FAQs
What is the best calibre?
The second most common question. Basically .177 for target shooting and either main calibre for hunting. .22 is still more popular for hunting, especially for close range vermin control such as ratting. .25 is only good for close range at 12ft/lb, however comes into its own at 50 ft/lbs.
How many fills do I get from a bottle?
You can calculate the approximate number of fills you can obtain from your cylinder using this program
I bought a pump but it won't fill my gun.
The most common reason is the hose and connectors have not been tightened properly when the pump was taken out of the box and connected together. Hand tightening is not good enough.
My scope does not have enough elevation adjustment , I cant zero it in.
A very common problem. Most scope blocks or rails are parallel to the bore of the barrel , so line of sight and trajectory never coincide. As scope have a limited degree of adjustment, often it can be insufficient to permit vertical zero adjustment.
There are two solutions: Pack the rear mount between the scope tube
and mount with shimming material ( two slivers of film negaitve is most
regularly used ) which lifts the back of the scope up giving more
elevation adjustment. Note that you want to use as little as possible
packing.
My scope is moving off zero
A very common cause of zero shift is scope creep. i.e the scope moves within the mounts or the mounts move along the rail . Check the mount screws are tight or upgrade your mounts.
When I fit a silencer the trajectory drops, has the silencer affected the power of my gun?
Generally no, extra weight on the barrel reduces muzzle flip from recoil or the rocket effect in a precharged gun. If the muzzle doesnt lift as much, the gun will shoot slightly lower. If your group sizes are unaffected by the silencer fitting, all is well.
I have fitted a silencer, I can't hit a barn door.
First, make sure the silencer is tight, especially if is on a screw thread. If the baffles can be aligned (such as the Parker Hale silencer) then make sure they are inline with the tool provided. Also check that your groups have not just dropped due to the problem above. Sometimes the silencer is not to blame, we have known screw threaded barrels to not be threaded straight. Trying a different silencer on will test this.
My gun is inaccurate.
A very broad question, with lots of possible answers:
- Loose stock screws are very common. Keep them tightened. Dont forget to use the correct screwdriver. Gun screws have parallel sided slots, so a gunsmiths screwdriver is a good idea. Overtightening can compress the wood and damage the stock.
- Loose sights. Either open sights or scopes. We see hundreds of guns with bits hanging off, you need to keep the screws on the scope mounts tight, some people use blue loctite to stop them vibrating loose.
- Pellets. Try another brand, even the best pellets can have a bad batch. The best or most expensive pellets are not neccessarily the best for your gun, but cheap pellets usually are false economy, leading to poor accuaracy and fouling problems. We recommend Daystate FT pellets.
- Dirty barrel. Airguns do foul their barrels , by a build up of small particles of lead and lubricants in the rifling. Please see the barrel cleaning section. Your barrel should be cleaned at least every 5,000 pellets:- more for high powered rifles.
- Incorrect shooting technique. Yes, you need to know what you are doing to improve accuracy. Don't expect even the best rifles to shoot themselves, you need to practise, and learn basic shooting techniques to get the best out of your gun.
There are lots of articles on the internet and lots of books available, but here are two points that are very important:
- Hold your airgun loosely against your shoulder and let it recoil freely when you fire it. Don't pull it in hard into your shoulder or grip the forend and don't rest it on a hard surface. This affects the recoil and has the side effect of scratching your stock. Let it recoil and vibrate freely - don't try to prevent it.
- When you pull the trigger and you feel the recoil cycle of the gun, the pellet is only just starting up the barrel. The firing cycle also known as lock time is quite slow on an airgun, so you need to stay on target for a little longer, in fact I often like to see the impact of my pellet before moving off the sight picture. With a recoilless gun you will start to see the pellet in flight with a bit of practice. This will be a big benefit to your accuracy.
There are lots of other things to consider, such as breathing techniques, your stance and trigger control but a lot of practice and some research either from shooting clubs and / or internet will help you out. Happy shooting!