Spring gun revival (again.....)

[Amac]

Brilliantly put! You are of course probably spot on. There are just a few of us slowly rotting away. The thing is, do we think if any younger shooters will replace us following our return to the detritus of humanity?

[Murphy]

I can spend all day shooting pine cones with my springer.

Even my rapid runs out of air eventually.

[robthedog]

I last owned an air rifle in the 80's, but i returned to the fold so to speak last year, when i was asked to remove a hedge row that was a rat run, i spoke to my accountant who said "yes " i could buy one on the business.
So i went looking & couldn't believe the choice available, i tried a gasram, liked it, got one, tried a pcp, liked it got one, then thought a 2nd hand springer would be better to keep in the van, so got one, then found i much prefered the springers. So everything else has gone, & i now have a Paul Short tuned 97kt, an 85k for rats, & just picked up a used tx200hc.

Rob

[para]

Nothing better than picking up a decent Springer at a good price and being able to tinker and tune it
I must admit in the 80s gun makers produced some good qaulity springers

[rapidresponse1]

I love my 95k tuned in 22,in the right hands its as good as any pcp

[Phil Russell]

I tend to agree ... My impression is that there are more springers at HFT now than say, 5 years ago. Not many but an increase. Yes, pcps still are in the majority but that is to be expected.
Why the slight move? Maybe people wanting to try a new challenge; although I suspect most dedicated pcp HFT shooters are just that; dedicated. But our chap Chillingworth ventured into the dark side and seems to be enjoying it and is a striking example of a person who can go from a pcp master to a springer master in a very short time.
Maybe the cheapness of a springer helps, it certainly can't hinder. By the time you have bought a new pcp rig of rifle, charging gear etc you are way over the top price of a decent springer. OK, some people would buy a reputable springer then spend almost the same again on a bespoke 'tune' but even this would rarely put you in top class pcp territory cash wise. And if you are willing to do a basic rifle tidy up yourself rather than a bespoke tune, then savings are even greater.
So maybe the springer resurgence is an economic based phenomenon.....
Cheers, Phil

[Sportsmatch]

I love my 95k tuned in 22,in the right hands its as good as any pcp

You keeping telling yourself that

[Barryg]

The one thing that boingers have over puffers is not in dispute is that they are self contained, also if you like nice looking guns the boingers always win (apart from the Spartan) and that as far as I know that is FAC around 20 ft/lbs and there are some FAC boingers that shoot at that power plus easy, anyway why would anyone want to shoot a pellet gun at more than 28/30 ft/lbs just move on to powder, also the more powerful puffers get the more ugly and they get even less self contained with a lower shot count

If you want hunt and try to be as humane as you can with a airgun I suppose puffers are best, but for airgun fun its a boinger

[bighit]

The one thing that boingers have over puffers is not in dispute is that they are self contained, also if you like nice looking guns the boingers always win (apart from the Spartan) and that as far as I know that is FAC around 20 ft/lbs and there are some FAC boingers that shoot at that power plus easy, anyway why would anyone want to shoot a pellet gun at more than 28/30 ft/lbs just move on to powder, also the more powerful puffers get the more ugly and they get even less self contained with a lower shot count

If you want hunt and try to be as humane as you can with a airgun I suppose puffers are best, but for airgun fun its a boinger

Squirrels in a tree, crows and pigeons in trees and shooting them with a rim fire or centerfire

not all shooting permissions are suitable for rim fire or centerfire .so that's where a FAC airgun comes in handy especially if the user wants to use a .25 airgun . and some permissions are very open so getting closer to the quarry may not be easy so a little more range with an FAC airgun is handy

[robs5230]

Squirrels in a tree, crows and pigeons in trees and shooting them with a rim fire or centerfire

not all shooting permissions are suitable for rim fire or centerfire .so that's where a FAC airgun comes in handy especially if the user wants to use a .25 airgun . and some permissions are very open so getting closer to the quarry may not be easy so a little more range with an FAC airgun is handy

The FAC power thing is something I've thought a lot about over the years. My thinking now is that .177 sub 12 offers enough of a flat trajectory to negate the use of FAC air (for me) as my shots are all taken within ranges that will kill cleanly at sub 12 in .177

I think if I ever were to go FAC now, it would probably be .17 HMR. Again, I dont need the knockdown power of .22RF

[bighit]

The FAC power thing is something I've thought a lot about over the years. My thinking now is that .177 sub 12 offers enough of a flat trajectory to negate the use of FAC air (for me) as my shots are all taken within ranges that will kill cleanly at sub 12 in .177

I think if I ever were to go FAC now, it would probably be .17 HMR. Again, I dont need the knockdown power of .22RF

unless you head shot your quarry with .17hmr there will be not much left . The .22lr will leave enough for a giving the rabbits to a friend for their dogs if body shot not sure if the same can be said for the .17hmr .

plus you cant get subsonic .17hmr ammo. so if your in and around the farm house area with a large amount of rabbits its going to be noisey .

i use my springer when i'm near the farm house due to safety and the .22lr in the fields . i could not get close enough to the quarry in the fields due to being very open . so the .22lr is fine for that .

.17hmr would be ideal but the noise is an issue as there is houses either side of my permission. plus i don't fancy the idea of bullets being stuck in the barrel due to squibs rounds ( the issue may still be present although i think they have solved it ).

i will stick with the .22lr and my springer .

im out 8 hours average when i go bunny hunting so lugging a dive bottle is a no no . yes i could leave it at the farm house but i dont always go to the farm house due to people working there when i am there ( my brother in law runs a landscaping business from the farm so they are dumping grass cutting and pruned tree branches all the time )

[robs5230]

unless you head shot your quarry with .17hmr there will be not much left . The .22lr will leave enough for a giving the rabbits to a friend for their dogs if body shot not sure if the same can be said for the .17hmr .

plus you cant get subsonic .17hmr ammo. so if you in and around the farm house area with a large amount of rabbits its going to be noisey .

I'm aware of that and won't be going FAC for those reasons.
I eat all the rabbits I shoot and I'm happy with .177 sub 12.

If I were to go .17 it would purely be rabbit control where the extra range may be of benefit.

[Barryg]

Squirrels in a tree, crows and pigeons in trees and shooting them with a rim fire or centerfire

not all shooting permissions are suitable for rim fire or centerfire .so that's where a FAC airgun comes in handy especially if the user wants to use a .25 airgun . and some permissions are very open so getting closer to the quarry may not be easy so a little more range with an FAC airgun is handy

What I am saying is why bother with air over 28/30 ft/lb when you can have .22 cap .22 short and ,22 long and
under 28ft/lb if you like bongers they are self contained unlike puffers and to me that is the big advantage of bongers

You dont hear much about .22 cap I think they are about 20ish ft/lb.

[bighit]

What I am saying is why bother with air over 28/30 ft/lb when you can have .22 cap .22 short and ,22 long and
under 28ft/lb if you like bongers they are self contained unlike puffers and to me that is the big advantage of bongers

You dont hear much about .22 cap I think they are about 20ish ft/lb.

cb longs http://www.cci-ammunition.com/produc...=1&loadNo=0038 32ftlbs 29grain. so not far off a .25 in FAC at 30 ftlbs.

https://www.shootingandscuba.co.uk/s...5mm-tin-of-350 25grain.

[Blackrider]

Brilliantly put! You are of course probably spot on. There are just a few of us slowly rotting away. The thing is, do we think if any younger shooters will replace us following our return to the detritus of humanity?

Sadly Andy, I think the same.
There are, it is true a good few of us on here and other Forums (as well as others) of an age before PCP's who are firm "spring addicts" but I think the main demand is for the PCP today. You only have to read the monthly mags, see the Ads and you realise where and what the manufacturers are at !
And as has been said, PCP's are super accurate, easier to shoot than springers and very adaptable to all Airgun applications.
I reckon there will always be springer enthusiasts for some years yet and beyond but realistically PCP's dominate the market !