Flub's General Discussion - Spring gun shooting.

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Spring gun shooting.

Printed From: Kiwi Airgunners
Category: General
Forum Name: Flub's General Discussion
Forum Description: General discussion goes in here.
URL: www.kiwiairgunners.co.nz/forum_posts.asp?TID=548
Printed Date: 04 Nov 2025 at 6:04pm
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Topic: Spring gun shooting.

Posted By: Novagun
Subject: Spring gun shooting.
Date Posted: 19 Dec 2020 at 1:52pm

J-S mentioned people buying an airgun and then getting disheartened with it. I bet that happened a lot at the beginning of lock down. I remember reading in the paper about the trade that Gun City did on the couple of days before it happened. There was a photo in the paper of a big queue outside the shop somewhere in Auckland.

Most people buy cheapish airguns like a Norica or a Browning or Gamo thinking it is only an airgun and it will be good enough. They then buy a cheap tin of pellets, Gamo, and hope they are set.

Nobody from the shop tells them about the lateral movement at the barrel pivot. The not tight enough stock screws or the 500 to 1000 shots needed to brake it in. Nobody told them that it will take time and practice to learn to shoot any rifle accurately.

The new comer can't hit the target properly so the rifle gets rested on something. Maybe the window sill. Any spring gun or .22lr will not shoot well resting on a hard surface. I have seen it time after time at the small bore club.

Even the .22 lr target rifles get rested on a stand and the scores are woeful. The shooter thinks that because the sights appear steady all should go well. Trouble is the gun moves a lot before the pellet leaves the muzzle. Same with subsonic .22lr bullets. Doesn't matter as long as it moves the same every shot but on a hard surface it bounces around.

The spring gun must be rested on the hand which can then be supported by a stand if you want to. The place of resting on the forehand must be the same every time for consistency. That is hard to do and surface of the hand changes just about every time you shoot. Our hands are soft because we don't use an axe or shovel very often. The recoil of the rifle can be altered by just how much you cup the forehand. Remember the artillery hold; let the rifle move because you can't stop it no matter how hard you try.

.22lr target shooters overcome this buy using a substantial glove as a forehand rest. That glove is no good for springer shooters because it is stiff and bulky and that makes gripping the rifle awkward for cocking. I use a closed cell foam mitt that covers the palm and leaves the fingers free . The forestock lies on the same surface every time. Palm and fingers open, no grip.

You may think I am expert; well I am not. Not even the best air rifle shooter but I get the most fun. Maybe.

Replies:

Posted By: Pauly5
Date Posted: 19 Dec 2020 at 2:31pm

You are right Nova, good detective work and summary. Have you done it before?
Do you still have the Airgun book you wrote? Or does Davey have it? It would be a good read, and maybe put it on here.

Posted By: Novagun
Date Posted: 19 Dec 2020 at 2:59pm

I still have the Airgun Book, Lost some photos when I retrieved it from the old forum. Maybe a quick edit and maybe I could try the photo thing again.

Lot of words to put on here so might need to consult Nunga.

Posted By: Pauly5
Date Posted: 20 Dec 2020 at 7:38am

I've been thinking about spring guns, and when I look at trade me, I want to buy the cheap ones, and tune them. But I would have to say, that if I had the skill to make new trigger systems for them I would, as it really is the triggers that let most of these down. I have no problem with recoil, but when the pull is long and heavy, and the break heavy as well, I reckon that's where the bad accuracy comes from. In fact the whole experience of the shot really boils down to that trigger. So despite the plastic coated barrels, if they paid more attention to the trigger, I think we would have a lot more happy shooters about.

Posted By: Novagun
Date Posted: 20 Dec 2020 at 10:37am

Dead Right. Gamo have improved their trigger with the new SAT model. Not too bad and can be improved with a longer adjustment screw. All that really does is half disengage the trigger sears. The GRTiv trigger is just a lot better. I haven't tried the CAT model. That has two adjustment screws for first and second stage.

Just buy a rifle and have a go. A very well known boat builder made the comment that experience starts when go begin. What's the worst that can happen.

Posted By: Novagun
Date Posted: 20 Dec 2020 at 10:53am

Except there are some rifles that will not shoot well no matter what you do.EG. Gamo Challenger, Webley Rebel and no doubt there are others.

Posted By: dvlnme
Date Posted: 21 Dec 2020 at 1:46am

you definatly right about that and it applies to most other types of guns too,spring guns have allways been for me a type of airgun i never really got on with that well particully when it came to the more powerful ones,i have a BSA rifle here that i just cant shoot well,as said in an earlier post its got a mean spring in it and the damned thing just jumps around all over the place for me,there is proberly nothing wrong with the rifle i just cant get the hang of this particular rifle for some reason,i allways found many of the triggers on the more powerful spring rifles could never be adjusted to give the type of clean breaking light triggers i like and this very certainly affected how they shot for me,been spoilt for so long now with the excellent triggers on my pcp airguns and the lack of recoil that any spring gun never going to compete with the pcps now,but its not allways bout triggers and recoil either some times its about finding the right pellets for a particular gun too,as well as mastering the art again of shooting spring guns.its like anything i guess you dont use it you lose it eh,and thats my problem would say with springers these days,just dont use them any more,and when i do have lost the skills eh!!

cheers mike

Posted By: J-S
Date Posted: 23 Dec 2020 at 6:14am

The problem with a queue outside guncity is that none of them are going to get the right gun for their needs.

It was great to hear Ron Young had huge trade pre-lockdown - he gives advice and taylors the sale to the consumer. He gives no BS, and wont sell something higher priced if you dont need it.

Folk see 1000 / 1200 / 1400 fps and think that fast is better. Fast sux with a springer. Fast will crack like a .22 with the cheap pellets they bought with the gun and they wont be able to shoot in the back yard easily. It will, as stated, vibrate the screws loose and knock the scope off. Pellets will group 4" at 10m and they will not have fun shooting it.. Then it goes under the bed or in a cupboard, and gets put on trademe a few months later.

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https://www.instagram.com/js_airguns/" rel="nofollow - J S Airguns
Air Arms TX200('s)
Theoben Sirocco
HW77
FWB 300s
Webley Patriot
One or two others...

Current projects:
Too many..

Posted By: dvlnme
Date Posted: 24 Dec 2020 at 2:27am

these rediculously high velocitys are just a marketing ploy to catch the unwary who dont understand how pellet firing airguns work,fact is that many these high velocity airguns will proberly work very well with heavy 15/16gr pellets,my 177 cal pcp rifle pushs 10.34gr pellets out muzzle at 980fps for 22 fpe 15/16gr pellets out at approx 850 fps dont know exactly as havnt chronoed these pellets yet,but know for sure that 7.9/8 gr pellets break sound barrier evan with suppressor on there is a loud crack from muzzle.they seem shoot ok at short distances but its a certainty they wont when they drop back thru sound barrier,Gamo a big pusher of their high velocity rifles as are a few others,false advertising really and gun shops proberly know it too,all about selling more guns for sure,have no probs bout selling high velocity airguns as long as those they are told the truth and advised to use the correct pellet weights in them,but unfortunatly very few are,so these guns get put aside and end up convincing new airgun buyers that airguns are waste of time as they cant hit anything with them.

cheers mike

Posted By: Pauly5
Date Posted: 24 Dec 2020 at 2:49am

Sadly, a reality. We really need a national advisory board to educate the gunshops throughout the country. I mean look at the dollars we pour into airguns, they don't realise the business they are missing out on.

Posted By: dvlnme
Date Posted: 24 Dec 2020 at 3:34am

the other side of this to is that the way things are going with firearms under this government and they are only going to get more restrictive with firearms next year is that for many who want or need to shoot pests etc is that airguns offer a very effective alternative to using firearms something those of us who like and allready use airguns know very well so there is a very good oppurtunity for a switched on gunshop to benifit from busseness wise,but they will need to not only change their attitude towards airguns and train staff for this new class of potentual airgun hunters and shooters to doso,sales of firearms will begin to drop off if they allready havnt in the near future thats a certainty as government makes it much harder to own and use firearms which is their intention.

cheers mike

Posted By: Declan
Date Posted: 30 Dec 2020 at 3:05am

It wouldn’t surprise me if the Govt with its ability to govern unfettered turns its attention to more control over springers too. I noted that a month or so back a local person was arrested and charged for shooting a springer in their back yard.
It’s almost as if the agenda is to eliminate all sorts of guns be they powder burners or air powered.