Vintage Barn Gun....

[rabbitwrecker]

http://s1036.photobucket.com/user/ra...kl8yv.jpg.html

This pre-war German .22 Haenel II DRP has been part of my pal's vintage airgun collection for as long as I can remember. It's always been my favourite, as accurate as any modern break-barrel sporter and far nicer to shoot than any of his old BSA underlevers. I've even taken a couple of rabbits with it, but that was many years ago.

Sadly, the passing years have taken their toll on this old Frau - a tired mainspring and worn flat breech seal had reduced the power output to pistol levels and a broken spring in the trigger mechanism made it unsafe to use.

Last week - in an explosion of enthusiasm - my pal decided to restore some of her former glory. A new(ish) mainspring (with a couple of slip-washers), a rejuvenated leather breech seal and a new spring in the trigger assembly. Glory restored - she now shoots as well, or better, than she did 30-odd years ago.

Our selection of .22 pellets is rather limited at the moment, but I do have a healthy supply of JSB Express (for the SMK19GR). Over the Chrony F1, a 10-shot string gave an average of 537.6 fps/9.2 ft/lbs, with an extreme spread of 13 fps.

Accuracy was spot-on too, limited only by my ability to use open sights - which, although basic, gave one of the best sight pictures of any airgun irons that I've used. I had little trouble connecting with the 20 yard spinners and my pal - whose eyesight is better than mine - was doing a fair bit better. (Obviously, there's no option of fitting a scope).

The Haenel is an absolute joy to shoot, well balanced with minimal recoil, easy to cock, with a clean-breaking single-stage trigger that puts many modern economy rifle units to shame.

After a long session on the plinking range, I wanted to try for a rabbit. I wasn't going to attempt a shot at live quarry using opens much past 15 yards, but my favourite hunting hotspot on the farm is usually good for a rabbit at that range or closer, so I decided to plot-up there. Sure enough, there were plenty little ones as close as 10 yards, but the only decent size buck was roughly twice the distance that I was prepared to take a shot at. There's always another day though....

[TonyL]

Lovely looking little thing, RW, and what a nice story.

Thanks for sharing with us and I'll look forward to your updates.

[rabbitwrecker]

Thanks Tony. Here's another oldie that still gets a piece of the action from time to time - a pre-war .177 M&G 'Diana' 27...

http://s1036.photobucket.com/user/ra...fwjh4.jpg.html

[Blackrider]

Nice Post !
I've never owned any vintage air rifle like these, and just recently I'm beginning to think I should !
I cant effectively use "the irons" for hunting today though (bad eyes) but one would still be nice to shoot on the indoor range!

[rabbitwrecker]

I've never owned any vintage air rifle like these, and just recently I'm beginning to think I should !

You'd be surprised just how many of these vintage guns are in circulation - and still quite capable of performing on par with comparable modern air rifles. They're so much fun to shoot too - especially when your 80+ year old rifle is connecting with targets that the guy next to you, with his fancy modern rig, can't hit....

[rabbitwrecker]

Spent most of the afternoon shooting with the Haenel. Didn't have much of a selection, but tried some different pellets. 5.51mm AA Field matched the JSB Express for accuracy but produced a little more energy. Bisley Super Field beat them both - they often do well in old guns - but the biggest surprise came from the 18+ grain H&N Baracuda Hunter, easily the most accurate of the four at 20-25 yards. Unfortunately, the battery in the F1 died, so I didn't get any figures for the H&N or Bisley....