Back home in TX - Cool gear awaits - [2025-04-14]

[GTA-Airgunner]

Good morning airgunners! 

Sue and I got back from our trip late last Thursday and have been trying to catch up and get ready for the work week.  When I got back to the office, I found a wonderful pile of gear from Crosman / Benjamin.  As I'm sure you all know, Crosman and Benjamin were acquired by Gamo / Daisy last year.  It will be very interesting to see how they manage this large collection of Airgun IP and Products. Anyway, what it means to me is that I'll have access to a lot more gear. Gear that's more "down to earth" and affordable.  Here's what I had waiting for me when I got home.

1. Benjamin Bulldog M257 - I've always wanted a .257 that can cook.  I'm hoping that the "M" (magnum) mods deliver serious power and accuracy.  I have some very cool .257 slugs that I've been wanting to try, and I finally have a platform that "should" be able to push them.  We'll see.

2. Crosman Prospect .22 - I had a chance to look at this when PA was a sponsor.  I had offered to continue to work with it, but they wanted it back, so I shipped it back.  Fortunately, the folks at Iconic (the new name for all the airgun companies now under the same management) sent one out for me to work with long term.  I'm super excited.  When I tested the prospect back a while ago, it was accurate, consistent, and AFFORDABLE.  Focus on AFFORDABLE.  I can't hardly wait to shoot it again and do some AGW and GTA videos on this.

3. Crosman M1 full auto bb - this should be fun to try.  I'm generally not much for BB rifles, but if it works well, then hey, let's have some fun.  And who doesn't like running the "more fun" switch once in a while? On a side note, I also have the Barra 400e metal chassis to get to shortly.  It should make for a fun comparison.  Let me know if you all like the full auto BB rifle genre as I do have several in the connex.

4. Benjamin Recharge Compressor - So this is an expensive item, coming in at about $1900.  It's a self-contained, water-cooled, auto-shutoff, personal compressor that is supposed to have a high fill rate and can fill 6.8L (74 Cubic Foot) CF tanks up to 4500 PSI.  I'll be filming a setup video, probably today, for release next week.  However, I've got some concerns beyond the price tag.  It has a 2000-watt power draw.  Now, I'm not sure if that's the initial lock rotar amps or if that's the sustained draw.  I guess we'll find out.  There are a lot of options when you get near $2K, so I hope this unit does well, is sturdy, reliable, and serviceable.

5. Lastly, we have our modified Gauntlet back from Hajimoto Productions!  He gave it the full "works" with all the internal modifications, carbon fiber tank with adjustable regulator, new trigger, side lever, etc., etc.  It should be a tack-driving machine now.  I'm filming a studio segment of an overview of the work done, and following that up with a range video putting it on target. If you all want to know what Haji can do for your Gen 1, 2, or SL Gauntlet, please be sure to reach out to him directly.  He has a whole board here on the GTA. https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?board=243.0

So as you can see, we have a lot going on as we start looking to the Summer months, and don't forget Airgun Expo 2025 this Memorial Day.  We'll talk about that in tomorrow's post.

Thank you all for being part of the GTA!

Cheers
Rick

[splitbeing]

Sounds good, Rick. The bb gun has gotten some attention here already. Looking forward to seeing that and the Haji Gauntlet in action.

[HunterWhite]

I would think that a full auto BB gun would be a great snake control device, especially in confined spaces.
Do you have a fake snake to hammer?

Hunter 

Hunter 

[GTA-Airgunner]

Hey there Hunter. 

We kill a lot of rattlesnakes here at the ranch. I use my 20ga SWA.  BB gun would probably just wet them off.  But I’ll see what I can find to shoot and tear up .

Cheers
R