Airguns

Pellet choice appears to have increased exponentially in recent times. Looking harder, many pellets are simply re-branded or even just repacked. As prices rise, the tins and their quantities are also changing at an alarming rate with many new - or smaller - tin sizes being introduced.

There are many different types of airgun barrels that achieve different levels of accuracy with different types of pellets. Jonathan talks you through the different adjustments you can make to improve the accuracy of various airgun barrels.

In any hobby, the personal kit bag can be filled to overflowing with unnecessary accumulated gear and gadgets that promise better success but which really have little effect on personal performance. Within airgun shooting, this is no different.

Ever-increasing power must surely be the best way to go - well that's the usual assumption. But the 'low powered air weapon' category has, since its introduction, actually saved our hobby.

When airgun scopes entered the market these were always regarded as being at the budget end in terms of shooting optics. However, where the maximum target distance can be less than 50m on most occasions, scopes don’t need to be ultra hi-tech or cost a small fortune.

Today some airguns can cost a small fortune. Some people think they should spend out on the best to get the best results. Worse, some people have a weird aversion to using secondhand and only buy new as they believe it’s got to be new to be any good.

Back in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, the latest must-have new gadget was the silencer and today many consider not using one on any airgun to be a bit daft. A silencer is a very separate part of any airgun barrel and can have a positive and negative effect on the pellet as it fires out of the muzzle.

Have you ever picked up a really nice airgun only to see the screws have been chewed? What a mess! You think to yourself, ‘how did this happen, especially on an otherwise nice piece?’.

There aren’t many bigger issues to be faced with when trying to shoot precisely over longer distances, than having to judge, assess and counteract the wind. Keep reading to learn more about how to judge wind when shooting, with some helpful tips and advice along the way.

Let's take a closer look at some guns to help identify the many versions, by the differences that are not so obvious to the casual onlooker.

YouTube is full of videos of people blessed with such equipment shooting pigeons at crazy distances - 150 metres or more. And therein lies the problem. Some people, limited to 12ft/lbs but fed on a diet of YouTube material, take on shots they shouldn’t even consider.

There is a confusing variety of vintage BSA springers from before the War and to the novice, they may all look the same. Great fun to use and to collect, there are many differences between the various models released over a long period up until the 2nd World War.   The style was designed by Birmingham gunsmith George Lincoln Jeffries in the early 1900s. His idea was for a fixed barrel, underlever cocking air rifle that was loaded by a drum or plug rotated shut by a separate side lev...

Airgun owners had been using round lead ball ammo in their airguns for hundreds of years. Real muskets and pistols used this ammunition, so initially, the very first large bore airguns did so likewise. It's become increasingly hard to find, but you can still get your hands on it if you look hard enough...

For safe target shooting and plinking, a manufactured metal target box is great. But these are expensive, so why not make your own!

Slugs are solid pointed projectiles that look like lead bullet heads for rimfire and full-bore ammunition. As some readers may be aware - these slugs are being claimed as the new ‘in-thing’ for airguns.

The airgun has come full circle with the evolution of the pre-charged pneumatic. What about digging into the history of airguns and trying your hand at some more interesting models of the past?

When the law changed in the 60s, the legal requirement was introduced to keep airgun power levels under set limits otherwise, they would need to be put on a licence. This makes the Chronograph vitally important for any airgun user...

Most people will expect to use a scope when buying an airgun today. Not so long ago a scope was a hoped-for add-on. However, open sights actually were and still are a very good shooting tool. Even on much older antique airguns where the sights were static without adjustment, they're still effective.