Renegade Master

No worries mate, put some pictures up when it's done.

As others have said, nitromoors to get rid of the old varnish, I lay the stock on a plastic bin bag, apply the nitromoors then fold the bin bag over. This stops it drying out. Then put the stock into a bucket of soapy water and rub down with 0000 guage wire wool. This will help to raise the grain and get rid of any residue. Dry and rub down with fine wet and dry followed by dry 0000 wire wool until smooth. Personally I use Birchwood Casey Tru Oil to finish, there are some pics of my S410 done this way here if you would like to see the finished result. Cheers Dan

11 fpe is perfect with AA Fields. Any more and you are in danger of going over the limit with a heavier pellet (which the Police may use if they test you).

You are still probably looking at over £100 for a cheap bottle or pump. Maybe you should consider trading in your PCP for a spinger. That way you won't need any charging gear.

It cost me £3.50 to have a 7l dive bottle filled, filling the PCP probably wouldn't cost more than 50p. But do you really want to have to go to a dive shop every 50 to 100 shots? Better of with a bottle or pump.

I believe the H&N FTT's are a fair bit lighter than AA's. Something like 14 grains for the FTT's and 16 grains for the Fields.

I am fairly sure that shooting magpies in your garden is illegal. Not sure about clubbing them.

Adam Hunting with air pistols in the UK is very much frowned upon, they are just not powerfull enough to dispatch quarry quickly and humanely, accept at point blank range (dispatching rats caught in traps). You really need a spring or pcp rifle mate. Powerful pistols like the HW45 put out about 5.5 ft/lbs but are just not accurate enough at hunting ranges (even 15m) due to recoil. They also cost over £200. For that you could get a good, full power springer rifle. Co2 pistols are fairly underpowered (2 ft/lbs if you are lucky) and are not an option. There are some PCP pistols which would probably be OK accuracy wise, but they are generally mega expensive, and still limited to 6ft/lbs max, as are all pistols. You could look at Co2 rifles, but in my opinion the power fluctuations due to temperature, and resultant changing POI make them a firm no for hunting. As a poster above said, why not look at a BSA Ultra, which is fairly short. Also, many rifles now come in carbine form, such as the awesome HW100 and AA S410. Or a carbine springer. Or one of the bullpupped rifles that come up for sale from time to time, nice and short. In terms of scopes (for rifles) I would suggest somehting like a 3-9x40 as a popular set up for relatively close range work. Hope it helps mate Dan

Don't give up Bob. Sometimes permissions will just fall in your lap, you just need to take advantage when the opportunity arises. For example, this morning one of my clients came to see me for a motor trade insurance policy. We got talking about it and it turns out he will be salvaging and breaking cars. His "yard" is on a patch of land owned by a friend. I immediately mentioned that I was looking for land to hunt on, my client tells me his friend will be more than happy to let me shoot there as he is inundated with rabbits, squirrels and rats. Long story short, I am off to have a look at my new permission this weekend. You just have to seize opportunity when you can. Ask all you mates to spread the word, you will find somewhere eventually. Its not what you know, its who you know. Dan

Manufacturing tolerances of barrels can vary from make to make (and even rifle to rifle). Two head sizes are offered, and it's a case of trying both to see which works best in your rifle. A 0.01mm difference is pretty damn small, but can effect the POI.

Agree with Axe, would not recommend a Co2 powered rifle for hunting. The power fluctuations due to temperature change will effect the POI making it impractical for live quarry. If your budget wont stretch to a PCP, then springer is proposably the way forward.

Weihrauch HW100

Would recommend a Harris bipod, they have several types. You will obviously need to fit a QD stud (or have one fitted). For all round use I would recommend the SLM model, it's around £70.00. Cheers, Dan

Have you ever tested it for range, how much was it. I've seen some LED torches on the internet that mount onto the scope that look alright. Thanks everyone, HSH Range is around 100m. Beam is nice and tight (about 15 degrees) so you don't spook quarry as much as with a floodlight.

I use a Surefire tactical weapon light that I bought from a member on the AA owners club forum. Put's out about 100 lumens (3 cell maglite's about 35 lumens) in a nice tight beam, but is relatively small and light in comparison.

Agreed, AA Fields are my pellet of choice for the S410. Others I have tried that work well are Webley Mosquitoes (if you can get hold of any), Accupells and Defiants. Many AA owners also state good results with H&N FTT's.

Hi Jacob That all sounds good to me mate. The S410 is whisper quiet with the HW silencer. I guess you will be hunting with it, so you may want to consider the carbine version. I love mine. Cheers Dan

Have to agree, the HW100 is an awsome rifle for the money. As an alternative, I was reading about the new Ripley Hog in one of the airgun mags, I think that was around your price range. Not sure when it's available though.

Sorry to disagree, but boresnakes are not recommended for air rifles, the brass brushes in them are likely to damage the rifling. Air rifle barrels don't get as dirty as rimfire and centerfire (no powder residue), so a boresnake is just overkill. A couple of pull throughs with white spirit, followed by a clean one to dry and another with some oil on is all you need. Cheers Dan

If it's the same as the Beretta 92, then an adapter attaches to the end of the barrel with a grub screw, the silencer then screws on to the adapter. Be aware that teh grub screw in the adapter will probably mark the end of the barrel, so best to locate in underneath where it wont be seen if the adapter is removed.

Personally I wipe the exterior with a silicone cloth after every use before I put it away, and clean the barrel with pull throughs every 500 pellets or so. As for servicing the internals, I would take it to a shop and have a gunsmith do it. It can be done yourself, but personally I would rather pay a professional. Saying that, I do believe in the old adage "if it ain't broke, don't try to fix it", so unless you are having problems I would leave it alone. Hope it helps, Dan

Whoops, just realised I made a typo. I meant yards, not feet. Didn't read the TC's last post properly.

Hello again mate 70ft is too far away for your average airgun, especially Co2. The pellet just wont have enough penetration left at that range. I would recommend a maximum range of 35ft for a .22, unless it is FAC rated and you can consistently put 9 out of 10 shots into a 1" target at that range. I suggest before you go into the field you have a good read up on hunting, especially respect for your quarry. I am not trying to be rude mate, but you don't sound like you are ready for live quarry. If you do want to get straight out then I can recommend a book by John Darling called "the Hunters Secrets", it taught me a lot when I started hunting. Cheers Dan

Hello mate Best advice I can give to a "total noob" is don't even think about pointing a rifle at a living animal until you have practised with it for several months. As it is Co2 the power will fluctuate somewhat with the temperature. This (as well as the range) is going to effect the point of impact. You need to learn all the points of impact before going hunting. Sorry to be down on you mate, but I was in the same boat once and got the same answer. I am now glad I spent months practising on paper targets, as out in the field you need to be able to put the pellet right into the brain pan of whatever you are shooting at, if you can't do that consistently you shouldn't be shooting at live quarry. A good thing to do is set targets out at different ranges so you can observe the differing points of impact. Not wishing to sound rude but you do realise that you need to aim above or below the target, depending on range? Also, get practising estimating range, or buy a rangefinder to make life easier. Hope it helps, Dan

No mate, even rats deserve to die quickly and humanely.