A Wild Desire for a Springer Has Popped Up

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Nueces

Member
Apr 22, 2016
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Tejas
I don't know why. But I'm losing the battle to talk myself out of it.

Been lurking here on the page and then looking at well thought of models on retailer's sites. There is so much 'less than strongly positive' feedback on so many springers. And I have made myself aware of the big difference of springers over pcp guns. ( I have a Wildcat in .25 ) Thinking 22 cal in a springer.

What I'm thinking is I want to buy whatever gun I settle on from a shop that will really work with me. Like put in a kit to improve the gun before I ever receive it. Or customize it which ever way it needs. Are any of the known and respected retailers actually willing to tune and customize guns? Are there any tuners that sell springers? I've also got it in my head I want to at least try without a scope. I'd need an advanced peep type sight as with my old eyes buckhorn rear sights don't work too well.

I'm not a tinkerer. I'm actually quite lazy that way. I just want the thing to work, work well and shoot straight. I tinker for a living .... on houses and ranch systems. So tinkering with my guns ain't my thing. I also want to shoot pests with it. I know this can be a problem for a springer. My shots are nearly always under 25 yards however. I like to plink a bit but not much into punching paper. I do it but not much and don't get a lot of fun out of it. 

I'm probably looking at a TX 200 but keep thinking a gas ram might be more to my liking. I dunno.
 
TX200 is scope only. Unless you put something after market for the front sight? On the rear you could find something that will fit on a dovetail. Up to 25 yards almost any of the springer/gas ram rifles will do what you want. And long ago I made a springer spring release board(almost nothing to making one). I like to take most new guns apart to lube and polish a little different than the factory. My TX200 takes about 30 min to break down and lube and put it back together. So I have both spring and gas ram rifles and not much difference to me at 25 yards. I even have put gas rams in older springer rifles but it was no real improvement for me.
 
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Thanks Goodtogo and Hammarhead. Appreciate the help. I guess my main question is about where and who to go to for the gun. I don't mind compensating a person when I take up their time but I need a seller who will get me to the right fit and work with me.

Additionally: What's the deal with Weihrauch? They make so many guns but almost nobody talks about them here. Are they under powered ... or what?
 
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You shouldnt really go looking for power in spring rifles. 

Imo Weirauch is a good basic springer. I would stay the hell away from gas pistons. The best springer for hunting is probably the walther lgu Varmint. 

That said, for me springers are best at low and mid power used for plinking and paper. Pcps are just so much better at everything. Springers can be really rewarding and in the same time frustrating. Thats the charm with them, once you get them to behave and get your hold working you really feel good about yourself. 
 
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+1 with Deja ! I saw this ad on yellow about an already tuned HW95 ( great rifle ) from a guy I bought a rifle from a week or two back . Good guy to deal with and very honest . You can buy a new one for about same price but this one ha a lot of the upgrades that I would want if in the market for a 22. And JM to best of my knowledge in doing work on guns anymore so it's hard to find one if his with the piston buttons .
http://www.network54.com/Forum/79574/message/1479342308/HW95+in+.22+for+sale
 
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With a few PCPs I was in your position about 9 months ago. I wanted a springer to play with. I bought the Air Arms Pro Sport in .22. I love this rifle! Beautiful build, accurate, and the main appeal to me is the under level cocking lever. The rifle is "dense" (heavy) and the cocking lever is pretty stout. But, I'm 62 and have no problems with it. I know this rifle is one of the more expensive springers. 

Interesting you have a Wildcat .25. I have one due for delivery within the next week.
 
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"bowwild"With a few PCPs I was in your position about 9 months ago. I wanted a springer to play with. I bought the Air Arms Pro Sport in .22. I love this rifle! Beautiful build, accurate, and the main appeal to me is the under level cocking lever. The rifle is "dense" (heavy) and the cocking lever is pretty stout. But, I'm 62 and have no problems with it. I know this rifle is one of the more expensive springers. 

Interesting you have a Wildcat .25. I have one due for delivery within the next week.
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Yeah I may have to give up my idea of open sights. Spent a good bit of time reading reviews at PA on the AA Pro Sport. All that raving is pretty seductive. I think you will love the Wildcat. Very comfortable shooter and the .25 definitely puts the hurt on varmints.
 
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The Weirauchs from Krale are hard to beat value wise. I got an HW97 (12 ft lb) earlier this year to shoot field target with and it has been great. I don't see the Pro sport or TX200 being $300 better than the HW. They say they get better with a tune, but no reason to mess with it yet. I still see used HW97s advertised for double what the new one was delivered to my door.
 
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Springers are addictive. I have a few good PCPs, but most often grab the springers for plinking. Hunting duty is split about 50/50. 

The optimal power level for shot cycle and accuracy with springers is 14fpe or less. For that general power level I much prefer .177 over .22. Flatter trajectory and still plenty of power for small game. 

I hunt most often with my R1k or my pro sport. Both are very accurate out to 40 yards.

Steve at Pomona Airguns with install tune kits or do a simple tune prior to shipping. I've been very happy buying from him.

Good luck choosing.

R
 
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So, like any good obsessed airgun addict I've been furiously searching for that next fix. I can afford any of the nicer production offerings. Well I can afford to knock my credit card back up a big jump.

My MAIN use of any airgun is pesting. I live in pest central out past 201st and plowed ground.

I need to get sorted a couple widely accepted generally true 'generalities':

1. Break barrel guns are not as accurate and reliable as one piece barrel guns. Good ole Matt Dubber put this one in my head. What think ye?
( If I could get past this my choices would greatly open up. ) 

2. Magnum springers can never be really accurate. Since I only need one to be accurate down to minute of squirrel at 25 or 30 yards I question this. 
( The weight and heft of these is not attractive at all. )

I have other ponderings plaguing my fevered brain as well. I see now why so many of you have many different rifles. There's something lacking or odd about every gun out there and you keep buying more trying to compensate. (joke) Some seemingly really nice guns have cheesy front sights and so many really nice guns just never have sights. That's a shame. I would really like to try and use a springer with a rear diopter. The scope can always come later. I drool over HW 97 guns and .... no sights. The 77k has sights but that front sight looks like something on a cheap bb gun. ( !@#^%&@#%%$ !!! ) Walther is even worse looking.

And another thing. If I'm going to spend the better part of a grand why do these guns need to be tuned and their actions changed with a kit? This is annoying.

Thanks for the space to rant.



 
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Take a look at the FWB 124 rifles . I haven't personally owned one but it is high on my bucket list ! As far as " tuned " I think a lot of guys get that stuck in their head as standard procedure. I talked to Ernest Rowe about this on time and he said that he would advise customers to at least see how they like the factory version first ...But guys just were deaf to that and had to be able to say they owned a " tuned " rifle . Look at I this way .. I there truly was one perfect gun then we wouldn't have nothing to talk poop about :)
 
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"Nueces"
And another thing. If I'm going to spend the better part of a grand why do these guns need to be tuned and their actions changed with a kit? This is annoying.

Thanks for the space to rant.






I have a number of springers from a 2008 gamo whisper 1200 to a tx200. And mix in a couple of fwb300s for good luck. I even have a NP XL 1100(takes a different skill set to get anything out of it). And I do like to take apart my rifles and polish and deburr parts of the action. And if you like to tinker there are a number of things you can do to air rifles to improve them from trigger work to adding kits to smooth up the action.

But with that being said..............most of the time its the shooter that needs tuning not the rifle. I know all about the different ways to hold a rifle but for me its more about shooting shooting and some more shooting of a rifle. At some point I "just know where it will hit". And I'm not talking about bench rest that's a totally different animal. So for me the word consistent is important. And be realistic and ignore all the claims you see on the internet about hitting a dime at 25 yards?
If you can hit an egg at 25 yards with out using a rest you are doing all you need to do for hunting. (I never did hunt coins anyway) . ;)
 


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My two cents- if you have friends with springers, try out a few so that you can find what works best with you. It rarely seems to be mentioned that as much as certain rifles can be very particular about what pellets work well with them, the same could be said of the shooter/rifle relationship. A rifle that one person extolls as the be-all-end-all may not suit you for beans. 
My personal hunting gun is a breakbarrel, super-heavy, super-magnum gas piston (.22 Hatsan 135), and I rarely miss a kill shot. It's all up to what feels right to you. PA just posted a very interesting review of the Diana Blaser AR8 N-TEC, a so called "Mega-Blaster" that is apparently able to hold astonishingly good groupings for a reviewer far more picky than myself. It would certainly be in your price range, and I will admit that I prefer gas pistons for hunting/pesting applications. Less velocity loss in cold conditions. I will also add that I also use a peep sight for hunting; I find it makes target acquisition quicker, and it works well out to 50 yards (about the maximum ideal range for even a super-mag springer). Try a few things, see what fits you best. That's part of the fun, providing that you don't find multiple good fits and end up spending way too much money.
As far as where to get it, I would recommend Pyramyd Air. That little window that always pops up to "Chat with an air gun expert" is actually pretty handy. They actually talked me out of a gimmicky Gamo and into my favorite Hatsan, which was on sale at the time. They also offer scope-mounting, velocity verification, and limited tuning services. Great folks to deal with.
 
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I have to agree with the majority here that the Weirauchs are great guns, if they fit your budget; you probably can't do better. My budget wasn't so broadminded. I agree also with Biohazard. Try out a few of your friends springers. If you just want to test the water, and get your feet wet, you could do a lot worse than a Beeman RS2 action. They start around $100 for the no frills models, and go up from there. I bought the Ram XT (thumb hole stock) in .22 and have been pleasantly surprised. It lists for right at $200, but can be had for around $125 if you shop. It is very accurate out to 25 yards (I have taken squirrels at 35 yards), with Crosman Premier Hollow Points (your mileage may vary), and consistently hits 800 fps with them, out of the box. The trigger is a little heavy, but has a nice clean break. It doesn't have iron sights, but comes with a tolerable scope. You will need to buy heavy duty scope rings, or a monolithic scope mount for it. Whatever you buy, I am sure you will enjoy it!
 
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Well my fevered research has ceased. Just pulled the trigger on a TX MK III .22 in walnut. ( so much for my idea of a peep sight )

I tried very very hard to get around the AA but came back with finality. Every other top of the line production gun I looked at, and I looked till my eyes gave out and my butt went numb several times, failed to seduce me. %^) Each and every one of them ended up with one or two negatives I could not get past. The beach stock on the Weihrauchs ( and I almost settled on at least three of them ) killed that avenue. I still have a bit of a thing for the HW 98. And I probably could have been happy with one of the laminate models. Sad to say I still believe the internals on Weihrauchs are probably more solid than the AA gun. I am a tad ashamed to admit the bling of the TX ended up very much a significant factor.

The Walther LGVs absorbed many hours my time but again the beech stocks killed that idea. Some beech is ok but what I was seeing screened 'cheap' to me. 

And then the Diana 340 N-TEC Luxus was a contender for a while. But that company ( RWS or whoever the heck they are ) is getting too many QC complaints.

So that's that. I will report maybe on Friday if the package can get through the Hollidaze before the weekend.
 
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