My struggle for a reliable and dependable Chronograph to test the feet per second velocity of the airguns I test in my indoor Sea Can shooting range has been going on for some time now. My original Chrony Chronograph just never gave me consistent results and over time it pretty much became useless so I ended up shooting the living tar out of it (Watch that video) and replacing it with a slightly better Chronic Chronograph.
The new Chrony Chronograph setup in my indoor Sea Can Airgun range worked really well for me especially using the LED lighting system I added to it (Made by Caldwell). But not even two years later my new Chrony Chronograph just flat out died on me, the screen went all garbley-goop and became unreadable. I tried a new battery and looked everywhere to see if there was a factory reset I could do but was not able to get it working again :(
Well I figured I invested enough money buying Chrony Chronographs with not so good results from them so it was time to look to another company for my airgun velocity testing needs. I ended up going with the Caldwell Ballistic Precision Chronograph which by the way is compatible with my LED lighting system since it is all made by the same company. I paid $149 Canadian for my Caldwell Ballistic Precision Chronograph which is pretty good and it even came with a super long cable to connect a smart phone that works on both iPhone and Android phones using the Caldwell App to display velocity readings in the their smartphone App.
I will be making a "test" video where I shoot several airguns I have not Chronographed yet to see how my new Caldwell Ballistic Precision Chronograph works so stay posted for that video coming out very soon!
On another note I upgraded my Drone just a little, I previously bought the Yuneec Breeze 4k Drone to use in my future videos to get some new interesting camera angles while I do some of my outdoor shooting and to be honest the quality is really good on it. Probably good enough for what I'm doing, but for only a couple hundred dollars more I was able to buy the DJI Spark which is by far a much better drone than the Breeze in many ways. Video is more stable and "follow me modes" are way more reliable to name a few things the DJI Spark does that are important to me.
You'll get to see video from the DJI Spark shortly in fixture videos. This little Drone is crazy!
What some of you may not think about is all the stuff that goes behind the scenes when a Vimeo video is being made. It's a lot more than simply grabbing a camera and saying what's on your mind although that can work sometimes.
Most of the time multiple cameras are used, tripods and special lighting are important and even how you record the audio source can make a huge difference as to the sound and what people hear in your final video.
With all that said I am always looking for a new way to help me out with the quality of my video recording and production. How can I make things look better or more interesting, how can I improve the sound quality and clarity of my videos?
Well today I show you two new products I picked up that I feel will help me out in these areas. First in the audio department I show you my new Wireless Headset/Lapel Mic system from a company called FiFine Technology. They actually sent me their FiFine Wireless Headset and Lapel Mic for free so thanks a lot for that! My plan is to use the FiFine Wireless Headset and Lapel Mic to record the audio portion of my videos rather than the built in mic in my camera since I will get less room noise and better direct voice audio recording. I think it will also be useful when doing outside shooting videos to get super clear audio with less outside noise at all times. For this testing I simply connected the FiFine Wireless Headset and Lapel Mic to my Samsung Android phone using a USB adaptor, the same can be done suing an iPhone.
Moving on now to a new video product, I have been wanting to get a Drone to capture more interesting video that I can shoot from multiple viewing angles and also be able to have a moving camera while I shoot outdoors videos. The problem is they can be kind of expensive for anything decent, because of this, so far I have not been able to justify bitting the bullet and buying a drone. That was until I saw a great deal on the Yuneec Breeze 4k Selfie Drone at my local Best buy for half price ($249 CAN) What a deal!
Anyways, watch me fumble around while I try to figure things out with my Yuneec Breeze 4k Selfie Drone for the first time, there is always a learning curve when you get something new but I do hope to be able to utilize both of these new products in upcoming videos for everyone.
Some more stuff came in and I just had to show it off before moving on with the reviews. I know you're going to like it so here we go again...
First off the super anticipate Umarex Glock 19 CO2 BB Pistol has arrived and is now available in our Canada and US online Replica Airgun Stores so get yours while we still have them, if we still have them? No this version is not a blowback or even working slide version and yes it has the dreaded stick mag! That all said the Umarex Glock 19 CO2 BB Pistol feels really solid and well made and heck it's the first licensed Airgun Glock ever so it's a good start. Umarex has said that more elaborate blowback versions will be coming out down the road. There are full blowback Airsoft version licensed by Umarex but the FPS is too slow right now for us to import them into Canada, hopefully there is a fix for this at some point...
I have been waiting at least three months now for my AW Custom AG-HX2003 Double Stack Tactical 1911 Full Blowback CO2 BB Pistol to show up. Canada Customs got their hands on it and felt it needed to be processed for three months before delivering it to me. at least I did end up getting it without a fight!
Some other very cool news, we are now selling KWA Airsoft Guns, I have been a big fan of KWA for a long time and enjoy visiting their booth at SHOT Show, they have excellent high quality detailed Airsoft guns and carry a great combination of Blowback and AEG Airsoft Guns. Once I get through my Crosman and Gletcher reviews I will focus on showcasing the new KWA lineup we are selling.
Make sure to take advantage of our 10% Off Everything Replica Airguns Easter Sale in both our Canada Online Store and US Online Store. Sale goes from Friday till Monday April 2nd.
This John Wayne Lil Duke Giveaway didn't go exactly as planned as we had that YouTube Airgun Channel scare shortly after the original announcement so not as many people knew about it but we said we where going to giveaway two John Wayne Lil Duke BB Rifles and so that's what we are going to do!
Make sure to watch my Youtube video and find out if you won or not and congratulations to the two winners! For those that did not win this time around, you can still get yourself a John Wayne Lil Duke BB Gun by heading over to our Replica Airguns Canada or Replica Airguns US online web store and purchasing one the conventional way!
This video is to explain why the Replica Airguns YouTube channel doesn't have any videos listed.
The removal or privatization of Replica Airguns YouTube videos was done as a precaution to make sure YouTube does not terminate the Replica Airguns YouTube Channel due to the recent attack on Airgun YouTube Channels. YouTube has been handing out strikes to videos that have led to many popular Airgun related YouTube channels being terminated this past week.
Replica Airguns did receive one of these strikes to a blank gun video I made several years back. The video in question simply shows me testing a blank gun by shooting it in my pool house. YouTube claims that the video in question contained illegal behavior or could potentially elicit illegal behavior from viewers? I guess all the other thousands of people shooting blank guns on YouTube is OK but this video for some reason was not OK?
I am not sure where this is all going and what will happen with Airgun channels and Airgun videos on YouTube but I will keep you posted as I find out...
**ALL REPLICA AIRGUN VIDEOS HAVE BEEN TEMPORARILY MADE PRIVATE AS A PRECAUTION DUE TO YOUTUBE'S RECENT TERMINATION OF SEVERAL HIGH PROFILE AIRGUN RELATED CHANNELS**
This situation is very new and so I don't know what to expect at this time but I do know that if the videos are private then they can not have a strike against them. I already received one strike against a video because of this new YouTube targeting policy. If I get two more strikes the Replica Airguns channel will be terminated and I do not want to risk this. I will keep everyone posted.
Wow! 100,000 Subscribers, and that was almost two years ago now. It took a while for YouTube to send me out my One Hundred Thousand Subscriber Silver Creator Award but they did come through in the end :)
The Replica Airguns YouTube Channel is now at around 200,000 subscribers and growing, not sure when the next YouTube Milestone award happens? Perhaps at One Million Subscribers? That may take a while...
It has taken a lot of hard work and this all goes back to around 12 years ago when I uploaded my first Youtube Video "Worlds Smallest Full Auto BB Gun" and discovered that people are really interested in airguns. Skip ahead to today and the Replica Airguns YouTube Channel has uploaded almost 800 videos with close to 100,000,00 video views! Of course without my subscribers and viewers I would be making videos for nothing so a big thank you to everyone that has supported the Replica Airguns Channel on this journey!
This year at SHOT Show 2018 I had the please to interview Bob from ASG yet again, Bob always has a ton of info to share about ASG new products so make sure to watch this video as it has a lot of info!
To summarize what Bob shared, ASG has their line of CZ P-09 and SP-01 Shadow Steel BB and Airsoft Full Blowback pistols with full size drop out metal magazines. And you'll be happy to know the Canadian CZ P-09 Airsoft version not only will have a threaded barrel but it will come with both a black and red barrel tip cover.
Another new air pistol from ASG is the Dan Wesson licensed none blowback pellet firing 1911, similar to what Crosman is offering that utilizes a full size drop out metal magazine combined with a two sided 6 shot rotary magazine that flips 180 degrees for a total of 12 shots per .177 caliber pellet load. the ASG Dan Wesson Pellet shooting 1911 has a nice heavy weight to it's metal slide and frame design.
Lastly Bob shared with us a new ASG ICS Hera Arms CQR Airsoft Rifle, this ASG Airsoft Rifle is still in the design and production state but look forward to it later on this year!
This year at SHOT Show 2018 I had the please of again interviewing Dani Navickas from Sig Sauer. Dani Showed me several new pistols and a new break barrel rifle Sig Sauer is offering this year. The Sig ASP20 Break Barrel rifle will come in both .177 and .22 caliber pellet shooting versions. The ASP20 has a lighter than most cocking effort of only 33 pounds using their proprietary GlideLite system, along with an adjustable ASP MatchLite trigger.
Another Target pellet airgun from Sig Sauer this year is the .177 caliber pellet shooting Super Target, styled after the Sig Sauer P210 firearm. The Sig Super Target is a single pump pneumatic single shot pistol designed for 10 meeter shooting with adjustable sights and a crips short light trigger.
Sig like several other companies has rebranded their own version of the KWC 1911 CO2 Blowback BB pistols. The Sig Sauer licensed BB 1911 is based on Sigs We the People line to celebrate the American people and their Constitution.
Another new Blowback Pellet firing Sig Sauer Air Pistol was also introduced at SHOT Show, the Sig Sauer X-Five. The X-Five uses their 20 round belt fed magazine and also has Sig's Cam Lever CO2 loading mechanism. You will also find a rear adjustable sight on the Sig Sauer X-Five Pellet Pistol.
Last but not least and perhaps one of the most interesting new products coming out later this year from Sig Sauer is the P320MHS APS which is another new rotary magazine Blowback Pellet Pistol. What's a bit different with the new Sig P320MHS is that it has a full size drop out magazine that holds the CO2 and belt fed pellet magazine. The P320MHS can also be fully field striped, has an open ejection port and is styled after Sig's real Steal M17 firearm.
Umarex presented at SHOT Show this year a license I think we all thought was never going to happen! That would be Glock, for years Glock has been steadfast about not allowing their handguns to be licensed by anyone other than them. Glock has been very protective about their brand and intellectual properties as they are entitled to. I'm not sure what Umarex said to Glock but somehow they where able to get Glock to agree to letting Umarex license Glock pistols to be made into BB and Airsoft versions. The first BB and Airsoft models I was able to checkout at this years SHOT Show are pretty basic in design and are styled after the Glock 19.
The new Umarex Glock 19 licensed BB and Airsoft pistols are CO2 powered as expected but don't have blowback operation and have a fixed metal slide and a drop out stick magazine. The new Glock Licensed Umarex pistols do however look and feel really good, picking them up you would think you are holding a real steel Glock until you try and rack the slide or drop the magazine. Umarex did indicate there will be more licensed models coming out down the road with full blowback operation and full size drop out metal magazines, we just need to be patient as Glock is very particular about the quality control.
Another show stopper for me at the Umarex Booth was the Legends Cowboy Lever Action Shell loading BB Rifle. I love shooting my Red Ryder BB Rifle but I have to admit the Red Ryder kind of looks a bit like a kids beginner airgun. The new Umarex Legends Cowboy Lever Action Shell loading BB Rifle look, feels and operates like the real deal so it's not only going to be super fun to shoot but an awesome replica to own especially if your into the old west guns.
The Umarex Legends Cowboy Lever Action Shell loading BB Rifle uses two 12 gram CO2 cartridges and can hold 10 BB loaded shells in its tube styled magazine, working the lever action elects the empty shells. Umarex claims around 410 fps so the Umarex Legends Cowboy Lever Action Shell loading BB Rifle will be Canada legal without the need for a PAL. I thought the stock was real wood but was correct, it's actually made out of plastic, but I think just about anyone looking close up would have a hard time believing Umarex didn't use real wood.
Thanks to Mark Davis from Umarex for making himself available to interview!
I wanted to start my SHOT Show 2018 Interviews with Crosman because in my books they had one of the most exciting new products this year at SHOT Show, the Crosman Remington DPMS SBR which is a duel 12 gram CO2 powered 4.5mm steel BB firing AR styled semi and full auto Machine gun.
What I like about the Crosman Remington DPMS SBR is that it works a lot like an Airsoft Gas Blowback rifle with an internal bolt and buffer tube spring, working charging handle and dust cover, it even has a bolt release button. The Crosman Remington DPMS SBR can even be taken apart similarly to a real AR rifle.
The next new interesting product from Crosman, and as I found out the design is not entirely exclusive to Crosman, was the CO2 Non-Blowback Pellet firing 1911. The Crosman Pellet 1911 has an interesting magazine design, it looks like a traditional full size drop out magazine, which as you would expect holds the CO2 but rather than an inline BB magazine the new Crosman Pellet firing 1911 has two built in 6 shot rotary magazines that can be flipped so you essentially end up with a 12 shot magazine.
You will have to drop the full size magazine after the first 6 shots to flip the rotary magazines. The Crosman Pellet 1911 does not have blowback action but the double action only trigger is smooth and not too heavy. The slide is metal with a metal magazine and a polymer frame. The Crosman Pellet shooting 1911 comes in silver and black.
The next new product from Crosman was the Mako. The Crosman Mako is a Beretta styled CO2 Blowback BB pistol. The Crosman Mako features Blowback action, fiber optic sights, tactical grips, a double action trigger and a stick magazine that holds the 4.5mm steel BB's.
Thanks to Phillip Guadalupe from Crosman for allowing me the Interview!
So it begins, I have been to this years SHOT Show in Las Vegas and checked out the new products from Umarex, Crosman, Sig Sauer and ASG. I have taken video and Interviewed the main Airgun companies. Now it's time to report back to everyone what I saw and learned. To start with here is a Teaser Video with some scenes from Vegas, inside SHOT Show and of course some of the highlight products from each airgun company.
Wow, we had a great contest giveaway for the Umarex Ace in the Hole Single Action Army Revolver. We received 406 participants with close to 2000 separate entries, so thank you everyone that got involved. Unfortunately for the other 405 participants there can only be one winner and to see who that winner is you're going to have to watch my Contest Giveaway announcement video...
This Black Friday weekend save 10% on everything in our Canada and US Online Replica Airguns Stores! It's already begun and ends Monday night so don't wait too long...
This weekend save up to 10% on BB, pellet and airsoft rifles!
Also, loyal blog and channel followers get a coupon code for FREE SHIPPING on their purchase. Now that's something to be thankful for! Read this post for details!
