Redstate

By kowalski Comments (0) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

I realize that in these highly-charged political times it might be construed as irresponsible and even a little bit daft to connect guns, politics and anger in the same stream of consciousness. But after David Broder at the Washington Post reminded Democrat voters (repeatedly, insistently) that they needed to "pull the trigger" during the midterm elections, I don't feel as much reluctance to talk about my cathartic experience over the last week, in which I happily worked out some of my lingering electoral frustration with my brand-new RWS/Diana Model 52 air rifle.

As I've noted before, here in Massachusetts there are quite a few anti-gun nuts who want to ban the sale of airguns using the pretext of a confrontation between police officers and a drug addict in a crack house. I'm an NRA member but I currently do not own a firearm. I'm not a drug addict, either, and since I don't frequent crack houses and I have a generally charitable and good-natured relationship with law enforcement officers, I realized that I didn't meet the criteria for the proposed ban. And so it transpired that a week ago I decided to put my money where my mouth was on both fronts while also rescuing my hard-earned marksmanship skills, which have languished since I last touched a rifle during my senior year of high school. The time was right; the question was: "Which Gun?"

In any discretionary purchase I make of more than $25 dollars or so, I could be described as an obsessive/compulsive comparison shopper. Whether it's a sneaker or a camera or a toner cartridge or some new whimwham for my computer, I always do it the hard way -- by reading everything I can find about the product I am looking for. I agonize. I make mental "pro and con" lists and wad them into little mental trashballs and start all over again. After a few days of that I finally go to the store and fret about the thing I've finally decided to purchase. Then I bring it home and even while congratulating myself on a good decision, I nit-pick the product to death. It is my way. Therefore, it was no surprise that it took more than four days of reading reviews, pondering various options and thinking carefully about what I wanted the gun to do before I settled on an RWS Model 52, in .22 caliber with a 4x32 RWS scope from Cabela's.

This is a relatively high-end, high-powered, fixed-barrel spring piston air rifle with a medium-powered scope and a "side lever" cocking action, which I consider to be more reliable over the long run than other, "break barrel" mechanisms. The latter class of air guns with similar power levels are cocked by splitting the barrel roughly in half and bending it downward until the spring is compressed. I've spent enough time around precision firearms to know that any time you move the barrel significantly (much less break it in half at a hinge point), accuracy is eventually going to suffer. So I pried loose the money and bought the 52. It turned out to be a good choice. Here is the review I posted today at Cabela's (it's still waiting for moderator approval there):

"I was looking for a powerful airgun to rehabilitate my rusty marksmanship skills before jumping into a true firearm. I wanted power, accuracy, and importantly I wanted it to "feel" like an actual rifle - not a toy. After much searching and comparing I sprung for the Model 52 with 4x32 scope and although it was a little more than I wanted in terms of price it is definitely "enough gun" in terms of function.

This rifle looks, feels and handles like the real thing. The instant you pick it up (and at nearly 9lbs with the scope, younger/smaller shooters might want to look elsewhere) you realize that it is no toy. The only even remotely "chintzy" aspect of the gun is the polymer muzzle brake, but the rest of the rifle has a heft and balance that instantly bring back memories if you've shot similarly-sized guns before. Just what I wanted. The scope is a little finicky to set up -- lots of screws. Take your time and do it right, and you will be rewarded.

This rifle can place shots inside of shots time after time at 50 feet shooting from a benchrest. I bought it in .22 caliber and it has plenty of power (and a healthy but not savage kick.) At 100 feet with RWS match pellets it will shoot completely through a 5" diameter (underripe, stiff) pomegranite, cracking the rind impressively with a healthy thwack. The two-stage trigger is adjustable and was fairly crisp right out of the box (although it is also polymer -- couldn't they spend an extra buck and put a metal trigger on it?) I also prefer the side-lever cocking action, which will make it easier to mount a sling. Cocking the gun is stiff but not arm-wrestling tiring. After 10 rounds you get it down to a science. Also I trust it more in terms of long-term accuracy over a break barrel, but that's just me.

At over $400 with a scope this rifle is not cheap, but it is worth the money. With the lifetime warranty and overall rock-solid construction I think it will give me years of fun and I'm already getting back my shooting technique after only 100 rounds."

OK, so that's the gun, but what about the catharsis? After I received the rifle I have to admit that opening the box and taking it out was a truly intimidating experience. Sitting in front of me, for the first time in more than 15 years, was a rifle that was absolutely going to prove that I was either a hopeless incompetent fogey who had lost his skills forever, or someone who might resuscitate them with a lot of work. Either way it wasn't going to be easy. It's not a simple thing existentially speaking to reflect back at that instant on yourself in the prime of your youth, when you were capable of shooting 8 perfect 100 targets in a row over four weeks, laughing it off and eating Burger King like it was health food, without summoning some courage. A little worm eats away inside you, and really for a few minutes I wanted to stuff the thing back inside the box, tape it up, and ship it to myself in the past. Or a different version of myself in the present...

[To be continued...]