Winchester 1000xs Air Rifle

Jay Edward (deceased) · June 02, 2006, 05:12:58 PM

As some of you may or may not know... I had a problem with VERY large ground squirrels in my woodpile. The female was as big as my cat (who is somewhat overweight) and 3 smaller progeny (about the size of a normal large tree squirrel).

The female and one of her young I took out with my Winchester Model 69a (too loud). The 2nd small one I took out with an arrow (took too long). When a 3rd unexpected small one showed up... I got fed up. I went online to AirGunDepot and ordered a .177 caliber Winchester 1000xs.

This air gun was ordered on Monday and showed up on Wednesday. Talk about fast! When it did show up it was missing one (1) tin of pellets. I contacted them via email and received an immediate response. I was told another tin (of 500) was enroute. I cannot complain about the service here... they were polite and responsive.

The Winchester came with a Weaver scope that adjusts 7, 10, 15, 30, 50 yards etc. Pretty neat! The rifle was sighted in on my knife thowing block in the metal shop. It put in a 3/8" group at 15 ft. It probably would have been smaller but my age and my eyes are now working against me rather than for me.

This Model Winchester starts the pellet out at 1000 fps! Pretty zippy for a pellet rifle and just below the speed of sound. The overall sound was minimal and my love couldn't hear it upstairs as I sighted in the rifle.

This morning I spotted the little nuisance out feeding on the grass. It would only be a matter of time before it found the garden and, things going the way they usually go, it would have turned out to be the most fertile ground squirrel in existence. The next evolution would have been a chance meeting, some preliminary dating and the inevitable nuptials. It was my job to put the kibosh on this unholy portending love affair.

I ambled out to the wood shop with the rifle by my side and trying to look like I was thinking thoughts of woodworking. I opened one side of one of the windows and lurked in the shadows.

Sure enough... curiosity got the better of my nemisis and I was presented with a shot. The result is that the Woodpile Arms are vacant and Mr. ground squirrel will have to go further afield for the love of his very short life.

Herewith I present a picture of said airgun and a fairly self-explanatory target. The 3rd shot was due to the trigger. I really have nothing good to say about the trigger. It was a verrrry long pull and un-polished. I assume it will polish itself in time but the trigger pull is definitely not what I'm used to in a rifle.

Suffice to say that the rifle did it's part and I've wanted a pellet rifle for a long time now (ever since I got talked out of my Blue Streak). I also have another pellet rifle in mind but I'll save that for another time. Except for the trigger pull, I'm very pleased with the accuracy, feel and perormance of the rifle. I found that holding 'half-a-breath' for the trigger pull doesn't work too well (as you can see from the 3rd shot). I darn near passed out!

RatherBHuntin · June 02, 2006, 05:29:48 PM

Air rifles are definately a much under rated weapon and tool. My son won a Gamo air rifle, but the cheaper model at only 500 fps. It's louder than I expected, but still a great rifle to practice the basics and get the little ones into it. Yours sounds like a dandy. And at 1000 fps, faster than a .22 Short if I'm not mistaken.

I've got a mess of squirels going after the bird seed, and I didn't want to kill them yet (waiting for the fall season, and then we are going to fill the pot). My boy does have a paint ball gun that throws a .62ish ball at 300 fps and it seems that it stings quite a bit, I think they are getting the point.

English · June 02, 2006, 05:49:52 PM

Jay, way to go! I bought an air rifle years ago when I had a wood burner in my basement. Seems the red squirrels and chipmunks like my wood pile as a home. I was too close to houses to use a .22 or shotgun so I got the air gun. Did it's intended job very well. Not as powerful as yours...I think 750 fps...but still does a nice job on starlings and chipmunks that show up on occasion.

RatherB, I've wanted to try a paintball gun for stuff like that for awhile. Might need to go shopping one of these days!

Mike

buckshot roberts · June 02, 2006, 06:08:51 PM

:D Jay that is so cool, dang good shoot'in, I've never had an air rifle, just an old bb gun that came over on the mayflower, how much did it set ya back, Ron

Jay Edward (deceased) · June 02, 2006, 08:26:09 PM

Quote from: buckshot robertshow much did it set ya back, Ron

$144.90 plus shipping from Utah. Like I said above... it met my expectations in every way except the trigger pull.

I have to say that this 1000 fps is something I did not know about. I find it doubly interesting that it doesn't make much noise!

The description at AirGunDepot.com was pretty accurate.
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M1Garand · June 03, 2006, 10:46:47 AM

You can't tweak the trigger a little to make it better?

gitano · June 04, 2006, 12:16:28 PM

Cool.

Paul

Brithunter · June 06, 2006, 03:41:16 PM

Hi Jay,

Hmmm you have only just got a spring powered air rifle

Oh my another example of lack of your education

Now does Winchester actually make it ?......................................... or is like Beeman who only import them? if so where was it made? sorry cannot tell from the photograph :o .

Now although I am not keen on Beeman after all he renames very make and produces nothing :frown but he does import some quality spring air guns which have wonderful adjustable triggers. I have 4 air rifles 1 of which is a Crossman 766 which needs a rebuild the valalve has gone :o I wore the poor little rifle out. The others are :-

BSA Meteor .177 which produces about 10ft lbs of energy

Feinwerkbau Sport 127 .22 (5.5mm) which produces about 11.5 ft lbs

Haenel Mod 302 .22 (5.6mm)which produces about 11.5 ft lbs

Of the three spring powered rifles the BSA has the simplest trigger mech but is still adjustable and very usable, the Feinwerkbau has a virtually match unit but then again they do make exceptional match rifles so .................. The Haenel is of East German make and was made under the Communist regime, the wood has that reddish shellac that they used on AK's

but the blacking is good and the trigger is adjustable. Only plastic is the button on the safety catch and the rear sight, fore sight is just like the Mauser 98 and it shoots better than i can hold using those open sights. One day I need to put a scope on it to see just how well it shoots.

The power varies slightly depending upon pellet weight sorry i do not know what velocity they produce

one day I will get myself a chrograph and test them. In the UK air rifles are limited by law to 12 ft lbs after which they become firearms and are licencable. The other week I used the Feinwerkbau which I brought new back in 1978 to kill a rat that was chewing on of out peanut holding bird feeders then a few days later I put a Wood pigeon in the freezer with it from 30 yards. The rifle was loaded whilst waiting for another Rat but as it didn't show itself again and I wanted to put the rifle away unloaded

well there were 3 Pigeons sitting in the trees at the top of the lawn and well one is now in the freezer awaiting dressing for lunch some day :D .

Jay Edward (deceased) · June 06, 2006, 08:41:29 PM

My lack of education is actually worse than you might imagine BH. I grew up with BB guns and owned one pellet rifle (Sheridan Blue Steak). I got too caught up in large caliber rifles, handguns and muzzle loaders I reckon.

The Winchester is a cooperative effort with Daisy and lives up to its modest claims. The pellets I'm currently shooting are RWS 'hollow points' and weigh in on my scale at 7.5 grains. I've ordered some 8.3 grains, 8.6 grains and 10.2 grains... one of which is the Crow Magnum.

I've read quite a bit on American websites and a few British websites about the reputation of the Beeman R1 in .20 caliber. I would very much like to get my hands on one of those rifles as well as the Beeman .25 caliber Kodiak. Regardless of who makes them... the reputation for these two particular models seems to be universally held.

The Theoben looks mighty nice but the price seems to be a little high for my current resources. A Field Gun is what I'm looking for as I rarely participate in contests other than with myself.

I imagine I'll learn as I go along but I can already say that the Winchester 1000xs (1000 fps) is fine but the high velocity is not really what I am after. A heavier pellet will be more to my liking in the .177 caliber but if it does not perform well in the accuracy department, I might be looking for a R1 in .20 caliber earlier than I expected.

I've read a number of articles showing tables that demonstrate that the .20 caliber is a better compromise in the field than the .22 caliber. The .25 caliber would just be to hear it go thump into some pest.

Beyond that I need the noise level to remain low so that the neighbors are not stirred up.

Brithunter · June 06, 2006, 10:49:35 PM

Hi Jay,

Well you might not believe this but both my Mum and Dad don't like guns

me welll you know. Actually you don't:p as a little boy my parents brought me Laggo Blocks/bricks to play with and guess who made guns with it? not houses and cars and stuff just guns :D . Being so gun unfriendly of course they didn't buy me an airgun BUT I did get to play with Dads' old Haenel Mod 15 tinplate smoothbore one. No pellets mind you so I made up projectiles and one that workedfairly well was a piece of straw with a Black Thorn (Hawthorn) stuck in the end

.

Now my best friend John well he had a Daisey BB pump gun then for his 14th birthday he got a BSA Meteor Super .22 and we shot the heck out of it. He shot it un his back garden which was only small just about everyday after school and he got so good that he could shoot a .22 pelletoff a board with out hitting the board with the issue open sights. This was at about 25 feet, the brick built shed was his backstop.

I brought my first Air Rifle a BSA Meteor Std .177 when I statrted work and it cost me about £28 which was nearly a weeks wages and shot it a lot in our back garden. Unlike John we had a decent sized garden being 80 yards long :D . Then a few uears later I brought the Feinwerbau which cost £77 and a good 4x32 scope made in Japan and imported but ASI (Anglo-Spanish Importers... who imported the AYA shotguns) and marked so. It cost me £28 in memory serves me right. I was earning about £64 per week then as a Heavy Capstan setter operator.

In British terms the .177 is a No1 bore, .22 a No2 bore and .25 is No3 bore. They didn't bother with the .20

. My friend John brought a Seridan Blue Streak and still has it in his collection I think you will find. Later we brought those Crossman 766's and I made a silencer for mine out of alloy and painted it black.

I know they are expensive but the Weirauch air rifles are superb, you know about the Theoben and their Gas ram system? it has an excellent reputation and their work is super. Another is the Venom Custom shop :D john has a custom Weirauch 77 left handed with a French Walnut stock which his partner Sue brought him when they got engaged. They are still engaged some 20 years later.

Now I can understand how the real firearms caught you up, but missing on quality air rifles is a shame :o they are excellent training aids and practice guns especially the springers as follow though is important, but you need one with a good trigger otherwise it's makes it such a waste of time and you could learn bad trigger practice

. When I first got the Feinwerbau I was using about 2 tins of pellets a week. Yep about 1,000 pellets a week and so became very good with it. I need to use it more again now as my fitness level is not as good as it should be and firing/cocking that air rifle off hand would help rectify that some what. Empty 12g hulls make excellent practice targets and fly really well when hit :D .

Hmm must try and photgraph the air guns, had a look and I do have some of the Haenel 302 but their not very good so I must do better:-

Bit f a change from making K98s' and fine sporting rifles based on the 98.

Nelsdou · June 07, 2006, 08:29:22 PM

Jay,

Sounds like an efficient way to take care of pests!

I once fooled around making bullets by casting hot-melt glue in 30 cal molds, loading them in 7.62x25 brass with just a primer and going after some backyard varmits with the CZ-52. Although it was about "cap gun" loud, it was still to loud for my neighborhood.

I know too well about the power of airguns. One winter my son took me to a paintball "war" exercise. It had snowed that morning and was well below freezing and I found out during the "attack" some dudes on the opposing side had some hi-quality paintball guns with noticeably higher velocity and due to the cold, the paintballs did not always break on impact. Ouch! Despite heavy clothing I came out of that one with some welts and bruises.

Wow. 1000 fps. My grandad used to turn me loose in his hay barn with a Daisey BB gun to go after pidgeons, knowing all along I'd be pretty limited in doing any damage.

Nels

Paul Hoskins · January 08, 2007, 01:37:23 AM

If you fellows would chrono. your pellet rifles, I think you would be sorely disappointed with the "claimed" velocity. It is false advertising or modern advertising. If you read the fine print, you will notice it ususlly says "UP TO" 1,000 fps. Like automobile advertising where they tell you a car gets "UP TO" 35 mpg, and you actually get 18 mpg. A pellet rifle that advertises up to 1000 fps will actually get 100 to 200 fps less than advertised, depending on pellet weight............Paul H

Jay Edward (deceased) · January 11, 2007, 12:27:02 PM

Quote from: Paul Hoskins;55124 A pellet rifle that advertises up to 1000 fps will actually get 100 to 200 fps less than advertised, depending on pellet weight............Paul H

You're probably right Paul... but I have to admit that when I've shot gophers with the Winchester... I swear that the pellet seemed to go through the rascal before I lost him in the scope through recoil.

Paul Hoskins · January 11, 2007, 12:52:27 PM

Jay, I've also seen this. Especially with birds. It is much easier to see things happen when shooting birds because of the flying feathers. Incidentally, I posted a question about Kessler air rifles but haven't seen any replies to it. Have you ever seen or used one? I can find nothing on the net about them. I'm curious about when and where they were made. All I have been able to determine is they were made in both 17 and 22 calibers. I have an old container of 177 pellets and they don't shoot worth a darn in anything I've tried them in. They look like hollow base 22 short bullets with a heel band. ...........Paul H

Jay Edward (deceased) · January 11, 2007, 01:08:33 PM

I've never seen one Paul but here is a website that might be of some use:

http://www.bryanandac.com/new_page_4.htm

scoper-uk · July 11, 2007, 12:27:22 AM

Quote from: RatherBHuntin;45593Air rifles are definately a much under rated weapon and tool. My son won a Gamo air rifle, but the cheaper model at only 500 fps. It's louder than I expected, but still a great rifle to practice the basics and get the little ones into it. Yours sounds like a dandy. And at 1000 fps, faster than a .22 Short if I'm not mistaken.

I've got a mess of squirels going after the bird seed, and I didn't want to kill them yet (waiting for the fall season, and then we are going to fill the pot). My boy does have a paint ball gun that throws a .62ish ball at 300 fps and it seems that it stings quite a bit, I think they are getting the point.

thats a great idea colour them in bright colours so theyre harder to cammo out in the fall,

ozzweld · October 16, 2007, 10:04:02 PM

i also purchased one of these air rifles about one year ago. Mine has a wood stock but doesn't appear to have the checkering that yous does. Perhaps mine is a cheaper model. I paid $114 from Lebarons.(Canadian) It has shot lots of grouse, ( nice and quiet durring moose season) as well as pesky squirells and one raccoon. Mine also didn't come with a scope. It did however come with a decent set of fiber optics. Unfortunately they are not very rigid and moved from side to side, making for poor accuracy. I have since attached a set of 22 scope rings and a tasco 4x32 scope. It shoots well, but i am not crazy about the trigger either. Also quite heavy for a pellet rifle. for the cost its a decent value, and definately "zippy" and cheap to shoot. There is a site on the internet called sabot reloading pro that has links to print off some really cool targets, try them out and good shooting.

Jay Edward (deceased) · October 17, 2007, 07:47:09 AM

I know what you mean ozzweld... and welcome to THL.

The Winchester does have some problems but I believe that it is due to the price. A better trigger requires more money and that is emphatically that.

However, within its limits... I think it not a bad pellet rifle. I have not used it on grouse yet but I can see where it might come into its own.

I also believe that I will try to chronograph the rifle as Paul suggested. He has aroused my curiosity.

gitano · October 18, 2007, 07:17:42 AM

My chrono measurements of pellet rifles supports Paul-H's comments. I rarely got MVs up to the advertized value. However, that was at least 20 years ago. I was hoping/expecting that the claims of the newer rifles were more honest... err, I mean "accurate"... Yeah that's what I meant. Let's see what Jay's numbers show.

Paul

MountainMafia · October 27, 2007, 11:44:08 AM

I sure agree with you all, the Winchester 1000 trigger pull is Baaaaaad. I purchased one several years ago, took it home and after several shots, decided it wasn't for me. Also, I couldn't figure out how to reduce the pull, so it went back to the store.

I purchased a Gamo Shadow 1000. The trigger pull wan't much better, but I figgered out how to rework the trigger mechanism and came up with a 3 pound pull..............a vast improvement. This has become a deadly back yard squirrel killer.