Ridicously cheap Fun

[ks_shooter]

I have been studying air rifles lately with the idea of getting a nice target rifle to practice my off-hand technique. While searching for a suitable candidate I stumbled upon this item:

Cummins Pellet Rifle

This is most definetely NOT a fancy target air rifle, but at that price, I couldn't resist. I thought it might be fun for plinking in the back yard with my seven year old son (that's the excuse I gave my wife, anyway). There is a Cummins store in my town so I went down there and bought one. After spending an evening shooting it with my son, I was impressed, especially considering the low price.

First off this rifle is STOUT. Everthing is made of steel. Most of it is stamped/pressed 1/8" or maybe 3/32" steel. These parts aren't pretty, but they are serviceable and will still be going strong 100 years from now. The stock is light-weight wood (probably birch or pine) but is reasonably well proportioned. The trigger is heavy, but smooth, with no noticeable creep or grittiness. I would guess the rifle weighs 8~9 lbs.

This is a spring-powered air rifle and the cocking mechanishm is a lever under the barrel. I like this better than the "break barrel" springers since the barrel is fixed to the receiver which keeps the sight alignment stable, and the barrel isn't used as a crow-bar.

The sights aren't match-grade, but they are hand adjsutable for elevation and windage and the rear sight is on the rear of the receiver. I plan on modifying it to a peep sight when I get the chance (I figure a quarter sized metal disk painted black with a 60 thousands holed drilled in it and glued to the existing rear sight will work fine).

With the existing notch sights I had no trouble shooting a 1/2" group at 10 meters from a sitting position without a sling.

One interesting thing about spring powered air guns is that they compress the air with a piston and cylinder, just like a car engine. This results in the air being rapidly heated enough to burn some of the residual oil in the cylinder from lubrication. This produces a smoke puff out of the muzzle and a whiff of smoke from the breech when you open it for reloading. I thought, I mean my son thought, it was pretty cool.

 

[Hand_Rifle_Guy]

Them inexpensive spring-air's are lots of fun. I gotta .22 version at a gunshow a while back. Hits HARD, and is accurate enough for what I need it to do.

It recoils--from the mass of the piston and spring moving around.

2 things:

Some of these cheap spring-airs have an issue with retaining the breech under compression when it's open for loading. Apparently, the catch gets worn. These air guns have a spring reminiscent of a garage door, and the aluminum breech cone has a sharp leading edge. Should it let go while fingers are in the way loading a pellet, grim events can follow. Check the spring retainer for deformation/wear every so often, and now when I load mine, I hold a thick pen or a piece of hardwood in the fingers that aren't controlling the pellet, and it follows said fingers when they go in front of that tensioned breech. Cheap and easy, may save your fingers. (Not heard any number of actual events, but I'm repeating a caution that referenced cheap Chinese rifles. The Cummins gun may not be sample of that breed, Mine most dsefinitely is.)

That smoke is neat to look at, but don't oil the cylinder to achieve it. If thewre's enough, the rifle might deliver a louder-than-normal "Crack!" when fired. That's bad, as it's the oil in the chamber dieseling and combusting! When it ignites, it causes a SHARP pressure-spike that's VERY hard on all the gun's components, most specifically the piston seals. Also, the burning of the lubricant leaves behind corrosive chemicals that make short work of the it-needs-to-stay-smoooth cylinder wall, robbing the gun of any kind of compression.

That's it. Don't let it bite you, and don't over-lube it. Otherwise, have fun!

 

[DillHarris]

Thanks for the post. I've seen these in the cummins ads and just figured they were ten dollar rifles selling for twenty. I might get one just for cheap practice. Maybe a little target practice in the basement for when its raining? Hmmm, maybe when the wife ain't home.

 

[Shalako]

Cummins - the specs on that link say "Made in China"

It also looks near exact to my Chinese pellet rifle.

I love that thing! Mine is minute-of-'rat head' any day of the week.

Thanks for the tip on the spring retainer HRG.

 

[GD]

I started my daughters out with Chinese air rifles. At age 5, they were a bit intimidated by a .22. Now in their teen years they have no problems with any calibre. I too noticed the smoke coming out of the bores. Did add a little realism to the shooting!
These are great rifles for working on trigger control and for quiet target shooting.