Gave into another uncontrollable urge and pushed the button last weekend on a couple of rifles on my wish list.
Received the RWS Hammerli 850 Magnum .177 from Airgun Depot last wednesday and the Daisy 953 from Pyramyd Air last Thursday.
An accurate CO2 rifle has been on my list for sometime. Came close to ordering the QB79 or AR2079 a few times. But I really wanted a repeater and it seemed that the Chinese rifles often needed some tuning to make them reach their potential. From what I read the 850 was great right out of the box. Well, WOW... so far I agree. Rifle is handsome piece of German engineering. Barrel Blueing is first class. The bolt action (8 shot clip fed) works flawlessly.
I've only had a chance to fire a few clips through it. This thing makes me look good. Accuracy in spades. And the trigger - that's the best part. Buttery smooth and light. Somewhere I read that it's 1.5lb - it feels about right.
I may need to save up and get the .22 version by yearend. This is going to be one of my favorites. They claim 200 full power (750fps) shots from the 88 gram Airsource cartridges. I have a chrony and will check and post the results later this week.
I have a Daisy 880 pumper, which is one of my favorite plinkers. Very accurate little rifles and fairly easy to pump up 4 or 5 times, which I find is plenty for accurate plinking in the basement range. So I figured the 953 single pumper would be fun target rifle, especially for $71 at Pyramyd Air. It has been favorably reviewed here and elsewhere. My first impressions are that it is very well made for the money. And can be accurate. I say can be, because I wasn't very impressed in my first short shooting session. The 880 trigger is match-class compared to 953. And everyone that owns an 880 knows that trigger wouldn't win any awards. However, after a hard first stage pull it does have a satisfyingly crisp let off. I found the 953 trigger's long, gritty, washboard pull such a distraction I don't remember what the let off was like. I have found later that I get better results if I just pull it with more authority. Maybe it will get smoother with use. If not, I'll definitely need to tear into it. Maybe I was just expecting too much from a rifle claimed to be an "entry level match target rifle".
Well, here's the 850 pictures followed by a few of the 953 pics.
Nicely packaged -
First thing out if the box ran a Goo Gone soaked patch through the bore. SURPRISE! What a clean bore! Do they clean these things in the factory. Nice first impression.
I was really impressed with the design of the 8 shot clips. They have a small ridge half way inside the clip's pellet bores. The pellets sort of snap into place, the ridge now in the
waist of the pellet. I used cheap Daisy pellets which are usually loose in my guns. You can shake the clips, the pellets rattle around but will not fall out. Great design.
Ok, so much for my clip fascination. Here's a few shots of the rifle.
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And here's a few of my little Daisy 953.
Here's my first crappy groups. Maybe those cheapy pellets don't fly straight!...LOL I have improved since taken these shots.
I'm not giving up on this little jewel.
