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VALUE FOR MONEY
The Daystate Blackwolf is an all-new, all-mechanical design and has the shallowest profile of any Daystate rifle. It boasts no less than 16 new and unique features, the company says. It certainly felt svelte to me!
The Daystate Blackwolf PCP air rifle range is available with either an air cylinder or carbon-wrapped buddy bottle in three different but equally beautiful wood stocks – Walnut, Carbon Grey and Blackwolf Laminate.
For this review, we’re examining the lowest-cost model in the range, the “cylinder” gun with carbon grey stock and 17-Inch barrel. Well, at $2,599.99, “lowest-cost” is a relative term. This is still a very expensive air rifle.
For reference, the comparable HiLite model with 480 cc carbon fiber bottle is $175 more expensive. Otherwise, save for a differently-configured forend to the stock, both models are functionally identical.
So, does the Daystate Blackwolf offer good value?
That’s a really tough question. Sure, it’s a lot of money. In fact, with prices peaking at $4,000 (less one cent) for the HiLite black, chassis version with 28-Inch barrel, there’s no more expensive production-level air rifles that I can think of. (And then you’re not going to cheap-out on the required scope, tank and compressor either, are you?).
What you get here is a product that oozes style and quality, has outstanding handling and shoots really well. This is an air rifle for the connoisseur who genuinely believes that the joy of ownership endures long after the original cost has been forgotten.
One thing for sure is that the Daystate factory in England is working flat-out to keep up with demand. That’s an indication that there’s a lot of connoisseurs out there and that they are backing their interest with real money for what they believe to be an outstanding air rifle.
But it’s still very expensive…
BUY FROM AIRGUNS OF ARIZONA
Daystate Blackwolf Cylinder Carbon Grey 17 Inch Barrel
SPEED AND ACCURACY
First off, we need to say that the Daystate Blackwolf in High Power configuration – as tested here – is specifically designed to be used with heavy pellets. For example the 25.39 Grain JSB Jumbo Monsters in .22 caliber. This is similar to the design philosophy behind the Alpha and Delta Wolf models.
With the regulator set to 135 bar on the gauge, the gun shoots waaaaayyyy too fast with most of the pellets in the HAM test suite. However, Doug Rogers undertook our full range of standard tests in order to complete our full test protocol and “put miles on” the gun in a comparable manner to other reviews.
| Pellet | Average Muzzle Velocity | Average Muzzle Energy | Accuracy |
|---|---|---|---|
| H&N Field Target Trophy Green 10.03 Grain | 1,183.40 FPS | 31.19 Ft/Lbs | Good. |
| Predator GTO 11.75 Grain | 1,135.65 FPS | 33.65 Ft/Lbs | Excellent. |
| RWS Hobby 11.9 Grain | 1,120.37 FPS | 33.17 Ft/Lbs | Poor. |
| Crosman Premier HP 14.3 Grain | 1,065.08 FPS | 36.02 Ft/Lbs | Excellent. |
| JSB Jumbo Exact 14.35 Grain | 1,066.60 FPS | 36.25 Ft/Lbs | Excellent. |
| H&N Field Target Trophy 14.66 Grain | 1,055.08 FPS | 36.24 Ft/Lbs | Good. |
| Datstate Howler Slugs 20.3 Grain | 916.33 FPS | 37.85 Ft/Lbs | Excellent. |
| H&N Baracuda Match 21.14 Grain | 928.56 FPS | 40.48 Ft/Lbs | Excellent. |
| JSB Jumbo Monster 25.39 Grain | 888.25 FPS | 44.49 Ft/Lbs | Excellent. Best Tested. |
Doug Wall was the tester behind the trigger for our 25- and 50-Yard targets.
Doug (Wall) fired 25-Yard, 10-shot groups with multiple flavors of JSB Jumbo Monster pellets. Accuracy at this range was very similar with all the pellets, as you can see below.
Below is Doug’s 50-Yard, 5-shot group. Under half an Inch CTC at this range with unsorted pellets and no special preparation is very good shooting in my book!
TRIGGER AND COCKING EFFORT
The Blackwolf’s trigger was top of the list for “Likes” in Doug Rogers’ test notes. With an average pull weight of 1 Lb 1.1 Oz, the trigger is fully up-there with our expectations for a Daystate trigger.
There’s just the right amount of first-stage travel, ending with a clear, tactile indication of the second stage. Just a tiny squeeze more and the sear brakes crisply and cleanly.
Daystate says that the Blackwolf’s new multi-point adjustable trigger can be adjusted to allow for allowing pull weights from 8 Oz to 3.5 Lbs. Were this Doug’s personal gun, he would be reaching for the Allen keys immediately to get it down to that minimum value!
The diagram below shows the adjustment possibilities. “B” indicates the first stage weight adjustment with “C” covering first stage travel. The second stage travel is altered with setscrew “E”.
Indeed, Daystate says that – as the trigger is of the “cassette type” – future plans are for triggers to be swappable between multiple pre-set configurations, should the owner desire. This is part of the company’s strategy to “future proof” the Blackwolf.
The manual safety can readily be positioned with the operating lever on either side of the stock to suit. The other, “non-lever” side is shown in the photograph above. However configured, the safety lever positions vertically when “off”.
Then there’s that oversize, non-rotating cocking lever!
Doug Rogers commented in his test notes: “somebody wisely made a big, beefy cocking lever”. He loved it and so do I.
Combined with a typical Daystate quality lever action, cocking the Blackwolf is a simple, delightful experience. The cocking lever mechanism operates in a way that can only be described as “buttery”. In fact, it’s such a delight to the senses, that it’s a real pleasure just to operate with no magazine present, just for “practice”!
COMPARISON TO MAKERS CLAIMS
The Daystate Blackwolf tested by HAM generated a maximum Muzzle Energy of 44.49 Ft/Lbs with 25.39 Grain JSB Jumbo Monster pellets.
This compares to the claim of “up to 55 Ft/Lbs shown on the AoA website, but exceeds the average 43.83 Ft/Lbs Muzzle Energy with the same pellets indicated on the AoA-generated test that was shipped with the gun.
Note that – as always – HAM tested the Daystate Blackwolf in “as received” condition. A product enhancement that Airguns of Arizona adds for US-market sales is to include a set of three additional hammer springs.
These are easy to change and allow the Blackwolf to be set by the owner to multiple performance personalities, with fine corrections courtesy of the power wheel, as described below. The hammer spring choices are as follows:
– Most power.
– Highest shot count.
– Best compromise.
CONSISTENCY
When tested with JSB Jumbo Monster pellets, the Daystate Blackwolf tested by HAM delivered 26 consistent full power shots before HPA pressure dropped to the regulator set point. You can see this performance graphically in the chart below.
The Standard Deviation across those 26 shots was an excellent 3.56 FPS. Great consistency!
The trigger pull weight was equally consistent. The extreme spread of weights recorded by HAM was just ONE OUNCE!!! That’s one of those “can’t do any better” consistency examples of Daystate manufacturing and assembly.
Now here we need to acknowledge that 26 shots is not a large number for a fill – even at close to 45 Ft/Lbs Muzzle Energy.
However, the Blackwolf platform gives you choices, should you want greater shot count. The “Hi Lite” bottle gun is the obvious alternative. Plus there’s options available with changes to the power wheel and/or hammer spring, should you be prepared to accept a somewhat lower power output.
NOISE LEVEL
With a Muzzle Energy of close to 45 Ft/Lbs being produced from a 17-Inch barrel, even if shrouded, it was never likely that this Blackwolf would be exactly quite. And it’s not!
Yes the noise level is on the loud side. It’s definitely not backyard-friendly in it’s base state.
Fortunately the muzzle is threaded for attaching a dedicated airgun-only silencer, such as the 0dB model shown here. That certainly makes a big difference.
SIGHTS AND SCOPE
The Daystate Blackwolf has a 20 MOA-angled Picatinny scope rail machined into the breech block. This makes long-range shooting easier by reducing the chances of running out of vertical elevation in the scope when holding over. Or clicking, for that matter…
For this review, we installed a 4-16 x 50 Hawke Sidewinder 30SF scope. At just under 13 1/2 Inches long, this scope fitted and balanced well on the Blackwolf.
Although, on first glance, it seemed that the scope rail was a little short, this turned-out not to be the case. There was plenty of space to position the scope to achieve the correct eye relief for all three HAM testers.
The scope was mounted using a pair of Leapers UTG PRO POI rings. High specification rings were chosen as the Medium Height rings didn’t give quite enough clearance above the magazine.
As mentioned in a previous article, don’t repeat my mistake and install the scope mount locking rings on the opposite side to that of the cocking handle.
SHOOTABILITY
My first impression was that the Daystate Blackwolf cylinder gun felt heavier than the HiLite version. A glance at the AoA website confirms that this is indeed the case. The HiLite lists at 6.4 Lbs gun only weight with 17-Inch barrel. The Cylinder model here weighs 6.9 Lbs.
The complete rig as tested weighed 10 Lbs 3 Oz.
Plus, the long steel HPA tube shifts the center of gravity further forward, compared to that of the HiLite with it’s carbon fiber bottle. Overall, that makes the gun feel distinctly solid in the hand.
Generally I prefer bottle-fed PCPs. However I’ll give a handling and pointing benefit to the Blackwolf Cylinder version. With a scope mounted, the gun rests absolutely perfectly and solidly on my open palm for offhand shooting. Outstanding!
The adjustable cheekpiece is perfectly located, sized and shaped. For me, at least. And the synthetic material feels comfortable and pleasant when in contact with the shooter’s cheek.
The hard rubber buttpad also provides vertical adjustment capability. However even the long-necked HAM testers did not need to do so.
Both the Daystate-marked (for HPA cylinder pressure) and Huma-marked (for regulator pressure) gauges have beautiful faceplates with finely-marked graduations. However in poor light, the elderly eyes of some of the HAM testers – including me! – found them tough to read. Legibility in bright light was much better, however.
The Blackwolf is provided with an adjustable hammer spring tension wheel at the rear of the action. This can be used to alter the gun’s power output, should that be required by the owner (for indoor basement shooting in winter, for example).
As usual, we left this control set to “Max” for all our shooting tests, as that’s most probably the setting that will be used by the majority of owners here in the USA.
Plus, of course, the regulator is adjustable once the stock is removed and provides yet another method of achieving a shooter’s required power output.
APPEARANCE AND FINISH
Then there’s the beautiful design and finish of the stock. Yes, this is the “low end” – that’s a relative term for anything Daystate, of course – Carbon Gray model.
But I have to say that this Carbon stock is a delight both to look at and to hold. The areas of checkering are exquisitely implemented and located in all the right places.
The Blackwolf logo at the rear of the buttstock is an inspired design element. I love it!
Checkering on the pistol grip and forearm of the stock is beautifully done also.
Finish on the stock is flawless and that level of perfection extends to the metal parts, the carbon fiber wrap of the shroud and – well – everything else that we can see!
Overall, the HAM Team’s subjective opinion is that the Daystate Blackwolf is a great-looking air rifle. And remember that – given the modular nature of the gun’s design – there’s plenty of other “looks” available.
So if you prefer the looks of a bottle gun, or prefer laminate stocks or the style of a chassis rifle, you can easily have a Blackwolf configured to your choice of looks as well as performance.
BUYING AND OWNING
As a connoisseur-level product, the Daystate Blackwolf is not available in general distribution. However it is readily available from specialist dealerships such as Airguns of Arizona and and Precision Airgun Distribution dealers.
The Blackwolf accepts standard Daystate magazines. These are solid, compact and reliable, plus they’re easy to load. Conversely they have a relatively limited capacity and are expensive. They also have no “blank shot protection” built-in to the rotor.
Electronic Daystate models (such as the Delta Wolf or Alpha Wolf) can be programmed to prevent shots from an empty magazine, but this capability is not offered in the completely-mechanical Blackwolf.
Filling with High Pressure Air is achieved by means of a standard 1/8-Inch NPT (“Foster”) quick disconnect. This is superbly well protected, being deeply buried in the stock and covered by a cover plate that’s retained in place by a powerful magnet. This cover plate’s not dropping anywhere!
Due to the depth of the male quick disconnect, the Blackwolf is supplied complete with an extended-grip female NPT fitting with a screw thread. That may require an additional-cost adapter (as shown below) should you wish to connect directly to a compressor or pump that already has a female quick disconnect.
Doug Rogers found it easy to insert and remove the quick disconnects for filling. But both Doug Wall and I struggled to remove the female Q/D after the gun had been filled.
There just didn’t seem enough space for our fingers and thumbs to gain enough purchase on the serrated collar. Maybe it’s just a matter of more practice, but I’ve had this issue before on other guns from the same manufacturer…
The underside of the Blackwolf’s stock is equipped with M-LOK connector slots. This is good and shows that Daystate is moving with this general trend in the airgun world.
But should you need to mount the gun on a Picatinny-fitting bipod (as I did), it’s simple to install a suitable adapter, such as this UTG one from Leapers shown in the photograph below.
As as the norm with Daystate airguns, the Blackwolf is supplied with a beautiful “Official Handbook”. Printed in color and superbly-illustrated, this is an exemplar for the type of user’s manual that should be supplied with all high-end airguns.
NOTE. This was an error. The UK factory warranty is 3 years. The US warranty provided through Airguns of Arizona is 5 years. In fact, I believe this 5-year warranty is superior to that of all other high-end PCP air rifles in the market today. We'll investigate this in a future HAM post. Apologies.
TEST TARGETS
BUY FROM AIRGUNS OF ARIZONA
Daystate Blackwolf Cylinder Carbon Grey 17 Inch Barrel
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The post Daystate Blackwolf Test Review .22 Caliber appeared first on Hard Air Magazine.
... any idea on the barrel twist on the 17inch? 
