Why do you still shoot springers?
- Thread starter Nico5999
- Start date
Like we all have said, it's the simplicity but here is another aspect that suites me personally. Even though I'm retired and can shoot pretty much whenever I want, I don't. I do plenty of other things, mostly chores and jobs around the house. I rarely spend a day or even half a day shooting but I will take a break from something like picking up firewood, make a cup of tea and spend some time picking off reactive targets, spinners or whatever. When the itch is scratched I just put the gun back in the corner and keep moving. No clackity clack pumping or worrying about how full the reservoir is. I like the fact that I can easily fit some shooting into my day rather than having to schedule shooting into my day.
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Simplicity and cost. No tanks required, no compressor, and forget the idea of a pump for pressures required. Right now I have 4, an old FWB 124d, and 300s, a HW 97kt, HW 98 and a Diana 54 AirKing Pro. A HW 77 is scheduled for delivery tomorrow. I can simply walk out cock, load a pellet and shoot and not worry about anything else. I am beginning to think about another more simple break barrel such as a HW30 or 50, but that will be a few months away.
I did forget to mention the Beeman Original 6 and a HW 45 pistols.
I did forget to mention the Beeman Original 6 and a HW 45 pistols.
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Nico5999 "first "good" one was a Beeman R10 in .20" and it's still a part of my collection "and" it's paid for itself numerous times over, BTW it's the Beeman R10D in .20 as well. As I began to ripen, I began to step up my game with springers buying the HW97 in .177 and then the TX200 in .177, the FWB124 not to mention the FWB300 as well and the RWS75 that I gave to a friend that introduced me into "adult precision airguns" many years ago. They are still a part of my collection that I take pride in and they are going to be here long after I'm gone. Please forgive me for not answering your question directly but when I saw/read your post, I could not resist because this is where my addiction began and the "dark side" is where it's ended!
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Biggest reason is that you don’t need an air tank. Just pellets and the rifle. Plus, if you can shoot a springer right, you can shoot anything right. So it’s best to learn with a springer first and to continue shooting so that you understand the shot cycle. It’s cheap, it’s easy, and most of all it’s fun. You can practically shoot a springer effectively up until 24ish F.P.E., but more than that you get too harsh a shooting cycle. Only reason to get a PCP is if you want to shoot 30+ F.P.E. without the harsh shooting cycle and for longer ranges. I think a lot of the higher end springers can easily compete with the PCPs up to 50 yards. Beyond that though…PCP takes the win. That being said I enjoy shooting my springers more…takes more skill and feeling the recoil is good. Aesthetically, they feel and look better too.
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I shoot both pcp and springers, but I have far more springers and I shoot them more. It seems the consensus here is their "simplicity" rules. I agree and to expound on that; I like that if I were to buy a new springer, the manufacturer won't be bringing out improved version of it within months. No "forced" upgrades or keeping up with the Joneses. Don't get me wrong, the innovations within the pcp realm are fantastic, I'm just not going to bother to keep up with them.
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Would like to get another springer ( mine broke beyond repair) but I need backyard friendly when it come to how loud the rifle is. Also like not to have just a single shot then reload. But hey it’s good to hear all of your stories about your favorites!
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Well I have 4 PCP and 1 break barrel. RWS in .177 and it's was my first adult pellet gun. When your setting in your reloading room flip the window open and splat a poop bird at 50 yards and blast a pellet through your old satellite dish it's a good thing. You can never get rid of old reliable springer air guns. A little oil and a tin and your of behind the house no fuss with all the magazines and extras. But I do love my FXS !!
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Howdy folks! I finally got around to coming back after spending so much time dealing with an ID thief. I still own the Crosman model #70. 1973 first year & low serial number as well. A couple years ago now, I went on eBay looking for scopes of a more vintage nature. To my surprise, I found a Weaver 3 or 5x (yeah, you read that right) KV60 built from 1950-1963 for the pre-64 Winchester model 70 for $77. Still has the original mounts on it in the original position. I had to change the " rifle bases" from tapped to grooved by way of UTG to mount it. Otherwise, it dropped right into place just right! It just goes to show how accurately Crosman replicated the Model 70 " Ranger" base model. You can look through the scope to see the magnification go up or down while you turn the smaller rearward knob. It was built before they later made them with click stops in this model, closer to '63. One of the first variable power scopes to come out at that time. I also bought an extra stock for it to practice with my checkering tools. If/When I ever get around to it. I bought the checkering jig for the job as well. I intend to do the model 70 Standard checkering on it. The tools I have are the same 18LPI that Winchester used. Anyway, here's some pics;
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pdxFrank
Guest
does this count as a "springer"? what a quiet and accurate gun!
gun, ammo, target, all ya need. no messin' around with pumps, tanks, compressors, or wondering where in the shot-count i am.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgdJ5B-OK50
gun, ammo, target, all ya need. no messin' around with pumps, tanks, compressors, or wondering where in the shot-count i am.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgdJ5B-OK50
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In addition, I generally like break barrels and Co2 rifles/pistols as the meat & potatoes of the airgun world. Still a couple hundred, but grab-n-go without all the extra equipment. I also have and like this Remington 725VTR .25M gas ram break barrel. Some 928FPS. I had it masked and dipped in Realtree Edge camo by Mid Ohio Hydrographics over in Medina. I won the Sonicking 3-9x40AO scope from a Youtube giveaway Cyclops did some time ago now. Large eyepeice allows for quick target acquisition. Hit's with a Crack at POI. Recoil is a bit different as well.
As bought when Crosman & Remington settled in Bankruptcy court and it finally arrived;
And as it is now;
As bought when Crosman & Remington settled in Bankruptcy court and it finally arrived;
And as it is now;
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pdxFrank
Guest
today's planned outing... keeping it simple! 
EDIT: gun's better than I am. a fine plinker for not a lot of $$$. 1-inch groups at 25Y, open-sights, almost too easy...
https://www.instagram.com/tv/Cbs2H8MFF4h
EDIT 2: that was so much fun, gonna do it again tomorrow. my motto "KEEP IT SIMPLE"
EDIT: gun's better than I am. a fine plinker for not a lot of $$$. 1-inch groups at 25Y, open-sights, almost too easy...
https://www.instagram.com/tv/Cbs2H8MFF4h
EDIT 2: that was so much fun, gonna do it again tomorrow. my motto "KEEP IT SIMPLE"
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pdxFrank
Guest
This is way more rewarding than a gun that does all the work for me.
(funny how it gets more accurate the more i shoot it! )
today's practice session. eager to get back out, just came in long enuff to edit, upload and share.
(ugh, just noticed, in time for the rain to start )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_NkveaNRrE
the red bullseye is 3/4", target is 25Y away, open-sights, benchrest w/tripod
(funny how it gets more accurate the more i shoot it!
)today's practice session. eager to get back out, just came in long enuff to edit, upload and share.
(ugh, just noticed, in time for the rain to start
)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_NkveaNRrE
the red bullseye is 3/4", target is 25Y away, open-sights, benchrest w/tripod
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Well, this is going to be a novel when I’m done. I have run through quite a few airguns since about 2010. Not near as many as some of you, but probably a couple of dozen breakbarrels and a few low end PCP rifles. I’ve never kept more than 5 or 6 air rifles around at a time, usually more like 2 or 3. All shooters that saw a lot of use.
A .177 Stoeger X10 got me started as an adult, I killed a lot of critters with that gun and did my first de-bur and lube tune. I put a CDT trigger in it as well. At one point I would burn more than a tin a day on Saturday and Sunday and became obsessed with learning to shoot my cheap breakbarrel more accurately. From there I probably bought, lube tuned, and tinkered with every variant of a Stoeger breakbarrel. Plus others, Crosman, Gamo, etc. If CDT made a trigger for it I put one in it.
Then I went through magnum-itis. Walther Talon Mag, Benjamin Trail XL, Ruger Air Magnum, Flying Dragon XS28M to name a few. For a couple of years I hunted exclusively with the XS28M in .25. Killed a lot of critters including armadillos, loved it for frogs because it messed them up bad enough that they could not get away. Busted them open good. Changed the game frog gigging with that one. And most importantly it was very accurate.
So naturally I moved up to a PCP right? Started off with a Gamo Urban. Accuracy issues due to the baffles clipping pellets, but I was able to get the baffles out without destroying it. Two pins push out, out comes end cap and baffles. It was a very accurate rifle but I really didn’t like the trigger and I didn’t want to modify the baffles. Trigger was very light but soooooo long and mushy. Also I was not happy with my shot string, for extreme accuracy it was good for little more than a magazine. Plus the magazine jammed a lot, and was too expensive to replace. I returned it, and I fell back on the trusty XS28M.
At some point I got a Benjamin Discovery in .22. A very accurate gun but pretty loud for the power it produces. Tried to put some BKL rings on the narrow dovetail, stripped them out before they even started to clamp. Also, obviously not nearly as robust of build as a springer. I found the trigger lacking but I replaced the trigger spring and voila! Overall it was a pretty good gun.
Eventually ended up with a BSA Buccaneer. It’s a decent gun but I just never fully embraced pumping the thing up all the time. Same deal as the Urban with the shot string, the gun had potential to put them all in one tiny hole of you were ready and willing to refill after every mag- but not completely refill! In the sweet spot only. So it was pretty limited for extreme accuracy in the field. Didn’t have issues with jamming in this one but I was worried about that too after my experience with the Urban. Not to mention the feel of the breakbarrel vs the low end PCP. And it was very loud, not backyard friendly. So I sold both the BSA and the Disco along with all the rest of my airguns at the time except my RWS 34, and put that money into a Beeman R9 and a nice scope. What a game changer, I wish I would have started there.
Eventually I passed my RWS 34 on to my youngest boy. The only air rifle in my possession now is the Beeman R9. Here is a .177 gun that shoots about a inch at 50 yards in a light, variable crosswind with good pellets. Will put Crosman hollow points through a tiny ragged hole at 25 yards. It can hit spent .22LR shells from 25 yards on demand. On a dead calm day, you would not believe what it can do unless you were there. Crow hunting with my daughter one day she picked out the tiniest targets, juniper berries, etc and I took them out with this gun with not a single miss.
The shot cycle is “boing”, not as bad as a red Ryder but the spring noise and vibration is apparent. It does not effect accuracy at all. A little bit hold sensitive but we are talking about no more than 1/4” difference in POI at 25 yards, for holding the forearm and leaning the off hand against a fence post instead of using artillery hold near the trigger guard off a shooting bag. If you can shoot steady off hand it’s not even an issue. You could do a whole lot worse shooting two mags off one fill and falling off the sweet spot in a low end BSA/GAMO pcp.
Finally, there is something to be said about the sturdiness of a breakbarrel. Never, not one time have I worried about changing the POI of a break barrel because I tossed it in the back seat, knocked it over, or left it leaning in the corner too long. With a PCP gun I was ALWAYS worried about that. There are a small handful of PCP’s that could realistically take a good knock on the muzzle and still hunt. But with a breakbarrel, the barrel is the cocking handle. It requires sturdiness of a firearm to do what it is supposed to do. Only a small handful of PCP’s can hang with a breakbarrel in that department.
The R9 cost just a little bit more than those PCP’s, unless you add a fill source. For the price of a low end PCP and a low end hand pump you can get Top Notch Craftsmanship and Quality in a good spring gun, and probably put decent glass on it too. Resale on a Beeman R9 is a whole lot better than any PCP near the price. In todays market I could probably get what I paid for my R9 a year or two ago.
If I were to go back to a PCP I might spend a couple thousand dollars to find a rifle as robust as even a cheap breakbarrel. If I had the disposable income I would probably get an Evol. I think that is the ultimate PCP hunting rifle, but it would never replace my R9. To be really honest I’d rather get a laminate RWS 54, I lust for that rifle- ever since Hector Medina posted about it on GTA. Way back when, before I was banned, lol. Well I guess it was not THAT long ago.
A .177 Stoeger X10 got me started as an adult, I killed a lot of critters with that gun and did my first de-bur and lube tune. I put a CDT trigger in it as well. At one point I would burn more than a tin a day on Saturday and Sunday and became obsessed with learning to shoot my cheap breakbarrel more accurately. From there I probably bought, lube tuned, and tinkered with every variant of a Stoeger breakbarrel. Plus others, Crosman, Gamo, etc. If CDT made a trigger for it I put one in it.
Then I went through magnum-itis. Walther Talon Mag, Benjamin Trail XL, Ruger Air Magnum, Flying Dragon XS28M to name a few. For a couple of years I hunted exclusively with the XS28M in .25. Killed a lot of critters including armadillos, loved it for frogs because it messed them up bad enough that they could not get away. Busted them open good. Changed the game frog gigging with that one. And most importantly it was very accurate.
So naturally I moved up to a PCP right? Started off with a Gamo Urban. Accuracy issues due to the baffles clipping pellets, but I was able to get the baffles out without destroying it. Two pins push out, out comes end cap and baffles. It was a very accurate rifle but I really didn’t like the trigger and I didn’t want to modify the baffles. Trigger was very light but soooooo long and mushy. Also I was not happy with my shot string, for extreme accuracy it was good for little more than a magazine. Plus the magazine jammed a lot, and was too expensive to replace. I returned it, and I fell back on the trusty XS28M.
At some point I got a Benjamin Discovery in .22. A very accurate gun but pretty loud for the power it produces. Tried to put some BKL rings on the narrow dovetail, stripped them out before they even started to clamp. Also, obviously not nearly as robust of build as a springer. I found the trigger lacking but I replaced the trigger spring and voila! Overall it was a pretty good gun.
Eventually ended up with a BSA Buccaneer. It’s a decent gun but I just never fully embraced pumping the thing up all the time. Same deal as the Urban with the shot string, the gun had potential to put them all in one tiny hole of you were ready and willing to refill after every mag- but not completely refill! In the sweet spot only. So it was pretty limited for extreme accuracy in the field. Didn’t have issues with jamming in this one but I was worried about that too after my experience with the Urban. Not to mention the feel of the breakbarrel vs the low end PCP. And it was very loud, not backyard friendly. So I sold both the BSA and the Disco along with all the rest of my airguns at the time except my RWS 34, and put that money into a Beeman R9 and a nice scope. What a game changer, I wish I would have started there.
Eventually I passed my RWS 34 on to my youngest boy. The only air rifle in my possession now is the Beeman R9. Here is a .177 gun that shoots about a inch at 50 yards in a light, variable crosswind with good pellets. Will put Crosman hollow points through a tiny ragged hole at 25 yards. It can hit spent .22LR shells from 25 yards on demand. On a dead calm day, you would not believe what it can do unless you were there. Crow hunting with my daughter one day she picked out the tiniest targets, juniper berries, etc and I took them out with this gun with not a single miss.
The shot cycle is “boing”, not as bad as a red Ryder but the spring noise and vibration is apparent. It does not effect accuracy at all. A little bit hold sensitive but we are talking about no more than 1/4” difference in POI at 25 yards, for holding the forearm and leaning the off hand against a fence post instead of using artillery hold near the trigger guard off a shooting bag. If you can shoot steady off hand it’s not even an issue. You could do a whole lot worse shooting two mags off one fill and falling off the sweet spot in a low end BSA/GAMO pcp.
Finally, there is something to be said about the sturdiness of a breakbarrel. Never, not one time have I worried about changing the POI of a break barrel because I tossed it in the back seat, knocked it over, or left it leaning in the corner too long. With a PCP gun I was ALWAYS worried about that. There are a small handful of PCP’s that could realistically take a good knock on the muzzle and still hunt. But with a breakbarrel, the barrel is the cocking handle. It requires sturdiness of a firearm to do what it is supposed to do. Only a small handful of PCP’s can hang with a breakbarrel in that department.
The R9 cost just a little bit more than those PCP’s, unless you add a fill source. For the price of a low end PCP and a low end hand pump you can get Top Notch Craftsmanship and Quality in a good spring gun, and probably put decent glass on it too. Resale on a Beeman R9 is a whole lot better than any PCP near the price. In todays market I could probably get what I paid for my R9 a year or two ago.
If I were to go back to a PCP I might spend a couple thousand dollars to find a rifle as robust as even a cheap breakbarrel. If I had the disposable income I would probably get an Evol. I think that is the ultimate PCP hunting rifle, but it would never replace my R9. To be really honest I’d rather get a laminate RWS 54, I lust for that rifle- ever since Hector Medina posted about it on GTA. Way back when, before I was banned, lol. Well I guess it was not THAT long ago.
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And I wish I still had my .25 Walther Talon Mag. The bore was slightly oversized but it fit the Eun Jin super heavy pellets perfectly and shot them well. What a wrecking machine, I miss that rifle!
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I'm in my mid-70s and shoot PCSs 90% of the time. That said, there are times when I enjoy picking up my Beeman R7. While it is easy to deploy, I think the main reason I go there is because it gives me some sense of being a kid again. I grew up with a Daisy BB rifle, and then a multi-pump pellet rifle. When I shoot the little R7, it brings back great memories of my youth. I've heard a number of guys say, and I think I agree, that this will be the last gun I'd let go of.
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I don't own and won't ever own a PCP. I have 8 Weihrauch spring rifles and one spring pistol.
My reasons for owning springers in order of importance.
1) makes me feel like a kid again.
2) simplicity/reliability - there's little to go wrong on them. Reliability is a paramount quality for me.
3) Portability - There's no need for special support equipment. Just grab the gun and pellets and you're off.
4) Accuracy - with practice there's more enough accuracy for practical purposes.
5) Springers typically look and feel like a traditional rifle.
6) Heirloom quality -At least the one's I own are something I can proudly leave to my boys.
I love my springers. I can't justify buying a PCP because the power to dollar ratio is very very low. There's far more economical and better platforms out there (when allowed).
Of my 8 Weihrauchs and ALL my other types of rifles I enjoy shooting my Hw30s the most. They will be the last to go. Their simplicity, accuracy and ease of use make them a true joy. There's something about them that me feel more like a kid again than any other rifle. I'm into air rifles for fun and the Hw30s are the most fun for me.
My reasons for owning springers in order of importance.
1) makes me feel like a kid again.
2) simplicity/reliability - there's little to go wrong on them. Reliability is a paramount quality for me.
3) Portability - There's no need for special support equipment. Just grab the gun and pellets and you're off.
4) Accuracy - with practice there's more enough accuracy for practical purposes.
5) Springers typically look and feel like a traditional rifle.
6) Heirloom quality -At least the one's I own are something I can proudly leave to my boys.
I love my springers. I can't justify buying a PCP because the power to dollar ratio is very very low. There's far more economical and better platforms out there (when allowed).
Of my 8 Weihrauchs and ALL my other types of rifles I enjoy shooting my Hw30s the most. They will be the last to go. Their simplicity, accuracy and ease of use make them a true joy. There's something about them that me feel more like a kid again than any other rifle. I'm into air rifles for fun and the Hw30s are the most fun for me.
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Quick southern analogy of why: A PCP is like the hot stripper at the club, Fast and Sexy but costs you A LOT of money. Where as a Springer is like your wife, reliable and always there when you need her. I have both but LOVE my springer!
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