For the Love of wimpy Springers

JoeWayneRhea

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Apr 5, 2015
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I picked up a Paul Watts Beeman Santa Rosa R7 this weekend in Arkansas at the Airgun Show . 
It is WAY to Easy to get caught up in FPS and ftlb readings and loose the pure joy of shooting a rifle that simply puts pellet on pellet with no effort .
A lot of the joy of Springers is the simplicity, but that gets a lil muddy when talking Nitro Piston, 25 caliber , 900fps rifles . 
Lil rifles like this simply shoot spot on are what true Springers represent to me . Quiet , light , and accurate. Seems simple enough but has become harder to find here in th last few years . I'll be making a video in a day or two ... But for now Bella and I are just sitting outside enjoying the fresh air , and enjoying break barrel rifles at their finest . 
A nice cool drink , a good dog, and an accurate easy to cock rifle .... It's what Airguns are all about for me .
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The R7 keeps pulling at my heart strings too. I keep shooting it instead of my scoped LGV .177 sub 12 ft lb or my RAW HM 1000X .25. 

I put a Williams peep sight on it. I can only see to about 10yds. But I’m having fun and love a the accuracy. I may scope it, but not now. It’s kind of like a super accurate Red Rider with a world class action and stock. 

Below are 5 shots JSB 8.44gr at 10 yds and my baby.... 



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I started with a ARH Feinwerkbau 124D in 1979. Still have it , still love it. Cocks at 18 pounds like the R7 , but over 800 FPS. Anshutz 380 now , but with a Hawke 3X9 scope. Very accurate. New toy , a Diana 54 Air King. That one a cannon ! And my only PCP , a Walther Rotex in .22. Not all that fast , but accurate , and what the squirrels hate. Or at least the one's I miss. I have fun with them all. I have thought about an R7 , but with a FWB 124D , what is the point ?
 
It's all about power these days, it seems. The result is an oversprung abomination with the heft of a Garand, and a firing behavior like a bear trap erupting under your chin.

I enjoy, immensely, plinking with my middle-weight springers. Maybe I'm
only lobbing .22 Hobbies at a puny 500 fps, but you have to be trying real hard to miss with one. 5-6lbs light, and cocks with one finger...

You say your 12 lb rig with 40lbs of cocking force spits out tinfoil pellets @ 1700 fps? You can keep it for me, wouldn't trade a good Diana 27 for 40 of them...
 
I re-entered the air gun world with a Hatsan Model 97 in 2016 and have cycled through a number of spring and gas piston guns since then. As so many others have reported here on AGN, it took me some time to discover my true passion in this sport. I love low power springers and now look for those to the exclusion of all else. Here are my two current go-to guns...
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On the top is my Walmart special: a .177 Crosman F4 in a synthetic Monte Carlo stock, sporting a Hawke 4-16 Vantage scope and a detuned Nitro Piston gas ram. I have no way to chrono it but have compared its shooting behavior and results to my magnum springers of recent acquaintance and believe it is in the low 600's. As with other guns in this thread, this is an all-day shooter with terrific accuracy. I do have a droop compensating rail on this gun, though it is for the Picatinny rail and not so much for droop.

On the bottom is an Air Venturi Bronco in .177, my find at the Toys That Shoot show held in Findlay, OH earlier this year. I've wanted one of these great low-power spring rifles since I read about them on Tom Gaylord's blog. A first rate spring rifle that is a true pleasure to shoot; even the iron sights work pretty well with my poor, tired eyes. To really get the most from it I put a simple 2-7 Barska scope on it and have been having a ball.
 
Good eyes, Gary. That is a 2"x2" treated post that I have set up along the brick wall as part of my 10m shooting lane. The rifles are actually set upon the cheap shelving unit that now serves as my target stand for that lane; I put a box of rubber mulch on it and post paper targets on it or place empty soda cans in front of it. The wood post is where I'll stick some 2-liter bottle caps up using duct seal and challenge the kids to shoot 'em off. Using nothing but "whimpy springers", as Joe Rhea would call 'em, we have a great time.