Airmasters Mastersport FTS/Vmach

[Muskett]

Thank you for such a detailed and nostalic reply. Certainly you were all adding magic to the factory fodder, and today we are all enjoying the progress made in those early years.
It just can't be overstated enough what real progress was made. Out of the farmyard where it had langished for years to what we expect now.
The tinkering and challenge to better and better performance will always be there. But in the 1970's it was stuck in the mud and it was the 1980's that broke out and took us to another level. Much thanks to those pioneers pushing out the boundaries.

Yesterday I enjoyed shooting a twitchy factory Sport and a fully tuned HW95. To be homest both light weights and twitchy. Get it right and both can shoot straight. I also shot my Park 91 and Theoben SLR-88; both heavy weights and a lot less twitchy. Last week a Venom HW77. Weight and tuning does make an easier to shoot, more accurate spring mousetrap. Its those differences that make it interesting....that and each have such different triggers. Much fun had with the differents combos. It would be dull if all the same.
Such progress in PCP's and optics that possibly its all hitting the wall again. Pellets getting better and better too. Maybe it is coming to the marksmanship again, maybe to what heart rate???? Maybe there is plenty still to go before perfection

[RustyBuzz]

Thank you for such a detailed and nostalic reply. Certainly you were all adding magic to the factory fodder, and today we are all enjoying the progress made in those early years.
It just can't be overstated enough what real progress was made. Out of the farmyard where it had langished for years to what we expect now.
The tinkering and challenge to better and better performance will always be there. But in the 1970's it was stuck in the mud and it was the 1980's that broke out and took us to another level. Much thanks to those pioneers pushing out the boundaries.

Yesterday I enjoyed shooting a twitchy factory Sport and a fully tuned HW95. To be homest both light weights and twitchy. Get it right and both can shoot straight. I also shot my Park 91 and Theoben SLR-88; both heavy weights and a lot less twitchy. Last week a Venom HW77. Weight and tuning does make an easier to shoot, more accurate spring mousetrap. Its those differences that make it interesting....that and each have such different triggers. Much fun had with the differents combos. It would be dull if all the same.
Such progress in PCP's and optics that possibly its all hitting the wall again. Pellets getting better and better too. Maybe it is coming to the marksmanship again, maybe to what heart rate???? Maybe there is plenty still to go before perfection

At the end of the day it always comes back to marksmanship, some will always be better than others and a tiny few operate in a totally different dimension when compared to us mere mortals.

In terms of a rifles capacity to be accurate, I think that the air rifle peaked with the 124. The accuracy we were squeezing out of them when we were young and competing regularly was ridiculous.

From that point most of the advancements have been in terms of 'shootability', making rifles easier to shoot well, making it easier for more people to shoot to a higher standard.

PCPs kind of depress me, to me they're not so much airguns as machines using air as a propellant. An airgun should be self contained. The air rifle was always the hardest form of long arm to shoot to a high standard, the PCP has made it the easiest.

Who knows, maybe that's a good thing? But I can't help feel that we've sold our soles along the way somewhere.

[Shed tuner]

PCPs kind of depress me, to me they're not so much airguns as machines using air as a propellant. An airgun should be self contained. The air rifle was always the hardest form of long arm to shoot to a high standard, the PCP has made it the easiest.

Who knows, maybe that's a good thing? But I can't help feel that we've sold our soles along the way somewhere.

You need to come along to Mick's springer bash - you'll find a large crowd of the same opinion

[RustyBuzz]

You need to come along to Mick's springer bash - you'll find a large crowd of the same opinion

Thanks for the invite.

I have often thought about coming along but life keeps getting in the way, if you know what I mean.

One day.....

[Shed tuner]

Thanks for the invite.

I have often thought about coming along but life keeps getting in the way, if you know what I mean.

One day.....

not much more than an hour for you; Folks drive from all over the country, stop making excuses

[murkywaters]

This advert is from Airgun World July 1986 where they done a feature on Airmasters -

[Mach 1.5]

It could be the case that the 77 FT is rarer than the FTS as people wanted the all singing and dancing FTS, myself included. July 1987 I visited Airmasters, travelled on national express to Luton to be measured for my FTS. I remember going up the stairs and gazing at a least 15 stock blanks and John saying which one do you like? That one there with the nice grain please Mr Welham. Stock only as the action was a venom 77 lazaglide with Mach 1 trigger. I wanted the best of both worlds and this combo had it. Still got the tshirt they did.Mach 1.5