have around 50. Still enjoy my old, 1st version Beeman c-1 in .22. Least hold-sens magnum springer I've used. Still clocks an honest 660 w/ Hobbies and still mounted with that tiny SS-1 scope. Don't believe the zero has shifted in 20 yrs.
Took it over the jumps again yesterday, u have to try really hard to miss with it.
Been happy with BSAs recently. I have a pristine Airsporter Mk 4 with new Maccarri guts, which is just a joy to shoot. And it is such an elegant looking gun. I also have a Meteor that I brought back from the brink of death. It lacks the sophistication of the Airsporter, but it's an elemental spring rifle.
I have a Diana 34P first version in .22. Bought the gun new from JM back around 2007. Tuned it with a JM kit and apex seal. Then I sent the barrel off to Paul Watts and had him cut it down to 13". I then put a JM apex muzzle brake on it. Perfectly balanced and very nice shot cycle. I have it topped off with 1-4x leapers mildot scope. Oh I also packed the butt stock with foam packing peanuts to get rid of the hollow sound and to make it feel more solid.
I have an older CZ 630 with a Williams Peep sight, that is a joy to shoot off hand. Popping pop cans at 50 or 60 yards is a hoot. I love the long barrel as it makes a long sight picture for the peep.
My favorite springer in the collection is a 1976 FWB 124, but I shoot my .177 Gecado (Diana) 27 more than any other spring piston gun I own. It's a 1960 model with the ball bearing trigger/sear and it is a lot of fun to shoot. The trigger is fantastic for a no-frills spring piston air rifle. Pretty darn accurate, too.
Yes-sir-ree, that FWB124/27 does fit the bill quite nicely. Shooting it with iron sights even enhances the lightness/balance when shooting off hand, only regret are these old eyes. Anything passed 25 yards I have to consider soup can size targets in order to see them. LOL. Most of my shooting does consist of using scopes due to my aging eyes, but do welcome a change in using irons from time to time.
FWB's (124/27) are my favorite to collect and shoot of the springs I have to date. Sad to say I have not been able to appreciate that palm swell, due to being a southpaw. One day I will have that elusive LH 124!!
I shot my Slavia 634 offhand tonight. It is an almost new old stock gun. I can tell it is not broken in yet. I shot it at 10 yards and kept my shots in about a 1 inch group. The cocking was a little bit rough in the trigger is also fairly rough but I expect these to smooth out with some use. I really like the adjustable sights on this rifle. They are very functional .
This was my first shooting in almost a year following shoulder and neck surgeries. Today was unseasonally warm and I shot in short sleeves. I found that cocking with both hand felt better for my shoulders even though the cocking effort is not that heavy.
Tough finding time to shoot lately, had to take a new job with a much longer commute and plinking time has suffered greatly. Spend more time reading here than shooting lately. That being said for pure grins and giggles the little 30S in .22 is wonderful. Mine has had a complete make over courtesy of Mr. Watts . It has a little 3x9 Bugbuster scope which allows me to plink from three yards out, it is just an amazing little plinker. I have an R-7 in .177 with the same mods and while nice, the .22 just thumps reactive targets so much more. While the .177 seems to be the go to caliber for this powerplant the .22 is no slouch. For informal plinking this tends to be the rifle I grab for. Easy to handle pellets , accuracy in spades, easy to cock for long term sessions, for an off hand plinking rifle it ticks all the boxes for myself
Only been an "air gunner" coming up on two years. I have a Diana 34 .22 and a Crosman Nitro Venom .22 Not liking the Venom much at all but love the Diana. I target shoot and hunt squirrels and pretty much only shoot off hand. Here's a video I took recently doing a little plinking I guess you would call it. First shot is at 50 yards, second at 20, third at 25 and the light bulb at about 25.
Only been an "air gunner" coming up on two years. I have a Diana 34 .22 and a Crosman Nitro Venom .22 Not liking the Venom much at all but love the Diana. I target shoot and hunt squirrels and pretty much only shoot off hand. Here's a video I took recently doing a little plinking I guess you would call it. First shot is at 50 yards, second at 20, third at 25 and the light bulb at about 25.
Nice shooting, but I have to mention my pet peeve. With all the metal spinners and no trace target options available why leave broken glass everywhere? I do trail cleaning and you can't imagine how much debris could be avoided with a "Leave no trace" shooting policy.
Nice shooting, but I have to mention my pet peeve. With all the metal spinners and no trace target options available why leave broken glass everywhere?
This is private property. 41 acres of woods. I'm the only one who hikes and shoots there, with permission. In the early 20th century there were a couple of houses there. The people that lived there discarded their glass bottles and jars by just tossing them in one area of the property. There are well over a thousand bottles and jars. I've been collecting them for target shooting and I clean up the bulk of the mess and send it out with my recycling. I don't worry about the occasional incandescent light bulb that I shoot floating down the stream.
Nice shooting, but I have to mention my pet peeve. With all the metal spinners and no trace target options available why leave broken glass everywhere?
This is private property. 41 acres of woods. I'm the only one who hikes and shoots there, with permission. In the early 20th century there were a couple of houses there. The people that lived there discarded their glass bottles and jars by just tossing them in one area of the property. There are well over a thousand bottles and jars. I've been collecting them for target shooting and I clean up the bulk of the mess and send it out with my recycling. I don't worry about the occasional incandescent light bulb that I shoot floating down the stream.
Oh, okay. If you don't worry about it it must be fine. Never mind.
Guess you only read the last sentence of my post so you missed the fact that I'm actually cleaning the property up. ????
Sorry, I'm just extra sensitive about this stuff due to my continued clean up efforts. Didn't mean to derail the thread or come across too harsh. Anyway, back to the original topic. My favorite springers are my HW30 and an R7. Light, accurate and easy cocking.
I had my R7 for over a year before I noticed the Indian head nickel in the stock. I had bought it used.
Years ago I always said my R-9 .177. Then I got my R-10 Deluxe LH in .20. What a sweet shooter and accurate as heck. If I'm shooting 35-40 yds off hand the RWS 54 is tough to beat. Having read the posts here I think a FWB should be on my bucket list. And BTW what great looking rifles!!
Well, the consensus seems to be for lighter-shooting (12 fp or less) guns. Can't argue.
For my part, smacking cans with a 500 fps .22 rifle is just plain fun. It helps if the weapon doesn't weigh 10 lbs, and don't have a 40 lb cocking stroke.
I've got some tarnation big and powerful springers, but they can wear a fellow out!
I would have to it's my Beeman R10D in .20 caliber and I've had it from day 1 when they first came out in the 80's. It's one that I'll never get rid of because when it comes to a "self contained" air rifle, this is the one that's got my vote.
It's well balanced and it's shoot like no ones business when it's time to taking care of sneaky grays or pesky birds. It's fitted with a "BSA 4X33" fixed 3-post recital that I've never found one like it since I bought it from Jerry Thomas in the 80's.
The best open sights I've ever used. A hooded ball on post front sight gives you three repeatable, no glare positions of the front sight in the rear notch, so compensating for the arc of the 550 fps pellet is easy out to near 40 yards.The smooth, sedate firing cycle feel more like a gentle push than the punch of of a magnum springer, not a hint of buzz.
The gun swings like a fine 410 shotgun, it's the only gun I own that lets me hit thrown pop cans in the air on a regular basis.
It's also the fastest reloading single shot I own, the tap opens when you cycle the under lever. You can cup a half dozen pellets in your left palm, cock the gun and close the lever, and with the butt still at your hip, pick a pellet from that palm and drop it in the tap, then close the tap as you shoulder the gun.
And it's a time machine. Airguns like this, that exude care in manufacture and intelligent, knowledgeable, no compromise design, will never be made again.
It's more fun to plink hazel nuts and fir cones for an afternoon with this gun than practically anything else I own. Even though several are more accurate, and many have better triggers, the level of "serious" is much higher with those other guns.
When it comes to Diana I have 27 and 48, both are very good classics but I still leans towards my BSA Sportsman & lightening. Even in pcp my fevorate carry gun is bsa ultra
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