Hi:
Build quality is what I would call "Improving Chineses". The stock is georgeous in my opinion. It's a dark reddish brown, reminds me of an old military rifle a friend has. The shape is right out of the Hunting Rifle playbook and very attractive - not bulky with a chopped off fore end like the old QB-88. The checkering is very good, a lot better than the Gamo 440's I've seen. I believe it's laser cut and a bit darker than the rest of the stock. Authentic hand- cut checkering is often darker than the surrounding wood as it exposes end grain which allows greater penetration of the stain/finish, so the laser cut doesn't look artificial or out of place. The butt plate fits well and the overall quality is good.
Mine had a minor unblued blemish on the breach which they touched up with black paint....go figure. A little acetone and some Hobby Black and it's as good a new. I use Hobby Black as I have some that I inherited from my father from over 30 years ago! It's what I have on hand and it is a good match to the black Chinese "Blueing" on my low buck springers. You can still find it at some hobby shops, the kind that sell Brass HO locos and scratch building supplies. It's the same kind of salts infusion as blueing but produces a black rather than blue black finish. That said the metal finish is good, not polished like Gamo or European, but clean and certainly not objectionable. The trigger is a Gamo clone and not bad but it does benefit from improvement. It's nothing like the sprain inducing direct sear on the Fast Deer. The cocking arm is stamped steel, same as on the QB-88 and not a solid piece as on the Fast Deer. The muzzel brake is a bit "Star Wars" for my taste but acceptable. The sights are fibre optic and a bit basic but certainly adequate for plinking and close in pest control.
Mine shot very well right out of the box, mild mannered, no dieseling, and I don't have any plans to tear it down (a first for me) unless it starts having problems. It's as accurate as the QB-88 and either one will shoot better than I can (I don't shoot bench rested though). I think I saw somewhere that they have synthetic seals, but I havn't checked that out. I prefer leather seals as they perform well in even the most uneven compression tubes and with a few drops of a 30/70 mix of neats foot oil and silicone oil they will last just about forever.
Note: If you do any trigger work, notice that the bolt holiding the trigger group and the one opposite retain the end cap and thus the spring. You must use a spring compressor when removing the trigger group to keep the end cap from shifting. If you go with a Tuna trigger, let him know it's a Chinese Gamo clone and he will supply the correct pin as they differ from the Gamo. You don't have to remove the whole trigger group with a Tuna trigger, you just replace the blade, so no problem.
On sale at Compessaco, this one was right up there on my limited income budget, but it's the least expensive air rifle with a good looking checkered wood stock that I know of. In todays market, that checkered stock alone is probably worth what they want for the whole enchilada. With the good (mild) shooting qualities, and a willingness to shoot cheap Walmart Daisy wadcutters with QB-88 accuracy, it's a good excuse to lose control and hit the buy button. I'm glad I did,. It's a keeper.
Last time I checked they were still on sale at Compessaco. Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Fatman
