Thanks, it came in the correct timescale of 12-13 weeks, so the application system seems to have run fine. The slot is open for a .22LR rifle of my choice, plus a slot for a moderator too.
So, I haven't been to the range since the birth of my second kid... I have no active permissions... My safe is full... Logically, then, it's time to look at buying ANOTHER AIRGUN. Lookit, would you? How amazingly ugly is that thing? Kral Puncher Armour, a bullpup 12/14-shot PCP with two mags, sidelever, picatinny rail for accessories, adjustable cheekpiece, two-stage trigger. My local RFD has it in .22 calibre, though I'm tempted to ask if he could order one in .177 instead. Also, it comes in BRIGHT CHUFFIN' ORANGE. (Also, green and blue as well as the originally pictured black, but c'mon, orange is clearly the bestest colour.)
Soooooo... I've decided to get back into shooting again after a hiatus of approximately five years, and being in Scotland I now have to apply for an "Air Weapon" licence at a cost of £72. I'm planning to go about this the old-fashioned way, so I'm going to save some dough whilst I wait for the licence to come through (it could take several months) and when the time comes I will hopefully have enough to get a nice rifle/scope combo. At the moment my plan is to go back to a setup akin to what I had before, which was a TX200HC in walnut with a Falcon Menace FFP scope. Ideally I'd like to have a springer and a PCP, but first things first.
Welcome back, Lenny. I did the same with my FAC; I sold my shotgun while the application was going through and bought my 10/22, (used model put aside for me), when the paperwork arrived. Latest acquisition last week: A Ruger hardwood 'deluxe' stock to replace the beech one it came with (Exhibit B). There's the small matter of the tatty varnish to remove and replace (hopefully, if I can work out how) with a satin oiled finish. I've been looking for months, and this came in at a good price on evil bay. Also shown is the new Hawke 3-9 x50 subsonic illuminated bullet drop indicator scope. Next will be some trigger internals, to make it fire more smoothly. Such a great bit of kit, as it's simple, ubiquitous and easy to work on if you have a bit of sense
Look up the Armor-all and Tru oil technique for stock refinishing. I use it on bows and it's amazing.
Thanks Kayin, good to hear from you. I'll have a look and see if those items are available in the UK too!
I sold my shotgun, and my bows are put up, but I still know plenty about gunsmithing. Glad to share that knowledge. If you need help, I'm glad to assist. Just let me know.
[thread necromancy intensifies] Who's up for a bit of detective work? I'm trying to find out what this air rifle actually is. The only marking I can see is 'BAM' on the top, but there's no model number and no other markings or serial numbers in sight, not even on the optics. It's clearly an under-lever springer, and it's .177, but it doesn't look like any BAM air rifles I've been able to find online. I thought it might be a B40, but this one doesn't have the raised cheek pad that the B40 has. The grip pattern on this is also different to the B40. I have no idea how old it is, easily 10-15 years old. For some context and back-story... While helping pack and move stuff out of my mother's house recently, I came across a couple of air rifles that had been kicking around in the loft for a long long time... The above BAM air rifle belonged to my late father - if I recall correctly, he bought this after winning a TV at a clay pigeon shooting contest. I used to shoot an air rifle when I was a younger teenager, and back when I was in the Air Training Corps I also used to shoot live ammunition. We used the .22" No.8 Cadet Rifle as well as the 5.56mm L98A1 Cadet General Purpose Rifle. I had a few marksmanship awards with the .22" back in the day - if this BAM air rifle is actually halfway decent, it's tempting to hold on to it. The only way I'll really know that is if I get it on a range, but I'm loath to do that without it having a thorough cleaning & servicing. Plus it'd be nice to know what I actually have. That was only one of the three air rifles I found up at my mother's house. There was this practically antique Webley springer, which looks like it's missing part of the mechanism that charges the spring: And the very same break-barrel springer I used to plink with back when I was a teenager... This thing was already old by the time I had it!
Looks like an SMK "Custom" DB5 to me, or an older variant, with the rear sight removed and some work on the stock. Cheap, but it looks in good nick - no reason you shouldn't be able to throw some pellets downrange immediately, no need for a full service unless the spring feels weird or the seals have perished.
I knew someone might recognise it, thanks Mr H Will have to see if there's anywhere nearby I can go and at least test it out.
On the subject of shooting I was in the mall shopping last week and came across a gun range in the mall (Canada) it seems it was quite acceptable to rock up pay a few dollars and fire an assortment of pistols and rifles despite no real experience, so I thought why not and had a play with some pistols and rifles. Can you tell I'm crapping myself Red dot sights made things a bit too easy, be assured I killed all the Zombies with headshots I'd like to do some more I never really looked at doing it in the UK, I guess it is possible at some clubs or something.
I also did this but there were options were I could lay down and take a few shots on their long range (300-400 feet), did you?
Popped in to Cardiff Bay Air Target Club yesterday evening. Bit of a problem using this air rifle there though... They follow the ISSF safety rules: Which means: poke a length of... well... strimmer wire, basically, down the length of the barrel in such a way that both ends of the wire are visible from both the breech and the business end. The Range Officer can look down the firing line, see that no air rifle is ready to fire, and therefore knows it's safe to enter the firing range. That works fine for the club's rifles as they're bolt-action PCP rifles - the bolt can be left open and the breech exposed so both ends of the strimmer wire can visibly hang out either end of the barrel. This rifle, however, has a sliding compression chamber. The breech does not open unless you cock the lever. We tried half-pulling the lever to expose enough of the breech to insert a breech flag. That worked fine until I started releasing the handle... which sliced clean through the strimmer wire. One of the guys at the club suggested a bit of gaffer tape to reinforce the wire, and I might give that a go, but I'm concerned about causing damage to the breech seals. I did also think about making or finding some sort of 'plug' to hold the breech partially open, but that means keeping the spring partially compressed. Bother. Still, I did try the club's PCP rifles. I would say that's pretty good considering I haven't touched any kind of firearm - live ammunition or air rifle - in something like 25+ years... But that's with a modern lightweight PCP rifle and a sight that's been set correctly, so may not really be that good...
