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VALUE FOR MONEY We begin Part Two of this Diana Oktoberfestgewehr BB gun review with a price discussion. (Part One can be seen here). At the time of writing, this air rifle is selling for $149.99 at Pyramyd. Now the first observation is that this is a “gallery gun”. That means that it’s designed for use at a range of 5 Metres. Yes, that’s right, just 5.47 Yards. It’s not claimed or intended that this is a precision shooting machine. And, as you’ll read below, the accuracy is not stellar, even at that range… But somehow I need to convey that this is a great air rifle to shoot. I had a ton of fun with it! This is an ideal basement range gun for the Millions of us in the North East USA (and elsewhere) who want to shoot but are...

Before we begin this Diana Oktoberfestgewehr review, I want to cover the “elephant in the room” with this airgun. What ammo can it actually shoot? The reason for this somewhat-curious question is that there has been much debate on the Internet – and maybe elsewhere – about exactly what types of BBs can be shot using this gun. To be honest, I was confused, too! It all comes down to the caliber…. You see, the manufacturer’s website describes it as being 4.4 mm caliber. Here’s a screen shot as proof. Traditionally, 4.4 mm BBs have been available in Germany and usually in lead. Such BBs are not available in the USA. But wait… The gun itself is marked with 4.5 mm caliber – not 4.4 mm. That’s what it says on the packaging, too...

The new 33 Grain H&N Precision Slug is now available at Pyramyd. This new type of airgun ammo is available in both .217 and .218 calibers. The manufacturer explains that this H&N Precision Slug is designed for long-range target shooting, out to 200 Yards, with high power airguns. That is, with .22 caliber PCP air rifles having a Muzzle Energy in excess of 29.5 Ft/Lbs. H&N claims that this new product is even more reliably accurate than the other H&N Slugs. With an average BC of 0.140, it is significantly less susceptible to wind and maintains a flatter trajectory, the company says. It is the optimized shape of the ogive and the cavity that raises the BC factor, apparently. The cavity is also deeper than in earlier H&N slugs. This...

Now that we’re very close to the end of the year, it’s a good time to look at Hard Air Magazine’s “Top 20” most popular reviews of 2024. I was going to write “airgun reviews”, but that’s not completely true as one pellet review is included, too. In fact, this “Top 20” most-read reviews list is actually YOUR list! It’s based entirely on what you spent time reading in 2024. As HAM has no less than 248 airgun and airgun-related reviews on the site, it’s quite an achievement for any product even to make it into this “Top 20”! First, A Summary Out of your “Top 20” most popular reviews of 2024, 11 were for PCP air rifles. Five were were for spring/piston air rifles, while three were for CO2-powered airguns – two long guns and one pistol...

VALUE FOR MONEY At a Street Price of $450, the Barra 250z air rifle continues the company’s strategy of offering high performance, yet individual products at a very attractive price. This has certainly been the case with other Barra products reviewed by HAM. For example, the 1100z PCP, 400e AEG – the most accurate BB gun HAM has ever reviewed – and the Schofield No. 3 CO2 replica pistol have all been HAM Gold Award winners. The 250z continues this trend by Barra. Here we have a bolt action PCP with a HPA reservoir around the tube. It certainly makes an interesting-looking model, with no tube or bottle apparently in sight. Of course, all the expected features are there, too. Multi-shot magazine operation, adjustable hammer spring...

Fans of the famous German company will be interested in the Diana 34 Légion Étrangère Special Edition. The Légion Étrangère is – of course – better known in the English-speaking world as the French Foreign Legion, the elite unit in the French army that’s composed of foreign nationals. This limited edition air rifle was manufactured in one – never to be repeated – batch of 999 guns only. These are being sold all over the world. But this could be your opportunity to acquire one for yourself. This Legion Special Edition model is marked with the “Légion Étrangère” name and grenade symbol on top of the compression tube. Each gun is also individually-numbered with it’s manufacturing sequence number – for example 750 of 999. Another...

The FX Redback PCP arrow shooter was first announced at the 2024 IWA OutdoorClassics Show in Germany. Our heading photo above shows Mathias Vangilbergen showing the product at that time. Now the Redback is close to availability. Pyramyd has added it to it’s website and you can request updates via the company’s product page. The Redback PCP arrow shooter looks something like a combination between an FX Impact and a Gatling gun! It holds up to eight .357 caliber arrows in the barrel drum. The action is cycled by the familiar sidelever, which rotates the barrel drum, bringing the next arrow into battery. Obviously this system provides for rapid follow-up shots in a manner that is unachievable with a conventional, single-shot...

There’s a new Weihrauch airgun that’s available exclusively at Airguns of Arizona. It’s the HW95N Stainless and it’s in stock now. It’s also almost-certainly the final new model release of the famous German manufacturer’s 125th year in business. In Weihrauch nomenclature, that “N” at the end of the HW95N name stands for “Nussbaum”. That’s Walnut in German. So this new HW95 variant combines the highly-desired walnut stock with the Stainless metal finish. Until now this has not previously been available with the HW95 platform. AoA explains that this limited, exclusive production run not only adds aesthetic appeal but also practical benefits. The oil-finished walnut stock is lighter than its beech counterpart. In addition, it looks...

Latest news from Barra is that there’s a price drop on the 1100z PCP air rifle. Plus there’s some interesting new Barra scope rings too. The HAM Gold Award-winning Barra 1100z air rifle is now reduced from $250 to just $225! In our comprehensive test review, we described the 1100z as being the “must have”, low-cost gun for anyone who wants learn about how airguns work, how to tune and improve them. We still stand by that opinion. So, now what about these new Barra scope rings? Well there’s just two models. However the price is very attractive and they definitely look to be good value. As is the case – of course – with all the Barra products we’ve seen. They are branded with the unusual “CVLife” name. 30mm Picatinny Rings First...

Zeiss riflescopes and rings are now at Pyramyd AIR! Anyone who is familiar with high-end cameras, photographic lenses, binoculars and more will know of this great German brand. Founded in 1846, it still has a reputation for the highest quality in precision optical instruments of many types. Now the Zeiss Sports Optics Division has entered the airgun world with a small, but powerful, selection of products. These include two scopes with a choice of reticles and a range of accessory mounting rings. Both scopes have a huge 56mm objective lens, combined with a 34mm diameter tube. Both have First Focal Plane optical systems, combined with a choice of MOA and MRAD reticles. But primarily, both models make a special play for the long-range...

The 2024 AoA Christmas Sale deals are on now! If you have been thinking about treating yourself to a superlative Daystate air rifle, now is the time to do it. Some models are as much as $1,000 off for a very limited time. There’s many different offers on these HAM Gold Award-winning air rifles, but let’s look here at a few of the highlights… For example, the beautiful red laminate-stocked Daystate Alpha Wolf is Christmas Sale-priced at just $2,695.99. Both 17-Inch and 23-Inch barreled versions are available in multiple calibers. That’s actually a reduction of $1,003.01 against it’s normal selling price. WOW!!! There’s also specials on unregulated Daystate Huntsman Reveres at $899.99. That’s down from $1,399.99 – a $500 saving. Sure...

Today’s HAM post is different. We’re looking into the financial side of the airgun industry and examining if we’re getting a good deal for our purchases. Answer. Yes we are! In fact, this is not a story just about airguns. Well, yes, it applies to airguns. But this analysis applies to just about EVERY product we buy, from toilet roll to cars – and everything in between. It’s not only about the airgun industry, I’m just using it as an example. Steve Buys A BB Pistol Yes, everyone want to have the best deal we can when buying something. No-one likes to be ripped-off, after all. But let’s look at things from the other side of the fence, for once. The airgun industry is not a high margin business. There’s plenty of competition and...

Last time I checked, there’s going to be no less than 40 airgun companies at IWA 2025 – and the list is still growing! So, if you’re a part of the airgun industry – and many HAM readers are – it’s still not too late to join your peers in the world’s largest airgun show. It runs from 27 February to 2 March 2025. Below. IWA is a great venue for old friends to meet, enjoy each other’s company and do business. Below we see Robert Buchanan from Airguns of Arizona (left) with Hans Weihrauch. At my last count there are a total 919 companies that are already registered to exhibit at IWA OutdoorClassics 2025. Sure, these include firearms manufacturers, international distributors and even outdoor clothing manufacturers – but it’s a huge...

Save the dates and book your flights! It’s just been announced that 3 and 4 July will be the BRK and Daystate Experience Days 2025. The “Experience Days” concept was held for the first time earlier this year. As you can read in this HAM report, it was a HUGE success! Now the company tells HAM that – building on the success of last year’s Experience Days – they have made significant improvements for the 2025 event. The intention is to make this a show to remember as well as the biggest and best event they have ever held. Firstly, there’s a new venue. It’s larger, too! The 2025 Experience Days will be held at Sandon Hall. This is a prestigious “stately home” in the beautiful Staffordshire countryside just 12 miles from the...

Hey, we all started with airguns somewhere. Mostly when we were still young. And for many of us it has been a lifetime’s interest. Now the Student Air Rifle Program (SAR) is bringing the sport of target shooting to school-aged youth in grades 4 through 12. Developed by the Missouri Youth Sport Shooting Alliance (MYSSA), the SAR is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. It uses school-aligned units of study, teacher training, universal whistle commands, positive language, and standardized equipment to facilitate a safe introduction to the lifetime sport of target shooting to school-aged youth. The success of the Student Air Rifle Program is shown by the fact that – to date – over 25,000 students have participated in SAR activities since its...

2024 has been an interesting year for Umarex USA. Among other things, they have introduced two new sub-$200 PCP air rifles – the Komplete and Iconix. So let’s compare them and see how they appeal to different customer needs. At the time of writing, Hard Air Magazine has run one of our industry-leading, comprehensive reviews on the Umarex Komplete in .177 caliber. It was a HAM Gold Award winner! We have also run the first published, comprehensive test showing how the Komplete performs when using CO2. The Iconix has also received a full review. It earned a HAM Silver Award. So we’re in a pretty good position to make this comparison… Komplete And Iconix – Price And Basic Specs At the time of writing, Pyramyd has the Komplete...

In this post, we take a first good look at the Crosman Challenger 2021. Although most of us have heard of the Challenger and despite the fact that a TON of them have been – and are being – sold, most average airgunners do not have detailed knowledge of this air rifle. This is because the Challenger is used specifically for Three Position (3P), 10 Meter target shooting by JROTC and similar clubs. Sadly, there’s very little carry-over in airgun terms from the tens of thousands of kids who take part in 3P competitions every year and the “broader” airgun community. It seems that most of them either drop airguns or move to 22LR shooting once they graduate from school. It’s important to understand that the Crosman Challenger 2021 is a...

RWS Super Field Ultra Heavy pellets are the latest introduction from the famous German manufacturer RUAG Ammotec, GmbH. These pellets are part of the company’s “Field Line”. They are designed primarily for hunting and use in the more powerful PCP air rifles which are becoming ever more popular. Currently available in .22 caliber only, Super Field Ultra Heavy pellets have a weight of 18.8 Grains. They are available in 500 count tins. As can be seen from the close-up photographs, the new pellets have a very pronounced waist, combined with a domed head. The skirts are quite thin and the lead seems fairly soft – at least according to my highly-scientific (?) “thumbnail test”. RWS pellets have fared well in HAM testing in the past...

The Hawke Spotting Scope Smartphone Adapter is an useful tool that makes it easy to take photographs of objects at long range. Think the 100-Yard targets at Extreme Benchrest, for example. The company says that it will fit spotting scopes, monoculars and binoculars with an eyepiece diameter of between 33 and 60 mm (1.3 to 2.4 Inches). Buoyed by a long history of failure at successfully taking photographs through optical devices using a cellphone, I decided to make a “quick and dirty” test of this interesting little device. So I pulled-out a Hawke Endurance ED 25-25 x 85 spotting scope and attached it to a solid tripod. Then I pushed-in the rubber eyepiece cup and focused the scope to be sharp on a distant tree. Having done that, I...

First a clear statement. I am definitely NOT a benchrest air rifle shooter. More’s to the point, I am not a competitive shooter in any way. However, I do find it interesting to watch and try to understand what makes for success in airgun shooting competitions. This post results from attending 2024’s Extreme Benchrest and thinking about what I saw there… It’s clear that many people get very excited about what constitutes the “best” air rifle for benchrest competition. For years this was FX, but now Scout and the Red Panda have challenged that. Daystate has always been a player too, of course. Then, at EBR 2024, suddenly the American Air Arms EVOL was the winner, with a Thomas in second place. Interesting! A fair number of folk...