Probably the most accurate 10M gun I've ever owned. And I've owned a few. FWB300S, Anschutz 250, Walther LGR, Diana 66, Tau 200, Haenel 3.121, Daisy Targetpro 953, Daisy 753.
The 887 out-shoots them all at 10M. The only one that comes close is the 753 SSP. I've done the Pilkington trigger mod on both guns, and while not as sweet as the FWB or Annie triggers, it doesn't limit my ability to put the shot EXACTLY where I want it. Filling the 2.5 oz CO2 tank usually costs me around $1.25 at the local sporting goods store, and its good for over 200 shots. (I have 3 of them.)
AirForce Edge 10M sight set with clear aperture front disk, BSB adjustable butpad, this thing just plain rocks in the basement! Perfect balance, weight and ergonomics for my taste. No empty beercan is safe.
Probably the most accurate 10M gun I've ever owned. And I've owned a few. FWB300S, Anschutz 250, Walther LGR, Diana 66, Haenel 3.121, Daisy Targetpro 953, Daisy 753.
The 887 out-shoots them all at 10M. The only one that comes close is the 753 SSP. I've done the Pilkington trigger mod on both guns, and while not as sweet as the FWB or Annie triggers, it doesn't limit my ability to put the shot EXACTLY where I want it. Filling the 2.5 oz CO2 tank usually costs me around $1.25 at the local sporting goods store, and its good for over 200 shots. (I have 3 of them.)
AirForce Edge 10M sight set with clear aperture front disk, BSB adjustable butpad, this thing just plain rocks in the basement! Perfect balance, weight and ergonomics for my taste. No empty beercan is safe.
If it out-shoots the 753, the 887 must be really good. I've been hearing and reading lots of good things about the 753 for a long time. I've never shot one, or even seen one in person, but if I'm not mistaken a lot of the school and Scout programs use them with great success. To me, it seems like the 887 ought to do better than that one, based solely on the price! (Sorry, no offense meant, I couldn't help myself).
Also, I wonder if some of the accuracy advantage in the CO2 gun comes from the fact that you don't have to do any pumping, like you do with the 753. It's just a theory. But, I'm imagining that stopping, giving it another stroke of the cocking lever, then getting back over the sights again causes some disturbance, both mentally and physically. Also, some shooter fatigue would seem to be likely in my opinion, especially the more shots you take.
I rebuilt a couple of the Diana 66 (etc) rifles, or their Hyscore equivalents. Also a couple of the pistols. I'm handy around spring air gun mechanics as a rule, but I consider them to be mechanical nightmares when it comes to a rebuild. That's why I don't work on them anymore. They're really great performing guns once they're functioning properly. I just don't want to work on one again. I know the names of a couple of guys in the business who are still willing to do the work, and I'm happy to give out their names if someone asks me about doing the job.
Don't get me wrong. If I had one of those GISS system rifles that had just been newly rebuilt, I'd be happy to own one. I would expect to get incredible accuracy. That's what I got out of the ones I rebuilt and tested here. That included the fact that I also thought the triggers were pretty spectacular, once lubricated and adjusted correctly.
I would guess that both of the Daisy models just mentioned are easier to work on than those dual-piston guns, since no long, gangly springs are involved. I've never done the rebuild work on them, but I would imagine that we're mostly talking about O-rings, flapper valves, something like that. Mostly. But, that's just not my forte. I also leave that work to those who specialize in it.
I understand the significance of and the reason for the accuracy potential behind clear sight inserts. I haven't used them, but I purchased such a set-up once, for a customer who wanted to use one on the front, paired with a rear match sight on a Feinwerkbau 124. I know the 124 isn't a match accuracy gun per se, but better sights are almost always a wrung up the ladder when it comes to accuracy on the self-same gun. Besides, if you don't try to squeeze every bit of power available out of a 124, and it's done up just right, it can be a very-accurate gun. Speaking of that...
I've posted it before, and I'll do it again here, in case somebody might benefit from it. There is a really nice, crisp two-stage trigger hidden in the 124 if you know how to find it. A lot of people don't know it's there, so they end up with a trigger that has a lot of creep, and no discernible second stage. It's totally fixable. I digress.
Thanks for the nice write-up. It gave me reason to look-up a nice rifle with which I was not yet familiar, no matter that it may have been around for a long time. I just can't keep up with everything new, especially if it's not something I own, or work on.
Probably the most accurate 10M gun I've ever owned. And I've owned a few. FWB300S, Anschutz 250, Walther LGR, Diana 66, Haenel 3.121, Daisy Targetpro 953, Daisy 753.
The 887 out-shoots them all at 10M. The only one that comes close is the 753 SSP. I've done the Pilkington trigger mod on both guns, and while not as sweet as the FWB or Annie triggers, it doesn't limit my ability to put the shot EXACTLY where I want it. Filling the 2.5 oz CO2 tank usually costs me around $1.25 at the local sporting goods store, and its good for over 200 shots. (I have 3 of them.)
AirForce Edge 10M sight set with clear aperture front disk, BSB adjustable butpad, this thing just plain rocks in the basement! Perfect balance, weight and ergonomics for my taste. No empty beercan is safe.
Thanks for the nice write-up. It gave me reason to look-up a nice rifle with which I was not yet familiar, no matter that it may have been around for a long time. I just can't keep up with everything new, especially if it's not something I own, or work on.
Ed,
A funny but true story about the Daisy 753. I first got the gun at the Findlay show, several years ago. I was taking out to my car, when totally unsolicited, another show-goer said to me "I hate those damn Daisies." I begged his pardon, and he proceeded to tell at length me how he shoots in a 10M amateur league, had spent several hundreds of dollars on the finest German match rifle, and "those damn Daisies beat me every week!" True story.
Your observations are correct about potential fatigue with an SSP platform. (Please make note that I don't shoot competitively, except against myself.) The 753 has always been my benchmark for accuracy at short range. That is, until I got the 887.
What the two rifles share is the precision choked Lothar Walther barrel. CO2 just makes it easier to make the same hole, time after time. They are probably on par with each other in terms of accuracy, but the 887 is easier to shoot, and actually the added weight and front-end balance make it easier for me to shoot standing off-hand. If I rest the rifle, it's actually quite boring to shoot. Same hole, pellet after pellet.
I've always been a big fan of 10M guns, especially the classic spring piston ones. But the top-end Daisy rifles are truly something special.
@jiminpgh
Jim,
Thanks for telling me more of the story. I hit the thank button on your post, but I'm not sure those show up.
Anyway, that's what I thought I remembered, that they had an extremely good reputation.
You mentioned the FWB 300s. If I'm remembering the right model number, I had someone give me one of those once, at least I remember everything but the 's' in the model number. The stock was broken, and the rest was supposedly all there and good, but totally in parts. I looked up a schematic online. I swear there were more parts in that trigger than most other guns have in the entire gun! Every time I thought about working on it, I'd go up to the box of parts, look inside, then sigh and walk away to find something else I needed to do that was more pressing on a job for which I was being paid.
It's not that I thought I couldn't do the work because it was too hard. It's just that I'd never done even one of them before, so I'd have to learn the thing starting from the ground up. I guess how it all wound up is sort of like the cobbler and his children's new shoes, except in this case I was both the cobbler and the child.
Anyway, I moved out of that place on the south side of Houston, and the box of parts didn't make the trip somehow. I've never felt that bad about it, because apparently I was never going to get it all put back together. My one regret is from the standpoint that I realize it was generous on the part of the person who gave it to me to do so. And, speaking of that, I sure hope he's not reading this, or at least he will forgive me if he is! (with his being an excellent customer, and all-around good guy).
Speaking of some old times, back when we had the air gun megastore, Rebel Arms, in Pasadena, there were some of those Daisy's on the wall. The owner really didn't like you touching any of the guns very much, so I didn't even know what they felt like to hold, let alone cock and shoot. I just looked at a lot of eye candy and a lot of price tags for the most part. I did buy some ammo and other miscellaneous things like that there. I guess I can't blame him. He was usually the only one there, and couldn't keep his eyes everywhere. Something expensive could have gotten damaged pretty fast. That's been several years ago. I think it was someone from another place in Texas, maybe in or near Dallas, who bought out his remaining stock when he decided to shut the doors.
Before the place closed, I talked to Don Walker from the old Beeman. He been there too, for a little dog and pony show to try to help the owner. He said it was the biggest airgun store he'd seen in the country, with the exception of his own Beeman-owned corprate location in California.
I wouldn't clutter up things here with a story about an air gun store that's no longer in business, but I think a lot of people remember the place. They might enjoy the reference.
Thanks again.
