I started my technical evaluation of the Nemesis by plinking with it in the back yard. I wanted to get a feel for the gun. The size, weight, and handling was muc h like a regular semi-auto pistol. It reminded me of how the Glock feels. It was easy to open and load, but closing it took a little getting used to. Being a sin gle stroke pneumatic, the shot air is compressed on closing. This made it hard to close and the potential to pinch yourself is very evident. I caught my shirt and shorts in it more than once.
The firing of the Nemesis was very pleasant. I found it to be very accurate and quiet. The trigger pull was smooth and very predictable. It has a two stage adjustable trigger. The first stage was longer than I am used to but smooth. The second stage was very crisp and clean. The report was quiet, much like a multipump BB gun but a little less harsh. The gun would jump slightly as the round was fired.
In several informal plinking sessions I found the gun to be very fun to shoot. I shot at a variety of targets from 10 to 25 yards. The gun typically hit where I pointed it. I could generally keep 1" groups at 10 yards from a standing positio n (using the Crosman Supermatch Pellets). I am sure the gun can shoot even better than this, since my eyes are terrible with iron sights. This gun would be a very good candidate for scoped shooting (at least for me).
For the technical shooting I used three pellets types Daisy, Crosman Premier 7.9, and Crosman Supermatch. The Supermatch and Daisy I bought at Walmart. The Premiers are the pellets I use in Field Target Matches. I started by chronographing ten shots of all three pellet types (see chart on following page) . The Premier were definitely the best here. I was very surprised that the Nemesis actually exceeded the Beeman rating of 385 fps.
I next performed an accuracy test. These tests were performed by shooting three shot groups at five target for each pellet type. The shots were taken at 10 meters indoors. All measurements were taken center-to-center. I was rather disappointed at the results. According to the data, the Nemesis liked the Supermatch. I think that the results were affected by my poor vision and the lighting of the shooting area. I believe that gun will shoot much better than th is for someone with better vision. Just for fun I took the Nemesis outside in the backyard and fire seven rounds at a 1 1/4" bull that I placed at 25 yards. Five shots were within 1 1/16" of each other. The other two were thrown out because I jerked the trigger and gun when it fired. This is why I believe that this gun will be more accurate than the results show.
| Pellets | Average | Std. Dev. | Highest | Lowest | Ext. Spread |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daisy | 393.2 | 12.3 | 411.3 | 374.5 | 36.8 |
| Supermatch | 401.0 | 3.00 | 405.5 | 396.4 | 9.1 |
| Premier | 400.4 | 1.73 | 402.9 | 398.4 | 4.5 |
| Pellets | Average | Std. Dev. | Highest | Lowest | Ext. Spread |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daisy | 0.6 | 0.11 | 0.75 | 0.5 | 0.25 |
| Supermatch | 0.4 | 0.02 | 0.4375 | 0.406 | 0.03125 |
| Premier | 0.5 | 0.13 | 0.625 | 0.343 | 0.28125 |
All and all I was found this gun to be easy and fun to shoot. It would be an excellent training tool for someone who shoots pistol competitions or just for f un shooting in the backyard. The only problem that I had with the Nemesis is that you must be very careful when closing the cocking arm. The rear sight can be bumped or pushed very easily by the hand during the closing cycle. Even a little push or bump seemed to shift the point of impact. Beeman warns of this in the gun manual. Other than that, the Nemesis if a great shooting gun for the money.
To learn more about adult airgunning, check out the American Airguns Web Page