First victim for DAR .25

[nervoustrigger]

I couldn't resist the recent sale on the DAR air rifles at Sportsman's Guide so I decided I might as well order the .25 cal.  For back yard reactive targets and small pests, nearly all I use is .177.  For night time critters like raccoons, .22 gets the job done with complete effectiveness.  So having no use whatsoever for a .25 cal, I clicked buy.

Apparently it's not well suited for the spoon spinners:


I had been loosely following the others' saga of having fits getting them to hold air.  I like a challenge so why not, eh?  Little did I know what challenges were ahead.  It started with the barrel:

Before:


After:


Then the shroud's retaining ring and end cap blew out, ejecting them and all the baffles into the grass in the back yard.  That was an adventure finding everything.  Fixed that up and moved on.

Next up was the high side regulator O-ring.  I knew it would go soon based on what others were experiencing but I decided to stick with the originals in order to confirm that they were failing due to extrusion.  That fix only took 10 minutes.  Care to guess what didn't take 10 minutes?  Pumping it back up.

Anway, with those problems all fixed, I then did a complete teardown to deburr everything and rework the trigger.  Ah yes, much nicer now.  The play by play is here if anyone is interested. https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=146178.msg1502968#msg1502968

Yesterday was to be the day to finally enjoy it but when the air conditioner went out in the morning, the rifle had to wait.  Fast forward to a little after midnight I went inside and turned the thermostat on and began to cool off.

So this morning I went outside and fired a test shot on my 43 yard target to make sure the regulator wasn't creeping up to the point where the trajectory was off.  Great, it was spot on.

Finally it was time to look for a pest worthy of receiving a quarter inch perforation.  It wasn't long before this guy presented himself on the same target paper:



That is a former musca domestica, the common housefly.  He is not pining for the fjords, nor is he stunned.  This fly is no more.  He has ceased to be.

I have to say this thing is wickedly accurate now.  It needed 3 clicks of windage but now it is putting the JSB Heavies precisely where aimed.  I predict this rifle is going to make a nice flyswatter.  Just what I needed after all.

[ranchibi]

Jason, very very nice work on your new DAR .25! That is THE BEST FLY SWATTER of all time! Woo Hoo! Enjoy .

[Tater]

Nice shot Jason and glad you got the gun "Jasonized". 

[Wolverineshooter]

Great work! I will have to hope mine comes in better shape as I have no tools or as handy for the recrown.

[Wayne52]

Great shooting there Jason !!! I too really like mine, super accurate as are the .177 & .22.

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

Good shooting Jason.        Who needs a Bug-A-Salt... when you have a DAR 25.                  Best Wishes - Tom

[Back_Roads]

LOL Bug-A_Lead Long Range Sniper Version ^5

[accu fan]

Jason that thing is a hammer. Have fun.

[RBQChicken]

As Mister Miyagi might have said: Jason-san, you, much humor!

[nervoustrigger]

Thanks for all the clever comments, guys!  I’m impressed that so many read my pontificated odyssey to kill a house fly. 

[Gertrude]

Dang Jason !
 are you sure you hit it with enough oomph ? 

You do realize, that there's nothing left for the stewpot when you do that, ... right ? 

So what do you use for rabbit hunting ?, ........ a HOWITZER ? ! ? ! ? Bwa-hahaha

[nervoustrigger]

Haha, yeah I was going for a head shot to preserve the tenderloin but I didn't account for the slight 2 o'clock breeze and the pellet landed center mass.

Trust me, no one is more disappointed than I am.  It's no fun going to bed hungry on Labor Day.

Since you asked, here's the bunny rig: