Airgun World – July 2019

http://www.airgunshooting.co.uk AIRGUN WORLD 27

SPRING-PISTON RIFLES

SPRING HAS

(RE)SPRUNG!

The editor has detected a spring-gun rebound –

and he thinks we should all get involved in the movement

H

ands up, I’m a full-on, flat-out, died-in-the-
wool springer enthusiast, and I always will
be. The joys of spring is one of my ‘evangelical’
subjects, and regular readers will have endured
my sermons more than once. Familarity grants
no immunity in this magazine, so here I am
again, mounting that sturdy soapbox and
spreading the good springer news.
My constant contact with the readers of
Airgun World and the shooting trade has
revealed an upturn in spring-gun sales, right
across the board. Springers never really went
away, but they’re currently bouncing back at a
rate that pleases me immensely. I think you
should be happy about this, too, and here’s why.

THE ETERNAL APPEAL OF THE
SPRINGER
For we spring-piston rifle fans, the appeal of
these airguns has many levels, a few of which
I’ll highlight, here, beginning with a bit of a
controversial one. You see, most of us believe
springers are prettier than pre-charged
pneumatics. Oh yes we do, and whilst we not
claiming PCPs are ugly, we know that few, if

any can match the pure visual attraction of,

say, the BSA Airsporter, the Weihrauch

HW35E, or the subject of this month’s Editor’s

Test, the Air Arms Pro-Sport.

I published that very opinion in these pages

some years back, and it earned me a proper

telling off from one of the most respected men

in the airgun business, Daystate Director, the

late Ken Gibbon. Ken was a classy, dignified

man, but he dropped his customary cool that

day, and gave me a ‘robust’ dressing down. I

remained unrepentant and we agreed to

disagree, but that encounter proved once and

for all that looks matter, even if some pretend

otherwise. There’s much more to commend

springers, though.

THE FINEST TEACHERS

Springers aren’t as easy to shoot accurately,

compared to PCPs, because spring guns make

demands on us. They won’t readily forgive

inconsistent handling, being rested on firm

surfaces, or any lack of follow-through at the

end of our shooting sequence. These demands

are non-negotiable and seen by most as

disadvantages, when they’re the exact

opposite. Springers are the mechanical

equivalent of the strict teacher you had at

school. You knew you couldn’t mess around in

class, and as a consequence you learned

more. Spring-piston rifles, through their

intolerance of poor technique, will train you to

become a better shooter. Anyone who can

shoot a springer well, can also shoot a PCP to a

high standard, but there’s no vice-versa to that. »

The understated elegance of springers was established a long, long time ago.

The ease of DIY fettling is another area of appeal

for springer fans.