Are any posters on here members of an Air Rifle Club?

[blackburn_stevie]

I've been on the look-out for a sport/hobby/activity ever since my spine got too dodgy for archery, preferably one that included both precision and competition and settled on the idea of target shooting. I have absolutely no interest in taking pot-shots at any of God's creatures. I never realised that it could be so complicated. For a kick-off there are at least 6 kinds of air rifle. I haven't decided which model to go for yet but I'm looking seriously at 3 different models.

A Feinwerkbau 601, an Air Arms TX200 HC (Spring loaded) and an Air Arms S200 (gas powered) 

Any other Plinkers out there in RT land?

ps ..... Maybe

[bankhaunter]

Very nice, good choice.

[**bustysinclaire**]

Nice looking bit of kit Stevie.

I have tried to goodle it to have a nose and get a bit of info on the type, but not had much success, apart from finding out that apparently it was used in the past in the olympics.

Are you planning competitions?

APOLOGIES, a code 42. I should be golden nugget.

[**bustysinclaire**]

There, that's better.

Are you planinng competitions Stevie? Having you got to learn how to use one first or are you a dab hand at it all ready?

[**forum-decorum**]

I am sorry ebay is doing my head in today.

I am golden*nugget, I am golden*nugget, I am golden nugget.

[blackburn_stevie]

G.N. .... I fancy doing competition but the Olympics is a bit much to ask, lol.

I did a whole lot of research before picking one and this review worked .....

http://www.airguns.net/reviews_fwb300s.php

I read that, then a few others and finally looked all doey eyed at Aggie, lol

I'll do more pix when I get my hands on it.

[**forum-decorum**]

Thank you for the link Stevie,

Well, sure looks like a good write up on it, and probably a good choice for yourself by the looks of it, only promise me you wont try lighting anyones cigarettes with it lol.

I'd save that that to your favourites, as it said the manuals didn't have some important info which the testers had to find out for themselves.

I hope when yours arrives it looks as good as the picture you posted, and you find you can handle it well, I am sure you will get a lot of enjoyment., I look forward  to your pictures. It is great that your Aggie doesn't seem to mind you wanting to give it a go, it is good to find a hobby that can give you a new lease on life. Have fun.........

[blackburn_stevie]

G.N. ...... You asked, in a roundabout sort of way, if I could shoot.

More importantly is that i understand range safety enough to know when it is safe to shoot and when it isn't and that is far more important.

Some folk just don't seem able to grasp that concept and spend their time wondering just why people are jumping out of their way all the time. They just can't see that something that they are doing isn't safe.

[**forum-decorum**]

mmmm

I know what you mean Stevie. I do hope you find you enjoy it.

[blackburn_stevie]

OK, there have been a few setbacks but today was the day that the Boss Lady and I finally managed to make time to drive over to the gun shop in Blackpool to pick up the air rifle that I had chosen. The shop itself was brilliand and I could have spent a week or more just browsing the racks of guns. But I didn't. I just collected mine, tested it out a little and signed for it. Very much like a kid with a new toy, lol.

As promised, here are a few pix that I took when we got home ,,,,,,

http://i1008.photobucket.com/albums/af204/5tevie/cockinghandle_zps7b64f339.jpg

http://i1008.photobucket.com/albums/af204/5tevie/sightsleft_zps25d93e07.jpg

http://i1008.photobucket.com/albums/af204/5tevie/gripleft_zps735c43af.jpg

http://i1008.photobucket.com/albums/af204/5tevie/buttleft_zps1160a07e.jpg

Apparently that woodwork is very unusual. Please accept my apologies for being a numpty who still hasn't figured out how to get pictures from an SD card to a computer, lol.

Cheers,

Steve.

[**forum-decorum**]

mmmmmm, very exciting Stevie, it looks a little more complicated than the .22 I used to shoot with, lol.

Have you got any more pictures of the thing as a whole? How are you getting on with it?

[bankhaunter]

There is nothing I can see against it in the 10 Commandments GN, so is it okay if I covert Stevie's gun?

I have to stick with coverting as with the amount of shooting I do, I could never justify actually owning one.

[cee-dee]

In Exodus, doesn't it say something like:-

"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbours house or his wife", that may extend to his gun also?

[bankhaunter]

Oh dear, I'll never get to heaven now.

That is such a beautiful gun I don't think the stock shape has been changed for as long as I can remember, it's certainly stood the test of time.

[blackburn_stevie]

I did a couple more yesterday.

 

BTW, I think I've figured out how to put put pictures on the forum. We'll find out in a minute, lol.

[**forum-decorum**]

Ooooo, I say, that is one handsome beast Stevie.

Thank you for posting. I love the natural look of the wood. Doubt if I could handle that very easily. I am not as strong now as I was and I am tiny with tiny hands, I'd never be able to pull the trigger.

[**forum-decorum**]

And thank you Stevie, you have just given me a real good chuckle..............................

I have just read your signiture caption.  

[blackburn_stevie]

  It may sound strange but today, Monday the 3rd of Feb, in the year of our Lord 2014, was my first night shooting at my local club. I have tried to go shooting many times since the idea of joining the club first occurred to me but what with not having a rifle, spending time in hospital and having a wife that wanted me to be fully recovered before taking my new rifle out for a spin meant that my first visit to the club was delayed by a few weeks.

"Did you enjoy yourself, Steve?" I hear you ask.

"Absolutely blooming brilliant."  I had so much fun that it was unreal. For a kick off, I was a bit worried that cocking the rifle would cause me all manner of problems. I had tried with a break barrel version but my spine is to badly damaged to **bleep** the rifle more than a few times without becoming really painful so that rifle design was out the window. The rifle that I bought had a side lever action and I found tonight that I could **bleep** the rifle over 50 times without causing any issues.

Another thing that I was delighted to find was that I could still shoot. I spent most of the night sending pellets down the range to try to get what they call, "a good grouping." This means that you fire off  5 to 10 shots, each one having the exact same aiming point, irrespective of the point that the pellet hits the target. If you can make every pellet land within a few mil of the previous one such that all 10 can be covered by a 2p coin, it's a simple job then to move the centre of the group so that the centre of the group lands on the centre of the target.

I had one problem though. My rifle uses something called dioptre sights which you aim by holding a black circle at the front end of the rifle over the target so that you have an equal thickness of light showing round every edge of the target and then squeezing the trigger. The snag is / was that the black circle at the front of my rifle was a bit small so I couldn't see any light round the edges at all. So my next trick is to buy another set of these black circle jobbies so that I'm ready for all sizes of target.

Still. I didn't do to bad for a first timer and I'm due back again on Wednesday to get the group centralised.

I'll post this and then take some pictures of my targets.

What a brill night out.

[blackburn_stevie]

 

There are 5 shots in each target except for the 3rd when there were only 4 shots fired.

[blackburn_stevie]

BTW ..... GN wrote .... "I'd never be able to pull the trigger."

I may surprise you here. Take 2 Jaffa cakes and put them in a paper bag. Now get a length of cotton and make a loop at one end big enough to go round the bag. You with me so far? ..... OK, use the end of the cotton to pull the Jaffa cakes towards you. If you manage it, you can have them, but that is more difficult than pulling the trigger on my rifle. It has a 2oz hair trigger in 2 stages. You pull the trigger just a tad to the first stop and then just think that you are pulling it the rest of the way and it fires. It's like magic.