AirWolfMCT AGW Review 1

8/12/2019 AirWolfMCT AGW Review 1

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Testing the Daystate AirWolf MCT

2009 AIRGUN WORLD 19

Reality Check!

Daystate models offered more, and morewonderful, electronic features, I continuedto be far too wrapped up in the latest techno-doings and continued to downplaythe rifles’ roles as shooting machines. Fromthe many conversations I’ve had about these guns, I was certainly not alone inputting too much emphasis on theelectronics, and not enough on the gun. This

is entirely wrong, and I mean to put it entirely right.My plan, like its source, was simple. I

would leave the Air Wolf’s nine-stage setupoptions exactly as the factory intended, and just shoot the granny out of the test gun

My job is an odd one at times.I’ve spent the last month

shooting possibly theworld’s most technicallyadvanced sporter, and

trying as hard as I can to avoid its most technical advancements. I succeeded, too,sort of, and I’m glad I made the effort. I’llnow explain why I went to all the trouble of shooting the new Daystate Air Wolf MCTas though it were any other top sporter.

I’ve tested Daystate’s electronically-controlled pre-charged pneumatic riflessince the first model, the MK3, waslaunched way back in December 2002. At the time, that MK3 had me shaking myhead at the sheer technicality of it, and I

immediately began to concentrate far toomuch on the wonders unveiled by the gun’selectronics. This diversion had me treatingthe actual shooting functions – which arethe entire point of having any rifle – assomething of a side issue. As subsequent

The editor has a wordwith himself and rejoins

the real world

Reality Check!

until I knew it inside-out as a sporting rifle.Basically, I needed to test it as I would anyother rifle, with a practical exploration of the electronic features after the realevaluation was completed. As you youngfolk say – sounds like a plan.

The test rifle was in .22 calibre, and likeall of its kind, it comes complete with a 10-shot magazine, a single-shot pellet tray, a

snap-on air-charging adaptor, an electricalcharger to re-charge the rifle’s internalbatteries, a pair of keys to switch the actionon and off, and a manual in the form of aCD.Having plugged the rifle into the mainsfor a couple of hours to charge its on-board



particular device extensively throughout thistest. But there’s more…

MIND THE GAPNext, something I’ve never even considered,namely the effect on the rifle’s torsionalstrength of installing a huge gap in the actionblock where the magazine fits. Think about it;the action block houses the barrel and thescope mounting rail, and any movement from

either could cause inconsistent accuracy, orlack of it, if that movement isn’t perfectlyequal for both. Now, think about this need fortotal solidity against the need to chop out alarge lump of action to house the mag’.Finally, factor the fact that our pre-chargedpneumatic rifles need to remainimmaculately on-line during countlesscharges and discharges of high-pressure air,plus they need to take the rough andoccasional tumble of life as a sporter, andyou’ll see how removing a great chunk fromthe action isn’t exactly ideal when you’retrying to ensure perfect solidity.

The manufacturers manage it, though,

and they do so in a variety of ways. Daystatebuild in a

steel bar to reclaim any lost rigidity, otherdesigns go for a solid scope rail to ‘bridge’ thegap, and no doubt everyone else has designed-in their own solutions to this requirement I’dnever previously considered. As I say, there’smore to this autoload lark than meets theuntrained eye.

LOADING THE MAG’Airgun World readers regularly ask me about the ‘complication’ of loading multishot pellet magazines, and while it’s fair to say that anyone seriously thinking about buying an Air

Wolf MCT will probably have no fear of loading it, these tests aren’t intended purelyfor prospective buyers. The fact is there is aright way, and therefore many wrong ways, to

batteries (which still feelsodd, it has to be said) my first

proper job was to fill it withair, and I went for the

recommended 232-bar charge, which entersvia the click-on adaptor. That charge willprovide over 500, perfectly regulated shots at over 11 ft.lbs., or well over 400 from the .177version, provided you take your time andactually charge the Air Wolf properly. That means ‘trickling’ in the charge over ten

seconds or so, rather than giving it ahefty squirt. Fast charging meansheat and that means expansion,which means your PCP isn’t gettingits full charge once everything coolsdown. A push-fit inlet valve covergave protection from dirt, theelements and general muck, and anunhurried ten seconds later I was aloading choice away from startingshooting.

A LOAD MORE TO ITHere’s where it gets a bit complicated,and it’s also where I learned a bit about

how seemingly simple things areactually amazingly hi-tech. In thiscase, it’s the loading of our airguns,and pellet magazines in particular.I’ve been using autoload pellet magazines since the early 1990s,and I’ve done so ever since without thinking about it that much. Iprefer to get on with my shootingand let the clever people sort out things like magazines andelectronic actions…and everythingelse, really. Yet, we should be awareof the sheer precision demandedby those taken-for-granted pellet

magazines. For instance, if thealignment of the pellet-carrying

chamber and the bore is out bymore than a few thou’, all manner of accuracies can take place as thepellets find themselves ‘clipped’ onloading. As far as pure accuracy isconcerned, it’s heartening to learnthat the standard issue thumbremains the finest pellet loadinggizmo ever invented, and I used that

Gr ip w ithconf idence,and sty le.

The human digi t s till rules

when i t comes to loading.

Secur ity isk ey w ith theDay state A ir W olf MCT .


The new Reflex silencer addssupression without sacrificing style.

It’s more than a supergun - it’s oneof the finest sporters on the

planet.

Autoloador single-shot, thechoice is

yours.



load a magazine. Inthis case, it’s a simplematter of insertingpellets via the chamfered

loading bay, manuallyindexing the mag’s internal pellet carrier eachtime until the magazine is fully loaded. Themagazine can only be loaded the correct way,unless a mallet and extreme determinationare involved (not completely out of thequestion – read this month’s news section) sothere’s nothing to fear at all, really.

Mind you, the wrong way of loading thismagazine does exist and I’m going tohighlight them here. First, not all pellets are

ideal for use in autoload magazines, especiallythose used in CO2-powered pistols, whichwill often snarl up when loaded with pointedor over-long pellets. Secondly, while noshooter who expects the best from his airgunshould ever load damaged, malformed or sub-standard pellets, these are especiallytroublesome when used in autoloadmagazines. Use the closest thing to perfect pellets you can get your hands on, and loadeach pellet correctly into its chamber so that no damage occurs as the magazine rotates.Finally, keep your magazines clean and freefrom grit. Mags’ are too often stowed ingrubby pockets among all sorts of creeping

crud, and that’s exactly the sort of crud that will infiltrate your magazine and stop it working as it should.

In short, there’s absolutely nothing to fearfrom autoload airguns, or pre-chargedpneumatics, or any other airgun for that matter, as long as you read the manual, useyour common sense and don’t take anythingto bits that you don’t understand. Right, let’skick on with my real world test.

SHOOTING THE WOLFI have a Daystate Air Ranger, which, with itsbuddy-bottle air reservoir, shrouded barreland obvious other similarities, could be

described as a ‘mechanical’ version of the Air Wolf. I reveal this purely to put myself in anideal comparison position, and frankly I wasexpecting little more that a slightly sterile

edition of theRanger. I wasmore thanslightly wrongon that one, asit turned out.

Yes, the Air Wolf isvirtually effortless to shoot,partly due to the bolt being merely aswitch which activates the magazinerather than cocks a hammer spring, but that’s not what makes this rifle so stress-free to shoot. The trigger, although not the most attractive looking component,can be set to break almost subconsciously, while still offering fullcontrol. I realise how arty-farty that may

seem to some, but it’s absolutely true,and only comes into play when you’retotally tuned into a gun and you’vemoved past the basic stuff. During thistest, I left the basic stuff behind within50 shots.

ACCURACY REPORTUsing the .22 pellets and MTC Viper ScopeDaystate supplied with the rifle, plus theIdleback shooting chair as my all-terrain riflerest, I produced group after group on my 35-yard test target. George Stevens was shootingbeside me and he used my main test card tozero the Webley Tomahawk he’s reviewed in

this issue, which made a pleasant change but ruined a seriously special target card whichincluded several single-holers. I didn’t moan at George, because he still winds me up about the framed one-hole group I have in my officeat home, but that target card was definitely a‘cut-out-and-keep’ job. Pushing the target back to 45 yards kept me safe from George –he doesn’t bother shooting much past hishunting ranges – and I managed a couple of thumbnail-sized groups on that. One-inchspinners at 50 yards were at my mercy, andeven George was impressed once or twice.Possibly.

As my pellets hit their marks, I settled into

the session more and more, and within twohours there was absolutely nothing left toprove as far as the accuracy of the DaystateAir Wolf MCT was concerned. Conventiondictates that my next step would be toexplore the eight-phase electronic options thisrifle allows. Not this time. This time I washeading off to pastures real, to do some

hunting with it.

Choose your scope wi th care.

I think a ri f le o f

this s tandard

should ha ve an

ad jus table

bu t t-pad, bu t

this one does a

f ine job as i t is.

Easy , quick and clean air in jection.


Ready-threadedto take theReflex.

IN THE FIELDI know George Stevens normally does the

après-test hunting bit, but his knee isknackered at the moment, so I thought I’dgive it a go. As it turned out, I got rained on abit too much and I spent most of my time not being able to resist plinking at things from thestability of the Idleback. I made holes in leaves(squirrel head shot simulation), I splattereddandelions (max-range rabbits) out to 40yards and exploded a series of windfalls,including acorns, crab apples and walnuts,which gave confirmed potential kills on everytype of vermin we can go for.




After three sessions of this ‘hunting’,during which I actually did bag a few rabbits,crows, squirrels and a pigeon, I was forced toconcede that shooting an Air Wolf really isn’t the same as, or even closely related to,shooting my Air Ranger. Desperately tryingto remain practical, here, I can sum up thedifference by stating that shooting to a highstandard with the Air Wolf is easier thandoing so with my Ranger. Again, this appears

precious and pretentious, because that .177Ranger of mine will put pellets on top of eachother at 50 yards, but I now know that theAir Wolf lets me shoot to the limit of mytalent that much easier. Does it make aworthwhile difference in this real world I’mstruggling to remain part of? Well, yes it does,because once you’ve reached a level of commitment where you want the absolutebest, then only the absolute best will do. Would I swap my Ranger for a Wolf? Yes Iwould. Will I be doing so? I’m not saying,because my good lady wife often reads thisstuff. What I’ll probably do, is to claim ‘I gaveDaystate a tenner for one of those little telly

screens to stick on my Ranger, dear’. Sorted.

THOSE ELECTRONICFUNCTIONSJust before I go all technical with those oh-so-essential functions, it’s essential to know that the Air Wolf MCT has a digital regulationsystem inside it which responds to everychange of pressure that takes place within therifle. These changes may come about due to


On the MCT , the bolt isf lick ed not pulled.

shots being fired, the rifle being charged withair, or fluctuations in temperature, but theimportant thing to know is that the MCTaction will react to them for each and everyshot. That’s right; each shot is set up by the Air Wolf’s computer-controlled internals inresponse to what’s happening inside the rifleat that very moment. That reaction is instant,too, and it means there’s no power curve,sweet spot, or anything else to worry about.

Finally, the Air Wolf is designed to be fullycapable of high power FAC-ratedperformance, so blipping out shots at 11-plusft.lbs. leaves it supremely under stressed, and it passes on that happy state to its users. Okay,there’s no avoiding it; I’ve got to run throughthe things this rifle lets you mess about with, viathe interaction of its screen, trigger, safety catchand the Mapped Compensated Technologygubbins that runs its every vital function.

THE DAYSTATE GREAT EIGHTThe Daystate Air Wolf allows you tocustomise the following functions:

1. Magazine counter reset. This gives a

bleep after the 10th shot is fired, telling youthe magazine needs to be reloaded/replaced.

2. Reset the overall shot counter. This letsyou see how many shots your rifle has firedsince the last reset, say when it was re-chargedwith air.

3. Active pressure. This gives you areadout on the pressure in the air reservoir,and updates itself after every shot or everytemperature-induced fluctuation. This systemis so sensitive that heat from placing yourhand on the buddy-bottle causes the readingto change.

4. Power settings. Two levels are available,11-plus and slightly lower.

5. Safety-catch settings. This lets you turnon/off the red l.e.d. in the safety catch. Anobvious essential, I trust you’ll agree.

6. Magazine counter. Spookily, this countsthe number of magazines you’ve shot yourway through.

7. Single shot mode. This is recommendedfor competition use, and requires you to reset the safety catch between shots.

8. Pressure warning. This causes the rifle toblow a little electronic raspberry when itsinternal pressure reaches a preset level, so youcan re-charge before you run out.

9. Default reset. This is the MCT get out of jail free card, which resets the rifle’s systemto its factory default, should you wish to wipethe slate clean and start again. This functionalso displays the firmware code, so you knowwhich version your rifle is running.

Yes, of course there can be more wherethat scary lot came from, and if you let

Daystate know what you want, they’llthink seriously about installing it in thenext update. Meanwhile, I’m going to carryon shooting this one and let the Daystatecrew take care of the rest.

CONCLUSIONThe Daystate Air Wolf MCT is better used asa hunting rifle than an electronically inspired

and aspirated shooting platform. It workssuperbly as a sporter, thanks to propergunsmithing and design skills, which havecombined to give us a well-balanced rifle, astock with positive handling as standard, and atop grade Lothar Walther barrel. Its magazinehas now passed no fewer than five revisionstages, and the tolerances have been tightenedevery time. The mag’s aluminium pellet carrier sits inside an acetyl casing which is nowlower in profile to assist scope mounting, andevery rifle is accuracy tested with themagazine supplied with it.

These are all basic, fundamental, practicalmeasures that have been sorting the best

from the rest for the thick end of a centuryof airgunmaking. The incredible computersmarts may be unique, but what really setsthis rifle apart is that it does the jobmagnificantly, and in my real world that counts more than anything.

Model: Air Wolf MCT

Manufacturer: Daystate.

Country of Origin: U.K.

Contact: 01782 791755.

Type: Fully electronic, pre-charged, multi-

shot/single shot sporter.

Calibre: .22 or .177

Cocking: Bolt-action

Loading: Removable, rotary magazine, or single

shot pellet tray.

Shots-per-charge: 500-plus from 230-bar in

.22. 450-plus in .22.

Trigger: Two-stage, adjustable.

Sights: Scope rail only

Stock Type: Walnut, right-hand, thumbhole

sporter. Sporter configuration available.

Weight: 3.44 k. (7.5 lbs. unscoped).

Length: 1030mm (40.5 inches).

Barrel: 430 mm (16.8 inches).

Price: £1200 includes, 10 shot magazine, single

shot pellet tray, mains charger, two keys and CD

Rom instructions/handbook.

Options: Reflex silencer £55, matte-black cocking/loading bolt £25 or no-charge when

specified with new rifle, sling swivel studs £10

fitted when ordered with rifle. FAC option

£1250 (up to 40 ft.lbs.) and left-hand (including

hand-made bolt) £1230.

A visual gauge backs up the techno’ pressure warning.T his scr een g uides y outhr oug h the A ir W olf ’samazing r ang e of options.


AirWolfMCT AGW Review 1

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