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Have been away from air rifle shooting for nearly 20 years now and am looking to get back in to it, bit of target shooting and taking a rabbit or two for the pot, had a quick look at some online sites and there appear to be loads of brands that i have never heard of, many appear to be of Chinese origin, so whats the pick of the bunch these days?
Got a budget of £200 max and would like to get a basic 4x40 scope in for that as well if possible, don't mind second hand either so that will help to keep the cost down and my local gun shop usually has a few in stock, I would just like to know of any brands to avoid or go after.
Thanks.
I'd recommend a second-hand BSA Lightning. You should be able to get one with a 3-9x40 within your budget.
That's what I started out with when I started to take shooting more seriously. I probably shot more with it than the fancy the pre-charged guns I moved onto!
You can't beat a basic break-barrel rifle for simplicity. The only time I felt smug to have a pcp with a multi-shot magazine was when I was out lamping in winter...it meant I wasn't fumbling about trying to load pellets with freezing fingers.
IMHO you can't go far wrong with Air arms, BSA or weihrauch, but I'm no expert! Have a look on guntrader.co.uk to see current second-hand prices.
TJ to the....oh 🙁
I use an Air Arms S200 pump up gun, had for about 10 years, with Simmons scope and use Air Arms Diablo Field .22 pellets. It's really accurate (zeroed to 30 metres) and stays so, good for 50 shots before needing pumping up again. Cost about £200 when I got it but the pump was a a chunk more. Great for target shooting and getting the odd rat, pigeon, squirrel, pheasant, rabbit etc All get eaten bar the rats which I might try one day....
You lost me at Pheasant.
+1 for the BSA Lightening, my first and still my only air rifle. Accurate, powerful enough, pretty bombproof and has a built on silencer to boot which is handy when shooting for the pot.
I bought mine second hand years ago. I'll never sell it.
Yes shooting pheasants with an air rifle isn't what you'd call sporting or challenging. Each to their own though.
I have a 30 year old Weiheauch HW77 that is a really accurate gun for a spring air rifle, it cost me £120 from the classifieds on airgunbbs.com and after a bit if work I've got a really nice accurate gun. You should get a decent springer from air arms or Weiheauch for your budget, I never liked bsa or webley guns. Diana are also good if you're not stuck with the 12ft/lb limit. You'll struggle to get a complete precharge setup for near £200 maybe I'm wrong but I would allow £250 for a gun and £100 for a bottle and hose.
Be sure to have a look on the classifieds on the airgunbbs or other airgun forums, pigeonwatch also but the same guys normally use all the forums.
Another vote for the BSA Lightening.
Stunningly accurate and reliable.
Had one for a good few years and it has paid for itself in pie filling 😀
[i]Weiheauch HW77[/i]
Another Weihrauch here, but a .177 HW55 so no good for vermin but seriously accurate - bought s/h +30 years ago.
Class:
My local shop had a s/h HW35 last year, I should've bought it...
Blackpools ariguns always seem to have a pretty good secondhand selection..
http://www.airgunbuyer.com/Showproducts.asp?cat=Secondhand&SubCat=Secondhand%20Rifles
Used to have a hw35, b r, it was tiny! Gave it to my sister in the end as it was a so light.
Plus owning a weihrauch improves upper body strength. Win win
Weihrauch HW99s or HW57 in .177 if you want to hunt. Second hand should be in budget. I've had both and they are both lightweight accurate spring air rifles.
Please remember to practice until you can consistently hit a 40mm target at 35 yards and ALL the distances in between at 5 yard steps.
Learn to estimate this range. Don't exceed it.
Injuring an animal is just awful.
Pheasants with an air rifle is most definitely sporting although not in the strict sense. Its head shots only and the heads rarely stay still.
Even more fun is the same thing with a rimfire and subs at 100yds. Clean as it can get.
Careful with pre-charged unless you know 100% that all is in perfect condition. Make sure that the air bottle is in test. I like my HW80
Loved my BSA airsporter
I'm a big fan of side or underlever rifles for long term accuracy
as mentioned, guntrader or gunstar for second hand
Scope wise - I've got a simmons 3-9 on my .17hmr that cost about fifty quid and is more than good enough, always loads of cheap scopes on uttings, often good price on some of the nikko-sterlings, can't go wrong with one of them.
If you can get a descent second hand weihrauch hw97 that is what I would go for.
See if there is a HFT club near you, I am sure people will help you out.
Also it's a great sport, very social and good practice for hunting.
BSA lightning. Tactical version if you can find one with a nice shaped resin stock, ideal for shooting off the hand. Break barrel carbine with its own integral moderator. Can be pellet fussy, but my lad's groups single holes at 20yards. Bang on the limit, no charging or divers bottles to find, and very light compared with a PCP. I used to use a Daystate and swore by pre-charged, and before that owned an Airsporter back in the 70s. I cannot recommend the Lightning enough. Decent scope and it's well capable of 40 yard clean kills on bunnies.
@mattsccm. Check that your conditions allow you to shoot pheasants with a rifle.
I have a BSA lightning Tactical XL surplus to requirements. Sat in my garage for several years untouched. Couple of scopes (although can't remember the details of them off top of my head), couple of tins of pellets, and a stack of targets, and a rifle sling.
One of these;
http://bsaguns.co.uk/air-rifles/spring-guns/XL-Tactical.aspx
let me know if interested/want more details.
I have a Cometa 300-s carbine in .22 for sale with a 6-24 x 50 scope and silencer for £150. Email is in profile.
derek_starship - Member
Weihrauch HW99s or HW57 in .177 if you want to hunt. Second hand should be in budget. I've had both and they are both lightweight accurate spring air rifles.Please remember to practice until you can consistently hit a 40mm target at 35 yards and ALL the distances in between at 5 yard steps.
Learn to estimate this range. Don't exceed it.
Injuring an animal is just awful.
Most of that, I still shoot with HW77 (pigeons)and an own modded HW-Euro90 ultra carbine (rats) both in .22
Set all mine to 30 meters smack on on a 20mm target, - 10 meters is the most I will deviate as a clean kill is important as DS says
Second hand Air Arms TX200, no faffing with compressed air tanks, regularly kicked ass target shooting against guys with 2k set ups.
barkm - yeah i would be interested but you have no e mail in your profile, mine is in mine drop me a line please 🙂
Get down your local shooting club, plenty of airguns and rifles for sale and it's an honest tribe, they will sort you out.
HW77 is a cracking gun and you [i]might[/i] find one in budget. But they tend to start around the £250 mark, same with the TX200.
They're a very similar gun, and considered the benchmark in their price bracket - it's just a case of which you like the feel of better.
I have a .22 HW77 for squirrels etc, it's a heavy lump but very easy to hold a site mark as it's so well balanced. Just below 12ft/lb so plenty of power and accuracy.
In my experience, break-barrel springers are nowhere near as accurate as under-lever types. But they do tend to be cheaper.
+1 for the Lightening.
One of only two guns I really miss (the other being a Beretta Silver Pigeon, the first of my own)
Can't go wrong with an old Weiheauch. I bought a HW35 from new 30 years agoe and sill going strong, fitted a scope a couple of years back instead of the open sights and it is as good as any modern springer. In fact i think i prefer it to my modern 10 shot pre-charged air arms.
Be careful buying used air rifles off the internet as scamming seems to be an epidemic in that particular field. If you do best to do a face to face if poss rather than through the post. Also some used air rifles get tuned to over 12 ftlbs which classifies it as a firearm in the eyes of the law.
A lot of nice ones here http://www.thehuntinglife.com/forums/forum/99-guns-and-rifles/
Also be aware that the laws have been tightened up since you last went shooting. You can't just pop down to the woods and plink away any more, you must have permission to shoot on anything other than your own land. Penalties can in theory be as stiff as for most other firearms offences.
& you can even shoot cats with them, can't you kudos?
I prefer something with a bit more poke for "larger game" esselgruntfuttock... 😉
You can get a tattoo on your neck of every cat you maimed
I prefer something with a bit more poke for "larger game"
one of these should fit the bill....... http://www.americanairgunhunter.com/909.html
Maimed??
You kill them all?
Yes.
The sad thing is I believe you're not actually trolling with that response.