I know this should probably be in the Review gate, but the whole review thing feels like it's been orphaned, so I'm putting this here. Gene, I promise I won't fly to SC and super glue all your door locks if you feel like it needs to be moved :-).
First off, when they say Magnum, they mean it. I actually had to quit shooting this afternoon because this thing was beating up my shoulder! Back in the day, I'd shoot 4-6 rounds of trap on Saturday, the repeat on Sunday. Granted, I'm a couple of years (decades?!) older, but there's no question in my mind, this is a serious weapon. When I learn to shoot this beast well, nothing I decide to shoot at is going to be safe.
I actually have a nice selection of .22 pellets on order from Pyramyd, but they won't be here 'til Tuesday, so I had to see what I could scrounge locally. I don't think I did too bad, especially considering where I live. Five different pellets in a place where these things are considered toys isn't bad. One weird thing, the tin of Crosman wadcutters was way short on the count. Supposed to be 175 pellets, when I opened the tin it didn't look right, so I counted, only 126 pellets. This was a bubble pack, not a loose tin. Anyone else have this happen to them?
I did finally get the trigger sorted out, my thanks to all that helped out. I currently have it set up with a very long first stage, and just enough second stage to feel it. I'm sure more tweaking will be in order once things wear in a bit, and I expect it to smooth up some, too. For now, it's very useable. Still a little heavier than I like, but very consistent. As I said earlier, the cocking stroke is a little rough, and quite a bit heavier than the CFX or S1K. Considering that I was both cocking and shooting with the same right shoulder, the 100 or so shots I put through it today was a bit of a work out. I also put 100 or so shots though my CFX today as well, if I keep this up, my right arm will look like Lou Ferrigno's, and my left like spaghetti :-). The actual shooting cycle is sweet. At present, maybe a tiny bit of twang, but otherwise a very solid THUMP! (into the aforementioned right shoulder!), and virtually no spring torque. Considering the power, this is a very pleasant rifle to shoot, although the very definite recoil does take some getting used to.
The initial impression of this rifle is that it's very long, but it's actually only a couple inches longer than my CFX. Not sure how they managed it, since both the barrel and the spring cylinder are a couple of inches longer than the CFX. I think a lot of that impression comes from not having a muzzle brake on this rifle, plus the brake on the CFX is more than 2 inches longer than the barrel. The slim lines of the barrel seem to make it stretch out more. I think the CFX points a little quicker, but the 350 feels more solid once it's on target. And for a pretty basic beech stock with machine cut checkering, it's quite presentable. All in all, a nice looking, feeling, and shooting package. Since I think almost everyone here is familiar with the CFX by now, I shot the two side by side for comparison. I've seen a lot of complaints about the 350 Magnum stamped into this side of the stock, but it doesn't bother me. But that's why I shot this side, all the other pix I've seen of this rifle are of the other side, which doesn't have it.
Now we get to the fun part, the actual shooting. As you can see from the chrony testing, this thing likes Crow Magnums. These were the heaviest pellets I could find locally, I have some Kodiaks and Barracuda Match coming. To explain my abbreviations, the others are, in order, Beeman Silver Sting pointed, Crosman wadcutter premium grade (not Premiers), Crosman Copperhead pointed, and Daisy MaxSpeed flat nosed pellets. I suspect the last are relabeled Gamo Match pellets. The Silver Stings had an interesting quirk, every time I shot one, the gun made a peculiar metallic ping. I've never noticed that in anything else I've shot so far. Accuracy so far is still a struggle. At present, I think the limiting factor is me. I still haven't figured out just what it takes to shoot this thing well. I think my CFX has spoiled me a little, I think it's much less hold sensitive than the 350. So far, the best I've managed is around 1" at 25 yards, but it feels like it wants to do a lot better. Part of it may be pellet selection, but I'm sure it's mostly me. So you other 350 owners out there, ANY tips would be much appreciated!
I do have a couple of complaints. First, THE OWNERS MANUAL SUCKS! Three pages in English, and the tiny amount of information there is something only a moron would actually need after looking at the rifle for 45 seconds. The sad part is, this is typical of almost any owners manual for anything you buy these days. Second, the rear sight was broken on my rifle. I haven't dealt with this yet, the packing job wasn't the greatest, so I'll start with Midsouth, where I bought it. Since I don't shoot iron sights, it's only middlin' important to me, but it should be fixed. All that aside, this is a remarkable gun, and I can't wait to get it well and truly broken in. As I said in my first post, THIS THING ROCKS! More later.
Dave
