by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier
Umarex Embark air rifle.
This report covers:
- Why hard to scope?
- Stock extension
- The test
- Sight in
- Air Arms Falcon pellets
- Sig Match Ballistic Alloy
- Journey pellets
- Discussion
Today I will finish the report of the Embark air rifle from Umarex. This is the rifle that’s used in the Student Air Rifle (SAR) program. I tested it for accuracy at 25 yards with open sights last time. Today I will scope it.
Why hard to scope?
The Embark has a small-diameter spring tube, with the scope base dovetails cut directly into the tube. That means there is a high crown between the dovetails that many scope mounts will bottom out on. Their jaws will not be able to reach the dovetails on the rifle because of this. But I knew that BKL mounted would work, because it has nothing that gets in the way of that high crown. I selected BKL 263 MB 2-piece scope rings to attach the UTG 3-12X32 AO Bug Buster scope. I had planned to use a 3-9 power Bug Buster, but the 3-12 came to market in time for today’s test.
Stock extension
Umarex also sent me a stock extension for the Embark. It adds one inch to the pull, boosting it from 12 inches to 13 inches on the nose.
Here you see the Bug Buster 3-12 mounted to the Embark rifle. The one-inch stock extension is also shown.
The test
I shot from 25 yards, with the rifle rested directly on the sandbag. That’s the same way the rifle was rested in the test with open sights. I used all the same pellets, so we have the former test as a direct comparison.
Sight in
I sighted in at my usual 12 feet (when using a scope) and was pleasantly surprised. This Bug Buster will focus even closer than that. Usually I sight in at fuzzy black blobs, but this time everything was crystal clear. That Bug Buster focuses down to 9 feet!
I also want to report that the Bug Buster adjusts without stiction. Turn the adjustment knobs and the reticle moves instantly. That’s a huge plus for this scope. The 1/3 MOA steps of each adjustment knob made adjusting so much easier. I think this scope is ideal for this kind of application.
Air Arms Falcon pellets
I sighted in and started the test with the Falcon pellet from Air Arms. I had forgotten how smooth the Embark’s trigger is. I could feel it move through stage 2 but there wasn’t one bit of creep. [Trigger creep is an uneven starting and stopping of the trigger as it is pulled.]
Ten Falcon pellets went into 0.87-inches at 25 yards. In the previous test where open sights were used 10 of the same pellet went into 1.723-inches at the same distance. This group is slightly less than half that size, which is significant.
Ten Falcon pellets went into 0.87-inches at 25 yards.
Sig Match Ballistic Alloy
Next up were 10 Sig Match Ballistic Alloy pellets. At 25 yards they went into a group that measured 1.273-inches between centers. In the test with open sights they made a 3.048-inch group, so this one is less than half the size. That’s another significant decrease.
Sig Match Ballistic Alloy pellets made a 1.273-inch group at 25 yards.
Journey pellets
The last pellet I tested is the one that was paired with the Embark rifle — the Journey pellet. You may not remember but if you look back to Parts 3 and 4 you will see that the Journey pellet was always the most accurate in those tests. In this test with the scoped rifle at 25 yards the Embark put 10 Journey pellets into a 1.076-inch group. It’s not the smallest group of the test, but it is a decent one. In the test with open sights at 25 yards, 10 of the same pellets went into 1.357-inches. This time the group is not cut in half with the scope, but it is reduced significantly.
Ten Journey pellets went into 1.076-inches at 25 yards.
Discussion
It’s obvious that I shot better with the scope. In fact, this is the largest difference I have ever seen between me shooting with iron sights and with a scope. There is always some difference but never this much.
I’m going to have to blame my eyes this time. The eye doctor says both of my new lenses that were implanted have clouded over and need to be cleaned with a laser. It’s a common thing for those who have had cataract surgery and I’m scheduled to have it done in February.
Looking at the Embark, though, I would say that it’s quite a nice little rifle! And the same goes for the BKL rings and the new 3-12 Bug Buster scope. All things said, this is a winning combination!
B.B.,
Good illustration of how much of an aid scoping a rifle can be to enhance accuracy. Seems like the lead pellets still enjoy a slight edge in long range accuracy compared to the lead free pellets. Hopefully this will rekindle the shooting sports among the schools.
Siraniko
Maybe this gun could be the next Bronco?
GF1,
That was my thought, as well.
B.B.
BB
Maybe I should get both of my daughter’s one for Christmas. Yep that will be a way I can get a couple more air guns in the house. 🙂
GF1,
Sounds like a plan!
B.B.
BB
🙂
B.B.,
I was just thinking about this rifle last night for some reason. Nice shooting at 25 yards and big improvements. At least you got to show what it can do. Best of wishes on a successful procedure in Feb..
I had forgotten how short the length of pull was. That is nice that a butt spacer is offered, but I do not see it mentioned or offered on the P.A. site. Perhaps info. comes with the rifle on obtaining them.
Good Day to you and to all,… Chris
B.B.,
Thank you for doing this series. Thanks to your reviewing the Embark I bought a Gamo Recon G3 Whisper in the early summer. I decided I wanted something like the Embark, but the Recon G2 is even more affordable, slightly more adult-sized, a bit more powerful, and it has a manual trigger safety. Otherwise it is the same idea. Easy to cock, affordable, quiet, and reasonably accurate,
The first thing that attracted me to the Embark was its neon green stock. I intend to spray my Recon neon green, too. I shoot in a pretty secluded backyard, but all it would take is one nosy passerby peering through our thick evergreens atop our berm, and we could have one of our town’s finest coming around our house in two minutes, service pistol drawn. To most folks a Recon probably looks like an M4 with grenade launcher, and I don’t wish to have several 9mm perforations on my body because of a simple mistake (or for any other reason, I’ll admit).
I know the Embark is for young shooters, but this is one adult who recommends something like this for backyard plinking, especially if you live in the suburbs. After a can of Rust-o-eum my Recon will look no more menacing than a Nerf gun or super-soaker, and that’s just how I want it to look.
Michael
Michael,
Man, I would really hate to live there. Where I live gun fire is pretty much a daily occurrence. The occasional shot at night is not that uncommon. You see firearms in yard sales all the time. My neighbors probably would not pay any attention if I were to shoot an unsuppressed big bore air rifle. Of course, if I was to be able to actually see one of my neighbors from my front porch, they would be trespassing.
RidgeRunner,
I have lived in my town (far Chicago suburbs, upper-middle class) for 26 years, and in that time there has been one shooting. One. I would “guesstimate” that in that time there have been zero armed robberies or armed home-invasions. With the exception of that one shooting (which was at a hospital by a patient/prisoner who grabbed a Sheriff deputy’s weapon), I do not believe we have had a single murder by any means in that time. Even burglaries are rare. Underage drinking and shoplifting are probably far and away the most prevalent crimes here.
A criminal justice department colleague of mine who is a former local cop (recently retired) told me last year that most peace officers in our county go decades without drawing their weapon even once.
This is in a city of about 30,000 with another city of about 30,000 bordering it to the north and another city of 30,000 bordering to the south. Altogether roughly 100,000 people.
Traffic is terrible, however.
Michael
Michael,
Each to their own and there is definitely pro’s and con’s to both. I have done both in my years. I will take the country over town any day. The sad part is that often the country real estate is more often priced higher. That puts a lot of would be/wanna be shooters at a disadvantage.
Lucky for me I have a budget friendly house in the country with a 100 yard range. Gun fire is not uncommon and consist of mostly hunters during the hunting seasons or just some people itching to squeeze off a few rounds from there favorite firearm.
Traffic? The Deer can get pretty bad. There was a loose Cow the other day on the way to work. Coons and Opossums can surprise you if you are not on your game. Seeing a Fox is a treat. Avoid the Skunks! 😉
Chris
RR
Pretty much how it is where I live at no too.
Only one part is a little different.in the old days when I was young and as I got older there was guns at yard sales. Firearms and bb and pellet guns.
As time went you didn’t see firearms. Just mostly air guns. Now I don’t think in the last 5 years have I even seen a bb gun at a yard sale.
Ain’t it sad what time will do in some cases.
Gunfun1,
What you describe isn’t too different from the town I live in. There are gun stores around, as well as outfitters (Cabela’s, etc.), pawn shops and big box stores that carry firearms. Like you there are BB guns at yard sales and so on where I live.
But what RidgeRunner described above sounds like Mogadishu. I live in a town where I feel safe in my home, safe in my yard, safe at the store, safe driving down the street. And that’s feeling safe while not being armed or feeling the need to be armed. If I see one of my neighbors from my front porch, they wouldn’t be trespassing, they’d be coming over to shoot the breeze, not to shoot me or be shot at.
If I wanted to hear gunshots all night long I could move 40 miles east to the south side of Chicago. If I lived in a veritable war zone, then I probably would feel the need to be armed at all times. But where I am, carrying a gun around would simply be an unnecessary hassle.
Michael
Michael,
Some recent research has found that most murder and other violent crime is committed in only a handful of US counties.( Chicago is in one of those counties that was specifically named) Those areas tended to have the most restrictive gun ownership and concealed carry laws and are a Mecca for violent criminals who wish to ply their trade for a long time.
The FBI’s regular report on violent crime found a reduction in it right after the recent sweep of state right to carry laws. That’s the first reduction after many,many years of steady increase. And not everyone HAS to carry a firearm for the populace at large to be safe, the bad guy just needs to believe that his next victim could be carrying.
He can correct me if I’m wrong ,but I think RidgeRunner was making the point that the people where he lives don’t immediately equate firearms and gunshots with violent crime. There is a whole generation that is growing up not even aware that they are being brainwashed into automatically equating the two. A gun range may ” sound like Mogadishu” but that doesn’t mean it presents the same danger.
Halfstep,
I wrote nothing about firearm restrictions. And I mentioned that firearms are available for purchase in many stores in my community. I imagine many of my neighbors own firearms, including handguns. There are indoor shooting ranges about. But I have not once in 26 years heard a gunshot in my comfortable suburban neighborhood.
I was commenting on RidgeRunner’s description of his community, where “pretty much a daily occurrence. The occasional shot at night is not that uncommon.”
That sounds like a war zone to me, not a place to live in, but as Chris wrote, to each his own.
Michael
Michael,
I apologize. I did not understand that you were addressing just the noise level of the gunfire. I guess I have a bit of a hair trigger (no pun intended) sometimes when it comes to anti-gun sentiments. Again I’m sorry for my mistake and I’ll step off my soapbox now.
Halfstep,
No problem; don’t give it another thought.
Michael
Michael,
Thanks for that.
Michael
Here is what Halfstep just said. This is what I get from RidgeRunners reply.
“He can correct me if I’m wrong ,but I think RidgeRunner was making the point that the people where he lives don’t immediately equate firearms and gunshots with violent crime. There is a whole generation that is growing up not even aware that they are being brainwashed into automatically equating the two. A gun range may ” sound like Mogadishu” but that doesn’t mean it presents the same danger.”
I hear gun shots at night sometimes. And that’s usually a long ways off and out in my backyard way. There is coyotes that people hunt at night.
Now on the other hand the city is about 2 miles away from my front yard. If I hear gun shots from that way. Then I wonder what is going on.
It’s about where you live and how people think about guns is what I’m getting at.
BB,
I would have to agree with GF1 and yourself. This is indeed a most excellent starter pellet rifle for youth and a superb little plinker. The color is a most definite eye catcher for young boys.
RR
I have actually grown to like the color of this gun when I see it on BB’s blog.
To me it shows that it’s not like other guns out there. With out getting into big discussion. It don’t look like the big Scarry black guns that people have labeled the tactical firearms as.
Now on the other hand I remember California was trying to pass a bill that all air guns not only airsoft but pellet and bb guns would have to be painted like red, blue, green and so on.
Which to me I don’t mind the colors. But I don’t want someone telling me my air gun has to be a color. I’ll make it a color if I want it a color. Or buy one that’s a color already. Like my first Talon SS I had was a blue. The second was a black. The third one I’m going to get will be a red Condor SS.
And my last statement just reminded me of a rock song. It goes something like. The leading horse is red the second one a black the third one is a white.
Or something like that anyway. It’s too early in the morning. I think I’ll go back to sleep. 🙂
GF1,
I myself have been seriously considering for some time having my Edge re-anodized in a neon green and black instead of the red it is now. With the upgraded power it would be my Zombie Apocalypse Mini Sniper.
I wonder if that rock song could be referring to Revelation?
RR
Maybe you just named that color. Zombie green. 🙂
But I always said that I wish AirForce would offer more colors. I would like a deep purple Talon or Condor SS.
And speaking of deep purple and bands and songs. I had to search to remember the name of the song and who sings it. Its Aphrodite’s Child “The Four Horsemen”. And yep the song stemmed from biblical passages of Revelation.
B.B.
So you got what my doctor calls “secondary cataracts” ?
I had them too . By the time I left the doctor’s office from the laser job, I could see much better . It clears up real fast . Has not come back .
tt
TT,
That’s what the doctor told me, too. My brother-in-law, Bob, who signs in as B-I-L here, had the same thing with the same results.
B.B.
B.B.
My right eye got bad first, and was done first . Very easy . You look straight ahead for a few minutes while the doc zaps your eye , and it’s done . Instant results .
My right got horizontal lines across the center of my vision, causing max distortion right in the worst place . The left simply got cloudy again .
The laser was a quick and positive fix.
tt
Twotalon,
Glad am I to know that you were able to get some relief for your vision. I hope you are well. I continue to take Lyrica, but I know the surgery brought some relief. It has been almost 6 years (February 20th). I continue to appreciate your support. You were not the only one, but you and Tom were the only two fellows I corresponded via personal e-mail.
I was so angry to be honest. I had only just renewed my air gun experience and I resented having to interrupt that for some neck surgery. Reality pays little attention to what I want, though. All in all I have been doing well. I need to get back into doing reasonable stretching, walking, and even trotting a bit. I want to shoot a few more pellets before my time is up.
Merry Christmas, TT,
~ken
Ken
Doing OK I guess . There were things I wanted to do this year with airgunning . The FWB needs to be shot more .
Wind and rain made good shooting weather scarce.
Have been on the two same pills for a long time . One for high blood pressure and one for cholesterol. Found that I have a heart murmer . The doc says that it is on the least important valve and has not decided it’s worth fixing.
Guess I don’t talk to you often enough . Hope you do better . I hate drugs .
tt
Twotalon,
I know about blood pressure and cholesterol drugs. I have a couple of others on the list. I’m sorry you haven’t been able to get out and shoot more. I suspect that is a kind of therapy for you.
Art, I suppose I am doing better than I have a right to. I have physical issue to be sure, but my decline hasn’t been to bad. I would have liked to have skipped the neck surgery, but I am sure it is what was needed.
When we were stationed at Fort Campbell, I joined the on base archery club. We had an old barracks for a club house. The second floor was dedicated to a 20 yard archery range. I would often drive to that range at night, spend some quality time with myself, and shoot to my hearts content. I wish I had that range now, it could easily double for archery and air gunning. but, alas, “if wishes were horses …” and all that.
Best to you, mon ami,
~ken
+1, What he said. Funny how the demographics are so similar here. Must be discouraging to AR marketers to learn so many customers are approaching their “best if used by” date. Jumpin
Thanks, Tom, for doing part 5 on the Embark. I picked up a new Ruger Explorer a couple weeks ago for a great price ($49.00) and am enjoying it. One slight complaint is that the butt pad is pretty sharp at the top, and kind of gouges me shooting from my rest. I bet that extension Tom used on the Embark would fit the Explorer also.
I think Tom’s 25 yard group with the Falcon pellets of .87″ is a mighty fine group. I scoped my Ruger, first with my NCStar Compact 4 power, and later put on my BSA red dot sight. I didn’t have any trouble installing these, but don’t know which rings i used. I didn’t consider the Embark because 1. The Explorer is half the price, and 2. I can’t use open sights worth a darn with my astigmatism.
Birdmove,
I bought an Explorer for my grandson around two years ago and we have not found it to be very accurate. There was a screw in the trigger assembly that was too long and was rubbing and gouging on some other trigger parts that made every shot a guess as to whether it was a single stage or a double stage ( at one point it even acted like a set trigger) and there was probably a 4 or 5 # variation from shot to shot. After grinding off some of the screw it was much better but still not something that would be too good to learn precision shooting with, IMO. What sort of groups do you get and with what pellets, if you don’t mind sharing.
The trigger on mine isn’t too bad. It is a pretty light pull, but a long one. My automatic safety doesn’t always work. I’m still breaking it in. It is showing a definite preference for the Crosman Premier Hollow Points, and seems pretty good with the Crosman Premier Super Match also. For now, I am shooting off a rest at 21 feet/7 yards. If the groups tighten up a little more, I’ll move the trap back to 11 yards where I usually shoot. Best groups are in the area of 1/2″ with one ragged hole. I have tried Crosman Destroer EX’s, Winchester round nose and hollow points, Daisy flat nose, RWS Basics, Supermags, and Hobby’s, and a few more. A gun that shoots well with the Crosman hollow points is a bit of a find, because they are cheap as can be (Amazon had them at 4.00 a tin of 500 the other day), and you can find them easily at Walmart. Keep an eye on the retainer for the spring loaded ball that locks the barrel in place. That part is made of plastic, and some owners have it crack and break.
Birdmove,
Thanks for the info. I don’t remember trying anything but wadcutters when I was testing this gun, so I’ll definitely go back and try the Crosman HPs. We shoot at 20 yards, outside, so our groups at slightly over 1″ are about inline with yours. I think we settled on Gamo Match wadcutters as the best cost to accuracy pellet.
B.B.,
I can’t refrain from saying I am saddened to learn of you eye lens situation. I do hope the cleaning is successful and the new year will see you seeing well. Twotalon offers the voice of experience. Birmove brought up the subject of astigmatism. I have a slight astigmatism in my right eye. Any attempts to correct that have caused headaches while wearing the corrective lenses. I have had to forego that correction. We all soldier on.
It has been raining here and I haven’t braved shooting much. I want to do more night shooting now that I know how simple it is. I have white and infrared light (both LED) to mount atop the scope.
Enough about me. I wish you a warm and gentle Christmas and a prosperous new year.
~ken
Ken
Nice on the night shooting. It is fun with a air gun. And depending on where you live and what air gun you have. Nobody will even know your night shooting. That’s a different story with a firearm. And yes I like night shooting my air guns too. 🙂
Gunfun1,
How true about firearms. They enjoy making their presence known. Yes, I look forward to more night shooting. I related before, this came up because I now have so little light left when I arrive home from work. This year, I was disturbed enough to seek an alternative. I wish I could say it was my own creativity, but actually it was reading British air gun magazines that sparked the idea. I am intrigue with how air gunning evolved in Europe and here (so many factors).
~ken
Ken
I haven’t read any British air gun magazines in some time. But yep they are pretty serious air gunners from what I heard.
I think you mentioned the other day what setup you have. I just have some flood lights pointed at my targets. It works for me. For now anyway.
Gunfun1,
Flood lights are good. It would be difficult to run electric cables where I shoot. I am using one so called tactical flashlight I bought from Harbor Freight. It is the white light and works nicely when mounted atop the scope.
Whether it is any better than the Atomic Beam Flashlight, I don’t know. But these folks are not deceptive. I just had to sensor everything else I have to say about this.
My other is a night shooting kit. It is at the lower end of the companies kits and comes in a decent printed cardboard box. At Harbor Freight I also got a small plastic water tight case for another $19.00, with coupon. The kit has a decent adjustable beam flash light and the red LED is replaceable with white, green or red. It comes with what they call a universal mount.
I want very much to offer a link, but I have followed a strict policy to not say much about competitors selling something very like what PyramydAir sells.
At any rate, I mount the flashlight atop the scope. I am not using a clicker switch, but for the shooting I am doing I don’t mind. I wouldn’t mind having flood lights, though.
I have a couple of other LED flashlights with the switch at the base and so far I am very pleased with them.
Merry Christmas and Happy Shooting,
~ken
Ken
It’s ok about not showing the link. I’m pretty sure I know what you mean.
At what distance are you using the lights at for your targets? I don’t know if you said.
And Merry Christmas and Happy shooting to you too.
Gunfun1,
I have 30 yards that I can safely shoot at. I can add another 10 yards max, but with every yard added, safety becomes less. I do enjoy a once a month get together with a group of guys. Gals are welcome, but as Jerry said, the only thing wrong with that is that the women out shoot us. We can safely shoot out to 90 yards where we shoot.
Well, the boss is telling me we must go buy pet food so off we go.
~ken
Ken
I just wondered. The scope light should do pretty good at that distance I’m thinking.
Yep them women we keep you on your toes. 🙂
Gunfun1,
On our toes and sometimes on needles and pins.
The scope light works great at the distances I have available. I’m not sure what the limit is but I believe 50 yards should be no problem for the white light I have. The other lamp would reach even farther. I have to order the white LED for it. That lamp uses rechargeable Lithium Ion batteries. Because I find nothing quite like it at PA, I will offer this link:
http://www.predatorhunteroutdoors.com/wp-site/index.php/nightsnipens220/
I am in no hurry so much night hunting, except maybe for rats.
Merry Christmas,
~ken
Ken
Thanks for the link.
It seems that it would do good.
You ever try low light shooting? What I mean is shoot at targets with the moon light. Silvered color beverage cans work good. Basically something the moon light can reflect off of to locate the can.
You need to be in a dark area and keep your eyes shielded from light. Then look through the scope. If you keep your eyes dilated seeing the can in the dark through the scope is easier than you may imagine.
Gunfun1,
There is no “reply” button for your last entry to me. No, I haven’t tried night shooting the way you describe. It does sound like something I will try, now that I have had it described.
I hope you had a good Christmas.
I am out the door to take a day trip to visit siblings.
Have a good one,
~ken
Kenholmz, raining may have temporarily closed the door on shooting but opened up other doors in compensation. Rain is your opportunity to explore the amazing new technologies of waterproof gear. To my regret, I had to discard my old Cabelas jacket and upgrade it to a newer model, and I can’t believe the improvements. This jacket was advertised for its windproofing which I didn’t make much of. I never liked the old fashioned windbreakers which didn’t keep me warm but did cause me to sweat making the cold even worse. But layers of materials in my new jacket block the wind like armor and keep me completely dry. Incredible. Moreover, while the jacket is not advertised as waterproof, I held the sleeve under a faucet for a minute, and it did not get wet. The water just rolled off like the proverbial duck’s back. You could walk out in bad weather in this jacket and be completely invulnerable. I have looked for tactical versions of this clothing and found that the Russians invented a windproof suit called the Gorka. It looks pretty cool, and it is unfortunate that I don’t live on a mountain which it was designed for. Anyway, you can fend of just about any weather in this new gear.
Matt61
Matt61,
Thank you for the information. This is another area where I notice the Brits pay much attention. I never realize how wet the British Isles were. Of course, I’ve hear of London Fog (real fog and the clothing line). I have a rain coat with liner I call Polish Fog because of its origin. I do need to look at the new improvements, though.
~ken
B.B.,
I was doing a search of the blog and looking at some past postings. I believe it was a wonderful thing to no longer allow anonymous postings. I suppose a few serious followers stopped posting, but overall, it has been a good thing.
I rather liked having my personal photo, but I will refrain from adding it to every post I make. (I can’t locate a tongue in cheek emoji – or whatever they are called).
~ken
That’s surprising to hear about the clouding of the lens implants. I have an implant in one eye that is a kind of contact lens. I asked my doctor if it would cloud up like the regular contact lenses that it was meant to replace (and which were an unbelievable pain in the neck), and the doctor smiled in response and said that there were no proteins inside the eye to cause fouling. Hm. Anyway, so far so good after 10 years. But if something goes wrong, it’s nice to know there is an option with lasers. Who knows what they will come up with. I’m up and about, hauling my gear to the range, in part, because of new drugs that appeared just in time for me.
Thanks, B.B., for the definition of trigger creep. I always thought it was excessive play in the trigger as it was depressed. I suppose the word “creep” is suggestive of starting and stopping. And let’s hear it for the BugBuster scope. I may be it’s biggest fan of its ability to focus at short distances which are perfect for my range.
Gunfun1, I agree that multi-shot rifles would be more fun on a spinner target, and I’m trying to get at the attraction to single shot. For one thing, on that particular target, it looks like the oscillations slow down over time and that hitting it with an instant follow-up shot would be just about impossible, neutralizing the benefits of a semi-auto and a magazine. But perhaps there is more to the mystique of the single shot and perhaps I found it in my latest outing to the range where I accompanied by Garand with my Anschutz target rifle. The Anschutz played an important role in shoring up my psyche. At 100 yards, equipped with a Leapers scope, I badly pulled one shot, opening my five shot group to a half inch from about a quarter inch. Shooting offhand at 50 yards, someone about my height who looks a lot like me was actually holding the black on the NRA target (minus the very occasional flier)! I attribute this in part to my paratrooper jacket which, together with my USMC cartridge belt, worked something like a shooting jacket in providing support, but those rounds were on target in any case.
The question to ask yourself is how much is your self-esteem worth? If it’s as much as $2000 over a lifetime, then you should get one of these elite target rifles. And somewhat to my surprise, the single shot action did not slow me down perceptibly. I ran over 100 rounds through the gun, mostly standing and didn’t feel like I was slowed down.
Also worth noting, my knife sharpening is baaaack. I finished my boss’s knives and was able to shave hair off my arm with it! This could lead to many good things. But with the triumph comes a question. Undoubtedly, dressing my stones was the critical factor in my recovery. It was amazing how dished out they were after years of use. Watching the patterns as my gridded pencil marks disappeared under the dressing process was like a lesson in topography. But while the dressing was key, I don’t believe it was the only factor. I have two identical pairs of stones, one coarse and one fine, which I used on the knives and one set was clearly more effective. I also noticed that when soaking the stones prior to use, that the more effective ones gave off a lot of bubbles while the other one hardly did at all. What could this mean?
I’m not sure exactly how water stones work, and as the blog series indicates, it’s not clear that anyone does for sure. But it’s fair to say that they need water to soak in which means that the water must penetrate through pores, displacing the air in the form of bubbles. If this doesn’t happen, then likely the stones will not work as they should. And there seems to have been a particular point where my original stones stopped working. I had thought that the stones should be stored dry and only soaked for use. But then I read somewhere that they should be stored in water. Hoping to heighten my capabilities, I left the stones in water for a few days as I worked on the knives, and the stones never really worked right after. In part, I think that the stones were dishing out, but could there have been another cause as well? I have a suspicion that silt in the water from the stones got into the pores and clogged them up, preventing proper water exchange. I wonder if anyone has information about this?
Matt61
Matt,
The lenses we are discussing are deeper inside the eyeball. I don’t know why they fog up but it’s pretty common and also easy to fix.
B.B.
Matt61
I like semi-auto’s and repeater’s for fast action shooting.
It doesn’t have to be spinners either. I will shoot at cans, plastic bottles, sticks even leaves on the ground and definitely the left over corn cobs laying in the feild everywhere.
I just like to pick a object and shoot and move to different ones as fast as I can and pick up on and shoot and move to the next object.
Heck I like to just shoot at dirt while moving the gun from one side to the other and seeing the dirt fly. And of course I’m not doing this with a 30-06 or even a normal velocity .22 long rifle. But I definitely use my WildFire and my bb and pellet pistols and rifles and my Winchester 190 with the CCI 40 grain 710 fps long rifles.
Heck I honestly would rather plink like I just mentioned fast action with the semi-auto’s and repeater’s over shooting targets.
B.B. I have been lucky enough to be the God Dad for 5 kids. I recently purchased 2 of these Embark air rifles and to date have only had one opportunity to shoot with the Godkids. I bought some of those blast caps and we literally had a blast! The 5 year old was able to hit the target at about 30 feet with some help. No, I did not buy one for each of the kids. As you well know, trying to teach the little buggers safety first is like trying to herd cats. Trying to keep them from running down range as soon as the shot was over took some aggressive teaching but they finally got the idea and it was a lot of fun from then on. We all are enjoying shooting the Embark and hope to resume come spring. Thanks for the article. Always enjoy reading your comments. Old Gunner
Old Gunner,
Welcome to the blog!
B.B.