Rate your actions

[Rodentor]

How would you rate the actions of your multi-shot guns? Everyone will probably have different opinions.  I recently got a used AA S410 sidelever and it is now my favorite action... Of the guns I have or had, this is how I'd rate the actions, just from my experience:

1. AA S410 Carbine .22 sidelever - butter smooth and no jams yet.

2. Sumatra Carbine .25 underlever - not quite as fast cycling as the AA S410 due to the longer throw, but a great action.

3. Gen 1 Marauder .25 bolt action - a couple of steps down from the Sumatra but very nice for the price. I think the bolt is the perfect size for this gun.

4. Hatsan P1 .25 sidelever - about the same, or a bit below the level of the Marauder. The sidelever action can be a bit crunchy feeling at times.

5. Hatsan BT65 .25 bolt action - just below the level of the Hatsan P1. Acceptable and got better with use. I got the BT65 after being impressed by the Hatsan P1.

6. Vulcan .25 bolt action - I no longer have the gun, probably got a lemon, but I had a bad experience with this gun, including jamming. Because the bolt action is so small, I think a sidelever would have been a better choice on this bullpup.

In general, I like sidelever and underlever actions better than bolt actions.
Let us know your opinions...

[zandrew]

Of course everyone will be different.

1- hatsan at44 side lever, nothing I really dislike about it. It has a positive feel and ample resistance so you know whats going on. I am sure there is better but this is the best I have used.

2- disco, pretty simple and never caught at all. I just wish it had a larger bolt handle.

3- mrod and at44 pa. Both have similar issues. My mrod would catch when cocking, like the bolt is sideway or something. The at44 pump needs a good bit of force to cycle.

4- bam b51. It needs to much effort to cock and after about 15 cocks it gets old.

My airforce guns really do not have an action so I can not comment there. I will say the Flying Dragon pcp was actually just as good as my disco.


I would like to see someone do a thread on triggers.

[rkr]

I don't quite understand why manufacturers put such a tiny bolts in their airguns. A big ball bolt makes it much more comfortable to use:

[zandrew]

I don't quite understand why manufacturers put such a tiny bolts in their airguns. A big ball bolt makes it much more comfortable to use:

Looks like bsa knows whats up with installing a proper bolt on their guns. I ha e huge hands and tiny bolts drive me crazy. I bought my wife a 2240 and it drives me nuts as well.

Is your sentinel a 6-24 or 8-32? I have a 6-24 and love it but have been wondering if I made a mistake by not going with the 8-32. I bought the everest 3-18 and its really nice but no illuminated reticle which I am fine with. Really a lot of scope for the money.

[rkr]

I don't quite understand why manufacturers put such a tiny bolts in their airguns. A big ball bolt makes it much more comfortable to use:

Looks like bsa knows whats up with installing a proper bolt on their guns. I ha e huge hands and tiny bolts drive me crazy. I bought my wife a 2240 and it drives me nuts as well.

Is your sentinel a 6-24 or 8-32? I have a 6-24 and love it but have been wondering if I made a mistake by not going with the 8-32. I bought the everest 3-18 and its really nice but no illuminated reticle which I am fine with. Really a lot of scope for the money.

It's DIY knob, after the original had slipped through my fingers a couple of times I got fed up and installed a big ball there. A very good idea if you have a stiff hammer spring.

Yes, that's a 6-24 x Sentinel. Works Ok for 100m as you can observe holes in the paper. I doubt 8-32 is a good idea, the optics are not superb by any means and higher mag usually makes things worse.

[LDP]

AA S510
Evanix side lever. It is very close between the Evanix and AA. They are both very smooth.
Mrod
S10
Hatsan

[pllagunos]

Actually not mine except for the at44 but I have tried every one of these:

1) AA s510, actually it was a s500 IIRC but it was very, very smooth.
2) Daystate Air Wolf, it actually has some effort to it when you push the pellet in.
3) AT44, I do like it but it is hard compared to the s500 however when pushing the pellet is much easier than the wolf.
4) Marauder .177, the mrod I tried was a bullpup and I think it had some mods in the bolt, it was smooth but slower than the at44. (side note: I hate the mrod magazines I prefer the s510 or at44 where it doesn't have springs)
5) Discovery, actually I did like it but it was rough and a short pull, and it took me some time to get used to the loading port it was quite small for me.

Even though I do like the AA side lever best, I think that all of the above actions are good and if it was my gun I wouldn't have a problem getting used to it.

[Ribbonstone]

Only have a few repeaters (single shots still do "it" for me most of the time).

Hatsan 44 side leaver: No problems, soothed out nicely in the first few weeks.

Hatsan 44 Pump: Certain in you "chunk-chunk" it but it will never be slick.

Hatsan/Webley Raider:Other than the bolt being way in front of the trigger and low on the rifle, the cycle is slick and sure.

Sumatra: Slick and smooth, cycles like 2nd nature.

P-Rod: Can't really fault the cycling, I'm just not a big fan of the spring-loaded mags that this (and all Crosmans and a lot of other rifles) use.  Mostly use a home-brew single shot tray and forget it's a repeater.

[Nomadic Pirate]

Of all the guns I owned and tested the AmericanAirArms lever action was the more precise and I expect it to be very, very smooth in the lower powered guns.

Evanix has a very nice and smooth lever action and when I get a Hammerspring to make them 30-35 FPE guns the action is super light and a pure pleasure to cycle

FX Bobcat has a very nice lever action too.

Sumatra underlevers are a good one also.

I was disappointed by the Crickets, the lever action on those was pretty crunchy.

Maurader bolt action was crunchy on various guns from Maurader pistol to the .25

Hatsan bt65 was the worse bolt action that I ever experienced, pretty darn bad,
 and I had and shot many,many more guns than the ones mentioned above I just didn't want to make an overly long post.

[dcorvino]

I like my Sumatra not bad at all.
Could smooth it out a little but right now I am happy with it.

Dave

[K.O.]

Idiotically intelligent, offbeatably normal, confusedly concise...

[zandrew]

Of all the guns I owned and tested the AmericanAirArms lever action was the more precise and I expect it to be very, very smooth in the lower powered guns.

Evanix has a very nice and smooth lever action and when I get a Hammerspring to make them 30-35 FPE guns the action is super light and a pure pleasure to cycle

FX Bobcat has a very nice lever action too.

Sumatra underlevers are a good one also.

I was disappointed by the Crickets, the lever action on those was pretty crunchy.

Maurader bolt action was crunchy on various guns from Maurader pistol to the .25

Hatsan bt65 was the worse bolt action that I ever experienced, pretty darn bad,
 and I had and shot many,many more guns than the ones mentioned above I just didn't want to make an overly long post.

How is the Cricket crunchy? My Mrod catches at the end when the clip is cycling and it drives me nuts. Is the crunchy like that or I ask since I have interest in the Cricket guns, I want it to be crown jewel of my collection. I do not mind feedback or what you could call a positive feel.

The bt65 and the carnivores are known for their stiff bolts. Hatsan would be smart to lighten them up and use a dry film lubricant on those parts. I know the Bam b50 and 51 is aweful but some of that I believe is a complication of the poorly designed bolt handle.

[Ribbonstone]

Think most readers have forgotten the Raider (and this is a Hatsan made Raider, but the UK versions had the same problem):

Bolt cycle is slick...but the bolt is in an awkward place. Way too far forward and unexpectly low as it's connected to the air tube rather than the breech/receiver.

 If I only shot this, would get use to it...but as it is bassawakards, it makes me "hunt for the handle".

[Zebra]

My Cricket .25 is not at all "crunchy" if I use the right ammo. This is true of many air rifles.

If the side-lever feels overly stiff or crunchy, try smaller pellets. My .22 Hatsan AT44 QE feels crunchy if I use 25g pellets but smooth with 18g pellets. My .25 Cricket is smooth with most pellets I've tried up to 35g with the exception of polymag big boys which are just too long for the mag, so they catch on stuff.

The actual lever on the Cricket disappointed me a bit. It isn't the most luxurious piece considering the price of the gun and it doesn't feel nice to use. The overall finish on the Cricket is disappointing too. Many arrive with scratches on the anodized metal which they think is acceptable. I wish airgun makers would stop using black anodized finishes as they scratch so easily and can't be touched up.

The Cricket is great to shoot. Buy one of you want an accurate field gun that is well balanced and shoulders quickly. If you want something to look pristine so you can sit and admire it, buy a Daystate or Air Arms.

I don't know exactly why side levers aren't made bigger but the most likely reasons are cost, weight and appearance like with everything else. I would have liked to seen an extension arm to move the side lever forward on the Cricket as my armpit is not the most ergonomic spot for it. I'm not sure that side-levers are the best choice for a bullpup design.

I love the under-lever on my Career 707. It's very smooth and easy to cock. The spring-loaded mags help with this as they don't have to turn a heavy metal mag when operating the lever like on the Sumatra.

[pllagunos]

What about FX guns? The wildcat offers a lot of things in a lightweight package, does anyone know how easy is to cock one of these?