80 AIRGUN WORLD http://www.airgunshooting.co.uk
PETE EVANS
DO’ABLE DIY
Pete Evans outlines the easiest and best value
upgrades an airgunner can make
F
or the most part, airguns are mass-
produced items and there are time
constraints for the manufacturers, so although
the airgun functions well, it could be even
better with a little time spent on ‘finishing’.
This process need not be too expensive and
most of the resource is the owner’s time and
know-how.
TACKLING THE ‘TWANG’
Any spring gun is likely to make some degree
of mechanical noise on discharge, but when
that noise becomes intrusive, something needs
to be done about it. At this point, it’s important
to differentiate between noise and recoil. Many
owners confuse the two, equating the noise an
action makes to increased recoil, but I am
discussing the noise or ‘twang’ a rifle can make
on firing, and there are several measures that
can be used to improve matters. Before going
into specifics it may be worth looking at what is
going on inside the gun, principally the piston,
spring and the spring guide.
On cocking the gun, the spring compresses
and during this process there is a tendency
for the spring to buckle. To avoid this, a
spring guide is inserted into the base of the
spring which should keep it in a straight line.
Not only is there a tendency to buckle, but
also for the spring to rotate and expand in size
as it is compressed.
When the energy is released on firing, the
spring expands back to its normal length and
as it does so, it will rotate. If there is excessive
clearance between the spring and its guide,
there will be lateral movement which in turn
will lead to that ‘boing’. The problem is that
the guide is not offering enough dampening
force to the spring to eliminate the
phenomenon, and in some cases, if the guideAlthough the HW95 is a fine rifle, it can benefit from some DIY internal attention.
The result of poorly
fitted spring guides.
A new spring is the
only way forward.