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I am happy to say that the first Field Test using my new Caldwell Ballistic Precision Chronograph  went really well for me today. Perhaps I have found a new brand of Chronograph that will last longer than a year or so and give me reliable results that I can count on...

In my testing I tried out four different airguns, I picked airguns for the most part that I have not done Chronograph testing with yet so I could at least get you some hard results for these new guns waiting for their Field Test Shooting Video Reviews. First I tested the Umarex Glock 19 4.5mm Steel BB Pistol and I got five results out of five shots averaging 389 fps. Next up was the AW Custom AG-HX2003 Double Stack Tactical 1911 Full Blowback CO2 BB Pistol, again a put five shots through my Caldwell Ballistic Precision Chronograph and got five good results with an average fps of 329.

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I then moved on to an Air Rifle, the Crosman DPMS SBR CO2 Blowback BB M4 Rifle and placed six shots through my Caldwell Ballistic Precision Chronograph resulting in five good readings, there was one error in this string of shots but it may have been an alignment issue on my part? My average fps for the Crosman DPMS SBR CO2 Blowback BB M4 Rifle was 387. Last of the guns I tested was the Air Venturi V10 Match Pellet Pistol which is a single pump airgun. My pellet choice was RWS 6.9 grain lead pellets and all three of my test shots delivered near exactly the same results averaging 374 fps.

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So other than that one chronograph reading error for the day which may have been an alignment issue on my part, the Caldwell Ballistic Precision Chronograph performed excellent for me. I would also like to note that I was using the same Caldwell LED Lighting System I have been using in my Sea Can Indoor Airgun range which as expected fit perfectly onto their own Chronograph system and worked well.

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When it comes to accuracy, match grade pellet pistols are going o be your best bet, not always the most powerful but they are sure good at driving pellets down range with super small groupings. The Air Venturi V10 Match Pellet Pistol is no exception to this statement and considering all that it offers it is fairly reasonably price for a match grade pellet pistol of this caliber.

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Right off the bat I have to admit that my Chrony Chronograph stopped working, all I get is gibberish on the screen (Strike two for Chrony!). So I was not able to get any personal Chronograph results even though I even tried using my Airsoft Chronograph without success :( I did however watch a few other Youtube Video reviews where users tested out the FPS using a similar Chronograph and the Air Venturi V10 Match Pellet Pistol should get right around 390 fps using 7 grain lead pellets, this is close to the 400 fps claimed velocity.

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Now for my shooting results that I was able to deliver on... I shot about 6-7 rounds downrange on a fresh paper target setup around 30 feet away. Sitting with a sandbag up front for stability, my Air Venturi V10 Match Pellet Pistol shot 6 out of the 7 rounds all in one hole that stretched out to about 1/4 of an inch. I did get one flyer that extended the grouping to about an inch, but this gun is a accurate no doubt even with my limited shooting skills.

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The Trigger, sights and even the pistol grip on the Air Venturi V10 Match Pellet Pistol are fully adjustable so you can setup your Air Venturi V10 Match Pellet Pistol pretty much any way you like but it is made for a left handed shooter, at least the one I had tested out. The trigger is very light weigth out of the box and should be good to go for most people. It's also nice that you only need one pump for full power which saves you a bit of time in-between shots. All in the Air Venturi V10 Match Pellet Pistol is a great well priced match grade target pistol ready to drive virtually anything you point it at!

• Buy the Air Venturi V10 Match Pellet Pistol in Canada

• Buy the Air Venturi V10 Match Pellet Pistol in the US

We often think that something that is more expensive and perhaps built with what we consider to be better materials is going to be the best option. That's not always the case! In this Vimeo Video I talk about some of the Pros and Cons to buying a Plastic Airgun versus a Metal Airgun. Of course this applies to BB, Airsoft and Pellet shooters.

Price
In most cases a Plastic Airgun is going to be less expensive, so if you have limited funds then your only option may be a Plastic Airgun and at the end of the day both airguns are going to probably get the job done much the same.

Realism
Generally speaking, most Metal Airguns are going to have more moving parts, often times with working slides and even blowback operation. This is not always the case but even a Metal Airgun that has few working parts will still feel more realistic simply because of the additional weight to the Airgun. Metal has that cold hard feel to it that makes you feel like you're holing something of substance. Plastic Airguns on the other hand can feel light and cheap and usually are very simple in design with less working parts.

Shooting an Airgun with blowback operation simulates the recoil action and in many cases allows for true single action operation of the trigger and hammer. This is going to feel a lot more realistic than shooting a non-blowback Airgun which again is generally what you get with Plastic Airguns.

Durability
Most people assume that because an Airgun is Meta, it is going to be stronger and more durable. This would be true if the Metal used in the Airgun was actually hardened steel but with almost Metal Airguns, they are made using a zinc alloy metal (Pot Metal) that is much softer then hardened steel and can wear and break a lot easier. When you also consider a Metal Airgun is going to be a lot heavier than a Plastic Airgun, a drop onto a hard surface will have a lot more impact which can cause breakage a to a heavy Metal Airgun versus a Plastic light weight Airgun.

Plastic surfaces are also a lot less prone to showing scratches since the Plastic material will usually be black all the way through versus a Metal Airgun that has a painted surface that when scratched hard enough will show through right to the bare metal. You also get wear marks on painted Metal Airguns that will make it look used and older, some people like this look but other do not.

Reliability
Again people are going to assume a Metal Airgun is going to be more reliable simply because it has more metal parts and metal parts are stronger right? Not the case if the parts are made out of zinc alloy. Now some companies will upgrade some high use parts in Airguns to hardened steel but it's hard to know for sure. You can use a magnet to determine what parts are Metal and what parts are hardened steel.

As we mentioned before, Plastic Airguns are generally pretty simple in design, less working parts means less to go wrong at the end of the day so just because you have a Plastic Airgun it doesn't mean it's going to break on you quickly. Actually it may even outlast your Metal Airgun since all those working parts will eventually wear out.

Now I am the first person to admit that I prefer Metal Airgun over Plastic Airguns, I don't mind spending the extra money for more realism and I'm willing to accept the fact that it's not going to last forever but the fact remains, a Plastic Airgun does have some advantages going for it so don't rule them out completely.

Whether you like it or not, most of us have come across an Airgun with an ugly orange tip on it at some point. In most cases you will find the intrusive orange or red tips on Airsoft guns that shoot plastic BB's, in some cases you will even find them on Airguns that shoot either lead pellets and/or steel BB's.

It really comes down to where you live as to what your local gun laws have determined is required for your area. You may even live in a region where Airguns and Airsoft guns are not allowed at all! So for you a red or orange tip on the front would be welcome if it would allow you to own an Airgun or Airsoft gun. What about the entire gun being painted a bright color, well that is the case for some folks so again having a red or orange tips may not be as bad as it originally seemed...

In Canada where I live, we used to only be allowed Airsoft guns that had clear sections as our replica gun laws are very strict and all black Airsoft guns would have fallen iinto the "replica" category if they did not have large clear plastic see-through sections on them. This clear section law was revised somewhat over the last several years to allow for all black Airsoft guns here in Canada. It was determined that many Airsoft guns with higher fps limits could cause a serious injury to a human, making them less of a toy in the eyes of the law and more of a weapon. Because of this, Airsoft guns that are capable of shooting a .20 gram plastic BB at a velocity of 360 fps or "higher" are now considered to be similar in the eyes of the law to a regular steel BB or lead pellet shooting Airgun. In Canada, Pellet and Steel BB guns are actually considered firearms of a sort so this allows the higher fps Airsoft guns to be all black since it can not be a replica of a firearm if it is in fact considered to be a firearm by law.

The long and short of all of this is that here in Canada we do not require our Airsoft guns to have orange or red tips since they are considered more or less to be just like any other Airgun and our Airguns do not have red or orange tips either.

Getting back to the title of this article "No Orange Tip On Your Airsoft Gun! Are You Insane?" I often get folks from the US giving me heck for removing the orange tips from my Airsoft guns or asking me why my Airsoft guns don't have them in the first place. These people even state that I could get in a lot of trouble for this! Perhaps they think I live in the US or that US laws govern Canada as well? I am not sure but I can say for the record that I am not breaking any laws at least here in Canada where I live.

I know in the US that wholesalers and retailers by law have to sell Airsoft guns with the affixed orange tips on them, once the end user receives that gun and depending on which state they live in, it may or may not be legal to remove the orange tip. Again, you will need to look into your local state laws as they are different from state to state in the US.

First off let’s get one thing straight! What I’m looking for in a BB gun is more than likely going to be way different than what someone else is looking for in what they think is the “Best BB Gun” available.

Many people will determine the Best BB Gun as the BB gun that has the highest price tag, usually you get better quality the higher the price goes up but not always, there are times when perhaps you are paying for a name brand or cosmetic add ons that don’t always make the gun better or the best.

On the other hand, some people will determine the best BB gun as the one that is the least cost since they may not have a lot of money to spend, and an expensive BB gun is a BB gun that that person would not be able to afford or even own, far from an ideal or the Best BB Gun for them.

Many people only look at the specifications to determine if that particular BB gun is the outright best BB Gun. One specification that people seem to fixate on is how powerful is the BB gun in question? If it has the highest FPS then surely it must be the best BB Gun! That Pop can never saw it coming! What about cost of operation, so things like reliability and how many shots per CO2 you can get out of a BB gun. All important features to consider when picking out the Best BB Gun!

Style is another important part of what makes a BB Gun the Best option for you, are you wanting a classic BB Pistol? Perhaps a Modern BB Gun, Maybe even a BB gun that you can not get in your area because of gun laws? Style is a very individual preference and what looks good to me may look terrible to someone else.

One aspect that is very important to me, is realism, does the BB Gun operate the same and does it have similar metal and plastic parts as the real steel version? Does the BB gun I am considering have blowback operation and a true single or double action trigger like it’s big brother? What about a full size drop out magazine and the ability to field strip the BB Gun?

Some people want their BB gun for simple backyard good old fun shooting and so as long as it shoots pretty straight and works as it’s supposed to, then that is all they care about. Many real steel shooters want a BB Gun to operate exactly like their real steel version, so they can practice with it to get in more trigger time when going to a gun range is not an option.

Of course there are aspects like Reliability, Performance, Fit and Finish, Licensing and Build Quality that all determine what makes the Best BB Gun and again it really depends which of these qualities are most important to you that will determine which BB Gun is the best BB Gun.

So how do you determine which is the Best BB Gun? Make a list of what you are looking for in a BB Gun. Attributes like Cost, Performance, Build Quality, Style, Realism, Availability…

Once you have narrowed down your Best BB Gun list, get as much information on each BB Gun you are considering, to narrow the list down even more. There are tons of Youtube videos you can watch for your Best BB Gun final short list to help you determine your ultimate choice.

So please don’t ask me what the Best BB Gun is? I can not even tell you which one I like the best since my wish list changes from day to day…

Some more answers to some of your commonly asked questions. In this second Q&A Questions and Answers YouTube video I discuss some more of your questions, specifically:

• What's going on with my order?

• Do I need to clean and oil my airgun?

• What is the most powerful blowback BB gun? 

• I don't live in Canada or the US, do you ship to other countries?

So make sure to watch my second installment for the Replica Airguns Viewer Q&A Questions and Answers.

Here we go with the first installment of the Replica Airguns Q&A Questions and Answers! Below are some of the questions I answer for some of my YouTube subscribers and followers.

1969triumph:

I find your vids very informative. One Quick question. All of the pistols I have are all close copies of real guns :- PPK ,1911 etc. What I would really like now is a western 6 shooter. Are there any in the pipeline ? Thanks Paul.

Kevin Men:

Will you be selling the Kalashnikov AK47 co2 bb gun? I heard it was made of real AK 47 parts and it might be banned in the US! Do you think the gun will be for sale ever again?

WindandWood:

When is the KWC Luger P-08 4.5 BB version going to be for sale in your USA store? Thanks!

Knight Rider:

Hey i found on a store two types of CO2 cartridge for a bb gun and i want to know if I can use bought in the same gun? One CO2 cartridge has lubrication in it and the another one is just a normal cartridge?

LOLfailblogger:

Will you get the pellet version of the Dan Wesson revolver available for purchase in the Canadian store?

ELinktricTears:

When are you going to make a how to get buff channel?

I also talk about generic gun repair questions.