| |
RUGER® EXPLORER YOUTH RIFLE
by Dennis Brooks
Over the course of a few days, I had the distinct pleasure of reviewing the Ruger® Explorer Youth Rifle. This air rifle is designed by Umarex USA especially for youth shooters. The following review is meant to give you an overall sense of how the gun performs in both testing and real world scenarios.
First things first, BUY ONE. If you have a youth to teach air gun and regular gun safety to, this is probably the best one currently on the market, especially for the low price point. (currently priced at around $80 on UmarexUSA.com)
While packed in a plastic bag with Styrofoam on each end, the shipping was so rough the muzzle and butt stock popped through the Styrofoam but the rifle still arrived in excellent condition.
As a huge proponent of safety, I feel the air gun safety should ALWAYS be on when you are not pulling the trigger. Speaking of which, this Explorer has an unusual two stage trigger pull. There is a significant pull at first with a readily recognized break to a light squeeze before firing. While a poor habit, I found it best to pull through (while on target) the first portion until I felt the release. I would then squeeze the last eight inches or so before the air rifle would fire. While the first portion is a little bit heavy, 7 lb., the second is light 2.5 lb. by my Lyman trigger gauge.
The receiver is the only blued metal exposed to the elements. It is important to keep this lightly lubricated to avoid rust. You should remove the stock any time the air rifle has been exposed to moisture (rain, snow, significant temperature changes or dropped in water/snow) and every one to six months based on the humidity where you live to lubricate the receiver and trigger areas covered by the stock. Always use blue thread lock when re-mounting the stock. These synthetic stocks should be wiped clean with a dry rag when possible and no more than a mild detergent when necessary. Remove the stock when significant cleaning is required, for example. If you happened to drop the air rifle in the mud, everything from bore to stock would require cleaning and the metal lubricated with a light oil, white grease on the cocking mechanism.
RWS has cleaning kits with the appropriate oils for taking care of your Ruger air rifle. DO NOT put any oil other than that designated in the spring cylinder. (The use of regular types of petroleum-based oils will cause your gun to diesel. Dieseling is the explosion created by the igniting of petroleum-based oil in the compression chamber due to the extreme air temperature created when the air rifle is discharged.) Use only lubricants specifically designed for the spring cylinder about every 500 shots to keep the spring piston and seal properly lubricated and in good working order.
My chronograph results show this rifle will reach the advertised velocities without problem. This is a real air rifle, and should be treated with care when handling. Youths should always be supervised when handling the gun, due to the high velocity and range that it is capable of. Please make sure that you read the manual and all safety warnings.
The Ruger Explorer arrived from Umarex USA double boxed, packed with a Colt Defender BB pistol, in a large brown box. The top of the box shows the Ruger Explorer with the unusual stock, warnings, icons for features and expected velocity. The back of the box above gives the technical specifications and features of the gun. The air rifle comes with the normal set of documents and advertisements. Be sure to either send in the registration card, or register on the website. Read the manuals, instructions and warnings for the air rifle before using it.
The box that the Ruger Explorer came in.
|
The Explorer has an 11mm rail with scope stop. You have the ability to mount any air rifle rated scope against the stop.
The manual is a great resource for teaching as well as learning to use the Explorer. The warnings teach safety and the diagrams are accurate and informative in learning the parts of the air rifle, the operation of the safety and safe loading. The document is excellent. It should be noted that some pellets will exceed the stated velocity and danger distance. Please be aware of this when selecting a target and background.
There is a hard rubber butt plate attached to the gun. The stock is stylish, very functional and comfortable.
On the left side of the breech you will find “Manufactured Under License from Sturm, Ruger & Co. Inc.
|
When you look at the gun, you can see that the rifling begins immediately. Loading flat head pellets is more difficult. The breech is locked in place by a ball rather than chisel plunger. You may have to slap down on the muzzle to open.
Read and heed the warning imprinted on the left side of the receiver. Although this is a rifle designed specifically for younger people, this is definitely NOT a toy and should be shown the respect and safe handling it deserves. This also gives a good view of the scope stop. As with all spring rifles, you should not grip the fore grip when firing, but allow the rifle to ride across your knuckles or closed fist. I do use the “artillery” hold with this air rifle, letting the fore grip ride free on my knuckles or closed fist. Cocking the air rifle sets the safety, but verify this. Things are sometimes not quite what they should be and all wear over time. The breech/barrel locks open, but do not trust this. Always hold the barrel open when inserting a pellet.
CHRONOGRAPH RESULTS AT 5320' ALTITUDE AND 5500' – 6500' DENSITY ALTITUDE
“FPS IN BLUE IS ADJUSTED FOR DENSITY ALTITUDE”
TIGHT FIT PELLETS DID NOT WORK WELL WITH RELATIVE LOW VELOCITY.
Pellet differences and lack of a proper breech seal caused a larger than expected variance in pellet velocities.
The RWS R 10 Match pellets, made to more exacting standards, were very consistent at 480 to 485 fps.
The target results
|
The tight group shown in the target image to the right was partially due to the consistent velocities and partially due to aiming at the bottom center of the target. The RWS Master Target (389 to 404) was fired with the front sight covering the center black. It had a scattered 1 inch pattern.
All of the patterns struck low to the bull. This was because the rear sight needed adjustment.
The first set of five were the bottom RWS R10 Match that could easily be covered by a dime. The last set are the RWS Meisterkugeln requiring an old half dollar to span the pattern. I am a bit right, but that is easy to correct with the numbered rotary windage knob. I recommend using the RWS R10 Match pellets in this air rifle!
As in the movie Patriot with Mel Gibson, where he advised his sons to “aim small”, the tighter your point of aim, the tighter your grouping. By aiming at a very small point, the bottom of the black curve of the bull, I held a much tighter sight picture than placing the front sight over the entire bull, allowing a good deal of variance. I shoot field style, not off a bench. Like all spring rifles, I shot with the fore grip on the top of my fist, not gripping the air rifle. I shot from a sitting position with the stock tucked under my chin (this is a SMALL rifle), supporting arm on my knee. I also shoot without my trifocal glasses. I use non correcting protective glasses for safety, but only the air rifle sights are in focus when I shoot. The reduced dime sized target center bull is a quarter sized blur for me. This is one reason why picking as small an aim point as possible is important for me. I have taken pigeons off the two story roof with my old Benjamin 342 with the “iron” sights, but I do have to use a scope
beyond ten meters.
One thing to remember is that this is a 4.5 lb, 37 inch rifle with 11.75 inches from center of trigger to the center of the butt plate, youth air rifle. It is not supposed to be an “Adult Magnum”. It is supposed to fit smaller frames with lower cocking pressures (15-20 lb.), generally lower velocities (400 – 900 fps at sea level) and used to teach good shooting practices while remaining reasonably accurate.
They leave a nice clean hole and are recommended for indoor use. While there is a scope stop, I would not put a scope on this air rifle until the young shooter becomes fully proficient with the fiber optic sights and safety. It is capable of firing far enough for a young shooter to benefit, but I would not start them out relying on optics.
An unfired pellet is to the left of the fired pellets.
|
Also note how the plastic alloy pellets cleaned the bore. These were fired into a plastic jug of water at 10 meters.
Looking at a few more pellets fired from the Explorer, which I fired on another day, I noticed a new yellow JSB Poly Match has a solid line of black around the head as it cleans the bore. The Poly Match pellets come in orange, gray and yellow with the two designs shown. These plastic pellets are designed for beginners, and not experienced marksman. They are more lightweight than traditional pellets, and therefore are able to attain a higher velocity, but lower amount of impact.
While not as accurate as the RWS R10 Match in this rifle, they are a good choice.
Overall, if you want a youth sized spring powered air rifle for all weather with a muzzle noise that won't bother the neighbors, the Ruger Explorer is one of the best you can buy. I would highly recommend it for an instructional gun that parents could buy for their youth children. It is very easy to cock and a small youth can easily carry it all day in the field. The RWS R10 pellets seem to be one of the best choices for targets or birds, but I would use a field or penetrating pellet if I used it on small game at ten meters or less. Also remember the pellets are dangerous out to 350 yards/320 meters or more depending on the pellet chosen, so be aware of the background behind your target and always fire in a safe direction with adequate backstops as needed. Keep the safety on and stay safe with all air guns!
For more information (specs, 360 degree image, etc):
|