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donec · Senior Member

First impressions of Daisy 853c

Packaging was quite good setting in a complete Styrofoam box so it could not move. Looked all over and there are no markings to say where it was made.

Finish is not good enough for a $300.00 gun. There is a lot of plastic used to fill in gaps. Most of the plastic and what metal there is like the barrel is coated with some kind of dipped thick paint or rubber that does not have a smooth finish but rather an almost bubbled look. The parts underneath the coating are not well finished leaving ridges from molds unfinished that look quite tacky and cheap.

The stock looks like it is supposed to have a satin finish but I feel it is just a poor finish and needs polishing. However the stock does not look like it was dipped but rather has had a hand finish applied just not well. The butt pad has file marks all the way around the sides or maybe they are saw marks no edge finish on butt pad. The front sight was not straight but rotated about 1 or 2 minutes of arc to the right. I loosened the set screws (no tool provided) and removed the weight from the barrel and found the screws were tightened in the wrong position even though the barrel has a flat spot on the bottom to align the sights (not sure but it kind of seems like the flat spot is not truly on the bottom but off just a little just not enough to be sure).

The front sights have inserts that can be changed out in the domed sight but the dome has metal tabs holding it together that show in the sight picture which can be ignored but should not be seen. Upon installing the rear sight the coating on the sight rail and the coating on the sight it's self both got scratched and made the process feel cheap.

The bolt (plastic handle) felt like it was going to break when I first pulled it back and it did not want to go all the way back but after several cycles of pulling it back and pushing it forward it either smoothed out or I learned how to do it correctly.

Cocking is smooth and quite easy giving a good impression of how the gun may end up working. Dry fire was quite reasonable even in the house for noise not at all loud.

Trigger has some grind to it when pulled but after just a few pulls it smoothed out quite a bit but not completely. So far I would say the trigger is breaking quite consistently and crisply.

Holding the rifle feels quite good and has a nice weight and is balanced well.

The sling it comes with is not something I will use so I did not mess with it.

The room for inserting pellets is real small but looks like it may work but since it has a 5 shot clip it is not much of a concern for me.

More and pictures later after I get to shoot some probably next week.

sniper · Silver Status Member

post some groups. i have a $72 953. slavia had asked me
a while back to post groups but i haven't yet.

i'm getting dime-nickle sized groups at 17 yards rested.
i have a BSA redot on it but the problem is at that range in 1x mag
i can't see the holes in the paper. i have put 3 in one hole
at that range. Cool

i've never messed with the 5 shot clip either.

all my scopes are on other guns. Rolling Eyes

for $72 it was a damn good buy! Cool

bobtodrick · Member

donec...but you're not paying for a $300 air rifle...you're paying for a $200 barrel on a $100 gun. The platform for the 853c is the Daisy 953...at $100 it has very good build quality.
Again...what you are paying for is the barrel...which gives you the ability to shoot, on a good day a perfect 20 shot score (perfect being 20 10's on a 10m rifle target where the '10' is a dot this big ( . ) at 10m.
It's closest competition, the Crosman Challenger or the Air Force Edge are both well over $600 without the expense of the tanks and other gear that are needed with PCP's.
Sorry...but if you're not going to review a product fairly...don't bother. I'd hate to thing a newbie passed on this rifle, which is considered to be the best target air rifle for the money (sanctioned by the NRA, ROTC and Canadian Cadet program) because you have pre-conceived notions of what $300 should look like.

donec · Senior Member

bobtodrick · Member

Sorry donec...I disagree with your train of thought.
Firstly, a little research would have told you that the 853c is specifically designed for the NRA youth training program...of which one of the main parameters was to keep the price level well under $500 so that young shooters (and their families) and youth organizations could afford it.
So Daisy decided that spending what would be allowed in production should go to the barrel.
It is after all a target rifle.
And again...a little research would have shown you this...if you google the reviews for this rifle they are about 98% positive.
What they did for $300...which is make a rifle that 15 years ago would have been capable of competing at Olympic level is amazing.
And that $101 barrel...that's direct from Lothar Walther...I'm sure you realize it actually costs Daisy money to install it...
Again...sorry...but it's one of the things I have against the internet...posting a 'first impression' review before a shot has been fired.
And by the way...the Gamo/Beeman air rifle targets are for local club level only...again, on the standard 10m Olympic target, the 10 is the size of the dot in the brackets (.)
Try hitting that consistently offhand (none of this 'off a rest' stuff) with any other $300 rifle.
But if 'purtee' is what you're looking for...the 853c isn't for you.

I'm referencing a previous post where you state your experiences with a number of airguns to help the'newbies'...yet you hardly ever mention how they shot...it's all fit and finish and how they looked out of the box.
I personally buy an air rifle (or any product) to use.
I've put two kids into competition with 853c and they have done very well...winning a number of local competitions. I'd hate to think someone would miss the chance to own what is considered to be the best under $500 target air rifle because they read your post about the 'poor fit and finish'.

donec · Senior Member

I did not get the Daisy 853c to use in competition but for my own pleasure and this thread is not concerned with the fact the Daisy 853c qualifies quite well as an entry level competition rifle but instead it is for those that want to know more about it since there are very few reviews online about it. My first impression is on the looks and feel. Nothing else as it covers the first hour I spent with the Daisy 853c. Please stay tuned as the other aspects of the Daisy 853c will be covered in later impressions once the weather clears and I can go do some shooting.

donec · Senior Member

I was not going to show these images until I had some good info to put with them. Because at this point the review sounds quite negative. However! I think the rifle will show it's self in the end be a good value. However to get the thread back on track I am posting these images to show where my first impressions came from.

This is what I meant when I said the butt plate has saw marks on it.

This is the rough molding edges that have been covered with some kind of rubber or plastic without been smoothed out first. Poor workmanship.

This is the plastic used to hide the edges where the barrel and gun meet also the coating on the barrel.

A close up of the coating on the barrel not nice.

Sharp edges on the wood has scratched me once already makes it look unfinished and can lead to the wood splitting there.

Side of the site mounted to the rail showing the rough edges under the coating and the scratching that took place while trying to install the site since the covering is so thick and soft.

As I said from other testimonials online and the compared cost of the Daisy 853c to other supposedly accurate rifle I expect this rifle to come out a good value in the end but I'll just have to wait until I found out for sure.

sniper · Silver Status Member

from what slavia told me the action/mechanism on the whole
avanti line is the same as the 953. the only difference is the barrel.

i love mine. a steady 480 fps +- 10 fps/7.6 wadcutters.

donec · Senior Member

Ok I have had a chance to put some pellets through my 853c. Just aiming at the center of the target and repeatedly firing at the same spot (from a rest) places the pellets in a very accurate tight pattern.

I have not taken any measurements yet as I am unable to shoot with the peep sights as well as the gun can shoot due to my old eyes I just can't see well enough through the sights so some of my sight picture with the peep sights is guess work.

I will be putting a scope on it in the near future and will get more detailed then. The sights that came with it are not even close to good enough for the gun. They have a lot, lot of slop in their adjustment and the elevation gets very hard to turn and does not move for several turns then gets easy to turn again and starts to move the scale again.

Also when you change directions with either the elevation or windage the sight needs several turns before it starts to move the scale and when the scales move sometimes there is a click type feel like on a scope but sometimes there is not. Sights not good.

Accuracy is so good (as expected) that so far it makes up for the aforementioned faults. I shot some clay pigeons out to 35 yards and even though I could not see the pigeon clearly through the sight since it was hidden behind the frame of the sight (due to the sight being sighted in for 10 yards and having to visually adjust for distance) I was able to punch several holes in the clay pigeons and finally bust them up (lots of fun).

Even with the faults in the fit and finish and the sloppy sights this is a great gun. More later.