Air Guns

[GuyK]

My advice, buy something German. Be it Diana, Weirauch, or FWB, they are all heirloom quality rifles that will be passed on and well worth the price of admission. It doesn't matter if you want PCP, spring piston, or gas piston, they are all excellent shooters with fantastic triggers. Have a look at Airguns of Arizona, they always seem to have some great deals on the German rifles. Another piece of advice, if you are considering a spring gun and shooting mostly inside of 50yd, look into a peep sight instead of a scope. A Williams peep runs ~$50 and they're durable as all get out. I run a Williams peep sight on my RWS 34 with a hooded front sight. The target acquisition is very fast compared to a scope and the accuracy is almost as good for shorter range shooting.

+1 on peep-sights. They can be spectacularly consistent, and target acquisition I always found to be quicker. I regularly shot one hole groups with a .22 and the cheapest ammo available with peeps as a kid. From prone, sitting and kneeling - not from a rest. Never did this offhand, though.

 

[bowtie427ss]

A drop or two of dish soap in warm(not hot) water, and some gentle agitation is all it takes. Let them dry completely before you store them away. A little rolling around on a paper towel gets most of the water, and the sun and nature usually takes away the rest in an hour or so.

Clean, all lead, pellets are all that ever go down my bores. Cleaning an airgun bore in the same fashion you'd clean a powder gun bore is a big no no. Airgun barrels are made from softer material than powder guns, some are even made from brass. If you shoot clean lead pellets and store the airgun properly, there will seldom if ever be a reason to clean the bore. Airguns do not operate at high enough velocity to lead foul the bore.

 

[mfrench]

This mod needs to be kept top secret. IF not, everyone will want it, and you'll see it all over the place.
I give you the How To Stop the Dang Bolt From Falling Open Mod

You ask,.. why is this mod necessary, Mike?

Because there have been so many times where I lean this shooting iron into a corner; then the scope causes the shooter to rotate to scope low, which also has the bolt being low. It then falls open, and, I have a complete mind-block that keeps me from realizing it, even after recognizing the problem, and, many attempts made to change the mental block; falied. Failure. I keep forgetting to check to bolt, and, take aim, and,.... I get this totally annoying Fart Fire noise, and, see the pellet fall about 30' out, in a rapid diving for the ground motion; hey, at least it clears the barrel!

So, to account for my own severe mental block, Beemans loose tolerances, and a need to fix Fart Fire,... the How To Stop the Dang Bolt From Falling Open Mod


Two elastic ponytail bands, squared together, and, heat shrink applied to the metal joining ferrule, to prevent scratching. Looped to the trigger guard, and, around the end of the bolt. It provides just enough hold to prevent Fart Fire.... it literally sounds like a fart, and a shot of barrel crap in the face.

It took forever to realize the source of the problem, because it always closed the bolt when it happened, which concealed what the issue was.

Rodent eradication score:
at least 7 or 8 in the last 10 days. This includes a long distance head shot today, just after the mod! [grins]
And, today, 8am, another Sage Rat bites the dust. This one let me "walk 'em in" at 350'+. It took three or four shots to get it, but, I got it just outside of its hole (just emerging). It would emerge, I'd take a shot, and see where it hit, and make adjustments. Each would scare it back into its hole. Then, it came out for the last time.

 

[mfrench]

this weekend:
two shots - three dead rodents.
Got two from the patio, in close, and, one with the front wheels.

 

[bob06]

Has anyone checked out the FX Dreamline yet? Not cheap but looks like a sweet rifle.

 

[mfrench]

I've got nothing for you. But I do like the looks of it/them. That is a whole lot of adjustability in some of them.
https://www.bing.com/images/search?...sc=8-12&cvid=CE7AA0F1AE1B4D1E97BCC20BED07832B

 

[bob06]

I've got nothing for you. But I do like the looks of it/them. That is a whole lot of adjustability in some of them.
https://www.bing.com/images/search?...sc=8-12&cvid=CE7AA0F1AE1B4D1E97BCC20BED07832B

On You Tube there shooting aspirins at fifty yards right out of the box with it.

 

[bowtie427ss]

Has anyone checked out the FX Dreamline yet? Not cheap but looks like a sweet rifle.

A good friend has the Bobcat in .25. It's most outstanding characteristic is the effectiveness of it's shroud, probably the quietest PCP i have heard in stock form. Impressive, in a word.

I can't really comment on accuracy, though i doubt it is any more or less accurate than any comparable PCP in it's class. In the hands of a competent owner/operator any rifle in this class should be a 1 hole shooter out to 40 yards or better.

 

[bob06]

Here's my new toy. Yongheng Air Pump with added Air Dryer. No more hand pumping. Anyone have one?

 

[WobblySam]

Here's my new toy. Yongheng Air Pump with added Air Dryer. No more hand pumping. Anyone have one? View attachment 1477015 View attachment 1477016

Is that the one that requires water cooling? Does it come with a pump?

I've been looking at various types of these since the Shoebox came out. Can you fill a tank with this or just the gun reservoir? Noise?

Spill the beans!

 

[bob06]

Is that the one that requires water cooling? Does it come with a pump?

I've been looking at various types of these since the Shoebox came out. Can you fill a tank with this or just the gun reservoir? Noise?

Spill the beans!

Water cooled and it does come with a pump. You can fill a tank but it takes some time. The compressor gets hot so they recommend not to go over 65c so you have to let cool down in between filling the tank. I filled a 74ci tank that was empty and it took on and off about an hour. Tanks on a rifle takes about minute. Look on YouTube for the Yongheng and you will see everything there is to know about them. Oh and it is noisy.

 

[WobblySam]

Water cooled and it does come with a pump. You can fill a tank but it takes some time. The compressor gets hot so they recommend not to go over 65c so you have to let cool down in between filling the tank. I filled a 74ci tank that was empty and it took on and off about an hour. Tanks on a rifle takes about minute. Look on YouTube for the Yongheng and you will see everything there is to know about them. Oh and it is noisy.

Thanks Bob. I'll peruse the offerings on YouTube. Thanks for posting the pump - I had quit looking for anything for about 2 years - still hand pumping which is nasty on a big Airforce tank.

 

[mfrench]

two rodent day, day before yesterday.
three rodent day, yesterday.

My neighbors shed.

This view of his shed, from my western outpost. The white building is my neighbors shed. In speaking to him, he was exasperated by the Sage Rats that continued to dig under its foundation, despite my neighbors efforts; he tried pouring concrete in their hole, which they just dug around. So, he has been trying to shoot them with his .410 shotgun, which by his description, is limited success. I told him that I've whacked hundreds of them with a pellet rifle, in sniper style, and he shakes his head more intensely.
Me: There are two sides to the shed that have tunnels dug under it. One side is exposed to me; there are two holes on that side. There is another hole on the side of me that is not exposed to me.
This is the side that is not exposed to me. All of that stuff in and around the hole, are Macadamia Nut shells, from the abandoned acres of nut farm immediately to our north.
That low point under the foundation is that rodent den entrance.





This is the side of the shed that is exposed to me. You can see where he had tried to pour concrete into one of the den entrances at some point.
Once again, all of the nut shells at the den entrance:

If you look closely, you can see number three from yesterday, on its back, ^, and, below (head shot). And, as entrance into the bonus round,... a pregnant female.


In the last week, I've plugged at least five more of them right at the entrance to the den, and they made it back into the den. Its got to be a bit aromtaic in there about now.

Now back to the original pic.
This shot is a good 150'+ away, and, is made completely below the overhanging branches of the Mac. Nut Tree in front of the shed. Its been a fun plink under there. And, I'm outpacing the shotgun.

The other two from yesterday were up that acess road to the left-center of the image, at 250' and 300'.

 

[bob06]

Hope you stocked up on pellets.

 

[mfrench]

I went through all of the fancy spendy pellets. It turns out that the Beeman like the least expensive that I've used, the Crosman Destroyers; -$5 tin. I buy them like 5 tins at a time through Amazon.

 

[mfrench]

Well, there was a bit of an improvisational air rifle summit here today.
A couple of weeks ago, I helped my nextdoor neighbor in pouring a bunch of concrete sidewalks. We were also helped by another neighbor from up the hill.
Well it turns out that the neighbor from up the hill is tired of the same rodents; his own collection of them. They're digging under his house foundation, and he has one of the hillside cliffhanger houses. In our working the concrete, we got to jabbering, and, he said that my next door neighbor had mentioned that I plink a lot of ground squirrels. So, he asked if I could help him in dialing in his rifle. Well, I have made a pellet trap that flattens pellets and drops them into a trash can. So, lets have a go at the thing.
Time passes.....
Then today, our postal carrier messes up the drops, and I get my neighbors mail. So, I stop by there, and, there is the uphill neighbor, and, he has brought his air rifle along with him, and, he asks if we might have a go at it. But of course. My immediate neighbor wanted to get in on it as well, so he grabbed his rifle, and off we all went to my patio. I set up the pellet trap.
The uphill neighbor had a .22cal Benjamin break-barrel, with Center Pointe AO scope. My next door neighbor had one that I was unfamiliar with; he kept calling it a cheap package gun; a break-barrel-type, .177, with fixed 4x40 scope.
Well, the break-barrel kick motion had loosened the uphills scope to a point of it being about 20º leaning right off of horizontal. So, I squared it and tightened it down, and dialed it in to a nice tight group at 60', which he felt is what his shot at rodent is. My neighbor did the same.
No one got shot.

 

[mfrench]

And, yesterday was another three rodent day. Two, three rodent days, in a row; and a two rodent day before that.
With all of that, I still managed to get one today.

Best part of the day...
Sarge always wants to shoot the Beeman at the end of the day. She shoots at a property stake that is about 50' away, and comes dang close, or, hits it. I asked if she'd want to try a shot at the shooting stick today, which is at 250'. She said, yep, and off we went to the western outpost.
The shooting stick is a piece of a branch that is about 4" long, and 1" in diameter, and, I put it back into its spot regularly, and turned perpendicular to the shot. I use it to guage windage offset. She took a shot at it, and, it was dead on for elevation, but, the windage off-set was exactly as it always is out there. I explained that to her, and she tried again, and this time, with the offset adjustment, she came in just barely over the top-center of the stick. She realized what had happened, and, what I've been saying about the wind out there, and the need to offset to a point where you're not actually zeroed on the object. She came really close with another shot, but tired of aiming at the small stick way out there in the distance. So, I turned her attention to a very small grapefruit by my neighbors shed; this one is about 150' out. That one, she liked, and she took aim, and,.... one dead grapefruit later... first shot at it. It made a very satisfying pop, and mist.

from the dark spot at the end of the driveway, 3/4 up on center of image:

 

[KingBubba]

Poor grapefruit. What did it ever do to her?

 

[mfrench]

That one had sat there for long enough that the earth had a tight hold on it when it was hit.

 

[bob06]

Mike, I think your going to need a pellet machine gun.