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Coypu Hunter

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Everything posted by Coypu Hunter

  1. Coypu Hunter
    I went to my local gunshop a week ago here in Brittany, and asked him what he would recommend for shooting rats in my chicken shed. He pulled out an HW80 in .22... Maybe the topic is less of a taboo in the real world, although if you mention hunting on any of the French air rifle forums, it pays to take cover before pressing "post"!
  2. Coypu Hunter
    No worries, mate, I'll take it off your hands, so long as you pay the postage to France and wrap it carefully in fivers... I particularly like the way that only half of the scope is connected to the mount, and only half the mount is connected to the action. Good bit of ergonomic design, that. Actually, I'm looking for a second-hand .22 right now, so WTF, I'll buy it. It is without a doubt the ugliest rifle I've ever seen, but I'm sure I could improve its looks by chucking the stock and mounting the action on a large turd.
  3. Coypu Hunter
    Nice write-up as usual, and nice shooting. Don't worry too much about the quality of the pics -- I've seen much worse, and we get the idea!
  4. Coypu Hunter
    If you have big sausage-shaped fingers, go for .22. If not, you could go for either calibre. If you can't make your mind up, sit on the fence and go for .20. In very general terms: .177 = flatter trajectory, higher velocity, less stopping power. .22 = more parabolic (loopy) trajectory, lower velocity, more stopping power (heavier pellet). As has been said, the best calibre is the one that allows you to place the pellet accurately in a kill zone. If you have a local air rifle club that has rifles for visitors to use, go along and try both calibres and see which suits.
  5. Coypu Hunter
    Well, Maggie Maggie at any rate. Three of 'em prancing around on the lawn, screaming their heads off. At 17 yards from the windows at the back of the house (bad decision). The first one (on the right) dropped where it stood, heart shot from the front, just up in the black bib. The second came back to have a look, and stood over its pal, shrieking. It hopped up and back away from its pal just as I pulled the trigger, so the shot went a little low. However, since it was face on to me and jumping slightly backwards and up, I think the shot still clipped the heart and/or lungs. Either way, it o
  6. Coypu Hunter
    Do you have a spring compressor? If not, you're fecked... But I'm sure you have some threaded steel rod lying around. Put the spring over the rod, put a washer either end to protect the spring, add nuts, tighten until the coils touch, and the spring will be set. You should then be able to get it into the rifle without contracting a hernia or having to chop down the spring. Let us know how you get on.
  7. Coypu Hunter
    The only thing I could suggest is trying a Maccari spring. They're very supple and smooth, but very long -- you'd need to set it to get it to fit in the rifle, but that's easy enough to do. Cost just under £20 shipped from the USA, take about ten days to get over here. http://www.airrifleheadquarters.com/catalog/item/251488/1979288.htm
  8. Coypu Hunter
    Yes, maybe and yes. A clean and polish will remove all the factory gunk (don't forget the trigger housing, which is normally full of snot) and smooth things out nicely. A V-Mach will make it more consistent in terms of velocity and power, although it may make the recoil more snappy at the same time (short-throw spring and reduced lock time). I'd recommend cleaning & polishing first. If the rifle shoots sweetly and consistently after that, save your money. I only installed a V-Mach kit when I found that my spring had shattered into 5 pieces. Prior to that, I'd cleaned out t
  9. Coypu Hunter
    I'm normally pretty good at judging ranges, but at dusk, or in the rain, or when I'm shooting up at a magpie in a tree for example, there's no shame in having some back-up in your pocket. Given the drop that a .22 pellet will have when you push your ranges out, a few feet can make all the difference between a clean kill and a wounded animal, no shame in range-finding in those circumstances either. If all it does is confirm the excellence of your own range-finding skills, it's still a tool worth having in the box.
  10. Coypu Hunter
    Without spending 350 quid, there shit aren't they? Cant handle different light conditions? Longridge PinPoint. Works at dusk and in the rain up to 400 yards. Still using the same battery after two years. £99.50 on Amazon. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Longridge-GADFL1-Laser-Distance-Finder/dp/B000UTOHBE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408612651&sr=8-1&keywords=longridge+laser
  11. Coypu Hunter
    Laser rangefinder.
  12. Coypu Hunter
    Depends on the steel! What gauge and hardness did you have in mind?
  13. Coypu Hunter
    Yup, it's a FAC rifle. It was supposed to be 21 joules/15 fpe when I bought it a couple of years ago, but only ever got up to 13 fpe even when new. There isn't really a kick -- the lock time's so short with the V-Mach that it's just a snap and a quick tap against the shoulder. There was about the same shove back from the old spring, although it was more gradual -- now it's over almost before it starts. It's shooting nicely, even though the new internals haven't really bedded in yet -- I've probably only put a couple of hundred pellets through it since the install. When it was shooting
  14. Coypu Hunter
    As already mentioned, I've installed a FAC V-Mach kit with the two pre-tension washers, after I found my 97's spring broken into five pieces. Only put a couple of hundred pellets through it so far, but results are encouraging. The rifle's previously preferred pellets, Weihrauch F&T Specials, are no longer as accurate. Tried various other "standard-weight" pellets -- FTTs, Superdomes, JSB Exacts, the usual suspects -- but results were disappointing. So I started working my way up the weight scale, thinking that the new power level (13.7 fpe with 8.7 grain pellets) and higher velocities (86
  15. Coypu Hunter
    They're great rifles when you learn how to shoot them correctly. Look around for info on the Artillery Hold, and you'll be on the right track. And read Pianoman's post on shooting technique, it's an excellent introduction to shooting springers. Wouldn't bother with a tuning kit unless the power drops suddenly, or there's something else wrong, like a pronounced twang or too much recoil. If you do decide to go the tuning route, why pay someone to fit it for you, though? It only takes an hour or so to fit a V-Mach kit.
  16. Coypu Hunter
    Have a play with Chairgun. My 97 is zeroed at 33 yards, but if I change the upward angle of shot to 45°, the zero becomes 50-odd yards. Obviously this will be different for an HMR, but the principle is the same.
  17. Coypu Hunter
    Every thing in France is a pest ,that includes the French as well Damn right...
  18. Coypu Hunter
    Cos some dîckhead bunny-hugger decided they're cute ickle fluffy critters?
  19. Coypu Hunter
    Yes, there are still lots of guns in circulation that have never been registered, if you know where to look. It's not unusual to see a .22 rifle or pistol for sale at a car boot sale...! Not that I'd ever buy anything like that, of course... There are various laws made in Paris by townies that just sort of fade away as you leave the city.
  20. Coypu Hunter
    Nice shooting. If that were in France, I'd just shoot the freaking badgers as well. Over here, they're just regarded as a pest like any other animal that damages crops, etc.
  21. Coypu Hunter
    There are no legal air rifle quarry in France... not even vermin. Officially...
  22. Coypu Hunter
  23. Coypu Hunter
    You can't even use a .410? That's just ridiculous! I thought France was bad!!!
  24. Coypu Hunter
    I posted it on here on 18 July, but it's worth posting again.
  25. Coypu Hunter
    Absolutely. And, like they say, it's not normally the registered gun owners you have to worry about... Problem is, it only takes one high-profile accident or crime involving a firearm or air weapon, and risk is that the nanny state will do the knee-jerk thing all over again...
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