Revolvers for Target shooting
 

Hello Everyone!
I have to be honest with you-have not been on the forum for a long time nor contributed anything.I am a senior who may buy either the new CO2 Dan Wesson
6 inch air soft revolver or the Skeleton Side Arms SS357 8 inch revolver only for paper target punching at home( or sticky target) at about 20 feet. Accuracy potential is very important.
Both of these are new on the market and so very few reviews. I know they will hit pop cans with their advertised FPS velocity but I need to know if either will suit my purpose for good shot groups with 25g bbs. I do like the looks of both although the faux wood grain grips on the SS357 may be troublesome with wear.
Any advise or opinions would be much appreciated and thank you!

If you're just target shooting, and accuracy is "very important", then why not a pellet gun?

The only revolvers you'll ever need for target shooting:

http://www.dlairgun.com/Air-Pistols/Smith-Wesson/
http://www.dlairgun.com/Air-Pistols/Crosman/ (scroll down on this one)

I would shy away from the Skeleton sidearms stuff. They seemed to be aimed at impulse buyers who don't care if the function is short lived.

I would take a look in the classifieds right now. I bet you find what you're after in the spring/gas section.

Airsoft Revolvers
 

Actually, I do have some decent pellet pistols for target work and a Dan Wesson
4.5mm bb revolver which is of excellent build quality and accuracy at short range. I am curious if either of the two soft airs I mentioned would give me similar results. ASG/Dan Wesson does have quality but Skeleton I don't know, they don't seem to have any history on the web.
I don't want to get into $$$ airsoft. thanks for any opinions!

I'll echo Danke's recommendation of staying away from Skeleton Sidearms products.

You could check out WinGun revolvers; they're generally too hot to game with but since you're target shooting it would be fine, and they're relatively inexpensive. You'd have to ask an owner about accuracy.

Forgot to mention - I am only interested in the chrome/nickle finish -providing functionality is there and I can only assume that at 20 feet indoors and no breeze, temperature /rain/snow issues, these could perform as well as steel bb models or pellets. Is this a reasonable assumption( using quality 25g or higher) and would the Skeleton 8 inch barrel be a plus?
Sure hope their track record reveals itself soon.Thanks for any more education you can provide me!

On youtube there are posts about the Dan Wesson units,I just picked up the nickle 6" Dan Wesson.Havent had the chance to chrono it yet but they say 453fps with .20's. I had to clean the barrel with 6-7 swabs as it was realy dirty(black is more like it). The build of it though is realy nice,full metal.Just the grip is something like a rubber/plastic.
Ok so I just did a chrono test with it,It chrono'ed 545fps first shot with .20 the rest of them went down to 520 (18 shots) then I used (6) .25s and it was shoot'n 497fps with the .25's. Now keep in mind this is only the 6",one of the other guys on ower team has the 8" ;) I don't think anyone will be gamming with these! It would be fun and you don't have to worrie about guy's not calling there hits,you might see them drop though ;) Hmmm great Ref. gun for people that don't call hits!

If you want the look/great finish of an airsoft revolver + the accuracy of a pellet gun for target shooting, here's the perfect hybrid --> http://www.pyramydair.com/s/m/Dan_We...ver/2645#sSpec

Basically the same as the airsoft version except the bullet cartridge and inner barrel are for .177 caliber.

Thanks for your info Death March. I am leaning to the Dan Wesson 6 inch silver, it will be in Toronto dealers this month.Some ads say 450FPS for this and only 426FPS
for the 8 inch (?) Anyway, based on your comments - would this 6 inch be a good target revolver for 20 feet? I have seen the steel bb version and it is superb fit and finish as is the 8 inch black which I have and it scores as good as my pellet guns in short range.
ASG will not be offering the silver long barrel in 4.5 or 6.mm.

Yeh on my box it states that its 453fps with .20's lol. I have a little range in my Basement 30-35ft. It has a tight group,but shoots a little high and to the left. As far as I'v seen you can't get a nickel 8" only in a 6". I want another just for fun. I don't like the dark ver. with the gun metal finish.I would love the 8" nickel.

My 4in is shooting slightly towards the left too. Thankfully the rear sight is adjustable.

I just don't have the time to mess with it right now. I still want to try it with some .28s and see how that works. Kinda sucks with no hop-up on them.

Are saying there is no hop up on these revolvers?

Thanks for the ongoing opinions in this thread. Hop up is fixed on the Dan Wesson and Skeleton SS357 according to the web ads.
I visited a local airsoft shop to look around. He advised that he does have the
Dan Wesson 6 inch but it shoots over a 2 foot spread.So this dampens my enthusiasm for this model since I want it for indoor 20 foot target work.I will wait for more reviews on sites like Pyramyd Air hoping that a few people may be more positive about it.
Why would they put out a $230-$250 gun with no hop up if that is a key element? Surely good looks alone won't sell it.
Having said that and because I am a novice in soft air- could I ask for suggestions of other pistols that would make me smile, under $300, non-blowback and not needing extra $$ in modifications Thanks again!

Sorry to tell you this, but if you're looking for something that shoots as well as your pellet/BB guns, then you are looking on the wrong forum, and at the wrong sport/hobby.

Assuming everything else were the same (projectile shape/size/weight, muzzle power, and barrel bore type), Airsoft does not have the accuracy and carry of pellet guns, which shoot shaped projectiles from a rifled barrel. There's a reason why muzzle loaders, and other ball shooting firearms were left behind at the end of the 19th century. The accuracy of a rifled skirted projectile simply destroys the flight dynamics of a ball projectile.

Considering another huge variable, power output:
The power output of a pistol shooting .177 pellet (average of 0.52 grams) at 400fps equals a muzzle energy of 3.87 Joules. In airsoft speak, this is 645fps @ 0.20g.

Needless to say, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE to find any gas-in-mag airsoft pistol that puts out power levels that high. Even finding one that can shoot close to 450fps is extremely rare. And as far as I know, there are no known 12g CO2 powered airsoft pistols that can output this type of power, either. Even my most heavily upgraded pistols can barely break 400fps.

Additionally, many BB/pellet guns can shoot even harder than this 400fps example I've used. There are many that can shoot up to 495fps (for non-PAL required airguns), which is 5.92 Joules (and equivalent to 795fps with a 0.20g airsoft BB.)

The comparison.... is not comparable. You are trying to compare watermelons to grapes here. (Apples and oranges are not dissimilar enough to do this analogy justice.)

If you are doing precision target shooting, and not intent on getting a firearms license, get a tool that does the job. Get a pellet gun. Airsoft was never meant for this purpose. End of story.

I am sorry that you see it that way.

I feel the same way as Zapper, actually. I want to shoot indoors in my basement. I have set up a nice range, and am having a great time. I do not want lead shavings on the ground, from the barrel, or lead dust, from the target catch, potentially causing long term harm to myself and family (including pets). Nor do I want steel BBs flying all over the place from the notorious ricochets, potentially injuring people or breaking things.

Airsoft is safe. Airsoft is fun. What is the problem with trying to find the most acurate weapon at close range?

From my reading to date: (please refute any of these if you wish. I am looking for opinions)

Hop up is not that important at close range.
Steel BB guns and airsoft guns have similar accuracy at close range.
A clean gun with clean high quality higher weight BBs and a full mag of gas are always the most important factors for accuracy.
Blowback decreases accuracy (but is way more fun)
Longer barrels tend to increase accuracy. So rifles are mo accurate than pistols. (but again, I find pistols way more fun)


Now, I don't like the idea of using propane inside, because of the smell, fire risk, and health concerns. I know that I am probably being over cautious, but that's me. For this reason, I am looking for a good CO2 pistol, or AEG pistol (does that exist). Any suggestions?

Finally! A Canadian retailer that sells Air Force. The down side it they will probably want to do that back-door registry crap if I order.

Yup, these revolvers have no hop up. Its easy to realise after a quick visual inspection.

Thanks to ILLusion for his detailed info which makes sense to me.I am fairly
proficient with my pellet pistols ( 2 Weihrauch and 1 S&W 586) as well as a
Dan Wesson 8 inch steel bb. All well made and accurate for my purposes.
Based on the replies and views to my thread, I will hang back and wait for more complete reviews on the Dan Wesson and Skeleton SS357 air soft over the the next few months.

They are all Wingun rebrands, there are reviews EVERYWHERE.

Here there is one.

http://www.airsoftretreat.com/review...hp?product=364

Thanks for this review. I hope to see some with close range target scores in future . Mostly ,they have been owners fondling them and shooting tin cans and water bottles.
Admittedly, for me, the chrome/nickel versions are my pick .

For *most* of those reasons, I would say that airsoft is a viable and reasonable alternative for indoor close range shooting.

The only reasoning I won't fully agree with, is shots that ricochet. You are just as likely to get ricochets, damage and injury with an airsoft gun. The only differentiation, is that airsoft is much less likely to cause AS MUCH damage or harm, due to the much lower power. Most of the points I'd noted above (in regards to why pellet/BB air guns are better than airsoft) become moot if you are talking about <30 foot range. Make a solid backcatch, and ricochets shouldn't matter, regardless of your gun/ammunition type.

A point that I did not bring up on why air guns are better than airsoft, is quite simply, the price. For the amount of power and accuracy you are likely to get with an air gun, an airsoft gun at the same price point (or even double, triple, or quadruple that, for that matter) will not come anywhere close to that amount of power and accuracy.

If one of your requirements is gun realism in looks and functionality, then it just comes down to where your priorities lie.

True. In fact, for close range shooting (<30'), I have some airsoft guns that have hop up completely removed, altogether. Hop up actually degrades accuracy. What it does, is provide range. If range is not an issue, you're better off without any hop up.

True.

For the most part, yes. But a well built gun shooting medium grade BB's will still outshoot a crap low grade gun shooting high end $1+/shot heavyweight sniper ammo.

False. The actual action of blowback does NOTHING for the actual firing cycle of the gun. In fact, the blowback cycle is an almost completely separate cycle of the firing and chambering process. The only connection between the two, is that the firing cycle is the trigger mechanism for the chambering process. Contrary to common belief, the blowback cycle does NOT start until the projectile has completely cleared the barrel. This holds true for both real guns, as well as for almost all blowback airsoft guns manufactured in the past 15 years.

True

Feel free to explain the health concerns with propane, as I don't see any that aren't worse than CO2. Carbon dioxide is more likely to cause asphyxiation, as well as low temperature related burn injuries, than propane is. Propane is NOT a poisonous gas! If you feel it is, please provide proof.

Now the smell of propane... I won't refute that exists. But use as much of it as I have, and you'll learn to love the stench of Mercaptan!

Fire risk does exist if you're using the gas near an open spark or flame. The expulsion of gas would have to be close to the source of ignition, though, as it would be highly unlikely to cause an entire room to explode due to ambient propane conditions... unless you've been releasing an entire 20 pound tank in to a small enclosed room.

If the concern is explosion, the concern is the same as with CO2. Placing compressed gasses anywhere near a heat source is never a good idea, regardless of what the contents are.

AEG pistols do exist... but the performance more than sucks. Definitely not worth your money.

I grabbed a 4" ss357 and frankly it's the most accurate pistol I own, I've put about 300 rounds through it. Hated the grips though. Got some S&W ones from ehobbyasia.