Crosman proudly displayed the 362 Anniversary multi-pump.
This report covers:
- Crosman
- Vortek
- AirForce
- Field target pistol
- Hatsan
- Pyramyd A.I.R. booth/range
- Field Target
- Shhhh!
- Banquet
- Summary
Happy Labor day to my American readers.
Crosman
Today we return to the report on the 2023 Pyramyd A.I.R. Cup. We’ll start on Vendor’s Row. At the Crosman Booth the big news was the new Benjamin domed pellet that I started reviewing for you in the middle of August.
Crosman was proud to display the new Benjamin domed pellet.
I met Crosman’s new Vice President of Marketing, Joe Brown. And the airgun they were most enthusiastic about showing was the new Crosman 362 Anniversary multi-pump shown above!
This is the first time I’ve had the opportunity to hold one and examine it closely. And I did look closely. The wood is smoothly finished in a dark walnut matte stain with even stippling on the firearm and pistol grip. It’s an attractive rifle that I hope to review for you soon!
Vortek
Okay guys, if you didn’t attend this year’s Cup you missed Tom Gore selling many of the spring-piston air rifles he has tested and modified over the years. One of these was a Gamo Hunter Extreme that he never took out of the box. It’s still sealed in its original shipping container and I bought it to review for you. This is a breakbarrel rifle that promised 1650 f.p.s. in .177 caliber. He sold it to me dirt cheap, just to get it off his hands.
Boring, right? It is until you realize there is a brand new Gamo Extreme Hunter from 20 years ago inside. This shipping box has never been opened! We get to open it and experience it together.
There was a second Hunter Extreme that Gore had unboxed, as well as at least one Webley Patriot made in the United Kingdom (I think there were two). And, if I’m not mistaken, there were a couple Weihrauchs as well. He had a truck bed full of airguns to get rid of at fantastic prices. I hope you didn’t snooze!
AirForce
Remember that lucky shot I made at the Vortek booth with a Weihrauch Tom Gore called a blondie? I told you about it in Part 2. Well, after visiting with Vortek I wandered over to the AirForce booth/range and picked up a RAW MicroHunter like the one I’m testing for you. This one had a scope and was sighted in and John McCaslin asked me if I’d like to shoot it. Duh!
He pulled two strings and two field targets stood up at the base of the berm. I sighted on the closer one that was about 30 yards away. Just as I shot the target fell, so it must have been defective, because there is no way I can hit a one-inch kill zone offhand with a rifle I don’t know. Ian McKee said it was a good shot; I say I was lucky. Maybe it’s good that I’m lucky?
Field target pistol
The other thing I saw at the AirForce booth was a new field target pistol that was made from a RAW MicroHunter receiver and chassis. It’s 12 foot-pounds and will no doubt be quite accurate.
The AirForce field target pistol is based on the RAW MicroHunter.
Hatsan
Then we were off to the Hatsan booth/range. We saw a man test-fire the Hammer carbine and Ian commented how big the kick was. Then both of us settled down to shoot the new Notos PCP carbine. For the price it’s a lot of airgun. Ian also shot the Hatsan Jet II.
Ian draws a Hatsan Jet II down on a Firebird explosive target at the Hatsan range.
The Firebird target folks had a booth on the range and Hatsan had laced their range with Firebird exploding targets.
Pyramyd A.I.R. booth/range
I headed toward the Pyramyd A.I.R. range and booth several times but never made it. I was always distracted by an electric bicycle that whizzed by. Pyramyd calls them Ebikes, so use that term to search their website.
I then saw one parked at a different vendor’s booth and one of Pyramyd’s staff asked me if I’d like to take a ride. And that is when both I and Pyramyd discovered at the same time that my weakness, which is also my strength. I have short little legs. My inseam is only 28 inches, despite a height of 5 feet 10 inches (inseam 71.12 cm, height 177.8 cm). That means I can’t mount most bikes, even when their seats are adjusted as low as they will go. So I couldn’t ride the Ebike they offered.
I recently traded in my motorcycle, a Harley Road King named Miss Peach, for a Harley Street Bob whose seat is an inch lower.
Miss Peach was a shade too tall for my stubby legs.
Bob’s saddle is an inch lower than Miss Peach’s and rides like a motorcycle for me. It doesn’t hurt that he’s also close to 200 pounds lighter!
My short legs meant Pyramyd A.I.R. needs to send me a step-through Ebike to test. Of course I’m going to test one for you! I’ll probably test a Rambo PURSUIT (in orange, please, hint, hint). What it also means is a large number of their customers have the same short inseam issue and they need to think about that if they want to sell Ebikes.
Field Target
We have seen the Benchrest and the Gunslynger competitions, now let’s look at the field target match. Usually Tyler Patner would compete, but he was too busy running all the matches, so he had to be the match director.
The FT competitors checked their sight-in before coming to the match, because any scope can change zero when it travels.
Field target shooters check their sights before the match. The shooter on the right is wearing a 10-meter shooting jacket.
Another look at the FT competitor wearing a 10-meter leather shooting jacket. The jacket keeps the shooter still for offhand shots.
Shhhh!
A field target match is so quiet that the sport of golf sounds like a raucous party by comparison. Reader Cloud9 mentioned that he conversed with a You-Tuber during the match, but his squad had four shooters and there were times when he was able to talk because he had no other duties on that lane.
Jeff Cloud adjusts his elevation for his first shot in the field target match.
Banquet
On Saturday evening Pyramyd A.I.R. hosted a banquet for all who came to the Cup. After the meal the awards for competition were passed out and also a pile of raffle prizes were given away. Tyler Patner and Emily Phillippi ran the show. Cash prizes and cups were awarded for Benchrest and for Gunslynger. There were 15 prizes for Benchrest and all shooters competed for them. The top prize was a cup and a check for $7,500. That went to Thayne Simmons who posted a score of 232 with 8 Xs.
Thayne Simmons took first in 100-yard Benchrest.
The Gunslynger Match has three divisions — Springer, single-load PCP and PCP. And I have to mention this. Ian and I both saw a man who had what looked like a breakbarrel Gamo springer. He held his own for several heats, loading as fast as the higher-end springers and he seemed just as accurate. So it doesn’t take a fortune to compete in these matches. It take desire and a knowledge of your equipment. We also saw a single-load PCP competitor with a thousand-dollar plus rifle who never got off one shot!
Awards for Gunslynger were to the top three placements in each division. Ian finished seventh in his division of PCP, for reasons we have already discussed.
Field target competition continued on Sunday and the awards were made at the registration building. Winners in each category received a cup and, instead of cash, they got to choose a valuable prize from a large selection of prizes. You can see all the winners over at Hard Air Magazine.
Summary
I went way longer than I should have today. But I wanted to finish my report. Ian McKee has his own Cup report coming very soon. My advice is to plan to attend next year!