The Air Rifles & Pistols thread

[Col_M]

Hey guys, what would be a good starter rifle for lets say £300 including scope.

What's worth noting is the fact that I'm in the Czech Republic and there are no restrictions to air rifle energy, I'm guessing that will affect my choices to a degree. The £300 is pretty loose due to the exchange rates and the variation in prices compared to the UK.

 

[netby]

since you are in Prague,the best choice for a start air rifle is a Czech Slavia 634
great springer,great accuracy and I believe you could get it for less than 150 euros

then put a nice Hawke Airmax 4-12/40 AO scope on it (or a equivalent Nikko Stirling AirKing) mildot reticle and you are ready

here a review about the rifle:

http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews102025.html

and you have a store in Prague where you could see and try it

http://www.czub.cz/index.php?p=22&lang=en

 

[oneale90]

you can get a nice AA s200 or a good 400 for that sort of price. They are made in Czech so there should be a few going cheap? Very smooth PCP action, i think that the 400 or the 415 was reg'd aswell so you should see about 100 shots (depending on pellet .177/.22) What size pellet are you thinkin of using? .177/.20/.22 ?

 

[jamief]

You won't get an S200 or a S400 for £300.

You'd be looking at about £410 for a S200 kit, S400 kit is closer to £450+.

Or, if you are like me, and a lefty, you need to pay for a walnut stock to get it in left handed! grrrr

 

[Albo]

I do a bit of air rifle hunting with an Air Arms S410. Try and stretch your budget to and s410 as the multishot is well worth it. Trying to put a pellet in the spout with numb fingers quickly isn't fun.

 

[Biohazard]

I'm after a new air rifle, however I am really keen to obtain a bolt action one.

Can anyone recommend a model I can have a look at?

Not looking to spend more than £200-300 really.

Ta

 

[napalm666]

used go go shooting a fair bit with me dad... he started off with air then went small full bore etc now he has taken up archery and given up guns totaly

i started off with a webley hurricane, then got an origional pistol had a origional rifle too but prices for parts was more than the guns where worth....had a pump up pistol but with the laws now would e illegal to own

the old gat gun was the funniest do they still sell these pieces of junk

 

[Col_M]

since you are in Prague,the best choice for a start air rifle is a Czech Slavia 634
great springer,great accuracy and I believe you could get it for less than 150 euros

then put a nice Hawke Airmax 4-12/40 AO scope on it (or a equivalent Nikko Stirling AirKing) mildot reticle and you are ready

here a review about the rifle:

http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews102025.html

and you have a store in Prague where you could see and try it

http://www.czub.cz/index.php?p=22&lang=en

Thanks, I've had a look around and the CZ 634 isn't a bad price at about £115, I've also shot a CZ 75 a few times at the range so know these Czechs aren't bad at making guns it seems to be more difficult to find the scopes you mentioned here but I'll keep looking.

I've also checked out the Air Arms S200 (also called the CZ 200 S over here apparently) and that one is a fair bit more at about £305 but you also need a pump for it right? and then a scope too. I don't really have a set budget and the price isn't a problem it's just that I may not use it that much so don't want to spend loads initially, we'll see though

I'm also not sure what calibre to go for, my understanding is that the 4.5mm (.177) being a lighter pellet than the 5.5mm (.22) is faster and has a flatter trajectory. Also they should both have the same energy right? as energy stored in the gun and transferred to the pellet is equal, but I'm guessing the .22 suffers from more drag and will lose energy quicker.

 

[TheOtherOption]

My Weihrauch HW100 S .22 - bought just before the VCR ban came in so had it a few years now - can't believe I spent nearly £800 in all on it but it's been worth while!



My mates got the AA S410 TDR which is an ace little bit of kit - especially since it's far easier to transport than mine

Am going to give the walnut stock a good clean and treat it soon as it's getting a bit dry!

 

[ShakenNstirred]

i own 2 air rifles and a pistol
a pump up sharp innova II .22
and 22 air arms jackal combat(looks like an M16)
22 webley tempest

the sharps a great rifle but not built for everyday hunting, as the stock is held on the barrel by just 1 bolt, so if you knock it about or slip over etc you could damage the stock.
now the jackel, its stock is ABS and can take anything and still fire.
the jackel has a bit of a kick but you get used to it.
its a side leaver with the anti trap taken off to quieten down as its a loud ratchet system, not what you want when your out hunting.
both have silencers

 

[CatMangler]

Own an Original 45 .22 air rifle and a coupla shotguns.

I normally out at a weekend hunting rabbits & pigeons; time/wife/kids permitting

 

[Mark A]

Very nice TheOtherOption . Love that stock, looks like a nice bit of walnut, much better then the thumb hole stock they came/come with.

 

[Raymond Lin]

That's a real shame, far too many of those were cut up five years ago.

300 TACs, Taurus revolver. I've got a couple of Orion 6's, a Target Trophy, Specialist, blah blah

I had one back in 2001, it was a pain in the ass to pump up so i sent it back for a refund and got a single shot spring loaded BSA Magnum instead.

 

[netby]

I've also checked out the Air Arms S200 (also called the CZ 200 S over here apparently) and that one is a fair bit more at about £305 but you also need a pump for it right? and then a scope too. I don't really have a set budget and the price isn't a problem it's just that I may not use it that much so don't want to spend loads initially, we'll see though

I'm also not sure what calibre to go for, my understanding is that the 4.5mm (.177) being a lighter pellet than the 5.5mm (.22) is faster and has a flatter trajectory. Also they should both have the same energy right? as energy stored in the gun and transferred to the pellet is equal, but I'm guessing the .22 suffers from more drag and will lose energy quicker.

PCP´s are great ,but if you go down that road instead of a pump (they are expensive (around £100/150),also they have some parts that need to be replaced time after time ,and after every 40/50 shots you need to fill the gun again( for example I shoot around 40/50 pellets a day,so in my case it´s like to go to the Gym everyday)
the better choice for a PCP is to have a divers bottle ( normally at 200 bar)of 6 / 10 litter,with a quick fill connector,so in a few seconds you have your gun ready again,without all the hassle of a manual pump
the 6 litter one gives you around 1000/1200 shots

here in my country,when we need to get the divers bottle filled,we went to the firemen station,they fill it up( the 10 litters one) for 2.5 euros

about the caliber- I have the .177 because it is cheaper than the .22( I use JSB exacts 4.52)I spend 2/3 thins of 500 a month (around 18 euros )
if it was the .22 it costs me the double

with a 12 ft/lbs gun( the legal limit of the UK),that´s right the trajectory of the .177 is flatter than the one of .22
but with a gun of 30 ft/lbs or more, you do not need to worry about the trajectory of a .22 pellet,it will be very flat

the choice depend of the objective you are going to use the air rifle.

I will, give you my example.

with my HW97k ( FAC power,around 17 ft/lbs) .177, I easily kill sparrows at 50/55 yards,if I hit them , they are dead;
but a bigger bird like a feral dove ( they are a little smaller than pigeons) at 30 yards,if it was hit at the head,neck or in the chest,they drop right away;
but when i hit it at the back or in the side,most of the the times they flew away (sometimes they left a lot of the fetters behind,but nevertheless they are still healthy enough to get away)


if my gun was a 25/30 ft/lbs .22, I´m sure they stay dead in the spot

the .22 calibre has much more energy in it than the .177,after all it has the double of the mass and weight


I recommend you to read that basic guide from that air gun store - BAR( Blackpool Air Rifles),they are great experts and very professional
I think that guide is very helpful

http://www.airgunbuyer.com/page.asp?pg=18

 

[Amp34]

Airrifles over 12ft/lbs in power require a Firearms certificate (FAC). Air pistols over 6ft/lbs require a FAC. If you don't have a FAC and your pistol is over 6ft/lbs power, the penalty is quite serious - 9 months in jail!

How would you go about actually checking this? I have a couple of air rifles and an air pistol, along with a couple of BB guns (damn that law about imitation firearms, I really wanted a decent MP5 stylee rifle), but have no idea of the power of the air rifles, although I doubt they would get anywhere the limits as they are all around 30 years old, and have had little looking after.

Why do modern/most air rifles not have the little spring tube at the top where you pre load 20-30 pellets in, so you only need to to **** the rifle and not load it singly at the time?

None of mine have been used much since we lost most of our garden, we used to have a wide garden of around 200ft, which was really good as a range.

 

[Mark A]

I had an awesome spring powered pistol but i sold it . It was a HW45 and was spot on the legal limit for air pistols.

I now have a co2 powered berretta but its far too low powered to be any fun.

 

[Ucof]

I think I still have an old Diana somewhere.
No idea of the model number, and it doesn't shoot straight, hence I don't use it much.

 

[Amp34]

I think I still have an old Diana somewhere.
No idea of the model number, and it doesn't shoot straight, hence I don't use it much.

The seal on one of my air rifles is shot (no pun intended) too, it has real problems firing sometimes. The other air rifle is pretty good (possibly a little underpowered, but the airpistol almost has some recoil, makes a loud noise but doesn't seem as powerful as the (good) air rifle.

Reckon I may have to get them checked and sorted one day so they are back to their best. Anyone know how I would go about that?

 

[Mark A]

Just found a pic i took of the stock i made for my BSA Lightning. Not bad to say it was once a door frame . Might do some chequering on it at some point.

 

[SimonCHere]

Only real way to check the power is to fire a pellet through a chronograph and then you can work it out.

Your local gun shop (if you can find one) should be able to help you out.