Your first airgun

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A good first choice in your selection may get you off on the right foot (no, not right as opposed to left but right as opposed to wrong) and you may learn to appreciate just what an airgun is capable of and just how much fun you can have with one. 
What do I mean by "a good first choice"? - Buying an airgun that suits what you need and/or what you want from it. As Nunga said above, the higher powered units are not necessarily the best. Nowadays with advertising bombarding us from the left, right and centre, it is easy to lay your cash on the table thinking you got the latest state of the art technology for a moderate cost, when infact you may be getting real budget stuff relying on your purchase to keep them in business. Just because you saw in the side of the box it comes in - 1000fps - it does not mean you will get a minimum of 1000fps, more that you may get up to 1000fps with the very lightest pellets available,, at your own risk of course,, the risk of damaging the internals of your new technologically innovative airgun,, you know, the one that promised you so much but cost so little, yeah, that one. So take our word for it, these advertising quotes mean little as to your eventual enjoyment or disgust in airgunning. It seems that many airguns leave the factory in less than optimum condition to be used day in, day out, without eventual failure to one degree or another. With "some" of these 1000fps rated rifles, they also might live life on the ragged edge, as they are highly stressed and can be under done to handle those strains, not always but just every now and then. Just visit the forums and read of the pain and agony of unsuspecting new owners who have succumbed to the temptation of a new all-powerful first time air rifle without doing some homework first.

Even after you've made your purchase, you need to pick your pellets. This can be like almost walking the same minefield as you were in making your choice of rifles. There is no one single answer to the "which pellet" question. Each gun unto its own, is all I can add here. The only real way to find out is to try some out and hope to end getting a good accurate pellet for your gun, BUT, it hepls if you start off asking someone who might know. That might mean a chat to either the person who sold you the gun (hopefully you bought it from an airgun shop - as ordinary gun shop or sports shops sometimes know very little about airguns indeed and will sell you anything), or joining a forum - hey - just like the one you could be reading this in. Many times, the guys and gals can give you no end of good advice to at least get you off down the right path for pellet choice. While they may not be able to tell you of which exact one to use, they might be also able to tell you which one not to use...

Now you might also want a scope. Again, you must choose the correct type - ALWAYS buy only airgun rated scopes as spring airguns have their own unique type of recoil which can literally destroy orndinary, even expensive scopes in a very short time, and remember, the more powerful your rifle is, the quicker this can happen. Failure to remember will cost you. Choosing the correct scope(s) first up can save you time and patience as sometimes scope failure can be like a ligerring death, slowly manifesting itself bit by bit,, frustating day by frustrating day until its eventual total failure is obvious...

You hear the saying - "you get what you pay for" all the time nowadays and that's most likely because it becomes more and more true as time rolls on. Why?? Because many manufacturers tend to compete nowadays, not for top honours in quality, but for more sales and lower costs and that makes even some top end brands cut corners in a way that they never did before, introducing less exotic materials (often plain old plastic) into their more powerful gun lineups and even if these plastic parts can foot the bill, there are many people who just run for the hills when they hear about plastics being used in their favourite brands. It doesn't mean that the gun is doomed to fail, just what people perceive to be "less than desirable" makes them back off and look around for other brands or models. As a rule though, there are brands that are considered to be better than others. There is an unwritten hierarchy amongst the airgun manufacturers. I am not going to give you any info here as this can be seen by some differently than by others and can cause many friendly debates on forums - hahahaha...

At the end of the day, it's your call. You can do it the quick way and buy the first thing you see while your blood is hot from the sight of your possible new airgun,, or you can do it the more positive better way - ask in forums and do lots of reading in reviews and tests which litter the internet, just waiting for your eyes to roll over them. Believe me, you'll soon pick up on which airguns do what...

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patcheye Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Member Joined: 20 Mar 2013 Location: Papakura Status: Offline Posts: 31	Post Options Post Reply Quote patcheye Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 23 Mar 2013 at 5:59pm
	A good first choice in your selection may get you off on the right foot (no, not right as opposed to left but right as opposed to wrong) and you may learn to appreciate just what an airgun is capable of and just how much fun you can have with one. What do I mean by "a good first choice"? - Buying an airgun that suits what you need and/or what you want from it. As Nunga said above, the higher powered units are not necessarily the best. Nowadays with advertising bombarding us from the left, right and centre, it is easy to lay your cash on the table thinking you got the latest state of the art technology for a moderate cost, when infact you may be getting real budget stuff relying on your purchase to keep them in business. Just because you saw in the side of the box it comes in - 1000fps - it does not mean you will get a minimum of 1000fps, more that you may get up to 1000fps with the very lightest pellets available,, at your own risk of course,, the risk of damaging the internals of your new technologically innovative airgun,, you know, the one that promised you so much but cost so little, yeah, that one. So take our word for it, these advertising quotes mean little as to your eventual enjoyment or disgust in airgunning. It seems that many airguns leave the factory in less than optimum condition to be used day in, day out, without eventual failure to one degree or another. With "some" of these 1000fps rated rifles, they also might live life on the ragged edge, as they are highly stressed and can be under done to handle those strains, not always but just every now and then. Just visit the forums and read of the pain and agony of unsuspecting new owners who have succumbed to the temptation of a new all-powerful first time air rifle without doing some homework first. Even after you've made your purchase, you need to pick your pellets. This can be like almost walking the same minefield as you were in making your choice of rifles. There is no one single answer to the "which pellet" question. Each gun unto its own, is all I can add here. The only real way to find out is to try some out and hope to end getting a good accurate pellet for your gun, BUT, it hepls if you start off asking someone who might know. That might mean a chat to either the person who sold you the gun (hopefully you bought it from an airgun shop - as ordinary gun shop or sports shops sometimes know very little about airguns indeed and will sell you anything), or joining a forum - hey - just like the one you could be reading this in. Many times, the guys and gals can give you no end of good advice to at least get you off down the right path for pellet choice. While they may not be able to tell you of which exact one to use, they might be also able to tell you which one not to use... Now you might also want a scope. Again, you must choose the correct type - ALWAYS buy only airgun rated scopes as spring airguns have their own unique type of recoil which can literally destroy orndinary, even expensive scopes in a very short time, and remember, the more powerful your rifle is, the quicker this can happen. Failure to remember will cost you. Choosing the correct scope(s) first up can save you time and patience as sometimes scope failure can be like a ligerring death, slowly manifesting itself bit by bit,, frustating day by frustrating day until its eventual total failure is obvious... You hear the saying - "you get what you pay for" all the time nowadays and that's most likely because it becomes more and more true as time rolls on. Why?? Because many manufacturers tend to compete nowadays, not for top honours in quality, but for more sales and lower costs and that makes even some top end brands cut corners in a way that they never did before, introducing less exotic materials (often plain old plastic) into their more powerful gun lineups and even if these plastic parts can foot the bill, there are many people who just run for the hills when they hear about plastics being used in their favourite brands. It doesn't mean that the gun is doomed to fail, just what people perceive to be "less than desirable" makes them back off and look around for other brands or models. As a rule though, there are brands that are considered to be better than others. There is an unwritten hierarchy amongst the airgun manufacturers. I am not going to give you any info here as this can be seen by some differently than by others and can cause many friendly debates on forums - hahahaha... At the end of the day, it's your call. You can do it the quick way and buy the first thing you see while your blood is hot from the sight of your possible new airgun,, or you can do it the more positive better way - ask in forums and do lots of reading in reviews and tests which litter the internet, just waiting for your eyes to roll over them. Believe me, you'll soon pick up on which airguns do what...

nunga Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Forum Moderator Joined: 08 Mar 2013 Location: Pukekohe Status: Offline Posts: 1012	Post Options Post Reply Quote nunga Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 12 Mar 2013 at 4:25pm
	So you are in the market for your first air rifle?. Before you rush out and buy a new gun there are a few things you should consider before you part with your cash. The most common thing people always think is "the more powerful the gun the better" Which in most cases is wrong. If you want to have good success with your rifle in both hunting and target shooting the number one thing to look out for is accuracy. You can have the worlds most powerful air rifle but if your pellet doesn't go where you want you might as well pack your bags and go home it is as simple as that. which brings me to my next point. Pellets. find the right pellet for your gun. Each gun will shoot differently to the other. You can get two guns from the same production line and they will probably like different pellets. Find a pellet that groups well in your gun and stick with it. If you change your pellet you will probably need to set your scope up again as each pellet type has a different size shape and weight and they will all fly through the air differently. Your gun will take a few hundred rounds to settle in. so do not worry at the start if you can not get the results you were expecting. The more you shoot the better you and your gun will get. It might take 3 or 4 tins of pellets before things settle down. You do not want a big heavy gun if you want to go hunting. I have a Hatsan MOD125 it is a big and powerful gun, but also it is very heavy. I tend to leave that at home nowadays if i am going out bush because it is just to heavy to carry around for hours on end. I am favoring my less powerful Crosman .22 which has about half the power of my Hatsan but it is also half the weight and it will knock a possum clean out a tree at 30 meters anyway because if my shot placement :) My Hatsan is good around the home for knocking over those pesky rabbits and i can get a good clean head shot up to 80 meters. The power ranking of your gun. When you get your gun it will have on the side of the box its power in FPS (Feet per second) The first thing i will tell you is to ignore what is on the box because it is just plain BS. The manufactures test these guns with the lightest pellets they can find then they round it up to the nearest 100 fps. So if your box says your gun will shoot at 1000fps, realistically with a good mid range pellet you will probably get 750-800 out of it which is still powerful enough to kill a rabbit or possum anyway. more things to remember are, do not leave your spring gun cocked as it will damage your spring if it is cocked to long. Do not fire your gun if there is nothing in the barrel you WILL damage your seal and spring. I have seen salesmen in a sporting shop showing a customer how to cock a gun and then i watched as this guy put the barrel of the gun against the carpet and then pulled the trigger. I feal sorry for the person who brought that gun as it is doomed to fail very quickly. I hope this helps, Any questions just ask!