TX200 Mark III.
This report covers:
- TX200 Mark III
- However
- PCP?
- Air Pistols
- Changes
- How about you?
- Summary
Today I want to discuss test beds. Those are the airguns we go to when we want to know if a certain pellet is accurate. I’ll begin with a spring rifle that I have trusted for years — my TX200 Mark III.
TX200 Mark III
I have never owned a spring-piston air rifle that was more accurate than my TX200 Mark III. Even the Whiscombe JW75 I used to own was no more accurate than the TX I currently own. So when I want to test a certain .177-caliber pellet in a spring-piston rifle, I reach for the TX. It is my test bed for spring-piston air rifles.
However
But there is a however. Several years ago I was gifted with a Beeman R8 Tyrolean rifle. It’s a breakbarrel and it’s the only breakbarrel I’ve had that challenges the TX200 Mark III. The Whiscombe was technically a breakbarrel, but it was a different kettle of fish altogether.
Beeman R8 Tyrolean.
The TX once put ten pellets into a 0.218-inch group at 25 yards. The R8 put ten into a 0.217-inch group at the same distance. Since a thousandth of an inch is way less than the error in group size measurement, these two springers are equal in accuracy.
In 2022 the TX200 Mark III put 10 JSB 8.44-grain pellets into this 0.218-inch 25-yard group.
Back in 2010 the R8 Tyrolean put five JSB Exact RS pellets into this 0.217-inch group at 25 yards.
PCP?
I therefore have two .177-caliber spring-piston rifles that are test-bed accurate. And what about .177-caliber precharged pneumatics (PCP)? Lest we forget, the Air Venturi Avenge-X just put 10 Benjamin Bullseyes into a 0.079-inch group at the same 25 yards.
The tuned Avenge-X put ten Benjamin Bullseyes into 0.079-inches at 25 yards. I used the gold dollar comparison coin because I couldn’t find the silver Chuckram coin.
By the way — I found the silver Chuckram group comparison coin I thought I had misplaced. It wasn’t misplaced at all. It’s just so small that it was obscured by the number on the plastic pouch I keep it in! Blue 8, BB!
For .22-caliber pellets I use my Air Arms S510XS PCP rifle. I don’t really have a .22-caliber spring piston test-bed rifle, so I stick with the S510. It put 10 JTS Dead Center domes into a 0.113-inch group at 25 yards.
Air Arms S510XS Ultimate Sporter with Laminate Stock.
Ten JTS Dead Center pellet at 25 yards went into 0.113-inches.
I don’t have a .25-caliber test bed rifle — yet. I’m working on it.
Air Pistols
For .177 air pistols I have my FWB P44 10-meter target pistol. It’s great for close distances but perhaps not for the longer-distance stuff. For that I have the Beeman P1. And even then the distances isn’t that great.
For .22 pellets it’s always a tossup between my Crosman Mark I and my S&W 78G. On any given day either pistol can come out as the better one. Since both are powered by CO2 I have covered all powerplants in my set of go-to test bed airguns.
My Crosman Mark I is one of my go-to .22-caliber test-bed air pistols.
The S&W 78G is my other go-to .22-caliber air pistol.
Changes
My list changes as I discover rifles and pistols that are accurate. The changes don’t happen often, but when the Air Venturi Avenger came along it changed things. Then the Avenge-X followed it shortly after and made even more changes. And because the Avenge-X can be .177, .22 and .25 all in the same rifle, I’m still in the middle of those changes.
How about you?
Do you readers have test bed airguns you use to test new pellets for accuracy? What if one of them isn’t accurate with a certain pellet, but believe that it’s still an accurate pellet? How do you handle that? I’m thinking about Reader RidgeRunner not getting accuracy at 25 yards from the .177-caliber Benjamin Bullseye — yet at 10 yards it was the most accurate pellet.
Summary
Today I shared my go-to test bed pellet rifles and pistols. Now it’s your turn to share.
BB,
Did you forget “BB’s Goldie” or is the Avenge-X too close to an Avenger to consider?
I would think that putting the Avenger through the same tuning regimen as the Avenge-X went through would bring about an improved accuracy, as well.
Everyone – Here’s to all of your airguns (and the “loose nut” working the trigger) being just as accurate as they can possibly be.
Bill
Bill,
I didn’t forget Goldie, but with the adjustability and tune-ability of the Avenge-X, I probably won’t be shooting Goldie that much.
BB
BB
I thought the Avenger has the same tune ability as the Avenge-X except for the 2 port opening choices plus caliber swapping. I’m not suggesting it could match that one fabulous group you shot. I am wondering if it could go head to head over time. We’ll never know since you don’t have the time to find out.
I was hoping today folks would tell us their best accuracy airguns by type. Here are mine:
PCP rifles- Avenger .25 & Gamo Urban .22
PCP pistol- Ataman P16 .22
Single stroke rifle- Avanti 753 .177
Single stroke pistol- Avanti 747 .177
Air springer- ASP20 .177
Steel springer FWB300S
Multi pump- Crosman Custom 1300KT .177
CO2- Crosman Custom 2400KT .177
Honorable mention for steel springer goes to my FWB Sport .177 because it is getting more and more accurate over time. If this continues it will be pushing its vintage match rifle cousin.
Deck
B.B.
I disagree!!!
All barrels are different. You need to find the right pellet for that barrel. My HW 50 shoots the JSB 8.44 pellets fine in 4.52 head size. 4.51 or 4.53 not so well. My Hatsan 95 shoots the hollow point Crossman pellets better than the same pellet that is domed. Why do Diana guns tend to shoot RWS pellets well? They do poorly in my Weihrauch’s. Some pellets are good in some barrels and garbage in different ones.
-Yogi
PS are you effected by the recent storms?
I agree!
There’s no point testing pellets in a different barrel from the one you intend shooting with. Even different versions of the same gun will prefer different ammo.
Yogi,
All the storms have done for me are water my lawn and reduce my water bill.
BB
Well thank Heaven for that!
Why some people do not/can not believe that global warming is real-just like rifle cant-is beyond me…
-Yogi
Yogi,
I have faith that global warming as well as global cooling have, are and will happen.
What i find appalling is when the scientific community is forcibly politicized around the issue of Climate Change and potential cause.
Looks like All Gore was wrong about this, this, this and that; very INCONVENIENT ;^)
https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/sltrends/sltrends_station.shtml?id=8594900
According to AL G. we were going to be under many feet of water by now…
https://usicecenter.gov/Products/ArcticTrendGraph
https://usicecenter.gov/Products/AntarcTrendGraph
https://beda.media/en/articles/caspian-sea
shootski
The Baikal 46M is very accurate at 10-meters. However, in order to test pellets that are appropriate for this application (by the smallest group method), I would need to mount a scope and shoot from a bench rest. That requirement has more to do with my age, eyesight, and level of skills development than the gun.
I do not have any “test bed” air rifles and pistols at RRHFWA. When an “old gal” decides to stay here for a time, I will see which pellet she prefers to dance the best with and fill a Wilkins pellet pouch with those and hang them with that particular “old gal”.
Having said all that, If I had a “job” where I needed to test various new pellets and inform others of the results, I too would have several “test beds” to run the new pellets through. RidgeRunner does not unfortunately own any of BB’s “test beds”, although he would not mind if that Beeman R8 Tyrolean was to show up here. 😉
As for testing, when new pellets such as these .177 Benji Bullseyes and these .177 H&N Baracuda 8’s show up at RRHFWA, it is a real good excuse to pull down these “old gals” hanging around here and see if they like the new pellets.
BB,
I don’t TEST pellets, I definitely INSPECT them though.
Each new brand, model, head-size and weight of pellet gets closely scrutinized for consistency, die accuracy (seam lines, deformation), cleanliness (swarf, lubricants), and damage.
When plinking I shoot straight from the tin; for practice and pesting I’ll spot check (25-50 pellets) a new tin to ensure all is ok; for tuning and serious target shooting I use sorted pellets.
Having seen how important it is to find the “golden pellet” for each barrel (for fixed tune airguns) and how much tuning to the specific pellet affects the accuracy/consistency of adjustable airguns, I can’t see the point of testing a pellet by shooting it. The accuracy is dependent on the compatibility of the pellet with that barrel and that power plant, not the pellet itself.
There are examples of pellets designs that generally did not work well for their intended use (like the first version of the JSB MONSTER .22 25 grain) but they are either removed from the market or replaced with a new and improved version (like the MONSTER REDESIGN).
In my experience with considerable testing of many airguns and projectiles, you can inspect the projectile for consistency of manufacture but shooting it for accuracy is just testing the projectiles compatibility with that particular airgun and its tune.
To illustrate my point, attached is a target where I’m checking for the “golden pellet” for the factory tune on the Avenge-X (as received). Each 5-shot group was shot in one session (no adjustments), in dead calm conditions at 40 yards using sorted, known to be accurate pellets. So, one gun/barrel, one tune and checking pellet response to the settings and harmonics. As you can see, only the heavy (25 grain) pellet was “accurate”. The Avenge-X shot very well but, unfortunately there was an issue with the regulator (set at 150 bar, it couldn’t be adjusted lower) so I returned it as being defective.
IMHO, guns can be tested for accuracy but projectiles can only be checked for consistency in manufacturer.
Hank
The image would not load with the text. Will try here.
Hank
The thing we are learning with the Avenge X seems to be that each of these pellets “could” be just as accurate as the heavy one were you to tune for each one.
If you sent it back for replacement,, it might be interesting to repeat this test with the new “factory tune”. It may well be different in the results.
If one happened to be affluent enough, and of a curious enough nature, they might decide to test the idea of barrels being unique by switching between several of the same caliber. The Avenge X seems well suited for the task.
Not that I am trying to talk you into anything.
Also,, that was a particularly accurate rifle ( even if only with the one pellet) to cast away. I would have been hard pressed to do so myself. I would also be hard pressed to shoot such a tight grouping.
Ed
Ed,
You understand!
BB
Ed,
From my experience tuning other PCPs that have good accuracy potential (decent barrels and consistent velocities) I believe that the Avenge-X could be tuned to to shoot most (if not all) of those pellets very well.
I had actually planned to buy the .177 and the .25 caliber barrel kits and do extensive testing and tuning on that platform. It would have been an interesting project.
That particular Avenge-X had a mechanical issue with the regulator and/or receiver making it untunable. I have an excellent supplier who knows and trusts me to work on airguns. He was willing to send me a second rifle so that I could swap parts and determine whether it was the reg, receiver or both that was the issue. After thinking about it I was concerned that the whole shipment/batch of those PCPs may have problems so I returned mine for refund.
Yeah, I could have given up a particularity accurate rifle but then it could have turned into a major project that I didn’t have time for. I have several rifles that will stack pellets at 40 yards so I wasn’t worried about that. That and I have my eye on a .22 600mm FX DRS
I haven’t abandoned the Avenge-X, still think it has a lot of potential. I’d like to test the Avenge-X platform but have to make budget decisions and the DRS is ideal for a specific application I want to fill.
About groups. Attention to all the little details – with the equipment, the ammo and the shooter (mostly the shooter!) is the key to shooting small groups. Start close, move back as skill and refinements allow. Lots of good info on the internet.
Cheers!
Hank
BB,
You’ve got a sweet set of test bed airguns, for sure!
I don’t really have any test bed airguns here, just one I enjoy shooting.
I have begun to whittle down my stock, and pass airguns on to others on the family.
I’m just keeping the ones I enjoy the most.
For scoped springers, the .22 HW30S gets the nod; at 15 yards, it can hit an empty .22 hull…from a rest. 😉
For open-sighted rifles, the old .22 Haenel model 1 from Frank (God rest his soul) gets the most use.
This is my go-to offhand shooter; even though I have the .177 version as well (also from Frank), I have been developing a preference for the .22 version; the velocity is lower, but it sends stuff flying.
I’m down to just one CO2 gun, my 7-1/2″ barreled Umarex Colt NRA Peacemaker.
Since I don’t have the .45 firearm version, this may be the only Peacemaker I get, but it’s a ton of fun.
Lately, I find that all my airgun shooting has just been for fun…and I don’t find that such a bad thing. 🙂
Thanking you for all you do,
blessings to you,
dave
I have a EM-GE Zenit Air Pistol and I am trying to remove the stock. Removed the below grip spanner nut and the grip is loose but something is hanging up. Does anyone know how to correctly remove the grip? Thanks, Richard
Everyone,
Richard posted this on an older report and I told him to post it here, where more people will see it. This is when it’s a shame that the quarter million readers of this blog can’t comment because they have not registered. But there are at least 100,000+ of you registered readers, so someone should know the answer.
I don’t know the answer to his question and I go rid of my Zenit pistol years ago. Can anyone help him?
BB
rwruck, I found this in the Old Yellow Forum Archives, perhaps the author can elaborate, but this may give you some leads to more info:
“Fortunatey Milbro sold their own version of the Zenit (the Milbro G4), and some parts are available here:https://www.gunspares.co.uk/products/24459/G4/
They are really the only source for a mainspring; the spring is pretty small in diameter and no one in the USA sells one, unless you get a generic, non AG specific spring. I installed one of the G4 springs in my Stiga Zenit (a Sweedish EM GE clone) and it works fine.
The piston seal is leather, but don’t be surprised if it is still serviceable.
Paul in Liberty County”
And there is one more post as follows from the same fellow:
“When you reassemble the pistol, make sure the j-bolt is installed pointing in the correct direction; if you get it in backwards it will loosen with every shot until you run out of threads.
Paul”
I hope this helps. Perhaps the exploded diagram will inform on what is holding back the grip.
Thanks for your help and encouragement. I wiggled out the barrel/trigger mechanism and successfully tuned the pistol. Spring and piston seals seem OK. It is shooting an average of 242 fps with 7.9 gr pellets.
Regards, Richard
What scope do you use for your tests with the TX, BB? Would not mind welcoming such a looker-performer into Casa FM, except FM is averse to scoping springers and favors fixed sights for shooting them.
Basil,
I have a Meopta mounted on it at present.
BB
Thanks for that – quality shooter deserves quality optics.
BB,
This is an interesting proposal of a test bed rifle/pistol that you brought forward. Thanks for putting it together.
A test bed would have to be a gun that is proven to be “not pellet picky.” Hopefully each of us have guns like that to some degree, for use when testing a new pellet.
Then we have pellets that seem to be less “gun picky” than others, like JSBs of almost any type and there are other brands who produce excellent pellets. That list remains open ended, so we keep trying new ones and you help by testing them for us as they become available, thank you very much.
However, that isn’t always my thought process. When you’re testing a new pellet for us, I often think, “Yes, I’d like to try that one in my Ramalama Dingdong 2000!” If it is as accurate as its current favorite, then we have a winner and out come the pom-poms! After that, I’ll put the pellet through other guns of the same caliber to see how it does across the board. We hope that at least one gun in the cabinet will shoot that pellet better than it being doomed to becoming sinker larvae.
Testing new pellets an enjoyable bit of work to do for us hobbyists, any way you go about it!
Enjoy,
Will
Will,
Thank you for getting it! 😉
BB
My .177 test bed is a S400F Air Arms rifle. The S400 has a well deserved reputation for accuracy and air tightness. With few exceptions, it is good with several pellets. The .22 is a S510 Xtra FAC, again, good with many, excellent with its favorite. The .25 cal standard is an early Gen 2 Marauder with the green mountain barrel. I am awaiting the release of the new 25 cal Benjamin match pellets, I have high hopes for them in the Marauder, which at the moment is excellent with FX (JSB) pellets.
For a spinger, even though I have a TX200, I would choose my FWB300S. PCP? In .177 caliber, my AA 500 HFT or Daystate Revere would work well in that caliber.
B.B. and Readership,
Testbed (can also be spelled Test Bed) is an overloaded word with many different meanings by different research, design, operational testing subcultures. It can mean everything from a prototyping environment, to a demonstration capability, to a training facility.
Reading the comments above i concluded that the B.B. Prime Directive has once more been forgotten by the Commenting Readership.
PRIME DIRECTIVE: Inform the general airgun buying public!
Folks the rest is gravy. How many new to airgun buyers know that the pellets on the shelf nearby at the Big Box Store may not be the best shooting in their new purchase? How many buyers from the on-line sources have the knowledge that most of the blog active commenters posses? Have you all read some of their reviews!
Viewed through that focused lense today’s blog is of vast importance to those readers. Just learning that you need a KNOWN platform as a basis is probably news to most of them. The fact that there is an organized test process is probably another lesson that is valuable for the new folks to pellet selection.
That is the value of Tom’s explanatory blog in this professional testers (retired) opinion.
shootski
I like the idea of a ‘baseline’ gun to make a first QC test of a new pellet. If nothing else, it could show if it is consistent or has manufacturing defects, some of which are not easy to determine with a scale or gauge. Now, after pondering what we learned in the previous ‘tuning’ blog it would seem that we could approach the task from another side.
In my mind, every good pellet has a range of speeds at which it performs well. Depending on weight, shape and aerodynamics this range could be wide or narrow. That explains why one pellet performs well in a low power springer while another works well only in full power PCPs. Furthermore, I suspect that some have two good speed ranges (i.e. 550-650 fps and 850-900 fps) so it works well in both extremes while it is disappointing in a medium power rifle.
For those of us who have guns that are not adjustable, testing various pellets until finding one that it likes is the only method to optimize results. Adjustable PCPs add another dimension, we can tune the gun to the pellet. Another way to look at it, once we select a pellet for a particular use, we look for the gun that the pellet likes, or adjust the gun to make it work.
As BB said, I do not have enough time to test all the variants, but I will keep trying, and having fun in the process.
Henry
From what I’ve seen, PCP’s perform better with a wide range of pellets. If I’d want to give a pellet or slug its best chance, I’d shoot it in my 17-20fpe HW 100. It shot 177 Hatsan pellets and H&N slugs well when my Maximus and R-1 12 fpe and Diana 54 17-20fpe wouldn’t give them the time of day!
Brent
While it appears that some guns or their barrels prefer some pellets, while other guns prefer other pellets, whenever I start questioning the pellet, or myself, I grab the Airforce (does it really matter which model?) Between air or CO2 and the ring-lok kit, within 2 minutes the gun can be tuned for consistent power from 80 foot pounds down to just over 6, and if I can’t get a pellet to be accurate somewhere in that range, I know it’s the pellet. So that would be my test bed.
Case in point, NOE’s .25 caliber wadcutters, cast in tin (don’t ask). At 10 meters they wouldn’t group no matter what the power, or even when shot backwards. Weird, but the test bed doesn’t lie.
Mike