Spring gun revival (again.....)

[lionel]

I remember going to a local FT club with a springer. I wasn't doing that well. A guy, who became a good friend of mine, Keith Mepham, who ran a custom air rifle shop, said to me " I can keep tuning this rifle all you want ... but before you decide to keep spending money on it I suggest you let an experienced springer shooter show you what it is capable of in it's current state ". I thought they were harsh words but it was the best advice I ever had re springer shooting.

I keep asking for someone to do this but I'll probably have to do it myself. Take one of my 77's. Put in basic internals. Shoot groups at a range and maybe do it in a variety of body positions. Then swap the internals for a set of fully tuned ones and, despite the probable smoother cocking/shooting cycle, see what the actual real life difference is on the targets. I've had basic rifles, and certainly basic home 'polished' ones, doing 18mm at 45 yards and an inch at 55 yards rested. How much better than that do you need, especially when trying to shoot standing or kneeling the groups open right up and wind drifts the pellets up to several inches. Always seemed to me that learning technique and wind was far more important than spending money trying to make a 18mm group 16mm at 45 yards.

Wise words. But I would say that tuning isn't all about accuracy, it's about the "experience" of shooting too. Accuracy aside, people enjoy having a rifle that's as smooth to shoot as possible. I disagree that you need to be a brilliant marksman to enjoy a highly tuned rifle. It's like saying only racing drivers would enjoy driving a Ferrari.

[bozzer]

Most people would drive a Ferrari like an old lady, or put it in the nearest tree.

Anyone can probably enjoy owning a highly tuned springer, knowing that they have something that has been worked on and engineered to a very high standard. They can appreciate that it cocks smoothly and just gently goes 'Phud' instead of 'Twaaaang' when they pull the trigger.

The point is that most people buy a springer and then struggle to achieve 3/4 inch groups at 45 yards. The rifle will be capable of that. They may only be able to achieve 2 inch groups at 45 yards when they start shooting springers ... and that's perfectly normal.

No tune on the planet will make their 2 inch groups become 3/4 inch groups.

A top springer shooter may appreciate the extra tad of accuracy from a fully tuned rifle.

To be fair ... and balanced ...

That's not strictly all true. A tuned springer will be more forgiving regarding hold sensitivity. So a tuned springer may be 'easier' for most to shoot, but the massive leaps will be related to technique and stock fit ... and time.