Jump to content

What gun....


suffolk tjw
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hi all

Sorry if this has been asked before, I'm wanting to buy an air rifle for the odd pigeon or two.. Can I have some advice and recommendations on types n makes off guns... Am I best to get spring or gas? I am going to be shooting on some local crop fields so hide and decoys I guess... I haven't got a bottomless pit of cash to spend but I want something quality as often paying a bit more does go a long way...

Cheers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

simple answer is whatever you can afford and what shoots straight and accurate,

 

this is down to personal opinion but to be honest it mainly comes down to budget,

 

up to £250 = hw80

 

up to £500 = Air Arms s410

 

over £500 then daystate and any of them is the way to go, but there are other rifles out there which are cheap and accurate ie hatsans etc

 

the choice is yours

 

atb Evo

Link to comment
Share on other sites

if you have 500 then go for a second hand AA s410 excellent rifle, should come with scope also and its a pcp, you get around 60-70 shots per charge, have a look on gun watch, also for that money the hw80 springer, a truelly awesome piece of kit,

 

hope this helps

 

Evo

 

ps welcome to the forum

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would like to add a vote for the Air Arms 200. I have a HW100 as well as the S200, and the S200 is deceptively powerful (up to the legal limit) and handles brilliantly. In comparison to the HW100 it is very light. The accuracy is the same as the HW100 .. more than enough for pigeons up to 40 metres.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If your budget is £500 then I would go for a Springer like the TX200 or the HW97 and then you can get a good gun and scope and still have cash left over for hide and kit. PCP's are great but you will also have to fund a foot pump or buy an air tank. I used to swear that PCP was better than anything else and in some areas it is but the Springer is just as good and you will never run out of air.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So how do pcp charge? Springer are quite a bit louder aren't they? Tempted to just buy one from new as can get aa 410s with mounts and scope for £700...

A pcp is charged with either compressed air from a divers type bottle, or by hand using a stirrup pump.

Allow £120-£150 for a new pump, not sure about bottles but I would think around £160 for a 7 litre bottle and associated bits.

A pcp without a silencer is probably louder than any springer, with a silencer they're more like a mouses ****.

Springers may sound noisy especially to the shooter but most of the noise is spring related and next to your lughole so it sounds a lot worse than it is.

If you're not going to be shooting a lot I would suggest staying with springers, you can just pick them up and use them without any faffing about.

Don't buy anything without handling it and comparing to others, much better to buy face to face if possible.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok thank for that, really helpful. Starting to sway towards a springer than just for the hassle side of things... What's a good springer to look out for?

Do silencers help on springers? Any other tips or advice for pigeon shooting with a springer..? Going to be asking a couple of land owners/farmers I know, was thinking of building a hide up a tree...

Thanks all for your posts :-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok thank for that, really helpful. Starting to sway towards a springer than just for the hassle side of things... What's a good springer to look out for?

Do silencers help on springers? Any other tips or advice for pigeon shooting with a springer..? Going to be asking a couple of land owners/farmers I know, was thinking of building a hide up a tree...

Thanks all for your posts :-)

 

It really isn't that much of a hassle - especially if you have a dive bottle. the Pcp's you've been recommended have air gauges on them so you just have a quick look before you go. You'd have to have one hellofa session to run out of air in one session - even with the smaller tanks on guns like the BSA Ultra SE (unless you're a dreadful shot...) All it takes is a blast of air and you're good to go. There are field benefits to a PCP over a springer, that aren't to do with the shooter's ability. They are quieter - with a silencer - you can have multishot capabilities and they tend to be lighter as well. There's also far less movement and noise involved in loading a PCP, which can be useful for pigeon shooting as they're pretty nervous critters. You won't go wrong with an AA S410 set up and it is absolutely worth looking for a second hand deal, as there are some great deals out there. My personal choice for your budget would be a second hand Air Arms S510, as I loved the side action on it. Some days I regret selling it, even though I own a Daystate!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok but what about the extra cost of getting a divers bottle..! Wouldn't know where to start getting one lol. And then how do you refil the bottle when that runs out? If I can get a decent springer for 400-500 and it will perform just as accurate just a little noisier than a pcp then it may be a better gun for me...

Do silencers work on springers?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pigeon shooting with an air rifle is about the best sport you can have, forget shooting from a tree though, build a hide into a hedge if possible using netting as a base and as much natural foliage as possible. ideally you want a crop or stubble that the pigeons are used to feeding on but they will decoy onto grass especially if there's a bit of clover in it. Make your hide big! There's nothing worse than getting in and finding you haven't got enough room to move. Try and get within shooting range of a tree that the pigeons like sitting in, they're less wary when they're sitting so you're more likely to get a shot.

Try and work so the prevailing wind is in your face, that way any birds that land will be facing away from you and are less likely to see you before you can give them a little lead sleeping pill. Always take a drink, sit on something comfortable, I use a garden chair and always use sticks to rest the rifle on.

Don't underestimate pigeons, they are wild and wily except when they first leave the nest.

Don't expect big bags, my best this year is 17 but you won't find a better way of spending an afternoon, not unless Holly Wobblebooby happens to be free and says yes please!

Most important, if at first it doesn't work, keep trying until it does, then when you've think you've finally cracked it the birds will change the rules.

I've got loads of posts on AAOC about pigeon shooting and some hide pics but you need to be a member to view them, if I can find some on PB I'll try and post them on here.

Have fun!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok but what about the extra cost of getting a divers bottle..! Wouldn't know where to start getting one lol. And then how do you refil the bottle when that runs out? If I can get a decent springer for 400-500 and it will perform just as accurate just a little noisier than a pcp then it may be a better gun for me...

Do silencers work on springers?

I use a Prosport for nearly all my pigeon shooting, already silenced, very accurate, simple to service.

Basically a TX with a hidden cocking lever.

Bottles have to be filled from a dive shop usually, maybe a fiver a time, they have to be tested every so many years, maybe 5?

I believe carbon fibre bottles have a fixed life so eventually you have to scrap them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Timmytree thays awesome help thanks so much! Yeah any pics of hides would be great!

Definately going to look at springers... Don't know of any diving shops haha!

Do air arms do decent springers?

Last question is about setting up a air rifle... How hard is it to set a scope? If I buy second hand then am I missing out on the gun shop setting everything up for me correctly... ?

I was told a decent scope is a lot more important on a pcp.. Is this true and what are good scopes to look out for?

Cheers

Timmytree thays awesome help thanks so much! Yeah any pics of hides would be great!

Definately going to look at springers... Don't know of any diving shops haha!

Do air arms do decent springers?

Last question is about setting up a air rifle... How hard is it to set a scope? If I buy second hand then am I missing out on the gun shop setting everything up for me correctly... ?

I was told a decent scope is a lot more important on a pcp.. Is this true and what are good scopes to look out for?

Cheers

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do air arms do decent springers?

Last question is about setting up a air rifle... How hard is it to set a scope? If I buy second hand then am I missing out on the gun shop setting everything up for me correctly... ?

I was told a decent scope is a lot more important on a pcp.. Is this true and what are good scopes to look out for?

Cheers

1) do Air Arms do decent springers? Yes. case closed! The TX and Prosport are both top notch.

2) It's pretty easy to set up a scope, even if you've got it second hand. If you buy it with a gun then the chances are it will be set up anyway. if not then it takes a bit longer, but it's still easy.

start at 10yds and zero it roughly. then 15 and re-do, then at 20yds, then at your chosen Zero range. My 177 is set to 35, i think most people zero between 30-40yds regardless of the Cal. (sub 12 ft/lb) If you try zeroing it at your chosen range immediately, you might find it's miles off, so far you're not too sure where the pellet ends up! gradually increasing the range eliminates that.

3) Actually it's probably better getting a better made scope for a springer, as cheap rubbish can lose zero with the recoil of a springer. When I say better, we're not talking Swaro money! anything from Hawke, Simmons, Nikko Stirling or similar will do nicely. you DON'T need massive magnification; you're only dealing with a max of 60yds. 3-9x40 is totally acceptable. anything else is just for ego really :P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I used to shoot pigeons with a springer from a hide cut into a hedge with a camo net drapped over the front and held out a bit in front of me with some 5ft green gardening poles... but.. I found pulling the gun back into the hide every shot to re-cock and load it all got quite intimate and claustrophobic. I then picked up a very tidy secondhand .177 Air Arms s400 Carbine (shorter barrel) with a 3 litre 300bar bottle, Bipod, Camo suit, gun bag and pellets for £420. It is a nice short gun that stays in situ with just the silencer poking out of the hide while I reload it, is unbelievably accurate and quiet and has no recoil whatsoever. Sadly, my trusty tuned springer is now only kept for emergencies... :/

 

There are many great secondhand deals about on other forums that are worth looking at and will enable you to get everything you need in one hit. My carbine gun will shoot about 2 tins of pellets per refill of the 3l diver's bottle and each gun charge from 170 bar down to about 100 gives me approximately 60-70 quality shots, loads of hunts between fills but you'll need to find out you're most local refill station or go for a stirrup pump with a moisture trap.. You will get very comparable accuracy from a quality springer like an Air Arms TX200 or Prosport, but IMHO they aren't as hide friendly if that's your main goal. Just my opinion chaps...... :good:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I may well get laughed outta here but I have an SMK XS19 in .22 which I cleaned and polished the internal of, fitted with a WW trigger, WW tuning kit and fitted with a porky silencer. It's extremely quiet, hardly any recoil and with RWS Superdomes can get groupings within the size of a 10p out at 40 yards.

 

I also have an SMK QB78 Deluxe in .22 fitted with T R Robb service, seals etc. Again this is fitted with a Porky silencer and is even more accurate than my XS19 as it's recoil free.

 

Both of these are fitted with Nikko Sterling Mountmaster scopes, good clear optics and have proved extremely good for me for both target shooting and hunting.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

AA s200, AAs410 AAs510 great rifles, if as you said you may have £700 then I,m sorry but my only choice would be a daystate huntsman, sod the rest, I would then put more money away for a scope and ask someone close to you to be kind enough to fill it,

 

once you have a daystate you WONT look back,

 

I started with the s410 then bought a NEW huntsman(pure class) then bought a Daystate Airwolf (pure pure class) next on my list is the AIR RANGER,only because the Airwolf is basically an electronic AIR RANGER,

 

now I own daystates I wont go using anything else no matter what anyone says they are total precision but most of all the aftersales team are fantastic to say the least,

 

£700 then sorry only one gun for me DAYSTATE HUNTSMAN CLASSIC

 

orgasm over :whistling::whistling: :whistling: :whistling::whistling:

 

atb evo

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Any links to guns for sale that look a good deal...?

Need to have postage or location Suffolk/Norfolk.

Still really undecided on a springer or pcp... Need to find a local place in Suffolk that do air refills...

Would a gun shops like Turlock & Harris. Or Melton guns and tackle do it?

As of yet, I've not bought a new gun! I've always gone for second hand deals off either here or gunstar.co.uk and not been let down yet! The worst experience I had was a .22 Air Ranger. that was me not getting on with the cal. after being so used to .177, the sale and everything was super smooth! gunstar.co.uk or gunwatch.co.uk are the best I've found. easy to narrow searches to fit your area.

 

http://www.gunstar.co.uk/air-arms-s510-carbine-22-5-5mm-airguns-air-rifles-for-sale-i/Air-Guns/160754

 

leaving you a bit to get a bottle (again you can pick these up second hand) but that's pretty typical.

 

http://www.gunstar.co.uk/bsa-ultra-se-22-5-5mm-airguns-air-rifles-for-sale-in-east-su/Air-Guns/62479

That's a great deal! you'll get loads of charges out of a 7 litre 300 bar tank. that's a really good deal. If I was in your shoes, I'd certainly think about that. the BSA Ultra SE is a great little gun

 

make yourself a cup of tea and just spend a happy hour flicking through ads for a new toy :) Then ask on here if you find something you like the look of but want a bit more info!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...