arbalet-airgun
It says that a long time ago, when Russian airgunners armed with files tried to turn “Murka” into at least “Gamo”, there were mighty “Webley Patriots” on Earth. Very few in number, although they were originally from England, they were found mainly overseas.
But the real history of “supermagnums” began with the release to the mass market of a completely new unique development “Gamo Hunter 1250” with a giant 29 x 120 compressor. It was understood that the speed of a 4.5 mm bullet reaches 1250 feet per second, or 380 m/ s (about real indicators - in the article “Speed of a pneumatic bullet”). For comparison, a Makarov pistol sends a bullet (albeit a 9mm one) at a speed of 315 meters per second. In terms of power (33 joules), the new product was one and a half times greater than the most serious samples of the magnum class. Stuffed with original technical solutions, the rifle created a sensation. Moreover, even its name hinted at hunting use, the thought of which was just beginning to occupy the minds of airgunners (see “Air rifles for hunting”).
Powerful pneumatics “Diana”: gentle and gentle “oars”
Other manufacturers began to urgently create something similar to Hunter. “Diana” already had experience in producing high-quality and quite powerful, at the very border, “supermagnums”, series 48-52-54 (see “Diana air rifles”). But, it seems, time was running out, and the Germans, without further ado, simply increased the size of their 34th model, offering it to customers under the name “350 Magnum”.
Quite accurate, soft, well made, it came out completely faceless, without any “zest”. Here in the photo from top to bottom are the “Classic”, “Superior” and “Pro” options. Hmmm... Healthy conservatism is, of course, very German, but it immediately becomes clear why this type of rifle is affectionately called “oars”.
There are versions in a plastic stock, as well as with a shortened barrel. The photo shows the 350 Magnum Professional Compact model.
The price starts at about 30 thousand rubles, and for the “sophisticated” versions it exceeds 40,000.
TTX:
Type of pneumatic - spring-piston Type of cocking - barrel fracture Bullet speed*, m/s - 360 Caliber, mm - 4.5 Weight, g - 3800 Barrel length, mm - 495 Rifle length, mm - 1143 Barrel material - steel Stock material - wood Mounting type - dovetail Fuse - yes
*Note: manufacturer's data is provided here and below. All companies give speed in relation to an ultra-light (less than 0.4 gram) lead-free bullet, which should never be fired, especially from a “supermagnum”. The actual speed of a half-gram bullet for the Diana-350 with the original spring is about 330 m/s, with a 0.68 gram bullet normal for such a weapon - 290 meters per second. A similar extrapolation should be made for any other air rifles. For more information about this, as well as about the selection of ammunition for “supermagnums”, including hunting ones, see the article “Bullets for pneumatics“.
"Hatsan-125" as a symbol of "supermagnum"
However, cool rifles, like luxury cars, are much more conservative than “compact cars” in every sense. Hatsan, over there, regularly experiments even with his “supermagnums”, practically leaving the top model known under the index “135”. First, also briefly about the main model line (for more details, see the article “Hatsan Air Rifles”).
Again from top to bottom: the classic “Hatsan” mod. 125, followed by “125 TH MW” (with “magic wood” camouflage) and “mod 125 Sniper”.
With the first two, everything has long been clear - great power, cheap plastic, soft metal, and the camouflage one also has a flimsy thumb cut-out bridge. Plus some careless assembly and fitting of parts - the barrel can easily look a little into the sky relative to the center line of the compressor or hang sadly. The third model will be more interesting, at least externally. And they vary greatly in price - from about 12 thousand for the classic 125 to almost 20,000 for the Sniper.
TTX:
Design - spring-piston Caliber, mm - 4.5 (.177) Rifle length, mm - 1255 Rifle weight, kg - 3.650 Number of charges, pcs - 1 Initial bullet speed, m/s - 380 Barrel - rifled, steel Barrel length, mm - 500 Bullets used - only lead Sights - approx. strap and front sight Presence of a fuse - yes Stock material - plastic, wood Type of stock - Monte Carlo with cheek rest Possibility of installing optical or collimator sights, front sight - yes Mounting type for optical sight - dovetail
The Sniper, as you can see, is made in the style of the earlier Stryker 1000S.
And everything would be fine, only the sight is too weak for such nonsense (and it would be a monoblock, not high rings), and the price is too high. But it’s still noticeable: the guys tried, they did something clever, the designers cursed in the smoking rooms.
They smoked, apparently, notably... A cadet who thought of placing a sniper rifle on the rest with the BARREL, and not the forearm, would have been immediately killed, fried and eaten by the instructors. And then they managed to stick the bipod to the almost hanging trunk of the “PEROLOMKA”. There is, of course, one option for using them: you can take a photo in a true sniper pose. Then remove it anyway and throw it away immediately.
In terms of design, features of shooting and operation, the Hatsan-125 is not much different from its older brother, the Hatsan Mod 135. Unless, of course, you take into account the smaller volume of the compressor, the weaker spring and the general level of quality.
But the 125th “Hatsan” has one advantage over all other “supermagnums”; it is not by chance that it was initially dubbed the “Gamo Hunter 1250 killer”. The point is the price, which, depending on the store, is twice or even three times lower. Therefore, there is a niche, and a rather large one at that.
“Smersh R4”: “wolfhound” from the Middle Kingdom
However, he also had a rival. This is a Chinese clone of “Diana-350” with a purely Russian name “Smersh R4/R10”. “Ten” is an almost exact copy of the classic “Diana”, adjusted for its origin. This is especially noticeable in the quality of the stock - both the wood itself and the varnish coating. TTX - one to one. The price is about three times lower than the prototype - about 10,000 rubles.
"Smersh R10"
But “Eir Fourth” claims to have some exclusivity. At a price significantly lower (about 8 thousand rubles) than the cheapest “Hatsan”, it surpasses its competitor in the quality of the polymer stock, the almost German softness of the shot and, accordingly, accuracy (see “Powerful pneumatics: the Smersh R4 rifle”). True, like the prototype, it is a little weaker.
"Smersh R4"
Reviews about “Smersh” are generally quite good. Why should it be otherwise, if not only does it have the same plastic as the Stoegers and Crosmans, but also the parts in it are found with the monograms of much more expensive Rugers from a truly German one. It seems that they all come from, if not the same workshop, then factories that are located side by side (“Chinese air rifles”).
Speaking of Stoeger. Its line also includes the “supermagnum” X-50. He, in turn, has a blood brother, but rated at a higher rank, under the long and noble name “Benjamin Trail NP XL 1500”, naturally produced by “Crosman”.
Both of them are based on the Gamo Hunter 1250 platform, but differ from it in many ways. You will find their detailed reviews in “Useful Links”.
Ideal "Hunter" from "Gamo"
How is the progenitor of the “Supermagnum” class doing?
Yes, in general it’s not bad. “Gamo Hunter 1250”, although according to the Internet airgunner’s habit, is positioned below the 350th “Diana”, it does not cost much less - a little over 30 thousand. And for good reason. There are such “Field Target” (FT) competitions. Of all the semi-sports events, for me, they are the pinnacle. Shooting there is carried out at silhouette figures of animals (something like a 3D crossbow-bow), the killing zone of which is highlighted in the target itself (can you imagine how tiny it is for a squirrel?). The device is clear from the photo (can be enlarged). Now imagine: a clear field, the wind is blowing, the grass is in the way, the distances are only approximately known, the shooting angle is most often awkward - an almost complete imitation of approach hunting, except that the prey will not escape anywhere. In a word, everything is very, very difficult, so they mostly shoot from “soft” and, by definition, accurate RSRs.
So, in the spring-piston division, in addition to the quiet 12-16 Joule “Air Arms”, “Weihrauchs” and the already mentioned unique “Diana-54”, two “supermagnums” were successfully lit up - “Gamo Hunter 1250” and “Weihrauch HW” 90". Here they are, in the photo, and the 90th “Weirauch” is short, in the “carbine” design. The appearance clearly does not shine with originality, so what is so special about them? Well, firstly, quality, for one it is supported by a name, for the other - the title of the company's top model. But the main thing: “Weirauch” has a proprietary low-pressure gas spring “Theoben”, while “Gamo” simply installs the same one, only from a domestic manufacturer (you can see the details at this link).
They make it possible, by raising/decreasing the pressure right in the field, to adjust the firing of rifles to perfection. Sighting is still mandatory, whether before competitions or before hunting. Simply put, if necessary, you can increase accuracy at any time by reducing power, and vice versa.
Without creating a special section, I will give here the characteristics of the 90th “Weirauch”, a very iconic model.
TTX:
Caliber 4.5 mm Type: spring-piston (gas spring) Bullet speed 320 ms Loading: single-shot system Ammunition type: lead bullet Barrel: steel, rifled Length 500 mm Weight 4.0 kg Total length 1150 mm Sights: open, possibility of installing an optical sight Trigger: adjustable Safety: automatic Stock material: wood Manufacturer: Weihrauch Sport Germany
Not long ago, a version of the Hunter with a polymer stock, the Gamo Socom 1250, was released.
TTX:
Caliber (mm) - 4.5 Type - Spring-piston pneumatics Bullet speed (m/s) - 380 Type of ammunition - Lead bullets of 4.5 mm caliber. Loading — Single-shot system, cocking by “breaking” the barrel Barrel — Steel, rifled Rifle length (mm) — 1230 Sights — Sighting rib and front sight with fiber-optic threads Safety — Non-automatic Trigger — Adjustable Stock material — Wood (walnut)/impact-resistant polymer. Weight (kg) - 4.45
“Hunter/Socom 1250” is generally a very useful rifle for modifications. Below you will find an absolutely fantastic video about how, with skillful hands, you can successfully not even shoot, but hit the target with it at a 200-meter distance! To hell with pneumatic guns, I’m sure that small shooters will understand my delight.
Turkish monster
And of course, I haven’t forgotten about the hero of ancient legend - the mighty “Webley Patriot”. It is still produced under this name, but most shooters on all continents know it as... "Hatsan MOD 135". Yes, this is it, truly the greatest and most terrible of all “Hatsans”, the famous 135th, the most powerful spring-piston rifle in the world, and so on and so forth.
I remember well my first acquaintance with the 135th. I dream of only one thing: to try in action its version with an under-barrel platoon - “Torpedo 155”, it is even larger and more massive due to additional parts.
It was on the road, they weren’t shooting with pneumatics. Towards evening, already at the base, I brought a Stryker and began to rub in the audience something about magnums. Then a guest from Samara said, “Now I’ll show you a real Hatsan,” went to the car and returned with THIS. We had already been, as they say, “sitting for a long time”; we didn’t want to go anywhere, so we shot at the traditional targets for such situations at about 20 meters. With an open sight, not the first time, but everyone managed to hit the “targets”. The only thing is that after several cockings the little hands began to tremble treacherously.
But in principle, I note, albeit artificially heated, but universal delight. Including the appearance - the walnut stock of the company’s flagship is really awesome, especially compared to the Stryker. Nevertheless, most people still associate “aircraft” with the Tirov IZH-38. What is characteristic is that no one was outraged or amused by the owner-confirmed maximum effective range of sighting fire from the 135 with optics of 35-40 meters (see “Sighting distances of an air rifle for hunting”).. Severe practices, they were sober even that evening correlated the capabilities of weapons with reality.
More details about the features of the spring-piston top model of the Turkish company can be found in the article “Powerful pneumatics: “HATSAN MOD 135”. The Hatsan 135 QE series talks about another new product: the “quiet energy” of a predator - this is the QE series with integrated silencers. This line contains an absolute monster even by the standards of spring-piston “supermagnums”, the 45-joule 7.62-mm “Carnivore” (“Predator”).
Would I like to have a Hatsan-135? Yes. Maybe not the main rifle, but still. Moreover, low-pressure gas springs are now being made for it too. For those for whom it will become the one and only, I would only advise them to shoot more at the correct distances, without being distracted by reading abusive posts on the Internet or by other pneumatics. And take the dumbbells out of the closet. Then, most likely, some sense will come of it.
What about ours?
More recently, the Izhevsk Mechanical Plant released a version of the MP-513M hunting rifle weakened to 7.5 joules. It differs from its progenitor only in the spring. Read more in the article “Powerful pneumatics: MP-515 “Barracuda”.
Passion for the “supermagnum”: to each his own
And yet the question is logical: why the hell are such rifles needed, huge, heavy, from which you can’t really shoot at distant targets? The answer lies on the surface - for plinking and hunting. That is, this is a kind of analogue of the UAZ, which is used either for extreme “rides” (but the price of a prepared car is for people who are not poor), or for everyday use off-road in the rural outback (for people who are not rich).
In the pneumatic world, there is a clear predominance of sports-“sniper” sentiments, therefore “supermagnums”, and even “magnums”, are not in honor. Agree, it would be strange if in the relevant circles the opinion was considered absolute that the only type of fishing is fly fishing, truly the pinnacle of fishing, very complex and, to be honest, not cheap. What now, with a float you can only sit on the shore under cover of darkness?
Let's still look for information. Let us again turn to the experience of North America, Australia and other “armed” countries, where the “aircraft” is used strictly for its intended purpose - either for teaching children, or for entertainment, or for hunting. For sniping, they use the appropriate weapons.
Unfortunately, the majority of those who use cheap but powerful rifles are not very friendly with Twitter and Facebook, and they are not inclined to replicate their own large-caliber physiognomy throughout the planet through “selfies.” You can communicate with them mainly on hunting forums, and narrowly regional ones (such as “Spearingfield Deer Killers”, moderator Homer Simpson).
There, especially in the outback, people also live poorly. He fundamentally does not like credit cards, politicians and New Yorkers (reminds me of nothing?), but, trying to save money, he really loves rifles for cheap Soviet-Russian ammunition. For them, the same “Gamo” even produces the “Viper Express” pneumatic shotgun, which shoots “nine” shot from rechargeable containers. It has been successfully used to kill poisonous snakes, quails, and all kinds of rodent pests. Scree, yes, not very much, but up to ten meters (Gamo itself insists on 35!) the shot fulfills all the tasks. And for pennies, sorry, cents.
In general, the use of pneumatics looks something like this.
Having decided that pizza and beans are already boring, Mike takes his trusty “super magnum” 0.22 caliber (they really prefer the 5.5 mm versions) and goes to his favorite field with sparse copses. About fifteen minutes later, the fat rabbit, not noticing the hidden shooter, approaches 25 yards and immediately collapses, hit by a 20-grain “ultrashock.” And at the same time, gentlemen, we have not half a carcass of a mess of bone fragments and crushed flesh, but a good 5 pounds of purely beaten dietary meat. Well, and paws for souvenirs.
What do you say is not real? Absolutely vital, even for the Hatsan, even for the 4.5 mm caliber. The minimum requirements for rabbit hunting (according to British data, however) are a speed of 750 ft/s, caliber 0.177 (pictured). Any “supermagnum” is capable of taking an animal or bird weighing up to three or four kilos, and not necessarily to the head, as is required from weaker but more accurate rifles. To do this, it is better to use heavy and even slightly modified bullets in the 4.5 mm caliber. The only thing is, do not confuse a rabbit with a hare, which is much more difficult to hunt. Our Mike, had the expected shooting range been longer and the animal had been more nimble, would probably have taken his trusty .223 Rem or shotgun off the wall.
Do you think, for example, that Russian Mikhail would refuse to have a really cool pneumatic gun, the stories about which are full of stories on the Internet. Let's say "Daystate MK4 iS". Or at least the “Beeman R9” shown in the photo with the rabbits, known to us as the “Weihrauch HW 85”. But for Mikhail the price of “Daystate” will be about 120 thousand rubles. And Mike, as a practical person who doesn’t believe in fairy tales, will almost certainly prefer the terribly popular “Gamo Bone Collector” for 200 dollars (or the generally not very targeted Russian “Saiga” 7.62 x 39 for the same 600 bucks) to the “Biman”, which costs 600 dollars ). They are sold in the states by an order of magnitude more than cool PSRs, but the owners shoot more often than post photos on the Internet.
In general, everything, as always, comes down to money.
This is our problem, that, without access to normal weapons or funds for cool pneumatics, many are trying to replace them with “elephant killers”, which have their own rather narrow niche. And at the same time, in the wake of the dominant “sniper” sentiments, demand that he jump above his head.
All these attempts are very reminiscent of the purely Russian experience of radically remaking completely serial “Priors” into some kind of sports car. The Yankees, on the contrary, prefer to take an ancient jalopy for 200 bucks, rip out the hood, the dead engine, stuff a truck engine into the compartment and drive the hot rod around the neighborhood. Because I want something like that. And for daily trips they have a normal car.
After an expensive crossover, you are happy to change into an UAZ and into the fields and forests. Doesn’t a person who regularly and thoughtfully shoots “on paper” with a Weihrauch HW 77 sometimes want to play with the muscular “135”, or even use it for its main purpose? But then it will be nice to go to the forum and read the posts of young hatsan breeders. Here he could wisely instruct them, divide the meters of distance and centimeters of accuracy of enthusiastic beginners by ten, talking about his own experience. Great, right?
PS And yet, understanding the specificity of “elephant killers,” I can’t resist. For the attention of those who dream of a powerful rifle, but are going to spend what is called all their savings on it, I offer the following express review. That’s what we’ll call it – “Postscript for the “supermagnum”.
PTK RILON MZ 1250 CV
PTK RILON MZ 1250 CV is an updated line of machines for automatic submerged arc welding. Welding can be done with solid wire and self-shielding wire. The equipment can be used for manual arc welding (MMA), surfacing and metal gouging.
The equipment consists of an inverter power source and a mobile carriage on which a wire feed mechanism, a hopper with flux and a control unit are installed. During operation, the machine moves along the product or along a guide line placed on it. The inverter performs automatic submerged arc welding, welding butt, corner and T-joints. Can weld parts made of carbon, alloy, heat-resistant and stainless steels of medium and large sizes. When welding, you can use wire from 4.0 to 6.0 mm. The device can weld metal with a thickness of 4 mm to 30 mm, including at low currents. The equipment allows you to weld circumferential seams using an additional rotator, then the welding tractor acts as a hanging head.
Peculiarities:
- The presence of a switch between constant current (CC) and constant voltage (CV) depending on the thickness of the welding wire. With constant voltage (CV), it is possible to use wire with a diameter of more than 3.2 mm, and with constant current (CC), it is possible to use wire with a diameter of less than 3.2 mm.
- Availability of functions for starting welding “Draw” - ignition of the arc during movement and start of welding “Touch” - start of movement after ignition of the arc.
- The angle of position of the welding head can vary from the normal by ± 45° for the convenience of welding fillet and T-seams, as well as for welding seams in hard-to-reach places.
- The welding machine has the ability to connect an electrode holder for MMA welding, as well as an electrode holder for air-arc gouging of metal to remove surface cracks, inclusions, scale and other defects in ingots, forgings and rolled metal, as well as for cleaning the roots of seams.
- For manual arc welding, piece electrodes with a diameter of 4.0 to 6.0 mm are used.
- Automatic setting of hot start (Hot Start) and forced arc (Arc Force) in MMA welding mode.
- 5-year warranty for RILON PTK series devices.
Equipment:
- Inverter automatic submerged arc welding machine – 1 pc.
- Welding tractor – 1 pc.
- Welding cable – 2 pcs.
- Control cable – 1 pc.
- Grounding terminal – 2 pcs.
- Operating manual – 1 pc.
Welding tractor equipment:
- Carriage – 1 pc.
- Vertical column – 1 pc.
- Gate part with horizontal bar – 1 pc.
- Manual wheel for turning the horizontal bar – 1 pc.
- Wire feed drive – 1 pc.
- Welding head - 1 pc.
- Flux supply system with flux hopper – 1 pc.
- Spool of wire – 1 pc.
- Control unit – 1 pc.
- Rail for moving the tractor – 1 pc.
- Socket wrench for turning a vertical column – 1 pc.
- Wrench for adjusting the welding head – 1 pc.
- Roller for wire ø 4.0/5.0/6.0 mm – 2 pcs.
- Conductive mouthpiece ø 4.0/5.0/6.0 mm – 1 pc.
- 380 volts
