wolfmangreg
HAM Sniper
Last edited:
Took delivery of a new KG Cricket 2 Tac in .30 yesterday from Tenacious Airguns. Mounted an Athlon Midas Tac 6-24x50 last night, & took her to the range today with a variety of pellets.
Spoiler alert- the amateur review I’m about to lay down is overwhelmingly positive.
It’s a brick house for sure- everything about it is solid & robust. Think AAA EVOL & Edgun Matador solid. It’s not a lightweight but isn’t a hog either. Might want something lighter for walking miles in mountainous terrain, but for the hunting & shooting I do, it’s just about right.
Fit & finish are great- not just “good”, but great. Have/had several KG rifles & all were fine, but it’s clearly up a notch with this one. Screwing the shroud on, simple as it seems, was a good indication- after one turn, all the play is gone.
The buttpad is another small thing that I really like. The contour & grippiness are just right for me, & love that it’s adjustable. The grip is very comfortable & the undercut makes it easy to grab quickly & consistently.
Pleasantly surprised at its good manners. While I did know I wasn’t shooting my 19 or 30 fpe guns, it remains pretty darn calm during the shot. Had planned to put a moderator on it, but not sure now- the shroud is clearly working well & not sure a mod would make much difference.
This will raise some eyebrows, but the trigger is as good as I’ve ever pressed. Been blessed to try a lot of great ones- Taipan, AAA, Daystate mechanical & electronic, an Anschutz 54 rimfire - and this one is as good as any of them, maybe the best. There, I said it & I’m glad I said it!
Keep in mind this trigger was worked by the wizard also known as @zx10wall . It’s 7 oz on my scale, with nearly zero overtravel. We use the word “crisp” a lot (justifiably so) to describe good triggers, but it just doesn’t do it justice. If anyone knows a term that encompasses the crisp, clean, glass rod, & icicle analogies, only MOAR- please educate me, I could use the vocabulary boost. Most reviews I’ve seen have given the Cricket 2 trigger good marks, though IIRC it usually weighs in at 1-1.5lbs out of the box. My unsolicited advice- if you own a Cricket 2 & aren’t completely satisfied with the trigger, send it to Derrick & pay the man!
So all that said, will it shoot??? Yes. Yes it will. Shot JSB 45 & 50 grain, JTS 45 grain, & Zan 56 grain pellets. All of the below were at a lasered 102.7 yards from a solid bench, Rock Jr & rear bag, with no winds worth mentioning.
- The Zan’s didn’t fare well. Feeding was very rough, and the one group produced was poor. Really think they were taking some damage during feeding. Just not compatible with this barrel.
- JTS were ok but couldn’t match the JSB pellets. Groups centered ~3” to the right of the other pellets, can’t even begin to explain that. Weird.
- JSB 45 shot well, nearly matching the JSB 50 grain but not quite. Given the superior BC of the 50 grain pellets, they would have had to be demonstrably more accurate to come out on top.
- JSB 50, take a bow. The (several) 5-shot groups & one 10 shot group I sent downrange all came in at 1.5” or less. For those not familiar, the prop in the target photos below is a Cricket magazine, which measures 1.43" diameter.
Random thoughts:
Spoiler alert- the amateur review I’m about to lay down is overwhelmingly positive.
It’s a brick house for sure- everything about it is solid & robust. Think AAA EVOL & Edgun Matador solid. It’s not a lightweight but isn’t a hog either. Might want something lighter for walking miles in mountainous terrain, but for the hunting & shooting I do, it’s just about right.
Fit & finish are great- not just “good”, but great. Have/had several KG rifles & all were fine, but it’s clearly up a notch with this one. Screwing the shroud on, simple as it seems, was a good indication- after one turn, all the play is gone.
The buttpad is another small thing that I really like. The contour & grippiness are just right for me, & love that it’s adjustable. The grip is very comfortable & the undercut makes it easy to grab quickly & consistently.
Pleasantly surprised at its good manners. While I did know I wasn’t shooting my 19 or 30 fpe guns, it remains pretty darn calm during the shot. Had planned to put a moderator on it, but not sure now- the shroud is clearly working well & not sure a mod would make much difference.
This will raise some eyebrows, but the trigger is as good as I’ve ever pressed. Been blessed to try a lot of great ones- Taipan, AAA, Daystate mechanical & electronic, an Anschutz 54 rimfire - and this one is as good as any of them, maybe the best. There, I said it & I’m glad I said it!
Keep in mind this trigger was worked by the wizard also known as @zx10wall . It’s 7 oz on my scale, with nearly zero overtravel. We use the word “crisp” a lot (justifiably so) to describe good triggers, but it just doesn’t do it justice. If anyone knows a term that encompasses the crisp, clean, glass rod, & icicle analogies, only MOAR- please educate me, I could use the vocabulary boost. Most reviews I’ve seen have given the Cricket 2 trigger good marks, though IIRC it usually weighs in at 1-1.5lbs out of the box. My unsolicited advice- if you own a Cricket 2 & aren’t completely satisfied with the trigger, send it to Derrick & pay the man!
So all that said, will it shoot??? Yes. Yes it will. Shot JSB 45 & 50 grain, JTS 45 grain, & Zan 56 grain pellets. All of the below were at a lasered 102.7 yards from a solid bench, Rock Jr & rear bag, with no winds worth mentioning.
- The Zan’s didn’t fare well. Feeding was very rough, and the one group produced was poor. Really think they were taking some damage during feeding. Just not compatible with this barrel.
- JTS were ok but couldn’t match the JSB pellets. Groups centered ~3” to the right of the other pellets, can’t even begin to explain that. Weird.
- JSB 45 shot well, nearly matching the JSB 50 grain but not quite. Given the superior BC of the 50 grain pellets, they would have had to be demonstrably more accurate to come out on top.
- JSB 50, take a bow. The (several) 5-shot groups & one 10 shot group I sent downrange all came in at 1.5” or less. For those not familiar, the prop in the target photos below is a Cricket magazine, which measures 1.43" diameter.
Random thoughts:
- The polymer cheek piece is much more comfortable than it looks, though I wish it were wood to match the grip & buttstock.
- Have never had even the slightest problem with Kalibrgun’s magazine loading system, but it’s a deal breaker for some. The gen 2 Crickets should have addressed this- it’s costing them some sales. I don’t get the hate at all, but it’s out there.
- That said, I like that the magazines aren't spring powered & could not be easier to fill.
- The Athlon Midas Tac is one heckuva scope.
- The JSB 50 chronograph at 864 fps, good for 83+ fpe.
- Using Leupold low (steel) rings. Thought they might be too low, but I'm really happy with the cheek weld.
.
, sans the expert tuning & trigger work.
