daisy model 901 powerline review

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Picture courtesy of Jbob87.

Average Ratings

Accuracy	7.4/10
Handling	8.1/10
Value for Money	7.8/10
Reviewer Rating	7.5/10
Overall Rating	8/10

68% Recommended15 out of 22 Reviews

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  • guru1ofatl's review
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By guru1ofatl on 5th Feb 2007

guru1ofatl's Ratings

Accuracy	9/10
Handling	8/10
Value for money	9/10
Overall value	9/10
guru1ofatl's recommendation

Good Points

Very well made
Well engineered valve design
Very accurate
Power comparable to other brands in this price range
High quality plastic
Easy to work on
Very easy pumping effort

Bad Points

Lots of plastic
Stamped steel shrouded barrel
Hard to obtain parts
Loading port a bit tricky with some pellets

General Comments

I've been curious about this model since it was released and decided to pick one up to compare against the Crosman 2100. My expectations were low since the exterior of this gun is almost entirely plastic while the Crosman features more metal. Boy was I suprised!

Fit and finish- Although entirely plastic, the fit and feel of the synthetic stock and receiver on this gun are quite good. This isn't your run of the mill toy store type stuff. The stock doesn't feel or sound hollow at all and the molded seams are crisp and well fitted. No slop in the pump arm unlike the Crosman and no creaks while pumping. The only area that I feel could be improved would be the bolt handle which feels a bit clunky when cocking the gun. Not a durability issue but a minor annoyance.

Internals- The pump assembly is entirely steel with a readily available o-ring seal. The chamber also uses this type of seal as well as one parachute design. No hammer to be found in this gun like in the Crosman. Daisy uses an interesting fork design to actuate the valve which is why the gun must be cocked before pumping. This results in better use of the air and more noticeably, less noise. The valve also features a spring loaded end piece that eliminates wasted head space in the pump. The design results in a more effective pump and less pumping effort no matter how many pumps you put in the gun. The only down side is that this also seems to limit the amount of pressure the valve can store.

Velocity and accuracy- The meat and potatoes of any review. The bottom line, the gun shoots Crosman Premier 7.9 grain pellets at 666 fps. with only a few fps variation at 39 degrees. This will certainly improve a bit as the temperature increases although I doubt it will see the quoted 715 fps without using more than 10 pumps. Speaking of extra pumps, anything more than 12 actually reduces the velocity of this gun so doing so is wasted effort. This puts the gun in line with the Crosman which showed similar velocities once broken in. For accuracy however, this gun beats the Crosman hands down with grouping at 20 yards of under .5 inches using the factory sights! Although the test was performed using a bench, the barrel is responsible for most of the accuracy. While the Crosman barrel is allowed to flop around within the steel barrel shroud, the Daisy is well supported for it's entire length and is better attached to the breach.

The bottom line- Currently for sale for as little as $49.99, this gun is a bargain. Good for target work and small pest control at limited ranges. Low pump effort, low noise, low weight, and comparable velocity make it a handy gun to keep around. Use the right lubricants and it should last a long time.

Total Respect: +3