Daystate Huntsman Revere .22 Caliber Review
Channel: Airgun Advisor
Date: 2020-08-13

Looking for a simple, yet extraordinary airgun that will provide years of use, has that classic appeal that we all love, is loaded with accuracy and doesn’t need any fiddling with hammer springs or regulators right out the box? I was too and the NEW Daystate Huntsman Revere has managed to check all of those boxes. 

Aesthetics: 
The Daystate Huntsman Revere follows a long pedigree of Huntsman rifles that date back to the very first one, the Huntsman MK I that was manufactured from 1988-1995. Today's model, known as the Revere comes with a litany of upgrades since its original form, including match grade barrel, set back two-stage trigger that breaks like glass, huma regulator, true left handed or right handed configurations, side cocking lever, easy load high capacity magazine, single shot tray and the very efficient Harper “sling-shot” valve system to name but a few of this rifle’s features. 

In comparison to its predecessor the Huntsman Regal, you will notice that the air cylinder is no longer blued. Rather it has a hard black finish to help better protect the metal in the field as well as helps to reduce the need for cleaning off pesky finger prints. The breech block has also been tweaked to house the new sidelever system that many of us have been asking for.  As one final option, you can also shoot this with a moderator as at the end of the shrouded barrel they have added 1/2x20 threads. After trying a variety of moderators, I found the short 0db to provide the best accuracy.    

Magazine: 
The new magazine system that Daystate premiered in January of 2020 is also included in the upgraded Huntsman Rever. The magazine includes a flip out face that allows for easy loading and the option to speed load the magazine for competitions. In .177 you can load 13 shots, .22 holds 11 shots and in .25 it holds 10 shots. The magazine is also adjustable so it can be easily modified for both left hand and right hand breech loading.  

If you happen to be a shooter that prefers a single shot tray, one is provided and it is held in place with strong rare earth magnets. 

Accuracy:
Well after a good cleaning with ballital and using my Patch Worm cleaning system, I took the rifle to the range to see what it was able to do at 50 yards. The first target was to get myself oriented and make sure the scope was dialed in. Then on my second target I shot a 5 shot group of .478 ctc! 

As I was feeling good about the Revere we went ahead and gave some 10 shot groups a go. I did 4 groups in a row to look for consistency. The dang gone rifle still performed giving me 3 – 10 shot groups @ 50 yards at .778 ctc and one that was just a hair larger. If I could put the rifle in the hands of a more capable shooter, I am sure those groups would shrink.

From groups I moved on to the KYL target at 25 yards. Yep 100%. Then moved it to 50 yards. Yes, it took a couple of tries as a ¼ target is small, but I was able to clear it in short order too. 

Regulator:
With the Huma regulator installed, combined with the Harper “Slingshot” Valve, my 32 Shot string was very consistent. Straight out of the box the results showed an average velocity of 895 fps, with a standard deviation of only 7.9 fps using JSB 15.89 grain pellets. 

Trigger:
The true two-stage trigger may just be my favorite features of the Huntsman Revere. Setup properly, you can achieve a very light pull and in this case I was safely able to set it at 6.5 oz! As you can see in the video, the trigger also can provide a short length of pull for the first stage, a crisp break for the second, as well as very little over travel. The entire trigger setup is just one of those things that try and then it was like WOW was that even real? So you do it again just to make sure. 

Overview:
At this price point and with the long tradition of success that the Daystate Huntsman line has, this new rendition of a classic is a must have on my list of airguns. The only change I would like to see made is a move away from using a fill adapter to more of a plug and play male quick release fill port. Otherwise this rifle may be dang gone perfect for the hunter, plinker, or even target shooter.

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