Air Gunner May 2016

WIN

A WEIHRAUCH HW 110 RIFLE

WORTH £645! A L RE I C

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RENEGADE

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DAYSTATE’S LATEST GETS THE BIG TEST

BIG-NAME TRANSFER! Who’s signed Eddie Jones?

6 OF THE BEST Charlie’s productive half-dozen

FT V HFT Which is best?

MAY 2016

£3.99

AWKWARD SHOTS Here’s how to deal with them - from every angle

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AIR GUNNER EVOLUTION HOUSE, 2-6 EASTHAMPSTEAD ROAD, WOKINGHAM, RG40 2EG EDITORIAL Editor Phill Price Tel: 01189 742 501 [email protected] Chief sub-editor Rosie Barham Editor-in-chief Terry Doe [email protected] Designer Keith Harris

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must start this issue with an apology. I’d hoped to have an Air Arms Galahad to shoot and report on in this issue, but as it turned out the factory are installing a couple of upgrades, so we’re going to have to wait a little while longer. Meanwhile, I got my hands on the Daystate Renegade, an interesting variant of the Pulsar and one that I really liked. I’ve also just received the revolutionary Weihrauch HW110 that many of you will have seen at the British Shooting Show. I’m putting plenty of hours in with it and it will be the June issue Big Test. New rifles seem to be a bit like buses at the moment, which is great news for us all. We haven’t had many for a while, and then lots come along at once. I’ll confess that with this dominating fashion of bullpups at the moment, I was a little surprised that the new Weihrauch was a conventional sporter, albeit a radical one. This brand is quite possibly the most traditional that we know, so to see the HW110 action being made from a hightech polymer rather than metal

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was a real surprise. I asked everybody I met at the show what they thought, from industry engineers to passing readers, and to a man they were surprised, and quite often intrigued. My first impression is of a well-balanced hunting rifle with superior accuracy and consistency, and only time will tell just how it performs long-term in the field. Last month, I included an article about how airgunning had prepared me to enjoy some deer stalking, and all but one of the comments I received were from readers who enjoyed this brief look into another shooting sport.

NEVER MISS AN ISSUE!

The parallels with airgun hunting are obvious and I’d like to thank all the people who took time to congratulate me on its inclusion. I’d also like to thank every one of you who took the time to tell me how much you enjoy the magazine now that I’m editor. Positive feedback makes a huge difference when you’ve got your nose to the grindstone getting the next issue out. I write this for you, and to know you enjoy it makes it all worthwhile.

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www.airgunshooting.co.uk AIR GUNNER 3

CONTENTS MAY 2016 - ISSUE 386

110 RIFLE WIN AHWWEIHRAUCH

IWOA W

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WORTH £645!

DAYSTATE’S LATEST GETS THE BIG TEST

BIG-NAME TRANSFER!

FEATURES THIS MONTH INCLUDE ...

Who’s signed Eddie Jones?

6 OF THE BEST Charlie’s productive half-dozen

Which is best?

£3.99

30 JAMIE CHANDLER

26 EDDIE JONES

85 JOHN ATKINS

Air Gunner Editor, Phill Price gets his Jamie reassures his readers of his ability hands on the Renegade, a brand-new to shoot safely, and then goes on to bag a brace of pigeons for the pot bullpup from Daystate

FT V HFT

MAY 2016

20 THE BIG TEST

Eddie is welcomed into the Air Arms family and gets to know an Ultimate Sporter

AWKWARD SHOTS Here’s how to deal with them from every angle

Our antique airguns expert tells us of the various incarnationns of Nova air pistols, from vintage to comparatively modern

www.airgunshooting.co.uk

03 ED’S LETTER

The editor has bad news and good news that tells us about two special guns

07 NEWS

Events, products, and announcements from the world of airgunning

10 LETTERS

Here’s where you have your say about what’s going on in your world

13 GURU

What is scope cant? Our guru explains in layman’s terms

16 UKAHFT

Spot the difference between FT and HFT. Gary Chillingworth has the answer

4 AIR GUNNER www.airgunshooting.co.uk

18 CUTTING EDGE

Phill Price takes a look at the PBK Power Bull knife, a strong tool handy for hide-making

34 FIRST RAT

Russel Webb visits a new permission expecting some pigeon action, but is surprised by rats in the daytime instead

41 FOUR-MILE HIKE

Charlie Portlock gains another two permissions - now he has a four-mile hunting circuit to enjoy at his leisure

45 SEEING THE LIGHT

The editor goes hunting with a new scope from Optisan and experiences powerful results

48 COMPETITION

Your chance to win a Weihrauch HW110

53 NEW RANGE

Rifleman Arms Ltd is a well-stocked gun shop with a superb range on site, too.

55 SQUIRRELS GALORE Jim Chapman tells us why he thnks a compact rifle is ideal for the job

58 NEIL PRICE

Part Two - the final phase of getting an ASI Super Match PCP back on target

63 AIRGUNNER WISDOM

Gary Chillingworth debates which is best for a newbie - springer or PCP?

110 RIFLE WIN AHWWEIHRAUCH

R PO

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IWA W RT SP

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SHO

IA L RE

RENEGADE

IA L R E

WORTH £645!

GUNNER

DAYSTATE’S LATEST GETS THE BIG TEST

BIG-NAME TRANSFER! 110 RIFLE WIN AHWWEIHRAUCH

Who’s signed Eddie Jones?

PO

RT SP

IWA

I EC

SHOW RT SP

Which is best?

PO

RENEGADE

IA L R E

GUNNER

RATED!

FT V HFT

EC

Charlie’s productive half-dozen

A L RE

WORTH £645!

6 OF THE BEST

DAYSTATE’S LATEST GETS THE BIG TEST

BIG-NAME TRANSFER! Who’s signed Eddie Jones?

MAY 2016

£3.99

AWKWARD SHOTS

6 OF THE BEST Charlie’s productive half-dozen

FT V HFT Which is best?

Here’s how to deal with them from every angle

www.airgunshooting.co.uk MAY 2016

£3.99

AWKWARD SHOTS Here’s how to deal with them from every angle

www.airgunshooting.co.uk

26

85 Nova Airguns by John Atkins Photographs by Eberhard Groba, Mac McInness and Richard Robson

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ecent events often trigger the writing of these articles, when something happens to remind me about some obscure vintage airgun and its maker, which I really feel I should document now, because no one else probably will. One such gun is the break-action German ‘Nova’ air pistol shown in Figure 1 that belonged to my father as a boy, which I’ve shown before but said little about because, at the time of writing, I didn’t know the maker - or even if it had any companion models and was part of a range. Dad had this Nova ring-trigger pistol second-hand as a boy, but couldn’t recall exactly when he got it. My older sister, Gill, and I used it outdoors as a potato gun for years and probably shot a hundredweight of spuds out of it during its history. Never referred to as an ‘air pistol’ it was always around the family home and simply called the ‘spud gun’. Too old-fashioned-looking to be used in cowboy games, it did however, later accompany many a ‘pirate’ or ‘highwayman’

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FIGURE 1 seen as Figure 2, in huge tomes entitled ‘Warenzeichenblatt’ published by the German Patents Office from 1875 in racks in the Chancery Branch of The British Library (basement of building near main Holborn Branch). I was pleased to see this German Nova Trademark with pistol and target No. 104999. Application date was 7th December 1907 and registered on 10th February

and airguns and proving that my Nova pistol was part of a range of juvenile shooting items from the Sauer Brothers.

More Modern ‘Novas’ The event that led up to putting this article together happened on what seemed like the first sunny, windless day for weeks. I’d arranged a morning off from work on the last Thursday in January to test some airguns on the range with two shooting friends, Tom and Dallas - who really enjoy shooting my old BSAs. Having much younger eyes than I now have, their sharpness of vision is handy in situations when I’m unsure whether it’s the gun - or me! Knowing their vintage BSA

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67 KNEEL-Y STABLE

Keith Warburton tells young HFT airgunners about the new Pat Farey trophy, and how to avoid wobble

72 COUNTRY KITCHEN

Jane Price shares her recipe for a Moroccan inspired pigeon tagine

74 SUBS

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76 TAKE THE AIR

The editor reveals more secrets about upgrading his Huntsman Regal

79 LIGHT FANTASTIC Phill Price finds a highly efficient headtorch from Cluson

80 THE MAY FAIR

Steve Prime takes us back to his childhood days at the rifle ranges

82 SWAP SHOP

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90 RED SQUIRREL GROUP Jerry Moss takes time out to be with old friends

92 ASSUME THE POSITION

Sometimes you have to do whatever it takes to steady your hunting shots, no matter how silly it looks

98 COMING NEXT MONTH The Weihrauch HW110 gets the full Big Test treatment

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www.airgunshooting.co.uk AIR GUNNER 5

IWA SHOW SPECIAL! All the news from the greatest gun show on earth! I’m just back from my annual trip to the incredible IWA shooting show in Germany, loaded with photographs of the new things I saw. Not all the products will make it into the UK, but I thought I’d show you the ones that caught my attention most. This for me is the best shooting show in the world, celebrating shooting, and most particularly hunting, in a way that we just can’t match here at home. The sheer scale of the event and the money spent is breathtaking. People from all around the world flock there to enjoy the space and relaxed atmosphere of this unique event and I can well see why. This LGU was wearing a synthetic thumbhole stock

The exhibition halls are truly massive allowing for equally huge stands and in the world of airguns, none is bigger than the vast Umarex one. A few new products caught my eye, the first being variants of the popular RM8 Rotex PCP, designed for high-power use. They had some interesting names such as ‘Maximathor’ and ‘Thorminathor’. I noted the change to the use of cylinder reservoirs instead of If you like your battle pistols distressed then look at this

the usual buddy bottles. The answer to the question of why was simple: they like to offer their customers choice. I also noted a variant of the LGU under-lever wearing a smart, new, synthetic, thumbhole stock, which gave a tactical kind of appeal. Fans of Co2-powered combat pistols will love this ‘distressed’ version of the classic Luger PO8 that I saw on a wall. It looked like it’d had a hard life and seen some tough duty. The Walther Rotax RM8 had some new variants

FX had their usual smart and FX now has a laminate stock This beautiful new sporter is for the Wildcat the FX Streamline hugely varied display in which we spotted a gorgeous, grey laminate stock option for the Wildcat PCP. It felt much more rigid than the standard black synthetic version and added a little weight as well. Above this was a brand new model, the Streamline, the most conventional looking FX rifle I can remember. The clean, sporting lines appealed to me immediately and it has the performance 300 shots per fill at 12 ft.lbs. from the multi- will have a slightly shorter reservoir, but apart to back them up. We’re told to expect over shot, side-lever action. The production version from that, will be what you and I can buy. Gamo are always sure to bring innovations to the show and this year I saw this ‘stripper’ assembly fitted to a break-barrel springer, which is highly unusual. The housing also holds the fibre-optic foresight element and protective hood. I don’t know if this will come to Great Britain, but I thought it was interesting to see.

An air-stripper on a break-barrel springer? Gamo says yes

www.airgunshooting.co.uk AIR GUNNER 7

IWA SHOW SPECIAL! MTC’s new turrets lock solidly to protect your zero

Next door, I found a new range of rifle scopes from sister company MTC Optics. These are all new and dripping with innovations. Starting at the rear, the flip-up lens covers are secured by magnets and fold flat against the body when not is use. The rear one holds Compressors might not be the first things you’d associate with Daystate, but they’ve added a second, larger model that offers quicker filling. It’s quite a substantial item, which looked well suited to a shop or busy club. While I was on their stand, I was shown a cut- away of the new Renegade action, as reported in my big test. It looked simple compared to the Pulsar that it shares an action with, but I was impressed with the performance. Note the everyday PP3 battery at the bottom that provides the power. Turkish manufacturer Hatsan displayed a large number of variants of their Gladius bullpup including these stock colour options. I’ve just received a Gladius for review and I’ll soon be bringing you my thoughts on how it works for me. With all the accessories, adjustments and Weaver rail attachments, it really does have the look of an assault rifle. Hatsan’s Gladius has many stock colour options

8 AIR GUNNER www.airgunshooting.co.uk

Yes that is a magnifier in the lens cap, but why?

For the very latest news visit us at www.airgunshooting.co.uk

The new MTC scopes share nothing with the outgoing models

a 2X magnifying lens to make it easy to read the numbers on the saddle-mounted dials and it really does work. The turrets are tall and large, being described as gloved-hand friendly, so can be turned even in the coldest weather. On top, the elevation adjuster has a

window showing exactly where you are in the adjustment range. These are completely new designs sharing nothing with the outgoing models and promised big improvements in image quality and construction. We’re expecting test samples soon. Daystate’s new compressor offers much faster filling

A simple PP3 battery powers the Daystate Renagade action

Webley gave me my first look at the new Raider PCP, which is a huge step forward from the old model. It’s a larger and more substantial rifle with a side-lever action and a full-length barrel shroud. This was an early prototype and there will be changes before production commences, but it looks like a very serious contender in the entry level PCP market, which is very hotly contested at the moment. Webley’s new Raider looks like a big step forward for the brand

WINNER! The winner of our March competition to win an Air Arms S410 was Keith Nixon from Kent. I hope you enjoy your prize which is a truely classic rifle. See our latest competition on page 48.

Nikko Sterling had an innovative range of scopes in their Diamond Long Range, which were large and impressive. As the name suggests, they’re designed to allow excellent accuracy at long-range when dialling in your adjustments for windage and elevation. A second windage turret is included to allow you to mark it exactly to suit your own rifle’s trajectory. A further aid to precision is the use ¼ MOA adjustment clicks for the most precise corrections. If long-range shooting is your thing then this is the scope for you

The NiteSite chaps were there, offering some clever new models that answer requests from customers. The one I could see as being most useful for me was a bolt-on, laser rangefinder unit. Judging distance through any night vision scope is difficult, and this answers the problem. It will read the distance constantly, immediately displaying the range right next to the main screen. Another improvement they showed was a new camera housing that allows focusing with a thumbwheel. This will make fitting and setting up the systems massively easier, and just as importantly, quicker. The final upgrade we saw was an in-built recording system that accepts a micro SD The rangefinder sits on an arm below the main screen card eliminating the need for a stand-alone recorder. Many of these will be available as separate items allowing existing owners to upgrade their NiteSite systems. The little module to the left of the screen is a laser rangefinder

www.airgunshooting.co.uk AIR GUNNER 9

YOUR LETTERS Shape, shine and shadow Firstly, thank you all who write for Air Gunner. It’s full of interesting articles and is a very good magazine. I’m ex-services and a target shooter up here in the Lake District. I was recently invited out with a friend to a farm where he shoots vermin at the request of the farmer. He frequently bemoans his poor kill tallies, so I watched him with interest to see how he approached the task. The first thing that struck me was that he was wearing nylon, oak pattern, outer clothing which rustled every time he walked or moved. My friend has, shall we say, a ‘personal odour’ problem and he smokes heavily. Several times when downwind of him, or in his crosswind, I could positively smell him, and so, no doubt, could the squirrels, rabbits and other prey. So hunters, think about your human scent

when out hunting. It is all very well saying approach from downwind, but as I noticed when out with him, the wind eddies around buildings trees etc. In the armed forces we were taught the three golden rules of concealment: Shape, Shine and Shadow. I read the articles in your magazine with interest, but have never seen writers make any mention of these vital factors. I got to thinking, does anyone use green/brown/black face paints to break up their facial outline? If it good enough for soldiers on special ops’, could it not be put to use whilst out hunting? My friend has all the right equipment, but he is let down by detail. One last thing that struck me was, when stalking he paid no attention to where his feet were being placed and several times he snapped twigs, so guys watch

Bullpup belief

long rifles, often with weights that take the balance well forward. Weight at the muzzle makes for a steadier gun that’s somewhat less affected by our wobbles and shakes. Think about somebody on a tightrope who holds a very long pole to help his balance. Even though it might not weigh very much, the effort needed to move the pole is exaggerated by its length. The physical effect I’m describing is ‘polar moment of inertia’. All that being said, if you enjoy bullpups, that’s great and I hope you continue to do so, but for me a conventional rifle is my choice. Ed.

You’ve mentioned that bullpups aren’t your thing, but you should get into them. They’re much better than normal guns and I should know, I’ve got three. They’re much shorter which makes them better when you’re shooting around sheds and places like that. The weight is right back against your chest which makes them lighter in your hands and easier to hold on aim. You need to shoot them more until you understand what I’m saying. Simon Hello Simon, I’ve shot lots of bullpups and am well familiar with their length and balance. When it comes to balance, let me ask you a question. Have you ever seen a bullpup at the Olympics? I haven’t. These competitors use

Bullpups are all the Synthetic stocks are rage, but I prefer technically superior conventional rifles

10 AIR GUNNER www.airgunshooting.co.uk

LEOFTTTHEE R MONTH

where you place your feet, be aware of human body smells, and remember ‘shape shine shadow’. Andi

every opportunity and told me how that had once saved his life. Finally, I have seen camo face paint on offer but it’s never caught on, to my knowledge. It would be quite a job to remove before you drove home, I think. Let me speak to Charlie and see if he’ll take on a three ‘S’ challenge. Ed.

Hello Andi, The points you make are valid and need proper consideration. I once worked with an exMarine Scout Sniper who was trained in the three ‘esses’ and he taught me some interesting things. He said that there’s nothing black in nature, other than a crow. I’m not sure if that’s a fact, but I took the point. Black boots, for example can ruin the effect of a ghillie suit, and if you’re a sniper, could get you killed. He also Using shadow to best advantage emphasised the point is a key hunting skill of using shadow at

Springer Fan At last you’ve done a springer as your Big Test. I was starting to think that you didn’t like them. I have an Air Arms TX and I love it. It’s so accurate I can hit anything I want. It’s also beautiful and I take great pleasure in oiling the blued steel action and treating the walnut with some stock oil, just for the simple joy of caring for such a great gun. Andrew

Hello Andrew You’re right. The TX is the kind of gun that deserves TLC. The quality of the polishing and bluing that Air Arms delivers today really is first-class and should be lightly oiled to keep it that way. It’s not that I dislike springers, but it’s pre-charged pneumatic rifles that get the majority of development and new models. Readers want to hear about the very latest guns, so logically that’s what I write about. Ed. The TX200 is a beautiful rifle that deserves care

Delicious!

Last week, I shot my first woodie that was raiding crops from the garden. A 25-yard head shot with my HW100-T dispatched it cleanly. Not wanting to waste it (I am a Yorkshireman), I remembered your wife’s article on woodpigeon in cider. I didn’t have any cider or bacon to hand so I used Muscat white wine with butter and onions ... my wife’s suggestion before departing with my daughter to Fuertaventura this morning. After browning with onions and garlic it was slowly cooked for 30 minutes. With some wholegrain mustard and double cream and the addition of one microwaved evening meal remnants - sprouts, roast potatoes, carrots and peas; it was delicious. It took a bit of ‘bottle’ to pluck the still warm

I love pigeon meat and it seems you do too

woodie and then remove the breasts, but a slurp of Muscat and your article helped. Result! One free Sunday lunch. Please keep up the Country Kitchen articles. Regards, Paul Rollin Hello Paul As I might have mentioned before, woodpigeon meat is my favourite. It’s rich and dense with a delicious flavour. I showed Jane your letter and she said to thank you. She loves sharing her cooking with you all and it makes her smile to know you enjoy it. Several people visited us at the British Shooting Show and said how much they get from her articles and even asked when her book would be out! Ed.

Earn it the hard way but would this article not have been better suited to Sporting Rifle magazine? In truth it had nothing to do with air rifles. I enjoy the magazine every month so keep up the good work. Chris Wheeler

My airgun has taken me to some interesting places and opportunities

Thanks for your piece entitled ‘A New Chapter’ in the March edition of Air Gunner. You certainly know how to make the rest of us feel like the ‘poor relations’. First, you were gifted a permission hopping with rabbits. Cool! Then you were given the shooting rights on deer. Nice. So you pop out and buy a .243 deer rifle and sign up for a stalking course. Too much information! All power to you, of course, I am not jealous (do I really sound that way?),

Hello Chris I’m sorry to hear that you’re unhappy that I should have had some good fortune. Throughout my shooting career I’ve had periods when I had no permission to hunt and struggled to find somebody who would place their trust in me, to wander their land with a gun. What happened on this particular estate was that I showed my worth and earned the trust of the land manager slowly, by doing exactly what he asked of me. My reward was that he increased my shooting opportunities step-by-step, as his belief in me grew, all of which came about because I was using an airgun to reduce his vermin problems. Ed. www.airgunshooting.co.uk AIR GUNNER 11

Get in touch... Post your letters to: Letters, Air Gunner, Evolution House, 2-6 Easthampstead Road, Wokingham, RG40 2EG

[email protected]

WIN

Never give up I was really pleased not only to see my letter published, but also to have it awarded the prize status for that month! Thanks for that - you really cheered this old fella up! Your suggestion regarding the most suitable opportunity to broach the subject of our shooting hobby was certainly a good one. Judging by the many and varied recipes that Mrs Price includes in the magazine, I’m sure that you’ve had as many converts to the positive aspects of shooting as you’ve had those same guests wanting a return invitation. If I am ever able to graduate to hunting and start bringing home the rabbits and pigeons, I’ll try the same approach. By the way, I bet that deer will provide your wife with some great additions to her culinary repertoire! I’ll look forward to receiving my BSA scope in due course and thanks once again. Best wishes, Stephen

Permission can be found if you stick with it

Hello Stephen I’ve yet to meet anybody who doesn’t enjoy a good meal and it’s the ideal time for a long relaxed chat about our sport and the good it does, both as an involving and enjoyable hobby for us and the service it provides for farmers and land managers. I wish you good luck finding a permission. I know only too well what it’s like to be without one. Ask everybody you know, and something will come. Take the example of our own Russel Webb who has gone from none to three places to hunt in just a few years. Never give up! Ed.

A brave man I thought you might be interested in a DIY job I have been doing on a second-hand Air Arms Pro Sport. It has taken me about two-weeks to complete. I have gunsmith experience, and I prefer air rifles in carbine size. I thought I would send you some pictures of the second-hand Pro Sport that I shortened to approximately 88.3cm, (34¾”) from 41inches. I left the 9.6” barrel alone, but the hardest job was getting the barrel shroud off! After contacting Air Arms, who were very helpful in their advice, I took the steps of obtaining steel tubing of the same diameter. I have also obtained another spare

full-length, barrel and shroud so that if I choose to restore the air rifle back to 41inches I can. I’m surprised Air Arms, and others have not supplied the amazing, Pro Sport, as a carbine. So if there are any other DIYers out there who want to try, then give it a go. I don’t recommend doing it on a brand-new Pro Sport though, because you will invalidate your warranty! You’ll find that the original shroud is glued on, so you will have to resort to either CNC machinery, or a hacksaw! If you use a saw, you will have to spiral your cut around the shroud, then twist it loose. At this new length, I find

12 AIR GUNNER www.airgunshooting.co.uk

the Pro Sport is more balanced and doesn’t feel like a clothes prop. I mean no disrespect to Air Arms; they make excellent air rifles. Stevie Osceola Hello Steve You’re a braver man than me! I think the Pro Sport is one of the best-looking airguns ever Who’d be brave enough to cut down a Pro Sport

If you have a top tip, something you’d like to get off your chest, or an interesting anecdote, then why not shoot us a line? We print the best letters and emails each month and one will be awarded a top prize. It’s over £60 and you could win it simply by getting in touch and sharing your views

made, so chopping one up with a hacksaw would break my heart. However, you mentioned that you have gunsmith experience, so you’re better equipped to take on such a job. An Air Arms technician told me that the bonding they use to attach the shroud to the barrel is, in effect, permanent, so removing it must have been quite a challenge. Ed.

AIRGUN GURU

GET IN TOUCH

This tiny spirit level in the Daystate Pulsar helps us to avoid cant

Post your letters to: Letters, Air Gunner, 2-6 Easthampstead Road, Wokingham, RG40 2EG

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GURU TIP: To develop perfect follow-through, try holding back the trigger after releasing the shot and keep looking through the scope until you’ve seen the pellet strike. This vital skill WILL improve your accuracy!

Q

One of the topics that most frequently crops up in readers’ letters is scope cant; what it is, and what its effects are. Can you please write a simple layman’s explanation? The Editor.

A

GURU SAYS: What everyone refers to as ‘scope cant’ is actually rifle cant, or the rifle being held at a slight angle, rather than being perfectly vertical, and this moves the centreline of the rifle and the axis of the barrel to one

side of the sight line. If the rifle is canted to the left, the barrel moves to the right of the sight line, so in order to cross the sight line at the first crossing point (the near zero), the pellet has to move from right to left. Having reached the crossing point, the pellet then carries on to the left of the sight line, and the further it travels from the muzzle, the further to the left it travels. In addition to the left/right pellet travel, canting the rifle also reduces the amount by which

the barrel is pointing upward to counteract gravity, and so the pellet lands low in addition to being one side or the other of the sight line. In fact, if a single shot unexpectedly lands low and to one side, and in the absence of any obvious explanation such as a very strong gust of headwind, rifle cant is nearly always the culprit. For most of us, rifle cant will only occur during a few occasional shots, causing the odd pellet to land low and to one side, but some people

habitually cant their rifle, and there is an easy test to diagnose this. When the rifle is held vertically, the pellet will be bang on target at two distances, the near and far zero, but if the rifle is habitually canted, there will only be one distance at which the rifle is perfectly zeroed, and at all other ranges, the pellet will land to the side of the sight line. Some target shooters fit spirit levels to their rifles or scopes to check that they’re vertical, although for most of us, being aware of the possibility of rifle cant and taking care to keep the rifle upright will be enough to ensure that any cant will be so slight that its effect will be insignifi-cant. ■

Rifle cant does not have to be this extreme to throw longer range shots low and left

If a rifle is canted to the left, the shots at the ranges marked will follow this pattern

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F T AND HF T This month Gary Chillingworth tells us the difference between FT and HFT

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ost months I report on a specific shoot or shoots and I wax lyrical about the joys of target shooting and how it has helped me to become a better shooter through consistency and practice. I often go on about the people and the courses, but recently I have had a few emails from people asking about how to get into target shooting and also what sort of kit is required. So, with the World HFT Championships a month away and the start of the National Series beginning in April, I thought I would take this opportunity to look at the fundamentals of HFT and maybe a bit of FT to see if I can talk you all into coming along and trying out the sport I love. First of all, the thing that most shooters who want to take up the sport should do is find a club. A club is more than just a piece of woodland with a few targets; it is a living, breathing fountain of knowledge where members will always be happy to help. If you go armed with bacon rolls and tea, most shooters will be happy for you to play with their kit, and by doing this you will know what fits you before you fork out your hardearned cash. To find your local club, a great resource is Shooting the Breeze, a

website geared toward the target shooting community. Within its pages is a ‘club finder’ and if you put in your postcode, it will tell you what is close to you. If you are lucky, then you will have a plethora of clubs, both FT and HFT, from which to decide the best one for you. Of course, if you only have an FT club close by, then the decision is much easier. So, what is the difference between the two?

Which gun? Well, the rifles are generally the same; we both use everything from Air Arms S400s all the way up to Steyr LG110s, with a smattering of Walthers, Daystates, Weihrauchs and BSAs along the way. As long as the rifle has under 12ft.lbs. of muzzle energy, and is in a safe state of repair, it will be welcome at a club, and if spring is your thing, .22 or even Co2, then the more the merrier. Most tournament shooters, however, use .177 and the favoured pellet is the Air Arms Field Diablo. What sets FT and HFT apart, however, is the scope. The FT boys use huge lumps of glass with up to 60x magnification and a very narrow depth of field. When they approach the gate to shoot they take a seat on a big comfy cushion and adjust the scope’s parallax setting until the target comes into focus. Once it’s in

Above: Mil-dot reticles are what HFT shooters need

This is why you need waterproofs for HFT competitions

Below: cccc Above: This is why you need waterproofs to shoot HFT

16 AIR GUNNER www.airgunshooting.co.uk

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or by using the scope’s reticle.

Scope for choice

Above: FT shooters can sit to range their targets using scope focus

focus, they read the range off a side wheel to tell them the distance, and then adjust their scope accordingly. Their targets are from 8 to 55 yards and it is a very civilised way to shoot. On the other hand, HFT is a bit more down and dirty. We do not have sitting shots; our main position is prone (lying down) and it doesn’t matter if there is mud, snow, sleet or puddles, we get down and get wet – and all HFT shooters have good waterproofs. Our targets are similar to the FT boys and girls, but we go out to only 45 yards. The main difference between the sports is the optics because the scopes used in HFT are smaller, with a maximum magnification of 12, but most only use 10 mag’ or lower. Unlike FT, once you start the course there is no adjusting the scope, no dialling in or using the scopes parallax to rangefind. All ranging is done by eye

If you are going to buy a scope for HFT, then something like the MTC Viper 10x42, or the Hawke Panorama series, is perfect. For FT, the Big Nikkos and Sightrons are well-respected, but as the cost of a top-end scope is nearly £1000, I can’t recommend one because, to be honest, I’m not experienced enough in the FT world to give a recommendation. Before arriving at a club, it’s a good idea to make sure you know your rifle. All HFT shooters will know every aim point from 8 to 45 yards, and this is where something like the Hawke’s BRC calculator can come in very handy. All you have to do is put in your rifle’s information (scope height, power, pellet etc.) and

Above: A well-made sporter like this Air Arms S400 can win at HFT. Note the ever-popular shooting mat

the program will print out a range card. For FT, you will have to learn how to set up a scope and use it for rangefinding. This can be a bit tricky, but an hour on a good range with an experienced shooter should help you to get started. Once you know how your gun shoots, you will have to decide how seriously you want to take your sport. There are a lot of shooters who never venture outside of their club and just take part in the monthly social shoot. Then there are low-level series, like the Midland and Southern hunters and the Sussex Interclub, and then stepping up a level, there are shoots like the Nationals and the FT GP series. All of these series, from the club events to the nationals and even the World Championships, will be happy to see you. If you are new to the sport, let them know and they will always put you with an experienced shooter who will show you the ropes, then all you need to do is get a copy of the rules, fill your gun with air, grab your pellets and go and have some fun. I know we may seem a bit scary and people have accused us of being a bit elitist, but I have never met a warmer and more welcoming bunch of idiots than my shooting mates. Once you come and give us a go, you will be hooked and I look forward to seeing you all at a shoot soon. ■

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The editor looks at an innovative hidemaking tool

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t’s quite hard to say just what this tool is. Could you describe the PBK Power Bull as a knife, or is it perhaps a small machete? For me anything this big and weighty falls outside of the knife category - I wouldn’t fancy gutting a rabbit with one of these. For me, it’s a lightweight, carry-along, hidemaking tool. Although it’s big for a knife, it’s small for a machete, and at less than 12½” long it will fit into any backpack, and could even be worn on your belt once you’re on your permission. It’s supplied with a woven nylon sheath that has a belt loop. As I picked it up, I was immediately attracted to the ‘encapsulating sure-grip rubber handle. As the name suggests, the material is quite soft, and yet firm enough for good control. The ergonomic shape fitted my medium-sized hand well, offering good grip with little pressure. It also seemed to absorb shocks from impact well, which should reduce fatigue. The full tang, 6mm blade had a black finish with just the sharpened edge appearing bright. Along the spine there’s a very heavily serrated section that I’m informed is ideal for ‘ripping rope’, but as that’s not something I need to do I have no comment. What did interest me was the cutting edge that runs parallel to the spine almost all the way to the tip, where it sweeps up suddenly. I’ve never seen this shape before, but I can report that as a chopper for small branches and brambles it worked very well indeed. The grind is quite thin lower down and my example was very sharp from the box. Branches as thick as my thumb took just two well-angled cuts, whilst any bramble was dispatched with one. The pronounced, weightforward balance was my friend for these jobs when I swung the blade quickly and let the weight do the work. As a hide-making tool or brush clearer, I found this to be a great tool, which is on offer at the moment at a bargain price of just £12.99 ■

SPECIAL Offer £12.99 www.bladesandbows.co.uk 18 AIR GUNNER www.airgunshooting.co.uk

BULL

POWER “… as a chopper for small branches and brambles it worked very well indeed”

SPECS Model: PBK Power Bull fixed-blade knife Web: www.bladesandbows. co.uk Length: 12 3/16” (308mm) Blade: 7” (187mm) Weight: 1lb (454g) RRP : £12.99 Special offer: £12.99

RRP £12.99

The sheath is well padded

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THE BIG TEST

ON THE FIRING LINE THIS MONTH:

DAYSTATE RENEGADE

RENEGADE

THINKING

Can less technology be better? The editor finds out

T

he Daystate Pulsar bullpup has been a runaway success, in joining and perhaps redefining the current tsunami that is the bullpup movement. Inside its squat dimensions lives a huge technological brain that offers the tech-savvy shooter all manner of goodies to customise and perfect his shooting experience. However, all those toys come at a price, in both a monetary sense and also weight. Somewhere in a design team meeting at the Daystate factory, somebody asked the question ‘could we offer all the handling and size advantages at a lower retail price?’ What we have here is an answer in the affirmative. At first glance, you’d be sure that the rifle pictured is a Pulsar wearing a green synthetic stock, but you’d be wrong. What you see is a Renegade, the next step in Daystate’s long and innovative journey. It seemed logical to me when they developed the Wolverine

Above: I like the green stock colour. It helps to camouflage the gun

20 AIR GUNNER www.airgunshooting.co.uk

chassis that it would become the base for the next generation of rifles, and it’s clear that this is the case. In my opinion, the impressive design features that action contains make it the most technologically advanced in the business, and the one that other

connect a trigger blade, moved a good distance forward, to the sears at the back of the action. Rods and links are the usual answer and, to be fair, the trigger quality they’ve provided has generally shown them to be the compromise that they are. The Daystate team took a good long look at the problem and used a technology they know well to

“The Daystate team took a good long look at the problem and used a technology they know well to deliver a new solution” manufacturers need to catch up with.

Electronic goodies The Pulsar took it and added all manner of electronic gadgets, but the Renegade is the polar opposite. Mechanically, it’s just the same, but it’s now fired with a very conventional hammer and spring system, albeit the Harper Slingshot, famed for its consistency and frugal use of air supply. However, all bullpups face a common challenge, which is to

deliver a new solution. Electronic firing is something they mastered ages ago, so they applied it here, just in a new form. Instead of the trigger mechanism releasing the sear that frees the hammer, a solenoid does the job. This means that the electronic trigger assembly that fired the Pulsar can be used to control this new system. Weight and travel can be designed in with no compromises because it is really a switch. All the mechanical aspects we feel are

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artificial, just to make us feel at home. This is a true innovation, but I’d expect nothing less from Daystate. Alongside the ability to place the trigger blade where you choose, there are other benefits. Sear overlap is a matter of safety and therefore should never be compromised, but a light, predictable trigger action needs

reduced overlap. It’s a tradeoff. However, with the Renegade’s electronic system, a large amount of overlap can be set for safety reasons because the solenoid that releases it is powerful and incredibly quick. This means we have the best of both worlds. The mechanism runs from a PP3 battery

Above: The Daystate Renegade is making a realistic claim to being the best mix of technology on the market today

Left: The built-in spirit level helps to eliminate cant

“I like this option because writing as a hunter, I see it as ‘free-camouflage’

Below: The cocking lever pivots under your ear

than can be bought from every corner shop and is small enough to carry a spare for ultimate peace of mind. This eliminates the need to remember to recharge. My MK4 fires so many thousands of shots on a charge that I completely forget to plug it in, and on a couple of occasions I’ve set off with a flat battery. This was totally my own fault, but with the Renegade, I would have just dropped a new battery in and my day’s shooting could have been enjoyed.

The same but different If you’ve read about the Pulsar then you know about the Renegade. Externally, it’s identical, apart from the lack of LCD screen in the side of the stock. Filling the reservoir is still done by unscrewing an aluminium cap on the front of the reservoir and connecting to the male Forster fitting. Loading pellets into the familiar, yet newly coloured, rotary magazine, is the same, and the side lever works in just the same way. Even the cross-bolt safety is the same. You will notice that the elimination of the electronic system saves a little weight, and because the Renegade is tall, like all bullpups, that change is felt immediately. My test gun came fitted with the novel MTC Connect zero-eye-relief scope, which is light by today’s standards, enhancing the effect. Another change was the green colour of the synthetic stock. I like this option because, writing as a hunter, I see it as ‘free-camouflage’. All-black guns stand out more than metal and wooden ones in my opinion, so this option makes good sense for me and to be honest, I just like the look. Another area that challenges the designer of a bullpup is the fact that our cheek must rest on the top of the action, rather than on a stock. This fixes the height so the scope must be raised relative to this to allow us to see along the axis of the scope’s body. I’m blessed (a’hem …) with a particularly huge head, so I often struggle with this problem. The answer is usually to fit high mounts Ô

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that allow me to see the whole sight picture properly. The downside is that the relationship between the barrel and the centre line of the scope gets even larger. On a conventional rifle this distance is commonly around 1¾”, but on the Renegade it’s a little over 2½”. Okay you might be asking ‘so what?’ so I’ll tell you. Bullpups are often cited as the ultimate up-close, ratting and feral pigeon guns, but I’ll challenge that. The higher the scope is above the barrel, the more you need to

correct your aim for close shots. On a conventional 11.5 ft.lbs., .22 rifle, you can aim spot-on at a rat sitting 10 yards away. With a bullpup you’d need to aim ½” high or you’d shoot under its chin. This is easy to do when you have lots of time to think about the shot, but in a hurry it’s the kind of thing we forget. As I mentioned earlier, bullpups are tall compared to a conventional rifle and the issue of cant becomes a greater consideration. Cant is when we fail to hold the rifle perfectly vertical.

“To help us avoid this problem Daystate designed a tiny spirit level into the back of the scope rail”

22 AIR GUNNER www.airgunshooting.co.uk

Below : Many people have commented that these guns are very stable on aim

SPECS Manufacturer Daystate Web www.daystate.com Tel 01785 859122 Model Renegade Type Pre-charged pneumatic Action Side lever, rotary magazine multi-shot Length 760mm (30”) Weight 3.2kg (7lbs) Trigger Two-stage adjustable (electronic) Fill Pressure 232 bar Shots per fill 170 in .177

RRP £1299.00

Any lean changes the relationship of the sightline to the pellet’s trajectory, causing us to miss. To help us avoid this problem Daystate designed a tiny spirit level into the back of the scope rail. The Connect scope sitting so close to your eye prevents you from seeing it whilst on aim, but with all conventional scopes, you can be aware of it in your peripheral vision without needing to look directly at it. This is a significant help in realworld accuracy, and that’s what rifle shooting is all about.

Technologically advanced I mentioned the Wolverine action being technologically advanced so let me explain why I believe that

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to be the case. Some tech’ ideas are great in theory, but I don’t care about them. What I care about are features that make a difference in the field to me as a hunter. For example, double

energy was set at 11.2 ft.lbs with the Daystate Kaiser pellet, and shot-toshot consistency was just 5fps, as I’d expect from a rifle of this quality. Unsurprisingly, the trigger felt

Above: Without a sling this was a comfortable way to hold the Renegade

“the technology that allows a very safe trigger to feel like a light, match-grade one is a good step forward” loading is a problem that all hunters have faced but because the Pulsar magazine is indexed pneumatically as the rifle fires, it cannot double load. Another real-world problem is firing the rifle with the side lever open. The Pulsar will not fire unless the lever is locked shut, so another problem is solved. This is the direction that airguns need to take to improve their performance in a way that makes a real difference in the field. The rifle I had on test was a preproduction prototype, but I tested it like a production gun just for my own interest. The muzzle

just like the Pulsar, although the firing cycle sounded a little different. Accuracy was every bit as good as the Pulsars I’ve shot, which is no surprise because the barrel is exactly the same and is fixed into the same chassis. I guess the question of why Daystate would make

Below:The bolt-on scope rail sets the scope at the right height relative to the cheek piece

another rifle that performs just as well as a Pulsar has to be asked, and the answer is that the simplified rifle is cheaper. In fact it’s quite a lot cheaper. Not everybody likes complicated guns, and using the Renegade is just like any other mechanical pre-charged pneumatic. You wouldn’t know that it has an electronic trigger in use. I got the appeal of this decision right away and the technology that allows a very safe trigger to feel like a light, match-grade one is a good step forward, in my opinion. If you fancied a Pulsar, but thought the price was a little high, then have a good look at the Renegade, it could well be the rifle for you. ■

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determining to get out and find a new, unexplored or forgotten permission area that might hold potential for harvesting.

Back to basics The beauty of going back to basics and mastering a single-shot springer to the point of being ‘hunting ready’, after five months of pure PCP use, is a thing to behold. Like riding a thoroughbred racehorse after a trusted cob, a springer is twitchy, alive and unforgiving at first, but then as you get used to each other, it becomes familiar. From the release of the second-stage trigger sear, past the back then forward recoil, and through the follow-through, as I watch the pellet impact and feel the rifle come to rest in my palm, the experience is visceral, compelling, alive and brings me right back to why I love airguns so much. Obviously, for me, gripping a springer or indeed any airgun is slightly restricted and my trigger technique is possibly clumsier than some (don’t panic Jeff). That said, I’m not trying to thread a pellet at 40 yards on to a restricted back plate on a target, with my view partially

restricted by a tube. I’m trying to get five shots within a 5p-size group, at distances that represent my hunting ranges, so 35 yards max - and the closer the better! The weight of the HW97 utterly helps, like the R10, because I rely on the weight to steady the gun and give my forward arm muscles something to push against. (Jeff, if that didn’t scare you, I could show you how I use a chainsaw!).

Ready to hunt So, finally happy that I was back to ‘springer hunting ready’ after hours of addictive plinking, I called it a day with the HW97, locked it in the car and headed off for a recce with just binoculars, to look for untried hunting areas. This was harder than I’d imagined. I have been shooting this 1000-acre estate for years, and avoiding the places I know for those that I don’t is actually difficult. Any hunter will have their favourite rabbit ambush spots, pigeon roosts or squirrel trees, but steering clear of the regularity of familiarity, even those haunts you only visit once every few months, is tough. My challenge was not to visit anywhere I had been in the last 12 months and I

“ As they came in I raised the rifle and followed them as though with a shotgun”

Above: New discoveries, not always pretty but can be fascinating

Below left: The open canopy offered a potentially excellent sporting afternoon

Below right: Devastating four shot accuracy proves the HW 97’s hunting credentials

was going to stick to it. As the last hours of daylight fell, and having identified potential scrapings and fresh rabbit droppings, my eyes kept getting drawn to the same area of thick woodland where a steady stream of my favourite game kept flocking. As I entered the woodland, I was greeted by the thunderous clapping of 40-plus tasty, plump pigeons bailing for the safety of the sky through a clear enough canopy, to ensure a potentially excellent afternoon’s sport and that dinner could be on the cards. I returned to the wood midafternoon the next day with a simple plan. I plopped myself down on my game bag, with no hide or netting, loaded the HW97 and sat there using nothing but trees and Jack Pyke English Oak camouflage jacket and trousers (Yes, Jeff, other brands are available) to conceal myself - and waited. Ô

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I

told you last time about the visit to a farm where my brother keeps his beehives, and how the farmer gave me permission to control the vermin on the land. Having acquired my new permission on the first day of a long weekend visiting my brother and his family in Dorset, I intended to make the most of this opportunity. My plan for the first hunting session on the new permission was to stalk along the hedgerows in search of suitable airgun quarry, but the heavy overnight rain forced me to have a rethink. I had two alternatives, a visit to a local craft centre with my wife or go to the new permission and simply try to make the best of the opportunities there. I was not very optimistic as I drove into the farmyard. The fields where I intended to hunt were covered with wet mud and puddles, which would

ruin a stealthy approach to any quarry, so I decided on a quick change of tactics. I would have a combined hunting and reconnaissance session around the farm buildings, so I made what should have been a quick visit to the farmhouse to enquire whether or not anybody would be working around the farmyard. However, the kettle was on and a packet of Jaffa cakes had just been opened … About an hour later, I finally started my combined pest control and reconnaissance visit. My targets would be feral pigeons and rats, and I had also seen a couple of magpies on my previous visit, but I have learned the hard way that it is virtually impossible to stalk these sharp-eyed, black and white nest robbers. I had dispensed

Background: The farm is in a beautiful area

Below: Did I see a rat? I used the scope to search under the pallets

with my usual, full camouflage, hunting outfit and changed it for a fleece because any feral pigeons that were regular visitors to the farmyard would be used to the disturbance caused by people moving around them. There is always a mixture of excitement and anticipation as I go through what is now a well-established, pre-hunt ritual; load the magazines with Air Arms Diablo Field pellets; take the rifle out of its slip and put the magazine in; check the safety catch is on; flip up the scope caps on my Hawke Sidewinder, and then I am good to go.

Close quarters On my Cambridgeshire permission, I always take the time to scan over the area I intend to hunt, with my

“a mixture of excitement and anticipation as I go through what is now a well-established, pre-hunt ritual”

DOUBLE

FIRST

Russel Webb sets off for his first hunt on his new permission

34 AIR GUNNER www.airgunshooting.co.uk

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binoculars. This is not a quick look, but a slow, methodical search of the ground I will stalk. The relatively compact area of the farmyard made my binoculars redundant, but the blind corners of the farm buildings would provide cover for my approach to any quarry. You can do this by taking a stealthy approach to the corner of a building and then having a slow peek around the corner. Any quarry will be oblivious to your presence because you will be shielded by the building. Using this technique allows the blind corners of farm buildings, and the gaps in hedgerows and gateways, to become windows of opportunity for the airgun hunter. I was not expecting to see any rats, but I wanted to find some of the tell-tale signs of their presence. One of the most obvious signs of rat activity are the holes often found around the

edges of buildings, among bricks and rubble and storage crates, and piles of pallets. Another good indicator of the presence of rats is their shiny, black, slug-shaped droppings which are between 1cm and 2cm in length. Rats prefer to travel along well-defined routes - hence the term ‘rat run’ - and these runs are quite easy to spot. I would be looking for compacted, smooth trails through soil, and

Above: Rats will always find a home in farm buildings Below: The overnight rain had left the fields covered in wet mud and puddles Bottom left: Rats will always frind a free meal around chickens Bottom right: The compacted grass shows where the rats use this regularly

flattened pathways through grass or animal bedding. One of the objectives for my daytime reconnaissance was to identify a number of safe, nighttime ambush positions which I would be able to use when I returned to the farmyard with my LEDray F600 gun lamp. I wanted to avoid shooting in the direction of expensive farm machinery and ensure that I had a concrete backstop to reduce the possibilities of any damage from a ricochet. I don’t like rats and have never been able to see the appeal of keeping them as pets. A friend has a large cage in her kitchen where she keeps her two pet rats, Del and Rodney. Unfortunately, I cannot look at them without imagining an illuminated scope reticle resting on their little heads. Rats carry a large number of unpleasant diseases including Weil’s disease, also known as

“As the pigeon ate its free meal I began my stealthy approach towards it”

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leptospirosis, which can be fatal. This is spread through bites and contact with the rat’s blood, urine and droppings. Never touch a dead rat with your bare hands and always give your hands a good wash with plenty of hot water and soap if you have been anywhere near them. As I made my way around the farmyard, I heard the clatter of pigeons’ wings. I took the time to stand still and just watch, and listen to my surroundings, and was rewarded by the sight of large grey pigeon waddling around the entrance to one of the cattle sheds where some animal feed had been spilt on the floor. As the pigeon ate its free meal, I began my stealthy approach towards it. I had selected a pile of building materials about 15 metres away from it as my firing point, so that this would give me some cover and also provide a support on which to rest my rifle when I took the shot. Unfortunately, my stealth tactics were ruined by the appearance of one of the farm cats, which scared

Above: I tried using one of the farm sheds as cover

“I took the safety catch off my rifle and aimed the scope where I hoped the rat would emerge”

Right: I took the time to stop and scan the farmyard

the pigeon away.

Rats!

Below: A rat hole?

36 AIR GUNNER www.airgunshooting.co.uk

Feeling a little disheartened, I made my way towards the chicken coops I had been shown the previous day, to look for ambush sites, because it is always easier to do this in daylight rather than waiting until night falls. Then something small and brown scuttled under a sheet of metal roofing material as I walked across the farmyard. Now, I have seen rats out and about during daylight hours in urban environments, but I had presumed that countryside rats were strictly nocturnal - but it was most definitely a rat. I decided to use an abandoned shed as an ambush position and wait it out to see if the rat would make another appearance. The alternative would be a trip to the craft centre with my wife, so I was prepared

for a very long wait. After about 40 minutes, there were definite signs of movement, so I took the safety catch off my rifle and aimed the scope where I hoped the rat would emerge. As it appeared, the rat stopped to sniff the air, and that was all the time I needed to send the Air Arms pellet on its way. After a couple of back flips, the rat stopped moving, and my headshot had done its job. I used an old shovel to put the rat’s body on the farm’s fire pit because I knew the farmer would not want to find the corpse of a disease-spreading rodent in the farmyard. This had been a ‘double first’ for me; it was my first kill on the new permission, and also the first rat I had shot as an airgun hunter. Despite the awful weather and interfering farmyard cats, this had been a very good first visit to my new permission. ■

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Charlie Portlock investigates two bonus permissions

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hey say that luck finds a level, and I’m beginning to think that it’s finally found mine. Having worked hard to clear my desk over the weekend, I awoke on Monday looking forward to the prospect of an entire day spent practising some shooting, bushcraft and woodland foraging. I’ve been out far less than I would have liked, and there’s only so much positive spin you can put on too much work and even more rain. Add the fact that I’ve had a broken hob, no oven, and an empty freezer and you’ll understand why I was keen for the skies to brighten so that I could head out with the 95K. I’m fortunate to have recently secured some new permissions that have made it possible to walk out of the door with the rifle, without having to worry about driving. These two new pieces of land join up with some others to offer a good fourmile circuit, encompassing nigh on a thousand acres of mixed woodland, arable, pasture, and meadow. It’s good to know that I can wander this area and explore freely, but respectfully, without disturbing the keeper’s activities.

Setting out At 11am, I shouldered both my rifle and pack and set out toward a stream a few hundred yards from the house. I’d finally taken the trouble to read

the manual on my binoculars (the superb Hawke Endurance 8x42) as well as take the time to set them up properly. I’ve never calibrated a pair of binoculars before, but this model has a dioptre ring that allows you to fine-tune the lenses, and as I normally use them for spotting rabbits in overcast or gloomy conditions, I’d never enjoyed using them this much - they’re also great for tracking ravens as they skirmish with high flying buzzards. As I approached the stream, I spotted a downed birch tree that yielded plenty of bark to use as tinder to get the evening fire started, and some half-eaten acorns and holly berries in a scrape at the base of a

Above: I always take time to enjoy the view

Right-: A battleground of broken pines

Below: A vixen’s lair?

not to pick the brown ones because these are too young and haven’t spored yet. A few hundred paces later, I stopped to test my new trekking axe on the root of a fallen conifer. Ô

“I’m fortunate to have recently secured some new permissions that have made it possible to walk out of the door with the rifle” lime tree. The berries were a long way from home; 25 yards - and that over the water - and I suspected a midmorning squirrel. I crossed the stream and headed into the treeline of mixed ash and coniferous woodland that stretched for another half a mile. Ash has a habit of discarding old branches and these fallen boughs are a great place to find another kind of tinder, this time in fungal form. King Alfred’s Cake will take and hold an ember, when black and dry, and it’s a useful woodland resource. Just make sure www.airgunshooting.co.uk AIR GUNNER 41

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“I startled several rabbits from light cover before I convinced myself to slow down”

These often contain ‘fatwood’, the dry, hard and resinous heartwood found within the roots of pine trees, and like birch bark, this material is so flammable that it will light even when wet; another great resource for fire-lighting.

Sacred spaces By this stage, I was looking forward to some lunch so I hiked uphill to some recently felled woodland; the ragged terrain and torn-up timber was more reminiscent of a battleground than a once densely packed spruce plantation. After lunch, I continued uphill to some mixed beech, ash and oak woods that I hadn’t explored before. I knew that I was unlikely to see any squirrels in the middle of the day, let alone in

the middle of a wood, but I kept the rifle loaded just in case because I’ve recently seen them out at all hours. About fifteen minutes later, I spied the dark shadow of an old yew, conspicuous against the barren branches and silvery bark of young hazel. This ancient tree marks the site of an old cottage that once stood in this area. Yews are some of the longest-lived trees in the UK and you can often find examples more than 500 years old. They hold a deep and long lasting spiritual significance and are most commonly found in churchyards. However, the smallholding that had inspired this tree’s planting had long gone and although no rubble was visible, the raised, undulating ground and the large burrows indicated that there

Above: Birch bark will light fires even when wet Left: In search of fatwood

Background: Great skies at dusk

Below: My bin’s were a joy to use

was a fox earth here. Upon sitting down to rest, I found the bleached jaws of a young fallow deer and detected a slight musty smell. Could this be a seldom-visited vixen’s lair? Sometimes, you come across places that feel truly old and wild, and this was definitely once such location; quiet, untouched and almost sacred. By this time, it was getting on for two hours before sunset and I knew that if I walked a mile or so to the north and crossed another stream I’d find some rape fields whose hedgerows were home to several established warrens. Initially, I made that common mistake of chugging uphill at full gait in order arrive at my hunting ground that bit faster, and I startled several rabbits from light cover before I convinced myself to slow down. A blustering approach may yield the odd shot, but it creates a chain reaction of white tails and beaten earth that will put every warren in the area on alert if you’re not careful. I slowed down and it wasn’t too long before I spotted a pair of rabbits sunning themselves on some rising ground. They were silhouetted against the sky with the sun in their eyes, so I could approach in the shadow of a hedge, almost unseen.

A brace in the bag I ranged the rabbits at 63 yards, softly slid out of my pack, and placed my binoculars on top. I was in for a 33-yard crawl on my belly. With the weather so changeable I didn’t want to fluff my approach and miss my chance to stock the freezer, so I made 42 AIR GUNNER www.airgunshooting.co.uk

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“Spring-rifle hunters will be familiar with the adrenalin rush that accompanies the need to reload quickly”

sure to keep very low and very slow, with my chin often resting on the cool ground. I had plenty of time and was actually enjoying the feeling of lying down after four hours of slow exploration. There was very little wind and what meagre breeze there was pushed my scent away from my chosen animal, so that I was almost undetectable as long as I didn’t make any sudden movements. I knew that I’d have to take my shot from prone and this is my least favourite position with a springer. This may well be because my high scope mounts make finding a comfortable head position very awkward, but neither have I found this position to give enough height above the grass to be useful when taking rabbits in the more verdant months. As a result of my own slight lack of confidence, I chose to crawl that bit closer and I used the last few minutes of sunlight to take a composed 27-yard shot, putting one buck in the bag. The second animal was only yards away from the first and had heard the shot, but couldn’t see the impact, and it sat with haunches poised and frozen in alarm. Spring-rifle hunters will be familiar with the adrenalin rush that accompanies the need to reload quickly from prone, whilst

Above: A brace in the bag

Right: Did this deer come here to die?

trying to avoid making enough of a sensory disturbance to spook the remaining quarry - it always reminds me of that moment when the bomb disposal expert has to choose the right wire. I lay almost flat, with the rifle on its side in the damp earth, and eventually managed to cock it and put a pellet in the breech without the second animal bolting. Taking a deep breath, I levelled the cross hairs on the kill zone and warily clicked off the safety, making sure not to rush the shot and to concentrate on my follow-through. The rabbit flipped high into the air upon impact and

although it took some time to settle, I could see that the shot was solid and that it had been a quick kill. Like the spring, this trip was a long time in coming. I really felt that I was able to connect the dots in creating a local permission that’s as varied in hunting, foraging and bushcraft opportunities as it is in scenery and wildlife. The 95K was a dream to shoot and a pleasure to carry around all day, and although my culinary woes meant that I still had to cook my kill on an open fire, there’s a real pleasure in sipping rum whilst slowroasting rabbit and sweet potatoes as your woodland forage dries in front of the flames. A great six hours; roll on the summer! ■

Right: There’s nothing like cooking on an open fire

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44 AIR GUNNER

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The editor hunts with a new optic from Optisan

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hen I ordered my Daystate Huntsman Regal XL it arrived with an Optisan EVX 3-12 x 44i scope fitted. This is because Daystate is the sister company of MTC, the distributor for Optisan. It ticks all the boxes for the modern rifle scope with its 30mm body tube, side-wheel parallax adjustment, and tall, exposed windage and elevation turrets. To complement this, inside you’ll find their MH10 reticle, which is a very clever design that helps not only to judge the correct holdover but to aid in windage offset as well. I often complain that modern reticles are so fine that they become difficult to see in poor light, or when looking up through twigs at my quarry. The MH10 seemed somewhat thicker than others I’ve tried, and I had no problems at all getting onto it and taking my aim. Some reticles are so ‘busy’ that I worry I could end up aiming at the wrong part, but because this is in essence a conventional mildot with a well-defined central cross, I had no such difficulty. In low light you have the option of illuminating it red at six levels of brightness.

Robust The build felt quite robust with chunky, deeply knurled dials and collars. I’m not the biggest fan of

Main: Despite all the features it’s quite a compact build

tall turrets, but these turned with a clearly defined and well-controlled movement. Apart from the fact that they’re prone to catching on things, the real concern that I have is that they might be turned accidentally, losing my zero. I’m pleased to say that these have a locking system to answer that worry. To make an alteration you pull the cap up, make your adjustments and then press

“not the biggest fan of tall turrets, but these turned with a clearly defined and well-controlled movement

them back down to lock. I found the tracking completely predictable and consistent and had the Huntsman zeroed in a handful of shots. I always consider this a good sign. A regular feature I’ve noticed about the Optisan built MTC scopes I’ve used is that the adjusters are often very stiff to turn, and this scope was no different. The problem becomes worse on very cold days and on my first hunt it was close to freezing, and so were my hands. I needed to rotate the fast-focus adjuster to get the reticle sharp for my ‘glasses wearing’ eyes, and I really struggled. I ended up putting on a disposable glove I had for gutting duties, before I could grip the smooth, anodised surface enough Ô

Right: I found the image quality very good

SPECS

Manufacturer Optisan Importer MTC Optics Web www.mtcoptics.co.uk Tel 08448 009 929 Model EVX Spec 3-12 x 44 Reticle MH10 illuminated Length 335mm Weight 750 grammes

Cost £279.99 www.airgunshooting.co.uk AIR GUNNER 45

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to turn it. No worries there about that turning accidentally! The magnification ring is also tough to turn in the cold conditions, but it has a raised lug that helps me to get the magnification I want. However, I was left to estimate where my preferred 7x setting was because the ring is marked 3,6,9,10,12 with some large spaces in between. I set the collar where I felt 7x should be, and then wanted to set the parallax at my usual 30 yards hunting distance. The parallax dial is marked 10, 100 and infinity, which wasn’t

much help either. To get around this, I used my laser rangefinder to spot a tree at 30 yards and then focused it with the side wheel so that I knew exactly where it was set. If this were my scope, I’d add some waterproof tape to the dials and mark my standard settings so that I could immediately get back to them whenever I needed to.

Good glass Once out in the woods I used the EVX as a spotter to find squirrels high in the branches, to get a feel for

“completely predictable and consistent and had the Huntsman zeroed in a handful of shots”

46 AIR GUNNER www.airgunshooting.co.uk

Above: The windage and elevation turrets lock for security of your zero

Below: Illumination control and parallax adjustment are on the left of the saddle

Bottom: Despite all the features it’s quite a compact build

the optical quality, and I’ll confess to being openly impressed. It was a bright day, so I searched dark, shady areas to see how the lenses and coatings coped with the high-contrast conditions, and they did well. Looking at an angle across the bright sunlight, there was a noticeable degree of flare on the objective lens which affected the sight picture. I’ve seen this trait on MTC scopes in the past, so I assume it must be the lens or coatings that Optisan has always used. Although I’d set the magnification at where I thought 7x was, I found the field of view rather narrow so I dropped it down to 5x, which I found more useful when trying to get on to squirrels at short range. It’s hard to judge one company’s idea of 7x with the next, because the field of view varies so much, but I felt the Optisan 5x felt like more power than the dial suggested. This is clearly a high-quality scope, and once I’d found my way around its little foibles and got it set up as I liked, I was happy hunting with it. Tall turrets will never be my thing, but it seems that most people love them and these worked perfectly. If you want something different to the more common brands, then this is worth finding for a better look. ■

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YOU CAN WIN This is the brand-new rifle that everyone’s talking about. It’s the latest release from renowned German manufacturers, Weihrauch, and it’s like nothing ever seen from that famous factory. First, the HW110 is fitted with an action block and barrel support made from a special type of polymer, which cuts down weight and is totally impervious to weather, rust and pretty much anything else our sport can throw at it. Then, the 110 has a totally new firing valve and magazine system, and it comes complete with a fantastic Weihrauch silencer. Add a superb adjustable trigger, a soft-touch, ambidextrous stock, a 10shot, sidelever-activated magazine, and that guaranteed Weihrauch performance, and you’re looking at something truly special - which you could win for just £1.50!

THIS SUPERB NEW RIFLE COULD BE YOURS FOR JUST £1.50! ENTRY FORM

This is a snippet from a picture printed elsewhere in this issue. Can you spot which page it’s on?

Name Address Postcode

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Email Prize to be sent to: (Name and address of your local gunshop) Postcode If you are under 18, an adult must sign on your behalf and give his/her name and address Name Address

BASA members can enter using one of their special ‘FREE ENTRY’ tokens

Postcode Closing date: Thursday 5th of May 2016 Tick if you have a subscription to Air Gunner Anyone involved in the preparation of this competition may

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Archant Ltd, publisher of Air Gunner, would like to keep you up to date with any special offers or new products/services which might be of interest. Please tick if you DO wish for Archant Ltd to contact you in this way by email SMS. Please tick if you would prefer NOT to receive information by post phone. We occasionally pass your details onto carefully selected companies who wish to contact you with information about their products/services, please tick if you DO wish to be contacted in this way by email SMS. Please tick if you would prefer NOT to receive such information by post phone. Prize must be claimed within one year of the declared closing date

Send your answers to: May Jigsaw, Air Gunner, Evolution House, 2-6 Easthampstead Road, Wokingham, RG40 2EG 48 AIR GUNNER www.airgunshooting.co.uk

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HOW TO ENTER By Post

Check out the jigsaw piece printed on the entry form below and see if you can spot from which main photo elsewhere in this edition it has been taken. When you have found the full picture, write down the page number on which it appears in the answer box below and send your completed entry form to the address at the bottom of the page. Entry costs just £1.50 per go cheque and postal orders payable to Air Gunner - and you can enter as many times as you like. As a bonus though, for every five entries you submit, you get another one free - i.e. six entries for £7.50 Closing date for entries is Thursday 5th of May one entry free provided the entry form is submitted with a validated ‘Free Competition entry’ token from their membership pack. Multiple entries allowed. If you do not wish to destroy your copy of the magazine you can send your entry on a separate piece of paper. Photocopies are also allowed. In the event of a tie, all correct entries will be put into a hat and there will be a draw to decide the winner. Prize is supplied on behalf of Air Gunner by the manufacturer. The prize will be sent to the winner’s designated gun shop which may levy an administration charge for handling.

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THE RIFLEMAN’S

RANGE

The editor tells us about a fantastic new range in the West Country

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ifleman Firearms Ltd is located in the south Somerset village of Hambridge, near Langport, just 15 minutes from the M5 at Taunton and 30 minutes from Yeovil on the Somerset Levels. It’s a large gun shop selling top-quality airguns plus all the usual stuff, like clothing, boots, pellets and a whole lot more, plus they have a brand new, 90-yard air rifle range. This has 10 floodlit 90-yard ‘open’ lanes and two ‘wind free’ 60-yard lanes for zeroing. All the firing points are covered, lit and heated, and targets start at 15 yards, going all the way out to 90, with the added satisfaction of ringing a bell at maximum range if you’re on target! There are two very popular and growing airgun clubs associated with the range and shop; the ‘Rifleman Rangers’ for adults, and the ‘Rifleman Rascals’ for juniors up to 14 years old. The Rascals meet on a Tuesday evening between 6pm and 8pm and can earn badges for safety, and distance-shooting disciplines, and enjoy shoot-offs against each other. This also provides a more casual

“All the firing points are covered, lit and heated with targets starting at 15 yards, going all the way out to 90” environment for general practice and plinking, for those who don’t want to compete. All the Rascals have the opportunity to win prizes on a weekly basis. The Rangers meet on a Thursday evening and have weekly in-house competitions to win prizes, and they also cater for the casual shooter who just wants to practise and plink at various distances. It’s a great facility and a sociable place to see and try new kit and catch up on what’s new, but the best thing is that the environment is safe and the shooting is fun. The range is open all week, Monday to Sunday, and you can use it anytime as a member (with discounts and concessions), or just shoot as a non-member as your time permits. It’s an ideal venue for a family fun outing, and an on-site clubhouse will shortly be added to the range.

Above: The firing points are warm and dry with plenty of space

Below: The gun clubs based at the range are highly-popular

Below: There’s a bell out there at 90 yards ... really there is!

Rifleman Firearms also offer a tank-filling facility and gun top-up, and all who use the range have access to free air top-ups for their guns. New air rifles bought there are covered by an unlimited lifetime and service cover and they offer one of the best value APRs available for finance. Drop by - there’s ample free parking and various other local attractions for a great day out, such as; the Lamb & Lion pub in Hambridge for stunning food, The Burrow Hill Cider Brandy Company, and Muchelney Pottery to name a few. There’s even the Brown & Forrest Smokery restaurant on-site for sandwiches and hot food, that also specialises in delicious smoked foods to eat in or take home. For prices or to book a lane, visit www.riflemanfirearms.com or call the shop on 01458 253700 to check availability - or simply pop by to have-a-go. ■

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nybody who has ever discussed hunting kit with me knows that I have a fondness for compact rifles in general, but this preference is amplified when selecting a squirrel gun. The reason is simple; for these hunts I like to cover a lot of ground, often in heavy brush or other difficult conditions, and a diminutive rifle is less likely to get in my way. I don’t believe you have to give up either accuracy or power with a compact rifle, but there is an associated cost in the form of a lower shot count. This is especially true when the dimensions of the air reservoir are reduced in a gun producing 20-40 ft.lbs. Here are my thoughts on shot count in this scenario; in most of the USA, squirrels are classified as game animals, complete with seasons and bag limits. Daily limits are typically 6-10 squirrels, and even my most

with a small air bottle in my pack it means refilling the rifle frequently, but for (tree) squirrel hunting, when I almost never take more than ten shots in a hunt, compactness is more important to me than shot count.

Accurate enough?

compact FAC-rated rifle will produce 14 shots, which gives me a day’s worth of air. I can also slip a small buddy bottle in my daypack, which effectively removes any shot capacity issues, and is still less obtrusive than a full-sized rifle in heavy brush. Reduced shot count can be a liability in certain applications; for instance when I go after high-density pests such as prairie dogs, or Eurasian collared doves, when there may be an opportunity for a couple of hundred shots over the course of the day. Even

Above: If I expect to need extra air I’ll slip a buddy bottle into my pack

Below: Even though there’s not much to the stock, I find it comfortable to shoot

Accuracy can be compromised in compact rifles because of the short barrels, or perhaps a less ergonomic stock, but in most of the carbines and short rifles I use this is not the case. The important point is that any rifle you’re going to take hunting requires that you invest the bench time to understand what the gun is capable of, and then you need to shoot it under field conditions to learn the capability of you and the gun together. The reason for my preference of higher power in a compact rifle is that I’m often using them in heavy foliage, in the snow, around water,

“I don’t believe you have to give up either accuracy or power with a compact rifle”

COMPACT SQUIRREL RIFLES Jim Chapman tells us why he loves ultra-compact hunting guns

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“I’ve been using the Air Arms TDR a lot more now that the 30 ft.lbs. version of the gun has been released”

56 AIR GUNNER www.airgunshooting.co.uk

and other situations when quarry running a few yards after being hit can mean the difference between a recovered and a lost animal. We have laws (not to mention the ethical responsibility) precluding the waste of game, which means you are obliged to make every effort to retrieve your quarry. A higher-power gun in rugged terrain is an added insurance. Another factor for me is that I might start out on a squirrel hunt, but be presented with an opportunity to shoot a turkey or predator along the way, and having the extra power at my fingertips makes this do-able. The features that I look for in a compact gun are pretty straightforward; appropriate power and accuracy are a given, and I prefer a multi-shot because they are easier to work with in cold weather conditions; I want a comfortable and accessible method of carry, and I prefer a quick release fill connector because I think they are easier to use whilst airingup on the go. I also want the gun to be lightweight - many bullpups, for instance, are compact but quite heavy. Further, a compact rifle must be comfortable to shoot from any position, but especially offhand. When taking longer shots whilst using a fullsized rifle, most of my shots are off sticks, but at the closer ranges when using a compact gun in the squirrel woods, I tend to do a lot more offhand shooting. A take-down design, or the ability remove or collapse the stock for transporting is a plus.

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Compatto I’ve always liked the compactness of the Brocock guns and as I write this I”m preparing to leave on a hunt with the Compatto. Over the last few weeks of shooting this gun on the range, I’ve been well impressed and see why so many of the British writers have given it accolades, but even before the Compatto, I’d been shooting and hunting with the Brocock Specialist. This rifle is very light; my .22 in FAC trim is accurate and generating about 22 ft.lbs., and the six-round rotary magazine makes it a good option for my winter and fall hunts, when I don’t want to fumble around loading single pellets, with fingers either numb with cold or sheathed in gloves. I also like this rifle in the spring and fall when moving through tangles of brush, vines, and brambles. Another one of my compact rigs is the Talon-P, which started life as a pistol … sort of. It had a barrel a little too long and was powered by a bottle protruding from the rear of the receiver, making for a clumsy handgun, in my opinion. However, this gun comes with a wire stock that affixes to the bottle and provides a handy little butt stock, which is surprisingly comfortable to shoot. This single-shot .25 calibre gun has adjustable power, and when opened up will produce well over 40 ft.lbs. I shoot this gun accurately out to over 60 yards, but what I like about the high power it generates is that I can start off for squirrel, but I’m

Main background pic: Deciding on an approach is easier when you don’t have to manoeuvre a long barrel through the underbrush

Below (far left): The Specialist worked well for me and here’s the proof Below (left): With all the gear, snowshoes and poles, a small rifle footprint was appreciated Below (middle): The AirArms TDR fitted right in. All of my gear, excluding the gun and snowshoes weighed in at 12lbs Below (right): Having a rifle along let me get a couple of short hunts in and add some (squirrel) protein to my pasta

“I think the bullpup family deserves to be addressed in more detail at a later time” prepared to take down a turkey if an opportunity arises. The only issue is that the Talon-P is loud, and there is not an easy method of quietening it down, but if a solution can be found (without increasing the LOA too much) this might well be the ultimate, stealth pest-control gun. There are other compact rifles that I like, but with which I am still building up sufficient hands-on experience. I’ve already mentioned the Compatto, and I’ve been using the Air Arms TDR a lot more now that the 30 ft.lbs. version has been released. I carried this rifle in my backpack during some winter hunts, on snowshoes, and when taken down it fitted unobtrusively into my pack for the trip in, but even when assembled was easily carried out of the way. I’ll be using this gun a lot more this season, and when it starts to warm up it’ll go into my kayak.

Converted pistol Not all the compact guns I use are high-power; another one of the pistol/ carbine conversions I’ve used a lot is the 13 ft.lbs. Marauder-P in carbine configuration. The Marauder-P comes from the factory with a plastic skeleton stock to convert from pistol to carbine mode, and though I have used this stock, I much prefer an AR-type stock manufactured by a small US company

by the name of ‘RArms’. This is my 25/30-yard gun, which is whisper quiet, produces dime-sized groups, and when sticking to headshots is a very effective squirrel getter. You will note that bullpups were left out of this discussion, so let me add that I have several in use right now and I think they are a viable option for a compact hunting rig. However, there are some fundamental differences with the guns presented here, and the bullpup family deserves to be addressed in more detail at a later time. Besides a compact gun fitting my hunting needs for all the reasons stated above, I also use them whilst backpacking, kayaking, biking and other activities when I want to carry my hunting rifle, but have a lot of other gear to pack as well. Finally, I frequently travel to hunt and find that it’s possible to get two compact guns into a standard case, allowing me to carry more gear in less checked baggage. So there you have it compact guns fit my style of squirrel hunting because they are suited to the terrain I hunt in, provide the performance required, and pack into a small space for camping, kayaking or when travel is required. What I give up is shot count, but in many situations this is a compromise I’m willing to make. ■

www.airgunshooting.co.uk AIR GUNNER 57

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plate, and then the locating screw inserted and tightened. Warning, this is a fiddly part of the operation and may lead to many ungentlemanly expletives being uttered under one’s breath.

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The piston and cocking arm assembly can now be pushed fully home in the action.

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Replace the keeper plate and retaining screw in the bottom of the action.

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Replace the two shoulder screws in the top of the action.

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Replace the firing valve bracket and linkage and fix with the single cap head screw.

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Replace the firing valve linkage and trigger plates and tighten. You can see from the photograph that I scribed a line showing me the original position of the linkage so that I could replace it in the same position. Now to fit the action back into the stock, put the dioptre sight back on and then see if it shoots as it should. Success! It is giving a constant 5.9 ft.lbs., with a consistent pressure on the cocking lever for the full length of stroke. I must say that the trigger on this match rifle is absolutely superb, being equally as good as modern, 10-metre match rifles.

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60 AIR GUNNER www.airgunshooting.co.uk

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AIR GUNNER 61

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“People say that a spring gun will teach good technique and this will help a shooter to learn faster” the trigger, the spring expands and pushes forward. The problem is, Sir Isaac’s law states what when you push forward, the same amount of energy must push back, and this pushing back is the recoil you will feel.

Recoil is key

SPRINGER Vs PCP Do you really need to start your shooting career with a springer? Gary Chillingworth asks

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few months ago, I postulated the idea of a series that was based on shared knowledge. I asked you to send in any ideas for how we could all improve our shooting and then, in turn, I’d look at these ideas and pass them on. I have had many emails, some of which have been very interesting, some have been illuminating, and some have just told me to go and boil my head (but those were mainly from the wife). There has, however, been one subject that has come up time and time again, and it is a question that has been debated for many years; should a new shooter start with a springer or a PCP? Over the last 10 years I have read many articles on the interweb and in magazines, and most of them have said that a new shooter should

always start their shooting life with a springer. People say that a spring gun will teach good technique and this will help a shooter to learn faster. The general idea seems to be, that shooting a springer first will teach trigger control and how to hold a rifle correctly, and I’ll be honest, there is a part of me that can see why this idea has become popular. A spring gun is driven by two laws, the first of which is Hooke’s law, and this covers the storing of energy in a spring; the second law is Newton’s third law of motion, which I am sure we remember from high-school physics (every action has an equal and opposite reaction). So basically, when you cock a spring gun you are transferring energy from your arms into a spring or storing it (Hooke’s law), then when you pull

Above: I love my PCPs, but I can shoot a springer, too

When you start to shoot a spring gun you will learn very quickly that you have to let it recoil. Most people have the strength to hold the gun solid, but if you do, the energy will dissipate throughout the rifle and you will never get any sort of accuracy. A spring gun must be allowed to move about when it is fired and if it is tuned properly, (new springs and guides etc.) the movement should be linear – that’s a straight front to back movement with no sideways wobble. Most of the top spring-gun shooters do not grip their springer, they let it rest on top of a hand, possibly with a thumb raised to the side to guide the spring gun as it recoils. Now, this is all well and good when you are shooting at a prone target, but when you are shooting at an elevated target, the rifle will want to sit hard in your shoulder and this will prevent the recoil, because the butt plate will be sitting on your collar bone, and as such the pellet could go anywhere. To counteract this, some spring shooters rest the butt of the rifle on a bicep or the crook of an arm, but pulling off tricks like this requires knowledge and lots of practice. To illustrate this, look at the picture of the two groups of pellet strikes; the first group is about a centimetre across and it is made up of five shots at 40 yards with the rifle rested on top of the hand; the second group is 7cm across at the same range and on this occasion, the rifle was gripped hard and not allowed to recoil. You can see that just by changing the way a rifle is gripped, the accuracy has changed completely. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with this, it’s just the nature Ô

www.airgunshooting.co.uk AIR GUNNER 63

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of the beast and with time, you can master a spring gun.

Different animal The PCP is a completely different animal. It’s not hold-sensitive because there are no large lumps of iron flying around in the rifle, so Newton’s third law is much diminished. The stored energy comes from compressed air and this has very little mass, so when the energy is released, there is virtually no recoil. The PCP likes to be gripped tightly or softly, or just rested, and so you do not have to worry about what the gun is doing. A novice shooter should be able to get a group oneinch across at 40 yards fairly quickly from a bench. Once a new shooter has mastered the basics of loading and aiming, they can concentrate on the hard things about shooting a rifle; how to read the wind, how to judge elevation, how to rangefind and, more importantly, how to explain to a partner why they’ve just spent £1000 on a new air rifle. I believe that unless you are a hard-core, spring-gun fanatic, shooters should consider starting with a PCP. The learning curve is much quicker and you don’t have to worry about the idiosyncrasies of a spring gun. There is always fun to be had in testing a supposition though and luckily two friends of mine were able to help me to test a theory.

has a springer that has been tuned within an inch of its life and sits within a 17lb lump of laminate splendour, and Keith has a tuned TX200, very similar to mine. It was decided that we would shoot round 8 of the Southern Hunters with our

Above: Rex with a fully-tuned Springer and a 17lb laminate stock to help absorb recoil

Level playing field

“To counteract this, some spring shooters rest the butt of the rifle on a bicep” springers, and the loser would buy the biggest burger from the on-site van for the winner. Now, I admit it, I am a PCP man through and through, and even though I own a springer, it is only used for reviews and loaning to friends, and since owning it I

Top shots Rex Bennett, and Air Gunner’s Keith Warburton, are two of the best spring-gun shooters in the UK. Rex 64 AIR GUNNER www.airgunshooting.co.uk

have probably shot less than 200 pellets through it. I am not a springer shooter! So, if the theory about shooting a springer first is correct, and starting with a springer makes you a better shot, then as a PCP shooter, I should not be able to compete with these two spring-gun leviathans whilst using a spring gun. They should, in theory, kick my lily-white backside, but if my theory is correct, and learning all the other skills in shooting is more important, then I should stand a chance to stay with them. I just want to make one small point; my spring gun is a very nice TX200HC and Simon Vant has done a great job in setting it up - most importantly, the trigger has been polished and sorted and it now breaks with a crisp snap. Some springers have very heavy triggers and pulling these beasts can really affect your accuracy, so if you have a springer, before you V-Mach or short stroke it, sort the trigger out first.

Below: Keith rests the rifle on top of his hand to allow the rifle to move

So, with the guns all set up it was time to shoot and we very quickly decided that we were all about the same level. I was better at the long targets, and Rex and Keith at the shorter ones, but with a single target left to go, there was just one point between Keith and me, and with a steady hand, the PCP shooter took the win. I would tell you what Rex scored, but this would be unfair because he is still sitting in the corner sobbing

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“…we would shoot round 8 of the Southern Hunters with our springers, and the loser would buy the biggest burger from the on-site van”

Above: This HFT 500 is as steady as a rock rested against the tree Left: This shooter is resting the rifle in his arm as opposed to the shoulder; the fleshy muscle will allow the rifle to recoil Below: The difference between a spring gun, shot correctly and one that isn’t

whilst rocking back and forth and muttering something about being beaten by a PCP shooter.

Springer or PCP? There is nothing wrong with starting with a springer. It will teach you great gun control and trigger technique, but if you have limited time and want to get out on the

Above left: I shot without a glove, because my glove was preventing the rifle from recoiling fully and this affected accuracy Above right: I reverted to my PCP ways and gripped the front of the gun, I missed by a full 2 Right: The spoils of war

competition circuit quickly or even just start knocking targets down, take a look at a PCP. Shooting a springer well is hard. On this occasion, I managed to beat Rex and Keith, but even though I have my off days, I’m not a bad shot and it took everything I had to take the win. If spring is your thing, however, get one, shoot it and enjoy it and if you ever get a PCP, it

will seem like the easiest thing in the world, but no matter what you do just get a gun and go shooting. ■

www.airgunshooting.co.uk AIR GUNNER 65

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MAKING KNEELERS COUNT

Keith Warburton tells us why the kneeling shot is so useful

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s far as shooting is concerned, our editor Phill is, as I’m sure you know, a hunter through and through, although he’ll tell you he actually gets as much pleasure from working his dogs as he does from shooting quarry. On the other hand, I love my Hunter Field Target (HFT) shooting, although I do enjoy stalking or ambushing rabbits and woodpigeons with my air rifle. Sometimes the differences between the attitudes and techniques of these two branches of shooting can be quite marked, but generally speaking we have a great deal in common. Before I get into that, do you know any budding young air rifle shooters, whether they are hunters, plinkers or target shooters? Would they like to enter a free competition? I was

Above: For a reverse kneeler the bent knee points forward

Right: With the weight of the rifle supported by the braced arm, it’s fine to have your other elbow on your knee

delighted to see that the HFT Masters organisation is running a series of five HFT events across the country, which will be free for juniors to enter, and all qualifiers will be invited to attend the final in October at Lea Valley Airgun Club, in Hertfordshire. This is a great opportunity for young people to dip a toe into competition shooting in a proper, supervised environment, and maybe even to get their name inscribed on the new Pat Farey Trophy for junior HFT shooters, or win some other great prizes. More information at www.hftmasters.net

Spot the difference So then, back to those differences. Well, for starters, we target shooters don’t get to shoot from nice comfy armchairs placed in cosily furnished

hides, provisioned with cocktail cabinets, laser rangefinders, and so on. On the other hand, we don’t have to search too hard to find our quarry, and our tin squirrels generally don’t scuttle off and hide round the back of the tree just as we’re ready to take our shot. Hunters may walk the margins of many fields in their day’s enjoyment, whilst HFTers typically drive up

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www.airgunshooting.co.uk AIR GUNNER 67

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“there’s lots of crossover between the two disciplines, but in one area there’s a key difference” to within a stone’s throw of the shooting ground, and the distance we have to walk between pegs is probably measured more easily in feet rather than yards. Perhaps just as importantly, there is frequently a source of hot food readily to hand. So yes, we do get it easy. On the downside we have to put up with Gary Chillingworth on an awful lot of shoots (No, I don’t mean that. He’s a lovely fellow really. No, really. He is. Honest.) Many air rifles can be easily utilised in either application, or both. My first modern air rifle was a Daystate Huntsman and it dispatched quite a few rabbits whilst allowing me to compete on a pretty much equal footing (discounting my lack of skill) with the other competitors in my early HFT events. I wouldn’t want to take my two currently preferred competition rifles out hunting (Air Arms TX200 and HFT 500), but I still own and enjoy hunting with the

Huntsman, as well as other rifles, and I quite frequently use them in competitions. So then, there’s lots of crossover between the two disciplines, but in one area there’s a key difference. In HFT, once we’ve approached the peg (the firing point) we have up to two minutes to get ourselves ready for the shot, and we don’t have to be stealthy about it, whereas hunters don’t usually have those luxuries. In addition, the stance we adopt for some of our shots is prescribed as either prone, kneeling or standing. If a shot isn’t prescribed, we can use any of these stances, with prone being favoured because of its stability.

Hunting Contrast that with hunting. Very often a stable, prone shot will be ruled out because of tall grass, undergrowth or simply the undulations of the ground. There might be nothing close by for you to lean on for a supported stander,

Left: Perfect unsupported kneelers have helped Jill Cochrane to become a top HFT shooter

Right: In this supported kneeling shot, the tree gives extra stability, but Jill’s posture is largely unchanged

68 AIR GUNNER www.airgunshooting.co.uk

Above: Junior shooters take part free in the HFT Masters series

so you are left to take an unsupported kneeling shot. In conversation with Phill, it became clear that quite a lot of shooters of both camps make some elementary mistakes when it comes to kneeling shots, especially in their early days, so I thought it might be a good idea if we gave it some thought. The basis of any good shooting is to have a stable platform; your body must be as steady as you can make it, achieving as much as possible of that stability through balance, counterbalance and relaxation, rather than muscle tension; muscle tension leads to fatigue and then to trembling or wobbling. The other key to stability is the size of your base in relation to your height (no Gary, that wasn’t addressed to you). A pencil balanced on its point will fall over, a box laying flat, won’t - and have you ever considered why milkmaids have stools rather than chairs? Quite simply, three points of contact will settle firmly on an uneven surface, whilst four points wobble (and two will fall over). Which is why the gods gave most shooters two feet and a knee, so we can take kneeling shots from a relatively stable threecornered base. You’ll have probably spotted the error of fact there: yes, we’ve got two knees, and the reason for that is so we can take reverse kneelers, of which more in a minute. Let’s assume that we’re talking about a right-handed shooter (righteye dominant). The classic kneeling shot for him or her has the left foot flat on the ground, pointing toward the target, and the knee raised. The right knee is on the ground and the two thighs and knees are as wide apart as possible, for maximum stability. The right foot may be either vertical or turned under and sat on (but not sat on for competition shooting). This then gives us our three

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points of contact with the ground – two feet and one knee.

Wobble Some shooters make the mistake of trying to balance their forward (right) elbow on their knee, but this is not a stable position - you will wobble! Instead, you should lay as much of your arm along the top of your thigh as you possibly can. If you find that you cannot now get your head down to the scope it is probably because your trunk is too vertical. Try opening your legs wider (no, even wider than that) and you’ll find you can get closer to the scope. Eat fewer pies and it gets easier. You may be able to further help yourself by raising the rifle up higher, by way of shooting off the side of your hand, rather than off your palm. That’s one reason that many target rifles have very deep fore-ends or ‘hamsters’. It also makes some standing shots easier because you can rest your upper arm or elbow against your body and still get your scope up to eye level. I mentioned the reverse kneeling position. I have to admit that when I first tried to get my head round it,

I really struggled; for someone who has been shooting for a while it seems counterintuitive. You adopt this position when you have something to lean on. Instead (right-handed shooters) of putting your right leg forward, you put your left leg forward, and instead of resting your supporting (right) arm on your thigh or knee, you brace your hand against the support,

Below left: Who will challenge Tom Willingham in the 2016 HFT Masters series? Below right: Rex Bennett’s custom stock has a very deep fore end, a great aid to relaxed standing shots

Below: Spot the problem. This is how not to take a kneeler

as if you are taking a supported standing shot. Your trigger arm rests on your leg. In this way the reverse kneeling position gives you two good supports for your hands, and thus your rifle, rather than the one support that the more conventional kneeling position provides. A reverse kneeler should be used whenever possible, whether your target is fur or tin. ■

Below inset: Hunters have to brace their whole body with the artillery hold

“Some shooters make the mistake of trying to balance their forward elbow on their knee”

www.airgunshooting.co.uk AIR GUNNER 69

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Above: Frying the meat seals it. The smell was lovely

Below: Honey and dried fruits add sweetness

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www.airgunshooting.co.uk AIR GUNNER 73

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DAY TRIPPER

The editor takes another step along the road to his dream gun

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ast month, I showed you some of the changes I’ve made to my Daystate Huntsman Regal XL, high-power rifle, including having an adjustable cheek piece fitted and adding a lovely Huggett silencer and shroud assembly. These have taken an already special rifle and customised it to suit me and my individual preferences, and I’m very please to report that they worked just as I’d hoped. I understood right from the start that my choice of a slim, lightweight rifle would restrict the maximum number of shots per fill that I’d be able to have at my chosen velocity of 900 fps with the .22 Air Arms Diablo Field pellet. However, I was surprised and pleased that The Huntsman XL gave 30 full-power shots from a 232 bar fill, which is very impressive from such a compact rifle and easily enough for most hunts. In part, this is because Daystate fits a longer reservoir than standard, to increase volume. It also uses the Harper

Above: I love my new rifle and this carryalong kit makes it even better

76 AIR GUNNER www.airgunshooting.co.uk

Slingshot firing system that’s very frugal with its air usage, minimising waste. Despite this I planned to have a back-up system to give me more shots, just in case.

Best Fittings To that end, I contacted Best Fittings because they’re my first choice for everything to do with filling pre-charged pneumatic guns.

over 3lbs and goes unnoticed in the bottom of my rucksack. It carries enough air to refill the Huntsman fully, or perhaps an Air Arms S410, and other guns of a similar reservoir volume. You might well ask why I didn’t just choose a rifle with a buddy-bottle reservoir, which would give as many shots without the need for a topup. The reason is that I believe the

“weight carried in a rucksack is less noticeable and tiring than in your hands” Their catalogue has thousands of components to suit your rifle and adapt it to any filling system. By the way, their new catalogue is out now and well worth a look, so give them a call. They have an excellent product, the Day Tripper, which consists of a 500cc buddy bottle, a valve with a gauge and a very short hose. The whole lot weighs just

handling of the rifle is one of the most important factors in successful shooting. When I’m concentrating on a squirrel high in the treetops, I want a rifle that slips into my shoulder and falls naturally into my eye line without a thought, and the Huntsman does just that. Also, weight carried in a rucksack is less noticeable and tiring than in

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Left: It’s small and light enough to drop into my rucksack

Below: It has dust covers at every connection point

and then remove them, make the fill and replace them immediately. In this way, I’m minimising the chance of dirt contaminating the rifle’s internals. The male Forster fitting on the valve is convenient because it allows me to refill the Day Tripper easily from my 12-litre, 300-bar dive bottle in just a few minutes before I set off. With the Quick Connect system on the hose, I can fill any of my other guns whilst away from the big tank, as well. I love this system and have used nothing else since I first tried it. All the components are first-class and highly durable. In fact, I still have the very one I bought on my big tank and it gets well used every week, and yet looks like new. I love beautifully machined items and these parts are like jewellery to me. Filling the rif le from the buddy bottle is exactly the same as with any other bottle so there’s nothing really to learn, which is great. I have to say that this system is as close to perfection as I can imagine and answers my needs precisely. ■ www.best-fittings.co.uk Tel 01747 312672 £189.50

your hands. After three or four hours of squirrel shooting, my arms are so tired I have to give up and go home, so a light gun is the right choice for me. A major concern when filling the rifle in the field was that I didn’t introduce any dirt into the Huntsman’s internals, so I ensured that every connector point in the Day Tripper system had dust covers, so all the hair and grit that lives in my hunting back pack was excluded. I also wanted the hose to disconnect from the bottle so that if I should bump it, it would suffer no damage. The male fitting on the valve has a Delrin cap and both ends of the 7”-long hose have male dust plugs fitted. Keeping the hose as short as is practical reduces wastage and makes it easy to pack.

“A major concern when filling the rifle in the field, was that I didn’t introduce any dirt into the Huntsman’s internals”

Technique My filling method is to lay my backpack on the ground, and then rest the rifle on it. I keep all the dust covers in place until I’m ready, www.airgunshooting.co.uk AIR GUNNER 77

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LONG LO L ON NG G RANGE RA RANGE NGE

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use head torches so much these days that I cannot imagine how I got along without them. Modern LED technology has advanced to such a degree that power unimaginable just a few years ago is available to us all at reasonable prices, and battery technology has kept pace, offering huge run times as well. Cluson Engineering has always been one of the most important suppliers of

The editor looks at a new head torch from UK lighting giants Cluson

can be. I’ve seen their stuff horribly abused and still bounce back working perfectly.

Balanced weight To balance the weight on your head ,the battery pack is at the back, held in place by three elastic straps. I prefer to wear this type of lamp over a baseball cap and worn this way I found it very comfortable. The batteries are

““you get eight full hours on high beam, which is loads for any kind of hunting trip” lamps to the UK shooting scene, and has a brand new head torch out. It has one of their usual snappy names, the Head-a-lite Pro Flood 900, telling us that it has a 900 lumen output, which is huge. It’s unusual compared to many head torches today in that it uses a large 90mm reflector, vital to producing a long, narrow beam. The reflector housing is made from a synthetic material to keep weight down, and despite its light weight, I know from experience with Cluson products that it will be as tough as

plugged in to charge and from dead flat to full takes around 10 hours. The charger is ‘intelligent’ meaning that it won’t over-charge and cause problems. Inside the housing are three 18650 Li-ion batteries which are pretty much the industry staple for this kind of work and are well proven. The switch at the bottom offers three settings to suit the moment and conserve battery capacity, although you get eight full hours on high beam, which is loads for any kind of hunting trip.

Above: The large reflector is what provides the long narrow beam shape

SPECS Manufacturer: Cluson Engineering Web: wwwcluson.co.uk Tel: 01730 264672 Mode:Head-a-lite Pro Flood 900 RRP: £42.00

RRP£42.00 Left: The batteries and switch sit at the back of your head

79 AIR GUNNER www.airgunshooting.co.uk

The beam is stunningly powerful and narrow, making spotting rabbit eyes at 300 yards possible, yet on the lower settings it’s easily bright enough for airgun hunting distances. I was pleased to see that there’s also enough peripheral light to let you see where you’re placing your feet as you progress. On the flip side it’s a bit narrow to use as a work light, but there are plenty of other Cluson head torches for that kind of job. For the solo hunter who doesn’t like scopemounted lamps, this has to be one of the best lights I’ve ever seen and it’s at a bargain price, to boot. ■

www.airgunshooting.co.uk AIR GUNNER 79

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FAIRGROUND ATTRACTION

Steve Prime relives some fond childhood memories

W

e all have a memory of how we first came into this wonderful sport we call airgunning, and in most cases it will be a childhood memory. That was certainly the case for me, and it all started with an air pistol shot with my late father and brother in an intense family competition in the garage. I was probably around 14 years of age, and from that point, although at the time I did not realise it, I was hooked on shooting.

whilst hunting down a bargain and shopping to fill the food cupboards to last another week. As young teenagers, we had to amuse ourselves taking on part-time jobs and studying for O levels, but once a year we had one big event to look forward to when, in the month of May, the market place had a different type of visitor. These were not the usual sheep and cattle, but bright lights and pumping hot hits of the ‘70s, shouts and screams – yes, it was the annual May Fair.

“All that was on my mind was to get as many knock-downs as possible to take away the prize” I come from a small market town in the Staffordshire moorlands, Leek, and it would be fair to say that the highlight of the week was market day. The town came alive with the hustle and bustle of people gathering from the surrounding villages, catching up on the local weekly news and gossip

On target For me, the draw was not the waltzers, fast rides or the ghost train, but the side stalls, and one in particular - the shooting gallery. In all honesty, I cannot remember how much I paid for a few

80 AIR GUNNER www.airgunshooting.co.uk

Above: Old-fashioned fun

eB : low of target I remember as a kid

shots and at the time it didn’t matter. All that was on my mind was to get as many knock-downs as possible to take away the prize I had my eye on. This was the first time that I shot an air rifle on my own. We all know the stories of the bent barrels and dodgy sights, when in fact it was really the fault of the boy behind the trigger. I have vivid memories of shooting a rifle chained to a bench; a screwed-down pellet tin at its side containing the five ‘slugs’, and a young boy filled with adrenalin taking aim at a metal box surrounded by prizes of all shapes and sizes. I think the sheerThi fear of missing and hitting one of those many prizes by mistake was enough to make sure my shot was at least contained in the metal box. Five knock-downs and you got a ticket for a prize off the first row, but by then you were hooked and paid a little more paper-round money for another go and

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the chance of a better trophy to take home and show off proudly to the family. We all wanted the big cuddly teddy bear or lion, but most had to settle for a cast resin figurine of some description, mine being a black cat with red-jewelled eyes. To this day I still love to see the shooting galleries at fairs where families and friends can have a little banter and rivalry, although they are not as common as they used to be back in the era of my teenage days. The country fairs around the England normally have one or two galleries on site, and still draw in the crowds, and the Walton Lyons Bell Target team promote the sport through the year at various events. My memory is not clear enough to remember the exact type of rifle we shot at the gallery, but I guess it would have probably been a BSA Cadet or something very similar. The pellets would have been Milbro - at a guess - which were supplied in a box, and the target was a simple metal box containing five white knock-down strips of metal. So what bought back such vivid memories of my youth and the first time I shot a rifle on my own? Well, it was when my good friend Phil handed me an old rifle and said, “You will never guess what this is!” On first inspection - yes it was old and well used and after a shrug of the shoulders I had to admit I hadn’t got a clue. The answer - an old Polish fairground rifle which he had been given in a part exchange deal. It was time to take a closer look.

“I love to take these old guns to the range and give them the ‘must have a shot’

Interesting It is a simple break-barrel rifle with an interesting emblem. The markings read ‘Predom Lucznik 187’ and the word ‘Lucznik’ is translated in English to ‘Archer’, hence the emblem above the text at the end of the action. There is little information available to research on this well-made break-barrel, although it can be aged by the letter in front of the serial number. It is believed that some of these rifles were imported in the 1970s and this particular model has the letter ‘D’ followed by its serial number aging it to 1970. If the story we were given was correct then this could have been a rifle used on the British fairgrounds shortly after it had been imported into this country, but we have no physical evidence to prove the story. It is a good story to believe until disproven, though.

Top: This button releases the barrel Above: The two serial numbers match Left: What does the maker’s badge here tell us? Right: The mark of the Archer

I love to take these old guns to the range and give them the ‘must have a shot’ before I return them to their rightful owners. So there I stood, target at 15 yards, gun loaded and finger on the trigger gentle squeeze and then ‘pop’ and a gentle ‘hiss’ followed by my sigh. Total let down and the end of any further fun with this Polish entity. I removed the pellet from the barrel manually, making the rifle safe and returned it to its case. This is one

for the gunsmith to sort out on another day. Imagine my dismay when I could not disprove the bent barrel or poorly adjusted sights theory once and for all, but instead I was left safe with the boyhood memories of the local May fair. Not every cloud has a silver lining, but every good memory is one worth keeping. Conclusion; Who wants to win a goldfish or coconut when you can have three shots for a pound? ■ www.airgunshooting.co.uk AIR GUNNER 81

SWAP SHOP REMEMBER you DO NOT have to be a registered firearms dealer (RFD) to sell your airgun as part of a private transaction, and this transaction DOES NOT have to be ‘face to face’ – although you must ensure that the buyer is over 18 years of age. Are you looking to sell a gun? Dedicated gun enthusiasts read Air Gunner every month; if you’re looking to sell then they’re looking to buy! Alternatively, is there a gun you’ve been trying to find? Are you a collector or just looking for a particular treat? For all your buying and selling needs, Swap Shop is here! For only £4.00 (40 words max) your advert will appear in the next issue of Air Gunner and on our website. We are now able to accept your advert at www. airgunshooting.co.uk or by post addressed to Air Gunner Swap DIANA MOD 27 1963 near mint £95, original MOD 35 VGC £100, Haenel MOD 11 1927 VGC £120, BSA Cadet, good condition £70, early Meteor fluted stock, no rear sight £60. Tel: 01777 708504 (Notts). BSA ULTRA SE .177 walnut stock multi-shot, Nikko Sterling scope and silencer 3-9 x 40, charge fitting, less than 250 pellets fired, slip not BSA. Tel: 07904 680310 (Peterborough). AIR ARMS .22 TX200 Hunter Carbine, walnut stock, Hawke 16 x50 AO IR scope fitted, Beretta sling, Air Arms Diablo pellets, targets, as new cost over £600, selling for £350.Buyer collects. Tel: 07926 966999 (Edinburgh). UNDER LEVEr air rifles wanted. Pre – 1960 especially BSA, Haenel, Original, BSF, Falke, Webley plus any other spring operated items such as Britannia, Greener, Webley Mark II Service etc. Also, air pistols and items for use as spares or for restoration. Tel: 01689 852862 (Kent). HATSAN BREAKER 900 X rifle .177. Almost new, little use, wooden stock, fitted mounts. Reason for selling – down sizing collection, buyer collects hence just £80. Tel: 07890 781668 (Leicester).

ORIGINAL 50E under lever air rifle wanted, circa 1950 with small dovetailed rear sight and ramp double dovetailed hooded front sight. Also wanted under levers by BSA, Webley, Haenal, Falke, Original, BSF etc, plus Britannias Webley MK11 Service, Greener and any other spring operated guns pre 1960. Tel: 01689 852862 (Kent). THEOBEN EVOLUTION .22 air rifle, double-screw scope mounts but no scope. VGC with little use £285 cash buyer collects. Tel: 07742 075069 (Newark). AIR ARMS JACKAL Firepower, good condition but missing open sights £175. Walther LP53 pistol brown grips model £150. Buyer collects. Tel: 01843 603533 (Broadstairs). BUSHNELL BANNER Dust to Dawn scope 3-9 x 50 mil-dot IR, Nikko Stirling 3-9 x 40 mil-dot. Various muzzle brakes and air strippers, sensible offers please. Tel: 07786 010805 (Stourbridge). AIR ARMS PRO SPORT .22 in new condition fitted with Hawke scope £350. Webley Rebel .22 pneumatic multi pump rifle, as new still boxed £60 or both for £400. Tel: 01564 826594 (Birmingham).

Shop, Evolution House, 2-6 Easthampstead Road, Wokingham, RG40 2EG. Please include your name, address, telephone number and a maximum of 40 words and make all cheques or PO’s payable to ‘Air Gunner’. Get your information to us and we’ll publish it in our next issue. We cannot guarantee which issue your advert will appear in. Please note that we cannot take your advert over the phone, though for any further information call Sharon on 01189 742 524 HW98 AS NEW.177 £280. Stalker Tiger Ten left hand, beautiful stock .22, very good condition, plus spare magazines £495. Hawke 4-12 x 50 AO IR scope as new £80. Prices include p+p. Tel: 01983 566634 (I of W). BSA HORNET PCP 10 shot, 3-9 x 50 scope with charging hose and 12 ltr gas bottle. plus 3 springers all with scopes and gun bags. POA. Tel: 07913 303929. TWO ORIGINAL 75 rifles both in excellent condition and amazingly accurate/consistent. £250 + £180, includes costs and pellets. Tel: 07553 8720290 (Herts). REMINGTON EXPRESS .22 fullpower £70, SMK 3-9 X 50 £40, silencer £15, laser sight £20, bipod £20, Remington gun bag £15, sell the lot £150. Extras Nikko Stirling 3-9 x 40 £50,BB handgun Co2 4.5 metal slide and Remington capsules £30. Tel: 07542 738640 (Merthyr Tydfil). THEOBEN RAPID 7 .22 FAC mod, Hawke Nite scope 3-9 x 50, 2 x 200 buddy bottles, 15 ltr air bottle tested, 1 x 12 + 2 x 7 shot magazines. Good powerful long- range rifle £650, collection only. Tel: 01823 662963 / 07979 376532 (Somerset). AIR ARMS TX200 SR MK1 in .177, in mint condition. Shoots as

well as a PCP, comes with original receipt and instruction manual, £475 ono. Face to face only. Tel: 07549 761580 (Leeds). WANTED: FORESIGHT for Webley Omega rifle. Back sight for Webley Ranger. Foresight protectors for Airsporter MKI and MKII. For sale: Webley Raider stock, unused. BSA MK4 + MK5 stock. Webley MKI Vulcan stock. Webley Hawke MK3 stock. All open to offers. Tel: 0121 4779401 (Birmingham). NITESITE VIPER. Warranty, free postage £325. 12 litre 300 bar cylinder fittings. Buyer collects, 6 months old £125. Hatsan AT44 .177 synthetic, bi-pod, pump, spare cylinder, Hawke Sport IR 4-12 X 50, many extra’s £250. Also scopes + camo gear. Tel: 07852 149760 (Staffordshire). WEBLEY HURRICANE .22 air pistol in presentation box with telescopic sights, targets, pellets, strip down chart, ‘O’ rings, Allen key, all original, only used once or twice in pristine condition, buyer collects. Offers over £325.00. Ring 01634 408837 (Kent). COMPLETE COLLECTION of Airgun World magazine from August 1977 – 2015 including special editions. Offers, buyer collects. Tel: 01993 868994 (Buckinghamshire).

The editor reserves the right to edit adverts as may be required. Swap Shop is a service offered to readers who wish to undertake private transactions between themselves. There is no need for such transactions to be made face to face (unless an airgun is FAC-rated), but Air Gunner requests that all due caution is excercised when buying or selling an airgun. You must adhere to the current airgun laws. You can’t buy an airgun if you are under 18 years old. The Swap Shop is not offered to those who sell airguns as part of a business.

82 AIR GUNNER www.airgunshooting.co.uk

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84 AIR GUNNER

Nova Airguns by John Atkins Photographs by Eberhard Groba, Mac McInness and Richard Robson

R

ecent events often trigger the writing of these articles, when something happens to remind me about some obscure vintage airgun and its maker, which I really feel I should document now, because no one else probably will. One such gun is the break-action German ‘Nova’ air pistol shown in Figure 1 that belonged to my father as a boy, which I’ve shown before but said little about because, at the time of writing, I didn’t know the maker - or even if it had any companion models and was part of a range. Dad had this Nova ring-trigger pistol second-hand as a boy, but couldn’t recall exactly when he got it. My older sister, Gill, and I used it outdoors as a potato gun for years and probably shot a hundredweight of spuds out of it during its history. Never referred to as an ‘air pistol’ it was always around the family home and simply called the ‘spud gun’. Too old-fashioned-looking to be used in cowboy games, it did however, later accompany many a ‘pirate’ or ‘highwayman’ to fancy-dress parties, both in childhood and adult life. We left the short removable brass shot tube at home for fear of losing it. Recessed to accept corks, it’s twisted out from the muzzle end to breech load with a .177” dart, potato or lead slug. With this removed, it will also fire larger corks, so it’s a very versatile, but low-powered air pistol. Years later, airgun researcher Tony Williams discovered the ‘Nova’ trademark as Figure 1: The first air pistol I ever saw. The German ‘Nova’ break-action with a short removable 4.5mm brass shot tube recessed to accept corks, that’s twisted out from the muzzle end to breech load with dart or slug Figure 2: German Nova Trademark with pistol and target No. 104999. Application date 7.12.07 and registered on 10.2.08 by Firma Gebrüder Sauer, Nürnberg. Manufacturer of metal toys, including children’s shooting weapons and targets Figure 3: Bolt-style, top lever cocking Nova airgun with removable shot tube for loading slugs or darts. [Photograph courtesy of Eberhard Groba]

FIGURE 3

FIGURE 1 seen as Figure 2, in huge tomes entitled ‘Warenzeichenblatt’ published by the German Patents Office from 1875 in racks in the Chancery Branch of The British Library (basement of building near main Holborn Branch). I was pleased to see this German Nova Trademark with pistol and target No. 104999. Application date was 7th December 1907 and registered on 10th February

and airguns and proving that my Nova pistol was part of a range of juvenile shooting items from the Sauer Brothers.

More Modern ‘Novas’

1908 by Firma Gebrüder Sauer, Nürnberg, manufacturer of metal toys, including children’s shooting weapons and targets and registered the same year that my father, Frederic, was born in late 1908. German collector Eberhard Groba also unearthed and contributed some additional trademarks, many of which are not directly related to airguns, but some of which may prove to be connected at some later date. Eberhard also added to the Nova story with photographs of this fine, bolt-

The event that led up to putting this article together happened on what seemed like the first sunny, windless day for weeks. I’d arranged a morning off from work on the last Thursday in January to test some airguns on the range with two shooting friends, Tom and Dallas - who really enjoy shooting my old BSAs. Having much younger eyes than I now have, their sharpness of vision is handy in situations when I’m unsure whether it’s the gun - or me! Knowing their vintage BSA interest prompted me also to take along a couple of my big .22” sporting model underlevers - one from before the Great War and one from the inter-wars period for them to use, as well as four old Britannia air rifles that I wanted to test at long range. Dallas and Tom can always be relied upon to bring along some interesting ‘moderns’ in the way of air rifles and accessories to enlighten me first-hand with what is going on in the present world of airguns - rather than me just seeing pictures of state-ofthe art guns in the magazines - or in racks in the gun shops. I staggered under the weight of my four short rifles, two very long ones in their covers, pellets, oil and other sundries, and found them both already there, setting up targets and with quite an array of

style, top-lever-cocking Nova airgun seen in Figure 3, with removable shot tube for loading slugs or darts. Larry Hannusch kindly sent from America, an advertisement from 1924 that I’ll be showing, opening my eyes to a selection of Nova spring

hardware laid out on the shooting mats. The dying embers of a large fire from the night before still smouldered in the middle of a clearing in the adjoining wood, seeming to confirm stories Bert the gamekeeper has often told me of how he watches from hiding, a coven of 13 witches as they dance

FIGURE 2

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www.airgunshooting.co.uk AIR GUNNER 85

hpyn|uGjvsslj{pvu FIGURE 4

FIGURE 6

FIGURE 7 naked around it on certain nights important to their old religion. I asked Tom and Dallas if they’d ever witnessed this strange sight whilst out lamping but they said they hadn’t, unfortunately! Both BSA air rifles had factory-fitted peep sights - something the boys had only used before on old .22” bolt or Martini-action rimfires, on an indoor range and never outdoors on air rifles. Leaving them to experiment with the aperture sights, I started to examine the items they’d bought with them. One virtually mint, fixed-barrel Hämmerli underlever that I first took to be a German-made air rifle, turned out to be a .177” ‘Nova’ model. Tom broke off from his shooting to inform that it was actually manufactured in Spain a few years ago, but was no longer made. Initially, I was very impressed with various good features, such as the handy automatic

FIGURE 8

safety within the guard ahead of the trigger, which could be conveniently pushed to the ‘off’ position - and the excellent ‘spring lock loading’ system with a door swinging open to expose the loading port after pulling back a side lever. I found the Hämmerli ‘Nova’ was a large rifle, over 45 inches long, requiring effort to cock, but you get a lot out for what you put in, because it’s extremely powerful and seemed very accurate. However, in use, the very poor, two-stage trigger marred shooting it, as Tom had previously warned me, with a creepy long first stage and a terribly stiff second. I presumed it could be adjusted, but couldn’t initially see how, without further examination. The lads informed that it had a ‘direct sear’ trigger group and little could be done. Apart from that, it seemed a lovely rifle but was disappointingly let down by the trigger sear release mechanism. Anyway, I moved on to trying out other recent or present day products they had bought along; some good and some, like the Hämmerli ‘Nova’, I found disappointing. Having already ‘hammered’ the Hämmerli, I won’t state further names and models - it’s hardly my role in this magazine to appraise new products and certainly not to criticise them. Leaving the lads enjoying shooting the BSA ‘Giants’ to be returned to me later, I borrowed a couple of the other modern rifles to have a closer look at them in my workshop - but my mind was on my old ‘Nova’ pistol, the first

FIGURE 9

airgun I ever saw. Another, unconnected air rifle bearing the ‘Nova’ name I thought about on the short drive FIGURE 5 home was the Air Force One LB115 Nova Vista gas-ram-powered, military-styled model with a black polymer stock. I thought how very difficult it must be for manufacturers to come up with a new and dynamic model name for their new air rifles and pistols. I can’t think of any good ones, and I’ve spent most of my lifetime as a graphic designer coming up with namestyles, logos and other identities for clients in my full-time work. Anyone who has studied as many old catalogues and trademark registers as I have, whilst trying to find out more about airguns of the past, will realise that most names have already long been taken and there’s nothing new under the sun! Within the concentric circles of the target featured in the ‘Nova’ trademark appears the word ‘Ideal’ - so whether the Sauer brothers were also responsible for the line of ‘Ideal’ ring trigger airguns advertised in the 1930s, I have yet to establish, but there may well be a link. The Sauer brothers’ German patent No. 283554 of March 19, 1914 seen in Figure 4 protected a ‘child’s shooting weapon’ covering the Nova pistol and airguns built on the same principle. The novelty of the patent is the cocking method, and no mention of the detachable barrel is made. John Griffiths, the author of The Encylopedia of Spring Air Pistols Figure 4: Gerb. Sauer German patent No. 283554 of March 19, 1914 for a ‘child’s shooting weapon’ covering the Nova pistol and airguns built on the same system Figure 5: The Nova fully cocked by breaking down the grip. The pressed ‘chequered’ panel is only on the lower half and does not embrace the link pivot pin, unlike other known examples with panels extending far higher. Figure 6: One of three types of brass barrel with muzzle extension found on Nova air pistols Figure 7: Another view of the early shot tube showing the positive locking disc that latches in behind the protruding inside end of the foresight rivet Figure 8: German Trademark PS over drawing of a direct-cocking air pistol on target. No. 246476 applied for 1.3.20 and registered on 30.4.20 to Firma Paul Schwenke, Berlin. Metal goods manufacturer of guns and shooting toys especially those using air compression Figure 9: Amusing Paul Schwenke, Berlin, German Patent No. 397453 of 1.6. 21 appears to protect a way of capping a potato slug with a pointed section, forming ammunition for air-powered shooting devices as an improved potato pellet with the advantage of a pointed head to help control it in flight

86 AIR GUNNER www.airgunshooting.co.uk

hpyn|uGjvsslj{pvu FIGURE 10

FIGURE 11

pointed out to me that the patent drawing is confusing and totally misleading. Whilst both figures appear to show the spring in an uncompressed state, in reality the spring is supposed to be compressed, and as there is no figure to show how the spring looks in its uncompressed state, this is not easily appreciated. So the second figure shows the pistol at the extreme of the cocking stroke, with the trigger sear engaged and the spring fully compressed. Then as the grip is returned to its original position, the trigger pulls the compressed spring-piston assembly rearwards, so creating the air space in front of the piston. It is easy to see how a slug could be sucked into the chamber if the barrel was loaded before cocking. This actually happened because John has taken a Nova that failed to cock to pieces for repair, to find the leather piston was impregnated with very old black grease, with a mashed up slug imbedded in it. Breaking down the grip cocks my Nova as seen in Figure 5. The pressed ‘chequered’ panel is only on the lower half and does not embrace the link pivot pin, unlike other known examples with a panel extending far higher. This feature might make it the earliest model Nova pistol. There appear to be at least three types of barrel found on Nova air pistols. The one from my pistol is shown in Figure 6 whilst a further view of the early shot tube, showing the positive locking disc that latches in behind the protruding inside end of the foresight rivet, appears as Figure 7. Spud guns have been popular for years and still are, judging by the number, both plastic and die cast in my local shops at present. The German toy makers were not all centred in Nuremburg and many were in Berlin. Figure 8 shows a German Trademark PS over drawing of a direct-cocking air pistol on target. No. 246476 applied for 1st March 1920 and registered on 30th April 1920 to Firma Paul Schwenke, Berlin - metal goods manufacturer of guns and shooting toys especially those using air compression. Schwenke’s air pistol, looking similar to this trademark device drawing, was patented in Germany on 30th April 1922 and numbered No. 416591. I

FIGURE 12

haven’t personally seen an example.

Patent Potato Pellet The drawings from the funniest German patent I’ve seen are shown in Figure 9, from Paul Schwenke, Berlin, German Patent No. 397453 of 1st June 1921. They appear to protect a way of capping a potato slug with a pointed section (I’m unable to read the German text so I can’t say what this spud’s warhead is actually made of, but plastic, I think). It’s apparently ammunition for airpowered shooting devices and an improved potato pellet with the advantage of a pointed head to help control it in flight. John Griffiths, on seeing the patent, added: “I think the inventor had a sense of humour though, as in the patent there is one line that says, “the inventor has now improved this ammunition (i.e. potato plug) by increasing its weight, so that an improvement in marksmanship can be achieved with a compressed air weapon, for example a pistol, at least equal to that of a hunting rifle!” Figures 10, 11 and 12 show another model ‘Nova’ airgun that Mac McInnes sent me photographs of years ago. I realised immediately it followed the 1914 patent, as does the Nova pistol. As you can see from the photographs, it’s held together with pins riveted over - including the main pivots rather than nuts and bolts, so it’s of very similar construction to the Nova pistol and not meant for easy disassembly. Mac parted with his Nova gun long ago, but he thinks the end of the false barrel had a bayonet slot for a shot tube for slug or dart use, and

recalls it was roughly between a small popgun and a BB gun in size. It does look very like the Nova cork-firer seen boxed at the top of the Nova page of the Bernhard Kneifel & Co. Ltd., Berlin, 1924 catalogue. (Figure 14), but with the refinement of a catch you can see on the top in the close-up photos. Puzzled by the little upright peg sticking up behind the catch, I recently asked Mac what its function was - but he told me it was a mystery because it was solid and did nothing. If it connected to be part of the latch, that part was missing - so for now its function has to remain a mystery. Maybe a little tin aperture sight could be mounted on it. The ‘Nova’ name appears on the left as can be seen in Mac’s photographs whilst the reference to the German 1914 Patent is

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FIGURE 13

Figure 10: Small Nova break-action airgun following the lines of the 1914 German Patent but with a more positive lock-up for the break-action. [Photograph courtesy of Mac McInnes] Figure 11: The Nova name appears proudly on the left-hand side. The little upright peg is presently a mystery, because it’s solid and appears to do nothing. [Photograph courtesy of Mac McInnes] Figure 12: The large Patent marking on the right refers to the German patent of March 1914. [Photograph courtesy of Mac McInnes] Figure 13: Extract from a Gecado c.1910 catalogue page showing rival shooting ‘Eureka’ outfits for juveniles from Mayer & Grammelspacher, Rastatt

www.airgunshooting.co.uk AIR GUNNER 87

hpyn|uGjvsslj{pvu FIGURE 14 on the right. The finish was not original, and it looked like a very thin lacquer, black underneath. Mac recalled that close examination under the action, possibly indicated it could have originally been nickel plated, as I suspected. An extract from a Gecado c.1910 catalogue page showing rival ‘Eureka’ shooting outfits for juveniles from Mayer & Grammelspacher, Rastatt appears as Figure 13. Other early rivals to the Nova range included ‘Orion’ outfits with German gnomes holding targets. Similar sets under the ‘Eureka Sport’ name continued right up until 1940. M & G had catered for juveniles almost from the start registering the ‘Eureka’ and ‘Erica’ names in 1898 and 1902 and re-registering both for children’s rifles and pistols, targets, etc. in 1904; the application for the Eureka mark being on 21 October 1903 - the same date as that for the ‘Diana’ namemark. Figure 14 reproduces a page of Nova airguns and spring guns from the Bernhard Kneifel & Co, 1924 Export List. The bottom line appears to inform they were exhibitors at the Crystal Palace, occupying Stand 285. It’s interesting to see the engraving of the card box my Nova would have been sold in, along with ammo and target. Ten slugs and two darts seems a bit mean, but it was only a cheap air pistol. The Nova break-action, 300-shot repeater (Figure 15) is similar to the one shown on the catalogue page. At 84cm long it is listed as 4.4 calibre and very likely for No. 9 ball ammo - as used in a more modern Anschütz Modell 275. Whilst not sharp, the photograph does at least show a surviving example and the fact that this break-action airgun differs in the main pivot area from the illustrated one No. 2580 in the Bernard Kneifel selection. A top view also kindly supplied to me from the owner via Eberhard is sadly too out of focus to reproduce here, but nevertheless useful in that the wording ‘300-Shot’ appears on the barrel top, whilst further back, behind the damaged fixed rearsight, appears the name ‘Nova’ in the same style you can see on the sides of the air pistols with ‘D.R.P’ on either side, and Figure 14: The 1924 range of Nova airguns and spring guns from the Bernhard Kneifel & Co., Export List. The bottom line suggests they were exhibitors at the Crystal Palace, occupying Stand 285. [Courtesy of Larry Hannusch]

underneath it, what looks like: ‘No. 4?170’. A ‘Nova’ is a star that suddenly becomes very bright and to see how the Nova air pistols would have originally appeared, Figure 16 shows a Nova still retaining virtually all of its gleaming nickel plate and living up to its ‘bright star’ name, that was once in Richard Robson’s collection. Note the full-length pressed chequered panel. Believed the last model, the shot tube muzzle has a thicker milled edge to make withdrawal easier, whilst the now pointed and rather dangerous foresight appears identical to that fitted to the 300-shot repeater. ■

REFERENCES: German Trade Marks Register and German Patents. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Thanks to the late Tony Williams for original research and to Eberhard Groba and his German collecting colleagues. Also to Mac McInnes and the late Richard Robson for their photographs used to illustrate this account and to Larry Hannusch for supplying the Berhard Kneifel & Co. Ltd., 1924 Export Trade List copy. Thanks also go to John Griffiths and Alan Harvey for their valuable input.

FIGURE 15

Figure 15: Nova break-action 300-shot repeater as shown on the catalogue page. At 84 cm long it is listed as 4.4 calibre and for ball ammo. [Photograph courtesy of Eberhard Groba] Figure 16: Nova air pistol still retaining nearly all of its gleaming nickel plate, lives up to its ‘bright star’ name. Note the full-length pressed chequered panel. The shot tube muzzle has a thicker milled edge to make withdrawal easier. [Photograph by Richard Robson]

88 AIR GUNNER www.airgunshooting.co.uk

FIGURE 16

UK T: 0044 (0) 151 604 1788 M: 0044 (0) 7768 406377 E: fi[email protected]

FRANCE T: 0033 (0) 3277 45145 M: 0033 (0) 6500 74421 E: fi[email protected]

Tel: 0208 289 2993

UK T: 0044 (0) 151 604 1788 M: 0044 (0) 7768 406377 E: fi[email protected]

FRANCE T: 0033 (0) 3277 45145 M: 0033 (0) 6500 74421 E: fi[email protected]

AIR GUNNER 89

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VISITOR’S VICTORY

Jerry Moss takes puts a pall to work tackling the grey squirrels

business, with a big smile on his face, so shooting was not a top priority.

W

On the feeder

ith all the preparation sorted for a few days’ visit from my good mate, Wes, it was time to see what would unfold over the next day or two. He pops up a few times a year to stay and come out hunting, but more importantly, to see some red squirrels and be out there in the woods. As Wes says, ‘being out there is what it’s all about and seeing reds and other wildlife and a bit of shooting is a bonus’. Since he visited last year, Wes has had some work carried out on his Daystate Air Wolf .22 FAC, by SB Stocks, who fitted a custom stock in forest camo laminate - check them out on Facebook. I was very impressed by how the stock fitted, and it has some nice lines and features as well as being surprisingly lightweight. The Huggett shroud, bolt handle, scope and mounts, have been Cerakoted in Forest Green and Mil Spec green by Geoff at Liquid Steel Designs, and it’s quality work I know, because Geoff has carried out work on some of my firearms and shotguns. I like the tough, weather-resistant finish that Cerakote gives, and I’d highly recommend this if you were thinking of having some refinishing work done. Add the carbon-fibre bottle, and you have a very nicely balanced rifle. It’s amazing how many talented people

there are in the business, and how much custom work can be done to our air rifles. I hadn’t seen much grey squirrel activity around feeding areas of late in the woodlands where I had planned to take Wes so the prospect of a few shots was not good, but as always, you have

Above: With the log to steady his aim, Wes was totally confident

‘It’s amazing how many talented people there are in the business’ to be there to see what is going on and monitor the red squirrel populations. I know that Wes can just stand and watch the reds going about their daily

90 AIR GUNNER www.airgunshooting.co.uk

Below: Is that goodlooking, or what?

When we arrived at the wood where I park my pick-up, there is a feeder about 50 yards in and we had an ideal start because there were two reds already there, chasing about and competing to get on to the feeder. We watched for a few minutes, then headed into the wood for a walk about the feeding areas and on the way round we chatted away about this and that, and had a few laughs and the customary mickey-take. We stopped at feeding areas along the way, waiting and watching, then

GylkGzx|pyylsGyhunly

‘Suddenly, the tree rat stopped, there was a quick adjustment and the pellet was on its way’ topping them up before checking the trail cameras, and the reds certainly played the game because plenty were seen at every feeding area, as well as in between. A bonus was a female red which was busy gathering grasses and moss to line her drey, and we watched as she took them in her mouth, high up into a conifer, several times over a period of 15 minutes. I made a note of the area because this might well be a good place to see red kittens in a couple of months’ time. We moved on to another woodland and met up with two other rangers, Christian and Ando, who are also good mates with Wes. Christian had given me the nod that there were at least two greys visiting one of his feeders

Above: A little customisation can make a gun really ‘yours’

Above right: We topped up the feeders as we went

in mid- to late afternoon because his trail camera had captured some shots of greys over the last couple of days, so Ando and I went off to another woodland for a look about whilst Christian and Wes set off up the side of a wooded mountain to sit for a couple of hours and see if anything turned up.

Long range contact Below: Trail cameras are a vital tool for my work

They were in luck! Christian spotted a grey in the distance, making its way through the trees toward them; Wes was alerted and he picked it up in his scope and started to follow its movement. Suddenly, the tree rat stopped, there was a quick adjustment and the pellet was on its way, hitting home and resulting in the grey falling

INFORMATION As always, we welcome your thoughts and ideas. Get in touch and tell us about the methods that work for you.

Follow Jerry on Facebook For more info:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/ Penrith-and-District-Red-SquirrelGroup/487229667979369?fre f=ts to the ground stone dead. After waiting for another hour, they were just about to head back to meet up with Ando and me when Christian picked up a heat source on the ground, and gave Wes the heads up. Wes scanned with his scope and picked up a grey rooting about, so he switched to his rangefinder, fixed onto the squirrel and got a reading of 67 yards – that was no problem for the FAC Air Wolf and Wes. The grey jumped up onto a fallen tree and, as luck would have it, sat square on; two mil-dots over and the grey tumbled off the fallen tree. We met up again, had a debrief, and a chat about the unfolding events that Wes and Christian had witnessed, and then organised for the following day. Until next month, happy and safe hunting and we’ll see what unfolds.

www.airgunshooting.co.uk AIR GUNNER 91

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ANY POSITION THAT WORKS The editor shows us that sometimes you just have to do whatever it takes

W

hen we’re hunting, all our hard work in finding our quarry and stalking in to it will be for nothing if we miss. It can be infuriating if the only shot on offer that day goes begging, and because of this I’ll use anything, and I do mean anything, to help steady my aim. The idea for this article came to me when an all-too-brief window in our production schedule allowed me to have my first outing with my new rifle, as described in my dream-gun

articles. The game-shooting season was over, allowing me full access to the woods again, so my plan was to reduce the grey squirrel population that had been damaging the pheasant feeders over the winter. This always puts me in the good books of the land manager/gamekeeper. It’s also far and Above: However silly or uncomfortable this looks it gave a rocksolid aim

92 AIR GUNNER www.airgunshooting.co.uk

away my favourite shooting sport. A bright, clear day was very welcome, adding visibility in the high branches to allow me to find the squirrels with my binoculars. Unfortunately, all that visibility worked both ways and despite being fully camouflaged, too many saw me

“how could I bring the Huntsman to bear in a stable position without exposing my silhouette too much?”

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Left: An improvised, reversed kneeling position worked on the day

before I saw them and raced through the high tops out of sight. Sometimes, I’ll track them through the scope, hoping they’ll stop long enough for a well-placed shot, but experience told me that these ones weren’t stopping for anything.

Try again I drew a blank in the usual hot-spots, and so took a walk to a smaller, quieter wood to see if my luck would change. I like to stand off and have a good search with my binoculars in bright weather because grey squirrel fur stands out strongly against the drab browns of the winter woodland. Sure enough, I caught sight of a bushy tail flicking from the side of a tree trunk, so it was time to plan my approach. I moved in slowly, from tree trunk to tree trunk, cutting the distance one yard at a time. When I was about 25 yards away, I peeped one eye around a trunk and scanned the wood ahead. At about 20 feet off the ground, my squirrel was on high alert in the fork of a branch, and its tail flicked as it strained to spot approaching danger. The question was, how could I bring the Huntsman to bear in a stable position without exposing my silhouette too much? I chose to drop to my kneeling position and brace my left hand against the tree. Oh so slowly, I dropped into that familiar

“Half squatting, half leaning, I must have looked ridiculous” position and leaned out until I had the squirrel’s head clearly in my view. Braced this way I was rock solid and the shot was, to be fair, rather easy. One in the bag at last - thank you! With my spirits lifted, I collected my prize, reloaded and moved on. Half an hour passed as I ghosted onward, and then a long way into the wood ahead I thought, or perhaps hoped, that I saw a squirrel on the ground. A huge gully runs up the hill in that part of the wood, so I dropped down into it and closed the distance without once showing my face above the side. When I felt I was in the right spot, I peered over the bank with my binoculars ready to hand. After a few minutes glassing, I spotted the squirrel at the top of a heap of branches that the boss’s kids had leaned against a tree in a ‘Bear Grylls-style’ shelter.

Below: With my left elbow supported like this and my body against the tree, my wobbles were eliminated

my shoulder against it too. It must have looked uncomfortable, but one look through the scope showed the cross hair to be totally still. Because the Huntsman is a PCP I didn’t need to worry about recoil, and as the trigger broke I was pleased to see my shot land just where I’d planned, delivering a clean kill. My last chance came when a small female squirrel lead me a merry dance as she moved again and again, searching the bare winter woodland floor for a meal. Each time I thought I had a shot, something got in my way; twigs here, a branch there, but never a clean shot. We must have covered over 100 yards before I saw her take something from the ground and then jump up on to a log to eat. After a long search, I managed to find a young tree to use to support one arm, whilst the other was braced against a tree trunk. Half squatting, half leaning, I must again have looked ridiculous, but the cross hair told me the position was working and as I released my breath and the trigger broke, number three hit the deck. I’d never have made any of these shots by just shooting off hand. It’s the very worst position for accuracy and my last choice every time. While you’re hunting, take time to look around you when a shot is on offer. A little creative thinking might well result in a steady aim and more quarry in the bag. ■

Whatever it takes It was way too far off for a shot, so I crept to the back of a thick tree that had a big, fallen log at its base. It was still quite a long shot, so getting really stable was vital. I slid down to the ground and then pushed the rifle up over the log and propped www.airgunshooting.co.uk AIR GUNNER 93

GUN SHOPS Directory Key: Trade Associations:

BASC Trade Member

GTA Trade COUNTRYSIDE Countryside Alliance Member ALLIANCE Trade Member

Items stocked:

Airguns

Pistols

Optics

Clothing/ Footwear Knives

Decoys Pellets & & Hides Accessories AirSoft

Archery & Equipment Gun safes

MELBOURNE TACKLE AND GUN

Scotland

64 Church Street, Melbourne Derbyshire DE73 8EJ Tel: 01332 862091 Email: [email protected] Web: melbournegun.com Opening hours: 9.00-5.30 every day except Sunday Credit cards:

Northern Ireland North

A busy gun shop established for over 20 years, selling an extensive range of new and secondhand shotguns, sporting rifles and air rifles with all ammunition and equipment. A large range of outdoor waterproof clothing. Part exchange welcome. Secondhand guns wanted. Gunsmith available.

CITY AIRWEAPONS LINCOLN LTD

Central East

154a Newark Road, Lincoln LN5 8QJ Tel: 01522 576238 Web: www.cityairweaponslincoln.co.uk Credit cards:

Wales

London & South East

South West

Mail order to other RFDs. Theoben Specialist including FAC. Combo deals available on new and used air weapons. Probably the best prices in the area. Cash for Airweapons. Part X welcome. Specialist repairs. Classic airweapons bought and sold. FAC conversions. On-site charging facilities. Large selection of pellets, quantity discounts.

IBSTOCK GUN & TACKLE

Isle of Wight WALES DRAGON FIELD SPORTS 8 Egerton Street, Wrexham Town Centre Tel: 01978 290990 Fax: 01978 311141 Email: [email protected] Web: www.dragonfieldsports.co.uk Opening hours: Mon - Sat 9am - 5pm Credit cards:

Full range of: Air Rifles, Air Pistols, CO2 Pistols, Shotguns, Firearms. Also: Scopes, Lamps, Ammo, Camo Clothing, Archery. Servicing and Repairs.

VALLEY ARMS Bolero Camp, Park Road, Ruthin, Denbighshire LL15 1NB Tel/Fax: 01824 704438 Email: [email protected] Web: www.valleyarms.co.uk Opening hours: Mon - Fri 9 - 5.30 Tues & Thurs 7 - 9pm. Sat 9 - 4.30 Credit cards:

Largest selection of new and used guns in North Wales. On-site indoor range. On-site workshop. Full range of accessories. 90 years of shooting experience at your disposal. Part exchange welcome.

CENTRAL WALKERS OF TROWELL Nottingham Road, Trowell, Nottingham NG9 3PA Tel: 0115 9307798 Credit cards: Stockists of: Daystate, BSA, Weihrauch, Air Arms, Umarex, Hawke, plus a large range of Pellets & Accessories. Fishing Tackle & Outdoor Clothing.

94 AIR GUNNER

BROM SPORTS Brom Sports, 66 Widemarsh St Hereford HR4 9HG Tel: 01432 344610 Web: www.bromsports.co.uk Email: [email protected] Opening hours: Open 9 ’till 5 Tuesday to Saturday Bank holiday Mondays 10am - 3pm Credit cards: HEREFORD’S AIRGUN SPECIALISTS. A large range of Air guns and accessories available including: Air Arms, BSA, Daystate, Webley, Crossman, SMK, Hawke and many more. Also available, Air Cylinder charging, Archery, Crossbows, Soft Air, Repairs & servicing and much more. A family friendly outlet, with help and advice always available.

KEXBY FIELD SPORTS High Street, Kexby, Gainsborough, DN21 5LZ Tel: 01427 787157 Mob: 07776 282324 Email: [email protected] Opening hours: 8.30-7.00 Mon-Fri. 8.30-5.30 Sat 9.00-12.00 Sun Credit cards:

New and used air rifles. Most leading brands stocked. Part exchange a pleasure. Try before you buy. Scopes, lamps, slings, gun bags, clothing, boots, wellingtons, camo nets, poles, decoys etc. Everything you need to get started or uprade!

SHOOTING SUPPLIES LTD 38 Sherwood Road, Bromsgrove, Worcs B60 3DR Tel: 01527 831261 Fax: 01527 832007 Email: [email protected] Web: www.shootingsuppliesltd.co.uk

61-63 Chapel Street Ibstock Leicester LE67 6HF Tel: 01530 260901 Web: www.Ibstocktackle.co.uk Wide range of air rifles, scopes and accessories at discount prices. Daystate stockist. ALL REPAIRS UNDERTAKEN Guns always wanted - Cash paid

LONDON & S.E.

CRAWLEY SURPLUS STORE DBL SUSSEX LTD Unit 2 Access House, Stephenson Way, Three Bridges, Crawley RH10 1TN Tel: 01293 525880 Fax: 01293 522749 Email: [email protected] Web: www.airpistols.co.uk Opening hours: 9.30 - 5.30 Mon - Sat Credit cards:

We have moved to a larger showroom with a testing range and free parking. Always a large range of CO2 pistols, rifles, airsoft guns, gas blow back pistols. Major brands stocked, SMK, Umarex, Weihrauch, Air Arms, Gamo, BSA, Brocock. Large range of clothing and accessories. Visit online www.airpistols.co.uk.

C&H WESTON 12 East Street, Brighton, Sussex BN1 1HP Tel: 01273 326338/733832 Fax: 01273 720107 Email: [email protected] Web: www.chweston.co.uk Opening hours: Mon-Sat 9-5.30. Sun & Bank Hol 10.30-4.30 Credit cards:

Credit cards: Open: Tues-Sat 9am-5.30pm, Fri 9am-7pm The Midlands largest gun shop. Main agents for Air Arms, BSA, Brocock, Daystate, FX, Umarex, Weihrauch. Over 200 new guns always in stock plus a good selection of secondhand. Extensive range of scopes and accessories with clothing and footwear from Seeland and Laksen. Helpful expert advice for the perfect combination.

Established 1819, C&H Weston offer a friendly service. We stock all good brands such as Air Arms, BSA, Daystate, Falcon, Brocock, Weihrauch, Gamo, Theoben, FX. Massive pellet range, chronographs, scales, gun cabinets, servicing. Scopes by Lightstream, Hawke, Nikko, BSA, MTC, Nikon, AGS. PX a pleasure.

Services offered:

& Compressed Gunsmith Repairs Servicing Air

Power Testing

Range Facilities

Credit available

To advertise your gunshop on these pages please call us on 01189 742525

SCOTLAND

PARK STREET GUNS

G. E. FULTON Bisley Camp, Brookwood Woking, Surrey GU24 0NZ Tel: 01483 473204 Fax: 01483 475011 Email: [email protected] Web: www.fultonsofbisley.com Opening hours: 9.00am - 5.30pm Mon - Sun 7 days a week Credit cards:

Stockists of BSA, Air Arms, Daystate, Gamo, Weihrauch. UK importers of Feinwerkbau. New and used air rifles and accessories. Scopes. Fitting service. Pre-charged, CO2, spring power. Service and repair of all guns.

1-2 Park Street Lane, Park St. St. Albans, Herts AL2 2NE Tel: 01727 872646 / 872669 Fax: 01727 875449 Email: [email protected] Web: www.gunshot.co.uk Opening hours: Mon - Fri 9 - 5.30 Sat 9 - 5 Credit cards:

COUNTRYSIDE

ALLIANCE

We sell all major makes of airguns including BSA, Weihrauch, Gamo, Daystate, Umarex and more. All pellets and decoying equipment. Also in-house airgun smith service and power testing facilities. Friendly and knowledgeable service – always!

CHICHESTER ARMOURY 43 West St, Chichester, Sussex PO19 1RP Tel: 01243 774687 Email: [email protected] Web: www.chiarm.co.uk Opening hours: 9.30-1 2-5.00 Credit cards:

COUNTRYSIDE

ALLIANCE

RONNIE SUNSHINES 4 Canalside, Northbridge Road Berkhamsted, Herts HP4 1EG Tel/Fax: 01442 872829 Email: [email protected] Web: www.ronniesunshines.com Opening hours: Mon - Sat 9 - 5 Credit cards:

Good selection of new and used air rifles, stocking spring and pre-charged guns. Help and advice always available.

EMMETT & STONE COUNTRY SPORTS Wilton Farm, Marlow Road Little Marlow, Bucks SL7 3RR Tel: 01628 474187 Email: [email protected] Web: www.emmettandstone.co.uk Opening hours: Mon-Sat 9am-5pm Credit cards:

Hertfordshire’s leading Airgun Specialists we stock Weihrauch, Daystate, Air Arms, BSA, Logun, SMK, and many more. Plus a large range of CO2 pistols, scopes, clothing and a comprehensive stock of airgun accessories. We are also Bushcraft and Survival specialists supplying all the kit you need to survive. Come and visit our shop and Try before you buy on our purpose built indoor range. Or visit our website www.ronniesunshines.com

RIFLE SPORTS Unit 59, Globe Industrial Estate Grays, Essex RM176ST Tel: 01375 658000 Web: www.riflesports.co.uk

Stockists of: Minox, Daystate, theoben, BSA, Weihrauch, Air Arms, Urmarex plus a wide range of pellets & Accessories. Please ask for further assistance and goods.

MAY OF LONDON LTD 21-23 Cherry Tree Rise, Buckhurst hill, Essex IG9 6EU Tel: 0208 504 5946 Email: [email protected] Web: www.mayoflondon.com Opening hours: Tues - Fri 9.30am - 6pm Sat 9.30am - 5.30pm Credit cards:

Air rifle and pistol sales and servicing. Dive cylinders and filling station on-site, indoor range, vast range of goods and accessories. Expert and friendly advice always given. We also sell shotguns, rifles, cartridges, ammunition, clays, cabinets and clothing.

GREENFIELDS AIRGUN CENTRE The Shooting Grounds, Sturry Hill, Sturry, Canterbury CT2 0NG Tel: 01227 713222 Fax: 01227 710611 Email: [email protected] Web: www.greenfieldsshooting.co.uk Opening hours: Tues - Sat 8.30am - 5.30pm.

Stockists of BSA, Webley, Air Arms, Logun, Weihrauch, Gamo and many more. Helpful Friendly Advice Always Available.

South of Scotland’s largest gun and fly fishing retailer. Large selection of new and secondhand spring and pre-charged air rifles, scopes and accessories. Repairs carried out on the premises. Instruction given.

WONDERLAND MODELS 97 + 101 Lothian Road, Edinburgh EH3 9AN Tel: 0131 229 6428 Fax: 0131 229 7625 Email: [email protected] Web: www.wonderlandmodels.com Opening hours: 9.30 - 6.00 Credit cards: Edinburgh’s leading air rifle, air pistol, airgun pellet and accessories supplier. We are dealers for Air Arms, Anics, BSA, Crosman, Gamo, Sportsmarketing, Umarex, Webley and Weihrauch. We also stock BB guns, pellets and targets. We stock the full range of Barnett slingshots and archery equipment.

SOUTH WEST

COUNTRYWIDE Airguns, Rimfire ammunition and accessories including: Scopes, Bi-pods, Lamps, Night Vision, Airgun Pellets & much more. Scopes by Bushnell, Nikko, Sabre, SMK and Nikon

PORTSMOUTH GUN CENTRE

Bradford Road, Melksham, Wiltshire, SN12 8LQ Tel: 01225 701473 Email: [email protected] Opening hours: Mon - Fri 8.30-18.00, Sat 8.30-17.30, Sun 10-16.00 Credit cards:

295 London Road, Portsmouth, PO2 9HF Tel: 02392 660 574 Email: [email protected] We stock rifles, pistols, shotguns, airguns and black powder weapons. Keeping the leading brands in stock, the business can accommodate all enquiries from customers and shooters alike. Complimenting the vast range of firearms, Portsmouth Gun Centre also carries a large amount of accessories, ammunition, clothing and miscellaneous shooting equipment.

STRINGTOWN SUPPLIES 29 High Street, Polegate East Sussex BN26 5AB Tel: 01323 488844 Email: [email protected] Web: www.stringtownsupplies.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/ stringtownsurplus Opening hours: 9.30-5.30 MON-SAT 10.30-2.30 SUN Credit cards:

Sun 9.00am - 1.00pm. Closed Mon

Credit cards:

BORDERS GUNROOM Main St, St Boswells, Melrose, TD6 0AA Tel/Fax: 01835 822844 Email: [email protected] Opening hours: 8.30 - 5.30 Credit cards:

Why not visit our amazing shop (“The Aladdin’s Cave” as its known!) Secondhand and new airguns. Air Arms, BSA, Crosman, Gamo, Hawke, SMK, Umarex, Webley, Weihrauch etc. Plus: Army surplus, camo clothing, Jack Pyke, archery, crossbows, airsoft, de-acts, paintball. Mail order service. Also dealer to dealer.

Offers a great selection of new & used air guns. Stockists of Weirauch, BSA, Air Arms, Daystate, Gamo, Umarex, SMK and Crosman. Gun repair on site. Good selection of scopes on site. Other stores located in Bearley, Bourton on the Water, Chepstow, Chipping Norton, Gloucester, Ledbury, Melton Mowbray, Salisbury and Thornbury.

RONNIE SUNSHINES - DEVON 1 & 2 Sabre Close, Heathfield, Newton Abbot, Devon GB, TQ12 6TW Tel: 01626 242971 Email: [email protected] Web: www.ronniesunshines.com/devon Opening hours: Mon - Sat 9 - 5 Credit cards:

Devon’s leading Airgun Specialists we stock Weihrauch, Daystate, Air Arms, BSA and many more. Plus a large range of CO2 pistols, scopes, and a comprehensive stock of airgun accessories. We are also Bushcraft and Survival specialists supplying all the kit you need to survive. Come and visit our shop and Try before you buy on our purpose built indoor range. Or visit: www.ronniesunshines.com

TO ADVERTISE YOUR GUN SHOP ON THESE PAGES PLEASE CALL US ON

01189 742525

AIR GUNNER 95

GUN SHOPS BASC Trade Member

Directory Key: Trade Associations:

GTA Trade COUNTRYSIDE Countryside Alliance Member ALLIANCE Trade Member

Items stocked:

TO ADVERTISE YOUR GUN SHOP ON THESE PAGES PLEASE CALL US ON 01189 742525 Airguns

Pistols

Optics

Clothing/ Footwear Knives

Decoys Pellets & & Hides Accessories AirSoft

Archery & Equipment Gun safes

MANCHESTER AIR GUNS 470 Oldham Road, Failsworth, Manchester M35 0FH Tel: 0161 681 7947 Web: www.manchesterairguns.com Email: [email protected] Hours: 10 - 5 Mon - Sat. Open most bank holidays until 2 Credit cards: All credit cards accepted

North

Britain’s first Airgun Only Gunshop (since 1977). Large stocks of airguns, scopes and pellets. Servicing, repairs and re-blueing. Free advice with pleasure!

Central East

BROWN TROUT

Wales

London & South East South West

Isle of Wight

NORTH SUNDERLAND SCUBA CENTRE 4A Atkinsons Buildings, Trimdon Street Sunderland, Tyne and Wear SR4 6AH Tel: 01915 670147 Email: [email protected] Web: www.sunderlandairguns.com Opening hours: 9.00-5.30 Mon-Fri | 9.00-4.30 Sat 10.00-3.00 Sun Credit cards:

PHOENIX FIELD SPORTS SUPPLIES 37-41 High Street, Old Town, Bridlington East Yorkshire YO164PR Tel: 01262 605512 Email: [email protected] Opening hours: Wed - Sat 10am - 5pm (Closed Monday and Tuesday) Credit cards: Shooting, Fishing & Archery Equipment - Air rifles: Weihrauch, Crosman, Hammerli, Kral, Diana and Remington. Shotguns: Sabbati, Investarm and Walther etc. Pellets: RWS, Crosman, Walther, Lanes, Remington and Diana etc. Working dog equipment: Whistles, dummies, leads, sticks, etc. Also: Cartridges, gunslips, Hawke optics, clothing and footwear. Jack Pyke stockists Clulite litelamps, battery packs, torches, bags, equipment, safety eyewear, ear defenders, camo nets and decoys.

MOOREDGES AIRGUNS The Chantreys, Mooredges Road, Thorne, Doncaster DN8 5RY Tel: 01405 741706 Fax: 01405 740936 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Mooredges_info Web: www.mooredges.com Opening hours: Open 6 days a week, closed Tuesdays. Mon - Sat 9.00am - 5.30pm. Sun 10.00am - 4.00pm. Open Bank Holidays Credit cards: Extensive range of all leading airguns, scopes and accessories. Also a wide range of camo clothing and footwear available.

96 AIR GUNNER

Air rifles from BSA, Air Arms, Stoeger and other big brands. Superior optics by Hawke, Meopta, Nikko Stirling and Zeiss Full range of mount, lights, lasers and other accessories. Servicing and repairs of spring PCP rifles. Finance available. Recharging of air rifles and pistols on site.

EAST

WARRINGTON GUNS 53 Norris Street, Warrington, Cheshire WA2 7RJ Tel: 01925 415901 Email: [email protected] Web: www.warringtonguns.com Opening hours: Mon - Fri 9am - 5.30pm Sat 9am - 4.30pm Credit cards: Selection of air rifles including BSA, Air Arms, Daystate, Cometa, Brocock, Webley, Weihrauch, Edgar, FX, Walther and more. Rimfire and centre fire rifles, shotguns, ammunition and cartridges available here.

BURY AIR GUNS Stockists of Weihrauch, Webley, BSA, Norica, Gamo, Hammerli, scopes, lamps, pellets and accessories. Airsoft guns stocked, crossbows & archery available. Guns serviced and repaired. Airgun and cylinder refills to 300 bar.

26 Cold Bath Road, HARROGATE, North Yorks HG2 0NA Tel: 01423 709741 Email: [email protected] Web: www.browntroutonline.co.uk Credit cards:

12 Bolton Street, Bury Lancashire BL9 0LQ Tel: 0161 764 1915 Web: www.buryairguns.co.uk and www.burysports.co.uk Email: [email protected] Opening hours: 9.15 - 5.00 Closed Sunday Credit cards:

CHURCHILLS OF DEREHAM 24 Norwich Street, Dereham, Norfolk NR19 1BX Tel: 01362 696926 Fax: 01362 854489 Email: [email protected] Web: www.onlinegunshop.co.uk Opening hours: 9am to 5pm Mon to Sat Credit cards:

Large stock of New & Used Guns. Full Gun Repair Service – On Site. Clay Shoots/Lessons Arranged. GUNS WANTED – CASH PAID. FREE POSTAGE ONLINE!

COUNTRY SPORTING GUNS Cannons Cottage, Punchbowl Lane, Brothertoft, Boston, Lincolnshire PE20 3SB Line 1: 01205 311246 Line 2: 01205 369470 Email: [email protected] Web: www.countrysportingguns.co.uk Opening hours: Mon - Sat 9am - 5.30pm We now sell impact airguns!!

The North’s largest airgun, sports and trophy store established 1959. Only fifteen minutes from Manchester city centre, Junction 2 M66, opposite the East Lancashire steam railway.

TONY’S CAMO & AIRGUN CENTRE Saltney House, Chesterbank Business Park, River Lane, Saltney, Chester, CH4 8SL Tel: 01244 681191 Web: www.tonyscamo.co.uk Opening hours: Tue - Sat 9am - 5:30 pm

Indoor range open 6 days a week. See website for more details.

We supply airguns and shooting accessories, stocking all major air rifle brands, optics and silencers. Setup and tuning service. We are selected BSA area dealers. Sporting rifles and shotguns including ammo. New and secondhand rifles and shotguns. SHOOTING RANGE. We buy airguns. This is the home of the Grand European 80 Varmint air rifle.

T.R. ROBB 316 High Road, South Benfleet Essex SS7 5HB Tel: 01268 752888 Web: www.trrobb.com

Full range of air rifles and pistols. Soft-air and Simmons scope specialist. Tuning kits and Customising Service.

WIGHILL PARK GUNS Wighill Park, Nr Tadcaster, North Yorkshire LS24 8BW Tel: 01937 833757 Fax: 01937 530563 Email: [email protected] Web: www.wighillparkguns.co.uk Opening hours: Wed 9-5, Thurs late night 9-8pm. Fri and Sat 9-5pm. Credit cards:

Visit one of Britain‘s best stocked Airgun Shops in the heart of the Yorkshire countryside. TRY BEFORE YOU BUY ON OUR INDOOR RANGE. Part exchange a specialty.

TO ADVERTISE YOUR GUN SHOP ON THESE PAGES PLEASE CALL US ON

01189 742525

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#Third party liability indemnity – excess £250 property damage only. The public liability insurance is arranged by Arthur J. Gallagher insurance brokers limited who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Lines open 8am-9.30pm Mon-Fri, 8am-4pm Saturdays. T&Cs: Direct Debit is a UK offer only and will be taken annually. Details of the Direct Debit guarantee are available on request. Allow up to 14 days for the preparation of your membership documents. You will be instantly insured subject to your payment being successfully processed. You will need to provide your BASA membership number to benefit from the special offers, for more information please visit www.airgunshooting.co.uk/basa-membership. OFFER ENDS 19/04/16.

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