Arizona State Rifle & Pistol Association (airgun division)
Arizona State Rifle & Pistol Association (airgun division)
.. . .
Drulov
'Condor'
410 fps with 7.9 pellets
This article
I would like to start with a bit of a background about the pistol.
First it is NOT a 10 meter air pistol and never
has been intended as such. It does have some fine accuracy but it
is not meant for 10 meter style competition. The stock may be
misleading to buyers for a 10 meter pistol, being the same shape
and adjustments which has lead to some confusion in the
marketplace over this gun. I might add that the grips are a very
nice French walnut. However this pistol was designed as a
practice pistol for an Olympic type of competition. This
particular game, long gone from the games, consisted of five
targets that turned to face the shooter for a period of time then
turned back. The shooter placed one shot on each target. The
exact times the targets faced the shooter escapes me at the
moment but I am guessing 5 seconds down to 3 seconds facing as
ballpark times. The competitors shooting for the national team
asked Drulov to construct a pistol to come close to the existing
firearm pistols; chambered in .22 short, to be used as an
inexpensive alternative. From that request came the Condor, a
simple pistol with a simple mechanism, easy to maintain and easy
to shoot.
So let's get back to the pistol itself. It is a five shot CO2
powered repeater loaded by a non-removable magazine just in front
of a fully adjustable rear sight. Pellets are dropped in a trough
like affair then pushed forward either by a needle like bolt or
just by tipping the pistol forward. Overall appearance is similar
to a Colt 1911, basically rectangular and nothing space age.
Shooters who are stricken by 'magnumitis' need not read further,
since the velocity is a modest but respectable 415 fps(feet per
second). It is adjustable via a slotted nut just underneath the
muzzle. First a locking screw must be loosened, located under the
barrel about an inch from the muzzle end. Tightening the slotted
screw will increase the velocity.
Here are some tips on getting more fps. I have found this seems
to apply to the vast majority of CO2 pistols provided they can be
shot using bulk fill. Using the standard 12g. caplets the
velocity is the least, it will increase approximately 15 fps
using bulk fill. Leaving the tank attached to Condor will yield
another 15 fps. In this particular repeater using one pellet at a
time it will increase the velocity another 10fps as opposed to
loading all five pellets at a time. Using all these tricks,
Condor should be capable of velocities in the 455 fps region.
Bear in mind that ambient temperatures associated with CO2 itself
will increase or decrease the velocity.
Another aspect of this pistol I like is its' willingness to shoot
any kind of pellet shape. Pointed, round, flat, hollow point or a
mix of the any shape will feed in this system just fine. However;
it is sensitive to pellet diameter which must be 4.50 mm in
diameter or the CO2 will catch the skirt of the one before the
first and fire several rounds at the same time. The gas travels
from the back, over the pellets and fires the first one in line.
Making this a very robust feeding system but quite sensitive to
pellet diameter. When you purchase the pistol you do get a pellet
sizer so this is not as big a problem as one would think. You
also get a very nice case with all the tools you should need.
As far as I can tell there have not been that many Condors
imported into this country . Shooters that seem to like this
pistol are the ones that want inexpensive practice guns for one
of the NRA competitions. Also it saves them traveling time to the
range: They can shoot at home. The first models I have seen
imported did not have a scope rail. The latest models from T.G.A.G.
have a four inch scope rail already mounted directly behind the
front sight. Rail width is a standard 11mm so almost anything
will fit as far as mounts and optics.
Potential buyers will also like the trigger adjustments. Not as
fine as a 10 meter pistol but more then enough for firearm style
practice or recreational shooting. The trigger group has to be
removed from the frame to access a screw that changes the sear
engagement. Fine adjustments are done from the outside of the
pistol. Before removing the trigger group is attempted I would
recommend making any adjustments from the outside. Only if the
shooter is not satisfied should the trigger group be removed.
Anytime one takes a pistol apart one runs the risk of inadvertent
improper adjustment (breaking something). So please take care and
your own abilities into account when this is done with any gun.
Each pistol comes with a test target. My test target did not have
any information about the pellet that was used but the group is
not bad at all. It measured .235 c.t.c. (center to center) with
one pellet enlarging the group to .533 also c.t.c. I like the
idea of the one flyer since it looks like it was not a select
group but indeed the group shot when the gun was tested. Not what
I would consider 10 meter competition group but far better than
the firearm look-a-likes that are so popular. This pistol is just
plain fun to shoot. I mounted an inexpensive Daisy red dot on my
pistol and use it strictly for fun. Oh, I did go on safari in the
storage shed. So far the Condor fed on six, not quite trophy
size, mice.
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