Premium springer fun: FWB Sport

[North Country Gal]

Thanks, Mark.

Yes, piston guns are inherently more complex in the sense that air/gas compression takes place AFTER the trigger is pulled. In a piston gun, releasing the trigger releases a piston under a load to compress air/gas and then the compressed air/gas sends abpleet down the barrel. In all other types of airguns (pneumatics) the air/gas has been compressed BEFORE the trigger has been pulled by one means or another, so pulling the trigger just releases the compressed air/gas. It's why piston guns have recoil and other types of air guns effectively have very little.

PCPs (pre-charged pneumatics) are the state of the art in the air gun world. They are fitted with reservoirs you fill with air via a separate pump or via an air compressor before a shooting session, so you just operate the action during a shooting session and keep shooting until the air reservoir empties to a pre-determined minimum pressure. There's no pump lever to operate during a shooting session as with other types of pneumatics. In this sense, a CO2 air gun operates like a PCP. In fact, CO2 guns are sometimes lumped with PCPs in air gun circles.

[daytime dave]

That is some fine shooting, especially with a strong springer. Nice work.

I continue to be fascinated with how you go about explaining the air rifles and their "habits".

[North Country Gal]

Thanks, Dave. Hoping it helps with anyone who is thinking about getting into air guns. It's an even more affordable option for shooting with the price and availability of cartridge gun ammo, now. Sure pellet prices have also gone up, but nowhere near the way centerfire ammo has. For instance, one of my best premium field pellets sill runs only 2.3 cents a pellet. If you shop around you can get typical Crosman pellets for 1.5 cents a pellet or less.

[graywolf]

I think about getting an air gun sometimes. I read your posts on all the different types but still don't really know what to ask. Only ones I look at in person are the ones in Walmart. Can I get a decent starter gun in the $200-300.00 dollar range that is light, and not much recoil.

[North Country Gal]

You sure can, graywolf. It just depends on your intended uses. Do you want it for target and/or hunting? What kind of distances will you be shooting? Do you have a specific type of power platform in mind (piston, CO2, pump up, PCP and so on)?

Wal-mart caters to the budget stuff, but even so, there are still some useable choices on the shelf at Wal-mart, depending on your shooting needs. Beware, though, there are some really bad choices there for a first air gun or just plain bad choice, period.

Whatever you do, just don't rush out and buy an airgun based on marketing claims. Just give me an idea of what you need in an airgun and I can give you plenty of choices in that $200-300 range. If you can squeeze past that $300 max just a bit, a lot more choices.

Here's a great choice for $343. It's the the [flash=]https://www.airgunsofarizona.com/spring ... ifle-.177/[/flash]. The HW30 (sometimes also sold as the Beeman R7) is a low power German made springer with very light recoil. Minimal effort needed to cock it. Lifetime quality with a superb trigger. As with any HW, serious accuracy.

The beauty of the HW30 is that it is very easy to shoot, despite its being a springer. I taught 4 of the grandkids who had never shot a gun in their lives how to shoot using a couple of scoped HW30s. Shooting off the bench with a good rest and some safety and shooting coaching from me, before and during the shooting, they were consistently hitting my metal swinging targets at 30 yards. Bottom line is that you don't have to be a piston gun expert to shoot the HW30, well.

Mind you, the HW30 is no powerhouse (there are other choices if you want/need more power), but that low power is one reason why what it is so easy to shoot.

The HW30 is not just a good choice for a first air gun. I use our two HW30s all the time, even though we have a very large air gun collection with air guns costing well over 1K. It's just that HW 30 is so light and handy and easy to shoot with great accuracy that its actually my most used air rifle.

[markiver54]

More info printed and in my reference file.

[North Country Gal]

Thanks, Mark. Glad you can use the info.

[graywolf]

Gosh, I had no idea NCG. You know, it's been 60 years maybe more since I had a BB gun. I thought it would be like picking out which Gamo or Ruger that places like Walmart sells, get the one that shoots the fastest, and I'd have an air gun. If I didn't know what to ask before, I'm sure hurting now. I do like the one in your link above. I will be using one for targets mostly at around 25 yards max. If I did hunt with it any, it would just be for squirrels, and probably still not be shooting over 25 yards. Think I would like it to be self contained. Light weight, little recoil, and maybe not too loud. I already see I won't be rushing to get the first one on the shelf.

[North Country Gal]

Good for you, graywolf.

I have a friend I have been helping get started in air gun shooting and she promised me she would not go and buy another airgun without giving me a call, first. She broke her promise, though, and bought two of the most powerful airguns she could find at Walking-mart, based on the advertising on the boxes. These were both "magnum" piston guns advertising velocities such as 1300 fps.

After trying to get both air rifles sighted in with absolutely no success, she called me. By that time she was borderline hysterical and hopping mad. I patiently explained why she washing a problem and what she would have to of to correct it, namely, practice and learn how to shoot this type of heavy recoil airgun. She was not too thrilled with her purchase after my explanation.

She came up for a visit a few weeks later and brought those two airguns with her with instructions for me to just go out in the woods and bury them. She didn't even feel like shooting airguns, at this point. To ease her mind, I sat her down with one of the HW30s and had her shooting like a champ in no time. She loved it.

Those two airguns are sitting out in the shed. Will probably just give them away. Not sure what I will do. I have absolutely no use for them.

[daytime dave]

graywolf, I heartily agree with NCG's advice and recommendation. If you want to look over choices, go to Airguns of Arizona, Pyramid Air, and airgun depot. You can see the different types of airguns available. I liked the Crosman pump rifles when they had wooden stocks. I have three of them and took them hunting often for squirrels. It takes some effort to put eight pumps in at the end, but you have a zero recoil gun afterwards that can be carried around all day until you need the shot. Here is a link to a gun I may purchase soon. I have heard good things about it and it reminds me of the wooden stocked Crosman's with the advantage of the circular magazine and consistent pumping. https://www.pyramydair.com/product/sene ... 5170#10357 It's not too expensive, at $200.oo and comes in .177 or .22. I'd be getting the .22.
Good luck with your new interest.