Author Topic: B40 for Christmas  (Read 8745 times)

Offline PeakChick

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B40 for Christmas
« on: December 25, 2007, 08:00:53 AM »
I ordered my Christmas present to myself the weekend before Christmas. I had been looking at the BAM B40 for quite some time and when I saw Mike Melick of Flying Dragon Air Rifles posted that he was getting a case of B40s in .177 I knew it was time. I asked Mike to hold one for me when they got in and he was very acommodating. I asked Mike for one in stock form from the factory. He shipped it out last Tuesday and I was delighted to receive it on Friday afternoon, in time for Christmas. Mike was very good about communication and the rifle was packaged well.

I pulled the rifle out of the box, the B40 comes in  styrofoam molded packaging. The finish on this rifle is upscale Chinese, bluing is good, even, dark satin. The finish is comparable to my B26s, maye just a bit higher gloss. The stock is the Chinese mystery "beech" with a satin dark oak finish. The gun is well constructed, all metal, no plastic. This is a very solidly built rifle, and it shows up in the weight of the gun. As I recall, the rifle is listed at 9.3 lbs, unscoped. You can feel the heft of the weight, but the rifle is fairly compact and balances well.

Whe I got the rifle out to look at it, I decided to pull it apart to check the action out of the stock. The action was typical of the high end Chinese rifles, not loaded down with any mystery grease. When I pulled the action out of the stock I noticed that the factory had applied locktite to the screws. I will note at this time that I think it is a must to pull the rifle apart and thouroughly check all the screws and mounting points. The cast aluminum mounting lug for the forestock screws was a bit loose, so I pulled the screw that mounts it out, cleaned it with alcohol and applied more blue locktite to the threads. When I pulled the action out of the stock the main rear mounting lug came out of the rear action plug that the trigger group is attached to. The lug acts as the retaining screw for the receiver end cap and is what allows the mainspring and action to be removed from the receiver. (as a disclaimer I did ask Mike to send me this rifle without him having gone through it.) I can comment that this rifle is ridiculously easy to pull apart, and would be very easy to disassemble for application of lubricants. The end plug can be removed on this rifle without a spring compressor as there is very little preload on the spring. the mainspring, receiver and compression tube seemed to have a decent level of lubrication out of the box.  (Another disclaimer, this applies to this model rifle only and is not an endorsement to try disassembly of any rifle without the safety of a spring compressor). I  got all the screws in the action cleaned up with alcohol, loctite applied and the rifle reassembled.

I mounted my Center Point 3-9 x 50 AO IR scope on the rifle in a Beeman 5036 one piece high mount. I got just a few shots through the rifle on Friday and Saturday. I have been putting quite a few more pellets through it over the past couple of days. This rifle has been very challenging to shoot. This is a high powered springer, most of the velocities I have seen have been in the 900s. I tried a few different pellets through it, and have settled on BSA Wolverine FTs. I have read quite few of the reviews and comments on the B40 and it seems to be very common that it needs quite a bit of break in time to settle in and shoot well, I think I can concur with this observation. I think I have about 200 pellets through it now and am just getting to where I can get it to group well. The rifle does seem to be sensitive to hold, and have found that it likes to rest on my cupped hand just behind the slot for the cocking rod in the stock. This rifle has been challenging to learn to shoot well. This is a powerful springer, the shot cycle is strong, no twang, quick and has heavy springer recoil, but doesn't seem to torque.

The underlever on the rifle is held in place by the ball detent on the end of the barrel shroud. The cocking action is firm, I would guess in the 40 lb. range, so this is not an easy all day plinker. The anti bear trap is very secure and functions well. I would consider this a very safe sliding breech action. The breech on my rifle seems to have a slight crown from the factory so I have had none of the tight breech loading issues that I had heard about on some B40s.

The trigger is quite good, with a very short first stage and creep free second stage. The second stage is breaking at about 2lbs, as a guess. The trigger is good enough for me that I am not compelled to adjust it.

All in all I am pleased with the rifle, but would say that it is a challenging, powerful springer rifle. I would not recommend this as a first spring powered rifle. I would consider this a rifle for an experienced spring rifle shooter. The overall fit and finish are at the top of the heap for Chinese built guns. The gun will need some attention out of the box, and due to the ease of disassembly would be very easy to maintain and lube tune at home.

Pics below of the rifle and a 6 shot group at 10 yds.
The current stable, (arsenal, quiver?): BSA Lightning XL .177, BSA Sportsman HV .22, BSA Ultra .177, CZ634 .177, Daystate Harrier X .177, TAU 200 Senior .177, HW 97 .177, HW 50s .177, HW 30 .177, RWS 92 .177, Gamo 126 MC Super, Gamo Big Cat .177, AR2078A, QB78 .177, Quest 1000 .177, Beeman SS650 .177., Beeman P17 .177.
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Offline longislandhunter

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RE: B40 for Christmas
« Reply #1 on: December 25, 2007, 11:25:47 AM »
Congrats on your new shooter Stephanie,,, rifle looks absolutely beautiful and as usual your review is well written and complete.  Only bad thing about your review is that now I want one too but at the present time my airgun financial resources are not very "fluid"  :(

Looking forward to your reports on the rifle as you break her in.....

Jeff


\"If it was easy it wouldn\'t be hunting, it would be shopping.\"

Offline r1derbike

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Re: B40 for Christmas
« Reply #2 on: December 25, 2007, 12:55:34 PM »
Nice lookin' rifle, Peak.  I'll be interested to see how it groups at longer distance, after break-in.  I really like the shape of the stock.

Don't those Chinese know there are lots of we left handed shooters? An ambidextrous stock would go a long way toward satisfying us, even though we've adapted to shooting with no cheek swell on "our" side!

Charles
Lead Launchers: 30 Year Old Daisy .177 Cal. Model 880 Pumper (BSA 3022SB Red Dot Scope), Gamo CFX .22 Cal. Springer with GRT III Trigger (BSA 4X32 Scope), Gamo CFX .177 Cal. Combo Springer (BSA 2-7X32 AO Scope), Gamo R-77 .177 Cal. CO2 Combat Pistol (Laser Sight), Umarex/Beretta .177 Cal. CX4 Storm CO2 Bullpup (Walther PS-22 Red Dot Scope & Dorcy Night Light), Chinese QB-57 .22 Cal. Takedown Springer (BSA 3022SB Red Dot Scope & Dorcy Night Light),  Chinese Tech-Force S2-1 .177 Cal. Springer Pistol (Boat Anchor...), Chinese Tech-Force Contender Model 89 .22 Cal. Springer (BSA Laser & Tactical Light, CenterPoint 4-16X40 Illum. Ret. Mil. Dot Scope), Crosman 1377 .177 Cal. Pumper Pistol (1399 stock, BSA 3022SB Red Dot Scope), Daisy Powerline 717 .177 Cal. Single-Pump Pistol (Open Sights).

Offline Big_Bill

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RE: B40 for Christmas
« Reply #3 on: December 25, 2007, 02:10:37 PM »


Merry Christmas Stephanie,



You have the correct idea, buying your own Christmas present ! It takes all the disappointment out of receiving gifts !



She is a beautiful air rifle, and by your review looks as though she will become quite a shooter. Great review Stephanie, and it was little surprise that she liked your BSA Wolverines, as you have you havehad great success withthem in other of your air rifles. I wish I could get them around here !



Thank you for sharing your findings and opinions with us.



Bill

Life Member of The United States of America
Life Member of the National Rifle Association
Member Air Guns Addicted Anonymous
SHOOT SAFE ! - SHOOT WELL ! - SHOOT OFTEN !
Always Use A Spring Compressor ! and Buy the GREAT GRT-III & CBR Triggers, cause they are GRRRREAT !

Offline Gene_SC

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Re: B40 for Christmas
« Reply #4 on: December 25, 2007, 04:00:03 PM »
Excellent account of the B-40 build and feel Stephanie. I am very tempted to buy one from Mike but I know that B-40 will need a heavy scope that can take the recoil..:) Not to mention the dang thing almost weighs 10 lbs as it is..:)

So I assume  you have a membership at Golds Gym....:) I do not think I would want to meet you in the wrong place at the wrong time.. lol

Thanks for sharing

Gene
THE ONES I SLEEP WITH: BSA Lightning XL, AA TX-200, AA ProSport, BSA Ultra, HW-97K, Crosman NPSS .177, FX Cyclone, HW-30 Nicle Plated, AA-S200, Crosman Marauder, CZ-634, R-9 DG, Webley/Scott UK Tomahawk, Benji Kantana, Benji Marauder, Benji Discovery.....
....

Gene\'s Tunz n Toyz
Springer Tunin

Offline HNT5

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RE: B40 for Christmas
« Reply #5 on: December 25, 2007, 04:11:30 PM »
Does the B40 have the same built in shroud like the AA TX rifles? Does it help to reduce the noise level? Looks nice and I like the fact that you don't necessarily need a compressor to get inside of it. How hard was it to zero the rifle? Was the barrel pretty much aligned to the scope rails? Thanks for the detailed review and pics.
Regards
Nathan

Offline shadow

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RE: B40 for Christmas
« Reply #6 on: December 26, 2007, 12:14:41 AM »
Great reveiw Stephanie and the B40 look's great also, nice group's too. CONGRAT'S. :) Ed
I airgun hunt therefore I am... };)  {SHADOWS Tunes & Camo}  airguncamo@yahoo.com

Offline PeakChick

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RE: B40 for Christmas
« Reply #7 on: December 26, 2007, 12:25:21 AM »
Thanks for all the replies guys. Yes Gene, this is a heavy rifle, it has got to be 11 lbs with the scope and rail I have mounted on it. If I were going to use this for a hunting rifle I would consider it a still or blind hunting rifle. I would not want to tote the thing around on a long woods walk. It does have plenty of power and certainly good hunting accuracy. This is a strong recoiling rifle and will need a good, strong mount and scope.

Nathan, sight in was not a big issue, but as I mentioned, this gun does take some time to break in to get good, consistent groups. The B40 is a reasonable clone of the TX200. It does have a built in shroud. I do not think it is a loud rifle, but it is not silent either. The loudest noise I noticed when shooting it was the sharp clang of the pellet hitting my trap. My SO was in the house when I was shooting it a bit and commented that it was not loud. I did not make a direct comparison to the TX because the B40 is not a TX200. I have not owned or shot a TX200, but using my BSA Lightning as a comparison for build quality of the high end English rifles the B40 falls short, as one might expect. As always, there is the crap shoot of Chinese QC (or lack thereof) to consider, you may get a good one, or you may not. Honestly, my CFXs are easier to shoot, once a GRT-III trigger has been installed.

I have to stress again that this is a rifle that you will have to expect to be involved with. It will need a thourough going through, careful attention to making sure everything is cleaned well and all the screws properly locktited. B40s have done well in field target, but I would say that a good tune and complete break in would be a must prior to talking it to the field for competition. The up side is that it is a very easy rifle to disassemble and work on and is a bit less than half the price of a TX200.
The current stable, (arsenal, quiver?): BSA Lightning XL .177, BSA Sportsman HV .22, BSA Ultra .177, CZ634 .177, Daystate Harrier X .177, TAU 200 Senior .177, HW 97 .177, HW 50s .177, HW 30 .177, RWS 92 .177, Gamo 126 MC Super, Gamo Big Cat .177, AR2078A, QB78 .177, Quest 1000 .177, Beeman SS650 .177., Beeman P17 .177.
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Offline Silo

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RE: B40 for Christmas
« Reply #8 on: December 29, 2007, 02:50:37 AM »


Happy Christmas!
Nice review... nice B40 also :)
I see that yours has a "skinny" stock. My first one was bulky at the fore stock and the pistol grip had
a lot palm swell, making it feel heavierthat it is.
I like minevery muchand shoot it a lot. It's one of my easiest guns to shoot... next to my 850 :emoticon:
It's super smooth and quite.



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- Roald.

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Re: B40 for Christmas
« Reply #9 on: January 15, 2008, 10:09:02 AM »
Great reveiw! Waiting for Mike to get another shipment in now, Then I'll have one of those beauties myself. Thanks for taking the time to do the reveiw PC.

Offline johncedarhill

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RE: B40 for Christmas
« Reply #10 on: March 25, 2008, 12:20:49 PM »
I have a Mike Mellick B40 in .22. I have about 170 shots with Superdomes through it. I am not grouping very well yet. When I did a 15 foot sight in for the scope I was getting slightly bigger than 1 hole groups. When I first went to 17 yards +/- a foot or two, I was also consistent with pretty good groups. Now that I have started focussing the groups are much poorer. I have a Bushy Sportsman 4/12 40 on it with ! piece high accushot mount. I can't seem to really zero in with it. Still a little dieseling. I also set the trigger a little lower (less force). Did you use your hold on a hard surface.? Hard surface seems better than when using a boat cushion under the support hand. Which pellets in .177 did you find to be the best? I am using the superdomes because it is the most plentiful pellet I have right now for the break in period. The cocking cycle appears to be improving now.
John
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Offline PeakChick

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RE: B40 for Christmas
« Reply #11 on: March 25, 2008, 03:05:00 PM »
I have since found that Super Domes shoot best in my B40. I have found that my B40 likes to be held, not rested on a hard surface, guess she likes to cuddle   :)  I cup the forestock in my off hand and use a medium light grip with my trigger hand and at the shoulder. As I mentioned in my first post, don't get discouraged, the B40 seems to want a long break in to shoot best. Also, be sure to locktite the action screws and check them regularly.
The current stable, (arsenal, quiver?): BSA Lightning XL .177, BSA Sportsman HV .22, BSA Ultra .177, CZ634 .177, Daystate Harrier X .177, TAU 200 Senior .177, HW 97 .177, HW 50s .177, HW 30 .177, RWS 92 .177, Gamo 126 MC Super, Gamo Big Cat .177, AR2078A, QB78 .177, Quest 1000 .177, Beeman SS650 .177., Beeman P17 .177.
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Those who do not learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat it.