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Today Doug Wall explores unregulated Barra 1100z performance in .177 Caliber. He’s using the Gen. 1 gun that started-out in .22 caliber. Having made the caliber change, Doug’s testing follows the same methodology as he used for Part One of this saga. This enables to compare the performance of the same gun in different calibers. It’s also a new baseline to compare with the gun’s regulated performance in a future installment. Today’s Testing In this part, I’ll go through a similar set of shot strings as in part one, to see the effect of hammer spring adjustments on velocity, shot string, and energy. As mentioned before, my goal is to get the gun set up at just under 20 Ft/Lbs energy. As in the previous article, I will be starting...

The Kral Mortal PCP air rifle is one of the company’s new models that were featured at the 2025 IWA OutdoorClassics show in Germany back in early March. Kral always has an enormous range of products to show every year. For 2025, the company’s product catalogue – printed, thank goodness – is no less than 116 pages long. And there’s multiple products featured on most of those pages!!! True, the company manufactures an extensive range of shotguns and some firearms. But a large proportion of their range is comprised of airguns: mainly PCPs. There’s so many that it’s tough to keep track of them all. Actually, the full product name is the Kral Puncher Mortal. However as the company uses “Puncher” as a name on seemingly all of it’s PCPs...

Hard Air Magazine readers first saw the Karma EQ in our report from the 2024 IWA OutdoorClassics show in Germany in March 2024. Now it’s available at Airgun Depot. The Karma EQ is a magazine-fed, sidelever PCP air rifle that’s available in a choice of calibers from .22 to .30 cal. Described by the manufacturer as offering high-power precision at an affordable price, the EQ is claimed to offer exceptional performance with both slugs and pellets. For sure, the price is attractive at $950.00. However – as a Chinese-manufactured model – that may be subject to change. If you’re interested, it may be best to buy sooner rather than later! The Karma EQ features a large plenum designed to maximize power output. In fact, it has 70 cc...

Today we present the big Hard Air Magazine H&N Slug Guide. As many of us know, accurate slug shooting requires tuning the airgun to optimize the velocity and pressure settings, as well as finding the right diameter and weight combination for the slug. This adds complexity to the shooting experience. It is therefore no surprise that H&N Slug portfolio is huge – at the time of writing this, we count no less than 52 different SKUs – not including those very useful slug sampler packs. So we’ve brought all the details together in one place. This should make it easier for you to decide on the H&N slugs that are best for your needs… For simplicity, we’ve broken-down the H&N slugs range by nominal caliber, eg .22 cal. Then we’ve sorted...

In Part Two of his series, Doug Wall makes a Barra 1100z caliber change. It’s quite straightforward, as you will see. You can read Part One of Doug’s saga here. Take it away, Doug… In this part, I will be changing the barrel and bolt from 0.22, to 0.177. That’s essentially what is required to make a Barra 1100z caliber change. However, this involves a bit more than just changing the barrel and bolt. There are quite a few other steps involved to get there. For those of you out there that have worked on the QB78-79 series of guns, this will all seem quite familiar, as there are strong similarities between the designs. Safety First! Even though it may not be really necessary for this modification, I am always very wary about working...

Bargain alert!!! Now you can save $795 on the KalibrGun Cricket 2 Tactical 45 CRBT model at Airguns of Arizona. That brings the price down to just $1,199.99! They are available in .177 and .22 calibers. AoA is also offering buyers the opportunity to upgrade the warranty with their optional 3-year “Warranty Booster” for an additional $250.00, for added protection. The KalibrGun Cricket 2 Tactical was an easy Hard Air Magazine Gold award winner when we reviewed it in “60 WTC” form. The difference between that gun and the current AoA sale special is that the “45 CRBT ” model has a shorter – 450mm (17.7 Inch) barrel, a different – semi-bullpup – stock, a smaller tank and different shroud to compliment the shorty barrel. Otherwise...

The new FX Leopard PCP air rifle is now in stock at Pyramyd AIR in many configurations. HAM readers first learned about the Leopard in our report from the IWA OutdoorClassics show in Germany back in March. In fact, the FX Leopard PCP air rifle is more of an airgun platform, rather than an individual model – there’s so many versions available! The Leopard is available in two basic configurations – with “around the barrel” tube and – more conventional – bottle HPA supply. But the bottle version also incorporates the tube system, providing a maximum of up to 980cc of air capacity onboard. Plus, there’s a 54 cc power plenum supporting the buttpad. Of course, the FX Leopard is available in calibers from .177 to .30. Barrels are...

The Alias Airguns Gem CO2 pistol is a remarkable full-featured, “micro airgun” with a full system of dedicated accessories to go with it. To be honest, it’s such a remarkable new introduction that I’m glad AoA launched it on 1 May and not 1 April. Otherwise I wouldn’t believe it! In fact, initial demand was so strong that AoA’s whole first batch were sold-out within 3 hours. WOW! But don’t worry, more are on their way… Described as “the smallest, most captivating air pistol in the world”, the Alias Airguns Gem CO2 pistol is pocket-sized, yet with a surprising amount of power. It’s just 3.5 Inches long and weighs 10.6 Oz without CO2 cartridge installed. It’s a single-shot design, with a break-barrel action. It’s single action too...

This is the first in a series about a “new to me” Barra 1100z Gen. 1 PCP air rifle. This Barra is in .22 caliber and it’s unregulated. In fact, it’s the same gun that has been used by Hard Air Magazine for a series of articles. The previous articles included the following: – comprehensive review (it was a HAM Gold Award winner!) – power tuning – trigger tuning – tinkering – stock change This series will include things that I will do to customize this gun to fit the gun to my potential uses. My goal is a gun that fits the requirements for Hunter Field Target (U.S. rules). This means .177 caliber, less than 20 Ft/Lbs (27 Joules), and the best accuracy that I can get at 55 Yards. For this series, I’ll start out with the gun as I...

VALUE FOR MONEY At a Street Price of $65.99, the Umarex Canex is the cheapest dedicated – i.e. “pellet only” air rifle on the Pyramyd AIR website at the time of writing. So we’ll pose a similar question to the one we asked recently about the even lower-priced Umarex MarkPoint air pistol. “It’s the cheapest pellet rifle in the market. But is it any good?” Well, the answer – again – is “Yes”. In fact, within its limits, the Canex tested by HAM is actually a very good little air rifle indeed! It’s a simple air rifle. There’s no “bells and whistles”. As a CO2-powered airgun, it’s obviously not a powerhouse. But basic performance and accuracy is there. The results of this review say that it’s definitely excellent value for the money...

The Diana Skyhawk Gen 2 PCP air rifle is another new version of an existing “Action Line” model. It follows hot-on-the-heels of the Outlaw Gen 2 that we saw just a few days ago. As with the Outlaw Gen 2, the improvements are mostly incremental but worthwhile. The biggest change concerns the location of the sidelever cocking handle. As we can see above, the sidelever is now mounted amidships on the Diana Skyhawk Gen 2 PCP air rifle. This is – in HAM’s opinion – a HUGE improvement on the rear-mounted – “cock by ear” – location of the original model that we see below. Below. Here’s a closer look at the cocking lever. Also prominent is the Picatinny scope rail that has replace the dovetail rail of the original version. There’s...

Zan Hyper Line slugs are now available for pre-order at Airgun Depot. The availability date is estimated to be May 26, 2025. Hard Air Magazine readers first learned about Hyper Line slugs in our report from the 2025 IWA OutdoorClassics exhibition in Germany. They stand out for their bright, fluorescent yellow coating. Zan explained to HAM that these slugs are coated with a cutting-edge anti-friction coating. Given the extensive contact area between airgun slugs and the barrel, this anti-friction treatment can lead to an appreciable increase in Muzzle Velocity, just through a reduction in friction! Benefits for Zan’s new process are – he tells me – a reduction in barrel leading, like there’s none! That will be a big advantage for...

Two air rifle national records in two days. Now that’s what I call shooting! Alexandra Orr, 14, of Lafayette Gun Club, VA, established a new national record for her individual Sporter 20 Shot Prone score on Day 1 of the competition. Then – incredibly – she returned to break that record again on Day 2 – setting the bar at 199-17X. Yes, that’s a score of 199-17X from 20 shots at 10 Meters. (The “possible” score is 200). And before anyone says, “Oh that’s easy, shooting at only 10 Meters”, remember that the “10 ring” is just 0.5 mm in diameter and that this competition is shot with peep sights – no scopes – and no support!!! Alexandra’s outstanding achievement took place at the Civilian Marksmanship Program’s (CMP) 2025 Three-Position...

Newly in stock at Pyramyd AIR is the Diana Outlaw Gen 2 PCP air rifle. This is a development of the original Outlaw that HAM reviewed back in March 2018. (Wow, can it really be so long ago, it just seems like yesterday!). The HAM testers liked the original Diana Outlaw. It earned a HAM Gold Award for its performance on test with a creditable score of 87%. The Diana Outlaw Gen 2 is clearly a development of that previous gun. There’s definitely a strong family resemblance, combined with a good number of worthwhile improvements. Here’s the original as a reminder… Of course, the Outlaw is – and was – a regulated, magazine-fed PCP with sidelever action and tube reservoir for High Pressure Air at up to 3,625 PSI fill pressure. The...

Following-up on the recent Hard Air Magazine review of the UTG Goliath bipod, we have some additional information that will be of interest to HAM readers. Firstly, Leapers has produced an informative video about the product. This is well-produced and gives a full description of the product and it’s capabilities in less than four minutes running time. It’s worth watching… Secondly, there’s a solution to about the only negative we reported in our review of the Goliath. That’s the potential for snagging on the pan and tilt locking levers in their vertical positions. Here’s how we had them positioned in our review… But the news is that the locking levers do not need to be positioned as shown. In fact, the pan and tilt levers are...

Right now, you can save no less than $599.01 on the KalibrGun Argus at Airguns of Arizona. That’s a HUGE 34% discount on the normal price! This $599.01 saving – got to include that final 1 cent! – is available while stocks last on the Argus in either .25 caliber or .30 cal versions. In fact – to be precise – it’s the Argus 60W model with walnut stock. You can find the .25 caliber deal here. This is the .30 caliber Argus page. To find out more about the Argus, check out Airguns of Arizona’s video review below. There’s no expiration date shown on the AoA website for this offer. However if you’re interested in this deal on the KalibrGun Argus at Airguns of Arizona, I wouldn’t wait!!! BUY FROM AIRGUNS OF ARIZONA Check out these...

Before commencing this Leapers UTG Goliath bipod review, it’s worth mentioning that this is the latest and greatest model in the company’s bipod range. It was launched at the 2025 SHOT Show. Leapers UTG Bipod Range As more and more airgunners shoot their powerful PCPs at long ranges, the greater is the demand for high quality bipods. Leapers has long experience in designing and manufacturing bipods at various different price ranges. The Goliath is their answer to this on-going demand. Below we see a selection (by no means all) of the company’s bipod designs. 1 – UTG Goliath 6 – 8 Inch center height 2 – UTG Goliath 8-12 Inch center height 3 – UTG Overbore bipod 4 – UTG Rubber Armored bipod 5 – UTG Pro TBNR bipod You can see more...

Everyone’s excited right now about the changed tariffs – both proposed and actual – being imposed by the United States. But what about airgun industry tariffs, specifically? Firstly I need to make it clear that I am not an expert on tariffs, or any other kind of taxation. Nor am I an expert in predicting the future. If I were, I would have made a fortune on the stock market long ago… Most importantly – this is specifically NOT a political discussion. That’s waaaay beyond my pay grade. I’m simply sticking to simple airgun business issues and things I can see from my very limited perspective. But I do think it’s worth a discussion about what the proposed US tariff changes may mean for the airgun industry going forward. You see, it’s...

Umarex USA has launched TWO CO2-powered versions of the same pistol. The Glock 17 Gen5 MOS is available in both “full blowback” and “half blowback” models. Here’s an overview of the differences: FeatureFull BlowbackHalf Blowback Umarex SKU22552322255219 Pyramyd Price$142.99$107.90 Muzzle Velocity300 FPS370 FPS Shot Count5054 Magazine Capacity1718 Includes Optics mounting PlatesYesRequires Additional Purchase Now let’s discuss in a little more detail… Umarex USA explains that the “half blowback” and “full blowback” concept exists in the airsoft world. It provides the customer with a choice of price point and functionality for what looks to be the same firearms replica. As Hard Air Magazine has demonstrated in this...

Let’s Look At The New Weihrauch HW30N. It’s a special, limited production run model at Airguns of Arizona and the “N” stands for “Nussbaum” – that’s the German word for walnut. Just one look at the HW30N and it’s clear. It’s an instant classic! In fact, the gun we have here has a dedicated left-handed stock. There’s dedicated right-hander available as well, of course. As a left-handed shooter himself, HAM tester Doug Rogers is testing this gun for HAM. That’s him in the photographs accompanying today’s article. Thanks Doug! The walnut stock is simply superb! There’s lots of attractive figuring in the wood, plus some “tiger striping” that’s more prominent in real life than in my photographs. The stock’s shape is both attractive and...