daisy powerline targetpro 953 review

Have a picture of Daisy PowerLine TargetPro 953?, please send it to us.
Picture courtesy of Gary Hughes.

Average Ratings

Accuracy	8.7/10
Handling	9.3/10
Value for Money	8.8/10
Reviewer Rating	8.2/10
Overall Rating	8.1/10

85% Recommended17 out of 20 Reviews

• Overview
• Reviews
  • boilingleadbath's review
  • 1 Comment
• Write your review
• Ask a Question

By boilingleadbath on 21st Dec 2006

boilingleadbath's Ratings

Accuracy	8/10
Handling	9/10
Value for money	10/10
Overall value	9/10
boilingleadbath's recommendation

Good Points

Nice polymer stock, very naturally pointing, and has metal scope mounts.

Bad Points

The point of impact is somewhat hold sensitive, the trigger has a fair amount of grit in it, and as far as I can tell it's only precise with one sort of ammo.

General Comments

I purchased this air rifle intending to use it primarily for recreational target practice, and it performs well in this regard, so long as one feeds it properly. (More on ammo in 3 paragraphs)

I didn't particularly like the fibre-optic sights (but that's probably bias and poor vision), and removed them to access the dovetails on both the receiver and the muzzle weight. A quality 4x fixed power scope was mounted and was zeroed without much trouble; the dovetails where pointed in pretty much the right direction.

The ergonomics of the stock are excellent from all shooting positions, and it points very naturally for me - however, the stock did come with some uncomfortable mould lines... which where easily scraped off with a knife.
It is very important to note that this stock does cause problems... the barrel is not free floated, and shooting from positions that warp the stock - especially laterally - will expand your groups.

The trigger is one of it's weaker points; it resembles a double-stage trigger in operation, but had enough grit in the first stage that it was hard to tell if you where pulling on a burr or the second stage for the first few hundred rounds - and some 1,500 or 2,000 rounds later (I lost track) this grit is still there, although it's no longer very difficult to know when you have reached the second stage. (It [the poor trigger pull] may be partly due to me pulling slightly off to the side - it seems to get better when I pay a lot of attention to pulling straight back)

Another one of its shortcomings is that with anything other than "Daisy precision max flat nose pellets" it makes my benchrest groups look like my offhand groups... except worse.
The following pellets where tested and found wanting: Beeman laser pellets (~1" @ 10 yards), crossman hollow points (~1.7"), and daisy pointeds (~1.5"). This is pretty much everything inexpensive at the local chinamart. (Minus the lasers - I ordered those at the same time as the gun)
Daisy also sells "competition wad cutters", which don't shoot terribly, but I haven't bothered to set up by bench and actually test them - but they are more expensive and don't seem to shoot quite as well, although that might just be my shortcoming. (Plus, they don't come in the cool metal tin!)

However, it groups very well with these cheapo flat nose pellets - from a bench, groups measuring 1/8"x1/4" (horizontal x vertical) where pretty much normal - and this wasn't a good bench (wobbly front bag only), the best scope for the application (for all I know, the parallax is wrong), nor do I have any benchrest experience to speak of.
I attribute the vertical stringing to inconsistent support of the forearm.

At the time I ordered the gun, I also got a 5 pack of the clips (magazines?). Cycling nearly 1500 rounds through only 3 of them (I used them exclusively for a while to test for this), I've noticed no wear - and if I did need to use it, the single-feed tray is easy to use. (No information on its durability)

Pumping effort isn't bad (and I'm pretty weak), and the clips cycle and feed pretty well at normal temperatures - although, when cold (i.e., around freezing), one of the 6 clips doesn't like to progress past a certain point and often requires a bit of help.

The rifle seems pretty durable, and has certainly held up through the last couple thousand rounds - although, after the first thousand rounds or so, the piston started to leak a tad. This was remedied by saturating the wiper sponge with motor oil (should've followed the directions!), and wasn't detrimental to performance. (I think the reservoir has a check valve on it)

All in all, it is an excellent choice for 70 USD. Most definitely recommended if one wants a plinker, although I'd not recommend it for dispatching all but the smallest critters - it doesn't leave exit wounds in small rodents! (With wad cutters).

boilingleadbath's review has yet to be rated - Be the first!