Chad Kentner Today I want to share my experience with a rifle that I have a great deal of experience with. The Dayastate Wolverine R. In .177 caliber.
I was first introduced to this rifle when Donnie Reed and employee of Baker Airguns in Ohio was raving about the consistency and accuracy of his Daystate Wolverine R. that he was shooting in local field target matches.
In a moment of weakness while visiting the shop over a year ago, I decided to buy my very own. That means the results you are seeing are from an airgun right off the same shelf that everyone else gets them from.
Available in both walnut and laminate, standard power, high power .177, .22, .25 and .302 calibers.
My first trip to the range and I was in love. The side lever was ever sooooo smooth and the trigger was to drool over, not to mention the accuracy I was achieving at 50 yards! More on the accuracy in a bit, as not to get ahead of ourselves.
Over the months that I have had the Daystate Wolverine R. there have been many tests and trips to the range. Each time, proving again and again it’s capabilities without me so much as adjusting a thing. Heck, I even won my first field target match using this exact rifle.
Filling the air reservoir to 3,500 psi, the Wolverine R. was able to produce 235 shots on a single fill! That isn’t the best part though. Shooting at an average of 894 feet per second, the Wolverine R. had a standard deviation of 4.8 feet per second. Which is incredible.
What is really remarkable LOOKING OVER THE DATA IS THAT if we reduce the shot count to just the first 189 shots, that same standard deviation is reduced to 3.5 feet per second. This can be attributed to the Harper Valve System in combination with the factor installed Huma Regulator.
If you are unfamiliar with these measurements, most airgunners find a standard deviation of 8-9 to be something to brag about. The Wolverine R. cuts that in half.
Moving on to the trigger we find a beautifully machined matched grade trigger. Of course the rifle comes with an adjustable two-stage trigger, but the blade is also adjustable. This allows you to adjust the angle as well as the vertical position of the blade. Thus providing you with options that will make the rifle setup specifically for your hand. Out of the box, the trigger was averaging 11.3 oz over 10 trials and if desired this can be lightened by the end user. The stock also allows for grip options by allowing for both a thumb up or wrap around position.
The stock comes with a nice raised cheek piece that is manufactured in an ambi-dextrous style. One will also find the stippling on the grip to be quite comfortable as well as stylish. The rear shoulder plate is adjustable up and down and cants to fit the contours of your physique. Over time, I have opted to pick up an aftermarket shoulder plate made by Kraford and Lypt to provide just a little more adjustability for field target.
The only gripe I can come up with about the stock is that an adjustable cheek piece would be a well accepted option and shouldn’t raise the overall cost by much in any.
The Wolverine R. is a rifle that is meant to be shot with a scope and open sights are not an option. Some shooters may prefer the use of a picatinny rail for scope mounting as this seems to be the general market trend these days. However, Daystate has continued with their classic looks on this rifle by using standard dovetail grooves. It is hard to argue with this decision, as dovetails do allow the shooter to adjust eye relief much easier during setup than a picatinny rail from my experience.
Although I have attempted to describe the refinement of this rifle using words, I am not sure that those words do justice to the true classic lines and beauty of this air rifle.
I did promise to cover accuracy and precision of this rifle and I can’t think of a better time than now to share. Let’s start by stating that this very same rifle is the one that I won my first field target match with at the end of the 2020 season. Some might attribute this to my shooting prowess, but I think it has to do with equipment as much as anything. The consistency of the valving system, the smooth trigger and lothar walther barrel show proven results.
Just to give you an idea of the accuracy of this rifle, I want you to take a second to pull a nickel out of your pocket! This is because Time and time again I was able to shoot 5 shot groups under a nickel in size at 50 yards during my tests.
You ask for 10 shot groups do you? Well it can do that as well! Using Daystate’s new flip open magazine design, I was able to take my one and only attempt and produce a group measuring .5455 inches ctc. If you look at the group in the picture above, you will notice that the only movement is from side to side. This is more of an indication of the breeze on my testing day than the rifle itself.
At the going rate of $2,195 for the standard power version of this rifle, there is a lot to be liked.
Until next time, may your trigger pull stay smooth, your pellets fly straight and we will see you next time on the Airgun Advisor.