The choice of a good pneumatic weapon, as the choice of suitable clothes: you need to know what you want, what you need, what will fit, what items from the market are suitable.
Products manufactured by modern industry differ from each other in price, power, quality and other characteristics, and most importantly, for a beginner they are all “on one face”. Which air rifle to choose a beginner in this situation?
Models and Brands
As in many other areas, the decision depends on the goal. For people who want to shoot bottles once a week at a distance of 20-30 meters, the MP-512, IL 60, BAM XS-B11, Shanghai QB 51, Shanghai B 1-1 are suitable. Under such requirements, high costs are not needed, almost any cheap rifle will do.
If you want to shoot several times a week at a distance of about 50 meters, while still maintaining accuracy at a decent level, the Hatsan mod.70 model is suitable. In addition to it, you can look at Kral Air 001, Shanghai QB 36-2, Shanghai QB 78 (CO2) or Torun Arm. The listed models are suitable not only for shooting in bottles, from them it is already quite possible to choose an air rifle for hunting small animals.
If you want to shoot powerful but accurate rifles, suitable for both entertainment and hunting, then you should pay attention to the following models: Cometa Fenix 400, Hatsan mod.55s, Gamo Shadow 1000, BAM XS-B21, BAM XS-B30, BAM XS-B20.
As for very powerful and accurate rifles (in this range they are mainly with the PPP and PCP mechanism, although there is also CO2), the novice shooter can be advised to pay attention to such models as Weirhauch 100, Ceska Zbrojovka CZ-200 T (S), Logun Solo standart, BAM XS-B50 (all of them are PCP, or Pre-Charged Pneumatics), Umarex AirMagnum, spring-piston Gamo CFX and BAM XS-B40.
Separately, it is worth mentioning the rather popular model from Hatsan. It is suitable if there are no special requirements for weapons, since you can choose the Hatsan-125 air rifle both for hunting and for a blade. However, it’s worth buying only an updated version, in which the manufacturer has eliminated quite serious flaws inherent in the previous version of the weapon.
The best available
If a person does not have much experience in remaking airguns, he should look towards the brands. It must be borne in mind that each experienced shooter has an opinion on such things as air rifles - which is better to choose for hunting, which is for a plank, and which is suitable only for a “tick”. There are several possible ratings. The list below is the point of view of only one part of the rifle community.
From the standpoint of quality, manufacturers on the market can be arranged in the following order (from the best product quality to the worst):
- Weihrauh.
- Air Arms
- Kral.
- Torun Arm.
- Hatsan.
- Bam.
- Gamo.
- Kometa.
- Umarex.
- CZ (Ceska Zbrojovka).
- Weirhauch.
- Steyr.
In the given rating there are no three well-known products - MP, Diana and Izh. They deserve special mention.
Features of national favorites
Despite all the existing diversity, many people in Russia prefer Izhevmeh products. This manufacturer has existed since Soviet times and produces a significant part of the weapons available on the market. However, before choosing an Izh air rifle, you should take a closer look at it.
The rifle MP-512, or "Murka". Manufacturer - Izhevsk Mechanical Plant. Due to its initially low price, simplicity of the device, ease of modernization and some other characteristics, Murka is a contender for the role of a pet and the title of the country's most popular air rifle.
Initially, it was sold in two versions - with a plastic or wooden box. Later two new options appeared: “Elegant” MP-512-14 and “Updated Design” MP-512-11.It is quite amenable to modification, and the experience of thousands of owners has proved that if you wish, you can significantly increase its power and some other parameters.
German quality
There is another noteworthy air rifle. What to choose, if there is money for it, do not think. The product of the German industry Diana-54 is quality, accuracy, power, and not as a result of alterations, but as the original factory characteristics.
The secret of its popularity is that devices from the Russian Izhevsk Mechanical Plant, German Diana, weapons of the Spanish Gamo and Norica, and American firms Crossman and Daisy are widely represented on the Russian market. And “Diana” among them all in terms of quality, reliability and accuracy - the best air rifle, which you can choose for hunting, and for entertaining shooting at a shooting range or at targets. Its only drawback is the rather high price.
What to consider before making a decision?
If a person has not previously held pneumatic weapons in his hands, first of all he should go to the shooting range and shoot from everything that he can get into his own hands - spring-piston rifles, PCP, CO2, expensive and cheap - in general, to test all the products, who will trust him. It is desirable to remember the impressions from the tests, and even better - to write down. After that, you should ask yourself a few questions:
- Do you like shooting at all from pneumatics;
- how accurately you want to hit the target (in the dash, bullet after bullet at the same point, in bottles or something else);
- how often do you plan to shoot;
- is there a desire to finish the rifle;
- how much money the future owner is willing to shell out for his purchase.
And only after receiving answers to these questions, you can decide how to choose an air rifle, most importantly - which of the variety that the market offers at the moment. It should be borne in mind that if there are few funds, an experienced shooter should choose, since cheap is rarely good, and only a specialist can recognize this good.
Pneumatics and law
Russian legislation in the air industry is quite liberal. How to choose an air rifle without a license and bureaucratic red tape? Any adult citizen can do this. A device with a capacity of up to 3 J is generally considered "structurally similar to a weapon, but not a weapon."
A person who has reached 18 years old can buy sports pneumatic weapons with a capacity of more than 3 J, but up to 7.5 J and a caliber of a bullet up to 4.5 mm, also without needing special permission. More powerful hunting or sports pneumatic guns are also available, however, after obtaining permissions for them.
Accuracy and range
It is about energy and technical accuracy. So how to choose an air rifle that ideally combines one and the other, and how to create it - tasks from the realm of fantasy.
By accuracy, they usually mean accuracy of fire under constant external conditions and aiming. In the ideal case, for a 100% hit on the target, each time you need to be in the same position, aim as well, use bullets that are identical in shape, weight and material, and somehow ensure the rifle mechanism works the same way. In practice, the differences between shots can be quite significant.
The best examples of pneumatics are able to give greater accuracy of shots at a short distance (25 m) and sufficient - at an average (25-70 m). However, at distances of 100 meters or more, difficulties arise.
Due to the small mass of the bullet, the trajectory decreases, the wind drift increases, as a result, the dispersion is impressive. Therefore, the vast majority of sports in shooting from air rifles is held at distances of 25-50 meters.
The power of a rifle, or the energy given to a bullet by a shot, is usually measured in joules. Sometimes the manufacturer prefers to indicate the initial velocity of the bullet.Several categories can be distinguished - from 0 to 3 J, up to 7.5 J (such rifles are considered low-power and are indicated by the letter F (initial speed 170 m / s for a bullet weighing 0.51 g). Next are devices with energies up to 16.3 J (which allows you to successfully hit targets at a distance of 50-70 m), indicate such a letter J.
Rifles that exceed 16.3 J in power have a FAC badge. They are less dependent on environmental conditions and are more suitable for shooting in the fresh air. They are capable of hitting a target at a great distance and inflicting serious damage on it.
What else does accuracy depend on?
When choosing a rifle, you should pay attention to the barrel, since accuracy depends on its quality. In general, you need to look at two places - in the breech and at the end of the trunk.
As for the breech (the place where the bullet is inserted), then it should have a small facet. If it is provided by the manufacturer, then a comparison of several rifles will help to form an opinion. A chamfer is needed so that the bullet, sitting on the rifling, does not crumple.
How to choose an air rifle with good accuracy? At the end of the trunk, this should have a high-quality chamfer. The absence of a chamfer or its poor quality leads to the fact that the bullet will unevenly come off the rifling - in this case, there is no need to talk about any good accuracy.
Some companies do not have a chamfer provided by the manufacturer - it is completely absent, or there is a thread instead of rifling. Therefore, inspect the weapon before buying you need to be very careful.
However, in addition to the purpose, when choosing a rifle, you must also take into account its design. Existing modern products can be divided into several groups depending on what method of gas compression is the basis of the design.
How to choose an optimal design air rifle? Recall your demands on her. Each system has its pros and cons, suitable for some tasks and bad for others.
Spring Piston System (PPP)
This is the most common and universal system, the principle of which is based on the compression of the air of a cylindrical chamber by a piston equipped with a tight cuff. Most often, there are models with a fracture of the trunk.
PPP systems have a serious minus - high returns. This creates difficulties with the use of an optical sight on such products.
PCP
Rifles with a pre-charged pneumatics system are equipped with a cylinder into which gas is pumped under high pressure, over 200 atmospheres.
Such a scheme is most often used in the manufacture of expensive sports rifles, as well as hunting models. To pump the cylinder, use a compressor, stationary cylinders, or do it manually.
Since choosing a PCP air rifle from the manufacturer can only be afforded by a well-provided person or one who knows exactly what he’s taking and why, people in some countries have found a way to make it “cheap and excellent” - this is an upgraded IL-60.
The official name of the rifle is MP-60, it is equipped with a PPP system. This is exactly what its manufacturer produces. However, craftsmen found a solution: with the help of tools, KIT, sensible instructions or the help of a knowledgeable comrade from IZH-60 very cheap, accurate, powerful, lightweight, relatively short air rifles are obtained. Which is better to choose - single-shot or five-shot (IZh-60 model is redone for them) - a matter of taste and personal choice. How legal this is depends on the diameter of the bullets and the country of residence.
Multi-Compression Rifles
The MK uses compressed air in the chamber before firing. Pressure is manually pumped using a lever that is located on the side or integrated into the forend. The newer the rifle, the longer it “holds” compressed air without loss.
Obtaining constant pressure is not so simple, therefore this type of weapon creates a relatively large spread in height.
CO2
The rifles of this design use the carbon dioxide expansion energy that occurs when liquid carbon dioxide is vaporized. Since CO2 stored in a liquefied form, you can make a lot of shots without changing the cylinder. However, a significant drawback of the system is that it is impossible to shoot at the same time accurately and often.
To the question of bullets
For shooting from pneumatics use darts, balls, "arrows" and bullets in various variations: spherical steel, plastic, aluminum, lead and others. The most common are lead, from the point of view of the form of options is much larger than the types of rifles. And in most cases we do not select them. Bullets for an air rifle are selected in accordance with the rules, and violation of them will not bring anything good to either the owner or the weapon.
In conclusion - a few tips on how not to spoil your purchase in the process of experimentation:
- do not charge rifled weapons with arrows or darts;
- it is better to avoid shells from an unknown manufacturer and from an unknown metal;
- in the newly purchased packaging there should be no metal chips, sawdust, oil;
- the bullets should not have traces of oxidation, a noticeable technological seam, high-quality shells can only have a “lead” color.
