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Manco

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Everything posted by Manco

  1. Manco
    I have a Cometa Fusion in .177 flavour which puts out almost 16fpe. (In SA where I live an FAC is not required). It's a superbly accurate spring air rifle that can print sub 1/2" groups at 30 yards. Only drawback is the effect of the recoil on scopes; it knackers them to give a technical explanation. So far it's wrecked (1) a Nikko 3 - 7 x 32 AO and (2) a Hawke Airmax 4 -12 x 42 AO SR6. Both scopes were brand new and fortunately I have been able to claim under the warranties, but I can't recover cost of postage to the service centre so I'm out of pocket. So far I have tried using conven
  2. Manco
    I like to keep a British 5p coin in my pocket - and nothing else. If I should get mugged I could claim to be a British visitor and I might get away. Just kidding. Seriously, if I showed an SA coin to give an idea of scale, it wouldn't mean much to most folks in the UK. Glad you enjoyed my post. Chris
  3. Manco
    Just a couple more photos to attach - I exceeded the file size limit I think. Chris
  4. Manco
    In South Africa, in the aftermath of a record grain harvest in the Cape where I live, the storage silos are full to capacity which is good news for air gun hunters, and both good and bad news for pigeons – I use the term generically to cover various species of pigeon and dove. I am fortunate to have been invited by a couple of fellow shooters to go pigeon shooting with them. Today I spent a couple of hours fettling the Ugly Stick Mk2 (Sumatra Carbine in .20 calibre) checking zero and shooting at varying distances in preparation for a shoot which should take place one evening during the comi
  5. Manco
    Near my house in South Africa there's a favourite perch for rock doves on a telephone wire which is 60 yards from my front stoop, measured by LRF. These days I do most of my shooting with springers which is possibly an indication that second childhood is beckoning me to revisit boyhood days when my brother and I roamed local woods, me with a trusty Meteor and bro' with a long barreled Diana luftpistol. It's at least a month since I shot with Ugly Stick Mk2, an FAC Sumatra Carbine in .20 calibre but I hadn't forgotten that 60 yards is exactly one mil-dot holdover with the scope on 8X magnif
  6. Manco
    Thanks for the kind words fellas. I have a big lump on one knee, bruised but nothing broken. Amazing that the Whisper X got away with only a few scuff marks and still shoots fine. Even more amazing that the Burris scope continues to function perfectly; its new dings and abrasions are just cosmetic. Burris really do make tough scopes. There ought to be some mileage in making some advertising copy out of my recent experience. Nothing like 'word of mouth' for promoting sales. I'll give it some thought. No prizes for guessing what I would spend any extra money on: more shooting toys of cou
  7. Manco
    Yesterday I got carried away when lining up a shot and stepped backwards off a ledge, falling on to a rocky dried up water course four feet below me. Instinct kicked in and I let my rifle go to save myself. Gun...rocks...smash. I managed to twist my body round and broke my fall, but my knee had an argument with a rock – lost the argument. I was much more concerned about my airgun and scope which had a few seconds earlier had parted company from me and each other. I retrieved the scope first, a Burris 3 – 9 x 40, formerly a nice piece of glass. Would it now be consigned to history,
  8. Manco
    In the town where I live in South Africa there is an ostrich abattoir, but in these PC times we should probably call it a meat processing factory. The plant manager is an acquaintance of mine and when he learned I was into airguns and hunting he asked me recently to do a bit of pest control. The plant operates 24/5 but shuts on Saturdays and Sundays which gives me an opportunity to shoot without being observed by any potentially dubious characters, 'skelms' in Afrikaner speak. I took 3 airguns with me today: a .20 Sumatra Carbine, my Gamo Whisper X and my HW50S. The Sumatra is set at a lit
  9. Manco
    It came tripping along the top stones of a dry stone wall, paused for a moment in semi-profile with its fine tail curled behind it; it was there, then it wasn't... Sadly my holiday in the UK has come to an end and I bid farewell to Yorkshire - until the next time. All the best, Chris
  10. Manco
    On holiday in West Yorkshire I have use of a piece of steep brambly overgrown woodland to shoot on with the 3 guns I recently picked up: a BSA Superstar .22, a BSA Ultra Multishot .22 and an HW95 .177 All secondhand but well cared for and sold by decent people at fair prices. This morning I fixed up the Combro to chrono the Ultra - it's a bit low on power at 10fpe but no one told the wood pigeon that landed on a nearby branch. I took a standing shot, off hand at a (later)lasered 34 yards and was pleased to see it drop flap its wings once before its lights went out. This evening I was out wit
  11. Manco
    On holiday in the UK, staying in West Yorkshire, I acquired a BSA Ultra in .22 flavour, regged by a certain Mr Tench. A magpie lingered a little too long on a dry stone wall. Now he is an ex-Yorkshire magpie... ATB Chris
  12. Manco
    Clip-on bi-pod? Never thought of that.... Chris
  13. Manco
    Photo of bottle top targets now attached. Just good plinking fun we all enjoy from time to time. BTW - I agree Simon that is worth doing. ATB Chris
  14. Manco
    For some time I have been thinking about fashioning a tripod shooting rest mainly for use with a springer. On a visit to the UK two years ago I picked up a lightweight “travelling†photographic tripod from Aldi for under £20 (if I remember correctly). It’s been good for its intended purpose, but recently I adapted it for use as a rifle rest. I got a friend to fabricate a small metal plate, drill the centre and put a female thread there to match the ‘male’ of the tripod. The permanent loan of a kitchen breadboard, borrowed when Mrs M wasn’t looking, provided a shooting plat
  15. Manco
    Matt, to reply: (1) I wasn't able to get an acceptable group shooting the X directly off a tall bi-pod (sticks). To get accuracy I have to shoot it in the normal way of using a springer with a rifle support i.e. with the fore-end resting on the back (or palm) of my hand. It has a synthetic stock and is quite a bit lighter than the HW50S. Apart from this quirk, I really like the X - I put up a review of it on this board several months ago. (2) I have achieved the results I have posted in this thread by shooting the 'S' with the fore-end of the rifle resting directly in the 'V' cradle of the s
  16. Manco
    You know Simon, newcomers to the forum could be forgiven for thinking they had entered the wrong portal and stepped into a ballet school to watch two old queens doing their best to scratch each other’s eyes out. :blink:LOL So shall we agree to call it quits – or is it to be tutus at 40 paces? You don’t know me at all but what I have written about my experience of shooting a springer off my tall bi-pod is factual. Whatever else I'm guilty of, I draw the line at falsifying the data. However, I do take it on trust that you are a top shot with a springer. So why not give this
  17. Manco
    Simon, I am merely doing some groundwork on a topic that interests me and writing up my findings in case they are of interest to others on the forum. What I have found so far has surprised me; that the springer I’m using (HW50S) can shoot accurately directly off my tall bi-pod at least out to 40 yards – the maximum range I have tried this so far. I am familiar with the accepted practice of resting the fore-end of a springer on one's hand rather than an inanimate object. This is what I normally do. But I chose to experiment with shooting one off my tall bi-pod. I have written up what I
  18. Manco
    OK Simon (and by the way I sign myself off as Chris) you asked for a response so here it is. I wonder if I catch a whiff of NIH syndrome (NIH = not invented here). I have read several of your posts and you appear to set yourself up as a forum guru concerning springers in general and the shooting of spring air rifles in particular. You appear to have a lot of ego invested in this. I don’t doubt you are a good all-round guy and an excellent shot to boot, but I doubt you are the fountainhead of all wisdom. Those who stick their necks out and make unsupportable pronouncements should be p
  19. Manco
    So to continue with the write-up, here is Part 3: I note that for many air gun shooters (including some on this forum) the misconception persists that it's not possible to shoot a springer accurately directly off any kind of bi-pod. I certainly thought so too until I started the 'experiment' described in this thread. In part 2 I wrote that I had achieved my accuracy goal of getting my shots within a 1" circle at 35 yards shooting my HW50S off 'sticks' i.e. my tall bi-pod. But I had a feeling that as long as I did my part the equipment was capable of doing better. I had recently bought
  20. Manco

    Pigeon down

    Manco replied to Manco's topic in Airgun Hunting

    i know what you mean,got a doves head on it,perhaps they call them pigeons over there,although not sure where "over there is" Whatever...(and yeah it is a dove) it's no longer crapping all over my patio. As Shakespeare, in Romeo and Juliet wrote " a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Bliksem! All this Royal pageantry has made me light headed!
  21. Manco
    I had a setback recently; my wife's son left the farm he managed for a new job and I no longer have a shooting permission, not to mention a good shooting partner. I have to be satisfied with occasional pest-control shooting on my property. Today was such an opportunity. I heard the familiar coo-ing and clucking before I saw it - a pigeon perched on the gable end of an outbuilding, estimated range, 35 yards. My Sumatra carbine was close to hand, lucky for me, not so lucky for the pigeon. ATB Chris attachment=154740:Pigeon-down.jpg]
  22. Manco
    Hi Matt, I agree with what you say about shooting springers of Harris-type bi-pods: ("Generally, the issue with bipods and springers relates to fixed bipods, a la Harris. A spring rifle relies on a consistent hold and support to shoot repeatably accurately. When rested off hand, no matter what method is used to support the hand, you can make the rest consistent. However as soon as you rest the rifle on a hard surface, it will change the point of impact...A fixed bipod can give very accurate shooting, but links directly to the ground and so is very sensitive to the surface you rest it on. A
  23. Manco
    So, to continue the write-up, here is Part 2... Results at 25 yards: (1) Unfortunately, it’s adios El Gamo… shooting off the sticks didn’t suit the Gamo Whisper X and I struggled to keep the pellets inside 1 inch. I regard the ‘X’ as an excellent air gun when shot off-hand, or with the fore-end supported on your hand or a sand bag, but I found it was too frisky off the sticks. (2) The HW50S, on the other hand shot impeccably off sticks and I could hardly have been more satisfied with its performance. Photo #4shows the result. Results at 35 yards: El Gamo having
  24. Manco
    A few days ago a member of the forum started a thread with a question: “Is it possible to shoot a Weihrauch HW 77 accurately off a bi-pod?â€. It got me thinking. Until recently I had always assumed that shooting a springer off a bipod wouldn’t be successful – that its recoil characteristics would make the shots go all over the place. Not wishing to hijack that thread, I decided to open a new one to explore the topic further. During the last few days the weather has been calm, I had some spare time and my thoughts turned to shooting. I decided to carry out an experiment – to see
  25. Manco
    An informative write-up. I really enjoyed reading it. Cheers, Chris
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