Hunting with an air rifle, - PCP Vs Springer.

[14thepot 5]

17 hours ago, Rez said:

What the f'k is that image of in your avatar man? 

It’s a cat fish I’ll have to re focus pic lol

[Rabid 1,936]

I may have missed this as not had time to read the whole thread yet, so appologies if I'm repeating something.

 

for me, it's pcp all day long, I don't even own a springer anymore, however I grew up and learnt to shoot with a springer, and when I do use my mates I can still shoot well enough with one.

 

The reason for my choice, I am doing a job, every thing I shoot is for a very good reason, it is all 100% pest control, for myself, I don't want to shoot one rabbit if I can shoot 3, I don't want to kill 3 rats if I can shoot 10 etc etc, for me, pcp's are the way forward, clinical, accurate, reliable and consistent, sure a springer can, will and does do the job, just not as effectively as the pcp.

 

its a bit like, why drive a car when a horse and cart is more fun and still gets you there, try telling a courier that !

[mark williams 7,550]

I tend to reach for my spring rifles as much as possible because I " thoroughly enjoy" using them but I will never let go of the PCP`s as Rabid says, they are always needed for certain jobs.

[PLEDGEY 495]

PCP for me. Quiet, no recoil, extremely accurate and quick reloading. More expensive than a springer but the afore mentioned out ways that cost. Not long ago I showed someone who hadn't owned an air rifle before how to zero a scope. They had bought a springer and at the time, after shooting it, I thought 'No,....not for me thank you''.

[bunnyman 68]

Well i use all my springers for target shooting and i like multi-shot pcp,s for hunting

and i also use fac air and rimfires .22lr & .17hmr

i like pcp,s for hunting because of the ease of a follow up shot if needed,

but i love target shooting my springers   20- 50 yds.

atb brian

[j j m 6,536]

come in late on this one I was brough up on springers from a young age the mercury and relum tornado were my first guns,kays catalogue 50 p a week,so I can shoot a spring gun well ,but if I'm shooting in barns at ferrels I like a pcp for quick shots,its always nice to have a springer at hand I get more pleasure taking a long shot with a springer then a pcp

[pianoman 3,587]

Well, I have written much in the past about my shooting preferences for spring rifles, and that is the truth of all of us. Our preferences. What is meat for one is poison for another.

I came up in air rifle shooting when the spring rifles were the only thing on offer. When commercial PCPs first appeared they were dreadfully inefficient, prone to all manner of leaks and breakdowns and they were fiendishly expensive to buy. More so, if you wanted a really well made custom rifle. And even then...

PCPs  have improved greatly now; but they are still a swine when they go wrong. 

I spent very good money on a Daystate Huntsman Classic .177 for Helen and it is a beautiful rifle. Never a thing wrong with it. That rifle made a convert out of me to PCP shooting.  Spent the same, £800 on a Daystate Regal and it needed another £120 and a three hour drive to Airtech to get it regged and shooting like it should out of the box. It is, now, a fantastic hunting air rifle but, let's not fool anyone. It took more patience, cash and persistence than I was prepared for, to get that gun up to standard, just as a necessary measure, to get the full benefit of hunting successfully with it.

My other PCP my Webley FX2000 is back at the Rfd for the THIRD time, this time for the whole set of seals replaced. Haven't fired a shot on feather or fur in 6 Months with it. 

I have never had such issues with my spring rifles. They have been tubed as a niceety, not a necessity. And my HW77 .22 is just beautifully honed and fettled. No tuning kits or anything else. She is all original parts from purchase over 10 years ago.

My Pro Sport .2, HW80 on ticket, HW77 .22 and HW97k .177 just march on with no bloody fuss, shooting with extreme accuracy and humanely putting the vermin out of business on my perms. 

In my experience, I have honestly tried to get the best of the advantages of both spring and PCP rifles where it matters, on the fur and feather vermin on the farms. 

I always come back to my beloved spring rifles. These are the best four you can buy and the Wiehrauchs particularly, have given me years of fantastic shooting with some priceless memories that are my shooting life. 

The Pro Sport I have is the jewel of my small collection. Never had a problem with fast reloads from any of my rifles and, really, if a rabbit bolts fast and is gone before a second shot is fired, that's fine by me. He'll be back in my scope another day, or another rabbit will take his place. 

For me at least, it is never a race to slaughter everything in one night. It is the joy of owning a beautiful, sweet, efficient and accurate spring rifle and the unmatched satisfaction of the perfect headshot composed from from it. That's the magic of spring rifle shooting. It's your skills alone with it, that determine the success or failure of every shot. No other rifle will offer you that kind of reward or satisfaction.

But, if you are getting great satisfaction from your PCP, with no problems holding you back, that is a magic for you too.

All the very best, whatever you prefer.

Simon.

[j j m 6,536]

well said simon

[The one 8,467]

For years and years when i first started there was only springers as the amount ive got  should show , but after getting on to good ground i felt they where slow and a hindrance and my mate sold me a Air arms s300 for £80 and although i had to buy all the attachments and bottle etc it was a huge leap forward . And just driving round a lot quieter a springer seems to vibrate round the inside of the jeep now when your firing them 

[philpot 4,971]

As always Simon, a well written post.

For those of you who do not really know Simon, he is an exceptional springer shooter and to see him in action is something to behold. I remember when Simon used my brand new TX, a right handed gun with a left handed shooter and I watched as he proceeded to place three pellets on top of the first aim point pellet. I on the other hand had great difficulty in placing five shots on an A5 piece of paper which really made me want to sell the rifle, that is until our Tim (charlie caller) turned it into a fantastic shooting tool and even I was able to produce tight clover leaf groups, perhaps I should have kept it but too heavy for my liking.

I am quite certain that our Mark is a excellent shot with a springer judging by the results he gets in the field, the same applies to Jimmy and Si Brown who again love using the springer and I am of the mind that in order to become a shooter of some merit with a springer, you need to love them. I would really like to find a springer to fall in love with so that I may also have the satisfaction and enjoyment along with a sense of achievement  that seems to be shared by all successful springer shooters. I have to say by way of a contrast however that I love my FX Impact which puts a smile on my face every time I use it but it would perhaps be good to enjoy both sides of the coin.

 

Phil

[dearne75 6]

On ‎07‎/‎03‎/‎2018 at 02:00, pianoman said:

Well, I have written much in the past about my shooting preferences for spring rifles, and that is the truth of all of us. Our preferences. What is meat for one is poison for another.

I came up in air rifle shooting when the spring rifles were the only thing on offer. When commercial PCPs first appeared they were dreadfully inefficient, prone to all manner of leaks and breakdowns and they were fiendishly expensive to buy. More so, if you wanted a really well made custom rifle. And even then...

PCPs  have improved greatly now; but they are still a swine when they go wrong. 

I spent very good money on a Daystate Huntsman Classic .177 for Helen and it is a beautiful rifle. Never a thing wrong with it. That rifle made a convert out of me to PCP shooting.  Spent the same, £800 on a Daystate Regal and it needed another £120 and a three hour drive to Airtech to get it regged and shooting like it should out of the box. It is, now, a fantastic hunting air rifle but, let's not fool anyone. It took more patience, cash and persistence than I was prepared for, to get that gun up to standard, just as a necessary measure, to get the full benefit of hunting successfully with it.

My other PCP my Webley FX2000 is back at the Rfd for the THIRD time, this time for the whole set of seals replaced. Haven't fired a shot on feather or fur in 6 Months with it. 

I have never had such issues with my spring rifles. They have been tubed as a niceety, not a necessity. And my HW77 .22 is just beautifully honed and fettled. No tuning kits or anything else. She is all original parts from purchase over 10 years ago.

My Pro Sport .2, HW80 on ticket, HW77 .22 and HW97k .177 just march on with no bloody fuss, shooting with extreme accuracy and humanely putting the vermin out of business on my perms. 

In my experience, I have honestly tried to get the best of the advantages of both spring and PCP rifles where it matters, on the fur and feather vermin on the farms. 

I always come back to my beloved spring rifles. These are the best four you can buy and the Wiehrauchs particularly, have given me years of fantastic shooting with some priceless memories that are my shooting life. 

The Pro Sport I have is the jewel of my small collection. Never had a problem with fast reloads from any of my rifles and, really, if a rabbit bolts fast and is gone before a second shot is fired, that's fine by me. He'll be back in my scope another day, or another rabbit will take his place. 

For me at least, it is never a race to slaughter everything in one night. It is the joy of owning a beautiful, sweet, efficient and accurate spring rifle and the unmatched satisfaction of the perfect headshot composed from from it. That's the magic of spring rifle shooting. It's your skills alone with it, that determine the success or failure of every shot. No other rifle will offer you that kind of reward or satisfaction.

But, if you are getting great satisfaction from your PCP, with no problems holding you back, that is a magic for you too.

All the very best, whatever you prefer.

Simon.

spot on simon-i think it may also be an age thing too as all I knew in the early 80s were spring guns.ive got back into shooting-done my old original 45 up doin fine at 20yds so far but bought a pair of hw95s in 177 and 22 but doing 5p groups at 45yds at the range in .22 sat next to top end pcps doing similar brings a smile to my face lol!lots more to do and will get a pcp someday maybe!The thing is to enjoy what you use and then make a change if needed later on.