Spring is in the Air

[Deker 3,491]

I wrote this a few months ago after a particularly busy few days when I thought I was an author, just found it again and it reminded me of the smell of Spring again................

(Just the thing to send you to sleep I suspect)

 

 

PCP (Pre Charged Pneumatic) Tears & Triumph![/

 

It was a beautiful late Spring afternoon as I placed the .22LR in the back of the 4 x 4. Every month and every season has something magical about it but the vibrant new greens and evocative fresh smell of Spring make April and May my favourite months. But June is dawning and history tells me it is going to be the best month of the year for Bunnies!

 

 

It’s off to Dave and Margarets farm a short drive from Reading. A pleasant meandering trip down tree lined roads and leafy lanes, beware the Ford over the River Blackwater though, the sign says “Not Suitable for Road Vehicles“, trust me on this one, they are right! It’s a good sized farm with a rich and diverse landscape giving me the opportunity to use everything from Air Rifle to Centre fire. Their principal business is Cattle with Free Range Ducks and Chickens; they also stable a sizeable collection of Horses. This brings with it all the problems you would expect, principally Rabbit, Charlie and Deer. Rabbit with the .22LR is the plan for today!

 

 

However, there is work to be done before I can get on with the business of Game & Vermin control.

 

 

Always at my side my trusty 6 year old FAC Falcon FN19RS Air Rifle has just been returned to the manufacturer for repair. I had somehow managed to crack the breech block, (still a mystery to me how); my old friend John Cooper at Falcon told me he had never seen this before - my luck! It was only away for 4 days but I was pining for its return.

 

 

The Law!

Work completed and the gun serviced I now have to write to the Police Firearms Department explaining to them why my serial number has changed, as this is stamped into the breech block. “Simple life†and “firearms†are terms you never see together!!

 

 

It Must Be Right!

With all the new valves and seals, as well as the breech block it took a little more bedding in than I had expected. In the order of 450 shots, over 3 days of painstaking chronograph work, recording and adjusting in order to finish at a consistent 25ft lbs. Eventually, as I was beginning to think I was never going to get there, a 30 shot mean average, with minimal deviation, of 24.975ft lb. Even I can settle for that.

 

 

With the power at the right level I just need to check the zero. The AGS (or should I say Webley now) 4-16x56 Swat Scope is back in place; so armed with targets and the indispensable 100 yard surveyors tape - no doubt there is a laser available for setting the distance these days - off we go.

 

 

First stop at the farm is a nice flat empty pasture with a good backstop, close to the woods and tucked away on the outskirts of the property. A 40 yard zero works well for me, but I can still confidently handle bunnies to 60 yards or more, I have around 12ft lb at 100 yards. I’ll tell you how you can “full distance†zero in even the smallest back garden another time.

 

 

I make my own zero targets which I use for Air Rifle, Rim fire and Centre fire, very simple and quick to make and great with telescopic scopes! Off to the computer and on A4 size white paper, 3 equidistant thick black horizontal and vertical lines. This produces a high contrast grid giving multiple aiming points, I find this very easy to use in the field and I can zero quickly and efficiently. I have used many proprietary targets for competition, practice and fun but I have never found a target as good as mine for zeroing!

 

 

Try a Few

Pellet choice is vital but can present a dilemma for many, there is a vast array out there; domed, flat, pointed, hollow, metal, lead, plastic etc., in all sorts of weights. Most are ok up to the legal limit of 12ft lb, but you will find that different rifles, barrels, manufacturers and applications will still suit different pellets, and never underestimate the psychological element, if it works for you and you like it stick with it! I have tried vast quantities of pellets over the years, both in my 12ft lb and 25ft lb FAC Air Rifles, I still have about 15 tins of part used pellets to prove it.

 

 

At 25ft lbs my Falcon is a vermin control tool, there are very few competitions for Air Rifles over 12ft lb so my pellet of choice is required to stop vermin. There are only a handful of pellets that are designed for, or can deliver consistent performance at 20+ft lb. For me and my rifle the choice has simply come down to one, Air Arms Field, in 5.51mm. It is a domed pellet and at 1.037 grams it is around 15% heavier than the average 5.5mm (.22), rated up to 30ft lb and always consistent; I never was a fan of their plastic containers though and the tins they have recently started supplying aren’t much better! The change of container appears to have more significance though; it also reflects an unannounced (I didn’t hear anything - did you?) and perceptible change of design in the pellet! They do not appear to fly any differently but as I write I am still waiting for Air Arms to explain themselves. They also do a Hunter version at the same weight but pointed. This flies a little differently to the Field, is a fraction less consistent and at 25ft lb I find it goes right through the quarry too often, therefore not imparting all its energy into the stop! Use it up to 20ft lbs for great results. I went through a full year, and 8 tins of Bisley Magnum in the rifle which I found to be another excellent pellet. It is heavy though at 21.4-21.6 grains, and from my point of view I came to the conclusion that I got better overall results with A. A. Field. If I put the power up to 30ft lb Bisley Magnum would definitely be back.

 

 

Zero target, backstop and range prepared it’s on with the job. Bearing in mind the barrel had been removed and everything re-fitted on a new breech block, including the scope, the zero was pretty close, a little high and right. I fire 3 shot groups for zeroing then adjust, another 3 and so on, a few clicks on the windage and elevation and magic. Job done I empty an eight shot magazine to check; it’s a little windy but all eight hit a 1p piece at 40 yards. I love this gun, it has a barrel as flexible as a Bass Guitar string but somehow delivers legendary accuracy! I’ve had my Falcon for 6 years and still haven’t plucked up the courage to drill into the stunning woodwork to fit swivel studs; at the same time I have concerns that the skeleton butt may not be able to handle the stresses of a sling!

 

 

Now…why did I really come here…? I know, it’s time to get the .22LR out… but it looks like the bunnies, and lots more will have to wait until next time I put pen to paper. I have been debating with Robin at Litts, Berkshire and GMK about my new Tikka T3 Lite in .223, should I get the blue or stainless barrel; the stainless won, and Robin has just called me to say it is due in on Thursday! Just a quick look and touch when it arrives, as it’s straight off to be screw cut (why isn‘t this done as standard?). My monthly Rifle Club meeting is at Bisley next week, and I’m looking at an invitation to a Wild Boar shoot in Kent… how long will it take to think about that one? Looks like I’ve got a lot of rifle cleaning ahead of me!

 

Deker

Free Range Organic Food Regulator (Game & Vermin Controller)

 

(Nominations for all literary awards greatly appreciated, I would like to thank my Mum, and children, everyone who knows me and all of you of course )

 

All rights reserved Deker May 2007

Edited November 23, 2007 by Deker

[Guest Macnas]

Nicely done.

[Deker 3,491]

Nicely done.

 

 

Now there is a gentleman........... everyone else fell asleep half way through!

 

Cheers

Deker