Daisy Powerline 008 Reviews

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Good Points: Exquisite attention to detail. All functions are positive. Uses metal for all critical parts. Ergonomics are superb for average hands. "Natural pointing" with weight biased in the grip. Smooth, light double-action trigger pull. Well located slide release above forward portion of trigger opening, with a large, sturdy, well-shaped locking latch. Wide, deeply curved, smooth trigger for best double-action pull. Lever type, large, sturdy, CO2 retaining latch visually integrated well with the grip backstrap, with smooth, polished roller to index against CO2 powerlet base--works well with no adjustment needed to secure the cylinder. Magazines appear to be nylon material with a nifty magnet secured inside which positively locks them onto the center spindle. Barrel is rifled steel, and crisply executed.

Bad Points: One...the would-be thumb-operated safety is located on the right side of the grip, releases by an upward movement, and incorporates a small, rearward sliding button that must be retracted before the lever can be moved from safe to fire. It is however, large, metal, and moves positively without play, and can be swiped to safe without need to move the slide button.

General comments: Daisy has a serious winner with the Powerline model 008. First, it is manufactured in Japan, and as with their cars, the Japanese seem to have taken pride in producing a very well put together little handgun. While most of the exterior such as frame and slide are plastic, they are rendered with a "metal" appearance that is most convincing. All the little gaps and seams are close and even, and all controls are tight and solid feeling. The trigger, safety, and all internal operating parts are steel, and would be right at home in expensive "real" guns. Slide locking is by metal-to-metal contact that should provide decades of smooth, trouble-free service. Integral to the barrel breech block is a small steel pin onto which the magnetized 8 shot magazines snap into place with no chance of accidental dislodgement. When mounted, the nylon magazines exhibit near zero clearance with the smoothly polished breech surfaces which probably does much to encourage maximum velocities with the relatively short 3.5" barrel. The CO2 loading lever has nice, large, serrated grip extentions on either side that not only enhance functionality, but are blended well into the overall appearance of the grip. The lower portion is sculpted to mimic the look of a true magazine and serve to give the pistol a very "real" look.
All controls are intuitive except for the little slide button on the off-side (right) located safety level, and the pistol simply "feels" more expensive than it is. The realistic look of the 008 could be a bad thing because at a glance it could easily be interpreted as a real gun. Anyone seeing it holstered would almost certainly take it as such.
Balance is good--rather "Luger-like" in that all the pistol's mass is concentrated in the grip, but this does tend to aid rapidly swinging the pistol onto target.
Double-action only, with an exposed hammer that is contoured to the slide, trigger pull is surprisingly smooth throughout. The little magazines are indexed by tiny ratchet teeth on the front side, being actuated by a metal hand, with alignment locking being accomplished by a steel "bolt" located at the base that seems to work quite well in assuring positive rotation without the issue of over-rotation during fast trigger cycles. Thus far the pistol has exhibited no reliability problems--it simply works!
The sights are traditional blade and notch, fixed, and moulded into the slide top surfaces. The sights are bold, with ample light showing between the blade and notch to provide a crips sight picture.
Loading is as simple as removing the left grip panel--aided by a small tab moulded into that side, swinging the CO2 retaining lever down, then sliding in a powerlet base first--it doesn't just drop in, but is guided downward into position by the grip frame. As the lever is swung upward, a small metal roller bears against the powerlet's base, accomplishing puncture of the seal and locking it in place with absolutely no detectable release of gas. The slide release is then pushed forward and front half of the slide rotated up, and the loaded magazine placed onto the center spindle--again, it snaps on solidly. The slide is then returned to the closed position and locks with a solid click. With the safety off, 8 shots can be ripped off in a hurry. Noise seems rather loud, which isn't surprising considering the short barrel. It sounds very close to a small caliber powder-fired pistol.
At 15 feet it, if the shooter does his/her part it will group shots almost into a single ragged hole.
As a point of comparison, I own an RWS (Umarex) 850 Magnum .22 rifle that cost nearly five times more, and is a very well contructed rifle...the inexpensive Daisy 008 matches it on all points.
I suspect the country of manufacture has not a little to do with why this pistol looks so good, is so well fitted, and clearly well thought-out.
I don't just recommend the Powerline 008, I encourage anyone in the market for a reliable, well-built, CO2 repeating pistol to snap one of these little jewels up!