This weekend I was able to test a RAW BM500x in 30cal with a left handed action. The testing was done in my first BR competition no less, lol. The RAW representative setup the gun/bench for me. Nice front rest and nice 8-24 scope. I shoot a 75y competition with (4) shots per bull, (16) bulls for a total possible score of 640, I scored a 541 using pellets from an unopened tin (JSB 44.75g).
Overall impression
"Like a slice of magic in my hands!". I was hesitant about the left handed action being a right handed shooter all my life. I posted about this in the target shooting section, to sum it up, its a very natural way to shoot BR and proved to be advantageous to me.
I have some engineering and machining background, so I can say with a critical eye the quality of this gun it top notch! Either RAW has some VERY VERY good machinists or one big rejects pile someplace, lol. Also being a woodworker I did notice the tell tale signs of a CNC made stock. Things that if you didn't do woodworking you'd likely never notice. I'll likely "clean up" a few stops on the stock myself just to keep the OCD down, lol.
The gun is heavy, which is great for BR. Stock dimensions are great. It's comfortable to grip and control.
The Action and pellet loading
The action is a little stiff at the actual cocking phase, which means you want to grip the gun to hold it steady while pulling the action back. It's smooth as glass closing the action. I wish there was a small "bump" that would indicate "fully closed", as it is, its just push it till it stops. A couple of times I didn't get it all the way closed, which resulted in one flyer and no "no fire".
It was my first time loading a pellet left handed, but after about 30-40 times the fingers learned it. Loading is easy with a nice wide gap between the probe and breach. Pellets seat smoothly and "squarely" with little effort.
Trigger
Smooth as glass, very predictable on every shot. I will likely play with it a bit to get a little stiffer first stage.
"Accuracy"
I say "accuracy" in quotes because I wasn't exactly in a highly controlled environment, aka lots of wind and wind shifts. But I can say that with pellets directly out of an unopened tin, I had several "hole in hole" shots at 75 yards. I can envision that this gun will put down very small groups (sub 1/2") at 75 yards on a dead calm day with excellent pellet selection.
Conclusion
I bought the rifle and am VERY happy with it! I have my scope on order and hopefully with get some time to shot this weekend.
Overall impression
"Like a slice of magic in my hands!". I was hesitant about the left handed action being a right handed shooter all my life. I posted about this in the target shooting section, to sum it up, its a very natural way to shoot BR and proved to be advantageous to me.
I have some engineering and machining background, so I can say with a critical eye the quality of this gun it top notch! Either RAW has some VERY VERY good machinists or one big rejects pile someplace, lol. Also being a woodworker I did notice the tell tale signs of a CNC made stock. Things that if you didn't do woodworking you'd likely never notice. I'll likely "clean up" a few stops on the stock myself just to keep the OCD down, lol.
The gun is heavy, which is great for BR. Stock dimensions are great. It's comfortable to grip and control.
The Action and pellet loading
The action is a little stiff at the actual cocking phase, which means you want to grip the gun to hold it steady while pulling the action back. It's smooth as glass closing the action. I wish there was a small "bump" that would indicate "fully closed", as it is, its just push it till it stops. A couple of times I didn't get it all the way closed, which resulted in one flyer and no "no fire".
It was my first time loading a pellet left handed, but after about 30-40 times the fingers learned it. Loading is easy with a nice wide gap between the probe and breach. Pellets seat smoothly and "squarely" with little effort.
Trigger
Smooth as glass, very predictable on every shot. I will likely play with it a bit to get a little stiffer first stage.
"Accuracy"
I say "accuracy" in quotes because I wasn't exactly in a highly controlled environment, aka lots of wind and wind shifts. But I can say that with pellets directly out of an unopened tin, I had several "hole in hole" shots at 75 yards. I can envision that this gun will put down very small groups (sub 1/2") at 75 yards on a dead calm day with excellent pellet selection.
Conclusion
I bought the rifle and am VERY happy with it! I have my scope on order and hopefully with get some time to shot this weekend.
