Teach me about airguns

[wolflore]

From the BASC website ........

"it is against the law, in England and Wales, to fire an air rifle within 50 feet of the centre of a highway, if by doing so you cause any member of the public, using that right of way, to be injured, interrupted or endangered. This offence could be committed, for example, by someone on private property close to a road who uses an air rifle in a way which endangers people on the road."

Top Man!

[Danzo]

There you go, I could have stayed asleep!



Danzo

[Cones]

Quick update.

I have sent a load of emails to various suppliers for quotes on the Steyr LP50.
Still waiting for a few replies. Obviously not keen on making a sale!

I am edging towards getting it all from one supplier if possible. Saves on postage and makes it simple if I have any problems. I know that some Steyr dealers are grey imports. Not sure if this is a big deal or not.

I will now ask another question. I know I should join the Airgun BBS (Been Lurking there). But everyone hear is so helpful and friendly. Well mostly anyway

Right enough creeping! Back to the question.

What do you all use to charge you airguns with?

Is it best to use a 300Bar 12L divers air bottle or get a Hill stirrup pump with a drypack system? A know the divers bottle delivers the best air quality and will not introduce moisture into the cylinder. I have read the the hand pump can produce excessive moisture which will over time rust the inside of the cylinder.

Your thoughts please?

Many Thanks

Mark

[rapidboy]

A lot of my PCP shooting is a Rapid running at 30ft/lbs so i use a lot of air and I also run a 12ft/lbs FT rig so this justify's me having a 15 litre bottle.
I know a lot of FT and pistol shooters use smaller bottles but i always recommend a large bottle as it will allow you to fill other guns if you decide to try something else.

I have tried a pump (filling a 12 ftllb's gun) and it's not for me ,vigorously pumping just before or half way through a competition does little to steady your aim and quite frankly you can look a bit of a tit using one.
I used to have one for charging TAC's (a simple 1 stroke affair which was fine but not for charging pistols or rifles).
You also have the moisture issue and i know a couple that have given trouble so i would go for a bottle.

I dont know any FT or pistol shooters who fill from a pump ,all use a bottle.

As for a Steyr ,an LG100 will very probably be my next FT gun and i have looked into the various sources.
From what i have heard the only place to buy a steyr is from Mendip Shooting Ground ,http://www.mendipclays.co.uk/.
I believe they only sell genuine UK imports (imported by the UK dealer ,Harry Preston) and are covered by the full Steyr warranty.

rb

[Sunraven]

A divers bottle is a good idea for use with an air rifle. CLean dry air and at alot less effort than using a pump. Try pumping up an air rifle to 200 bar it is hard work but a good way to get fit

You can get filters for pumps and ones that remove moisture and for a pistol it should not be too much work and lighter to carry around. But it will take longer to use a pump than a divers bottle. I do know that most people that get a pump end up buying a divers bottle in the end. For a pistol you should get quite a few charges from quite a small divers bottle before it needs recharging. You can get bottles for quite reasonable prices second hand but make sure they are in test ( they need to get checked every so often and pass a pressure test) Also if you do get a divers bottle if you are going to take it to a club then a 300 bar 12L bottle does weight quite alot

[Cones]

Looking at these people for bottle systems.

http://www.aqualung.co.uk/mde/precharged.htm

The plus is they are within 35 miles of me. So I can collect. Plus it is designed around airgun charging.

I may get a pump anyway. Useful as a backup if the bottle goes empty!

Get the pump with the pistol then a bottle later when the funds have recovered!

Thanks

Mark

[Taff Ogri]

Cones,
It all depends on what you'll be using the rifle for. As you.ve mentioned a Steyr, I'll guess at FT/HFT competitions - in which case you will probably want the ease of using a divers bottle - its known quality/pressure and you'll be aware of regular refills and pressure curves. Lots of pellets in a short period of time.
If you were to want the rifle to hunt etc then a stirrup pump might serve you better, occaisional top-ups, refilling when you get home from the hunt etc etc. A few pellets over and entire weekend.
Horses for courses.
Remember that there will be costs involved in purchasing the equipment and its legal upkeep!

ATB

Ogri the trog

[Martyn]

Wow, have you seen the Rapid MkI with the full length silencer and Gary Cane custom stock on the secondhand page at BAR?

http://www.airgunbuyer.com/Showprodu...dhand%20Rifles

Scroll down, it looks a beaut. RB what's your opinion on this rifle, is it worth the money?

Would someone in the market be better off with a newer MFR?

[Celtic Dragon]

Rapids do tend to hold their price well. Whether I'd pay £700 for 1, I'm not sure as I tend to favor milatary style rifles.

But with a Gary Cane stock thats a fair price, which ain't cheap to start with

[rapidboy]

Martyn ,
Celtic Dragon is right about rapid's holding their price well ,they also do exactly what they are designed to do very well.
If you want a working rifle that will shoot as well if not better than anything else,that will be reliable and consistent and hold it's value then a rapid's a first class choice.
If it was a car it would be a Landrover ,a knife it would be a Woodlore !

I am in the fortunate position that i can afford pretty much whatever airgun i want and i have owned my first rapid for around 9 years now.
As far as im concerned it has yet to be bettered and i see no reason to buy anything else ,(i have also had 2 other rapids in different calibres and power levels).
I have looked at Ripley's ,Daystate's ,Steyr's etc. etc. and i still think the rapid comes out in front.
I hunt with mine and shoot "sporting air rifle" competitions with it and it regularly beats Ripley's ,Steyr's ,Air Arm's and Daystate's (and they are all target rifles - the rapid was only ever designed as a hunting gun.)

The rapid on the BAR site looks like it already has an MFR silencer fitted but it doesn't mention what size bottle , (standard rapid's can run a 400 or even 500cc bottle but MFR's run 280 only).
MFR's can run with a smaller bottle because they have a regulator fitted ,this gun may have been converted.

The difference is really down to the ,trigger ,loading and regulator.
The Mk1 rapid has a very basic trigger and the MFR has a more sophisticated affair.
Personally i feel the Mk1 trigger has had a lot of unfair criticism ,Theoben have tried several times to put a more sophisticated trigger in the rapid's and none have been as reliable as the bog standard "gamo style" original unit.
On a hunting gun a trigger needs to be reliable and robust ,target style unit's give problems because they where never intended to be used in a hunting environment.

The MFR also has the option of single shot loading - the merits of this are debatable and really down to personal preference.

The Mk1 does not have a regulator fitted as standard and the MFR does.
Reg's give more shots and better consistency but they are a potential weakness in a system so you have to decide if a regulated shot is more important that reliability.
My FT gun does have a reg (and after i travelled to England it failed just before an important competition ) but it's a target gun and target gun's have regulators !
My rapid does not have a reg and i choose not to have one retro fitted for reliability.

Gary Cane makes some beautiful stocks and i have shot a rapid with one of his multi coloured laminate thumbhole stocks fitted - it was a peach but bear in mind that custom stocks are often made to "fit" an individual that may well be a different shape and size to you so id advice you handle the gun to make sure it suit's you.
This gun has an adjustable butt plate that can help a lot with gun fit so that's another plus point.

Mk1's have less component parts and are very easy to work at should you decide to service yourself.

If it was me id go with the Rapid ,not that i don't like MFR's (i do) but that is a nice looking rig that should do everything you want ,hold it's price and turn quiet a few heads.

rb

[Martyn]

Thanks for tyhat RB, I know you are about as knowledgeable on these guns as anyone, so I reakon I can take that to the bank. I like buddy bottle rifles for thier convenience,and the rapids have a fantastic reputation. This particular one looks stunning. From the looks of it (although it's hard to tell) it would seem to have a 400cc bottle.

[rapidboy]

400cc bottle makes it a little heavier but nothing to worry about for a big strong lad ,(actually helps steady you up) and means you could turn up the power (FAC required) if you feel the need later.

One other thing Martyn ,most rapid owners that fit a sling do so with a barrel band.
In my experience this is not a good idea and i don't use a sling anymore.
However a swivel stud is handy for fitting a bi-pod and that stock (like my Tyrolean version) looks like it could accommodate a stud at the front which is nice for some long range bunny bashing.

BAR have a great reputation among shooters ,i was speaking to Lloyd a couple of weeks ago and he was very helpful.


rb

[Martyn]

400cc bottle makes it a little heavier but nothing to worry about for a big strong lad ,(actually helps steady you up) and means you could turn up the power (FAC required) if you feel the need later.

One other thing Martyn ,most rapid owners that fit a sling do so with a barrel band.
In my experience this is not a good idea and i don't use a sling anymore.
However a swivel stud is handy for fitting a bi-pod and that stock (like my Tyrolean version) looks like it could accommodate a stud at the front which is nice for some long range bunny bashing.

BAR have a great reputation among shooters ,i was speaking to Lloyd a couple of weeks ago and he was very helpful.


rb

Ahhh, I thought the 500CC was standard. I meant to say looking at the picture, it looks like a smaller bottle (than the rapid Mk II below).

It's a beautiful gun. I think I'm sold, I just need to raise the funds before someone else nabs it.

I was wondering about a sling, what's the problem with a barrel band?

[rapidboy]

Rapid barrels are strong enough to carry the gun and i carried mine this way for years with out causing any damage ,but a lot of people tend to use the sling as an aid for standing shots by twisting their arm through it.
This tensions everything and helps steady your aim ,fine if the sling is attached to the stock but tensioning against the barrel can pull the barrel down and change the point of impact.
Even if the barrel is not pulled ,tensioning it will effect the barrel harmonics and can still effect the shot.
I wasn't sure about this theory but a range session at the club where we applied tension through a barrel mounted sling proved the point.

rb

[Celtic Dragon]

Martyn, the Rapids barrel is fixed at the breech only. If you attach a sling to this, the weight of the rifle being slung will flex the barrel.

I have to agree, for simplicity I do like the rapid mk1. I however do have a BSA super10 (heavily modded) and a Daystate Harrier mk which I am having reg'ed by Airmasters.

I don't find a fixed airtube a major hassle when hunting, for me to empty the harrier I'd have to lose off 60 odd shots.