Factory pest control

[John N]

Recently 'cleaned' the factory pidgeons with an antique, borrowed .177 'p.o.s' air rifle, and to be honest the lack of accuracy, and lack of power made it a slightly messy affair.

Think it might be time to spend a few notes on an air rifle of my own, so whats the 'BB' recomendation rifle ? budget hundred / hundred and fifty squid, would like a case to go with it, quite happy with a 'one shot' rifle, im guessing less to go wrong?

It would also be nice if it would have enough umph to stop the odd bunny for when I move a bit closer to the fields..

So, as a complete noob show me what I can get :D

[ngraudal]

A gamo shadow 1000 might fit your bill?

[billgatese30]

For a budget that low I'd definitely be looking at the second hand market.

I had something similar to this (same rifle, different scope) when I was 15, it claimed many a rook and rabbit (much to the farmers delight). For £150 you could do a lot worse.

http://www.guntrader.co.uk/GunsForSale/110223190655938

there are plenty of others around the same price available too

http://www.guntrader.co.uk/GunsForSale/110110124239001

[SteveW]

For that kind of price, your best bet would be a second-hand springer, local paper classifieds often have air rifles for sale or try the private sales on the AirgunBBS.

[John N]

Hmmmm, how much would I need to spend to get somthing half decent, new? budget is flexable for 'toys' (errrm, work tools)

Actually, im pretty sure it could be an allowable expense which is cool :lol:

[Quickbeam]

Have a look at airgunbbs...

Something like this Weihrauch would do the job nicely for £190, I'm not sure what the scope is like though.

http://www.airgunbbs.com/showthread.php?520541-HW97k-with-scope-sling-and-bag.

[nic]

Definately go for a secondhand quality spring rifle such as the 97k. however the 97K is heavy and may get a bit much for lots of standing overhead shots at pigeons. HW 95 or 98 may be better.

These are as good a quality as you will get in a spring rifle. Some would say the older ones were better made anyway. Alot of people play with the internals of spring guns (me included) If you have a lathe you can transform it into something really special.
If you want to step a price bracket then pneumatic is the way to go, but then you need a cylinder or pump to fill it. And I would say that whilst efficent tools they lack soul - a bit like 'dry' forge welding ;)

[Duncan_642]

air arms s410......

[billgatese30]

air arms s410......

just a touch above his budget...although I have handled a few over the years and the S410 is simply divine, I would die for a S410K in .177 for such duties as pigeons etc...


if you can afford it, I would recommed going PCP, although your £150 budget will be well and truly blown. It will be worth it though. :D

[lucky21]

If they still sell them, a cometa 300 is a big hefty springer. I had one for almost ten years and that bad boy never failed me, needs no maintenance just point shoot and bunny,pigeon,rat,squirrel and even foxes go down. Would thoroughly recomend abolutely amazing piece of kit for the money would really recomend it.

[John N]

Hmmmmm, gonna have to join the airgun forum tomorrow! I like the sound of a modifiable springer, ive got a full machine shop :)

Ive had a mull, and I think new is the way to go as the company can buy it for pest control, and ill see the vat back.

A light gun would suit me better, as im tall, but slightly built. I borrowed a chunky Weihrauch springer a couple of years ago, and whilst it was great in so far as you could pick the feather you were shooting for it was a bit to heavy for me, The sights on the one I borrowed were amazing, you could see the look of suprise on their face when the pellet hit them!

Is there a maximum power you can have on an air rifle? If I tuned one up a bit whats the odds on needing a soap on a rope?

keep the suggestions coming!

[billgatese30]

Wow...I would never go for a fox with anything less than a .22lr or .17hmr. But thats for another conversation.

John, max power is 12 lbs/ft (pounds foot) for air rifles in the UK unless you have an FAC (firearms certificate) and have the appropriate permissions for it.


for a good airgunning forum either go to

http://www.airgununiverse.co.uk/

or

http://www.airgunbbs.com


at the end of the day, a lot of tuning doesn't necessarily mean more power, but more consistency, which in turn, means better accuracy.

[John56]

> I like the sound of a modifiable springer, ive got a full machine shop

Please be careful when working on any springer air rifle because something as simple as changing the spring for a non standard type can take the power over 12ft lbs which would make it a Section 1 firearm. Polishing or resizing the transfer port or changing the piston can take the power above the legal limit too. Also, just because it might only develop 11ft lbs with one type of pellet, if it is tested by the police and goes over 12ft lbs with any type of pellet then it is a Section 1 firearm. Ignorance is no defense in the eyes of the law.

ATB John.

[Roth]

Please be careful when working on any springer air rifle because something as simple as changing the spring for a non standard type can take the power over 12ft lbs which would make it a Section 1 firearm. Polishing or resizing the transfer port or changing the piston can take the power above the legal limit too. Also, just because it might only develop 11ft lbs with one type of pellet, if it is tested by the police and goes over 12ft lbs with any type of pellet then it is a Section 1 firearm. Ignorance is no defense in the eyes of the law.

Spot on! and many a decent rifle has been ruined by "tweeking" by inexperianced owners. :C Your best friend is a chronograph to check the power before and after any adjustments to any air gun.

[Noddy]

Get a Rufus Hussey

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ieWrWLjii0

[Duncan_642]

just a touch above his budget...although I have handled a few over the years and the S410 is simply divine, I would die for a S410K in .177 for such duties as pigeons etc...


if you can afford it, I would recommed going PCP, although your £150 budget will be well and truly blown. It will be worth it though. :D


Opps was late think i missed that bit!! :) your right would be well above that budget

[imagedude]

A secondhand Weihrauch hw99s in .177 is what you need ;-)

[rapidboy]

HW99 is a perfect tool for ferrals, light, accurate and full power.
I'd choose a .22, ferrals are soft auld things and .177 can over penetrate.
Head shots are tricky with ferrals, a good body shot with a .22 is hard to beat.
You really want the pellet to stay inside and dump all it's energy into the target.
One of the best wee guns I ever used for ferrals was a crossman ratcatcher, accupell pellets loaded backwards. Only good for 15 to 20 yards but that's more than enough for a lot of ferral jobs.

[Chastiser]

if you do go pcp and want something light, an AA S200 is a good bet.

[Lumalee]

+1 on the AA S200, nice little rifle, used to have one but now changed to the BSA Ultra 22MS thats had a good seeing to by Tench from BSA forums, regulated and tuned by the man himself and its an awesome little package, you can pick up the single shot Ultra's for about £150 to £200, get a s/h pump for about 40 quid and you are laughing. If your budget is fixed, then may I suggest waiting until you have a bit more saved up and buy a cheaper end PCP, because at some stage you will have a go with a pcp and you will want one compared to a springer, they are lighter, and consistently more accurate as well as quieter with a mod and IMHO nicer to shoot.

[I D Howe]

If they still sell them, a cometa 300 is a big hefty springer. I had one for almost ten years and that bad boy never failed me, needs no maintenance just point shoot and bunny,pigeon,rat,squirrel and even foxes go down. Would thoroughly recomend abolutely amazing piece of kit for the money would really recomend it.

Foxes?

[rapidboy]

:rolleyes:

[Chastiser]

Foxes?

yeah dont think i would want to shoot anything larger than a coney unless it is with one of these air rifles..

http://cdn.pyramydair.com/images/ShinSung-Career-707-CA7079mUltra1S2-Air-Gun-Rifle_lg.jpg

[John N]

Lots to think about here! Bobs offered me a great deal on a .177 hw99, and after a little google it looks the ideal tool for me,... but Im erring towards .22 now

Ive seen new ones offered for £165 which seems good to me, I will need to put a scope on it, whats would suit it? (magnification / brand etc?)

Ive had a quick looksy over on the airgun forums, but its information overload for me, so Ill keep asking for advice in this thread :), Ive looked at the stickys here aswell, but they are big threads..

keep the advice coming :D

[John56]

To calculate energy you need to know the velocity and weight of the pellets you are using, Once you have chronographed your rifle/pellet combination, this site lists loads of pellet weights and has a calculator to simplify the working out.
http://extorian.co.uk/shooting/pellets.html

As for shooting foxes with an air rifle. Well I hope that was just bravado because there is no way a clean kill can be guaranteed with an air rifle, even one that is FAC rated and even something considered as vermin deserves to be culled humanely. In fact some police forces don't even allow .22 rimfire for foxes and specify .22 centerfire as a minimum.

Now getting off my high horse.....
John.

[rapidboy]

For ferrals inside the factory the standard irons on a 99 should be fine, if you want a scope keep it compact and low mag.
I had a wee Simmons 1.5 - 5 x 20 WTC on mine briefly and it looked in proportion with the rifle but the crosshairs are a bit thick on them and target acquisition is much slower with a scope compared to irons.
If they are roosting up inside a building on steel work / timber or ledges around the building you might find a scope a disadvantage, depending on the light level scope use inside can be tricky.
For outside and longer range rabbits a scope is better but don't go for anything too big as the comb on the 99 stock is fairly low.
Even with the factory irons i have a cheek piece bag on mine to get correct eye alignment.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v76/rapidboy1/guns/DSC04553.jpg

[nic]

If you do go for a springer and want to have a play with the internals, then you should get one of these :http://www.combro.co.uk/cb625.html it will calculate the power of the gun as it will fluctuate as you play with it. You will hear all sorts of dire warnings about going over the legal limit on the internet and legally they are true; in practice if you are keep a low profile the chances of getting a gun seized and tested are very, very slim.

As to scope- you can spend as much as you want- but generally people tend to prefer low magnification for ferals as they tend to be close. I am not up on brands, but if you buy new there is a good chance they will do a package including the scope have a look through them to see what suits you. As an extreme example the scope on my springer cost £400, and my daughter hates it- she says it makes everything look blue and it gives her a migrane.

[Lumalee]

As for shooting foxes with an air rifle. Well I hope that was just bravado(read stupidity) because there is no way a clean kill can be guaranteed with an air rifle, even one that is FAC rated and even something considered as vermin deserves to be culled humanely. In fact some police forces don't even allow .22 rimfire for foxes and specify .22 centerfire as a minimum.

Now getting off my high horse.....
John.

Note my edit of your sentence above, red type is mine.

No high horse at all John, anyone who thinks an air rifle, FAC or not is a suitable weapon for shooting foxes shouldnt be hunting in the first place, and yeah I have seen the YT videos of a fox being hit stone dead by a so called FAC air rifle, but to be honest even if it was true, its just not the right thing to do.

[lucky21]

QUOTE=eajcl01;1645825]

As for shooting foxes with an air rifle. Well I hope that was just bravado because there is no way a clean kill can be guaranteed with an air rifle, even one that is FAC rated and even something considered as vermin deserves to be culled humanely. In fact some police forces don't even allow .22 rimfire for foxes and specify .22 centerfire as a minimum.

Now getting off my high horse.....
John.[/QUOTE]

The fox in question was found crippled after being hit by car, my cometa was only thing available to put it out of its misery and it despatched it cleanly. Hope that's put your mind at rest John, as I have to agree an air rifle would not be my first choice for shooting foxes.

[Chastiser]

To calculate energy you need to know the velocity and weight of the pellets you are using, Once you have chronographed your rifle/pellet combination, this site lists loads of pellet weights and has a calculator to simplify the working out.
http://extorian.co.uk/shooting/pellets.html

As for shooting foxes with an air rifle. Well I hope that was just bravado because there is no way a clean kill can be guaranteed with an air rifle, even one that is FAC rated and even something considered as vermin deserves to be culled humanely. In fact some police forces don't even allow .22 rimfire for foxes and specify .22 centerfire as a minimum.

Now getting off my high horse.....
John.

a 9mm air rifle would do it, they use them for deer hunting amongst other things.

[ANDYLASER]

The fox in question was found crippled after being hit by car, my cometa was only thing available to put it out of its misery and it despatched it cleanly. Hope that's put your mind at rest John, as I have to agree an air rifle would not be my first choice for shooting foxes.

That would appear to be an acceptable solution to an unfortunate situation.

[John56]

To calculate energy you need to know the velocity and weight of the pellets you are using, Once you have chronographed your rifle/pellet combination, this site lists loads of pellet weights and has a calculator to simplify the working out.
http://extorian.co.uk/shooting/pellets.html

As for shooting foxes with an air rifle. Well I hope that was just bravado because there is no way a clean kill can be guaranteed with an air rifle, even one that is FAC rated and even something considered as vermin deserves to be culled humanely. In fact some police forces don't even allow .22 rimfire for foxes and specify .22 centerfire as a minimum.

Now getting off my high horse.....
John.

[Lumalee]

a 9mm air rifle would do it, they use them for deer hunting amongst other things.

Bet no force in the UK would let ya though. anyways we stray off topic, sorry.

[John56]

That would appear to be an acceptable solution to an unfortunate situation.

I totally agree and had I been in the same situation as lucky21 I would have done the same thing.

John.

[John56]

To calculate energy you need to know the velocity and weight of the pellets you are using, Once you have chronographed your rifle/pellet combination, this site lists loads of pellet weights and has a calculator to simplify the working out.
http://extorian.co.uk/shooting/pellets.html

As for shooting foxes with an air rifle. Well I hope that was just bravado because there is no way a clean kill can be guaranteed with an air rifle, even one that is FAC rated and even something considered as vermin deserves to be culled humanely. In fact some police forces don't even allow .22 rimfire for foxes and specify .22 centerfire as a minimum.

Now getting off my high horse.....
John.

[John N]

I imagine shooting a fox at range with a standard air rifle is about as humane as flicking it repeatidly on the nose with an elastic band! can see it being worth a try as a dispatch techneque though :) (or failing that hitting it with the wooden end)

[raisedbybrocks]

John, I do allot of airgun shooting and target shooting, Actually mine are for sale, as its quite an absorbing hobby/obsession and I don't have the time to compete as I would want. Mine are highly fettled target beasts, not really for vermin bashing. I would say don't buy new. Join the airgun bbs. I think you have to make half a dozen posts before you can buy or sell. Get a second hand Weihrauch HW95. Mine started life as one of these. They only need a little sorting to be superb springers out of the box. Or treat yourself to an air arms TX. I wouldn't bother with pcp, too much stuff to buy for charging etc. You'll want some decent mounts, sportmatch medium 2 piece would be fine, and a good cheap scope, like a Nikko sterling gold crown 3-9 x 40. They have true milldots unlike other cheapo ones. So more handy for airgun aimpoints. And i'm .177 all the way. Faster flatter and more accurate. But im a cranium only type of guy. Just what you need for flying rats.Reccon you should be able to pick up a mint 95 for around £150 scope £40. I have some sportmatch mounts you can have.
I'm sure anything made by weirharch would fit the bill. Decent pellets a must. Usual contenders for HW barrels are JSB exacts or Air arms field, daystate select. All made in the same factory. Mine likes RWS superfields. Webley mosquito express are deadly accurate in all my guns but light. I advocate accuracy over "stopping power" in sub 12ft/lb airguns, as a shot to the right place does it every time.

[Ratel10mm]

a 9mm air rifle would do it, they use them for deer hunting amongst other things.
Ahhhhh, the Bowkett 'bear rifle'! :D I've wanted one of them ever since I read the article what, 2 decades ago?

[megalift]

I like the sound of a modifiable springer, ive got a full machine shop :)


Get an old Airarms TX200 then John, or, If you are going to go down the 'VAT back' route, the AirArms S200 is very hard to beat, especially with the 10 shot mod. My oldest lad could consistantly knock over 5p pieces at 100' with the one I had. Apparently they're a bit farvourite amongst Kids getting started in FTR; cheap and very accurate.

[megalift]

Wow...I would never go for a fox with anything less than a .22lr or .17hmr. But thats for another conversation.

...And anyone that tries should get a 'stiff talking to'! I've seen foxes put down at close enough range with the HMR and obviously the .22 rf will do the job closer in, but for a clear conscience, I wouldn't use anything less than my .222/.243 depending on what I'm out with.

'Foxes' and 'Air rifles' should NOT appear in the same sentence. No matter how tricked up someone thinks they are.

[Ratel10mm]

How large is the factory, and how long before you go field hunting? Thinking about it, I remember for building clearance most peeps reckoned a carbine of some sort, with relatively low power & large caliber (.25 was getting popular last I was regularly shooting) due to the short ranges & wanting to avoid accidental damage from misses. Flat heads were often recommended due to damage control as well.
What I'm saying is, if you forsee your shooting being all short range, around the factory (I onviously don't know what the ranges are in your factory) for the forseeable future, then perhaps a lower powered carbine in .22 would be best. If you're wanting one rifle for factory & field then something with variable power would be ideal. Pump up pneumatics score there, although slow between shots of course. Theoben used to do adjustable gas rams. Dunno if the present incarnations have retained that feature? Are there any pre charged pneumatics with variable power?
Personally I had a BSA Meteor S, a Weirach 85 and a Sharp Innova with Bowkett tune & moderator.
The Meteor would suit you for weight & size (I'm 6'2" & found it very comfortable) but is a longish gun. If I recall correctly you could cut the barrel down towards a carbine without too much trouble? The 85 is an 80 in lighter guise. Wonderful rifle, but still fairly heavy. Both of those were spring guns. The Innova was very light, but built to fit Japanese. I screwed a block of oak to the butt to get the stock to fit properly. Slow shot to shot (even with John's tuning) due to having to pump it up for each shot but very quiet & of course you can leave it ready to fire for a comparatively long time without springs weakening.

[Relin]

Any springer by AA or by Weihrauch will fit the bill and both are available second hand for around that money (although the AA tend to be more expensive)

Having owned over 20 odd guns i would say that for your budget and requirements these would be what i would go for and will last you forever, a gamo, etc will probably require a fair amount of tweaking to get acting the way you want it to.

check out www.airgunforum.co.uk for some bargains

Andy

[Relin]

Ah and if your inside i would stick to .22 or even .25 depending on ranges, this way you wont go through your roof! If you are under 25 yards away a .22 wadcutter or hollowpoint would be my pellet of choice..

[John N]

The factory is a couple of hundred feet end to end, Its rented so not worried about popping holes in the roof though :lol:

The HW95 looks an amazing piece of kit, I like the sound of the 'k' version with a moderator, for no reason at this time other than it sounds cool :D Ta for the offer of the mounts RBB!

Ill take a looksy at the AA stuff aswell.

Not sure how long it will be before I try hunting with it, I dont like killing stuff without reason. Thats not to say that when I move to a slightly more rural area 'reason' might be because im hungry! It would be nice to own a rifle that I knew was up to the job should the time come.

[megalift]

That would appear to be an acceptable solution to an unfortunate situation.

A foot across the neck would be more certain.

[John N]

Went to 'Lock stock and Barrel' in hillsborough today, the used stuff was overpriced, and I made the mistake of looking at the 'HW's before the cheaper guns. Everything else (except the AA's) was very cheap feeling in comparison.

I loved the HW 97K , but they wanted over £350 for it which I thought was a bit on the dear side, especially as I would need to buy all the gubbins and a scope aswell. Im going to look at a HW 95K at stockport gun shop on the weekend, still £300+ but they sounded a bit more intersted in working out a 'deal' with all the extras ill need. Ive trawlled the ads on the airgun forums and im not seeing anything by the way of bargains on these two guns used at the moment :(

Had a pull on the trigger of a HW 100 pcp (nice, very pricey piece of kit) but it felt souless to me. Springer it is I recon :)

[Relin]

Went to 'Lock stock and Barrel' in hillsborough today, the used stuff was overpriced, and I made the mistake of looking at the 'HW's before the cheaper guns. Everything else (except the AA's) was very cheap feeling in comparison.

I loved the HW 97K , but they wanted over £350 for it which I thought was a bit on the dear side, especially as I would need to buy all the gubbins and a scope aswell. Im going to look at a HW 95K at stockport gun shop on the weekend, still £300+ but they sounded a bit more intersted in working out a 'deal' with all the extras ill need. Ive trawlled the ads on the airgun forums and im not seeing anything by the way of bargains on these two guns used at the moment :(

Had a pull on the trigger of a HW 100 pcp (nice, very pricey piece of kit) but it felt souless to me. Springer it is I recon :)

try out an aa prosport................... :D

[nic]

Thing is John, if you buy a new springer you are bound to have a 'look inside', before you know it you will have junked the internals and made some new bits; if you buy secondhand you don't have to feel bad about it.

If you like the 97k then have a look at the 77 or 77k is the same gun without the muzzle break ( fake silencer) You could make a damsacus one. The stock is different on the 77 but is interchangable with the 97k ones. A lot of people buy custom stocks for the 97k, so there are lots of secondhand ones availble- though you probably would have to ask about a bit.

The 77 or 77k has been made for longer so there are more about and more on the secondhand market- most seem to be .22 but that shouldn't worry you.

Nic

[mahoosive]

I have a HW97k and love it!

Too heavy for shooting standing up and aiming at the rafters though!

[rapidboy]

HW77k "before and after" pics

(HW77k & TB90)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v76/rapidboy1/guns/DSC00160-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v76/rapidboy1/guns/DSC02155.jpg

[John N]

:D :D

ok, cue loads of bargain guns to crop up as ive just bought a new one!!!!!

Went to Cheshire Gun rooms in stockport with a pretty good idea of what I was after. They were nice and helpfull in there, and I am now the proud owner of my own rifle :D

I went in with the intention of getting the 95K , (and to be honest that is what I thought I had bought) , just had a proper looksy and it is in fact a standard 95 with a facotry silencer on it! its the one that felt most right in the shop!

Also got a 'Hawke' nite eye scope (3-9 x 50), which has the super cool gimmik of lighting up red and green inside :lol: Im assuming its of no real value but I love it :D :D

Add in the mounts, and a bag and Im £440 worse off ! They were pretty good at rounding all the prices down, and price matched the rifle (near enough) with one I found online at blackpool air rifles so I dont think I got a bad deal.

I know ill mess it about internally at some point, but I do like the idea of it being 'virgin' when I start messing with it. Its not often I treat myself so Ive got that nice warm glow of a new toy, with no skimping on what I wanted.

Ill get some pics, even though everyone knows what they look like! Thanks for all the advice, gotta laugh at my initial budget :lol:

[rapidboy]

:D nice one, good health to enjoy it.

[ANDYLASER]

Excellent choice. Now lets see some pictures. :)

[John N]

Pushed half a tin of pellets through the '95 today (Air Arms diablo field). Very addictive !

Was initially very frustrating as basically I dont know how to shoot, and can barely hit a cows arse with a banjo. The sights not being zeroed made it more frustrating as I wasnt sure if it was me, or the setup that was getting carp grouping. The scope went miles out but I progressively reined it in by eliminating the variables (Range, Stance etc)

By going home time I was putting the pellets through the same hole at about 50 feet (standing, with the front of the gun on a rest). Basically before the last few batches of pellets I think I was holding the gun wrong, infact not really holding it, more resting it like I was with the very underpowered P.O.S I was using before. It does kick quite a bit and needs holding firm! Not sure if the gun broke in a bit after a couple of hundred pellets. It felt like it did, but again it could have just been me getting used to it!

The rifle itself is a beautiful piece of engineering and I cant fault it. I know it is good enough to put the pellet through the same hole at double or more the distance I was shooting (im very aware that Im not very good at this.... yet!)

Im a bit shocked by the power of the rifle, at 50' it was just about pushing the pellets through a 20mm thick soft pine back stop :yikes: They were coming out of the other side flat! :D

Lots to learn but Im delighted with the purchase, gonna push at least another tin of pellets through it before I start shooting at live targets.

[rapidboy]

Springers usually like a firm grip and don't like being rested.
If your resting, rest your arm and hold the stock firmly with your hand rather than resting the stock directly against a hard surface.
Following through is important, a lot of people move as soon as they squeeze the trigger, try to hold the rifle on target and see the pellet strike through the sights before you move.

[nic]

Springers usually like a firm grip and don't like being rested.
If your resting, rest your arm and hold the stock firmly with your hand rather than resting the stock directly against a hard surface.
Following through is important, a lot of people move as soon as they squeeze the trigger, try to hold the rifle on target and see the pellet strike through the sights before you move.

Depends really, resting a hard surface isn't often good, but the thing about a firm hold is that you are absorbing the recoil and altering the point of impact, if you can replicate the firmness of your hold every time you won't have any difficulty. This variation in hold is why one of the reasons people see differing POI relative to stance. If you go for a no- hold hold, ie just support the gun and let it recoil by itself it may be better as you can absolutely replicate this every time.

But this isn't so applicable to light guns that recoil heavily (95 is possibly borderline in this case) they may need to be held. Also a no hold hold is not so good for hunting as you can't track a target so easily, also POI will change due to recoil if you are aiming up or down, thinking pigeons in the rafters which was the original idea behind the gun.

When I used to shoot my 97k, a heavy gun with a lead loaded stock , I found best accuracy was from a sitting position with the gun resting directly on my knee, If I rested it on my (gloved ) hand I could still see my pulse throught the crosshairs.
Absolutely agree with follow through.

Nic

[John N]

Shoved another 100 pellets through 'charlene' today, and with holding the rifle with hands supported was hitting 50p sized groupings of 3 at 30 yards , with the occasional better group, and the odd shocker. Gonna get the grouping more consistent, and then move the 'range' into the big bay at work to extend the distance a bit :)

Great tips on supporting the gun by hand and watching the pellet home, thanks guys!

Ordered a tin of JSB exact 'jumbos' today, and am thinking I need a cheek pad, and possibly a butt extension :rolleyes: It will be camo paint before you know it :lol: My backstop (ok, the lid of a packing case) looks like someone has put a few 12 bore carts through it :)

What would be considered 'reasonable' shooting with my set up? range / grouping / stance?

Oh, and the other half doesnt seem to have a problem with me shooting bunnies (even though we have a pet one) and has said the farm we keep the horse at would probably let me shoot there :D

[raisedbybrocks]

Hey mate, good choice there:D I reccon the standard 95 has better balance than the k version anyway. Sounds like your doing really well. Something I naturally seemed to adopt with a springer is the FT sitting position. Before I knew what FT was:P There is a video of Terry Doe demonstrating it on u tube somewhere. Doesn't work for everyone but with a bit of practice it can be a very comfortable and stable shooting position. Also a good position to zero the gun from as is nice and neutral. I do most of my hunting from this position as i'm lazy and like sitting on my arris. I've always found a soft hold better with a boinger, but horses for courses. let the gun recoil naturally without applying undue force on the but, cheek piece and just letting your hand rest on the pistol grip. As far as accuracy goes. Your kill zone on a rabbit brain is about 15mm, between the eye and the base of the ear Just restrict yourself to the range you can confidently place 5/5 pellets in half an inch or so. If this means sitting in wait 20 yards away from the hedge. This can work very well indeed as long as you move super slowly. Have fun:)
Will
Found TD's u tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sa7ODrtWMY

[rapidboy]

Draw a 1.5" circle and shoot 10 shot groups, move back a few yards and shoot another group, when you can't keep them inside 1.5" your beyond your range for hunting.
"reasonable" ?, I'd expect to be grouping consistently inside a 1.5" circle out to about 40 yards.
It's not just about doing it on a target at a set distance, you really need to be able to judge distance and aim off accordingly.
Years ago i made up a load of 40mm steel spinners and i scatter them at random distances for hunting practice, with a bit of effort you can get pretty good at range estimation.
Decide what pellet your going to use, then work out your maximum distance and then you can work out your pellet trajectory.

[John N]

Well we dont have a ferral pidgeon problem in the factory anymore!

Gonna spend a bit of time practicing now before I even consider going hunting.

[rapidboy]

:lol:

[John N]

I would swear they must have a quick learning curve, or some are smarter than others.... the remaining few seem to have become very wary of me!!

[billgatese30]

Just a quick learning curve mate, they are craftier that they look.

[raisedbybrocks]

I'm sure you'll find a way to get them pesky Pigeons:D
If you want to give them bad vibes, I've found city Pigeons really hate it when I make a noise like a rural wood pigeon. Who whoooooo who.... who who, that sort of thing. Just make sure no one else is in the factory or they might start to worry about you.:P

[Colin KC]

Get a 20 or a .410:)

[John N]

The remaining couple or 3 have decided it was a high risk environment and winged it! tonight was the first evening this week without shots fired!

I will take some pictures of the damage 20 pigeons can do in a 30,000 sq foot factory if they are left alone for a couple of years. Not everyone reading this thread will think killing them was necessary im sure.

They were, in the main, not roosting in the portion of the factory building I rent, though my stuff has had a fair number of 'strikes'. I had a proper look at the stuff thats in storage in the rest of the bay, and I recon £20,000. of damage to it, as a conservative estimate :yikes: (I basically estimate for a living, so this is not a b.s number picked out of thin air) the owners of the stuff badly damaged will go mental when they see it (its about half a million quids worth of large 'stainless' steel screw conveyors in long term storage)

[megalift]

Nah - Shoot 'em. Plenty more where they came from...

I've got an old green canvas Marine snipers drag-bag you can have Bud - I'll bring it to Owens; It'll keep all your bought-gubbins nice and shiny.

I'll do you a deal - You show me how to make BBmascus, and I'll show you how to shoot? ;)

[rapidboy]

I had a call yesterday from my mate to say he had been asked to clear a few ferals, he was taking along his FAC rated Daystate Harrier so he asked me to bring my wee 12ft/lb S410 for the closer ones.
Turned out to be a massive old building that is now being used as a skate park, most shots between 40 - 60 yards with all the birds roosting up high in dark corners on the steel work and old cranes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v76/rapidboy1/IMG_0667.jpg

The background was very light absorbing and our lamps and torches were just about at their limits.
An entertaining and challenging evenings shooting but the place should be a bit cleaner now, hard to believe the mess just a couple of dozen birds can make :yuck:

[MeetTheGeeks]

Damn things are a menace and poop on everything, its acidic and the only way to deal with them is shoot the beggars... I know some people dont like shooting things that are not for the pot, but pests like flying rats or tree rats (squirrels) need to be dealt with... good on ya and happy hunting