Airgun World - February 2017

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VOLUME 40 ISSUE 7 EDITORIAL

A single burner and a clever piece of cookware creates a proper dinner. Wiiner-winner!

Editor Terry Doe 01189 742511 Technical Editor Phill Price Consultant Editor Jim Tyler Chief sub-editor Rosie Barham Publishing Consultant Derek Barnes Designer Keith Harris

A glass of red in front of a crackling fire at day’s end. Marvellous.

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Walking the winter woods will be a privilege for as long as I’m able to do it.

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t this time of year, daylight is precious, photography time and publishing schedules are condensed, and everything has to be packed into the shortest days of the year. That makes for a hectic, sometimes utterly bonkers, working month, or two, but the rewards are always there and at least the long nights allow plenty of time for reflection, writing, and planning to be so much more efficient for the next issue. For about a zillion, everchanging reasons, that efficiency always seems to escape me, but I still manage to enjoy my share of magical moments as the winter months unfold.

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EARLY TO BED … The foreshortened days dictate early starts and I’ve been out in the woods at first light for every day of rifle testing, often camping overnight during fishing and hunting trips. Here I experience the sights, sounds, smells and sensations of the countryside as it transitions through the cold night and meets the new day. I’ve been spending nights outdoors for most of my life, but it’s always a

privilege to have the first experience of any dawn.

NO HARDSHIP Please don’t imagine spending a night or two in a bivvy under the stars is a trial of endurance for the modern outdoors chap. Such may have once been the case, and I had my share of those, but not any more. I kip on a super-comfy, perfectly-sprung folding bed, inside a sleeping bag that keeps me toasty no matter how cold it gets beyond the twin skins of my cosy shelter. I also have a fantastic espresso machine for that coffee kick-start in the morning, and my campside cooking facilities allow me to create a full-on roast dinner, should the fancy take me, and it usually does. Add a rewarding glass of red when the shooting is over, a replenishing fire, and the satisfaction of doing a job I’ve loved for decades, and those winter nights under designer canvas simply fly by. The winter solstice has passed and, minute by precious minute, the days are already extending their grasp on our world. With the

whole of 2017 before me, my New Year resolution is as simple as I am and I’ve sworn never to waste a priceless, irreplaceable minute of it.

ALL THE BEST TO YOU AND YOURS Finally, because this is the first edition of Airgun World you’ll be reading in 2017, may I wish every reader the very finest New Year. Your continued, and I’m delighted to announce, growing, support for this magazine is truly appreciated, and it always will be. Airgun World is built around what its readers have requested over the years, and it’s that formula that makes it the most successful of its kind. Please continue with your essential input to what we do for you, and as we head toward our 40th anniversary, we’ll do our best to keep improving. Thanks again, everyone, we literally couldn’t do it without you.

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Editor

AIRGUN WORLD

3

CONTENTS

THIS MONTH ... Bullseye Bargains! Reader Ads

P100

SI AND DAVY ... ... SPLAT FAT RATS

p38

03 Editor’s Welcome

28 Top Value Guns

The editor shares some magical moments in the great winter outdoors

Tim Finley tries out the Realtreeenhanced, Gamo Rocket IGT MAXXIM camo rifle - if he can find it!

08 Points of You Here’s where you have your say and ask your questions about what matters to you

13 What’s Going On? All the news, new products and upcoming events in the airgun world. Don’t miss a thing!

31 John Milewski The Milbro G36 Trapper was a ‘child of the ‘60s, and John takes a look back to celebrate its birth

34 Airgun Student

16 Competition

Naylor Ball discovers that there is no end to the learning process - it’s a lifelong lesson

Your chance to win a Webley Raider 12 combo, worth £700, for just £1.50.

47 Umarex Boys Club

18 Ed’s Test

Matt Brooks, from UBC, finds a bargain in SMK’s CP1-M pistol

The FX Streamline - FX performance made affordable, says Terry Doe

51 Dave Barham

23 Gary Wain

In ‘Wet Weather Rescue’ part two, Dave’s on the case to salvage his precious boots and pellets

Gary’s into heavy metal, as he tests the ballistic coefficent of .22 pellets

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TIM FINLEY PARALLAX ERROR p67

CONTENTS

NEWS & OPINIONS / KIT REVIEWS / FEATURES / TUTORIALS / TECHNICAL

Technical Airgun Get to the Point

TECHNICAL AIRGUN

Jim Tyler creates his own Narnia for pellet testing p74

Dieseling is probably the natural state for my old HW55S, and many similar vintage airguns.

What is ‘dieseling’, can it damage your airgun, and do springers rely on it for muzzle energy? Jim has the answers. he term ‘dieseling’ has been coined in airgun circles to describe the autoignition of vapour given off by the cylinder lubricant during the compression stroke, and is taken from the name of the inventor of the diesel engine, Rudolf Diesel. In the diesel engine, a very fine mist of diesel fuel oil is sprayed into a cylinder, and the fuel/air mixture is compressed, raising its pressure and, importantly, its temperature, and when the temperature is high enough, the fuel/air mix ignites, burns, and creates energy to drive

T

the piston. A dieseling spring airgun is strikingly close in the way it works to a diesel engine, but with important differences. In the airgun, there are no injectors, no fine mist of fuel, but in place there is a very small amount of fumes from cylinder lubricant, which has only the tiniest fraction of the potential energy of the fuel in a diesel engine cylinder, so while the diesel engine can power the largest machines, the diesel effect in a spring airgun cannot even arrest the forward motion of a

piston weighing a couple of hundred milligrams. Many people fondly imagine that a diesel in a spring airgun generates a significant amount of energy that drives the pellet up the barrel, just as a diesel engine drives a piston down a cylinder, but the very small amount of energy created by dieseling in the spring airgun is insufficient to be much help in pushing the pellet. Dieseling can undeniably increase muzzle energy in some circumstances, though, so how does that work?

MIKE WRIGHT Many years ago, it was widely accepted that a degree of dieseling had to occur if spring airguns were to achieve reasonable muzzle energy, and a leading airgun manufacturer decided to explore designing an airgun to harness diesel energy by injecting a fuel into the cylinder. One of the company’s importers in an overseas market, though, was not convinced that spring airguns

DIESELING: FACT AND FALLACY 74

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Two Faces of Diesel

TECHNICAL AIRGUN I have tried surrounding the cylinder with freezer blocks to simulate using it in freezing temperatures. It doesn’t work.

Can dieseling damage your airgun? Or create more power? Jim knows p78

Jim makes a significant discovery regarding spring airgun, cold weather, pellet point of impact shift

TIPPING POINT y experiments into spring airgun, cold climate, pellet point of impact (POI) shift have been going on for nearly three years, and each year I have been thwarted by the winter weather, which has been far too mild to cause any significant POI shift! I’m writing this in late November 2016, following an early autumn in which grey squirrel food hoarding - burying mainly nuts in the ground to dig up for consumption during winter - had been little short of frenetic, which made me question whether the little greys were preparing for a long and/or cold winter. The squirrels may have known something that the met. office didn’t, because mid-October produced the first morning with air temperature hovering around

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zero, cold enough to cause POI shift, and it was with a seal I’d designed specifically in the hope of not shifting POI when cold! The shift was around a third of the widely-reported inch at 30 yards, but at 7mm, it was enough to take pellets outside a 15mm kill zone, and so unacceptable, certainly for HFT shooting, which was the intended use for the seal, and totally unacceptable for hunting. That seal had powered somewhere between 7,000 and 9,000 pellets during spring, summer and early autumn, giving very consistent velocities and without a hint of POI shift even after I’d heated the rifle up to 40C, and tested it down to below 9C, but at around 0C, it caused the pellet POI to shift.

LITTLE ATTENTION

I’d originally sized that seal to be a fairly easy sliding fit (the sliding friction was around 8N) in a workshop temperature in the mid-teens and, although I had not measured the friction at 9C, it felt pretty much the same, so I paid it little attention, which subsequently proved to be a mistake. The POI shift was accompanied by an increase in velocity of 20fps, which took the muzzle velocity to within a whisker of the legal limit, so I needed to ascertain whether or not the velocity increase was due solely to the low temperature. With the rifle acclimatised to the workshop’s 9C, the muzzle energy returned to the 11.4 ft. lb. at which it had previously been set. To be certain that the problem was piston seal shrinkage, I

needed to measure friction at or below 0C but, with no more freezing mornings forecast in the immediate future, my only hope was to take control of the seal temperature with the aid of a deep freeze.

DEEP FREEZE You’d think that chucking a piston, seal and cylinder into a deep freeze, sealed in a plastic bag, would allow you to see what happened to seal friction at sub-zero temperatures, but there is a problem, which is that the instant you remove the assembly from the freezer and expose it to warmer air, condensation starts to form, so you draw back the piston, condensation forms on the cylinder wall from the warm air you’ve drawn in, and that moisture

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Phil looks back over 2016, to enable him to look forward into next year’s hunting through the seasons

60 Smock Style Phill Price enjoys the benefits of a long-style smock jacket that keeps out the worst of the wet weather

64 Getting Tek-nical Phill Price tests the Quiet-Tek from SMK and finds that silence is ... unusual

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93 Rosie’s Recipe Rosie creates an ‘emergency’ woodpigeon lunch for a friend, without having to leave the house!

96 Subscriptions Offer

The editor takes a woodland trip with the Raider, for some much-needed therapy

84 First Classus!

98 Notes on a Novice

Terry Doe goes back to his open-sighted youth to put the new Walther Classus through its paces

A look at airgunning through the eyes of a complete beginner - a range session

89 Golden Ticket

John Milewski takes a look at the Mark III Supertarget rifle from Webley

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POINTS OF YOU

THE AIRGUN WORLD FORUM FOR YOUR RANTS, RAVES AND Q&As The irrepressible Dave Barham.

designer goodies at shows, it’s me, OK? Actually, Dave is exactly as he appears in this magazine, and believe me he’d be up for that pint if you do manage to meet him! Like all of our contributors, Dave is a top chap and always willing to help. – Ed

CAN JIM DO MORE STRIPS?

CARRY ON DAVE! Dave Barham’s article about sorting out his rifle after getting it soaked was absolutely brilliant. I really like Dave’s enthusiasm and willingness to have a laugh at his own expense. Dave seems to be the sort of bloke I’d like to share a pint with and talk about our sport, because he really does come across as a good bloke. Now I suppose you’re going to tell me he’s a right prima donna and demands his own trailer packed with flowers, champagne and chocolates when ever he attends shows, surrounded by minders. I hope not, and I hope Dave will be cheering up the pages of my favourite magazine for many years to come. PAUL WELBELOVED Paul – let’s get one thing straight, here. There’s only room for one diva at Airgun World and if anyone’s going to have a trailer stuffed with

What a great feature Jim Tyler did on the Walther LGU in January’s issue. I love Jim’s work in the magazine, even though I honestly can’t understand some of it, so I re-read it until all becomes clear. The article on the LGU was right up my street, though, and even though I read it three times, I actually understood every word first time round! Please, please, please, can you get Jim to do more articles like this, because I’m absolutely certain that many of your readers would enjoy knowing what goes on inside their airguns on a

Will our student stay on his airgun course?

more practical, ‘nuts and bolts’ basis. I really enjoy the magazine and read every article and even the adverts, but having some more hands-on articles to study would make everything even better. Have a great New Year and keep up the good work. ROSS CUSHING Ross – that’s a fine idea, and if our Jim can shoehorn some strip-down features into his busy technical research schedule, I’m sure we’ll be seeing them. – Ed

NAYLOR TOO BUSY?

More of this sort of thing, please Jim!

I’m a fan of the ‘Airgun Student’ series, and putting into practice some of the lessons Naylor Ball has described over the past year or so has really helped my shooting. With the announcement of Naylor turning professional

LETTER OF THE MONTH WIN THE JACK PYKE HUNTERS BOOTS I was interested in your article on Tom the new shooter in last month’s magazine, and particularly in the welcome he received from the club members at Bisley. I believe this highlights a really important point and I’d like to ask all established airgun club members to extend the same sort of welcome and friendship that Tom had on his first visit. I’ve been involved in airgunning at club level for over 20 years, but I vividly recall my very first visit to a shooting club – not an airgun-based one, it should be said – where my preference for airguns was tolerated more than welcomed, and I was always made to feel like the ‘poor relation’ to the ‘proper shooters’ who used shotguns and live ammunition arms. Now that airguns have reached, and often surpass, the level of sophistication and cost of licensed Thanks to the generosity of the people at Jack Pyke, we’re able to give away a pair of the brand new Hunters boots every month to the reader we consider to have sent the best letter. That’s 120 quid’s worth of excellent footwear, just for letting us know what’s on your mind. You’ve got to like those numbers! So, have a think about what you want to say and get in touch, by email or letter. Don’t write pages of text because we’ll have to to be purely yours. State shoe

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firearms, there’s a real danger of snobbery creeping into our sport, especially at club level. Please make it your job to see that this doesn’t happen to our newcomers. They are the life-blood of our sport and we were all in their position once. Take the time to encourage, welcome, educate and include anyone who wants to join our sport, and we’ll always have a sport to enjoy. CHRISSY JENKINS Chrissy – you’ve absolutely nailed it. May we never forget our own first steps in this wonderful sport, and may we always remember those who helped us feel we belonged here. Your letter is a lesson to us all. – Ed size and address, and it’s great if you can include a photo, too. I promise we read every communication we get. If your letter wins, you’ll get these superb boots, which feature full grain leather uppers, a Vibram Trek Hunter rubber sole, a 100% waterproof, breathable, Hydroguard membrane, odour-resistant Agion antimicrobial inners and Thinsulate liners. There’s even more to these amazing boots, as you’ll find out when you win a pair. Good luck!

Something on your mind? Send us your letters and we’ll share your views with the readership. Write to: Points Of You, Evolution House, 2-6 Easthampstead Road, Wokingham, Berks. RG40 2EG. Or email [email protected]

A BREATH OF FRESH AIR What an interesting series your ‘Absolute Beginner’ is turning out to be. Every airgunner was a complete novice at one time or another, and it’s great to be reminded of what got us interested in airgun shooting in the first place. I really hope Tom’s keenness doesn’t burn out, or become diverted toward something else, because having the views of a genuine novice is truly fascinating. STEVE CASE Steve’s letter is one of many we’ve received over the past couple of months, since the ‘Absolute Beginner’ series was launched. Considering that the whole thing came about because I just happened to notice Tom’s

– I’m a boxing fan and I saw him on Box Nation, recently – is he really going to have time to continue his series? I’d hate to lose the Airgun Student articles, but how on earth is Naylor going to combine both sports? Please give him my regards and best wishes for the future, whatever he decides to do. KEITH ALEXANDER Keith – I had this very conversation with Naylor and his training team as soon as I was told he was going to turn pro’. I’m pleased to say that Naylor and his team regard his shooting as an extension of his training, rather than any sort of problem. They believe it helps him to focus, relax after demanding training sessions, and it provides variety in his psychological development. That means, Naylor’s here until he feels it’s time to graduate! – Ed

Tom’s take on our sport is generating plenty of interest.

interest in a single air rifle, I’m obliged to wonder what other potential series may be out there

entertained throughout my first year of subscription to your excellent magazine. James Thornber’s article in December’s magazine was particularly good and very well written. My wife is my main carer and she gave me the subscription as a Christmas present last year, and as she was a declared ‘anti-gun’ person throughout our 30-year marriage, that was quite some concession on her part! Now she even joins me in my plinking sessions and shares my small collection of Co2 pistols and my Air Arms S200 rifle. CONNOR MCCARTHY

awaiting discovery. As ever, your suggestions are always welcome. – Ed

AN AIRSPORTER? Firstly, I have just got hold of an R10 SE. To cut a long story short, the good guys at Pellpax & BSA sorted me out with a rather pretty one and I went for the full length .177 because I’m pretty much just a garden plinker, so couldn’t see the point of a carbine. I think I also agree with you on the right-handed thing, although my two (current) favourite rifles are a Daystate Royale and an AA S510 Anniversary. I am yet to try the R10 due to awaiting Blueprint medium mounts. As to the forward sling stud position, the jury will remain out

»

The Umarex Boys Club has always been a favourite with our readers.

PRAISE FOR THE BOYS I’m a housebound airgunner – well, garden-bound, to be precise – and your Umarex Boys Club write-ups have kept me

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POINTS OF YOU MIKE’S MODS A while back, you kindly printed an article about the mods that I had made to my S200 Mk1. I have since fitted a brass cocking bolt, Aeron CZ hamster, and a Rowan trigger. I couldn’t get the right adjustment so I discarded the original trigger guard, made a new one from aluminium and sprayed it matte black. Finally, I removed the trigger adjusting screws, rounded off the ends, polished and refitted them. I am very pleased with the results because the gun now handles and shoots much better. MIKE WIGBY Nice work, Mike, and please let us know about anything you do to upgrade the performance, handling or look of your airguns. The same goes to everyone else out there, OK? - Ed

PIGEON PELLET PLACEMENT Nice mods. Please let us know about your own airgun upgrades.

on that because I usually use a fitted bipod or free-standing tripod. To the burning question: I am interested in your comments on the Airsporter. I remember using a BSA air rifle way back (mid-to-late ‘70s). All I can remember about it was open sights, .177; it had a rotating breech where it was turned 90 degrees A/C, pellet dropped in and rotated back again. I’m assuming it was an under-lever because I can’t see the point of a break-barrel if there’s a separate breech and I do not remember it being a side-lever. I can’t even remember if there was a scope rail on it (dovetail or otherwise). I know it didn’t have a scope, but 40 years ago they were not commonplace. Any ideas what this might have been? Was it an Airsporter? I’d really like to find out and possibly track one down! JERRY That rifle you describe certainly seems to be an Airsporter, Jerry, or a BSA Club, which was a .177 version, and both were considered to be pretty much the object of any airgunner’s desire back in the day. John Milewski’s your man for the fine detail, though, so if you remember anything else about it, let me know and I’ll pass it on to John. - Ed

WADCUTTERS FOR WAIN Could you ask Mr Wain if he could try lightweight, wadcutter-style pellets similar to the Hobby for pure knockdown power. I honestly believe the larger surface area of a wadcutter/flathead hits harder and gives up more energy upon contact, is less likely to pass through the quarry, and by design is a much faster pellet, too. GARY BILLINGTON

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I’ve passed on your request to your namesake, Gary, and he’s right on the case. Look out for a study on the potential of flat-headed pellets in a future issue. - Ed

NO CHANGE REQUIRED I’ve just read the latest mag’ and I was so incensed by one one of the readers letters – Jim for Editor – that I had to respond! Now, whilst I cannot claim to be your greatest fan, I have to say that it must take a lot of your own time to do what you do, much of which is unpaid, I suspect. You always give the impression that what you say is your own opinion, and leave the readers to make their own decision. Whilst I think that Jim would make an excellent editor, I do believe that a change of editor would change the character of the magazine, and I like it just the way it is. Carry on Terry; the views of individual readers are important, and all credit to you for printing this one, but his is only one voice and there are many who would disagree with him. ‘You only print letters that praise you ...’? Well, I can only say that Mr Potter can’t have read many of your readers’ letters. I have read several such complaints in the six years that I have been a reader, all with a polite remark, either to defend your views or to accept that the reader has a point. DAVE BROCK SHEBBEAR SHOOTERS Thanks for the kind words, Dave, and rest assured that I’ll be going nowhere for a while yet. As I suspected, Jim’s having far too much fun with his airgun experiments to take over, anyway! - Ed

I know you always advocate head shots on live quarry, but what about pigeons? Whether feral or woodpigeon, they have the most annoying habit of moving their heads around the whole time, plus the woodies tend to sway about in the wind when they’re perching on twigs and it’s windy. What then? Surely a body shot is the only viable option? CLIVE TILLEY Clive – my position is simple; if I can’t take a reliable head shot, and the ‘between-theshoulders’ shot isn’t on, I’ll pass until either becomes available. You say a head shot isn’t viable in the wind, or if the bird keeps moving, but surely a swaying/moving pigeon means that its heart-lung area is moving, too? That moving target is also invisible under its shield of feathers, skin, muscle and bone, unlike the head which is always visible. In short, if my preferred options aren’t available, I won’t take the shot. The alternative is to take shots I know carry a high chance of failure, and that’s never the way to go. This policy has worked for me for decades and I won’t be changing it any time soon. – Ed If the right shot’s not on - then no shot is.

GOOD PEOPLE – GOOD DEEDS

GOOD WHEEL GESTURE!

THE KIND FOLKS AT ARMEX HAVE DONE SOMETHING WONDERFUL FOR A FANTASTIC SCHOOL

All aboard for some wonderful trips!

t’s hats-off to Umarex main importers, Armex, this month, in recognition of a truly magnificent act of kindness that will bring great benefit to a local primary school dedicated to special needs children. Birmingham-based Armex heard about the wonderful work carried out by the Langley School at Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands, and Armex MD, Alan Phelps, knew his company had to become involved. Alan told us, ‘Langley School cares for around 120 children whose needs vary from the many aspects of learning difficulties, right through the challenges presented by the autistic spectrum, and we felt right from the start that we had to offer practical help.’

I

HOMEWORK Alan did some homework on

Langley School and very soon he knew what had to be done. ‘Part of what this inspirational school does, is to take the children on visits, outings and field trips, to increase their interaction experiences, help them with real-world tasks, and to provide an enjoyable, educational day out. Quite simply, we thought our MAN Maxus minibus would be ideal for this, and having a bus of its own would save the school considerable expense on transport costs. The Armex minibus will provide comfortable, efficient, secure transport for the children and staff, and everyone at Armex agreed that donating it to the school was the best thing we could do with it.’

INDUSTRY GESTURE Armex intends to make this commendable gesture on behalf

of the entire airgun industry and the company has asked Airgun World editor, Terry Doe, to make the presentation on its behalf, early in the new year. This is exactly what ‘airgun people doing good things’ is all

about, and we applaud Armex for its generosity and kindness. Let’s say a massive well done to Armex, the Langley School, and everyone involved in this truly heartwarming gesture. What a great way to begin the New Year! ■

AIRGUN PEOPLE DOING GOOD THINGS! Whenever we hear about airgunning-related acts of kindness, or ‘our people’ doing good deeds, we’re really keen to report it. We’d like to do all we can to help tip the balance of truth and reality away from the sensationalist nonsense so often churned out by the tabloid media, and we need your help to do that. If you have taken part in a charity enterprise or any kind of constructive, helpful activity, please let us know about it and we’ll give you, and our sport, full credit for it. As airgunners, we are regularly helping those less fortunate than ourselves, and while we do this purely because it’s the right thing to do, it’s time a more accurate impression of who we really are and what we’re about was presented. The general media will never do that, so let’s help ourselves whilst we’re helping others. Please contact the editor at [email protected] and we’ll take it from there.

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WHAT’S GOING ON

WELL-DONE DONCASTER!

The ever-splendid Brian Samson has been in touch to report on Doncaster Airgun Range, the development of which we profiled in Airgun World last year. ‘February marks our first anniversary, and what a ‘plinking awesome’ year it’s been. When we started the project we could never have foreseen the amount of interest our range would generate. We hoped for the support of existing local shooters, but the reality has far exceeded our

expectations with many of our regular shooters travelling for more than a couple of hours to reach us. It’s been especially gratifying to be able to introduce the sport of airgun shooting to so many new shooters, both young and old, and to create a partnership with our local gun shops. The plan for our second year is to extend our opening hours, introduce some new ‘fun’ targets and develop more training courses and seminars. We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who

DAYSTATE’S NEW YEAR ONE-TWO! The Daystate development team is never off duty, and as this new year gets under way, the founding father of the modern pre-charged pneumatic is about to launch … the Saxon Limited Edition rifle. As its tag suggests, the production run of the Saxon will be limited to just 150 rifles, and each comes with its own, specially commissioned hunting knife, by renowned bladesmith, R. Not just the new Daystate Saxon Limited Edition, but also the platform for the Wolverine 2!

ULTRA-NEAT!

How about this for a special little rifle – and we do mean ‘little’. The BSA Ultra JSR is designed specifically for junior shooters who want to learn alongside the very best in modern sporting airgun

has supported us during our first year and we’re looking forward to our second year with much less trepidation!’ Fantastic news and massive congratulations to all involved. Contact Details: www.doncasterairgun-range.co.uk 07563 880042 Unit 5, Victoria Mill Business Park, Wharf Road, Doncaster, DN1 2ST Opening times: Thursday 14:00 – 20:00 Friday 14:00 – 20:00 Saturday 10:00 – 17:00 Sunday 10:00 – 17:00 Monday/Bank Holidays 10:00 – 16:00

SEE YOU AT THE SHOW!

Harrington, of Bison Bushcraft. The Saxon theme is maintained throughout via the use of colours and patterns used in the AngloSaxon era and incorporates etchings and words in both Anglo-Saxon and Latin. There’s also a specialised finish from one of the country’s top anodising companies, plus an exclusive Huggett moderator from Huggett Precision Products, and a beautiful new stock from the studio of Gary Cane’s Techwood Design, manufactured in a stunning multi-colour laminate wood expertly crafted by Minelli of Milan. The £1990 Saxon is also the launch model of the newly-revised and improved Wolverine 2 rifle that will be released early in 2017. The new Wolverine 2 will update the current model, introduced three years ago, and features a reworked valve system, a new Gary Cane stock, and a host of other improvements that bring this rifle right up to date. Look out for both rifles – coming soon to Airgun World.

By the time you read this, we’ll be all set for the Great British Shooting Show at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire on the 10th, 11th and 12th of February, and we’d really like to see as many as possible of you there. Shows like this are so valuable to us, because we get to meet a huge number of our readers and listen to their views, requirements, criticisms and ideas for what they want in their magazines. The show at Stoneleigh will see

technology. Packed with proven BSA Ultra features, the JSR version delivers a perfect 6ft.lbs. at the muzzle for those seriously enjoyable, back garden shooting sessions, which will

be even more exciting thanks to the JSR’s full-specification, 10-shot pellet magazine, easy-to-use bolt-action cocking, excellent trigger and that renowned BSA barrel, which is threaded for an optional silencer to keep the neighbours happy,

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thousands of shooters gather over three days, to see what’s new, perhaps try it ‘live’ on the airgun demonstration ranges, and to talk about it with those who know the inside stories. So, if you’re looking for new hardware, more knowledge, or just a great day out among your fellow shooting enthusiasts, get along to Stoneleigh – and we’ll see you there! Contact: www.Shootingshow.co.uk or call: 01258 858448

We’d love to see you at Stoneleigh!

This could be the drean rifle for every airgunning child.

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With the support of some great people, Brian and Lynne Samson have built something truly special.

too! The JSR’s stock offers a reduced pull-length to fit smaller and younger shooters, and its recoil-free, super-accurate shot delivery is bound to appeal massively to any junior airgunner lucky enough to learn alongside one of these great little rifles. Priced at £369, if you’re looking for the ideal junior trainer - this Birmingham-made Beeza is definitely one for the short-list! Contact:www.bsaguns.co.uk

Something you think airgunners should know about? Tell us about it and we’ll share your news with the readership. Write to: What’s Going On, Evolution House, 2-6 Easthampstead Road, Wokingham, Berks. RG40 2EG. Or email [email protected]

AIR ARMS GOLDEN GIVEAWAY As you’ll see on page 89 of this issue, Air Arms is repeating its fantastic ‘Golden Ticket’ giveaway,

which was such a success last year. Here’s where, on the 21st of March, 10 lucky readers will find

themselves treated to a full tour of Air Arms Sussex headquarters and the airgun-manufacturing processes that takes place there, plus a slap-up buffet lunch, an ask-the-experts session, and a goodie bag stuffed with Air Arms products – all completely free! The Airgun World and Air Gunner On March the 21st this year, 10 lucky ticket holders will have a day they’ll never forget!

PAGING HAWKE OPTICS! As soon as you open the 2017 Hawke Optics catalogue, you’ll know it’s been put together by a company that really knows what it’s doing with images, lenses and the products that produce and contain them. Throughout the catalogue’s 176 pages, you’ll discover glorious images, top-quality optical products, and some incredibly tempting developments. Hawke Sport Optics has gathered its UK and US specialists to

showcase the company’s carefully crafted range of riflescopes, binoculars, spotting scopes, red-dots, lasers, rangefinders and a selection of accessories to complete the various packages. The selection, like the imagery, is truly impressive, and you can either download the 2017 catalogue, or have a printed version sent to you, completely free of charge. To order your 2017 catalogue visit: www. hawkeoptics.com

This catalogue will definitely open your eyes.

SECRET SIG!

editors will be there, plus some ‘upgrades’ on last year’s event – whatever those turn out to be. One thing’s for sure, it’s going to be a special day, so turn to page 89 and send off that ticket! pistol’s stick-type magazine, and we’re told it provides around 30 shots when fully loaded. Powered by the standard, 12-gramme CO2 capsule, the Sig P320 seems to have everything required to quickly empty a pellet tin and put a big smile on pistol fans’ faces as it does so. We’ll provide full specs and pricing as soon as we get them, but watch this space for the full, fast, fun test. Contact: www.highlandoutdoors. co.uk

Our spies have been out and about in the Leicester area, where a chance encounter at top distributors, Highland Outdoors, produced this photo of an intriguing new Sig pistol. We’ve got one, tagged the P320, on its way to us, and the internal features are particularly fascinating, especially its multi-shot system. Reports, yet to be confirmed, suggest that the new, .177, P320 runs a re-jig of the ‘belt-fed’ pellet loading The new Sig P320 is a belter! system used by the best-selling Sig MPX range of fast-fire guns. This modified rapid-reload device has somehow been contained within the

DECEMBER’S SPOT-THE-DIFFERENCE COMBO WINNER! OUR DECEMBER SPOT-THE-DIFFERENCE PRIZEWINNER HAS WON HIMSELF A FANTASTIC BSA ULTRA XL COMBO WORTH £700 - FOR JUST £1.50 - AND YOU CAN DO SOMETHING SIMILAR ON PAGE 16! A lucky young man by the name of Ross Anthony will soon be joined on his Warwickshire farm hunting permission by a brand-new partner. It’s a BSA Ultra XL, with a BSA Optics 3-9 x 40 scope, mounts and rifle case, and after what Ross described as ‘a mega-tough year, due to an enforced change of job’, he reckons he couldn’t wish for a better start to his New Year. Congratulations, Ross, and let’s hope winning that excellent combo is just the start of a fantastic 2017. There’s another fantastic outfit ready and waiting to be won this month, so get those entries in and it could be yours!

SEE P16

FOR ANOTHER GREAT PRIZE! www.airgunshooting.co.uk

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WIN!

A WEBLEY RAIDER 12 COMBO WORTH £700!

Webley’s latest version of its side-lever, multi-shot, pre-charged pneumatic sporter offers a stylish new take on modern PCP performance. We featured this rifle on the cover of our January issue, and backed that with the Editor’s Test. We believed the Raider 12 to be worth such attention, and we were right, because the order books have been filling rapidly by the day. We’re guessing the Raider’s combination of pinpoint accuracy, smooth handling, excellent, two-stage adjustable trigger, and that easy side-lever action, is the main driving force behind its surge in popularity, or it may be driven mainly by the Raider 12’s classy look. Whatever it is that’s pushing the Raider 12 toward the top of the best-seller charts, Webley seems to have another winner on its hands, here. This prize rifle comes complete with a high-quality scope, mounts and rifle case, and normally, the hardware on offer here would set you back at least £700, but you can win it all for just £1.50! So all you need do now, is to study the photos carefully, spot those six differences - and get that entry form in right away. Entries close at midnight on Wednesday 1st of March. Good luck!

SO EASY TO ENTER!

Simply spot the differences and enter by post - like we did back in the good old days!

Spot the six differences between the photos below and circle them with a pen. Then cut out the completed form and post it to us. Entry costs just £1.50 per go – cheques and postal orders made payable to ‘Airgun World’ – and you can enter as many times as you like by photocopying the entry form. As a bonus; for every five postal entries you submit, you get one free – i.e six entries for just £7.50!

POST FORM

Airgun World Competition, Evolution House, 2-6 Easthampstead Road, Wokingham, Berks RG40 2EG

Your Name ....................................................................................................................................................................... Address ............................................................................................................................................................................ Postcode................................................... Daytime Tel .................................................................................................... Email................................................................................................................................................................................. Prize to be sent to: (Name and address of your local gunshop) Name of shop .................................................................

6



FIND

ES CHANG

Address ............................................................................................................................................................................ .......................................................................................................................................................................................... Postcode .......................................................................................................................................................................... If you are under 18, an adult must sign on your behalf and give his/her name and address Name................................................................................................................................................................................ Address ............................................................................................................................................................................ ......................................................................................................................................................................................... Postcode...........................................................................................................................................................................

Closing date: Wednesday the 1st of March 2017

Tick if you have a subscription to Airgun World

What would you like to see in Airgun World? Simply write your suggestions below, or list your comments on a seperate sheet of paper, and send it with your competition entry. ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... There are six differences between the two photos. Simply draw a circle around them as you spot them, then send in your completed entry form. The winner will be drawn from all of the correct entries received before the closing date.

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ED’S TEST

MORE IS

LESS! The Streamline is the real deal, be in no doubt about that. .

“the concept of offering top FX performance at a more affordable price” 18

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wo years or so ago, I was deep in conversation with the Swedish genius that is FX Airguns’ founder, owner and boffin-inresidence, Fredrik Axelsson. Well, I say ‘conversation’, but it was actually one of us talking heavy technical, while the other listened and tried to keep up. I’ll leave you to decide who was who in that exchange. Anyway, I came away knowing that Fredrik wanted his company to come up with a rifle that made it possible for more airgunners than ever before to enjoy the FX level of performance and technology. The only realistic way of doing this, was to develop a rifle built around genuine FX performance features, at a lower asking price. A simple brief, perhaps, but bringing it to reality was another thing entirely. I remember thinking, ‘if anyone can do it, Fredrik’s the man’, and I was almost right, too. In fact, the main driving force behind this project turned out to be Fredrik’s son, Johan, and I spoke to him about his ‘project Streamline’ at the IWA show in Nuremberg early last year. There was a prototype Streamline rifle on display in the form of a conventionally styled, lightweight, fast-handling sporter, and right away I could see that the original concept of offering top FX performance at a more affordable price had been met, and perhaps even surpassed. Now the Streamline is in full production, I’ve tested the prototype, and here’s the finished article.

T

THE FX AIRGUNS STREAMLINE – UP CLOSE I’d already seen the .177, walnut stocked Streamline, so I asked the FX Airguns UK importer, A.S.I., to send me a .22 calibre example in the ambidextrous, synthetic stock option, which is what you see here. As you can also see, it’s a sleek, side-lever, magazine-fed, sporter, with an adjustable butt pad, a strikingly plain stock with no moulded chequering of any kind, in a uniformly matte, anthracite synthetic compound, which holds a silky, almost brush-finished action, complete with a three-stage power-adjuster, and a shrouded barrel.

THE EDITOR’S TEST: FX STREAMLINE

SMOOTHTWIST What you can’t see, is that inside that shroud, fixed at the breech only, sits a free-floating, 500mm, SmoothTwist barrel. The SmoothTwist barrel system was developed by Fredik Axelsson’s long-term friend and co-genius, Ben Taylor, formerly of Theoben Engineering, and the basic concept sees a smooth bore with a ‘rifling’ helix squeezed from the outside, into its final few inches, by a specially developed press. I was in at the start of the SmoothTwist development and I need no convincing as to its accuracy, although I was keen to see if the ‘more affordable’ Streamline’s barrel shot like those of the full-spec’, full-price FX rifles. More of that later. REGULATED DELIVERY Another invisible benefit included with every FX Streamline, is a hi-tech regulator, which dispenses an identical amount of compressed air energy for each shot. From its full charge of 230 bar, which is 3300p.s.i., the 190cc air reservoir of the .22 Streamline is claimed to produce well over 200 shots at 11-plus ft.lbs. That computes to around 180 for the .177 version, and the output of both calibres

other, simply doesn’t reflect the stop-start nature of field use. That’s why I much prefer to test a rifle in a far more random fashion that reproduces a more realistic test of how it will actually be used. Having said all that, I did the chrono’ test both ways with the Streamline and it made no difference whatsoever.

Plenty to think about for next month’s test, and most of it exciting.

qualifies for the highly technical term of ‘more than you’ll ever need’, at least as far as any hunting trip goes. For once, I was keen to test the efficiency of the Streamline’s regulator, mainly because I’ve put in some serious hours behind FX airguns and I knew what level of efficiency to expect. If the Streamline was compromised on performance in any way, I’d soon know about it. A REALISTIC CHRONO TEST I may have mentioned it only a dozen times before, but I

absolutely loathe protracted chronograph testing sessions. They’re all but pointless, too, but so many shooters seem to think that blipping a full charge across a chronograph is the best, perhaps only, way to test the quality of a pre-charged pneumatic action, I’m obliged to provide at least some sort of sequence data from the chrono’. I’ve done this, but I say again, it’s an all-but-pointless exercise. How many of us, as part of the real-world use of our PCPs, shoot a sub-12 ft.lbs. rifle from fully charged to stone-flat empty, with

“ included with every FX Streamline, is a hi-tech regulator” continual shots? None of us, that’s how many. Instead, we charge our rifles, let off a few ‘clearing’ shots, or check zero, then shoot intermittently until the session is over. That sequence describes the PCP usage of the vast majority of shooters, and even those lucky enough to be blessed with mega numbers of vermin will top up their rifles every 50 shots or so. The metronomic recording of hundreds of shots, one immediately after the

It’s light, fast-handling, incredibly accurate - and more affordable than ever.

That trigger and manual safety combo provides perfect control.

THE UNBLINKING EYE From a full charge, and shooting just two ‘clearing shots’ before the recorded chrono’ session began, I counted out 150, pre-weighed (not by me, admittedly), .22 FXbranded, JSB pellets, and shot them all away. During the 45 minutes or so it took to do that, my phone rang twice, and the second call came from our Airgun Student, Naylor Ball, wanting to discuss his latest training results. Even with these welcome diversions, I have rarely spent a more tedious three-quarters of an hour, during which the Streamline proved itself to be boringly consistent. That FX Airguns regulator, which I’m assured is built on the very same technology as that of the company’s Wildcat rifle, kept the muzzle energy variation spread between 11.1 and 11.3ft.lbs. throughout. Dull as all hell, certainly, but mightily impressive if you’re turned on by this sort of thing. ACCURACY OF THE REQUIRED STANDARD Once the batch of test pellets was shamefully wasted over the chrono, I got stuck into some proper work and pushed the Streamline along accuracy lines, and its SmoothTwist barrel aligned with that super-consistent action produced results that matched

A feature that’s always welcome.

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THE EDITOR’S TEST: FX STREAMLINE

That ‘brushed’ metal finish is classy. I like it.

anything I’ve used from FX – or any other company, come to that. As I’ve said elsewhere in this issue, modern PCP technology is extremely close to its scientific zenith, at least as far as punching tiny groups in paper is concerned, and those clusters can’t get much smaller, really. We’re already talking single-figure millimetres spread between all of the available top models, so pretty soon we’re going to have to look for other comparative factors by which to judge. My first groups with the test rifle measured 15 to 20mm, centre-to-centre at 45 yards, with a single attempt at 50 yards that one

accuracy is already established and I’ll struggle to match it under hunting conditions. I am the weakest link, here, and that’s entirely as it should be. GLOBAL SUCCESS Meanwhile, back at the FX Airguns tunnel range, completely protected from the vagaries of the Swedish weather, I’ve seen rifles from this company stamp out many examples of the infamous ‘ragged one-holer’, right out to 50 yards. All of those rifles ran SmoothTwist barrels, as did the larger calibre, high-power ones I saw sweep all before them at 75 yards in the

Scandinavia, I’ve seen SmoothTwist barrels do the absolute business, and I own two examples of them, myself. Again, the jury isn’t out on this barrel in any way; the verdict’s in, and there’s no doubt that SmoothTwist works extremely well. OTHER FEATURES The trigger is a post-and-shoe delight, and I asked A.S.I. to adjust it to its lowest workable setting, which is just under 500 grammes. That turned out to be too low for the clumsy-fingered conditions, so I tweaked it up a tad and it’s now perfect for me. FX do great triggers. The power-adjuster takes the form of a knurled thumbwheel, and each of its three settings offers 6, 9 and 11-plus ft.lbs. as required. I have this feature on my beloved Verminator MkII, and I think I’ve used it twice, when staking out a mouse in my fishing tackle shed. Otherwise, it’s handy but not essential, for me at least. In a training or plinking capacity, it could well earn its keep. The fit and finish of the rifle is of

TECH SPEC Model: Streamline Manufacturer: FX Airguns Country of origin: Sweden Type: Pre-charged, multi-shot, sporter Calibre: .22, .177, .25 Cocking/loading: Sidelever Loading: Via removable, rotary 11-shot magazine (13-shot for .177) Trigger: 2-stage, adjustable, semi-match type Stock type: Ambidextrous synthetic. Also available in walnut Weight: 2.6kg (5.7lbs) Length: 975mm (38.3 ins) Barrel: 500mm (19.7ins) Fill pressure: Max 230 bar Shots per charge: 200-plus in .22, 180-plus in .177 Variation over 150 shots: Between 11.1 and 11.3 ft.lbs. for .22 on test Average energy: 11.2 ft.lbs. Contact: A.S.I. on 01728 688555

£750.00

Fifty yards, five shots, and a capricious wind. Accuracy is all

“the infamous ‘ragged one-holer’, right out to 50 yards” wind-affected pellet stretched to 23mm, outdoors, taking my shots during calm spells between naughty little breezes. These will improve, I have no doubt, but the

Extreme Benchrest Challenge, out in the heat of an Arizonian desert. From Ben Taylor’s Cambridgeshire, to the other side of the world, by way of

The barrel shroud comes ready-threaded, as you’d expect.

The FX No Limit mounts allowed the scope to clear the magazine.

a high standard, and I especially like the low-glare, ‘brushed’ effect of the barrel shroud and air reservoir. The 11-shot (13-shot in .177), pellet magazine is the standard FX, removable, rotary item, contra-tinted in matte silver for style reasons I guess. I’d prefer it black for less noticeable reasons, but I’m picking the smallest of nits, here. It works a treat, and that’s what matters. Plus, the Streamline accepts the other FX magazines, so black is actually an option. INITIAL VERDICT Overall, this Streamline is a genuine FX, with everything that

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goes with it. The lack of ballast in the rifle’s 5.7lbs, unscoped weight makes it easy to point and carry, but will that be at the cost of on-aim stability? Most shots so far have been rested and accuracy is everything I’d expect of an FX airgun, so more testing is required, there. This isn’t a noisy rifle at all, but I always fit silencers to my PCPs, so that needs to be decided, too. I’ll deliver the full verdict next month, but right now, the fact is, at £750, the Streamline is shaping up to be everything Axelsson senior, and junior, dreamed it could be – and perhaps even more. ■

GARY WAIN INVESTIGATES - PELLETS

used a 15.9gr domed Sovereign Rangemaster, and a 13.7gr flat-nosed JSB Jumbo Match

PHYSICS First, let’s remember that I’ve been promising to look into, and to the best of my humble ability attempt to explain, some of the physics behind the testing I’ve been doing. In particular I’m going to look at a prickly little subject which goes by the name of ‘Ballistic Coefficient’, or BC for short. Now, for those of you who don’t like numbers and equations, don’t worry, neither do I, so there’ll be none of that malarkey here. All I’m going to do is run through which factors are used to form a ballistic coefficient, and what relevance the BC has to us when we’re selecting a pellet.

CONFUSING?

The Daystate Pulsar really is a tack driver.

o far I’ve only been looking at the faster and lighter pellets that live at the sexy .177 end of the pellet scale. To even things up a bit, I thought that this month I’d turn our sights on .22 pellets, and in particular some of the heaviest pellets we could find to see what sort of damage they’ll do to the ballistic material. For this round of

S

the testing, I selected a couple of hollow points around the 15gr mark, namely the Ultrashock HP which weighs in at 16.66gr, and the Dynamic XP2 which comes in at slightly lighter 14.5gr. To add to that, I’ll be following up with the 26.4gr Ultramag metal tip, and the heaviest pellet that I have looked at so far in the series, the aptly

named H&N Piledriver which tips the scales at a whopping 30gr. From the start I want to acknowledge that these heavier pellets are primarily intended for FAC-power level air rifles, but that said, I wanted to see what sort of results I’d get when I popped them into sub 12 ft.lbs. rifles. Also, in order to establish a baseline I’ve

So, the first thing to understand about ballistic coefficient is that it’s more than a bit confusing. For example, I’d always believed it to be a unitless, or dimensionless value, and by this I mean that unlike weight, which has many units to describe it (kg, lb, ton, ounce or grain) or distance (metre, yard, foot, mile) a figure for a BC value is not followed by a unit. That was until I started reading into the subject a bit more and found that it both does, and doesn’t have a unit, sort of like the ballistic equivalent of Schrodinger’s cat. See? I said it was confusing. Actually, it’s not as bad as it seems because ballistic coefficients that have units attached to them can have them

GETTING Gary Wain weighs up the technical factors involved in testing the heftier .22 pellets

»

HEAVY www.airgunshooting.co.uk

AIRGUN WORLD

23

GARY WAIN INVESTIGATES

Near identical entry holes from two different shaped pellets.

I think you can call that a clean shot.

mathematically resolved, and as such, the BC value can be standardised across all systems of measurement, which will make the Americans with their feet and inches very happy indeed.

SECTIONAL DENSITY However, we are getting a little ahead of ourselves. Before we talk about BC, we first need to understand something called ‘sectional density’. Now, don’t worry about the big words, guys; those science people love to use big words to perplex and scare off we mere mortals, lest we should realise that what they want us to think is complicated is actually quite simple. In terms of plain English, sectional density is a measure of the penetration characteristics of a projectile, or how easily it will pass though something, whether that be air, or indeed the target material.

TO THE POINT

For the ballistic clay to work you’ve got to get it good and soft.

Okay, so let’s use an example to help us to understand what’s going on here. Imagine you had a sheet of card and were to throw a blunt-ended wooden toothpick with a diameter of 2mm and weighing 5gr at it as hard as you could. Assuming you threw straight and true, chances are the toothpick would just glance off the card, hardly leaving a mark. Now imagine that a particularly skilled

understandably feeling slightly fed up and used by you, made us a third projectile, this time out of dense plastic. It weighs 20gr, the same as the steel toothpick, but now has a blunt frontal diameter of 10mm. Were you to throw that at the card, again with the same amount of force, odds are, owing to the increased frontal area, that it would just bounce off the card. What we’re saying here is that

the air better than blunt things, in which case you’ve already got a good grip on coefficient of form. See? You’re cleverer than you thought.

BACK TO THE PLOT OK, I think that’s enough brain strain for today. We’ll pick up where we left off next month, and relate what we’ve learned so far to ballistic coefficient and to kinetic

“odds are, owing to the increased frontal area, that it would just bounce off the card” friend with an awful lot of time on their hands had made you a steel toothpick with exactly the same dimensions as the wooden one, but now weighing 20gr, which was equally blunt-ended. I reckon if you lobbed that at the card with exactly the same amount of force as you threw the wooden version, it would most likely penetrate, or possibly even pass though the card. Now imagine that our friend, who is now quite possibly and very

sectional density is the relationship between the weight of a projectile and its frontal area.

ESSENCE There is a mathematical equation that will help you to determine this value, but as I promised to be gentle with you there’ll be none of that sort of stuff here. Let’s boil this down to its essence and say that given a fixed velocity, heavy narrow things are able to penetrate better than light narrow things, or indeed, heavy wide things. See? I said we could all understand this without the aid of maths. So how does all of this relate to ballistic coefficient? Well, ballistic coefficient is strongly related to sectional density, but adds to the equation by bringing in something called ‘coefficient of form’. Yeah, I know, yet more scary and bewildering words. Just think of coefficient of form as a fancy word for ‘shape’ and you’ll do just fine. Actually, I’m willing to bet that you already know that pointy aerodynamic things move through

energy. So, back to the plot and the pellets we’ve used for testing. First, let’s look at the baseline 15.9gr domed Sovereign Rangemaster, and the slightly lighter 13.7gr flat-nosed JSB Jumbo Match. The Sovereign gave us an 18mm entry hole, which expanded to 24mm before the wound track tapered to a 6mm exit hole, indicating that most of its energy had dissipated. The JSB pellet garnered a 21mm entry hole, expanding to 28mm which then tapered, the pellet stopping in the material after 98mm. The 14.5gr dynamic XP2, and the 16.5gr Ultrashock HP both left near identical 16mm entry holes that tapered until the pellet left the rear of the block, whilst the heaver 26.4gr Ultramag metal tip left a smaller 11mm entry hole and a narrowing taper. The strangest result came from the 30gr Pile Driver, which left a small 11mm entry hole that continued as a constant diameter cylinder before expanding to 16mm after 65mm; this then got slightly larger over the

GARY WAIN INVESTIGATES - PELLETS

“in terms of ballistic damage. Yet again, it’s the domed pellet that has triumphed” It’s not just the shooting that requires a steady hand.

These two produced identical results.

The 30gr Piledriver left the smallest entry wound we’ve seen yet.

High-energy vs low-energy exit wounds.

last 45mm of the wound track before the pellet left the material.

CONCLUSION So, what have we learned? Well, aside from the Rangemasters, all of the pellets on test were too inaccurate at ranges over about 20 yards to hunt with, with the Ultramag Metal tip being particularly shocking. We also learned that in our sub 12ft.lbs. air rifles, the two very heavy pellets on

test, namely the 26.4gr Ultramag metal tip, and the 30gr H&N Piledriver, both have trajectory curves that drop faster than a granny on ice skates. The JSB Jumbo was reasonably accurate up to 20 yards, and certainly did the most damage, so would be a great pellet for shooting rats at ranges less than 20 yards, but surprise, surprise then, the best pellet on test was the domed head Sovereign

Rangemaster. It proved to be supremely accurate, with a the best trajectory curve and still came second-best in terms of ballistic damage. Yet again, it’s the domed pellet that has triumphed.

KEEPING IT LIGHT OK, so I hope you managed to stay with me for the sciency bit. I tried to keep it as light as I could, but I feel that to understand truly what’s going on here we do need

to have a reasonable grasp of the physics involved. As you can tell, I’ve got something of a taste for pellet testing and have plans for quite a few more articles, which will look at some of the more unusually shaped pellets, as well as comparing heavy .177 and light .22 to see which is best. The door is very much open, though, so if you can think of anything else you’d like to see tested, do write in and let us know. ■

All of these were from a .22 pellet. No wonder it’s so hard to choose!

Which pellet would you choose?

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TOP-VALUE GUNS: GAMO CAMO ROCKET Tim shooting the Gamo Rocket IGT Maxxim.

ROCKET

RAMMER !

Tim Finley tests a Realtree finished Gamo Rocket IGT MAXXIM amo have some neat guns out at the moment. I’m not so sure about the names, though; ‘Rocket’ brings to my mind spaceships or fireworks, but Gamo say the new Rocket IGT MAXXIM is named that way after the Inert Gas Technology which gives the gun its power, accuracy and

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laser-flat trajectories. That may apply to the USA versions because they pump out 1000 fps in .177, but we are governed by the 12 ft. lbs. rule in the UK so cannot benefit from such performance unless we go FAC. This is the first camouflaged rifle I have reviewed from Gamo.

The kit comes with a 3-9x40 W1PM Gamo scope.

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The ultra-strong synthetic stock is dipped in a Realtree Hardwoods Green HD pattern, it is ambidextrous, and the cheek piece is raised on both sides. I have to say whoever designed the stock did a good job. The gun feels ‘right’ and there are textured grip panels on each side of the fore end and the pistol grip.

LIGHTER FEEL The reason the Rocket feels so light is down to the barrel assembly, where the major part of the construction is super-tough polymer, with the steel barrel proper inset into the housing. The 376mm-long barrel has a muzzle brake permanently attached to it, and there are four horizontal slots on each side. The barrel also has grooves running along the length of it, which to be fair, cannot be to lighten it because the modern use of materials makes it light enough. The gun is sold as a kit with a

3-9 x 40 Gamo scope, complete with a one-piece mount, and I noticed that all the stock screws on the gun and the scope mount were Torx heads - all really ultra-modern stuff, as is the power plant.

GAS-RAM Gas-ram technology has been around for a while, and the Rocket IGT has a smooth, quiet cocking stroke - you need around 14kg of pressure to cock the rifle. The manual safety catch is situated right in front of the curved trigger blade, and pulling the small, curved lever back toward the trigger sets it on ‘safe’; push away from the trigger to fire. The gun is also fitted with an anti-bear trap device so the trigger cannot be activated when the rifle’s barrel is not locked shut, hence the manual safety, I suppose.

LOADING Once the action is cocked, and

GAMO ROCKET MAXXIM

The large, side-vented muzzle brake on the Gamo Rocket IGT Maxxim.

The synthetic breech showing the steel barrel liner.

you are still holding the barrel open, a pellet can be inserted into the breech, and when loaded and with the barrel shut and locked, the safety catch can be taken off. There is a handy ‘S’ and ‘F’ and an arrow on the left-hand side of the stock above the trigger to remind the shooter how the safety catch works, and this can simply be pushed forward with the trigger finger to take it off. The trigger pull measured in at 1.5kg and the gun is fitted with what Gamo call a ‘Smooth Action Trigger’ or SAT. The light-grey coloured trigger blade seems a little out of place, but in operation I found it very predictable and useable.

TECH SPEC

POWER RATING Over the chronograph, the gun gave an energy reading of 11.4 ft.lbs. with 9.7 grain 5.5mm lead pellets at 730 fps. The alloy pellets came in a bullet-shaped sample vial of 30. The Platinum PBA semi-pointed pellets are very shiny in appearance, and coupled with the gas-ram make the Rocket fairly consistent in velocity. The gun has the very familiar raised 11mm dovetail as seen on BSA air rifles. The scope is a 3-9x40 with a 30/30 reticle, basic but a perfect scope for hunting, and the Rocket IGT is a perfect hunting rifle, from the stock, the power plant, to the stock. The pull length of the stock was a bit

The safety catch in the ‘fire’ position.

Manufacturer Gamo Country or origin Spain Distributor BSA UK Ltd 0121 7728543 Model Camo Rocket IGT MAXXIM Type Air rifle Power Gas-ram Barrel length 508mm Overall 376mm steel liner

CRITICISM My only criticism is the length of the barrel. The steel liner is 376mm long, and I would have shortened it to 300mm to take 76mm off the barrel - it would improve the looks of the rifle no end. Accuracy at 30m was good at well under an inch. The stock has a shallow fore end, but has scalloped edges along the top for grip, and there are grip panels under the very cool-looking Realtree HD camouflage, one on each side of the pistol grip and also along the fore end. The ambidextrous cheek piece is a tad low, with the large riser scope rail fitted. The extra-thick rubber butt pad is a bit redundant, and the super-fast lock time of the gas-ram means there is not a lot to damp down. The pronounced curve on the back of the action picked out in gloss black is very BSA-Mercurylike. What I am not so sure of is the faux magazine bump in front of the trigger guard; why?

TRUE TOP VALUE

Calibre 5.5mm (.22) and 4.5mm (.177)

I have not mentioned the price yet - £199.99 for the kit it is more than top value. As a starting hunter, or even a first gas-ram for a diehard springer shooter, the Rocket IGT MAXXIM is a one to be put on any shortlist of potential rifles.

pellet Action Break-barrel Sights Optical only (Gamo 3-9x40 comes with kit) Trigger 1.5kg Overall length 1144mm Pull length 354mm Weight 2.8Kg

RRP £199.99

short for me at 354mm, but I still liked it; for left- or right-handers, it’s a real winner.

The Gamo Platinum PBA .22 alloy, semi-pointed 9.7 grain pellets that come as a sample in a bulletshaped vial with the Gamo Rocket IGT Maxxim.

POINTS OF INTEREST The camo pattern is a tad light for the UK but it’s a cool pattern, and the ambidextrous stock is comfortable too. ■

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MILEWSKI - BACK TO THE ‘60S

TRAPPED IN TIME John Milewski looks back to the 1960s and the Milbro G36

he Diana Model 27 we looked at last month was designated G27 by Milbro, and the rifle enjoyed an abundance of success throughout its long production run in Scotland. This month, we will take a look at a ‘deluxe variant of the standard G27. The G36 ‘Trapper’ was first mentioned in the October 1966 issue of Guns Review, when it was announced that Milbro Diana had just introduced it alongside the G34, which was a deluxe version of the smaller Model 25. The G36 was priced at £13.13s, and was offered in .177 and .22 calibre. Several new features were incorporated into the new G36, including a newly patented safety catch.

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NO-TRAP TRAPPER The plastic safety catch had been designed and patented in 1965 by Colin Fisher, who was later to become a company director of Milbro. The catch was situated on the right side of the trigger block, just above the trigger, and locked the trigger when set. With the safety catch set, Milbro explained that ‘bear trapping’ could not occur, should the trigger be

G36 seen here fitted with a contemporary Diana G29 telescopic sight.

had the word ‘SAFE’ stamped into the stock, to indicate the direction the catch needs to point for ‘safe’. I would have preferred to see a metal pointer, but its shape and function are both perfectly functional. In a way, it resembles the catch on a Lee Enfield service rifle.

THREE BLOCKS The G36 was also fitted with a ‘safety trigger mechanism’

axis pin to a stop and on the second pull (stage), the trigger blocks were released from the piston bent. Pull-off trigger pressure could be regulated via a screw accessed through the front of the trigger guard.

This G36 has a plain stock without cheek piece and is still accompanied by its original canvas cover.

NEW FEATURE Another new feature used on the G34, G36 and the Mk IV air pistol was a micrometer back sight, known as the G30. The plastic

“Milbro explained that ‘bear trapping’ could not occur, should the trigger be pressed accidentally at the time of loading” pressed accidentally at the time of loading. A plastic pointer faced forward when the safety was off, and rearwards when the safety was set. Some, but not all rifles

according to Guns Review. On cocking the rifle, three trigger blocks engaged with the bent of the piston rod. The first trigger pull caused a swing of the trigger on its

sight body could be adjusted for elevation by turning a horizontal wheel, which raised or lowered a metal plate with V-shaped sighting notch. A record of the sight’s

setting was easy to maintain because the adjustment wheel was numbered 1-10, and the number selected could be viewed through a circular window located

With its scope fitted, the G36 was a modernlooking air rifle during the late 1960s.

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MILEWSKI Simple hooded pillar foresight.

at the top of the sight. The back sight was dovetail-mounted to the top of the rifle’s breech, and could be laterally adjusted by carefully drifting it within its dovetail.

SIGHTS The ‘block’-shaped sight was a neat little unit, and if owners found the V notch too narrow, they could carefully open it out with a needle file. The foresight was also dovetail-mounted and therefore laterally adjustable by drifting. The

sight itself was a simple pillar enclosed within a long, steel tunnel shade. The top of the cylinder was fitted with a spot-welded scope ramp that had a unique arresting system to minimise scope creep. The rear of the mount and a point slightly more than halfway along had little ears machined into it, which were intended to prevent scope mounts from moving under recoil.

Fisher safety catch set to ‘Fire’. This G36 has an early pressed trigger.

The only numbers on the G36 are located on the butt. The central 66 is presumed to denote a manufacturing date of 1966.

STOCK OPTIONS The G36 was produced with both a plain beech stock, and another with a raised ‘Monte-Carlo’ comb. The rear of the butt was ribbed and a series of numbers stamped toward the heel of the butt. The numbers on the G36 are, 5 66 6, and it is generally assumed by collectors that the middle set of numbers are the year of manufacture, whilst one of the others refer to the month. No other numbers appear on the rifle

“this 50-year-old design is a very pleasant rifle to shoulder” and these numbers tally most of the time, with the odd anomalous rifle appearing now and then to cause confusion.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES According to Dennis Hiller’s, Air Rifles, the G36 weighed 6lb (2.720kg) and measured 41½ (105.4cm) inches long, with a 17¼-inch (43.81cm) barrel. Muzzle velocity was advertised as 700 fps for .177 calibre rifles. The Model markings on the cylinder and a rather clever scope ramp, complete with arrestors.

The neat back sight has a window display for the selected elevation setting.

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.22 calibre G36 I tested ran at an average muzzle velocity of 440 fps, with 1960s vintage Milbro Caledonian, but this decreased to 401 fps with Webley Lazapells. The latter were a tighter fit in the breech, but grouped better than all of the other brands I tried. Accuracy from the standing position at 6 yards was well under an inch, and there were no fliers, suggesting that the pellets were ideal for this particular rifle.

UNDERRATED The G36 is not often encountered today, and in my opinion, is underrated by collectors. Dare I say, the profile is more pleasing to the eye than the late ‘60s BSA Meteor, which would have been a close rival? The G36 has a few novel features not encountered on other air rifles, and with its low recoil, this 50-year-old design is a very pleasant rifle to shoulder and shoot. ■

AIRGUN STUDENT

REFLECTIONS AND RESOLUTIONS Our airgun student considers his year and decides where the next one will be going was thinking about everything I’ve learned during the past year or so since I began this ‘Airgun Student’ series, and specifically what the greatest single lesson has been. At first I thought about the individual skills I’ve worked on month by month, but I soon realised that there’s no real point in singling out any of those because efficient shooting relies on a chain of techniques working together. Messing up on any of the core skills breaks the chain and

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there goes any chance of consistent success. Then I really began to think about things and the answer became obvious, at least within my personal experience so far. For me, the most important thing I’ve learned is that the lessons go on forever.

TURNING POINT This fact was a genuine turning point for me, because previously I’d been under the assumption

that, once I’d learned, say, trigger technique, a particular stance, or how to read the wind better, that was it as far as learning goes. A bit of training now and again, plus plenty of time on the range, and everything I’d learned would be locked in, nailed down, and with me forever … or so I thought. I really couldn’t have been further from the truth.

WORLD CHAMP WISDOM Finding out just how far away I was from the real world of truly learning the skills I need, came not on the shooting range but in the gym, when I was training alongside a world champion. We’d sparred a few rounds and his

technique was incredible, yet he continually asked his trainer to check that he was doing the basics right. When we finished, I asked him why he was so worried about techniques he’d learned years ago and he said, ‘I learned ABOUT them years ago, but I’m still learning more about them every day, and now I know enough to know that I’ll never stop learning.’

NEW MINDSET There was a man, a world boxing champion, at the peak of his profession after years of dedication, training and total commitment, telling me that he was still learning and that he had plenty to learn, too. He also told

“I really couldn’t have been further from the truth”

We can all ‘re-run’ our shots back in our minds.

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THE YEAR AHEAD – AIRGUN STUDENT

I could throw a ton of leaves in the air, and I’d still struggle to read the wind!

me that getting the core techniques absolutely right was his foundation, and that it should be mine. He was talking about my boxing, but I knew then that this had to apply just as much to my shooting.

wind. Most of us would prefer to keep doing the things we’re good at, because easy success is much more fun than hard work and repeated failure, but that’s not the way to improve.

REVISIT, RETRAIN, REPEAT

FACE YOUR FAULTS

For 2017 my shooting training will be split between learning new skills and techniques, and revisiting what I’ve already started to learn, especially the fundamentals such as stance, breath-control, trigger technique and follow-through. I already structure my boxing training and my shooting training, so that stays the same, but within that structure there will be regular reviews of those basics.

WEAK POINTS Here’s an important point, and again it’s one I’ve also learned from my boxing training. It’s the importance of working hard at the things you’re not so good at, which for me is shooting from the standing stance, and reading the

Running away from the weak parts of our shooting changes nothing for the better, and actually leaves us less well prepared for when we have to use our weaker skills. The real way forward is to identify, with total honesty, those things that need fixing, then set about dealing with them. I’ve found that the best way to find out what’s wrong with my shooting technique, is to ask the editor of this magazine to study me as I shoot, and to give me his expert, totally honest, opinion.

PHONE A FRIEND Yes, I’m lucky to have Terry to point out my faults, but any shooting partner can do a great job for you, if you work with them. Terry’s a busy man, so I often use my young cousin, Sonny, and he’s

not a shooting coach, but he’s helped me to identify several areas I need to work on. Here’s how to do it. 1. Get your friend to video you on your mobile phone as you go through whatever shooting technique you think you might need to work on. If you can’t honestly think of a weak area of your shooting, have your friend video you as you carry out some core skills, such as the various stances, trigger technique, follow-through and transitioning smoothly from standing to kneeling, prone or sitting. 2. This bit is really important. If you’re filming a sequence that ends with you actually shooting at a target, you need to ‘call your shots’, and by that I mean speak out loud about where each pellet lands. For instance, say ‘low-left!’, if that’s where your shot struck, or ‘dead-centre!’ if your shot was completely successful. Make sure you use targets that show each pellet strike and speak loudly enough for your phone to pick up your result. 3. Once you have at least six sequences on video, have a rest and review them. Look for changes in how you carried out each shot, paying special attention to any flinches, signs of tension and movement of the rifle. Whilst you’re doing this, put yourself back where you were when you were taking each shot, and see if you can recall what you did to achieve the result you recorded, whether it was good or bad. 4. Keep videoing, stick with the analysis, and as I said, please be totally honest with yourself at all times.

Get your techniques on film for detailed analysis. It works!

One of my weakest links is the standing stance - so I’ll need to put the hours in on that. When you have your footage, study it carefully.

MIND OVER MATTER Even without a phone to record your techniques, or a friend to help you spot what you need to work on, you still have your ‘mental video’ that records each shot. So play back that recording and, again, be honest about what you see. If you keep analysing and keep working on those weak links, your shooting chain will become stronger and stronger. Have a great New Year, and I’ll see you next month. ■

Studying past lessons showed me how much work I still have to do.

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SI AND DAVY Si and Davy are out after rats with some nifty new NV gear hen up at Sandwell Field Sports (SFS), I noticed that the Yukon Photon night-vision riflescope had been updated and was now called the ‘XT’ model. Two years ago, my brother-in-law purchased the first Photon model, which impressed me when I’d used it whilst ratting with him. I looked through the new unit in the shop and was impressed with its picture quality in the daylight, so Tony Wall, part owner of SFS, said he would speak to Thomas Jacks Ltd (UK night-vision distributors)

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and see if they would be kind enough to lend their demo unit to Davy and I, to try in the field and see what we thought. Two days later, I received a call saying that a unit was waiting for us to pick up at SFS, and at the weekend I returned to SFS and picked up a Yukon Photon XT 4.6 magnification x 42mm model. Back at home, I mounted and levelled the scope and was immediately impressed with the look and feel of the NV scope mounted on my .177 Brocock Compatto.

EASY INSTRUCTIONS The instruction manual was easy to follow, and within 15 minutes I had chosen the reticle and colour that I liked the best from six digital reticles, and three colours

These rats had grown big and fat on expensive feed.

available. Five minutes later, I’d managed to use the one-shot zero function built into the unit’s digital menu, and had the rifle zeroed at 10 metres in my back garden. Luckily for me, I already owned an Aftermarket infra-red flashlight in the form of a T20 model, and so fitted it to complement the unit’s

SPOT-ON PHOTON!

We soon had the outfit perfectly zeroed - and it was time to do the business.

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on-board IR unit. Ready, and itching to get out in the field, we set a date for Davy and I to go and use the unit on one of my permissions where there is usually a good number of rats to control. The day quickly came around and we met at my pig farm permission, where we

.25 ON RATS

The Compatto/Photon combo proved itself first time out.

Never turn down a bonus rabbit!

finely zeroed the unit on a piece of ¾-inch plywood, at 31 yards, before taking a walk around in the dark to see what was about. TAKING A REST Using an adjustable five-foot camera tripod as our shooting rest, we checked two haystacks and a large pile of wooden pallets where we had shot rats in the past, but for some reason, on this night there were no rats in these locations. We decided to check other areas and at the back of the pig farm there is a 15-metre-long shed that is split iknto threequarters for machinery storage, and a quarter for baby pigs to live in. Not far away from it there’s a manure pile about 30 metres long, and whilst scanning within this area we noticed rats coming out of holes that had been dug into the older, crustier manure. We moved the camera tripod to around 30

It costs enough to feed these, so no farmer wants to support rats, too.

yards from the front of the heap so that we had a wider field of view along the front edge of the manure pile, giving us a better chance of seeing and shooting more rats.

SPOTTING AND SHOOTING With me spotting through my night vision monocular, and Davy shooting, the first two rats appeared from a hole to the

Magnum pellet toward a rat’s brain, killing it cleanly and rolling it onto its side, stone dead. Quickly. Davy cycled the Compatto’s bolt, and loaded another pellet into the rifle’s breech, and then three seconds later he sent a second pellet on its way to rat number two, striking it cleanly, rolling it down the muck heap and on to the concrete floor with just a flick

“we waited for the rats to run along a breeze-block wall” left-hand side of the pile and unaware that they had been spotted by us through the Photon, they set about feeding in the muck. Davy steadied the Compatto and XT on the camera tripod, and lined up the red digital reticle before squeezing the rifle’s trigger and sending a well-aimed Bisley

of its tail.

into a pig feeder.

BONUS RABBIT Next, we moved to look down a gap at the back of a long haystack where we have shot rats in the past and we spotted a rabbit at an estimated 35 yards away. I rested on a fence, picked my aim point and squeezed the Compatto’s trigger, flipping the rabbit into the air before it landed on its side, cleanly dispatched. It’s not common for me to go ratting and come home with a bonus rabbit for the pot so I was really pleased.

SWAP BACK

JOB SWAP At this stage, we swapped over and I took over the duties of the shooter. We wanted to rest the manure pile and give the rats time to come out again, so we moved to the machinery shed where we waited for the rats to run along a breeze-block wall where polystyrene sheets were stored. The first rat showed itself within one minute and sat on the wall at about 12 yards away, so I had time to place the reticle on its head before knocking it to the concrete floor. On hearing the shot impact the baby pigs grunted loudly, causing another two rats to jump up on to the wall from somewhere lower down within the pens, and pause to smell the air for danger. I fired, quickly reloaded and managed to knock over both rats, one with a head shot and one with a heart and lung shot, and they both fell dead,

At this stage, we swapped over duties again and went back to the manure heap where three rats were now out, happily feeding. Resting on the tripod, Davy tracked the first rat in the Photon until it stopped to feed, then he placed the reticle on the rat’s head and steadied the shot. It took less than five seconds before a dull bark was heard from the rifle and the rat rolled over on to its side. On hearing the impact, the other two rats started to run and one darted down a hole, out of sight. As sometimes happens though, the other one stopped to sniff the air just that bit too long, so Davy sent a Magnum to its head putting it instantly to sleep. At this point, we picked up the rats and called it a night, knowing that the farmer would yet again be happy with our results – and so were we! ■

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AIRGUN WORLD

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MICK GARVEY

“how distant the TV programmes we watch are from the reality” Only the holly bush provides cover here now.

Mick Garvey’s home from a visit to the U.S. – and he’s raring to go y already high octane enthusiasm for our sport recently felt like it had been fitted with a supercharger after my recent trip to the USA to visit my brother Richard, his lovely wife Michelle and a few friends. My first destination was Michigan, then on to Virginia to check out Smith Mountain Lake and meet up with some friends of my brother. Ken is a builder who lives on his own farm with hundreds of acres, which I have been invited to shoot on during my future visits. Ken was very interested in my airgun shooting activities back here in the UK, and I found

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myself correcting a few misconceptions regarding the quarry available, and the regulations relating to the ‘seasons’ for certain species. Without doubt, his main target species was the immense population of deer and we actually got to see a huge 12-pointer buck, but unfortunately I didn’t have my camera, only the iPhone, so the photo is not a particularly good one. My biggest surprise was the amount of road-kill deer that I saw whilst travelling, probably more than I’ve ever seen alive back in the UK. I also saw groundhogs, skunks, black squirrels, red fox squirrels, and

even a bald eagle whilst in Virginia, but unfortunately, no bears which would have topped off the few days there perfectly.

GIVING THANKS Our next destination was Kentucky, for Thanksgiving with Michelle’s family, and the journey is one I always enjoy because we go through areas where tourists generally don’t travel, and meet the people from towns and villages who don’t see many tourists. Talking to them makes you realise how distant the TV programmes we watch are from the reality. It seemed that every house had well-developed trees in

the garden, and just about every tree had a squirrel drey at the upper levels, many more than we see in the UK, which got me thinking about how I’d love to tackle these skinnys with my FX Impact. So, with a great 10-day holiday behind me, and a long journey home, my thoughts were set on the forthcoming weekend and how I was going to tackle the now native greys that had invaded our shores many years ago. I hadn’t shot the land for nearly a month now, and I anticipated that the cold weather and windy conditions would have stripped the last of the leaves from the

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MICK GARVEY

Kentucky skinny.

trees, giving both sides a clearer view of their adversary, so once more stealth and subterfuge would be the order of the day.

NO JETLAG! This is the first time I’ve returned from the USA and not suffered with jetlag, and I’m putting it down to my excitement toward getting out to the fields, so just a couple of days after my return, I was carrying out my ritual feeder filling. Every one was topped, but it would be another day before I could get back because I’d been honoured with the job of witness to my good friends, Nick and Liz, from Blades and Bows on their wedding day, and to be quite honest I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else on this special day with these great people. The day started early and we didn’t wave goodbye until quite late that night. You couldn’t wish for a nicer couple and I wish them all the happiness for the future. Sunday arrived bang on time, as usual, and I was in place well before 8am. The first two feeders hadn’t been touched, which caused my heart to sink, but then it lifted when I checked the next three - all had been half emptied, and the same was found at the next two locations. Today would be a good day. The sun was shining and it wasn’t too cold; the pigeons were also moving around and I would have preferred a little more breeze to keep them moving, but who am I to complain?

THE IMPACT’S BACK I had recently received my FAC-rated, high-power Impact

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back from FX Airguns after a couple of issues with damaged ‘O’ rings and the valve sticking, mainly due to it being an ex-demo item, so as you can imagine I was extremely keen to get my first session with the sorted Impact under way. My first shot was a long-range pigeon at just under 80 yards, and with the Airmax’s cross hairs set square between the shoulders, the .25, heavyweight pellet, launched with 40 ft.lbs. at the muzzle, hit with a nice thud and the woodie dropped motionless to the leafy ground below with another thud. I wasn’t going to break cover to retrieve the woodie because I had already spotted squirrel movement just beyond my main feeder area, so it would only be a matter of time before they arrived.

The very impressive 12-point buck on a less-than-impressive phone photo.

FOUR ON THE FLOOR It’s really easy to spot the greys in the treetops now, and keeping as still as possible is a must to get them into your kill zone. Not one, not even two, but four – yes, four adult greys came bouncing up to my feed zone and I felt quite confident about getting most, if not all of them. There’s always one that arrives before the others and this one was treated to a 25grain JSB for its last meal, whilst one of his associates just watched him kick out for a few seconds. The other two were playing chase, up and down a beech tree, but before they realised what was going on, the watching grey had been dropped. This brought about an abrupt halt to the fun and games, but they

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The great bald eagle.

MICK GARVEY: BACK AND LOVIN’ IT!

only stopped and looked down from their tree. I easily loaded up without taking my eye from the scope and the third one fell to the crunchy leaf carpet, and number four took off like a rocket and I thought that was it, but no - just five minutes later, it reappeared to my left, slowly creeping up toward one I’d shot earlier. I was keeping low and belly-crawling, so shot placement was difficult, but the grey would have to lift its head sooner or later and when it did, it was lights out for number four.

POPULAR LOCATION It was time to move to my next feeder and I had to check my eyes because there were five woodpigeons feeding on the loose feed. All but one took off before I got a chance to get the Impact shouldered, but the remaining pigeon took a 34-yard headshot that saw it fall without any drama at all. So, would all this activity scare off the squirrels? Not a chance. I had only just retrieved the woodie and settled down behind my natural hide when high up in the treetops the unmistakable movement of squirrels making their way toward me had me holding my breath. There were at least three, and I

couldn’t help asking myself how many I could hope to get this time. Well, I only managed two, but I was more than happy with that. Another four pigeons took my totals to six apiece, and time was getting on. I was more than happy with the day and decided to get some photos before I started to lose too much light.

A BIT WEIRD With the Impact on one shoulder and the camera on the other, I was watching a feeder that I had seen a grey flee from earlier, when one popped up from a hollowed out tree trunk, giving me a great chance of some photos of it feeding before deactivating it. It then went a bit weird. I had the Impact shouldered, the squirrel lifted its head and started chattering, and then a magpie came buzzing through the woods just above my head and landed in the tree where the squirrel had now taken up residence. Bewildered, I let the gun down to view the area, and movement directly in front me brought me face to face with an adult fox, about 15 yards away. Trying ever so slowly to get the camera up for a photo, ended up with the fox legging it and no photo, but on

“movement directly in front of me brought me face to face with an adult fox”

New ones required, I think.

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Pre-fox appearance.

The Michigan skinnys stash the walnuts then take them into the open to eat.

the plus side the squirrel was still chattering away - not for long, he soon fell to the Impact and my total was now seven.

CRUNCH … CRUNCH … CRUNCH Missing that photo was really playing on my mind and I’ve

decided to set up a couple of trail cameras to take care of this for me, so I’m hoping that some interesting pics will be coming our way. I was packing everything away and almost ready to hike back to the Hilux when I heard the unmistakeable crunching of leaves underfoot. I held station

and as I decided which way it would come toward me, I slipped the mag’ back into the action and slid the lever forward as the crunching got closer. A few hops, then a pause, then a few more hops, and then it appeared in front of me. Normally, I can lift the gun so slowly that it doesn’t alert

“it’s always nice to travel, but it’s great to be back home”

The holly berries are still a main food source.

Not a bad day at all.

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the tree rats, but this little fella was alert and was up the tree like lightning; it wasn’t hidden, though, and at around 45 yards and slightly upwards, I had a clear shot on its sweet spot, and that was number eight and a wrap for the day. Well, as they say, ‘it’s always nice to travel, but it’s great to be back home.’ I’ve got some time to make up, now, and you can bet I won’t be wasting a minute of it. See you next month, and have a great New Year! ■

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UMAREX BOYS CLUB: THE SMK CP1/M

CP’ING IS BELIEVING!

Matt Brooks says the SMK CP1-M is a high-performance bargain he CP1-M comes in an almost pistol-shaped box, with a polystyrene insert that holds the pistol nicely in place. There’s plenty of information and paraphernalia on the exterior of the box to indicate key points, like the calibre, that it’s Co2-powered, and its ‘claimed’ 5.5 ft.lb. power. The rear of the box shows you an almost-to-scale picture of the CP1 along with more key points; its adjustable rear sight, adjustable trigger, and wooden grip. The SMK CP1 is well made and a bargain for the price. It has a lovely, chequered grip, a sturdy palm shelf, and the wood feels solid, which is something you’d expect from a pistol worth twice as much, and it’s easy to hold even if you have small hands, like me. If I had one criticism about the grip it would be that it has no contouring for fingers, which could be easily implemented and would improve feel. The grip is held securely to the action via two screws, one to the front of the trigger guard and one to the very rear of the grip, running horizontally into the action.

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THE ACTION Moving on to the action of this pistol; the trigger is a solid, silver affair with a decent amount of width on it which helps with feeling every movement of your shot. Unfortunately, it’s just a single-stage trigger, although it can be adjusted to remove some of the travel before it releases. Rumour has it that these pistols were designed with a two-stage

trigger in mind, but for whatever reason, they were finally produced as a single-stage version with the facility to adjust. Why? Who knows?

BREECH The breech is where the singleshot and multi-shot versions differ slightly. If you opted for the single-shot version, you’ll have a fixed breech and bolt; pull the bolt

back and a groove is revealed for you to sit your pellet in, then slide the bolt forward and the pellet pushes home ready to shoot. If you opted for the multi-shot version, you are left with a slightly different affair. Due to the magazine having more depth, you have the option to slide in a single-shot tray if you’re not using the magazine. The tray raises the breech slightly to bring it level with

CP1-M with its lovely chequering.

The palm shelf does its job.

You can see the calibre clearly.

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UMAREX BOYS CLUB Tremendous value and terrific Single-shot tray fitted. performance come as standard.

The magazine lies close to the sights ...

... although it can be rather fiddly to use, until you get used to it.

the bolt and probe, and then the same method is used as mentioned.

MAGAZINE As for the magazine, I found it a slightly fiddly design. You must twist the clear plastic cover all the way around clockwise, until you hit the stop, but don’t let go, otherwise the spring tension will release and it’ll ping back around. You then load a pellet in it from the rear, skirt first, and once this is

done it holds the tension on the spring, so you flip it over and rotate the plastic cover back, one by one, each time loading a pellet into the magazine the correct way - head first - until you are fully loaded. This then slots into the breech via the grooves and is held in place by way of a rare-earth magnet, which although pretty strong, there is a small amount of play. You need to ensure that this sits lined up, to avoid damaging your pellet probe, pellets or

magazine. I find it far easier, quicker, and potentially more accurate to use the single-shot tray and load pellets manually.

SIGHTS There is a set of fully adjustable rear sights that can be altered for windage and elevation. This is paired up with a fixed front, metal foreblade which is non-adjustable. The barrel of the CP1 is 210mm or 8.25 inches in length, which is not so small that accuracy drops

off, and not so long that it loses its pointability. Just below the barrel is the main tube of the pistol, which houses the hammer, valve and hammer spring, along with the Co2 capsule toward the front. To load a Co2 capsule, simply remove the cap on the front, slide a capsule in and screw the cap back on until you have it fingertight. At this point, we’re ready to start shooting!

SHOOTING

The accuracy of this pistol is truly impressive!

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The CP1-M has the potential to shoot really well, and accurately, but it’s slightly let down by the trigger. This can be fixed easily, though, and I’ll touch on it later. Apart from that, and when the trigger is sorted, this pistol shoots flawlessly. One thing to notice is that his pistol does not have a safety, so always make sure it’s only loaded when you’re ready to shoot.

COCKING Cocking the bolt feels solid and gives a positive click as the sear engages the hammer. Sliding the bolt forward pushes the pellet into the breech and loads the pistol. Because the CP1/M is designed as a target pistol, I believe it is intended to be held one-handed, so using a normal two-handed grip

Once knocked out, the trigger will slot out from its position. On the top of the trigger you’ll see a grub screw and I advise taking this out and putting it in the opposite way. This grub screw makes contact with the sear, and in its current position there’s a large surface area of contact, so we want to reduce that to give it a lighter feel. If it is flipped over, the other side of the grub screw is domed and has far less contact with the sear, which should make it feel better and lighter. Screw this out more than usual to remove travel on the trigger, but don’t wind it out too much otherwise the sear won’t engage. At this point, I’m also hoping you purchased one of John Small’s trigger kits. This consists of a new, longer, spring guide and

“The gun is fitted with a relatively powerful spring” can feel uncomfortable because of the palm shelf getting in the way of your ‘second’ hand. From the factory, the trigger pull is very long until you hit that release point, but due to having an adjustable trigger, this can be adjusted to how you like it. The noise from this pistol is very reasonable and I find it quieter than some of my other Co2 pistols. I do know that there are people who can make silencer adapters for these, so adding a silencer could help to reduce the noise even more. With a steady hand and some practice, these pistols can be capable of 5p-sized groups up to 10 yards, and although I’m not that good, I’ve seen examples of this being achieved.

TRIGGER MOD Out of the box, the SMK CP1 has an adjustable trigger. This can be sorted by removing the grip via the two aforementioned screws and pulling it away. You will then be presented with the trigger block, which contains the trigger itself, the sear and the sear spring. With the uncocked and unloaded pistol pointing to the left you need to knock out the lower left pin, which holds only the trigger in place.

top hat, and a brass lug to sit over the second trigger pin. John Small can be found on Facebook if you wish to purchase kits.

FITTING THE TRIGGER Firstly, fit your trigger back in place by doing the above in reverse. Now you want to look at knocking the pin out to the immediate right of the pin you removed in the last step. This will remove only the pin, and the trigger and sear will remain in place. Place the brass lug in the trigger frame and slide the pin back in place, through the lug to reduce the travel and play in the trigger and give it a solid feel, with no creep whatsoever.

FINAL THOUGHTS If you’re looking for an entry-level, target-style pistol, I’d definitely recommend one of these. They are very affordable and accurate and offer a good insight to precision shooting on a budget, before moving up to a far more serious shooter. Every time I shoot mine. I’m liking it more and more, and the better I get to know the pistol and the way it shoots the better I become with it. For around £90 new, you really can’t go wrong, so go and get one now! ■

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FIXING THOSE WET WEATHER WOES

1. Years of shameful neglect!

WET WEATHER RESCUE ! 2 E K A T Dave Barham shifts his TLC attention to caring for his kit

ast month, I got a right royal soaking whilst out in the field. Having gone through how I stripped my rifle to dry and clean it, this month I’ll explain how I dealt with the scope, a tin of waterlogged pellets and my muddy boots.

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A BIT OF BOOT CARE I have owned this pair of 5.11 Tactical Winter Taclite boots for over five years now, and I’ve only ever washed them twice! I use them for pretty much all of my outdoor activities, whether it be hunting, boat fishing or rock fishing, so they take an awful lot of abuse. After getting caught in last month’s deluge I decided it was time to give my trusty boots some TLC, so I popped down to my local camping shop and picked up a tin of black dubbin. Here’s how I went about restoring my favourite footware.

The first step was to give the boots a thorough washing outside to remove all the mud and years of encrusted salt residue. You can use a medium firm brush to help get into all the nooks and crannies. With the boats soaking wet, I left them near (not on) a radiator inside the house for 48 hours, to ensure that they were completely dry. It’s very important not to place the boots too close to the heat source because this can cause the leather to crack.

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TAKING THE RIGHT STEPS

Whilst my boots were still warm, I warmed up the boot dubbin by placing it near the radiator for half an hour. You can use a hairdryer to do this if you have one. I opted for this Leder-Gris brand (that’s the dubbin, not the hairdryer), after researching it on the Internet. It’s available in brown and clear too, so all you camo boot boys and girls needn’t worry.

What a state! These boots have hardly been touched in five years. They often get a thorough soaking whilst I’m fishing, but I think it’s time I showed them the respect they deserve.

Next, I applied a generous amount of dubbin to a cloth and rubbed it into the boot using a circular motion. If your boots are as unloved as mine, I suggest you

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2. Wash off that mud and crud.

5. Apply generously, vigourously and repeatedly.

3. Close, but not too close, or they’ll crack.

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6. Before and after.

4. My warmed dubbin, ready to use. Just add elbow grease.

A good tip is to leave the boots for an hour to allow the leather to absorb the dubbin fully, and then buff off with a dry cloth.

do as I did and repeat this process two or three times for maximum protection. You can see how much effect this dubbin has on the leather. The boot on the right has had a good dollop of the stuff massaged into it, compared to the boot on the left, which is yet to be treated.

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ots C has my bo -overdue TL Some long for another session. ready to go

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DAVE BARHAM SORTING OUT THE SCOPE

1. Get yourself a lens care kit.

Having been amazed at just how much rainwater had worked its way into the inner workings of my rifle, I knew I had to give my scope some attention as well. A quick glance at each end showed me that there was plenty of water clinging to the lenses and other parts, so I grabbed my trusty camera lens cleaning kit and set to work. I didn’t remove the scope from its mounts on this occasion because I’d only mounted it recently, and I’d used a good dollop of grease on each of the screw threads, so I was pretty certain that no water could have found its way in there. I’ve had this camera care kit for quite a few years now, and it’s the perfect set of tools for cleaning and maintaining my rifle scopes. There’s a soft cloth, cleaning fluid, a Co2 blower, lens pen and even lens protecting fluid in there.

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I removed the turret caps and used a cotton bud to soak up any droplets of water I could find. I was amazed that even with the rubber ‘O’ ring seals at the base of the caps, water still managed to ingress.

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I did the same with the lenses at each end of the scope, where large droplets of water had collected. I also used the cotton bud on the mounts and screws.

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The next job was to clean the lenses of the scope with a soft cloth. This removed the last of the moisture, and also helped to clean the glass at the same time.

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3. Take care when cleaning those lenses!

2. Caps off, cotton bud to the rescue.

“Now my scope is crystal clear and ready for action”

To be sure that I got the very best clean possible, I then gave both lenses a gentle going over with some proper lens cleaning fluid and a soft cloth. This removed any additional dirt and grease film that the water had left behind.

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Last, but not least, I gave both lenses one last treatment with the alcohol-based cleaning fluid, but this time using a cotton bud. Now my scope is crystal clear and ready for action.

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4. Use a proper lens cloth - gently.

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5. Lens cleaning fluid - top stuff.

6. Final touch to finish the job.

WET WEATHER RESCUE – TAKE 2!

4. Anointing a fresh paper towel with oil.

5. Time to coat the dry pellets. 1. The rain even seeped into my pellet tin!

MY POOR PELLETS! Once I’d stripped down my rifle and sorted out the scope, I was just about to hang up my jacket to dry when I heard the tin of pellets rattle in one of the pockets. As I opened the tin I was amazed to see that some rainwater had seeped into it, and there were my trusty .22 pellets having a little swim! I didn’t want to be wasteful and bin them, so I set about drying them off and ensuring that they stayed in tip-top condition.

HERE’S HOW Would you believe it? The rain came down so hard that it battered its way inside the tin of pellets. If I hadn’t noticed this, they would have certainly ended up in the bin.

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The first job was to tip the pellets out onto a soft cloth to help absorb the bulk of the moisture, then to dry the tin out with some paper towel. At this point, you can use a hairdryer to ensure that the pellets are bone dry, but living with a ‘no maintenance’ girlfriend, we don’t have a hairdryer in the house!

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Once I’d removed most of the moisture with the soft cloth, I tipped the pellets onto a paper towel and gave them a gentle shake to remove any last remaining water molecules.

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Next I tipped the pellets into the oiled paper towel, and gave them all a gentle shake to coat the pellets. Doing this ensures that the lead doesn’t oxidise with the air.

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So there you have it, a good handful of ‘rescued’ pellets, all shiny and new. Let’s hope I get to use them in the near future.

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EASY DOES IT Caring for your kit, or rescuing it after exposure to the elements, isn’t difficult and most of us

should do more of it – and that definitely includes me. It’s the old ‘ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’ thing in action, and as far as our kit goes, it’s absolutely right. Most of the gear we use these days is capable of giving us years of top-quality, unswerving service, but it always helps if we apply a bit of TLC when required. Right, that’s enough of rescuing my kit; it’s time that kit rescued me from going stir-crazy. Roll on the next outing for me, and a happy New Year to you! ■

Once I was sure that the pellets were dry, I added a few drops of light oil to a fresh paper towel. This is the stuff I use in my fishing reel bearings; it’s really good quality and very thin.

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2. A soft cloth absorbs the moisture.

3. From the cloth to a paper towel.

6. Recue complete!

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HARDMAN’S HUNTING

Summertime means plenty of hiding places, for both hunter and quarry.

IT’S OUT WITH

THE OLD … … and in with the New Year’s hunting plans for Phil Hardman ell, we’ve said goodbye to 2016 now, and we’re all ready to see what 2017 has in store. I hope all of you had a nice Christmas and New Year, and that Santa was kind, especially to any of you who had asked for any airgun-related pressies. At this time of year, I begin to look forward, planning what I will be doing throughout the coming months, into the spring and summer, and even as far ahead as next autumn. Hunting follows nature, and nature follows set patterns; the sun always moves south, bringing winter, and just as it does, it also always moves north again, crossing back over the Equator

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and bringing summer with it. Because the seasons are set annually, everything else tends to follow, even the behaviour of our quarry species. In order to predict what they will be doing and when, I need to look back at the past year, and even further back, to see what they were doing at certain times each year, so that I can use that to decide what I will be doing; I can be ahead of the animals, instead of always playing catch-up.

HUGE ADVANTAGE This gives me a huge advantage in the hunting field, setting up ambushes, and cutting down on days spent frustrated, looking for

No matter how long I waited, the winter woodies were nowhere to be seen.

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hunting opportunities, when instead I can spend my time making sure that I am in the right place, at the right time. I used to keep diaries, each kill, location, date, time, weather, wind direction and strength. This meant I only had to look back at a date to know exactly what I was doing on that day the previous year. These days, I don’t bother to keep a diary. After two decades, it’s pretty much set in my mind, but every year changes. They might follow a pattern, but no two are identical, and that’s when looking back and carefully thinking about the past year can really help you to see subtle differences, and predict correctly what lies in store.

DIFFERENT TIMES This time last year, as in previous years, I spent late autumn and early winter hitting woodpigeons in their winter daylight roost, in one of the old woodlands on my permission. The winter flock always uses this wood, and despite difficulties in getting into range with so many wary eyes and such little cover, I still enjoy some fantastic sport by ambushing them as they arrive, at first light. This year, I have been waiting and watching intently for their arrival, spending many hours over several days sitting in the biting cold, or driving around the land looking for any sign of them, but for the first time in over 20 years, they simply

The lush green cover of summer provides the perfect environment to stalk woodpigeons in the woods.

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HARDMAN’S HUNTING - THE YEAR AHEAD

By harvest, I get the chance to enjoy some pigeon decoying, something I look forward to every year.

Long winter nights mean plenty of winter night hunting.

“You become part of the night in the most natural way possible” aren’t there, they aren’t anywhere, they have simply vanished! I have no real idea of why they haven’t come to their usual winter resting place, but trees that always have hundreds of pigeons sitting amongst their branches, stand bare and undisturbed, and for the first time ever, I’m completely stumped as to why.

FAVOURITE QUARRY I’ve studied woodpigeons for most of my life; they’re my number one quarry species, and one of my favourite creatures on earth. I’m no ornithologist, but there isn’t a great deal I do not know about the life cycle and behaviour of Columba Palumbus. After all, the more I know about an animal, the more efficient I become at hunting it. They have obviously found somewhere better to be, and given the time of year, I can rule out

breeding grounds, so it’s either shelter, or food. What that doesn’t solve is how the birds knew not to turn up here on this one particular year, and instead form up as a flock elsewhere. Why didn’t the birds that hadn’t yet found this new place, come to their usual winter haunt first? Did someone send out a memo? I have no idea how the message was conveyed to the entire pigeon population in the area, but it has been, and as a result I have not seen a pigeon in the wood for weeks.

after dark. Lamping rabbits after fresh snowfall is a very special treat, because you don’t actually have to use any light source to illuminate the bunnies. Instead, they stand out as dark silhouettes against a white background, which enables you to experience nocturnal hunting in its absolute purest form, seeing the world how a fox might. If being at one with nature is your thing, you really have to give it a go. You become part of the night in the most natural way possible.

COLD START

NO-SHOW SNOW

2016 began with a cold snap that brought a flurry of snow with it in mid-January, which I had been hoping for, and this meant I was out after dark for rabbits, which I am hoping will happen again this year. I adore hunting in the snow, either during daylight hours, or

Last year, the snow didn’t last, so I only got one chance to enjoy it before turning my attention back to the woodies in the wood, and then on to rat shooting in the farmyard, which kept me occupied until spring arrived. The rabbits started breeding early last

Things get busy very quickly as spring arrives.

year, in response to the warm winter, which gave me a warning to expect a higher than usual population increase as spring moved towards summer. I started hitting them hard from the get-go in order to increase the level of control and prevent them from taking over and causing more damage than the landowner finds acceptable. This meant not only targeting any adults I could find, but taking the kits as well. With not a shred of mercy, I took as many as I could, using night-vision after hours, and then switching to daylight and dusk raids as soon as the breeding season got into full swing and the rabbits became increasingly visible above ground during the day.

MIXED BAG It was around this time that the woodies began pairing up to breed, and were hurriedly building nests in the hedges and trees that line the fields, so I began targeting those at the same time as the bunnies, which resulted in some nice mixed-bag days. As the weeks passed, the ratio of rabbits to woodies in my bags changed. Pigeons became increasingly common as the crop fields matured and I began to prioritise them before they could fledge chicks, in order to cut down on the amount I would have to deal with at harvest time. With the woods full of lush green cover, I find its the perfect time to stalk pigeons hiding in the upper branches, using their breeding calls to pinpoint their location before moving into range and trying to pick them out up

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amongst the leaves. Once harvest time did arrive, in late summer, I dedicated every minute of my free time to tracking woodies, to see which fields were attracting the greatest numbers, so that I could decoy them as soon as the fields were cut and get the maximum number of birds possible per session. I didn’t break any of my personal records, but I did manage quite a few days when I scored well into double figures, even hitting a half century on one late-summer’s day.

ATTENTION TURNED Before long, the stubble was ploughed in and the pigeons had moved on, so I turned my attention back to the rabbits as autumn approached. I had a few final sessions out in the fields and hedgerows, mopping up any stragglers, before switching to the woods in order to take full advantage of the falling crops from the beech and oak trees. This bountiful time always attracts grey squirrels and woodpigeons in large numbers, with jays, jackdaws and even crows, often attending at the same time, it makes for a really exciting time to grab some easy mixed bags whilst the woodland creatures are preoccupied with their feeding frenzy before winter hits and starvation becomes a real risk. This usually lasts a month or

more and takes me right through late October and most of November, before the fallen crops have been exhausted and the trees are bare. By then, we’re usually into December, so I tackle any rats that have moved in to seek warmth in the farm buildings and then think about hitting the winter flock of woodpigeons, completing my year.

DIFFERENT PROSPECT That was last year, and already 2017 is starting to look like a different prospect, as mentioned earlier. Unless the pigeons turn up soon, I will have to find something else to busy myself with until spring arrives, although the rats in the yard are always a reliable fall-back if I find myself with no

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don’t repeat them again. The thing is, simply spending the last hour sitting thinking about this stuff, remembering what I did and when, might save me many

“Grab a pen and a piece of paper, and get to work!” other options. One final thing I like to do as I prepare for the year ahead, is to remember my failures one last time before I put them to bed. Any misses that stick out, days when I got it totally wrong, anything I didn’t do, or could have done, or shouldn’t have done maybe, whatever it was that I could have done differently. I try to figure out why I made the mistakes I made, so I can learn from them and make sure that I

Mixed bags of pigeons and rabbits see me through most of springtime.

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By midsummer, most of my hunting is done around the horse paddocks, targeting rabbits.

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frustrating hours out in the field, which I am sure to be thankful for when it pays off later in the year.

SUCCESS IS A MINDSET Not many hunters mind spending money on things that they believe will enhance their effectiveness in the field, but the reality is, most of the real difference isn’t made in a gunshop or scouring the Internet and spending money; it’s made in your mind, and it costs you nothing to get the most from it. Study your quarry, study your land and the relationship the seasons and weather patterns have with the animals on the land, and I promise, not only will you become a more proficient hunter, but you will also have a wider understanding of nature in general, and gain even more knowledge to put to use in future

seasons. Being a hunter isn’t something you do, it’s something you are; it’s a mindset, and all the kit in the world will not work if you don’t use your most efficient hunting tool, your brain.

LAST QUESTION One last thing I’d like you all to do, is to answer this simple question: Which species will you most likely be targeting in late August, and where? If you knew without thinking about it, good job. If not, maybe it’s time you started keeping a diary, or at least a mental review of your past few years. Write down what you hunted and when. Look through old photographs, Facebook posts … whatever it takes to help you work out what you were hunting and when. See if a pattern emerges that might help you to plan ahead for this year. Getting ahead of your quarry gets results way more effectively than any other thing I can think of, and it costs you nothing at all, so what are you waiting for? Grab a pen and a piece of paper, and get to work. You never know - this could be your best year ever! ■

A quick visual check will tell me if a burrow is in use, or not.

CLOTHING

SMOCK THE DIFFERENCE Phill Price reports on Jack Pyke’s new Argyle smock mong shooters who venture out in any weather no matter how foul, there is a cult that revolves around smock-style jackets. Their champions describe the ultimate weather resistance and the many benefits of the long design, including keeping your legs dry as the rain pours down. There are a few smocks on the

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“it feels like it could take some serious punishment and come back smiling”

market and to be honest, I haven’t really liked them because they were missing some basic features. As I put on any new jacket, the first thing I do is to shove my hands in the pockets - and some smocks have none. Jack Pyke wisely chose to include two chest pockets and two lower cargo pockets on its new Argyle,

ensuring that you have plenty of carrying capacity. These are all closed with waterproof zips.

TOUGH The shell of the smock is made from a tough triple layer, 100% polyester brushed tricot and feels like armour. It’s not the softest or quietest fabric I’ve tested, but it

feels like it could take some serious punishment and come back smiling. A laminated waterproof and breathable layer is backed by a mesh that allows sweat to evaporate and pass through the membrane to help keep you dry. On that subject, the neck zip is very long so that if you find yourself overheating, you can ventilate the jacket, letting hot, damp air to escape. I find this very important to overall comfort. Tightening or loosening the waist draw-cord also helps to control warmth. The cut is pleasantly loose and I felt no restriction across the shoulders when mounting the rifle or stepping up and over obstacles. Some smocks can act like a lady’s pencil skirt, badly restricting movement, but I had no such trouble with the Argyll. The hood is removable and has well-designed cord adjusters to get a sensible fit that keeps the weather out whilst letting you see properly.

CHOCOLATE BROWN Colour options are moss green, or the chocolate brown seen in the pictures. I own a hill of green clothing, and quite enjoyed the brown as a change. It seemed just right in the browns of the woodland floor and being brushed, seemed to blend into the shadows nicely. It’s not the cheapest jacket in the Jack Pyke range but it feels like one that will last well and offer excellent performance all along the way. Smock lovers: there’s a new jacket to add to your ‘must see’ list. ■ RRP £175.99 www.jackpyke.co.uk

As the rain fell on our photo shoot, my legs stayed dry.

Being able to adjust the hood’s fit is vital for practicality.

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SPRINGERS

A TEKNO

Phill Price tests the gun shop favourite £199 springer combo have a friend who owns a gun shop and I always ask him what he thinks about the latest superguns and if they’re selling well. With a long sigh, he always tells me that the way he makes his living isn’t from the latest BSA, Air Arms or Daystate. It’s from the chap, perhaps with his son, who comes in on a Saturday morning with £200 in his wallet. He doesn’t know all that much about them and doesn’t read the magazines. He just wants an airgun. The shop will sell five or six such rifle packages most weekends, and that’s how they keep the lights on. It seems that £200 is a threshold for many people coming into the sport, and often, they’ll get a scope and mounts thrown in. All

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they need to add is a gun slip and some pellets and they’re shooting. Break-barrel springers still dominate this part of the market because they can be made relatively cheaply, and they’re

scope and mounts. It’s a long rifle at 47” and feels like a very manly model. This is no junior’s rifle, that’s for sure. Perhaps the feature that grabs your attention first is the Quiet Tek silencer, which is like no

“Perhaps the feature that grabs your attention first is the Quiet Tek silencer, which is like no other I’ve seen” simple and reliable too.

NICE PACKAGE Just such a rifle package is the Beeman Quiet Tek on test that, as the name suggests, includes a silencer, alongside the 4 x 32

other I’ve seen. It appears to be part of an over-moulded barrel sleeve that flares radically from the barrel diameter to some 1¾” around the muzzle. Along the length of the barrel sleeve there are flutes, and these continue and

This is a full-size adult gun, for sure.

The compact 4 x 32 scope was bright and clear.

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are exaggerated along the sides of the silencer. They add grip to the area you grasp to cock the rifle, adding security to your hold. Away from this, the rifle appears very conventional, with its long, slim, hardwood stock that shows no chequering or cheek piece, and is ambidextrous, of course. A small, oval Beeman badge on the left side above the trigger guard is the lone embellishment. The length of pull is the industrystandard 14½”, which surprised me, because the rifle felt longer than that. A neat, rubber butt pad finishes it off. The fasteners that attach the fore end to the action are unusual, being slightly domed button-head bolts that have two small holes to accept a driver tool.

SPRINGERS

TWIST!

“I noted that despite the obvious spring noise, the Quiet Tek did seem quiet for a rifle of its type”

I’ve never seen a silencer like this, but it appears to work.

I found no matching tool in the box, nor any reference to them in the manual. I guess the right sized 90° circlip pliers might get the job done.

TRIGGER TIME The trigger blade has a broad face with a pattern of squares impressed upon it. Directly in front of this is the automatic safety blade that moves back for ‘safe’ as you cock the action, and is pressed forward to get ready to fire. I like this very much because

you know from the second you reach for the trigger whether or not it’s on, and it can be left on until the very last second before firing. It also disengages silently, which is something that hunters will appreciate. As is the norm for rifles in this class, the trigger was on the heavy side and had a long second stage, and it took me a while to get used to it. I know that rifles designed for beginners shouldn’t have triggers that are too light, though.

Cocking was smooth and quite light, which I imagine is partly due to the long (19½”) barrel and silencer combination. The barrel arc stops not much beyond 115°, suggesting to me that this rifle has had its stroke shortened to suit our 12 ft.lbs power limit, and is probably offered at a much higher power setting in other countries in the world. SMK sent me a tin of their excellent Thunder Field Target Trophy pellets, which in .22 calibre weigh 14.66 grains. The average muzzle velocity was 570fps, which equates to 10.58 ft.lbs, and I’d expect this to rise a little as the rifle beds in, yet you’ll The automatic safety tab is right in front of the trigger blade.

TECH SPEC Manufacturer Beeman Importer SMK Ltd Web www.sportsmk.co.uk Tel 01206 795333 Model Beeman1153QT Type Spring-piston Action Break-barrel Trigger Two-stage adjustable Length 47” Weight 7.3lbs

RRP £199.99 still be safely on the right side of the power limit law. There was a good deal of dieseling for the first 100 shots or so, which confused the chronograph as the smoke accumulated inside the housing, but after that the rifle seemed to settle down. The firing cycle was quite energetic and it’s always hard to tell just how well a silencer works on a spring-piston gun because most of the noise comes from the action and that’s right under your ear.

CONSISTENT Shot from a bench rest, off very soft cushions, I was able to get consistent 1¼” groups at 25 yards, and these should tighten with more experience. The 4 x 32 scope was bright and clear, and the reticle well defined. I noted that despite the obvious spring noise, the Quiet Tek did seem quiet for a rifle of its type, so perhaps that big silencer helps after all. If you’re looking for a £200 all-in package, then take a look at this one and I’m sure you’ll like it as much as I did. ■

Cocking was smooth and easy.

I was happy to see a recoil arrestor bolted to the scope rail.

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KIBWORTH Shooting Ground & Gunshop

Situated in 25 acres of rural Leicestershire, Kibworth Shooting Ground and Gun Shop is run by shooters for shooters and provides unrivalled Airgun facilities

Dedicated Airgun Facilities with ranges from 40 to 85 yards Coaching and Training for all levels of experience We now offer 12 months interest free credit on all Daystate Rifles!

Kibworth will be having a clearance sale on selected Airguns and Shotguns from Jan 15th to Feb 28th 2017 keep an eye on our web site for details We have a wide selection of new and pre owned airguns, Scopes and other accessories. A wide Selection of demo air rifles are available for you to try before you buy. Our staff are all experienced shooters on hand to advise and assist you in getting the Right package for you. We offer finance on all purchases over £500.00 Opening Closed Monday Tuesday to Saturday – 9am to 5pm Times: Sunday 9am – 3pm Open until 8pm on Thursdays - May to October Prices: £5.00 for a Member, £10.00 for a non member (stay for an hour, stay for the day) Airgun Membership starts from £25.00 per year

Kibworth Shooting Ground & Gunshop Main A6 Harborough Road, Kibworth Beauchamp, Leicestershire, LE8 0RD Tel: 0116 2796001 Email: [email protected] www.kibworthshootingground.co.uk

Yummies Café offers me als, snack s and drinks, an d our Rec e ption has a com fortable seating a rea.

DR FINLEY stopped manufacturers continuing to make the cheek pieces far too low, in many cases. It’s the height of cheek pieces and the effect on head position and parallax that causes the most missed targets in HFT, as we all now know, and along with that, real-world hunting.

THE PA SCOPE OPTION Always go for a parallax adjustable scope for hunting, and if you get the chance to alter it before taking a shot all the better – it’s easy with a side-wheel – or set it at your average hunting distance. An average setting, as we use in HFT, means that error will creep in if your target is not at the distance to where you have set your scope parallax.

CHANGING STYLES

I won the European FT championships with a multi-moveable FT stock.

THE CHEEK OF IT!

There’s more to parallax error than meets the eye - says Tim Finley

t’s not only the type and specification of scope that affects parallax error. The design and size of a stock has an effect on head position, and therefore parallax error, too. How a rifle fits you, or more accurately how your body relates to the rifle, has a massive influence on a shooter’s ability to hit a target. When you look at the very simple, almost crude, stocks on air rifles from the 1900s to the late 1960s, they are all geared around open sights, few having any regard to real stock fit and comfort, they were just handles with which to hold the rifle. It has been relatively slow in coming that stocks are now made with the use of telescopic sights in mind, driven by pre-charged pneumatic rifles not even having the option of open sights, of course. Although this has not

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We have seen the styles of stock change over the years in Field Target shooting, from the basic hunter stocks of that FT started with in the 1980s, which were just hunting guns with standard stocks. The first rifle I ever used on an FT course was my Webley Vulcan and this had a stock made to be perfect for the open sights it came with. Even my first ‘proper’ FT rifle, a Weihrauch HW77, came with open sights, which you had to drift (hammer off ) the front sight come barrel latch and fit a whole new front end with a simple ball bearing catch. The standard HW77s in those days came with a slide-along button for the under-lever, which was fiddly to use with a thick glove on the forward hand. I started out with a thick, workman’s leather glove, not a 10m target glove because they were very expensive then, and even harder to get hold of. These days, top-end FT rifles have Robocop-style metal chassis’, with massive - and I mean massive - amounts of adjustments. That’s not to say hunting gun stocks have stood still. No sir, they have moved with the times and with shooters being more and more discerning and wanting to get the best out of themselves, we’ll see adjustable butt pads and even adjustable cheek pieces making their way onto standard stocks. You can add neoprene cheek pieces, or

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DR FINLEY: HEAD POSITION AND PARALLAX

This stock was way too short and it benefitted by having the cast set to the left.

adjustable butt pads, to existing wooden stocks with no hassle these days, and the difference it makes is worth all the effort.

PAD SHIFTING In FT, I move the butt pad for kneeling shots, and for high and low shots, with marks on the side of the body of the butt pad, to allow me to get it back to the correct place. I use the fingerfriendly knob for adjusting it, with the marks written upside down so that I can read it from the top of the rifle. For high shots, the butt

pad/hook goes up, and on low targets the hook goes down. It will seem weird at first, but the pad going up drops the gun lower at the back, thus bringing the barrel up naturally. It makes it more

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alter anything, but the design of the butt pad you use can help you. Try not to have a really dished butt pad for HFT because this restricts your ability to slide the rifle up and down in your

This FT rig has too many adjustments to count.

The long SKP cast-metal butt pad allows me to slide the rifle up and down the shoulder to compensate for high and low shots. Now we have started on stocks in earnest, we also need to

“we’ll see adjustable butt pads and adjustable cheek pieces making their way onto standard stocks” comfortable to shoot and keeps the head upright, again, helping to combat parallax error.

NO ALTERATION IN HFT I know that in HFT you cannot

You can alter the same action so much with different stocks and scopes.

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Moving the butt pad up makes it easier to shoot uphill.

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shoulder to compensate for angled shooting positions. Having it set perfectly for prone, with big ends top and bottom of the pad, will hurt your standing and kneeling positions.

look at levels on guns. Tune in next time for the low-down on setting up a level on a gun, and how it can help you to hit more targets. ■

FOLLOW-UP TEST

RAIDER OF THE

The editor concludes his test on the Webley Raider 12 Classic The Webley Raider 12 Classic - therapeutically efficient.

very rifle I’ve tested, and that’s a fair old few during three decades of doing this job, has had its own personality. Some are more distinctive than others, but there’s always a trait or two that defines every airgun. With the uniformity in performance of modern air rifles, this ‘personality’ thing becomes ever more memorable, and the Webley Raider 12 Classic is the perfect example. This latest Raider comes across as a dignified modern sporting gentleman, with nothing of the

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upstart or oik about it. It’s not flashy – well, the gold trigger blade is a tad bling, but that’s forgivable – and my first impressions of understated style have held true. You see, the way a rifle looks actually changes in accordance with its performance over time and testing, and not-so-pretty guns can impress the eye a whole lot more, when they put on a fine show downrange. The Raider 12 Classic hasn’t flattered to deceive, either, and whilst it’s like every product on this planet, in that it isn’t perfect,

there’s so much about it to admire. After a mad month, when equally bonkers publishing schedules dictate that testing has to be done in the first and last hours of daylight, and sometimes during the night under floodlights, the calming presence of this rifle has been a genuine blessing. Lately, I’d been so busy that I had lost the art of using my precious shooting sessions to relax and replace the real world for a while. At its best, shooting is therapeutic, and the Raider dispenses therapy with every shot. As stated, it isn’t perfect, so let’s study what a month’s worth of up-close and personal has revealed.

RAIDER STOCK REEXAMINED First, I still like that comparatively simple stock. It has enough depth in the fore end to house a supportive hand, with more of the same just ahead of the trigger guard should I fancy adopting a more targetised stance. Last

“my first impressions of understated style have held true”

At home in its natural environment, the Raider is a top class sporter.

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month I suggested that a thumb groove at the rear of the grip might help the Raider’s handling, and I have to declare myself right on this. Such a groove would locate the shooter’s thumb, and with it the palm, followed by the trigger finger. In fact, I’m so keen on the idea of this thumb groove, I’d definitely have one custom carved to suit my preferred grip. Whilst I was at it, I’d also commission my standard gun-fit cocktail of an adjustable butt pad and cheek piece, plus a suitably stylish palm shelf. Such an investment would be returned in full, too, and the Raider’s performance deserves our full backing.

COLD COMFORT This rifle isn’t complicated, internally or externally, and the test sample has ticked along without a hitch or a glitch. It had the luck of the weather gods going for it, mind, and for once we avoided a soaking throughout the entire test period. The Raider certainly felt winter’s chill, though, and that alone can affect the performance of an air rifle. To test the effect of prolonged exposure to sub-zero winds, I left the Raider in the teeth of a biting north-westerly that arrived at the edge of my woodland test range early one morning, after coursing across 200 yards of lake, which chilled that wind still further. Two hours of negligence, whilst I was shooting the subject of this month’s Editor’s Test, saw the .22 Raider’s muzzle energy drop from a fully run-in 11.5 ft.lbs., to 11.2, for just two shots; then it was back up to speed. This is a hunting rifle and as such will be exposed to extremes of temperature, so I considered this a worthwhile exercise, which the Raider passed with distinction. I built a fire after I’d finished testing for the day and considered toasting the Raider to see if it bloomed as a hothouse

THE WEBLEY RAIDER 12 CLASSIC

LOST ART flower … but I fell asleep in my fishing chair and by the time I woke up, the fire had gone out.

ACTION POINTS The sidelever system around which the Webley Raider action is built is fast becoming the industry standard for pre-charged pneumatic hunting rifles. The low-effort cycling and forward position of the lever handle allows the shooter to reload the rifle

that most modern, high-level PCPs are head-butting the peak performance envelope, with pellet quality and compatibility now the main limiting factor, behind the shooter of course. The groups these rifles are returning when tested under wind-free conditions simply can’t keep getting smaller. The Raider on test, and many of its kind, will group pellets inside 20mm at 45 yards and beyond. The real deal is bringing that level

“well made, accurate, reliable, easy to use and affordable” without losing sight of the target. Quite how often this aspect of Raider ownership will become a practical advantage, only further time will tell, but cycling shots doesn’t get much more assured. The same goes for charging the Raider with air and using its 12-shot removable, rotary pellet magazine. Overall, this rifle is easy to use, easy to run, and every bit as easy to shoot to a pleasingly high standard. Full marks on user-friendship, Webley.

of performance to bear under real-world hunting conditions. It’s there; as ever, we just need to make full use of it.

VERDICT My woodland range is still offering

TECH SPEC Model: Raider 12 Manufacturer: Webley Country of origin: Turkey

me the full, three-dimensional options list where targets are concerned. I have pine cones, in the trees and on the ground, dead branches, white enough to show every pellet mark, and even the occasional outcrop of toadstools to test my sequence shooting. This latest version of the Raider is light enough to be fast and handy in the aim, whatever the angle, and sufficiently weighty to bring stability to those vital few seconds before the trigger is pressed. This highly effective balance occupied the Webley team for quite some time but they’ve got it just right. The Webley Raider Classic is well made, accurate, reliable, easy to use and affordable. I’d be happy to add this rifle to my hunting armoury, and now I know where to go when I need some essential shooting therapy. ■

It’s an understated sporter - well, apart from that shiny trigger.

Type: Pre-charged, multi-shot, sporter Calibre: .22, .177 Cocking: Sidelever Loading: Via removable, rotary 12-shot magazine (14-shot for .177) Trigger: 2-stage, adjustable Stock type: Ambidextrous Turkish walnut Weight: 3.4kg (7.5lbs) Length: 1000mm (39.4 ins) Barrel: 533 mm (21ins) Fill pressure: Max 200 bar Shots per charge: 80 in .22, 60 in .177 Variation over 50 shots: 14 fps for .22 on test Average energy: 11.5 ft.lbs. Contact: Webley on sales@ highlandoutdoors.co.uk Tel: 0845 099 0252

£527.99 Freezing day, gusting wind, but at 45 yards, the Raider’s accuracy was impeccable.

ACCURACY REPORT I’d be extremely surprised to test any .22 sporter that returned better accuracy at realistic ranges than the Raider 12 Classic. I’ll qualify that statement with the fact So easy to cycle.

A thumb groove would locate the trigger hand perfectly.

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TECHNICAL AIRGUN

Dieseling is probably the natural state for my old HW55S, and many similar vintage airguns.

What is ‘dieseling’, can it damage your airgun, and do springers rely on it for muzzle energy? Jim has the answers. he term ‘dieseling’ has been coined in airgun circles to describe the autoignition of vapour given off by the cylinder lubricant during the compression stroke, and is taken from the name of the inventor of the diesel engine, Rudolf Diesel. In the diesel engine, a very fine mist of diesel fuel oil is sprayed into a cylinder, and the fuel/air mixture is compressed, raising its pressure and, importantly, its temperature, and when the temperature is high enough, the fuel/air mix ignites, burns, and creates energy to drive

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the piston. A dieseling spring airgun is strikingly close in the way it works to a diesel engine, but with important differences. In the airgun, there are no injectors, no fine mist of fuel, but in place there is a very small amount of fumes from cylinder lubricant, which has only the tiniest fraction of the potential energy of the fuel in a diesel engine cylinder, so while the diesel engine can power the largest machines, the diesel effect in a spring airgun cannot even arrest the forward motion of a

piston weighing a couple of hundred milligrams. Many people fondly imagine that a diesel in a spring airgun generates a significant amount of energy that drives the pellet up the barrel, just as a diesel engine drives a piston down a cylinder, but the very small amount of energy created by dieseling in the spring airgun is insufficient to be much help in pushing the pellet. Dieseling can undeniably increase muzzle energy in some circumstances, though, so how does that work?

MIKE WRIGHT Many years ago, it was widely accepted that a degree of dieseling had to occur if spring airguns were to achieve reasonable muzzle energy, and a leading airgun manufacturer decided to explore designing an airgun to harness diesel energy by injecting a fuel into the cylinder. One of the company’s importers in an overseas market, though, was not convinced that spring airguns

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DIESELING

needed to diesel to achieve the desired muzzle energy, and commissioned the late Emeritus Professor Mike Wright’s university department of engineering and applied science to prove or disprove the theory that all spring airguns needed to diesel if they were to achieve 12 ft.lbs. Mike stripped the airgun and had its components cleaned using ultrasound to remove all traces of lubricant, set the rifle up to produce 12 ft.lbs., shot it, and had the contents of the barrel tested in a mass spectrometer, which revealed that there were no products of combustion, meaning nothing had burned in the cylinder of a spring airgun producing 12 ft.lbs. That finally laid to rest the myth that spring airguns depended on dieseling, but did not address the question of

how dieseling could increase muzzle energy. Mike’s answer was that the diesel produced a spike in the rising air pressure and temperature sufficient to get high start pressure pellets moving earlier in the stroke, so that the piston and pellet were traveling in the same direction for a longer period of time, giving the pellet more time to accelerate to a higher velocity. When dieseling raises muzzle energy, it does so by improving the energy transfer efficiency from the spring and piston to the pellet.

temperature itself. The most commonly used cylinder greases (well, actually, they’re piston seal greases, but tiny traces are wiped off onto the cylinder wall every time the rifle is cocked) have a mineral oil base, thickened with lithium soap and supplemented with molybdenum disulphide powder to increase the lubricative power. This perfectly describes the greases used today to lubricate the CV joints in car transmissions, and in fact. many people nowadays buy grease intended for CV joints specifically to use in their springers.

DATA SHEETS Some manufacturers of CV grease publish safety data sheets online, and these reveal that the greases have flash points in the range of 165C to 230C, with

The first sporting airgun with a synthetic piston seal, the Feinwerkbau Sport, did not have to rely on dieseling.

The higher start pressure pellets (top row) can gain from dieseling, the low start pressure pellets (bottom row) almost certainly cannot.

autoignition temperatures between 260C and 354C. Let’s look at which happens inside the cylinder of a .177” spring airgun during a compression stroke when a grease in the mid-range of flash points and autoignition temperatures is used as lubrication. The flash point of 200C would be reached

roughly 72% into the total available piston stroke - 61mm in an 85mm long cylinder, at which point the air pressure would be around 80psi. At this point in the stroke, the pellet has yet to move. The autoignition point of 307C would be reached at 83.5% into the stroke, at which point the air pressure would be 164psi. At this

An advancing of pellet start in the compression stroke through dieseling becomes more desirable, and less avoidable, the shorter the available piston stroke

FLASH IN THE PAN There are two key temperatures in the spring airgun diesel process, and the first is what’s known as the ‘flash point’; this is the specific temperature at which the grease within the compression volume gives off the vapour needed for dieseling. The second key temperature is the autoignition

This shows the recoil and surge generated by a diesel and a detonation. Only the detonation can damage mainsprings.

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TECHNICAL AIRGUN The flashpoint, autoignition point and suspected detonation point in the piston stroke.

effects of dieseling; couple the short stroke with the high start pressure pellets of the time, and it’s little wonder that people thought dieseling was essential.

WHAT’S THE DAMAGE?

point, a .177” Falcon Accuracy Plus or a .177” Air Arms Express, both having very low start pressures, would already be on the move, and so their energy efficiency would be unaffected by the diesel. At the other end of the scale, a .177” RWS Hobby, which has a start pressure in the region of 600psi, would start to move at an earlier point in the piston stroke due to the elevated air pressure caused by the autoignition, be traveling in the same direction as the piston for longer, and so gain considerably in energy efficiency. The above would explain why, in an experiment in which I deliberately set up a spring airgun to diesel, 7 grain RWS Hobby gave

significantly higher muzzle energy than 7.3 grain Falcon Accuracy plus, but with the rifle dry and unable to diesel, the Falcon gave significantly higher muzzle energy than the Hobby.

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE At the time when everyone was convinced that dieseling was necessary for the spring airgun, there were none of today’s low pressure start pellets, characterised by very thin and soft skirts that deform and seal at low pressure and, although I am not aware of anyone carrying out pellet start pressure tests at the time, it seems probable that the theory actually held good for

many, possibly the majority, of pellets available at the time, because most if not all had high start pressures and would have gained from autoignition. An advancing of pellet start in the compression stroke through dieseling becomes more desirable, and less avoidable, the shorter the available piston stroke. One of the top airguns of the time was the Weihrauch HW35, which had a big bore (30mm diameter) cylinder, but only 65mm of available piston stroke, which limited the time that the piston and pellet were traveling in the same direction. The HW35 also seems to have been the test bed for many experiments into the

For many years, people believed that dieseling had the potential to damage spring airguns, with spring damage - collapsed coils or breakages - often being attributed to dieseling. The reality is that in the short term, the pressure and temperature increases attributable to a diesel burn are too small to cause any damage, though long term, the front face of a synthetic piston seal can become scorched (brown). As for spring damage, well no; springs do suffer coil collapses, but not as a direct result of dieseling. What can and will damage mainsprings in short order is a phenomenon that people often confuse with dieseling, but which is in reality rather different, and that’s detonation. When people suggest that their airgun has detonated, the chances are that

I learned my lesson, which is, with new cylinder lubricants it pays not to be a pioneer

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DIESELING Thanks to its self-lubricating piston seal, the Webley Vulcan could produce good muzzle energy without dieseling.

Pellets of the 1980s were all high start pressure, and could all gain muzzle energy from dieseling.

engineered, and one which I’ll explain shortly. The advice from Webley was to run a few drops of their own brand mineral oil down the transfer port, periodically. Dieseling was inevitable.

what really happened was that they inadvertently dry-fired the rifle, and took the very harsh feel of the shot cycle, and the loud crack from the muzzle, to indicate detonation instead of a dry-fire.

DELIBERATE DETONATION I once set out deliberately to make an airgun detonate, and eventually succeeded through a combination of a very high start pressure and very heavy pellet, in combination with an extremely beefy mainspring necessary to generate the huge pellet start pressure, and a volatile substance in the cylinder, and the shot cycle was in my experience, unique. Following a very quick recoil, courtesy of the

I used my Anschutz 335 to create the detonation because the cylinder was already scrap.

monster mainspring, the rifle surged violently forward as the piston was driven a long way back up the cylinder, suggesting that the detonation occurred very near, if not at, peak cylinder compression. This means that whilst the rear end of the spring was still expanding, the front violently started compressing, and where the two wave displacement fronts met, the wire would be under barely tolerable strain. Detonation will wreck mainsprings, but please don’t have nightmares, because detonations are far rarer than most people believe. In over 50 years of shooting springers, the only detonations I have ever known are the one I deliberately

CYLINDER LUBRICANTS Not everyone uses common or garden moly lithium grease for piston seal (and hence cylinder) lubrication, and enthusiasts are often seduced by new ‘super’ lubricants that appear to promise non-dieseling performance, but some have hidden drawbacks. The last time I decided to give the then latest ‘super lubricant’ a try was in the 1980s, and the lubricant comprised PTFE particles in a carrier that was supposed to evaporate. The carrier only partially evaporated, and the residue caused the other detonation I mentioned previously. I learned my lesson, which is, with new cylinder lubricants it pays not to be a pioneer. It seems some people are trying to avoid any

possibility of dieseling by using dry cylinder lubrication, most commonly by polishing dry molybdenum disulphide power onto the cylinder wall. In my recent tests into piston seal friction, I found that dry molybdenum did nothing to lessen piston seal kinetic friction, which means that more of the kinetic energy from the expanding mainspring turns into kinetic energy (heat) in the seal instead of the air so that, to maintain muzzle energy, more spring energy is needed.

CONCLUSION In summary, dieseling can increase the muzzle energy with high start pressure pellets, especially if used in an airgun with a short piston stroke, and dieseling should, in itself, not cause any damage to the mainspring. ■

Leather piston seals could hold enough oil to provide a steady feed of ‘fuel’ and, with old seals, it usually shows.

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TECHNICAL AIRGUN I have tried surrounding the cylinder with freezer blocks to simulate using it in freezing temperatures. It doesn’t work.

Jim makes a significant discovery regarding spring airgun, cold weather, pellet point of impact shift

TIPPING POINT y experiments into spring airgun, cold climate, pellet point of impact (POI) shift have been going on for nearly three years, and each year I have been thwarted by the winter weather, which has been far too mild to cause any significant POI shift! I’m writing this in late November 2016, following an early autumn in which grey squirrel food hoarding - burying mainly nuts in the ground to dig up for consumption during winter - had been little short of frenetic, which made me question whether the little greys were preparing for a long and/or cold winter. The squirrels may have known something that the met. office didn’t, because mid-October produced the first morning with air temperature hovering around

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zero, cold enough to cause POI shift, and it was with a seal I’d designed specifically in the hope of not shifting POI when cold! The shift was around a third of the widely-reported inch at 30 yards, but at 7mm, it was enough to take pellets outside a 15mm kill zone, and so unacceptable, certainly for HFT shooting, which was the intended use for the seal, and totally unacceptable for hunting. That seal had powered somewhere between 7,000 and 9,000 pellets during spring, summer and early autumn, giving very consistent velocities and without a hint of POI shift even after I’d heated the rifle up to 40C, and tested it down to below 9C, but at around 0C, it caused the pellet POI to shift.

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LITTLE ATTENTION

I’d originally sized that seal to be a fairly easy sliding fit (the sliding friction was around 8N) in a workshop temperature in the mid-teens and, although I had not measured the friction at 9C, it felt pretty much the same, so I paid it little attention, which subsequently proved to be a mistake. The POI shift was accompanied by an increase in velocity of 20fps, which took the muzzle velocity to within a whisker of the legal limit, so I needed to ascertain whether or not the velocity increase was due solely to the low temperature. With the rifle acclimatised to the workshop’s 9C, the muzzle energy returned to the 11.4 ft. lb. at which it had previously been set. To be certain that the problem was piston seal shrinkage, I

needed to measure friction at or below 0C but, with no more freezing mornings forecast in the immediate future, my only hope was to take control of the seal temperature with the aid of a deep freeze.

DEEP FREEZE You’d think that chucking a piston, seal and cylinder into a deep freeze, sealed in a plastic bag, would allow you to see what happened to seal friction at sub-zero temperatures, but there is a problem, which is that the instant you remove the assembly from the freezer and expose it to warmer air, condensation starts to form, so you draw back the piston, condensation forms on the cylinder wall from the warm air you’ve drawn in, and that moisture

COLD WEATHER POI SHIFT

The ‘O’ ring may be just as susceptible to the cold tipping point as any other seal.

almost instantly becomes very slippery ice, which naturally reduces sliding friction. The amount of water vapour that air can contain depends on

it dropped like the proverbial stone, even with the transfer port blocked, so there was zero friction. Had the seal been in the rifle, the muzzle energy would have

friction, giving the piston greater initial acceleration, raising muzzle energy while, the critical bit, altering the point in the recoil cycle at which the pellet exited sufficient to cause the 7mm POI shift. Somewhere between 0C and -20C, the piston seal’s diameter reached a tipping point at which its diameter was less than that of the cylinder and it consequently no longer sealed. This would give very rapid initial piston acceleration, but as happens with a seal that’s been sized to less than the diameter of the cylinder, a combination of the seal lip inertia, which would encourage it to splay out, and what cylinder pressure there was, which would squash the seal so that it expanded laterally slightly, would mean the seal would start to do its

During that first very cold shot, the seal would have gained heat from friction during the latter part of the stroke, plus some from the hot compressed air and, if another shot was quickly taken, the seal would have expanded minutely and the muzzle energy would climb, and again, and again, in a succession of shots

LESSON After investing many months in testing my seal, the conclusion is that it performs perfectly well in all but near freezing temperatures, which is hugely disappointing but, like any other experiment that does not go according to plan, it has provided useful information. The most important consideration for the piston seal of a spring airgun that’s likely to be

“The squirrels may have known something that the met. office didn’t“ the air’s temperature, and as air cools, it becomes denser, so there is less volume for water molecules. The solution was to place the piston and cylinder assembly in a plastic bag long enough to allow the piston full travel in the cylinder, so that I could test the friction inside the bag without exposing the components to warm, moist, air. The temperature inside the deep freeze was -20C, which very few of us in the UK will experience, let alone go shooting in. I raised the piston in the upright cylinder and let it go, and

plummeted, but when the POI shift occurred at nearer 0C, the muzzle energy had been elevated, so how do we interpret this?

TIPPING POINT Piston seals increase in diameter and become a tighter fit as their temperature rises, and shrink and become a slacker fit as their temperature falls. In most cases, the muzzle energy will reduce as the seal becomes tight, and increase as the seal fit eases. At just above zero, the seal had shrunk to a size that greatly reduced its static friction and its initial sliding

job at some point into the piston stroke. The muzzle energy would be greatly reduced by the loss of swept volume and reduction in effective stroke, and the pellet exit point in the recoil cycle would alter greatly, potentially causing a huge POI shift.

used in very cold temperatures is that the seal lip maintains full contact with the cylinder wall at the very lowest expected temperature, which will avoid having it go over the tipping point. That will, of course, mean that the seal will be a tighter fit at higher At temperatures down to 6C, my piston seals behave impeccably.

A couple of hours in the deep freeze cooled the cylinder, piston and seal to -20C.

If you try to simulate sub-zero rifle temperature on an above-zero day, everything instantly gains a covering of ice!

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»

COLD WEATHER POI SHIFT Target shooter or hunter, always acclimatise your rifle, then check zero before you start shooting.

temperatures, which usually translates into lower muzzle energy, begging the question of how to achieve an all-weather spring airgun.

CLIMATE CONTROL One option would be to have summer and winter piston seals,

It’s well worth keeping a thermometer in the workshop when velocity testing, to see if temperature is affecting velocity.

cold weather pellet POI shift is the ‘O’ ring piston seal which, by virtue of being very thin in section, expands and contracts with temperature far less than the much thicker cross section parachute seal. I have never liked the idea of using o rings as piston seals, mainly from the results

Somewhere between 0C and -20C, the piston seal’s diameter reached a tipping point at which it no longer sealed the former being sized a fraction smaller, and to swap them during spring and autumn according to temperature. An easier solution would be to size the piston seal so that it does not reach tipping point in the coldest conditions, and fit a number of 2mm spring preload washers on the spring guide, the number of which can be increased in summer and decreased in winter, to maintain the same muzzle velocity as the piston seal swelled in summer and shrank in winter. One much-vaunted solution to

when a friend experimented with them many years ago and found that they had a tendency to self-destruct unless they ran ‘wet’.

O RING SEALS BSA used ‘O’ ring seals in the 1980s, but I know of no other manufacturer who used them in production rifles, and that’s strange, because ‘O’ rings cost a fraction of the price of moulded parachute seals, and for every one of the major airgun companies’ production managers to have resisted calls from the

As temperature falls, the seal eases and muzzle energy rises until the tipping point is reached, and muzzle energy plummets.

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accountancy department to use the cheaper option suggests that the manufacturers have identified issues with ‘O’ ring seals. Before an airgun from a major manufacturer goes on sale, or before a significant modification makes it into production, it will normally have been thoroughly tested either to destruction, or to between 10,000 and 30,000 shot cycles, whichever comes first. My suspicion is that the lack of production springers with ‘O’ ring piston seals is one of longevity; the seals do the job well, but don’t last

the course, or possibly are high maintenance and need frequent re-greasing.

SUSCEPTIBLE Recent developments suggest that the ‘O’ ring can also be susceptible to reaching the tipping point at sub-zero temperatures if sized to be too easy a sliding fit in warm conditions. This is manifest in a reported reduction in muzzle energy of 3 ft. lb. at -2C, and if a string of shots is taken, the energy climbs as the seal warms, exactly like a conventional synthetic seal. Perhaps the solution to cold weather POI shift will be to design a more conventional ‘parachute’ seal with a much reduced cross section, so that its outer diameter varies less with changes in temperature. That will require a slight modification to the piston, and that’s where my experimentation is going next. For now, my best advice is to keep an eye on muzzle energy in cold conditions, and reduce spring preload if you need to reduce muzzle energy. Also important is to acclimatise your rifle before you zero and use it and, when zeroing, allow a minute or so after each shot for any heat gained by the piston seal to flow into the cylinder wall and end. ■

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WALTHER CLASSUS ON TEST I had so much fun with those open sights.

“Some airguns just make you want to pick them up and start playing with them”

DIFFERENT

CLASSUS! The editor revisits his roots – via a bang-up-to-date springer

’ve said it before, and here I go saying it again, but some airguns just make you want to pick them up and start playing with them. Obviously, we mature, serious types don’t ‘play’ with our rifles and have fun with them; instead, we explore their capabilities and assess their potential. Of course we do. That’s precisely what I was doing, recently, when I took the new Walther Classus for a quick wander through my winter woodland range facility. Initially, I set off on a mere familiarity trip, where 50 shots or so would have me in tune with the rifle’s trigger function, stock geometry and general shooting manners, after which I’d turn on my heel, head back to the car and fit a scope for the test proper.

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That didn’t happen. I was mooching for over two hours, using the Classus’ open sights, and getting thoroughly reacquainted with a level of shooting enjoyment I thought I’d left behind decades ago.

OPEN OPTIONS Let’s get something straight; the Walther Classus isn’t designed to be a ‘fun gun’. It’s a full-power, full-length, high quality, German made, spring-piston sporter, that has a fully-chequered, ambidextrous, Minelli stock, a Walther barrel that has been threaded for a silencer, and an extremely smooth action. It also has a set of excellent adjustable open sights fitted. Yes, it has those open sights that led me astray, but it’s all grooved up for a scope, and

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99% of Classus owners will fit one immediately. I didn’t do that, and I’m glad I explored the open option, because I learned a lot and had a ton of fun doing so.

OVERVIEW The Classus contrives to appear both modern and traditional, depending on the viewpoint of the observer. The design is full-on sporter, from the sleek lines, through the curve of the action end cap, all the way to the continental curve of the top line of the cheek piece. Then, tradition gives way to a contemporary take for the chunky trigger blade and guard, the graphic status marks for the safety catch, the solid radius of the cocking link and that threaded muzzle, with its knurled protector. I prefer the more

traditional bits, but then I’m a product of traditional times.

IMPRESSIVE FINISH This is a pre-production prototype but having been to Germany and studied the Classus at source during its development, I can confirm that what you see here is what you’ll get. The metalwork pre-finish and finish is genuinely impressive, as is the smoothness of the action, during its cocking cycle and the way it shoots. A Minelli stock represents something of a statement, these days, and although there’s nothing visually or ergonomically remarkable about this example, it’s extremely well made and carries acres of perfectly-cut chequering at the grip and fore end.

WALTHER CLASSUS ON TEST

Modern styling isn’t my thing, but the trigger function is fine.

The rearsight is a good thing - and that hinge bolt means this rifle is built to last.

The Classus is, indeed, designed for the ‘serious’ end of the spring-powered sporter market, and it’s priced accordingly, with a yet-to-beabsolutely confirmed RRP of around £300.

CONSISTENT ENERGY My chrono’ confirmed the data supplied by Armex, the agents for the Walther Classus, and the .177 test rifle’s muzzle energy skimmed 11.4 ft.lbs. with impressive consistency. I’ve been impressed with the output of Walther springers ever since I watched the company’s LG range develop. The Classus returned an average variation of just 9 f.p.s. over 45 shots, using some ancient H & N FT Trophy pellets I keep handy for testing high-quality springers, and with a scope finally fitted, I could group well inside an inch at 40 yards. Then I took off the scope and went back to those open sights.

EQUALS AND OPPOSITES The laws of physics, mainly Newton’s 3rd law of motion that states ‘for every action there’s an equal and opposite reaction’ dictate that a full-power, lightweight spring-piston rifle will jump about a bit when it shoots. This law can’t be evaded, but its effect can be tamed by clever airgun technicians. I’m not one of these gifted beings; definitely more of an opposite than an equal, but I know Walther has quite a few of them at its disposal because I’ve met them. The Classus is still fairly lively, mind.

HANDLING AND MANNERS Without a scope fitted, the rifle weighs just an ounce or two under 7lbs, and the 11.4ft.lbs. it generates has to be paid for in recoil currency. The clever bit is how manageable the recoil cycle feels, with no discernable twist and everything in a twang-free,

short, straight line. Fitting a scope adds to the recoil-energy’s workload and the effect can be felt at the shoulder. For this reason, I’m forced to concede that the telescopic sight is the natural progression for this reason, unless you really do have a close-range job for it, such as rat-clearance or feral pigeon control. Make no mistake, at ranges out to 15 yards, the potential of those open sights really does deserve to be explored.

VERDICT The technical performance of the Walther Classus is impressive. As with any recoiling airgun, and this includes the gas-ram models, you’ll need a soft, and above all a consistent, hold, to extract maximum accuracy from the Classus. Its trigger function is crisp, adjustable and predictable, although those technical gurus I mentioned earlier could take the mechanism to a higher level, I’m sure. Cocking effort is low, with minimal spring noise on compression and discharge, and the entire ‘manners’ of the Classus has a distinctly refined, even tuned, air about it, in keeping with its LGV and LGU stablemates.

TECH SPEC Model: Classus Manufacturer: Walther Country of origin: Germany Price: : Around £300 Type: : Spring-piston sporter Calibre: .22, .177 Cocking: Break-barrel loading: Direct to breech Trigger: 2-stage, adjustable Stock type: Ambidextrous hardwood Weight: 3.1kg (6lbs. 14 oz.) Length: 1066mm (42 ins) Barrel: 430mm (17ins)

FINAL THOUGHTS

Discreet and perfectly positioned safety catch.

that slips over the muzzle and shrouds around six inches of the barrel. This would be preferable to having a standard silencer sticking out and horribly extending the overall length of the rifle. An adjustable butt pad and cheek piece would complete the upgrades deal for me, and the tremendous potential of the Classus entirely deserves this customisation. This is a ‘serious’, Germanmade sporter that deserves the consideration of anyone looking to invest in spring-powered performance. ■

I still don’t like that chunky trigger guard and the equally chunky trigger blade it protects, and after enjoying myself hugely with the rifle’s open sights, I know I’d eventually ditch them and ask one of those clever techy bods to make me a ‘reflex’ silencer/barrel weight

Variation over 45 shots: 9 fps for .177 on test Average energy: 11.4 ft.lbs. Contact: Armex www.armex-airgun.co.uk

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GOLDEN TICKET

GOING FOR GOLD

– AGAIN!

The editor announces that Air Arms has confirmed its Golden Ticket open day is go for 2017

ne of the most memorable and enjoyable days in the 2016 calendar came when 10 lucky ‘Golden Ticket’ winners were treated to a visit to Air Arms headquarters in Sussex, complete with a see-everything tour, a splendid buffet lunch, a full-on question-and-answer session with the Air Arms top technicians, and a goodie bag to take home at the end of the day – all completely free as soon as the lucky ticket holders stepped inside those famous factory doors. Well, the big news is, it’s all set to happen again this year on Tuesday, March the 21st!

O

DATE FOR YOUR DIARIES Yes, such was the success of last year’s event that Air Arms is keen to do it again, and make it even better for the 10 lucky Golden Ticket Giveaway winners. Air Arms MD, Claire West, told us, ‘We had such a great time on the first Golden Ticket day, that there could be no way we’d leave it as a one-off. I know the winners had a worthwhile experience, because they all told us exactly that, but the event was such a rewarding one for us, too. Air Arms built its reputation around customer feedback and giving those who use our products as much of what they want as possible, so to get such direct input throughout every

Every process explained. Fascinating stuff.

stage of design, manufacture, and assembly, was incredibly valuable. We can explain things directly, too, so everybody really does get something valuable from the Golden Ticket day – and I’m not just talking about the goodie bags!’

EVEN BETTER I attended last year’s Golden Ticket day, along with Air Gunner Editor, Phill Price, and we said then that this event was far too good not to repeat, so the Air Arms announcement came as no

surprise to us. Quite how Air Arms is going to make the 2017 day even better is open to question but knowing Claire and her crew, they’ll already have this sorted. Many years of experience confirms that Air Arms doesn’t do things by halves, so it’s definitely going to be a day to remember for everyone lucky enough to be there.

BE IN IT TO WIN IT If you want to be part of this truly remarkable occasion, all you have to do is fill in the Golden Ticket

form below, send it to the address shown, and be prepared to make your way to Air Arms headquarters in Hailsham in Sussex on Tuesday the 21st of March this year. Each ticket admits two, so choose a friend, partner or fellow airgunner to take with you. Entry is completely free and all you have to do is turn up and let Air Arms take care of the rest. Easy! I’ll be there, with Phill, and it’s going to be another exciting day for everyone. Get those entries in – and good luck to everyone! ■

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ROSIE’S RECIPE

TOMATO

CATCH-UP!

Rosie Barham is obliged to wing it when a friend calls by for lunch

his makes a superb and hearty lunch and I discovered it by accident one day recently when, on the spur of the moment, I’d invited someone for a midday meal and to catch up on the local gossip, put down the phone, and then realised that I hadn’t actually got the ingredients for what I’d intended to serve up. I really couldn’t be bothered to drive to the local supermarket for crusty bread, bacon, brie and cranberry

T

sauce, but I had a couple of hours until kick-off – and not a clue, so it was time for another experiment. I always have a good supply of fruit and veg in the fridge, and a well-stocked store cupboard, so it wasn’t that difficult, really. Given half a dozen ingredients and a bottle of chilled white wine, anyone can knock up a decent meal for two. Of course, you need to know your target audience; it’s no good creating a dish of woodpigeon on

toast if your guest is a vegetarian with a gluten intolerance, but we’re usually aware of our friends’ dietary preferences and take that into account. I could have offered my guest egg and chips, or beans on toast, but I have a reputation to keep up, and I do like to show off – besides, this ‘variation on a stuffed pepper theme’ is so simple to do. For the sake of 15 minutes of my time, it was worth the minimal effort

INGREDIENTS Strips of pigeon breast Chorizo – small dice Olives, sliced One clove of garlic, squashed Bomba – or paella rice (round grain) Salt and pepper to taste Quarter pint of chicken stock Beefsteak tomatoes Ingredients: Beefsteak tomatoes, chorizo, pigeon, olives, garlic, seasoning, stock, rice.

involved, when my friend said, “You’re such a brilliant cook! I don’t know how you do it when you’re so busy.” “Oh, it’s nothing,” I said. “Just a snack lunch, it didn’t take long.” Of course, she didn’t believe me and imagined that I’d been slaving in the kitchen all morning, and I didn’t disillusion her. I love it when a plan comes together! ■

Cut ‘hats’ off the tomatoes.

Scoop out the pulp.

Serve with chips or crusty bread.

Fry chorizo.

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ROSIE’S RECIPE Add pigeon and fry for two minutes.

METHOD:

Coat the rice.

Cut the tops off the tomatoes Scoop out the pulp and set aside. Place tomatoes on a baking tray. Filling: Fry chorizo gently in a dry pan, until it leaks oil Add olives, garlic, tomato pulp and seasoning Stir in the rice until coated Add stock, bring to boil Simmer for 12 minutes, lid on Rice should have absorbed all the liquid Place filling into each tomato half, put the ‘hats’ back on, and drizzle with olive oil Bake in medium heat for about half an hour, or until the tomatoes are soft Add a handful of chips or a crusty roll

Add olives, garlic, tomato pulp, puree and seasoning.

Add stock.

Bring to boil, then simmer until it looks like this.

Fill the tomatoes.

Replace ‘hats’.

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NOTES ON A NOVICE his job never ceases to amaze me. I had an idea for a feature about looking at our sport through the eyes and mind of an absolute novice, after watching a young colleague’s reaction to an air rifle we had in the office. I honestly thought Tom’s thoughts and impressions would make a one-off piece, and that would be that. The reaction of the readership demanded something more. We’ve had an incredible amount of reaction to the two features on Tom’s airgunning views, and the readers want more of it. This magazine exists to give its readers what they want, so Tom’s got himself a series. How long it will run and where it will go, I can’t possibly say, but as long as Tom’s take on our sport remains interesting and provides useful insight, our ‘absolute beginner’ has his place in these pages.

T

BOUND TO CHANGE Of course, as Tom gains experience and his interests polarize, he’ll become ‘one of us’, with his own preferences,

ABSOLUTE BEGINNER The editor asks Tom the novice about his impressions of visiting an airgun club for the first time

prejudices and areas of interest, but until that evolution takes place, Tom remains a fascinating study in why so many of us became involved in this sport.

UNDER PRESSURE

understandable, because one minute he was using a couple of grand’s worth of full-on field target hardware, and the next we shuffled him off to the pistol range for a session under instruction.

To gauge Tom’s reaction to various types of airgun shooting, last month I took him to my club at Bisley, where he saw what went on there, met some of our club members and tried various airguns. Tom had never been to an airgun club before and he found it all a bit intense and that’s

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Springer instruction on his very first visit. Too much, too soon?

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Then he came back to the rifle range to learn about shooting a springer, and all the while he was getting safety direction and technique advice, plus the compulsory banter, from highly

www.airgunshooting.co.uk

This is a perfect example of typical club member generosity, but to my surprise, Tom reckons he had no right to expect it.

EXPERIENCES OF A NOVICE

We told Tom that this is an airsoft rifle. Bless.

We scrutinised his every move. No wonder he felt pressurised.

“Most of us thrive in such conditions, but some don’t” experienced shooters, all of whom were watching him like hawks. No wonder the lad felt a tad pressurised.

LESSON LEARNED Speaking to Tom after his first range session, I found him absolutely buzzing from everything he’d seen and done. The Bisley members had been fantastic, as club shooters so often are, and they’d shared hardware, enthusiasm and advice with complete openness. I hadn’t organised this in any way; those members were just visiting their club when a novice came into their world. Tom told me, ‘I really don’t know what I enjoyed most about that visit, but it was nothing like I expected. The chap that offered me a go of that field target outfit had clearly come down to do a bit of training, but he dropped his plans and spent the best part of an hour instructing a clumsy novice who didn’t have a clue!’

FLIP SIDE Tom was genuinely impressed by the welcome he’d received but I saw the opportunity to study the flip side of this, so I asked him how he would have felt if the club members he’d met had been aloof and stand-offish, and his answer surprised me. ‘Actually, I expected them to be nowhere near as welcoming as they were. I mean, why should

they just hand over their expensive guns, then give up their precious leisure time for me? I mean, it’s a lot to expect, isn’t it?’ This took me aback, I have to admit. I’ve been in the airgun club system for the very best part of 30 years and welcoming newcomers has always been just ‘something we do’. Then I thought back to my own first experience of joining a club, way back in 1987, and I found myself in total agreement with Tom.

AMAZED AT THE WELCOME I was a dedicated, experienced, and successful shooter when I walked into my first airgun club, and I thought I was a pretty good shot and knew my stuff. I wasn’t and I didn’t. In fact, after being

comprehensively out-shot by someone half my age on that first visit, I found myself faced with a huge decision about my airgunning future. The choice was about as simple as it could be, actually; either I faced the prospect of totally re-learning my beloved sport, or I could sneak off back to my established world where ignorance was bliss. Everyone at the club was kind, generous and enthusiastic, but there was obviously so much to learn that my head was spinning, just as Tom’s had.

NO GOING BACK For me, there was no going back and I threw myself into the sport with a degree of selfish dedication that still makes me blush when I think about it even now. However,

Raring to go shooting again. Tom’s become a genuine resource.

Tom’s really getting into it now, but how much will that affect his views in the future?

He gets to study the latest kit and his views are completely fresh.

I can understand why others would choose to remain where they’re already happy, rather than take up the challenge. Club shooting, as Tom found out, can put you in the spotlight, where your skills, knowledge, results and conduct are always on show. Most of us thrive in such conditions, but some don’t, and I think all club members should be aware of this.

COMFORT ZONES There will always be those members who prefer to remain within their comfort zones, say plinking away at targets that don’t test them beyond their limitations, rather than committing their skills to competition and their failures to an unforgiving score card. At the range, Tom was happy to hit the target on its face plate, rather than knocking it down with a strike to the kill zone, and that’s a lesson for all of us. We have to understand that the pleasure derived from our wonderful sport comes from a variety of sources, and not just the success of competition. Tom’s honest, uninfluenced impressions of airgun shooting really have mirrored my own, and I suspect those of many reading this. One thing is for certain; if we ever lose sight of the importance of newcomers to our sport, we’ll lose the sport, too. Let’s make sure that never happens. ■

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PRIVA E SMALL ATD

BULLSEYES BARGAINS GALORE - DIRECT FROM THE AIRGUN WORLD READERS For only £4 your advert will appear in the next issue of Airgun World and on our website www.airgunshooting.co.uk

ONLY

£4

S

Are you look ing to sell yo ur gun? Are you a co llector lookin g for that rare gem? Th ousands of de dicated enthusiasts read Airgun World every month. Look no further this is the pl ace to buy and sell!

Post your ad to, Airgun World Bullseyes, Evolution House, 2-6 Easthampstead Road, Wokingham, Berkshire, RG40 2EG Please include your name, address, telephone number and a maximum of 40 words and we will contact you for payment if necessary. Please make cheques or POs payable to Airgun World. Get your entries in before the end of January to be in the March issue. Unfortunately we cannot guarantee which issue your ad will appear in. Please note that we cannot take your advert over the phone. For further information call Sharon on 01189 742524

WEIHRAUCH HW97K .177, 22ft. lbs. plus Nikko Sterling scope 12-9 x 50, new gun, secondhand in excellent condition, also 1500 pellets and gun bag. First to see will buy it! FAC holders only, bargain price £150, no offers, buyer collects. Tel: 07926 567845 (Llandudno). BSA SUPER Meteor Mark 4 .177, 1970 – 80. Stock has a few marks but action pristine, still has hooded front sight. Shoots smoothly, recent service £150 ono. 10 x 50 spotting scope with bench-standing tripod £40. Tel: 07890 781668 (Leicester). REMINGTON 1911 R.A.C. Co2 blowback BB pistol, unwanted comp prize, as new £70 ono. AGS 2 x 20 pistol scope as new unmarked, still boxed £20 + p+p. Tel: 07890 781668 (Leicester). AIR ARMS S410 Xtra FAC rifle, .22 + Optisan 4-16 x 50. Gamo rifle CFX .22 + Hawke Eclipse 3-9 x 50, Bratton Sound locker, 7ltr air tank and fittings, tested until March 2019, bipod, laser sight, red dot sight. Tel: 07551 923060 (Coventry). WEBLEY VISCOUNT side lever rifle .177, genuine mint condition £195. Hawke XB30 Pro scope, 1-5 x 24, illuminated reticle, new, still boxed. Gamo C11 pistol, compact semiauto new £35. Millet 1 x 25 red dot sight, 3-MOA dot, adjustable brightness. New still boxed £30. Tel: 01977 661671 (Yorkshire). BSA AIRSPORTER RB2, .22 air

rifle, very little use since new. Very good condition with original receipt plus gun slip, £165. Weihrauch HW77 front and rear sight £15, Airgun World mags full set, 1980, 81, 84 £15. Tel: 01189 736589 (Wokingham). L.G.U. .22 wooden stock under lever. BSA gas-ram .177 wooden stock GRT. Both guns never used and in mint condition £500 for the pair, buyer collect. Tel: 07719 947540 (Leicester). WANTED by collector pre 50s air pistols and rifles, e.g. Improved Britannia, Kynock Swift, Abus Major, Firefly, Certus, Thunderbolt Jr, Wesley Richard etc or small collection. Tel: 01234 851424. BTAS THEOBEN ELAN .177, one of only 50 produced. Walnut stock, vortex silencer, power regulator, 17-shot mag, 4-16 x 40 scope. Full service, check report by specialist just completed. All receipts, very little use as new condition. Reluctant sale £895. Tel: 01189 736589 Wokingham. THEOBEN EVOLUTION .20 with walnut stock, very nice condition. Buyer collects no postage, £250. Tel: 01728 648739 (Suffolk). AIRFORCE ONE Trophy multi-shot, Co2-powered (.177) pellet pistol. Also silencer and 20 Co2 capsules. Unused, still in box £250, .177 Junior Webley air pistol Mark II still in original box with instructions and maintenance leaflet. £150. Buyer to collect. Tel: 01709 852415 (Rotherham).

THEOBEN RAPID 7 MK1 .22, good condition, 2 x 12 shot magazines, 1 spare buddy bottle, tripod, Walther 4-12 x 50 CI, seals checked okay. £500, Tel: 07756 833722 (Derby). PISTOL UMAREX Desert Eagle blowback .177 comes with 2 magazines, 10-12g bottles, 1 tin of pellets and foam-lined case, plus manual, all in excellent condition. Very little use £95 ono. Tel: 01245 451099 or 07738 943219. (Essex). PISTOL, WEIHRAUCH 45 .177 with original wooden grips, in box with manual. Very little use, excellent condition £160 ono. Tel: 01245 451099 or 07738 943219 (Essex). DAYSTATE Air Wolf MCT .22 includes 2 magazines, 2 keys and charger Daystate moderator. Hawke Eclipse 3-12x50 IR scope, Rowan adjustable butt pad, swivel studs and bipod + padded gun bag. £875. Tel: 01245 451099 or 07738 943219 (Essex). BSA MERCURY .22, vgc £170.00. BSA Mercury Challenger .177 vgc £260. Stalker Tiger 10 vgc .22 left hand, spare mags, beautiful walnut stock £495. HW35 very early model .177 £135. Prices include p+p.Tel: 01983 566634 (Isle of Wight) AIR ARMS S200 8 short 2.2 Hawke night lamp, Hills pump, full service by T R Robb £495. Theoben Sirocco, 2.2 IR Tasco 3.9x40 scope £265. Tel; 07986 757893 (Essex) GAMO COYOTE Sporter .22 new and

unfired, bipod, sling, Jack Pike rest, 3-9x40 plus EMD 624 x 50 AO scopes. 12-litre cylinder, filled and tested with a mesh cover, rubber boot. Unforseen illness forces sale.£500. Tel: 01189 391650, 07400 903417 (Reading) BSA AIRSPORTER RB2, .22 air rifle, very little use since new. Very good condition with original receipt plus gunslip, £165. Weihrauch HW77 front and rear sight £15, Airgun World mags full set, 1980, 81, 84 £15. Tel: 01189 736589 (Wokingham) L.G.U. .22 WOODEN stock underlever. BSA gas-ram, .177 wooden stock GRT. Both guns never used and in mint condition £500 for the pair, buyer collect. Tel: 07719 947540 (Leicester) PISTOL, WEIHRAUCH 45 .177 with original wooden grips, in box with manual. Very little use, excellent condition £160 ono. Tel: 01245 451099 or 07738943219 Essex WANTED by collector pre-50s air pistols and rifles: e.g. Improved Britannia, Kynock Swift, Abus Major,Firefly, Certus, Thunderbolt Jr, Wesley Richard etc., or small collection. Tel: 01234 851424. BTAS THEOBEN ELAN .177, one of only 50 produced. Walnut stock, vortex silencer, power regulator, 17-shot mag, 4-16x40 scope. Full service, check report by specialist just completed. All receipts, very little use as new condition. Reluctant sale £895. Tel: 01189 736589 (Wokingham)

The Bullseyes service is for readers wishing to buy and sell airgun equipment as part of a non-commercial transaction. There is no need for such transactions to be made face to face (unless an airgun is FAC rated), but Airgun World requests that due caution is exercised when buying or selling an airgun. You must adhere to the current airgun laws. You cannot buy an airgun if you are under 18 years of age. Bullseyes are not offered to those who sell airguns as a way of trade of business

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AIRGUN HISTORY

JOHN MILEWSKI

MAKING THE MKIII

John Milewski brings us a fascinating look back in time at Webley air rifle production

The result - a late Webley Supertarget.

he number of individual machining, assembly and inspection operations that went into producing each Webley Mark III air rifle has often been quoted as being well into three figures. In fact, the rifles were almost handmade from a fitting perspective, and too expensive to make in today’s throwaway society. With the help of ex-Webley employee and collector, Ray Hall, we shall take a close look at the ‘final gun assembly’ process for the last of the Mark III Supertarget models; after all required parts had been blacked. The process was written down in factory ‘Route Cards’, which were produced as an aidememoire for assemblers and detailed the work required for each stage, as well as the area where the work was to take place. For example; ‘Bench 24’ would relate to a particular workbench that had a specific machine or machines, power- or handoperated, to complete a specific task or series of tasks.

T

COMMENCEMENT The process commenced with Op no. 10, which was carried out in the machine shop, on Bench no. 24 upon a lap grindle. The operation simply required the bore tube to be lapped and then cleaned out with paraffin in preparation for the next stage. Op No. 20 and the remaining assembly work were completed in the same machine shop and on the same bench. The first task was to fit the rifle’s stock plate (AR3/41) to the body, and Loctite its fixing screws in preparation for

TAP FITTING

Route card for the final gun assembly of an Anschutz-sighted Supertarget.

the stock to be fitted. Then the chamber and loading lever locking plunger would be ‘frazed’. This involved the removal of any small burrs on the edges of these components, such as the inside or outside of a cylinder or drilled

hole. Occasionally, a small chamfer is machined to help another part fit in easily, or simply to remove any sharp edges. The final task for this job was to fit the loading lever and white-fill the rifle’s serial number.

Frazing the cylinder would remove small internal burrs.

Trigger block fitted to PH-sighted rifles.

Op No. 30 dealt with tap fitting. Firstly, the tap would be roughly finished, reamed and tapered. It was then cut back and polished. The chamber would then be elongated so the tap would align correctly. Next, the square for the tap lever would be filed on the end of the plug and the lever fitted, then stamped. On the opposite side, the side plate would be fitted with Loctited screws over its spring and ball bearing. The piston assembly would be fitted next, and checked for a positive air lock. Ray explained that what some collectors refer to as pink Loctite on the stock plate fixing screws is actually pink bubblegum! The cylinder to breech block air seal on each rifle was checked by cocking the rifle, opening the tap and releasing the action. If the seal was airtight, the piston would come to a halt and if not, the cause was often found to be poor silver soldering at the cylinder/breech block point. The remedy was to apply chewed gum to the holes in the stock plate, which solved the problem, but resulted in pink residue appearing when the rifle was stripped decades later.

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AIRGUN WORLD

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AIRGUN HISTORY

FITTING AND FILING The final steps in Op No. 30 involved fitting the auxiliary loading lever and filing a notch for its locking screw, then fitting the mainspring and spring guide. Op No. 40 was specific to the Anschutz-sighted Supertarget, and commenced with securing the sight mounting plate onto the top of the sear and trigger housing block. The block used for the Anschutz-sighted Supertarget differed to earlier Parker Halesighted and standard Mark III rifles because it was not stamped with Webley’s standard markings, and featured tapped holes on the top for the sight plate. The stock stud, with its reverse thread was then fixed into place and the body of the rifle placed in the rack.

Anschutz-sighted rifles had a model-specific block. Note the markings have been moved to the cylinder.

“Op No. 60 was a view and full inspection of the rifle”

THE STOCK Op No. 50 entailed stock fitting. Firstly, a clearance was cut for each stock screw prior to fitting. The guard and stock screws would be fitted and the rifle checked and fired. The final assembly stage was Op No. 55, which required the Anschutz sight set (6723) to be Webley parts diagram for the Supertarget, fitted to the rifle so the showing the two different trigger blocks. clamp screws could be checked. The sights Op No. 60 was a view and full were then removed and replaced inspection of the rifle at Bench in their box. 40. If it passed, Op. No. 70

The gunshop or owner was required to fit the stock to the action, using the fixing screws seen here, partially withdrawn.

required the rifle to be despatched to the factory’s warehouse. Webley Mark III air rifles were supplied with the stock separated from the action. The advantage

Webley Supertargets and Mark IIIs like this early model were mostly supplied with the stock separated from the action.

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was that the rifle could be supplied in a smaller box than other contemporary designs, but could result in owners incorrectly assembling rifles, with the consequence that stocks broke very quickly. Webley handbooks soon pointed out in bold print that both fore end stock screws and the front trigger guard screw had to be firmly fitted to avoid damage. The stock fixing screws were fitted to the action body at the point of sale and some owners did not bother to remove the trigger guard fixing screw (AR45) with the same result of a broken stock as soon as the rifle was cocked! I hope you enjoyed this retrospective look at the making of a Mark III, and we will study the Supertarget and its sight combinations in more detail, later in the year. Have a Happy 2017, everyone! ■

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North Midlands South

DEALERS DIRECTORY 1

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BORDERS GUNROOM

BRADFORD STALKER

BROM SPORTS

New & S/H Air Rifles bought and sold. Repairs carried out on the premises. Full range of accessories. Delivery service available for air weapons. South of Scotlands largest retailer of Shooting and Fly Fishing equipment.

Visit our spacious showroom with hassle free on site parking. Wide range of rifles & pistols: BSA, Weihrauch, Daystate, Webley, Brocock, FX, Air Arms, Gamo, Umarex, Walther. Clothing & accessories inc, Night vision, Scopes, cylinders, bags, pellets, lamping equipment. Airgun & cylinder refills available, services & repairs arranged. Opening Hours: Mon- Fri 9.00 – 5.30/Sat 9.00 – 5.00. Credit cards and Finance available. Ouston Bank Farm, Ouston, Chester Le Street, County Durham DH2 1BB

Hereford Airgun Specialist. 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. Open 9’till 5 Tuesday to Saturday. Bromyard Sports 66 Widemarsh Street, Hereford HR4 9HG

Tel: 0191 4100565 [email protected] www.bradfordstalker.co.uk

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Main St, St Boswells, Melrose, TD6 0AA

Tel: 01835 822844 www.bordersgunroom.co.uk

13

CHICHESTER ARMOURY

Guns & Accessories

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12 East Street, Brighton, Sussex BN1 1HP. Opening hours: MonSat 9-5.30. Sun & Bank Hol 10.30-4.30. Established 1819, C&H Weston offer a friendly service. We stock all good brands such as Air Arms, BSA, Daystate, Brocock, Weihrauch, Gamo, ASG, Crossman, SMK. We stock a massive range of pellets and other shooting accessorises. Scopes by Lightstream, Hawke, Nikko, BSA, MTC. PX a pleasure. Second hand guns also stocked.

Tel: 01273 326338 [email protected] www.chweston.co.uk

CHICHESTER ARMOURY

5 COUNTRY SPORTING GUNS

Wide choice of air rifles, pistols and accessories.

Cannons Cottage, Punchbowl Lane, Brothertoft, Boston, Lincolnshire PE20 3SB. Opening hours: Mon - Sat 9am - 5.30pm. 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.

43 West Street, Chichester, Sussex PO19 1RP

Tel: 01205 311246 [email protected] www.countrysportingguns.co.uk

Tel: 01243 774687 www.chiarm.co.uk

7

COUNTRYWIDE

Offers a great selection of new & used air guns. Stockists of Weirauch, BSA, Air Arms, Daystate, Gamo, Umarex, SMK and Crosman. Repairs available. Good selection of scopes on site. Bradford Road, Melksham, Wiltshire SN12 8LQ. Other stores located in Bearley, Bourton on the Water, Chepstow, Chipping Norton, Gloucester, Ledbury, Melton Mowbray, Salisbury and Thornbury. Open Mon-Fri 8.30-6.00. Sat 8.30-5.30. Sun 10.00-16.00.

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DAI LEISURE

Full range of air rifles and pistols: Webley, Weihrauch, BSA, Crosman, Logun, Air Arms, Brocock etc + Scopes, Lamps, Archery 8 Egerton St, Wrexham Town Centre

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Tel: 01384 265151 www.daileisure.co.uk

Supplying all types of Air Rifles and Pistols. PCP/ Spring/Gas Ram/CO2. Optics and Nightvision. All associated accessories. Clothing and Footwear. Wykeham, Scarborough, Yorkshire YO13 9QP

Tel: 01723 865039 [email protected] www.daveyandson.co.uk

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11 DRAPERS AIRGUN CENTRE

FIELD SPORTS EQUIPE

The Midlands largest Airgun Showroom and Sales Experts. Selling everything from spare parts to accessories to the most sought after rifles and collectors pieces! We supply everything from new and used airguns and their accessories through to clothing, hunting knives and binoculars, and we offer a great service at the shop itself along with competitive prices. Opening Times Tuesday – Saturday 9am-5.30pm. Closed Sundays and Mondays. 124-128 Hartley Road, Nottingham NG7 3AJ

20a Elwy Street, Rhyl LL18 1BP. 10am-5pm Tuesday to Friday Saturday 10am to 4pm. Rifles/Pistols, Optics, Ammunition, arms, Clothing, Gun Cabinets, Quality Knives, Lamps & Torches & Archery, Full Service, Spring Rifles, PCP Rifles, Air Pistols, Shotguns, Rifles for £35.

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Tel: 01978 290990 www.dragonfieldsports.co.uk

9 DAVEY AND SON

DAI Leisure is one of the largest suppliers of Airguns, Shotguns, firearms and Sporting Equipment in the West Midlands. We supply BMX, mountain bikes, stunt scooters, radio control and all other types of sporting goods. Visit our store 7 days a week. Mon - Sat 9.30-17.30. Sun 10.00-16.00. Unit 1, Enterprise Trading Estate, Hurst Lane, Brierley Hill DY5 1TX

10 DRAGON FIELD SPORTS WREXHAM

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Tel: 01745 353 476 info@fieldsportsequipe.co.uk www.fieldsportsequipe.co.uk

14 GREENFIELDS AIRGUN CENTRE

HENRY KRANK

Glasgow Field Sports, Unit 1 The Point Retail Park, 29 Saracen Street, Glasgow G22 5HT. Edinburgh Field Sports, Unit E Granton Retail Park, 65 West Harbour Road, Edinburgh EH5 1PW. Central Scotland’s premier retailers of shooting and hunting equipment and clothing.

The Shooting Grounds, Sturry Hill, Sturry, Canterbury CT2 0NG. Stockists of BSA, Webley, Air Arms, Daystate, SMK, Hawke, Weihrauch, Gamo and many more. Helpful Friendly Advice Always Available. Open Tues-Sat 8.30-5.00. Sun 9-1. Closed Mon. Canterbury airgun club on site.

We stock Air Arms, BSA, Weihrauch, Hatsan, Walther, Gamo, Crosman and Umarex air guns both new and second hand. Extensive range of antique air guns also in stock. Visit our shop at: 100-104 Lowtown, Pudsey, West Yorkshire LS28 9AY

Tel: 01227 713222 sales@greenfieldsshooting.co.uk www.greenfieldsshooting.co.uk

Tel: 01132 569163 [email protected] www.henrykrank.com

sales@glasgowfieldsports.co.uk www.glasgowfieldsports.co.uk

AIRGUN WORLD

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FIELD SPORTS

Tel: Glasgow 0141 212 8880 Edinburgh 0131 202 6351

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IAN HODGE SHOOTING & FIELD SPORTS Penbarn, Burlawn, Wadebridge, Cornwall PL27 7LA. Cornwall’s premier gun shop. New and used guns and accessories.

Tel: 01208 813651 sales@ianhodgefieldsports.co.uk www.ianhodgefieldsports.co.uk

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Friendly Family Run Business in Wellington Market Town. New and used air rifles bought and sold. We also sell a range of air pistols, pellets and accessories. Open Monday - Saturday from 9am. Find us at 41, Market Street, Wellington, Telford, Shropshire TF1 1DT

Tel: 01530 260901 www.ibstocktackle.co.uk

Tel: 01952 257400 www.jaynesfishingtackle.co.uk

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20 MAY OF LONDON LTD

“The county’s friendliest gun shop!” New and used guns always in stock, and if we haven’t got it, we can get it. Ammunition, optics and accessories. Full servicing and repair centre. 12 North Street, Leighton Buzzard LU7 1EN. Tue-Fri 11-5.30 Sat 9-5

Air rifle and pistol sales. Gunsmith on-site. 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, Cabinets and Clothing. Open: Tues-Fri 9.30am-6pm & Sat 9.30am-5.30pm. 21-23 Cherry Tree Rise, Buckhurst Hill, Essex IG9 6EU

Tel: 01525 851700 sales@justfieldsports.com www.justfieldsports.com

Tel: 0208 504 5946 [email protected] www.mayoflondon.com

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61-63 Chapel Street, Ibstock, Leicester LE67 6HF. Wide range of air rifles, scopes and accessories at discount prices. Daystate stockist. All repairs undertaken. Guns always wanted - Cash paid.

JUST FIELD SPORTS

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JAYNES TACKLE AND GUN SHOP

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MELBOURNE TACKLE & GUNS

MFC OUTDOOR STORES

64 Church Street, Melbourne, Derbyshire. Large selection of new and second hand Sporting rifles, Shotguns and Air Rifles. Outdoor, Waterproof Clothing & Footwear. Barbour, Aigle & Seeland stockist.

9 Station Road, Hailsham, East Sussex, BN27 2BE. New and Secondhand Airguns Bought and Sold, Pneumatic Service Centre. Also spares, repairs, scopes, Soft Air, Sling Shots, Decoys, Cartridges, Huge Stocks of Army Surplus, Camo Clothing & Gortex, Invisible Clothing, Combat Boots, Ammo Boxes, Camo Netting plus lots more.

Tel: 01332 862091 www.melbournegun.com

Tel: 01323 846883 www.mfcoutdoorstores.co.uk

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4 MOOREDGES AIRGUNS

PARK STREET GUNS

The Chantreys, Mooredges Road, Thorne, Doncaster DN8 5RY. Extensive range of all leading airguns, scopes and accessories. Mail order available. pen 6 days a week 9.30-5.30pm Mon-Sat Sunday 10-4pm. Closed Tuesday.

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Tel: 01405 741706 www.mooredges.com

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Registered Firearms Dealer. 1-2 Park Street Lane, Park Street, St. Albans AL2 2NE

Tel: 01727 872646 [email protected] www.gunshot.co.uk

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PICKERING GUNS

PORTSMOUTH GUN CENTRE

PNEUMATIC BALLISTICS

Large display of new and second hand shotguns, rifles, air weapons, and general shooting accessories. Part exchange welcome. Guns bought for cash. Opening hours: Mon-Sat 9-5pm. Closed Wed. 8 Birdgate, Pickering, North Yorkshire YO18 7AL

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.

Tel: 01751 476904 [email protected] www.pickeringairguns.co.uk

Tel: 02392 660 574 [email protected] www.portsmouthguncentre.com

Clochemerle, 45a Station Road, Ormesby St. Margaret, Norfolk NR29 3NH An innovative developer and retailer of revolutionary technology for Air Rifles. We sell new and used rifles and shooting accessories including pellet magazines which we manufacture ourselves. We offer repairs and servicing for most makes of firearms which is carried out by our experienced gunmaker. Go to our website to find out more.

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Tel: 01493 733462 [email protected] www.pneumaticballistics.com

28 RONNIE SUNSHINES 4 Canalside, Northbridge Road, Berkhamsted, Herts HP4 1EG. Opening hours: Mon - Sat 9 – 5 Hertfordshire’s leading airgun specialist. We stock Weihrauch, Daystate, Air Arms, BSA, FX, Webley, SMK, and many more. Plus a large range of CO2 pistols, scopes, clothing and a comprehensive stock of airgun accessories. We are also a 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.

Tel: 01442 872829 [email protected] www.ronniesunshines.com

AIRGUN WORLD

DEALERS DIRECTORY

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To advertise here phone Tom Richardson: 01189 742 514

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S.C FULLER

Established in 1892 we supply a large selection of airguns, pellets, optics, clothing & shotguns. Open Monday-Saturday 8am-5.30pm. Sunday 10am-3.00pm Closed bank holidays. 28 - 30 South Street, Dorking, Surrey RH4 2HQ

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SUNDERLAND SCUBA CENTRE

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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. 4A Atkinsons Buildings, Trimdon Street Sunderland, Tyne and Wear SR4 6AH. Mon-Fri 9-5:30 | Sat 9-4:30 | Sun 10-3

Tel: 01915 670147 [email protected] www.sunderlandairguns.com

TONY’S CAMO & AIRGUN CENTRE

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Tel: 01244 681191 [email protected] www.tonyscamo.co.uk

AIRGUN WORLD

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316 High Road, South Benfleet, Essex SS7 5HB Full range of Air Rifles, Pistols and Telescopic Sights. Tuning. Servicing Kits. Airguns Bought and Sold. Tel: 01268 752888 www.trrobb.com

THE SHOOTING PARTY

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WIGHILL PARK GUNS Visit one of Britain‘s best stocked Airgun Shops in the heart of the Yorkshire countryside. Try before you buy on our indoor airgun range. Part exchange a specialty. Wighill Park, Nr Tadcaster, North Yorkshire LS24 8BW.

Tel: 01937 833757 www.wighillparkguns.co.uk

THE GUN ROOM IVYBRIDGE

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4 Western Road, Ivybridge, Devon PL21 9AN. Probably the best selection of Airguns in the South West. Daystate, Weihrauch, BSA, Air Arms, Webeley, Logun. New and Secondhand – Quality Service.

Tel: 01752 893344 [email protected] www.thegunroom.co.uk

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Tel: 01543 480 361 www.shootingparty.uk

Selection of air rifles including BSA, Air Arms, Daystate, Cometa, Brocock, Webley, Weihrauch, FX, Walther, Edgar and more. Rimfire and centre fire rifles, shotguns, ammunition and cartridges available here. Open 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM Mon - Fri, 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM Sat. 53 Norris Street, Warrington, Cheshire WA2 7RJ

Tel: 01925 415901 [email protected] www.warringtonguns.com

Tel: 01306 882177 [email protected] www.scfuller.co.uk

We are the exclusive importer and Distributor of PAO Rifle & Pistol scopes, sights, lasers and Range Finders and the AirForceOne range of Airguns & Accessories, including the MOSIN-NAGANT Steel BB Rifle, the Trophy & Taichi Pistols and Panther pellets. 100 + Airguns always in stock. Used airguns always wanted – cash paid. Try before you buy in our indoor range.

A Huge Range of Guns, Accessories and Clothing. Open 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM Tues - Sat, Tony’s Camo & Airgun Centre, Moorcroft Mews, High Street, Saltney, Chester, Flintshire CH4 8SH.

WARRINGTON GUNS

T.R. ROBB AIRGUN SPECIALIST

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TRACKSIDE GUNS & ARCHERY LTD

THE OXFORD GUN CO

Air Gun Centre Air Rifles by Air Arms, BSA, Gamo & Webley etc. Air Pistols by Beretta, Walther, Umarex, Smith & Wesson etc. New & Second Hand available. Full range of accessories: from pellets to slips & all in between. Part Exchange welcome. Oxford Gun Company. Jericho Farm, Oxford Road, Oakley, Bucks HP18 9RG. Opening Hours- Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri & Sat 9.00-5.30. Closed Wed & Sun & Bank Holidays. Est. 1982. Members of the GTA.

Tel: 01844 238308 www.oxfordguncompany.co.uk

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WALKERS OF TROWELL

Trackside Guns and Archery is a retail shop with an indoor and outdoor Archery Range and an indoor Airgun shooting range based in Lincolnshire. At our shop we sell Airguns, pellets, shotgun cartridges, live rounds and everything you need for Shooting Sports. We also stock a large range of Archery Equipment. Open Mon 9am - 8pm, Wed 9am - 10pm, Tues, Fri, Sat 9am - 5pm. Thursday and Sunday Closed.Trackside Guns and Archery Ltd, Station Yard, Station Road, North Kelsey Moor, Caistor, Lincolnshire LN7 6HD.

Nottingham Road, Trowell, Nottingham NG9 3PA. Stockists of: Daystate, BSA, Weichrauch, Air Arms, Umarex, Hawke. Large range of Pellets & Accessories. Fishing Tackle & Outdoor Clothing.

Tel: 01652 678895 [email protected] www.tracksidegunsandarchery.com

Tel: 0115 930 7798 www.walkersoftrowell.com

WIRRAL GUNS

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2F Whitby Rd, Ellesmere Port, South Wirral CH65 8AD. Air rifles, Air pistols & Accessories from all manufacturers. Air fills for PCP & Paintball, Air gun repairs. Airguns to suit everyone’s budget £££. Monday – Friday 10am-5pm - Saturday 10am-3pm Closed Wednesdays & Sundays. Finance available. Tel 0151 355 6666 [email protected] www.wirralguns.co.uk

WONDERLAND MODELS

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Edinburgh’s leading air rifle, air pistol, air gun pellet and accessories supplier. We are dealers for Air Arms, Anics, BSA, Crosman, Gamo, Sportsmarketing, Umarex, Webley and Weihrauch. 97 Lothian Road, Edinburgh EH3 9AN. Members of the Gun Trade Association. Tel: 0131 229 6428 www.wonderlandmodels.com