No Fish Stew

[spearheads]

I do a bit riffle hunting but i prefer to shoot field target for SWEFTA.
I use a air arms s400 .177 which was originally a s410 in .22, i got it seriously customised by nick jenkinson 3 times world champ.

I have a few more precharged air riffles and a s200 like huw.
As for shot guns i do a bit of clay shooting with a 12 gauge.
Fac air riffles i have shot a few of them but i dont like them, i like shooting rim fires but at the end of the day a recoil less air riffle is fun to shoot all day.

 

[Mr. X]

Nice gun Huw - looks pretty fancy.

It's funny, I've been thinking about pigeon recently. I have only ever tried it once and then only a mouthful,a long time ago. I inherited an airgun last year (pity about the woodworm!) but haven't picked up any pellets yet. There are pigeons & doves nesting in our garden, which I wouldn't normally bother, but they had a lot of offspring last year. Pigeons were particularly bountiful round here last year -- a real nuisance, flying into car windscreens all over the place. There were a lot of rabbits too. Anyway, I thought I'd wait until the pigeons started tucking into our vegetable patch -- but they never did, they actually fed on insects in the rough ground next to it, which was helpful. Then most left.

BTW I seem to recall those soft, flat head, long skirted, target pellets work better than normal pellets. They make a good seal and seem to fly straight & pack more oomph.

Before anyone asks... the 12g wont sort them out... one shot and there gone for the day onto the next farm, and back the next morning!!!

Our pigeons, doves & rooks are super-sensitive to noises. Firing the airgun (just putting some paper through the barrel to try it out) or twanging a bow string is enough to send the lot 2 fields away. I guess that's how they survived so long.

Optional extras while preparing the pigeon-
One 8 year old daughter shouting dad that’s horrible and one 6 year old son shouting can I have a wing to chase Kayleigh (daughter) with.

Talk about fancy ingredients!

 

[Magpie]

Flat headed pellets are used for target shooting solely because they punch a nice round hole in the paper target. They do not shoot any more powerfully or accurately than dome headed pellets, in fact they will lose more power compared to domes the further away your target is due to the reduced aerodynamic efficiency.

Mate, if you rifle is a spring gun, DO NOT fire it with just bits of paper in the barrel, you'll bugger it right up. You can dry fire pneumatic guns but not spring powered ones. The resistance of a pellet in the barrel damps the piston so it doesn't slam into the end of its chamber.

Here's a quick pic of my main rifles:

 

[spearheads]

nice guns
My next gun is a air arms ev2
What scope are you using , do you shoot comps or not.

 

[Spaniard]

Flat headed pellets are used for target shooting solely because they punch a nice round hole in the paper target. They do not shoot any more powerfully or accurately than dome headed pellets, in fact they will lose more power compared to domes the further away your target is due to the reduced aerodynamic efficiency.

Mate, if you rifle is a spring gun, DO NOT fire it with just bits of paper in the barrel, you'll bugger it right up. You can dry fire pneumatic guns but not spring powered ones. The resistance of a pellet in the barrel damps the piston so it doesn't slam into the end of its chamber.

Here's a quick pic of my main rifles:

Is the top gun the HW100? I am tempted and have picked one up in local gunshop; i've been told that they are one of the better multi-shots?

 

[Magpie]

The scope on the HW is a Simmons Whitetail Classic 6-20x50. Its a great scope, very crisp, and good for hunting rangefinding. No, I don't shoot comps, there isn't any over here!

Yes, it is an HW100, one of the original ones, not the updated version with the better silencer (hence the addition!). Its a lovely gun, you can feel how well engineered it is when cyling the action. I'm sure you'd find lighter, but the extra weight aids stability.

EV2 eh, now thats is a serious air rifle for FT. I love all the little gubbins you can bolt to them.

 

[deep thinker]

I have a 20 year old spring powered airgun I got when I was 5 rofl . For pigeons and such I use a sharp tiped hunting pellet. It can still knock a pigean flat on 20m and has never been serviced or the spring replaced, allthough I do think it will need one in the near future. I didnt even know you get multi shot phneumatic pellet guns... I love mine though and will keep it in the family since it still shoots straight and accurate as an arrow

 

[spearheads]

At my club were i shot nick J runs it , so he is always bringing up new air riffles i saw the ev2 before it was in shops.
He designs air riffles for air arms.
The evt is very well balanced and is amazingly accurate. I only have one springer which is a webley stingwray its in 22. so i rarely use it , also i dont really like springer's due to the recoil.
flat head pellets deliver more power to a target because they dont overpenetrate like a pointed pellet so all the power is delivered to the target. I use them for pigeons at close range.
The pellets i stick with are air arms ft you cant beat them.

The only thing i dont like about the evt is its a bit star wars looking, i like a wooded stock and a deep blueing also a walnut stock is very cool.

 

[Spiderman]

Flat headed pellets are used for target shooting solely because they punch a nice round hole in the paper target. They do not shoot any more powerfully or accurately than dome headed pellets, in fact they will lose more power compared to domes the further away your target is due to the reduced aerodynamic efficiency.

After some initial experiments with pointed and domed pellets I always used flat headed .22 pellets for hunting. I found that every rabbit, pigeon, pheasant or rook hit in the head at 30m with one of these ended up in the bag. Flat may not be the most aerodynamic shape but they are easy to manufacture consistently and they transfer all their energy into the target rather than penetrating through.

 

[Magpie]

For short to medium ranges, yes, a flat head will "hit harder", and of course there are hollow points which are even more effective. One thing to be aware of with flat heads is they are often, though not always, lighter than domes. Thats because they are mostly target pellets so a flatter trajectory is preferred, but because of the lack of weight they do lose power more quickly as well.

At the end of the day for airrifle hunting its all about accuracy, so you should use whichever pellet groups the best in your rifle. For me thats H&N FTT's.

 

[Amphibious]

great thread! how did I miss this? we don;t hunt pigeon here, but have many other upland game birds to hunt in the fall. never been much for airguns, but my single shot .410 does wonders on ruffed grouse:

 

[Mr. X]

Good looking gun & bag of birds Amphibious. I never come across anyone shooting grouse with a .410 before, sounds fun.

Anybody remember the Webley Jaguar? I knew a guy that had one with a telescopic sight. Small, light .177, neat gun.

 

[Amphibious]

Good looking gun & bag of birds Amphibious. I never come across anyone shooting grouse with a .410 before, sounds fun.

gives you the option to shoot them on the wing or on the ground. with a full choke and a small pellet count you can head shoot them when you catch them roosting or hiding in the tall grass, but still knock them out of the air when they flush (if your skill is there)

 

[Mr. X]

gives you the option to shoot them on the wing or on the ground. with a full choke and a small pellet count you can head shoot them when you catch them roosting or hiding in the tall grass, but still knock them out of the air when they flush (if your skill is there)

I think it is considered bad form to shoot sitting birds over here but with a .410 I figured you'd probably need to keep your options open.

BTW they had an amazing range of airguns & equipment at the CLA Gamefair last year. Didn't have time to look at much of it though -- too much else to see.

 

[Amphibious]

here most people shoot them on the ground with .22lr, simmilar to a rabbit hunt as they run more then they flush. theyre usually found in the timber, so wingshooting isn't much of an option, as you end up connecting barrel to bark on your upswing

 

[Oldsarge]

Part o' the reason that the British developed the sport of shootin' flyin' is that British game birds are sportin' gents themselves and will flush t'either the drivers or the dog and give yer a fair blast at 'em. The colonial b*st*rds, on th' other hand, are a skulkin' bunch, don'tcherknow. They'll slip off t' hide behind a tree and make rude gestures when yer ain't lookin'!

 

[wet]

Thence the saying "flip the bird" for the 1 fingered salute...rofl

 

[Mr. X]

Part o' the reason that the British developed the sport of shootin' flyin' is that British game birds are sportin' gents themselves and will flush t'either the drivers or the dog and give yer a fair blast at 'em. The colonial b*st*rds, on th' other hand, are a skulkin' bunch, don'tcherknow. They'll slip off t' hide behind a tree and make rude gestures when yer ain't lookin'!

rofl Yup. I wasn't being judgemental. There are quite a lot of pheasant and partridge round here that are most reluctant to fly - probably natural selection, the flyers tend to get shot.

 

[podge]

Part o' the reason that the British developed the sport of shootin' flyin' is that British game birds are sportin' gents themselves and will flush t'either the drivers or the dog and give yer a fair blast at 'em. The colonial b*st*rds, on th' other hand, are a skulkin' bunch, don'tcherknow. They'll slip off t' hide behind a tree and make rude gestures when yer ain't lookin'!

I say old chap rather un sporting of you boys to slay the game on the ground you know, (all said with a dirty great plum in my mouth)rofl
UUUMMM game pie..
Amphibious nice 2 brace of birds their mate.

 

[naiad]

There are quite a lot of pheasant and partridge round here that are most reluctant to fly - probably natural selection, the flyers tend to get shot.

I'm surprised that we don't have flightless pheasants!