Air pistol for £60?

[Jim McArthur]

Chaps... I'm not from these parts... Go gentle with me!

I've owned various pistols in the past, from a BSA Scorpion to a CP88...

But, what I'm after is a compact, preferably break barrel or pump (not CO2), with a reasonable amount of power. My reason?

a) To plink whilst out pigeon decoying
b) To apply the "coup de grace", to winged birds, instead of the usual methods.

Any ideas as to what kind of pistol I should be looking at - Probably S/H at that price?

Thanks for any advice.

Mark, I tried to respond to your PM, but your message box is full.

Jim

[humperdingle]

Thanks, Jim... Cleared some space.

[freemoyoyo]

Surely any pistol is capable of killing a pigeon at point blank in the head, they arnt exactly tough or thick skulled.
I'll second the 240 magnum though, very well knocked together and loads of power.

[Pinpoint]

I think it was Airgunner magazine that published a table showing how much energy is required for each vermin species. I remember rats were the lowest, 2.5ftlbs I think and pigeons were around 3-3.5ftlbs but I do know what you mean. I would have thought that a rat needs more than a pigeon as you say its skull is very fragile. When Ive shot them with a sub 12ftlbs .22 the head is just a messy shell.

[Jim McArthur]

I also would have thought a rat needed more killing power than a pigeon. And having once had a rat come at me, I'd definitely WANT more killing power where one is concerned!

Jim

[ratgunner]

I may be out of line here???


But as a BBS member I must ask,

Why must the quarry you have head shot

Or left alone because a head shot was not viable

Need shooting again FFS!

[humperdingle]

I may be out of line here???


But as a BBS member I must ask,

Why must the quarry you have head shot

Or left alone because a head shot was not viable

Need shooting again FFS!

Who is that question aimed at?

[Pinpoint]

I may be out of line here???


But as a BBS member I must ask,

Why must the quarry you have head shot

Or left alone because a head shot was not viable

Need shooting again FFS!

Do you hunt much?

[humperdingle]

Well, bought a nice condition (well... pretty much perfect) HW40 off brucieboy, and it arrived today - Cheers mate.

Bit of a knack to cocking, but easy enough when you get the hang of it. Only had a chance to tweak the sights to suit my shooting over 4 metres, but already I can see it's an accurate enough gun for my needs. Nice trigger, too, compared to the other pistols i've shot

Only had access to some crappy wasp pellets. Anybody know what pellets work well in the HW40?

[brucieboy]

RWS hobby is what I always use,cheap and accurate enough,for my skill level anyway.

[Jim McArthur]

Me also. They're inexpensive, maybe not as shiny/pretty as H&N Match, but in my guns / in my hands, I don't notice any difference in the targets.

Jim

[Pinpoint]

Yep, Hobbys in my .22 BSA pistol as well. Shoots well and very light which is always good for a pistol.