hi

[ratty75 0]

hey guys . new to the sight and just bought my first rifle.. not very powerful co2 smk.. just lookin around for ideas and tips really.. any help gratefully recieved.... cheers...

[andyfr1968 772]

Hi, mate.

 

If you're looking for stuff to improve your SMK, have a look at TR Robb's site. I've always said you can't polish a turd but it's a good place to start for that....

 

Cheers.

 

Edit to say... Sorry, didn't want to sound harsh, it's a basic gun that does have potential. A lot of folks take the p*ss out of Co2 guns, but I'm not one as I use them.

Edited December 17, 2009 by andyfr1968

[Edgar 1]

Depends. Do you want to shoot live quarry? If so you must be able to kill it first shot every time. Never shoot if you aren't sure of a kill. You need to practice and practice some more. Before you shoot any live quarry you must be a good shot. If your gun isn't very powerful then your range will be shorter. Always shoot safely. There are some good books on the subject of air rifle hunting. I can recomend "Air Rifle Hunting by John Darling".

[ratty75 0]

Depends. Do you want to shoot live quarry? If so you must be able to kill it first shot every time. Never shoot if you aren't sure of a kill. You need to practice and practice some more. Before you shoot any live quarry you must be a good shot. If your gun isn't very powerful then your range will be shorter. Always shoot safely. There are some good books on the subject of air rifle hunting. I can recomend "Air Rifle Hunting by John Darling".

 

 

 

yes mate.. shootin live quarry, aint no questioning my shooting ability... would just like to know if my rifle can be tweaked in any way to give more power output... instead of killing at 20- 25 yards maybe 40-45??? or just get rid of rifle an buy somethin else, but am reluctant to do so because of accuracy of the smk

[Edgar 1]

Well I don't know of anyone who uses a CO2 rifle for hunting. They aren't usually very powerful, remember a 12 ft/lb rifle leaves little room for error when shooting live quarry, though lower powered guns are useful for farm yard shooting. Also CO2 guns can loose accuracy in cold or hot temperatures. I would get something else. Tweaking it is a job for a gun smith, gun manufactures put a lot of time into designing guns and tend to know best. Also although the gun was cheap to buy once you have bought tuning upgrades, (if you can find them)its no cheaper than buying a good gun to begin with. If you do decide to tune it you need to have a chronograph, about 40 quid, to measure power so its not illegal. There are some fairly cheap powerful accurate guns. I use a Weihrauch HW57, about 200 quid new. Have heard good things about the HW 99 and the BSA lightning and super sport which are a similar price.

[andyfr1968 772]

Fair comment, Edgar, but a lot of folks buy them, then realise they're maybe not exactly top notch and have to do something with them. At least the guy's asking for advice and not just blatting cluelessly away....

 

Co2's fine for hunting, so long as folks know there are limitations as to what they can do. Yes, there is no getting away from the fact that when it gets cold ( below 5 deg C ) they are crap but when it's not, they're fine.

 

I use a Crosman King Ratty and it's a really good little tool. It's not my main gun but when I need something small, quiet and robust, it's great. I've been kicking it around in places where I wouldn't want to use my AA410 or HW90 for the past three years and it's been faultless!

 

It sticks out just under 11ft-lb's with FTT's and will shoot to an easy half an inch at 30 yards, 200 shots from a bottle and cheap as chips. What more could you want from a bargain bin gun??

 

The right tool for the job, and all that.....

 

Cheers.

 

Edit to say... And no recoil too!!

 

Down sides... You need to remember how many shots you've fired, 'cos there is no pressure indicator and when the shots run out, they run out quick.

 

They recomend that you don't store them for long periods with a bottle in the gun too. No one seems to know how long too long is though.... I've kept mine 3 or 4 months with no problems so far.

 

And also if you use them a lot, the low price of the gun is soon battered by the cost of Co2.......

Edited December 21, 2009 by andyfr1968

[andyfr1968 772]

Just a quick foot-note, Ratty..

 

Have a look on ebay for your Co2 bottles. They tend to be a lot cheaper than gun shops, especialy if you can buy in bulk.

 

Cheers and good luck.

[jackinbox99 41]

Good advise above. I buy my co2 in bulk and they work out quite cheap.

 

Id second the comment about tuning. If your not careful you can spend more on bits / tuning for the gun than you could have sold it and bought a better gun for. Ive made that mistake in the past and you have to draw the line somewhere.

 

Id keep it as it is, and enjoy it for what it is. Get loads of practise with it and have fun!!!

[Phantom 631]

Just had a thought (yeah it hurt like hell as I dont usually have many )

 

My 1st competition win was with a Co2 jobbie granted it was a pistol at 6 yards (but I also shoot 10M) with them and they are only putting out less than 2ft/lbs.

 

A friend of mine in Rotherham has just purchased a couple of QB's and he is going to convert them both to PCP and he will do this reletively cheaply (cuz he's an engineer and a tight wad!).

 

When I first came back into shooting a couple of years ago, I tried a couple of Co2 Rifles on the range and was easilly knocking over targets out to 40 yards. I would certainly use a QB for hunting bunnies in the warmer weather but not how it is now.

 

Phantom