The first thing I did when it came in was check to make sure all the screws were tight and everything looked ok. Well, it wasn't. During shipping, the tip of the barrel came out of the shipping box and the front sight had been knocked off. It was just a plastic pressed on sight. No loss as far as I'm concerned. Especially since I was going to put a scope on it. With the front sight off, you'll have about a 2" section that is cut down in diameter and also some knurling. I'm looking into a nice muzzle break for this. With the knurling, it should be able to press on and increase the looks of the gun.

I also noticed that the screw in front of the trigger guard was stripped out. Instead of shipping it back, I put some wood filler in it and let it dry, then put the screw back in. The stock and it's finish was very nice. It was a satin finish and light color stain. The rifle also had a good feel to it, a bit lighter than the IB B3-1. 

The XS-B7 is a side-lever cocking rifle like the Fast Deer. It takes about the same amount of pressure to cock it. The real noticeable difference is in the .22 caliber pellets. I didn't think you would be able to see that much difference, but it is very noticeable. 

After mounting a 32mm scope on it and taking it out to shoot, you could tell a vast difference in the impact of a .22 caliber pellet than a .177. The .22 hits very much harder. The spring on the rifle was fairly quiet, with just the usual thud of the piston slamming home. 

I did not have any problem with barrel droop on this model. Even with the scope just mounted and the rifle not sighted in yet, I was shooting just 2" low. A small adjustment and I was hitting right on target. After putting about 25 rounds through it, I was hitting .75" groups. After another 25 rounds, I was putting pellets right next to each other with a random stray every once in a while. I suppose it still has some breaking in to do.

This rifle, which cost me under $50.00, is probably the best shooting rifle right out of the box that I have purchased so far. Other than the problem with the stripped screw, It's a great shooter. In .22 caliber, it shoots around 550-600fps. Not bad, and good enough to take out a few rabbits here in West Texas..

Reviewed by Robert Fischer