Air Gun Home :: View topic

radar · Silver Status Member

Being one who is often interested in unusual things more than practical things, I am quite intrigued by the smoothbore Daisy Avanti model 499 BB gun. Being a smoothbore, it is a true BB gun by my definition, and they claim it is the most accurate "BB gun" in the world.

http://www.daisy.com/shopping/customer/product.php?productid=16199&cat=253&page=1

Does anyone have any experience or links to reviews about these?
I see they've raised the price out of my league, but I am still interested in studying these a little bit.

Rob

RC1947 · New Member

http://www.amazon.com/Daisy-Outdoor-Products-Champion-Brown/dp/B0018L9O9I

RC

radar · Silver Status Member

Thanks, RC. That's a good price.

Slavia · Moderator

I have a Model 99, which came before they started matching the shot tubes to precision ground BB's. It has a pretty nice trigger. Instead of having a stamped metal trigger blade holding back the piston it has a compound design that feels nice. The 99 shares the same shot tube as the 25 - there is a spring-loaded magazine soldered to the side. The 499 is a muzzle-loader with a magnetic retainer. Having that removable shot tube is nice for a range with a bunch of kids shooting. They just remove and lay the tube next to the gun, and the range officer can see at a glance that the gun is disabled.

$125 for a 5 meter BB gun is a little steep for personal use, but I suppose it makes sense in an organized program for competition.

http://airgun-academy.pyramydair.com/blog/?s=Avanti
http://www.pyramydair.com/blog/2005/06/bbs-treasure-chest-daisy-avanti.html

radar · Silver Status Member

Slavia · Moderator

I picked up the 99 at a garage sale and repainted/repaired it. (Insert here a chorus of "you destroyed the collector value!") Except I just wanted an interesting gun that I could shoot, and even NIB it wouldn't fund my retirement. I think I read somewhere that "499" came from Daisy's close association with 4H shooting sports programs.

Some more links:
http://www.daisy.com/breeze.html?breeze_article=avanti499
http://air-guns-pneumatic-pnews.blogspot.com/2006/07/daisy-499-worlds-most-accurate-bb-gun.html
http://www.pyramydair.com/blog/2008/05/daisy-avanti-499-champion-part-1-worlds.html

radar · Silver Status Member

Good find!
I would have done the same; bought it and tried to restore it. Was it hard to fix up? Just cosmetic issues?

Slavia · Moderator

Just rust, mud, and missing screws - nothing I couldn't find at the hardware store. The challenge for me was getting it apart for the first time. Daisy's might be cheaply made, but the designs are ingenious.

radar · Silver Status Member

I haven't had one apart, but they seem to be rugged. Even the ones with all kinds of plastic seem to hold up well for me.

shawn706 · Member

They are without a doubt the most accurate at 5 meters. You can expect same hole shots from a vise. If there is a 4-H team near you, you may be able to buy one through your county extension office. Ours selsl them for cost plus $5 ($95) to kids on our team wanting their own gun.