Low powered springers.

[Arthur John Smithsplease]

Love em. Air pistols and lightweight 6 fpe rifles which you can shoot in your garden, or even inside your house.

No need to go to a range or join a club.

I love going to the range but mainly for the human contact and talking about our hobby with like minded people.

6 fpe ers are the only ones most Germans can get.

And they still buy them.

Watched a German bloke's video on his favourite rifle - the HW35. Received wisdom suggests it should be short stroked at German power levels, but he is delighted with his running at 9 joules.

In fact all the Weihrauchs in Germany run at that power. And still the Germans buy them.

If you don't hunt or do FT or HFT, is there really any need for a 12 fpe air rifle?

[Drew451]

I totally agree. A 6ft/lb rifle, a pellet catcher and some 6yd/10m targets brings a new dimension to your shooting. Home or garden- it's good fun.

[TonyL]

Must agree.

Most of my shooting is done at home, either down the (small) garden or hallway.

Whilst it's perfectly safe to use my 11+FT.lbs rifles with a safe backstop, you somehow feel over gunned. Although I always get a short range zero there first.

The rifles I enjoy most at short range are my HW30Ss, Diana 24D and one of my 35s. This particular 35 is a tired looking old war dog which I bought for £30 years ago. Internals are V-Mach spring and guide set and synthetic seal. Power is about 6.5, which does not worry me. Maybe a leaky breech? Not quite sure and don't really care. I did ask Steve for a lower power spring; not sure if it is. But the thing shoots so sweetly, it's lovely.

All on open sights and the 30Ss and 24D have such light cocking effort you could shoot them all day long.

Enjoy all my pistols at home, too.

[Drew451]

If you dont mind me asking: which is nicer- the 24D or HW30s?
I think a 24 with the ball sear would be very nice.

[TonyL]

Honestly, Drew, they're both so nice that I'd hate to have to choose.

Firing cycles are excellent on the pair of them.

Getting the second stage crisp took a little juggling 'twixt the two adjuster screws on the T01 trigger. BarryG posted a trigger diagram and instructions. A few minutes twiddling made it very nice.

The 24D was a bargain.....£69 from a RFD three or four years ago and nigh-on as new.

P.S. Will have a back to back play with them as soon as I get the chance and report back.

[TORNADOS7]

Quite agree, a 6fpe rifle is more than enough for medium range plinking/target work...

[Arthur John Smithsplease]

Tony, how does the 30s in 22 compare to the 177 version?

I imagine they use the same spring.

I have been thinking about getting a second one in 22 with open sights, putting on a peep sight and shooting at 10m.

I know people generally prefer 177 for paper, but I fancy trying 22.

I have a JSR Sabre Optic 2-7x32 AO on my 177 30s Kit.

[Drew451]

Honestly, Drew, they're both so nice that I'd hate to have to choose.

Firing cycles are excellent on the pair of them.

Getting the second stage crisp took a little juggling 'twixt the two adjuster screws on the T01 trigger. BarryG posted a trigger diagram and instructions. A few minutes twiddling made it very nice.

The 24D was a bargain.....£69 from a RFD three or four years ago and nigh-on as new.

P.S. Will have a back to back play with them as soon as I get the chance and report back.

Thanks for that Tony. Quite a bargain. I had a feeling the 24D would be very nice indeed. They just don't get the press.
Coincidently, in just posted about 24's in the collectors section.
I agree that the ball sear trigger can be dialled in nicely. It's also possible to get a very long and unpredictable single stage trigger that's not my cup of tea at all.

[Arthur John Smithsplease]

I wonder what the Diana 240 is like.

[Drew451]

I wonder what the Diana 240 is like.

It's nice but the fibre optic sights and trigger blade aren't to everyone's taste. The T05 trigger is at it's best in the 240 but metal sights would be my preference.
I would only have a baby Diana in .177 but that's just me. I think the 240 was available for about £140 new for a time but pricing is all over the shop again.

[TonyL]

Tony, how does the 30s in 22 compare to the 177 version?

I imagine they use the same spring.

I have been thinking about getting a second one in 22 with open sights, putting on a peep sight and shooting at 10m.

I know people generally prefer 177 for paper, but I fancy trying 22.

I have a JSR Sabre Optic 2-7x32 AO on my 177 30s Kit.

Hi Arthur,

As per my reply to Drew re 30S vs 24D, I'd have to shoot the .177 and .22 30Ss back to back.

Without doing this, from recollection, both pretty much the same and, obviously, both very nice. Theoretically, there should be slightly less piston bounce / surge with the .22, but I would also guess that, with the smaller volumes and lesser pressures generated with the little 30, barely, if at all, noticeable?

I recently got my 15 year old daughter shooting. Now that she has finished her GCSEs, she has asked if we can do a little more shooting. I think a nice little testing session, with the two 30s and the 24D should be most enjoyable and informative. And these sweet shooting, easy cocking lightweights the ideal candidates.

[TonyL]

Thanks for that Tony. Quite a bargain. I had a feeling the 24D would be very nice indeed. They just don't get the press.
Coincidently, in just posted about 24's in the collectors section.
I agree that the ball sear trigger can be dialled in nicely. It's also possible to get a very long and unpredictable single stage trigger that's not my cup of tea at all.

Indeed, sir. The first stage on the 24D was very long and the second stage quite "woolly". Nice once dialled out, though.

Will have a look in on the other thread.

[TonyL]

I wonder what the Diana 240 is like.

It's nice but the fibre optic sights and trigger blade aren't to everyone's taste. The T05 trigger is at it's best in the 240 but metal sights would be my preference.
I would only have a baby Diana in .177 but that's just me. I think the 240 was available for about £140 new for a time but pricing is all over the shop again.

I've often wondered this myself and could certainly see me giving one a home one day.

However, as pointed out, that would have been much more of a reality when the prices were more realistic just a few months ago; they seem sky-high again now.

Quite a few variations, too.

If you ever look in on the PyramydAir Daily Blog, Mr Gaylord has done a review recently on the 240.

[Drew451]

Yes, his blog is good for Diana content. I'm not adverse to the fibre optic sights but I've seen a 240 somewhere recently with a small muzzle brake and scope. Looked neat.
A small diopter or peepsight and the fibre optic foresight is a nice combo as well.

[vestlenning]

Low power? Yes please!

The Baikal MP-60 (Russia) has a very nice trigger and absolutely hit what you point it at:

http://barx.org/airguns/?id=mp-60

The Slavia 631 (Czechoslovakia) was my first airgun, good in the hand and accurate:

http://barx.org/airguns/?id=631

The FWB 300 S needs no introduction:

http://barx.org/airguns/?id=300_s