Spring air rifle shooting.

[thursodog 353]

Lets keep Simons masterpiece on the front page where it rightly deserves to be kept.

 

I read this post and always come away with goose bumps and a strong desire to try harder.

 

Brilliant!

 

Chris

[pianoman 3,587]

Thank you Chris. It has been a pleasure to write it and for excellent shooters like you to have referred to it as a guide to improving your shooting is the highest compliment of all.

 

It's had tens of thousands of views. It's for the MODS to pin it now.

 

Thank you so much again my dear friend.

 

Simon

 

Edited to add.

I was out tonight with my HW77 .22 and use these very principles as a matter of reflex and instinct now. I bagged four good rabbits and a couple of Woodpigeon for an OAP Home I give my shot game to. They get a good, tasty meal, I keep my farmer friends happy and I get my shooting in.

 

Everyone's happy!

Edited September 2, 2013 by pianoman

[Midnite 9]

Good Guide that. oh i shoot springers too.

 

i looked at a pcp 2 weeks ago but it just seems like alot of faffing about and expence just to get started?

[whistler1 26]

Good Guide that. oh i shoot springers too.

 

i looked at a pcp 2 weeks ago but it just seems like alot of faffing about and expence just to get started?

Once you have the charging gear mate,its just a matter of picking the pcp that suits you.

Been thair,lost count of the amount of pcp guns i have had and sold.No going back now...sold the charging gear as well lol.

I am enjoying shooting my hw97,ok i had to spend a bit on a tune from SFS to get it close to my pcp that i had just sold.Not disapointed,best decision i have made.

[acculead 32]

excellent and very helpfull post ... especially to us newbies .... also learned not to rest the rifle on a solid object ie gatepost etc but better to rest on your hand on the post insted

[pianoman 3,587]

Thank you very much Acculead.

 

The correct hold technique is sometimes referred to as the "Artillery Hold" as we must let the rifle move under recoil, just like an artillery field gun recoils back on its gun-carriage.

 

A recoiling spring rifle will not shoot accurately from anything but a soft, forgiving rest from your forehand as it supports the forestock. Whatever you rest your forehand on is what there is at the moment of shot but, even the bones in your hands can have an adverse effect. You have to guide the firing sequence through gentle, supportive holds from both hands that do not restrict the rifle's recoil cycle in any way or it just won't come together at the target. It is this felt recoil movement that prohibits the rifle from being shot off bipods and other solid rests or it will just throw the shot wide as it bounces off whatever you are supporting it from.

 

I cannot speak for using shooting sticks but, if I used them, I would want to see a very soft, forgiving cradle of supportive material to rest the rifle forestock on.

 

I'm left-handed and I never go shooting without wearing a fairly substantial leather glove on my right supporting hand that ensures an unrestrictive, soft palm-rest that cushions the recoil. My left hand cushions the grip in the palm with my thumb up the spine or 'wrist' of the grip, my three fingers gently curled around the grip to give my trigger finger a stable, steady 'press' on the blade. Never a pull or snap of the trigger.

 

All this combines to allow the rifle to recoil and move as it wants to at your shoulder and in your hands.

 

Get it together right with a well-sorted and fettled spring rifle and you'll match, if not, out-shoot a PCP rifle

 

Simon.

[andyfr1968 772]

When will this ever get pinned???

 

Come on, Mick. PM sent

[moxy 617]

With the wealth of experience, good advice and true honest opinions on this thread, it would be daft for it not to be stuck to the top.

 

Bloody good post Simon.

[pianoman 3,587]

Aww Moxy thank you mate. I really appreciate this!

 

Simon

[moxy 617]

Credit where it's due mate.

[Red Wings 1]

Brilliant read. I'm pretty new to shooting and have tried both PCP and spring powered rifles. Find the springers much more involved and have so much more feel.

 

Going to take on board your hints and tips and see how I get on.

 

What's your opinions on the LGV Walther rifles? You don't seem to have mentioned them as quality rifle,

 

Regards

Az

[pianoman 3,587]

Thank you for the kind praise for my post Red Wings.

 

It is a guide written from pure and simple experience of shooting spring rifles since I was 8 years old when I got my very first air rifle well over 40 years ago. They are all I've ever been used to shooting with. The first and early PCPs I saw emerge in the 1970s were very exciting by their promise, particularly with a multi shot capability. But, the reality was they were very unreliable and inconsistently poor in performance from their early regulators and fit of components causing endless breakdowns. And they were very expensive for most of us and not too plentiful for spares and repairs. It has taken decades of continual developement to get a reliable series of PCP rifles from makers you can choose from and buy confidently today. But even now, the best cost £1,000 and over, before the cost of charging gear has been factored in; just to get a pellet in the same spot that a springer costing less than half the price and with none of the faff, will do!

 

If you choose to buy and shoot with a springer, this post will help you find a point of departure with which to begin to get shooting well with it. And build a standard of marksmanship for yourself. How far you develope your skills in marksmanship is entirely up to how much you put in to practising with the basic principles I've outlined. The myth of PCP accuracy being greater than a spring rifle's is purely the result of laziness on the part of shooters who won't admit they have no patience to learn to shoot properly and develope a genuine skill. As a former professional Military rifleman, I have to say that, if a rifle has to do all the work for you and correct your errors, there is something very wrong with your ability!

 

I will re-edit the post to include a mention of Walther LGV as a range of well made and very accurate spring rifles that have been around for about 30 years or so. There are certain quality issues with the flagship Walther LGV Competition Ultra break-barrel rifle noted from more than a few sources who've used this rifle. I've test shot one myself in.22 over a pretty stringent range-time and to be honest, I didn't find it entirely the ground-breaking, world class spring air rifle the airgun press would have you believe. The rifle I used had a less than accurate barrel lock-up which, as the test went on produced a bare, chafed surface in the metal on one side of the breech-block. That is a barrel pivoting out of alignment in the hinge jaws and that is not acceptable for a rifle costing about £500 and more It looks well and handles very nicely but fit on this rifle was not something anyone should have to live with. In a fair summation, It has the potential to be a true world class rifle. The earlier models from LGV are brilliantly good. But there are a few things cropping up in the production of this new one that are keeping it back; and these need sorting out.

 

It could be early production niggles with a new design of course. But for the hefty price tag this rifle comes in at, these niggles should have been identified and addressed before releasing it for sale. And it is first impressions like this that taint what should be a fine quality rifle.

 

Thanks again for reading.

Simon

Edited September 26, 2013 by pianoman

[Harlequin 2]

Thanks Simon, very useful to a beginner like me. I had a BSA meteor as a kid, and have just taken it up again, with a nice TX200 mk3, .22

 

Really appreciate the overview and advice. Will print it out a d take it to the range!

[Lewis Tisdall 1]

My Gamo Shadow 1000 has a heavy pull with a lot of creep on the second stage of the trigger, I was going to buy CharlieDaTuna's GRT-III trigger which apparently makes it much easier to fire, but he's not selling it outside of the US anymore.

[pianoman 3,587]

Thanks very much Harlequin. If there is anything further you wish to know or I can help you with, just pm or openly ask me here. I'm very keen on seeing any beginner turn himself into a proficient shooter with a spring rifle. It's not all that difficult mate, with plenty of practice and a light, supportive hold you can quickly develope into a lethally accurate shooter..

 

Hi Lewis.

 

Have a shot or two with a Weihrauch, Diana or Air Arms spring rifle and you'll soon see why these names rule the roost for spring rifle shooters. Gamo are alright for plinking but, when you want to get really serious about your shooting, the Germans and the Brits build the very best!

 

Best wishes and regards to you both for your shooting Gentlemen.

 

Simon

Edited October 21, 2013 by pianoman