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StevieLaner7777 · Moderator

Hi all

Well today I went to the local gun shop to help my Bro choose an Air Rifle, I think He might have been inspired to get one after He had a few shot's with mine quite a few months back, When the 1077W was only 2-3 months new, The problem was that he kept using up all my CO2 and pellets for plinking when I was not around and asking for some shots when I was using the Rifle, So after about 4 months of telling him to get his own f#cking gun, He started to get interested in shooting Rats, Again with my 1077W, So I convinced him to get a SMK XS78 (AKA the "QB78") in 5.5kal/.22cal.

Brothers!!! Rolling Eyes

So we took a few test shot with it earlier on today, And I have to say that I was so impressed by it's performance that I really really want one, I can get a 3 shot grouping of 11mm at 20M with 14.5grn RWS Superdome's, I also nailed a Butterfly that landed in the middle of the target I shot it in the body section at 30M , Must have thought the target was a flower Laughing

Amazing!!!
Definitely beats the 1077W's 5-10cm groupings at 30M on a 23*c day!

Here's a pic of my target sheet as proof:

Note the two odd ones on the bottom left were for zeroing the scope.

Here's a pic of the rifle from the right hand side:

Here's a pic of the breech with the bolt opened:

Lastly, After a week or two of getting to know the rifle I will post a full review on it, So I hope you guys can wait that long!

Stevie Thumb Up!

AirGunEric · Site Admin

Do you know which version of the gun your brother has? There are 4 variations- every time they add/improve a feature they release the gun with the same name "QB-78".

Also- speaking of SMK XS guns- I was poking around an airgun site in the UK the other day- and an online vendor was still listing an SMK XS-19- which is the B19, or the gun Crosman bought the rights on to sell as the "Quest." I'm not sure now if Crosman only bought the "rights" on the product for North America, or if that vendor just has really really old stock! Note: "SMK" is a branding not used in North America- Xisico (or 'XS') is the continental distributor of a number of Chinese guns- so I'm guessing 'SMK' is the same for the UK, maybe all of Europe?

Either way- give us your unbiased review when ready. Post some detailed pics too for anyone not intimately familiar with its layout!

Alstone · Moderator & Site Supporter

Hi Stevie, I was looking at a qb78 at Airshooter and they look a quite a tidy gun, did you buy it as a package, scope and pod included or buy then seperately ?. I'll be intrested in your report when you get time to properly try it out. Thats if your brother lets you. Laughing

AL

StevieLaner7777 · Moderator

Hi Al

Are you learning to type with one hand or are you overdosing those painkillers!?! Wink

No! The scope was separate but the bi-pod is my one, I used it to take the photo without my shadow from leaning over the top of the rifle to take a 'Bird-eye' photo.

As for my brother letting me have a few shots:
My brother will let me have quite a few shots if I supply the card targets, Seems fair enough Cool

Lastly, Can you see the images in my first post in this thread?? AirGunEric said that he couldn't see them for some reason!?!

Stevie Thumb Up!

Alstone · Moderator & Site Supporter

Hi Steve yes I can see the photos allright no problem, you got sorted out with Photobucket then ?. I was looking for somthing cheap to play with and Airshooter are selling the QB78 for £64.95 and I though this was a good deal, I only want something to chop up and mod and if it dosen't work out I haven't lost anything much.

AL

StevieLaner7777 · Moderator

Hi Al

Yep, I've got 'Photobucket' working properly now! You might have noticed that some of my resent pics are different sizes as I am experimenting with the image sizes at the moment, Always trying to get that perfect size!!, These ones are 750 X 563, This size seems to fit reasonably well and does not cause 'Screen stretch' which can be very annoying.

YES!!! Go for a QB78 if you want something for a bit of tinkering and modding with, The quality is a thousand times better than you would expect of something for an Air Rifle that price and there the only piece of plastic on the entire Rifle is the Barrel band, It's very hard hitting as well with a very, very flat trajectory at 30M and super accurate.

So all in all, Go for it!!

Stevie Thumb Up!

Alstone · Moderator & Site Supporter

Stevie the scope you are using on the QB78 what size is it ?, I'm thinking of fitting a 4x32 Walther scope to my Winchester and I was wondering if I could use the same one on a QB as I don't want to have to buy two scopes.

My screen is 1024x768 and your photos look OK.

AL

StevieLaner7777 · Moderator

Hi Al

The scope that my Bro is using on the QB78 is a 'BSA .22 Special 4x32', Though I feel that it is not made to the quality that I would expect from BSA, If you tap the scope with your finger nail it will give off a sound similar to, Or exactly like plastic, So I'm not too sure about this scope in particular, Especially not for £42.99, But it does preform quite well though.

It's probably best to go for a 'Simmons' or what ever else takes your fancy, But I would say to go for a 4x32 scope or maybe a bit more magnification if your going to be shooting at around 25-35M distances, And make sure you like the look of the reticule as well before you buy.

Lastly, My screen size is also 1024x768 so there is no 'Screen stretch' with 750x563 images on this websites page size.

Stevie Thumb Up!

Forgot to mention, Don't be tricked by the scope looking bigger than it is, The shadow behind the scope is creating an illusion of the scope being bigger that it actually is, So look carefully.

Alstone · Moderator & Site Supporter

StevieLaner7777 · Moderator

Hi Al

I'm no expert on Scope Reticules, But I do know a bit from my own personal experience.

Usually the website that you buy the Scope from should specify what Reticule the Scope has in the specifications, If the site does not supply an image as an example just 'Google image' the reticule type.

So in answer to your Q:
The best Reticule to go for IMO, For long distances with a limited magnification or even not a limited magnification is one with fine Cross-hairs so you cans see your target properly without covering it for example 'Fine crosshair', 'Duplex' and 'Mil-Dot', An example of covering the target would be the 'Target Dot' reticule in the image below.

Here's an Image of some of the different Reticules that are popular:

Note that you can also get fine, medium, and heavy versions of these not forgetting different colours as well.

And if you want to have a read up on this, Here's a link to some valuable info on the subject:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telescopic_sight
I can assure you that I will be reading through this after this post has been posted.

Hope this helps!!

Stevie Thumb Up!

StevieLaner7777 · Moderator

AirGunEric · Site Admin

StevieLaner7777 · Moderator

Hi AirGunEric

OK, The barrel band is definitely plastic, This is in the Mod list though.

The Rear sight is elevation adjustable with a click stepped metal ramp, But the windage adjustment does require a screwdriver to adjust.

And the printing on the left hand side of the breech has the SMK logo and say's "XS78CO2" And below that it say's "Cal. 5.5mm".

Here's a pic so It's a bit easier to understand what I'm trying to explain:

This is my cameras thousandth Photo! So feel special Very Happy

Stevie

broommaster2000 · Moderator

That was one of the first guns that I wanted to buy. I still hope to own one, and get someone to mod it into a PCP.

AirGunEric · Site Admin

Sounds like you have the second or third variant of the gun, Stevie. The most recent 4th variant has a steel barrel band and fully adjustable without using a screwdriver rear sight.

Either way- those QB-78s are nice guns- especially for the price on them. I think I will have to buy one soon just for kicks.