The Air Rifles & Pistols thread

=XDC=FluphyBunny said:
I would go full power version or buy an old 10 metre spring target rifle.
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Any suggestions on 10m rifles to keep an eye out for?

Mark A said:
I recently bought a HW95 from Germany and it was horrible to shoot at 7j. Very long lock time, with loads of recoil and twang. I too thought I could keep the rifle at 7j, but it was just too hold sensitive due to the extended lock time and the twang was annoying after a while.
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Doesn't sound promising then. Did you change the spring? If so how did you find it after?
 
gitbags said:
Any suggestions on 10m rifles to keep an eye out for?



Doesn't sound promising then. Did you change the spring? If so how did you find it after?
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The problem is the HW97 and 95 are designed to be running at over 12ft/lb, so running them lower creates a slow shot cycle. Even at 12ft/lb its not perfect and a lot of people short stroke them. I think the twang was due to how loose the spring was on the guide as the guides are probably designed to be used with their 12ft/lb springs.

I'd get a 12ft/lb spring for it when you order if I was you, it'll be cheaper than buying one over here. I would have done the same but for some reason the place I bought the HW95 from didn't sell a 16j spring. I ended up going for a Welsh Willy tuning kit as I'd heard great things about them, but wasn't impressed for the money it cost. I can recommend Vmach if you ever decide to go down the tuning route, but just fitting the 16j spring and giving it a re-lube with some decent moly grease should be enough to get it shooting nice.

The HW97 is a little fiddly to take apart, but there are lots of guides on forums and Youtube. It should be a lot easier with the weaker spring in as there shouldn't be much preload on it.

I think my next purchase will be the HW77 with the summer forest laminate stock. I fancy a decent rifle with open sights.
 
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I bought a HW35 .177 for about £100 new and I find it perfect for back garden use. It is designed to work at about 6-7lb/ft from what I read but is very quiet, easy cocking and very accurate to 35 yards. Still has plenty of power to deal with the squirrel problem i had. its more about repeatable accuracy at short to medium range than trying to take out rabbits at 50 yards.

update - its an HW30S not a 35
 
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rs1800 said:
I bought a HW35 .177 for about £100 new and I find it perfect for back garden use. It is designed to work at about 6-7lb/ft from what I read but is very quiet, easy cocking and very accurate to 35 yards. Still has plenty of power to deal with the squirrel problem i had. its more about repeatable accuracy at short to medium range than trying to take out rabbits at 50 yards.
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That seems a bit low powered for a HW35, it should be just under 12lb/ft of power.
 
Mark A said:
The problem is the HW97 and 95 are designed to be running at over 12ft/lb, so running them lower creates a slow shot cycle. Even at 12ft/lb its not perfect and a lot of people short stroke them. I think the twang was due to how loose the spring was on the guide as the guides are probably designed to be used with their 12ft/lb springs.

I'd get a 12ft/lb spring for it when you order if I was you, it'll be cheaper than buying one over here. I would have done the same but for some reason the place I bought the HW95 from didn't sell a 16j spring. I ended up going for a Welsh Willy tuning kit as I'd heard great things about them, but wasn't impressed for the money it cost. I can recommend Vmach if you ever decide to go down the tuning route, but just fitting the 16j spring and giving it a re-lube with some decent moly grease should be enough to get it shooting nice.

The HW97 is a little fiddly to take apart, but there are lots of guides on forums and Youtube. It should be a lot easier with the weaker spring in as there shouldn't be much preload on it.

I think my next purchase will be the HW77 with the summer forest laminate stock. I fancy a decent rifle with open sights.
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Cheers for the advice, I'll take it on board. At the moment I'm eyeing up the blue laminate hw97k on Sportwaffen Schneider from what I can see they don't charge for changing the mainspring, but I'll double check with them. The 77's are very nice too, but as I live in a midterrace I'm a little concerned about the muzzle report (not that I imagine the 97k is much quieter) and I don't want to pee off the neighbours.

I'm currently using a th78d I've deburred and changed the seals on, but while its great fun for plinking mine seems it's a little too inconsistant for any serious target shooting.
I'm hoping a decent springer will fill that role, not interested in a pcp just yet.

rs1800 said:
I bought a HW35 .177 for about £100 new and I find it perfect for back garden use. It is designed to work at about 6-7lb/ft from what I read but is very quiet, easy cocking and very accurate to 35 yards. Still has plenty of power to deal with the squirrel problem i had. its more about repeatable accuracy at short to medium range than trying to take out rabbits at 50 yards.
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Cheers for the suggestion, I see they sell one with diopters. I'll read up on it.
 
HW 30s are lovely little guns and capable of been very accurate.

Old 10 metre target springers such as walther LG55 / LGV (not to be mixed up with current LGV) HW55 or recoiless spring guns like the FWB300s are all great choices. As they are getting on in years there is often a good chance you would need to do a reseal on them. egun (German site) is a great place to look.
 
Thats a great site, shame my german is none exsistant. Although google translate makes for some entertaining translations.

Anyone tried the walther lgu master? I'm aware its not a true walther (made by umarex from what I can gather) but it has a few reviews comparing it favourably to the tx200 and hw97.
 

Who could resist after seeing their advert :p

It does look like a decent rifle. Worth searching on the airgun forums as I remember hearing about a few niggles with the underlever catch and trigger, but nothing too serious. I think its more personal preference between all 3, rather than one being better than the others. Out of the box the Air Arms and Walther will be smoother due to the delrin bands on the piston, but the weihrauch can be made to be just as smooth with a Vmach kit.
 
Glaucus said:
Anyone know a list of rifle shooting ranges in england
Can only find two and they near each other in wales. But over 2hrs drive. Although it is up to 3km :eek:
Always fancied giving longer range shooting a try, tried normal shooting range when in America and tbh it was easy and pretty boring.
Rifle at long range must be a lot harder.

http://www.orionfirearmstraining.co.uk/index.html
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Are you anywhere near Nottingham?
 
Glaucus said:
Anyone know a list of rifle shooting ranges in england
Can only find two and they near each other in wales. But over 2hrs drive. Although it is up to 3km :eek:
Always fancied giving longer range shooting a try, tried normal shooting range when in America and tbh it was easy and pretty boring.
Rifle at long range must be a lot harder.

http://www.orionfirearmstraining.co.uk/index.html
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Bisley is probably the most well known. But for that sort of long range, you need to be looking at the NRA uk website for clubs.
 
TheHitMan-1973 said:
Have to say the best airgun i`ve ever owned is Weihrauch HW77 . 22 really powerful :D
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Is that "really powerful" up to the legal 12ft/lb UK limit making it no more powerful than any other uk rifle, or "really powerful" on a FAC or illegal?

Generally people who make that claim get filed in the same pigeonhole as my colleague who raved about his really powerful .22 that could shoot through steel sheet and ended up being a tatty SMK b2 that could barely punch through cardboard.
 
Musing over taking up pistol or rifle.

Only have at best 10m range and thats by firing from inside into garden.

Can look at localish ranges.

Any idea what to start with to see if I like it?
 
Hotwired said:
Musing over taking up pistol or rifle.

Only have at best 10m range and thats by firing from inside into garden.

Can look at localish ranges.

Any idea what to start with to see if I like it?
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Do you want a springer, PCP or CO2? I think the SMK XS78 is a nice starter rifle (CO2). I think you can pick them up for ~£100.
 
slick rick said:
Do you want a springer, PCP or CO2? I think the SMK XS78 is a nice starter rifle (CO2). I think you can pick them up for ~£100.
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I don't really know :o

I'm roughly aware of the pros and cons but never had to live with any of them let alone use them.

Closest air/gun club to me seems to be about 30 miles away might or might not be easier to go to one and see.
 
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