Your questions on air rifle maintenance answered 1. How can I tell if my air rifle needs a service? Q: Does my .22 air rifle need a service? I have been using a Webley & Scott Mark 3.22 air rifle, which I acquired new in 1974. It has never been serviced…
Guns
Eley VIP Steel Pro Eco – tested by Sporting Gun magazine
My expectations were not high when I tested the new Eley VIP Steel Pro Eco. But I was floored when I found that they were every bit as good as cartridges with lead shot. I tried to be scientific about testing the new eco cartridges and used a pattern plate…
How to buy a used air rifle
You can save a fortune by buying a second-hand air rifle. But if you don’t know what to look out for, it can also end up leaving you out of pocket. Here’s what to look out for so you make the right decision when it comes to acquiring a pre-owned air rifle.…
Top five PCP air rifles for under £700
Buying a precharged pneumatic airgun (PCP) isn’t cheap. First off there is the rifle, which will cost a few hundred pounds. Then there’s the scope plus the air bottle or pump and that’s going to be around £200. The good news is that after the initial outlay you’ll be set…
English boxlock shotguns for under £5000
If you are looking for an individual, well balanced side-by-side that is good to shoot, then inexpensive English boxlock shotguns always represent value for money. They represent a great way of owning a good quality English shotgun by a recognisable name for a more reasonable sum of money than might…
Will gun cleaning affect the accuracy of my .22 rimfire?
Gun cleaning: I have been told that if I clean my .22 rimfire it will lose its accuracy. Is this true?
Five of the best pre-charged airguns for under £500
Although some people have the skill to shoot very precisely with spring-powered airguns, pre-charged (or PCP) models are generally easier to shoot accurately because they don’t recoil. The extra engineering involved in producing that recoilless firing cycling has tended to make PCPs more expensive than springers, but the price gap…
Why a Baikal should no longer be the butt of jokes
Back in the mid-1970s a group of us regularly used to get together to try for a rabbit or pigeon on a Saturday morning before going on to our pocket-money jobs. Our guns were an eclectic assortment: Mike had a new over-and-under that we all secretly coveted; I used the…
What novice shooters should look out for when choosing a first gun
Step one in buying your first gun is taking advice from someone you can trust. Most gun shops are reliable but I know of one in the Midlands that sold a right-handed gun to one of my friends, for his left-handed son, with the recommendation that it fitted him well.…
Turkish shotguns – definitely worthy of consideration and here is why
Buying your first gun is a genuinely exciting feeling and one of the great pleasures of taking up shooting as a new hobby. A first gun is almost always bought at the budget end of the market, which is now dominated by Turkish guns. It is a shift of power…
Looking at the Miroku MK 6000 SP-1 – a timeless classic
Visit any clayshooting lines or look more closely at the guns being used in international competitions and you will almost inevitably encounter the name of Miroku. This should not come as a surprise as it is one of the undisputed world leaders in firearms manufacturing. That the company would achieve…
Guns for women shooters
Shooting has becoming increasingly popular – and accessible – in the last 20 years and the number of female shooters has risen too. The number of women joining the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) has risen by a third over the past four years and BASC now has…
Will my shotgun be safe with steel shot cartridges?
I would like to try steel shot for wildfowling in my 2.5in chambered gun, but I have been told by some of my friends that I cannot do so unless the gun has been especially proofed to take it.
How I chose my first gun
Kaylie says: “I think when it comes to gameshooting, often a girl’s first experience will be attending to accompany a Gun, rather than shooting herself. In my experience, if you’re fortunate enough to be given a shot or two, typically you’re handed a spare which is the least favoured in…
Fibre wads – it’s time to ditch the plastic
Shooting advice: Can you tell me whether a fibre-wad cartridge in 28g No.5 gives a better pattern than a plastic one in the same size?
If I give them my shotgun licence can somebody else buy me cartridges?
I went shooting on one of the extremely cold days in early December, and when I was cleaning my gun afterwards I noticed that the bores were much dirtier than normal.
Six popular air rifles for under £500
One of the greatest appeals of airgun shooting is its affordability. For a few hundred pounds — and sometimes significantly less — you can pick up an air rifle that should give years of reliable service. With Christmas looming large on the horizon, it is likely more than a few…
Will a budget air-rifle really do the job?
Airguns are not only my hobby, they are also my livelihood, and as someone who subscribes to the adage that you should always use the right tool for the job, I like to use the best shooting equipment that my budget can stretch to. However, not everyone can justify forking…
Would your gun cabinet pass the test?
A muscular man in the middle of the room swung a large hammer up over his head and brought it crashing down on a metal cabinet. It was not an ordinary Wednesday and Utah was not an ordinary destination for a Shooting Times assignment. Browning’s ProSteel gun cabinet factory sits…
Dealing with rats in the hen house
Having an air rifle in the house often proves handy for impromptu backyard pest control. My airguns are called into action in the garden to deal with marauding grey squirrels, but more recently it has been dealing with rats in the hen house. Grain attracts rats We keep hens and…