Curious...

[Deker 3,478]

Ok..all those years ago I served my apprenticeship with an air rifle..it tought me a considerable amount about ballistics, stalking, hunting, shot placement, patience and made me work hard for my supper.

 

Amongst my tools now I still have a 12ft lb air rifle!!

 

Just wondered how many of you started this way and worked up or... how you got started!

Edited October 18, 2008 by Deker

[sully5328 0]

Hello.Yes mate, basic training carried out on 12ft air rifle then shotgun and just getting .22 rimfire. Still have a bsa supersport in the armoury as i still have places were its the only thing i can use. also now teaching my little lad with it. Happy days.

[riggers 2]

grew up on a farm with the old diana and a catapult joind the army spent 12 years did a lot of things shot for scotland air rifle and got let down by a certain body so dont shoot air rifle any more have fac and shotgun and love them both apart from that thats it

[provarmint 25]

Deker,

I started with a mates BSA meteor, then a Relum Tornado underlever that I was given @ about 14 years old, moved onto a BSA mercury, then a webley vulcan, my brothers ASI statical (recoiless) and even though I've got a shotgun, rimfire and centrefire rifles, I'll always have room for an air rifle, at the moment a HW95k in .22

ATB PV.

[cbw 4]

My father had permission to shoot on some feilds in Thornwood Common (Essex)so he bought us both a sharp inova pneumatic pump up air rifle, I was 10 or 11 years old. (1980ish)

 

I still have this air rifle, it is all but knackered now as it wont hold its air pressure but I would like to get it fixed one day as its a small rifle with no recoil, ideal starter for my daughter!

 

CBW

[lgray88 4]

had a bsa supersport from a young age then moved on to rimmys and a shotgun not too long ago then a cf very recently

[snapper5 0]

Hi Deker -

 

I bought a cheap snap air rifle when I was 16 which I used for plinking but I recall I never really got the hang of it. I remember a pigeon was caught and brought in by one of the cats but it wasn't quite dead so I volunteered to 'put it out of its misery' but even though I shot it in the head at point blank range, such was the lack of power the pellet just bounced off! Sold it shortly afterwards.

 

After a break of about 25 years, I bought a Webley Raider to get rid of the rabbits eating my veg. Had good fun with that for a year or so but needed more range as by that time I had gained permission to shoot bunnies of the golf course backing onto our garden, so applied for a FAC to buy a Air Arms S410E. Three FAC variations later I now have a 17HMR for vermin, 223 for munty, fox and vermin and a 6.5 x 55 for deer and fox.

 

So over a few years I have gradually progressed through calibre and size of quarry. The self-taught technique from hunting rabbits with the Raider has proved very useful stalking deer. I think my stalking technique got a little lazy when I was shooting predominantly with the 17HMR as I just used the increased range to stand off from the quarry.

 

Cheers

 

S

[Fidgety 8]

Started with BSA Mercury, then Feinwerkbeau 127 sport, 12 bore, AA 410, lastly CZ452!

 

Still got all the old ones too.....happy days!

[ferret boy charlie 0]

im still starting but i started f with a bsa airsporter (still got it ) wich was alright not very powerfull but shot a few things with it then a wembley raider then a 4.10 then a sa meteor then my 20 bore (although havent got any where to shoot with it )

[longrange 0]

STARTED with diana mod 25 webly mk 3, air sporter, moved on to bsa hunter .22 hornet

god! i must be old , eventually got to the big center fires then, through my career,

was asked by renound rifle maker to regulate for him .

 

and got to shoot the ultimate"s al the biggies? 375, 416,470,577,460ga,577trex,

600 nitro and the big boy 700 nitro.

 

if you want to see what its like go to youtube, click on RECOIL

[Squirrel_Basher 17,100]

Webley vulcan,no safety catch .Shot cart loads of critters .Own a webley axsor now which i still use to get back to basics with ,should the stalking get a bit stale .

[weejohn 3]

i started when i was 13 using a diana air rifle. back then i spent every evening out knocking off the bunnies.

[Mr_Logic 5]

Started with rimfires in the CCF, then got air rifle of my own, then 22 of my own and never looked back...

[Gimli 0]

Very similar to lots of you - fired .22 BSAs on an indoor range and .303 outdoors when briefly in the King's Royal Rifle Corps cadets.

 

Then much later in life got an air gun (Cometa and then a CZ) for pest control in my long garden. Enjoyed it so much and enjoyed eating the wood pigeons I shot, that my wife bought me clay shooting lessons as a present, I then got my SGC and my first shotgun and it's all taken off from there.

 

Now have a couple of Berettas (o/u old S56E and a 391 semi-auto), a CZ .22 and a beautiful new Remington SPS .243.