Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2021 i Airgun Shooter

Umarex’s speciality is CO2-powered replicas, and its latest licensed handgun, the Smith & Wesson M&P45 M2.0, proves the company has this down to a fine art. It’s available in several calibres, including .45 Auto, hence the '45' in the designation. Umarex has visited the M&P before, the S&W M&P9 M2.0 being a BB-firing blowback, but this time round the gun fires .177 pellets through a rifled barrel, using the tried and tested eight-shot rotary magazine. Pellet length shouldn’t exceed 5.6mm otherwise the magazine may not cycle, but most domehead diabolos will work perfectly as long as they’ve been seated correctly. Once loaded, the magazine is slotted into the top of the pistol after the slide has been released forwards. Umarex has made the process of inserting the 12g CO2 capsule…

Umarex’s Wild West-themed lever-action Legends Cowboy Rifle has been brought bang up to date with the release of the Cowboy Renegade. The new gun, which features the same realistic “spent” cartridge case-ejecting action, now wears a tactical black synthetic stock, a Weaver rail for fitting an optic such as a red dot or small telescopic sight, and a 1/2” UNF-threaded muzzle for attaching a moderator. The oversized big loop lever also features a paracord wraparound to provide extra comfort for the shooter’s fingers when the action’s coming thick and fast, but instead of smokeless cartridges, we’re talking about a rifle that shoots 4.5mm BBs propelled by two CO2 capsules. Our previous tests with the standard Cowboy Rifle showed it offered all the fun of a typical lever-action with a surprisingly…

LETTER OF THE MONTH IN SUPPORT OF THE SLING I have just fitted a Blue Force Gear Vickers padded sling to my HW100 BP. Although the rifle is perfectly balanced, especially in the shoulder, it weighs a hefty 10.75lb with a scope, bipod and forward grip. To put that into context, a Lee Enfield No.4 Mk1 weighs just over 9lb, an SLR L1A1 weighs 9.5lb and the current military rifle, the L85A2, weighs in at 11lb (with its scope). I mention these military rifles as they were all issued with slings to help carry and to leave your hands free to do other things. Granted with air rifles, shooters tend to be static on a range or in their garden, or may be shooting from a hide. However if you…

Airgun shooters wanting to join a club have a pretty wide choice these days, and while some clubs are airgun-only, many like to mix airguns with rimfires, and occasionally even centrefires and black powder firearms as well. My club falls into the latter category, and has a well-stocked armoury with which to train new shooters and let people shoot a particular discipline if they don’t already have a corresponding gun of their own. The club’s powder-burners are cleaned and serviced by a dedicated armourer, but the airguns are largely left to their own devices, so I offered to lend a hand. The club operates a mix of PCPs and springers, but the first one handed to me for some TLC was a Weihrauch HW97 underlever. The 97 needs little in…

Buying a new scope for an airgun can be overwhelming. With so many quality optics to choose from there are a plethora of things to consider, and we can be reluctant to part with our hard-earned cash because we’re frightened of making the wrong decision. How much magnification will I need? How big an objective lens? First focal plane or second focal plane? The list goes on… When buying a new optic, I believe that it’s important to decide exactly what you are looking to get from a new scope – specifically some of the features that you may need. Scopes are a very individual piece of equipment. Much like air rifles, most of the time personal choice is the leading factor which decides what make and model you end…

Nowadays I find myself lumbering along with all sorts of gear – rifle, trigger sticks, binos, thermal monocular, game bag, bipod – the list goes on. I’ve come to appreciate the humble sling. Back in the day, a sling was nothing more than a strap attached at both ends to your rifle. Shame on me, but I nailed one of my dad’s old belts to my BSA Airsporter. Today, whilst the basic over-the-shoulder sling still does the trick for a lot of shooters, there are many more options available, each designed to address different rifle-carrying needs, many of which you probably didn’t even know existed. We’ve rounded up a selection to give you a view of what’s available. Red Kettle has sent us the Quick Release Rifle Sling, which retails…

Finns love their shooting, so you can rely on them to produce products that have been designed by shooters to perform in the most challenging of environments. Made from 1” green webbing, the top half comprises a double strap and the sling attaches to conventional sling studs via a pair of quick release swivel attachments that are supplied. A thick and wide rubber section prevents your rifle from slipping and helps evenly distribute the weight, making it easy and comfortable to carry over one shoulder. Squeezing the sides of the central buckle separates the two upper straps, enabling you to simply pass the outer one around your neck before reattaching it to the buckle and turning the sling into a harness. Passing the strap underneath your arm and across your…

At first glance, the ParaSling looks like a standard item. It’s certainly durable and comes with good quality quick detach (QD) sling swivels that lock up thanks to the barrel screws. A sliding clip makes it easy to adjust the length between 42” and 53” to accommodate larger shooters as well as cope with thick coats and jumpers. Made from 18m of incredibly strong Paracord 550, which was originally used by the US Air Force on parachutes in World War Two, the sling can be reversed to give a choice between Desert Sand and Brown. Despite its knobbly finish and being only 1½” wide, the ParaSling is very comfortable on the shoulder and gives good grip to prevent your rifle sliding around. That design also hides the sling’s added feature.…

Black rifles like the Hatsan Factor that are inspired by the AR-15 are definite Marmite guns, but for those shooters who appreciate the benefits this style of airgun has to offer, there’s a tactical treasure trove waiting to be unearthed. Civilian AR-15-style rifles tend to model themselves on the current US Army variant, the M4 Carbine, and the Factor has followed suit by homing in on one very important attribute of that gun – a telescoping butt stock. This means you can adjust length of pull to suit, with gun fit being one of the most important aspects of successful shooting. So while its militaristic styling won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, the Factor’s practicality makes it far easier to swallow. It’s available in .177 (4.5mm) calibre, as on the…

Way back in Airgun Shooter issue 126 we looked at the earliest Lincoln Model H air rifle that was patented by George Lincoln Jeffries. By agreement BSA had made examples of this gun for Jeffries, along with some for themselves, which they called the BSA Air Rifle. Jeffries stepped back and BSA had control of the project. Improvements were introduced, first on a transitional Model B and then on this newly improved Model D. The Jeffries patent information moved from the main spring cylinder down to the edge of the underlever arm. The cylinder was now stamped with BSA’s details for this newest variant. Easily overlooked, the long bayonet or spade grip was also improved, being beefed up where it latches to the barrel stud to prevent the end from…

This short eye relief scope delivers a very different experience to a conventional optic, offering a far wider field of view than usual, which means shooters will be able to acquire their target more quickly. And while an ordinary scope relies on a series of lenses to transfer the light, the MTC SWAT Prismatic 12x50 uses a prism to refract it, which means the body of the scope doesn’t need to be as long. So in addition to having short eye relief, this optic is physically short as well. The SWAT comes with three Picatinny bases of varying lengths to ensure the scope can be set up with the right amount of eye relief. Two adapters are supplied which fit inside the Picatinny mount, so the scope can be used…

The barrel on an underlever springer is fairly easy to clean, but some safety precautions do need to be taken as the rifle will need to be cocked in order to clean it properly. The simplest way to clean the bore is to use a felt cleaning pellet, but it’s not enough to use one of these on its own. Springers need a pellet in place to slow the piston, as it will otherwise strike the compression chamber with too much force, potentially causing damage. In this case all the shooter needs to do is seat a lead pellet immediately behind the cleaning pellet, then fire them both together. A pull-through works very well with an underlever. In this case a drinking straw was used to help guide the pull-through…

As you may have seen in my last article, I’ve been carrying out a restoration of a post-War Webley Mk1 which was mechanically pretty good, but had serious cosmetic flaws. It was now time to carry out yet more work to return this pistol to its former glory. The main body of the pistol and the barrel were now in presentable condition and almost ready for refinishing. Before continuing with restoration work on the small components and screws, I decided to repair the broken right-hand grip. This had the bottom corner missing where it had snapped across the blind hole for the location dowel. The grips are made of Bakelite, a “thermoset’’ plastic which is quite brittle, and breakages like this are common, but tricky to fix invisibly. The grip…

There are times when all of us have thought we could do with a smaller airgun. Most often that is when we have grown tired of hauling a long, heavy rifle miles and miles across the fields or through the woods, especially when there is other essential gear to carry. Switch to a diminutive airgun like the Brocock Ranger XR and you’ve got a rifle that’s light to carry and can be stowed in a backpack, leaving your hands free to lug the rest of your kit. It can even be stashed under the seat of a truck by those who use a 4x4 to travel across the fields and through the woods. Compact airguns seem to be getting smaller and smaller, and the Ranger XR certainly is tiny. But…

As many shooters have found, traditional slings don’t work with some tactical rifles and bullpups. Such rifles are shorter, but not lighter. One solution is a single-point sling, like the Cobra One Point Bungee from Condor. Available in black, olive and camo, it weighs 215g and is made from 1¼” webbing. Two heavy duty buckles make it easy to release the sling from either side of the strap. An elasticated sleeve covers a metal clip which attaches to a sling attachment that you have to buy separately. A third buckle above it gives you the option of keeping the clip attached to your rifle and simply detaching it from the rest of the sling. The length is easily adjusted, allowing you to wear the sling over one shoulder or around…

Made from 25mm polyester webbing straps and high strength acetal buckles, the Roetex Hunter Pro Sling comes in green or black, with or without quick detach (QD) sling swivels to prevent unclipping. A broad shoulder pad distributes the weight of your rifle and the rubber backing ensures it won’t slip. Stress points are reinforced with box cross stitching. The Hunter Pro is in fact two slings in one and can be worn on either shoulder. In standard configuration it’s a conventional over-the-shoulder two-point sling, but by attaching an additional strap that passes behind your back and across your chest, it can be turned into a harness. The clever design ensures your rifle lies on its side over your back, making it more comfortable to carry. Pushing a button on the…

For some, drilling a nice piece of walnut to fit a sling stud doesn’t bear thinking about. However, the problem is that they still have to carry their rifle around, and ironically, many would argue that a slung rifle is less likely to get bashed about. The solution then is the swivel-less sling, or to be more accurate, the Universal Gun Sling, like that supplied by Ant Supplies. With plenty of scope for adjustment, it uses loops to attach around the barrel and the wrist of the pistol grip. The design means most rifles are happiest being carried muzzle down, which isn’t a bad thing as long as you make sure you don’t plug the barrel with mud. Made from 25mm wide black webbing, the strap has a wide and…

As you may already be aware, BSA has released a brand new range of airgun ammo with a choice of four different designs in both .177 and .22 calibres, and while I’ll probably work my way through them all in due course, I thought I’d kick off with the Gold Star in .177, a domehead diabolo that will no doubt end up being a big success for BSA as this little projectile is such a great all-rounder. While it’s always interesting to experiment with other pellet designs, I’m a huge fan of domeheads as they are capable of taking on pretty much any type of airgun shooting, except those target disciplines where the rules insist on the use of wadcutters. These particular domeheads have a head size of 4.52mm and…

Wold Farm, which is renowned for its airgun shooting and fishing, has undergone a major refurbishment – and it’s marking the occasion with two open days where members of the public can come and have a look round for free. The open days are being held on the weekend of 14-15 August, and shooters will be able to see Wold Farm’s dedicated zeroing range as well as its multiple-lane plinking range with covered and uncovered firing points for sitting, standing, kneeling or prone shooting. There’s also a Woodland Walk Course, which offers a massive range of targets, plus an assortment of targets that have been set out on a lake. These move in the breeze, bringing a new challenge and dimension to air rifle shooting. And if you like what…

Farmyards can be very useful places for airgun shooters to turn to. Not only do they attract a lot of pests, they also provide somewhere to shelter from the elements when weather conditions don’t suit shooting out on open ground. During the winter, when the weather is cold and wet and natural food is scarce, rats and pest birds home in on the farm as they know they will be able to find protection from sleet, floods and icy winds, and there’s also likely to be a ready supply of easy pickings waiting for them. When summer comes, the shelter of farm buildings remains an attraction. Pests are drawn in by feed and also by the large, airy buildings which provide cool shade when outside temperatures are climbing. Although the…

It has been a good few months since I accompanied my son James to an HFT shoot. At my age I have been enjoying the relative relaxation of numerous shooting sessions sitting at a bench and had forgotten just how physically taxing getting up and down from the deck 30-odd times can be upon ageing bones. The mind is well up for it, but the body continues to let me down these days. The venue for my most recent trip was the quaintly named Throckmorton Shooting Ground in Worcestershire. This is a good two-and-a-half-hour drive for us, and despite my son James attempting to emulate the manoeuvring capability of the “Tic Tac” UFO recently described by a US Navy pilot, the traffic still caused one or two delays, although I…

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If, like me, you’ve viewed slings as a relatively simple piece of equipment then shame on you, or rather us. The Quick Release Rifle Sling from Red Kettle is not only superbly made, but thoughtfully designed with features you didn’t even know you needed. The 1½” fine weave webbing, available in green or black, distributes weight evenly, is flexible and not at all abrasive. It also features a non-slip rubber panel, so you won’t find yourself constantly shrugging your shoulder to try to settle your rifle in a more comfortable position. The main strap has two straps at either end finished with heavy duty buckles for plenty of adjustment to accommodate the largest of shooters comfortably. You will need to invest in a set of quick release swivel attachments as…

Made from 1½” webbing, the Dual Sling from Alpine Innovations is one of the sturdiest slings I’ve ever used. Indeed, the blurb says it will manage any rifle, shotgun or even crossbow – and I can believe it. But it is much more. That webbing, for example, has three rubberised strips woven into it to ensure your rifle won’t slip on your shoulder. And the QD swivels that are included can be screwed down for additional security. The best feature though is the fact that, just as the name suggests, the Dual Sling can either be worn over the shoulder in the usual way, or, simply by separating the double strap and slipping one over your head you can wear it over both shoulders and across your chest, which frees…

Like most other things in our sport, the humble sling has evolved from a simple piece of string to an array of purpose-made, thoughtfully conceived solutions all designed to make carrying your rifle easier and more comfortable. As ever, consider what you want a sling for. Do you expect to walk long distances, carrying lots of other kit? Or do you simply need something to make life a little easier as you wander through the woods? Cross-strap harnesses are undoubtedly more comfortable and leave both hands free. However, whilst many have quick release catches, the extra straps on some can be a hindrance if you expect plenty of shots and need to keep taking your rifle on and off. The humble over-the-shoulder strap may require a little more work in…

FOR SALE: Vintage Milbro G10 .177 calibre 20-shot BB repeater. One owner from new, bought 1970s. Full working order and in original box. Some paint wear, but excellent for age. £35 ono. Paul Bangert (Sheffield). Tel: 07956 594607. Email: paulbangert@me.com FOR SALE: Weihrauch HW100 Sport (thumb stock) .177”/4.5mm cal, with scope and silencer. Excellent condition. £675 ono including postage. Dave Roberts (South Wales). Tel: 01495 759234. FOR SALE: Karl Kaps 1-4x24 (30mm tube) rifle scope. Very high quality traditional scope by Kaps of Wetzlar, Germany. Kaps was established in 1946 and currently makes surgical microscopes and precision binoculars and rifle scopes. German No 1 reticle. New and boxed. £445. Ray Garner (East Yorkshire). Tel: 01977 661671. Email: garnermuriel@gmail.com FOR SALE: Brocock Sniper XR in .177 calibre. Sidelever in grey laminate…