New air rifle

Rimfire bolt action rifles, lever action, pump action and self loading rifles. Air rifles.

New air rifle

Post by Daddybang » 16 May 2018, 6:46 pm

Ok so this might be a dumbass question but I've never owned a brand new rifle of any sort :P
Tomorrow I pick up a bsa break barrel air rifle in .177($180) do air rifles have a "run in" period??? :unknown:
It's purely for sh@ts and giggles along with the odd rat or myna bird eventually I'll be using it to teach the girl spawn the fundamentals of open sights :thumbsup:
Thanks for any advice in advance :drinks:
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Re: New air rifle

Post by in2anity » 16 May 2018, 7:44 pm

Daddybang wrote:Ok so this might be a dumbass question but I've never owned a brand new rifle of any sort :P
Tomorrow I pick up a bsa break barrel air rifle in .177($180) do air rifles have a "run in" period??? :unknown:
It's purely for sh@ts and giggles along with the odd rat or myna bird eventually I'll be using it to teach the girl spawn the fundamentals of open sights :thumbsup:
Thanks for any advice in advance :drinks:


Mate I think break-in has a minor benefit to target rifles - but I’m not sure if you’d be able to measure the accuracy gain on a knock/about springer. Just clean it well with the appropriate gear and go shoot. It might tighten a bit with time but I wouldn’t get too caught up with all that methodology in your situation
At what point does lack of maintenance become patina?
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Re: New air rifle

Post by marksman » 16 May 2018, 7:47 pm

“If you do not read the newspapers you are uninformed. If you do read the newspapers you are misinformed”. Mark Twain
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Re: New air rifle

Post by Daddybang » 16 May 2018, 8:20 pm

Thanks heaps fellas I just learnt something! !!!!!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :drinks: :drinks: :drinks:
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Re: New air rifle

Post by Daddybang » 18 May 2018, 10:30 am

So picked the bsa scout up yesterday. Gave it a clean and put some grease on the pivot points then put six shots with winchester pellets thru it. Shots taken off hand at 25mt open sights. :thumbsup: :drinks:

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Re: New air rifle

Post by southwest shooter » 18 May 2018, 6:52 pm

Never broken in a rifle , when I told andriy soviet war hero and sniper he burst out laughing about this breaking in BS .
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Re: New air rifle

Post by Daddybang » 18 May 2018, 7:15 pm

southwest shooter wrote:Never broken in a rifle , when I told andriy soviet war hero and sniper he burst out laughing about this breaking in BS .


Well I'm neither a sniper nor war hero so I'll take all the advice and advantage I can get!!! :lol: :drinks:
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Re: New air rifle

Post by Tiger650 » 18 May 2018, 8:51 pm

Good move DB.
Get the young'n interested and she will learn important principles like follow through, can you think of anything with slower lock time than an air rifle ?
Also very cheap to shoot / practice with and I predict you will have an Indian Mynah shortage when she becomes competent.
Just my personal experience but if you can get your hands on some RWS Superpoint or better still SuperH point pellets you will find that the mynah birds drop most satisfactorily out to 30 metres.
I have always found that springer air rifles would not shoot off a rest, I reckon you need a hand under the forend, even if that hand is resting on something to reduce muscle tremors.
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Re: New air rifle

Post by marksman » 18 May 2018, 9:30 pm

southwest shooter wrote:Never broken in a rifle , when I told andriy soviet war hero and sniper he burst out laughing about this breaking in BS .



Gale Mcmillan of Mcmillan rifles fame was the first person to call BS on the running in a rifle barrel that apparently was started by an Australian barrel maker he had taught how to make barrels, when he asked the Australian barrel maker why he put run in instructions for his barrels he was told that the Australian barrel market was not a big one and was mainly the benchrest crew so if he could get them to loose some of the barrel life by running them in he would make more money because he would be selling more barrels
http://www.6mmbr.com/gailmcmbreakin.html

IMO I have seen factory barrels that improved with a run in and it makes some people happy because they have done it so I cant see it a problem :unknown:
I only do a run in if my barrel is showing copper when new to burn off the burr causing it, the burr wont burn off if its covered in copper :crazy:

the run in for an air rifle is to get rid of the lubricants that are there from factory to stop the dieseling effect :thumbsup:

forgot to add, nice one Daddybang :drinks:
“If you do not read the newspapers you are uninformed. If you do read the newspapers you are misinformed”. Mark Twain
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Re: New air rifle

Post by SCJ429 » 18 May 2018, 9:52 pm

Thanks for the link Marksman, funny thing is that all of the top shooters have a run in procedure and I read an interview with Dan Lilja on Accurate Shooter about barrel care and he runs his barrels in. I have noticed that copper fouling always settles down after a running in period. If you are a Hall of Fame shooter and you don't run your barrels in then the world may take notice. Not sure about air rifles but it cannot hurt.
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Re: New air rifle

Post by Daddybang » 19 May 2018, 6:53 am

Tiger650 wrote:Good move DB.
Get the young'n interested and she will learn important principles like follow through, can you think of anything with slower lock time than an air rifle ?
Also very cheap to shoot / practice with and I predict you will have an Indian Mynah shortage when she becomes competent.
Just my personal experience but if you can get your hands on some RWS Superpoint or better still SuperH point pellets you will find that the mynah birds drop most satisfactorily out to 30 metres.
I have always found that springer air rifles would not shoot off a rest, I reckon you need a hand under the forend, even if that hand is resting on something to reduce muscle tremors.


Thanks tiger will have to check out the pellets ya mentioned the winnies I've got are not real flash. I reckon the skirts are round on every fith pellet!!! :drinks:
The girl spawn turns four in September so there's a few years before I can legally teach her to shoot but they're never to young to start learning saftey.

SCJ429 wrote:. Not sure about air rifles but it cannot hurt.


Yep this is the way I'm thinking!!! :thumbsup:

the run in for an air rifle is to get rid of the lubricants that are there from factory to stop the dieseling effect :thumbsup:

forgot to add, nice one Daddybang :drinks:[/quote]

Thanks marksman !! :thumbsup:
I really appreciate the advice. . I must not have cleaned all the lubricant before shooting because I had a little bit of smoke come out the barrel on one of the shots...If I hadn't read the link ya posted I would have been a bit concerned/confused!!! :lol: :drinks:
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Re: New air rifle

Post by Daddybang » 19 May 2018, 10:41 am

First blood!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :drinks:

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Re: New air rifle

Post by Gaznazdiak » 19 May 2018, 11:08 am

I have a 40yo BSA Meteor .177, another Kmart purchase, and if it is humid I have seen a little smoke-like water vapour after firing.
Even more so lately as I have just replaced the spring, piston and seals making him as good as new.
Prometheus are also a very good pellet, they have a hard alloy centre and a plastic sabot and will go through corrugated iron at 20m like it's not there.
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Re: New air rifle

Post by Daddybang » 19 May 2018, 11:33 am

I'll have to look at the prometheus..They look really interesting :thumbsup:
40years before it needs a refurbishment is great quality :drinks:
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Re: New air rifle

Post by NTSOG » 28 May 2018, 7:15 pm

G'day Daddybang,

H& N Field Target & Trophy pellets and Baracudas are very accurate. Pointed pellets are considered by some to be relatively inaccurate as are target pellets, e.g. Meisterkugeln, outside about 20 yards or so.

As others have said, keep the bore dry and clean of solvents lest you get dieseling. Lastly tuning the stock screws to an exact torque is generally necessary to keep groups small. Loctite is essential as break-barrels shake their bolts and screws loose. [I have a low power FeinWerkBau 127 in .22 that destroyed a new Bushnell Banner scope in 3 shots such is the effect of the double recoil at just 600 fps.]

The Weihrauch company specify the following and other makes will respond the same, e.g. I set the tension one of my Anschutz .177 air rifles the same as the Weihrauchs:

"The torque specifications are:
Front stock / rear trigger guard screws max. 2.5 Nm
Front trigger guard screw max. 5 Nm"

Nm converted into in-lbs & Ft Lbs:
2.5 Nm = 22.1 In Lbs = 1.8 Ft Lbs
5 Nm = 44.3 In Lbs = 3.7 Ft Lbs

As soon as any of my break-barrel air rifles starts shooting [spraying] groups larger than 3/4" at 30 yards or so I check all screws and bolts with a torque wrench and generally tighten the pivot bolt. [Ideally when the barrel is just ''broken" it should be tight enough at the pivot that it will just hold against gravity with the stock held horizontal.] It makes all the difference. There is a lot of information about bolt/screw tension on the Gateways to Airguns site, especially by a bloke called ''Motorhead" if you go looking.

Good luck,

Jim
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Re: New air rifle

Post by Daddybang » 28 May 2018, 7:32 pm

Thanks for the info NT :thumbsup:
I will run over the screws tomorrow and see if I can get hold of some of the pellets ya mentioned. I've been using it off hand with the open sights and have it hitting the bottom of a can on it's side at 25mtrs with gammo target pellets but I'm sure it can do better as I'm not great with open sights!!
Might throw a little scope on it one day!!! :D
Thanks again for the info!!! :thumbsup: :drinks:
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Re: New air rifle

Post by NTSOG » 29 May 2018, 9:53 am

I forgot to add don't bother with H&N Rabbit Magnums. They are great for hitting anywhere away from your point of aim. Apparently they are designed for the pressurized rifles which put out enough power to stabilise them in flight. By and large domed/rounded head pellets seem more accurate at longer distances.

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Re: New air rifle

Post by Supaduke » 29 May 2018, 3:32 pm

+1 for H&N Field target trophy. They are the bee's knees. I get ragged holes at 30m.
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Re: New air rifle

Post by Daddybang » 29 May 2018, 3:55 pm

Thanks fellas :thumbsup: :drinks:
I'm heading down to cairns for the PBR on Saturday now I've got a legit reason to visit the gunshop while I'm there!!!! :D :D :D :drinks:
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Re: New air rifle

Post by NTSOG » 29 May 2018, 5:54 pm

Since when does any bloke need a ''legit'' reason to visit a gun shop????? Visiting gun shops [and Bunnings] is male therapy. Women buy [mostly useless] shoes for therapy.

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Re: New air rifle

Post by Daddybang » 29 May 2018, 6:35 pm

NTSOG wrote:Since when does any bloke need a ''legit'' reason to visit a gun shop????? Visiting gun shops [and Bunnings] is male therapy. Women buy [mostly useless] shoes for therapy.

Jim


Normally the missus is dragging me into our lgs but this weekend is supposed to be a "got rid of the girl spawnn for the first time, in christ only knows how long" kinda getaway but she reckons it's OK cause its walking distance from the hotel!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :drinks:
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Re: New air rifle

Post by Tiger650 » 29 May 2018, 11:00 pm

And they do loosen stock screws !
As far as fitting a scope goes, you will have an adventure, springer air rifles will beat most scopes to death in a short time and mounts are also a big issue.
Cannot see the top of the receiver in your photo but if it is 3/8" grooved rather than drilled and tapped for a rail you are basically buggered.
Springer air rifles will move a scope with considerable force, this due to the heavy piston accelerating then bouncing back off the column of air in the cylinder whilst getting the pellet moving.
Initial rearward movement of the rifle as the piston accelerates is then followed by forward movement as the piston bounces, then abrupt forward movement as the piston comes to rest at the breech end of the cylinder.
Springers quickly kill scopes that would last forever on lightweight hotrod centerfire rifles and mounts just get bulldozed back.
I have a Wheirauch 97 in .22 now, using a USA manufactured B-Square mount with a Hawke 12X air-rifle rated scope, previously the mount was on a Diana [RWS in the USA] mod 52 in .22 with a Bushnell Trophy 4x12-40.
The above Bushnell was / is regarded as the workhorse air-rifle scope, bloody indestructible but heavy and the only mount that would keep it in place was the B-Square.
Last I heard B-Square are now ex China and quality not so good.
I have seen blokes fit three good quality steel rings to a springer and torque up tight and they still crept back.
Another embuggerence is "droop" google Pyramid Air [a good bloke] for an explanation but you will basically have a ****** of elevation dialled into your scope to compensate and a scope adjusted that far off centre will assist in the killing of the scope.
The B-Square mount is "droop compensating" which means I can adjust the rear of the mount up by a considerable amount, I have not had to measure but a wild guess would be 40 MOA.
I rarely try to discourage people but you seem like a nice bloke and in this instance I reckon discouragement is a kindness, would hate to see you bugger an otherwise good scope.
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Re: New air rifle

Post by NTSOG » 30 May 2018, 6:15 am

Tiger650 wrote: "Cannot see the top of the receiver in your photo but if it is 3/8" grooved rather than drilled and tapped for a rail you are basically buggered."

Yes, unless he gets a BKL-260 4" Long Unitized Dovetail Mount: http://www.bkltech.com/BKl-1-6-Screw-Un ... kl-260.htm

I have them on a Webley-Scott Patriot [.25], Diana 350 magnum [.177], two HW 90s [.20] and an HW 80 [.177]. [All these rifles are shooting at very high power, especially the Patriot - about 28 ft.pds.] Done up correctly they do not move as they have 6 screws and clamp from both sides.

Several Australian companies are now selling BKL mounts, Gun Emporium in Melbourne being one.

My wife is a Yank and brings such toys home from the USA every time she goes to visit her family.

Tiger650 is right about scopes. Having had one Bushnell Banner disintegrate completely and two Hawkes and another Bushnell develop problems with reticles from the recoil I now use cheaper Artic Foxes and/or BSA scopes rather than waste money on fancier ones. Leapers scopes seem pretty strong though.

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Re: New air rifle

Post by Daddybang » 30 May 2018, 6:47 am

Yeah fellas that's why its a might. :lol: :drinks:
Gotta do a bit of research and see if it's viable option without spending a ****** on what is basically a plinker to teach the girlspawn with later on down the track!! :lol: :drinks:
Thanks again for all the advice it really is appreciated :drinks: :drinks: :drinks:
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Re: New air rifle

Post by Daddybang » 21 Jun 2018, 10:26 am

So I think that I got this thing shooting straight!!! :thumbsup:
Seven shots. First two slightly high(ya can see the crimped edge of the can)
Taken offhand(seated) @ 25mt with open sights :drinks:

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Re: New air rifle

Post by NTSOG » 21 Jun 2018, 12:42 pm

That's pretty good. I can barely see a can at that range with my old eyes so I stick to shorter ranges with my 10M target rifles and diopter sights. Otherwise it's 4x scopes. You'll be very dangerous to sparrows and starlings before you know it.

Well done,

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Re: New air rifle

Post by Daddybang » 22 Jun 2018, 8:17 am

Thanks NT :thumbsup:
I don't do a lot of open sight shooting so I'm pretty happy with it!! :thumbsup: :drinks:
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Re: New air rifle

Post by Stix » 22 Jun 2018, 10:21 am

Well you cant complain with that...!!
I guess thats why you're braggin... :lol: :sarcasm:

Gees i cant see the end of the barrel let alone the front sight...i need glass regardless...thats a nice little toad toaster you have there then...!
The man who knows everything, doesnt really know everything...he's just stopped learning...
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Re: New air rifle

Post by Daddybang » 23 Jun 2018, 7:00 am

Stix wrote:Well you cant complain with that...!!
I guess thats why you're braggin... :lol: :sarcasm:

Gees i cant see the end of the barrel let alone the front sight...i need glass regardless...thats a nice little toad toaster you have there then...!


I've only got one eye that works but it seems to work well!!! :lol: :drinks:
Should add it's taken around 400 pellets to get the sights set right and to get used to the rifle!!! :thumbsup: :drinks:
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Re: New air rifle

Post by NTSOG » 23 Jun 2018, 12:19 pm

'' … it's taken around 400 pellets to get the sights set right and to get used to the rifle!!!"


Only 400! You're boasting - most air rifle shooters spray a lot more pellets than that before they start to get decent groups. Then the damn things change their point of aim overnight and you go straight back to the beginning and start tightening screws, bolts and whatever.

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