OVERVIEW
First we need to say that this Daystate Alpha Wolf Smart review is not structured in the conventional Hard Air Magazine format. That’s because we’re doing something unusual for us and comparing two air rifles.
One is the existing Daystate Alpha Wolf. The second is the recently-released Alpha Wolf Smart. The new “Smart” is so similar to its sibling that it’s best considered by comparing the similarities and differences between them. And – indeed – to the Delta Wolf from the perspective of their electronic controls and interface…
HAM reviewed the Alpha Wolf back in late 2023. It earned a Gold Award with an almost-perfect score of 99%. Specifically, we tested the gun in .22 caliber with the short, 17-Inch barrel.
As a reminder, here’s our summary:
“The Daystate Alpha Wolf PCP is a beautiful and supremely-capable PCP air rifle.
The electronic control provides unprecedented tuning capabilities. Once the touch screen has been mastered, managing the gun becomes simplicity itself. Yes, there’s a definite learning curve, but the Delta Wolf repays making the effort to understand it.
The results are power, accuracy, flexibility and consistency, yet simplicity. This is an expensive air rifle, but – as this review shows – there’s a huge amount of value in this gun.”
First we’ll look at the “Smart” aspect of this air rifle. Then – separately – we’ll cover shooting the gun in .30 caliber.
ALPHA WOLF SMART PHILOSOPHY
The Daystate Alpha Wolf Smart we’re looking-at today is a very different configuration. It’s in .30 caliber and has the long, 28-Inch barrel.
Naturally that has implications for weight, handling, shot count and power when compared to the “shorty” 22 caliber version. However, it’s obviously the same gun with many of the same benefits.
So what’s this new “Smart” version about?
The 2025 Daystate brochure describes it like this: …”not every shooter needs the ability to fine-tune to such a high level. For these shooters we offer the Alpha Wolf Smart version with simpler programming and the chronograph removed. Revised power settings allow adjustment in percentage increments. These revisions make the rifle simpler to operate at a highly competitive price.”
For simplicity, I’ve tried to summarize these differences in this chart.
| Functionality | Alpha Wolf in Factory Mode | Alpha Wolf in Advanced Mode | Alpha Wolf Smart |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chronograph Built-In | Yes | Yes | No |
| Chronograph feeds back shot data to control gun | Yes | No | No |
| You make changes by inputting FPS and pellet weighs required | Yes | No | No |
| Mode to use for maximum control | No | Yes | No |
| Mode to use for simplicity | Yes, By Multiple Presets | No | Yes, By Percentage Changes |
| Mode for maximum consistency of FPS | No | Yes | Yes |
| Price | $3,579 | $3,579 | $3,189 |
Because the “Smart” changes are operation-related (and, of course, the real reason behind the model), we’ll cover these first. Performance in .30 caliber will be at the end of this review.
OPERATOR INTERFACE
OK, so this is where the rubber meets the road! The fundamental difference between the Daystate Alpha Wolf Smart and the regular model is to be found in the LCD display on the side of the buttstock.
Here we see the method for changing the power level. Just tap the “+” or “-” icon to make a change of 5%. The selected value is then displayed right in front of you. It couldn’t be simpler!
This compares to the regular Alpha Wolf’s Factory Mode where you select pre-set values for FPS and pellet weight. Alternatively, in Advanced Mode you select the hammer stroke dwell time in micro seconds, choose a voltage value and regulator pressure.
So yes, I agree that changing the power level on the Daystate Alpha Wolf Smart is much easier than with the regular model. There’s a much lower learning curve if you want to change the factory settings of your air rifle.
When the rifle is in action, the display looks like this. As you can see, the gun is set to full power – 100% – with the regulator set to 153 bar (2,219 PSI).
We also see that the settings are locked and the battery is about half-charged. It also says “chrono off”, but of course one is not fitted to the Smart gun.
Now let’s compare the Smart display (above) to that of the regular Alpha Wolf in factory mode. Immediately we see much more information, including the Muzzle Velocity of the most recent shot fired.
That FPS information is provided by the built-in chronograph of the standard Alpha Wolf. Our photograph below shows this device. Daystate says that a chronograph can be added to the Alpha Wolf Smart (and the software upgraded to suit) retro-actively.
That may be of interest to some buyers who think they may like to upgrade in the future. It’s also a demonstration of the company’s commitment to product up-gradability.
DAYSTATE ALPHA WOLF SMART CONCLUSIONS
So, simple operation plus a shallow learning curve is the value proposition for the Alpha Wolf Smart. It provides sophisticated electronic control of the gun’s mechanism without the need to be involved with complex setup steps.
Sure, the Smart is around $400 less than the regular model. But I’m going to suggest that anyone who is going to spend north of $3K on an air rifle is not going to see that price difference as a decision maker for one version or the other.
Essentially, the choice of a “Smart” or “regular” Alpha Wolf will basically be down to personal preference. Daystate has given users a choice and that’s definitely a good thing.
ALPHA WOLF .30 CALIBER PERFORMANCE
Now let’s look at the performance of the Daystate Alpha Wolf Smart in .30 caliber.
The gun reviewed by HAM was supplied with a test sheet from the manufacturer. That shows 50.15 Grain pellets firing at more than 110 Ft/Lbs of Muzzle Energy. The Daystate website shows a maximum Muzzle Energy of 105 Ft/Lbs for the Smart in .30 caliber.
However, Airguns of Arizona de-tunes the guns before shipment (1,000 FPS is a little high for best accuracy with pellets). They reduce the power slightly with the aim of better accuracy and improved shots count, yet retaining a strong punch.
The AoA test document supplied with our test gun showed an average Muzzle Velocity of 930 FPS, also using JSB 50.15 Grain pellets. That’s 96.34 Ft/Lbs.
HAM test results look like this. As you can see, using the gun set-up by AOA in “100% power” mode, we achieved 28 consistent shots before the regulator set point was reached. Effectively that means a comfortable three 8-shot magazines of shooting between re-filling with High Pressure Air.
The average Muzzle Velocity over those 28 shots was 923 FPS. (The difference between the HAM numbers and those from AoA varies by just 0.7%, that’s well within the range of variability of two chronographs or two tins of pellets). That makes the Muzzle Velocity average 94.89 Ft/Lbs.
Shooting the Daystate Alpha Wolf Smart was a great reminder that both trigger and cocking action are simply on a different planet compared to any other “non-Daystate” airgun HAM has ever tested. The trigger pull weight of the Alpha Wolf Smart tested by HAM averaged just 8.5 Oz as received from the factory. Yes, that’s 0 Lbs 8.5 Oz!
Apart from being incredibly light, the trigger has the most exquisite, “glass break” feel for the second stage. It feels like a perfect trigger yet – underneath – we’re really operating an electronic micro-switch through an extremely refined human interface.
That’s how the trigger can be so perfect, yet also be mounted amidships in this bullpup air rifle.
As for accuracy, we were hampered by far less than ideal weather conditions for testing. Wind was gusting unpredictably from right to left across the range throughout our test session. It just didn’t let up!
That didn’t cause Ham Tester Doug Wall too much problem at 25 Yards, as we can see from this first target.
But at 50 Yards, the intermittent gusts gave a consistent stringing: slightly high and left. Doug shot many targets. Each one grouped three or four shots pretty-well on top of each other, with the remaining one or two blown elsewhere.
The wind was consistently inconsistent! Here’s one target pulled pretty well at random to show the results. At least we knew the problem was not the shooter, pellets or gun. Oh well!
SHOOTABILITY
This would be a good point to mention the SIMPLY ENORMOUS range of adjustability available for scope mounting on the Daystate Alpha Wolf. The Picatinny rail is clamped to a dovetail machined into the full length of the gun’s receiver assembly.
Combined with the “forward overhang” design of the rail itself, there’s really no practical limit to the length of scope or personal eye relief required for comfortable shooting.
The cheekpiece also rides on the same rail and allows for a similarly wide range of positioning to achieve a comfortable shooting hold. It is simple but very adjustable and can be positioned to suit the shooter by sliding along the Alpha Wolf’s top dovetail rail, then locking in place with two setscrews.
It’s ambidextrous, too, and can easily be swapped over for use by left-handers.
The buttpad can be locked in place for maximum comfort and can accommodate both right- and left-handed shooters. However, it’s really not up to the standard of the rest of the gun and I’m sure everyone will want to replace it with an aftermarket buttplate from PRS, or a similar vendor.
Of course, “our” Daystate Alpha Wolf Smart was loud, but it was less noisy than we had expected. Likewise it was longer and heavier than the .22 Caliber “shorty” Alpha Wolf previously tested. (The all-up weight with Hawke Sidewinder 30 SF scope was 10 Lb 12 Oz.) So we knocked the “Noise Level” and “Shootability” scores back a little for that compared to the smaller caliber version.
APPEARANCE AND FINISH
As is expected from the company, finish was flawless in all respects. All metal parts were perfectly machined, polished and finished. Everything about the Daystate Alpha Wolf Smart shows a level of perfection that symbolizes the craftsmanship that is self-evidently applied throughout the gun.
The same was true for the Minelli laminated stock. This too was beautifully finished, as you can see from the reflections in the photograph below.
The carbon fiber shroud is flawless – there’s that word again! – too. The (few) synthetic – ballistic nylon – parts have almost-imperceptible mold lines.
So it’s a beautiful air rifle. But we did miss that built-in, integrated chronograph!
BUY FROM AIRGUNS OF ARIZONA
Daystate Alpha Wolf Smart .30 Caliber
The post Daystate Alpha Wolf Smart Test Review .30 Caliber appeared first on Hard Air Magazine.
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