Air rifle

Enda17

Thanks. I like the air arms but I dislike the safety because it's on the trigger, and I dislike the adjustable power, but, at the same time they are suppose to be extremely accurate and very well built. Are the hw100's do you know, accurate enough or long shots?
Thanks

recipio

No airgun will shoot flat out to 100 yds. You need to learn the trajectory using a mildot scope and most people will be happy to get good groups out to 40 yards or so. I'd be interested to know what barrel length the HW comes with in this country. If I were buying a high power version I think I'd want the 60 cm polygonal barrel - it has less resistance to the pellet but spins it faster.
Have a look at 'Ted's Holdovers' on YouTube for lessons in accuracy.

Enda17

recipio wrote: »

No airgun will shoot flat out to 100 yds. You need to learn the trajectory using a mildot scope and most people will be happy to get good groups out to 40 yards or so. I'd be interested to know what barrel length the HW comes with in this country. If I were buying a high power version I think I'd want the 60 cm polygonal barrel - it has less resistance to the pellet but spins it faster.
Have a look at 'Ted's Holdovers' on YouTube for lessons in accuracy.

I was wondering that too. I would want the 60cm (23-24) inch barrel as I would imagine it would be more accurate at long ranges. Would this be true?Does anyone know what length barrels are in the country? And also is there any other type of barrel? Polygonal etc.
Thanks

amadablam

Enda17 wrote: »

I was wondering that too. I would want the 60cm (23-24) inch barrel as I would imagine it would be more accurate at long ranges. Would this be true?Does anyone know what length barrels are in the country? And also is there any other type of barrel? Polygonal etc.
Thanks

Barrel length in an air rifle is a benefit for velocity up to a point when the air charge behind the pellet is no longer sufficient to make use of it, after that it just provides friction on the pellet and slowing it down.

Personally I would lean towards shorter barrels for hunting.

There are plenty articles on air gun forums that argue that length does not give accuracy only velocity.

I suppose this is true with conventional lengths and I would imagine that the optimum barrel length /fpe combination provides stability and velocity which in turn should be accurate.

Lots of reading for you on the US forums where this is argued regularly.

My air arms has a Lothar Walter barrel which is superbly accurate with jsb jumbo heavies but I find it too long sometimes.

Enda17

Okay thanks. Would the high power fac 30 fpe version with the long barrel be a good combination? Are these rifles accurate and accurate enough for long shots?
Thanks

recipio

The HW100 with the 60 cm barrel has the barrel shroud on it. It looks a bit awkward in photos ( I've never seen one in the flesh ) Putting a moderator on it would turn it into a real musket !
I'm going to guess that Weihrauch will put whatever barrel they feel is the best match for the power levels on the gun. If anybody has a HW 100 it would be great to get the actual barrel length and the power level ?

extremetaz

murph226 wrote: »

I am only starting out tbh and have only got a couple of rabbits and magpies at around 30 yards.

When I get better and more confident I will push it out further if needed.

30 Yards is a very realistic and reliable range for regular air rifle use.

Enda17 wrote: »

Okay thanks. I know some people might disagree with long- range air gun hunting but I feel this rifle is powerful enough at 30 fpe to ask. What would be the max you could shoot small game(crows,rabbits) with the fac in .22.
Thanks

60-75 yards if you know your distance to target **EXACTLY** and there's no wind.

you have to remember that this is a subsonic projectile - consequently it's dropping like a mortar after about 50 yards.

murph226 wrote: »

From what I have read there is no need for the full size/longer barrel, others might disagree.

From experience of both the full length and karbine variants, there isn't - get the shorter barrell, it's a FAR better handling rifle.

Enda17 wrote: »

Yeah I have seen videos on YouTube of a guy in South Africa shooting a dove in the head at 104 yards, with an air arms S510 xtra fac which has 28ftp. So I would imagine the weihrauch with 30ft, a skilled shooter and practice could do the same. Are the hw100's accurate enough for long range shots?
Thanks

What you didn't see was the number of shots that's missed the head and left the animal wounded - if you can't hit a 2c piece (and many would argue a 1c piece) reliably from a cold shot then I wouldn't consider it acceptable to be attempting a shot of live quarry.

amadablam wrote: »

I shoot a 30ft/lb rifle and although I have not pushed the distance, I know people that have taken crows in excess of 100 yards from a similar setup to mine.

Skill and confidence are probably playing a good part in this.

I remember reading Pete Moore of Shooting Sports magazine taking rabbits at 90 yards with 27ft/lb.

After all, it only takes 5ft/lb of power to take a rabbit with a head shot, well that's the theory anyway

I be slow to consider that sort of shot with a .22LR let alone an air rifle - it's not about terminal energy, it's about the ability to place the shot where it needs to go. Matchgrade 22LR's will only group about 1" at that sort of range, no air rifle is doing any better than that under any circumstances so whilst it may come off the odd time, I personally couldn't endorse the practice.

amadablam wrote: »

If you feel that the majority of your shooting is above 100 yards, then it might be worth considering a. 22lr.

I'd even go so far as to say that if you want to get outside of 100 yards regularly then you ought to be looking towards the .17 rimfires.

recipio wrote: »

No airgun will shoot flat out to 100 yds. You need to learn the trajectory using a mildot scope and most people will be happy to get good groups out to 40 yards or so.

precisely - as I said earlier, any subsonic round is falling like a mortar after 50 yards - if you don't know your range down to the centimeter, there is simply no way you're landing a cold shot after 75 yards on anything other than luck.

amadablam wrote: »

Personally I would lean towards shorter barrels for hunting.

yup - there's no way I'd take the full length HW100 with me over the 'K' variant. Balance, handling, manouverability through cover... all far better with the shorter version.

HW100S

Niall in Lakelands Shooting Centre, Mullingar is now an approved Air Arms agent. He had a good selection of 510's when I was in yesterday including the thumbhole stock version and the ultimate sporter. So, for the OP if you visited him you could look at Weihrauch, Air Arms and Webley PCP.
He no longer stocks any Daystate however.

Hope this helps.

Duck's hoop

Some very knowledgable posters on here. Great to see the sport moving on a fair bit in past number of years.

I have to say Extremetaz's post above is very well thought out and sensible. People see vids on YT or in magazines etc and think 'I'm going to do that'.

I had AA 510 about 6 years ago. Super accurate, like a laser in calm conditions, rested on a sandbag, could consistently shoot heads off cotton buds at 30 yards first five shots.

But I stopped using it on live game and got myself a .17 HMR instead. I've utmost respect for air rifle hunters, but for me, on live animals, a rim fire gives you many more options, safely.

Sure the AA or Weirauch can shoot out to 60-80 yards. But it's a small pool of people behind the trigger that can put the pellet where it needs to go.

hollowpoint

Had a HW 100 and bast***dised it with the HW 100 KT thumbhole stock, was absolute joy to shoot, to me it was worth its weight in gold!!!!! With bisley magnum pellets it would kill crows off a telegraph 80mtrs from kitchen window that overlooked big silage field. Futherest 1 shot kill was 116mtrs. Used to practice shooting bits off clay pigeons at various ranges and made a drop chart out to 90 mtrs for it once zero'd at 30mtrs it was lethal. On a dead calm day we could shoot old eggs off fence posts 100mtrs away. Super effective gun for farmyard pest control, general rabbits and corvids with added advantage of dispacting mink in cage traps. Never tried any air arms etc but could'nt recommend Weihrauch HW100 enough... sorry i ever got rid of mine!!

loveta

Have being following this thread with interest and was going to post a few times but guys just kept putting far more informative stuff that i but hollowpoints last post sums up near enough in a nut shell what i bought my HW100 for and the results i got from it only if i done it again i prob would have bought the KT version instead of the T sport only shot a pigeon this morn at about 65m on the roof of one of the cow sheds and not a peep out of any animal inside.

yukon

John Carigan The sport shop in Kilkenny does the FX air rifles . I had the cutlas model in synthetic stock .at 36 ft/lb whit 16 gr fx pellet I killed rabbit at 92 m and adult vixen at 35 m. several times I killed many crows over 100m with head shoots . their a bit more expensive then others air rifles . thanks.

recipio

yukon wrote: »

John Carigan The sport shop in Kilkenny does the FX air rifles . I had the cutlas model in synthetic stock .at 36 ft/lb whit 16 gr fx pellet I killed rabbit at 92 m and adult vixen at 35 m. several times I killed many crows over 100m with head shoots . their a bit more expensive then others air rifles . thanks.

I think most people on here will not approve of using an air rifle against a fox.
You need at least a .22 LR for humane dispatch.
The last three posts here seem optimistic to say the least. Considering the distance between two rugby posts is 100 metres you are claiming accurate head shots with a .22 air rifle. at that distance. ? You both have rangefinders to confirm the distances , no doubt.

loveta

recipio wrote: »

I think most people on here will not approve of using an air rifle against a fox.
You need at least a .22 LR for humane dispatch.
The last three posts here seem optimistic to say the least. Considering the distance between two rugby posts is 100 metres you are claiming accurate head shots with a .22 air rifle. at that distance. ? You both have rangefinders to confirm the distances , no doubt.

No range finder "ATM" but it will be got sooner rather than later.My gun is zeroed at 50m most of my shooting is done round the farm yard so i know my distances from say shed to tree line ect ect bipod on the gun and aimed for head and hit lower throat/heart area, no big e really

hollowpoint

loveta wrote: »

No range finder "ATM" but it will be got sooner rather than later.My gun is zeroed at 50m most of my shooting is done round the farm yard so i know my distances from say shed to tree line ect ect bipod on the gun and aimed for head and hit lower throat/heart area, no big e really

Yes i did have range finder to confirm the distance of 100mtrs. For accurate and consistant shooting with an air rifle a range finder is pretty much a must have... makes things a bit easier.

yukon

recipio wrote: »

I think most people on here will not approve of using an air rifle against a fox.
You need at least a .22 LR for humane dispatch.
The last three posts here seem optimistic to say the least. Considering the distance between two rugby posts is 100 metres you are claiming accurate head shots with a .22 air rifle. at that distance. ? You both have rangefinders to confirm the distances , no doubt.

I agree with you that no one should use air rifle to shoot foxes.but I will ask you what would you do if you will wait for the Boony to come out from the ditch at 30 mt away and you will see Mr Freddy popping out his head and watching at you a? well it has happened to me and I did not forgive hem , blast him between his ears and he was dead in less one minute .Yes I always use mi range finder ,I would shoo some nice pictures .but unfortunately I can load pictures in this site.thanks.

HW100S

yukon wrote: »

I agree with you that no one should use air rifle to shoot foxes.but I will ask you what would you do if you will wait for the Boony to come out from the ditch at 30 mt away and you will see Mr Freddy popping out his head and watching at you a? well it has happened to me and I did not forgive hem , blast him between his ears and he was dead in less one minute .Yes I always use mi range finder ,I would shoo some nice pictures .but unfortunately I can load pictures in this site.thanks.

You carry your shotgun with you and use it instead of the air rifle or you leave the fox for anothr time when you have a more suitable gun/rifle with you. I agree with others, an air rifle is not a suitable tool for dealing with a fox especially since you say ''dead in less than one minute''. A fox should be dispached immediately by suitable means not taking up to one minute for the fox to die.