Now I'm going to show off one of my other great air rifles -- my Theoben Classic! Like the AR-6, this is a "keeper" that I wouldn't willingly give up.
Theoben Engineering is a British company that has been making air rifles for many years. They had already been in business for several years when I first came into the hobby around the beginning of 1989. Their rifles are best known for the "gas spring" or "gas-ram" powerplant, which replaces the conventional metal mainspring with something more resembling a gas-filled shock absorber. In more recent years they have started making pre-charged pneumatic rifles too, but the gas-ram remains Theoben's strongest claim to fame.
Another claim Theoben can make is fabulous craftsmanship. Only on rare occasions have I ever seen custom-made firearm rifles better built and finished than Theoben airguns! The price of a Theoben tends to reflect this fact, unfortunately. For several years I looked upon these rifles as "dream guns" rather than something I was likely to own. And yet, I eventually ended up getting one.
My Theoben Classic was imported by ARS (Air Rifle Specialists). The Classic is not a widely-known model, and I am told only a very small handful made it into the USA. In fact, it's a descendent of the old Theoben Sirocco. The Classic itself was later supplanted by their Sirocco HV model. It looks superficially similar to a Beeman Crow Magnum, but that's misleading: the Crow Magnum is actually a variant of the more powerful Theoben Eliminator super-magnum rifle.
When the 22-caliber Theoben Classic arrived here, I was struck by its unusual beauty. I'm afraid my poor picture doesn't really convey it, but here it is anyhow. . .
It soon proved itself a bad boy in more ways than one. It was launching 14.3 grain Crosman Premiers at a startling 804 ft/sec. That's power! It was easily my most powerful airgun at the time. And yet, the cocking effort was awfully stiff: I could cock it, but I had to be careful to get a proper hold, and plinking sessions were tiring. After my first day of shooting it, I was left with a sore shoulder from the recoil. I also had a hard time keeping the scope where it belonged. I tightened down the rings as much as I dared, but the scope still tended to wander around under the recoil impulse. Finally, and most unforgivably, the accuracy just wasn't there.
At first I blamed the scope, but even when I got the scope to stay still for a while, the point of impact still roamed around the target. Trying to zero the scope was an exercise in frustration (also a physical exercise, keeping in mind how hard it was to cock). The only semblence of accuracy came from using Marksman FTS or Beeman Kodiak pellets. Even then, the rifle was terribly sensitive to how it was held. All I had to do was rest the rifle on my knee or change my hand position a little, then the point of impact would shift.
I got so frustrated, I packed the gun up and shipped it back to ARS. They checked it over, test-fired it, and sent it back to me with an example target demonstrating a fine, small group they said was shot with Crosman Premiers (which had performed dismally for me). By this time I was spitting nails. I had spent more on this thing than I ever spent on any air rifle, or even on any firearm: it was my dream gun. It wasn't working worth beans, and the people I bought it from wouldn't even admit to anything being wrong with it!
I made the rounds looking for advice from other Theoben and Crow Magnum owners. One suggestion kept cropping up: "Let some gas out of the ram!" I really didn't want to do that for a couple of reasons. One reason was, I didn't have the special pump needed to put air back into it. I could lower the pressure, but it was a one-way trip. The other reason was, I just couldn't believe that Theoben would build these beautiful guns and then routinely ship them over-pressurized to the point where they didn't work right. That didn't make any kind of sense, why would they do that?
Still, I was at the end of my rope. There was nothing else for me to try. I finally set up my chronograph and opened up the valve at the rear of the reciever, and I started carefully tapping on the stem to release gas and de-tune the gun. I dropped it down to about 760 ft/sec with Crosman Premiers. In return for giving up 45 ft/sec of velocity, I got back everything I had been missing from this rifle: the cocking effort became reasonable, the scope stopped moving around, the firing action became more pleasant, and (most importantly) it started grouping! It changed overnight from an overpriced lemon to my most dependable air rifle.
A few days ago I set up my chronograph and tested it with the new Beeman FTS pellets. Those are 15-grain pellets, and it moved them at an average velocity of 740 ft/sec. That's 18.1 ft-lbs! Well. . . Maybe that's underwhelming compared to the claims that have been made for Theoben rifles. I hardly care. My Theoben is utterly beautiful and classy, a great shooter, and still powerful enough to handle anything I would normally think of using an air rifle for.
I did make another change to the rifle. It came with an automatic safety located inside the trigger guard, so the safety had to be disengaged after each time the gun was cocked. This was undoubtedly the most worthless device I have seen put on a gun. It was not only a nuisance, but it also blocked access to the trigger adjustment screw. It barely moved, which made it was impossible to tell whether the safety was engaged either by looking or feeling it. It was also impossible to re-engage the safety once it had been disengaged, short of re-cocking the rifle. I judged it such a hazard that I finally took a hacksaw and cut the thing off completely. Since then the gun has operated without a mechanical safety, and I don't miss it.
I should also mention the outstanding trigger. It's a single-stage trigger with a fairly long motion: the trigger lets off with no warning about halfway through the arc. This is ideal for off-hand shooting! The stock also is perfectly formed for off-hand shots, though it feels awkward to carry. I normally prefer a sleeker stock, the "straight classic", something like you find on a Ruger M77 rifle. The Brits are obsessed with fat, chunky, target-style stocks to the exclusion of anything else, and the Theoben Classic is a perfect example of the breed. Yet, I've reluctantly come to accept it: it's well-crafted and good at what it does.
I'm a big fan of CO2-powered guns, like my AR-6 and UD-2 rifles, but even I have to admit they have some disadvantages. For one thing, they don't work well in cold weather (which we have once in a while, even here in Texas). For another, there's the worry when I pick up a CO2 rifle: is there a good charge of gas in the reservoir? That's one big reason why I've kept the Theoben -- not that I would discount its sheer beauty. My AR-6 is a stronger performer on a warm day and with a fresh fill of gas, but I can pick up the Theoben any time, at the spur of the moment no matter what the weather, and I can shoot with confidence.
For those wondering, I've had a Leopold 3x9 E.F.R. scope on the Theoben since the beginning, a twin of the one on my AR-6 rifle. When I find something I like, I stick with it. I also put on studs for a quick-detach sling, though I rarely use it.
Not too long ago, a cousin came over to see me, and he expected to be entertained. Why don't we go out and shoot some of those airguns, he asked. Okay, I couldn't resist showing them off. I grabbed two of a my finest: my Sharp UD-2 and this Theoben. Then we went onto the patio, set up some paintballs for targets, and started shooting. Almost immediately my cousin started having problems with the Theoben: he couldn't hit anything (no surprise) and it sounded funny when it fired (uh oh!). He handed it to me so I could figure out what happened, and I let him have the Sharp UD-2.
I was puzzled because I couldn't see clear daylight through the bore. It didn't look dark or obstructed, it just looked weird somehow. After a minute I figured out, to my horror, that the barrel had been bent! It was visibly bent upward, right in front of the breech block. My cousin had somehow managed to do this in just a couple of minutes when I wasn't watching him. He was unable or unwilling to tell me what happened. I can only guess he either let go of the barrel when it was almost fully cocked, allowing it to snap back up under full force of the gas-ram, or else he cocked the gun and then slammed the barrel upward with excessive force while closing the breech.
As I was figuring this out, my cousin started pestering me again. The UD-2 which I had handed him only a minute earlier wasn't working. I later figured out he had managed to force a 22-caliber pellet into the chamber of the UD-2 (if you think ramming a 22-caliber pellet into a 20-caliber hole is easy, just try it sometime). Of couse, he denied putting any pellet in the gun. He had managed to put two of my most prized air rifles out of commission within a span of five minutes, which is probably some kind of record even for him.
After he was gone and I calmed down a little, I was able to un-jam the UD-2 without much trouble, but the Theoben's condition looked grim. I was afraid it would need a new barrel. Thank heavens for the internet! A search turned up Dave Slade at Airgunwerks. I shipped the rifle to him and he straightened the barrel for a fraction of what I had expected to pay, then he returned the rifle to me more quickly than I had expected to see it back. Good job, Mr. Slade! One peculiar thing is that when he bent the barrel back down, it didn't bend at exactly the same spot -- so, if you look closely, it makes a slight zig-zag in front of the breech block. I could let this nag at me, but I choose not too. It's not noticeable and performance is unaffected, the rifle shoots as well as ever. That's what counts.
It was a close call. As a side note, my cousin will not be allowed to touch any of my guns in the future.
Comments are welcome, as I always love chatting with other gun cranks. You can return to my home page and find my e-mail address there.