Soldato
Also, the small amount of moisture within the air that's in the tank is then allowed to stick to the inner surface of the tank causing it to corrode thereby shortening the tank's lifespan.
Always keep some air in the tank.
The Air Rifles & Pistols thread
- Thread starter jamief
- Start date
Also, the small amount of moisture within the air that's in the tank is then allowed to stick to the inner surface of the tank causing it to corrode thereby shortening the tank's lifespan.
Always keep some air in the tank.
just my thoughts/opinion
You have to buy your gun 'face to face' with the dealer now (in the case of shops, dealers have to be Registered Firearms Dealers), there's no mail order any more, though you could have it delivered to your local RFD. Private and 2nd hand sales are different, however.
As for where you can legally shoot... roughly speaking, anywhere you have the permission of the landowner. 50 feet from the centre of the nearest public highway and without causing alarm or distress to members of the public - or something like that. So back garden plinking will come under this last.
http://www.basc.org.uk/en/codes-of-practice/air-rifles.cfm have a look there, it will tell you all you need to know, better than I can remember offhand.
100 feet is plenty of room being ~30m this is the ideal zero range for most sub 12ftlb airguns, and is also a generally accepted limit taking into consideration, range and accuracy for hunting live quarry.
Better still if you can shoot from indoors out into the garden, might avoid the OMG!!11AGUN!!11!!11 type neighbours, who'll have the old bill knocking on your door in a flash. This is also a bonus if it's raining
As for where to start... there's lots of good brands to choose from Air Arms, BSA, Weihrauch... all of which have good starter type rifles to choose from, then there's the likes of Daystate, Theoben etc commanding more of the high end stuff generally speaking - though I don't imply that AA, BSA etc don't produce fine, expensive high end gear too.
At a glance, BSA probably have the best choice of less expensive rifles on offer for a beginner, followed by AA/Weihrauch, followed by Theoben etc. Those are what I have (some) experience with anyway. Webley used to be good, not so sure now though - they went bust, then were bought out, and now I don't think any of their kit is made in the UK anymore, though I could be wrong on this last.
If you're just starting out, I'd go with the self contained option of a spring gun, either .177 or .22 it makes little difference getting into calibre wars at this stage. You'll learn to shoot better with a recoiling gun too, over a dead PCP. It costs less to start with, and generally is easier to maintain.
Looking at NEW kit... say £200 - £400 for the rifle, maybe £50 - £200 for a scope (I recommend 3-12x44 as it's a very flexible magnification to use - the more you spend, be better quality of glass you'll get, so the sky's the limit really). Then you need mounts, some sort of case/bag for the rifle, and finally some ammo.
Most shops will usually offer some kind of 'deal' when you buy everything together. When I bought my first Webley, it was about £250 all in.
As far as targets go, I use a cardboard box stuffed with a couple of old telephone books as a backstop; take a bit of paper with some half inch circles drawn on it and away you go. Take that under advisement though, as I've been shooting for a while.
http://www.airgunbuyer.com/index.asp are good people to deal with, plus you can get an idea of a range of kit.
Be ware of the AirgunBBS forums linked earlier, it's a good site for information, but... and it's a bit BUT, it is populated by a lot of complete *****. Be wary of buying second hand off their sales section too; a lot of chancers. Cost me 150 quid some years back getting scammed by one of the members there. If you're going to look at second hand, get it from a shop, not a private individual.
Go browsing, ask questions, post links here. I'm sure there'll be plenty of useful advice for you (and your wallet) to mull over
You have to buy your gun 'face to face' with the dealer now (in the case of shops, dealers have to be Registered Firearms Dealers), there's no mail order any more, though you could have it delivered to your local RFD. Private and 2nd hand sales are different, however.
As for where you can legally shoot... roughly speaking, anywhere you have the permission of the landowner. 50 feet from the centre of the nearest public highway and without causing alarm or distress to members of the public - or something like that. So back garden plinking will come under this last.
http://www.basc.org.uk/en/codes-of-practice/air-rifles.cfm have a look there, it will tell you all you need to know, better than I can remember offhand.
100 feet is plenty of room being ~30m this is the ideal zero range for most sub 12ftlb airguns, and is also a generally accepted limit taking into consideration, range and accuracy for hunting live quarry.
Better still if you can shoot from indoors out into the garden, might avoid the OMG!!11AGUN!!11!!11 type neighbours, who'll have the old bill knocking on your door in a flash. This is also a bonus if it's raining
As for where to start... there's lots of good brands to choose from Air Arms, BSA, Weihrauch... all of which have good starter type rifles to choose from, then there's the likes of Daystate, Theoben etc commanding more of the high end stuff generally speaking - though I don't imply that AA, BSA etc don't produce fine, expensive high end gear too.
At a glance, BSA probably have the best choice of less expensive rifles on offer for a beginner, followed by AA/Weihrauch, followed by Theoben etc. Those are what I have (some) experience with anyway. Webley used to be good, not so sure now though - they went bust, then were bought out, and now I don't think any of their kit is made in the UK anymore, though I could be wrong on this last.
If you're just starting out, I'd go with the self contained option of a spring gun, either .177 or .22 it makes little difference getting into calibre wars at this stage. You'll learn to shoot better with a recoiling gun too, over a dead PCP. It costs less to start with, and generally is easier to maintain.
Looking at NEW kit... say £200 - £400 for the rifle, maybe £50 - £200 for a scope (I recommend 3-12x44 as it's a very flexible magnification to use - the more you spend, be better quality of glass you'll get, so the sky's the limit really). Then you need mounts, some sort of case/bag for the rifle, and finally some ammo.
Most shops will usually offer some kind of 'deal' when you buy everything together. When I bought my first Webley, it was about £250 all in.
As far as targets go, I use a cardboard box stuffed with a couple of old telephone books as a backstop; take a bit of paper with some half inch circles drawn on it and away you go. Take that under advisement though, as I've been shooting for a while.
http://www.airgunbuyer.com/index.asp are good people to deal with, plus you can get an idea of a range of kit.
Be ware of the AirgunBBS forums linked earlier, it's a good site for information, but... and it's a bit BUT, it is populated by a lot of complete *****. Be wary of buying second hand off their sales section too; a lot of chancers. Cost me 150 quid some years back getting scammed by one of the members there. If you're going to look at second hand, get it from a shop, not a private individual.
Go browsing, ask questions, post links here. I'm sure there'll be plenty of useful advice for you (and your wallet) to mull over
Soldato
i would avoid new BSA rifles as since the company was bought out by a spainish company the BQ has has dropped a lot i have pre spain bsa ultra thats great but a local farmers son recently bought a new model and its crap the internals are all cheap and the wood on the stock is awful
Caporegime
Good info thanks chaps..
Bah... gone the way of Webley, then; they're turkish now if I recall correctly, with similar QC issues.
Look for Air Arms then, or Weihrauch, you'll have trouble going wrong there (I hope lol).
Plus there's always the re-sale value. A well made, quality bit of kit will hold it's price if you look after it and decide to sell up or trade it in for something better.
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Soldato
I'm sad about Webley 
. Always been my favourite manufacturer while growing up. Really wanted to get another Webley Sidewinder in .177 but since they were taken over and Webley venom disappeared they seem to be very rare.
. Always been my favourite manufacturer while growing up. Really wanted to get another Webley Sidewinder in .177 but since they were taken over and Webley venom disappeared they seem to be very rare.
Are you still looking to shift this?
And does anyone know anywhere reliable online where I can get spares for a Webley Lonbow SE?
Bumpity-biddle! Can anyone recommend an air rifle that meets these criteria?
- Under £200.
- Suitable for a beginner.
- Suitable for home target shooting.
- Of a power low enough to not need an FAC.
- With an underlever (not mandatory, but I've heard these are easier to c0ck than break barrels - I have a dodgy elbow).
Probably best going second hand at that budget.
I have started back up back down at the club www.boltonairgunssociety.co.uk
Daystate electronic rifles for me only now, just feel so much better to shoot, used to use my S400 a lot but take the Airwolf everywhere now.
Thinking of getting a mk4 st for hunting.
I have started back up back down at the club www.boltonairgunssociety.co.uk
Daystate electronic rifles for me only now, just feel so much better to shoot, used to use my S400 a lot but take the Airwolf everywhere now.
Thinking of getting a mk4 st for hunting.
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The technology in some of the rifles is amazing, for instance the daystates have temp sensors so that when the air temp increases the pressure gets lowered for the shots so they all leave the barrel at exactly the same speed, also has a chronoscope in the end of the barrel to help ensure this as well.
The electronic daystate definitly need to be tried, you dont realise how slow a mechanical air rifle is untill you try one.
The electronic daystate definitly need to be tried, you dont realise how slow a mechanical air rifle is untill you try one.
IMO one of the best guns for beginners is the Air Arms S200. Picked one up last year as my first 'serious' air rifle. Superb bit of kit. Its Air Arms, so quality and well built, accurate pellet on pellet to 30-35 yards.
Its nice and lite as well. Mostly used for rabbit pest control on the local farms. I'm just not sure its putting out a full 11.5 foot pounds.
Also put a 10 slot mag conversion on mine.
Got a nice suprise a few months ago when I stummbled upon this in the loft of one of the old farm buildings
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Its a 1929 German made .77 smooth bore. Can't remember the maker off the top of my head. Want to get it done up at some point.
Its nice and lite as well. Mostly used for rabbit pest control on the local farms. I'm just not sure its putting out a full 11.5 foot pounds.
Also put a 10 slot mag conversion on mine.
Got a nice suprise a few months ago when I stummbled upon this in the loft of one of the old farm buildings
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Its a 1929 German made .77 smooth bore. Can't remember the maker off the top of my head. Want to get it done up at some point.
Soldato
I own a Theoben Rapid7 & a Webley Tracker Deluxe.
Had them both from new & hardly used them.
Had them both from new & hardly used them.
Man of Honour
- Joined
- 21 Nov 2004
- Posts
- 45,997
The one to the right is almost identical to one I used to own.
Soldato
my air rifles had them about 20 years
(top)Jackal AR7 .22
(bottom)sharp innova .22
(top)Jackal AR7 .22
(bottom)sharp innova .22
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Soldato
Allways wanted a Sharp Innova
You can still buy the Innova (Now made in China) but only as an FAC rated gun.
You can still buy the Innova (Now made in China) but only as an FAC rated gun.
Associate
- Joined
- 24 Jun 2008
- Posts
- 1,168
Funnily enough I always wanted the Rapid 7
Maybe when I own a place in the country.
Maybe when I own a place in the country.
Soldato
bit of a thread revival as theres no point starting a new thread when this is still good but am looking for some thoughts on trading in my 2 rifles for a Hw100 or a S510 or at a stretch a BSA R10 (heard mixed feelings about these though), does anyone on the boards have one of these ???