Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2020 i Airgun Shooter

It’s amazing how often a torch proves useful to the airgun shooter, but for it to be truly worthwhile it needs to be with you when you need it. That won’t be a problem for the Fenix E03R Rechargeable White Red/LED Keychain Light, because this all-metal torch is designed for keychain and everyday carry. The light has a maximum output of 260 lumens with a beam reach of 42 metres. Charging is via the latest USB-C type socket, and the charge lead is supplied. The light is controlled by a single button and offers four levels of white light, as well as red to protect your night vision. The Fenix E03R costs £26.95. Visit www.myfenix.co.uk or call 0292 1157162 for more details.…

Coronavirus has affected the lives of billions across the world. Shooters can now vent some of their anger by taking on Custom Targets’ latest design – a reactive target shaped like Covid-19. While Covid-19 is made up of a series of proteins, the Avenger is made of laser-cut 3mm hardboard and contains multiple shoot-away zones shaped like the spikes that adorn the surface of the virus. The outermost inside circle of zones aptly has 19 shoot-away zones, a further eight zones are in the centre ring, there are another 32 large shoot-away zones around the outside of the target, and a further 32 smaller ones placed between them – a total of 91 reactive zones. The targets are available as singles costing £2.80 each (91 zones), a three-pack at £7.50…

There’s a time and a place for a squirrel, but this time the place was my small London garden on a sunny afternoon. I spotted him through the open back door, making free with some food I’d put out for the birds. After watching him for a moment, I went upstairs for a gun. I returned a minute later, stealthily loading my Air Arms S400 as I moved. I placed the rifle on the kitchen table, quietly arranged a chair to optimise my shooting position and sat down. The squirrel, oblivious to my assassination plot, was working his way through the birds’ food with near comic nonchalance. As I spied on him through my scope, I was reminded of a day last summer when I’d found myself in central London…

While air rifle slugs have been around for quite a few years, they seem to have enjoyed a massive boost in popularity over the past 18 months or so, possibly because there seems to be a corresponding increase in popularity in the number of air rifles operating at FAC levels. And while it was the norm not that long ago to have an FAC rifle running anywhere from 26 to 30 foot pounds in .22, there’s now a staggering choice of power levels and calibre options, with air rifles with a muzzle energy of 80 foot pounds or even higher no longer being unusual. Mat Manning and Roger Lait have already reported their findings in Airgun Shooter after testing slugs in their FAC rifles, and I decided to carry out…

August’s unprecedented heatwave may have been good for our tans, but it didn’t do much for our hunting. Most quarry species spent large parts of the day sheltering from the heat. Now, with winter around the corner, my favourite time of the year is almost here. Quarry species know what’s coming as well, and as they prepare for the colder weather by exploiting the last of the natural food, we too must make our preparations. Winter shooting can be enjoyable, challenging and rewarding – but only if you’re properly prepared. There’s nothing worse than spending a day in the woods or open country and discovering too late that you’re not adequately equipped. There is a downside, of course – all that extra gear has to be carried around – but…

For centuries, lead has been used to manufacture ammunition fired by both powder-burning firearms and airguns. Lead is relatively inexpensive, fairly easy to form, deforms well on impact and is dense. It’s also toxic, which is why many manufacturers offer lead-free alternatives, like Field Target Trophy Green from H&N. In some areas, the use of lead-free ammo is a requirement, while airgun shooters in the UK are free to choose what type of pellet they shoot – at least for now. But it doesn’t hurt to test the lead-free options, and even if we are never compelled by law to abandon lead, we can always choose to help the environment, provided we can find lead-free ammo that shoots to a decent level of accuracy. For this test I shot these…

A real heavyweight has joined Daystate’s line of airgun ammunition: the Rangemaster Juggernaut, a .22 (5.5mm) calibre slug. This 25.39 grain solid-body projectile has been subjected to extensive performance testing both on the range and in the field by Daystate’s Accuracy Research Team in both high-power Daystate and Brocock rifles, with the ART team reporting superior levels of accuracy with this new ammo out to 100 metres and beyond, while shooting well at shorter ranges too. The new .22 Rangemaster Juggernaut is supplied in tins of 200 and costs £13 per tin, while the soon-to-be-launched .25 variant will also be available in tins of 200 at a price of £15 per tin. Visit www.daystate.com for more information.…

Dealing with a loss in accuracy can be a frustrating experience, especially when you think you’ve tried everything. It can also be frustrating when you buy a second-hand air rifle, only to find it’s not shooting as well as you were expecting and you can’t quite work out why. It could be a problem with the bore, but the only way to find out for sure is to take a look using a device such as the Teslong Wireless Borescope Model NTG 100 W from Walker Rifles. Your barrel may just need a clean, but the bore may also have suffered some form of damage from poor machining, overzealous cleaning with a rod and jag, or simply being neglected and allowed to rust. Borescopes have always been fairly expensive, making…

LETTER OF THE MONTH SPRING POWER I really enjoyed your article ‘Springer or PCP’ (Airgun Shooter issue 138), especially when you mentioned that both types of gun are just as accurate as the other, and I thought that I would share my recent experience on the subject. I wanted a rifle to bridge the gap between standard air rifle and rimfire to take care of the corvids around the farm and outbuildings where I live. I thought about a PCP, but I really like springers, so when I spotted one I was made up. I bought an English Webley Patriot spring-powered rifle .25 running at 30 ft-lb! It really is a beast, an exercise machine and rifle in one, and can easily knock your cap off when fired. On first…

THE QUARRY WOODPIGEON Columba palumbus PEST STATUS: Woodpigeons congregate in huge flocks that can comprise thousands of hungry birds, devouring crops with ruinous impact. HABITAT: Woodpigeons are woodland birds, but also roost in gardens, hedgerows and parks. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Pigeon is excellent to eat, and the breast meat is valued by chefs. Successful pest control will be rewarded with some great meat for the table. Late summer is a prime time for the pigeon shooter. Large flocks of these birds gather to feed on spilt grain left behind after cereal crops are harvested. Birds usually return to dine on seed when farmers sow their autumn drillings in the following weeks. This creates great opportunities for airgun shooters to make bags of these birds, helping farmers reduce numbers of this agricultural…

Having explained in my previous article just what it is that makes an air rifle a genuine contender for target shooting, I thought I should back this up with a list of my own current and personal favourites. As I said earlier, there is absolutely no reason why the keen shot cannot use their own non-target-specific rifle for any of the outdoor field target shooting competitions, including of course HFT or FT. A remarkably high percentage of pre-charged pneumatic rifles will be capable of hitting the spot due to their recoil-free shot release and the ability of the shooter to hold their gun in whichever position feels most comfortable for them. Not the case with a spring-powered action! The difference between a ‘proper’ PCP target rifle and one that has…

The Shooting Party is well known for selling some great affordable kit, and their latest PCP offering certainly maintains that theme. The distinctively styled multi-shot Lee Enfield Sentry boasts some impressive features and retails for just £399 making it a very appealing passport to recoil-free airgunning for shooters on a tight budget. FIRST IMPRESSIONS The Sentry certainly has its own look, and I would say that its styling bridges the gap between sporter and tactical. Measuring 103cm and with a 36cm length of pull, it is an airgun for adult-sized shooters. Despite looking pretty chunky, it tips the scales at a very manageable 3.7kg before you fit a scope. With optics mounted, the point of balance falls about 10cm in front of the trigger. That feels about right once you…

FOR SALE: Daystate Griffin .22 calibre. Silver action with black laminate adjustable stock and case. Cost £1,700. Wanting £995. Also for sale: BSA R-10 Mk2 in walnut stock, scope and bag. £675. Both in very good condition. Tony Litchfield (Nottingham). Tel: 0115 9844761. FOR SALE: Weihrauch HW97K .22 underlever air rifle. Hawke Reflex mounts and scope 6x42. All in very good condition. The stock on the rifle has a small mark – photos available. £200. Stuart West (Melton Mowbray). Tel: 0798 3088162. WANTED: Crosman Mark I or Mark II air pistol. Any condition. Peter Bucknall (Staffordshire). Tel: 07939 914342. FOR SALE: Weihrauch HW100 KT .22. New and unused since purchase. Includes Optisan Mamba 4-16x50 matt black sight with RAQ reticle. Also Weihrauch HW 100 deluxe gun slip. £550. Robert Montague…

More and more rifle scopes are being packed with more and more features to meet the increasing demands of the modern rifle shooter, and nowhere is this more apparent than with Hawke’s brand new range of Sidewinder telescopic sights. These telescopic sights offer plenty of useful features that are bound to appeal to air rifle, rimfire and centrefire shooters alike. Several versions of Sidewinder are available in both First Focal Plane (FFP) and Second Focal Plane (SFP) models, the one seen here being the FFP 4-16x50, which is equipped with a dedicated FFP reticle. As the name suggests, the FFP Half Mil Reticle has spacings at half a milliradian as well as finer spacings of 0.2 milliradians. The windage and elevation turrets are matched like for like with this reticle,…

Full-power versions of the latest Walther LG400 Field Target rifle are now available from your local gun shop thanks to UK distributor John Rothery Wholesale. The Walther LG400 is a highly respected target rifle, and running at up to 12 foot pounds, it’s now ready for outdoor competition out of the box with no tuning required. The gun is available in two stock options: wooden stock and Alutec. The traditional wooden stock offers adjustability on the butt plate and cheekpiece, while the Alutec offers a greater range of adjustability, including a butt hook, interchangeable anatomic grips (available separately) and a more lightweight feel. If you’re looking to fit your own custom stock, the LG400 FT can also be purchased in its system-only form. The most notable features of the LG400…

The Streamlight ProTac Rail Mount HL-X is a high-quality gun light that features a dedicated fixed mount for Picatinny rails, and more and more air rifles are incorporating the Picatinny system as it ensures secure and repeatable mounting for optics and accessories like this. The ProTac Rail Mount HL-X uses either a remote switch with momentary/constant on operation or a standard push-button tail switch. It’s dual fuel, running on either two CR123A lithium batteries, which are included, or one Streamlight rechargeable 18650 battery. There are three modes of LED illumination output: • High for maximum illumination: 1,000 lumens; 332 metre beam; runs for 1.25 hours with the CR123A batteries fitted• Low for an extended run time: 60 lumens; 80 metre beam; runs for 20 hours with the CR123A batteries• Strobe…

How many of your shooting or outdoorsman acquaintances do you know that did not start out with an airgun as their first ‘real’ gun? I grew up in the 1960s and ’70s, and every kid I knew had a BB gun. The luckier ones had a Benjamin pump. Even at the tender age of 10 or 12 we were pretty good shots because we shot them hundreds of times. My next-door friend had a Daisy 25 that he could shoot wasps out of the air on a regular basis. I had a basic Daisy that I bought at the hardware store (pre-Wal-Mart days) for $7 – my seventh birthday money. It would hold over 300 BBs that would last less than a week. By the time we were of age…

PRINT & DIGITAL ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION – WAS £116.74, NOW £44.80 SUBSCRIBE ONLINE NOW http://www.magazinesdirect.com/agm/sh20 OR CALL0330 333 1113SH20 These offers will expire on 30th November 2020 Choose your package DIGITAL ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION WAS £51.87, NOW £28.50 PRINT ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION WAS £55.25, NOW £39.50 Pay by Direct Debit Automatic renewal – never miss an issue • Print and Digital only: £44.80 for 1 year saving 62% • Digital only: £28.50 for 1 year saving 45% • Print only: £39.50 for 1 year saving 39%…

Airgun shooters and rabbits have been pitting their wits against each other for as long as there have been, well, airguns and rabbits. And often the battleground is a paddock or field in which horses are kept. The unfortunate truth is that by digging holes and scrapes, rabbits pose a real threat; a broken leg will result in a hefty vet’s bill, or worse still, the destruction of the horse. One of my permissions is an equestrian centre and home to many millions of pounds’ worth of bloodstock. Racehorses as well as dressage, show jumping and cross-country horses roam around the many paddocks. The threat of rabbit holes is ever-present and exacerbated by the fact that horses not only live at the centre, but train and compete there too. The…

Smith & Wesson’s powder-burning M&P 9 M2.0 was created for the military and police market, hence “M&P”, but it attracts plenty of interest from civilian handgun enthusiasts too, and airgun shooters have now been added to the list thanks to this fully licensed CO2-powered blowback from Umarex. The original M&P dates back to 2005, with the 2.0 series on which the replica is based being introduced in 2017, one of the main improvements being a rough textured grip, which is present on the CO2 version. The powder-burning M&P is available in several calibres, including 9x19mm Parabellum, with the specific calibre appearing in the gun’s designation – hence the “9” for 9mm on the Umarex replica. Instead of 9mm bullets, this M&P 9 M2.0 fires 4.5mm steel BBs and uses a…

Steve Harper is the man behind Harper Classic Airguns, and .25 calibre barrel swaps on Weihrauch HW77s and Sharp Innovas were his speciality way back before .25 became available from the mainstream manufacturers. But these rifles weren’t the only thing to come from Harper. By the 1990s, with pre-charged airguns firmly in the lead and with an interest in electronics, Harper Classic released a PCP air pistol called the Wolf. There weren’t many PCP pistols about back then to be sure, yet this one had an electronic trigger release. A 9-volt battery sat inside the hollow grip with an on/off switch doubling as a safety to power up the system. It was a multi-shot too, with a large magazine wheel rotated by hand for filling and firing. Available in .177 and…