Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2021 i Airgun Shooter

AUTHORITY AIRGUN Shooter is by airgunners for airgunners. Our team has decades of experience in everything from target shooting to hunting and is committed to bringing you the highest quality advice in print and video every month. PASSION WE are 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 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. INSPIRATION OUR mission is to maximise the enjoyment you get from shooting,…

LAY DOWN LESS TO COVER UP Daystate has been adding some high quality clothing to its range recently, including everything from a beanie hat to a waterproof jacket with the Daystate logo front, back and on each arm, and Airgun Shooter readers can grab some of this for less than the retail price. Readers can get a 15% discount on all online purchases until the end of September by using the code MDA5FJ7O93CE at checkout. The discount doesn’t just apply to clothing though, as it can be used to buy other items such as pellets, magazines, batteries, gun stocks, accessories for the flagship Delta Wolf, a hard case and even a Daystate pen. All of this can be found in the online store at daystate.com/shop. GET WALKING FOR WILDLIFE Airgun…

I was 12 when my dad took me to a local shooting club where I shot an air pistol and rifle for the first time. My first thought when I brought back the target was: “That’s ok, but I think I could do much better.” I was hooked after only my first few shots. I’m competitive by nature. I like to push myself to see what I can achieve and how far I can go. I saw that there was a huge opportunity for me in the world of shooting if I was prepared to put the effort in to be competitive. Being part of the Target Sprint team in South Korea at the 2018 ISSF World Shooting Championships and winning a bronze medal gave me a taste of the…

They say people can judge one’s age by your favourite James Bond actor, the one who would have been playing the part during the time of your earlier and influential years. In my own case that would have been the late, great Roger Moore, although my actual favourite 007 outing is 2012’s Skyfall. Not only is it partly set in the majestic Glen Etive in Scotland, where incidentally, struck by the beauty of the place, I spontaneously proposed to my partner, but there is also a scene earlier in the film set in the National Gallery in London where Bond and the new Quartermaster meet for the first time. Here the young upstart Q mocks 007, intimating that secret agents are only required “as every now and then a trigger…

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, Quay House, The Ambury, Bath, BA1 1UA MEET YOUR TEAM OF AIRGUN ADVISORS RAY GARNER RAY’s been there, seen it and done it, but while he enjoys shooting older airguns, he’s got a taste for more modern hardware too LEE PERRYMAN LEE’S an avid airgun shooter who loves testing and evaluating new gear to make sure the tools he uses are always right for the job PHIL SIDDELL PHIL is a confirmed airgun hunter, and always has plenty of sound advice…

airgunshooter@futurenet.com BRINGING you the best reviews coverage we can is of critical importance to us. The members of our review team are all passionate shooters. We have decades of experience between us, and we put that experience to good use when testing the products that you see in this section. It’s our responsibility to make sure that the rifles, pistols, optics and accessories that we test are able to enhance your sport! AWARDS PRODUCTS receiving this award represent excellent value for money, whether they’re high-end, entry level or anywhere in between THIS award goes to products that are the very best in their class, taking into account build quality and fit as well as performance ANY item we recommend has to be something we’d be happy to use ourselves, and…

Stealth Pants may sound like something SpongeBob would wear when undercover, but the version marketed by Ridgeline have a much more practical use and are designed specifically for summer use. The lightweight material is almost silent when you walk with no rustling or rubbing, and the lightweight, stretchy fabric makes moving through the undergrowth much easier. Elasticated trouser leg turn-ups make giving yourself away by snagging on a twig or stick less likely. These are intended for summer use, where the breathable fabric will keep you cool. The flip side though is that they have little in the way of insulation for colder days. The Stealth Pants are not waterproof either, although if you do get caught in a summer downpour, Ridgeline says they are very quick drying. Quiet-to-operate zipped…

The benefit of a gilet is that it can be worn on its own or used as a body warmer with a heavy jacket in the winter. Get the right one and you won’t look out of place down the pub either. Jack Pyke’s Hybrid Gilet is lightweight, but has enough thermal insulation to take the edge off in the early morning or late evening, especially as the central zipper will close the gilet right up to your chin. A zip-up chest pocket and two further zipped hand warmer pockets provide plenty of space to keep shooting gear and valuables safe. Available only in dark green, the gilet is made from 100 percent polyester and filled with 200gsm thermal insulation. Panels of elasticated polyester polar fleece down both sides ensure…

WHAT A JOY it was to be back out and about seeing people at the Game Fair after such a long spell without any proper fieldsports gatherings. The shooting community was obviously eager to catch up again, as organisers reported record numbers attending the event at Ragley Hall. I had a great couple of days there, and really enjoyed meeting readers on the Airgun Shooter stand. Even in these days of being able to keep in touch via social media, nothing beats getting out there and catching up with people face-to-face. As far as I could tell, this year’s show attracted more airgun shooters than ever. Although there was a lot for them to see and do, many felt that the major airgun brands had let them down by failing…

Dusk looms over a small meadow in middle-of-nowhere Cheshire. It’s a still summer evening, silent except for the occasional car trundling up the road that borders the farm. These fields haven’t seen livestock for years, and docks and buttercup stems are high. I’m sure there are rabbits in here somewhere. I linger close to a tall hedge, perfectly still, my Weihrauch HW95 poised and my finger just itching to slip the safety to “fire”. Hopefully my Jack Pyke Digicam jacket and cheapo posted-from-China face veil are rendering me semi-invisible. I haven’t bothered to camouflage my lower half. I’m gambling that rabbits are more likely to be bemused than alarmed by the sight of two disembodied human legs standing by a hedge in dark blue jeans and red trainers. Nothing stirs,…

My heart sinks when the owner of one of my permissions tells me he’s “‘overrun” or “infested” with pests, because I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve turned up with plenty of pellets and spare air only to be left disappointed. But when my mate Gareth, himself an experienced hunter and pest controller, invited me to one of his permissions to shoot a few crows telling me “you won’t have seen anything like it”, I was a little more confident. Any lingering concern that he’d exaggerated the number of corvids disappeared the second I pulled into the farmyard and was met with swarms of crows, jackdaws and rooks. They were in the cattle sheds, on the roofs, hopping around in the yard and flying overhead. It turned out the…

Jack Pyke has combined two essential pieces of kit into one with the LLCS 3D Baseball Cap and Veil to protect your head and shade your eyes from the sunlight while concealing your face from sharp-eyed quarry. Available without the veil, the cap is designed with English Oak Evolution camo leaves; the leaves help to break up your outline. Made from 100 percent polyester, the cap itself is light and perforated to help keep you cool and has a velcro adjuster on the back. The mesh veil has the same camouflage pattern. It hangs loosely about your face and has a velcro adjuster. It’s long enough to cover your neck and throat, and a wide opening for your eyes ensures your peripheral vision is not impeded. THE AIRGUN SHOOTER VERDICT…

Pentagon Renegade Tropic Pants manage to be hardwearing enough to resist brambles and thorns, yet light and comfortable to wear at the same time. And if the clouds do let rip, they will keep you dry enough, thanks to a DWC (Durable Water Coating) grade 4 treatment. Made from 91 percent polyester and nine percent elastane fabric, which stretches in four directions, Renegade Tropic Pants have enough give to make clambering over obstacles easy. There’s also a choice of black, grey, khaki, maroon and charcoal blue in sizes ranging from 30 to 42 inch waist and 32 or 34 inch leg. Two open pockets on the back and three on the front are deep enough to keep items like a torch or knife that you’re likely to need in a…

The Catch-22 when it comes to summer shooting is the need to wear clothing that is light and will keep you cool, but can also protect you from the elements if necessary without being so bulky as to restrict freedom of movement. Available from Jack Pyke in sizes ranging from small to 3XL, the Pro-Lite Hunters Jacket manages to achieve the best of several different worlds. It is made from lightweight, three-layer, four-way stretch mesh and carries a 10,000mm waterproof rating, which means it will keep out the equivalent of a 10 metre column of water. A hood, which can be adjusted with drawstrings and tucked away under the collar when not in use, will button up right under your chin. A full-length, two-way front zip helps you to control…

The Seven Deadly Sins are defined by the Church and theologians as habits and behaviours which, if unchecked, could lead to the downfall and damnation of even the purest of souls. If you happen to feel uneasy as you read my observations, then you only have yourself to blame! PRIDE This most commonly manifests itself in shooters who are in possession of that most wondrous of things – a new gun! Following the owner’s modest admission that the hardware is indeed new, there will then follow an unprompted and detailed summary of the gun’s technical data: its barrel length in millimetres and inches, its weight (unscoped) in kilograms and pounds, and so on and so on. In extreme cases, this can lead to an impromptu and in-depth Q&A session, primarily…

Due to the problems all our lives have faced during the past 18 months or so, it had been a long time since I had accompanied my son James to take part in an HFT shoot at Fort Airgun Club in North Wales. We are not currently members of the club, but may well be joining soon. Anybody doubting the stunning beauty provided by much of the countryside within this particular area of Wales need only drive to this club to witness what can only be described as truly spectacular scenery that surrounds the venue, which is situated in a stunning natural wood. On a day blessed with nice weather, the incredibly old stone walls and general layout of the terrain confirm that man has been living off the land…

Summer is well and truly here, and that means long sunny evenings in which to test your fieldcraft skills by stalking the hedgerows. Of course, stalking is not exclusively a summertime discipline, nor does it make other tactics redundant, but it does require some thinking about what kit to take and, perhaps just as importantly, what you plan on wearing. Hopefully summer will mean warm temperatures and just the right amount of rain, so you’ll want clothes that not only hide you from anxious eyes, but keep you cool and protect you from stinging nettles and biting bugs. Those old wellies that served you throughout the wetter months are likely to be a hindrance when it comes to moving stealthily now. And that heavy jacket may have kept you warm…

When it comes to clothing for our upper halves, the majority of shooting attire seems to either be thick and heavy fleeces, full jackets or short-sleeved T-shirts. As a result, they are either too warm in the summer, or expose your arms to your quarry, never mind all kinds of biting and stinging insects. Available either in olive green or sand, Ridgeline’s Lightweight Canterbury Ripstop Shirt is the ideal solution. Despite its lack of bulk, the ripstop cotton fabric is both cool to wear in the summer heat and robust enough to deal with snags in the field, although Ridgeline will only commit to it avoiding ‘long tears’ in the material. Two button-down chest pockets are handy for carrying small items and the button-down cuffs, collar and pleated back reduce…

It’s unlikely you’ll ever need to resort to hand-to-hand combat when tackling airgun quarry, but it’s nice to know we can buy gear that has been designed for more serious encounters. Take this shirt from Military 1st, which technically is an ‘Under Body Armour Combat Shirt’ (UBACS) designed to be worn under combat assault vests. The bunnies on my permissions aren’t all that tough so I forgo the armour, but on its own, the top is a superb piece of summer kit. The upper chest is made from ripstop material, which has a little give and will resist all but the most ferocious thorns, with a quarter zip that goes up to your throat. There are useful zip-up pockets on the upper sleeves, one of which has a hole so…