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Within the last week or so, there has been a large amount of speculation about what’s happening at FX Airguns USA. So what’s this all about? And why now? Here I’ll try to provide some information that may help to give you a little background on the situation. But first a few caveats… Major Warning. I have zero personal knowledge or “inside information” about FX Airguns or FX Airguns USA. What I cover here is publicly-available information that anyone can find on the Internet. However, please remember that – just because it’s published on the Internet – it may not necessarily be true. So I make no representation about the truth any of the information published in the links shown here, I’m just saying that you can read it online...

Speed Silhouette is a particularly exciting part of any Extreme Benchrest competition. But for 2023 EBR, a .22 caliber Marauder Semi Auto wins the Open Class with a time of just 18.81 seconds! The shooter was Ethan Butterfield, a Design Engineer with Velocity Outdoor in Bloomfield, New York. So not only does Ethan design Benjamin and Crosman airguns for a living, he can also shoot them really, really well. In fact, Ethan’s time of 18.81 seconds to demolish the 20 tiny silhouette targets was also an all-time record for Speed Silhouette at EBR. He was not only 5.59 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Lauren Parsons, but 3.24 seconds faster than the previous fastest – Alex Hatfield in 2019. In an event where hundredths of a second...

Now we can publish the EBR 2023 official results – including the air rifles that were used by the winning competitors. Many people want to see this information and Airguns of Arizona – the organizers – have delivered! In addition, we’ve added (where applicable and available) an EBR “Hall of Fame” summary so that you can compare the EBR 2023 official results with those from years past. It’s very interesting to see how the scores have improved with time. The shooters – and their equipment – are clearly getting better and better! For photographs of the winners, please see this previous HAM post. Enjoy! 100 Yard Extreme Benchrest Pro Class Finals Extreme Benchrest (100 yard) 2022 – Jeffrey Hernandez = 229 7X 2021 – Tom Adams =...

Thayne Simmons won the headline Pro Class 100-Yard Extreme Benchrest 2023 competition. Shooting a Red Panda air rifle, he scored an impressive 232 7X. Here we see Thayne Simmons with his prize, which included a $7,000 check, plus an expense-paid trip to Daystate in England to collect the Daystate Air Rifle of his choice. 100 Yard Extreme Benchrest Pro Class Results. Thayne Simmons 232 7X Fady Kiwan 231 3X Jeffrey Hernandez 228 6X (Jeffrey was the 2022 EBR winner) 100 Yards Extreme Benchrest Sportsman Class Results. Fred Phillips 221 7X Augie Sotelo 207 1X Steve Govedich 206 3X One Gun Challenge Results. The One Gun Challenge rewards the competitors who use the exact same air rifle for competition in (almost) all...

Launched to coincide with the 2023 Extreme Benchrest competition, Daystate has introduced the Alpha Wolf Blue Special Edition. But for those who really want to be noticed on the range and competition circuit, Daystate has launched the Alpha Wolf Blue Edition. Though not limited in terms of number of rifles, the Blue Editon will only be available for a limited period in both 12 Ft/lbs and FAC/export output. The 17-Inch barrel model will be available in .177 and .22 whilst the 23-inch barrel Alpha Wolf Blue Edition HP adds .25 and .30 caliber options. In addition to the striking blue and grey laminate stock and metal work, the Alpha Wolf Blue Edition has a specially designed cocking handle and comes with a blue 0db silencer...

Everyone wants to know about the EBR 2023 air rifles that can be seen on the firing line. So without more ado, let’s see what people have been shooting in the 50-Yard and 75-Yard benchrest competitions – in something like alphabetical order. In fact, it has to be said that I’ve never seen such a wide range of air rifles being shot in a benchrest competition at any event before! Below, we see an Airgun Technologies Vixen. Then Nik Gregorias was seen loading his Air Arms S510 XS Tactical. Then Leonard Thomas from Caribbean Air Rifles in beautiful St Croix was competing with his Daystate Alpha Wolf Safari. Below we see a customized red BRK (formerly known as Brocock) Ghost in action. There was a Hatsan Flash QE on the line...

Extreme Benchrest 2023 day saw the opening of this years’ packed event with “mild” 98 degree temperatures, combined with bright, Arizona sunshine – as usual. Amazingly, this is the twelfth year of Extreme Benchrest and it’s clear that the event gets better and better every year. Day One started the event with the Extreme Field Target competition and the Action Armour Steel Scramble. In addition, shooters were registering and sighting-in for the headline benchrest competition that will open tomorrow! Let’s look at some of the sights around the range today… Below Fady Kirwan from the Lebanon was enjoying the Extreme Field Target challenge. Below. Claudio Flores from Chile is a previous Extreme Benchrest winner. Below. John...

A new Air Venturi Avenge-X PCP has just arrived in the HAM offices. In fact, this is the Avenge-X Tactical model in .22 caliber. It will be the subject of a comprehensive HAM test review, but let’s look at it for the first time today. At 43 3/4 Inches overall length with the stock fully extended, the Tactical version of the Avenge-X feels like a longer air rifle than it actually is. (For example, the Umarex Gauntlet is considerably longer at 47 Inches length, yet I perceived them to be of similar length). At a “bare” weight of 7 Lbs 5 Oz with the larger, 400 cc HPA bottle, the Avenge-X Tactical is also quite light. Even with the large Sightron 10-50 x 60 scope mounted, a full magazine of pellets and the Leapers TBNR bipod fitted –...

You could win a Benjamin Marauder Regulated air rifle simply by contributing to the Hard Air Magazine Community! Here’s how… First you need to be a member of the HAM Community. If you’re not, it’s time to register! Next, go to the “Win a Benjamin Marauder Regulated Air Rifle!” link in the Benjamin Category. When you see this page (below), select your choice of topic, create and post your Thread. You’ll see a summary of these rules pinned to the top of the Category. As other HAM members look at and comment on your Thread, the number of views for your Thread rises. The counting is done automatically by the software, so it’s completely impartial. You can see example “views” displayed for every Thread in the screen shot below...

The Air Venturi Avenge-X PCP air rifle is now hitting dealers’ shelves. To support the extensive customization capabilities of this new airgun, there’s a new range of Avenge-X videos, too! Hard Air Magazine readers first learned of the Air Venturi Avenge-X in our 2023 SHOT Show report. Then there was more information from the IWA OutdoorClassics show in Germany in March. Now the product is in stock at Pyramyd, Airgun Depot and other airgun dealers. An example is already being shipped to HAM. So we’ll be able to bring you our first-hand impressions of it very soon. Given the multiplicity of Avenge-X configurations, it’s a certainty that many customers will want to buy their new airgun in – say – .22 caliber with a 210 cc HPA tube...

Now you can sign up for the 2023-24 JROTC 3P Postals! Registration for this annual air rifle shooting championship opened beginning September 26th. The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) is gearing up for the 2023-2024 JROTC Three-Position Postal Competition. It’s one of the largest competitive airgun shooting competitions in the USA. Literally thousands of young shooters take part! This national championship is open to all high school junior cadets in Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Space Force JROTC programs who are interested in competing with other young athletes from around the country. Organized and facilitated by the CMP, the JROTC Three-Position event is jointly conducted by the U.S. Army Cadet Command, TECOM...

Editor’s note: Please be aware that – very unusually – this HAM test review of the Daystate Alpha Wolf is based on two guns. Most of the photography was undertaken with the first gun. All of the performance testing on the second. Why? It’s because the peak time and effort required to create the new HAM Community took place after the photographs for this review were taken but before the gun could be comprehensively tested. So the original went back to AoA and they sent me another of the same specification when I could devote the appropriate time to testing the gun properly. Also, this review refers to the “non HP” version of the Alpha Wolf. The HP version is substantially similar but more powerful. VALUE FOR MONEY As with all the...

Now Benjamin Accepts HAM Points! In another great move for HAM Community members, Benjamin Airguns has announced that they will accept HAM Airgun Points. This means that they will credit your HAM Airgun Points as a discount when you make a purchase in the Benjamin Airguns online store. Hard Air Magazine Airgun Points are our way to say “thank you” to HAM Community members. You accrue them by being an active member of the Hard Air Magazine Community, by helping others and generally having fun! So I would like to say a big THANK YOU to our friends at Benjamin Airguns for joining the HAM Airgun Points loyalty program! From today, Benjamin will accept 1,000 HAM Points as a 20% – YES TWENTY PERCENT – credit against the price of any one...

The Daystate Red Wolf GP air rifle combines the Red Wolf’s electronic action with a multi-adjustable “chassis” stock. The manufacturer says that this makes the gun competition-ready. And now it’s available in red, too! By the way, GP stands for “Grand Prix”. It was announced at the 2023 IWA exhibition and HAM covered the launch at the time. To prove the point, despite only taking his Red Wolf GP out of its box a few weeks ago and not having the opportunity to modify it, Neil Palmer secured second place in the recent World Hunter Field Target Championships in Poland narrowly missing first place in a shoot off. That’s Neil with his Red Wolf Grand Prix during the shoot-out, below. The Red Wolf Grand Prix is available in calibers...

On August 18-19, 2023, the Wasatch Front Airgun League (WFAL) put on an Extreme Field Target (EFT) Grand Prix, 100 Yard Benchrest, and Speed Silhouette match. This report from David Stevenson describes this interesting shoot, together with a number of technical improvements that they incorporated into the targets. Take it away, David… Close to fifty shooters from six states (Utah, Idaho, Montana, California, Arizona, Nevada) competed in a two-day match held at the Weber Wildlife Federation Shooting Range, located in Liberty, Utah. This is the match report. Extreme Field Target The Utah EFT match is part of a Grand Prix series sponsored by Airguns of Arizona. Among their growing network of Precision Airgun Distribution retailers...

There’s just three weeks remaining before Extreme Benchrest Phoenix 2023. So details are starting to leak-out about what you can expect for this premier event in the airgun world for this year! 1. The Event First, the event will be taking place from October 5-8, 2023. It’s the 12th annual event and both organizers and competitors are gearing-up, ready to go. Within the next couple of days, all competitors will be receiving a personalized email from the organizers. This will confirm details of their participation and other useful information. The organizers have also released this promotional video to what your appetite. Just click to view… As always, there will be the headline Benchrest event, with the finals shot at 100 Yards...

VALUE FOR MONEY So let’s be clear about this. The 45 BB pistol from Barra Airguns sells for just $34.99 on the Pyramyd website at the time of writing. That price definitely makes it a firm contender in the “bargain basement” sector of the BB gun market. Yes, you CAN buy a cheaper BB pistol, but there’s not very many of them to choose from. Note that the previous “cheapest ever” BB pistol tested by HAM was the Bear River Boa. That was just $26.81 (including NY Sales Tax) when we tested it back in 2016. The Boa is still available and is selling for $33.00 plus tax at Pyramyd today. So The 45 BB pistol is competitively-priced to the Boa. So it’s cheap. But it it any good? Well, the answer is – amazingly – yes! You’ll read the...

HAM readers first read about the Umarex Hammer big bore carbine in our report from the 2023 SHOT Show. Now it’s shipping and is available from Pyramyd. They have it in stock at the time of writing. As you would expect from the “carbine” designation, this new model is shorter and lighter than the original Hammer. However, it’s still a magazine-fed .50 caliber gun with a regulated HPA tank. In fact, the new Umarex Hammer big bore carbine is around 6.75 Inches shorter and 13 Oz lighter than the original “full length” model. This makes it more maneuverable and less likely to get caught-up in undergrowth. It’s also and easier to carry if you have to travel extensively in the field. The Hammer Carbine includes a 35 Cubic Inch HPA tank...

Everyone’s getting excited about HAM Points! So – if you’ve read the program overview, here’s how to use HAM Airgun Points. It’s simple! Firstly, it’s probably good to know that there’s a basic FAQ on HAM Airgun Points in our Community FAQ and Guides category. Now, let’s go and use some points… First you can check the number of Points in your account in either the top black band, or the “HAM Airgun Points” box. As you can see, I only have 13 Points in my account. Almost all of you will have more, some many more… If I click that “HAM POINTS” indicator in the black bar, you’ll find that it’s also actually a link. It takes you directly to the “Redeem HAM Airgun Points” page. As we can see below, I now see the list of offers for how...

Hard Air Magazine Airgun Points are our way to say “thank you” to HAM Community members. You accrue them by being an active member of the Hard Air Magazine Community, by helping others and generally having fun! HAM Community members have been accumulating Points since we started. But so far, we have not revealed the benefits that come with these HAM Airgun Points. Now We Can! The big news is that a select list of manufacturers and dealers is signing-up to redeem HAM Airguns Points. That means they will credit your HAM Airgun Points as a discount when you make a purchase through their online stores. Yes, that’s right. HAM Airgun Points can save you money when you buy airgun products! So I would like to say a big THANK YOU to our...