Daystate Pulsar v Fx Bobcat

[nimrod177]

Just an update on the pulsar. Well took it out to my shoot today to meet up with a mate as he wanted a comparison between the pulsar and the bobcat.
Yesterday the test was in slightly windy conditions and today was absolutely perfect conditions. Checked the pulsar over and set the scope dead level using the onboard spirit level and an engineers level. Although it was near spot on i adjusted it about 1 degree against the level. To be fair i don't even think i noticed the change when looking through the scope.
So opened the ranges out from yesterdays 27yds to 35, 40 and 45 yds. I also took the Bobcat along as my mate was interested in having a go with both. He has the same problem as me in that he has a knackered left shoulder so full length rifles are a bit of a no no due to weight.
Managed to tighten up the groups a lot better today with no wind to effect the shots. Tried the jsb's again and had the same results as yesterday, it just doesnt like the jsb's so back to the H&N ftt's. So at 35 yds i was getting a respectable group of sub half inch groups. 40 yds there was a noticeable increase to about 3/4" and at 45 yds it was over an inch just. Now the Bobcat stayed at sub half inch groups all the way out to 40yds and at 45 was still well within an inch and bar a couple of shots which may have been down to me the majority were or would have been within half inch.
Next came the fun part, we put up a couple of 5.56 sa80 empty shell casings (it is a military training area). The Bobcat hit 19/20 at 45 yds spinning them all over the place. The Pulsar hit about half of them, which was a bit disappointing now that it has had near 400 pellets through it. Still a 5.56 shell casing isn't the thickest of targets and i am still getting the hang of the rifle. I was happy with the accuracy that i will be shooting it at so decided to go get some squirrels.
Set the hide up about 25yds from the feeder and turned the scope 15 clicks to bring it on at the range i was shooting at. A few tester shots to double check that everything was ok and sat and waited. First to turn up was a jay. Brought the rifle up on aim and went to put the safety off. The biggest click as the safety was let off you have ever heard and one disappearing jay. I commented on the noise of the safety in a previous post and i wasn't wrong. The wood was near silent and the click of the safety was horrendous. Mental note to find a way of making it quieter. 10 minutes later and the jay was back. Trigger finger on one side, left hand back and support the safety as it was pushed gently through the action. One dead, nest thieving jay. This is not the way i envisaged having to use this rifle. That safety is a pain in the neck the amount of noise it makes. I ended up leaving it off but then discovered it turns the power off after a while and the safety is needed to turn it back on. Daystate if you are reading this please sort this out.
After a long 5 hours and two jays and a magpie i decided to endex and go home. Obviously today was not a day for squirrels. Oh and the laser is a pointless exercise during bright sunshine, not that i am stating the obvious. It is also about 3" below the barrel which was of no help when i saw the only squirrel about ten feet from me. I forgot how low it was and thought i would be clever and use the laser to get it as it was under a dark fallen bush. Put the laser directly on it's head and fired. The only thing i hit was the branches above it's head. About 3" to be exact!
So to sum up it's first real in the field test. The safety is very noisy in a very quiet wood. The laser is about as much use as a chocolate fire guard in daylight and too low to use at close ranges. At 45 yds the groups have opened up to over an inch compared to my Bobcat which is still sub 1" groups. However it is the ideal hide gun due to it's size.
My mate was seriously considering getting a pulsar but considers the balance better on the Bobcat. He also commented that he expected better grouping on the pulsar after reading a certain write up in one of the air gun magazines. He did say that if it was on looks the Pulsar in the walnut version was better looking than the Bobcat. However he is a practical shooter and doesn't go for looks, but goes for workability. So, he is going to save and get something along the lines of the Bobcat. He is the owner of two very very nice Daystates so for him to say this it surprised me. He has a mk4is and a lovely little regal which i sold him but had to go back due to a leak (surprising for a Daystate to have a leak).
After all said and done i still like the pulsar a lot. Is it worth the £900+ price tag then the answer is no. I would say it is in the same sort of money as the bobcat. This is down to a couple of things.
1. The safety catch is noisy. And i do mean noisy.
2. It is not as quiet as the bobcat without a moderator fitted. Even my mate said how quiet the bobcat was.
3. Stupid picatinny rail should be replaced with a straight stud for fitting a sling/bi-pod.
4. The cocking lever protrudes unlike the Bobcat which is neatly flush with the side of the rifle.
5. The case is not big enough to fit the rifle in with a moderator fitted. Even with a stumpy fitted you still can't get it in the case.
6. Pistol grip isn't the biggest, especially if you have large hands like me.
Pro's compared to the Bobcat.
1. Magazine is so much better (would be nice if it was 14 shot)
2. Walnut one looks better than the black Bobcat (however i got the Bobcat for ratting at night so irrelevant really)
3. Case pre-cut foam including cut out for scope. Cardboard box for the Fx.

I will get some more pellets run through it to see if accuracy increases and come back to this in a few weeks if needs be. I am in the trade so didn't pay top dollar by any means. If i had, i think i would have been a little disappointed with this rifle at this stage. If i had this information and was a paying customer i would go with the Bobcat and would have been pleased, nay say it very happy. Maybe i am being over critical of the Pulsar or expecting so much more for the money but i still had to pay a substantial outlay for this gun. I honestly believe it is not a whole lot better than my hw100. It does have some advantages but not 1k more. Please feel free to ask any questions and i will answer them as best i can.
3. Better instruction manual.

[fatttmannn]

Just an update on the pulsar. Well took it out to my shoot today to meet up with a mate as he wanted a comparison between the pulsar and the bobcat.
Yesterday the test was in slightly windy conditions and today was absolutely perfect conditions. Checked the pulsar over and set the scope dead level using the onboard spirit level and an engineers level. Although it was near spot on i adjusted it about 1 degree against the level. To be fair i don't even think i noticed the change when looking through the scope.
So opened the ranges out from yesterdays 27yds to 35, 40 and 45 yds. I also took the Bobcat along as my mate was interested in having a go with both. He has the same problem as me in that he has a knackered left shoulder so full length rifles are a bit of a no no due to weight.
Managed to tighten up the groups a lot better today with no wind to effect the shots. Tried the jsb's again and had the same results as yesterday, it just doesnt like the jsb's so back to the H&N ftt's. So at 35 yds i was getting a respectable group of sub half inch groups. 40 yds there was a noticeable increase to about 3/4" and at 45 yds it was over an inch just. Now the Bobcat stayed at sub half inch groups all the way out to 40yds and at 45 was still well within an inch and bar a couple of shots which may have been down to me the majority were or would have been within half inch.
Next came the fun part, we put up a couple of 5.56 sa80 empty shell casings (it is a military training area). The Bobcat hit 19/20 at 45 yds spinning them all over the place. The Pulsar hit about half of them, which was a bit disappointing now that it has had near 400 pellets through it. Still a 5.56 shell casing isn't the thickest of targets and i am still getting the hang of the rifle. I was happy with the accuracy that i will be shooting it at so decided to go get some squirrels.
Set the hide up about 25yds from the feeder and turned the scope 15 clicks to bring it on at the range i was shooting at. A few tester shots to double check that everything was ok and sat and waited. First to turn up was a jay. Brought the rifle up on aim and went to put the safety off. The biggest click as the safety was let off you have ever heard and one disappearing jay. I commented on the noise of the safety in a previous post and i wasn't wrong. The wood was near silent and the click of the safety was horrendous. Mental note to find a way of making it quieter. 10 minutes later and the jay was back. Trigger finger on one side, left hand back and support the safety as it was pushed gently through the action. One dead, nest thieving jay. This is not the way i envisaged having to use this rifle. That safety is a pain in the neck the amount of noise it makes. I ended up leaving it off but then discovered it turns the power off after a while and the safety is needed to turn it back on. Daystate if you are reading this please sort this out.
After a long 5 hours and two jays and a magpie i decided to endex and go home. Obviously today was not a day for squirrels. Oh and the laser is a pointless exercise during bright sunshine, not that i am stating the obvious. It is also about 3" below the barrel which was of no help when i saw the only squirrel about ten feet from me. I forgot how low it was and thought i would be clever and use the laser to get it as it was under a dark fallen bush. Put the laser directly on it's head and fired. The only thing i hit was the branches above it's head. About 3" to be exact!
So to sum up it's first real in the field test. The safety is very noisy in a very quiet wood. The laser is about as much use as a chocolate fire guard in daylight and too low to use at close ranges. At 45 yds the groups have opened up to over an inch compared to my Bobcat which is still sub 1" groups. However it is the ideal hide gun due to it's size.
My mate was seriously considering getting a pulsar but considers the balance better on the Bobcat. He also commented that he expected better grouping on the pulsar after reading a certain write up in one of the air gun magazines. He did say that if it was on looks the Pulsar in the walnut version was better looking than the Bobcat. However he is a practical shooter and doesn't go for looks, but goes for workability. So, he is going to save and get something along the lines of the Bobcat. He is the owner of two very very nice Daystates so for him to say this it surprised me. He has a mk4is and a lovely little regal which i sold him but had to go back due to a leak (surprising for a Daystate to have a leak).
After all said and done i still like the pulsar a lot. Is it worth the £900+ price tag then the answer is no. I would say it is in the same sort of money as the bobcat. This is down to a couple of things.
1. The safety catch is noisy. And i do mean noisy.
2. It is not as quiet as the bobcat without a moderator fitted. Even my mate said how quiet the bobcat was.
3. Stupid picatinny rail should be replaced with a straight stud for fitting a sling/bi-pod.
4. The cocking lever protrudes unlike the Bobcat which is neatly flush with the side of the rifle.
5. The case is not big enough to fit the rifle in with a moderator fitted. Even with a stumpy fitted you still can't get it in the case.
6. Pistol grip isn't the biggest, especially if you have large hands like me.
Pro's compared to the Bobcat.
1. Magazine is so much better (would be nice if it was 14 shot)
2. Walnut one looks better than the black Bobcat (however i got the Bobcat for ratting at night so irrelevant really)
3. Case pre-cut foam including cut out for scope. Cardboard box for the Fx.

I will get some more pellets run through it to see if accuracy increases and come back to this in a few weeks if needs be. I am in the trade so didn't pay top dollar by any means. If i had, i think i would have been a little disappointed with this rifle at this stage. If i had this information and was a paying customer i would go with the Bobcat and would have been pleased, nay say it very happy. Maybe i am being over critical of the Pulsar or expecting so much more for the money but i still had to pay a substantial outlay for this gun. I honestly believe it is not a whole lot better than my hw100. It does have some advantages but not 1k more. Please feel free to ask any questions and i will answer them as best i can.
3. Better instruction manual.

very precise and detailed comparison, please keep us in the loop.

[Vermin Al]

Great report !

But frankly, for me, the accuracy of that Pusar would be unacceptable; 3/4" at 40 yds and over an 1" at 45yds in perfect weather conditions !

I don't have a Bobcat for comparison, just my old HW100 and that shoots sub half an inch at 40 yds. Also, it's £1,100 cheaper, the safety is dead quiet and the mechanical regulator gives a lower extreme spread than the Pusar's MCT electronic pressure monitoring system.

Admittedly my poor old battered HW100 doesn't have a gold plated trigger.

[nimrod177]

Great report !

But frankly, for me, the accuracy of that Pusar would be unacceptable; 3/4" at 40 yds and over an 1" at 45yds in perfect weather conditions !

I don't have a Bobcat for comparison, just my old HW100 and that shoots sub half an inch at 40 yds. Also, it's £1,100 cheaper, the safety is dead quiet and the mechanical regulator gives a lower extreme spread than the Pusar's MCT electronic pressure monitoring system.

Admittedly my poor old battered HW100 doesn't have a gold plated trigger.

Hey it is getting better! The groups have tightened up some on the previous day so maybe it just needs more pellets through it. I think we all know that some rifles need lots of pellets to bed the barrel in and some need very few. My steyr went accurate with less than 50 pellets through it and set the standard for all my other rifles to achieve. The problem is i now think i am spoiled and maybe expect the world from some guns when all i am likely to get is the isle of whight My issue with my hw 100 is the shot count, with my knackered shoulder i have to have the k version. I can have the Bobcat/Pulsar and a much higher shot count. I wanted this as i do quite a bit of rat shooting and a wheel barrel of 80 rats in one two hour session is not unheard of. When i get to the magical 500+ pellets i will give the results of the group sizes and powers that it is returning. At the moment it to me is a very very nice rifle with the exception of one or two niggles. That damned safety being one. As you may have guessed i ain't over impressed with that, i may phone daystate this week and ask if it is supposed to be that noisy or if there is anything they can do about it.

[SuffolkRifle]

Silence. Fx is almost silent without a mod fitted. There is no way of adding an additional mod as there is no male thread or female thread to attach a mod to. UK Neil is making a special one for me. The pulsar although shorter than the bobcat is noisier without a mod but if fitting a mod it ends up longer and i have fitted a stumpy mod. It is now almost silent but won't fit in the case with the mod attached.

Hi, if the muzzle end of the shroud of the Mk2 Bobcat is the same as the Mk1 (which I think they are), then there's a threaded ring, you can remove the ring & fit the factory 'silencer' (basically an empty tube) which has the strange effect of quietening it down, or, if more adventurous, insert some baffles & felt to make a 'proper' silencer

[markyboy]

I was considering the Daystate pulsar after using the Fx bobcat but I eventually settled with the Kalibrgun cricket, the bobcat was an excellent rifle apart from the stock as it just didn't fit me, I did manage to sort that little problem with this.
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k...psefdbu3oc.jpg
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k...psnciejain.jpg
I'm now looking into getting the wildcat as I like the new position of the cocking lever.

Mark.

[Vermin Al]

I was considering the Daystate pulsar after using the Fx bobcat but I eventually settled with the Kalibrgun cricket, the bobcat was an excellent rifle apart from the stock as it just didn't fit me, I did manage to sort that little problem with this.
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k...psefdbu3oc.jpg
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k...psnciejain.jpg
I'm now looking into getting the wildcat as I like the new position of the cocking lever.

Mark.

Seriously good woodwork.

[j rayner]

nice.very nice

[PAUL600RR]

I was considering the Daystate pulsar after using the Fx bobcat but I eventually settled with the Kalibrgun cricket, the bobcat was an excellent rifle apart from the stock as it just didn't fit me, I did manage to sort that little problem with this.
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k...psefdbu3oc.jpg
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k...psnciejain.jpg
I'm now looking into getting the wildcat as I like the new position of the cocking lever.

Mark.

what a stock amazing would love one of these for my hw100 well done mark

[nimrod177]

Hi, if the muzzle end of the shroud of the Mk2 Bobcat is the same as the Mk1 (which I think they are), then there's a threaded ring, you can remove the ring & fit the factory 'silencer' (basically an empty tube) which has the strange effect of quietening it down, or, if more adventurous, insert some baffles & felt to make a 'proper' silencer

Unfortunately it isn't and uk neil is sorting me a mod out that hopefully screws directly onto the shroud. First one he did sounds as if it is the way you describe. If at first you don't succeed and all that. It is almost silent as it is but some just want more.
Cheers rob.

[nimrod177]

I was considering the Daystate pulsar after using the Fx bobcat but I eventually settled with the Kalibrgun cricket, the bobcat was an excellent rifle apart from the stock as it just didn't fit me, I did manage to sort that little problem with this.
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k...psefdbu3oc.jpg
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k...psnciejain.jpg
I'm now looking into getting the wildcat as I like the new position of the cocking lever.

Mark.

Very nice indeed and congratulations on some very nice chippying The mkII is a slightly different design as the filling point is now located at the front of the air tube. Hey if you want a crack at making me one then pm me i would be interested in a wood stock for mine.

[SuffolkRifle]

Unfortunately it isn't and uk neil is sorting me a mod out that hopefully screws directly onto the shroud. First one he did sounds as if it is the way you describe. If at first you don't succeed and all that. It is almost silent as it is but some just want more.
Cheers rob.

So much for web photos
Think the Wildcat is gonna be the next on the list though

[SuffolkRifle]

Was as I thought, unscrew the end ring of the shroud & there is a FEMALE thread that the FX Bobcat silencer (extension to the shroud) will screw into - watched it done today on a brand new Mk2

[nimrod177]

So over the last week i have been doing some serious shooting with the pulsar to literally lead the barrel to death. I have now filled the rifle 5 times and to be fair am getting a return around 260 shots from the recommended fill pressure down to 100 bar. I am aware there are some who say they are getting slightly more and it maybe true. The gauge on my bottle is reading about 5 bar less than the on-board computer. I am not going to put the accuracy of either to the test so will fill to my bottle as most of my other guns show more or less what the bottle gauge shows and it has only just been tested. Quite a few have now had a play with the pulsar and had a go with my bobcat. The majority seem to prefer the balance of the bobcat and also have said they quite like the feel of the bobcats synthetic stock.
So would like to say thank you to the guys i met at the Mendip Shooting Ground on Friday. What a very sociable bunch of chaps they were and there were some very nice rifles being used on their range. I took both rifles to compare on an accuracy level at the shorter ranges and at the longer range out to 60yds. The range has a large amount of re-settable targets to have a go at from about 10 yds to the 60yd point. So sat down and started hammering lead down the range. None of the guys there had seen either of the rifles and there was some considerable interest. A few handled both rifles and this was where it became obvious that the bobcat had a better following than the pulsar in the handling stakes. Some commented they actually quite liked the look of the pulsar in the flesh rather than the pictures shown in the magazines. I must admit i also much prefer the rifle in the walnut finish now that i have it in the flesh. Obviously there were some diehards that still weren't overly keen on the style of the rifles as they were true traditionalists and liked a rifle to look like a rifle. One comment was appreciated and this was from a traditionalist who picked it up and used the bobcat "i may get one of these as it handles really well, damn didn't expect that". The general consensus was that the bobcat was a lot quieter than the pulsar which i have already covered.
So accuracy wise: Pulsar; 30yds= spot on, 40yds= spot on again, 50yds and a slight opening up of the pulsar to about an inch and one or two targets clipped but not knocked down. 60 yds and 50% hit rate and not a single reset out of 20 shots.
Fx Bobcat; 30yds= spot on, 40yds spot on, 50yds spot on, 60 yds spot on every shot and every shot rest the target. This is from the 14 shot mag.
I then went down the range and found some green milk bottle tops and set a few up out to the 60yd mark edge on to the view. At 40yds i was getting a 50% hit rate with the pulsar and 100% with the bobcat. At 60yds i managed 1 out of 10 with the pulsar. The bobcat produced an astonishing 10 out of 14.
So now to sum up, is the pulsar a £1900 air rifle, well no it isn't compared to the £1300 bobcat. Trouble is the pulsar has grown on me and the more i shoot it the more i really like it. The bobcat's accuracy is just exceptional but, perhaps not quite as head turning in the black synthetic stock. The pulsar is accurate enough for me for what i want it for out to 45yds. I would dearly love to get a fac rated bobcat and really push the accuracy out further to see just what it is really capable of, bearing in mind it is .177.
Finally a big thank you to ukneil for the new mod for the bobcat. Fits great and works superbly, it is now totally silent. A fantastic job well done and well engineered. Also thanks to the guys at Mendip Shooting Ground for making me so welcome. I have used it before but that was many years ago and had a surprise in finding the pigsty's gone, but enjoyed the banter and outdoor range. Roll on the club house/swimming pool as they seem to refer to it as it is under construction.

[Vermin Al]

Thanks, great update.

Seems that the FX Bobcat is the easy winner when compared to the Pulsar in terms of accuracy - which for most shooters is the deciding factor.

I must confess I am surprised that a smooth twist outshoots a LW barrel.