The Air Rifles & Pistols thread

[Reality Bites]

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 ???

I've not tried the s510 but the hw100 is lovely! Iirc it's not regulated but it's that good that it doesn't new a regulator. I wanted more shots from a fill so went for the day state air ranger. Heavy but load of shots and more accurate than il ever be.

 

[ZXSpectrum]

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 **** the internals are all cheap and the wood on the stock is awful

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.

Actually according to a friend of mine its looking VERY likely that BSA will be returning the manufacturing section of their rifles to Birmingham shortly He is really into his air rifles and would not buy one when they moved the production to Gamo (i think) But he is poised to buy one as soon as they start manufacturing them in the UK Again.

 

[ianh]

Here's my views having shot all 3 (but not owned them, mates guns) several times -

S510 - Lighter, very accurate, smaller shot count per charge, magazine is nearly perfect. This would be my choice even though I'm a massive BSA fan. The only issue I had was a dodgy mag which, looking at the AA forums, seems to be the only faulty mag ever made (it may have been dropped or something by the owner?). The only slight hesitation I have is the lower shot count (60 ish) but that was due to the way I was using it (ratting taking 60+ shots a night).

HK100S - Quite heavy, very accurate, medium shot count, larger 14 shot mag was perfect. Overall this is probably the most simple to use with the side lever being surprisingly easy to use when prone. Only it's heavy weight is an issue for me unless you were going to to be ambush shooting from a bipod (a bit wobbily shooting from kneeling etc). Also has the best silencer available on the market regardless of other companies claims!

R-10 (mk2) - Medium weight, very accurate, high shot count, magazine isn't as reliable as the others (skipping, crimping skirts etc). Overall for all it's faults when the Mk1 came out the newer Mk2 R-10 is a great rifle let down by a poor magazine but you can buy replacement ones which cure the only fault with this rifle.

Hope that helps!

 

[robj20]

The HW100 does have a regulator its virtually identical to the one in the R10 Mk2.

Out of them 3 i would have the R10 Mk2, but im a buddy bottle fan.
The PCP BSA were always made in the UK, it was only the springers that moved to spain, but there back home now.

My latest edition is an Edgar Brothers XVI, virtually the latest Logun S16, only cost me £400.

 

[steveo]

Sent BAR an email to get a rough idea on price for my 2 rifles, leaning more towards the S510

 

[wazza300]

you cant beat webley and bsa for air rifles bsa (birmingham small arms)

 

[robj20]

Sent BAR an email to get a rough idea on price for my 2 rifles, leaning more towards the S510

Add BAR on facebook and you get a discount

 

[Mr. Peri Peri]

I used to have a .177 BSA Lightning Tactical XL but just didn't use it enough so got rid of it in the end. Was a nice rifle though.

 

[Ewaf]

I hope this isn't too much of a bump :S

I want to get into shooting in some form, I looked at clay pigeon but it's pretty damn expensive, so thought I would look at just air rifle.

Does anyone know the best way of finding a club or range to shoot at? I've googled "air rifle range MY AREA" but comes up with dated horrible websites for clubs with no real information! I'm based in Oxfordshire.

Is it possible to hire/rent guns for a session at these places? Obviously I just want to try it at first without investing in a gun straight away.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Makhaira]

I'd suggest going through the UK NRA and also www.airgunbbs.com to track down clubs near you.

In terms of cost though, clay pigeon shooting is much cheaper to get in to, although over time it will be more expensive than air rifles due to the cost of a clay session.

A shotgun can be grabbed for £100 second hand (you will need a license, add £40).
A clay session will be £15-25 for 75 clays (typically, varies a fair bit).
Cartridges can vary hugely and I know lead has gone up recently. £50 for 250 is probably about right.

In contrast, air rifles are really quite expensive to get going with, but the running costs are far cheaper.

A good springer will set you back around £200 secondhand, a good PCP around £350 (+ filling gear if you don't have it, another £75 secondhand).
500 pellets will cost you around £10-ish.

Pretty much every club will have club guns that you can use under supervision to try out the sport.

Hope that helps!

 

[Tom0]

I'd suggest going through the UK NRA and also www.airgunbbs.com to track down clubs near you.

In terms of cost though, clay pigeon shooting is much cheaper to get in to, although over time it will be more expensive than air rifles due to the cost of a clay session.

A shotgun can be grabbed for £100 second hand (you will need a license, add £40).
A clay session will be £15-25 for 75 clays (typically, varies a fair bit).
Cartridges can vary hugely and I know lead has gone up recently. £50 for 250 is probably about right.

In contrast, air rifles are really quite expensive to get going with, but the running costs are far cheaper.

A good springer will set you back around £200 secondhand, a good PCP around £350 (+ filling gear if you don't have it, another £75 secondhand).
500 pellets will cost you around £10-ish.

Pretty much every club will have club guns that you can use under supervision to try out the sport.

Hope that helps!

Nice price guide there matey

 

[Ewaf]

Nice info!

The nearest clay ground to me is EJ Churchill. They charge £99 for an hours tuition plus clays and ammo, that sound fair?

I didn't realise clay would work out cheaper :O Would much prefer to get into CPS to be honest!

 

[Mark A]

I'd suggest getting a decent springer to start off with. A break barrel HW95 would be a decent starting rifle. Or if you don't mind the extra weight then a HW97 would be a great rifle to start off with. Very accurate due to the fixed barrel and due to the extra weight they don't have much recoil.

A decent air rifle might cost a lot, but they hold their value. For instance, I bought a second hand Webley Sidewinder a few years back and then sold it a few years later for more than I bought it for. Just look after the gun, put a coat of 3-in-1 oil on it after every use and it will sell for what you paid for it.

 

[Makhaira]

Nice info!

The nearest clay ground to me is EJ Churchill. They charge £99 for an hours tuition plus clays and ammo, that sound fair?

I didn't realise clay would work out cheaper :O Would much prefer to get into CPS to be honest!

You will always pay through the nose for any sort of tuition. If you can find a mate with a license and a gun, it's a far cheaper way of testing the water!

Clays are cheaper to start with, but over time you're going to spend a lot more. It's just what you fancy trying really. I do both, built oup over a good few years.

 

[Mark A]

I can't see how CPS would work out cheaper. It will work out much more, even from the start.

But I will say that it would be worth the extra. It all depends what you would rather do.

 

[Makhaira]

It will work out far more, yes, but not from the start. A reasonable shotgun for a beginner is extremely cheap, whereas a reasonable air rifle will cost far more.

 

[Mark A]

Ahh, I read it as it would be £200 for a shotgun for some reason.

But do you have to pay for a FAC? That might bump it up a bit.

 

[Ewaf]

at EJ Churchill they do a "Have a go" session for £39 I believe. Think I'm going to try that and take my dad along.

 

[SheepBeast]

I've never understood how someone can take enjoyment from causing an animal suffering. I enjoy shooting at targets or clay pigeons, but real animals... were's the fun? I'd feel disgusted with my cruelty and sadism if I actually enjoyed that.

 

[jumpy]

The idea is not to cause the animal any suffering when shooting, to get that wrong is somewhat of a faux-pas.
But shooting live quarry depends on the reason; pest control, food etc. Simply for sport, like big game trophy hunting, doesn't really push any buttons for me either, but I've shot rabbits and other suitable species for airguns, however.
Worst thing to see is animals shot with the wrong firearm/ammunition - foxes and shotguns, for example; unless you're close it's just asking for the animal to escape and die slowly of infected wounds. But some folk don't care about that.