Q: With all this rain of late, do you have any tips for cleaning my rifle scope and keeping it safe? Bruce Potts, our resident expert gives his advice A: People tend to put a scope on a rifle, then forget about it and never consider cleaning it until something…
Guns
Top 10 reasons to keep an airgun
Using an airgun regularly, especially a springer, can improve your marksmanship. This will also improve your shooting skills with any rifle, even a full-bore. If you can manage the adverse recoil of a spring-powered airgun and shoot accurately with it, you will find shooting a full-bore rifle a cinch.…
Top five PCP air rifles for under £700
Buying a precharged pneumatic airgun (PCP) requires a hefty outlay. The rifle itself will cost several hundred pounds, then you have to buy the scope in addition to the air bottle or pump and that could cost you another £200. However, after the initial investment, you can enjoy relatively cheap…
Is the side-by-side shotgun history?
“Snobbery and inheritance are the only reasons why people use a side-by-side.” So said one keen Shot, once described as the best of his generation. “But I’m not that bothered. I just like to shoot straight.” Once upon a time, the side-by-side was the only gun to use. Turn up for…
What’s a good second-hand rifle for deer stalking?
Q: I want my son to come out stalking with me; he is keen and a good shot. Can you recommend a good-value second-hand rifle? Will any brand be OK providing the rifle meets the right specifications, and if so what specifications should I be looking for? A: It is…
Should I store my gun butt-down or muzzle-down?
Q: I see that from time-to-time there is debate on your website as to whether guns should be stored butt-down or muzzles-down in cabinets. What do you think? A: Mike says: The idea of storing guns muzzles-down is that any oil or cleaning fluid left in the bores runs out on…
FAC air rifles – are they necessary?
One of the perennial issues facing the air gunner who wants to move up to something bigger is where to go next. Likewise, there are also shooters who already have large centrefires, but find that they need to shoot in places where they are way too powerful. In both situations,…
Three value-for-money secondhand semi-auto shotguns
Hatsan Escort Magnum Target Price: £330 In the 1960s, two trend-setting semi-autos were introduced – one from the USA and the other from Italy. Both were no-nonsense guns that became favourites, primarily with clay target and pigeon shooters. The American offering was the Remington 1100, while the Beretta A300 came from Italy. The Remmie was so…
20 popular second-hand all-rounders
If your budget is £750 and under Baikal This is one of my top 10 guns built in the last half century and it’s cheap, reliable with the Baikal reputation for toughness. On most over-and-unders the ejectors can be turned off, and firing the top barrel first is selected by…
A look at three second-hand, low recoil guns
It surprises me that sensitivity to recoil seems to have little to do with physical build. I’ve met guys built like Jack who find recoil painful, and also skinny guys like me who don’t seem to suffer at all. It’s not that I don’t bruise when shooting heavy loads, but…
The history of airguns
Once the playthings of the aristocracy, later silent military killers, airguns have been around in one guise or another for some time. Bill Harriman looks into their history
Three popular game guns to buy second-hand
Mike George’s buying advice for game guns When people ask for multi-use, most experienced shooters recommend a sporter. Sporters are built to tackle our domestic sporting disciplines and similar targets under the international FITASC rules, all of which try to simulate targets encountered in field shooting. Most sporters weigh within…
Five .22 rimfire sound moderators reviewed
As far as noise reduction goes, the humble .22 rimfire has reached its peak, yet the shooting industry continues to enhance, modify and improve methods of suppressing its signature report. Now all we need to do is consider the price, material used, longevity, balance and strippability of the newer designs.…
How to care for your sound moderator
If not, you will have a badly fitted and sometimes dangerous moderator and suffer the consequences of moderator failure long before its sell-by date. It constantly amazes me that some people never clean their rifles, let alone any ancillary equipment – they are just stacking up trouble for the future.…
A closer look at a Baikal shotgun
Considering a Baikal shotgun? Mike George explains why the Russian-built shotgun is one of his top ten guns produced during the last half-century
Will Garfit on cartridges for pigeon shooting
A recent question from a reader asked what cartridges I used for pigeon shooting. The answer is simple: Gamebore Velocity, 28gram loaded with No.7½ shot. But the explanation for my choice is more complicated and requires some explanation. A miss is a miss I am no cartridge or ballistics geek…
Second-hand super semi-auto shotguns
Mike George advises on buying second-hand semi-auto shotguns Over the years the Italians have made some super semi-autos. In the 1970s, Franchi autos were a great favourite among pigeon shooters while some of the Berettas from the 1980s – notably the A302 and the A303 – were legendary for their…
Why the shot in cartridges should be made of gold
Lead has been used for shot and bullets for centuries; not because it is ideal in all applications but because it is the best compromise. It is cheap when compared to many other metals, heavy enough to maintain velocity and energy over relatively long distances and is soft enough not…
Your cartridges are going to cost you more
Thinking of buying new cartridges to replenish your dwindling stock? If so, perhaps you should do it sooner rather than later. The rising cost of lead on the world market in 2016 forced UK cartridge makers to increase prices last month and there’s no guarantee they won’t go up again…
A female Shot reviews cartridges
With the number of female shooters growing, we thought that it was about time we asked a keen female Shot, Laura Ohrman, to review some cartridges for us. She is a keen Gun and was happy to oblige. So she took some slabs out with her on a shoot day with…