Someone please post a thread with an interesting topic!

[W.R.Buchanan]

Someone please post a thread with an interesting topic! There hasn't been an interesting topic in this forum for some time.

The last time I whined about this we got the Lady in FL that was making a good living shooting Iguanas with her pellet guns. She was very good!

Love to see something about actually using these guns for something useful.

Randy

[dverna]

Randy...I am devastated.

I have spent decades shooting groups without realizing it was useless...LOL.

[NSB]

No iguanas here in WNY, so I waste my time uselessly shooting red squirrels, gray squirrels, racoons, starlings, and other assorted critters that are legal to shoot. Google Robin Foxer (in the U.K.) who has a ton of good videos about shooting gray squirrels (an invasive species there), rats, pigeons, rabbits, and assorted vermin in great numbers.

[W.R.Buchanan]

No iguanas here in WNY, so I waste my time uselessly shooting red squirrels, gray squirrels, racoons, starlings, and other assorted critters that are legal to shoot. Google Robin Foxer (in the U.K.) who has a ton of good videos about shooting gray squirrels (an invasive species there), rats, pigeons, rabbits, and assorted vermin in great numbers.


I'm sure we would all love to hear about your hunting expeditions in the back yard. I have an Idiot Woman Neighbor who calls the Sheriffs every time she hears one of my guns go off. So I can't shoot in my back yard even though there is plenty of activity there. I can't shoot the bunch of ground squirrels perforating my Front Yard because it is right up against the street and there is a steady stream of people walking their dogs. Plus that because of the dogs walking by the Ground Rats are so wary that if they see any movement they are down their holes not to be seen for the rest of the day!

I need to hear from you people that don't live under such restrictive circumstances.

Idaho Ron was a Terror on Rock Chucks? The Iguana Lady was the "Scourge of Miami." There has to be others like them out there?

Randy

[W.R.Buchanan]

Randy...I am devastated.

I have spent decades shooting groups without realizing it was useless...LOL.

It occupies time? Mike Venturino told me that shooting groups was good for finding a load that worked,,, then you were supposed to go shoot something with it!

I have 4 guns and half a dozen pellets that will do this. Just wish I could get the 12 ga. ones to group like that, but I can't shoot them in the garage where there's no wind..

Randy

[Racing]

I believe posting pics of downed game isn´t allowed on here?

No matter.
The sole purpose i got into PCP´s was rodent control. In short all of them are indeed tools, tools used a LOT..
Last but not least, picked a really beautiful Reximex Daystar with the walnut stock up the other day.
Currently undergoing modifications out the fabled..

On "back yard friendly" btw.
I make my own moderators right, and BELIEVE these to be legal in most states in the US. I at least know that companies like Donny FL and what not sell them like hotcakes...

Anyways.
Had a few ideas i´ve been tossing around and see.. this Reximex Daystar is built in such a manner that the proximity between the barrel and the tank rules ANY and all shrouds out.
That had me worried seeing that i´ll most likely make this end up a 100J gun. Keeping noise at bay is imperative.

https://i.postimg.cc/SN7hsMyW/8.jpg

So better safe than sorry right so.. i made this thing a whopping 280mm long at a 30mm diameter. I´ve learned that length plays a greater role than diameter with puffs, they do NOT work similar to powder guns on that count IME.
This is then a 6 chamber job (!! :O ) sporting "de compression holes" surrounding the entire 1st chamber.

Innards are such that i cut up 50mm wide strips of aluminium net and form this around an 8mm shank. Then dress said round pieces with regular Wettex rags and secure with minimal amounts of regular tape.

To keep the thing linear within i first up cut the rearmost bung of the moderator and weld that to the body/tube. THEN set said tube on the lathe, drill and tap 1/2" UNF
That done i can keep way closer tolerances, and the inner "discs" i turn out of aluminium with a relative tight fit vs the tube and in turn a 7,5mm through hole for 25cal guns.

The "de pressure spike" holes i drill like 15 of them on a 1,5mm diameter. The thing sports dampening material within remember...
Net result is a PCP so quiet you have to experience it to believe it.

At 100J of muzzle energy the exhaust note simply isn´t there just about. What sounds the most is the hammer spring and actual hammer rushing to hit the valve spindle.
As far as "kugel schlag", the bullet hitting home.. is another story. But the GUN however.. more silent than a mouse fart.

For those of you that can not fire your PCP´s in your own garden AND where legal to install one.. this is no doubt an option and i´ll be all to happy to share how to using pics and text for those so inclined.

[centershot]

I'm sure we would all love to hear about your hunting expeditions in the back yard. I have an Idiot Woman Neighbor who calls the Sheriffs every time she hears one of my guns go off. So I can't shoot in my back yard even though there is plenty of activity there. I can't shoot the bunch of ground squirrels perforating my Front Yard because it is right up against the street and there is a steady stream of people walking their dogs. Plus that because of the dogs walking by the Ground Rats are so wary that if they see any movement they are down their holes not to be seen for the rest of the day!

I need to hear from you people that don't live under such restrictive circumstances.

Idaho Ron was a Terror on Rock Chucks? The Iguana Lady was the "Scourge of Miami." There has to be others like them out there?

Randy

Randy, you need to move! :)

[bryan scott]

I ve got some extensive testing on the effectiveness of round nose pellets compared to wadcutters cutting down the dandy lions in the back yard ,,,, with pics if needed... :wink:


I not foolin either, i mean some of these suckers are over 10 yards....


also i have lived where i had neighbors that could see every thing i did in my backyard before. i would open my kitchen door and never take an air gun out side, shoot form inside house , and i would shoot into soft backed targets to keep noise down from pellets strikes. now , i only have one questionable neighbor , so i keep the exposure to that side of yard to a minimal. What they don't see or hear , won't bother them ..

[super6]

*** Don't know who Super 6 is but my post got jacked by him.

Randy

If killing animals in your back yard is your ideal of a interesting thread than you need to find another hobby, Just saying. Set some poison out and be done with it. I get the need to shoot stuff but...Dang!

We can't poison anything because our cat would eat the dead carcasses.. Killing our favorite cat would not be a good thing. With shooting you can choose what you shoot.

Other topics might include various inanimate targets such as Neco Wafers, Candy Hearts etc. With Pictures Please! Looking for topics about shooting something as opposed to endless Paper Punching for groups.

Just to give you an idea where I'm coming from.

As related earlier I have 4 Springers. A Weihrauch HW35E w open sights, and HW35EB with Peep Sight, both .177 cal. A HW77 Underlever.22 with a Burris 4X Airgun Scope and a Beeman R1 /HW80 also .22 cal. with a Leupold 1-4X Scope. I like Weihrauch guns a lot!

I have ran all of the different Pellets I have accumulated over the last 40+ years thru all of them, off a rest in my shop to figure out which pellets performed best in each gun. Two brands of pellets rise above all others. H&N and JSB.

The H&N Wadcutter Pellets are the most accurate in the .177's, and JSB Exact Pellets in the .22's. However the smallest to biggest group with any of the 4 guns is no more than .25" at 10 yards.
Both brands of pellets work very well in all guns so I am Picking at Nits when I start talking about the differences.

With all that said all of these guns have been sussed out for many years, and the HW35EB and HW77 have been sussed out for 30-40 years. I know what works in them and there is no reason to experiment further. Time to shoot something with them !

My Club recently started shooting Airgun Silhouette and I will be participating in that game soon. I do need to practice shooting off hand a bunch before I show up. I will add that here after it happens.

Randy.

[Froogal]

I thought air rifles were for shooting tin cans??

[elmacgyver0]

If killing animals in your back yard is your ideal of a interesting thread than you need to find another hobby, Just saying. Set some poison out and be done with it. I get the need to shoot stuff but...Dang!

Yep, take out your dog and the neighbor's cat while you're at it.
Nice

Think I'll stick to my pellet guns.

[elmacgyver0]

I thought air rifles were for shooting tin cans??

Some are, like these, and yes, I did make the holster.306063

[truckerdave397]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq6KVVlBf-8

Not your normal tree rat hunt.


Yes that pig he shot was DRT! pretty impressive.

Randy

[MusicMan]

watch https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCprBc95NyDhjGN72TxlabCA/videos
or
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheIguanaHunter/videos

[elmacgyver0]

Wish we had wild hogs like those where I live, although the local farmers would tar and feather me for saying it.

[elmacgyver0]

watch https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCprBc95NyDhjGN72TxlabCA/videos
or
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheIguanaHunter/videos

Hey, the big lizards would be nice too!

[deces]

watch https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCprBc95NyDhjGN72TxlabCA/videos
or
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheIguanaHunter/videos

You know what they say about redheads....

[Ithaca Gunner]

I don't know how interesting this is, but it's an old lesson relearned mostly with a happy, but somewhat costly outcome...and I kept repeating it![smilie=b: Buy once, cry once!

I hadn't had a pellet gun since the 60's and figured one would fill a void for those times I wanted to shoot, but was too lazy to go to the club. I tried three, yes three lower end break-barrel .22 pellet rifles that included a Crosman with a fancy name, a Hatsen vortek, and finally an RWS 34. Of course of those three, the RWS was by far the most accurate, if a 1'' or a little more group was the goal for happiness. I knew better and knew what I wanted, but in my mind I just couldn't justify the cost of a decent centerfire rifle for a pellet rifle. What it was I wanted was a Weihrauch HW97k with the blue laminant stock.

I watched videos and read reviews on the HW97k and was convinced it was indeed worth the money, but alas I had fumbled around too long to get one with the blue laminate stock...until one Sunday I decided to search for a used one. As luck would have it I found a posting on an airgun site for one, and it was only a day old! Not being a member all that was visable was the area code of the phone number to call. I quickly joined the forum and called the gent. Turned out the gun was for all purposes new, (he was in his 80's and found the gun too difficult to cock after firing only 20-some pellets) and the price was a full $200.00 less than what a new one would cost IF they were still available in blue laminate. We did a pay-pal deal over the phone and I had my dream gun in just two days!

Now off to the Potterfield Plantation for a scope and maybe some better pellets than the wally-world Crosman HP's. The scope I selected was an Athlon Talos 4-14x44 BTR Mil ( after getting assurance from , Dan at Athlon the scope would hold up on a ''springer'') on sale just under $200, AND ol' Lar had H&N Field Target Trophy pellets on sale for less than the wally-world HP's!

Another 4-5 days and the rifle was scoped and ready to sight in! Of course being the cheap-skate I am, I sighted it in with the Crosman HP's. Switched cardboard and shot for group off the bench at 25yds. with the Crosman HP's which rendered a somewhat respectable grouping of under an inch with many touching in a cluster, but with about as many making their own hole just off the cluster. Next I shot some RWS ''Match'' pellets, worse-a lot worse than the Crosman HP's! Okay, let's bust out the H&N FTT. Now this whole grouping thing was done with a blank sheet of cardboard. I would shoot a pellet into the cardboard and use that hole as my aiming point. No real happiness until I switched over to the H&N's. I fired a shot through the cardboard near the middle with the Crosman groups to the left and the RWS clusters to the right. I lost count of how many shots I fired with the H&N's, musta been 20+ until I realized what I was doing was no longer productive. I had a less than 1/2'' hole just above my aiming hole and all my pellets were simply going through that hole and not making a difference in the group. I had finally found euphoria! Happiness even! Yeah, after I wasted probably over $1,000.00 on JUNK pellet rifles and scopes! Anybody wanna buy a Hatsen 95 or an RWS-34? I gave the Crosman to my grandson, he seems happy with it.

306103

306104
RWS pellet ''grouping'' to the right, bottom hole on the left is the aiming point for the H&N FTT group. It measures .485'' at it's widest point, and I have no idea how many shots are in it, probably 25+. Aim small, miss small as someone has on their signature line here.

[Rockzilla]

just got simple stuff Sheridan Blue Streaks. what a big difference from the 50 BMG
the 50 works wonders on varmints

-Rock

[georgerkahn]

I don't know how interesting this is, but it's an old lesson relearned mostly with a happy, but somewhat costly outcome...and I kept repeating it![smilie=b: Buy once, cry once!

I hadn't had a pellet gun since the 60's and figured one would fill a void for those times I wanted to shoot, but was too lazy to go to the club. I tried three, yes three lower end break-barrel .22 pellet rifles that included a Crosman with a fancy name, a Hatsen vortek, and finally an RWS 34. Of course of those three, the RWS was by far the most accurate, if a 1'' or a little more group was the goal for happiness. I knew better and knew what I wanted, but in my mind I just couldn't justify the cost of a decent centerfire rifle for a pellet rifle. What it was I wanted was a Weihrauch HW97k with the blue laminant stock.

I watched videos and read reviews on the HW97k and was convinced it was indeed worth the money, but alas I had fumbled around too long to get one with the blue laminate stock...until one Sunday I decided to search for a used one. As luck would have it I found a posting on an airgun site for one, and it was only a day old! Not being a member all that was visable was the area code of the phone number to call. I quickly joined the forum and called the gent. Turned out the gun was for all purposes new, (he was in his 80's and found the gun too difficult to cock after firing only 20-some pellets) and the price was a full $200.00 less than what a new one would cost IF they were still available in blue laminate. We did a pay-pal deal over the phone and I had my dream gun in just two days!

Now off to the Potterfield Plantation for a scope and maybe some better pellets than the wally-world Crosman HP's. The scope I selected was an Athlon Talos 4-14x44 BTR Mil ( after getting assurance from , Dan at Athlon the scope would hold up on a ''springer'') on sale just under $200, AND ol' Lar had H&N Field Target Trophy pellets on sale for less than the wally-world HP's!

Another 4-5 days and the rifle was scoped and ready to sight in! Of course being the cheap-skate I am, I sighted it in with the Crosman HP's. Switched cardboard and shot for group off the bench at 25yds. with the Crosman HP's which rendered a somewhat respectable grouping of under an inch with many touching in a cluster, but with about as many making their own hole just off the cluster. Next I shot some RWS ''Match'' pellets, worse-a lot worse than the Crosman HP's! Okay, let's bust out the H&N FTT. Now this whole grouping thing was done with a blank sheet of cardboard. I would shoot a pellet into the cardboard and use that hole as my aiming point. No real happiness until I switched over to the H&N's. I fired a shot through the cardboard near the middle with the Crosman groups to the left and the RWS clusters to the right. I lost count of how many shots I fired with the H&N's, musta been 20+ until I realized what I was doing was no longer productive. I had a less than 1/2'' hole just above my aiming hole and all my pellets were simply going through that hole and not making a difference in the group. I had finally found euphoria! Happiness even! Yeah, after I wasted probably over $1,000.00 on JUNK pellet rifles and scopes! Anybody wanna buy a Hatsen 95 or an RWS-34? I gave the Crosman to my grandson, he seems happy with it.

306103

306104
RWS pellet ''grouping'' to the right, bottom hole on the left is the aiming point for the H&N FTT group. It measures .485'' at it's widest point, and I have no idea how many shots are in it, probably 25+. Aim small, miss small as someone has on their signature line here.

Ithica Gunner -- I so both enjoyed and can relate to your post -- thank you! I "started" my airgun journey with a Smith & Wesson CO2 pistol as my air-handgun and a real el-cheapo Crosman pump carbine as my long air-gun. Nothing exciting to ever report on either, and frankly, most all varmint shots were misses :(.
Along goes too many years when a Marauder .22 pistol w/stock caught my eye, and the PCP totally changed my outlook on air firearms. I put a Leupold scope on it, and -- like you -- found the H&H pellets "the cat's meow" for it. Right after I got it all together I was carrying it and spotted a critter at about sixty yards -- no exaggeration -- and took an off-hand shot. It looked (?) like maybe it was hit; and took maybe three or four steps before it flopped down -- quite dead. Since... I know not to be "embarrassed" or "happy to report" -- I've added about a dozen Weihrauch, Beeman, Benjamin, Sig, and Air Arms products.
Yupper -- you said it right: Buy once, cry once!
geo

[Ithaca Gunner]

Yes George, I wasted a good bit of time and money on junk air guns, so much for ''reviews''! I knew after shooting the RWS 34 and getting 1'' groups SOMETIMES, I should have just plunked down the money for either an HW97k or an Air Arms TX200 since I didn't want to go PCP since any killi'n that needs done around here is done with a cartridge gun. I like the option of a .22 pellet rifle for keeping my skills sharp and inventing small scale shooting games, hence the Athlon 4-14x Milradiant scope. I like making small metal spinners and setting them out at various ranges to 100+/-yds to shoot at and hopefully get a reaction. They're easy to make requiring only a band saw and welder to fabricate and material wise, just some 1/8'' flat steel, 5/16 steel rod, and a 3/8 nut. A 3' section of rod, measure in 16'' from each end and mark, bend 90 degrees one end in a vice and weld a stop near center, slide your nut on and weld a stop on the other side allowing the nut to spin freely on the rod, but not slide side to side, bend the other end of the rod 90 degrees forming a long ''U'' shape and weld a 2'' square, diamond, or circle on the nut and a 4'' shape to counter weigh your target 180 degrees opposite your 2'' shape and you have a mini reactive spinning target that's easy to push into the ground at any range you decide. I would suggest 1/4'' steel plate if you're shooting a .22lr at it, but it probably won't spin hit with a .22 pellet, (from a springer anyway).

While I realize the advantages of PCP, I just don't want all the extra baggage that goes with them. A friend has a Benjamin pump air rifle, a ''Blue Streak'' type that's very accurate, but I get 3 shots to his one with the HW97k. You're right, you get what you pay for! I should know better, I don't buy cheap rifles, handguns, or shotguns.

[georgerkahn]

I kind of felt the need to explain my "baggage" with the PCPs... For the Tuesday eve 10-meter competition shoot, I take my Air Arms T200 .177 PCP with two extra tanks; a tin of pellets; goggles (required); my C-clamp mounted spotting scope; and, the weed-whacker yellow line to place in receiver to show "safe!" (also required). That's it! I have a 12V/110V compressor at home, and it takes about fifteen minutes to fill all three tanks. I should be good for about 120 good shots, too. For varmints, I have its sister -- the Air Arms S200 in .22 -- which uses SAME screw in in the field tanks as the T200.
Re the Benjamins, they ARE limited (for me) to about 45-50 good shots -- but I rarely would fire that many rounds with a rim-fire rifle; no worries for me.
My favourite target is one I've only seen sold at Airguns of Arizona; my bad leg puts a severe crimp on my walking vis targets, but I can set this one out and have a ball shooting it. 306141 Nice is one gets a visual indication where the shot hits... These ain't (sic) cheap... but, as we agree -- it's NOT junk -- which imho surely made it worth buying! If you have interest, here is a video on the target: https://www.airgunsofarizona.com/targets-traps/action-armour-quadrant-target/#tab-2
geo

[W.R.Buchanan]

watch https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCprBc95NyDhjGN72TxlabCA/videos
or
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheIguanaHunter/videos

OK this post had plenty of Viewable content ... Now we're getting somewhere.

Randy

[MusicMan]

OK this post had plenty of Viewable content ... Now we're getting somewhere.

Randy

here is another one https://www.youtube.com/c/PythonCowboy/videos

[W.R.Buchanan]

OK this Python Cowboy guy is a Iguana hunting machine! And Otto the Iguana Retriever Dog (Wire Hair Short Hair) is some kinda dog! This looks like so much fun I don't see how this guy gets any time off. He must be booked for months in advance. Very Entertaining!!!!

Thanks

Randy

[nvreloader]

Randy
Here is something to chew on,

What about making a pellet sizing press, for any caliber you shoot,
then you can size the heads/skirts of the pellets to fit your prized air guns barrels etc.

I have been refining several makes/models of lube sizers,
that I have designed for the 17-20-22-25 calibers, so far.

Right now I am working with a Cramer/Saeco Lube Sizers, converting it down to 17/20 cal. I have been using NOE sizing bushing, both the standard and nose sizing bushings.

Due to the smaller OEM sizer hole/mounting, I think I'll have to use 1/2" diameter bushing, (Noe turned down to 1/2" from OEM size of .625" dia), to provide some more thickness for the bushing holder etc.

The Cramer/Saeco sizing dies are .680" dia, if cut to .625",
it don't leave much strength for the Noe sizing bushing,
by going to .500" dia, that should provide the strength needed, testing now.

I may end up just making the sizing die to fit the OEM Cramer die hole, then there will be no problems.

Your thoughts and suggestions..........
Tia,
Don

[W.R.Buchanan]

I don't know how interesting this is, but it's an old lesson relearned mostly with a happy, but somewhat costly outcome...and I kept repeating it![smilie=b: Buy once, cry once!

I hadn't had a pellet gun since the 60's and figured one would fill a void for those times I wanted to shoot, but was too lazy to go to the club. I tried three, yes three lower end break-barrel .22 pellet rifles that included a Crosman with a fancy name, a Hatsen vortek, and finally an RWS 34. Of course of those three, the RWS was by far the most accurate, if a 1'' or a little more group was the goal for happiness. I knew better and knew what I wanted, but in my mind I just couldn't justify the cost of a decent centerfire rifle for a pellet rifle. What it was I wanted was a Weihrauch HW97k with the blue laminant stock.

I watched videos and read reviews on the HW97k and was convinced it was indeed worth the money, but alas I had fumbled around too long to get one with the blue laminate stock...until one Sunday I decided to search for a used one. As luck would have it I found a posting on an airgun site for one, and it was only a day old! Not being a member all that was visable was the area code of the phone number to call. I quickly joined the forum and called the gent. Turned out the gun was for all purposes new, (he was in his 80's and found the gun too difficult to cock after firing only 20-some pellets) and the price was a full $200.00 less than what a new one would cost IF they were still available in blue laminate. We did a pay-pal deal over the phone and I had my dream gun in just two days!

Now off to the Potterfield Plantation for a scope and maybe some better pellets than the wally-world Crosman HP's. The scope I selected was an Athlon Talos 4-14x44 BTR Mil ( after getting assurance from , Dan at Athlon the scope would hold up on a ''springer'') on sale just under $200, AND ol' Lar had H&N Field Target Trophy pellets on sale for less than the wally-world HP's!

Another 4-5 days and the rifle was scoped and ready to sight in! Of course being the cheap-skate I am, I sighted it in with the Crosman HP's. Switched cardboard and shot for group off the bench at 25yds. with the Crosman HP's which rendered a somewhat respectable grouping of under an inch with many touching in a cluster, but with about as many making their own hole just off the cluster. Next I shot some RWS ''Match'' pellets, worse-a lot worse than the Crosman HP's! Okay, let's bust out the H&N FTT. Now this whole grouping thing was done with a blank sheet of cardboard. I would shoot a pellet into the cardboard and use that hole as my aiming point. No real happiness until I switched over to the H&N's. I fired a shot through the cardboard near the middle with the Crosman groups to the left and the RWS clusters to the right. I lost count of how many shots I fired with the H&N's, musta been 20+ until I realized what I was doing was no longer productive. I had a less than 1/2'' hole just above my aiming hole and all my pellets were simply going through that hole and not making a difference in the group. I had finally found euphoria! Happiness even! Yeah, after I wasted probably over $1,000.00 on JUNK pellet rifles and scopes! Anybody wanna buy a Hatsen 95 or an RWS-34? I gave the Crosman to my grandson, he seems happy with it.

306103

306104
RWS pellet ''grouping'' to the right, bottom hole on the left is the aiming point for the H&N FTT group. It measures .485'' at it's widest point, and I have no idea how many shots are in it, probably 25+. Aim small, miss small as someone has on their signature line here.

Congrats on you HW97 Blue. You didn't say which caliber it is? assuming .177 or .22?. I have the earlier version of the HW97 IE: HW 77 I got it for my 40th Birthday from my wife who was sick of me whining about not having enough poop at 40+ yards to take down the Mocking Birds that Infested our back yard/house/neighborhood with my HW 35EB. From my Back Door to our fence was 10 yards, I could knock them down at that distance. However if I missed they would fly into the school yard and land on a Soccer Goal that was 40 yards away and give me a hard time squawking at me. The H&N Wadcutter pellets just wouldn't knock them down at that distance.

This all ended on my 40th birthday when one landed on the Soccer Goal and I whacked him with a.22 caliber H&N Wadcutter pellet which virtually exploded him! No more worries about range or power.
In case you didn't know I am big on Weihrauch Guns. Surprisingly all 4 of mine will put pellets thru the same 1/4" hole for as long as you can stand to sit there and shoot them. H&N Match and JSB Exact pellets are the most accurate out there in my guns. Over the last 30+ years I have bought and tried a bunch of different pellets, these two brands are consistently the best.

Good luck with your rifle and if you just treat it like any of your nice firearms, it will outlast you for sure. Make sure your decedents understand that as well, cuz it will outlast them too! I got my HW35EB in 1977 and it still shoots just as hard as it always did. That's 45 years of service and it is still going, with nothing more than Wiping it down with a Silicone Rag after use and some Silicone Chamber Oil occasionally. That, and it always lived indoors!!! Can't stress that enough. All Guns need to live indoors!!!

Randy

[Ithaca Gunner]

Congrats on you HW97 Blue. You didn't say which caliber it is? assuming .177 or .22?. I have the earlier version of the HW97 IE: HW 77 I got it for my 40th Birthday from my wife who was sick of me whining about not having enough poop at 40+ yards to take down the Mocking Birds that Infested our back yard/house/neighborhood with my HW 35EB. From my Back Door to our fence was 10 yards, I could knock them down at that distance. However if I missed they would fly into the school yard and land on a Soccer Goal that was 40 yards away and give me a hard time squawking at me. The H&N Wadcutter pellets just wouldn't knock them down at that distance.

This all ended on my 40th birthday when one landed on the Soccer Goal and I whacked him with a.22 caliber H&N Wadcutter pellet which virtually exploded him! No more worries about range or power.
In case you didn't know I am big on Weihrauch Guns. Surprisingly all 4 of mine will put pellets thru the same 1/4" hole for as long as you can stand to sit there and shoot them. H&N Match and JSB Exact pellets are the most accurate out there in my guns. Over the last 30+ years I have bought and tried a bunch of different pellets, these two brands are consistently the best.

Good luck with your rifle and if you just treat it like any of your nice firearms, it will outlast you for sure. Make sure your decedents understand that as well, cuz it will outlast them too! I got my HW35EB in 1977 and it still shoots just as hard as it always did. That's 45 years of service and it is still going, with nothing more than Wiping it down with a Silicone Rag after use and some Silicone Chamber Oil occasionally. That, and it always lived indoors!!! Can't stress that enough. All Guns need to live indoors!!!

Randy

Mine is .22, I just can't imagine handling those tiny .177 pellets with my big fingers! I can't believe how lucky I got finding the ad in a random air gun forum like I did, with blue laminant stock and in .22! I'm finally impressed with the accuracy of an air gun, and one I want to challenge out to 100yds.

[W.R.Buchanan]

I have hit Rimfire Silhouette targets at 100 Meters with my R1. The Sun was directly behind me so I could see the pellet as it flew down range. The Trajectory was a rainbow! JSB Exacts 18 gr. will be the best pellets for long range for that gun. H&N's Wadcutters will work well too, but best for <50 yards.

I sight my guns in dead on at 10 yards. That puts them 1" high at 20 and 30 and dead on again at 40. Everything from there on out is a hold over. You'll have to play with it to get it down.

Keep us informed as to your progress. Good job on getting a Quality Air Gun !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Randy

[Ithaca Gunner]

It took me a few years from when I saw a blue laminant HW97k to want one bad enough to actually shop for one, and by then there weren't any around. It took that little gun voice in my head one Sunday to look for a used one, and I found one. These are the real deal for accuracy, it's not hype, they actually shoot like a Winchester M-52 match rifle! Worth every cent invested.

[W.R.Buchanan]

NVReloader: My press is already being used by a few guys to size their boolits. I use it to size some of my .40 cal. Boolits using a Lee .401 sizing die and the Pusher that comes with it. Works just fine and the press has more than enough power to do it.

In order to do it for pellets all you need is a sizing die with a 7/8-14 Thread on the outside and a hole of the desired size in the middle, and a Pusher that fits into the Shell Holder adapter that pushes the pellets all the way thru. Don't want to use the next pellet to push the one before it thru as that will distort both pellets.

Really I have never seen a reason to resize my .177 or .2 cal. pellets as the good ones don't need it, and have shot thousands of them. Stick with H&N and JSB brands and they work as well as can be expected.

Randy

[2manyguns]

Someone please post a thread with an interesting topic! There hasn't been an interesting topic in this forum for some time.

The last time I whined about this we got the Lady in FL that was making a good living shooting Iguanas with her pellet guns. She was very good!

Love to see something about actually using these guns for something useful.

Randy

hello randy ,i hope this is of interest to you , i have 2 pcp rifles a FX 25 cal royal and a diana 22 cal Outlaw both are very accurate and i am doing my best to keep the Magpie , crow, black squirrel herds in check . For a number of yrs we noticed that song birds were pretty much non existant so i started with a diana model 48 that worked very well but took to long to reload between shots, also i believe that the vermin could hear me cocking the rifle even though i was in the garage. so i upgraded to pcp guns with 10 + rd mags and started chipping away at the vermin . i keep a yearly talley since 2015 , i have taken 134 magpies , 76 crows and 172 black squirrels , and 154 barn pigeons and have never taken the rifles out of my yard , the pigeons became a problem when one of the neighbors started feeding them , his back yard was in shade and mine was in sunlite in the winter they sat on the edge of my garage roof and crapped all over the apron , i asked the neighbour 3 or 4 time to stop ,i have since been approached by 4 of the guys on my block wanting there pests controlled . i have talked 3 of them into buying PCP rifles and sadly i am now starving for targets,, but we have song birds and i have some little purple finch that have takin up summer res in my 2 bird houses alan

[W.R.Buchanan]

Yes, you in fact are doing something with your Air Rifles! And that is a pretty impressive record. The whole idea here is to sight the gun in and then go shoot something. So many miss the point.

Randy

[W.R.Buchanan]

I scored two tubes of Chocolate Neco Wafers tonight. These make a very satisfying Target as they explode when hit with a pellet. I've got to make a stand for them with some alligator clips and wire so they can be stood up around the property. Will up date when I start shooting them.

I also have to make a new target box for my garage. When I set up my Shot Shell Reloaders I used the bench the target box had been on. Haven't been able to shoot in the garage for sometime now and I want to get back on it. My Rifle shooting is suffering from all the Shotguning I'm doing lately. Time to rectify that!

I just wish we had Iguanas to shoot out here. That just looks like way too much fun!

Randy

[Ithaca Gunner]

I scored two tubes of Chocolate Neco Wafers tonight. These make a very satisfying Target as they explode when hit with a pellet. I've got to make a stand for them with some alligator clips and wire so they can be stood up around the property. Will up date when I start shooting them.

I also have to make a new target box for my garage. When I set up my Shot Shell Reloaders I used the bench the target box had been on. Haven't been able to shoot in the garage for sometime now and I want to get back on it. My Rifle shooting is suffering from all the Shotguning I'm doing lately. Time to rectify that!

I just wish we had Iguanas to shoot out here. That just looks like way too much fun!

Randy

Randy, no doubt Neco wafers make a fine target for an air rifle! What other reactive targets can we think of to miniaturize for air rifles?

Neco wafers = clay birds...

Cheezeit crackers = 4x4 hanging clay tile?

Grapes/cherries could be an interesting reactive target.

Green army men placed at various ranges.

Paper shot cups filled with Jello.

Not quite Iguanas, but many years ago we had an infestation of English Starlings. They would gather in the tree tops in the early evenings stripping them and generally becoming pests. My solution was a Remington 513T with a Unertle 16x target scope loaded with .22CB caps. The combo was accurate and quiet enough to shoot from the back yard to the tree tops in the front yard and nail a starling with each shot. Of course the others took flight, but another target would reappear within a few minutes. Just like shooting rats and seagulls at the dump when I was a kid! A good .22 air rifle would have produced the same results.

[David Lee Valdina]

I shoot Super Colabri out of a rifle and it is very quiet. My airguns all make more noise. I can be shooting in the basement with my wife and her friends right above me and they do not know I am there. So if you have pests in the yard, open a window, get away from the window as far as you can, and pop them off. Watch for a shallow angle that might allow ricochets.

[NEKVT]

I shoot Bud Light cans up at my cabin with a Gamo Hunter 440 .177. It keeps the surrounding area free of those blue rodents that are always found grazing along the side of the roads.

[elmacgyver0]

I scored two tubes of Chocolate Neco Wafers tonight. These make a very satisfying Target as they explode when hit with a pellet. I've got to make a stand for them with some alligator clips and wire so they can be stood up around the property. Will up date when I start shooting them.

I also have to make a new target box for my garage. When I set up my Shot Shell Reloaders I used the bench the target box had been on. Haven't been able to shoot in the garage for sometime now and I want to get back on it. My Rifle shooting is suffering from all the Shotguning I'm doing lately. Time to rectify that!

I just wish we had Iguanas to shoot out here. That just looks like way too much fun!

Randy

I wish we had iguanas too.
I tend to eat all the crackers.

[sd5782]

Ithaca Gunner, I see the well deserved praise for your HW. These are my favorites. You didn’t have luck with the Dianas I also see. Diana guns for the most part have excellent barrels, and most of my Dianas are as accurate as my Weirauchs. They generally benefit from my tuning, as they are way over sprung in my opinion. Getting the velocities down from 875 to 800+/- makes them way more pleasant and easier to shoot. That is a starting point for tinkering. I am mostly referring to guns made before 2000. I haven’t kept up much on the newer stuff. The CZs from the 90s are also VERY accurate, but in need of massaging to be contenders.

[chutesnreloads]

I've really enjoyed this young man's videos

https://www.youtube.com/@mattdubber
https://www.youtube.com/@AirArmsHuntingSA

Matt does things with air rifles I can only dream of. Suppose it helps to live in South Africa.

[farmerjim]

I took my Springer and killed all the neighbors chickens by shooting them in the head. They had quit laying and wanted to replace them. He didn't have the heart to kill them himself.

[elmacgyver0]

I took my Springer and killed all the neighbors chickens by shooting them in the head. They had quit laying and wanted to replace them. He didn't have the heart to kill them himself.

I read the first sentence and thought you must be some kind of psycho, then read the second and third sentence.
Kind of demonstrates what we experience in the news these days with things taken out of context.