Alanl

Rather than being a damaged seal, I'd say the more likely problem is a loss of air pressure in the Ram. They have a port for topping them up, it is a fairly common occurence and easily rectified if you have the relevant pump and pipe, and a chrono. From my experience, it is when the gun has not been used for a while that the pressure is lost - a theory is that the seal sticks slightly on the shaft, when it is cocked some pressure is then lost, as there is no longer a perfect airtight seal as the seal moves on the shaft. If you havent got the pump (which is around £70), then many gunsmiths can do it for around £25. If you have a compressed air bottle, I believe it is possible to get the hose adaptor for the gun, then top it up with the bottle. Alan.

I'm after 2 springs for my Benelli semi. I was originally pointed to a Company in Italy, who are the not far from the factory (http://www.brignoliarmi.com), and after an initial "yes, we'll get them in for you", I've never heard another thing, despite asking if they had the bits in twice. So, onto John Forsey, who are probably the biggest stockists of Benellis. Rang them in late October, gave them the part numbers, and they said they'd send them out when they arrive, probably a couple of weeks. At the end of November, rang them to see if they'd arrived. The parts were there, but hadnt been sent. Would be in the post that week. Nothing arrived. So, mid-December, tried again, "yes, sorry, been too busy, will be out this week." Christmas came and went, still no springs. Rang them again 2nd week in Jan. "Sorry, been hectic, will get them out". Still nothing. Final call last Saturday. " been busy, will call back later" A week later, no call. I know these are not a good profit for the shop, but surely they could take 5 minutes to put them into an envelope and post them? So, my query. Who can I ring up, give 2 part numbers, and then get them to post me these springs? My 2 local shops are useless, so mail order would be best. Any ideas who to try? Ta Alan.

I use an air rifle too. They start to move around in the trap when you approach, after a minute, they calm down, you can than place the gun on top of their head, and it is instant death. I always put another immediately behind the ears pointing slightly forward. I also got this from the Firearms officer, when I asked him if I could use my shotgun in the garden to despatch them. He said yes, if I did it 100 metres from the nearest house, and the shot was going into a good backstop - not ricocheting off the cage. For that reason, he said an air rifle touching the head was the best thing in an urban garden. With an air rifle, I would never shoot at a fox other than when it is subdued in a trap, with the muzzle on its head.

Does anyone here catch foxes in a trap? How do you kill them then? Alan.

I very much doubt that a Supersport would be any good for anything but targets at 50 yards. They are generally around 10 ft/lbs or less (which isnt a problem really), and give a bit of recoil. You'll need a lot of practice with it to hit a one inch ring at anything over 30 yards. When you can get 9 out of 10 shots (or preferably all 10) in a one inch ring at 30 yards, then try it again at 40 yards. When you can do that, it will be alright for rabbits at that distance. I think 50 yards will be too far. Alan.

Hmm, most seem to say the gas-ram has improved the XL, I had the opposite. It absolutely ruined it. It made it kick like a mule when fired. Chrono'd was doing very slightly over 12ft/lbs, so disassembled again, and took out any washers/weights to get it legal, ended up at around 11 ft/lbs, but still awful to fire. In the end I bought a spring kit from Venom, fitted that, reduced the spring length slightly, so it was doing 10 ft/lbs, and it was a lovely gun to fire. No twang, and not too much recoil. I dont think the Lightning XL is heavy enough to cope with the recoil at 12 ft/lbs, and a gas ram makes it far harsher than a spring. Alan.

The Home Affairs Committee has been looking at Firearms Legislation recently, and has issued a report with various recommendations. In that report there are some figures concerning air gun crime. They dont recommend any additional rules for airguns, as the rate of illegality is falling. There is a table showing the different types of convictions too. Link here: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmselect/cmhaff/447/447i.pdf HTH Alan.