Let's get some feedback. There's been some thinking and ... more thinking.

If you were to recall the Barnes PCP guns you have seen during the past 17 years ...

1). Which one was your favorite?

2). Which one do you think was the most practical?

3). Which one do you think had the most "surprising" characteristics?

4). Which one do you think had the most intriguing ballistic specifications?

5). Do your answers to any of the first four questions ... overlap? Meaning ... Was your "favorite" also the "most powerful", was the "most practical" also have the strongest ballistic characteristics. Did you think your "favorite" was such because it was "surprising" in artwork or design characteristics, etc.?

6). Lastly ... Which gives you the biggest smile (meaning desire to own) ... one that may have attracted more attention on the bench ... or one which may have attracted more attention at the target backer?

No right or wrong answers. Just research to see what you find to be the most intriguing examples thus far. What puts the "Barnes" in PCP?

Thank you Gentlemen.

Gary



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2013 03:25AM by barnespneumatic.

OK I'll pitch in here with what little I have seen of Barnes airguns from down under. I always loved the look of the chaparel pistol with it's machined aluminium billet frame and from what I recall a nice power curve. The apalusa rifle gets my vote with nice clean lines and again a workable power curve.
The tundra in .45 as a go get a deer/hog rifle and the nebula for turning heads and shooting paper way out. The baracuda was way cool also.
As far as owning one, pistol would have to be the chaparel and rifle would be the gry wolf with it's clasic lines, simplicity and versatility.
That said any Barnes airgun would make me smile.Danny.

Thank you Danny.

I appreciate your thoughts.

Well, that was a bust from the consensus standpoint ...

I'm not asking which profile of myself do find most handsome ... . I'm asking which, if any; of what you have seen here, best suits your idea of what a PCP should be. If you've hated them all, but one only gave you a mild headache ... then, by Golly! That was your favorite!!! We have a winner!!!

No, I can't tell you why now. Just figured asking your opinion would give direction for some feedback and be useful to current musings as I drive up the coast again. Right ... that's vague too. .

Gary

Gary,

I have to say the gray fox for the first three questions (maybe I'm bias). For number four I would have to say one of the multi-cal rifles.

Keith

I just noticed my last comment got placed incorrectly.

The "that was a bust" comment certainly did NOT refer to Danny's contribution. It was a reflection on how uphill it is to solicit comment, and then recieve response; of any type.
I was, as always ... trying to figure how we'd have fairly high read numbers and yet so few comments. Especially when asking for personal preference.

I had hoped to add something interesting to occupy my mind on the drive to BPN.

Thks for reading.

Gary

As you can see ... even THIS comment got stepped in one line. Makes it appear as if it's referring to Keith's thread.

And I've made over six thousand posts and still find it hard to get a clean placement, many times. Such is the nature of the forum program.

We have to do a bit of "connect the dots" to read. And ... if something seems to alter the meaning of posts ... we do have the PM system to notify each other of possible mistakes.

Gary

Thanks Keith!

The Grey Fox always gets good reviews. People like the shape.
Here's a link to the Grey Fox. I had trouble finding it. I realized the "Grey Fox" name came along AFTER I'd posted the pics of the gun in Gary's Galleries. Until I just changed it - it had simply been named Rendezvous Class 45/58 - it's working name during development.
[www.airgunrendezvous.com]

Gary



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/23/2013 04:09PM by barnespneumatic.

Darn, this is a tough set of questions! I even opened up the old website to try and expand my consideration. The vast number of styles and types makes it hard to answer these.

1). Which one was your favorite?

I can't get away from my own Yukon for this one.

2). Which one do you think was the most practical?

This has to be one of the shrouded.25s. I don't think I could even come up with a decent estimate of how many shots have gone through the Maverick. Because it can quietly and accurately shoot cast slugs, ball, or even sized pellets, it gets shot a lot. You don't need acres of land to enjoy a plinking session and it's plenty strong for gophers and the like. Yup, a shrouded .25 that can be dialed down to lots of shots or turned up a bit for hunting small game is probably the most practical type. I'm thinking of the Liberty and Appaloosa range or Victory Carbine...

3). Which one do you think had the most "surprising" characteristics?

The Ranger 32s were a surprise to me back when I first saw them. Great looks and a pretty extreme range of power. The Nitro2 and Tundras were special too. The Nitro2 groups at 50 yards with the Pepper Grinder slugs were one hole! Of course the Justice shooting a monster slug or using shot to take down clays was a surprise!

4). Which one do you think had the most intriguing ballistic specifications?

I don't think I can answer this one. I get intrigued by each of them and the various tradeoffs taken to get a particular result. I don't know how many different charts I made with the Prairie 3 figuring the different power levels and BCs of the various slugs.

5). Do your answers to any of the first four questions ... overlap? Meaning ... Was your "favorite" also the "most powerful", was the "most practical" also have the strongest ballistic characteristics. Did you think your "favorite" was such because it was "surprising" in artwork or design characteristics, etc.?

Yes. The Yukon is my favorite because of the power, the metal carving, the through bolt design and the "wows!" it gets when I let others shoot it etc...

6). Lastly ... Which gives you the biggest smile (meaning desire to own) ... one that may have attracted more attention on the bench ... or one which may have attracted more attention at the target backer?

For me this is the same answer as number 5 but I wouldn't get a Yukon if I could just have one Barnes gun. That's just because of the practicality factor. I really liked the Primitive Hunter version of the Woodsman and a version of that with a sub caliber insert that made it a shrouded .25 or .32 would be really neat, especially if the power could be dialed down from deer hunter to plinker levels!

Gary,
I always liked the antique look of the Bison and Expedition. I am not necessarily fond of muzzle loaders, but I really like the look and ease of use of the large cocking lever.
After shooting 50-60 rounds with my Yukon .58 Grand Slam, my left arm starts getting pretty sore. I then have to use BOTH hands to cock the rifle.......and no,
I'm not a wuzzy girly man. Another type of rifle that was never put into production but looks the antique part that I really liked was the butt flask rifle you were experimenting
with.....certainly not a Girardoni, but just as attractive in my view.
Karl

Personally, I have always lusted after a Grey Fox.....a nice light hunter.
Cheers
Neil

all I have to say is Appaloosa would be my favorite. it's beautiful traditional lines and small stature would make it easy to take through the woods up here in Michigan .dual caliber with course be cool too .Judging all of them would be extremely difficult because any gun that looks that good on the outside with the all the time and effort put into making it look nice have to be just as well made on the inside .but I kind of like the chaparral too...I think I want to be a cowboy or a pirate Did you make any double barrels ? Hehe

Thanks
Kurt



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/25/2013 01:46PM by kurt wag.

Those are some hard questions to answer! So many Air guns to take into consideration.
1.Favorite: probably the Appaloosa, clean lines and efficient
2. Most Practical: I agree with Jerry, a .25 or .32 cal for all the different slugs, balls, pellets you can use.
3. Most surprising Characteristics: Justice - for the extreme power
4. Intriguing Ballistics Spec: The larger bores with smaller inserts
5. Overlapping : Not really, they all have there different strengths and as with all your air rifles are one off specimens
6. Biggest Smile: when I receive my Hawk .308

Which ones do you like best ? Probably the 6 that you're working on ? or maybe there's 1 that you wish you wouldn't have sold .Maybe there's 1 in your head that's just dying to get out .Do you have a number of total air gun tally of Barnes pneumatic ? I think Whiscombe has made about 400+ customs

Thanks
Kurt



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/26/2013 07:27PM by kurt wag.

Hello Kurt,

A fair question. I'll have to think about it. I was just looking thru some old pics last evening. My intention is to post a few things I made, and then moved on quickly. This can happen in a season of fast flowing ideas.

Talking about one's self, is a minefield. It can be clear to anyone, that most readers consider this entire forum to be a blog of my life and work. And yet, it would be easy to become a target of scorn for talking about what makes me (and my shop) tick. It's pretty obvious that a pretty small number of people do the things I do, and do them as I do them. But I have to try not to sound as if I think I'm "special".

When you get beyond those PC issues, it is a fascinating thing to watch the parts of my mind which create the items I later manufacture. There are parts of my brain that I feel are "non essential compartments". They are the ones that insist upon being the nagging ex wife part. They worry, remind, scold, fret, review, ad nauseum. Kelly tells me that my "Internal Memory" capacity is FAAaaaaaaaarrrrrr too large. She suggests offloading large sections to flashdrives and storing them ... elsewhere! BUT; there is that part I refer to as the "back room" where the lights are always on - 24/7. And that is sort of like watching an endless "what's new / how too" series.

Most people will - eventually, comment upon my "patience" to do this work and complete a project. Part of what they call "patience" is actually "attention span". I feel, in order to learn artistic techniques and produce completed work ... one needs to have a nearly endless capacity for attention span. It's why you cannot "teach" this work, unless you are teaching a person who is already geared to absorb as fast as you can dish out.

However; "patience" ends, for me; when I must deal with something I deam to have been designed in a clumsy fashion. An item, or a system; it bugs me to death when you have to fool around to use it, or maintain it. Because I design my systems in my head - then refine on paper; and, when I am done with the paper print ... I know 100% that it simply needs to be built as drawn. It WILL work.

When life has occasionaly gotten out of my way, for more then a few heartbeats; I have been able to exploit some of the ideas piled up against the door to the back room. Sometimes I open that door, and an avalanche pours out. I make one ... reach for another ... and another. And, in the trample; many other good things are lost or pushed behind the flow.

I have one in mind that I want to revisit. Let me dig a few things out of the electrons stored in this laptop. I'll be back.

Gary

Hello Gary,

I'm back home from a long trip and catching up on the forum.

I think the trick to getting good participation with surveys is to limit the number of questions, so that people don't look at it and think "too long, it'll take forever to fill it out". Keep in mind that when it comes to the internet, "forever" is anything that takes longer than about twenty seconds, so realistically you're looking at two or perhaps three questions, max. Yup...this whole world-wide-web thingey has finally succeeded in making ADD kids out of us all, no patience at all. I feel confidant that the average forum member will automatically expand and expound on their answers in considerable detail anyway, so the thee-question limit isn't really such a problem, and you can always ask follow-up questions later on.

And with that said, I'd say that my $.02 is such.

1. my favorite from an aesthetic viewpoint would be either the original Yukon .45 (love that bronze receiver and the metal carving) or the .45 Nebula (shades of Buck Rodgers)

2.most practical for what? Since the low end of the airgun power spectrum is covered extensively by other makers, I'll focus on big bore applications, specifically, hunting. Any of the Rendezvous models would fit the bill, powerful enough to do the job and light enough to carry through the woods. As far as long-range target work goes, quite a few models fit the bill but the Nitro is probably your top-dog bench gun.

3. The most surprising characteristic-wise is the Victory .32 for me, it's amazing that you get so much out of a short-barrel pistol format.

4. The most intriguing from a ballistics standpoint for me is the big .87s like the Chief Justice and the Dragon. Those gigantic, super-heavy slugs carry such an enormous amount of terminal energy, even though they're "barely moving" by the standards that we've grown to expect from regular gunpowder firearms. They shoot with amazing accuracy for smooth bores as well. Watching them loft out there on the long shots they seem to "hang" forever in-flight, but then they just hammer the targets flat when they finally hit. The guys shooting Civil War cannons would probably identify pretty well, since their cannonballs were also slow enough to see but practically unstoppable no matter what they hit.

5. as far as overlap goes, the Woodsman series has it there, especially with the sub-caliber inserts. Wonderfully flexible.

6. And like most folks, my wants are simple. In a perfect world I'd have one of each. THAT would definite make me smile.

Thank you Sean!

Good thoughts there.

Ahhh!!! The NEBULA!!!! Forgot about that one. I did enjoy that.

great pics!

I was wondering where that super-shrouded .32 ended up, it's good to see that it's being used instead of stored. How quiet is it? Have you shot any suppressed gunpowder rifles (.22lr, etc.) to compare it to? What kind of slug weights do you end up using it with, and how fast?

Inquiring mind want to know!

Here's some of our favorites in action.

The Hoss with iron sights on the range walk.




All this damage is from Barnes airguns. That's some interesting ballistics!

This started as the Beaver gun and is now the Mississippi Delta here being shot at 80 yards from the sticks.


Here's the Grey Fox lines in a full on package. 62 cal Grizzly STOUT power!

Hoss, Victory sisters and Chaparral resting for a moment at a Irwin Cup shoot.


A cross over from pistol to carbine for a gun that gets shot a lot. Just a joy to shoot in either format.

Kent

Thank you Kent!

Great pics. Wow - did I make all that stuff?

Great to see a muzzle blast of two from all that work. Hey - they don't look like they are ready for the recycle bin. You mean you can SHOOT them? hahahah.

Gary

HI Rotor,

The MS Delta sounds like you are disconnecting a 90 psi quick connect hose, a pop and hiss. The Victory is just the hiss. Both are deceptively powerful because of this disconnect between the report and the down range smack. Both have taken crows as depicted on this forum. I have not shot a shrouded 22 because to own one I would have to open myself up to inspection from ATF.

I shoot a lot of single O buck for the convience it weighs 49 grains my Barnes "can" slug is 72 grains. I need to look up the velocities for both guns. Soon to edit.

Yes, Gary we are getting them on the range and in the field. Still going strong.

Kent

Hi Kent,

For fun - I looked up the test post from taking this gun to the field for the first time. At the time, as first tested ... I had it set to use the 77.3 grain slug you like and call the "Can" ... at 885 fps for 134.5 fpe. The Single O buckshot you use flew @ 988 fps. I'd worked to give several very level shots because the customer wanted to be hunting varmint, at night, and be extremely accurate for several shots in a row without filling. Here's the link [www.airgunrendezvous.com]

Gary

Then I found .... on page 39 of the forum ... the final numbers for this gun (as alluded to for the altered valve mentioned in the last thread).

Great numbers and level curves - much higher then was set as targeted ballistics.

Here's the thread: [www.airgunrendezvous.com]

I'll be curious to see what Kent has too. I just recalled that these were in here somewhere.

Gary

The pic of your child shooting the Hoss with (steam/smoke) coming out of the end of the barrel is awesome .And oh yeah the gun is pretty cool also .I really like iron site look on a gun .But the timing of the photo is perfect .I think I can almost see a slug !!!

Thanks
Kurt

Hi Kurt,

That's Miss Emily - Kent's daughter, and our official Barnes Pneumatic Spokesperson. She's a shooter!

That was a great pic. Kent's fast on the camera shutter.

Gary

Thanks for the link Gary, I just checked it out again.

Quite the rifle there, lots of consistent shots per fill at a very good FPE level for a .32.

I also looked at that link to the Fordson Snow Motor, and I still want one of those too!

I like the accuracy of the 32 caliber line, The beauty design and compact power of the hoss. The caliber conversion rifle is a an awesome advantage. The one that is impressive to me is the Yukon GS. True power for an air rifle, amazing accuracy and a offer of space for art. The major thing that attracted my attention to Gary and his site was his demonstration video of the Yukon GS, the range session of the Tundra at the range and many of the artistic creation's that where very original. Awesome job Gary and Kelly, and can't wait for the first creation coming out of studio pine's!!!!!!

Hi Kurt, I must confess that my luck was bought with technology. My Casio EX FH 20 will take a 40 fps burst and it will prerecord frames so when you hit the the shutter at the gunshot you won't miss the firing of the gun. This is an amazing camera that will take high speed upto 1000 fps video for some of the slow mo videos. I think a couple of people bought them for use here when they were at $300. In looking for them just now, one site says that Casio cameras are no longer marketed in the U.S. When I find on on Amazon it is listed for $1400. I don't think gold has done that well!

Thanks Gary for finding the original posts. It was fun to see the development and testing.

Kent

Probably boxes and boxes of them stacked in the back room of a closed-down Circuit City somewhere. A veritable gold mine waiting for someone to discover.