DAR Gen 3 Review

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Jake4578

Jake4578

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Feb 9, 2024
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Hammond, Indiana, United States
Well I have to say I’m a lil more than Impressed with this DAR Gen 3 (Dynamic Air Rifles) I’ve been staring at this and watching videos and reviews ect & I figured hell why not, for Sub $300 Regulated, threaded Barrel, no adapter needed.. which in all honesty it’s probably the quietest factory gun I’ve ever heard, I thought my Armada was quiet & this is even quieter! So right out the box, it shot good ole Crosman 14.3 HPs super well as does most, Predator Polymag 18.3s phenomenally, so i figured what the hell let’s see if this thing will spit slugs.. Last week I ordered 900 .218 17.5gr Hp Slugs from Nielsen Specialty just because they are light and I figured I’d like to try them in some lower/moderately powered guns.. well this thing here spits those out right at 900fps with the outta the box tune and ACCURATELY, far beyond my expectations 1/2” groups @ 45yds.. downside is they are loose in the mag, but they feed good.. the action on the bolt feels good, smooth, not gritty.. trigger is fantastic in my opinion for a factory trigger esp on a $299 rifle, wood stock, just feels nice all around.. I wasn’t expecting it to perform anywhere near the way it does.. so for anyone looking for a great budget pcp, I’d absolutely recommend it.. I’m tempted to order a second just to see if I happened to end up with a lucky gem..

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SpringfieldScooter said:
Nice!
Im in the market for a short, accurate, traditional rifle.
At 40", this one is has been on my radar, and not many reports (good or bad) about it.
Did you purchase it used?
I wasnt aware of the extremely low price!
Hows the accuracy out to 50 yards?
Great looking set up!
Get yourself a bipod, before it falls over!
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I just set it there for a few pictures! lol This has been super accurate out to 45yds 1/2” groups, that’s the farthest I’ve stretched it out, but I see no issues with it being accurate out to 70yds.. I bought it new from AD, check it out on you tube, there is quite a few reviews!
 
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Jake4578 said:
I just set it there for a few pictures! lol This has been super accurate out to 45yds 1/2” groups, that’s the farthest I’ve stretched it out, but I see no issues with it being accurate out to 70yds.. I bought it new from AD, check it out on you tube, there is quite a few reviews!
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SpringfieldScooter said:
Nice!
Im in the market for a short, accurate, traditional rifle.
At 40", this one is has been on my radar, and not many reports (good or bad) about it.
Did you purchase it used?
I wasnt aware of the extremely low price!
Hows the accuracy out to 50 yards?
Great looking set up!
Get yourself a bipod, before it falls over!
Click to expand...
I’m tempted to order another just to see if I got lucky or they are all this good!
 
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Happy to read you got great results from it! This other thread may be of interest to both of you.

Notos or DAR gen 3?

I already have both a carbine (AEA HP semi) and a rifle (AVA) in 25 cal, but want something in .22 that will shoot CPHP's well. CPHP's are cheap (have 20 tins), so I'll be shooting this gun a LOT on my ranch. I also have a scoped Diana Bandit in .22 cal that I use for closer range pesting and...
www.airgunnation.com www.airgunnation.com
 
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WorriedMan said:
Agreed, been on my "starter" PCP recommendation list for some time. Made in China's Xisico factory, same as JTS Airacuda. Nervoustrig is a big fan of the platform, owns two, IIRC. He was able to improve accuracy, even more, with some barrel tweaks. WM
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I was going to order the JTS when I bought this, but they were outta stock..
 
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Jake4578 said:
I was going to order the JTS when I bought this, but they were outta stock..
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The airgun gods were smiling on you, JTS Airacuda Max has been a nightmare since purchase in Oct. 2022. The standard, non-regulated model seems fine, but Max came with a known defective stock and frequently out-of-round shrouds. Tighten single stock bolt, magazines won't fit, install moderator, pellets clip. Feel sorry for JTS Warranty Department, all got dumped on them, will never trust JTS again. WM
 
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I had a G3 when they first hit the market. Had no issues with it, just sold it off before I did. Haven't heard much about the G3 having issues, and got cold feet from all the issues the G2 had.

Mine groups crosmans within an inch out to 70 yards. They were cooking too, around 950 fps.

Only issue I had, and main reason I sold it, was I expected a regulated gun to get more than 30 shots before falling off the reg. That, and the lack of support at the time and extra mags. Now that PA sells them, I may pick one back up.
 
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WorriedMan said:
The airgun gods were smiling on you, JTS Airacuda Max has been a nightmare since purchase in Oct. 2022. The standard, non-regulated model seems fine, but Max came with a known defective stock and frequently out-of-round shrouds. Tighten single stock bolt, magazines won't fit, install moderator, pellets clip. Feel sorry for JTS Warranty Department, all got dumped on them, will never trust JTS again. WM
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Dang, sounds like you are right, that’s a shame too, JTS looks like they have some pretty cool new stuff coming out I seen from Shot Show, I was particularly interested in this new Stealth Hawk..

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Jake4578 said:
Dang, sounds like you are right, that’s a shame too, JTS looks like they have some pretty cool new stuff coming out I seen from Shot Show, I was particularly interested in this new Stealth Hawk..

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Agreed,
Real shame, Airacuda platform came out strong, a gamechanger in value PCPs, just can't understand the business model, feel like in the movie, "Animal House," after they trashed guys car, told him, "Face It, you f***ed up, you trusted us." WM
 
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WorriedMan said:
Agreed,
Real shame, Airacuda platform came out strong, a gamechanger in value PCPs, just can't understand the business model, feel like in the movie, "Animal House," after they trashed guys car, told him, "Face It, you f***ed up, you trusted us." WM
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I feel like I’ve been in that position more times than I’d care to admit in my life 😂😂 I haven’t seen that movie in years! I’m gonna have to watch it again soon!
 
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Ran across this thread while doing a search for this gun. I just placed an order for one (refub) from Pyramid this morning. Great price on the gun itself, and they have some great coupon codes right now..... I ended up paying less for the gun, an extra mag, their 10 for 10 and 24 leak check/service than I normally would for the gun alone!

Anyway, I own both a Marauder and a Gauntlet Gen 2, and I don't consider either very accurate. I had the Gauntlet "professionally tuned" and it shot no better afterward, then it did before. I put a hammer kit in the Marauder, and spent two days with the chronograph adjusting and fiddling.... again, accuracy was not better afterward, than before. Both of those guns now gather dust for the most part...and go out sometimes when 3-4 of us are chasing gophers, and a couple don't have guns. :) Looking forward to receiving the gun and seeing what it does. Thanks for the information/report!!
 
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EdCaffreyMS said:
Ran across this thread while doing a search for this gun. I just placed an order for one (refub) from Pyramid this morning. Great price on the gun itself, and they have some great coupon codes right now..... I ended up paying less for the gun, an extra mag, their 10 for 10 and 24 leak check/service than I normally would for the gun alone!

Anyway, I own both a Marauder and a Gauntlet Gen 2, and I don't consider either very accurate. I had the Gauntlet "professionally tuned" and it shot no better afterward, then it did before. I put a hammer kit in the Marauder, and spent two days with the chronograph adjusting and fiddling.... again, accuracy was not better afterward, than before. Both of those guns now gather dust for the most part...and go out sometimes when 3-4 of us are chasing gophers, and a couple don't have guns. :) Looking forward to receiving the gun and seeing what it does. Thanks for the information/report!!
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Except for the 2X4 wood stock, the Umarex Notos is better in all ways.

I've owned 5 DAR's, the Notos has better accuracy.
 
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EdCaffreyMS said:
Ran across this thread while doing a search for this gun. I just placed an order for one (refub) from Pyramid this morning. Great price on the gun itself, and they have some great coupon codes right now..... I ended up paying less for the gun, an extra mag, their 10 for 10 and 24 leak check/service than I normally would for the gun alone!

Anyway, I own both a Marauder and a Gauntlet Gen 2, and I don't consider either very accurate. I had the Gauntlet "professionally tuned" and it shot no better afterward, then it did before. I put a hammer kit in the Marauder, and spent two days with the chronograph adjusting and fiddling.... again, accuracy was not better afterward, than before. Both of those guns now gather dust for the most part...and go out sometimes when 3-4 of us are chasing gophers, and a couple don't have guns. :) Looking forward to receiving the gun and seeing what it does. Thanks for the information/report!!
Click to expand...
EdCaffreyMS said:
Ran across this thread while doing a search for this gun. I just placed an order for one (refub) from Pyramid this morning. Great price on the gun itself, and they have some great coupon codes right now..... I ended up paying less for the gun, an extra mag, their 10 for 10 and 24 leak check/service than I normally would for the gun alone!

Anyway, I own both a Marauder and a Gauntlet Gen 2, and I don't consider either very accurate. I had the Gauntlet "professionally tuned" and it shot no better afterward, then it did before. I put a hammer kit in the Marauder, and spent two days with the chronograph adjusting and fiddling.... again, accuracy was not better afterward, than before. Both of those guns now gather dust for the most part...and go out sometimes when 3-4 of us are chasing gophers, and a couple don't have guns. :) Looking forward to receiving the gun and seeing what it does. Thanks for the information/report!!
Click to expand...
Now that suprises me from the Mrod, my Armada is a laser out to 100ish yds.. I imagine they have the same barrel, IMO the DAR was the most rifle for the money to me until I recently got the Barra 250z, out of the box ZERO adjustments, I laid down 2 5rd groups, sub MOA @ 102yds.. one 0.4” CTC & 0.8” CTC.. crazy! It’s basically an updated M30 if ya ask me, but for regulated, externally adjustable, 2 stage trigger fully adjustable, came out the box throwin 18.21 gr slugs 1020 fps.. I was sincerely impressed for sub $400
 
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My experience with the DAR rifles is that they have the typical QC shortcomings of most price-point PCPs made in China. Things like O-rings of dubious quality, poppets that need to be lapped to cure a slow leak, rough machining, etc. Fine for the tinkerer or DIYer, not so good for someone who expects to get a good 3-5 years of use before a reseal job. Granted, I've worked on plenty of $1000 and up rifles that have some of the same shortcomings, just not at the same odds.

With that said, accuracy was not a problem with either my .22 cal (gen 2) and .25 cal (gen 3). Both proved to be very good 50 yard pest control rigs with first-shot placement I can rely on.

The .22 cal, for example:

 
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