Air Venturi Avenger Bullpup.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Meopta MeoSport R riflescope
Part 5
This report covers:
- Bipod
- The test
- Magazine
- Second group
- Discussion
Today I mount a bipod on the Air Venturi Avenger Bullpup and shoot it for accuracy at 25 yards. I will use just a single pellet and try the accuracy with the single shot tray and with the magazine.
Bipod
I mounted the UTG TBNR bipod. It has a height of 7 to 9 inches and I found that 7 inches was just right. Selling for $230, the TBNR is not an inexpensive accessory. Its legs extend to 5 positions between 7 and 9 inches and they have quick-lock rotating locks to facilitate rapid adjustment. The bipod swivels 360 degrees and also tilts 19 degrees side-to-side. That makes repeatable alignments with the target, such as in leveling, easy.
The UTG TBNR bipod on the Avenger Bullpup.
The lever with the arrow in the center of the bipod control the friction on the joint that allows panning (swiveling) and tilting. Panning is a complete circle. Tilting is restricted to 19 degrees. Pushing the lever in the direction of the arrow increases friction.
The test
I shot 10-shot groups at 25 yards and obviously the rifle was mounted on a bipod, which served as the rest. My desire was to shoot 10 shots from the single shot tray and then 10 from the magazine, but as you will read, that plan didn’t work out.
The rifle was already sighted for 25 yards. I figured mounting a bipod would move the point of impact from the last test that was shot off a sandbag, but I figured it would be close enough to work. It was, but therein lies an interesting point that we shall see. Let’s see where the rifle was impacting at 25 yards with the best pellet from Part 5.
I shot JSB Exact King Heavy Mark II pellets, as they have proven the most accurate in the test rifle.
In the Part 5 test the Avenger Bullpup put 10 JSB Exact King Heavys into 0.299-inches at 25 yards. This was shooting off a sandbag rest.
Look what happened when I shot off the bipod! The first five or six pellets hit at the top and just above the bullseye and then they walked up and right. This group measures 0.739-inches between centers.
At first I thought the spread out shots were me — not being used to shooting from a bipod. There may be some truth to that, but as I will show in a bit, the rifle settled down after this group. But first we need to talk about the magazine.
Magazine
The .25-caliber Avenger Bullpup comes with an 8-shot rotary magazine that I haven’t tested until now. I loaded 8 pellets and planned to shoot two more after that to get another 10-shot group. Just one problem — the pellets wouldn’t feed from the magazine! I worked at it for quite some time, but no matter what I did, the bolt refused to go forward and chamber the pellet. The magazine goes in from the right side of the action and there is a definite click when it seats. I tried it that way and I also tried it without the click. Failure to feed both times.
As you can see the front of the pellet is damaged. The skirt is similarly damaged. This happened several times before I quit trying.
Okay, if I can’t use the magazine, I will shoot a second group using the single-shot tray. In doing this I learned something valuable.
Second group
The second group, also shot with the single-shot tray, was considerably better. It was also up and to the right of where the first five shots hit in the first group. That tells me that after mounting the bipod the rifle needs time to settle in.
This time 10 shots went into 0.406-inches between centers at 25 yards. It’s a tenth of an inch larger than the group shot off the sandbag with this same pellet, and as I said, part of that could be me. I think it shows what a good bipod can do.
The second time the Avenger put 10 JSB King Heavys into a 0.406-inch group at 25 yards.
Discussion
I discovered a technique to shooting off this bipod. I hold the left bipod leg as I shoot. That keeps the rifle steady on the bench.
I also discovered that once I corrected the rifle for tilt (leveling the crosshairs), I could rely on it staying that way because the bipod held it firmly. Since I didn’t have to take the rifle off the bipod to reload like I did with the sandbag, the cant remained in one place.
Finally I have to confess that I don’t like bipods. They are fine for snipers who usually don’t have to place their shots in anything smaller than a three-inch circle, but for precision shooting I find them unsuitable. That said there are 35-pound bench rifles that are permanently affixed to mounts that are like bipods, though much stiffer. Those rifles are the ones used to shoot world-record groups.
Because of my bias I may have influenced the outcome of today’s test just a bit. It’s too difficult to tell when it’s yourself, but let’s keep that in mind.
BB,
What is this? Stiction with the bipod ? What is going on with the magazine? Maybe it loads from the left?
Siraniko
Siraniko,
It can only load from the right because of how it’s made, unless I’m installing it upside down and backwards.
BB
BB,
Sorry the initial post lost the smiley face emoticon I inserted. That’s really an odd thing to happen. Unfortunately it seems to be a proprietary magazine design and you only have one magazine to test. You probably won’t mind a single shot version but there are those who really want multiple shots available. Would Pyramyd AIR ship you out another magazine to test?
Siraniko
Siraniko,
They might. Or I might make alterations to get this one working.
BB
Marauder magazines will fit, when the mag is fully inserted from the right, the left side of the mag (the flat face) will be flush with the left side of the receiver.
(I run Marauder rifle mags in both my .177 & .22 caliber Avengers)
.And yes it looks like the opening may be undersized..
Anything is possible.
Ian
B.B.
Do you think if you could spread the legs wider it would be more stable?
I guy at the range has a bipod that extends about 2 feet. Looks a little like a monster truck.
-Y
Some $700 equipment on a $400 airgun.
I bet many of them, much finer in any way than this one, that have been tested over the years, would be jealous of this disproportionate treatment.
Oh well, maybe I just need to finish the first cup of coffee to stop being grungy (hope it is the correct word).
Grumpy I think would work better. The price tag on that UTG bipod is why I do not own one. Or on the scope for that matter. I have an HM1000X and even if I throw in the case, I do not have that in accessories. Not even close.
BB,
A real good bipod is worth its weight in gold. It is not easy to find a good rest in the middle of an open field when you are trying to hit that groundhog in the head 400 yards from you. Fortunately, you do not have to spend that kind of money to have a good bipod.
As for your magazine issue, it looks and sounds like it is not seating properly. I do not think it is going in far enough.
RR,
I thought that, too. That’s why I kept fiddling with it.
BB
BB
Could that first pellet you loaded in the magazine be sticking out to far. It looks like it has a rub mark on the head of the pellet.
After I load those types of mags I always make sure I take my finger and push the head of the pellet flush or below flush of the mag case.
See if that allows it to load easier.
Also hold back on the bolt when you load the mag. The bolt probe might be sticking out a little bit.
GF1,
Not possible. I checked.
I think the clear plastic opening is slightly too small.
BB
BB
I wonder if a Marauder rifle mag or Gauntler mag in the same caliber would work. You don’t have one of those laying around do you.
Also if and when you do a next blog take a picture of the clear side of the magazine.
So when you load up the mag a pellet won’t fit through the clear side of the mag?
BB-
Appears to be a nice enough bipod. I usually have trouble with bipods on the bench unless I put forward ‘load’ on the buttstock. I have found that if I clamp a scrap of 2×4 or such on the front of the bench, that will give me a consistent stop to bear against.
Paco,
That is exactly what BR-50 and BRV target shooters did.
BB
Hi everybody, may the fourth be with you all.
Celebrate with a fifth on the fourth, and only with fine Scotch whisky if by the Firth of Forth.
Aside from that, something else to be added to FM’s Future Wish list: a suitable bipod for what we got. You started it, B.B. and RR. 😉
BB
Shoot the gun with the bi pod on another day and see if the groups compare to what you have shot.
GF1,
If I’m right the groups should both be like the last one.
BB
BB
Should be. That’s the question right there.
Been having problems with my emails. This is a test to see if I get a email from my reply.
Not with the blog, just in general.
I just checked my email today. I’m getting emails and can send them. Have got replies back also from previous emails I have sent. Who knows.
BB,
On the subject of bipods on airguns, I have always thought of them as a definite no-no on springers. The rubbish clip-on bipod supplied with a Turkish springer I have did nothing to change my mind.
I was intrigued though to read about a bipod Diana produced for the Model 48/52. It seems it has a dampening mechanism which allows the gun to recoil freely, thus avoiding, in theory at least, the decrease in accuracy associated with rigid bipods affixed to recoiling springers. Sounds like the Artillery Hold principle applied to bipod design!
Have you ever come across that Diana bipod, and if so, what was your impression of it?
Bob,
Nope. I have never seen the Diana bipod.
BB
BB,
This is where I spotted the shock-absorbing tripod; in an ad in a 1996 issue of Airgun World.
Interesting to see how beefy the stock on the Diana 34 is in contrast to the current version. The 1996 version even has proper iron sights – oh for the good old days before the Tru-glo plague!
BB, Guys,
Very nice groups BB!
Talking about bipod, does anybody tried to put one on the FWB300s? I mean it is not a PCP, even if you have this feeling shooting this piece. I would like to have a nice bipod shooting long distance grouping and not be forced to carry some bag or similar with me. It is strange but I never used a bipod, I just realized. 🙂 Does it work accurate together?
Tomek,
I was thinking of fitting a bipod to my FWB300S also. It should work fine due to the semi-recoilless action. You would just need to fit a Harris #6 bipod adapter stud to the accessory rail on the underside of the gun, then you could add any Harris-style bipod of your choice.
Bob,
Thank you for information!