Seneca Dragonfly .177.
This report covers:
- Labradar was used
- The first test
- Huh?
- A retest of the .22-caliber Dragonfly Mark 2
- Pump effort
- A string with five pumps
- Trigger
- A second velocity versus pump stroke test
- Discussion
- Summary
Today we start looking at the velocity of the .177-caliber Seneca Dragonfly Mark 2. I say start for a reason you will understand by the end of this report.
Review the .22 Dragonfly report
Before I started I reviewed the velocity report of the .22-caliber Dragonfly Mark 2. It was a good thing I did because I learned something that was very pertinent for today’s test.
Labradar was used
I used the Labradar chronograph for today’s test, but I did not finish the accuracy test at 10 meters. I will show the results I got in a separate accuracy report, but there will also be another 10 meter accuracy test with the open sights. I mention that because I had said that I could test both velocity and accuracy, now that I had the Labradar. Well, the Dragonfly Mark 2 has a quirk that makes the accuracy test a bit more complex and I didn’t feel that accuracy was given a fair chance today. The quirk isn’t a flaw, but it’s something that I think potential owners need to be made aware of.
The first test
I’m shooting off a sandbag rest, using the open sights to sight with. I will use the 10.5-grain Crosman Premier pellet for all tests today.
This is where the “quirk” emerges, and I will show you that we also saw it with the .22-caliber Dragonfly, too. Let’s look at the velocity per pump stroke.
Pump strokes…………….Velocity
3…………………………………506
4…………………………………529
5…………………………………542
6…………………………………582
7…………………………………651
8…………………………………669
9…………………………………687
10……………………………….676 ?
11……………………………….680 ?
12……………………………….663 ?
13……………………………….635 ?
14……………………………….663 ?
15……………………………….689 ?
Huh?
This is what confounded me today. Why is a shot with 10 pump strokes slower than one with nine, or 13 pumps slower than seven? I cocked the bolt and shot again to see if there was any air remaining, and there was none. In fact, after shots 10 through 15 pump strokes I cocked the bolt each time and fired again to prove there was no air remaining. What was happening?
Well, here is what I wrote after the first velocity test for the .22-caliber rifle.
“That’s it for the velocity test today. But as I said, I will come back to this test again after there are more shots on the rifle, because I believe the Dragonfly Mark 2 needs a break-in.”
In Part 5 of that test I did come back and do the same velocity/pump stroke test again and I showed you the before and after results. Let’s look at them again.
A retest of the .22-caliber Dragonfly Mark 2
Velocity Velocity
Pumps…..Then………..Today
3……………..428…………….488
4……………..476…………….526
5……………..518…………….568
6……………..553…………….589
7……………..564…………….604
8……………..583…………….620
9……………..589…………….629 no air remaining
10……………602…………….638 no air remaining
11……………601…………….642 no air remaining
12……………617…………….649 no air remaining
13……………605…………….649 no air remaining
14……………617…………….657 no air remaining
15……………618…………….674 no air remaining
You can see the difference in velocity between the first and second times. I will do the same thing for this .177. In fact I will do a second string today to see what changes there are.
Pump effort
How much effort does it take to pump the pump handle? Here we go.
Pumps…Effort in pounds
3………………..15
4………………..16
5………………..15
6………………..17
7………………..16
8………………..15
9………………..16
10………………16
11………………15
12………………17
13………………15
14………………17
15………………16
So, like the .22-caliber Dragonfly, the effort needed for the pump strokes doesn’t increase with the number of strokes. In fact I discovered that the slower you pump the less effort it takes. That will come up again in a moment.
A string with five pumps
I next shot a 10-shot string (it will be a group in the next report) with five pumps per shot. Look at the velocities for that. Remember, every shot was with five pumps. I did try pumping slower to allow the air time to enter the rifle and be compressed and as I did the velocity seemed to increase, but not always.
Shot…………Vel.
1………………542
2………………520
3………………500
4………………525
5………………539
6………………505
7………………523
8………………492
9………………574
10…………….577
Wow! If the last string didn’t convince you this rifle needs a break-in this one certainly should have. There is an 85 f.p.s. difference between shot number 8 and shot 10. And yet these are all shots with five pump strokes. Multi-pumps usually don’t have a difference of more than 5-8 f.p.s. for the same pellet and number of pump strokes. This test was what convinced me to try the first test again today. Before that, though, let’s look at the trigger.
Trigger
The trigger on this Dragonfly seems to be a single stage. The pull is long and the trigger breaks with 3 pounds 10 ounces of effort. The release isn’t crisp, but it is manageable and doesn’t affect accuracy.
A second velocity versus pump stroke test
I’m still using the 10.5-grain Crosman Premier pellet. Here we go.
Pump strokes………….Velocity
3…………………………………503
4…………………………………470
5…………………………………531
6…………………………………586
7…………………………………642
8…………………………………642
9…………………………………653
10……………………………….680
11……………………………….675
12……………………………….698
13……………………………….700
14……………………………….708
15……………………………….713
Okay, in this string we can see the rifle starting to break in. It will be interesting to return to these numbers after there are more shots on the rifle. Notice also that in both this test and in the first one there is a huge velocity increase between six and seven pump strokes. I don’t know why that would be.
Discussion
I think the need for a break-in is the biggest lesson we have learned — not just for the .177 Dragonfly Mark 2 but for all of them. This is why a chronograph is such a useful tool for an airgunner to have.
I don’t think we have yet seen the fastest this rifle will shoot the 10.5-grain Premier. The .22 became at least 40 f.p.s. faster with a break in and I expect to see something similar with this rifle.
Look at how fast the rifle is on just three pumps! That will help me in future tests, I hope!
I do plan on doing the five-shot accuracy tests with the different number of pump strokes at some point, but where I’ll do that I’m not sure. Should I wait until the rifle is scoped? I think I should.
Summary
This .177 Dragonfly Mark 2 seems to be every bit as nice as the .22. I think once it is fully broken in we will see a very special multi-pump.