Daystate Wolverine B

The original Daystate Wolverine (now known as the A-Type) is a .30 calibre 100ft/lbs FAC rated air rifle that caused a huge amount of interest when it burst on the scene a couple of years back.

It was spectacular in looks and awesome in performance – but would it find a place in the gun cabinet of many UK airgunners… not really. However, now we have two new Wolverine variants – the B-Type (buddy bottle) and C-Type (cylinder) both available in standard airgun calibres and legal limit power levels. Here we have the B-Type on test.

A Better Daystate?

Let’s start with the fact that the two PCPs I own are Daystates. So the question is: if the Air Wolf and the Mk4 are good; is the Wolverine B-Type better? As a first step to answering it, though, let’s take a look at the rifle.

It’s typically stylish and well presented. The anodising on the action and barrel shroud is even and consistent, and the finish on the buddy bottle is a close – if not perfect - match. The stock is cut from an attractively figured blank; its contours please both the eye and the hands; and it is also obligingly ambidextrous. At the rear, a curved rubber recoil pad lets you tuck the stock securely and comfortably into your shoulder. Meanwhile, on the L/H side, a manometer shows you the fill level, and underneath it a tapered alloy cap – anodised to match the rest - protects the quick-fill valve.

As it happens, all this – the buddy-bottle reference aside - could be said about any Daystate. So what else does the Wolverine offer? We’ll start with the controls.

First, the trigger: a 2-stage unit that’s as good as ever, and easily adjusted via the access ports in the trigger guard.

The clear plastic flip-up safety catch has gone, however, in its place is a re-settable metal slide (push to the left for safe and right to fire). This is slightly less easy to operate: but that’s a good thing, because the old safety was a little too easy to move by accident. The test rifle doesn’t show it, but production guns feature a red infill that’s visible when the safety isn’t applied. Additional safety is provided by internal changes which mean that the Wolverine action will not discharge unless the bolt is fully closed.

Finally there’s the bolt handle. This looks familiar, but can be switched from right to left-hand operation simply by loosening off a set screw with an Allen key, sliding the handle off the bolt, flipping it round, and reattaching it. All the clever stuff needed to make this work perfectly is inside the action, so that’s it: except for a little thread-lock to keep the set screw tight.

Daystate have improved their magazines again too, complementing the current semi-open, low-profile design with a relieved area around the loading point, making it easier to seat pellets, and to seat them consistently.

Pre-Indexing

Cycling is also different – one of the key differences in the Wolverine action - as each shot activates a little push rod set vertically into the base of the magazine slot, which pre-indexes the magazine, so it rotates to the next cylinder when the bolt is withdrawn. This also means that if no shot is fired, cycling the bolt will not index the magazine, thereby preventing double-loading. The system works well, and though on early examples magazines would occasionally fail to cycle on the last one or two shots, Daystate have now fitted an additional bearing at the rear to sort it.

The truth is though, that you don’t particularly notice any of these changes when you shoot or hunt with the Wolverine, because everything just works. What you do notice, however, is how quiet the thing is. At first I put this down to the shroud, but when I took it off… there was nothing inside but space - not a single baffle! So I tried shooting the rifle without it… and it was still quiet! So, whilst the shroud undoubtedly does help muffle the report, it’s clear that much of its work has already been done by a very efficient action.

Moddies and Shrouds

Daystate did send me a couple of smart silencers to try out, though: their own Airstream Mk6 XL over-barrel model, which projects 7 cm beyond the muzzle, and a special shroud with a Huggett baffle bonded into the end. Even given the low base-line, the former still had a substantial effect, but the Huggett shroud was in another league, hushing the gun so that the sound of the pellet cutting the air was louder than the report, while adding nothing to the Wolverine’s overall length. The verdict? You don’t need to do anything to the standard gun, but if you ever experience the Huggett version, you’ll want to!

While we’re on the subject of shrouds, I must mention that removing the shroud from a Wolverine is simplicity itself. No more fiddling about with grub screws: just a nice big threaded spigot at the action end and a chunky bushing fitted with a rubber O-ring at the muzzle, making the shroud as easy to fit or remove as a silencer.

This is possible because the action is also fractionally taller, which raises the dovetail. The result is that the old issue of needing higher-than-standard mounts to ensure the saddle of the scope cleared the magazine is very much a thing of the past.

Range Time

So, the Wolverine is stylish, easy to set up, and very quiet. But how does it shoot? Basically, like a dream. Pellet after pellet strikes just where you meant to send it. And the charge just goes on and on. The .22 12ft/lbs model on test showed a plateau that lasted for over 250 shots from a 400cc bottle with a 200-bar charge (500cc bottles are also available), with the rifle producing energy levels snugly below the 12ft/lbs legal threshold.

Some of the credit must go to the ammunition, of course. I started with Daystate’s Rangemaster Sovereign 15.9-grain pellets, and the results were so good that I stuck with them. They’re made by JSB, as usual, but are now matched to Daystate’s own barrels, so there’s no need for them to make, or of shooters to try, different head sizes. Comparing them to previous Rangemasters, the skirts are a bit thicker, and the contours are sharper. I can’t say they were exceptionally consistent on the scales or callipers, but the Wolverine evidently had no complaints.

MTC Genesis

Credit is also due to the MTC Genesis 5-20x50 scope that came with the test gun (though not included in the price!), securely mounted in a pair of Blueprint medium-height, double-screw, 30mm rings from Sportsmatch. This shows capped target turrets that both protect your zero, and permit quick dialling in, as needed. Tracking is consistent and is controlled by a coil erector spring. There’s also a quick-focus eyepiece and a side-parallax wheel (that winds down to 10 yards) to get everything sharp, plus an offset 11-position rheostat on the eye-bell to illuminate the reticle, and the Genesis is supplied complete with a sunshade and BC flip-up lens covers. The Genesis’ biggest asset, though, is its AMD drop-compensating reticle, which really helps put pellets on target at range, even with the rather loopy trajectory of a legal-limit .22. In fact, the combination of modern accuracy, rangefinding and reticles is making this dedicated .177 hunter think again about the relative merits of the larger calibre. Getting back to the Genesis, though, I have to say (1) that I still prefer the SCB reticle for its extra windage information, and (2) that mis-matching MOA turrets and Miliradian (Mildot) stadia is an unnecessary complication. Mil/Mil or MOA/MOA only please!

And the Answer to My Original Question?

That should be clear by now: the Wolverine is definitely a better Daystate, and that’s saying something! What’s more, its essentially modular design means that not only can you run it right or left-handed, but also that you can fit it out in the B-Type (bottle) configuration tested here, or in the striking new C-Type (cylinder) configuration - as seen for the first time at this year’s British Shooting Show. GM