Matador R3 Lands in New Zealand

[Wingman 0]

I don’t remember ever being as excited as the day my brand new Edgun Matador R3 (latest model) in .22cal finally arrived.

So I am now the proud owner of the only Edgun in New Zealand but now the exportation to here is sorted for Ed, he is keen to send a few more our way!

 

Air freighted in a custom made plywood shipping create with what seemed like a thousand screws securing the lid… with the lid eventually off I carefully removed all the cardboard and polystyrene beans and lifted out the short custom made green padded soft case, wrapped in polystyrene sheet, which was in turn wrapped in brown paper.

 

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_2946Small_zps3ff55146.jpg

 

Finally removing the rifle from the case the first thing I notice is the weight. Its very light at only 2.6kgs. At 745mm the standard length Edgun Matador R3 and is also surprisingly compact.

The next thing to grab my attention was the stock, the walnut I have to mention was stunning, I wasn’t expecting it to be as good as it is I’ll admit but the fit and finish is as good as the best out there.

 

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_2948Small_zpsd054113a.jpg

 

The rifle was already filled to 200 BAR and packed with a manual containing a test card with a ragged 12mm group of 10 shots at 50 meters set at 925fps with 18.1 JSB pellets.

It was also packed with its own fill adapter and spare O rings (just about every gun maker in the world please take note! )

 

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_3063Small_zps35dbcb82.jpg

 

The Rifle has a 350bar gauge but the best results are from a 220 bar fill shot down to 120-100bar.

 

The trigger was set a little heavy for my liking with a huge first stage pull so I spent a few minutes resetting it to a short smooth first stage with a nice light release, not too light as it is a hunting rifle.. Considering the design of this trigger unit with all its moving parts and linkage it is now a very nice trigger easily comparable to my Steyr LG110 trigger.

 

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_2979Small_zps4b09dff6.jpg

 

The test card Ed supplied stated the rifle was set to 925fps but over my chrony it was only shooting 890fps.. Possibly the air temp/altitude variation when it was set up and tested at but all accounts show these bullpups shoot the 18.1gr JSBs the most accurate between 920 and 950 fps.. so a small tweak on the hammer spring adjustment screw shown below and it is now shooting 930fps.

 

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_2978Small_zps26c6b921.jpg

 

The Matador is extremely quiet and has the most efficient shroud I have ever heard on a PCP, the older model R2.5 Matador had a loud "ping" signature but the new R3 certainly does not.. When I first fired it I thought it was out of air or it was set less than 12ftlbs.. yes its that quiet.. the assertive smack of the 18.1gr pellet on target is far louder than the muzzle noise on this rifle.

 

As a obsessive compulsive modder the Edgun was probably the worst airgun I could have bought. Ed has got this thing so finely tuned and refined and seemingly bugless it requires absolutely no mods to better the shooting experience unlike any other rifle I've owned..

 

With that said I fine tooth combed this puppy and previously searched on the net for any niggles or anything that could be improved on but only came up with this..

The closing of the bolt is super smooth but it has a bit of resistance in the last lock up stage which felt like a pellet that didn’t want to enter the rifling..

This resistance is actually caused by the lock up detent ball dragging over the sharp edged slide on its way to the hole it locks into.

 

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_2963Small_zps2c4a0b55.jpg

 

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_2967Small_zpsa628dda3.jpg

 

Courtesy of the Edgun forums technical advise this is a quick fix by removing the sharp edge with a file creating a small ramp for the detent ball to follow smoothly.

Job done and the bolt lock up is now super slick.

 

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_2968Small_zps83a6e30a.jpg

 

Ed keeps in very close relationships with his customers and appreciates feedback taking any valid suggested improvements to his rifles seriously, he implicates them almost over night should he see it fit so I’m sure this little imperfection will be taken care of by him in the near future.

 

I fitted a Falcon Menace 6-18x56 scope on UTG high picatinny rings. The size of the scope complements the compactness of the bullpup but its almost as heavy as the rifle itself!

Im not sure if I’ll keep it on there or eventually replace it with something else..

 

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_3062Small_zps5a713c4f.jpg

 

After zeroing the scope at 25 meters I shot several thumbnail sized groups and some not so good groups… something seemed inconsistent affecting the point of impact my first thought was the new scope rings but with a re-torque the random fliers didn’t stop.

A barrel clean and a few shots over the chrony didn’t show anything out of the ordinary either so I decided to remove the suppressor to check for possible pellet strikes.. Looking over the rifle very carefully as I stripped it I noticed the cylinder was touching the underside of the shroud at the front knurled section of the gauge cover…

 

http://iforce.co.nz/i/hgvrinvb.fhr.jpg

 

Now this could defiantly cause the POI problems I had.

What better chance to do a total strip down to get to know my new rifle. With just a couple of Allen keys the Matador can be stripped in minutes. It is all very simple but well engineered and brutally robust and rugged. It reminded me of one of my favourite engineering quotes from the inventor of the world famous AK47 assault rifle..

"All that is complex is not useful. All that is useful is simple." - Mikhail Kalashnikov

 

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_2960Small_zps9d927c0f.jpg

 

Something I noticed was as soon as I took it out of its stock it the shroud and cylinder had moved and now has plenty of clearance again.. as soon as I removed the trigger group the cause was evident.

 

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_2980Small_zps7737ce72.jpg

 

The cylinder is actually “free floated” in the cradle that mounts the stock.

The stock retaining screw has been pushing into the bottom of the cylinder cradle pushing it upward into the cylinder moving it toward the shroud.

I have mentioned it to Ed and he tells me it a too longer stock cap screw was fitted..

I fitted a small machine washer under the head of the cap screw

and it was a quick easy fix. 

 

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_2997Small_zpsaef04951.jpg

 

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_2986Small_zpsaef90778.jpg

 

With a new understanding of the inner workings of my rifle I reassembled it and re-zeroed the scope.. Much more like it! The groups were spot on and no more random clusters..

I filled it to 220 bar and fired from the benchrest 50 consecutive shots at 50 meters, 10 shots per target and here’s the result..

 

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_3005Small_zps08796db4.jpg

 

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_3006Small_zps3c9f2b4c.jpg

 

The 100m and 150m groups are just as impressive!

100m

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_3002Small_zpsfe31f900.jpg

150m

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_3004Small_zps020e945b.jpg

 

 

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_3031Small_zps3c1f75d3.jpg

 

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_3015Small_zps615e4f13.jpg

 

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_3017Small_zps2f85fac4.jpg

 

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_3009Small_zps4114f63b.jpg

 

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_3028Small_zpsa12dac32.jpg

 

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_3038Small_zps97157fd4.jpg

 

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_3021Small_zps35214286.jpg

 

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_3037Small_zps131d5574.jpg

 

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_3036Small_zps99d0d7fc.jpg

Did I mention how quiet this rifle is?... Here's the secret to it's suppressor..

The rear of the suppressor is ported with a ring of tiny exhaust holes allowing a higher volume of air to be directed back through the muzzles defuser ports into the rear chamber of the suppressor instead of out the muzzle. Note the small dot of lead dust on the cylinder from the port above it..

 

Rear exhaust porting

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_3073Small_zps191fcf7c.jpg

 

Muzzle defuser transfer ports

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_3077Small_zpse0ed5c1f.jpg

 

One piece machined baffle design

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_3074Small_zpsa7e2258f.jpg

 

The bolt is fitted with dual 'O' rings to seal in the tapered breach, the pellet probe is long and thin creating minimal air disturbance. All these areas are polished like chrome. The .22 matador has a massive air transfer port in both the valve body and the breach.. it is in fact even bigger than my .25cal Marauder. It's no wonder it can push even the heaviest .22 pellet well past 1000fps!

 

Bolt probe:

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_3083Small_zps802992db.jpg

 

Transfer port:

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_2982Small_zps0c10eaab.jpg

 

The Single shot loading tray is also highly polished and large enough to take even the longest pellets.

It took me a little while to get used to the pellet tray as I would normally be seating the pellets directly into the barrel with my thumb on my other rifles, care is needed when loading the Edgun this way as it is very easy to have a pellet flip over and load in skirt first, this design works best when dropped into the tray and pushed home by the probe..

 

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_3081Small_zps3d8e7a22.jpg

 

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_3084Small_zps2bec038b.jpg

 

 

In short to explain why the Edgun has so much appeal to me is it fits everything I want in a rifle... It is simple, handmade, reliable, accurate beyond anyone's expectations, light, powerful, efficient and compact. 70+ shots per fill at 35+FPE is amazing from such a small tubed rifle. It embodies what many think an airgun should be. It isn't overly complex, but is on the forefront of performance. It may be expensive as hell, but it does its job very very well. I would go as far as saying it’s the most ground breaking piece of firearm engineering to come out of Russia since the Kalashnikov!

 

 

Did I mention how quiet this rifle is?... Here's the secret to it's suppressor..

The rear of the suppressor is ported with a ring of tiny exhaust holes allowing a higher volume of air to be directed back through the muzzles defuser ports into the rear chamber of the suppressor instead of out the muzzle. Note the small dot of lead dust on the cylinder from the port above it..

 

Rear exhaust porting

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_3073Small_zps191fcf7c.jpg

 

Muzzle defuser transfer ports

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_3077Small_zpse0ed5c1f.jpg

 

One piece machined baffle design

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_3074Small_zpsa7e2258f.jpg

 

The bolt is fitted with dual 'O' rings to seal in the tapered breach, the pellet probe is long and thin creating minimal air disturbance. All these areas are polished like chrome. The .22 matador has a massive air transfer port in both the valve body and the breach.. it is in fact even bigger than my .25cal Marauder. It's no wonder it can push even the heaviest .22 pellet well past 1000fps!

 

Bolt probe:

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_3083Small_zps802992db.jpg

 

Transfer port:

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_2982Small_zps0c10eaab.jpg

 

The Single shot loading tray is also highly polished and large enough to take even the longest pellets.

It took me a little while to get used to the pellet tray as I would normally be seating the pellets directly into the barrel with my thumb on my other rifles, care is needed when loading the Edgun this way as it is very easy to have a pellet flip over and load in skirt first, this design works best when dropped into the tray and pushed home by the probe..

 

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_3081Small_zps3d8e7a22.jpg

 

http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t392/wingman102/IMG_3084Small_zps2bec038b.jpg

 

 

In short to explain why the Edgun has so much appeal to me is it fits everything I want in a rifle... It is simple, handmade, reliable, accurate beyond anyone's expectations, light, powerful, efficient and compact. 70+ shots per fill at 35+FPE is amazing from such a small tubed rifle. It embodies what many think an airgun should be. It isn't overly complex, but is on the forefront of performance. It may be expensive as hell, but it does its job very very well. I would go as far as saying it’s the most ground breaking piece of firearm engineering to come out of Russia since the Kalashnikov!

[Эдуард 3 075]

Welcome Phil to our forum! Great review, thank you very much. 

[REGION 54 113]

Hi!

Good for you for coming to us! Ed told us about you.

[Wingman 0]

Thanks guys, Its a bit hard for me to navigate this forum as my Russian is not good but I will try

 

 Ed is talking about me? Dont believe a word of it..... 

Изменено 20 Марта 2013 пользователем Wingman

[REGION 54 113]

Thanks guys, Its a bit hard for me to navigate this forum as my Russian is not good but I will try

 

 Ed is talking about me? Dont believe a word of it..... 

 

Ed never lies . . . .

[barabu64 16]

Phil, hi! Congratulations on the purchase of a wonderful rifle and welcome to the ranks of EDganovodov...!!! I wish you an unforgettable experience and well-aimed shots! Edward was talking about you, even your pictures somewhere lecturing, he lied when he wrote about you and that you had to wait very long for the rifle ...!!!

[Wingman 0]

 Good things come to those who wait..

[Rols Rois 12]

Ни чего не понятно,но думаю нужно поздравить!!!!!

[REGION 54 113]

On whom you hunt Phil?

[Aleksei29 0]

congratulations! English to understand very plausible.

[Wingman 0]

On whom you hunt Phil?

 

Here's a link to my New Zealand hunting forum and Youtube channel.. (Caution! Graphic hunting photos)

 

http://nzairgun.com/forum/index.php?topic=298.15

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/howz5

 

Ни чего не понятно,но думаю нужно поздравить!!!!!

 

Спасибо, Это прекрасное оружие

[Aleksei29 0]

photo from hunting Inter!

[Эдуард 3 075]

Great hunting review and photo. I expecting video at your chanal to see ;)

[REGION 54 113]

Here's a link to my New Zealand hunting forum and Youtube channel.. (Caution! Graphic hunting photos)

 

http://nzairgun.com/forum/index.php?topic=298.15

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/howz5

 

Screw on full alert !

[Aleksei29 0]

there in the photo opossum? they can be esti?

[Эдуард 3 075]

Yes, I am interested also, do you eat rabbits and other critters you kill or just kill as we kill crows?

[Wingman 0]

Yes, I am interested also, do you eat rabbits and other critters you kill or just kill as we kill crows?

 

Yes we eat the rabbits but not possums... they are just a very damaging pest here in New Zealand and millions are shot like crows in Russia. The fur can be plucked and sold for making clothes as its very soft and warm. Its worth about 80 Euro per kg of fur.  1kg of fur = about 10 possums.  http://www.possumdown.co.nz/Products/Womens_Knitwear

 

Edgun videos coming soon to my channel   

[Aleksei29 0]

pity that in Russia for the crows do not give!

[Wingman 0]

 Maybe crow pie?

Изменено 20 Марта 2013 пользователем Wingman

[REGION 54 113]

Not bad!

Your additional source of income?

[Wingman 0]

The birds I shoot are Also all bad pests.

Изменено 20 Марта 2013 пользователем Wingman

[REGION 54 113]

 

The birds I shoot are Also all bad pests.

 

Then you eat?

[Эдуард 3 075]

1 kg of fur = 10 possums reminded me an anecdote about Raskol'nikov (Dostoevsy "Crime and punishment"), he killed an old lady for 10 roubles debt, so in anecdote Raskolnikov killed an old lady for one rouble and say "One old lady -- one rouble, ten old ladys -- ten roubles"

[Wingman 0]

 

Not bad!

Your additional source of income?

 

 I give the fur to my friend to sell who needs the money more than me

[Aleksei29 0]

and at which hivotnyh can you hunt from a pneumatic gun, other than those already mentioned?