Reply With QuoteSMK 19
A friend of mine has a decent air rifle, and I’m due to visit him next month and would like to shoot with him.
He has permission to shoot on a local farm - takes the odd pigeon etc and pips the odd vermin in return for the farmer
I’d like to buy something that’s sufficient - not cost the earth and could flip if I don’t take to it all
Any advice? I’m local to Coventry and have not visited any shops etc as yet
SMK 19
Try some of the airgun forums, I'm a member on Airgun BBS and Airgun Forum.
If your hunting then you really need to know your rifle, scope and trigger, taking another creatures life is obviously all part of hunting and you owe it to your quarry to despatch them with dignity and the least amount of pain possible, Only once have I shot a squirrel and I felt bad for days afterwards but that's just me, tree rats they are but still I felt terrible.
Gun wise, Springers are cheapest but do recoil (less if tuned correctly) they are also heavier than my other suggestion which is PCP's (pre-charged pneumatic) these cost more but are lighter and would be my first choice if hunting as no recoil and most have several shot magazines, this way you can quickly reload if there is a duff shot and the animal is writhing in pain.
You have to be confident of hitting a 5 pence piece at 30 yards to hunt, this would be a brain shot above the eye and takes practice, you need to know how to zero your scope in and allow for pellet drop over the max trajectory, 10 yards more with a .22 and the pellet will be way lower than the cross hairs which could result in a running animal with a long painful death ahead.
Take a gun for shooting targets but I would rethink the hunting until your 100% confident in what your doing.
Last edited by murkeywaters; 12th August 2019 at 18:50.
As mentioned above
If you are not a competent shot and are not reasonably confident in dispatching the animal first time, I would get some practice in first. (Paper targets)
If you are confident, then there is nothing better than getting hands on with a few rifles.
As well as trying your friends first, is there a club near you? It would be a good place to pop along to try rifles that suit your size, length of pull, budget etc. It’s also good to talk to the members to see how they started. Most clubs are friendly places and welcome new members.
Last edited by Sinnlover; 12th August 2019 at 18:57.
As per the 2 posts above really. Shooting live quarry can seem attractive to some, but they don't just drop down dead at the touch of a pellet. Are you prepared to dispatch a creature if you wound it? Worth thinking about. (I'm not against pest control or hunting for the table by the way, just being realistic.)
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
As above. You're not just going to be able to rock up a week after buying your first gun and start hunting. Lots of practice first. And given you're not wanting to spend much, you'll probably be looking at a springer, and that'll take even longer to master due to the recoil and hold sensitivity. If you do buy a PCP, you also have to consider the costs involved in filling it with air.
Springer, something like an HW99s which is very capable and affordable. If a PCP, I'd visit some shops that have a preowned section as they're not the cheapest to buy new.
I'd say best bet is to just take it in turns with his. He will know his gun and setup and as such will be able to advise you on how to use it effectively.
If your hunting, as a starter I'd go for an Air arms Tx200 hc in .177 as opposed to the
.22 as its easier to use. Its a Springer with an under lever action, deadly accurate out of the box and would hold its value as they're well respected rifles. As stated above pcp are easier to shoot as theres no recoil, but up front costs are far more.
And don't skimp on the pellets, jsb are a very good pellet and work well with the tx200.
If you do end up taking a few pigeons, please do take them home to eat, very delicious meat. I have been busy on roe and fallow deer recently (.308) so lots of venison in the freezer, but a pair of pigeon breasts are hard to beat taste wise.
mike
I have owned a Weirauch HW77 Mk1 for over 30 years - It's a springer and is so easy to live with.
In all that time it has only ever needed a new crank lever, which was around £15
Every few years I treat it to a new Weirauch mainspring and seal set, with a strip and re-lube of the spring with Moly60 paste.
I would recommend a older, well cared-for quality gun over a new, cheapo gun.
airgunforum.co.uk and www.airgunbbs.com are friendly sites, with plenty of folks ready to welcome new shooters.
Tin bum springs work well in the '77.
Some good info, as I said I would go PCP for hunting for reasons mentioned, saying that I have 2 Weihrauch HW77K's, a HW95K, a HW97K, a HW80, a HW30S, and a HW35, then there are the Air Arms, I have 3 TX200's and a Prosport, all are springers and tuned/serviced to shoot sweetly well under the legal limit.
I would happily hunt with them if I needed too, but then I know what I would have to do to ensure an accurate shot, this includes judging my distances and at times wind deviation.
I was lucky recently to pick up this uber rare gun at auction, its an Airmasters Mastersport77 from 1986, its wasn't perfect but it was cheap and needed some light restoration which I enjoy doing, they dont make em like this no more!
Ohh - oiled walnut porn - lovely :)
Threads like this really make me miss my Rapid 7.
Hi
I would suggest a bit of time on the above wont go amiss, providing information and food for thought.
At the same time offers options for pre-owned, which are more cost-effective, particularly if turns out it is not to be your scene and need to 'flip'.
PS - I have a HW80k springer, early 80's vintage, still going strong (ok it was venom tuned/serviced).
L
you will be spoiled with a pcp...hw100 kt and air arms s510 are my two ....
Still have my .22 rapid 7 which was tuned by Ben Taylor himself before he retired, a real genius and way ahead of it's time when the 7 was first releasedOriginally Posted by magpie215
Threads like this really make me miss my Rapid 7.
I’d echo what others have said. I have an HW98 with a venom kit fitted, and even with a fair bit of practice at my local club it’s tough to get a 5p sized group over 25 yards - compared to my bsa ultra se which can reliably put 10 pellets into a 1/2 pence piece hole over the same range. Basically it’s down to the lack of recoil of a pcp. I personally prefer .177 for the flatter trajectory (which is better for a target rifle) and smaller holes in the target also help decent scores!
I’m not a hunter but shoot with plenty who do, many as part of their job around local farms. Some of the kit at our club is really impressive, although I find pcp a bit clinical somehow. I’d go for an HW97 ( as a lefty I just can’t cope with the breech opening on a TX200) - they’re the ‘hand wound classic mechanical watch’ equivalent imho!
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Great bit of kit everything just worked.
If you are thinking of taking it up as a hobby, I would join a nearby club and try out a springer and a PCP to see which you prefer (club members are usually very helpful and someone will let you try theirs)
If you decide to get a gun, then I should go for an Air Arms or Weirauch - whether looking at springer or PCP. They are well respected makes and if you buy secondhand from the club or a forum like Airgun BBS you are unlikely to lose much if you decide to sell - in the meantime you will own a gun that should shoot well and be reliable.
As you will have gathered from the previous replies, airguns provide plenty of opportunity for fettling - especially springers, where the intention is to make them shoot more smoothly and consistently so that they are easier to shoot accurately.
My introduction was via springers (Weirauch HW95 and HW97) but as soon as I shot a PCP, I realised how much easier to shoot they are. If I wanted to hunt, I would go for a PCP as they are more accurate and (generally speaking) quieter. But hunting is not for me and I hope that you are not tempted to even attempt to kill anything until you have the skill to be able to guarantee a clean kill first time - and as has been said, that takes time and a lot of practice.
Clubs are likely to run HFT (hunter field target) competitions where you can have fun learning to compensate for distance and wind. And also understand how challenging it can be to hit a target consistently at distance!
ATB
Jon
Buy second hand because if you don't like it you won't lose (as much) money when you sell.
Great replies everyone, shame the OP isn't so appreciative..
Just remember HE has permission to shoot over land you don’t. Before you start buying things.
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Really? I’m reading the replies
I don’t reply to every entry
It’s a forum
I review the replies and will update as I see fit when I buy
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