This morning dawned beautiful and cool in Indiana. At 6:30, the sun was just breaking through the trees, no wind, perfectly quiet except for the noise of the bulldozer preparing the site for the new casino being built about a mile to the southeast. The neighbors hadn't start stirring yet, and I needed to leave for work in about an hour, so to get my mind adjusted for the day and not disturb any one, I grabbed the Air Arms S510 .177 from the vault and proceeded to the bench.
This rifle was #3 for me and was acquired new from Straight Shooters more than two decades ago. First came a Beeman R1, then an Air Arms S410 in .22 (still in the vault and as dependable and accurate as the day it was acquired), then this rifle. A few years ago, I had Scott Schneider at Motorhead Airgun Tuning Services completely resealed it and installed a Huma regulator. Along the way I upgraded it to the new style magazine indexing post (vastly improved over the original) and replaced the proprietary AA fill adapter with a foster fitting. I used it so much that the soft poplar stock became on dinged up and rather than replace it, I sanding it down and painted it camo - giving it new life - ugly but very efficient.
With the Air Arms 10.3 gr pellet and no wind conditions, I proceed to shoot all of the spinners on the course from 20 yards to 86, with not a single miss. The Hawke Sidewinder 6-24x56 FFP scope image was very crisp in the morning sun and the perfectly adjusted trigger broke like glass. With Donny FL Sumo moderator working perfectly, and the relatively low power of the .177 pellet hitting the heavy steel swinging plate and spinners out at 70 yards and beyond, all one could hear was the faint but clear "ding" of the the pellet hitting steel. But once I got inside of 50 yards, this rifle came into its own, spinning the spinners with authority.
I suspect that like many of you, this old rifle doesn't get exercised nearly enough with many much more powerful and glitzy rifles in the vault. However, it is as simple, accurate, and dependable as any rifle one could own. It has provided many hundreds of hours of shooting pleasure while eliminating about every form of pest available to a back yard over the years. One couldn't ask any more of a rifle than that.
This rifle was #3 for me and was acquired new from Straight Shooters more than two decades ago. First came a Beeman R1, then an Air Arms S410 in .22 (still in the vault and as dependable and accurate as the day it was acquired), then this rifle. A few years ago, I had Scott Schneider at Motorhead Airgun Tuning Services completely resealed it and installed a Huma regulator. Along the way I upgraded it to the new style magazine indexing post (vastly improved over the original) and replaced the proprietary AA fill adapter with a foster fitting. I used it so much that the soft poplar stock became on dinged up and rather than replace it, I sanding it down and painted it camo - giving it new life - ugly but very efficient.
With the Air Arms 10.3 gr pellet and no wind conditions, I proceed to shoot all of the spinners on the course from 20 yards to 86, with not a single miss. The Hawke Sidewinder 6-24x56 FFP scope image was very crisp in the morning sun and the perfectly adjusted trigger broke like glass. With Donny FL Sumo moderator working perfectly, and the relatively low power of the .177 pellet hitting the heavy steel swinging plate and spinners out at 70 yards and beyond, all one could hear was the faint but clear "ding" of the the pellet hitting steel. But once I got inside of 50 yards, this rifle came into its own, spinning the spinners with authority.
I suspect that like many of you, this old rifle doesn't get exercised nearly enough with many much more powerful and glitzy rifles in the vault. However, it is as simple, accurate, and dependable as any rifle one could own. It has provided many hundreds of hours of shooting pleasure while eliminating about every form of pest available to a back yard over the years. One couldn't ask any more of a rifle than that.
