Airguns

[Fritz]

A number of us knife collectors also have a fetish for airguns, apparently. This would be an appropriate place to discuss this hobby, without cluttering the auto knife forum.

I'm partial to vintage airguns, but will discuss new-age airguns as well.

[The Falcon]

When I got my Beeman R-1, it was state-of-the-art. But I look at some of the high tech guns now and it looks kind of puny in comparison.

The Falcon

[Mr_Guano]

A number of us knife collectors also have a fetish for airguns, apparently. This would be an appropriate place to discuss this hobby, without cluttering the auto knife forum.

I'm partial to vintage airguns, but will discuss new-age airguns as well.

I have a fetish for all kinds of guns, actually...

Could the gentle Fritz please explain an ignorant norwegian the difference between a vintage airgun and a new-age airgun?
Is it just vintage = 1 bullet/break to load
and new-age = full mag/gas-driven?

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EDIT: And now, 20 minutes later, I see the other thread in the switchblade forum. It cleared it up a little bit (as did a PM I got).
I won't edit out stuff, though...
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Thank you,
Mr_G

[Fritz]

Could the gentle Fritz please explain an ignorant norwegian the difference between a vintage airgun and a new-age airgun?
Is it just vintage = 1 bullet/break to load
and new-age = full mag/gas-driven?

*The Gentle Fritz Explains*

Mr. Guano,

1 pellet/BB/break to load - would actually pertain to spring-piston (new or vintage) type airguns. These airguns are most akin to switchblade knives; a spring is compressed, which is attached to a piston in a cylinder (much like a combustion engine). For this reason, only high-flashpoint lubricants should be used in the cylinder. Some of these use the break-barrel design, while others use a cocking lever.

By "new age," I was referring to anything made recently. CO2 as a propellent was being used in the 50's, and has certain disadvantages, as far as temperature is concerned. The vintage 50's-early 70's CO2 guns used an expansion chamber, and were much more consistent in their performance.

The next category is the pneumatic airgun. These can be single charge or PCP - pre charged pneumatics. The single charge type require you to pump one or more times before each shot. The PCP uses a scuba tank or hand pump to charge the reservoir with enough air for several shots. These actually go back to the days of Napolean. His troops were thwarted by these airguns, and they were subsequently banned.

[Fritz]

When I got my Beeman R-1, it was state-of-the-art. But I look at some of the high tech guns now and it looks kind of puny in comparison.

The Falcon

Mr. Falcon,

Which state-of-the-art guns were you looking at?
I like the Daystate line myself. Last I heard, the Career's were costing them a lot of business.

[stepdaddy]

You'll Shoot Your Eye Out. You'll Shoot Your Eye Out.

[jim d,]

Stepdaddy,

Now that brings back memories!

Jim

[Vagrant]

Beeman, RWS, Feinwerkbau, Weirauch, Webly, Mendoza, and on and on. Love 'em all. [I love SERIOUS heavy-metal also but the neighbors don't even know when you're shooting the air-guns].

[Vagrant]

I have one of the first 500 R-1s they made [.177] it is still a great gun. The Feinwerkbau 124S was my first "serious" air-gun and the first production [spring powered] air-gun to hit 800 fps+. I have a Crosman 160 [my favorite CO2 rifle by far]. My Feinwerkbau 300s Match gun can "hold it's own" against any "Newer and better" match Rifle. I too say "fired" but say these guns are a "blast" sounds funny since there is no blast. . Pneumatics seem like a lot of work, but some of the pre-charge pneumaticts have serious power and are capable of taking deer sized game, Or Iraqi sentries, ?

[Fritz]

You'll Shoot Your Eye Out. You'll Shoot Your Eye Out.

But Johnny Flannigan has one


*The Evil Witch Snickers Mu Ha Ha Ha Ha!*



For this reason, I would get a kid a pellet gun, or a lead ball (no lead ball jokes please ) before buying him a cheap Red Rider or the like.

[Fritz]

Beeman, RWS, Feinwerkbau, Weirauch, Webly, Mendoza, and on and on. Love 'em all. [I love SERIOUS heavy-metal also but the neighbors don't even know when you're shooting the air-guns].

You're the wealthiest Vagrant I have ever met!
The Claudster had to fashion his own slingshot.

[Fritz]

I have one of the first 500 R-1s they made [.177] it is still a great gun. The Feinwerkbau 124S was my first "serious" air-gun and the first production [spring powered] air-gun to hit 800 fps+. I have a Crosman 160 [my favorite CO2 rifle by far]. My Feinwerkbau 300s Match gun can "hold it's own" against any "Newer and better" match Rifle. I too say "fired" but say these guns are a "blast" sounds funny since there is no blast. . Pneumatics seem like a lot of work, but some of the pre-charge pneumaticts have serious power and are capable of taking deer sized game, Or Iraqi sentries, ?

The 160 has the best valve of all their CO2 rifles. Some experts put a 400 feed on a 160 to get the best of both worlds. The stock 400 valve is almost as good, actually. The early models had a fully adjustable trigger, as well.

There is a brief history of the PCP here.
http://www.airguns.net/history.html

Maybe we can use the Iraqi war criminals for target practice.

[Vagrant]

You're the wealthiest Vagrant I have ever met!
The Claudster had to fashion his own slingshot.

[I doubt it, I just live beyond my means] but in case you're right, "It's a dirty job but someone has to do it".
My first "projectile launcher" was a 5' piece of ash sappling that I sharpened to a point and than stuck an apple on it. Given a serious swing it could send the apple a loooong way out there. [Over the house accross the street, past their back yard and off into the woods]. A slingshot came later [but it really wasn't much good at launching apples] rocks were better.
If we add blowguns to this catagory I have some of those also. They are pure FUN, FUN, FUN.

[Fritz]

You're the wealthiest Vagrant I have ever met!
The Claudster had to fashion his own slingshot.

[I doubt it, I just live beyond my means] but in case you're right, "It's a dirty job but someone has to do it".
My first "projectile launcher" was a 5' piece of ash sappling that I sharpened to a point and than stuck an apple on it. Given a serious swing it could send the apple a loooong way out there. [Over the house accross the street, past their back yard and off into the woods]. A slingshot came later [but it really wasn't much good at launching apples] rocks were better.
If we add blowguns to this catagory I have some of those also. They are pure FUN, FUN, FUN.

Kind of reminds me of my old, tin, potato spud gun. Remember those? My first slingshot was a Marksman. I later picked up a wrist-rocket type (much more power )

I have a blowgun also. I like the way it can be broken down into sections. That reminds me to stop by a wig shop, and try to get one of those styrofoam heads.

[Vagrant]

My first slinshot was a forked stick and a piece of inner tube. It was long enough to brace on my hip [instead of the wrist type] and could put a egg sized rock accross the same route as the apple launcher.
My spud gun was one of the [newer?, older?] cast aluminum ones. The one I have now is made of pvc pipe and uses WD-40 ignited by a piezo-electric sparker to launch spuds a nice distance. [I'm going to try starting fluid someday, for "magnum" effect, but may want to use metal pipe for this stunt].