Airgun Obsessions of The 70s

[Elwellaxe]

Good post this one, hope it runs for while, I had ascended to firearms by then but have come back to airguns since ammo prices & reloading components have gone crazy, now I know what I've been missing.
Elwellaxe.

[Powderfinger]

Big objective lenses (possibly more of an eighties thing) to let more light in. Affordable night vision for hunters and the nuances of depth of field for target shooters have replaced the big lenses.

.22 was the same calibre as the most popular firearms so it had to be better. .177 was for effete Continentals. Bigger was usually considered better in the seventies (industries, engines, movies, LPs were doubles or even triples, hair, hems of your jeans and…other things).

Everyone knew of someones brother who had a superpowered airgun that could shoot through both sides of a metal dustbin. Truth be told it was most likely doing about ten foot pounds.

[rapidresponse1]

always tried for head shots in the 70s with my springer

[MrGreengrass]

Accuracy, quality power, sturdy mounts .
My obsession still remains from then.
Have recently bought a nr mint FWB 124, 11.5 ftlb
I fitted it with a Sportsmatch op adj mount and a Bushnell Legend.
Running on either QYS 9.56 domed or JSB Exact.
Seriously good performance still ,out of a 40+yr old gun.
The 124's are still the business, especially when they were fitted with the 300S barrels...and now ..the really good ammo...wow.

[MartynB]

Big objective lenses

Optima Moonlighter

[where's it gone]

Things that used to concern airgunners in the U.K. in the late 70s early 80s included Â…

5. Twelve Foot Pounds. 12 fpe is just another power level to todays shooters, albeit the threshold for an FAC so quite important. Back in the 70s rifles that could actually get close to this number were held in awe. No one had a chronograph so no one really knew how powerful their guns were. .......

I disagree. My local gun shop always had a copy of Yellow Pages.
After 'tuneing' a HW 77 he proudly showed how many pages the pellet went through !

[TonyL]

Excellent OP, bringing back many of yesteryear's flavours.

Yes to the comments over the old Eley Wasp and FWB Sport. And I lusted over many of the exotic sounding German match rifles and their quality of engineering. It wasn't to be for many years afterwards until I finally got a 300S of my own.

Obsessions....."slipperiness" from moly.....Dri-Slide,, LT2 and SM50. As above, properly made mounts. And, when they came a little later, the Venoms and Airmasters tuning & customising houses.

[TonyL]

Oh yes, just for Pete......and the rifle is as viable now as it was back then......THE HW35!

[4end]

[QUOTE=Hsing-ee;8289765]Things that used to concern airgunners in the U.K. in the late 70s early 80s included
2. Headshots or heart/lung shots? Enough said. With most spring guns grouping about 1-2” at 20 yards with the pellets of the time, you can see how this was a thing.

Prior to all in the 70/80's in the mid 60's I had a Haenal in 177 that was so accurate I could take pigeons out of the top of the tall Elms that existed before Dutch Elm disease. The aim point was always the white check on the base of the pigeons neck, hit that and the bird would fall. Later rifles in the 70/80's included Original 35 in 22 and a 50 in 177 both OK but not as powerful as the modded Sharp Innova that must have been way,way above the limit that we have today. Scoped and after 40yds the pellet could heard passing through the brambles after passing through a rabbits head. As to its accuracy it must have been good as I do not remember missing much. In 83 I had a HW35, so different to the other rifles of the time, I kept it 3 weeks and have hot had another HW since.

3. Open sights or a scope? Many thought a scope would mean trigger snatching as the crosshairs danced over the mark, or that hunters would try to shoot quarry at unrealistic distances. Fogging & fragility were also seen as minus points.

My first scope was a 2.5x32 Viking that was used for a period before the cross hair wires broke from continual recoil. The magnification was so low it never warranted anything above 35 yds. After it broke I went back to open sights and did not buy another scope for years. I often think it could be in use today if I had left it on the Sharp.

[WILBA]

[QUOTE=4end;8290345]

Things that used to concern airgunners in the U.K. in the late 70s early 80s included
2. Headshots or heart/lung shots? Enough said. With most spring guns grouping about 1-2” at 20 yards with the pellets of the time, you can see how this was a thing.

Prior to all in the 70/80's in the mid 60's I had a Haenal in 177 that was so accurate I could take pigeons out of the top of the tall Elms that existed before Dutch Elm disease. The aim point was always the white check on the base of the pigeons neck, hit that and the bird would fall. Later rifles in the 70/80's included Original 35 in 22 and a 50 in 177 both OK but not as powerful as the modded Sharp Innova that must have been way,way above the limit that we have today. Scoped and after 40yds the pellet could heard passing through the brambles after passing through a rabbits head. As to its accuracy it must have been good as I do not remember missing much. In 83 I had a HW35, so different to the other rifles of the time, I kept it 3 weeks and have hot had another HW since.

3. Open sights or a scope? Many thought a scope would mean trigger snatching as the crosshairs danced over the mark, or that hunters would try to shoot quarry at unrealistic distances. Fogging & fragility were also seen as minus points.

My first scope was a 2.5x32 Viking that was used for a period before the cross hair wires broke from continual recoil. The magnification was so low it never warranted anything above 35 yds. After it broke I went back to open sights and did not buy another scope for years. I often think it could be in use today if I had left it on the Sharp.

I have a Viking in the cabinet somewhere that came on my theoben olympus.