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can't put bait blocks down in grain stores because of causing contmination of food stuff,if the vermin were to die in the grain stock or any of the bait was to find it's way into the food stuffs the farmer could potentially lose thousands of pounds in lost revenue,the farmer doesn't have time to put snap traps down or the time to check and empty them,we tried some sticky pads that if the vermin (Mice or rats),walked over they would stick to them and die but the law of the land now says these types of traps have to be checked every half hour,at the moment the air rifle is the only solution,if I shoot any vermin I always pick the body up using a litter grabber and put them in a plastic bag for safe disposal,never touch vermin with your hands as they carry some terrible diseases

 

Rog

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Just to reassure our Colonial members that my comments about air rifles was only aimed at chavvy boneheads from estates that take great delight in maiming cats, dogs, rabbits and any other defenceless

I think you touched on where the snake problem came from, John.   Folks who will stupidly buy an exotic pet and then when it starts to get big and a bit threatening dump it in the Everglades or some o

Noooooooo!  I love little 'cyrils' as our youngest grandson used to call them..

I don't have problems with grain etc, so no problems with bait blocks. How come the grains not in silo's? Barns here are to store machinery in, tractors and implements, or horses.

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Dunno mate,seems all the grains are stored in barns and loaded on the backs of artic lorries via a telehandler or similar,I think form there it might get put in silo's,a artic load (30 ton) fetches about two grand for oats this year so the farmer could lose a fair bit of money for contaminated grains,sugar beets are stored on concrete beet pads at the end of the beet field ready to be transported to the sugar factory,we live near the one at Newark on Trent (about 10 miles away) and there is a very sweet smell in the air if the wind is blowing from that direction

 

Rog

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The grain will be contaminated with rodent crap and pee, and cockroaches. I doubt it would pass the test for human consumption, must be grain for animal feed. Although grain that's had rodents around it is harmful to livestock too.

 

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I find it strange the way grain is stored over here too. I saw a show last year where wheat for bread was stored exactly as Planfit describes. In the next barn was barley for beer again stored in the same way, just tipped out the trailer on to the concrete floor.

 

The legal limit for air rifles in the UK is 12ft lbs of energy and 6 for air pistol heck of a difference to Aus.

 

After that you would need a firearms cert. That would necessitate either....

(a) Being a member of a shooting club with adequate range facilities, after your six month probationary membership you could then apply for your license. Subject to the police enquiries and inspection of your security arrangements you would then get your FAC but this would restrict your shooting to approved ranges only.

 

(b) Having the owners written permission to shoot over private land, the land would be subject to a police inspection to assess it's suitability for FAC shooting keeping the safety of the public in mind, then the same police enquiries into your suitability and security arrangements prior to the issue of certificate. You may then shoot on approved ranges by invitation but to shoot over open land that land will have to have been already inspected for suitability or would need to be inspected prior to you shooting.

 

These are exactly the same requirements as for a .22rf or a full bore rifle.

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Just to reassure our Colonial members that my comments about air rifles was only aimed at chavvy boneheads from estates that take great delight in maiming cats, dogs, rabbits and any other defenceless creature, including children.

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During tests for air gun power it was found out that you only need 6ftlb of power to cleanly kill a rabbit with a head shot,as has been stated in previous posts the legal limit for air rifles in the uk is 12 ftlb,mine is regulated at 11.5 ft lbs so well within the legal limit,I cleany kill pigeons at 30-35 mtrs and rats to 20-25 mtrs,so far I haven't had to use a follow up shot to finish something off and I hope I never do,I have been asked by the local farmer to "get rid" of these pigeons and the odd rat,he didn't ask me to wound them,unfortunately I cant speak for the idiot boneheads who take pleasure in hurting or killing family pets,they themselves should be shot

 

Rog

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Pellets can make a big difference on most air rifles, and usually there is one particular one that suits a gun best.

When I bought my air rifle the gunsmith chronographed it with about 10 different brands and weights. I was then given the print out and a selection of the best performing in both accuracy and power.

 

And I'll agree that my rifle is no good whatsoever in an enclosed shed or grain store, just too powerful, I have considered selling my 0.22lr and buying a .177 low power air rifle just for ratting or pigeons inside. Also simpler to store as no live ammunition to worry about.

 

But nowadays I shoot far less than I did, so will think on it.

 

Recently the dreaded myxomatosis has reappeared here after a wet winter and the rabbit population had declined rapidly, they will come back though, they always do and then usually in plague proportions.

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NBL,I check mine on a chronograph before taking the gun out of a Saturday afternoon,usually comes in between 587 and 596 feet per second,thats using Air Arms field pellets in .22 calibre,took me a while to finally select the AA pellets after trying types reanging from flat headed target pellets through to hollow point hunting pellets even pointed hunting pellets,all of which were below the max legal limit,there is quite a science to pellet selection,weight,amount of lead in them,shape and obviously quality,on an average afternoons shooting I might get through between 4 and 6 pellets and that includes an accuracy shot to make sure my scope is on target,The BSA R10 that I have has a 10 round magazine and is operated via a bolt action so it is pretty quiet and easy to use,none of that break barrel actions like you have with a spring operated gun,in saying that though I do have a couple of spring operated air rifles that I use for target shooting plus my recent aquisition of the 60 year old BSA Cadet Major,dont know if all this waffling on about air guns is of any interest to anyone but if not please ignore it

 

Rog

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I used to have a Webley air rifle. Bought a scope from Smith's the gunsmiths on Milton street (still have the scope). Some of my pals had air rifles, and one in  particular had an American one - can't remember its name, but it was short in length and you pumped it up to a pressure - ie, no spring. He was an aero-modeller and he used to put a couple of drops of engine fuel in the pellet hole and pump up the pressure. In inrush of air used vaporise the fuel and when he fired there was a compression-ignition diesel action. If the pellet did not go through what it hit, then  it made a serious dent in it.

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Interesting reply Chulla,I think the air gun your friend had could have been a Crossman,they were pumped up by pulling the forend away from the underside of the barrel hinging at the front and pumping that,had a go with one back in the 70's,completely different to anything I had used before,start of the modern pneumatic powered airguns,Benjamin (not the Nottstalgia hero),another American company made some airguns with a steel ball resevoir that was pumped up with air as the power source but they were way back in the late 1800's early 1900's,As for your mate using engine fuel to increase the power,yes it would increase but at the expence of accuracy and the possiblility of serious damage to the gun,it's called "dieselling" for obvious reasons,done it myself years ago,it does make an impressive bang and quite a bit of smoke,looked good in front of your pals though,thanks for bringing that memory back to me

 

Rog

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Yes, Plantfit, it was a Crossman. Seem to remember you needed to oil the gun regularly because the engine fuel acted as a solvent and cleaned (degreased) the parts. Also seem to remember that there was no recoil/shock, which, after being used to firing the Webley felt unusual.

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Thats right Chulla,no recoil,I always used to say it's not a proper gun without recoil but have now changed my mind after using my BSA,my spring operated guns have recoil and it's strange after using my main gun,I also have a pistol,Baretta PX4 storm,that is Co2 operated from a little 12 gr capsule,It is of the "blowback" type where the top of the barrel has to be moved backward in order to cock it then when it's fired the top slide "blows back" to re cock the gun ready for firing again,only use that in the garden for a bit of target shooting,interesting you say about having to use oil as a degreasant,if I remebr right the Crossman had a plastic stock,another inovation as a lot of todays new airguns have gone away from Beech or Walnut as the main stock material to using plastics and some have moved over to laminated stocks (posh plywood) some of those do look nice

 

Rog

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Not quite the same subject, I know, but another pal had a shotgun. Not the usual 12-bore but the smaller calibre. He used to empty the shot from the cartridges and replace it with a steel ball, exactly the same as the barrel's bore. That thing had such a great range that he put a scope on it. Problem was, if he hit a duck it would blow it to pieces. 

 

Re above. Oil was not the degreasant, the engine fuel was.

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It's funny how this site brings back memories. I'd completely forgotten I owned a Crossman .22 rifle for a few years. Mechanics were good and shot well, but the woodwork was atrocious.

 

Pneumatic technology changed airguns completely, ease of use and appearance etc. I remember in the late 90's, a one company produced a .22 air pistol that had air cartridges that were pumped up and loaded like bullets into what looked like a real revolver. I saw a chap at a range with one and had a look. I was amazed seeing it, not for how good it looked, but for how easy it could be made to fire .22lr ammo. I'm sure NBL will know about this.

Next thing these were being converted by criminals in large numbers. It was a while though, before they were banned.

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I see now Chulla sorry,model aircraft fuel,I am currently stripping down this old BSA Cadet Major,it's a lot simpler than the newer models of airgun but thats not a bad thing,I think today all modern things are made too complicated from cars to kettles for home repairing/servicing all designed to get more of our hard earned cash,but where would us blokes be if it were'nt for tinkering with stuff (well Benjamin being the exception)

TBI,know what you mean about Weirhauch,I think the German airgun industry came about because of the banning of building weapons after the first world war,German airguns are brilliant from accuracy to build quality to power,The latest Air Arms guns are mainly copies of German Weihrauch

 

Rog

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Plastic you say?  The AR15 is made of mostly carbon fibre  although not an airgun, but a firearm, lower receiver, stock etc all carbon fibre, comes in a range of calibres, but mostly .225.

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All the chat about air rifles reminded me that I've got a Theoben Rapid 7 .22. I've just fished it out, oiled it and recharged the bottle. Just going to check it on the chrono. I used to use it against the many rabbits, pigeons and squirrels we've got round here but, to be honest, I haven't got the heart to shoot at live animals now! Perhaps just a bit of target shooting.

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I have just inherited a Benjamin in good working order one of the old ones with brass air receiver.

 

As to those's revolver with the pump up cartridges yes I remember them very well no skill and very little tinkering to get them shooting live ammo.

 

Talking of recoil I really must learn how to post pics I have some that are quite hilarious. About 30 years ago I was loaned a fully stocked 2bore punt gun for the shop display and a couple of the lads decided they would like to make it go 'bang'. Having obtained permission from the owner (John who owned Epperstone range) we took it up the NADVAS range at Ravenshead along with powder, shot, caps and a roll of pink bog paper for wadding.

Now I'm daft but I am not that daft so left it to two mates Neil & Chris, being scientific they decided the best measure would be a plastic 35mm film can, two for powder and one for shot, they even set up a clay trap. Chris jumps up on a chair with a sweeping brush for a ramrod and they proceed to load this thing.

 

Neil 5ft 6" and 9 stone goes first, ready he yells pull, up comes the gun, huge bang, even bigger cloud of smoke and down goes Neil flat on his back, he told me later that every joint in his body ached for a week afterwards.

 

Chris 6ft and 14 stone is not deterred, reloading the gun he is adamant that he will show us how its done. He steps up to the mark, plants his feet and shouts pull. Up comes the gun again huge bang etc, Chris staggers back about 6 steps but stays on his feet, all looked good until he turned round, broken glasses, and a bloody nose.

 

To this day I don't know which was funnier the sight of those two or the sight of  streamer's of pink bog paper floating across range.

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Good news about the Benjamin,any chance of some pictures? funny about the "should we call them the recoil boys" as you know punt guns are fixed to the punt or other launch not shouldered,last week when I was in the gun shop in Woodhall Spa I noticed the has a matched pair of triple barrelled shotguns in,very nice they looked too,next time I'm in there I might ask to have a look at them closely

 

Rog

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Phil,Theoben went into administration a few years ago,shame really as they made some lovely airguns,as well as the PCP's they also made the Fenman which was a gas ram powered gun as opposed to a spring powered gun,they are still made by a company called "FX Guns" I think,still to the same very high quality,you have a classic gun there

 

Rog

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Rog, how strange is that! The Chris in the above story now lives in Woodhall Spa. Yep it was made in Norfolk for use on the Broads but hey we didn't have a punt.

 

When you go to look at the shotguns take some clean cotton gloves and you might be in with a chance.

 

As to the Benjamin it was left to me by a great friend along with a 1897ish sword stick, beautiful engraved blade by Wilkinson and sterling silver mounts.

 

I will have to get my head round this picture thingy after all one is worth a thousand words as they say.

 

 

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15 minutes ago, plantfit said:

Phil,Theoben went into administration a few years ago,shame really as they made some lovely airguns,as well as the PCP's they also made the Fenman which was a gas ram powered gun as opposed to a spring powered gun,they are still made by a company called "FX Guns" I think,still to the same very high quality,you have a classic gun there

 

Rog

Yes, I'm aware of their demise. It must have been well over 25 years since I bought one and I went to their place in the fens to suss it out. It was no more than a shed ! The next time I went to get new seals they had moved to smarter premises. I actually bought it from Walkers of Trowell together with the large diver's air bottle. When replacing seals it's essential to have a chrono as it's so easy to set it well over the legal limit and the penalties for that without FAC are somewhat severe! I've got a powerful scope and a laser site so I can't miss really!

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  • Cliff Ton changed the title to Air Rifle hunting

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