airssassin

Bruno is right... you are covered by the sale of goods act which is still applicable to you even if your warranty has run out. I have had problems with gun shops in the past - they seem to often be ignorant to the law (like many UK retailers) and will try to fob you off but stick with it and as suggested, get trading standards involved if you need some backup. I recently took my motorbike back to the shop and had something replaced and the warranty ran out over 6 months ago. They didn't like it, but once you mention sale of goods act they soon realise you're not to be trifled with! :blink:

I had one of these with a walnut thumbhole stock.... brilliant rifle if a little long and heavy... but that helps to make it super accurate too.

I fitted a gas ram to my .177 lightening XL and it made a hell of a difference. It reduces recoil, reduces lock time (the time between pulling trigger and the pellet leaving the barrel) which improves accuracy massively. Also quieter, nicer noise, easier to cock and mantainance free. Can you tell I'm a fan?

I use an HW100K in .177 and it's excellent for this kind of thing. I have used mine on allsorts including jackdays, woodies, ferrals, magpies, and of course squirrels.

I have an HW100K and also read the manual and saw this. I "vented" it once using the brass thingy and will probably do it again when I next run out of gas in my big bottle. As for storing the rifle empty.. I think this is more to do with safety than anything else. I get squirrels in the garden so have to have the rifle reasonably ready to go so I keep pressure in it and it's fine. I doubt if any condensation builds up anyway.

I'd put it up for £300 ono and see what happens. The air leak will put people off so if you can get that fixed by your local gun smith, it will be easier to sell. Also, you may get a better price if you sell the scope and pump online.

I use a .177 on everything and it works just fine. I have owned .22 rifles too but find the smaller calibre easier to compensate for trajectory at 12 ft/lb. You just need to study your kill zones and be accurate. The smaller pellets are cheaper too.

I agree that you need to get much closer with a sub 12 ft/lb gun, especially a springer. You should be going for headshots always and never the crop. Pellets do not bounce of pigeon heads but they can bounce off the crop. Practise on targets first until you can consistently get sub 1 inch groups and then stick to that distance.

I use the cleaning pellets in my air rifle and put a bit of pellet lube on them which is safe for the gun and helps to get rid of more muck. Every now and again I will use the traditional pull through method,..also with pellet lube. You shouldn't even use regular gun oil (meant for powder burners) on an air rifle as it is too harsh for their barrels.

I have always found it is best to shoot them in the top of the neck/back of the head. If you have to finish one off, a pellet in the back of the noggin will stop any movement. I have also found that heavier pellets help but not hollow point for some reason. They are very tough little blighters!

Wouldn't it be easier and cheaper to buy a priest. Not the religious kind but a small truncheon type thing to whack the squizzer accross the back of the bonce. They are multi-shot too (whack...whack...whack...). I bought a Crosman 1377 for the same purpose but although powerful it was badly made and inaccurate as has been said before due to rubbish sights, lack of stock, terrible trigger. Alternatively, put the money you would have spent on the 2240 towards a multi-shot rifle? I'm interested to hear how much damage the squirrel did when it bit you.. their teeth look fearsome up close.

The toughest quarry that you can shoot with a 12 ft/lb air rifle is a squirrel - they're ard as nails! In my opinion they taste the best too. For those who haven't sampled one - give it a go if you can stomach peeling one. They are sold in top restaurants. Shooting a fox with an air rifle will have 3 effects - the fox will suffer, you have a good chance of being arrested and all us airgunners will be tarred with the same brush and could ultimately lose our hobby. Leave the foxes alone or get a powder burning rifle if you do have to deal with one.

I've got an HW100K in 0.177 and it's a great gun. I've owned both calibres - both have their advantages but the bottom line is an air pellet of whichever calibre fired through the brain of any legal air gunning quarry with produce a clean, humane kill. Just to put a new spin on this age old debate and inject a bit of current affairs into it... 0.177 pellets are made of less lead so they are better for the environment and of course they are cheaper!

A headshot is between the eye and the ear from the side on a rabbit. You will need to be able to put a pellet in a group the size of a 10p before you start on the live quarry.

I have found with squirrels that a shot in the neck or back of the head produces clean kills. The diagram shows a shot between the eye and the ear - this is correct for a rabbit but in my experience not correct for a squirrel. Squirrels' brains seem to be further back in their heads towards their necks. How do I know this? I chop their noggins off to make them easier to skin for the pot. One thing is for sure - never shoot a squirrel in the body with an air rifle (Non FAC).

Once I saw a fox fire a womble out of a trebuchet. I've long since given up the homebrew

Theoben sell a pump kit for their rifles (which may work on your gas ram) for adjusting the power and it costs less than the figures you have mentioned. Have a look on their website. They also sell replacement gas rams. Have you used anything strange to clean the barrel? Oil or something similar? If so, don't. I just use pellet lube on mine and have been recommended not to use oil meant for power burning weapons. Oil build up will cause a power drop. The HW90 is a great gun and once you get it sorted it will last you a long time so don't worry too much about the £200 for the barrel and whatever it costs to sort the ram. If you don't fix it the value will be next to nothing anyway for a trade in, whereas when sorted it should have a good value and you can keep and use it. Just be careful not to ripped off again by that gun shop!

Any .177 domed pellet in the right place will give a clean kill. My gun likes H&N field trophy, Bisley Mags, Air Arms. I think traditional lead domed pellets are better than the new fangled tin ones as they expand a bit more on impact.

I have posted a few tips on this before.. you might find them with a search but here is a summary.. Aim for the neck but from the front you have to hit above the crop and below the head. From the side works well in the neck. From the back is a good shot and you can kill cleanly between the shoulder blades (between wings from behind) although this is easier if you are higher than the bird shooting from an elavated position. From the side you can shoot just in front of the wing which will slip the pellet into the chest behind the breasts (The breasts are pellet proof) for this shot you have to be very accurate. From below you can shoot under the wing into the middle of the bird's body. Finally, one of my favourite shots in to shoot a pigeon head on. When it bobs it's head down to eat some grain aim for the head and the pellet will hit it's head and travel through it's neck into it's body producing the cleanest kill possible.

Apparently, these .14 pellets give you better penetration whilst also delivering more "knock down" power. The tragectory is not flatter but totally flat and totally unaffected by wind - it's a good job otherwise you could end up shooting yourself in the ar$e with the optional heat seeking teflon encased pellets! I can't wait until April 1st!

I bought a crosman 1377 with the intention to use it for short range hunting. It was right up to the legal pistol limit.... but.... the sights are useless, the build quality is rubbish, it requires about 8 pumps before you load the pellet and cock it making it inhumane for any animal waiting for a coup de grace. I was going to put a lightweight stock on it, change the breech for metal, replace the plastic grips for wood, fit a scope rail and scope and tune it up - which you can do if you fit a stock to it because it is then technically a rifle.... then I costed it and decided to put the extra money towards a decent multishot PCP carbine instead! People in the US have turned tuning air pistols into an art form but if you consider the cost to make one suitable for anything other than very short range hunting, it really isn't worth it.

We had loads here last year... until I got my silenced .177 air rifle out! I shot about 20 of them in a couple of days. They are back this year so as soon as they move into a safe area I'll be getting rid of them again. They don't seem at all put off when you shoot them. Most of them stay put while you pop them off one by one. Headshots only with an air rifle.

"I do have fun in the garden with it, i can put a pellet through a coke can with it, the only pobs is the Mrs seems better then me at it...dont you just hate that." Your Mrs probably doesn't hold it so tightly. Relax your grip a bit and your accuracy will probably improve. You can't let the fairer sex win!

You could aways pop in to your gun shop. They'll know how to fix it and might even replace it for you depending on how old it is and what is wrong with it. Certainly worth a try if it isn't too far!

Its a great rifle as long as you work within it's limitations. I found my XL accurate to 30-35 yards, beyond that wasn't really good enough for hunting. So, stick to that sort of range and you won't go far wrong as long as you practise. As far as lethality was concerned it was the same as any other full power air rifle. It accounted for lots of grey squirrels which are the toughest of the airgun quarry. Mine was in .177.