering details on the grip and under the forearm just like the Super Streak. I personally found the stock to be a little thick and a bit heavy for my comfort. The Trail NP XL is unique in that it includes a “from the factory” sling stud at the back and a front sling mount that hangs under the barrel. The rifle comes with a sling and is the only breakbarrel airgun I’ve ever seen that comes with this setup right out of the box.
Benjamin tackles a huge problem in a very practical fashion with their new Trail NP XL. If you have ever shot a magnum springer you know that keeping a scope mounted on the rifle can be a real challenge. I’ve had scope stops fail, stop pins sheer off, and mounts just fall apart. So rather than rely on old systems that are known to be unreliable, Benjamin replaced the standard 11mm dovetail with an integrated, military style, weaver rail. What a difference! Now my mounts attach securely and NEVER move because both are completely locked into place. Why no one else has done this escapes me. (Are you listening RWS?)
Unlike the Super Streak, the Trail NP XL includes a very PRACTICAL 3-9×40 AO, MD scope. This is a “no frills” scope that I’m very happy with. The 16x scope they used on the Super Streak was too much scope in my opinion, and I did not like the quality of the site picture at 16x. The 3-9×40 is a great all around “utility class” scope, and I’m pleased they used it on this rifle. The adjustment knobs are wide open, which may give you an issue if your gun bumps something in the field, but I like having them out there for quick adjustments.
The Benjamin Trail NP XL is not all rainbows and moonbeams however. It had its issues like everything else. Perhaps the most disappointing thing to learn about this rifle is that it was made in China. Now Crosman made the NPSS in the USA and I expected them to have their new flagship breakbarrel follow suit, but nope. This is yet another Chinese import. True to form, my first rifle that I received for testing had a problem and Crosman quickly replaced it. The next rifle did not have the same issue and seemed to work well out of the box.
Some of the issues I found were simply cosmetic. For example, the workmanship on the stock, especially in the thumbhole area looks as if a high school shop class was doing the finish work. This is not a big deal, but again. If this is your “top of the line” product, it should reflect “top of the line” quality. The next issue was not cosmetic, but functional. The trigger is the same old Crosman trigger that was so hard to work with on the Super Streak. Now they’ve changed out the blade, but it is essentially the same trigger. The 2nd stage takes FOREVER to get through making it a real challenge to shoot accurate groups from the bench. As a sporting trigger, i.e. for hunting in the field, I doubt you’d have an issue, but when shooting for maximum accuracy the shortcomings are extremely noticeable.
Where the Trail NP XL really shines however, is with the power it can produce. My first .22 cal airgun was a Beeman GH150. It was supposed to shoot 800 FPS but in reality it only shot 650 FPS. My RWS 34 in .22 also shoots in the 650 to 680 FPS range. To get up to 900 FPS in a regular weight .22 cal pellet is quite the feat, and the Trail NP XL does it with ease. Crosman Premier Hollow Points, a 14.3 grain pellet, averaged 901 FPS all day long out of my test gun which equates to 25.78 FTLBS at the muzzle.
Another high point with the Trail NP XL, is the ultra quite shooting characteristics of the rifle. Two things go into making this happen. First, the Nitro Piston power plant reduces the mechanical noise that accompanies many spring rifles. Secondly, the barrel is fully shrouded. Now what Benjamin has going on in there, I don’t know. What I can tell you is that their claims of being 70% quieter are completely VALID. Other than the sound of the shooting cycle itself, this thing is whisper quite. All of my standard .22 cal springers are much louder than the Trail NP XL and none produce the power it can. (The RWS 350 Mag would give the NP XL a run for its money. That would be a nice comparison)
With regards to the benefits of a Gas Ram over a standard spring, all you’ll need to do is shoot one and you’ll understand. The entire shooting cycle is different with a Gas Ram equipped rifle. It cocks smoother and the actual shooting cycle is completed faster with less recoil. When you put all of this together you should get a smoother shooting, more accurate rifle. This is basically the case with the Trail NP XL, if only Crosman would do something about that horrible trigger. With so much going right, it seems to me that they could spend a few bucks on R&D and solve that problem.
The trigger is what gave me the most headaches during my accuracy tests. In the end I was able to overcome most of the problems and eventually learned how to hold the rifle and deal with the 2nd stage of the trigger. There were a lot of pellets that shoot decently in this rifle. The group below is with 14.3 grain Crosman Hollow Point Premiers at 20 yards. Some more exotic pellets did a little better, but the difference was negligible. Here are the stats on the 14.3 grain CHPP pellets:
High: 904, Low: 897, Average: 901, Difference: 7 (only 7 FPS spread is incredible!)
All in all, the Benjamin Trail NP XL is a worthy rifle that reaches velocities normally reserved for PCP rifles. At $299.99 from PyramydAir.com, you get the whole package; powerful rifle, scope, and even a rifle sling. The rifle takes some time to break in, but once you’ve put about 500 to 1000 pellets through it, you should have a quiet, accurate, and very powerful rifle.
Written By, Rick Eutsler
Editor / Owner www.AirGunWeb.com
editor@airgunweb.com
Copyright 2010, Dog River Design, LLC – All Rights Reserved
Walther .25 Cal Falcon Hunter with Crosman Nitro Piston
The Walther Falcon Hunter was made to move a lot of lead. You can’t get much more lead than in the unique .25 cal airgun class. When it comes to hammering your game, the Walther Falcon Hunter .25 cal hits the mark every time. While finding the right hold took some time, once dialed in, I got less than dime sized groups at 20 yards all day long. Check out this video.
The Walther Falcon Hunter with Crosman Nitro Piston Gas ram is available from PyramydAir.com for only: $358.99
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Click on the video to start. |
Beeman Silver Sting .22 Caliber, Oh what a difference the right pellet makes…
Written By,
Rick Eutsler
Editor / Owner www.AirGunWeb.com
editor@airgunweb.com
Review Product and Supplies provided by:
www.pyramydair.com
I’m often asked why I volunteer so much of my time to review these products. It is true that I’m a gun nut so just the opportunity to shoot so many different types of airguns is almost reason enough. Another reason is the sheer challenge of it all. Sometimes you just know that a rifle has the potential to be a real shooter. You just have to find the right combination to see it all come together. The Beeman Silver Sting has proven to be just such a project.
The Silver Sting is based on one of my favorite rifles, the TechForce® Contender 89. The major differences are that the Silver Sting has a composite stock and comes with a nickel plated barrel and receiver rather than a standard blued finish. This rifle represents the top end of Beeman’s Chinese imports.
I really like they way Beeman has designed the Silver Sting. The nickel finish really makes the rifle stand out in a crowd and the contrasting composite stock is simple but feels very solid. The shape of the stock feels a bit too square for me, but that is a really minor point. One other minor flaw was with the plastic covers that protect the stock screws. They quickly came loose and fell off while shooting.
The rifle ships with a Beeman 3-9×40 scope with an adjustable objective. The scope is a good match for this rifle with one small exception. It needs a mil-dot reticule to help with range estimating. The trajectory of a .22 pellet tends to drop significantly beyond 30 yards. Having a mil-dot equipped scope makes all the difference when you are in the field and need to hit targets at different ranges with confidence.
The Silver Sting ships with an upgraded trigger that is far superior to the standard Gamo, Crosman, and other Chinese triggers. It seems to be marginally adjustable via the two screws in the photo below. The safety is automatically set each time you cock the rifle. Taking the rifle off safety becomes second nature after just a few shooting sessions. The trigger does tend to be a little loose, but it is very predictable and easy to work with.
Now back to the challenge posed by the Silver Sting. Knowing that the Silver Sting and the Contender 89 come from the same Chinese factory, I knew that it should have a similar shooting potential. When I got to the range I was shocked to see that the velocity was off pace by about 70 to 80 FPS across the board and the accuracy was nowhere near what it should be, not even close. I was only getting 3” and 4” groups at 20 yards. For a rifle that boasts extraordinarily tight groups, this was absolutely unacceptable. As you can see below, the Crosman Premier Hollow Points, a favorite of the Contender 89, yielded horrible results.
Crosman Hollow Point Premier, 14.3 gr., Average Velocity 664 FPS, 14 foot pounds
With results like that, I nearly gave up, but it takes more than a few bad shot groups to knock me off a project. Working with different holds and pellets I found that the rifle, like most break barrels, is hold sensitive. In fact I found the Silver Sting to be very hold sensitive. The best hold turned out to be the standard “artillery” hold spoken of by Tom Gaylord. Simply rest the forearm, near the balance point of the rifle, in the palm of your hand and don’t grip it, just let it rest there. With your shooting hand, hold the rifle firmly, but not to the point of being ridged and gently squeeze the trigger. Make sure to maintain the proper sight picture and follow through on each shot. Follow through is what happens after you pull the trigger. Spring guns are not like firearms. The pellet travels down the barrel much more slowly than a bullet from a high powered rifle. You need to let the gun finish moving around before you move or change position. By using a proper follow through technique you will find your groups improve significantly.
The following photos are two more groups with increasing accuracy. The first group was shot with the Beeman Kodiak Pellets. They only managed to generate just over 600 FPS. The second, and more accurate group was shot with the Beeman Silver Bear pellet which is a lightweight pellet that has proven to be pretty accurate across several different rifles.
Beeman Kodiak Extra Heavy Pellets, 21.1 gr., Average Velocity 606 FPS, 17.21 foot pounds
Beeman Silver Bear, 12.65 gr., Average Velocity 725 FPS, 14.77 foot pounds
Now that the groups were improving, yet nowhere near what they should be, I knew I was on to something. I only had to find the magic combination. And then, after several days of shooting, about a dozen different types of pellets, and about 100 shot cards, I found it. The Gamo Hunter pellets came out on top and yielded the following group.
Gamo Hunter Pellets, 15.3 gr., Average Velocity 650 FPS, 14.36 foot pounds
This was the satisfaction that I was waiting for. With the right hold and pellet, the Silver Sting shot these groups all day long. It was an amazing thing to go from 4” groups all the way down to groups the size of dime. Here’s the best part, it will consistently shoot dime sized groups as long as you do your part. What started as an utter disappointment turned out to be a really excellent shooting rifle.
The Beeman Silver Sting is a decent shooting rifle when you have the right pellet and use the right technique. It generates velocities that are a little on the low side for me, but adequate for 20 to 30 yards. I want to thank PyramydAir.com for providing this review item and all the supplies. The rifle, which seems to have had a small facelift since my sample product arrived, sells for $220.
Written By,
Rick Eutsler
Editor / Owner www.AirGunWeb.com
editor@airgunweb.com
Copyright 2009, Dog River Design, LLC – All Rights Reserved.
TechForce® QB78 Review
Hello again. I bet you thought we’d NEVER get another review posted. Well, frankly I was beginning to think the same thing. Fortunately we’ve found some really talented contributors and we are starting up again with this article submitted by Gerald Austin. Gerald found us via our youtube page and agreed to take a look at this rifle for us. So let’s get to it!
TechForce® QB78 Review
Written By,
Gerald Austin
Contributor for www.AirGunWeb.com
editor@airgunweb.com
The QB78 has been around for quite a few years. I remember back in the mid 90′s when I was fairly active in field target and a few of my friends were impressed with the gun. I remember shooting it then thinking it was “nice” but never had the opportunity to take a close look at the gun. I have owned a Crosman 2260 and Crosman 180 for some years now and have always been looking for a GOOD way to mount a scope. The QB 78 takes care of this with a steel grooved receiver.
The rifle came to me as a return with no indication of what it was returned for. The overall look of the gun was very good. The stock was much darker than ones I had seen before with some slight character marks that appeared to be the result of handling and not related to factory workmanship.
The bluing was a medium to deep blue with just some slight variations that would only be noticed by someone paying very close attention to that feature.
The craftsmanship on the remainder of the gun showed some signs of details that could be improved upon but didn’t make me think this gun was not worth the price I had seen advertised.
The buttplate and stock did not flow together well. The fit of the buttplate to the stock showed areas of up to 1/16″ mismatch.
The buttplate was loose upon receipt of the gun.
A few machining marks were visible that were blued over including a
tool mark around the circumference of the cap.
The trigger right out of the box was a little creepy and had a little more side to side movement than I cared for as it was slightly distracting when shooting from a bench. After a few rounds with the gun as supplied, I removed the action from the stock and adjusted the trigger using the instructions provided in the owners manual. The operation was much more pleasant after the adjustment but could probably benefit from some polishing and lubrication. The side to side movement still existed but was less noticable.
The open sights suited my eyes well and could be adjusted for elevation with the ramp. Windage could be adjusted by loosening one of the screws on the rear sight but out of the box it was not needed. Using the open sights I was able to get some one hole groups at 33 feet using GAMO Match pellets. My interest though was in seeing how the gun performed using a scope.
I mounted a 4-16 x 40 Centerpoint Scope with a one piece Centerpoint mount. The scope was already mounted on another gun and I took it of of that gun, dropped it onto the QB-78 and sighting in took only 6 clicks of windage and 20 for elevation to be on at 15 yards. During the sighting in process a housfly landed on the target at 15 yards. I was pleasantly surprised when I pullet the trigger and the pellet appeared to go to the exact spot where the fly had been.
At 15 yards the gun consistently made one hole 5 shot groups using Crosman Premier Hollow Points, Gamo Match, Gamo Master Points and RWS Super H Points. I moved the targets out to 25 yards and around 250 round through the gun to get a feel for it. At 25 Yards I was able to notice some pellets performing better than others. And decided I would do the accuracy testing with the Crosman Premier Hollow Points, The Gamo Master Pointed, and RWS Super H points. With each pellet tested I shot a total seven five shot groups. Each group was assigned a group number that reflected the shot number from new CO2 cartridges. Overall the RWS Hollow Points performed the best.
| Pellet | Groups | Shots | Average of Group Size | Min Group Size | Max Group Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crosman hp | 7 | 35 | 0.79 | 0.50 | 1.05 |
| Gamo Master Pointed | 7 | 35 | 0.82 | 0.50 | 1.10 |
| RWS Super H Point | 7 | 35 | 0.65 | 0.35 | 1.00 |
The targets below show the pellet type, shot from new CO2 and the group number.
At 40 YDS I performed some informal testing and was pleased to be able to hit the steel T posts in my pasture 8 out of 10 times. Putting some paper at that distance showed a gun that could give a soda can some trouble at 40 to 50 yards on a calm day. The Bull on the target below is 1″ Diameter with a 2″ outer ring.
The Chronograph showed the numbers below at approx 75 deg F. No Gamo Master Pointed pellets were chronoghraphed. CO2 cartidges were changed prior to testing and a few shots fired prior to taking the readings.
| Pellet | High | Low | Average | Standard Deviation |
| RWS Super H Point | 652.7 | 639.2 | 644.8 | 4.35 |
| Crosman H Point | 646.8 | 623 | 638.9 | 6.24 |
Though the power of the gun is on the low side, I would probably take it to the woods for early squirrel season since the shots are closer due to leaves. The accuracy out to 25 yards is shown on the last target below that I shot before this writing. The leftmost column was shot with Crosman destroyer pellets,, the center column was RWS Hollow Points and the right column was shot with Gamo Hunters. The bottom group on the center column was actually 6 shots as I pulled the very first one. The RWS Hollow Points will be the pellet of choice for this fall.
All together I have used 16 pairs of CO2 cartridges with this gun. Each pair yielding 60+ shots. The gun has been nothing but FUN. I have shot Fence Posts, Paper Targets, Ice Cubes, Houseflies (2 kills at 15 Yards), paper cups, and I don’t know what else. The only performance issues I had were related to the barrel band becoming loose and the point of impact shifting if a barely bumped the barrel. Loosening the screw and allowing the barrel to center itself and then tightening the screw returned the point of impact to within 5 clicks of the original point of impact.
Here is the gun as tested.
The workmanship could use improvement but as far as my opinion goes, looks aren’t anything if it works well. I would like the barrel band a little more secure and the trigger could benefit from a little polishing. At the list price, I find the gun a great value and would recommend it to anyone that wants an accurate and consistent gun at a great price. I just hope they don’t figure out how to run cars off of CO2 !
Copyright 2007 www.airgunweb.com & Dog River Design, LLC.
All Rights Reserved.