springers, PCP's and Co2's

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jonnie drake

Settler
Nov 20, 2009
600
1
west yorkshire
I'll apologise now for asking about this but I was speeking to a friend who shoots the other day, just before I was about to buy my first air rifle, and he said springers were useless. :eek: I was pretty gutted, like one of those 'back to the drawing board' moments.

He said they werent worth the hassle because they recoil badly which gives them crap accuracy, especially at distance. I can understand this, but I have heard honest words from honest people about their springers being accurate at a fair distance too, and them being very capable hunting tools.

The reason a springer appeals to me is because they are cheaper. I would like to be able to shoot small game (with permission obv.) without having to sell my fishing gear to fund it.

What are your views on the matter? :confused:
 

FreddyFish

Settler
Mar 2, 2009
565
2
Frome, Somerset, UK
I too am new to air rifles, (since I was a kid 25+ yrs ago) and from the enquires I made this is what I found;

PCP's and CO2
FOR:
1. low/no recoil
2. quick second shot option
AGAINST:
1. Cost
2. hassle recharging in the field

Springers
FOR:
1. Low cost
2. No recharge probs
3. Simple
AGAINST:
1. recoil (but i don't think it's that bad)
2. long time to reset for second shot, if required for kill.

So as I am just dipping my toe in, I went for a springer. Cheap and cheerful, if I stick with it I might change in the future.
 

bushwacker bob

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Sep 22, 2003
3,824
17
STRANGEUS PLACEUS
You shouldn't be hunting at long ranges with an airgun.
Springers have been around for a couple of hundred years and taken more game than PCPs and co2s put together for the next hundred years.
Modern airguns are very refined but springers are perfectly capable of killing just as efficiently. With all guns you need to be competant enough to hit what your aiming at.
 

Everything Mac

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Nov 30, 2009
3,112
83
36
Scotland
What are your views on the matter? :confused:

your mate is a fud.


I will admit that I haven't looked back since I got a pcp but there is nothing wrong with a good springer.


as with everything you get what you pay for - a cheap chinese or spanish air rifle won't be any way near as good as a British or German gun.


what rifle were you considering?

a modern break barrel such as the Weihrauch Hw95 or Webley stingray/longbow will do an admirable job.

under/side levers are arguably more accurate but do the same job.


spring guns to look for are:
Weihrauch - all models - particularly hw77, hw97, hw95 hw80 - rumours some time ago were that the quality of these was falling but I do not know if that is true or if it it still the case.
Webley - stingray/ longbow - I believe these are now made abroad (Turkey?) so ideally try and find an older British made model - but they are by no means incapable.
BSA - lightning/ supersport
Raug diana - all models - particularly the 52 and airking.

atb
andy
 

jonnie drake

Settler
Nov 20, 2009
600
1
west yorkshire
the gun in question was a weihrauch hw35, secong hand. I also had my eye on the BSA lightning.

thanks for all the comments so far guys :) whats an effective range for an air rifle? like a comparison between springer and a gas?
 

Everything Mac

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Nov 30, 2009
3,112
83
36
Scotland
the gun in question was a weihrauch hw35, secong hand. I also had my eye on the BSA lightning.

thanks for all the comments so far guys :) whats an effective range for an air rifle? like a comparison between springer and a gas?

anything up to and including 45yrds. but a general consensus is to stay at around 25-30 yrds.

range does not differ with power source. - they all have the same power output.
(well ...ish)


no offence mate but are you of a smaller build?
 

Everything Mac

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Nov 30, 2009
3,112
83
36
Scotland
well I could be wrong as I haven't shot a springer in years - but recoil should not affect the accuracy - certainly not with practice.

similar size to me then mate.

the lightning is a small gun - unless you have handled it I suggest you do so before you buy.

I like the gun but it is too small and light for me. I prefer a slightly heavier gun.

I believe the hw35 is quite similar - though I know very little about that gun. I believe it is one of Weihrauchs older designs.

check out their underlever models - and check out Air arms too - forgot to mention them earlier.

atb
andy
 

Everything Mac

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Nov 30, 2009
3,112
83
36
Scotland
Funny, I didn't rate recoil as a problem for accuracy when I was shooting a 7.62mm firearm.

I can still put a slug from a .22 springer where I want it to go better than some people who declare themselves experts.

A bad worker blames his tools I reckon.

sorry is that a pop at me?

just a thought on the heavier guns - the weight will adsorb some recoil if you are worried about it jonnie.

but it all boils down to practice.
 
Last edited:

phill_ue

Banned
Jan 4, 2010
548
5
Sheffield
Don't listen to your mate, he's talking rot! PCP's are great if you have the money to spend on hem, but if you are on a budget then you will be much better off with a springer and will get just as competent. I know a fellah who has a Weihrauch and shooting H&N pellets he can cut twigs off of trees. I have been shooting wit him and he has dropped rats, squirrels, rabbits, pigeon and a hare with his springer and it is legal limit. A pocket full of pellets is all you need and you can shot all day long. Practise your fieldcraft for closer shooting, 40 yards is the absolute furthest you want to be shooting out to, personally I do not take those long shots and prefer to get in close. It requires more skill, makes the stalk more exciting and gives the animal a fighting chance.

Unless it is a squirrel of course, greys need exterminating and I will gladly do my bit to destroy this invasive species!
 

Everything Mac

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Nov 30, 2009
3,112
83
36
Scotland
aye prob not. no biggie.

that is definitely a down side to having a pcp though - granted a springer is slower/louder but if you have a large shoot you do not have to go back for air.

I get about 60 shots out of the x2. - its enough for me but can be a pain at competitions.

but then you have the option of buddy bottle guns. - don't like the look of them myself. but each to their own.

andy
 

Longstrider

Settler
Sep 6, 2005
990
12
59
South Northants
sorry is that a pop at me?

Doesn't look like it to me fella :) Wayland is simply stating the obvious.
Shoot centre-fires, properly, and you'll never handle a more accurate firearm depsite the recoil.

I've known 'springers' that jumped like a scared cat when you fired them. This has, without fail, been due to one of two factors, or both. Either the rifle in question was of poor quality, or someone who thought they knew what they were doing (or simply guessed :rolleyes: ) had, ahem, "tuned it up a bit" :rolleyes: In these cases "tuning" usually consisted of fitting an inappropriate spring, lightening or adding weight to the piston, squirting WD40 down the transfer port or some similarly disasterous cobbling.

Field target shooters love their PCP's, sure, but the majority of them are practicing. I mean they are practicing ;) They are also pushing the envelope with regards to range. Give a good man a well maintained 'off the shelf' springer and he'll match them as good as shot for shot on live quarry at sensible ranges. If he's handling a properly tuned, good quality springer the difference will become even less noticeable.
Second shots (if needed) are slower to take with a springer, and springers are generally noisier, but shoot with one, practice with one and use one regularly and those second shots should virtually never be needed. THAT's good shooting... not needing a 'follow-up' ;)

Like the old saying goes.. "Beware the man with only one gun. He probably knows how to use it " :)
 

Everything Mac

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Nov 30, 2009
3,112
83
36
Scotland
Doesn't look like it to me fella :) Wayland is simply stating the obvious.
Shoot centre-fires, properly, and you'll never handle a more accurate firearm depsite the recoil.

I've known 'springers' that jumped like a scared cat when you fired them. This has, without fail, been due to one of two factors, or both. Either the rifle in question was of poor quality, or someone who thought they knew what they were doing (or simply guessed :rolleyes: ) had, ahem, "tuned it up a bit" :rolleyes: In these cases "tuning" usually consisted of fitting an inappropriate spring, lightening or adding weight to the piston, squirting WD40 down the transfer port or some similarly disasterous cobbling.

Field target shooters love their PCP's, sure, but the majority of them are practicing. I mean they are practicing ;) They are also pushing the envelope with regards to range. Give a good man a well maintained 'off the shelf' springer and he'll match them as good as shot for shot on live quarry at sensible ranges. If he's handling a properly tuned, good quality springer the difference will become even less noticeable.
Second shots (if needed) are slower to take with a springer, and springers are generally noisier, but shoot with one, practice with one and use one regularly and those second shots should virtually never be needed. THAT's good shooting... not needing a 'follow-up' ;)

Like the old saying goes.. "Beware the man with only one gun. He probably knows how to use it " :)


I do like that saying.

I'd quite like to have a play at long range with my rifle. sadly my shoots don't have the space (land boundaries and all that)
 

Matt.S

Native
Mar 26, 2008
1,075
0
36
Exeter, Devon
If you take the time to learn how to shoot -- and I mean shoot -- a spring gun is not much of a concern IMO. It requires a consistent grip, but then us live-fire paper-punchers have learned how to do that for a very long time...
 

gowersponger

Settler
Oct 28, 2009
585
0
swansea
i noticed the weihrauchhw57 didnt get a mention along with the outher ,hw, i ve had the hw57 and loved it ,ive also had the bsa lighting ,walnut, which was nice ,.just geting the riffle bug back now so a new one is on the list very soon and it will be a spinger,i seem to stay old school although iam quite young.people that say the spingers are crap are probaly a bit narrow minded,its probaly a bit like saying the old english long bows arnt capable of killing ,you got to have one of these new ugly fiberglass things.
 

Alexlebrit

Tenderfoot
Dec 22, 2009
90
0
France
I'll apologise now for asking about this but I was speeking to a friend who shoots the other day, just before I was about to buy my first air rifle, and he said springers were useless...

...What are your views on the matter? :confused:

Your mate is an ****. Well OK that might be overkill, but as everyone else has said a springer is perfectly good. Chances are a lot of people here, like me, started off with springers because that's all we could really get hold of. I started off with a BSA Meteor (wouldn't have hunted with it) then progressed up the BSA range, jumped to Air Arms side-levers, and only fairly recently moved to a PCP. It's different, but am I any more accurate with it? I'm not really sure, there's so much more to accuracy than the rifle, there's your breathing, your stance, the wind, the fact you're laying on a bramble, or had a big lunch.

Don't worry, get a springer, practise, practise, practise target shooting in a range of conditions, ranges, stances. Got out with someone to learn stalking techniques. When you're consistent, then consider hunting. I don't personally, I went out once, watched rabbits in the late afternoon for ages, shot one I'd been watching in my scope for a while, and became a vegetarian.
 

PJMCBear

Settler
May 4, 2006
622
2
55
Hyde, Cheshire
I've been using a springer to hunt for years, but have fired a PCP. Yes, they are good, but has has been said, they're not cheap.

I can hit a target consistantly at 40 yards, no problem with my springer. I can give most of the PCP boys a scare on the ranges too.

The lightning is a great gun. I use the XL Tactical (.177) for much of my hunting these days. I love it. Go for the springer, mate. For one thing it'll teach you how to shoot correctly, with recoil. Having said that, the recoil on the gun is pretty minimal.
 

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