Sunday, January 27, 2008

The CB in Action

We attended LAGSA's first Airgun MS and Bench Rest competition for the year in Laguna last Sunday and had a blast. Thanks to all the organizers for a great event and I hope there are many more to come.

The CB flanked by two Caiman Mk1's


I don't want to seem like I'm making excuses but I feel the need to give a bit of background on how we approach these events. At first, we (Noli and I) didn't really take them that seriously. Until yesterday's event, I saw them as a way to socialize, maybe market a bit, and support the local industry. I was never one to actively pursue a title, since I feel that the trophies should go to those who take the sport seriously and work towards a win diligently, which we don't. Noli feels the same way, having the same hunting background that I do. We hunt. That's our passion and it is apparent in the utilitarian way we design our guns. So with this match which I wasn't really aware of till last week, we did the usual: Figure out what we had in the shop that we could use (believe it or not, I don't have my own gun. Go figure.), in this case, whatever was completed and on the shelf, sight it in the day before the event, then go and have fun on the day of. A newly assembled CB, CB-A, and a couple of old Caiman Mk1's that we experiment on got tagged.

The matches consisted of the full range of silhouette courses (Rifle, open sight; Rifle, scoped; pistol categories; classed from B, A, AA, and AAA), and a new BR competition that was being debuted by this group as the potential standard for all the BR matches. They used the BR-50 target (50 shots, 100 pts per clean bull, with 50 pt deductions as you tag an outer circle., for a total of 5000 pts) but placed it at 25 yards. I still remember my comment when we approached the field, confidently telling Noli and everyone within embarassing earshot that 25 yards was too damn close. Heh. Shame on me.

We tackled the BR first. We realized that we should have brought at least one .177 caliber that would have been an advantage when shooting paper, but since we didn't have any, I chose to go with a Caiman BT that had a .22 cal walther barrel on it. It was doing 850fps on JSB's, and the walther barrel was giving me one hole groups all morning long. Noli went with a 10 inch brass barreled (don't ask me why), Bigboy tanked monster that he had set up as a "rat gun", so configured because we had been invited to go on an "urban rat hunt" by one of our customers. Not the best choices for BR, but what the hey. What seemed like an easy sweep for us became a mind-boggling, humbling, and self-doubt inducing shoot. Now, when we test guns at the shop, we normally shoot a pellet hole, then shoot at that hole to make groups. Shooting at the same 3/4 inch white circle 50 times near put me in a daze. It totally threw off my aim-small-shoot-small style because the white circle didn't give me a small black reference point I was used to aiming at (like a pellet hole). Since it was one shot per target, I couldn't make myself one either. To be honest, 25 yards has not challenged me so badly since I got my first BB gun. My point of aim wavered all over the white expanse and each shot that I threw off made me doubt myself and the gun even more. I think, in retrospect, that THIS is the challenge in BR. Being able to control yourself, adapt to the situation, and master the other forces that ARE in your control. The wind was being very kind, not to mention that the lanes where we were shooting seemed to have been built with airgunners in mind, having embankments on either side and giving us really great almost windless shooting conditions. Noli at this time was undergoing his own trials, his carbon fiber moderator's end cap having chosen this time to fail and attempt to fly into low earth orbit. He replaced it with a spare moderator (or one from another gun, I forget), but when he started shooting plate sized groups, he opted go without. So, here I was having doubts about how well I was shooting, and Noli was just sighting in the gun on the target sighters after time was called and the match officially started. Hehe, love that pressure. So, given 30 mins to complete the 50 shots, my over-confident self thought I was going to beat the clock by hours. As it turns out, between my bouts of self (and gun) doubt, and Noli's blasting away with a LOUD non-moderated burp gun, I finished with just 30 seconds to spare. Pat on the back for not pissing in my pants.

I did a bit better in the silhouette match. I'm not much of a freehand shooter, preferring to do most of my shooting off a rest. Even in hunting, I will try to find a proper rest, otherwise I might even let the quarry go. I chose to shoot a newly assembled CB with a .22 cal brass barrel because I wanted to put the new model through its paces. The only change we made to the gun was a concession to my left-handedness, so a sporter ambi stock was cobbled together to fit on it the day before. I felt a bit under prepared and undergunned, as most shooters there had gobs of practice and use guns that have been specially constructed for MS, with custom stocks, Walther or HW barrels, and other cool widgets. The MS match consisted of 2 relays of 40 shots, for a total of 80 shots. Once again, the venue proved itself a godsend to airgunners as I could feel a stiff breeze behind me, but the lanes themselves were almost still. I knew that I was getting about 35-40 shots per fill on the CB's regular reservoir. Right before the first relay, I stole over to the sight in area and tried my shots at the chicken, boar, turkey, and ram ranges, (belatedly) figuring out my holdovers and holdunders. Surprisingly, there was very little compensation needed at all 4 ranges, I was pretty surprised but I think I was a bit too hasty in my calculations. I took on the first match without refilling till the last set and did ok. On the 2nd relay, I didn't realized till too late on the 2nd set I was assigned that I was critically low on air, esp. to reach out to a 45 yard ram. I blew 4 shots before I figured out my pellets were impacting almost 2 mildots low. It was then that I also figured out that instead of filling to 3200psi, I was only doing 3000psi: our carbon fiber bottles were getting a lot of use from friends who were also filling from our bottle and was down to 3000psi. So I figure I lost a few high power shots there.

The whole crew: Competitors and organizers.


In any case, it seems I did good enough to garner a 1st in my division, Class A. I think our benchrest scores came in 4th and 5th, I tied 4th with several shooters at 3675 pts, while Noli tied 5th with one other at 3650 pts. Mr. Bonie Borces, an excellent shot, came away the clear winner at 4400 pts, followed by JBC's Mang Jun and Joseph Lacanlale in 2nd and 3rd. It was humbling to say the least, but we came out of it realizing a few things, and with somewhat of a plan on how to build dedicated BR and silhouette rigs.

In retrospect, I think we should start taking these competitions more seriously. It is a sign of respect to the fine people who toil selflessly to give us a well organized shoot and to the other competitors who take the sport seriously...and expect serious competition. The level of talent there was incredible, and deserved to be taken seriously. Yes, we do joke among ourselves about how we show up totally unprepared, under-practiced, and with whatever airguns we could pick off our shelves. But in the end, the scores don't reflect any of that, and the cold hard numbers tell only one story: Who won, and who lost. Also, I guess it would be much sweeter knowing we worked hard for something and deserved the win.

Class A scores


I'm also glad I was able to get the CB out in formal competition, and even getting it its first win. While it is meant to be our entry-level model, I had no doubts it would stand up to the rigors of MS competition, and it did, with flying colors. Not bad for a bone stock rifle. =)


The CB's First Win!


Tuesday, January 08, 2008

The CB-A

The CB-A is built on the CB platform with the following differences; a round T6 Aluminum receiver for lighter weight, an adjustable hammer spring for tuning, and it will come standard with the Medium reservoir.


With attached moderator (included):



Three piece design is double bolted for safety and rigidity, but comes apart easily for easy take down, servicing, and tuning. This is a very stable platform that has been in use on the Tornado. The move back to the 3pc design was due to customer feedback and our own experience on its ease of use and reliability.



Easy hammer spring adjustment for fine tuning.


Specifications

The CB-A is Filarms’ mid-grade PCP air rifle, value price for the avid sportsman and entry level competition shooter. It is topped with a lightweight T6 aluminum receiver and comes standard with the sleek, Medium reservoir (40.64mm/1.6in) that Filarms introduced first to Filipino airgunners. Like the CB, it has 2 power settings via two cocking modes; low power and hi power. Available in .22 and .177 caliber.

Features:

  • Hammer-type, dual Cock (2 power settings)
  • Round T6 aluminum receiver, grooved for scope mounting
  • Adjustable Trigger
  • Externally adjustable hammer spring (power/tuning)
  • 19in steel sleeved, brass barrel (.22/.177)
  • Moderator/Supressor included
  • Medium (40.64mm/1.6in) T6 aluminum reservoir, detachable
  • Est. 60-80 shots in .22 cal at hi power / 80-100+ shots at lo power
  • Adaptable to C02 using optional C02 adaptor.

Price:

P16,500.00



Related Accessories:

PCP Hand Pump
P10,500.00

C02 Adaptor
P500.00


Projected release: Late January 2008




Monday, January 07, 2008

The CB

UPDATE:

The CB takes its first win at the LAGSA MS/BR match last Jan. 27, 2008.



Here is a sneak peak at our newest offering, the CB.


With the moderator attached:


With a scope mounted:




Dual Cock Modes in Low and High Power



Specifications

The CB is Filarms’ entry level PCP air rifle, priced for the new PCP user and general sportsmen. It has 2 power settings via two cocking modes, low power and hi power. Available in .22 and .177 caliber.

Features:

  • Hammer-type, dual Cock (2 power settings)
  • Blued Steel Receiver, grooved for scope mounting
  • Adjustable Trigger
  • 19in steel sleeved brass barrel (.22/.177)
  • Moderator/Supressor included
  • Standard (32mm) T6 aluminum reservoir, detachable
  • Est. 35-40 shots in .22 cal at hi power / 55-60+ shots at lo power
  • Adaptable to C02 using optional C02 adaptor.
  • Weight: 5.75lbs
  • Click HERE for stock styles

Price:

P13,500.00 /w brass barrel



Related Accessories:

PCP Hand Pump
P10,500.00


C02 Adaptor
P500.00

New Year, New Policies, New Products

A Message to all our friends, customers and supporters, past and present:


We hope that this New Year finds you all in good health and shooting form.

As some of you may have noticed, we have been through some trials in the past year. In our efforts to win over the market and over enthusiasm about our product that has performed beyond our expectations, we had over extended ourselves and expanded too fast, too soon. This has resulted in unacceptable delays and some quality control issues that should never have occurred.

In light of what has transpired, we as a company decided to pull back and examine our most basic beliefs. One thing we know for sure is that we did not set out to sell as many airguns as possible.

  • We believe in a product that speaks for itself in terms of performance, reliability, and most of all: quality.
  • We also believe that we have to earn our customer’s faith by providing excellent customer service.

Where we have fallen short of these beliefs, we pledge to rectify; systematically and completely.

We have made the appropriate revisions to our business plan and model, and you will all soon see the accompanying changes brought on by that.

This brings us to our first announcement this year:

We are now phasing out the Caiman in all its variations. It will be succeeded by the Caiman Mk2 as well as 2 new models that will soon be introduced in this blog. The main reason for this is we simply cannot afford to keep building the Caiman and stay in business. It is a platform we believe in and have put our faith in, but we have realized that it is plain and simply too expensive and time consuming to build. Over the past few months, we have been developing the Mk2 using everything we have gleaned from the Caiman platform, taking out what we felt was unnecessary and incorporating details we felt the Caiman should have had. The Mk2 will henceforth be our flagship model. It will come standard with what used to be optional on the Caiman. The details and performance of the Mk2 will be released in this blog in the coming days. To all Caiman owners, please be assured that we will continue to support and service them, we just won't be making any more.

The other two models being released are the CB and the CB-A. These new models are hammer-type airguns priced and designed to meet the needs of a wide range of airgunners, from the beginner to the avid sportsman. The first to be introduced in the blog will be the entry-level CB, a hammer-type with some exciting features and a great price. It is very exciting for us as it is priced to be within reach of the average airgunner, while still delivering the performance we’ve all come to expect of Filarms’ airguns.

On that note, we will now be limiting all custom work to post-purchase orders. This means that ALL our products will be sold standard. Custom orders will be given a separate timeline and will have to be ordered after the purchase and delivery of each airgun. This is being done to give our facility the chance to concentrate on making each airgun perfectly and on time, without the additional delays caused by having to modify it while in the production line. As much as we would like to provide each customer with an airgun that is exactly to their specs, we believe that delivering a quality product comes first and foremost. All the options that Filarms airguns were known for and first introduced to the local market will still be available, it is just their installation and/or assembly that will be a separate transaction with its own timeline.

We will soon start to deliver our products to dealers throughout the Metro Manila area. Please keep checking this site as we will be announcing where you can find them in a sporting goods retailer near you.

Please note also, we’ve unfortunately lost the filarms.com domain to a squatter. You can reach us temporarily at filarmsairguns@yahoo.com or filarms@gmail.com or at the shop tel number.

We’d like to thank you for your continued support and extend our sincerest apologies to those affected by the delays and other issues we faced. Our commitment to Integrity, Performance, and Quality is one we intend to live by, as well as a phrase borrowed from Tim McMurray of Mac-1 Airguns,

“Under Promise, Over Deliver”

Saturday, January 05, 2008

The Medium Reservoir

The Medium reservoir is 1.60in or 40.64mm in diameter. It was unofficially and un-inspiredly christened The Medium because at the time we were testing it, its outside dimensions fell almost exactly between our regular reservoir at 1.26in/32mm and the Bigboy reservoir that was 1.9in/48.25mm. The name stuck and the rest is history. We've noticed other makers call their similarly sized reservoirs Medium as well. At least it wasn't the first time we started a trend by accident.

Here are a couple of examples:


This is the Caiman in Light Hunter config, with a Medium reservoir and carbon fiber silencer.

This is one of the first shrouded Caiman Carbines that used the Medium reservoir.