Help a first timer select the proper accessories

[Cpetersen]

Hi all, just stumbled upon this great forum! 
I am in the process of ordering my first airgun and my rifle of choice is an HW97 in .177 caliber. This rifle requires a scope so
I have done some online investigation and come up with a Hawke Vantage 32mm AO since it is my first gun I don't want to spend to much on the combined price of a gun and scope.
But now to the accessories, I will need some scope mounting hardware - I am new to the game so I am completely open to suggestions on this.. Also is a 1piece preferable to a 2piece? Do I need some sort of base adapter underneath the rings?

 

[c_m_shooter]

RWS lockdown mount is hard to beat. My 97 needed the droop compensation that is built into the mount, another guy I know bought a 97 not long after me and his needed a straight mount. Be sure to degrease the rails before mounting and locktite the bolts,just to prevent issues later. Oder a few tins of H+N FTTs and JSB 8.4 exacts. FTTs shoot good out of a lot if not most HW97s, everyone else likes JSBs. Pyramid does buy 3 get one free with pellet orders, they will have the scope base also. Don't worry about accuracy for the first tin or so of pellets (at least not like the groups you see bragged about here), just shoot it and make sure the bolts are staying tight. After it settles in it should be good, they just keep getting better until the spring breaks. 

 

[Cpetersen]

Okay thanks for the advice! I guess it is impossible to know up front if I will need a droop mount or a straight mount, as I will be ordering the mount together with the new rifle.. In your experience is the best bet to go for a straight or a droop?

so I should not expect great accuracy before some 500 pellets have gone through the barrel? The rifle needs to be run in just like a new car motor? 

 

[jonny75904]

I would say a chronograph is the next most indispensable accessory you can have, along with an app called ChairGun. Having a chronograph is, in my opinion, the best way to know what's happening with your gun. Is it gaining power? Losing power? Is one pellet more energetic than another? You will find out your gun "likes" some pellets more than others - my gun shoots JSB Exact consistently, but JSB jumbo varies by up to 35fps with my gun. 

You also want a scope that has mil dots - air rifles are finicky about each pellet brand it shoots. You'll find POI moves around quite a bit between brands, even more so at distance changes. Chair gun calculates and saves tables, charts, and graphs of information, the most useful of which is a table that shows how many mil dots up or down you need to go with your current settings. It is a must have if you plan on shooting at varying distances.

Lastly, get you a good organizer for pellets - I use a bead/jewelry organizer from the craft store. Most of my pellets are stored in their tins, and the ones I want to shoot are in a pocket sized organizer I keep on the bench. I keep a selection of my favorite round domes, wad cutters, hollow points, and super points in a small 6 section pocket organizer for jewelers.

Ive only been active in the hobby for nine months, but the people on this forum are the most indispensable resource for this hobby I have found. Air rifles come with so many nuances and details, there was no way I could have navigated the hobby alone.

 

[JohnL57]

Either a 1 piece or 2 piece mount will work for you, a two piece set of rings will give you more flexibility in positioning the scope forward or rearward for proper eye relief. The HW guns have a very nice series of scope stop holes in the receiver, make sure whatever mount or rings you get have a stop pin. Archer Airguns has a couple videos that explain a lot of the tricks of scope mounting-https://www.youtube.com/user/ArcherAirguns/videos 
I suggest you get a pouch for carrying pellets-Wilkins leather pouches which are spendy but nice, and the good old Crosman pellet pouch is available from Pyramyd and other retailers and is inexpensive. You may want to buy or make a set of shooting sticks. 
Other than that, test different pellets to see which your gun prefers and shoot it a lot. Springers take some getting used to, but my experience with my Beeman R9 (HW 95) was -Set up the scope, sight in, and start shooting tiny groups!
Good luck, don't overthink, and have fun!
John

 

[c_m_shooter]

It probly won't take 500 for the gun to settle, but it may take that for you to figure out how to hold it consistently. Mine doesn't like the artillery hold, I pull it snug to my shoulder with my right hand but must leave my thumb pointed forward. Laying my thumb across the grip throws verticle fliers. I generally use the seated field target position when shooting, so can't offer advice for bench resting it. Different people and different rifles will have different results. I would assume it needs the droop mount.