kieran turner
18-12-2005, 06:05 PM
Today I just decided to get the good old li''le lightning to have a play with, the first Serious airgun I ever owned.
It isn't much in the looks department but it's much more of a performer than a looker! I'd forgot how well this little 'budget' springer can perform and after settling down and fine tuning it's zero I was making 15mm five shot groups at 30y with .22 accupells, and the largest groups I achieved were 25mm, and that isn't half bad for a little springer.
I beleive this little gun falls perfectly in to the beginner air gunner market who is looking to move up from say just plinking with an SMK or the like. It seems to perfectly bridge the gap between plinker and hunter and everything else in between as it can be used for plinking, target working and even hunting.
This gun would be ideal for a teenage air gunner as some younger 'gunners' could struggle with the cocking effort as it is quiete strong due to the ultra carbine barrel and chunky silencer. I also beleive the BSA volumatric silencer is great plus to the lightning appeal as it does a great job in taming muzzle report right down, it may no sound like it when you are firing the rifle due to the physics involved in a spring guns firing cycle but beleive me it really strangles the muzzle crack!
I also beleive the beech and ambi stock deserves a mention as although a 'plain jane' affair it does it's job admirably well for both right and left hookers. Now to what I beleive is the lightnings weakest feature it's trigger, it's a very plain affair, a single stage but adjustable trigger and to be fair for the price it does it's job very well indeed, but a two stage trigger would of being the icing on the cake but for the price come on!
Moving from the argueably the rifles weakest point to one of it's many high points and that is it's maxi grip scope rail which makes the perfect clamping surface for your scope mounts and more importantly the scope and mounts stay where they were originally put.
I beleive I owe alot to this gun as like I mentioned before it was my first serious airgun and it helped me become the shooter I am today and every now and then when I get bored of the world of pcp's I decide to go for a trip down memory lane get the li''le lightning out.
Any views on this review are most welcome and I would like to openly encourage others to write reviews on their shooting kit!
It isn't much in the looks department but it's much more of a performer than a looker! I'd forgot how well this little 'budget' springer can perform and after settling down and fine tuning it's zero I was making 15mm five shot groups at 30y with .22 accupells, and the largest groups I achieved were 25mm, and that isn't half bad for a little springer.
I beleive this little gun falls perfectly in to the beginner air gunner market who is looking to move up from say just plinking with an SMK or the like. It seems to perfectly bridge the gap between plinker and hunter and everything else in between as it can be used for plinking, target working and even hunting.
This gun would be ideal for a teenage air gunner as some younger 'gunners' could struggle with the cocking effort as it is quiete strong due to the ultra carbine barrel and chunky silencer. I also beleive the BSA volumatric silencer is great plus to the lightning appeal as it does a great job in taming muzzle report right down, it may no sound like it when you are firing the rifle due to the physics involved in a spring guns firing cycle but beleive me it really strangles the muzzle crack!
I also beleive the beech and ambi stock deserves a mention as although a 'plain jane' affair it does it's job admirably well for both right and left hookers. Now to what I beleive is the lightnings weakest feature it's trigger, it's a very plain affair, a single stage but adjustable trigger and to be fair for the price it does it's job very well indeed, but a two stage trigger would of being the icing on the cake but for the price come on!
Moving from the argueably the rifles weakest point to one of it's many high points and that is it's maxi grip scope rail which makes the perfect clamping surface for your scope mounts and more importantly the scope and mounts stay where they were originally put.
I beleive I owe alot to this gun as like I mentioned before it was my first serious airgun and it helped me become the shooter I am today and every now and then when I get bored of the world of pcp's I decide to go for a trip down memory lane get the li''le lightning out.
Any views on this review are most welcome and I would like to openly encourage others to write reviews on their shooting kit!