N/A What are some decent, more compact springers?

[Dr. Kralenstein]

12 fpe in a springer really does make for an easily controllable gun. I detuned my TX200 from 17 fpe to 12 fpe and it made it much more shootable.

That is a good point. I forget about the shot cycle with a springer. I only have pcp guns currently. Well, the crosman tyro, but it barely jumps when fired. I took the trigger out and apart to see what can be done to lighten it up, and now I'm trying to figure out how it goes back together

 

[JimBianchi]

I just received my HW30 Urban Pro in .177.

It is the very definition of a compact light weight springer.

Well worth the money.

 

[harrympope]

The cometa is around 18 fpe, the hw50 is only 12. It'll work, but 12 fpe in 22 has a crappy trajectory.

I have an HW50 .22 at 11.6 fpe and zeroed at 50 feet with HN FTT I have no problem hitting what I point the gun out to 60 yards.
Those fellows in England do quite a bit at that power level in. .22 and do quite well. It's not as big of a disadvantage as you think. With these low powered springers you've got to know your trajectory regardless of power. My little R7 .177 I hit cans at eighty plus yards.

 

[Sawney Bean]

I have an HW50 .22 at 11.6 fpe and zeroed at 50 feet with HN FTT I have no problem hitting what I point the gun at to 60 yards.
Those fellows in England do quite a bit at that power level in. .22 and do quite well. It's not as big of a disadvantage as you think. With these low powered sprinklers you've got to know your trajectory regardless of power. My little R7 .177 I hit cans at eighty plus yards.

I find shooting the super magnum springers to be very entertaining, but when it actually comes to hitting what I’m aiming at I think 12 fpe is a pretty good power level. I don’t notice that I lose that much control compared to a lower powered gun like an HW30 and I do find them to be less hold sensitive than guns in the 15-20 fpe range.

 

[harrympope]

I find shooting the super magnum springers to be very entertaining, but when it actually comes to hitting what I’m aiming at I think 12 fpe is a pretty good power level. I don’t notice that I lose that much control compared to a lower powered gun like an HW30 and I do find them to be less hold sensitive than guns in the 15-20 fpe range.

I had a beautiful custom Stocked theoben eliminator .25 that was just a chore to shoot consistently well.(i think Kingfisher here bought it from me 10 yesrs ago?)It was an awesome powerful hunting gun but on paper the bad shots made me wonder how I hit anything past 25 yards.
I ended up moving to an RWS 48 .22 at 14 fpe and never looked back.

 

[Sawney Bean]

I had a beautiful custom Stocked theoben eliminator .25 that was just a chore to shoot consistently well.(i think Kingfisher here bought it from me 10 yesrs ago?)It was an awesome powerful hunting gun but on paper the bad shots made me wonder how I hit anything past 25 yards.
I ended up moving to an RWS 48 .22 at 14 fpe and never looked back.

I've had a .25 Beeman Kodiak, a .30 Hatsan 130 and a .22 Gamo Magnum and I've really enjoyed shooting all of them. To me there's just something fun about springers with more than 25 fpe. When it comes to accuracy however they've all been difficult to shoot well. I think that's part of why I like plinking with them so much. They're just very challenging to shoot well and when you are up to that challenge they reward you by knocking your target for a loop.

The thing is they're all marketed as hunting guns and all the reviews stress that they're hunting guns first and foremost and I really don't think they're very good in that role. For hunting I'd rather have a 15 fpe HW95 that hits where I aim it every time.

If someone would market a 40+ fpe springer however I'd be all over it.

 

[harrympope]

I've had a .25 Beeman Kodiak, a .30 Hatsan 130 and a .22 Gamo Magnum and I've really enjoyed shooting all of them. To me there's just something fun about springers with more than 25 fpe. When it comes to accuracy however they've all been difficult to shoot well. I think that's part of why I like plinking with them so much. They're just very challenging to shoot well and when you are up to that challenge they reward you by knocking your target for a loop.

The thing is they're all marketed as hunting guns and all the reviews stress that they're hunting guns first and foremost and I really don't think they're very good in that role. For hunting I'd rather have a 15 fpe HW95 that hits where I aim it every time.

If someone would market a 40+ fpe springer however I'd be all over it.

I had a .30 Hatsan and it was easier to shoot than my Theoben. My buddy has it now.It was a good rifle, I smacked quite a few squirrels with it.The thud if that big slow pellet was impressive.

 

[Sawney Bean]

The Kodiak was the first really nice airgun I ever owned, beautiful wood stock, impeccable bluing and built like a tank, but objectively my Hatsan is a better rifle. The Hatsan is more powerful, less hold sensitive, has a better trigger, better scope mounting rails, an adjustable stock and a built in moderator and I'd gladly trade it straight across for a Kodiak or a Patriot.

 

[BZO100]

I drilled the buttstock and screwed in a sling swivel mount on some of my HW’s and put Uncle Mikes split band sling swivel on the front, it even fits the underlever charging lever. I got a caliper to measure the diameter and ordered the right size. I’d put a picture and measurements, but I ain’t at home with my guns. I can stalk some hilly woods for small game carrying my heavy ass Bleu Laminate HW97 with a 10x scope, hands-free all day, without an urge to bitch or whine about how heavy it is. Even though the HW30 is featherweight, I slung it too, just so I can do other things with my hands while I’m carrying a rifle.

This link is only to the product I used, not necessarily the size I ordered. Like they say, “Measure twice, order once.”

Buy QD Super Swivel - Magnum Band And More | Uncle Mikes

Shopping for the QD Super Swivel - Magnum Band? Learn more about the latest Magnum Band and more at Uncle Mikes.

www.unclemikes.com

 

[katfisch]

I can testify to that. My .177 C1 has killed alot of rabbits. Fast pointing ,good 35 yard gun.

The little .177 R7/HW30 does the job, as well.

 

[Sawney Bean]

The more I think about this the more I want to try actually building a bullpup springer. My donor victim would likely be my Gamo Magnum, as that's the suitable spring gun I have that I care the least about.

I'm thinking of making it a side cocking break barrel, so essentially just rotating the rifle 90 degrees in the stock.

I'm going to try and scab together something quick and crude this weekend. I'm thinking just a stock made from a 2x4 and an AR grip with a bent rod to activate the trigger. More of a proof of concept than anything else at this point. Once I establish that it can be done then I'll start working out the details of making it a decent rifle.

 

[stu69]

Carbine springer HW95K .22 and HW50K .177. Both under 40", 7lb 15oz and 7lb 2oz ,as pictured, respectively. They both shoot like a lazer to 40-45yds. My HW30 is a lazer to 30yds. (not pictured) ...........Great carbine springers do exist. I think. Target was shot today, out the back window of the garage, standing, with a bulls bag sitting on the sill. There was some switching breeze and walked to the target and back every 3 shots. 7x @ 40, 2x @ 20. Scopes are Leupold VX2 2-7 with parallax adjusted to 30yds and zeroed @ 13yds. Quite pleased but not surprised. Off a bench/bulls bag these rifles WILL shoot 1/2"-3/4" avg. @ 40 yds. GOOD TIMES!! Hapy New Year! Enjoy

 

[stu69]

Hey DR. Kral, If all the springers you look at are magnum behemoths, then they will all look/feel like magnum behemoths. HW50/HW95 are NO bs hunters and WILL dispatch critters 40 yds and beyond. Just sayin...

 

[Dr. Kralenstein]

Hey DR. Kral, If all the springers you look at are magnum behemoths, then they will all look/feel like magnum behemoths. HW50/HW95 are NO bs hunters and WILL dispatch critters 40 yds and beyond. Just sayin...

Are they back yard friendly? I know the ruger airhawk I had wasn't bad, nor was the crosman break barrel I had. Don't remember the model, it was a synthetic stock 22 and was horribly inaccurate.

 

[Sawney Bean]

Are they back yard friendly? I know the ruger airhawk I had wasn't bad, nor was the crosman break barrel I had. Don't remember the model, it was a synthetic stock 22 and was horribly inaccurate.

I can’t speak to the hw50 as I have never fired one, but I would definitely consider the hw95 to be backyard friendly and being that the hw50 is less powerful than the hw95, I’m pretty sure it would be backyard friendly too.

Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever fired a spring gun that I would consider to not be backyard friendly and I would rank the hw95 on the quieter end of the spectrum of springers. Put a moderator on one and it will be about as quiet as airguns get, but I don’t really think it is necessary.

 

[Sawney Bean]

The carbine versions of these mid to low powered rifles really do make a lot of sense. They’re already quite easy to cock, so you don’t really need the extra leverage provided by a longer barrel and my understanding is that springers develop nearly all of their velocity in the first 10” or so of barrel length anyway.

 

[stu69]

The red squirrels/gophers/chipmunks in my back yard don't think my Weihrauchs are too freindly. The local farmers seem to like the "THWAP" on a rat/pigeon, "bang/flop" is common. I got into springers for low power pest control. They work! I don't have neighbors.

 

[stu69]

I will do some dB testing when I remember where I put my meter. CRS has set in pretty good for me

 

[stu69]

HW95 RWS Super H at 25yds. I lined up 4 oranges, recovered the pellet from the 4th orange. Pretty well split the first orange. Kinda cool.

 

[MDriskill]

OK...prolly inferior to most of the suggestions in this thread! But still excellent - and a bit off the wall - is the Webley Tracker (aka "Barnett Spitfire" in the US).

It's a sidelever tap-loader made in the 1980's and 90's. It's 36 1/2" long, about 7 pounds, and shares trigger and other parts with the barrel-cocking Webley Vulcan, C1, etc. The slimmer action has less power than those (9 or 10 FPE), and can be pretty twangy without tuning. Pluses are the fixed barrel, compact size, nice handling, elegant styling, inherently safe tap-loading system, and the extreme sturdiness and German-shaming metal finish of all UK Webleys.

Great with a short scope or red dot, but a Vulcan front sight will replace the muzzle weight (and shave significant weight).