Trying to get my sons onto springers.

[Grayling]

My youngest son has owned his own rifle for at least 4 years now a Crossman 990 dual power. I bought him this particular model due to its light weight/plastic stock and recoiless action. He is 11 now and wants something a wee bit bigger . Looking through the mags and interweb yesterday he liked the look of a chinese made springer the QB57/AR10 which is a takedown bullpub rifle supposedly pushing about 7/8 ft lbs again eventhough he is now older weight is still a big factor. My standard S410K is still a bit on the heavy and long side. I fully intend to eventually get him a BSA Ultra or Scorpion but would like him to have a springer for a year or two first. Have any members on here tried any various smaller air rifles for their pre teen sons. My chum from Brum Pad E did not seem to keen on the above Chinese made bullpup so any dads/members who have tried their sons on other makes could you let me know. The reviews I have managed to find on this little bullpup were mostly positive, but these were on American forums. The YouTube review video's were again all positive but going back to a phone conversation with Pad E, he reckons the build quality leaves alot to be desired. Is Pads example a one off or are they all similar and POOOOOO.
My 18 year old has surprised and delighted me by showing real interest for the 1st time recently, eventhough he's had a BSA Meteor in .177 I restored for 10 years now. I'll try him on my springers as well although he obviously is more comfortable with PCP's he likes my S410K equally like MallyAlly's Scorpion but I'll try him on the breakbarrel Venom 80 this coming week.

Thanks to MallyAlly for bringing his Scorpion to the club last week for the lads to use and the other members of Sandhall ARC for making them so welcome. I didn't manage much shooting spending most of the time loading magazines , but lets face it what more can a dad ask for then spending any quality time with his kids let alone a shared hobby . Both lads want to get out on another plinking session ASAP.

[Home Guard]

I think a good gun for them would be the BSA Meteor MK6, BAR are doing a deal with a slip, scope and pellets quite cheap. They will be even cheaper soon because the MK7 is coming out.

[Gwylan]

If your boys have the chance to shoot PCPs, why not let them? So much easier than springers. The latest so-called "Meteors" are nothing like the real BSAs, just remamed Gamos, and not even full power. For the price of even a half decent new springer, you can get a good S/H PCP. I love springers, but PCPs are so much easier to shoot.

Gus

[Andrew Richards]

The recent model Meteor Mk6 and the Mk7 (which has been out for over 12 months now) are both rebadged Gamo's.
I had a MK7 for a short time and it was very close to 12ft/lb whereas the MK 6 is not full power.
The triggers are very heavy and recoil is harsh but Im sure a strip and relube would work wonders.

Ive recently bought my daughter a Norica Sport in .177, its quite light and puts out about 7 ft/lb. The trigger is a bit heavy but not too bad.

An excellent springer for the younger shooters is a Weihrauch HW30, even better is the HW30S if you can get one as they have the Rekord trigger fitted. They are fantastic and shoot at 7 ft/lb but are very, very accurate.

I would personally stay away from Chinese stuff due to the build quality and quality of parts.
I can highly recommend the Scorpion, had it for 2 years now, but it is a tad long but light. Also used to have an Ultra, which I regret selling. The only problem with the Ultra is the cocking system which might be a tad difficult for a youngster, though Im sure he would get used to it with practise.

[Grayling]

The recent model Meteor Mk6 and the Mk7 (which has been out for over 12 months now) are both rebadged Gamo's.
I had a MK7 for a short time and it was very close to 12ft/lb whereas the MK 6 is not full power.
The triggers are very heavy and recoil is harsh but Im sure a strip and relube would work wonders.

Ive recently bought my daughter a Norica Sport in .177, its quite light and puts out about 7 ft/lb. The trigger is a bit heavy but not too bad.

An excellent springer for the younger shooters is a Weihrauch HW30, even better is the HW30S if you can get one as they have the Rekord trigger fitted. They are fantastic and shoot at 7 ft/lb but are very, very accurate.

I would personally stay away from Chinese stuff due to the build quality and quality of parts.
I can highly recommend the Scorpion, had it for 2 years now, but it is a tad long but light. Also used to have an Ultra, which I regret selling. The only problem with the Ultra is the cocking system which might be a tad difficult for a youngster, though Im sure he would get used to it with practise.

Good idea on the Norica and HW30 I'll do a search for the weights now. These will not be used for hunting more as a training rifle so 7 ft lbs will be fine.

[Andrew Richards]

Good idea on the Norica and HW30 I'll do a search for the weights now. These will not be used for hunting more as a training rifle so 7 ft lbs will be fine.

No problem. The Norica sells for about £90 and teh HW about £120, a little more for the Rekord trigger version.

Andrew

[Grayling]

If your boys have the chance to shoot PCPs, why not let them? So much easier than springers. The latest so-called "Meteors" are nothing like the real BSAs, just remamed Gamos, and not even full power. For the price of even a half decent new springer, you can get a good S/H PCP. I love springers, but PCPs are so much easier to shoot.

Gus

I fully intent to eventually get them PCP's but would like both to master shooting a springer first. I feel learning to shoot springers will give them a better start in the hobby than going straight onto a PCP.

[Grayling]

I think a good gun for them would be the BSA Meteor MK6, BAR are doing a deal with a slip, scope and pellets quite cheap. They will be even cheaper soon because the MK7 is coming out.

Just checked out the MK6 Meteteor its 6lb minus scope. I'll try my youngest on the earlier Meteor we already have. Thats more a less a full size rifle so would be great if he could handle it. Cheers for that .