closing tag is in template navbar
timefactors watches



TZ-UK Fundraiser
Results 1 to 26 of 26

Thread: Back Garden Airgun Plinking

  1. #1
    Master
    Join Date
    Jul 2019
    Location
    Kent UK
    Posts
    2,440

    Back Garden Airgun Plinking

    I'm thinking of getting a CO2 pistol for a bit of plinking in the back garden. I want to do it as safely and inconspicuously as possible. One suggestion I was given was to build a wooden box that could hold the paper target. This would reduce the risk of shots ricocheting and keep the noise down. Is this a sensible approach? If so does anyone have a simple design that would tax my very limited carpentry skills.

    The plan in to attach the box to the side of a garden shed.

  2. #2
    Master
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    9,823
    Air rifle shots are really loud! Irrespective of where the pellet actually hits / lands.

    I bought 2 rifles off here and have never used them due to the noise, beyond the day I got them. Also have three pistols as my dad decided they were cool things just to own!

  3. #3
    Master
    Join Date
    Jul 2019
    Location
    Kent UK
    Posts
    2,440
    I'll be using pistols. I have a fairly long garden but is is subdivided with no single section being particularly big. Rifles are out for that reason and you've confirmed my concerns around noise.

  4. #4
    Master
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    9,823
    Ahh sorry I now realise you did say Air Pistol. They’re still pretty loud but not as bad as a rifle.

  5. #5
    Master
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Northern Ireland
    Posts
    6,697
    You can buy cheap metal target holders that hold a target the same size. They also funnel
    Pellets downwards for easy collection in a
    bucket underneath. Bisley make them.

    If the noise is an issue, line the back of it with rubber or something - linotex is great too but might be too bouncy

  6. #6
    Try and find one with a moderator - I don't know if they exist for pistols but they make a huge difference on rifles.

  7. #7
    Master
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    West Yorks
    Posts
    1,261
    What does your garden back onto?
    Adequate backstop

  8. #8
    Master
    Join Date
    Jul 2019
    Location
    Kent UK
    Posts
    2,440
    Quote Originally Posted by MCFastybloke View Post
    What does your garden back onto?
    Adequate backstop
    My plan is to have the garden shed as the ultimate back shop. Target in front on the shed.

  9. #9
    I told my neighbours that I would be using legally owned air pistols for target practice and showed them the target holder/pellet collector I fashioned from timber battens, plywood and hessian sacking. They were cool about it. I made sure the target holder was set lower than the surrounding fences and was big enough to minimise missed shots pinging off the frame.

  10. #10
    I've not found the average multishot CO2 pistol to be accurate enough to enjoy paper targets, but they're great fun for plinking empty cans and the like.

    Backstop for those can be loose hung material in front of something more substantial as they're not that powerful, and a backstop that gives on impact will reduce the noise.
    Last edited by hughtrimble; 30th March 2021 at 19:11.

  11. #11
    Master
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Lancashire, UK
    Posts
    3,093
    I was plinking in the garden today with my co2 pistol, I use a paving slab with either carpet or upholstery foam in front of the slab to reduce noise, if I shoot in my 11 meter garage I use a cardboard box stuffed with old rags, again to reduce noise and the chance of ricochet.




    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  12. #12
    Craftsman
    Join Date
    May 2019
    Location
    Wells, Somerset
    Posts
    493
    I used to do this all the time and have had quite a few different types of air pistol over the years.
    The quietest are the ssp types which you use a lever or suchlike to compress the air yourself, search for an HW40.
    I found CO2 pistols to give a very loud ‘crack’ when firing, you can get moderators for some of them though to lessen it, but not silencers.
    I’m sure you are not allowed to let any pellets leave your boundary so a good back stop is essential.
    I’ve used sheets of carpet and also buckets of luting paste from work.
    The target card holders also work well as they angle the pellets downwards when hit but they do make a ding every time hit, but you do need a bigger back stop behind them.
    I did have a few ricochets when first starting off. Hearing the pellet whizzing off and then rolling down next doors roof tiles made me seriously think about what I was doing!
    Cheers,
    Rob

  13. #13
    Tooooooooo noisy


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  14. #14
    Craftsman mitch1956's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2019
    Location
    wakefield
    Posts
    507
    so i have a co2 winchester & MP40, mainly for exibition in my man cave ,i alos have a co2 glock17 & a 1911 (i have a big interest in WW2) if i was to shoot them in my back yard i am sure some of my neigbours would be onto the old bill if they saw me ( unfortunatley i am surrounded on all sides) and if any damage occured even if not by me i would be in the frome, SO i only shoot in my garage i make a range for targets and tins ( its 20 ft long)
    trouble is yes they make quite a lound sound and depensing what the balls/ pelets hit can be heard, the biggest problem i feel is the look and feel so real!while not as loud as a real one the neighbours may not know that or like the fact, and again the old bill may come knocking , and i dont need that even if they are perfectley legal to own etc ,got to say there is something satisfying in a bit of handling/ shooting the things

  15. #15
    I have a couple of rifles - a springer and a pcp, which I used to shoot at a club pre-lockdown. The pcp is pretty quiet but the thwack of the pellets hitting the target isn’t, no matter what I use as a backstop. I’m not overlooked in the garden but I’m not comfortable shooting there - it doesn’t help that to someone who doesn’t know guns they look pretty formidable. I did have a few co2 pistols but they seem very inaccurate (the temp of the co2 makes a big difference to trajectory). I have shot a few pcp pistols which were whisper quiet, virtually no recoil but cost the same as a decent rifle.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  16. #16

    Back Garden Airgun Plinking

    Quote Originally Posted by ach5 View Post
    Air rifle shots are really loud! Irrespective of where the pellet actually hits / lands.

    I bought 2 rifles off here and have never used them due to the noise, beyond the day I got them. Also have three pistols as my dad decided they were cool things just to own!
    Try a pcp fitted with a decent moderator - some are virtually silent. You’re probably looking at at least £1k just for the rifle but the performance of many - Air Arms and Weihrauch are brilliant - is astonishing


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  17. #17
    Master
    Join Date
    Jul 2019
    Location
    Kent UK
    Posts
    2,440
    Thanks for al the replies. Everything I'm reading is telling me I probably shouldn't bother. I get on well with my neighbours but I'm not sure what their reaction would be if they saw me waving a - realistic looking - gun around. Bouncing shots and noise are also a concern. I'm on the waiting list for a local shooting club but with the current situation I'm not sure when it would reopen.

    I'm wondering if Airsoft might be the answer? Buy a gun in a garish colour to assuage the neighbours fears and I assume the plastic pellets should be quieter?

  18. #18
    Grand Master snowman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Hampshire
    Posts
    14,533
    If noise and power are an issue and a bit of close-range target shooting or plinking is your aim, you might do well to look at airsoft pistols.

    They generally are a fair bit less powerful and quieter than proper air guns and fire 6mm plastic BBs (BB guns can mean these or 4.5mm steel BB firing guns, so it's not all that much help).

    Some are CO2 powered, others use gas from a canister - There are electric and spring powered ones, too, but they tend not to be so good, imo.

    You'll probably have to buy a horribly painted one, unless you fall into one of the exception groups (and back garden/garage plinking isn't one), but they're quite enjoyable and decent ones capable of reasonable accuracy at 10M or so, although you won't get the pinpoint accuracy you could with a good air pistols.

    Probably easier to use around the home/garden, though.

    M
    Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?

  19. #19
    Master smalleyboy1's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    Northern Ireland
    Posts
    1,073
    Buy a BB gun and give it a go. If you then want to upgrade to air pistol you can consider your options. The BB gun might give you the fun you want and won’t cost a fortune.

  20. #20
    Craftsman
    Join Date
    May 2019
    Location
    Wells, Somerset
    Posts
    493
    Quote Originally Posted by gerrudd View Post
    Thanks for al the replies. Everything I'm reading is telling me I probably shouldn't bother. I get on well with my neighbours but I'm not sure what their reaction would be if they saw me waving a - realistic looking - gun around. Bouncing shots and noise are also a concern. I'm on the waiting list for a local shooting club but with the current situation I'm not sure when it would reopen.

    I'm wondering if Airsoft might be the answer? Buy a gun in a garish colour to assuage the neighbours fears and I assume the plastic pellets should be quieter?
    I think you need a licence for airsoft, ot there are other rules surrounding it maybe?

    i would go for a classic looking air pistol, no doubts what you are using then

  21. #21
    Grand Master snowman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Hampshire
    Posts
    14,533
    No licence for airsoft, but it has to be painted a garish colour unless you have a defence (re-enactor, drama group, skirmisher are the main ones).

    M

    Sent from my ASUS_X00PD using Tapatalk
    Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?

  22. #22
    Quote Originally Posted by barbusg60 View Post
    I think you need a licence for airsoft, ot there are other rules surrounding it maybe?

    i would go for a classic looking air pistol, no doubts what you are using then
    Only a 'licence' to buy the non garish coloured ones

  23. #23
    Grand Master Neil.C's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    SE England
    Posts
    27,034
    I used to put up a carpet covered piece of ply as a backstop when I used to do a little garden target shooting with my sons years ago but it's always quite a noisy hobby and the way people are now if you are overlooked somebody could call the police.
    Cheers,
    Neil.

    My Speedmaster website:

    http://www.freewebs.com/neil271052

  24. #24
    Master freeloader's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Salop - Not by the sea
    Posts
    2,260
    I would always recommend that anyone thinking of buying an air rifle or pistol familiarises themselves with the Home Office guidance before purchase.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/public...uide-to-safety

    As an example many people have road or lane adjacent to their garden but are not aware that - it is an offence to fire an air weapon without lawful authority or excuse within 50 feet (15 metres) of the centre of a public road in such a way as to cause a road user to be injured, interrupted or endangered.

  25. #25
    Craftsman
    Join Date
    May 2019
    Location
    Wells, Somerset
    Posts
    493
    And am I right in thinking you are limited to 6lb power?
    If you creep over this figure you then have a section 5 firearm in your hands!
    Normal ones should be ok but I know a lot of people with Crosmans and similar air pistols modify them for looks and extra power.
    As the op stated, may not be worth the hassle.
    I thought the same and stopped doing it a while back.
    I have a gun club just up the road which my wife uses as she is into target shooting but it’s not for me, I think some of the air gunners are ‘into it’ just a bit much for my liking, a bit like the bloke who ran the army surplus shop in the ‘Falling Down’ film, if you know what I mean🤣

  26. #26
    Master
    Join Date
    Jul 2019
    Location
    Kent UK
    Posts
    2,440
    I've ended up buying two cheap springer Airsoft pistols in a horrendous blue colour and a few targets to shoot at. This should keep me and family entertained for a while without alarming the neighbours.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

Do Not Sell My Personal Information