Air Force one pistols

[nige346]

Has anyone used one of the above, was thinking of getting one as a starter pistol for club use, ie: for youngsters etc just wondered if anyone had any opinions

[martintheveg]

Nige, there is a thread on here or the other forum where this exact same question was asked only a week or two ago.
Hope this helps mate, see you on Friday.
martintheveg.

[nige346]

Cheers Martin

[zooma]

I have heard that it is possible to buy these air pistols from Poland at a very low price ( £60 - £70 ?) but an official UK distributor for these pistols has suggested that the pistols that are supplied from Poland are illegal as they can be well above the UK legal limit.

This could also tie-in with other comments that I have heard about them using a lot of gas and only giving 40 - 50 shots per CO2 capsule.

Does anyone have any experience of buying and shooting one of these cheap Polish imports ?

[harvey_s]

Given its similarity to the venerable Crosman design it would be extremely cheap and easy to restrict via the transfer port if that was actually required...(I'd be surprised if it was over 6ft/lbs however)

[zooma]

Given its similarity to the venerable Crosman design it would be extremely cheap and easy to restrict via the transfer port if that was actually required...(I'd be surprised if it was over 6ft/lbs however)

It would be nice to hear from anyone that has actually bought one of these pistols from Poland to confirm the price, gas usage and most importantly to let us know if the pistol has been checked or tested to know what the actual ft/lb measurement was found to be.

It's OK suggesting that is may be easy to adjust the power - but the average beginner that this pistol is aimed at may not have the experience or know how or even know who to ask to get it checked - and if it was found to be over the limit it and it was picked up by the police for any reason it could create a very unpleasant situation for the "innocent" owner.

It is accepted that the genuine UK imports are well within the legal limit - but the much lower price for pistols bought from Poland could be tempting and so we need to know if they are OK (legal) or not.

[pennineway.fswo]

I had a look at these today at the show

They were available in the usual cals plus .25

The finish, grips and trigger pull were fine and they looked good value at £169

i spoke to a number of people about shot number /capsule and power including Solware and I think these little pistols will appeal to many.

john

[harvey_s]

It would be nice to hear from anyone that has actually bought one of these pistols from Poland to confirm the price, gas usage and most importantly to let us know if the pistol has been checked or tested to know what the actual ft/lb measurement was found to be.

It's OK suggesting that is may be easy to adjust the power - but the average beginner that this pistol is aimed at may not have the experience or know how or even know who to ask to get it checked - and if it was found to be over the limit it and it was picked up by the police for any reason it could create a very unpleasant situation for the "innocent" owner.

It is accepted that the genuine UK imports are well within the legal limit - but the much lower price for pistols bought from Poland could be tempting and so we need to know if they are OK (legal) or not.

Why do you think its over the limit?
Polish websites advertise velocities of 160 m/s in .177 which is under 6 ft/lbs (I doubt its with very heavy pellets...its not exactly a selling point advertising minimum velocities)
The manufacturer lists that its "capable" of 500 fps (again no mention of calibre or pellet weight - but .25 heavies ain't going to be figuring in an 'up to' figure).
If you heard it from a UK importer, neither the manufacturer or the Poles support his claim, he probably just doesn't want you saving £100 by buying it from Poland!

[zooma]

Why do you think its over the limit?
Polish websites advertise velocities of 160 m/s in .177 which is under 6 ft/lbs (I doubt its with very heavy pellets...its not exactly a selling point advertising minimum velocities)
The manufacturer lists that its "capable" of 500 fps (again no mention of calibre or pellet weight - but .25 heavies ain't going to be figuring in an 'up to' figure).
If you heard it from a UK importer, neither the manufacturer or the Poles support his claim,


......he probably just doesn't want you saving £100 by buying it from Poland!

Ha - maybe.

.....but to be fair the importer that I spoke to has always been good and reliable over the years that I have known him and he did seem genuinely concerned for those that may have bought one and found it to be too powerful for UK use - and also to help dispel the myth that they were not capable of giving very many shots per CO2 capsule.

The point being that an over powerful model would use more gas than a lower power model of the same type and he was concerned about some of the low shots per cylinder being quoted - possibly by owners of Polish supplied versions that may be giving out more power than they should?

Either way, I saw this thread just after receiving the telephone call from him ( initially about something else) and so I thought it was worth mentioning as it could be of interest to somebody who may be considering buying one from Poland or for anyone who has bought one from Poland.

This is why I was asking if anyone who had bought one from Poland would like to let us know about the price paid ( £60 sounds like a real bargain if it is true) and what power and gas usage they were achieving.

There is no point in this question being answered by anyone who has bought a UK import because they are known to be OK - the only interest is to find a real live example of a Polish supplied one so we can find out what is fact and what is not.

Apart from a genuine interest in seeing if we can have a CO2 pistol for anything like £60 new, I also thought they would (in .177 calibre) make a very useful ambidextrous low cost club pistol.

[paul4be]

Right, I am waiting for one in .177 from Poland as we speak. Ordered at the weekend, order confirmed today.

I paid via Paypal, all in including pistol, postage, and an admin fee for using paypal it came to about £67.

I will update with chrono results etc once it is here. Max muzzle energy quoted on the Polish site though should put it under 6fpe anyway. The Polish sites simply quote that they are under 17 joule, the cut off for a licence over there as I understand it. Certainly not suggested as being mega powerful.

[zooma]

Right, I am waiting for one in .177 from Poland as we speak. Ordered at the weekend, order confirmed today.

I paid via Paypal, all in including pistol, postage, and an admin fee for using paypal it came to about £67.

I will update with chrono results etc once it is here. Max muzzle energy quoted on the Polish site though should put it under 6fpe anyway. The Polish sites simply quote that they are under 17 joule, the cut off for a licence over there as I understand it. Certainly not suggested as being mega powerful.

Thanks for that - a brilliant price of only £67 including charges and if the pistol is under the 6 ft/lb UK limit then I think a lot of us could be sending away for one in the near future

[paul4be]

Thanks for that - a brilliant price of only £67 including charges and if the pistol is under the 6 ft/lb UK limit then I think a lot of us could be sending away for one in the near future

In reality, I can't see there being 2 completely different versions of such a relatively low cost pistol to suit our market as well. I think it quite likely that the pistol will be as we get them. If it is OTT, I am pretty sure that a simple hammer spring swap would cure it, as per Crosmans etc.

I will wait to post the seller's details until after I know that it all goes ok.

[SuffolkRifle]

Several people over on the UCAF have bought them from Poland in .177, and, so far, not one of them has been over when tested on receipt, even when using 10.5 grain pellets

[zooma]

Several people over on the UCAF have bought them from Poland in .177, and, so far, not one of them has been over when tested on receipt, even when using 10.5 grain pellets

Good news !......thanks for the information.

[red bob]

£67 blimey i shouldnt really ,like need another pistol but at that price cant stop myself!.gift horse and all that.