philrob2000
26-11-2006, 02:31 PM
First ever attempt at writing a review ( or anything else useful for that matter. :o ) So bare with me and excuse the spelling in advance. ;) (too much time on my hands these days).
SMK XS78.
First Impressions.
Woodwork.
Right. Upon opening the box I was pleasantly suprised to see that the stock isn't covered in that horrible plasticy paint that is used on some budget guns. The finish is not perfect but is very good at the price and I've owned far dearer rifles thet have a worse finish out of the box.The only issue here is the butt-pad, made from hard black moulded plastic and mine was badly fitted. About an eighth of a inch too low leaving a gap at the top and a overhang at the bottom.Not a major problem though. Oh, and they stuck a sticker on the woodwork !! That bugged me a bit.
The staining is even and seems well applied. The sported shape fits easily in my hands feels comfortable to raise and sight. Quite impressed.
Action / Barrel.
The action and barrel both have nice even blueing and look well finished. No obvious problems here.
The open sights are quite simple but functional, the front blade being made from plastic and the rear made from metal.Elevation is easily adjusted by a small slider. It is posible to adjust windage by loosening one of the screws and 'twidling' the sight but I doubht many will bother. Scope rails are full length of the action.
The barrel strap, toward the forend, is made from plastic for some reason but metal ones are available. It does seem quite secure though and is doing its job fine at the moment.
The only real posible design flaw that I keep thinking of is a 'gap' behind the bolt when the bolt is closed.... I can imagine dirt and crap building up in there over time. ( But I could just be being fussy).
The trigger is machined from a piece of proper metal (not just a folded piece of tin which I've seen before) and the guard is also one piece of solid metal.
Still impressed.
Shooting It.
First I flicked through the user guide cos not had a CO2 rifle before (as you do of corse :rolleyes: ).
I unscrewed the valve cap as directed and inserted the 2 CO2 bulb thingies end to end as per the little diagram. I then replaced the valve cap 'firmly' like it said in the book. After doing this you have to undo the cap by 1 quarter of a turn to release the CO2 into the chamber. I found this quite dificult as I over-tightened it a bit so be aware of this.
That done I set up a backstop at the end of my outhouse and searched for a old phone book to shoot at, :) Yellow Pages, perfect....
After positioning said Yellow Pages against the backstop I picked up the rifle and a tin of .22 Spitfire pellets (which were supplied as a freebie along with 6 CO2 bulbs by Carl when I bought the rifle :cool: ), and set up about 9 meters away from the target. That's the longest run that I have in the house.
The bolt action slides back smoothly and the pellet is easy to load into position. Pushing the bolt forward requires a little more effort but may ease off with use. With a little 'shove' it clicks firmly into position though.
A quick glance at the trigger confirms that safety catch is in the S or Safe position ( I find the catch a little fiddly) so I take aim, flick the catch to F or Fire and squeeze the trigger....
Nothing.. Not even a click :confused: :confused: So I put the safety catch back to the S or Safe position and tried again. This time it fires !!! I'm yet to work that one out but assume that I'll be able to sort it out.
Anyway..
The trigger is smooth with no obvious sticking points or judders and performs predictably and well. (Impressed again). The report is not as loud as I'd been expecting from what I've read but isn't quiet either. Recoil is non existent as expected. I won't really go into accuracy and grouping due to the distance I'm shooting over but half inch groups are a doddle even with the open sights (and my eyesight). Power reminds me of my FN19, not a lot in it IMO.
With the charge of CO2 I reckon I got about 40-50 full power shots before the power started to drop. However I did lose count (:D ) so may be a few more. I did fit a old Tasco 3-9x40 SA on low mounts for a couple of shots toward the end and it's a tight squeeze but pellets can still be rolled into position with relative ease. Medium mounts would be better.
Summary
I like it. Alot. I'd definately recomend this as a budget rifle or for someone wanting to check out a CO2 rifle. It obviously wasn't designed to go against the higher end guns but I can't think of any better rifle in this price bracket.
To look at it and shoot it you would never believe that this gun only cost £60 delivered. Brand New.
Big thanks to Carl here on the forum. Bargain M8 :) , Cheers.
SMK XS78.
First Impressions.
Woodwork.
Right. Upon opening the box I was pleasantly suprised to see that the stock isn't covered in that horrible plasticy paint that is used on some budget guns. The finish is not perfect but is very good at the price and I've owned far dearer rifles thet have a worse finish out of the box.The only issue here is the butt-pad, made from hard black moulded plastic and mine was badly fitted. About an eighth of a inch too low leaving a gap at the top and a overhang at the bottom.Not a major problem though. Oh, and they stuck a sticker on the woodwork !! That bugged me a bit.
The staining is even and seems well applied. The sported shape fits easily in my hands feels comfortable to raise and sight. Quite impressed.
Action / Barrel.
The action and barrel both have nice even blueing and look well finished. No obvious problems here.
The open sights are quite simple but functional, the front blade being made from plastic and the rear made from metal.Elevation is easily adjusted by a small slider. It is posible to adjust windage by loosening one of the screws and 'twidling' the sight but I doubht many will bother. Scope rails are full length of the action.
The barrel strap, toward the forend, is made from plastic for some reason but metal ones are available. It does seem quite secure though and is doing its job fine at the moment.
The only real posible design flaw that I keep thinking of is a 'gap' behind the bolt when the bolt is closed.... I can imagine dirt and crap building up in there over time. ( But I could just be being fussy).
The trigger is machined from a piece of proper metal (not just a folded piece of tin which I've seen before) and the guard is also one piece of solid metal.
Still impressed.
Shooting It.
First I flicked through the user guide cos not had a CO2 rifle before (as you do of corse :rolleyes: ).
I unscrewed the valve cap as directed and inserted the 2 CO2 bulb thingies end to end as per the little diagram. I then replaced the valve cap 'firmly' like it said in the book. After doing this you have to undo the cap by 1 quarter of a turn to release the CO2 into the chamber. I found this quite dificult as I over-tightened it a bit so be aware of this.
That done I set up a backstop at the end of my outhouse and searched for a old phone book to shoot at, :) Yellow Pages, perfect....
After positioning said Yellow Pages against the backstop I picked up the rifle and a tin of .22 Spitfire pellets (which were supplied as a freebie along with 6 CO2 bulbs by Carl when I bought the rifle :cool: ), and set up about 9 meters away from the target. That's the longest run that I have in the house.
The bolt action slides back smoothly and the pellet is easy to load into position. Pushing the bolt forward requires a little more effort but may ease off with use. With a little 'shove' it clicks firmly into position though.
A quick glance at the trigger confirms that safety catch is in the S or Safe position ( I find the catch a little fiddly) so I take aim, flick the catch to F or Fire and squeeze the trigger....
Nothing.. Not even a click :confused: :confused: So I put the safety catch back to the S or Safe position and tried again. This time it fires !!! I'm yet to work that one out but assume that I'll be able to sort it out.
Anyway..
The trigger is smooth with no obvious sticking points or judders and performs predictably and well. (Impressed again). The report is not as loud as I'd been expecting from what I've read but isn't quiet either. Recoil is non existent as expected. I won't really go into accuracy and grouping due to the distance I'm shooting over but half inch groups are a doddle even with the open sights (and my eyesight). Power reminds me of my FN19, not a lot in it IMO.
With the charge of CO2 I reckon I got about 40-50 full power shots before the power started to drop. However I did lose count (:D ) so may be a few more. I did fit a old Tasco 3-9x40 SA on low mounts for a couple of shots toward the end and it's a tight squeeze but pellets can still be rolled into position with relative ease. Medium mounts would be better.
Summary
I like it. Alot. I'd definately recomend this as a budget rifle or for someone wanting to check out a CO2 rifle. It obviously wasn't designed to go against the higher end guns but I can't think of any better rifle in this price bracket.
To look at it and shoot it you would never believe that this gun only cost £60 delivered. Brand New.
Big thanks to Carl here on the forum. Bargain M8 :) , Cheers.