Air Match CU650 Olympic

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Leonardj
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Air Match CU650 Olympic

Post by Leonardj » Sat Mar 08, 2014 9:18 pm

Air Match CU650 Olympic - That is the description given by John Walter in his 3rd edition of The Airgun Book for the cased version of the Air Match CU600 pistol. The description is given as "This is a CU600 supplied in an elegant foam lined case complete with extension sight, muzzle weight and some tools".
I have thus far been unable to find any advertising, or any other documentation with which to verify the designation used by Mr Walters, nor have I been able to find much information out about the cased version of the CU600, so I have opted to use the designation that appears in The Airgun Book.

The case is indeed elegant, in black leather, with stitched corners, and brass plated hardware. A line drawing of the pistol blended into the Air Match name in gold print adorns the upper right corner of the case.

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Upon opening the case, the pistol and all the accessories are very nicely presented in their respective cutouts in the blue foam liner. On the lid, a portion of the blue foam can be
removed, to reveal a strap that I have to assume was intended to retain the owner's booklet in place. Sadly, despite this well thought out feature, a previous owner still managed to lose the owner's booklet. The foam filler that normally covers this section of the lid is noted by the arrow, and is just outside of the edge of the pic.

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It is a single stroke pneumatic with a side lever cocking mechanism. As the cocking lever is swung forward, both the barrel and the piston are drawn forward, and at the end of the cocking stroke, the trigger mechanism is cocked. A pellet can now be loaded into the exposed breech end of the barrel, and as the cocking lever is returned to battery, the air is compressed, and the breech closed. The gun is now ready to fire.

The gun itself is very well balanced, but weights can be added to tailor the gun to anyone's preference, which will be detailed a bit better later in the post. The markings on the frame read "Air Match Model 600 Cal 4.5 / .177" and "Made in Italy" just above the cocking lever pivot, with "Cat 2887" below the pivot. The grips are exceptionally comfortable, and fit my hand very well. The palm shelf has limited adjustability.

My online searches for details on the gun produced a few incidences of the valve cracking due to the pressure developed by the powerplant, which was addressed, and rectified by the manufacturer. Since this gun was in need of a re-seal when I purchased it, I made a few observations which may shed some light on this issue. The main frame of the gun is made up of three sections, threaded together to form the powerplant - the front section which acts as a guide for the piston, the middle section which makes up the compression chamber, and the rear section, which is the valve body. On this particular gun, the front and mid sections are alloy castings, while the valve body is machined aluminum. Purely speculation on my part, but assuming that the original problematic guns had a cast valve body, this could very well explain the problem and the solution. The cast alloy valve bodies were prone to cracking under pressure, and the fix was to utilize a machined aluminum valve body.

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On the left hand side of the gun, we find the operating controls - the cocking lever, and the dry fire activation lever, noted by the arrow. The cocking lever sits very close to the side of the frame when at battery, and one very common complaint noted in what little info that I was able to find online was that careless cocking could result in a nasty pinch during the cocking stroke. I tend to use my open palm to close the lever, and have experienced no such problem.

The dry fire actuator operates by holding the valve stem open during the cocking stroke - thus no air is compressed on the cocking stroke - only the trigger mechanism is cocked. The trigger has a very thin, stamped steel blade, which is surprisingly comfortable in use, and the trigger mechanism is fully adjustable, and breaks cleanly and predictably, as would be expected of any match grade gun.

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The front sight extension allows the shooter to increase the sight radius by a full 80 mm. The extension clamps to a stub on the front of the frame, and the sight element is then moved to the forward position. I prefer the gun without the extension fitted.

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An accessory weight that can be fastened to the front of the trigger guard allows the shooter to add some weight to the mid section of the gun, if desired.

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As well, a muzzle weight can also be added to the front of the gun. A short section of "T" rail is fastened to the frame of the gun, and the weight is attached to that rail, allowing for various size weights to be utilized without a great deal of difficulty. Apparently, a full length rail, which extended from just forward of the trigger guard, to the end of the frame below the muzzle, allowing for several weights to be used, or to allow fine tuning of weight placement, was an available option.

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One interesting feature that was noted on this gun that I don't recall reading about elsewhere is the breech seal. In the 3rd edition of The Airgun Book, John Walter remarks about the "O-ring seal on the standing breech", but what is found in this particular specimen, is a top hat shaped, proprietary seal. What makes the breech seal on this gun particularly interesting, is that by virtue of it's design, it effectively seats each pellet to exactly the same depth in the bore for every shot - simply by inserting the pellet into the bore, and closing the breech. I can't recall any other airgun in which the breech seal serves this dual purpose - seal the breech, and seat the pellet to a specific depth in the bore. In the pic below, the breech seal has been removed from it's normal location and placed near the open breech with a pair of tweezers to illustrate the above description.

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The gun is no powerhouse, consistent with other SSP pistols of it's time. This particular gun produces velocities in the 350 FPS range with 7.3 grain pellets. The accuracy potential is certainly there if the shooter is capable of doing their part.
The target shown below is ten shots, at ten meters distance, from the standing, offhand position, using a single hand hold. Not bad, but clearly the weak link was without doubt, the shooter.

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Last edited by Leonardj on Thu Oct 06, 2016 8:01 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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pmh
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Re: Air Match CU650 Olympic

Post by pmh » Sat Mar 08, 2014 10:01 pm

Another excellent post.

The Air Match continues to be quite a rare gun here. Whether there weren't that many imported, or the owners felt they were so good they wouldn't let them go, so knows, or even whether it wasn't one of the more popular guns so plenty around but just not on my radar.

Yet to see one in the flesh or have a go.

Kind regards,



Phil
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I now have so many airguns I've had to make a list, which is >>HERE<<
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webley701
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Re: Air Match CU650 Olympic

Post by webley701 » Sun Mar 09, 2014 10:43 am

In it's day the Airmatch 600 / 650 were readily available in the UK. Initially supplied by a company in London (who were a bit of a shower in my experience with them) & then by Frank Kay at Framar in Blackburn who became the UK agents. The pistols were pretty well advertised in the Target Gun magazine & Laslo Antal wrote a very complimentary & knowledgeable review in the magazine (I'll post a scan of it when I find the issue).

In the UK at least the only difference between the 600 & the 650 was the packaging with the 650 having the leatherette covered case plus sight extension as standard.

I purchased a 650 model from Framar & it came with one of their own trigger blades which were a vast improvement on the original pressed metal job although the width of them had to be reduced to suit the user.

The Airmatch isn't a heavy pistol; mine came equipped with the bolt-on rail for weights but only a single weight. I was in practice with free pistols weighing around 1300 grams at the time so I made my own full length weight from a piece of steel bar that was exactly the same width as the pistol, suitably finished it look quite in keeping actually.

Frank Kay also made a rear sight element for me to replace the not so impressive pressed metal Airmatch versions. It was fully machined with the notch size I wanted plus it the same overall size as the ones on my Hammerli 152.

What was good about the pistol?

Well although it didn't make any real inroads at international level as regards actual popularity Alexander Melentiev certainly did quite well with it (i.e. world record).

As highlighted by Laslo Antal it had a superb trigger mechanism plus like many SSP pistols the variation in velocity from shot to shot was negligible.

Once you got the technique it wasn't difficult to cock & I found it easy to use.

The grips as supplied were not great at all but with suitable adjustment & car body filler I achieved one of the best grips I've had. The angle of the grip as set by the pistol was good though & the line of the bore & sights relative to the hand was about as low as you'd get.

With weights added (to suit me) - overall it was the easiest to shoot air pistol I've owned.

What was bad?

Well it all revolves around build quality. Aside from valve chambers eventually splitting & the frame cracking local to the cocking lever pivot points, a favourite part to break was a little hinged flap right at the back of the pistol. The flap was moved by the trigger mechanism & opened the air valve. Partly due to design & partly to poor quality control the hinge lugs on the flap often broke. They did on my pistol within a couple of weeks from new. Easy to replace but now not available as spares & not easy to fabricate.

From a shooters point of view the frame of the pistol is quite wide at the rear - where the web of the hand goes. It was fine for me but people with smallish hands found the width a bit too much & I've seen a couple of pistols with the frame ground away to provide some relief (Airmatch could easily have made this modification in production).

They are excellent pistols with superb trigger mechanisms & could have been truly exceptional pistols with a few design tweeks & better quality control. It's a pity the design wasn't sold in the first instance to some company like Walther.

I've got fond memories of my 650 & I've seen a few for sale over the years (two within the last 12 months) but I haven't renewed my acquaintance partly because there's pistols to buy which I haven't owned & partly due to memories of parts failing. I may still be tempted again though!

Regards
Russell

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pmh
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Re: Air Match CU650 Olympic

Post by pmh » Sun Mar 09, 2014 11:27 am

Excellent reply Russell.

Funny you mention that you've seen two for sale, as have I in relatively recent times.

That said, I noticed them after the subject came up, so perhaps they've always been around but I just didn't notice them.

I still need to find an owner so that I can have a go.

Kind regards,



Phil
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>>North Manchester Target Club<<

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Re: Air Match CU650 Olympic

Post by SIG P210-5 » Sun Mar 09, 2014 1:23 pm

I have come across two of these in the last couple of years, sold one and now selling the second one. This one has an extension to the cocking handle which makes loading the pistol a piece of cake.

Baz

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webley701
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Re: Air Match CU650 Olympic

Post by webley701 » Sun Mar 09, 2014 2:11 pm

Phil,
As you've seen there's still some about but I guess most have fallen by the wayside or got dubiously modified.

One aspect of the pistol's design I should have mentioned is that the the barrel slides forward to allow loading when the side lever is pulled forward. There was absolutely no wear apparent in the 'return to battery' of the barrel over the few years I had my pistol & I used it a lot but I don't know how it holds up 30 years later on a heavily used example. The motto with any air pistol is avoid tatty ones I suppose.

They never got to do an updated version which was a shame as it could have been even better especially with good quality control.

The 350 fps muzzle velocity reported by Leonard seems on the low side as I recollect it was around 400+ fps (i.e. tested).

There was an earlier model called the Airmatch 400 which looked similar but I've no idea if any were sold in the UK, I'd guess not unless via a personal import.

Regards
Russell

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pmh
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Re: Air Match CU650 Olympic

Post by pmh » Sun Mar 09, 2014 2:43 pm

Interesting point about the barrel sliding forwards, especially in a target pistol.

To me, the two basic rules of thumb for target guns are: barrel and sighting system is permanently connected, the pellet is loaded directly into the barrel.

This helps to reduce the likelihood of inaccuracy.

Kind regards,



Phil
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I now have so many airguns I've had to make a list, which is >>HERE<<
>>North Manchester Target Club<<

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Re: Air Match CU650 Olympic

Post by SIG P210-5 » Sun Mar 09, 2014 4:34 pm

Phil, your theory on potential accuracy sounds correct but in the case of these pistols the barrel is solidly locked up when in battery and at the point of firing. I have found them very accurate comparing to my other SSP target pistols such as the Baikal IZH-46M. They do seem to vary in power on different pistols however due to the single thin polyurethane O ring they use on the charging piston. The one I have now produces a lot of pressure on charging and could be hard to load with the short lever. I have done repairs on them and they are a strange mixture of very robust but also some flimsy parts.

Baz

Leonardj
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Re: Air Match CU650 Olympic

Post by Leonardj » Mon Mar 10, 2014 12:39 am

Phil - these Air Match guns are not terribly common here either. I have only seen a couple others in 30 plus years.

Russell - thanks for the input and additional info.
I did note that flimsy little flap to open the valve - definitely a weak point in the design.
I suspected that the 350 FPS velocity might be a bit low, but was unable to find any manufacturer's spec on what the velocity should be. The original valve seal was completely disintegrated, but a metric o-ring seemed to fit the seal cavity, and that was what I used. Perhaps by using the o-ring, I may have inadvertently increased the valve volume, resulting in a lower pressure of the air charge.

Baz - interesting modification to the cocking arm. No potential for a pinch point with that setup.

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Re: Air Match CU650 Olympic

Post by webley701 » Mon Mar 10, 2014 4:05 pm

Leonard,

The problem with the little flap is concerned with the two lugs which are bent at 90 degrees, each with a hole for the rod that the flap hinges on. For the part to fit correctly there can’t be very much metal around the holes in the lug & it tends to crack at this point. The one that failed on mine after a couple of weeks use had the additional problem that someone at the factory had ground the metal on the lug so thin that around the hole that it was no more than a 0.001” thick - this would have been visually obvious to the person fitting the part but it still got installed at the factory.

Frank Kay who became the British import & service agent (he was later the UK import & service agent for Hammerli) confirmed only recently when we discussing old times / old pistols that even if correctly made the lugs could still crack – exacerbated by the part being hardened & not just untreated mild steel.

As you’ve found out, the cocking isn’t difficult with the right technique & even a new one with perfect seals producing full pressure doesn’t need any form of modification or elongation to the lever.

Regards
Russell

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Re: Air Match CU650 Olympic

Post by SIG P210-5 » Tue Mar 11, 2014 7:35 am

Like my extension, as does the wife :lol: (that is, being the weaker sex). Also handy for training youngsters in pistol shooting. Anyway these pistols are way down the list of my old favourites, that is why I am selling mine from my collection. Another Baikal IZH 46 has cropped up for sale locally, would like it to go with my 46 M. Robust and with much better cocking method design.

Baz

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Re: Air Match CU650 Olympic

Post by kronosmx » Wed Apr 02, 2014 9:16 pm

Hi, my name is George i live at Mexico City

I buy one 3 or 4 year ago, it has a problem with the valve system, it seems than some body try to make the two levers and is not working

Do you know where can i found spare parts or more info to try to fix it?

Thanks in advance and excuse my bad english

Regards
George

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