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The Daystate CR97 Air Rifle
By Brad Troyer
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Most airgunners that have been around airguns for any length of time will probably recognize the Daystate name. After all, they make some of the finest precharge air rifles available today. One of their newest models is the CR97. The CR97 will take the place of the current model CR94. The CR94 has an excellent reputation for accuracy and dependability. Having shot one, I figured the CR97 would just be a spruced up CR94. I hate to say it but, I was wrong.
Daystate has been producing quality precharge air rifles since the mid 1980's. They have produced many airguns that were the creme of the crop in their time. I feel the CR97 will continue this proud tradition for Daystate. In designing the CR97, Daystate started with the basic design of there proven CR94 and started making improvements to it. They packed the CR97 full of improvements!
One of the biggest things they did was to shave off 2 pounds off of the total weight and redistribute the weight so that the rifle is much better balanced. They accomplished this by replacing the steel breech block with an alloy block. The alloy breech block is a massive and rugged unit yet it isn’t as heavy as it’s predecessor. The CR97's breech block is the largest available on the market.
The scope rail is machined into the top of the breech block. Here is another neat improvement that was included in the CR97. The scope rail is angled downward slightly towards the front of the gun to make shimming less of a hassle when mounting a scope. The CR97 doesn’t come with iron sights so this is a really nice feature. One problem I found with the scope rail was that it was a bit too short. I found that several of the scopes I wanted to mount on the test rifle would require forward reaching mounts to allow proper eye relief (I like to set more forward on the rifle when I shoot). Another inch on the breech block would have eliminated this problem.
The loading port area has plenty of room for pellet loading. Daystate used their standard loading trough and bolt arrangement to push the pellet into the breech and seat it into the rifling. The trough on this gun is slightly larger than that on the CR94. I found it easy to place the pellet into the trough and seat it with the cocking bolt.
The cocking bolt was replaced on the CR97. The new bolt looks more like a bolt that you might see on a high power bolt action rifle! It is a massive piece of stainless steel. It may seem like over kill but the extra size has a lot of advantages. The large bolt makes cocking the gun and seating the pellet easier. It also helps deaden any movement of the bolt assembly during the firing process. I really prefer this bolt over the older style bolt.
The standard trigger unit on the CR97 is an improved match adjustable competition trigger. There are adjustments for first stage travel and weight, second stage weight, over travel, finger length, and trigger blade angle. There wasn’t any provision to turn the face of the trigger blade or to adjust the second stage travel apart from the weight adjustment. The trigger out of the box was very good, it was adjustable enough to suite most any shooter. I think the trigger could be improved by adding a second stage travel adjustment and a capability to turn the trigger face.
The hammer forged barrel on the CR97 is completely free floating. Another new feature with this barrel is that you now have a choice of a compensator or moderator to cap off the barrel. The last one inch of the barrel is turned down to a 1/2 inch diameter so one or the other is rather necessary. Both make the rifle look sharp when installed. I had both available for testing and I preferred the compensator. It eliminated all muzzle flip which allowed me to see the pellet in flight better. The moderator does just that, it moderates. It doesn’t eliminate the rifles report completely but it is reduced to a very moderate level, much like that of a domestic pump up airgun.
The new filler adapter is still a quick connect type, however it now incorporates the check valve in the filling adapter. This means that if the check valve fails, you don't have to tear apart the whole gun to replace it. Charging the CR97 is as easy as ever, simply connect the filler hose to the quick connect plug and fill the gun.
One thing that didn’t change in the design of the CR97 was the stock. Daystate choose to use the same mounting system as that on the CR94. I think this was a smart move in that if you already have a custom stock for the CR94, you can simply buy the CR97 action, drop it into the your stock, and keep on shooting. They offer the CR97 with the same stock options that were available for the CR94. The stock on the gun I tested was a walnut thumbhole stock. It had some nice stripling on the grip and along the front of the stock on both sides. It has adjustments on the cheek piece and the butt plate. The butt plate was adjustable up and down and the cheek piece was adjustable for height. The height adjustment of the cheek piece was accomplished using some flat rubber washers. I found that because of the higher mounts that I used, there wasn’t enough height adjustment on the cheek piece. I had to buy some longer adjustment bolts at a local hardware store. I also replaced the black washers with some 1 inch steel tubing that I cut and polished.
Out of the box, the test rifle was shooting 840 fps with Crosman Premier heavy pellets. I decided to keep the velocity at this level for testing since a lot of field target shooters like to shoot in the mid to upper 800’s. The velocity was very consistent with only 2.5 standard deviation with Kodiak Match pellets. This is in part due to a new improved regulator. The regulator appears to be very efficient. It was able to squeeze out just over 60 shots from a single 3000 psi charge.
| Crosman Premiers 10.5 |
Beeman Kodiak Match |
RWS FTS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Velocity | 840.9 | 847.6 | 837.4 |
| Standard Deviation | 3.00 | 2.50 | 5.88 |
| Highest | 847 | 852 | 850 |
| Lowest | 836 | 843 | 827 |
| Extreme Spread | 11 | 9 | 23 |
| Weight | 10.5 | 10.5 | 10.5 |
| Energy | 16.5 | 16.8 | 16.4 |
The CR97 has a lot of new features, but they don’t mean squat if the accuracy isn’t there. I topped the test rifle with a Burris 8-32x scope and started performance testing. When the velocity figures are as consistent as the ones produced by the CR97 I tested, the accuracy is usually very good. The performance testing bore this out. The CR97 easily performed as well as or better than any other top precharge that I have shot with the tested pellets. The results may be a bit deceiving however, especially with the Kodiak Match pellets. Most of the groups were basically one hole 1/2 inch groups with one or two flyers that opened up the total group size. I decided to shoot one string of thirty shots at one 50 yard target. It was a fairly calm day and all of the shots fell into a one inch group. The group looked like a .50 caliber ragged out hole with a few scattered shots around it. I was very impressed!
| Crosman Premiers 10.5 |
Beeman Kodiak Match |
RWS FTS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Accuracy | 0.58 | 0.74 | 0.95 |
| Smallest | 0.32 | 0.50 | 0.69 |
| Largest | 0.88 | 0.88 | 1.25 |
Once I finished my testing I decided to see how the CR97 fired at lower power. Adjusting the power was very similar to the other Daystate rifles. I removed the action from the stock and cocked the action. With the bolt back, I loosened the lock screw on the right side of the action. I then removed the rear seal and used an allen wrench to adjust the power down to 12 ft. lbs. It was a bit tricky at first to get the correct velocity, but with a little practice adjusting the power was fairly easy. The rifle is an absolutely sweet shooter at the lower power. It was extremely calm and quiet with the supplied moderator.
The next big test was the one I hate the most, shooting the gun (yea right!). I readjusted the power level and shot the test gun over several weeks and in two local field target matches. The weight and balance were very comfortable. The stock adjusted adequately to fit me. After getting used to the trigger it was hard to miss if I did everything right. I did notice some muzzle flip with the moderator installed. Other than that, the CR97 was easy to shoot accurately with either the compensator or moderator. Having shot mostly spring guns up to now, I found the rifle a bit too light for my tastes. Most shooters will really like the lighter weight. I decided to add some weight to the stock however. I also lower the power to 800 fps. I shot the Florida state field target championship with the rifle in this configuration. I was very pleased with the rifles performance. I haven’t seen a single zero shift to date.
I didn’t find a whole lot to complain about with this rifle and I am pretty particular. In fact, I liked the CR97 so much that I bought the rifle that I tested. Daystate has produce what I think is another winner. Given their track record with their previous air rifles, I think we will be seeing the CR97 taking a lot of the top spots in many upcoming competitions!
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Daystate CR97 Specs
| Model | Competition Rifle CR97 |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Daystate, England | Type | Pre-charged Pneumatic |
| Caliber | .177 |
| Energy | 16 ft. lb. (variable) |
| Overall Length | 39" |
| Weight | 9 lbs. 3 oz. |
| Barrel | 16" |
| Sights | None |
| Stock | Walnut Thumbhole |
| Safety | None |
| Trigger | 2 stage match adjustable |
| Retail Price | $1500 |
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