Where Can I Shoot Airsoft Guns

by B.B. Pelletier

Here'southward a sporting pellet pistol that can besides exist used for informal target shooting. It has fully adaptable sights, a single-stroke pneumatic powerplant, a overnice trigger and information technology sells for less than $50. Information technology'southward the Marksman 2004 pistol!

Marksman's 2004 unmarried-stroke pneumatic pistol is a directly re-create of the HW 40 PCA/Beeman P3.

Made in China
Let'south go this out in the open from the start. This pistol is made in China for Marksman. Marksman is based in Southern California, where they build many of the guns they sell. The Marksman 1010 bound-piston pistol is the oldest and almost famous of all the guns they make. Some 24-hour interval I'll write a report on the 1010, but today nosotros're looking at the 2004.

One more matter to reveal. This gun is a close re-create of the Weihrauch HW 40 PCA, which Beeman sells as the P3. And, Marksman owns Beeman. As far equally who did what to whom or is the 2004 merely every bit good as the P3, I am non qualified to say. Yeah, there is a lot of intrigue in the airgun business organisation, merely I try to stay out of it if I can. I'thousand only interested in this pistol on its own merits.

It looks similar high quality!
Don't underestimate the Chinese equally manufacturers. If they have a good design to begin with, and if the manufactory can overcome some cultural hinderances, they can make products as expert as those of any other land on this planet. Where they fall short is in a cultural belief system (no doubt the effect of Communism) that "good plenty is all it takes." When that belief system runs the bear witness, things go downhill fast. Some Chinese airguns are and so laughably poor that they are a comedy of errors and deserve the contemptuousness they receive from the residue of the globe for making those airguns.

In other areas, the Chinese have at present set the world standard. Optics, for example. Most sport optics (telescopic sights, lasers, astromonical telescopes, dot sights, etc.) are now fabricated in China. Most of the world's finest cameras are either made there or their lenses are ground at that place, because the Chinese atomic number 82 the world in lens production. The Europeans and Japanese fix them upwardly in that business in the 1970s, and they've been expanding the market place e'er since.

The 2004 pistol I have looks more similar a fine camera than information technology does a typical Chinese airgun. Whoever is in charge of making it is doing things right. There are no voids in the constructed body, the corners and lettering are crisp, the plating on the bright parts looks even, the pins are all the right size and length (they're solid, not rolled), all the screws fit and are undamaged, and the lubricant doesn't smell like a slaughterhouse! These are all the visible indicators that a typical Chinese airgun would get wrong. The only way to tell if the barrel is whatever good is to shoot the gun. The way to test the powerplant is with a chronograph.

Shooting
I chose two target wadcutter pellets I've come to trust for this test. The JSB Match Diabolo is a world-form target pellet, and the Gamo Match pellet, while less expensive, often performs just as well. I shoot 10-meter air pistol competitively, so my experience with both pellets is first-hand. I find pumping the 2004 a little hard, which is probably due to the length of the top part of the gun that's used every bit a pumping lever. This is not a gun for youngsters. On the other hand, the pumping effort became smoother and somewhat lighter as the shots increased. Pumping the gun automatically sets the prophylactic – a feature I detest merely understand in today's litigious world. At that place is no dry-burn characteristic.

The trigger-pull is slightly creepy (that means you can feel the move of the trigger through stage ii of the pull) simply very nice and calorie-free at ane-1/2 lbs. The only feature that would brand it nicer is an overtravel aligning. There IS a small spiral of some kind in the trigger blade just no corresponding access hole in the triggerguard for the Allen wrench to fit through, and then I was unable to make whatsoever adjustments.

The front sight is a wide square post that is as well wide for the rear notch. Information technology was hard to obtain a precise sight picture considering of picayune light on either side of the front end postal service. Nevertheless, I managed to group five shots inside three-tenths of an inch at 25 anxiety when I did my role. That answers the big question about the barrel. This one is very skilful! The rear sight adjusts in both directions, simply the screws lack detents. Pay attention to the scribe marks around the elevation aligning spiral and the orientation of the screw slot on the windage screw to see how far you've gone. They move the shot grouping very precisely.

Velocity
Marksman says this gun shoots 410 f.p.s. JSB Lucifer Diabolo pistol pellets averaged 411 f.p.s. with a 3 f.p.s. full divergence over 10 shots. Gamo Friction match pellets went an average of 406 f.p.s. with a 9 f.p.s. variation for the 10-shot string. All shooting was done in 58-degree (F) weather. I'd say the 2004 is right on the coin!

Evaluation
The Marksman 2004 pistol is a $150 value selling for less than $50! Information technology'south that good. I cut this gun no slack because of the pistol it copies, merely this i needed no apologies. If I were Weihrauch, I'd be concerned.