The Air Force Condor: Part I
Let's say that you want a rifle that will command attention with it's looks alone. You need an Air Force Condor.
Let's further assume that you want a .177 caliber air rifle that will break the speed of sound with nearly every pellet on the market. You need an Air Force Condor.
Perhaps you want an air rifle that can switch calibers in just a few minutes, from .177 all the way up to .25 caliber. You need an Air Force Condor.
And last, but not least, let's say you need an Air Rifle that you can accessorize to the max, with rails already a part of the gun where you can hang lasers, lights, infra-red emitters, and cameras. You need an Air Force Condor.
I've recently picked up my second Air Force rifle, this one a Condor. I've had a Talon in the past, and really liked it. It had quite a few things going for it. I let it go in a weak moment, and finally got around to getting another Air Force rifle, albeit the big brother of the Talon.
My condor is a .177 caliber model, and I plan to purchase the other barrels for it to have a complete set one of these days. If you noticed above, I mentioned a .177 caliber that slings lead WAY past the speed of sound. And this one does it quite nicely. Even with Beeman Kodiaks, it still goes supersonic on the LOWEST power setting. I haven't even turned it up yet to play with the higher power settings as I'm currently culling starlings with it and don't need upper power band yet. I actually have to shoot the Korean-made Eun Jin extra heavy pellets in it to get it to slow down below the speed of sound, eliminating the supersonic crack that occurs when you shoot such a powerful rifle.
Just this morning, I parked my van in the driveway, cracked open the sliding door, and watched the old maple tree in front for starlings searching for nesting places. Before long, one came in and began searching through the branches, intent on stealing the best nesting sites for itself, thus kicking out my beloved bluebirds from their reserved spaces in my trees. With a frame extender installed, I was able to keep the firing report down when I sent the .177 caliber Korean heavy dome into the offending starling. Not a twitch.....just a falling off the branch terminal dive into the ground after I pulled the trigger. This gun packs such a wallop that if you are anywhere near on target, light-bodied animals like birds don't stand a chance.
I've actually seen an FT shooter using an Air Force rifle once, though I think it was the Talon because of the power limit of 20 fpe for the shoot. The Lothar Walther barrels that come with these guns are quite accurate, and I've been impressed so far with the results I am getting from my gun. Both Beeman Kodiaks and the Eun Jins are printing very nice groups at 30-50 yards.
The gun is manufactured here in the United States, and has a devoted following among air gunners. There are several aftermarket shops that cater to the hot-rodders needs on this gun, and some truly impressive results have been reported on the web about this gun. Some folks are going hog hunting with it, and have the pics to prove it. In .25 caliber, it is a hammer for certain, and is capable of hunting feats most would not try with a smallbore air rifle.
As you can see, the gun has the tank serving double-duty as the butt of the gun. Holding 3000 psi, the valve is on the tank, not in the gun. A special adapter allows you to hook the tank to a handpump or SCBA setup. I prefer the SCBA setup, cause the handpump is too much like exercise for my tastes.
Now notice the rails built into the gun. Under the barrel is a wonderful rail for hooking accessories up. On top of the barrel housing is another rail for even more accessories. And the carrying rail on top that doubles as your scope rail is as solid as they come. You can carry the gun like briefcase without any fear of messing up your scope alignment. The rail is part of the frame of the rifle itself and won't move on you.
The safety is located just inside the trigger guard, in front of a very nice trigger even in stock condition, one that is adjustable. You can adjust it to your liking and pull off some very nice shots with the sensitivity this gun lends to your tactile feel of the trigger. And the aftermarket tuners can milk even more from the gun if you so choose.
In our next blog post, we'll take a look at some velocities that I'm getting on low power with a couple of different kinds of pellets. And perhaps a picture of a starling or groundhog may show up, compliments of the Air Force Condor, a true powerhouse among air guns!
