Blackwolf Blackwolf and Sub-MOA Barrels Review

[Franklink]

Shot a couple hundred 18.1s yesterday, all from the 1:22 SubMOA barrel. Some of that was the 150 yard pickle jar lid fun mentioned above, and some was on paper @ 30 and 50 yards.

So, reg pressure of 125bar, plenum stuffer and a transfer port restriction in place, white spring on "12" produced 880fps with the 18.13s. Lots and lots and lots of shots per fill. Very minimal cocking effort with the white spring. Overall pretty darn enjoyable.

Here are two "30 yard challenges." Shot them benched, which I think is my first time doing so, as I usually shoot them from a field target position. Per the National Weather System, the nearest weather station to my house (3 miles) recorded wind speeds from 3-18mph while I was shooting, and from various directions.

And this is the chrono date for one of the above, I didn't note which one...

From there I went out to 50 yards. Found some old printed N50 targets in my target binder so shot at them. BIG disclaimer here on the 18.1s @ resisting wind....I've got at least 6 different .177 and .20 barrels and guns that resist wind better than the .22/18.1s @ 50 yards.

I don't have a 0.35 plug so I set my calipers to 0.175 and measured from the center of the hole to assist in scoring, like this...


(Top row of both = sighters)

And then for scoring here's the math to extrapolate the 196/200 to a score out of 250, had I shot a full card.

So, by setting up ratios, it would have shaken out to something like a 245/9x.

I hadn't put many 30fpe shots down any of the barrels for the BW prior to this, but I found the experience quite enjoyable.

 

[Danman]

Shot a couple hundred 18.1s yesterday, all from the 1:22 SubMOA barrel. Some of that was the 150 yard pickle jar lid fun mentioned above, and some was on paper @ 30 and 50 yards.

So, reg pressure of 125bar, plenum stuffer and a transfer port restriction in place, white spring on "12" produced 880fps with the 18.13s. Lots and lots and lots of shots per fill. Very minimal cocking effort with the white spring. Overall pretty darn enjoyable.

Here are two "30 yard challenges." Shot them benched, which I think is my first time doing so, as I usually shoot them from a field target position. Per the National Weather System, the nearest weather station to my house (3 miles) recorded wind speeds from 3-18mph while I was shooting, and from various directions.

And this is the chrono date for one of the above, I didn't note which one...

From there I went out to 50 yards. Found some old printed N50 targets in my target binder so shot at them. BIG disclaimer here on the 18.1s @ resisting wind....I've got at least 6 different .177 and .20 barrels and guns that resist wind better than the .22/18.1s @ 50 yards.

I don't have a 0.35 plug so I set my calipers to 0.175 and measured from the center of the hole to assist in scoring, like this...


(Top row of both = sighters)

And then for scoring here's the math to extrapolate the 196/200 to a score out of 250, had I shot a full card.

So, by setting up ratios, it would have shaken out to something like a 245/9x.

I hadn't put many 30fpe shots down any of the barrels for the BW prior to this, but I found the experience quite enjoyable.

I woulda packed it in after the first card ...mighty consistent!
That tune is exactly what my S510 came set at, 880 with an 18.1gr...my guess is you B.W. isnt even flinching at that power level as its a fair bit heavier. I get zero muzzle flip, whereas its definitely noticed with my Ghost @53fpe.
Curious....did the pickle jar lid survive that far away?!

 

[Franklink]

I woulda packed it in after the first card ...mighty consistent!
That tune is exactly what my S510 came set at, 880 with an 18.1gr...my guess is you B.W. isnt even flinching at that power level as its a fair bit heavier. I get zero muzzle flip, whereas its definitely noticed with my Ghost @53fpe.
Curious....did the pickle jar lid survive that far away?!

Incredibly stable at only 30-31fpe. There were a couple times where I backed off the gun completely and took the shot just to see what it'd do without any shooter input (not sucked up to shoulder or cheek-welded), and it was still settled on the correct holdover point after the shot.

Pickle jar lid is shredded.

 

[Franklink]

Pickle jar lid location @ the added red dot. It spins with the wind so that makes it even more of a fun challenge.

 

[Franklink]

Update...

I've been playing with it as a carbine these last few months.

F

Blackwolf Blackwolf Chassis Carbine

Apr 22, 2026

Starting a new thread since this isn't a SubMOA barrel...

Calling it phase two of this :


36" OAL with the STO Pugio

37.5" OAL with this shroud

Weighs just shy of 11lbs (versus 13lb + with the SubMOA barrel).

OAL dependent on moderator, but Carbine configuration is 9.5" shorter than SubMOA config, when measuring from butt-plate...

• Franklink
• Replies: 6
• Forum: Daystate Airguns

• 

I ran around 1200 pellets through it with three different 15" .22 barrels, mostly around 18-24fpe, using pellets from 13-18grains. The 15" barrels were all repurposed from other projects, of various provenances and vintages. I REALLY enjoy the form factor of the 36-38" version of the BW, more so than when running a 24" barrel, but just couldn't arrive at a magic combination of speed/pellet for any of the 15" barrels. The most promising was a 15" poly. And the problem I ran into there was that the accuracy got better as the speed went up, which seems pretty typical of polygonal rifling. And getting the speed up enough with such a short barrel resulted in a harsh shot cycle, relative to the power output. One of my non-negotiables is that I've got to enjoy shooting a gun (again, shot cycle) to leave it set up in any particular configuration long-term. And the shot cycle for the 15" barrels, relative to the power output relative to the accuracy/precision results, just wasn't the collective magic that I'm looking for.

So I'm back to the SubMOA barrels for now. And in the first mini session with the 1:22, found myself noting how it's more accurate/precise than any of the 3 different 15" barrels I've been playing with, and not by a little.

Currently running the white spring, with the plenum reducer in place, with a (restricted) transfer port size of 0.177" and a reg pressure of 110BAR.

At MIN, that combination produces 925fps with JSB .22/13.43s. At "10" I get 890fps with JSB .22/18.13s, and on MAX, 825fps with JSB .22/25.4s.

Very pleasant cycle, easy-cocking, and quite accurate here. Also getting away with just using the 110c 0Db for moderating. But this combination of adjustments made me realize that the weight difference between the 13.43s and the 25.4s doesn't really allow for optimal results from both at the same reg pressure and/or hammer spring.

At this point, I'm still overwhelmed with all the possible adjustments and what to land on as a long-term configuration/use-case for the BW. But currently trending towards doing a 180 to the idea of the modest power output carbine, and really leaning into what the chassis version of the gun seems like it was designed for: being a bench howitzer. I've been eyeing a .22 slug mold and casting some slugs using trap-collected lead. Recently went down this road with a different platform but the non-choked nature of the SubMOA barrels, coupled with the ease at which the BW makes power, might make the BW a platform better suited to this idea.

 

[Danman]

I say swap in a .30 cal barrel and put the pedal to the metal!
My thoughts: the Blackwolf is an expensive top tier platform pcp, meant to challenge the top competitors. Neutering it as you have proves it can be done, but...its wine n cheese in the field. No one is sparrow hunting with their BWs.
Many many pcps with this detuned power level (at 1/4 to 1/2 the cost) can match the accuracy/efficiency.
It is the most powerful Daystate to date and is priced accordingly. We need to see 40gr .22 slugs and 55gr .30cal slugs zinging outta the beast!
Also, this would cut out at least half of the ammo/barrel combos, as anything light just wont work.

 

[Franklink]

I say swap in a .30 cal barrel and put the pedal to the metal!
My thoughts: the Blackwolf is an expensive top tier platform pcp, meant to challenge the top competitors. Neutering it as you have proves it can be done, but...its wine n cheese in the field. No one is sparrow hunting with their BWs.
Many many pcps with this detuned power level (at 1/4 to 1/2 the cost) can match the accuracy/efficiency.
It is the most powerful Daystate to date and is priced accordingly. We need to see 40gr .22 slugs and 55gr .30cal slugs zinging outta the beast!
Also, this would cut out at least half of the ammo/barrel combos, as anything light just wont work.

I don't have any interest in .30....

But the .22 mold that I'm considering produces a boat-tailed slug in the 35 grain range...so....yes. In previous slug testing, that weight was about the cutoff for what the 1;22 can stabilize, and then there's the 1:16. So, if I go this route, having two potential barrels theoretically doubles my chances of a happy barrel/slug combo. And again, the SubMOA's arent choked. While choked doesn't always 100% equal poor results with slugs, the non-choked nature of the SubMOA's is another pro, when someone has slugs on the menu.

EDIT: Just remembered I've also still got the OEM 28" LW that would also be a candidate for a 35grain slug, based on twist rate.

 

[Franklink]

The ugh, ugh, ugh, Tim the Toolman Taylor, big power thing in airguns isn't how I enjoy them the most.

No matter the retail price, I find myself giggling with excitement and joy the most when I'm shooting modest power.

BUT, I do really enjoy pushing the limits on distance, and I also really find the concept of "free" (casting them myself) projectiles appealing.

 

[Franklink]

A little bit of a Blackwolf update...

The last few months I've been distracted from the BW, either by a .25 slug-casting experiment from a different gun, and/or enjoying sub20fpe airguns, practicing for the summer field target/camping matches. I sold the .25 gun and slug mold, and the ft club voted not to have an October ft/camping match, so that looks like I can put some time back to the BW.

@cavedweller generously set me up with an 23" OEM .177 BW barrel-and I took delivery of that this past weekend via a hand-off at a ft match. Yes I played with the BW as a .177 for a few weeks early in the review, quite a while ago, but that was with a borrowed NOT-OEM barrel and I didn't have it long enough to shoot it at any matches.

So, the plan for the .177 factory barrel is to see how it'll do as a field target gun, under 20fpe. The two main projectiles there will be the 10.34 and/or the 13.4grain JSBs. If that goes well and seems promising, I'll likely compete with it. Might even play with some .177 slugs, we all know the power is certainly there, although this particular barrel has a pretty tiny transfer port, but I'll likely try it out anyway.

I haven't measured a twist rate yet, but it is definitely a Lothar Walther polygonal rifled bore. I would assume that it's a standard rate of 1:17.7. I'm a big fan of the LW polys for .177 field target, based on past success with them, so I'm pretty optimistic for this.

Thanks Rudy.

 

[Franklink]

F

.22 StingAir Western .22/21.9gr

Wednesday at 11:40 PM

Two tins of these came home with me from the ft match this last weekend.



AOA donated a case of them to the raffle and I won these when my ticket was drawn, but they started just handing them out so many of us in attendance took at least one tin home.

I'm not big on weighing pellets but I know many are so I weighed 25 from each tin, in the name of science, or something like that.


And every single one of the randomly chosen 50 weighed 22.1grains on my little cheap scale.
315 per tin makes that a sample of 50/630, so the 50 represents about 8% of the two tins. I...

• Franklink
• Replies: 22
• Forum: Other Manufacturers Airgun Ammo

• 

All that mess above is a link.

Decided to shoot some of the StingAIr Western pellets before making the caliber swap from .22 to .177.


My kids placed some of the mini pumpkins from our garden on the steps next to my shooting bench. TIs the season I suppose.



So this is with the 1:22 SubMOA barrel, shooting the new 21.9 grain Western pellets mentioned in the link above. White spring. Reg pressure of 110 bar. Prototype plenum reducer in place. I thought I had a transfer port restrictor in place, but when I pulled the barrel there wasn't one, so full SubMOA transfer port.

Min on the wheel was 660-670ish.
Max on the wheel was 890-905ish. And this is where I shot the following groups.

Generally pretty quick and dirty here. No attempts were made at tuning for optimal. Mostly just spun the wheel, wanting to leave the reg @ 110 since I suspect it'll be a good starting place for the .177 barrel.

Here were the conditions...


Just went straight to 50 yards. Top left here was the sighter/scope zeroing group, the other five bulls are 10 shots each, 60 consecutive shots.



Tried a card @ 100 yards next...


Then another one @ 100 yards...



Threw some of them at the steel I have at 135 yards and the Western pellets/SubMOA barrel were holding together to at least that far.

Based on how these SubMOA barrels do with the AEA/JTS cousins of these Western pellets, I'd expect better results in the 940-970fps speeds, but they were quite respectable down around 900fps where I shot the above groups. Generally speaking though, the pellets seemed to behave, relative to the wind speeds and directions and my input. No obvious/egregious flyers. Bout what I'd expect for these pellets at this distance in this wind, and accounting for my typical non-cherry picking.

 

[Franklink]

.177 High Power OEM Black Wolf Barrel

Same carbon fiber within carbon fiber as the 28" .22 HiLIte barrel I reported on earlier in the ongoing review. The OEM LW barrels for these BWs have an interesting tensioned system. The outer cf tube is the visible "shroud" when the gun is ready to go. This outer CF unthreads, literally threads machined into the inner layer of the cf, from a collar at the breech end of the gun. The muzzle end of the CF shroud terminates in 1/2x20 threads. Under that cf shroud is a vented endpiece at the muzzle. That endpiece at the muzzle accomplishes various tasks....it of course centers the outer shroud to avoid clipping...it also has flats on it that can be tightened against the collar on the breech end. In between those two inner collars is another carbon fiber tube, only barely big enough for the barrel to fit within. So tightening the two inner collars squeezes that inner carbon fiber, ala tensions it. And that's the factory barrel setup for the .22 HiLIte, as well as this .177 I'm starting to play with. The only difference is this .177 is 23" instead of 28."

It is indeed a polygonal rifled barrel. 6 lands and grooves. Standard 1:18 (1:17.7) twist rate. And it's choked, but not excessively. On a scale of 0 being no choke, and 10 being a choke in a CZ barreled 1st gen Veteran (0.212-0.213 choke in a 0.217 bore), the choke in this OEM BW .177 barrel is a 6-7. For comparison, the choke in my "magic" 1:36 poly .177 barrel in my USFT is a 3-4 on this same scale. The bore is also tighter in this OEM BW .177 poly barrel than it is in the "magic" USFT poly barrel. I'm using that USFT poly as a source of reference b/c it's simply as good as .177 barrels get. If this .OEM BW .177 is even 75% as good as the "magic" poly in my USFT, I'll be an extremely happy shooter.

Of note here is the transfer port configuration. @cavedweller can perhaps share the full story, as this .177 OEM barrel came by way of him, but what I know is that he had a FAC and a non FAC transfer port. And he supplied them both to me. The teeny tine 0.1" tp is what came installed. I took one look at it and thought...too small. I understand the why here though. When trying to tame down a fire-breathing dragon of a PCP like this one, a small TP is one of the ways to do it. And probably the most-straight forward. BUT, we have other means of doing so. And I have plans to at least try some .177 slugs out of this barrel. So I dismantled the barrel/shroud/tensioned CF tube before ever firing a shot out of it. And it was a beast of a project. Between needing to grind down a wrench to be narrow enough to fit the flats, and the over-zealous amount of lok tite....sparks were flying and heat was being applied, and not in the same step of the process.

Vented shroud-centering end piece. Allows the shroud to act as an expansion chamber for the muzzle blast.

But I did successfully get it apart and installed the larger, dual-transfer port. And then I dropped the 0.125" transfer port disc @Arzrover machined for me into the tp passageway of the breech. My thought here being that I'd much rather swap out one of those discs to a larger/smaller size, than have to take the barrel/shroud/tensioned tube assembly apart again.

And I guessed correctly. No accuracy results yet, but a couple test shots yielded 840 on MIN and 980 on MAX with 10.34s, at a reg pressure of 110 bar, white spring. Good place to start. And, as @cavedweller recently noted, I am indeed loving how quiet and calm those couple fps-curiosity settling shots were.

Pretty excited for the upcoming accuracy testing.

 

[pan60]

My kids placed some of the mini pumpkins from our garden on the steps next to my shooting bench. TIs the season I suppose.

View attachment 23476

I do hope you plan to enter the pumkin carve with one of those : )