EDgun Matador R3 versus Kalibr Cricket, my comparison….
Hi guys,
Warning for those who don’t like images:
This is going to be a thread with lots of graphics….. 😉
As promised, I’ll try to share with you my personal opinion and findings while comparing these beauties:
As some of you may know, I have two Matador Std R3s and I have one Cricket (with access to another one). All are cal.22……
My wait for my Matadors should be well documented on this very forum…..
The Crickets were a part of a group buy masterminded from Europe somewhere. The Crickets were shipped in parts to Norway and reassembled by my good blueprinting friend Egon Olsen. In the process he had to remove a “restrictor” screw that had been put into the guns before shipment. Most probably because of Power limitation rules at origin….
The Crickets arrived with no documents whatsoever. No instructions, – no nothing. I don’t think this is standard procedure though…..
The Cricket weighs less than the R3, – and is approx 5 cm shorter. Not a lot, – but overall it makes the Cricket even easier to handle than the already tiny R3….
The side by side comparison was done from my modest little shooting table at my summerhouse:
– and the shooting range is here, – with my target set up at 46mts:
Why 46 mts ? Simply because I could not pull my shooting stand further back right now. A huge tree has fallen during winter, and all the branches have taken up my space… 👿
First problem: How to fill the f…. Cricket ?
The fillprobe nut is so tiny that a standard foster coupling gasket will not seal. The entire probe is small, – and you fear you may break it while trying to tighten it:
The above (sorry for the image quality) is a comparison between ED’s, Cricket’s and Falcon’s fill probes. You can probably see what I mean….
As I could not make a standard Fostergasket fit, Egon had to make special gaskets that we fitted into the Foster coupling itself. Not an ideal solution, – and I have no clue how long it will last…….. 🙄
On the fill probe: Matador 1, Cricket 0 points.
Air filling:
I honestly dont like any of the solutions that these two manufacturers have chosen………..
The Cricket people have come up with the worst. To expose the hole for the fillprobe, – you have to slide forward the tip of the reservoir. But that stupid tip is retained by a spring, – and slides back with a smack once you let go:
If you’re not careful when taking the fillprobe back out, the tip will spring back and ruin the fill probe O-rings faster than I can say my name….
While filling, the “tip” rests on the previously mentioned small nut. And there’s not a lot clearance. So a bigger nut (for those with lathe skills), – is not going to help you much. A thicker nut might…….
In short: A very stupid filling system, – BUT once you know how to operate it and care is taken, – at least it covers the hole when filling is over.
The Matador does not come with anything to cover the filling hole at all:
I use tape right now, – but a plug of some sort would be good….. 😉
My preferred system would be that of Falcon:
The tip of the reservoir has been turned into a curled “collar” that you rotate to expose the hole. Simple, easy and effective. And few moving parts that may break or go astray……….
Now, I have no idea how much air I can fill into the Cricket, – and the gun gauge certainly does not help much:
I trust the gauge on my fillkit, – and 3000 psi is roughly on the border between green and yellow…….
Points for airfill procedure: Matador 1, Cricket 0. In my opinion….. 😉
Cheers from Trygve 😀
To be continued……….. 😀
(if you so desire…… 😳 )
All Replies
Not a whisper. I tried KalibrGun directly in Moscow and Kalibrgun in CZ. I suspect they want us going through the US dealers but any response would be nice. I found the Russian KalibrGun forum Maverick is on so I will try to signup and post. The Russian to English translation leaves a little to be desired. I also found the NZ web site comparing the Matadors and Crickets. They use this thread as one of their references. 😛 I saw Zocos invite to Maverick out there to join this thread. There is some interesting information out there that goes both ways. The first shipment from the CZ plant last September were a bit rough finish wise inside but it was quickly cleaned up. There is a group in South Africa (machinists trying to make some custom parts) that dont care for Edguns. Not sure what problem was – something non-standard. There are folks in Russia waiting for Crickets or were. The fans of each gun seem to like them. Both have had some problems a few years back. Crickets were shipped to NZ last fall before us and they love them so far. One guy claimed they have no other rifle with the regulator consistency from 300 bar like a Cricket. In NZ they talk of the r2.5s being better than the r3s. I didn’t read through why. There is lots of stuff out there. They also started a M vs C thread in Austria but not much on it yet. Each gun seems to have different strengths and weaknesses but both are pretty competent for the most part at this point. Edgun leans toward the small supplier market where KalbrGun is gearing up for some volume.
SECoda, any word back about adjusting the Crickets?
From what I have seen I agree with most of that. Given the Crickets now have different barrels manufactured by different processes I probably disagree about the similarity of the RU and CZ Crickets being cosmetic only. From some of the posts I have been reading on the Russian forum it seems there are more differences than we are aware of. We need a parts diagram of both versions to see the differences. I have one of the CZ Cricket but have not found one of the Russian Cricket. I can scan it and post it. Do you have one of the Russian Cricket?
I have about 350 JSB 18s through my std Cricket now and will not clean it again until I see the accuracy start to suffer or flyers. I did not notice any barrel roughness when I slugged the barrel and also have not noticed any lead dust.
Regards,
Brant
-one more thing: If you compare the two guns, you’ll find that the CNC work is brilliant on the alu parts in both of them. They have both been produced on some high end machinery by very skilled operators, – although some 100s of miles apart.
The steel parts on the EDguns have been of variable quality in the past, – with finish and steel quality varying enormeously as shown higher up in this thread and others……
That has now changed with new breeches in high end alu, stainless steel bolts etc. etc. His ability to listen and adapt has been proven time after time……….
I agree with those who say ED may have lost out in the volume market, – but I still think he may have done this deliberately. It may be that his aim is to be recognized as the innovative sort of “one-off” airgun manufacturer with desire to bring airguns/bullpup designs forward. And he has….
I have yet to see anything but cosmetic changes between the Russian produced Crickets and the CZ made ones……
It will certainly be interesting to follow the development here……
And to those who speculates that ED is having his fooot in both camps: While certainly an interesting business approach, – just forget it……… 😉
Cheers……… 😀
I think I do, but I’ll leave it for Ed himself (or Maverick) to comment….. 😉
😀
It seems like you are right on. Did you see that new CNC eguipment in the CZ KalibrGun plant? KalibrGun means business and somebody did some heavy investing. Right now Cricket has the edge on features folks want so Ed needs to move out with some more innovation soon as far as the US market goes. Any ETA on the multi-shot Edgun?
On the KalibrGun Facebook web site they have a photo album called Cricket vs Hooligun so I am not sure of the relationship yet. I bet Zoco knows.
Ed has designed a semi/full auto setup (with electronic trigger I believe), I don’t think Cricket is there honestly.
😆
I’d make my own stock if I redid the Cricket stock. I don’t need no stinking blank. 😉
I believe Ed created the Cricket prototype for Kalibar (it may have been the Hooligun) and Kalibar had one hell of a time designing a stock that wasn’t just like Ed’s… Although the Hooligun stock in the link you posted looks a lot like the Cricket (or the Cricket looks like the Hooligun stock).
Ed has designed a semi/full auto setup (with electronic trigger I believe), I don’t think Cricket is there honestly.
They may be rivals but I think they are friends too. They are two very different manufacturers and can’t see either taking any real business away from the other.
Crickets and EdGuns are gateway guns. Once you get one chances are you will get the other. 😆
It certainly would be nice to see the lineage of the Cricket, such as what has changed from year to year, improvements etc… From what I can tell so far Ed is constantly pushing to improve. Not saying Cricket isn’t the same, there just isn’t the same information out there.
There is ONE thing that bothers me about both of these manufacturers…
Neither of them makes a 24″ barreled 177!!! 😡
😆
I’d make my own stock if I redid the Cricket stock. I don’t need no stinking blank. 😉
Some interesting history…. Edguns, Hooliguns, and Crickets….. They have all been around a while (maybe 5 years – Edguns longer). The Hooliguns disappeared. The more research I do the more interesting this story gets.
The Crickets have been around at least since mid 2009 so they are significantly debugged at this point which is pretty obvious by the high performance levels we are seeing. 😉
Mind you, – there are elements here of our age (and older) that sometimes produce verbal ejaculations not fit for human consumption. Don’t pay attention to them. They are normal good natured individuals with a lot of knowledge that you will learn to appreciate although it appears their need for small blue pills is obvious. (Unless of course your into goats and the likes………) 😉
Cheers from sunny Lanzarote ….!!!!
Trygve 😀
PS: Per: We need to spend a day on that range of ours when I get home late april……. 😀
Thanks for the kind words Trygve! As said I’ve been around here for some time and read a few lines here and there 😉 , it reminded me more or less of the Airgun Letter Forum time, when Edith Gaylord struggled to keep the guys by the ear without the best of luck 😆 .
Let’s hope the snow is gone from the range then, Trygve, late April – early May, I’m looking forward to it 🙂 .
Per
So when did Ed start selling Edguns anywhere? Same for Cricket, when?
I think I am ready for some blue pills now… Just finished a tall beer.
Best regards,
Brant
As far as the US market is concerned, Edguns have been here for a while, Crickets just arrived.
I think I am ready for some blue pills now… Just finished a tall beer.
Best regards,
Brant
Definitely sounds a lot of coat-tail riding went on there during the early years. Now they are head to head competitors in the same marketplace. Its usually good for the customers.
I think I am ready for some blue pills now… Just finished a tall beer.
Best regards,
Brant
Ed had a head start, please explain?
I think I am ready for some blue pills now… Just finished a tall beer.
Best regards,
Brant
Hi Trygve,
I made your hi-res water photo my current screensaver as well. Very nice. I only wish you also had the Cricket in the shot. 😀
To quote Ole Hoot I think? “I might have been born at night, but it wasn’t last night!”. Believing Ed’s comments about the Crickets is about like believing Maverick’s comments about Ed. They are obviously arch enemies (at least sometimes) and of little credibility to the others business.
We already know the Cricket isn’t even breathing hard at 33 FPE in my .22 with the .25 using the same basic design to push 47 FPE. From what I see of the posted strings, the .25 Edgun is about the same stock. I do agree without more knowledge that the Edgun may be more of the tinkerers tool than the Cricket but even that may prove to be wrong in the long run once we start disassembling these things. I have been reading forums around the globe and most are very impressed with the Cricket. Much more so than I expected from Eds comments.
Then again all of this is rather mute since my std Cricket is pushing the 18s near the top of the best accuracy range. Mine may be set a little too high. My CZ Cricket is was definitely setup for JSB 18s (15.9s are too fast). I don’t buy the running at full steam comment by Ed. Most of the latest Crickets arriving here in the US seem set for 18s. KalibrGun changed something it appears.
I do think of Ed as the technical entreprenuer and Maverick as the businessman. Ed seems to strive for the best airgun design while Maverick seems to have the best distribution and marketing skills (at least in the US) and Ed had a big head start. That said AOA in the US will not sell a gun that they don’t believe they can support. KalibrGun must have done a good job of convincing them.
I think I am ready for some blue pills now… Just finished a tall beer.
Best regards,
Brant
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Nice to read it 🙂 like “rumors and speculations”. Well, being still single shot gun manufacturer, the old style Matador, doomed to be fade off by the new up-to date multyshot guns I am still here :). Just for information — in 2012 I produced TWISE as many Matadors as in 2011. All are sold being built not from the stock. In 2013 I have plans to produce at least TWISE as many Matadors as in 2012. So, American user felt it by having shorter period of waiting.
Tastes differ I know, I met some Maverick dealer in Germany, they came to me at IWA 2013 talking a lot. I have no intention to spread the information they gave me, the only thing I know — time goes by and all will be sorted out in a proper place 🙂
On my side I do hope to make some of shooters happy presenting them a new Morana this summer in .22 caliber and Matador in .30 caliber. Hope they will like it.