Spring gun revival (again.....)

[cooper_dan]

Bozzer, I'll write my comment again as you tactically removed the middle line

I shoot a lot of HFT now and I'm trying to get more people shooting springers. As part of this I'm going to be reviewing a whole load of springers next year. Testing loads of things including accuracy at 45 yards. Starting off with budget guns, and hopefully moving up in price/quality as funds or lending allows.
I want to show that springers, even cheaper ones can be accurate if you learn them

I don't want to get lumped in with the 'springers are just as good as PCP's' debate because I never claimed that.

But lets say a group of people were to come up to me and say 'I fancy a go at HFT, what do I need?'
If my reply is, 'you need an HFT500, and some charging equipment, and a £250 scope, and a £70 mat, and some special shoes. Call it a £1300 to be safe'. How many people do you think will end up having a go?
If I said, 'you can start with this springer and scope for £300 and some pellets', I bet a lot more people would try it.

I started a year ago with a Walther Terrus and £50 scope, and had enough fun to get really into it. If I'd been told it was pointless and I needed to spend a grand first I wouldn't have bothered and would probably still be sat in front of my playstation at the weekends.

[bozzer]

Bozzer, I'll write my comment again as you tactically removed the middle line

I shoot a lot of HFT now and I'm trying to get more people shooting springers. As part of this I'm going to be reviewing a whole load of springers next year. Testing loads of things including accuracy at 45 yards. Starting off with budget guns, and hopefully moving up in price/quality as funds or lending allows.
I want to show that springers, even cheaper ones can be accurate if you learn them

Dan

I'm not that bright to be tactically removing anything.

The point I was making is that even if using expensive springers that have been highly tuned, it's no where near as easy, especially for newcomers, to shoot them as accurately as a PCP, and especially when shooting them at various angles and various positions. Hence the comments about testing them at various angles/positions. Loads of talk on the internet about springer resurgence and tuning. There are people who give springers a go at club level on HFT courses, but at National level only a few shoot enough rounds to qualify, and even these dedicated souls don't score that brilliantly on tough courses.

I'm not anti springer ... or anti springer for HFT. I'm quite the opposite. If you've read some of my posts on this topic the point I am constantly making, is that the stable HFT prone stance and the accuracy of 0.177 PCP ( in a variety of angles/positions ) has pushed courses to a point where newcomers turning up with a basic springer will struggle and may not stick at it. Ironically, HFT was designed to give people with basic kit a chance to turn up and do quite well. People, like you mentioned, that have a basic springer and scope, and who don't want to spend several hundred quid on a PCP, scope, bottle, may give it a go with their springers, but may walk away because they score badly on courses that have evolved to test the best shooters with top end PCPs. We'll get people saying that you can win HFT comps with a AA S400 and 80 quid scope ... and you can. Newcomers trying HFT for the first time with a cheap springer on a tough course in some wind ... they will need big hearts to keep turning up and knocking down a low percentage of targets.

If someone said to me that they have a springer and a basic 3-9x40 scope and that they weren't going to buy any more kit but wanted to give HFT a go and asked me if I thought they should ... I'd beg them to go and give it a go, as they will enjoy the banter and atmosphere, but would warn them that it would be tough with a springer and they may not knock a lot down. I'd drag them there and hope they get the bug and then let them decide if they wished to continue shooting springer, or move to 0.177 PCP.

If someone said to me that they wanted to give HFT a go and weren't that bothered about what type of gun they used, but just wanted to knock down as many targets as soon as possible, and they were thinking of either buying a top end springer, spending money having it tuned, popping it in a heavy custom stock, as they'd heard that these are self contained and can be shot as accurately as a PCP, or spending similar money on a S400 and bottle and asked me what I would suggest ... then that's a dead easy answer.

[Zomboid]

I left shooting in the mid 90s with PCPs taking over everything on a range. Although the springer was still king in the field. I've shot PCPs and I even briefly worked for Daystate (this was when they were still being run by Don Lowndes and Mike Seddon and that other chap whose name evades me) and they were releasing their Huntsman with a straight trigger blade and the QC at the time I think. Lovely looking rifles too with the brass cylinders.

I readily admit I'm not a PCPs fan. All I read and hear about are people complaining about losing air, sweet spots, filling cylinders and other niggles. I'm not saying springers are immune but this does sound like a lot of on-going hassle. I've tried shooting them and after 20 shots I hand it back - bored. To some the benefits must out weigh the niggles. And fair play to you.

However, what I think the PCP does better than a springer is allow someone who hasnt shot before the experience of hitting targets consistently - and at long range. This can only be an encouragement to get involved. A PCP is also an excellent way of spotting problems with technique without worrying about hold sensitivity - eg. pulling your shot or for standing targets. At the elder end of the age scale I know of a few older shooters who have had to give up using springers because of the effort so now use PCPs. Again this is brilliant.

I can see the benefits but I'll always be a springer shooter until the moment I can't cock my own gun (fnar). I understand them and I like it that I have to work each shot. I likethe idea of just popping out for a plink with a rifle and a tin of pellets, which I could feasibly shoot all 500 in the tin. If I got into some serious FT/HFT shooting maybe my mindset would change and I'd be saving up for a Ripley or perhaps looking for a JB1.

On the rare occasions I do pit myself against competitors I get a buzz from using my boingers and trying to match the PCP-ers.

Alls fair in love and plinking.