Chad Kentner When talking about airguns, we see a wide variety of styles coming into the market place these days and one niche in particular has seen exponential growth in the past few years. This style is known as the bullpup. Known for their ergonomics, the bullpup has become a popular option for hunters, pesters and plinkers alike.
One company has made their name and staked their reputation on bullpup rifles. Rightfully so, as they have nearly mastered (always room for improvement) the trigger on these rifles, developed unique stock designs with built in features, a magazine system with reasonably priced magazines, the use of high grade barrels, and solid/robust construction that one would expect from Eastern European designs that will hold up to the riggers of everyday use in the field.
Joining us all the way from Chech Republic, I would like to introduce you to the KalibrGun Cricket II. The Cricket II is available in a variety of stock configuration as well as .177, .22, .25 and .30 calibers; there is bound to be a model that will peak your interest. Being developed and based off the success of the first model, we now see improvements including sliding the lever action up to the midpoint of the rifle for easier off hand cycling of the magazine. This same side lever system can now be easily switched from left or right side use by the user at home.
The stock configuration that was sent to me from KalibrGun is known as the “WB” model and has a slick magazine holder built in. I absolutely love this feature as I am always looking for a way to keep the variety of magazines for my airgun collection organized. This one feature allows me to keep magazines right with the rifle and ready to be used on my next outing. Preloaded magazines are now at the ready, easily accessible and easy to find for any outing.
Based on an earlier statement, you probably already know that the KalibrGun Cricket II comes with an outstanding trigger for a bullpup. Why do I add the “for a bullpup,” statement you might ask? To be brutally honest, the bullpup style of rifle isn’t known for having great triggers. This is due to the need for an additional linkage from the trigger. This linkage travels the length of distance from the trigger system back to firing mechanism requiring precision machining and connections to feel really smooth.
What was my reaction to what KalibrGun was able to do with the trigger? Well it was a huge ear to ear grin when I got my hands on the rifle! Now my personal and subjective reaction may not mean a lot to many of you, but the data should. Testing the trigger with a digital gauge showed that the average of ten trials was 6.0 ounces. Not bad at all if you ask me.
Filling the rifle is easy and straightforward. The 280cc cylinder can be filled to a maximum of 300 bar (4351 Psi). In my testing I found that there is no need to fill to these high pressures and will share a bit more on this in a minute. The cylinder is filled from the muzzle end of the rifle with the port being covered with a spring loaded cover to keep debris out. This is a very nice touch and one less piece to unscrew and loose in the field. I do wish we could find a way to get beyond the need of filling probes in the PCP market, as the Cricket II does require one.
In my testing, I found that the Cricket II achieved the greatest consistency and accuracy starting at around 220 bar down to 100 bar in .22 caliber. As we dive into chronograph numbers, let us start by looking at a full fill from 300 bar (4351 Psi). From this massive amount of air, the KalibrGun Cricket II was able to achieve just under 100 shots with an average speed of 889 FPS and standard deviation of 19.4 FPS. These numbers are all practical for field use, however when talking about consistency you may want just a little more and my data showed that at both the start of the shot string and the end of the shot string there were some shots that were outliers.
As most airgunners, I wanted to see what the absolute “best” option would be for the current situation. Once I removed the outliers from the beginning and end of the string, a clear picture developed. From around 220 bar down to 100 bar is the sweet spot for this rifle. This of course lowered my shot count to 62, but it increased the overall consistency and accuracy as I would find out down at the range. From this lower pressure point, the Cricket II was averaging 880 FPS and obtained a standard deviation of just 9.1 FPS.
With the chronograph data in hand, freshly cleaned barrel, tin of JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy 18.13 grain pellets and an Aztec Emerald 5.5-25×50 scope mounted and leveled; it was time to head to my local range. Unfortunately I live in Ohio and during this time of year the weather is a bit unpredictable and wind is almost a daily occurrence. Constant reviews of weather reports highlighted a break in the weather, and a day with only 6-10 mph winds in the early hours of the morning.
The day finally arrived and the car packed. Funny as it may sound, when you enter a large field these 6-10 mph feels like a dang hurricane when testing airguns. With my targets set out to 50 yards, I buckled down and got on with my testing. With my efforts to zero the rifle at 50 yards I noticed that I was easily printing decent sized groups and remember that chronograph testing from earlier? Well the consistency and group sizes also decreased from that 220 bar – 100 bar of pressure. How great of a decrease you might ask? Well I was seeing easy 5 shot group sizes from unsorted pellets of .74 inches ctc at 50 yards (think 5 shots under a quarter) on a full fill down to .53 inches ctc at 50 yards (think 5 shots under a penny) during that sweet spot of consistency mentioned earlier. When your airgun performs like this it is a real confidence boost in the field.
Where does the KalibrGun Cricket II really shine? Shooting off hand is where this bullpup really shows it’s stuff. Although the Cricket II is a little heavier than some may like. However this added weight helps with stability in the offhand position. To test this myself, I put two Firebird exploding targets out. One at the common distance of 25 yards and another all the way out to 75 yards. The target itself measures approximately 1.5 inches across and provides quite the offhand challenge for the average shooter. I am happy to report that both shots were comfortably achieved. Albeit the later of the two shoots took more than one attempt as looking through a scope at 75 yards made me feel about as wobbly as a drunken sailor standing on the deck of a ship.
One other thing of note with the KalibrGun is the break in process. Like a fine pair of leather shoes, there was a bit of a break in period. When I first had the Cricket II at the range, the cocking effort was a little stiff. Now after having gone through 600-1000 shots the rifle is much much smoother. You can feel the metal parts inside have begun to mesh together like genuine top grade leather forms to your foot.
If you are looking to check out the KalibrGun Cricket II or any of the other fine products they produced there are multiple options. First you can find them online at www.kalibrgun-usa.com. The following retailers also import these into the United States; Airguns of Arizona and Georgia Airguns. From my understanding, both also carry a full supply of parts and accessories should you need them in the future.