Others Air Venturi Alpha .22 PCP. First Impressions

[Billm]

My plan was not to jump right in and shoot the Alpha. I figured that I would inspect the bore and maybe clean it first. I broke out the bore scope and took a look. Can’t see much other than well defined lands. It appears to be possibly well coated with grease/ cosmoline. I will investigate further lol. I couldn’t wait to try it and thought I’d try it for the Bell target challenge, but I forgot that it doesn’t have open sights. Might have to print some. I took a minute or two to fill it to 250 bar from the tank - so awesome. Loaded two mags of JTS .22 22.07gr pellets. I then threw an inexpensive Cvlife Holo sight on it and let her rip at 10yds. First impressions: for $269.99 a keeper. It is compact, light and has a lot of potential. Next I will remove the barrel and clean, polish and photograph the bore. I will also slug it and size the bore. While the barrel is off I will remove the suppressor. Only two very minor things that I didn’t like: the side lever is fiddly and a little rough and I think the pull length could be longer. Definitely not a deal breaker. I held over and took a couple of shots at the 101yd backstop and heard both hits. More to come

 

[AirVenturi]

My plan was not to jump right in and shoot the Alpha. I figured that I would inspect the bore and maybe clean it first. I broke out the bore scope and took a look. Can’t see much other than well defined lands. It appears to be possibly well coated with grease/ cosmoline. I will investigate further lol. I couldn’t wait to try it and thought I’d try it for the Bell target challenge, but I forgot that it doesn’t have open sights. Might have to print some. I took a minute or two to fill it to 250 bar from the tank - so awesome. Loaded two mags of JTS .22 22.07gr pellets. I then threw an inexpensive Cvlife Holo sight on it and let her rip at 10yds. First impressions: for $269.99 a keeper. It is compact, light and has a lot of potential. Next I will remove the barrel and clean, polish and photograph the bore. I will also slug it and size the bore. While the barrel is off I will remove the suppressor. Only two very minor things that I didn’t like: the side lever is fiddly and a little rough and I think the pull length could be longer. Definitely not a deal breaker. I held over and took a couple of shots at the 101yd backstop and heard both hits. More to comeView attachment 18728

Hi there,

We’re happy to hear you’re enjoying it so far and are eager to see what else you have to say after cleaning and further testing!

 

[Solo1]

My plan was not to jump right in and shoot the Alpha. I figured that I would inspect the bore and maybe clean it first. I broke out the bore scope and took a look. Can’t see much other than well defined lands. It appears to be possibly well coated with grease/ cosmoline. I will investigate further lol. I couldn’t wait to try it and thought I’d try it for the Bell target challenge, but I forgot that it doesn’t have open sights. Might have to print some. I took a minute or two to fill it to 250 bar from the tank - so awesome. Loaded two mags of JTS .22 22.07gr pellets. I then threw an inexpensive Cvlife Holo sight on it and let her rip at 10yds. First impressions: for $269.99 a keeper. It is compact, light and has a lot of potential. Next I will remove the barrel and clean, polish and photograph the bore. I will also slug it and size the bore. While the barrel is off I will remove the suppressor. Only two very minor things that I didn’t like: the side lever is fiddly and a little rough and I think the pull length could be longer. Definitely not a deal breaker. I held over and took a couple of shots at the 101yd backstop and heard both hits. More to comeView attachment 18728

Usually pretty easy to make a wood spacer to lengthen length of pull

 

[Billm]

Usually pretty easy to make a wood spacer to lengthen length of pull

lol, I was thinking a matching 3d printed spacer, but you’re right, easy fix.

 

[Billm]

I took the barrel, shroud and moderator apart tonight. Then, I made a video and some photos with the bore scope before I cleaned and polished the barrel. Disassembly was very easy. There was a liberal amount of red thread locker present. As suspected from the first inspection with the bore scope, there is a relatively thick layer of cosomoline in the bore, especially near the breech. Not a big deal, it's there to protect the barrel from rust, but should be removed before shooting if you want the maximum accuracy. I slugged the barrel. My barrel is bored at .2175 a nice standard bore. I've read somewhere that the bore is unchoked, but I measured a slight choke of .21675. But without using an "Air Gap" measuring device, I'm not sure how accurate my measurements are. Maybe @AirVenturi will be nice enough to confirm whether or not the barrel is choked. So far, I'm not finding anything that I don't like for the price. It's been too windy to shoot today. The weather is weird, it was 78f yesterday and in the fifties today and in the forties tomorrow.
Before and after cleaning/polishing.

 

[cosmic]

Buck Rail mod stock might fit it.. I put one on my Barra and it is great..
You could print one out with a adjustable but...

 

[Billm]

Buck Rail mod stock might fit it.. I put one on my Barra and it is great..
You could print one out with a adjustable but...

I'm working on designing and printing one of my own. I'm thinking now that the pull length is not the issue, but the cheek weld. I can fix that with a 3d print too. I have a carbon fiber cage and titanium plate holding my neck together LOL, so that makes the cheek weld difficult at times.

 

[Billm]

This airgun has a lot of potential for $269.99. As stated I’ve removed the barrel and cleaned it and then polished it - kind of. I put the DNT TNC225R NV/thermal scope on it. Fired one JTS pellet and decided it was too heavy. I replaced the moderator with something else. Switched to JSB 18.1gr Exact Jumbo Heavy pellets. Fired about 5 or 6 shots to get it on paper and sight it in at 40yds. Moved out to 101yds and shot some steel. Then I tried H&N 21gr slugs. The pellets were running 800fps and the slugs 745ish. I had a 90 degree crosswind at 3-10mph going right to left. No pellet testing, I just grabbed something off the shelf. No trigger tuning, it’s factory set at 2lbs 8oz. Keep in mind it’s a 12” barrel. My bipods are Arca mounts so I couldn’t use them. I propped the forearm on my homemade rear rest and fired away.
Biggest issue: me and the wind. I had great difficulty holding it steady as it’s very light, I’m used to a lighter trigger and knew I wasn’t getting off clean consistent shots. I used the DNT ballistic table in the scope and it wasn’t getting the holdover even close. But, I don’t know what the twist rate is.
Did I shoot sub-MOA groups at 101yds, no but I was able to put both slugs and Pellets on target at 101yards. With some tuning, a bipod/rear rest, trigger adjusted down to 1lb and the right projectiles this carbine is going to be beyond plinking accurate at 100 yds. Ideally this will be a great airgun at 50-60yds, that is compact, lightweight and easy to carry. My muzzle energy was right at 25fpe. Did I mention that the folding stock does not rattle. My rifle fell off the reg while shooting some of the groups. I’m getting around 17 (27 was a typo - I wish it could get 27) full power shots. Now, I really appreciate why people use air tanks

 

[Billm]

I can’t say it enough: I really like the Air Venturi Alpha. It just seems like a good value. I wish it had some external power tuning, just so that I could easily increase the fps a little. I shot a 10 shot group yesterday at the Bell Target challenge at 54yds. It was from a bipod and rear rest in a variable 10-12mph crosswind. It’s not MOA, but very respectable considering a 90 degree crosswind. It’s box stock, except for a quick barrel polish.

 

[Billm]

Putting this in perspective: Microstrike at 30 and 40yds and then the Alpha at 54yds. Don’t judge by the target rings, they’re different sizes. Look at the group sizes.

 

[Billm]

One YouTube channel I really enjoy is @Sub 12 airgunners. His videos are very informative and easy to watch. I think he likes the Alpha too. Of course it is the Snowpeak AP900 in the UK. I don't have a lathe and I just polished the barrel with JB, but I also got really nice accuracy with this rifle. He also has a nice disassembly video for the Alpha. Not to mention his other videos on the Ghost etc.. There's a reason he does the BRK videos lol.

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[fastphil]

An Alpha arrived a couple weeks ago, and i set up a splat target at 35yds in the backyard, and after a quick "sight-in", it wasn't too hard to get a few good groupings, and i don't think i'd miss too many squirrels with it. i first used a "red-dot" and luved the weight and handling, but couldn't see that well at 35-yrds, so i mounted up a small scope for now. Having a folding stock makes it compact enough to be a regular traveler in my sxs !

 

[Billm]

I managed to shoot two groups yesterday with the Alpha at 45yds. I put the original moderator back on it. It was too cold to shoot much.

 

[FL22]

I managed to shoot two groups yesterday with the Alpha at 45yds. I put the original moderator back on it. It was too cold to shoot much.View attachment 19053View attachment 19052

Looks good Bill, are you still happy with it overall?

 

[Billm]

Looks good Bill, are you still happy with it overall?

Yes. For $270 it’s a very nice airgun. I do wish it was easier to tune. But, it shoots really well straight out of the box. I believe it might be a 100yd MOA carbine in no wind. I would like to try the full length bottle version, but I can’t justify buying it. Truck gun, kitchen corner, back door gun for under $300 - this might be the gun. Pretty impressive for a sub 4lb carbine. I might try and boost the velocity a little and really try some slugs.

 

[Dogowski]

Buck Rail mod stock might fit it.. I put one on my Barra and it is great..
You could print one out with a adjustable but...

I think you're right, I believe it will fit after looking at mine I installed on my 250z.

 

[Billm]

I figured I’d try the Alpha on the adjustable rest that I’m building. I only filled it once and got 19 shots on the reg and the 20th shot was useable. This pistol/carbine is very accurate out of the box. I was using $5 Norma .22 17.6gr pellets. I’ve yet to test to see which pellets it prefers. I have polished the barrel and lowered the trigger pull (not enough) it weighs just under 4lbs. The weight and the trigger pull weight are stopping me from getting the most accuracy from the gun. I can actually see the crosshairs pulling off target as I get to the break and I’m struggling to stop it. That’s all on me, not a criticism. I had myself and a variable crosswind hindering me and it. Still performed admirably at 50yds. I was using the TNC225R and recorded it, maybe I’ll post it. I’ll post the target in a little bit. I’ll post the Garmin data below. Garmin has really upped their game with the Chrono data now.

 

[duchunter007]

I figured I’d try the Alpha on the adjustable rest that I’m building. I only filled it once and got 19 shots on the reg and the 20th shot was useable. This pistol/carbine is very accurate out of the box. I was using $5 Norma .22 17.6gr pellets. I’ve yet to test to see which pellets it prefers. I have polished the barrel and lowered the trigger pull (not enough) it weighs just under 4lbs. The weight and the trigger pull weight are stopping me from getting the most accuracy from the gun. I can actually see the crosshairs pulling off target as I get to the break and I’m struggling to stop it. That’s all on me, not a criticism. I had myself and a variable crosswind hindering me and it. Still performed admirably at 50yds. I was using the TNC225R and recorded it, maybe I’ll post it. I’ll post the target in a little bit. I’ll post the Garmin data below. Garmin has really upped their game with the Chrono data now.

That looks pretty for a budget air gun!

 

[Billm]

That looks pretty for a budget air gun!

I’d have no problem recommending this airgun to someone new or experienced. Maybe with the bigger tube or aluminum bottle. I’ll be surprised if this airgun doesn’t have its own cult following like the Notos. I can’t wait to see all of the mods. I almost wish I had some Starlings to shoot lol.

 

[Billm]

I shot two groups of ten. It was windy and like I said, I couldn’t stop from pulling the shots to the right. If you look at the target on the left and remove the one flyer, there’s two really nice groups for a $279 carbine with random pellets. Here’s the two strings plus the one recalculated without the flyer. A better shooter, less wind and lighter trigger and this gun will probably shoot sub 1/2” 24fpe groups at 50yds consistently. I think it shot better with the bipid than with a front rest. It seemed more locked down, but could be my imagination I would think pesting would be a lot of fun with it.