Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2020 i Airgun Shooter

THE SEARCH IS OVER If you go shooting at night for any length of time, the chances are you’ll lose something – perhaps an item of kit, or maybe the dead rabbit you swore you left by the hedgerow. In extreme cases, you may even need to locate a shooting buddy who’s got into trouble. At times like these you’ll appreciate a light with a powerful beam like the Fenix LR35R Rechargeable 10000 Lumen Searchlight. This wide area LED torch-cum-searchlight has a maximum output of a blistering 10,000 lumens – Fenix calls it “sunlight in your hand”. And at just 5.51” long it offers great performance for its compact, carry-friendly size. The Fenix LR35R costs £199.95. Visit www.myfenix.co.uk or call 029 2115 7162 for more details. ONE FOR THE PROS…

For many shooters, a gun bag is a necessary evil: it’s something they have to use to transport their gun to the range or the field, but beyond that they don’t give it much thought. However, one Polish company that has definitely put a lot of thought into gun bag design is Wisport, whose products are available in the UK from Military 1st. One pup-friendly package is the Wisport Rifle Case 100, the bag measuring 100cm in length, although it’s also available in longer 120cm format. It comes in a choice of three solid colours and seven different camouflage patterns, the one seen here being MultiCam Tropic. It’s a good size for smaller air rifles, and my moderated Weihrauch HW100 BP was a perfect fit inside. Some shooters like to…

The LumenMax 900 is an all-inclusive kit from Professional Airgun Optics that contains the main torch body, two end caps offering the choice of push-button or remote switches, a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, two coloured filters and a Universal Scope Mount that connects the lamp to scopes with both a 1” (25mm) or 30mm body tube. The battery features an onboard Micro USB charging port, which means there’s no need to insert the battery into a separate charging station, and the USB end of the charging cable just needs to be slotted into your laptop, PC or wall-mounted adapter. The lamp fulfils two very distinct roles for the nocturnal hunter as it includes two swappable lighting modules. The main lighting module features an LED that produces standard white light. The remote…

Autumn is a wonderful season for the air rifle hunter. Nature’s harvest is at its most bountiful at this time of year, and there are usually good opportunities for making mixed bags as quarry species make the most of the glut in preparation for tougher times ahead. Another nice thing about the autumn months is the shortening days. Back in the long days of summer, there was the potential for many hours of inactivity between the prime times of dawn and dusk, but now that diurnal wildlife has less daylight by which to forage, you can expect to encounter quarry at more or less any time of day. And even if you do want to hang on until nightfall, you’ll still be able to get home at a much more…

YOUR EXPERT ANDY McLACHLAN In my previous articles concerning what makes a good target rifle, I described models which are competition-winning designs, with prices that reflect this top-of-the-range technology. Just because a design costs a lot of money, it does not mean that using it will instantly improve your scores. A good rifle will allow you to make the best of your talent when you realise that the only way to greatly improve your chance of success is with a ridiculous amount of practice. All of the superb trigger and action assemblies available near the £2,000 mark will only allow you to produce a consistent shot release as long as you practise to perfect your ability to mount the gun so it fits with your head concentric to the lens…

Lamping has of course been around for many years and remains an effective tactic, but at some venues it has its drawbacks; rabbits can become lamp-shy, and flashing a torchlight around a farm could prompt a concerned member of the public to call the police. In recent years, the advent of dedicated night vision (NV) infrared scopes has added a new dimension to our sport, enabling us to hunt unobtrusively right through the night when many quarry species are at their most active. And although they are still a compromise on glass, most infrared (IR) scopes do a more than reasonable job in daylight conditions as well, so there’s no need to swap to a different setup when the sun goes down. To begin with, such equipment was prohibitively expensive…

When it comes to night vision, Pulsar is never far from the discussion. Distributed by Thomas Jacks, the Digisight Ultra LRF 450 is designed primarily for use at night. However, though limited to a black and white picture, the daytime image is crystal clear, making it a scope you can use around the clock. Measuring 355 mm, it’s shorter than many day scopes, although at 1.27kg it is a fair bit heavier until you consider that that includes the mounts, IR illuminator and rangefinder. The matt bodywork is finished to a high standard, and the buttons and components feel robust. The laser rangefinder unit operates with the press of one of four chunky buttons to give the distance to a specific target or a constant scan. The compact 850nm IR…

Every once in a while you get a session that really goes to plan, and that was certainly the case with one of my recent outings after corvids. The field I was targeting contained the remnants of a maize crop and the birds had descended on the scraps of corn left behind by the forage harvester. With autumn drillings set to be planted in just a few days, the farmer was eager to bring the pests to book before they had a chance to turn their attention to his seed. This scenario is usually best tackled with a shotgun as it enables you to take birds on the wing, and even if you miss, the noise you create will drive the birds away from the field. The problem was that…

Chinese airguns are known for being well made and long-lasting, if not a little rugged, just like the B45-3. This pump-up pneumatic came over to the UK in the 1990s in both .177 and .22 calibres, but didn’t seem to make any real waves despite having a multi-shot capability. It just seemed to disappear after only a very brief time, possibly due in part to the arrival from China of that newer kid on the block, the now famous CO2-fed QB78. Occasionally one would be seen in a gun shop on the back wall rack – the one for dud guns of yesteryear. Recently these have been rediscovered, changing hands as reliable and accurate little air rifles. Some owners have even started to tune and customise them. Despite having the…

It’s easy for PCP shooters to hook their gun up to a scuba-style charging cylinder and turn on the tap. What’s not so easy is deciding whether to maximise the number of air fills and go large, or keep it nice and portable with a lighter model. With the PCP Airgun Charging System, AirForceOne and UK distributor The Shooting Party believe shooters have the best of both worlds, with the five litre 300 bar cylinder providing an optimal mix of size and weight with a fairly high number of fills. The PCP Airgun Charging System includes a rubber boot for stability as well as an air valve with an integrated gauge, a bleed valve and a hose that terminates in a Foster-style quick connector. At 750mm in length, the longer…

After looking at the guns that I currently use, I thought it might be interesting to now consider more closely the scopes that I choose to use and why I have chosen to use them. Before we consider that though, let us remind ourselves just what we require from our optics. It is no good using a high-power 45x magnification scope for plinking with as it is just too powerful. Nor is the mega-high magnification optic suitable for hunting duties. Decades ago the ‘normal’ sized scope we used for everything was usually of four times magnification, often with a 20mm objective lens, but more likely to be of 32mm diameter. This slowly increased in size until 40mm became the average size. Magnification levels also crept up slowly, with six power…

At just over a kilo and 379mm long, ATN’s X-Sight 4K Pro 5-20x is a substantial piece, but then again it does pack a lot in and is capable, according to ATN, of running for an astonishing 18 hours between charges. Taking 30mm scope rings, a set of which are supplied, the X-Sight 4K Pro’s upgraded sensor represents a significant step up from the X Sight II in terms of image clarity. Though glass still has the edge, the day mode image is very clear, especially at airgun ranges throughout most of the 5-20x magnification range. At night, with the supplied IR illuminator fitted, night vision mode is achieved through the multi-function menu. At first sight, the range of options, settings, features and functions is bewildering, but just a few…

Apenny under £600, the Sightmark Wraith is the lowest priced of our review products, second only to the PARD in compactness. Weighing a little more than a regular scope at just over a kilo, it is 270mm long including the rubber eye cup. And its 4-32x magnification range – a combination of digital and optical magnification – is the highest on test, though it is fair to say there is some pixelation at higher levels. The Wraith comes with a good quality Picatinny mount; at just 90mm long you may struggle to achieve proper eye relief on some rifles, although a longer mount (£57.99) will get around the problem. A compact 850nm IR illuminator that takes two CR123 batteries and attaches to a moulded Picatinny rail on the top of…

It has been a long time coming, but the groundbreaking Daystate Delta Wolf is finally set to arrive on the racks of gun shops across the country. This is, without a doubt, the most eagerly anticipated airgun launch of all time, so the British gunmaker’s latest offering certainly has a lot to live up to. My first proper encounter with this electronic mega-gun was back in March when I spent a day filming with two prototypes prior to what was supposed to be the gun’s launch. The project was then stopped in its tracks as the world went into lockdown. Daystate’s development team were back in action through the summer and then had to iron out the inevitable glitches that you encounter when attempting to make an airgun the likes…

Heavy pellets can be divisive among airgun shooters, with some shunning them because they think they’ll fly like a house brick, while others will embrace them for their higher level of energy retention and knockdown power. The Bisley Magnum is a pellet that’s been around for a very long time in both .177 as well as in .22 calibre, the subject of this test, and if bricks did fly, the Bis Mag is proof that they’d fly very well indeed – and hit even harder. This pellet is made for Bisley by H&N, and is described as being a heavy, high precision pellet for longer distances, offering a remarkable aerodynamic design to deliver a better punch, deeper penetration and the tightest groups. It’s also promoted as being suitable for outdoor…

“THERE’S SOMETHING EXTREMELY SATISFYING ABOUT SNAPPING THAT LONG BANANA MAG IN PLACE” A Kalashnikov AK-74 is the latest gun to appear in the Brothers in Arms series of replica 20th century combat weapons produced by Lee-Enfield (Guns) Ltd. But while this is a CO2-powered BB-firing airgun, what exactly is an AK-74? Whenever the AK is mentioned in a film, book or video game, this iconic firearm is almost always referred to as the AK-47, but in fact the most mass-produced version is the AKM, a redesigned and refined version of the original. And in 1974, a new rifle entered service with the Soviet armed forces, the AK-74, which itself replaced the AKM. The AK-74 uses a smaller 5.45x39mm cartridge, and is more accurate, more reliable and has a further effective…

LETTER OF THE MONTH STARTING OUT I thought the ‘age old question’ about beginners’ guns had been answered and put to bed at the very least a decade ago, so I was persuaded to believe your article (Springer or PCP? Airgun Shooter issue 138) was a bit of a leg-pull. It doesn’t need an expert to know you start off simple and build complexity as you acquire any skill, be it practical or academic. Then I was left open-mouthed when you wrote that every coach you spoke to said all newcomers should be taught how to shoot with a springer. My jaw dropped even further when they proposed that skill with a springer would transfer to skill with any type of rifle! So PCP marksmen in the 18th century were…

The Weihrauch HW57 is a spring-powered underlever, just like its better-known big brothers, the HW77 and HW97. But unlike these two rifles, where a pellet is loaded directly into the breech, the 57 uses a pop-up loading gate, which makes cocking the rifle a slightly different process. The cocking lever measures roughly 32cm to the linkage, and that makes for easy cocking. The cocking stroke applies the automatic safety as normal, but it also raises the loading gate. Loading a pellet is then simply a case of thumbing it in place then pushing the gate back down. If you’re used to conventional underlevers, the first time you cock it you’ll instinctively want to hold the lever open with one hand while loading the pellet with your other – but there’s…

A large part of the enjoyment of airgunning, or most other types of shooting for that matter, is that it gets you outdoors into the fresh air. If you are fortunate to get a permission there’s a good chance it will be in a rural environment and you’ll be lucky enough to be able to go about your sport in our amazing and beautiful countryside. One such area is the aquatic habitat of rivers, streams and standing water. After all, farms by their very nature were established around water courses to supply livestock and crops, with the knock-on effect of creating a sustainable habitat for wildlife. Unfortunately, not all that wildlife is complementary to the healthy operation of the farm and food production, so some degree of lethal control is…

Formed only three years ago, Shenzhen PARD Technology to give the company its full title, is one of the newer names in airgun night vision equipment, but has already had an impact, especially since signing a UK distributor agreement with Sportsman Gun Centre. Its two IR scope models, the NV007A and NV008P, have established themselves with UK airgunners. The former clips onto the back of a regular day scope, while the latter is a zero eye relief day/night digital scope that attaches to a Picatinny rail via a reach-back mount. With the pandemic impacting the supply chain, the review product is my older unit. The current product ships with a higher 1024x768 resolution screen and forgoes the red laser dot. The first thing you’ll notice about the NV008P is how…

Almost all modern air rifles that offer a multi-shot magazine system are pre-charged pneumatics, but Gamo bucked the trend a few years ago by introducing the Maxxim Elite – a break-barrel powered by a gas-ram with a 10-shot magazine. The original Maxxim Elite went on to spawn a series of rifles called the Swarm, the current line-up including the Varmint Swarm, Camo Rocket Swarm, Varmint Swarm Tactical, Varmint Swarm Barricade and the Maxxim Elite Swarm Tactical, the subject of this review. “These guns share similar features, like the Gamo Multishot magazine and Whisper silencer systems, as well as the Recoil Reducing Rail that cushions the recoil and reduces the stress on the 3-9x40 scope included with the rifle. The differences between the Swarm models are in the style of their stocks…

FOR SALE: Karl Kaps Klassic rifle scope. 1-4x24. German 4A reticle. 30mm tube. Compact, lightweight classic scope of outstanding optical and mechanical quality. Made by the long-established family firm of Karl Kaps, Wetzlar, Germany. New and unused in box, with instruction manual, lens cloth and maker’s guarantee. £550. Large saving on normal retail price, and immediate availability. Ray Garner (East Yorkshire). Tel: 01977 661671. FOR SALE: Collection of old air rifles and telescopic sights. Bob (Surbiton). Call 07944 623013 or 07842 943401 FOR SALE: Daystate Griffin .22 calibre. Silver action with black laminate adjustable stock and case. Cost £1,700. Wanting £995. Also for sale: BSA R-10 Mk2 in walnut stock, scope and bag. £675. Both in very good condition. Tony Litchfield (Nottingham). Tel: 01159 844761. FOR SALE: Weihrauch HW97K .22…