SMK air rifles

  • Hey Guest, Early bird pricing on the Summer Moot (29th July - 10th August) available until April 6th, we'd love you to come. PLEASE CLICK HERE to early bird price and get more information.

Peter_t

Native
Oct 13, 2007
1,353
2
East Sussex
i agree with Matt.S, i have handled cheep airguns including an SMK and they are pretty awful imo:eek: your far better off getting a quality brand such as BSA, Weihrauch or air arms. for my money you can't go wrong with a quality spring gun but if you cant afford a brand new one costing around £200 you can often pick them up in good condition second hand for half that or less. webley is another very good make, it used to be one of the best but the company went bankrupt and was brought by AGS which now manufactures them in turkey and they are now not much better than your cheep chinese stuff:(

pete
 

HillBill

Bushcrafter through and through
Oct 1, 2008
8,141
88
W. Yorkshire
SMK air rifles can be found in most Gun shops in the UK and are proving to be highly popular with begginer air gunners as they are cheap, the SMK state that their rifles are full power and suitable for hunting small game.
I have just recently started hunting with air rifles (ive been shooting them since i was about 9) and decided to buy a more powerful and accurate air gun than my old .177 BSA cadet. as i am a student and had a tight budget of around £100 i went for a look around the gunshops in my area (buying from BBS was not an option as i cant register). after looking in a few and lookng on the internet i bought a smk19 in .22 for around £90, i was so pleased, some reveiws on the internet said that this gun was of poor build quality i should have listened. i found the quality ok but the trigger was hellist and the recoil was similar to that of a 12bore. after zeroing my scope, practicing and practicing untill i could hit a grape at 20 yards i aquired permission from a local farmer and off i went after rabbits, crows and pigeons.

scope zeroed at 30yrds i could see it was innifective at this range as very few of my kills were clean and often required a second shot. the first one to be wounded was a rabbit shot 25yrds away in the head, having done this it upset me, i hit the rabbit in the exact place but the pellet just didnt do the job i didnt hunt with that rifle after that.

After just one and a half tins of bisley lrg's and the pellets were clearly visible when shot and bounced off wood at 20 yards (full power my ar*e), then the spring broke, i had the rifle replaced thinking that my last one was faulty but no after a couple of weeks the same thing happned, thinking it was mabye the model of the rifle i bought an SMK xs36-2 underleaver claimed to be very powerful, nope it to lost power plus upon inspection the new rifle had a nice layer of rust inside the breech, that was it, i took it back and got a full refund.
After looking around a bit more and saving up some more money i went for a BSA lightning in .22, its unbelivably better, im now able to hit a hazel nut from across my garden (35m) and take everything cleanly in one shot, its my pride and joy and will keep my freezer full.

i will never buy from smk again and deeply regret ever investing in their products.
Rant over

ATB
Josh

Totally agree with you Josh. SMK are pants.

Sonds like there was too much shock being kept in the chamber. A rubber washer would have lessened it and prolonged the guns life a bit. Still, your better off rid of it.

Look after that lightning mate, it will serve you well for years. I'd be tempted to put a gas ram in it myself. It takes away the maintainance etc of a spring and is more consistent. Not cheap though, maybe £40 - £50. Keep up the good shooting :)
 

HillBill

Bushcrafter through and through
Oct 1, 2008
8,141
88
W. Yorkshire
i might just order a tin as i have heard good things about them, do you know if a lighter pellet would be more effective at stopping rabbits ect? i hunt in famland so my ranges are frequently 40 yards and i need a good hard hitting flat trajectory pellet
what rifles do you shoot with?

In a springer, a lighter pellet generates more ft/lbs (not much) they are more efficient and easier for the spring to fling. So the best idea springer wise is go for the lightest pettet you can that groups the best. The accuracy is more important than how fast the pellet leaves the barrel. The opposite is true of pcp's, heavier pellets are more efficient.

My S410k was seriously accurate. I had had it for maybe 6 months before i got a chrono and was dropping nearly everything i aimed at. Tested it 10.2 ft/lbs :eek: I had been dropping bunnies/woodies out to 50 yard with a .22 rifle doing 10.2. I was pretty surprised.

You only need around 4 ft/lbs to drop a rabbit with a head shot.
 

HillBill

Bushcrafter through and through
Oct 1, 2008
8,141
88
W. Yorkshire
I shoot .177 and have no problems with how hard my pellets hit ;) and thats right out to 45 yards with fast humane kills

Like any other aspect of shooting, accuracy and shot placement are the key!

Saying that, the mosquito will hit plenty hard enough for you! ;)

.177 will be just as lethal to quarry at ranges upto 60 yards or so. Easier to hit with at longer distance too. My last rifle (MFR) was .177. I liked it a lot
 

HillBill

Bushcrafter through and through
Oct 1, 2008
8,141
88
W. Yorkshire
Hollow points are shortrange things really, and at short range I think the energy transfer should be fine.

I'd only use them for short range pestcontrol if I knew I wasn't going to any other type of shooting, in other words something like the AA Field will deliver in all scenarios

I have a lot of pellets in my shooting box. . . .none of them are hollow points, thats not to say they are no good, I just don't use them as I may be taking a 30 yard corvid, then a 15 yard rat then a 45 yard bunny!

Drew

Yeah they are good for quarry upto about 20 yards. They are not as aerodynamically stable as a round head therefore accuracy suffers.

Ideal for rats and farm yard ferals though.

H&N hollow points being the ones i found to be the best
 

HillBill

Bushcrafter through and through
Oct 1, 2008
8,141
88
W. Yorkshire
As for myself I've been considering an Air Arms TX200 for a little while now... in .177" of course! It's not a 'cheap' gun nor is it inexpensive, but divide that £300-odd by the many thousands of pellets I'm likely to send downrange over its lifetime and it works out to be quite the bargain. Compare that with the £100 for a SMK rifle with a lifetime of a few hundred pellets...

You won't go wrong with a TX. I had the hunter carbine. They are second only to the pro sport out of the box. But can be tuned as good. But then, so can a HW97.
 

welshwhit

Settler
Oct 12, 2005
647
0
42
Mid-Wales
As for myself I've been considering an Air Arms TX200 for a little while now... in .177" of course! It's not a 'cheap' gun nor is it inexpensive, but divide that £300-odd by the many thousands of pellets I'm likely to send downrange over its lifetime and it works out to be quite the bargain. Compare that with the £100 for a SMK rifle with a lifetime of a few hundred pellets...

Do it mate!

You won't regret it, the HC is what I'd go for, very pointable and can be tuned super sweet!

You won't regret it!

Great Rifle, in fact, I may go and shoot mine right now! :)

Drew
 

welshwhit

Settler
Oct 12, 2005
647
0
42
Mid-Wales
.177 will be just as lethal to quarry at ranges upto 60 yards or so. Easier to hit with at longer distance too. My last rifle (MFR) was .177. I liked it a lot

I just traded in my MFR. . . . Actually very sad to see it go, awesome hunter, but then again its replacement is just as capable!

Drew
 

Siberianfury

Native
Jan 1, 1970
1,534
6
mendip hills, somerset
phew, just got back from the wilderness gathering, amazing place. Anyway, .....ooohh it seems my little thread is doing rather well.

4ft/lbs impact energy, wow didnt realise it was that litte, what sort of range do you think that would be with a 11.5 ft/lb .22?
 

Colin.W

Nomad
May 3, 2009
294
0
Weston Super Mare Somerset UK
A friend of mine has a rifle similar to the crossman but it is powered by compressed air which he has to manually pump into each cartridge on a jig with a lever pump, I have fired a few shots from it and found it ok quite good penetration into an apple from about 45 feet. I've not had much experience with air rifles, having fired various firearms whilst serving in the RN, air gun have never held any appeal to me (felt a bit like going from a 850cc motorbike to a moped) although I do enjoy archery but alas we're not allowed to hunt with bow and arrow
 

Crafty

Forager
Apr 7, 2009
203
1
...Location.... Location....
I have a SMK Custom Carbine Hunter XS19 for close-range light work and it's been okay for me; but as their most expensive rifle that's what I expect.
I don't expect my SMK to be accurate at long range; you do really get what you pay for when it comes to air rifles.
 

welshwhit

Settler
Oct 12, 2005
647
0
42
Mid-Wales
you do really get what you pay for when it comes to air rifles.

I agree with that,

However, the second hand market for airguns can get you some real bargins!

I shot yesterday with a chap who never buys 'new' guns and he is one awesome shot! I think the trick is research into what are the solid, accurate and reliable rifles!

Drew
 

HillBill

Bushcrafter through and through
Oct 1, 2008
8,141
88
W. Yorkshire
phew, just got back from the wilderness gathering, amazing place. Anyway, .....ooohh it seems my little thread is doing rather well.

4ft/lbs impact energy, wow didnt realise it was that litte, what sort of range do you think that would be with a 11.5 ft/lb .22?

Knocking on for 100 yards i reckon, maybe 70 with .177. Your not going to hit much at those distances though. Shooters/the comics(airgun mags) suggest shooting at no more than 30 - 35 yards. Thats does not mean you can't take quarry further than that but those ranges are generally what both callibres are zero'd to and as such the shooting is simple in comparison to longer ranges. I regularly take quarry much beyond those, but thats me and i used to shoot scoped rifles for a living. I would not reccomend trying it.

If you can cover a 10 shot group on a target with a 2p coin then your good to go at that distance with that rifle/scope/pellet combo from that same stance.
 

Siberianfury

Native
Jan 1, 1970
1,534
6
mendip hills, somerset
Knocking on for 100 yards i reckon, maybe 70 with .177. Your not going to hit much at those distances though. Shooters/the comics(airgun mags) suggest shooting at no more than 30 - 35 yards. Thats does not mean you can't take quarry further than that but those ranges are generally what both callibres are zero'd to and as such the shooting is simple in comparison to longer ranges. I regularly take quarry much beyond those, but thats me and i used to shoot scoped rifles for a living. I would not reccomend trying it.

If you can cover a 10 shot group on a target with a 2p coin then your good to go at that distance with that rifle/scope/pellet combo from that same stance.

max range ive killed at was a rabbit at around 50 yards, but my scope is usualy zeroed into around 25-35 yards
 

MartiniDave

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Aug 29, 2003
2,355
130
62
Cambridgeshire
I was always trught to get as close as you can, then 5 yards closer!

I have taken rabits at 45 yards plus with 12 ft lb rifles, but i'd much soone take them at 25 if I possibly can. It's a lot fairer to your fair game. It doesn't take much in the way of wind to deflect an air rifle pellet off target, especially as the range increases.

Find your local club and get along for a couple of decent range sessions with experienced shooters. Don't be ashamed to pick their brains and steal the better ideas.

I've found that finding the rifle you like, discovering it's prefered pellet, sticking to that pellet and learning how it behaves under differing conditions until its second nature is really the way to go. The only problem is, I find buying air rifles as adictive as buying knives and axes!

Its a great sport, enjoy it!

Dave
 

welshwhit

Settler
Oct 12, 2005
647
0
42
Mid-Wales
I've found that finding the rifle you like, discovering it's prefered pellet, sticking to that pellet and learning how it behaves under differing conditions until its second nature is really the way to go. The only problem is, I find buying air rifles as adictive as buying knives and axes!

I agree with alot of what you say there Dave!

Half the fun in airgun hunting is the stalk!

I like to be within 45 yards of the quarry, but on a nice still day then I may take it further!

Dave has already mentioned the value of shooting with experienced shooters, I shoot alot of HFT now and it has done my hunting no end of good!

But I too suffer from Daves condition, no sooner do I know a rifle inside out, I seem to buy a new one!

The only thing to do to truely know what you and your rifle are capable of I'm afraid is to get out and out pellets through your rifle! What a bind aye! :D :rolleyes: :cool:

Enjoy shooting and try HFT too, great laugh and you learn alot about range and how the pellet behaves in wind, rain, hail, sun, heat, cold, banter. . . . and when it all goes pete tong, you can look at the others and when they stop with the banter they will help you work out what happened!

Happy Shooting!

Drew
 

Siberianfury

Native
Jan 1, 1970
1,534
6
mendip hills, somerset
you are completly right,
the biggest thrill of the hunt is the stalking, concealment and having your quarrys head centered in your crosshairs whilst keepng an eye on the blades of grass blowing in the wind, you wait for the perfect moment to pull the trigger and as you do everything seems to slow down, no matter how many times i do it its the most weird feeling ending a life. as you watch your quarry through your scope being knocked over by a speeding pellet then twitching on the ground for a second, you begin to walk up to your kill whilst loading another pellet into you rifle incase its not quite dead, you approch your kill, crouch down, and draw your knife, check the kill over for disease and onomilys, then you paunch it and take it home to eat.

its that short period of time between when you start to pull the trigger til when you see your quarry knocked to the ground that is the most strange and personal, for me it seems
everything except me, my rifle and my quarry ceases to exist, its just the three of us...
but unfortunatly for the quarry, three's a crowd!
 

susi

Nomad
Jul 23, 2008
421
0
Finland
Anyone here got any experience of the FAC Lightning in .22. Is the accuracy much worse than the 12ft/lb model? Any other comments?
 

BCUK Shop

We have a a number of knives, T-Shirts and other items for sale.

SHOP HERE