Out shooting with Simon and Andy 21/03/11

[zini 1,939]

Hi lads,

 

Well LJ was at work today so I decided to phone Simon (Pianoman) this morning at 0900 hrs and asked him if the offer to come up to his neck of the woods for a shoot was still there for me. Simon being a true gent said of course it is and asked me to be at his house for 1200 hrs.

 

I got there just before 12 and we chatted and drunk tea while we waited for Andy to turn up.

 

After Andy turned up we got our stuff together and drove to Simon’s great permission to do some zeroing before some target shooting and then static hunting.

 

Simon was using his .22 HW77 with a Simmons WTC scope, Andy was using his .177 Diana 52 model with JSR mildot scope and I was using my .22 BSA r10 with a Hawke Airmax SR12 scope.

 

Andy and Simon decided to zero at 35 metres using a piece of chipboard as a back stop with circles marked on to act as aim points. I also used the same chip board set out at 35 metres but used my 3rd mildot down instead of my cross hair to represent my normal 25 metre zero.

 

The wind today at Simons was a bit tricky so it took us all a bit longer than normal to zero to pellet on pellet standard as we needed to wait between the wind gusts before firing.

 

Once done we then placed a wind indicator at 57 metres next to one of our target so we could aim off accordingly as the wind was gusting left to right then right to left.

 

The targets were lased at 40, 45, 50, 57 and 63 metres.

 

We took it in turns to shoot each distance from the prone, kneeling and then standing positions spending about 1 to 2 hours first though at 40 metres in the prone position hitting pellet marks on a wooden board and seeing what size group we could achieve in the wind.

 

I have to say that Simon and Andy are real talented marksmen with their springers and managed to achieve groups that could be covered by a 1p piece at 40 metres which in my eyes was very good indeed and something we all should look up to and aspire to achieve.

 

I was using a recoilless PCP so for me gaining good accuracy was easier and I shot the remaining 7 pellets from my magazine stacking 7 pellets on top of each other that Simon covered easily and still had some room to give with a 1p piece.

 

I tried it again with Simons HW77 though and the best I could achieve was only about 1 inch after I discounted the pellets that were affected badly by the wind.

 

That was pretty shite by Simon and Andy’s own standards but a good eye opener for me as I saw that I needed to tighten my shooting technique up after shooting my r10 and other PCPs for so long. This I did by concentrating on my technique for the rest of the day which paid off in the end with me hitting some lovely shots even at 50 metres from the standing unsupported position.

 

Next we shot the 57 metre targets hitting them pretty much every time or skimming them once we had sussed out the wind aim off points and realised that the wind was changing direction randomly causing us a right nightmare.

 

The 63 metre target was an old pan that was shot from the standing position and hit just about every time by all of us which was a real nice confidence booster.

 

The 45 and 50 metre targets were coke bottle tops that we rested on top of their bottles unscrewed. These got smashed to pieces by us all and in the end they got so small they ended up ¼ the size of a coke bottle top and still were getting whacked proving the accuracy of our shooting and rifles.

 

Next we swapped rifles a bit and I even managed to get a compliment from Simon on my r10 after he shot it. I think that he as a secret admiration for it now. Maybe it’s a high quality bike pump now instead of a bike pump LOL.

 

With 4 or 5 hours of target practice under our belts Simon took us to a static location to shoot some bunnies. I and Simon went into a large dip in the field bout 35 metres from a couple of warrens and Andy went stalking on his own.

 

With only about 45 minutes of light remaining we waited for some rabbits to show but sadly for Simon none did from his warren. For me 2 rabbits did to my right hand side and from another warren closer to me but they were only at 10 metres and they were this years first early babies so I left them be and didn’t shoot them.

 

I couldn’t see the point in killing babies for no reason that were sat on my first zero point. It would have been no sport what so ever and a waist of life, better let them grow and then harvest them later in the year.

 

This is something that I am glad I did as later Simon said that he was glad I made that decision as he didn’t want babies shooting. Just goes to show when you’re on someone else’s permission and a guest that if you’re not sure about a shot or not, you’re better off not taking it.

 

For Andy though it was a different story and he came back with a lovely adult bunny that he shot at 20 metres. We both congratulated him before he placed it into his car to be eaten at his pleasure.

 

Well in Andy and great shooting buddy.

 

All in all it was a real fantastic day for me and a great chance to go shooting with some real top class shots and true friends on a great permission.

 

Thank you again Simon for the invite pal and I hope to see you both again soon.

 

ATB

 

Si.

Edited March 22, 2011 by zini

[zini 1,939]

More pics

[zini 1,939]

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[zini 1,939]

Last pics

 

ATB

 

Si.

Edited March 21, 2011 by zini

[pianoman 3,587]

My dear friends Si and Andy.

 

It was a fantastic day to finally meet Si in person and share a day where top class precision shooting practice in a difficult wind condition is both shared and witnessed and thoroughly enjoyed, without the pressures of having to produce a hunting bag of quarry or vermin. This is something EVERY rifleman should indulge in and enjoy. The sheer joy of being out in the sunshine and fresh air with your rifle, scope and a plentiful supply of ammo and get working seriously on your shooting to the limits you can control your personal accuracy to. And have some rewarding fun into the bargain. It's just a marvellous thing to share it with two fine, true gentlemen and friends as Andy and Si have become to me. And to watch formidable skill at arms if you will, is for me, what watching a worldclass footballer or racing driver must be for others.

 

PCPs and me..Hmmm

Now you all know I have resisted and refuted the rise and rise of the PCP rifle as a Devil's device. :diablo: :diablo: :diablo: End of!

 

Ugly sticks. Bike Pumps! They don't look like proper rifles and, if they don't look right, they are not right! Their superior accuracy is a myth and they'll let you down and fail when you rely on them the most!!! I have a long spell of military service in my past, spent entirely in the pursuit of precision rifle shooting. I have always despised any inefficiency in a weapon where lives will be depending on it. I was serving as a senior NCO when the first SA80 A1 rifles came out and we had one of the very first batches to evaluate. After the disasters of that weapon's first showing in our trials, I was the only serving RAF man to look in the eyes of Geoffrey Patty MP -Margaret Thatcher's Defence minister at the time, and tell him truthfully what an utter, dismal failure this then-useless rifle was and he should get it back to the drawing board.

 

I'm just the same today. When some manufacturer holds his hand out for 500-700 quid of an honest man's money for one of their guns, I demand it be worth the money charged. PCPs have been a bloody let-down in this respect.

 

OK.....it's time to come honestly clean here. After shooting with Si this afternoon I've finally found myself admitting an instant love for a PCP rifle...with conditions!

 

Si's BSA R10 is a revelation of just how good these rifles should truly be.

 

A lightweight, shortened carbine with a gorgeous walnut stock mounted on a Harris bipod. The Twink silencer is a work of genious at silencing the crack of the muzzle down to a phut, little other than the action of the rifle firing. A beautifully slick bolt cycles the magazine -which is made with watchmaker's precision, with a short pull-push throw. Every shot is fired from an unwavering beat of air from the regulator. In short every bug and gripe I've ever observed with this type of action has been addressed and ironed out. The result is a rifle that handles with the lightness of a pistol and the precision of a crafted, longer barrel rifle. And as a pure shooting engine, I absolutely loved it. What would I give to have an R10 full-size rifle with a left-handed stock and a scope set up for my eye, with the same level of tuning mod that Si has had made here.

 

Out on the test ranges we set up, at a lazed 50 yards, Si's shot's were absolutely silent on firing...until you heard zzzZZIP-CRACK!! And another bottle top had a bit more shaved off. One cracking shot holed a coke top clean through. Others shattered them. We each took a turn standing a few feet from the target to get some precise sight of exactly where shots were hitting.

 

Be under no illusion gentlemen, you do not need a higher powered FAC air rifle. This was .22 sub 12ft/lb PCP and spring rifle and the rounds from both actions at 50 yards ripped through the smallest targets with more than enough energy to flatten anything in the way of quarry with an almighty thwack! I saw how, at last, this amazing little rifle could take on your human nuances in the aim on a very small target at long ranges and smooth them out into a consistent stream of perfectly placed shots.

 

So, I'm now something of a convert. This is, infact, how a PCP rifle should be. I'm not totally won over mind, Oh no!! This rifle has only served to make other PCPs REALLY look like bike pumps now :laugh: You should not have to go to a small cottage industry tuner to make a better regulator, magazine and silencer as a NECESSARY measure, but, as a nicety

Wherby the rifle benefits only as a performance enhancement. Not as a mod to actually, radically, improve it's efficiency. Not at the prices these rifles cost at point of sale. BSA and co should be offering this level of efficency as standard.

radically

So...Would I buy one ?

YES! but only when the additional tuning mods costs are taken into account. Bloody well worth it though from what I've witnessed today. Si your man is a tuning maestro for what he has wrought from your basic rifle :thumbs: .

 

Only the winds should be the real obstacle to utter precision shooting. So it was that, for the first time in shooting this field in 42 years, I'm out with two friends and the winds are changing directions every minute. Shots deviate left...then right of centre. Never known the winds do that here, they are usually constant but, unabashed, between the three of us, we amply proved that Spring power or PCP the rifles are more than equal to the task of very, very demanding accuracies in all situations at all ranges with bags of power to spare.

 

Just so with Andy's .177 Diana 52 Sidelever. From all three positions he too, showed what a skilled rifleman with a 22-year old, beautifully set-up spring rifle is well up to accomplishing. Standing out at distance from him, you could hear the round absolutely zip and thwack into his chosen targets at all ranges. Now he is a modest man who would balk at my praises of his shooting but, modesty be dammed! He is as fine a shot as he is a friend. The JSR scope he has on his rifle was a lovely little optic too. It certainly kept him sharp through the day, very compact and keeps the rifle nicely balanced.

 

So on came the evening and we turned to a hunting mooch down to the paddock.

 

As Si has already stated Andy get's the prize for the day with the one rabbit for our best efforts. But, well done to Si for not shooting the two baby Kitts that popped out in front of his position. A big gnarly buck is fair game but, the babies are not to be touched in my book.

 

I'm not just being all gooey girlie at fluffy little babies. These are the late summer and Autumn sport! But also, I want the warrens to be healthy and thriving so that the sport I have here continues. The countryside would be a very poor place without it's wildlife, even if they are pests to farmers like my mate Ian, whose land this is. Also I really think it's a sin to deprive such little creatures of a chance for their life in the wild. God knows it's tough enough for them as it is. I don't shoot the babies and I don't shoot their Mums if I can possibly avoid it. It's a beautiful place to come and be, with thriving sport to shoot over. And I want to keep it that way.

 

 

I didn't lay down the rules I shoot by, for myself on this matter. I didn't think I needed to with the calibre of men I'm with here but, Si, that's the mark of a true sportsman that you refrained and my respect to you for your humanity has been truly elevated.

 

Well that's our day out on my permission together. Top marks for Andy getting the rabbit I know he's going to enjoy for his dinner. There was some bloody mouthwatering discussion on pan fried woodpidgeon breasts and spring onion in a Tai Green curry from Si too which, has me thinking about a pidgeon-foray today.

 

It was a really rewarding and thoroughly enjoyable day shooting with you guys yesterday. Let's have another round again soon as you like Andy and Si! :friends:

 

I'm just waiting to see what Davy's going to be up to now

 

Simon

Edited March 22, 2011 by pianoman

[zini 1,939]

Wow great write up Simon buddy,

 

I enjoyed that monster read and yes it was a real nice afternoons shooting yesterday pal thank you.

 

Thanks for the re invite too pal and yes I would love to come up again and shoot with you two again. Maybe when Davy goes to yours we could all shoot together do some more extreme accuracy testing and then go bag a bunny or two.

 

Just out of interest pal have you ever lamped that area? The reason I ask is that with that much rabbit activity present I reacon your permission is crawling with bunnies and you would be suprised how many are about. I wouldnt be suprised if you saw over a 100 easily.

 

If you are up for some lamping I would love to have a crack with you buddy and I could bring a few lamps up for us to use.

 

Glad to that you liked my r10 mate and gave her a true and honest review. I knew her charms would make you think she was nice.

 

Can you please pm me your mobile numbers Simon and Andy?

 

See you soon lads

 

Si

[pianoman 3,587]

Hi Si.

That would be great to go lamping with you mate. I have very little actual experience of lamping and there will be a huge amount of nocturnal rabbit activity. Pop up whenever you want to come up S and give me a call. I'm without a mobile phone at the mo, so, just ring my landline number. There is a huge amount of land being seeded for barley and the shooting will be amazing.

 

It would be really something if Davy could get to join us when he can.

 

You rifle is so lovely I'm actually thinking of selling my beloved Air Arms TX200 .22 rifle and a scope or two to raise the funds to get an R10 of my own. I really think with the level of mods your man Adrian has worked on yours, he could produce for me a rifle that would have a useful role to play on my permission. Yours is a lot more than just nice Si!

 

Cheers mate!

 

Simon

Edited March 22, 2011 by pianoman

[zini 1,939]

Hi Simon,

 

That’s great news buddy about the future lamping session. I’m really looking forward to that pal.

 

Could you make this Thursday or Friday afternoon and night time mate for some bunny lamping? If you can I’ll come up again and bring some kit mate.

 

I have enough lamping equipment for us both buddy with me here at my mums and I will be able to give you some helpful tips and hints about lamping as I’ve done it for years with good success mate.

 

If your fields haven’t been lamped before or hardly at all in the past we could get a good surprise in the form of a good bag mate.

 

I spoke to Davy this morning by text and sent him your number last night so hopefully he will be in touch with you soon buddy. It would be great to shoot all together with Davy and Andy too.

 

I must say I was quite shocked about your announcement about maybe buying an r10. The internal work that I had done on mine (tuning etc) was from Simon Howarth (Tench) and the silencer was from Adrian Waugh buddy.

 

To be honest though mate if someone can shoot the r10 and is as good as you are, it would do what it did for me yesterday straight out the box accuracy wise no problems what so ever. I believe the tuning just makes that accuracy easier to get.

 

The regulator tweak gives me bags of shots at a very consistent output and the shorter Ultra barrel makes the rifle more compact for me as I like short carbine rifles.

 

The Twink mark 2 silencer makes the rifle really quiet but can be added straight to an r10 out the box if you don’t mind a longish barrel. It would be even quieter than mine is then.

 

Other really nice rifles to have a look at are the AAS410 and HW100T mate, but I know that you like the r10 so good luck if you get one pal.

 

Here are Andy’s photos that he emailed to me this morning that he took with his camera. Ill post them for him.

 

I have a new mobile phone now mate so ill PM you and Andy my new number.

 

ATB

 

Si.

[zini 1,939]

More from Andy

[markha 99]

Great write up, both of you. Great pics too. Would love the chance to join up with you all for a days shoot, as its only 3hrs drive one way

 

Simon, PCP seems at first to be the devils work hahaha, but they do have their place in airgun evolution, in fact Im pretty sure the very first big game/big calibre rifles were pre charged pump ups and were developed long before springers, so another way of looking at it ( just to settle the conscience ofcourse!), is to think of it as going back to grass roots shooting, improved with modern technology

[gurtwurz 792]

looks like you fellas had a blinding day out, and cracking shooting from 3 seriously excellent shooters

 

marks right about the pre charged rifles coming first too, this might interest you lads-

 

http://www.network54.com/Forum/451309/thread/1296928404/This+is+just+to+cool+not+to+spread+around

 

now thats a serious pneumatic!!!

 

cheers, wurz

 

edited to say- its a looker too , a genuine beauty

Edited March 22, 2011 by gurtwurz

[rossi_j 99]

Great read guys, great shooting by all and well done on the rabbit andy

 

I must say, I may have been more than tempted by them baby bugs, very sporting of you si

 

Dare say they would have learnt a very important lesson the hard way had they walked out 10m infront of me, I suppose that is the difference between sport and pest control, and like you si I also wouldent take those shots on other peoples permisions, not without the nod anyway :laugh:

 

Cracking pics aswel guys

 

Im am also dribbling at the thaugh of giving simons night time virgin permision a damn good lamping lol, good look with that guys I look forward to the write up with high expectations and dont forget to sharpen your knives :laugh:

 

.atb. .ste.

[zini 1,939]

Thanks Ste buddy .

 

Yep Simon has a cracker of a permission Ste that is full of rabbit activity everywhere.

 

There are more fresh holes and scratchings than you can shake a stick at .

 

Bunny heaven i reckon

 

ATB

 

Si

[hunter1989 91]

great read fellas

[zini 1,939]

Cheers Steve buddy

 

ATB

 

Si