Pcp To A Springer?

[Jonny92 6]

Well haven't been on here for a while but after owning a bsa r10 in 22 which I still own and a daystate air wolf mtc in 1.77 which I sold a while back am thinking of selling/trading the r10 in for a springer. The one I have in mind is the hw97kt but is this a wise move as normally people go from a springer to a PCP not the other way round.

[charlie caller 3,654]

Why not try a springer for a while (if possible) and see how get on with it, if you are on good terms with your local dealer/gunsmith ask him to lend you one for the weekend, it will be a learning curve, but once you have mastered a quality springer your sense of achievement at pulling off a good shot will be double

[pianoman 3,584]

I'd say it is a very wise move Jonny92.

 

As Charlie caller so well puts the point over in his excellent reply, it will prove a learning curve with another, different yet equally effective type of air rifle and you shouldn't think of this move as a retrograde step or an unorthodox approach to your current shooting experience. An ability to shoot well with both a spring rifle and a PCP rifle is a very rewarding and thoroughly enjoyable skill to experience the pleasure of air rifle shooting to its fullest. More people wouid benefit from a solid grounding with both types of action.

 

Think more of it as adding to your skills and knowledge pool with another, altogether different type of rifle.

 

Best of luck with the additional skills you will develope..

Simon

[Pink or stink 162]

I saw it as a retrograde step on Saturday when I used a HW98 to go around our HFT with the springer boys. Although I shot boingers well for 30 odd years I knew the PCP would make life easier and my shooting would improve. Can't say I was thrilled at all at the thought of it and then something happened. I wiped the floor with them all and posted a 52. This was a UKAHFT course, one where many of the PCP shooters don't score that. I have to admit I was impressed with it and (not being big-headed) impressed with my score having not touched a springer for thirteen years. I know I will never match my PCP scores with a springer but I didn't expect to so I concentrated on the fun element of it all. I have been very dismissive of springers (all banter) but I have just put a wanted add on another shooting forum. Totally different experiences but it has taught me to be less dismissive of springers.

[ChrisJones 7,973]

Pink hit the nail on the head.

 

Fun element!

[barrywhite 282]

the big difference with a spring gun it seem counter intuitive but you have to hold the gun as loose as possible when shooting the gun .I hold the gun only enough as to stop it moving while I pull the trigger .

[bigmac 97kt 13,735]

Going from a pcp to a spring rifle is a bold move as things you find easy to hit WILL not with a springer as say,d all ready its a hole new way of shooting .

 

The way you hold the rifle

 

The way it recoils

 

The nudge in your shoulder

 

The way it jumps

 

and the way you may pull it to the right or the left (a quick adjustment of the trigger can sort this)

 

and no second shot unlike your r10

 

all of this is what you have to over come as often say,d a blind man can shoot a pcp and hit the target

 

But all of that say,d the sense of achievement you get once you have mastered the springer is out of this world

 

once you have mastered it then and only then can you call your self a

 

a spring rifle marksman

 

and respect will follow forth with .

 

Just look at Simon (pianoman) the man is a legend in the spring rifle world and can out shoot any one using a pcp with any of his spingers

 

atvbmac :thumbs:

 

PS VM iv took the day off bud one of the perks of being the boss lol

[charlie caller 3,654]

As I have said elsewhere, using a springer is not too far removed from shooting my .243 cf I.E recoil, follow through, and the weight of my hw77 is very similar, so I tend to shoot off sticks quite a lot, which is superb practice for deer stalking and fast deployment of the sticks, very little of this would be possible with a pcp, with its dead firing cycle, and I reckon that I am just as accurate with my spring rifle as I am with a pcp, in fact the other week out on one of my permissions which is a 120+ acre wood I met two lads who had recently gained permission, we had a steady walk round, potting a few dreys in the hope of evicting the occupants, both lads had pcps one an AA s410 the other a Rapid 7, we shot about 5 squirrels, I head shot two of those at about 35-40 yards that both the lads shot at and missed, to say they were impressed is an understatement, one lad saying, "bloody hell I did not know a spring gun could do that, I have never had one" I find it quite sad that there are lads out there now who never cut their teeth on springers, as so many of us on here did.

[Jonny92 6]

Thanks for all the replies I know it will be a big learning curve but am up for the challenging just have to see what price I get for the r10 or if I find the gun I want cheap enough and just have two rifles.

[pianoman 3,584]

Thank you so much Mac dear pal.

 

If I shoot well with my spring rifles, especially my Weihrauch HW77 .22, which, to me, is the best spring rifle of all sub-12 ft/lb spring rifles that can be bought; it is because I love constantly being out testing myself with my springers on targets at varying ranges. I've been shooting these rifles most of all my life and I love them for their classical simplicity yet extremely effective accuracy. It also keeps my field craft sharp as I compensate for the louder firing crack from the muzzle. It also keeps my marksmanship levels with my PCP rifle very keen.

 

I am baffled by how a lot of lads regard them as being so heavy as to be almost unmanageable. I spent over 20 years as a sniper and tactical weapons instructor/examiner with our armed forces and, I can tell you now, a good air rifle like the HW77 is no heavier than most infantry battle rifles. And we never carry a hefty sniping rifle on a sling. The reason is mainly one of camouflage and snagging it on ground vegetation which often pulls ferns and plants over in unatural ways. It's almost impossible to make a loose rifle sling look like a natural ground feature to an enemy soldier close up! Not something we are going to have to consider with air rifle hunting. But shooting spring air rifles for hunting since a young boy has meant I've grown up with a natural ability to shoot with anything rifle-shaped and I feel lucky for thast level of experience. So, come on lads where's your natural soldier's spirit gone with a rifle and a bit of heft???

 

I don't say one form of air rifle action type or system is superior to another but, they are different as to how they work and there are advantages with both, one over eachother that, basically ballance them out.. The two main disadvantages spring rifles are handicaped by, is that, they are not as quiet as a good PCP can be hushed to. And they lack as fast or even faster reload of a second shot, should you need it, of a multishot PCP.

 

This makes the PCP unbeatable as a professional culling weapon where rabbits in large numbers have to be thinned out. I've hit two or three where my springers would have hit one and scared the rest off with the crack of the rifle. That means either a stealthy move to another location or wait it out for half an hour or more till they re-emerge.

 

The main disadvantages of PCPs is the need for an eye on air pressures or shot counts in the field, extra external charging gear. And the inescapable fact that, being recoiless, vibration-free on firing, they have removed the shooter's input of control over his/her rifle handling skills. In short, they will not train your natural shooting instincts to manage and overcome what isn't there in the first place. RECOIL.

 

If we are really serious about our shooting skills and the best way to get the most out of our sport, whatever we prefer to shoot for, we need both types of air rifle in our armouries.

 

Just my thoughts here.

 

Simon/Pianoman