Goodbye to “Sporting rifle” magazine

[Stavross 18,284]

1 minute ago, FOXHUNTER said:

Never had much to do with air rifles but did have a BSA Airsporter when I was about 16. Haven't really had a need for one but on occasion could have done with one but not worth buying one when wont be used. I shoot rabbits with .22lr . If I had loads of rats to shoot may be different story.

 

I had loads when I was a kid, we used to do loads of rat shooting and pigeons in sheds, perfect for that. If you paid 100 quid for one you were the king of the ratters, now, even a half decent springer is the price of a nice CZ .22lr and I could buy a car for the price of a PCP

[FOXHUNTER 5,021]

16 minutes ago, Stavross said:

I had loads when I was a kid, we used to do loads of rat shooting and pigeons in sheds, perfect for that. If you paid 100 quid for one you were the king of the ratters, now, even a half decent springer is the price of a nice CZ .22lr and I could buy a car for the price of a PCP

Yep it's crazy the prices of FX. My mate who bought the FX Crown had to send it back as the grouping kept moving. They sent it back after 2 weeks having done an accuracy test and it shoots worse So it has gone back again but I think he wants it changing for an Impact. For the price tag if should be amazing. 

[ianm 2,594]

45 minutes ago, FOXHUNTER said:

Never had much to do with air rifles but did have a BSA Airsporter when I was about 16. Haven't really had a need for one but on occasion could have done with one but not worth buying one when wont be used. I shoot rabbits with .22lr . If I had loads of rats to shoot may be different story.

 

I have loads of airguns including an FAC one. They are great for round the farm yards and even at home. Superb for knocking sparrows and starlings off the gutter, although you can't do that now as they are rare. 

[ianm 2,594]

Years ago when i worked for a living myself and a couple of other lads were waiting for an inbound aircraft to land. Amongst other things i used to tow aircraft with a special tractor used for the job. Anyhow i was looking at this tractor one day out of boredom and noticed a shut off valve used for draining water from the fuel. It had stencilled underneath it "DRAIN MONTHLY". I pointed it out to one of the lads i was with and said to him "i'll bet that is a f*****g boring read".

[FOXHUNTER 5,021]

24 minutes ago, ianm said:

Superb for knocking sparrows and starlings off the gutter, although you can't do that now as they are rare. 

I remember the old days too shooting starlings , no shortage still where we are. As a young boy used to put mouse traps on the shed roof to catch house sparrows . Remember one day though when a gull landed and got its foot stuck in the trap , it flew off squawking with the trap still attached.

[Meece 1,958]

52 minutes ago, ianm said:

I have loads of airguns including an FAC one. They are great for round the farm yards and even at home. Superb for knocking sparrows and starlings off the gutter, although you can't do that now as they are rare. 

Sparrows and Starlings might be rare around your yard but because some beastly boy kept shooting them They decided to move to the gardens around here.  Something else.... tins of pellets are now a matter of going to see your bank manager for a loan.  I remember lads going through a couple of tins in a weekend, ? ,!!!  Cheap springers didn't last long.

[Dervburner 2,549]

25 minutes ago, FOXHUNTER said:

I remember the old days too shooting starlings , no shortage still where we are. As a young boy used to put mouse traps on the shed roof to catch house sparrows . Remember one day though when a gull landed and got its foot stuck in the trap , it flew off squawking with the trap still attached.

Bleddy gulls

[ianm 2,594]

20 minutes ago, Meece said:

Sparrows and Starlings might be rare around your yard but because some beastly boy kept shooting them They decided to move to the gardens around here.  Something else.... tins of pellets are now a matter of going to see your bank manager for a loan.  I remember lads going through a couple of tins in a weekend, ? ,!!!  Cheap springers didn't last long.

They are anything but rare here, but natural england say they are and took them off the general license years ago. Yep! some pellets are fourteen quid a throw but i suppose for 500 it isn't bad. 

[Stavross 18,284]

Jesus, is that how much pellets are now I used to buy them in a red box of 200 when I was a kid and I think they were about 50p, I will of been about 14. There was a shop in the town that sold toys, models and air rifles and they would sell us pellets, unlike the miserable bugger in the gun shop. The last time I bought a tin they were about 3 quid 

[Stavross 18,284]

these were the pellets I used to buy when I was a kid, every Saturday I’d take my pocket money, go into town, buy a box of these and a packet of devil bangers to chuck at people on the way home

[Dervburner 2,549]

2 hours ago, FOXHUNTER said:

Yep it's crazy the prices of FX. My mate who bought the FX Crown had to send it back as the grouping kept moving. They sent it back after 2 weeks having done an accuracy test and it shoots worse So it has gone back again but I think he wants it changing for an Impact. For the price tag if should be amazing. 

FAC impact mk2 are brilliant, expensive, but brilliant. Mine is .22 and it’ll do at least 90% of what a .22 rimfire will, plus what you couldn’t do with a rimfire. Hell of a tool and as accurate as you like.

[FOXHUNTER 5,021]

Just now, Dervburner said:

FAC impact mk2 are brilliant, expensive, but brilliant. Mine is .22 and it’ll do at least 90% of what a .22 rimfire will, plus what you couldn’t do with a rimfire. Hell of a tool and as accurate as you like.

The gunshop have sold 150 Crowns with no problem,  looks like my mate got a duffer.

[Dervburner 2,549]

1 minute ago, FOXHUNTER said:

The gunshop have sold 150 Crowns with no problem,  looks like my mate got a duffer.

Yerr, bad luck that. Crowns are usually very good. Villaman has one in .22 fac and uses it more than anything.

[FOXHUNTER 5,021]

His was .25 FAC......

[Meece 1,958]

A friend does target air pistol and air rifle shooting at a club.these blokes are pretty serious about it and have rifles and pistols costing Many hundreds.  All of this target work is 177 stuff and they use wadcutter pellets. I had a 20 cal air rifle and my mate asked for a handful of my H N .20 wadcutter pellets.  He took them to the club and secretly dropped 2 or three into the tins of the other shooters along the line whilst they were concentrating on taking aim. . Eventually one of these pellets was picked out and it wouldn't chamber. Now these serious types had to have a technical enquiry about this occurrence.   Then someone else had one. !!! vernier micrometers were brought to bear. There  was a committee of enquity set up and draft letters to the importer of H N pellets established as to how there appeared to be 20 cal H N pellets in a spread of tins of 177 H N match pellets. !!   my mate watched on with amusement but never let on that it was him playing them up. No one ever twigged that it was anything other than a quality control issue at HN. It really did some of their heads in trying to work it out.