DAISY'S AVANTI 888 MEDALIST Daisy 10-meter rifles from the new Avanti line. With the introduction of this latest model, Daisy has grouped all its 10-meter guns into a special line under the Avanti name. You may remember we reported on the new 888 bulk-fill CO, rifle in the SHOT Show report earlier this year. Once formal production began, they wasted no time sending us a rifle to test. I had the air rifle for about six months, so there was plenty of opportunity to become familiar with its operation, handling and characteristics.

Is the Daisy better than the new Crosman Challenger? I won't answer that directly, because I don't believe there is a single correct answer. Both guns have features never before seen in youth-market target guns. I will try to point out the Daisy's features for coaches and parents, so they can make a reasonable choice between two fine target rifles. The first technical feature is perhaps the biggest difference between the two. Where the Crosman uses 12.5-gram powerlets, the Avanti888 is a bulk-filled gun, operating from a screw-in 2.5-ounce tank.

The difference bunk-filling makes is measured in the total number of useful shots, plus shot-to-shot velocity variation. Where the Crosman gets enough shots from a single powerlet for a single match, the Daisy has hundreds! And, to my great surprise, it's a powerful 10-metr gun! It is fully as fast as a top-of-the-line 10-meter Olympic rifle. That's pretty incredible when you consider the power source.

I expected 100 f.p.s. less and would have been happy with that, but this gun is a screamer, in 10-meter circles. Not only is the velocity high, the shot-to-shot consistency is quite remarkable. It's as good as a top precharged target rifle with a good regulator. And these shots were chrono'ed well into the charge, so there is no special effect being derived from the first few shots after the fill. This, plus the pinpoint accuracy with H&N pellets was quite a surprise. Daisy's web site says the gun shoots 500 f.p.s