SPECIAL FEATURE: SIX OF THE BEST

Created on 14th May 2009

In the first of a two-part feature PETE WADESON gives an overview of six of the best air rifles that suit hunting as much as they do HFT competition - this month looking at springers

HFT competition shooting would have on the sport of shooting with air rifles. A lot of effort goes into these competitions and I admire the enthusiasm and skill of the participants. The air rifles that competitors seem to favour are also often chosen purely for hunting (little wonder due to their quality and performance). Then again, that's what HFT is - a competition run over a simulated ‘hunting' course with targets at different ranges, angles and set in hunting scenarios. So here are six of the best springers for HFT competition. All have dovetails for scope fitting, with the exception of the BSA Lightning which has a special raised and buffered scope rail.

BSA Lightning Standard

Many shooters seem to have forgotten the original BSA Lightning but it's still in production and now known as the Lightning Standard. Originally based on the company's Supersport action, the rifle is a superb value for money air rifle that'll smack the knockdowns. Since its inception, other variants such as the Lightning Deluxe (Walnut Stock), Lightning XL and Lightning XL Tactical (Synthetic Stock) have emerged, but the Standard doesn't deserve to stand in their shadow.

In terms of the stock, BSA is now applying chequering to both forend and grip by way of two sets of stylish panels on either side of the rifle. The cheekpiece is quite shallow, with the stock having a rich, dark brown stained beech wood and ventilated black rubber butt pad. The woodwork is quite lengthy in comparison to the action. This helps the rifle have an inherent ‘correct' balance so it handles exceptionally well.

More good news is, since the XL variants, the company has improved internal spring dampening on all BSA spring-powered rifles.

It has a very smooth cocking stroke and locks up very solidly due to the upgraded design at the breech detent. This upgrading also gives an incredible smoothness of the firing cycle and a lack of recoil. It hardly nudges in the shoulder on firing and has a very fast ‘lock time.'

The Maxi-Grip scope rail is still one of BSA's highly praiseworthy features. The trigger is set in the BSA trademark rolling wave trigger guard, and the unit has completely changed from the very early models. Wisely, BSA has installed the new trigger units found on the XL variants. That means the two-stage adjustable unit now boasts a nicely curved metal trigger blade with a rounded inner profile. This gives a nice feel when taking up the pressure of the first stage before squeezing through to take the shot. The safety has the more finger-friendly serrated plastic-capped top. It moves forward to put the rifle on fire and rocks back very positively to put it on safe.

The chunky Volumetric silencer has also been upgraded. A dull ‘thock' is the only report heard on firing and it also acts as a very handy cocking aid. The BSA Lightning Standard is a predictable and easy rifle to shoot. It has excellent accuracy potential with handling properties to boot.

Gamo Shadow RSV

This is one of Spanish gun manufacturing giant Gamo's more recently launched models, and it's already proved itself to be a truly impressive proposition.

Dressed in a stylish black synthetic stock, it features a thickset, pronounced, fully-ambidextrous and unique cheekpiece. It's been cleverly designed to angle slightly down from the back of the air cylinder to give a surprisingly good head position for this scope-only rifle (it has no facility for open sights to be fitted).

Even the seven-hole ventilated black rubber butt pad is a stylish touch. In practical terms, due to the rear of the butt section design being slightly curved and ridged, it's able to sit neatly and naturally in the cleft of your shoulder. The pistol grip is slim at the neck and drops sharply. The rest of the stock is slim, with the forend being quite compact. The ABS moulding, coupled with the generous impregnated stippling found at the grip and the top edge recess ‘finger fluting' all combine to offer a variety of very assured hold positions for the leading hand. Balance is spot-on and the model feels more compact than its overall length of 45.75" (including the silencer) would have you believe.

Unlatching the barrel gives way to a very smooth cocking stroke. The silencer acts as a handy cocking aid but is barely needed. The reduction in cocking effort is due to the length the silencer adds to the rifle's 15" barrel.

It partly sleeves back over this, held in place by friction fit and a very solid Allen head grub screw. Gamo has built the piston lever in a design that uses an articulated arm. This again means less effort is needed to cock the rifle, but it does come back at quite an angle to lock up solid for direct pellet loading.

Inspecting the breech shows a lot of the mechanism has been beefed-up here, with a large solid steel detent lock rather than a ball-sprung catch. The firing report is very low and recoil equally so. When you've scoped-up, cocked and loaded you can, if you wish, use the manual safety. This, like that of many other Gamo rifles, is a smaller blade set in front of the main trigger blade within the trigger guard. The two-stage adjustable trigger is a predictable unit, letting off shots cleanly and crisply.

Stock screws are neatly recessed and solid while even the finish on the metalwork has taken a step forward. If Gamo carries on producing rifles of the calibre of the Gamo Shadow RSV then British manufacturers should take note. The company has left those cheap and cheerful early models behind and moved into the arena to challenge the big boys. The Gamo Shadow RSV is accurate, has a very smooth firing cycle, great stock design, a surprisingly good trigger unit and looks built to withstand a bomb blast!

Norica Marvic Gold

TheSpanish gun manufacturer Norica seems determined to show it's capable of producing full-power rifles for both HFT and hunting. The dark-stained beechwood stock of the Marvic Gold is unique in design, as unlike other sporters in the Norica range it's styled more along the lines of a continental stalking rifle. It may look unconventional but it makes the rifle very comfortable to shoot, both open-sighted and scoped-up. The nicely-contoured full rubber butt-pad sits snugly into the shoulder crevice and the generous chequering at the grip and along the slim forend makes this a very easy rifle to hold indeed.

The breech detent is solid and secure but once unlocked the barrel draws down smoothly and locks back in the open position securely, engaging the rifle's automatic trigger safety in the process.

The Marvic Gold is fitted with Tru-Glo fibre optic-enhanced open sights. It has a vented and hooded red fibre optic foresight. The rearsight is a solid block shape and a fully-adjustable unit but with two green fibre optic dots inset into the metal.

The Marvic Gold doesn't have unruly recoil or muzzle report and the internals operate smoothly enough and quite quietly on firing.

The two-stage adjustable trigger unit has a well-curved, broad-ribbed blade with a smaller blade sitting just in front inside the trigger guard - this is the handy automatic re-settable safety mechanism the trigger unit employs. It must be pushed forward to take the trigger safety off and pulled back to put the rifle on safe. Due to its position within the trigger guard it can easily be operated with the trigger finger. Again, the trigger trips the sear without a hint of the dreaded creep. Although the blade is made from a synthetic plastic material, it feels fine to the touch.

Overall build quality and performance far exceed the pocket-friendly price tag and for anybody looking to begin shooting HFT this rifle really does have a ‘pick me up and shoot me' appeal.

Webley Longbow SE

When Webley launched the Longbow SE (Special Edition) it was originally a limited-production rifle, primarily intended for the HFT market. Such has been its popularity that Webley's now extended the run of rifles and actually discontinued the standard Longbow.

The light-coloured walnut stock is the main feature that will attract shooters of any discipline. It ticks all the right boxes for a rifle to be ‘tailored' to suit your individual build, shooting style and preferred hold. I'd initially detail the cheekpiece but I must mention a feature lacking on many rifles which isn't missing here - an adjustable butt pad. Why more gun manufacturers don't at least offer this as an option has always bemused me. No two people are the same in build, and an adjustable butt pad allows for a rifle to sit in the shoulder at exactly the right height for a full and comfortable eye-to-scope alignment. That's only part of the deal, as with the Longbow SE the stock has a relatively high-sloping right-hand roll-over cheekpiece and a thumbhole stock arrangement. Coupled with the rather thickset slab-sided forend, this works a treat for a very high degree of comfortable and stable handling from any shooting angle.

The pistol grip has a stylish maple spacer and rosewood end cap with the company name embossed into the underside. A wide thumb channel runs up the right-hand side of the stock should you opt for a ‘thumbs-up' hold. Laser-cut chequering adorns the grip, seen as two generous size panels set either side. Twin panels are also set on either side of the forend.

The rifle cocks and fires very smoothly. The detent is a secure one so in that respect, for accuracy and consistency not forgetting safety it bodes well that the rifle is so solidly built.

Again we have the cleverly designed adjustable breech jaw facility to thank for that - a design feature of which Webley can be rightly proud.

The rifle is threaded at the muzzle to accept a screw-on silencer of standard ½" UNF thread. It comes supplied with a screw-on stylish-looking vented/ported muzzle weight.

Once the barrel has locked back in the open position, it also engages the automatic re-settable safety. This is a broad and well-sized ‘thumb button' that pops out rearward. It is just the ticket for the big digit to push forward to put the rifle into fire mode. It can also be gripped easily between forefinger and thumb for pulling back if you need to re-set it should you decide to hold off taking a shot.

The Longbow SE is fitted with a precise two-stage adjustable trigger unit with the previously praised automatic re-settable trigger safety. It's a precision mechanism that trips the sears without a hint of creep, has a good amount of adjustment and the broad polished brass trigger blade has a nice curve that your finger easily slips onto.

The Longbow action was always good but has now been now upgraded with the Powr-Lok spring internals. The rifle is now much more robust, with a three-year guarantee on the spring itself. Accuracy is on a par with any spring-powered rifle in this price bracket and the option to fit a silencer of choice - yet another bonus. In a sentence: the Longbow SE is a top-performing fully-featured rifle already dressed in an almost custom shop quality walnut thumbhole stock.

Weirauch HW98

In 1997 Weihrauch broke with tradition when it launched the HW98, going for a completely new stock design rather than the standard sporter stock it is best known for.

The stock might well be the familiar rich stained beechwood, but has an adjustable target type comb and adjustable butt pad. The forend sports a combination of machine-milled shallow slots along either side to aid grip. As if these grooves weren't sufficient, generous stippling adorns the pistol grip and runs along almost the full length of the underside of the slab-sided forend. This stippling is also blacked, making the rifle very attractive and distinctive.

While the butt pad is adjusted by loosening a simple slot head screw, two Allen head bolts recessed into the right-hand side of the stock secure the height of the comb. Using a hex head Allen key it only takes a minute to set the height of the comb to suit your personal shooting requirements. Fancy a big objective lens scope in high mounts - no problem then!

Now I know I've said it before, but FT style stocks lend themselves perfectly to hunting as long as the stock isn't unduly heavy. In this case I feel the HW98's a superb stock and a major selling point of the rifle.
As with other Weihrauch rifles the HW98 mainspring is sleeved, which results in both the cocking and firing cycle being super-smooth. In fact, on further investigation it transpires that the HW98 also uses a specially-lightened piston to help give the rifle a silky-smooth cocking and firing cycle.

Another dominating feature of the HW98 is the macho styling of the bull barrel that shrouds the 16" choked barrel. A firm tap at the front of the bull barrel unlocks the strong breech detent, after which the chunky-sleeved barrel draws down smoothly and very easily.

Now although internal spring noise is reduced to the barest minimum on firing, there's no internal sound moderator built into that cool-looking bull barrel. Even so, this is an extremely quiet full-power springer.

What more can be said about the highly-acclaimed Rekord trigger unit that already hasn't been said in reviews countless times before? It has an excellent two-stage adjustable trigger mechanism for a springer and the nicely-curved alloy blade is ideally positioned for optimum trigger control, thanks to the steeper angle of the pistol grip.

Whether it's the chunky barrel shroud helping reduce muzzle flip or the fact the internals are so smooth, recoil is hardly an issue. A slight nudge in the shoulder is all that's felt on firing and the benefits show in the accuracy of which the rifle is capable.

Air Arms Pro-Sport MkII Deluxe

This rifle has always been right up there with the best of them. It deserves the name Deluxe not only due to the upgraded cosmetics but also for its stunning performance.

It's a chunky yet compact rifle, but not overly heavy, and the handling capabilities are enhanced by the stock design. The deluxe models feature a quality, smooth-looking wlanut, with grain configuration most noticeable around the butt section. Tuck the thick ventilated rubber butt pad in your shoulder and your cheek nicely meets the well-proportioned angular design cheekpiece. It may well be true right-hand designed roll over and relatively high, but this is exactly what is required on a scope-only rifle. Also the neck at the grip is quite narrow in comparison to the rest of the stock-making for a very comfortable hold. The stock boasts a generous amount of ‘skipline' chequering that Air Arms calls ‘high definition.' It's laser-cut and oil-finished so the chequering still looks defined and deep, not clogged or sparse, as can be the case on some rifles. This is applied on the pistol grip and relatively lengthy tapered forend, including decorative floral cut borders.
The pistol grip is stylish and is finished with a rosewood end cap and white wood spacer.

To cock you put your forefinger into a gap in the front underside of the forend at the very front of the underlever, so you can release the alloy lever from where it sits neatly in a full length recess. You can now get a solid grip on the lever to draw it down and back to fully cock the rifle. This also automatically sets the trigger safety and anti-beartrap mechanism.

The Pro-Sport's piston runs on a set of synthetic bearings positioned at the front and rear while another set are installed on what is known as the compression slide. This results in a very smooth cocking and firing cycle but it still takes a bit of ‘heft' to cock, needing that final tug at the end of the cocking stroke. The loading area at the sliding breech is very roomy. The underside of the stock has a cut-away slot, so a dropped pellet will fall through the woodwork to the ground and not into an inaccessible area to potentially cause a problem.

The computer-designed trigger unit is on a par with that of any comparable rifle. The two-stage adjustable unit has a well-curved, setback gold-plated trigger blade and combined with the grip position and slim neck a high level of shot release is soon and easily achieved. The automatic safety button is ideally positioned just above and to the left and rear of the cylinder, and can easily be disengaged by the side of the thumb of your shooting hand.

Recoil is minimal due to the smooth firing cycle, and muzzle report surprisingly tame because of the full-length steel barrel shroud that conceals the slender high quality barrel. The extra length of the shroud internally holds silencer baffles and an expansion chamber.

In a nutshell you'd be hard-pressed to find a better spring-powered rifle than the Air Arms Deluxe Pro-Sport MkII Deluxe - it's solidly built, exceptionally accurate and with the recent upgrades it certainly looks as good as it shoots.

Related Links

REMINGTON METAMORPHOSIS: KEEPING TRACK

LAURIE HOLLAND's reborn Remy 6BR undergoes one final change - and it's better than ever before I still refer to my Remy 6BR bench-come-F-Class rifle as the 700VS (Varmint Synthetic). However, after yet ...

Read Full Article

SYSS SURGEON: PART TWO SMOOTH OPERATOR

TIM FINLEY puts in a spectacular performance with the Surgeon in the sniper training McQueen's competition - winning the round AS MENTIONED in part one, South Yorkshire Shooting Supplies now has the ...

Read Full Article

RIFLE REVIEW: AS CLEAR AS DAY

MARK CAMOCCIO reviews Daystate's new MK4 ST, which looks good and performs even better AIR RIFLE design is often a source of amazement, for the sheer ingenuity that sees an idea materialise from the ...

Read Full Article

TACTICAL UPGRADE: TAKING STOCK

ROB HUNTER thinks he can improve the AICS stock - and here he sets out how to do it Accuracy International rifles were originally designed by the late Malcolm Cooper and have been around since 1978. In ...

Read Full Article

AIR RIFLE REVIEW: START THEM YOUNG

MARK CAMOCCIO thinks the Magtech ARY400 Junior is the ideal starter gun for young enthusiasts - and his 10-year-old friend likes it too THE FUTURE of any sport is only guaranteed if new blood is both ...

Read Full Article

SHOTGUN REVIEW: A MODERN DAY ICON

RICHARD ATKINS takes a look at the latest Remington model, a gas-operated semi auto Few guns have achieved icon status. It's an elite group with obvious examples being the Browning superposed that spawned ...

Read Full Article

AIR RIFLE REVIEW: HANDLE WITH CARE

DAVE FROGGETT reviews the BSA Scorpion, newly modified to suit the Sporter Air Rifle discipline 10m air rifle shooting as covered by ISSF rules is a very specific event. It requires very precise equipment ...

Read Full Article

SHOTGUN REVIEW: VERY SPECIAL

Fancy a Sporting Clays shotgun but feeling the pinch? Check out the previously owned end of the dealer's rack, suggests RICHARD ATKINS If you're thinking of trying some Sporting Clays, maybe you need ...

Read Full Article

PISTOL REVIEW: A TECHNICAL MASTERPIECE

TIM FINLEY tests the Steyr LP-50 - and finds it the ultimate outdoor air pistol, with top accuracy and ease of use I've shot Field Target outdoor air pistol competitions since the early 1990s when the ...

Read Full Article

RIFLE REVIEW: QUALITY OVER QUANTITY

DAVE FROGETT reviews Artax's Staudenmeyer - a muzzleloader for the purists AS MANUFACTURERS of muzzle-loaders go, Artax, a company based in Cellatica, Italy, isn't exactly a household name. However, ...

Read Full Article