Precision Performance

Dave Barham reveals the new AirForceOne Taichi CO2 pistol

Dave Barham

Those happy chappies at The Shooting Party recently sent me this .177 pistol to test, and I’m really glad they did – it’s a real beauty.

My first impression of this pistol when I opened the box was ‘Whoa, what a colour!’ It’s so nice to have something so bright to take photos of, rather than the usual black or brown. A little further digging informed me that this pistol is also available in blue, as well as the usual boring black.

CO2 LOADING - WARNING

Loading a 12g CO2 canister into this pistol is easy, but you MUST make sure that you pull the hammer back first foar safety reasons! Then you simply unscrew the end cap from the reservoir, insert the CO2 canister nipple first, replace the end cap and tighten it down. Use the Allen key provided to tighten down the Allen screw in the centre of the cap to push the canister quickly down onto the piercing rod inside.

I’ve lost count of how many CO2 canisters I’ve used over the years, but even I make mistakes/ have accidents, and halfway through testing this pistol. I forgot to pull the hammer back whilst inserting a new CO2 canister (which is suggested in the instruction booklet, just as a safety precaution), and as I was tightening it down with the Allen key, something went wrong and the entire contents was expelled in a nanosecond, directly onto my knuckle. It hurt like hell and the flesh around my knuckle swelled up. So, please make sure you cock the hammer before inserting the CO2 as advised. It turned out that the pistol sent to me was a pre production sample, and it had been damaged in transit, but still - just do what they recommend to be extra safe. As I sit here typing this review, some four hours later, it’s still painful.

I managed to get a good 30 or so useable shots out of each canister during testing in very cold conditions.

EASY TO USE