Thinking of buying an air powered rifle and/or hand gun for target shooting. The possibilities are confusing. Anyone have experience or recommendations?
Lol A lot of the potential "Targets" on here though don't list a location....................so could be a bit hard to hit.
I used to own Webley rifles and a pistol, not any more although I do have a baseball bat. Webley were always a good reliable make. Chap I used to go shooting with had a Crossman which was a pump up rifle, the release of compressed air as opposed to a spring in a more conventional rifle means no recoil whatsoever, and very powerful.. If I were buying again, I would definitely look at pump up, options are a pump lever on the rifle, a separate hand/foot pump or co2 cartridges. I don't know what the pros/cons are of each type but there must be some air rifle forums about, and some good magazines.
You have a choice of two calibres .177 or .22, would go for a break barrel spring rifle, as you can paper punch out to 40 yards or so, where as pistol is 15-20 yards range before pellet drops off. Also very limited range of pistols around. Would look at Weihrauch,BSA,or Webley. Looking for new new or secondhand weapon, there two magazines you can find in newsagents, Airgun World & Airgunner. Where about are you.
I am quite prepared to give Mr H the money for the gun and spend as much time as needed locating said targets for him. Look up rat hunting vids...they use some nice kit. Rs
I have read about different types of air guns, but still confusing. The CO2 powered guns obviously have the added cost of the CO2 cartridges and they lose power in cold conditions. The air tank guns seem to be one good option.
Precharged rifle, cylinder charged from a diving bottle, rifles cost a fortune, had a Daystate, cost about £600.
Weihrauch HW 99S in.22 would be top of my list, new or secondhand https://www.solware.co.uk/weihrauch-hw99s-breakbarrel-full-power-air-rifle Others,Webley Blackhawk Stingray Hunter
My friends rifle had a lever under the barrel, 7-10 pumps for a single shot which was a little tedious, but this was nearly 40 years ago so the tech has changed a lot since then.
Air Arms is another brand. From what I have seen on YouTube and read about, are a very good air gun manufacturer and British. I am in NI, which means need a licence for any gun, including any proper air guns, but not a problem. Strangely it is legal to buy real hand guns here - 9mm Glock for example, if you are a gun club member.
Yes, unless I am lucky enough to find a good second hand one. It would be cheaper to buy a real .22 rifle (bullet firing rifle). They have a very long range, which is obviously unnecessary and more dangerous if just target shooting
I would find that tedious. I am used to an under lever spring air rifle - and a break barrel spring air rifle, both obviously one pull. The accuracy of some of the modern guns is just incredible and makes the old guns so outdated.
Yes, I was going to type rimfire, but wasn’t really sure why they are called that, so didn’t use the word.
Many years ago use to have HW77 which was a underlever & a open breech loading,nasty thing,quite a few peeps ended up getting their finger squished, if weapon was discharged during loading.
It's OK KIAB, he's a plumber. Air Arms do look like a quality gun, and I like the sound of PCP, pre charged pneumatic, a good pump up then at least 10 shots, maybe more. https://www.gunstar.co.uk/Air-Arms/I/All-Guns-for-sale