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Post by nikvanorton on Feb 20, 2022 17:30:20 GMT
Just received my 6.5" M29 Pellet and I must say, initial impressions in a couple of areas are a little disappointing compared to my DW715.
Firstly, the grips are hollow and creaky. I know this can be improved to some degree by filling the voids with plasticine/blutac etc., but for £220+ it should be sorted. The DW metal/rubber grips feel absolutely rock solid and are a lesson in how to do it right. Couldn't the wood effect on the M29 have been over a metal base, or maybe a solid plastic grip with the least amount of material removed from the inside?
Secondly, the cylinder. It's awkward to close when it comes up against the sealing cone at the rear of the barrel and you have to fiddle around a bit to get it shut (on mine at least). The DW just snicks into place with no effort and feels more 'engineered'.
On the plus side, it's a good looking gun and the dark finish is nice - I'll report back in a few days when I've got used to it a bit more.
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Post by HeadHunter on Feb 20, 2022 18:19:24 GMT
I'm just in the process of going through my two, the cylinder lock up of mine is just spot on, they slip into the frame pretty neatly and aren't fiddly at all. The main cylinder difference with these as opposed to the DW715 revolvers is the fact that the ejector rod attaches to a ball detente at the far end of the ejector rod housing for it to lock into the frame, which I actually really like as it makes the cylinder lock up far more solid and dependable.
I do agree with you about the grips though, the S&W 629 (which has very similar grips to the DW715) has a far more solid feel to it, funny thing is that I've got one gun with creaky grips and the other is absolutely quiet ! So I'm at a loss to explain that away ! They should have used the metal inner frame technique from the 629s and had the plastic outer attached to it.
I'm going to do a write up sometime next week (if possible) once I've had a good chance to get to grips with them both in terms of shooting and the actual build quality. I have had one major fault with my 3" that needed a partial strip down and repair doing to it to get it to work correctly (which you shouldn't have to do with any gun straight out of the box) but I'll give the details of that when I publish my full review on the forum. But needless to say, Wingun (the actual manufacturer for Umarex) have got very poor QC in place so my advice to any members who are thinking of buying one is to check it out FULLY prior to purchase.
All that aside, I do love them....after all they're a revolver and iconic revolver at that, so what's not to love ?
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Post by Wild Bill on Feb 21, 2022 12:13:43 GMT
Had my first shooting session with my M29 this morning. Cold garage range at 6yds. And without a shadow of doubt this is my most accurate revolver yet. I am using H&N Plinking pellets @7.25gns. The gun is heavy and pretty hard to hold on target for too long but boy, the shots started going where I was aiming straight away. I am well happy with mine that feels nice and tight and not much play in the cylinder at all. So glad I went for the long barrel smoothbore now. I love it. I have been waiting what seems for ages for my Dirty Harry replica and I am very pleased with it. Now I am off to watch another film. Guess which one.   |
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Post by HeadHunter on Feb 21, 2022 13:00:51 GMT
Had my first shooting session with my M29 this morning. Cold garage range at 6yds. And without a shadow of doubt this is my most accurate revolver yet. I am using H&N Plinking pellets @7.25gns. The gun is heavy and pretty hard to hold on target for too long but boy, the shots started going where I was aiming straight away. I am well happy with mine that feels nice and tight and not much play in the cylinder at all. So glad I went for the long barrel smoothbore now. I love it. I have been waiting what seems for ages for my Dirty Harry replica and I am very pleased with it. Now I am off to watch another film. Guess which one. Truthfully, if it's anything like my S&W 629-6½" (which the 8 incher should be even better) then I can totally understand what you're saying, it was 'bang on' with pellets through the smoothbore barrel. I'm just off to fire both of mine now.... Why would anyone buy the reduced length rifled version when you can have that ? Seems a no-brainer to me ! |
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Post by Wild Bill on Feb 21, 2022 13:28:09 GMT
This was the first and only session session. Left hand target @6yds freehand 6 shots. Right hand target Weaver stance at 6yds. Good grouping and not adjusted the sights yet. Very chuffed with it.  (ps, it is a finger print magnet as I have not waxed it yet.)   |
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Post by HeadHunter on Feb 21, 2022 16:49:58 GMT
Just got finished shooting both of mine, the 6½" was punching out the centre of the targets with ease, shockingly easy to do with H&N Econ IIs only had to adjust the elevation slightly and she was then absolutely spot on. I was regularly getting groups where all the pellet holes were touching and they were smack bang in the centre of the target, so I can't imagine how much better the 8 incher would be. The 3" was a heap of fun, a lot larger groupings (as you would expect really) but reliably knocking down my moving target on every other shot (hit one, miss one, hit one, miss one, etc).I did manage to get some good 6 shot groups that were within an inch but generally they were around the 1½" mark at 5yds. Next, I'm going to whip the inner barrels out and send them to Modski66 to work his magic, that should improve the accuracy even more and whilst they're away I'll set about opening up the ports on the valve stem for an increase in power output. I was getting around 72 shots from both guns from one CO2 capsule, which seems about right for this time of year (I was shooting in my cold attic 5yd range). I've got a blemish in the finish on the cylinder of my 6½" version though, I initially thought that they were just the standard finger marks but when I cleaned the gun down I noticed that it's in the finish. It's not too noticeable but I wish I had noticed it when I picked the gun up at the British Shooting Show rather than getting home and noticing it now, it's not like I can just pop round to Braces of Bristol and return it for a replacement. While I'm pointing out negatives I should mention the 'major' issue that I had with the 3" too, the ejector rod was stuck solidly into the cylinder and obviously wouldn't eject the shells. I had to remove the crane arm and cylinder, then I loosened the knurled end of the ejector rod which had been thread locked into place. Then I had to physically push out the rest of the extractor star which was solidly locked in place, once I got it out I found the fault. The thread locking paste that they used on the ejector rod had been squished out onto the end of the extractor star (underneath it) and set hard, after removing all the residue from the star and the internal bore of the cylinder it freed it up and it now works properly, I should point out that it wasn't just a little bit, it was a large amount and took 10-15 minutes to remove it all. Now I know a few of you are probably thinking the same as me, WTF - Don't they have any QC in place ! How hard is it to have a final QC check prior to the gun going in the box ? So what with that problem on the 3" and the issue with the finish on the 6½" I'd suggest that anyone who's thinking of buying one of these should seriously give it a thorough inspection before parting with any cash, unlike me who blindly just pre-ordered it before even setting eyes on it. But all in all I am happy with both guns, miffed about the blemish on the 6½" but that's my fault for not checking it thoroughly prior to taking it home but I'll probably get in touch with Jethro from Braces and see if I can't get the cylinder swapped out for an unmarked one rather than sending the whole gun back to them. |
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Doug Soal
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Post by Doug Soal on Feb 21, 2022 17:16:55 GMT
Just got finished shooting both of mine, the 6½" was punching out the centre of the targets with ease, shockingly easy to do with H&N Econ IIs only had to adjust the elevation slightly and she was then absolutely spot on. I was regularly getting groups where all the pellet holes were touching and they were smack bang in the centre of the target, so I can't imagine how much better the 8 incher would be. The 3" was a heap of fun, a lot larger groupings (as you would expect really) but reliably knocking down my moving target on every other shot (hit one, miss one, hit one, miss one, etc).I did manage to get some good 6 shot groups that were within an inch but generally they were around the 1½" mark at 5yds. Next, I'm going to whip the inner barrels out and send them to Modski66 to work his magic, that should improve the accuracy even more and whilst they're away I'll set about opening up the ports on the valve stem for an increase in power output. I was getting around 72 shots from both guns from one CO2 capsule, which seems about right for this time of year (I was shooting in my cold attic 5yd range). I've got a blemish in the finish on the cylinder of my 6½" version though, I initially thought that they were just the standard finger marks but when I cleaned the gun down I noticed that it's in the finish. It's not too noticeable but I wish I had noticed it when I picked the gun up at the British Shooting Show rather than getting home and noticing it now, it's not like I can just pop round to Braces of Bristol and return it for a replacement. While I'm pointing out negatives I should mention the 'major' issue that I had with the 3" too, the ejector rod was stuck solidly into the cylinder and obviously wouldn't eject the shells. I had to remove the crane arm and cylinder, then I loosened the knurled end of the ejector rod which had been thread locked into place. Then I had to physically push out the rest of the extractor star which was solidly locked in place, once I got it out I found the fault. The thread locking paste that they used on the ejector rod had been squished out onto the end of the extractor star (underneath it) and set hard, after removing all the residue from the star and the internal bore of the cylinder it freed it up and it now works properly, I should point out that it wasn't just a little bit, it was a large amount and took 10-15 minutes to remove it all. Now I know a few of you are probably thinking the same as me, WTF - Don't they have any QC in place ! How hard is it to have a final QC check prior to the gun going in the box ? So what with that problem on the 3" and the issue with the finish on the 6½" I'd suggest that anyone who's thinking of buying one of these should seriously give it a thorough inspection before parting with any cash, unlike me who blindly just pre-ordered it before even setting eyes on it. But all in all I am happy with both guns, miffed about the blemish on the 6½" but that's my fault for not checking it thoroughly prior to taking it home but I'll probably get in touch with Jethro from Braces and see if I can't get the cylinder swapped out for an unmarked one rather than sending the whole gun back to them. How bad is the blemish on the 61/2 Shaun, any pictures to show of it. I ask because my 629 has a small mark on the cylinder also. |
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Post by HeadHunter on Feb 21, 2022 19:18:58 GMT
I'll try and take some pictures tomorrow under sunlight, the blemish isn't too bad but it does cover one side of the cylinder completely. It makes the finish look streaky, dark patches going vertically over the cylinder. At first I thought that they were just finger/grease marks and would just simply polish off, but I was wrong. I have contacted Braces of Bristol and asked for a replacement cylinder or a complete refund, which if they refund then I'll just get another from my local RFD (Redbeck Shooting) and obviously check it well first.
I'm hoping that they'll agree to exchange just the cylinder as the rest of the gun is just fine, no marks or anything.
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Post by HeadHunter on Feb 22, 2022 12:37:55 GMT
Just got finished shooting both of mine, the 6½" was punching out the centre of the targets with ease, shockingly easy to do with H&N Econ IIs only had to adjust the elevation slightly and she was then absolutely spot on. I was regularly getting groups where all the pellet holes were touching and they were smack bang in the centre of the target, so I can't imagine how much better the 8 incher would be. The 3" was a heap of fun, a lot larger groupings (as you would expect really) but reliably knocking down my moving target on every other shot (hit one, miss one, hit one, miss one, etc).I did manage to get some good 6 shot groups that were within an inch but generally they were around the 1½" mark at 5yds. Next, I'm going to whip the inner barrels out and send them to Modski66 to work his magic, that should improve the accuracy even more and whilst they're away I'll set about opening up the ports on the valve stem for an increase in power output. I was getting around 72 shots from both guns from one CO2 capsule, which seems about right for this time of year (I was shooting in my cold attic 5yd range). I've got a blemish in the finish on the cylinder of my 6½" version though, I initially thought that they were just the standard finger marks but when I cleaned the gun down I noticed that it's in the finish. It's not too noticeable but I wish I had noticed it when I picked the gun up at the British Shooting Show rather than getting home and noticing it now, it's not like I can just pop round to Braces of Bristol and return it for a replacement. While I'm pointing out negatives I should mention the 'major' issue that I had with the 3" too, the ejector rod was stuck solidly into the cylinder and obviously wouldn't eject the shells. I had to remove the crane arm and cylinder, then I loosened the knurled end of the ejector rod which had been thread locked into place. Then I had to physically push out the rest of the extractor star which was solidly locked in place, once I got it out I found the fault. The thread locking paste that they used on the ejector rod had been squished out onto the end of the extractor star (underneath it) and set hard, after removing all the residue from the star and the internal bore of the cylinder it freed it up and it now works properly, I should point out that it wasn't just a little bit, it was a large amount and took 10-15 minutes to remove it all. Now I know a few of you are probably thinking the same as me, WTF - Don't they have any QC in place ! How hard is it to have a final QC check prior to the gun going in the box ? So what with that problem on the 3" and the issue with the finish on the 6½" I'd suggest that anyone who's thinking of buying one of these should seriously give it a thorough inspection before parting with any cash, unlike me who blindly just pre-ordered it before even setting eyes on it. But all in all I am happy with both guns, miffed about the blemish on the 6½" but that's my fault for not checking it thoroughly prior to taking it home but I'll probably get in touch with Jethro from Braces and see if I can't get the cylinder swapped out for an unmarked one rather than sending the whole gun back to them. How bad is the blemish on the 61/2 Shaun, any pictures to show of it. I ask because my 629 has a small mark on the cylinder also. Yeah, I've taken some pictures today of it....    I got in touch with Jethro at Braces of Bristol yesterday and they have asked for it to be sent back and they'll ' sort it out' for me. |
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CaptDAR
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Post by CaptDAR on Feb 22, 2022 12:43:19 GMT
That’s bad. Terrible finish.
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Post by HeadHunter on Feb 22, 2022 13:01:12 GMT
That’s bad. Terrible finish. I know ! The trouble was that both guns that I picked up at the show where absolutely covered in finger prints, so I honestly thought that it would just wipe off and come up lovely....how wrong was I ? You just don't expect something like that to get past QC, but I don't think that there was any last minute quality control prior to boxing it up, either that or they're an equal opportunities employer and they've employed the visually impaired for QC work  FFS, how hard is it really ? Joking aside, I'm sure that they must employ someone to wipe them down prior to boxing them up as they're bloody finger print magnets. I only bought two guns, one of them had a stuck ejector rod and the other one has a bad finish on the cylinder ! I must just be unlucky I suppose.....  |
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Doug Soal
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Post by Doug Soal on Feb 22, 2022 13:29:21 GMT
How bad is the blemish on the 61/2 Shaun, any pictures to show of it. I ask because my 629 has a small mark on the cylinder also. Yeah, I've taken some pictures today of it.... I got in touch with Jethro at Braces of Bristol yesterday and they have asked for it to be sent back and they'll ' sort it out' for me. That is poor, my small mark is tiny compared to that. Definitely needs replacement. |
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Doug Soal
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Post by Doug Soal on Feb 24, 2022 14:34:29 GMT
Just had a 29 83/8 airsoft version delivered, finish is o.k but it’s a very slack cylinder with lots of movement compared to my 629. It locks up o.k, but not really acceptable to me, going back unfortunately.
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Post by Wild Bill on Feb 24, 2022 15:06:21 GMT
I really don't know about this slack cylinder thing. Mine feels no more slacker than many of the revolvers I have had. And when loaded and cocked, it's tight as a nuns chuff. Are we expecting too much? Thankfully I also have no blemishes that my eyes can detect either.  |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2022 15:08:23 GMT
I really don't know about this slack cylinder thing. Mine feels no more slacker than many of the revolvers I have had. And when loaded and cocked, it's tight as a nuns chuff. Are we expecting too much? Thankfully I also have no blemishes that my eyes can detect either. Nun's chuff lol |
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(ps, it is a finger print magnet as I have not waxed it yet.)
