Operation
Having secured my Hawke Airmax 6-18x44 to the long scope rail, and adjusted for correct eye relief and level cross hairs, I used the muzzle end plug adaptor to attach a basic moderator of unknown make to the gun. This moderator is only a little larger in diameter than the barrel shroud itself, and adds 4 ¼ “ to the length of the gun. It is a simple design, consisting internally of one long spring with a washer in the middle.
The magazine is released by moving the bolt back and engaging it in its rearmost position. The magazine itself pivots around a small steel pin, which has a knurled tip accessible from in front of the scope rail. This pin is simply pulled out (it is retained in a channel) and the magazine pushes itself out a little proud for easy acquisition.
The magazine is reminiscent of those supplied with my Umarex CP88, save that it is bigger and lighter. There is a channel cut around the magazine where the pellets skirts sit and a pip in the centre around the axis hole. The front-facing side of the magazine is quite smooth by contrast. It would be hard to insert the magazine the wrong way round. The pellets are held in place by a rubber O-ring which runs around the outside of the magazine in a slot. The O-ring slot is cut just into the pellet holes, and allows the pellets to be held by the waist.
The magazine can be inserted into the gun and held in place with the right thumb whilst the little finger pushes the pin back into place. The pin does not seem to click or otherwise to be retained in place.
The bolt is then returned to the forward position and pushed down to engage with a slot in the action. This pushes a pellet probe forwards which inserts a pellet from the magazine into the bore. The gun is ready to fire. The bolt is simply lifted, pulled right back to cock the action, pushed forward and re-seated in the slot to reload the gun.
It is possible to see whether the next chamber in the magazine is full or empty. The magazine moves in a clockwise direction.