Airgun Action: Pellet Traps

Last week I went down to my local gun club at Solihull to shoot a few targets with my recently acquired HW100T. As I stood at station four, loading my magazines and waiting to shoot, I noticed that all the pellet traps, a bit old and battered after years of use, had been replaced by brand spanking new ones

The new ones in question are bright yellow, made by Bisley, and manufactured with a perfectly flat, double thickness back plate. Here is a picture of one

Made to accommodate the larger size NSRA and Air Gun card targets they look fantastic and are very easily fixed to an upright post or target gantry by means of the hole at the top. Not so good, however, was what happened to the targets I shot at

I was shooting with .177 Daystate heavy weight pellets [made by the same company that make Exacts] at around 25 yards and you can see what happened. As soon as they struck the plate they fragmented and were spat right back at the target, peppering the back of it like buckshot and in some cases ripping ruddy great holes in it

Only the day before I had taken a trip out to The Countrystore [where I bought the gun from] to purchase a couple of pellet traps for the garden. They had these bright yellow monsters hanging up on one of the racks, priced up at £18.99, and I very nearly bought one.  Suffice to say, I'm glad I didn't

I walked out of the shop with two 14cm square Stoeger pellet traps, made with a more commonly found slanted back plate, and painted a much more sensible blue colour. Brand new they look a bit like this.....

.....and once they've been shot at a couple of times they look like this

Along with the pellet traps I also bought a pack of Bisley paper targets to slot inside them. I didn't get a chance to try them out before going to the club on the Sunday but as soon as I got back I went straight out into the garden to see if the same thing was going to happen. Well, here's a picture or two of the targets I shot, with exactly the same pellets, at a distance of just over 25 yards

The pellet traps, just like the ones at the club, were brand new, 'never before been shot at', target holders but as you can see from the pictures above the targets came out much, much cleaner and the pellet traps cost £12.95 rather than over £6 more

Earlier today I went to the club again, and shot at exactly the same bright yellow pellet traps. Here are four of the targets I shot

As you can see, there's still a fair amount of 'rebound damage' being done to the targets but they look better than the ones from last week, so maybe the traps just needed 'wearing in'? Maybe it's got more to do with the thickness of the steel, or the fact that the back plate is flat as opposed to slanted? Who knows?

Another thing I was keen to find out this week was just how many pellets I could get out of the gun before my cylinder needed a refill. The answer? Eight complete magazines, or 112 heavy weight pellets, and the last one flew just as true as the first, which I was absolutely delighted with. Fun and games!

Latest Additions: Airgun Crazy

Hi folks. A while ago I posted about a new interest, namely shooting 'real' guns as opposed to airsoft replicas. The other day, last Tuesday to be precise, I finally took the plunge and invested in an air rifle and a bag-load of other bits and pieces that I simply had to have as well

The goodies came from John Knibbs International, aka Airgun Spares, aka The Countrystore, a small yet beautifully proportioned family run business in Shustoke in the heart of the Warwickshire countryside

The goodies in question are pictured below

The Weihrauch HW100T, full length, complete with moderator

The MTC Viper scope [6-24 X 56 IR] was mounted and zeroed by Alex, the young chap who handled my order, and very well done it was, too. I put a mag through it on their range, holding the gun on my elbows and shooting at spinners 30 yards away and it was sweet as a nut!

This SCB, part mildot, part 'Christmas tree' reticule is just the ticket. It even lights up, just like every good Christmas tree should!

These very comfortable and snug-fitting MacWet gloves were a special order item so if there's anything you want that they don't ordinarily stock, they will do their best to get it for you

If you look closely at the rear of the rifle [pictured above] you will notice a nickel plated swivel screw fixed towards the rear of the stock. That was done while I waited by one of the gunsmiths at the store in readiness for attaching the American made sling in this picture, the other end of which will fix onto the front of the bipod

This Deben bipod is a very nice spring loaded, tilting affair with a quick-release/locking lever on the front

No airgun setup would be complete without an air bottle to top up the rifle with. This 3 litre capacity bottle is easy to store and equally easy to take down to the range with you should you feel the need.....

.....and this nifty little carry handle makes it even easier and more comfortable to transport

The rifle comes complete with two 14 shot rotary magazines and a black plastic nozzle that attaches to the filling tube. This allows you to replenish the rifle's reservoir via a quick-fill valve on the front of the cylinder without having to take it off

Not an essential piece of kit I don't suppose, but I thought I'd have one. Slipped over the gun whilst in storage, it is supposed to help keep moisture and damp from attacking your pride and joy!

And finally, but by no means least, something to carry it around in. I was initially going to buy a hard case but the single hard case they had in stock was too small and the double, rectangular monster was too much case for a single gun. This leather reinforced, fleece-lined case from BSA makes for a very attractive alternative

So, there you have it. Quite a lot of money spent and a whole load of fun to be had playing with it all

If you're thinking of investing in an air weapon, a shotgun or a tactical .22 semi-automatic you could do a lot worse than give these guys a call. The staff are friendly, approachable and very knowledgeable and the drive there takes you down some very pleasant country lanes which at this time of year are teeming with pheasants!

Happy hunting!

New Ventures: Air Weapons

Most people who get into air guns no doubt do so when they are relatively young. I never did, and never have, until now

Somewhere in Birmingham city centre, in a small shopping arcade located in a subway underneath a busy stretch of the inner ring road, is a small yet beautifully proportioned shop called The Birmingham Armoury. They are an offshoot of a larger concern by the name of Tenbury Guns and sell all manner of fun stuff including airsoft weapons, air pistols and rifles, archery equipment, deactivated guns, shotguns and firearms of various calibres. The image below is a screen capture of their website followed by a YouTube video of one of their airsoft experience days

 

I was first put onto the store by an airsoft buddy of mine and decided to pop along to take a look at the place a few weeks ago to check out what airsoft and .22 stuff they'd got. Whilst there, I started looking at some of the airguns they had in stock and since then I've been spending many of my waking hours researching pistols, pellets, rifles, scopes, targets and all manner of sundry items associated with various aspects of the numerous air gun shooting sports and past times

A couple of weeks ago I bit the bullet [feeble pun fully intended] and bought myself the following items; a pellet firing replica of the H&K P30, a knock down resettable target to shoot at, a heap of CO2 canisters and 5 tins of pellets

Simply shoot down the four little duckies, hit the circle in the centre and the target re-sets ready for another go

RWS Superdome pellets, a gas canister, 8 round magazine and a pellet loading tool used to make sure the pellets are properly seated in side the mag

The pellet on the left is a Milbro Caledonian .177 and the one on the right is a superior quality RWS Superdome

This is the baby that fires them. The gas canister goes in the handle where the real steel magazine would normally fit and the round mag slots into an aperture in the slide which opens forwards when you press the lever located underneath

Last week I took the gun down to the local gun club and fired off a few magazines at some of their targets. I also had the chance to try out one of the other member's air rifles, the one I already had my eyes on having seen one at TBA and read fantastic reviews of them in some of the airgun press. It didn't disappoint, and now I want one all the more. Only time will tell but I might just have a few more toys to play with in the not too distant future

Until next time, happy hunting!