Airgunshooter10
26-04-2005, 01:58 AM
PART 1
The CZ Slavia 631 Air Rifle
By Ian Pellant
The search for a low cost, well built air rifle for indoor and backyard target shooting is not an easy one !
My BSA rifles equipped with 'scopes are just too heavy and powerful for 10 m target shooting. The Benjamin -Sheridan 397 is too tedious to pump up over long shooting sessions, plus it doesn't have a target rifle feel, balance or trigger. So... start looking for something else. I deliberated for over six months before noticing the Slavia 631; actually it took most of time to realize what "type" of rifle I should be looking for.
As way of explanation:- to me it seems that contemporary air rifles fall into several types or categories:
youth pellet and BB rifles - usually low cost, small and of low power and accuracy;
a variety of made pump-up pneumatics and CO2 guns which in recent years seem to have drifted towards reduced manufacturing costs in preference to advancing the breed;
magnum sporting spring rifles - usually mid priced guns of 12 fp. (foot pound) (16.27 J.) muzzle energy or above; my BSA Supersport is such a rifle;
magnum Field Target rifles - can be rather expensive and are intended for shooting at ranges from 10 m to 50 m; there's a large variety of recoiling spring, gas ram, recoil-less spring, gas and PCP (pre-charged pneumatic) rifles in this group of 12 fp. to 24 fp. (32.54 J.) guns such as my BSA Superstar;
"super" magnum PCP rifles - these rifles are of fire-arm capabilities; definitely not intended for indoor target use;
Match air rifles - usually very heavy, exquisitely built and of exceptional accuracy and quite expensive; they usually produce 6 fp. (8.13 J.) muzzle energy - very quiet and safe for 10m target shooting; available in spring (usually recoil-less), CO2 and PCP powerplants.
For indoor and outdoor close range (10 m) target shooting, 6 fp. is all that is required. In fact, any more power simply adds noise, requires a heavier target back stop and must be treated with more regard to safety.
Perhaps because my first airgun was a Webley Junior - a spring gun - to me, an airgun is not an airgun, unless it is a spring gun. We all have romantic attachments to certain types of airguns, for me, springs are it.
So, finally I started looking for a low power (8 fp. muzzle energy or less), accurate spring air rifle with which I could do a lot of 10 m. shooting. True Match air rifles were eliminated from my search criteria, not so much because of cost, but because of weight. A rifle of 10 lb. or more is a mite too heavy for me to enjoy snapping off a 100 pellets from a standing position. My Superstar weighs close to 10lb with scope, it gets heavy after a while... I wanted a rifle in the 6.5 to 7.5 lb. range to fit my aperture sight to.
In late May 1998, I revisited the Compasseco web site (http://www.compasseco.com) and took greater notice of the CZ Slavia 631 rifle. The picture of the rifle with a match style plastic stock caught my interest. I phoned Compasseco, and discovered that somehow that model had never been imported; perhaps the web author had made a mistake; so I inquired about the wooden stock model and was told that a shipment was due the next week.
My wife was born in Czechoslovakia (actually her birthplace is now in the Slovak Republic). I consulted her opinion on whether or not an inexpensive Czech air rifle was worth considering, and got a "go for it."
A week later I placed an order; but an unexpected delay caused another 3 weeks to slip by before I finally took delivery. The price had dropped from $115 when the order was placed, to $95.99 on the shipped invoice. Can't complain about a price reduction, but isn't that getting a little too cheap if you want some quality?
Upon opening the box, my impressions were a little mixed because 2 long scratches on the top of the air cylinder were very noticeable. The cardboard box did not look as if it had been opened... but would the factory ship such a blemished gun? Closer examination revealed several other small scratches and nicks in the metal work and there were some rough cross-grain sanding marks in the timber stock. Okay, so it looked a little rough in the finish department... but I could always tidy it up later. I then lifted the rifle to the shoulder, and puzzlement set in. This rifle "feels" just right (at least for me); it just begs to point at a target. That chunky, deep stock really works.
Slavia 631 (aperture sight is after-market).
However, before shooting a new airgun, a quick read of the instructions is always in order. I became concerned when I noticed a Caution note about how the gun should be dry fired to remove a preservative from the piston and air chamber before first use... reach for the tool kit now !
Just what is this gun all about?
The action is held in the stock by the traditional two fore screws and one through the trigger guard. Lift the action out and... oops the cocking lever swings free. It is held in place by a flat spring in the stock... a bit unusual. The trigger blade is very long and slender and the first stage tension is by a flat spring in the trigger guard... another surprise. The main spring looked very dry, as were the cocking lever links and the trigger spring. So lubrication was called for; but first a little cosmetic work.
The deepest scratch on the air cylinder was sharp edged but not very deep. So a rub back with 1200 wet paper was needed before cold blueing. Then a rub with fine steel wool and Beeman MP5 rust inhibiting oil brought all of the steel work up to an acceptable finish. Not in the BSA class, but certainly equal to any gun for the money.
The stock is oil / wax finished. So sanding the rough spots and following it with some stain and a fresh waxing is actually a fun thing to do. I'd much rather work on an oiled stock than one daubed with a lacquer finish.
A few drops of spring oil in the spring slot and on the pivot pins; a smear of white grease on the trigger spring and the contact surface in the trigger guard spring and a dab of moly grease on the flat cocking lever spring in the stock, then reassemble. It now looked neater and the all the working parts moved fairly smoothly... but what about that dry firing to remove the preservative from the air chamber? After due consideration, a few drops of air chamber oil were inserted through the port, an oiled cleaning pellet was pressed into the breech and the gun was fired for the first time. Another surprise, that's one light trigger ! The owners' manual states that the trigger is adjustable in the 3 - 10 N (0.6 to 2.2 lb.) range. It comes set to mid-range - about 1.4 lb. A few more felt pellets, a pull through with a few cleaning patches and off to the garage shooting range.
The sights on the rifle are quite sturdy and of all steel construction. The first shot was low and off center. Try again. The pellet went through the same hole; so did the third... it soon became obvious that this is an accurate rifle !
Whilst the open sights are quite good, my original intention was to fit the aperture sight. I looked at the rear sight and found that does not look like it is intended to be removed easily. It is retained by a split drift pin that is only accessible when the action is open. Okay... leave it on for the first photo session... crank it down with the large thumb wheel and see how it works with the aperture fitted.
Rear sight.
It then became apparent that the front sight was canted to the right. The hooded foresight is a robust "one piece" unit consisting of an inverted "U" shaped base with hood welded on top. The post is a rod welded to the base, that projects up into the hood. Very solid, very non-adjustable. The unit is clamped by two screws onto a dovetail groove on top of the barrel. Somehow, mine had been knocked to one side. It was a simple matter to remove the sight, de-burr the clamping surface, slide it back on the dovetail and screw it in place.
Having a rear sight and an aperture sight is an unusual configuration. Surprisingly it works very well. With the rear sight adjusted all the way down, it hardly intrudes in the sight picture through the aperture. After sighting in through the aperture sight, the rear sight was adjusted to be centered in the view through the aperture sight... and was found to be in the exact center of it's own adjustment scale. This is a testimony to how straight this rifle is.
The CZ Slavia 631 Air Rifle
By Ian Pellant
The search for a low cost, well built air rifle for indoor and backyard target shooting is not an easy one !
My BSA rifles equipped with 'scopes are just too heavy and powerful for 10 m target shooting. The Benjamin -Sheridan 397 is too tedious to pump up over long shooting sessions, plus it doesn't have a target rifle feel, balance or trigger. So... start looking for something else. I deliberated for over six months before noticing the Slavia 631; actually it took most of time to realize what "type" of rifle I should be looking for.
As way of explanation:- to me it seems that contemporary air rifles fall into several types or categories:
youth pellet and BB rifles - usually low cost, small and of low power and accuracy;
a variety of made pump-up pneumatics and CO2 guns which in recent years seem to have drifted towards reduced manufacturing costs in preference to advancing the breed;
magnum sporting spring rifles - usually mid priced guns of 12 fp. (foot pound) (16.27 J.) muzzle energy or above; my BSA Supersport is such a rifle;
magnum Field Target rifles - can be rather expensive and are intended for shooting at ranges from 10 m to 50 m; there's a large variety of recoiling spring, gas ram, recoil-less spring, gas and PCP (pre-charged pneumatic) rifles in this group of 12 fp. to 24 fp. (32.54 J.) guns such as my BSA Superstar;
"super" magnum PCP rifles - these rifles are of fire-arm capabilities; definitely not intended for indoor target use;
Match air rifles - usually very heavy, exquisitely built and of exceptional accuracy and quite expensive; they usually produce 6 fp. (8.13 J.) muzzle energy - very quiet and safe for 10m target shooting; available in spring (usually recoil-less), CO2 and PCP powerplants.
For indoor and outdoor close range (10 m) target shooting, 6 fp. is all that is required. In fact, any more power simply adds noise, requires a heavier target back stop and must be treated with more regard to safety.
Perhaps because my first airgun was a Webley Junior - a spring gun - to me, an airgun is not an airgun, unless it is a spring gun. We all have romantic attachments to certain types of airguns, for me, springs are it.
So, finally I started looking for a low power (8 fp. muzzle energy or less), accurate spring air rifle with which I could do a lot of 10 m. shooting. True Match air rifles were eliminated from my search criteria, not so much because of cost, but because of weight. A rifle of 10 lb. or more is a mite too heavy for me to enjoy snapping off a 100 pellets from a standing position. My Superstar weighs close to 10lb with scope, it gets heavy after a while... I wanted a rifle in the 6.5 to 7.5 lb. range to fit my aperture sight to.
In late May 1998, I revisited the Compasseco web site (http://www.compasseco.com) and took greater notice of the CZ Slavia 631 rifle. The picture of the rifle with a match style plastic stock caught my interest. I phoned Compasseco, and discovered that somehow that model had never been imported; perhaps the web author had made a mistake; so I inquired about the wooden stock model and was told that a shipment was due the next week.
My wife was born in Czechoslovakia (actually her birthplace is now in the Slovak Republic). I consulted her opinion on whether or not an inexpensive Czech air rifle was worth considering, and got a "go for it."
A week later I placed an order; but an unexpected delay caused another 3 weeks to slip by before I finally took delivery. The price had dropped from $115 when the order was placed, to $95.99 on the shipped invoice. Can't complain about a price reduction, but isn't that getting a little too cheap if you want some quality?
Upon opening the box, my impressions were a little mixed because 2 long scratches on the top of the air cylinder were very noticeable. The cardboard box did not look as if it had been opened... but would the factory ship such a blemished gun? Closer examination revealed several other small scratches and nicks in the metal work and there were some rough cross-grain sanding marks in the timber stock. Okay, so it looked a little rough in the finish department... but I could always tidy it up later. I then lifted the rifle to the shoulder, and puzzlement set in. This rifle "feels" just right (at least for me); it just begs to point at a target. That chunky, deep stock really works.
Slavia 631 (aperture sight is after-market).
However, before shooting a new airgun, a quick read of the instructions is always in order. I became concerned when I noticed a Caution note about how the gun should be dry fired to remove a preservative from the piston and air chamber before first use... reach for the tool kit now !
Just what is this gun all about?
The action is held in the stock by the traditional two fore screws and one through the trigger guard. Lift the action out and... oops the cocking lever swings free. It is held in place by a flat spring in the stock... a bit unusual. The trigger blade is very long and slender and the first stage tension is by a flat spring in the trigger guard... another surprise. The main spring looked very dry, as were the cocking lever links and the trigger spring. So lubrication was called for; but first a little cosmetic work.
The deepest scratch on the air cylinder was sharp edged but not very deep. So a rub back with 1200 wet paper was needed before cold blueing. Then a rub with fine steel wool and Beeman MP5 rust inhibiting oil brought all of the steel work up to an acceptable finish. Not in the BSA class, but certainly equal to any gun for the money.
The stock is oil / wax finished. So sanding the rough spots and following it with some stain and a fresh waxing is actually a fun thing to do. I'd much rather work on an oiled stock than one daubed with a lacquer finish.
A few drops of spring oil in the spring slot and on the pivot pins; a smear of white grease on the trigger spring and the contact surface in the trigger guard spring and a dab of moly grease on the flat cocking lever spring in the stock, then reassemble. It now looked neater and the all the working parts moved fairly smoothly... but what about that dry firing to remove the preservative from the air chamber? After due consideration, a few drops of air chamber oil were inserted through the port, an oiled cleaning pellet was pressed into the breech and the gun was fired for the first time. Another surprise, that's one light trigger ! The owners' manual states that the trigger is adjustable in the 3 - 10 N (0.6 to 2.2 lb.) range. It comes set to mid-range - about 1.4 lb. A few more felt pellets, a pull through with a few cleaning patches and off to the garage shooting range.
The sights on the rifle are quite sturdy and of all steel construction. The first shot was low and off center. Try again. The pellet went through the same hole; so did the third... it soon became obvious that this is an accurate rifle !
Whilst the open sights are quite good, my original intention was to fit the aperture sight. I looked at the rear sight and found that does not look like it is intended to be removed easily. It is retained by a split drift pin that is only accessible when the action is open. Okay... leave it on for the first photo session... crank it down with the large thumb wheel and see how it works with the aperture fitted.
Rear sight.
It then became apparent that the front sight was canted to the right. The hooded foresight is a robust "one piece" unit consisting of an inverted "U" shaped base with hood welded on top. The post is a rod welded to the base, that projects up into the hood. Very solid, very non-adjustable. The unit is clamped by two screws onto a dovetail groove on top of the barrel. Somehow, mine had been knocked to one side. It was a simple matter to remove the sight, de-burr the clamping surface, slide it back on the dovetail and screw it in place.
Having a rear sight and an aperture sight is an unusual configuration. Surprisingly it works very well. With the rear sight adjusted all the way down, it hardly intrudes in the sight picture through the aperture. After sighting in through the aperture sight, the rear sight was adjusted to be centered in the view through the aperture sight... and was found to be in the exact center of it's own adjustment scale. This is a testimony to how straight this rifle is.