lets see your air rifles!!
- Thread starter Siberianfury
- Start date
thanks ill keep that in mind when i look around for them. there was a good online shop for buying and selling second hand rifles but i cant remember what its called. why do you say these are better? i have used the air arms s400 classic and carbine and they are quiet and have excellent range and accuracy, why are the ones you suggested better?
and does anyone know how you find out the make and age of a bsa airsporter rifle? an old air rifle guy looked at the one in my picture and because it still has the etching and is in great condition should fetch £200! i need a second opinion though before selling it.
Here is my new rifle,
Air Arms pro sport .22, walnut stock with a WTC 3.5 -10x 40
Lovely rifle, I have owned a prosport in .177 for a good few years and I would say that it's probably the best spring gun that I have ever owned.
I gave up with my air rifle for most things - BSA lightning on .22 and got this:
silenced. All you hear is the thump of it hitting, unless you go HV...
silenced. All you hear is the thump of it hitting, unless you go HV...
They are very good rifles, heavy as hell as far as rifles go but that weight gives it great stability and the balance is excellent. The only springer i can think of that is as good was the Tx200SR, and that was only because it was semi recoiless
Yeah, I know that feeling. When I was a kid I used to use a Feinwerkbau 300su fitted with a diopter sight, a very fine and accurate rifle, but only for target work.
For hunting back then it was either a Weihrauch HW35 or the HW80. I also had access to an ASI sniper and a BSA Supersporter.
Now I have the Pro-Sport and an S410TDR. The Pro-Sport has a low profile single piece mount with inbuilt arrestor block and a Bushnell Trophy 3-9 x 40 sat in it.
I need better mounts for this, its got some cheapish hawke 2 piece jobs on at the moment. They aint that bad, they have damper strips in the clamps and an arrestor stud but its pretty naff.
Hows the accuracy on yours? group size etc? Not had this for long and only been out with it for a bit to get some lead in the barrel and loosen the internals up a bit. When the weather warms up i'll be setting a range up and giving it some hammer. My first attempts at a group with it looked like id let loose with a shotty
well 2" at 28 yards shivering in the snow. What pellets does yours like? I was using AA field which i expect will fly well being an AA gun but thats not always the case.I had a HW80 years ago, nice rifle it was too and have had the 97k aswell, again a heavy gun but a good one. They love a tune up
Had a 410k too, in fact id say it was the best rifle i have had. Not the most expensive but certainly the one i reached for the most, it was hard to miss with that. Shame about shot capacity being low compared to some, even less if you only use the sweet spot. I miss that little rifle come to think of it
I need better mounts for this, its got some cheapish hawke 2 piece jobs on at the moment. They aint that bad, they have damper strips in the clamps and an arrestor stud but its pretty naff.
Hows the accuracy on yours? group size etc? Not had this for long and only been out with it for a bit to get some lead in the barrel and loosen the internals up a bit. When the weather warms up i'll be setting a range up and giving it some hammer. My first attempts at a group with it looked like id let loose with a shotty
I had a HW80 years ago, nice rifle it was too and have had the 97k aswell, again a heavy gun but a good one. They love a tune up
Had a 410k too, in fact id say it was the best rifle i have had. Not the most expensive but certainly the one i reached for the most, it was hard to miss with that. Shame about shot capacity being low compared to some, even less if you only use the sweet spot. I miss that little rifle come to think of it
The .177 using Bisley magnums was grouping 5 rounds at around .5" at 25 meters supported. Unsupported was more like 0.75" at the same range.
With the .22's lower velocity, greater size and more curved trajectory there will be differences, especially when you are changing position slightly every time you reload. This is where Multishot PCP come into their own, static supported shoots. However snap shooting the pro-sport is a monster and is capable of matching a PCP quite happily with practice, plus there is no requirement to recharge using a stirrup or buddy bottle.
Recently found my ProSport .177 likes Falcon Acuracy Plus pellets best, out off the ones I've put through it so far ( AA field, JBS Exact, Webley Mossies ) but I've not tried them out to any real distance yet.
My other springer, a BSA Superstar in .22, likes them too.
I'd definitely put them on your shortlist to try.
Being a light pellet the trajectory is flatter, if your going to use them for hunting, at distance, try shooting some cheap soap, I've read that they should penertrate twice as far into a rabbit as they do into the soap, at the same distance, though I think temperature would make a difference for the soap test myself so I'd guess that's at least twice as far in this weather. Though better still try them on a dead rabbit at your max distance.
Im currently trying to get hold of another rifle for the vermin (rabits) at the other halfs parents farm. I have had both Co2 and springers in the past and I'm leaning towards a Co2 rifle again simple because of the lack of noise and the lack of recoil
Which would you guys rate, a Co2 or springer generally?
Which would you guys rate, a Co2 or springer generally?
one thing you have to remember with modern pcp air weapons is that almost all of them will perform nearly exactly the same.
a good portion of companies use the same barrel which is a lothar walther barrel. this barrel will happily put 10 pellets through the same hole at 40yrds.
i am not certain that AA uses these barrels - i do know however that they changed the barrels on the S400 to use the one from the S200 as it was better.
i personally do not like AA guns. i do not rate their pcp's as highly as the fanboys out there.
they are quite well made and i hear the after sales service is good.
however there are several fundamental issues that i cannot get my head around.
the saftey catch on the new models is located on the trigger - imo not a good design.
and the only reason it is on the trigger is because is was an after thought which was added in after owners made a fuss. - personally i cannot put my trust in a make who do not put safety at a high priority.
the daystate has a safety catch above the hand grip - easily operated by the thumb - your trigger finger is no where near the trigger while operating the saftey - thus you cant accidentally let off a shot.
the barrel on AA guns is also very thin - it doesn't look very sturdy.
the S400 series is too light for me personally.
the new models also fit both types of magazine - if you accidentally fit a .22 mag to a .177 it buggers up the gun - i have first hand experience of this as a guy did it at a competition i was at this summer.
i aslo find that the bolt is stiff and hard to cock.
daystate guns are simply better imo. they are solid and very well built.
good safety catch - great trigger.
the weihrauch hw100 is also a very good gun - it is a tank - very solid and well built.
14rnd mag so 4 more shots than the daystate. it also has a good regulator so shot to shot consistency is better.
another note one quietness - the S400 you used was probably using an after market silencer such as the weihrauch one - or perhaps a logun silencer - these fit most guns on the market.
i use a weihrauch silencer on my x2 and is is virtually silent.
springers are generally better than CO2 - there is only one CO2 rifle i know of which runs at hunting power level - i think it is by uramax. - i can't remember the name helpfully.
i suggest a gas ram - perhaps the hw90 from weihrauch.
if not then a good springer will do all you require even if it is a bit louder.
andy
Not really tried much grouping with this rifle yet. One hole groups are the norm for me once i have the correct pellet/barrel match, i used to shoot for a living though. You could cover my groups at 800 yards with a 10 franc coin on a still day
Not really done much shooting for a couple of years now though so need to get back into it. My stillness has gone a little now,
Are the falcon a new pellet? Cant recall them, though i havent shot in 2 years. Got AA field at the mo, was going to try the different head sizes in those then the JSB's then H&N. I'll give the ones you suggest a try too. I prefer a lighter pellet in springers anyway as they fly better something in the 14 to 15 grain range, the AA are 15.9 so are better suited to PCPs.
You need 4ft/lbs of energy to kill a rabbit cleanly so most decent rifles are capable of dropping one at 100 yards in .22 and 80 yards in .177 though most folk cant shoot accurately at that distance.
weihrauch 97 is what i use old school yes but the bloke holding it does the damage not the rifle, main uses are bunnies ,pigeons and crows and as many rats as i can at the allotment, i also have a small chinise air pistol which is great fun to play with inside the poly tunnel i have a steel sheet back drop, these two and some imageination and you can shoot effalumps in the poly tunnel if you wanted
I used to have an HW80 in .22, shortened and crowned barrel with an Evolutuion silencer.
I had it ranged every 5 yards out to 45 yards and it never let me down.
As it chrono'd at 16ft lbs I sold it to an FAC holder at my old club who'd had his eye on it.
I bought an HW77 in .177 instead.
I swear this is heavier by miles than my 80 and using "fiddly" .177 pellets took a bit of getting used to.
It's certainly more forgiving accuracy wise, flatter trajectory etc.
On quite a few occassions I've thought I've missed head shots on rabbits only to see them topple after a few steps. 177 doesn't seem to transfer the immediate shock of .22, but it works.
To be honest I've not really fallen in love with it yet.
I had it ranged every 5 yards out to 45 yards and it never let me down.
As it chrono'd at 16ft lbs I sold it to an FAC holder at my old club who'd had his eye on it.
I bought an HW77 in .177 instead.
I swear this is heavier by miles than my 80 and using "fiddly" .177 pellets took a bit of getting used to.
It's certainly more forgiving accuracy wise, flatter trajectory etc.
On quite a few occassions I've thought I've missed head shots on rabbits only to see them topple after a few steps. 177 doesn't seem to transfer the immediate shock of .22, but it works.
To be honest I've not really fallen in love with it yet.
Underlevers are always heavier that break barrels. That weight is good in a springer though as it absorbs the movement of the spring when fired making the rifle easier to shoot accurately.
.177 is known as the girlie callibre Yes its easier to shoot, but it does not make as good a hunting round as .22. Like you have experienced it suffers from over penetration and lack of knock down. I too have shot rabbits which have run off only to fall dead half way across a field, its a nightmare though whan shooting near warrens. If the rabbit gets in the hole then you have lost it and it might be suffering.
The old adage was .177 for feather, .22 for fur. It still hold true even if more folk say go .177 as its easier to shoot.
.177 is known as the girlie callibre
Yes its easier to shoot, but it does not make as good a hunting round as .22. Like you have experienced it suffers from over penetration and lack of knock down. I too have shot rabbits which have run off only to fall dead half way across a field, its a nightmare though whan shooting near warrens. If the rabbit gets in the hole then you have lost it and it might be suffering.The old adage was .177 for feather, .22 for fur. It still hold true even if more folk say go .177 as its easier to shoot.
Unfortunately I agree with all you've said there Hillbill.
Mutter, mutter, grumble....
Anyone want a .177 cricket bat??
In my defence I was doing a lot of FT shooting...
Girlie calibre made me laugh out loud!!
Think I'll sell it/swap it and get an 80 again, maybe even an 80K.
Mutter, mutter, grumble....
Anyone want a .177 cricket bat??
In my defence I was doing a lot of FT shooting...
Girlie calibre made me laugh out loud!!
Think I'll sell it/swap it and get an 80 again, maybe even an 80K.
Unfortunately I agree with all you've said there Hillbill.
Mutter, mutter, grumble....
Anyone want a .177 cricket bat??
In my defence I was doing a lot of FT shooting...
Girlie calibre made me laugh out loud!!
Think I'll sell it/swap it and get an 80 again, maybe even an 80K.
They are good but there a newer/better stuff about.
If you want a HW then theres the 95k which is quite light and very accurate. The webley longbow is good too, both break barrels.
If you want the weight of underlever then the 97k or the TX200HC are the daddys in this catagory for hunters ( TX is better IMO)
If you want the best, there the pro sport but that is a heavy gun and the underlever is aluminium
