Arizona State Rifle & Pistol Association (airgun division)
AA 410TDR finally hit the American shores.


 

     Looks like the AA 410TDR finally hit the American shores.  There are some dealers that are starting to do some of the testing.  Not to preempt them but I had to wait and find out what all is going to be offered.  Reason for that is that the TDR comes from Air Arms with a shroud to TGAG making it suitable for all backyard work.  The shroud extends 3.5 inches past the muzzle.  I think it gives it much more cleaner lines as far as aesthetics and it still fits into the case. There will also be upgrades offered as far as power.  Right now the TDR is offered only in the English power range of 12 foot pounds.  In fact when they arrive they are set WAY lower then that somewhere between 7 to 8 foot pounds.  TGAG sets them to the 12 foot pound limit or slightly more.  Springs being what they are and not all are created equal some power can be set at about 13 fpd.  But with a $20.00 payment the TDR can be set to over 14 fpd.  And for another nominal fee it can go to over 17 fpd but there is a price.  As you guessed by now it is the amount of shots per fill will be much smaller.  And since the barrel is rather short 17 fpd is about all one can expect.   More on that later.  Also TGAG will be offering a pistol conversion.  The TDR is made so the English subjects can not turn the rifle into a pistol.  Their pistols have a limit of 6 foot pounds at the moment.  When I first seen the TDR in Las Vegas Shot Show, pistol came to mind right off.  I have the Falcon FN8 and that is not a small pistol by any means and this looked like a candidate for a pistol also.  So TGAG has came up with a conversion that will make it a pistol, price is to be determined at a later date.

 

     As far as shots go I tested the 14 fpd version and I managed 60 shots.  That was from a 200 bar fill down to 100 bar, I would say 40 shots were hunting quality.  That means power plus accuracy combined.  At the 100 bar level I recorded 12.79 fpd.  So even after the first 60 shots the power was still there for some hunting.  But I just prefer more power for the flatter trajectory rather then say the power is inadequate for hunting.  I sure hate to carry 60 squirrels around the woods or equal amount of rabbits.  OK, maybe not that many lets say you miss some.  So who would like to carry around 30 squirrels or rabbits?  But for plinking 60 seemed like a nice number.  From the 100 to 200 bar it takes only 85 to 95 pumps from the Hill pump.  I say only as a relative term, since I would hate to do that all day.  But I could use the exercise I will admit that.  What is amazing how many shots one gets from such a small pressure tube.

 

     Another interesting point is the magazine clips holders under the rear stock.  The stock can hold two full magazines.  Too bad the rifle does not come with three magazines only one is supplied with the rifle.  Also the but pad can be adjusted for height and the rear stock can be adjusted forward and back on the bar.  If a shooter preferred to crawl the stock he can adjust it or a regular cheek weld for stand up shooting.  One more nice point is the safety.  It is located on the trigger in a cross bolt fashion.  Trigger can be adjusted to some fine let off like the rest of the Air Arm series.  However, internally it is totally different but the adjusting is very similar. One more point worth some interest is the screw on the right hand side of the transfer port.  Normally there is a torx screw there covering a smaller screw that restricts the air going into the chamber.  When screwed in the power goes down, this screw should be adjusted already by either the dealer or the importer (TGAG).  If  the shooter chooses to have less power now they know how to do it.  When I tested the first model the power was at about 8 fpd.  I managed to get 100 shots out of the rifle.  That was amazing in itself looking at how small the rifle actually is.  But for anything more then  finch hunting it was too weak.  Now I have it at 14.7 fpd and I am more than happy with it.  Stock is walnut made in the Czech Republic with a nice rail under the fore end.  That can accommodate either a bipod or laser sight of some kind.  Also under the forend there is the usual pressure gage.  The fill adapter is new also.  A snap on type and much smaller then the regular one used on the E,H or the carbine.  All the shooter does is slip it over the male end firmly and start the to fill either scuba tank or a pump.  I think A.A. is using this set up to save on volume in the pressure tube.   All of this fits neatly into a padded carrying case.  On the front of the carying case it has the Air Arms logo tastefully small as not to advertise the contents at a distance.  There is a carrying handle and  couple of shoulder straps so it can be carried over longer distances in relative comfort.


     And now for the bread and butter of any airgun; accuracy.  I tried the normal range of pellets from JSB.  The 5.52 but I had some 5.51 domes and some Straton pellets those are 5.50.  Also the Crossman dome was tried.  Total of 12 different pellets was tried for accuracy at 25 yards.  Here is a list;
JSB Exact    5.51
JSB Exact    5.52
JSB Straton 5.50

Premier die #1
RWS Superdome
Barracuda
Diabolo pointed H&N
Silver Jet
RWS H Point
Silver Arrow
Silver Ace
RWS Super point

     Before I get to the actual group size I have to point out the same pellet may not shoot the same out of your particular TDR.  Constantly I read on the forums "which pellet is the best for my rifle?"  The advise that comes back and states "get a pellet sampler and try all of them" is the best I can think of.  But it should also include ‘shoot all of the pellets in several groups not just one group of five.’  Here the groups are shot only one time with five pellets.  This may only eliminate some of the pellets and in this case it has.  What I do is shoot about 20 five shot groups between the top three pellets from any sampler.  I do this only for my personal rifles since it is so time consuming.  To explain it further I would pick three pellets that shot the best out of the twelve above.  Then I will alternate them and shoot 20 groups of five shots. Lets say pellet #1 is the best so I shoot a group then #2 and #3.  For the next group I will shoot #3 first then 2 etc.  This way I am not giving any one pellet the best of the pressure in the rifle.  After I refill I will make a note which pellet was shot first, next refill the next pellet will be shot first.  Tedious?  You bet, but it is fun, I get to know my rifle and I get a lot of trigger time.


All groups were at 25 yards with a  6-25x50 Sommet scope from TGAG.
Here are the groups;

RWS Superpoint                   .204
Barracuda                             .268
JSB Exact 5.52                      .274
Diabolo Pointed H&N            .288
Silver Ace .330
JSB Straton 5.50                   .349
JSB Exact 5.51                      .368
Silver Jet                              .377
Crossman Premier Die #1     .410
RWS Superdome                  .507
RWS H-Point                         .675
Silver Arrow                            The group for this pellet was so erratic I could not measure it.  In fact it resembled
the pattern my skeet gun puts out.

As you can see there are some surprises.  Mainly the pointed pellets shot very well.  I am not sure I would use them on a regular basis.  However, they do have their place in the airgun ammo repertoire.  I would however, for interest shoot the Superpoint in my normal 20 group test just to see if it was a fluke or not.

 This rifle is so neat and with lots of shots per fill I think I already had more pellets from it then all the other PCP rifles in my collection.

Thanks
Rada
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