At the 2019 British Shooting Show, in February, Pellpax talked to Daystate’s Tony Belas about the Patagonia, an eye-catching and innovative new semi-bullpup PCP air rifle from Daystate’s sister company, Brocock.
The gun – available to buy at the end of April – is based on an adaptation of one of its predecessors, the Bantam Sniper HR.
Claudio Flores
The backstory of the Brocock Patagonia begins in October 2018, where airgun shooters from all over the world gathered in Mesa, Arizona, to compete in one of the toughest and most prestigious international shooting events.
The Extreme Benchrest Championships – an annual four-day competition with high-value prizes up for grabs – is notorious for attracting the world’s highest-performing shooters and for showcasing the industry’s very best airguns.
Of the top 30 Pro-Class finalists, 12 were shooting a Daystate Red Wolf, and 15 used an FX Impact or Crown. As an interesting aside, Fredrik Alexsson, who, in 1999, founded the Swedish airgun manufacturer FX Airguns, took third place with his FX Impact. Justin Welsh, in second place, also shot an FX Impact.
The overall winner of the event was Claudio Flores, a 35-year-old Chilean, whose living is made through hunting in the mountainous and desert landscape of Patagonia.
Patagonia is an area in South America of approximately 1,043,000 km2, which covers a large portion of Argentina and Chile, including the southern end of the Andes mountain range, where temperatures can plummet to as low as -15°C. Via his YouTube channel, Chile Patagonia Airguns, Claudio and his 13-year-old son, Dan, offer the shooting world a glimpse of their unusual way of life through stunning photography and Claudio’s expert airgun reviews.
“Claudio did really well at the 2017 Extreme Benchrest,” Tony told us. “He came to the attention of Daystate and Brocock with his skill and positive attitude, and so he was supported with spares and equipment as he prepared in Patagonia in the months before the EBR match 2018.”
The Brocock Bantam Patagonia
In certain categories of the competition, Claudio shot a Daystate Red Wolf, but for the Extreme Benchrest Challenge he chose the match-winning Brocock Bantam.
Tony told us, “He’d tuned up the Bantam to 58 ft/lbs, and had adapted a 62 cm Red Wolf polygon barrel in .22. Claudio had also made modifications to the hammer, stroke, and secondary chamber. Brocock looked at his modifications and adapted them for production in the Brocock Patagonia.”
Inspired by this proven winning formula from Claudio Flores, the Bantam Patagonia has certainly moved the benchmark in PCP airgun design.
The Brocock Patagonia, which comes out in April, will be available from Pellpax. Keep an eye on our site, or contact us if you wish to preorder.
