The 39 Mountie models are pretty sweet. About the only thing I have that genuinely amounts to a bad thing to say about the model 39 is that you can make a mess of your trigger finger, catching it between the lever and the tip of the trigger, if you get a little too enthused about a fast follow up shot. That one hurt for a long time!
But I figure I put nearly my body weight in 22 shells though that old Marlin that I was using (it was not mine, but my step fathers)and it never missed a beat.
Ive got one of the Browning BLR-22s, little bity thing..light, fast as hell, short stroke lever using a rack and pinion to operate the action, I can get multiple hits on thrown aerial targets with it...but it just doesnt feel as good as a 39
Slick little piece of work, but I was not a fan of the trigger. Too much play in all the pieces, I figure. Not mine to fool around with, so it stayed that way.
This air rifle is made entirely of steel, with hardwood stock..grain appears to be stained birch, or even a fine grained walnut or 9.
Finish of metal is decent enough, wood is ok, about equivalent to a cheap .22 of US manufacture such as the Marlin 60
Stamped in the top of the (steel) receiver tube is "TFA" inside a logo, with the words 'Sharpshooter" below it. Front sight (hooded) is a course post
On the side of the barrel chamber is " Cal 4.5/.177" and "Made in China"
some investigation shows that TFA appears to be one of the more prolific chicom air rifle makers and appears to be distributed by several US importers, such as
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field testing....
I took it out to the back 40, and using Crossman .177 flat nosed pellets, at a measured 30 feet, fired at a target of 3/4" MDF, using a 'shotgun' type of aiming, using the front post (coarse front post inside of hood, top of which was approx 1" above bore centerline)
A serious attempt was made to keep the same stock weld each time. shots were a verticle string, approx 6" below aiming spot.
Verticle stringing usually indicates loose stock screws, and yes, they were. Tightening them brought the grouping to about a 1.25 circle
But still 6" low.
three holes in the rear sight location..so using the biggest one..nearly a #10, I screwed in a 1" long 10-32 for an impromptu rear sight and used it to align the front sight, top of the rear, top of the front....squeeze
About 1.75 high and to the right about .75"
Ground the rear sight screw (!) down to about .75" above centerline..and came pretty close to the aiming spot.
5 shots went into a .65"
not partrcularly good, but considering I was just lining up a pair of posts..some indicator that the air rifle can shoot.
i was shooting into a piece of 3/4" MDF..and the pellets were lodged right at surface level...the hollow bases right at flush.
I dug around for another container of pellets I remembered having...Crossman 'copperhead' pointed pellets..with a moderate point and much heavier.
they shot to point of aim....and buried themselves about .010 below the surface of the mdf. Impact sounded harder and they knocked a bit of dust off the board with every shot.
they shot thru a bit of well seasoned 3/4' pine board, with each shot. the flat headed pellets not making it through, though going deep enough to not be able to see the bases.
All and all..not as powerful as I expected, but not all that bad either. One assumes that proper oiling and lubrication will help.
It did turn out to be about as accurate as I expected..with some potential for more.
I just dropped an email to the Contact Us at the above distributors service email addy with the info and Ill see what happens about getting a new rear sight.
I could probably mill up a base for an old rifle sight, but would rather do something more productive on the 3 days I have at home this weekend.
there was also a bit of horizontal movement in the barrel/receiver hinge, so tightened up the hinge screw..it made the movement much smaller..but still not totally deflectionless. I may have to ream and make a new shoulder bolt. shrug...its a chinese air rifle after all.....
But putting scope on the reciever would be a lesson in frustration..horizontal stringing would be a killer.
Gunner
Gunn er
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. at yoyodyne they were all veterans of the psychic wars exiled from the eighth dimension where the winds of limbo roar" mariposa rand mair theal
Keep in mind that these were made to a price, and not a high one!
All the decent made pellet rifles I have had, have had a combination of flat and spring shims at the breech joint. Usually one flat, and one shaped like a bellville washer, but sometimes more than one flat shim. These take up a lot of the side play. A sloppy fit on the pivot bolt will account for a bunch, too.
Lubes. Synthetic oils! No natural oils in the compression tube! Causes dieselling. Bad for the overall state of things, though it provides a boost in power, noise, etc. Eventually, it will destroy the seals, and possibly the receiver. Some graphite lube in the spring area can raelly cut down on the twanginess. DAGS "lube tune springer" and you should find a bit online. A crown job can be a good thing on these, as they are somewhat rapidly done, at the factory, on tooling that was not good for anything more profitable...
Might be a good candidate for a cheapo Crosman red dot style sight, just to muck about with...
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