Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2020 i Airgun Shooter

OUT WITH THE OLD AND IN WITH THE NEW is a much-used expression at this time of year. Given the rough ride that shooting sports had through 2019, I am certainly glad to see the old year out and welcome in a new one. It’s easy to dwell on the negatives, but aside from the difficult times caused by the likes of Wild Justice and the senseless attacks on events like the British Shooting Show and even the farming industry, the last year wasn’t all bad. The shooting events I attended left me feeling that our community is as strong as ever, as is our will to continue participating in the sport and way of life we all love. Hopefully 2020 will be even better, both in terms of other…

SHOOT TO THE MAXX H&N Sport’s new Finale Maxx range of competition pellets is now available in the UK, and are made to the extremely tight tolerances demanded by 10M ISSF shooters. Each production batch is tested at a 10 metre indoor range. Forty shots have to achieve a group with a maximum diameter of 7mm with an average score of 10.7 or better. Weight tolerances are reduced to a maximum of +/- 0.25%. Each box of pellets is hand sorted and carefully inspected before packing. H&N Finale Maxx pellets are sold in boxes of 200 pellets, available in head sizes 4.49mm or 4.50mm and lightweight 7.87gr or heavyweight 8.18gr. They have a recommended retail price of £14.49. Visit importer John Rothery Wholesale’s website at www.bisley-uk.com to find a dealer…

I’m always asking myself what can I do to help promote shooting. Let’s be honest, as far as most non-shooters are concerned, it’s something they’re indifferent about at best. Of course we know all the positives shooting brings – self-discipline, application, a love of the outdoors and camaraderie – but it’s all about public perception. One of the best ways I’ve found is to make sure people know that shooting is a regular sport. Don’t talk about it in hushed tones or apologise for being someone who shoots. Talk to your friends or colleagues about the sport, and ask if they want to go out shooting with you. You may get odd looks, knockbacks or even outright hostility, but then again you might just make a few people think a…

A booklet of recipes created by the winners of a game competition has been published by Taste of Game and the Food Teachers Centre. Students from across the UK had a chance to develop their own game recipes as part of the Schools Game Changer Project. The challenge set by the organisers was to create a quick and easy game meat recipe – but with a modern twist. The booklet features recipes created by the top 18 winners, including three ways rabbit with crispy potatoes, crispy duck with sticky peaches, venison and pomegranate biryani, honeyed pheasant salad and pigeon samosas and mango chutney. Taste of Game head Annette Woolcock said: “These recipes were so fantastic, it is only right that we collate and share them so that people have a…

A WEEK IN PARADISE This is me and my son at Park Farm in Somerset. We spent a week there and had the best time. Right on arrival after a 350-mile drive from Ashington in Northumberland, we were greeted by the owner, Mr Roe Norman, a very pleasant gentleman. After a rundown on the dos and don’ts, we went out for a recce of the 120 acres. On seeing loads of pigeons and rabbit runs this looked promising. So back to the cottage to unpack then out for some sporting fun until the light had gone. For the next six days we went out three times a day – early morning, mid-afternoon and night. Not much activity, as everything was very gun-shy, but we watched the badgers going about their…

Most shooters are pretty hardy when it comes to inclement weather – we enjoy being outdoors and don’t like to have our sport disrupted by cold or damp conditions. That said, none of us really relish the prospect of getting ourselves or our gear soaked through, which means that heavy downpours can really spoil a shooting trip. The forecast looked extremely wet for today’s session, with blustery winds and persistent heavy rain. This sort of weather is rarely good for hunting, partly because it’s unpleasant to be out and about in, but even more because you’re not likely to get many shots. Just like us, most wild creatures don’t want to get a drenching, so they hunker down or hole-up until the worst of the rain has passed. Even if…

Back in Airgun Shooter issue 128, I wrote about the acquisition of my new Airgun Technology Vulcan 2. To say that I continue to be impressed with so much performance from a gun that looks nothing like a traditional target rifle would be an understatement. I have bored many people to death at my own two clubs by continually describing the Vulcan’s ability to produce match-winning standards of accuracy from a gun that looks nothing like a mega-accurate rifle is supposed to look. First of all, the layout is that of a bullpup, with its short physical length, but with the cocking lever midway along the action that cycles the action so smoothly and without fuss. The use of the gun’s magazine does not compromise its unbelievable level of accuracy.…

Some may be tempted to think of lamping as a poor substitute for advanced digital, infrared and thermal options. But the fact is that with the right approach and an application of basic fieldcraft, it works perfectly well. There are even some valuable advantages. Although most high-tech systems are water-resistant, many of us are still reluctant to get several hundreds if not thousands of pounds’ worth of gear wet. Lamping torches are, on the whole, more resilient to water ingress and easier to dry out if you do get caught out. Unlike heads-up bolt-on IR systems, lamping also allows you to use your day scope in a conventional shooting position. And compared with even the best digital systems, your day scope will always win when it comes to picture quality…

For a long time, a small group of established manufacturers have dominated our sport: companies whose reputations date back decades to when springers where the only game in town, joined by those who led the PCP revolution. Today, the world is much smaller and the increasing popularity of airgunning, combined with the wealth of information and communication made possible by the internet, has opened our eyes to products from just about every corner of the world. And you know what, most of them are pretty good – and a few are much better than that. Eastern Europe seems to have emerged as a hotbed for air rifle manufacturers. Companies in Ukraine, Turkey, Czech Republic and many more countries that we were ignorant of only a few years ago are now…

The name Heym does not appear often – on anything. Spend a lifetime looking and you may find an elephant gun, a double rifle or a three-barrel Drilling. But Heym is a name still associated with only the very best in big game guns. As an old German firm, it barely survived the last war, and perhaps in desperation turned to making whatever brought in some money. So in the early 1950s Heym went from making bespoke engraved firearms to pop-out pistols! The company did attempt a few serious pellet guns, one of which is the large break-barrel Model 101. The first thing to notice is the fact that it’s a repeater. The multi-shot or German mehrlader had its origins back in old pre-war Germany. The pellet housing fitted to…

AUTHORITY AIRGUN Shooter is written by airgunners for airgunners. Our team has decades of combined experience in everything from target shooting to hunting and is committed to bringing you the highest quality advice around in print and video form every month. PASSION WE are absolutely obsessed with airguns and we love writing about them. We’re here to share our knowledge with you and focus on helping you become a better shooter, and we hope you’ll share your knowledge and expertise with us, too! INDEPENDENCE THE views you read in Airgun Shooter are entirely our own, which means you can trust every word you read in these pages. We’ve built up reputations from years in the field – we’re not prepared to pull any punches when it comes to telling you…

CO2 guns based on powder-burning originals are often used as training tools for the bullet-firing originals – at least in the countries that allow their ownership. One such gun is SIG Sauer’s new offering, the P365. Modelled after its award-winning 9mm counterpart, this tiny air pistol is the perfect way for US shooters to practise their concealed carry firearm techniques. That’s not quite so useful for shooters over here in the UK, but what we can do is unleash 12 BBs from a package that weighs just 360 grams (0.8 lb) and measures less than 15cm in length (5.75”). This little BB gun has a lot to live up to, because over in the States its powder-burning namesake was named by the NRA’s Shooting Illustrated Magazine as its Golden Bullseye…

Potential sponsors are being urged to help support athletes like Jono Williams, who already holds a number of records and titles in Target Sprint. Target Sprint is one of the fastest-growing shooting sports, but because it’s such a new sport, it does not currently feature in either the Commonwealth or Olympic Games, so funding can be hard to come by. And while the equipment offered at training hubs is free to use, personal kit is required for extra training as athletes like Jono progress to the top level. Jono has been training at Sedgemoor Target Sprint near Bristol since March 2018 when he was 13. That year he took part in the National Series, culminating in the final at the end of the season where he came joint first with…

This season’s Target Sprint domestic competition has come to a close with some of the UK’s top athletes testing their mettle over an exciting weekend of sunshine and shooting, rainfall and running. The Yate Sports Centre played host to the British Championships and Super League Final on a sunny Saturday, while the National Series Final took place the following day in less-than-perfect conditions. As before, the competitors had to run three 400-metre legs, shooting two sets of five knockdown targets in between. SUPER LEAGUE Saturday afternoon’s glorious sunshine saw the UK’s top Target Sprint athletes take part in the last competition of the Super League and the chance to be crowned British Champion. The Super League had been run over the year using ISSF 35mm targets. The league table was…

I don’t know about you, but I love a challenge, and really enjoy working on a troublesome airgun combo and making it shoot well again. So I jumped at the chance to work on a friend’s recent acquisition – a little Weihrauch HW57 underlever which had been fitted with what seemed to be far too large a scope. My friend had been shooting the rifle and didn’t like the way it had been set up (it’s always a good idea to refit a scope so it’s just right for you) and wasn’t really getting the accuracy he’d been hoping for, so asked me to take a look. I thought it would be interesting to share my findings with you, because while this isn’t a full step-by-step guide, the process is…

There are few things better in my opinion than spending time outside enjoying hobbies. They might involve shooting outdoor targets, fishing, or hunting live quarry with a gun. These pastimes are usually enjoyed even more when the weather gods are being kind and we don’t have to resort to layers of additional clothing to protect us from the more inclement weather we are likely to experience as the days draw in and winter really sets in. Target shooting outside in lovely weather, such as those of us fortunate enough to be competing in the World Hunter Field Target Association at Weston Park in Shropshire in September will remember, is an altogether much more pleasurable experience compared with the precise opposite conditions we experienced at the previous year’s Kelmarsh WHFTA shoot.…

STRUGGLING with a scope? Having hassles with your hunting? Well, don’t despair because you’ve arrived at the right place to discover remedies for your airgun anxieties! Whether you’re looking for a quick fix to a nagging problem or simply want advice on your next piece of gear, email us at airgunshooter@futurenet.com or write to us at the address below: one of our experts will soon get you on the right track! Airgun Shooter, Future Publishing, Units 1 & 2, Sugarbrook Court, Aston Road, Bromsgrove B60 3EX EMPTY BAGS Q I’ve bought a set of bags to support my gun, but they arrived empty and I’ve got to fill them myself – what’s the best material to use? A SHOOTING BAGS, also known as bench bags, are an excellent way of…

Bargain-priced package deals are a great way to get into airgun shooting, and Pellpax has a reputation for putting some very good ones together. One of their most successful of late is the Rabbit Sniper MkII kit, which I’ve been putting through its paces over the last few weeks. The combo includes a gun, zoom scope and mounts, silencer, padded gun bag and pellets. It retails for £169.99, which sounds like brilliant value for money. TAKING STOCK The kit is based around a .22 calibre SMK XS19 Supergrade; a no-frills break-barrel springer which churns out power levels very close to the UK legal limit. It’s 1160mm long with the large silencer fitted and the full combo weighs a very manageable 3.8kg with the scope and mounts in situ. It’s a…

It’s always good to find a pellet that manages to rock the boat, and the Bisley Super Field could tip over an ocean liner. These have been around for quite some time, and are an absolutely brilliant reminder that diabolo-shaped pellets are definitely not all the same. This projectile is very distinctive, and I imagine the designers had just finished playing a game of cup-and-ball when they came up with this rather unique acorn-shaped hollowpoint diabolo. Two things that make this pellet stand out from the crowd are the shape of the hollowpoint itself – which looks like a very crisply formed inverted cone – and the raised ridge that runs around the circumference of the head, giving the Super Field its acorn-like profile. According to John Rothery Wholesale, which…

Even the finest air rifles in the world, regardless of who makes them, are only as good as the pellets they’re fed – and it’s vitally important to understand exactly what you’re buying, so Daystate has colour-coded its extensive line of Rangemaster ammunition. Rangemaster is a comprehensive selection of precision-made airgun ammo that’s the result of Daystate’s partnership with renowned pellet manufacturers in the Czech Republic and Germany. The Rangemaster line-up includes the Sovereign, Sovereign Hunter, Kaiser, King and Emperor pellets, spanning between them calibres from .177 to .30 (4.5 to 7.62mm) and weights from 8.44 to 50.15 grains (0.547 to 3.240 grams). Each of the Rangemaster types has been specially matched to suit specific purposes, from short- and long-range hunting to field target and Benchrest competition, with ballistic configurations…

The Northern Shooting Show has announced that it will be continuing its sponsorship of the Lincolnshire Bell Target League through the 2020 season. League organiser Dave Carter has been at the forefront of introducing Bell Target in pubs across the county, and the move has proved to be a great success, with a number of other pubs keen to introduce it to their customers. The league is now a regular fixture in many local shooters’ calendars, and it also helps many country pubs bring in business on quieter evenings in the middle of the week. Air Arms is also continuing to support the venture by providing two air rifles to be used by the league. Managing director Claire West explained: “Air Arms are very proactive in promoting the positive sides…

AIR LAW As a shooter for over 60 years I read Ray Garner’s article in issue 127 regarding the Uberti Colt Bisley Air Cartridge Revolver and fully sympathise with his final comments concerning these ‘illegal’ pieces. However, over the years (indeed since 2004) there has been a common misunderstanding/misconception as to these items (certainly rifles and possibly pistols) that they could not be transferred even when legally held under the authority of an FAC as a Section 1 firearm. The correct legal position is as explained in the Law Commission Report on Firearms 2016 at paragraphs 4.32 & 4.33. The prohibition on sale/transfer related and still does, to unlicensed items and clearly was intended to prevent owners selling/ transferring same who chose not to apply for an FAC or enter…

“I’ve got a few guns that belonged to my dad I’d like to sell if you are interested,” is something I’ve heard many times since I became a Registered Firearms Dealer. Normally it results in some rusty relic appearing through the door, or something with a nail being used to keep the action closed! But this time it was a bit different. The gentleman arrived and presented to me his dad’s obviously cherished and well cared for collection of pistols and rifles that he would have purchased up to 80 years ago. They appeared to have been rarely shot, but frequently oiled. The bluing on the pressed metal of the Diana Model 1 pistol gleamed in the sunlight. The BSA stamp in the stock of the Cadet was so crisp…

One of the many considerations for those of us looking to get the absolute maximum performance from our remarkably accurate rifle and optic combinations is to make sure that we manage to get our eyes perfectly lined up with our scopes. You would think that this would be relatively easy, and to a certain extent it is as simple as moving around the hopefully adjustable butt pad and cheekpiece arrangements on our guns to make sure that we are all lined up correctly. If we don’t have these stock adjustments, it can be difficult to get our head into a comfortable shooting position that ensures there is no strain on any neck muscles and we are not hovering above the cheekpiece. Why is proper head alignment so crucially important? Well,…

At the risk of sounding like what I often am – a bemused old duffer – it can be hard to keep up with technology. There’s always some new gadget coming along to do the same thing a different way. Take night shooting. We now have an array of infrared night vision systems, digital scopes and even thermal imagers to help us see in the dark. In an earlier issue we looked at NV kit for around a thousand pounds. And while prices continue to tumble, even for thermal scopes, there’s no getting away from the fact that many of these NV solutions still cost several hundreds of pounds. So then, if you want to target the bunnies when the sun goes down you just have to save your pennies…

What is it? While the Harris bipod is largely a civilian bipod that found favour with the military, it’s a case of role reversal with the Atlas, with the BT46-LW17 PSR model being chosen by the US armed forces for use with the Special Operations Command sniper rifle system. Being mil-spec, it attaches to your rifle using the Picatinny system rather than the standard sling swivel stud. What makes it so good? The Atlas is expensive, although like the Harris, prices have actually fallen slightly over the last couple of years, at least here in the UK. In return you’re getting a product that’s military-grade in terms of toughness, but with a build quality and ease of use that’s found favour with civilian shooters, be they long-range competition shooters, fox…

Do you ever get a song in your head that you can’t get rid of? In my case the song in question was Rawhide by Frankie Laine, plus that excellent 1980 cover by The Blues Brothers. Why this particular Western tune? I hadn’t heard the song on the radio. And I hadn’t gone searching for it on YouTube. But I had been shooting the Legends Cowboy Rifle. Guns in the Legends line-up are replicas of historic firearms, such as the Makarov pistol or MP 40 submachine gun, and in this case the Cowboy Rifle is fashioned after the legendary Winchester Model 1894. John Browning’s lever-action repeating rifle was chambered in a multitude of calibres for both black powder and smokeless cartridges, but here we’re talking about a rifle that shoots…

FOR SALE: Webley Hawk 22 4x40 scope. £110. Webley Osprey 22. £100. Webley Mk1 pistol. £145. Webley Nemesis pistol. £65. For collection. WANTED: Air Arms 2000. FR Ford (Somerset). Tel: 019 3586 3825 FOR SALE: .22 Huggett Belita. 1/2” UNF. Great condition – as new. £55. Mr M Baker (Prestatyn). Tel: 077 8011 3749 FOR SALE: BSA SuperTEN MkII Carbine, .22 cal, action only. To include Volumetric silencer, three mags, two buddy bottles, BSA one-piece adjustable S-mount 1” body. £250. Greg Bradley (Conwy). Tel: 079 7932 3504 FOR SALE: Webley air pistol, Junior model, smooth bore, .177 cal. Good condition with original box. £130. Webley MK3 .22 cal. Early model, serial number 18128. Like new. £220. Russian AK47 riflescope, all blue post reticle. £110. JP Sheehan (Mid Glamorgan). Tel: 07747…