Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2022 i Airgun Shooter

“Ooh, I don’t like the sound of that,” said Dave, wincing. I didn’t like the sound of it, either. My normally whisper-quiet moderated Air Arms S400 had started to bark like an angry Doberman each time I pulled the trigger. Worryingly, the noise seemed to be coming from the breech. The club was busy so Dave and I were sharing a bench. He began to look uncomfortable about being so close to my possibly malfunctioning rifle. I tried a couple more shots. Woof! Woof! “Have you perhaps overfilled it?” Dave asked. I turned the gun over and inspected the gauge. It was, admittedly, at the very top of its recommended fill pressure. “I don’t think it’s that,” I said. I had no idea what was wrong with the rifle, but…

Feral pigeons are a constant problem for many farmers. These birds love to nest up in the rafters of large barns, especially as there is usually an easy food supply nearby. This prime habitat makes for very comfortable living, and it doesn’t take long for populations to get out of hand. The farm I am targeting today is a mixed holding where avian pests have been attracted by animal feed and stored grain. Apart from eating valuable feed and produce, the birds are posing an even more serious problem through the disease risk from their droppings. Feral pigeons have the potential to breed all year round with population spikes often occurring in the spring. Their numbers usually remain quite low on this farm as a result of my regular visits,…

The ballistic coefficient (BC) of a slug, pellet or bullet is a measure of its ability to overcome air resistance. A projectile with a high BC is desirable because it will retain more energy than one with a lower BC. All other factors being equal, a projectile with a higher BC will travel further, faster and flatter, and will be less affected by wind. These factors benefit both the target shooter and the hunter. If the shooter makes a mistake in range estimation, the projectile will land closer to the point of aim than one with a lower BC. Nevertheless, range estimation should always be impeccable when targeting live quarry. BC depends on the mass, diameter and drag coefficient of the projectile. It’s expressed in units of lb/in², but those…

In my last article I wrote about the many considerations that the target shooter must take on board following the fall of some dropping shots. These are the individual shots that fall well outside of the point of aim and usually end up destroying the good work you have put into the production of a match-winning target card. We have already considered just how important it is to make sure that our pellets are properly prepared and that our scope allows us to make the most of our combination’s accuracy on the range. If we are confident that all the ancillary equipment we are using is fully serviceable and that we are ourselves capable of maintaining proper trigger control, we are now left with the gun itself being of concern…

That Crosman’s Phantom springer has been around for over a decade is testament to the appeal of a well-made, affordable spring-powered air rifle. Like many airguns in the category, the Phantom’s stock is made from black plastic and has a good-quality, solid feel with little flex, although when submitted to the shake test, there was a slight rattle. There’s a solid rubber shoulder pad, and pimples on the steeply raked pistol grip and forend, indented just forward of the trigger, make for a comfortable handle. And the finish on the metalwork would hold its own against more expensive rifles. The two-stage metal trigger has a long second stage, but breaks cleanly. The rifle is 1,090mm long and weighs just over three kilos. The 420mm barrel breaks easily and the cocking…

I’ll be honest. When I opened the box, the first thought that popped into my mind was how much the Remington Express XP reminded me of a Weihrauch HW80. And that has to be a good thing. I’m not suggesting the Remington is as good as the legendary German springer, after all there’s a huge gap in terms of cost, but it has the same kind of solidity about it. It’s no surprise that the rifle is 1,160mm long and weighs 4kg, not including the 3-9x32 scope that is more than adequate given the overall price of the package. And despite its bulk, the Express XP’s stock, finished in a dark brown gloss stain on our test rifle, is well proportioned, with patches of stippling on the pistol grip and…

George Lincoln Jeffries had more or less done it all, designing a stunning new air rifle – the Lincoln Air Rifle – then getting BSA to make it. And as BSA got on with things, improving his design in the process, he later retired and his sons continued the family business. In the 1920s they turned their attention to airguns again, but this time it was the air pistol. Everyone was making air pistols, and the airgun here is one of their offerings, the Scout. It’s a smoothbore .177 design of the type referred to as a pop-out. Compressing the barrel against a hard surface backwards cocks the action and allows the rear breech pin to be unscrewed to pop a pellet in place. Far from being a cheap tin…

Despite the massive challenges brought about by Covid, the UK field sports industry in general, and airguns in particular, have managed to go from strength to strength over the past two years, allowing existing shooters to keep enjoying their sport while welcoming plenty of newcomers too. The Great British Shooting Awards 2022 highlights the companies and individuals who have worked so hard to achieve this. The people and products who emerged the winners in their categories were selected by our panel of high-profile judges and by public vote, and we’re delighted to announce the winning parties here. Shooting Apparel of the year Deerhunter Mallard Jacket Rifle Ammunition of the year Hornady GMX range Shotgun Ammunition of the year Gamebore Black Gold Dark Storm with Quad Seal Optics product of the…

I have never known a time when rats were more abundant. The farms where I am tasked with controlling these disease-spreading rodents seem to be suffering bigger and more frequent infestations each year. And their numbers are not just spiking in the winter – even after months of heavy shooting, rats are still lingering around the farmyards as spring advances. There are probably several reasons for rats doing so well, and I expect that one is related to farming practices providing them with plenty of food to sustain them through what should have been the most difficult months. I also think the rodents have benefited from the fact that times haven’t been as hard as they could be in terms of challenging weather. We have had a run of comparatively…

There has been talk for some time about the phasing out of lead in ammunition, but this is part of a drive to reduce lead pollution in general. A press release issued by the Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs back in March 2021 laid out the process for an official review, this being a two-year study. At some time in the future a public consultation is promised on the proposals that will be arrived at for any options over restrictions. The UK REACH initiative will seek to control toxic substances, this mind-numbingly bland title standing for Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals. What does this mean for us? Nobody really knows if and how this will affect the airgunning community here in the years ahead, in particular…

Marksmanship is a person’s ability to hit what they’re aiming at, and in order to achieve this there are four basic principles that need to be applied. I was recently asked to teach a lesson on this subject. That sounds easy enough, because we adopt these principles each and every time we compose and take a shot, don’t we? Hmm, maybe. Like many airgun shooters, I like to shoot several times a week, but rarely give much conscious thought to the way I’m doing it. And when it came to naming these fundamental principles, I’m embarrassed to admit that I couldn’t actually list any of them in a proper, structured manner. Instead, I had to go back to basics and read up about what I’d previously been taking for granted. Having…

The water-cooled M1917 machine gun in .30 calibre. The air-cooled M1919. The Browning M2 .50 calibre heavy machine gun. And the Browning Automatic rifle. These are just a few examples of the spectacular firearms that were designed by John Moses Browning, but the one he’s probably best remembered for is the 1911. This iconic handgun has sparked both powder-burning and airgun replicas, like the CO2-powered BB blowback seen here from Lee Enfield (Guns). Before we examine the Lee Enfield variant, let’s take a quick look at the original. The 1911 entered service with the US armed forces before the outbreak of the First World War, having been given the military designation Model 1911, or M1911. As a result of soldier feedback, it was subjected to a number of improvements. Completed…

Thanks to its range of reasonably priced PCPs, Gamo has earned a reputation for delivering performance on a budget. The company’s array of spring-powered rifles deserves the same recognition. The Whisper Sting is a good case in point. At 1,170mm including a stylish silencer that flares out towards the muzzle, it’s full-length but weighs just 3kg. Much of that is down to the good quality black synthetic stock that is nice and solid, with no flex. Fully ambidextrous, there are patches of stippling on the slender forend and pistol grip. There are cheekpieces either side of the butt, as well as a raised comb. A solid rubber shoulder pad looks to be the same as that used on sister company BSA’s Meteor Evo. Eye alignment to a set of good…

I’ve always had an interest in guns, even as a young boy. Obviously they were toy cap guns at the time and I preferred the ones that could take a whole 100-shot roll of caps because the “ammunition” was much cheaper than the six- or eight-shot plastic ring magazines used in the revolver-type pistols. My brother was a big bow and arrow enthusiast, so we used to play cowboys and Indians together. The only problem was, he had “ammunition” that he could actually shoot (arrows), whereas all I had was something that went bang and didn’t actually do anything. The toy pistols at the time used to have a lot of misfeeds and misfires, and if you decided to take aim properly, more often than not you would just end…

Modern airgun shooters are spoilt for choice when it comes to high-performance hardware and ammunition. Success in the field hinges on much more than just having fancy kit – it is knowing how to get the best from your gear and the fieldcraft choices you make. I was reminded of the importance of choosing the right tools for the job when I received a call from the farmer of one of my permissions regarding a rabbit warren on a large field. He was concerned about the damage its growing population of residents was causing to the embankment and asked if I could stem their destruction by thinning them out. He informed me that he had tried to shoot a few with his .17 HMR, but its loud muzzle crack spooked…

Isn’t it great to be an airgunner? Manufacturers compete to tempt us with the latest feature-rich rifles; Daystate gives us electronic rifles with built in chronographs, and just when we got used to the idea of needing a regulator, FX told us we need two. The constant flow of new and exciting rifles can be bewildering, and choosing a new one is genuinely difficult for some. In the process it’s easy to forget that fundamentally, shooting air rifles is a whole lot of fun. For many of us, the love affair with air rifles began with sending a few tin cans flying in the back garden, and more likely than not we were using a break-barrel spring rifle. Of course, a number of us graduated to more costly pre-charged pneumatics,…

Airgunners of a certain vintage go all misty-eyed at the mention of BSA’s venerable Meteor for the fact that for many it was their first “proper” air rifle. Back in the day it was a rifle for youngsters. Small, light and low-powered, but with enough quality to make shooting it rewarding, the Meteor was perfect for sending tins spinning in the garden. The Meteor Evo retains those attributes, but has matured with age and boasts close to the UK legal-limit output, capable of knocking over more than tin cans. At 950mm it’s heading for full-length, but at 3kg it’s suitable for younger shooters too, especially as the 370mm cold hammer-forged barrel is easy to break and cock. The handsome beech sporter stock is well proportioned, and is beautifully finished with…

In the world of airgun ballistics, a lighter pellet means a higher muzzle velocity, while a heavier pellet offers greater retained energy. Add into the mix different levels of power output, barrel types, barrel lengths, internal bore dimensions and twist rates, and it’s small wonder that we airgun shooters need to thoroughly test what travels down our barrels in order to find the perfect projectile. But H&N has been on a mission to help us find “the one” by adding to its Baracuda line-up in .22 calibre, first with the Baracuda 18 and now with the Baracuda 15. The “15” in this pellet’s name refers to the fact that it has an advertised weight of 15.89 grains compared with the 18.13 of the Baracuda 18. Like its big brother, H&N…

FOR SALE: Hatsan AT44-10, wooden stock, silencer, spare air cylinder, sling, soft case and 3L full air tank (needs testing). Great starter gun. A few usage marks. Photo on request. £250 ono. Sean Odell (Worthing). Tel: 07852 882151. Email: seanodell53@googlemail.com FOR SALE: Rohm Twinmaster 4.5/.177. All parts correct in box. Previously used for Pentathlon and Tetrathlon pistol shooting. £150. Sallie Walters (Warwickshire). Tel: 07732 990789. Email: salliewalters@hotmail.co.uk FOR SALE: Delta Wolf .22 with hard case/soft case, Hawke Sidewinder 6-32x56 scope, three tins of pellets. Only shot about 150 pellets, otherwise brand new. Buyer collects. £3,000. Michael Norbury (Leeds). Tel: 07787 196727. Email: anastacia092017@outlook.com FOR SALE: Schmidt & Bender 10x42 PMII HFT. Brand new, never used. Box, all receipts and cleaning kit. £900. John Spraggon (Middlesex). Tel: 07464 436371. Email: nuttybitchband@icloud.com…