Originally Posted by
bozzer
I've repeated this many times on here ...
I love the springer threads and all the tuning talk. I've repeatedly said that an out of the box 'decent' springer will be far more capable than 99% of springer shooters will ever be. They will give you the accuracy that you will need in any hunting or comp situation if the shooter can do their bit. Getting the rifle to fit properly, and then learning how to shoot it, is probably far more important than trying to make it shoot with less recoil.
The best tunes will maybe tighten the groups at a certain range by a small percentage. That small percentage is miniscule compared to the errors in most springer shooters techniques.
I remember watching a table tennis demo where some world champ was playing decent league players with a frying pan and beating them. I often laugh at the comments by the Aussie cricketers when they refer to Adam Gilchrist. Most league players, let alone test cricketers, spend a fortune on bats and they will go to a shop and pick up dozens of bats until they feel they have the one that suits them perfectly. Gilchrist would just walk through the changing room on his way out to bat and just pick up anyone's bat and go out and smash the ball everywhere. The point is obvious.
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.
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