Review: The Dragonslayer .50 Caliber

Airguns The Dragon Slayer

The Dragonslayer is a large PCP air rifle launched as the successor to the Career Dragon, and is currently produced in .50 caliber only. The standard gun has an ergonomically shaped hardwood stock that is nicely checkered, and includes a rubber butt pad. I like the the shape of the forearm finding it comfortable to shoot both offhand and from a rest. A significant advantage in this design over the previous Dragon version is that the Dragonslayer uses a new side- lever action, which permits easier cocking and loading than its predecessor. I found the gun very easy to cycle and load, even under high stress situations encountered in the field when hunting.

There are no open sights on this rifle, as the expectation is that a scope will be mounted. The accuracy is so good with this rifle that a scope is a must if one wishes to have it perform to full potential. The comb height was just right for my line of sight, with the scope mounted in low profile rings. I tried various scopes during bench testing, but opted for a fixed power 2x shotgun scope to ride on top the gun when bringing it out in pursuit of boar. I intended to keep the shot inside of 40 yards, and felt that 2X was enough magnification, but I also liked the longer eye relief for use in the heavier brush when fast target acquisition was a plus.

A quick-fill receptor port is used to charge the gun up to the recommended 3000 psi, and an integrated pressure gauge allows real- time monitoring of residual pressure in the gun. The Dragonslayer has a single air reservoir beneath the barrel unlike the twin reservoir design of the Dragon; and to my eye the former has a cleaner line to it. The pressure gauge and quick fill receptor are located beneath the barrel at the end of the tank, allowing easy access. I found that I obtained 8-10 shots per charge, when shooting of the bench, though decided to carry a small pony bottle to recharge after every 5 shots for hunting purposes.

This is a substantial gun that weighs in at about 8.5 pounds with scope, but is well balanced and comes naturally to the shoulder. I found that when shooting from either the bench or offhand, the gun was easy to get on target and that I could consistently obtain a stable hold regardless of position. On a full charge the gun yields approximately 10 shots, but a noticeable drop

Shooting 175 grain TC roundball I achieved higher velocities and found the accuracy to be outstanding, and therefore decided to use them for my first hunt with the gun. My belief was (and is) that this is adequate power for taking a deer or hog inside of thirty five yards, certainly coyote, fox, and other mid sized quarry out a lot further.

The accuracy of the gun warrents comment, I found that I could easily shoot sub-half inch groups at 35 yards while shooting off sticks. Moving a target out to 75 yards, I could place shots into a coyote kill zone all day long.

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Note: I had a follow up discussion with company representatives, and wanted to include some additional information. The Dragonslayer was built to a functional requirement provided to Shinsung by Pyramyd Airguns. The FRS called for a couple of significant changes from the Dragon; 1) the dual air reservoir tubes of the Dragon would be changed to a single tube design for the Slayer, and the new cocking lever action would replace the bolt action found on the Dragon. There was to be no internal change, however somewhere along the line a change was also made to a weaker hammer spring. A project is currently in place to correct this on new production runs and get upgrade kits for currently installed guns.

Until I get the heavier hammer spring I will stick to smaller pigs (up to the 150 lb class), deer, and coyotes with this gun. I am also going to test other bullets (especially harder lead), as I’m not at all sure that round ball was my best option in this particular application. Next time out I’m going to do further testing with balistic gel to look at penetration as well.

I want to look at the gun in production trim after the spring issue is resolved …. then I want to send it to Bob Dean (Bigbore Bob) to see what he can do with it, as I think there is a lot of potential to this gun