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Ammo Hatsan Flashpup QE .177 caliber PCP: Part Three

 Hatsan Flashpup QE .177 caliber PCP: Part Three 

Flashpup
Hatsan Flashpup.

Part 1
Part 2

This report covers:

  • The test
  • Sight in
  • Cocking
  • Trigger
  • H&N Baracuda Match 4.52mm
  • JSB Exact Heavy
  • JSB Exact RS
  • Has learning occurred?
  • The silencer
  • Second try with Baracuda Match 4.52mm
  • What we have learned about this Flashpup?
  • Summary

Today we look at the accuracy of the Hatsan Flashpup QE PCP. I made a mistake today (I know — I can’t believe it, either!), because last time I said I would resume with the velocity testing at this point. I saw that in Part 2 of this report after I had the scope mounted for today’s accuracy test, so I decided to just start the accuracy test. I say start because something happened that may affect the future of this series. And there is something quite valuable for all of us to learn in today’s report, so it was a mistake worth making.

The test

I tested the rifle from a rest at 10 meters. With any accurate precharged pneumatic (PCP) that’s too close, but since I just mounted a UTG SWAT 4-16X44 scope and one reader said his Flashpup isn’t that accurate I decided to start close.

I shot 10-shot groups, and had to learn this rotary magazine all over again. It holds 14 pellets in .177 so I had to load just ten for my groups.

Sight in

Because I mounted a scope, I first had to sight it in. I did this with 10.5-grain Crosman Premiers

The first shot from 12 feet hit the target about 2 inches low and a quarter inch to the right of the aim point. I adjusted a couple clicks to the left and left the elevation alone. At 12 feet all shots should hit as far below the line of sight as the centerline of the scope is above the bore line. At 10 meters the pellet climbs up on the target paper (because of the angle of the erector tube inside the scope).

At 10 meters the second shot was inside the bull but below the center. I did not adjust the scope after that.

Cocking

Remember the problem I reported with cocking in Part 2? I said it’s possible to advance the magazine with a loud click but the striker is not cocked yet. That happened to me again on the second shot of today’s test, which was the first shot from 10 meters. No amount of squeezing the trigger would fire the rifle because it had never cocked.

When that happens you have to remove the rotary magazine after the bolt comes back. If you leave it in the receiver and  the bolt goes forward again you will load a second pellet into the barrel. I did all this and then shot the second pellet that hit in the bull below the center and a little to the right. Then I slid the magazine back into the receiver and shot the remaining 9 pellets.

The group was horrible! Ten Premier Heavys went into 2.067-inches between centers.

Flashpup Premier heavy
Ten Crosman Premiers made a 2.067-inch group at 10 meters.

Now obviously something was wrong. But I was testing the rifle, so I continued to shoot without adjusting the scope.

Trigger

The trigger is way too stiff for good work. It does feel solid and without creep. I think I need to try to adjust this trigger next time. I have never had any luck adjusting Quattro triggers but this is a bullpup so maybe this time will be different?

Stock up on Air Gun Ammo

H&N Baracuda Match 4.52mm

Next up were H&N Baracuda Match pellets with 4.52mm heads. Ten of them went into a 0.475-inch group at 10 meters. It’s not a great group but it is round and much smaller than the first group. And look where it is in the bull. This is why I didn’t adjust the scope.

Flashpup Baracuda Match 452
The Hatsan Flashpup put 10 H&N Baracuda Match pellets with 4.52mm heads into a 0.475-inch group at 10 meters.

JSB Exact Heavy

Next to be tried were 10 JSB Exact Heavy pellets. This 10.34-grain dome is often extremely accurate in PCPs. But not in this Flashpup. Ten pellets went into an open group that measures 0.898-inches between centers. 

Flashpup  JSB Heavy
The Flashpup put 10 JSB Exact Heavy pellets into an open 0.898-inch group at 10 meters.

JSB Exact RS

By this time I thought I knew what was happening. But I wanted to try one more pellet — a light one. So I selected the 7.33-grain JSB Exact RS pellet. Ten of them went into 1.485-inches at 10 meters.

Flashpup  JSB RS
The Hatsan Flashpup put 10 JSB Exact RS pellets into a 1.485-inch group at 10 meters.

These pellets were much louder because they broke the sound barrier. The others were much quieter.

Has learning occurred?

So, my fine young padawans, have we learned anything? Whatever might have caused the Flashpup to be so inaccurate?

The silencer

Ahh — the silencer. What about it? Well, if a pellet touches the inside of the silencer before it exits the muzzle, it will fly erratically. How do we tell if this has happened? We look for either a streak of lead (looks like silver) on the inside of the silencer or we look for an edge of something in the silencer that’s been nicked. Or we look for both.

So I unscrewed the muzzle cap of the Flashpup silencer and there it was — a bright silver streak on the inner side of the cap.

Flashpup  muzzle cap
There it is. That silver line is proof that some of the the pellets are hitting the inside of the muzzle cap before exiting. That will destroy accuracy.

Now I knew what the problem was. What should I do next? I could hear many readers say test it! So I did.

I didn’t want to drill out the muzzle cap so I simply removed it. I could now shoot either the most accurate pellet or the least accurate pellet from this test. Arguments could be made for both approaches. I chose the most accurate pellet, thinking we might see a gold dollar group from the rifle. But I overlooked something. The guts of the silencer were still inside.

Second try with Baracuda Match 4.52mm

This time I shot 10 H&N Baracuda Match pellets with 4.52mm heads. I figured the shots would be louder and they were. What I didn’t reckon on was the guts of the silencer shooting out. But they did and I’m still looking for one of the two “hair curlers” Hatsan used to silence the rifle.

The shots were now as loud as a .22 long rifle (110 dB?) but the pellets went where they were aimed every time. The first two pellets went lower on the bull as they also shot out the silencer guts, which may have misdirected them. The last 8 shots went into about 0.336-inches between centers at 10 meters. All 10 shots are in a vertical group that measures 0.444-inches between centers at 10 meters.

Flashpup Baracuda no silencer
When the silencer was gone the Flashpup became accurate. The first two pellets also shot out the silencer guts and are at the bottom of this 0.444-inch group. The last 8 pellets are at the top in about 0.336-inches between centers.

What we have learned about this Flashpup?

1. The bolt is far too hard to cock.
2. The trigger is way too stiff.
3. The silencer is not aligned with the muzzle of the barrel.
4. The rifle wants to be accurate, but this one needs work getting there.

Summary

I still like the light weight and small size of the Flashpup, but I dislike the bullpup design when the bolt is so hard to cock. There is a lot more to learn about this rifle but first I need to locate the one missing silencer insert.

Seeing the problems with the silencer and the stiffness of the trigger has cooled my opinion of the Flashpup considerably. If I can find that silencer insert and resume testing there is still hope for this as a useful PCP, but without further experience I cannot give it a positive rating.

author avatar
Tom Gaylord (B.B. Pelletier)
Tom Gaylord, also known as B.B. Pelletier, provides expert insights to airgunners all over the world on behalf of Pyramyd AIR. He has earned the title The Godfather of Airguns™ for his contributions to the industry, spending many years with AirForce Airguns and starting magazines dedicated to the sport such as Airgun Illustrated.

75 thoughts on “ Hatsan Flashpup QE .177 caliber PCP: Part Three ”

    • Yogi,

      I, too, would send it back and get another under warranty. Seems it’s a good idea to buy this one from PA with the $10 test.

      Here’s a video of Flashpup in .22 cal. None of these issues exists. Accurate. BB should demand the same quality — although, I also wonder how he’ll tackle the problems.

      https://youtu.be/R10DsxpImTw

      • Good idea, about the $10 test thing. 🙂
        ———————

        What do you think of this idea reversed?
        Pyramydair ensures everything they sell is actually as described, ie without defects. 🙂

        And for $10 less, you agree to receive the item with unknown quality.

        • Well, even if you didn’t pick the $10 service, you would be still good. If I am not mistaken, PA has 1 month return policy, which is, possibly, the most certain way to ensure. I think it’s safe to assume many folks want to be the first one who tests their new toy. Therefore the $10 service might not be for everyone, even in free form.

          • Fish, maybe I have unrealistic expectations.

            Pyramydair’s $10 test, tells me that they are not certain of the condition of what they sell,
            that they are happy to sell regardless of that and
            they don’t care about quality as much as, what, undercutting the competition?

            The option (and hassle!) to return my purchase because I was sent a somewhat faulty product only serves to erode my confidence.

            Yes, I see Red Flags and hear Alarm Bells. Would my trust issue be restored by handing over $10 more?

            I guess I won’t know because I don’t even have that option over here in Europe… 🙂

            • Again if I am not mistaken, in addition to manufacturer warranty, you can return a product and have full refund or get an exchange with in a month. How much more confidence could PA have in the products they sell? In my understanding, they, pretty much, offer financially a riskfree online shopping experience to their customers.

              And you know, every same model airgun cannot actually be the same / identical. $10 service gives a peace of mind. I think it serves more than just catching a defect.

            • Buying an airgun online is like buying a wooden musical instrument online. Every unit is different.

              Or am I wrong with this assumption? Can we assume, let’s say, every .177 Flashpup unit shall be perfectly identical? Or is every, I don’t know, 30S flawlessly identical?

              • Fish, I appear to have made the mistake of assuming that most, if not all of us, would consider the chance of receiving a faulty product to be a rather poor shopping experience, which is why I suggested quality to be controlled by default as opposed to pyramydair’s current optional quality control.

                I am not talking about issues of identical flawlessness, but whether or not “…your gun shoots…” and that it “… won’t be a lemon!”

                (tried and failed to link to pyramydair’s “10-for-$10 Test!” page, so instead I offer an edited partial screen print)

                • I tried to make a joke earlier, but I don’t think I worded it well. 🙂

                  What you suggest requires every box to be opened one by one. How many techs have to be hired for that job then? Manufacturers perform such quality control. There will be defective units despite their efforts, and that’s why there is warranty.

                  I know what I say doesn’t satisfy your suggestion, but PA offers one of the best return policies I’ve ever seen.

                  • Fish, I’m sorry to have missed the humour. 🙁

                    Our back and forth of this thing that I started has helped me focus and realise some deteriorating developments and the kind of changes I would like to see. 🙂

                    In, what I like to think of as, the ‘good old days’ – before my time 🙂 – when one purchased for example a Walther LP53 (break-barrel springer pistol), it not just came in a box with an actual paper manual and a nice selection of accessories, like different sights, cleaning implement and cocking aid, but also, detailed guidance on how to shoot for accuracy, and a target card to show what that very pistol was capable of when it was shot at the factory. 🙂

                    Now that was commitment to quality that nowadays might seem impressive, but shouldn’t be. I think, quality control of everything should be expected and normal. 🙂

            • hihihi,

              I am a big fan of the way Pyramyd treats its customers, in general. The are head and shoulders above most online stores, but I think the $10 test is a gimmick. I’ve seen plenty of reviews where guns leaked when received and I don’t think any accuracy guarantees are even implied with the test. The gun could leave the test station in great shape and mishandling during packing or after delivered to the shipper could break something and you’re still left with the return process. I buy pellets with the ten bucks.

              Half

  1. Tom,

    Well that’s a first for bullpups, a stiff trigger. Usually they are spongy because of the trigger linkage. The extra effort required to cock the bolt suggests there may be either an alignment issue regarding the parts or insufficient lubrication.

    Siraniko

  2. Thanks, B.B. I love reading about your experiences with airguns I probably will never get to shoot. This one is certainly a candidate for the $10 test.

    I was wondering if anyone has heard from Chris USA. I don’t know why, but I was just thinking about him.

    • Roamin,

      I’ve tried to contact Chris a number of times but he hasn’t replied to my emails.

      He had medical issues, went through some surgery and seemed to be managing but suddenly went offline.

      I’m still hoping to hear from him.

      Hank

      • Hank

        I too am concerned about Chris who was among the first to help me.

        Hank, in looking back I think you were first to recommend an FX Crown for my friend to consider. Well, he indeed took the plunge.

        Deck

        • Deck,

          Good to hear that!

          Think that he will be happy with the Crown. It’s a great all round airgun and very capable as well!

          Please suggest that he should note all the settings into the provided chart in the owners manual before changing things 😉

          The Crown typically likes the 18 gr JSBs. I’ve tuned mine specifically for the 16 gr JSBs because I like the Hades for pesting.

          Cheers!
          Hank

      • Hank
        I bought his RAI Marauder a while back and I can only guess he needed some cash. He responded a while back to the blog but has been silent lately. A lot of people have faded away over the past 14 years I have enjoyed this blog.
        I believe 14 of my friends have died in my 75 years on Gods earth and another has just gone silent. His mother died after slipping on ice and hitting her head. He became my mother’s unofficial adopted son and my brother in his early teens.
        It’s a sad fact of life, we just don’t get all the answers to our questions.
        A silent prayer for God to watch over them helps relieve the anxiety of not knowing. Especially when we get old.

  3. Hopefully it is a defective unit, and they would be able to figure out how it got released for sale. If not, and it is representative of the typical product, one has to ask why they would go to market with such a poor product. I know that it is on the lower end of the cost scale, but a product like this is a brand killer.

  4. Are we consumers hypocrites?

    First, isn’t it remarkable that some products are forgiven for their imperfect condition when their price is low, but not this Hatsan Flashpup QE?

    And secondly, consider for example, a laptop, smartphone, or similar computer device, for which their high price doesn’t seem to be much of a deterrent. Nor the knowledge that ownership involves being a teething problems tester.
    In fact many people cherish the idea of-, and very much look forward to, software ‘upgrades’, ‘patches’, etc…

    Yep, I have been guilty of that kind of hypocrisy! 🙁

    • Having a tech company NOT offer upgrades, patches, etc; would be like an airgun company no longer making spare parts for their products. Keep the software upgrades coming….

      -Y

    • Yogi clearly likes a computer type product to be in need of- and incrementally improved with, future software upgrades, while shootski appears to lament that airguns do not have that option.
      Thank you gentlemen. 🙂
      ————————-
      The point I was trying to make is, that depending on the type of product, our attitude towards it’s finish can vary enormously.

      And that in this respect, price is of no consequence.

  5. BB,

    It is kind off sad that this nice rifle is behaving like it does. I am not yet convinced of the advantages of a bullpup configuration for sporting purposes, but if I were to try one I think that there are better options out there. In the same price range the Avenger comes to mind. There may be others.

    I have a Hatsan gas spring break barrel, very nice rifle too, that never worked well for me. It was very powerful and reasonably precise but difficult to cock, painful to shoot and with a hard Quattro trigger that I could not adjust to a reasonable level. Now that the ram gave up it is a low priority project in my work bench.

    Based on these two samples it seems that their marketing department places too much emphasis in power at the expense of everything else. I am sure it must work for some people but I find it disappointing.

    Henry

      • Yes, Deck, that is what I had in mind. The last time I tried to contact Hatsan customer service I didn’t have luck but that was during the pandemic, so I will try again. With a metal spring I could tune it, or rather de-tuned, to reduce vibration and face slap.
        Best,
        Henyy

        • Henry_TX

          Hoping Hatsun Repair still offers the conversion for you. They did mine for about $100 before the pandemic. You can mod the spring to your satisfaction. A simple TIAT application eliminated the cheek slap for me. The high pitch pinging sound disappeared with the gas (or air) to metal spring conversion.

          Deck

  6. B.B.,

    “But they did and I’m still looking for one of the two “hair curlers” Hatsan used to silence the rifle.”
    “What a revoltin’ development this is!” Riley

    I hope you checked the remaining Hatsan hair curler for the Silver Streak of Suppressor SHAME!
    Is the “silencer” body welded to the barrel?
    Even with the shot out guts this example remains at BEST a 3+ MOA PCP…at best….

    shootski

  7. BB,
    I think you’re giving this rifle a good chance to show what it can do, by removing the interfering parts. It’s tougher when you have to test a misfit.

    Remember that this same thing happened with the Kral Puncher Pro, back in 2017? The accuracy was so inconsistent that you looked into the integrated silencer and found silver streaks along the cones inside there, too. I guess this is a thing that happens! I wonder what part of the manufacturing process fails? It could be a poorly drilled barrel. Does the bore seem well centered at the output end of the barrel? Is the crown nicely finished, or is it fairly rough hewn?

    Kral solved the pellet nicking problem by removing the shroud and its integrated silencer and threading the end of the barrel so one might add an aftermarket item. I bought one of the second generation rifles and am very happy with it.

    Good luck in sorting out the rest of your review!
    Regards,
    Will

    • BB,
      Off topic. I made a comment on a review of the Diana 34 on PA website and mentioned that you have a review of this rifle. I said “Tom Gaylord has reviewed it properly” but some PA algorithm refused to post it and warned me that my comment contained offensive language! I re read my comment several times baffled looking for offensive words. Then I decided to change your name from Tom Gaylord to BB Pelletier and presto, it accepted my comment! Looks like machines will be ruling us soon. With ChatGPT it is already ruling us. With that glitch it proves that they are not quite ready yet! You should mention to Pyramyd AIR that their Ai is flagging your name as offensive!

      • Anyone who tries to force others into Orwellian “doublespeak” should be made permanently unemployed. We’ve got to stop the co-opting of perfectly acceptable words/language by a tiny minority with a loony agenda. No doubt the line “and we’ll all feel gay when Johnny comes marching home” in that song would be found “offensive” by these types. Before long, the word “airgun” will be considered offensive – if we allow it to happen.

  8. One more time waiting for a miracle to happen. A product doesn’t become great just by volume of manufacture or good sales marketing. Regarding the price I think we covered the issue of low working costs quite thoroughly these last days.
    It seems that Friday’s blog was edited early this week.

  9. B.B.,

    Looking back at part 2 of the Hatsan Flashpup you reported on the velocity of the JSB Exact RS pellets as 1137 average with a spred of 125 f.p.s.

    The RWS Superpoint averaged 1105 with a spred of 51 f.p.s.

    The H&N Baracuda Match averaged 989 with a spred of 62 f.p.s.

    That seems like some really wide speed variance even for non regulated PCP,
    do you think that pellets cliping the silencer may have had an effect on the speeds you got?

    It may be interesting to revisit the velocity test after you get the silencer issue resolved.

    Mike

  10. BB

    My friend is having issues trying to join the PA blog. IT is working on it. He wants to thank Shootski and all enablers who helped him decide what airgun to get. He wants to start at the top so he now owns an FX Crown MK ll, a high end compressor and Element scope. Having mastered 80 yards, next up is 100. He is a happy boy.

    And I get to shoot it!

    Deck

    • Decksniper,

      I suspect he will be out to 100 in no time at all with his FX Crown MK ll.
      Windy days are our best days to get even better.

      Please share with him: You are very welcomed to the 75+ yard/meter club!
      Deck you are a happy boy too i suspect!
      “And I get to shoot it!”
      Buy him some pellets/bullets(slugs) and maybe a Pelletgage!
      Enable, enable, enable!

      shootski

      • Shootski,

        I didn’t check this page as I hadn’t thought anyone would’ve replied.

        This is kind of a big goodbye as I don’t know if I’ll ever get back into the hobby. I don’t own an airgun, and all I’ve been doing is preaching about the perfect breakbarrel springer. It gets old after a while. 🙂

        I’ll only comment again if I end up staying here and investing in an airgun. If not, then I’m sailing somewhere. 😉

        I’ll keep working out. The link is how I’m planning to start the new journey, so I’ll need a lot of working out to be somehow ready. I don’t know how it’s gonna happen though. A few weeks ago, I fell asleep in front of the TV, and the fan kept blowing onto my back. My back hurt for days just because of that. 🙂
        https://i.pinimg.com/736x/07/86/69/07866942de7faeaa756212f461146ff0–catamaran-sailing.jpg

        You’re a true inspiration, my friend. Never stop paddling and stay being awesome.

        Fish

    • Fish,
      You be well, too! I hope that you have a change of heart and rejoin when you can’t resist adding to the conversation. Take care and enjoy this incredibly fun and diverse hobby.
      You asked previously if the readership is excited to see new Hatsan products as they come out. Well sure I do, it’s always fun to see new air rifles come out. But, I would like to see Hatsan offer a spring piston air rifle that is not a magnum, but more of a nice, easy to use plinker, made to the same quality as they have now, that is less powerful and less noisy to the user.
      Regards,
      Will

      • Will, thank you for the well wishes.

        I’ve been excited for Gamo as well, not only Hatsan. I think both companies have profitable potential to enhance the springer world.

        If I ever go back to the hobby, I won’t contemplate about the perfect airgun again. I’ll leave the springers behind, start with a Crosman 362, then add a .177 Benjamin Multi-pump with a 3-9×32 AO scope. After that, I’ll probably get into the PCP world, AirForce models being my most favorite.

        Thank you again for your kind words.
        Take care,

        Fish

  11. B.B
    I see that PA now sales the Norika line. I really wish you could test the Omnia as soon as possible. This is really a most interesting innovation we should learn about.

  12. FYI everyone: P.A. has several refurbished Beeman R9s ripe for the picking at only $399. And one HW50S for $359. Actually, the refurb section has several interesting deals right now.

  13. B.B. and readership. I have a small suggestion for Friday blogs. Perhaps B.B. could make a point to invite folks to ask any airgun question they like and give the rest of us a crack at answering. Not really a new feature, because we do that all the time, but sometimes folks need a little push to put themselves out there with a question. That might encourage more participation and comments, because we are all such a welcoming and civilized bunch.

    • Ok Roamin Greco, here’s my airgun question: what fun plinking targets are there for me to explore?
      I think, in an ideal world, my number of targets should at least match my number of airguns. Therefore I require many more interesting targets. 🙂

      As a plinker I will happily take aim at about anything! 🙂

      What fun ideas are there for me to explore? I prefer to keep my targets within a 50 metres range, and I only ever shoot on my own.

      So far there is one of those topple-over field target style bunnies,
      a weird bottle silhouette on a rocker with a couple of spinning disks,
      resettable animal silhouettes in a pellet catching box,,
      resettable lower power metal spoon-shapes in another pellet catching box,
      a rolling/ jumping/ moving little paddle pyramid which reminds me of shooting at fizzy drinks cans,
      square target card holder with pellet catching funnel,
      rotating ferris wheel style arms with flippable paddle ends,
      large, white spray painted metal plates one of which has a small hole in the centre and functions like a bell target,
      a selection of side by side metal round holes with a rocker mechanism that closes off the holes when shot through,
      a putty backed A4 cardboard and A4 printer sheet holding box and
      the odd old metal container like an empty paint can to knock over.

      Wow, listing that lot, I realise I have more than I thought. But still, I am many plinking targets short of getting close to any sort of balance. And then there are my handguns… 🙂

      First world problems of a life of plenty, eh?! 🙂

      • For anyone interested, I’m happy to elaborate on any of my above listed targets. 🙂
        Anybody care to exchange their ideas of fun targets?

        I like the idea of a valve in a bottle top that allows for a plastic bottle to be inflated. Apparently when shot, the pressurised bottle will explode with quite a bang, which should be fun. 🙂
        Anyone tried one of those?

        • hihihi,

          I have used the pressurized water/softdrink plastic bottles in the past. Found them to be too noisy for the back yard and I do want to keep my neighbors happy with my shooting low power airguns in my yard. There are currently entire neighborhoods up in arms about the POP of Pickleball!
          So for quiet but still reactive targets my go to are:
          https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teddy_Grahams
          A wood board with a groove to stand them in and a good backstop is all you need. They are very biodegradable too!
          I’m selective on which ones I eat and which i try and shoot out their bellybuttons….
          They make a proper puff of crumbs if not allowed to get damp or stale.

          shootski

        • Hihihi,

          I have used the pressurized caps on old plastic bottles. They work and make a satisfying “boom”. I reccomend them if shooting with the kiddos, who love the reaction.

          A few extra thoughts:
          1. Many water bottles are now made with less “thread” (to reduce plastic. They won’t work with the pressure caps. Dasani WILL work. It has the longer threads. That is the only bottled water I buy now.
          2. Plastic soda bottles are ideal. Any size works.
          3. I pump up to about 20 psi, using a bicycle pump with a needle attachment.
          4. At longer ranges, the smaller bottles will require a good square “hit” to puncture the bottle. With a low-powered plinker, sometimes I will get a glancing shot. If it’s a sharp “ping”, not a “boom”…load another pellet.

          StarboardRower

          • StarboardRower,

            The plastic Perrier bottles can easily take up to 50psi and when you hit them square on they go off like an M80 (1/4 stick of Dynamite) and can fly wildly :^)

            Great fun!

            shootski

            • Sometimes FM grabs a couple of his vendor friend’s expired or defective soda bottles; they make satisfying targets after a good shaking – on the plus side also saving someone from a 70+ gram sugar rush. See? Shooting airguns is good for your health! 😉

              • FawltyManual,
                I got hooked on Perrier in Djibouti during an extended visit in the 1980s when temperatures were 46.1°C (115°F) for the high and the morning low was 35°C (96.5°F) and the water was unsafe (unless boiled) to drink including the Ice cubes. So I walked around with the green litter bottles of Perrier.
                They were all glass in those days; many still are.
                I have avoided the 70 gram sugar rush ever since.

                shootski

        • hihihi,

          Yes the inflated water bottle is indeed a big bang, Pyramyd AIR also has these for a bang /product/firebird-50-bio-target-10pk?a=12025 but for a more quiet time I suggest plastic golf balls which can be shot a lot before breaking down, do not shoot at real golf balls as pellets will bounce off of them.

          Mike

      • I asked the same question not long ago and realized that GunFun1, as the handle implies, had some of the best ideas for inside and outside reactive targets. Try a Google Advanced Search for “reactive targets” limited to this blog website. My favorite (can’t wait to try it out) is a small balloon inside a tin can with some flour dusted on top of the balloon. Hit the can, balloon explodes, sending a puff of “smoke” into the air.

        Right now since it is still winter, I have been plinking inside with a target made out of mailing boxes filled with rubber mulch and small plastic bottles and small soda cans hanging from a crosswire made of shirt hanger wire. If you hit them, they spin around is a very satisfying way.

      • With Easter approaching, it is open season on Peeps! I have cut out slots in a cardboard box and set toothpicks into the open ends of the corrugated edges, then sit the Peeps on the toothpicks. Then I raced my daughter to see who could knock down the most. She won!

      • Thanks gentlemen, for your ideas.

        Good to know my expectations of exploding bottles are confirmed.

        For food targets it’s probably best for me to buy dog biscuits. Otherwise there might not be any ‘bellybuttons’ left, but the expanding one inside my shirt… 🙂

        Today I learnt that “Pickleball” is actually a thing! 🙂

        And that “Peeps” are edible. 🙂

        Oh, I think I found that old blog that Roamin Greco referred to. 🙂

        Thanks again! 🙂

        I wonder how easy or difficult it might be to construct a pendulum target that multiple well timed shots can make swing all the way over?

      • Wow! It almost seems you’ve got a target for every day in f the month!!

        Ok, so what you gotta do is charge for entry to this very well equipped range!! The charge would be bringing a new plinking target for you to try out 😀

        Also, sounds like you could do a series of guest blogs on reactive targets 😉

        • MisterAP, I do not always get notified of replies and so I came across yours by accident. Thanks for your kind words – you get free entry! 🙂

          Thanks too for your vote of confidence, however, writing a blog would be much too hard for me. 🙂

  14. Shooting in the rain

    Dear B.B. and Readership,
    Today, after getting everything squared away before the big rains came in, I thought I would do a bit of plinking; so, I dug out my Crosman 362.

    Sadly, no sooner had I set the gun on the bench then it started raining (half an hour before predicted…thanks a lot weather guy! LOL =>). Hence, I had to back up and shoot from the carport. If I stand just to the left of the beam you see in the first pic, then the 15-yard range is now the 25-yard range; it’s the perfect spot for a bit of offhand plinking.

    Periodically, I look at my 362 and think, “Perhaps I’ll get her a steel breech,” but then I’d also need a new peep sight to go on the 3/8” dovetail grooves; on top of that, I’d need a new higher front sight, since the new peep would sit higher than the factory one. In the end, I wind up going outside and shooting the stock 362 and being well pleased with her (note: I did spend a lot of time shaping the front sight into a thin tapered post that I really like).
    Perhaps I am just following the wisdom laid out by Charles Moulton:
    “Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want,
    but the realization of how much you already have.”

    Don’t bother looking him up; he was nobody famous, but he was my wife’s granddad. And he knew a thing or two about shooting; he had an original Hawken rifle (.50 caliber, just like in Jeremiah Johnson), and he hunted with his own home-made longbows. In fact, everyone in the family, including my wife, hunted with bows that he made. My only regret is that he passed on before I got a chance to meet him; I’d love to have gleaned some more wisdom from him first hand. But I like what he had to say about contentment; it sits well with me; hence, I think I’ll just shoot this Crosman a little more in her stock form.

    I love my Sheridan, because it’s a legacy from my Dad as well as being my first-ever airgun. Yet I have to admit that the 362, while having just as much power at 6 pumps is MUCH easier to pump to that level. If someone wanted to dip their foot into airgunning, I think they’d be well-served to get one of these; they’d have a lot of fun for not a lot of dollars; and they’d see pretty quickly if this was a sport into which they’d like to go.

    Also, if someone wanted to hunt small game without spending big bucks, this little rifle is well suited to the task; hitting the end-on can on the low shelf at 25 yards was no problem. Although, personally, I would like to sneak within 15 yards to ensure a head shot on a squirrel (most all the many squirrels I shot with my Sheridan were taken between 10 and 15 yards, using tricks like tossing a stick or pebble on the far side of a tree to get the squirrel to come around to your side).

    OK, that’s enough of a Sunday ramble. After all, what do I know?
    Or to put it another way, who died and left me in charge of the universe?
    Well, One did die, and raise Himself up from the tomb,
    yet, thankfully, He did not leave me in charge of anything! 🙂
    Blessings and happy shooting to all y’all,
    dave

    • Dave

      When one likes the open sights they have, there is no reason to mess with a good thing unless one is an incurable optic switcher. I have 4 multi pumpers or I would get a 362 which gets mostly good reports.

      I made a longbow at age 14 under a tutor at camp spending many hours sanding. I got my archery merit badge and was so proud of it but alas it is long gone. I enjoyed reading about your wife’s granddad.

      Deck

      • Thanks, Deck, that’s really cool about your longbow and merit badge; and I’ll be sure to tell my wife that you enjoyed reading about her granddad; that will make her happy; thanks again. 😉

      • P.S. Deck, I spoke with my wife, and she wanted me to add that her brother, “broke our grandfather’s heart when he bought a compound bow.”
        Yes, her granddad made each kid a bow at age 3; and he made them 3 arrows to go with it (note: the arrows were all fletched differently, so that none of my wife’s siblings or cousins could snitch someone else’s arrows; granddad knew which arrows belonged to whom; for example, my wife’s arrows were fletched with feathers off a Mallard duck). When you got your first squirrel with the bow, then you could get your first .22 rifle (my wife got her first squirrel at age 5, and then her granddad gave her a .22 rifle with a cut down stock; hunting was mostly done by the men and boys, but my wife was “the apple of her granddad’s eye,” so he, who made all the family decisions with regard to hunting, decided she would be allowed to hunt.
        As the kids grew, granddad would make them new higher-poundage longbows for deer hunting. And my wife’s brother had such a bow; hence, when he came home with a compound bow, her granddad was like, “Why in the world did you buy that contraption when I made you a perfectly good bow?” You can’t really argue with his logic, since he regularly brought home turkeys (in addition to deer) taken with his own longbow. 🙂

        • Dave

          Love it! What a heritage he left. Especially like your tomboy at age 5 wife’s story. Around 70 years ago my dad and I were dove hunting. There was one woman on the shoot and I have a vivid picture in my mind of her bringing down just about every dove that came within range of her stand by a fence.

          Pass on the legacy.

          Deck

          • “There was one woman on the shoot and I have a vivid picture in my mind of her bringing down just about every dove that came within range of her stand by a fence.”
            That is so cool!

            “What a heritage he left…Pass on the legacy.”
            Yes, Sir; I certainly will. 🙂

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