A Days Shooting in mid April - Rabbits, Pigeons, Squirrels and... Deer

[Zak33]

On the flip side a Venom tuned HW80 I had many years ago was the best springer I have ever shot, but most of the innards were custom.

mine is a Venom Lazerglide and has been since the 80's so I agree fully.

The HW95 is a perfect rifle for UK 12ft lb I think.. its clearly not struggling to be down at 12ft lb amd is a lot lighter.

But I think Teepee is in a country where he's not limited.. and that is where the original HW80 rules the roost.

[Zak33]

...I ended borrowed an Air Arms TX200 which is a much nice beast to shoot than a HW80 or HW77, I then moved over to precharged and bought a Falcon on the suggestion of a friend.

Air Arms are I'm sure a great brand. But both my mates who had them and loved their Shamals from when I got my HW80 finally gave up with them as they aged badly.. and lost stable power over the decades which my HW just... hasn't
the only other gun of my childhood friends still consistent...?

HW77

[Dakaras]

Awesome story! Did you have a little buck fever as you lined up those cross hairs?

I have a .308 for hunting (Tikka T3 Lite). Most important thing in a hunting gun is weight!

I'm actually considering a pellet gun at the moment for pest control...

T3 is a cracking gun in a classic calibre, Im a fan of the Remington 700 and Model Sevens, when money allows next gun will be a Rem 700 in .270, hasnt the range of bullet weights the .308 has but gods own calibre as they say in Scotland!

[Flibb]

Just a heads up if you know anybody with a remmy 700 there is a recall on them going on, think its trigger related.

[Tumble]

Just thinking - it's a good job Dak remembered the ammo.....

[Dakaras]

Just thinking - it's a good job Dak remembered the ammo.....

[scaryjim]

Just out of interest, do you pop many squirrels in a year, and if so do they get eaten? I've never tried it, but my wife had some in Bristol a few years back and reckoned it was OK, and that she'd rather eat squirrel than bunny!

[Zak33]

Just out of interest, do you pop many squirrels in a year, and if so do they get eaten? I've never tried it, but my wife had some in Bristol a few years back and reckoned it was OK, and that she'd rather eat squirrel than bunny!

Yes I shoot more squirrel than anything but that is one thing that I don't eat.

In the case of the Grey squirrel the land owner wants the sheer volume of them lowered and they are quite prevalent.

As an aside, on the same shooting trip that I explained in the first post, I also spent two hours squirrel watching. Didn't take any shots... I just wanted to determine how much of their lives really ARE on the ground.

the answer is.. a LOT!

I sat by a tree, with a camo net infront of me that I squeezed into the bark of the tree and stuck a stick into the ground 6 feet away and suspended it from there. With a dark green bush behind me and no back light I was hidden well.

those squirels foraged a LOT on the floor

the issue with a squirel is getting a clean shot. They're hard little critters so you need to hit it in the head or get a good chest shot. But they're often high up.
Air rifles are, in my opinion, the best for squirrels, as the range of a non FAC air rifle is safe for a large shoot to shoot up and if you miss the squirrel and the tree, the pellet will come down somewhere safely and slowly.

A .22 rimfire is a tricky weapon as you lose/opt out of a few shots where the back drop isn't safe. Where a .22 14grain air pellet gets destroyed and deflected by even a small twig, let aloner a forest canopy and rimmy bullet could go a long way if you miss. However, so long as the sqirrel is on a large trunk a .22 would be OK.

Which brings us to the tricky ballistic question of...

shooting up! Holdover and hold under on altitude shots!

[Zak33]

When I was a kid I missed nearly every squirrel and pigeon up in the trees.

Luckily I'm interested in the basic physics and I know to aim lower than normal for tree shots. It's more apparent now with .22 and large scopes than when I shot 177 with small cheap scopes on low short mounts.

But it's worth mentioning I guess in case anyone finds in helpful!

[TeePee]

On the air rifle front I prefer shooting English to German, after many years of shooting tuned HW80s I ended borrowed an Air Arms TX200 which is a much nice beast to shoot than a HW80 or HW77, I then moved over to precharged and bought a Falcon on the suggestion of a friend. He shoots HFT and was the first in the UK to shoot clear round (with a Falcon). He does some work with Daystate and has one of the first Air Wolfes, he was sponsored by them at one point. To be honest I find the design of the HW80 to work far better at FAC levels than at 12 ftlbs, possibly why the TX200 is much nicer to shoot as its UK market designed from the outset. On the flip side a Venom tuned HW80 I had many years ago was the best springer I have ever shot, but most of the innards were custom.

Interesting comments on the .308, just wondered is you find the felt recoil from the lighter rifle to be bit harsh. I own a Steyr SSG-04 that I got with the idea of using it for stalking in the future, but the only professional stalker I know actually uses a AIW in .308, which is far from being lightweight. Main reason he uses it is that he spent several years hauling one around Iraq, so hes used to it. Then again they are incredibly accurate, think the current UK benchrest record was taken using one, although not in .308.

The recoil is... Stout. But I spend more time traipsing around and so far have only fired one shot on a days hunt. (And consider myself lucky at that!) The Garand has a similar cartridge (.30-06) and is a joy to shoot. The weight and semi-automatic action make it as soft as a 9mm. But at almost 12lb, I'll pass! I've used the Tikka at the range fairly often, but usually it's about 20 rounds before I am done.

I am very envious of your suppressors. I have one in 'jail' at the moment. Strange quirk of US law that I can buy a semi-automatic rifle from the local Walmart (Asda) but need approval for a safety device which takes $300 and about a year. Silly Prohibition.

[Zak33]

Dak's silencer is astonishing.

I have heard the Winchester with and without it and it's eye wateringly effective.

On an air rifle it's a weirder . slightly less clear cut job.

If you stand down range of a 12ftlb air rifle at about 30 metres, the only real noise is the pellet... if ther air gun has no silencer then the difference is minimal.

When you are stood next to it, the spring action is louder. Always will be. With a precharged though.. a silencer transforms the gun to a whisper (quieter actually)

Where I notice it most having stood with other air rifle hunters over many days, is at about 10 metres.

A silenced air rifle at about 10m is nearly silent but one with just a bare barrel makes a fairly loud crack. So, any squirrels or pigeons would be frightened off where they wouldnt other wise.

Also.. to cock a springer needs sopme leverage.. it's either along barrel or a silenced one.

No brainer.