Monster just landed... Matador R5 .30 cal

So, finally Saturday... and my first attempt to R5 photo. Camera is my Fuji X-T2, works great for me. 

Thanks guys! Well, it’s not the best season for outdoor photography but I’ll do my best. Just remember, one day spring will come and that R5 is not going anywhere...

OK, what about a quick hands-on? First of all that R5 is completely new design as you can see. There is not much in common with previous one, which was cool as well. After I reworked stock on my R3 a bit it was looking also great but that R5 is a class of it’s own. It’s a bit bigger than my short R3 was and thanks to that oversized moderator it looks much more muscular. What I also like is an overall ‚gun like’ look, without a thin barrel exposed in any part of the gun. Top weaver rail is like Ed’s signature, nice touch.

That Protruding bolt & breech... well, Ed’s out of the box thinking at it’s finest, LOL! Why such a design? First, it makes total length the shortest possible. Second, it moves breech back so cheek weld is way nicer than on most bullpups. And also hooks ove the shoulder, so it helps to handle R5 more steady than R3 when shoooting off hand. Another feature is an attachment point for one point sling.

Electronic pressure gauge works just as in Ed’s youtube video. Simple, very precize. To get maximum utility out of it I need to shoot a bit and make sure that my min pressure is set perfectly to my liking. That way I can get not just pressure (+/- 1 bar) but also number of remaining good shots, which is awesome. No more guessing? I’ll check that very carefully in coming weeks.

Stock is gorgeous and looks like an integral part of R5 and follows the lines (and accents) of R5’s action in details. But, just like R3, it lacks integrated weaver rail. So I purchased a short rail and attached with two screws. The good thing is that there are some weight saving cut-outs in wood so foregrip part is partially hollow. That allows to use not wood screws, but 4mm screws with big nuts on the inside, so that rail is held super strong and is really easy to install if you have access to well equipped shop... and yes, I do have (just take your time). 

Bolt operates smoothly (surprisingly smooth for that power level). For this caliber I have nothing against single shot operation. That slows shooting process a bit so I can focus on each shot. Safety catch makes the gun really SAFE as it blocks the hammer in place, not just trigger. So whatever happens - you’re safe. And with potential of .30 cal pellet going airborne at high speed it’s just as it should be done. 

First shooting report will follow soon. Tomorrow I’m taking full day off and most of that I’m going to spend on a shooting range nearby. Should be awesome start of the week! I’ll keep you posted...

All in all it looks awesome. Ok, of course I’m a bit biassed but who wouldn’t be with a new gun like that in his / her hands? My father in law (who used to be competitive sport shooter and manager of a shooting range for years, and now enjoys restoring vintage airguns in his shop) was most impressed as well. He was quite impressed with R3 but he said this one is the first bullpup he could buy just for the sake of owning such a cool looking piece. BTW, we had really good time exploring all details of that R5. So yeah, I checked it a bit also inside. It’s quite easy to work on it if needed, which is what I really like about Ed’s guns, great design from advanced user’s perspective.

As promised. Sorry everyone for late replay but only now at night I was able to find some time for a short report and some pics. Family clearly got priority, can't help that...

Well, it was not an easy day at the range... it started quite OK, with some snow on the ground, but air was actually clean and there was no wind. So I started at 50m and quickly zeroed my scope. All the targets are 2" Birchwood Casey targets. I was shooting 3.25g JSB 7.62 at average speed 255m/s, which gives quite healthy 106 Joule if my calculations are ok. I didn't have 2.9g (yes) so can't compare them two. Anyway, here's the 50m range:



And here you can see some of the first 3-shot groups (of course there are some other holes from zeroing and other shots). Getting 20-22mm group was not really a problem.



But after some more pellets I was able to shoot some 3-shot groups like THIS... yes, this is 3-shot group at 50m and I measured each distance by myself.



I was shooting from a comfortable bench with sandbags, which nicely locked my bipod and whole gun in place. Trigger is of course not as crisp as on match FT rifle but it was absolutely smooth. I didn't check details of R3 trigger vs R5, but for me (at least) it's clearly a nicer trigger. Sorry, but I had no way to check the pull weight but it's not very light. I've NOT played with adjustments yet but my experience with EdGuns so far tells me that there should some room for adjustment. BTW, that second group is tad bigger but not bad either...



OK, time to move to the other range and check her at 100m! Weather started to get wet, with a slight drizzle and some frost. At that time I was VERY glad that .30 ammo can be easily loaded with good gloves like the Arc' LEAF pictured below. Try that with .177, LOL! Another advantage of .30 cal! 



And here my first results after re-zeroing at new distance first. BTW, love the tactical turrets on my Vortex... more than two full turns, but when I dialled it back to 50m zero - no problem, zero was back there. So here you can see average results (both 3-shot) I got so far at 100m. Good or bad? You tell me. BUT considering the conditions I think it is pretty good. I believe faster 2.9g should be even better, I'll check that when I finally get my new ammo delivered. But on the other hand heavy ammo is perfect for such weather, so maybe it was not a bad choice for today?



OK, just FYI - I was not the only one at the range, there were two other shooters with centerfires stuff so I have also witnesses of what that R5 is capable of. They both asked me to try my Matador, it was no problem of course. That young guy in multicam was able to shoot well below 1" at 50m and it was his first experience with this kind of airgun. Actually they were quite shocked to see that kind of results at 50m & 100m. It's a very shootable airgun. 



And my R5 at the range... as you can see it was not really perfect weather for long range shooting but it was anyhow an awesome day! Hot coffee in my insulated bottle and Arc'teryx LEAF Atom combined with DRAC jacket and merino cap helped me to survive that day in quite a comfort.



Next session very soon

"CampFussell"Thanks for posting your beautiful Edgun Peter.

Click to expand...

Thanks! Actually I should have 2.90g ammo delivered later today. And tomorrow I’ll be at the range again so it should be only better as I was told that it's usually much better in .30 cal. I only hope there won’t be any rain, snow or BREEZE. As you can see in the last photo there are some traces of rain drops at an angle, that’s probably why the groups at 100 are open only horizontally. Breeze is bad at 100m.

Another day at the range today. This time with 2.90g JSB pellets at 268m/s. Also as you can see the weather was much better for long range shooting: warmer than last time (7 deg C), almost no wind, no rain except occasional very slight drizzle. I skipped my bipod and used heavy sandbags instead, so that R5 was almost like locked in place. So much better than bipod.



And the results at 100m are indeed better than on Monday. In the meantime I was also visited by the range manager/owner, who came to take a look at a 'crazy guy' shooting airgun at 100m range. Well, he didn't expect THAT kind of airgun, so we had a nice discussion about long range airgunning. Actually he said it was the first time he witnessed such an airgun shooting at his range. 

 

I used my knife to cut the best group (and another one next to it) to measure it later at home. BTW, someone asked me why I carried a folding knife on the range... well, this is one of the answers. Anyway, I was shooting 5 shot groups today and my best group was 33mm. The group next to my best was also not bad at just below 40mm. Of course not all were that perfect but there is a lot of potential in that R5, especially considering weather conditions (good, but still FAR from perfect) It's a quantum leap going from .22 to .30 for long range shooting. 





I did also some fun shooting in the end of the day. What about exploding can of Pepsi at 100? OK, it was actually a bit in front of target line so let's say 97m. Of course I was sure that can won't stand a chance but... I didn't expect such a good shot to close the day, especially due to light drizzle, which started just earlier as you can see. Almost in the middle of the round Pepsi logo! Of course it was quite a lucky shot with SUCH a good hit but... it still counts.



Aim small, miss small (rotfl!)

OK, not really shooting update (that will come next week) but as a photographer I was not able to resist that nice Sunday and went to the forest for a quick photo shoot... caliber Fuji 56mm f/1.2 

Is there anything worse for airgun shooter than cold winter day? Yeah... cold, rainy, windy winter day! Just like today :/