Uprating air rifles question UK

Set aside the legalese for one second, and imagine we are in a sit x or post apoc Britain. Can you think of any specific air rifle that can easily be modified to increase its power output ?
Respects NR

An air rifle is only as powerful as the spring that operates it. If you uprate the spring you uprate the power.

I have a BSA Supersport in .22 calibre, 3-9 x 40 scope etc, "if" I was to fit a theoben gas ram for a .177 it would make my rifle "illegal".....

Rgds

[edit on 8/3/09 by Dark Vengeance]

weihrauch hw80 easily upgraded to well above legal limit with just a new spring,

They actually sell adult air rifles out there if You were interested in obtaining one. The only problem is You would have to fill a tank just to use it but then again if its for protection then it won't matter will it?

The biggest bang for your buck would be a Chinese QB-7x series or the B-50 series in .22 caliber. The B-50 can be modified to the 30 ft/lb muzzle energy level with out much fuss. I've recently converted 2 Industry Brand QB-79's over to regulated 850 psi high pressure air for less than $200 not including the pump by using a 13 cubic inch paint ball tank. Both the readily available 13ci and 22ci paintball tanks will screw onto the gun by removing the barrel which is held in by a single set screw. I suggest you check out the airguns.net website forum listing for the Network 54 Chinese Airgun Forum.

Springers are generally limited to about 20 FPE muzzle energy in .22 caliber which would give you a real world 60 yard bird and bunny popper. I converted a .25 BSA Superstar(nee Polaris) back in the 90's to a Theoben gas ram spring here in the US and it raised my energy level to about 15 FPE. You should get similar results with a .22 caliber.

If you're after more power for hunting larger game, I suggest building/converting a Chinese QB-7x series air rifle to a regulated 1250-1450 psi level HPA tank and using DOM(drawn over mandrel) seamless tubing in .375 or .50 caliber ID to create a muzzle loading smooth bore airgun that will take some fairly large game like deer at close ranges with a heart/lung shot.

reply to post by jkm1864

There is a 12 ft/lb limit on all air weopons whether gas or spring, the only way to legally buy one higher is if you have a firearms liscence.
I would love to import a decent air rifle but you cant & i refuse to pay the same price for a 12ft/lb version of an air rifle from the US that pushes 8oft/lb. I dont even think you can buy the tuning parts from abroad due to the regs.
How do you even approach some one to tune your uk spec rifle without looking like a criminal?
Pisses me off!

Increase power, is really not what you want, you want to increase impact.

More speed = more inaccuracy

around 800fps is the best you want to go.

To increase take down power and impact increase the weight of the
ammo you are using.

anything past about 800 will result in more increased missed shots.

slower speed more weight = greater impact and more take down damage.

You have to play with the gun you get to see how high you can go in weight to increase impact compared to accuracy and distance.

Air rifles are limited, but if you tinker and experiment you can find the right combination to make yours the best it can be.

this fellow does 500 ft. lb rifles.

quackenbush

study his work well and learn. if you make it yourself, and you don't tell anyone, then........

edit: pay special attention to his "in the shop" page

[edit on 11-3-2009 by hotrodturbo7]

Back in the day, in UK, a friends dad worked at an engineering plant. He swapped out everyones springs for heavier duty ones, with a hydraulic press. Made a hell of a difference. The friend also had a really old pellet mold, and we'd melt old fishing weights to make pellets. they were pretty heavy, but ok accuracy wise. You dont want your projectile moving quicker than 1000ft a second. Any faster will break sound barrier, making loud noise, and as it slows to under speed of sound, pressure wave will make it tumble and lose accuracy. Most modern air rifles are rated @1200ft/s, but that is with lightweight alloy pellets. Lead will be right around 1000ft/s. If you go over 1000ft/s, use round shot pellets. Even at 3500ft/s they will still be accurate, and go a good distance.

reply to post by severdsoul


The long proven stability speed limit for diabolo style pellets is between 920-930 fps no matter what the caliber. Most domed pellets are pretty accurate from 700fps up to 920fps. Domed pellets have a little better ballistic coefficient than pointed pellets and are the best choice for hunting at longer distances. My .177 Air Arm S-400 XTRA FAC is tuned to shoot 10.0-10.6 grain weight at 920-950. Most of the top US field target shooters shoot anywhere from 870-920 fps with either JSB Exact 10.2 grain pellets or Crosman Premier 10.5 pellets. Even my low-buck Chinese B-21 can shoot dime sized groups at 25-30 yards with .177 JSB 8.4 grain pellets at 940fps.

The old springer limit of 800 fps with accuracy was broken years ago by numerous airgun tuners like John Bowkett, Ivan Hancock and Ken Turner. Ivan Hancock's famous Mach 1 airguns in fact shot through the sound barrier(1100 fps) with good accuracy.

The Korean PCP guns will push their heavy for caliber pellets with near match accuracy at 1000 fps+ at well beyond 100 yards. Along with the Air Force Talon/Gunpower Stealth, they are easily the best all-around hunting airguns for the money right now.

Stateside, numerous whitetail deer and smaller wild boar have fallen to air rifles with as little as 15-16FPE muzzle energy. I've known a couple of hunters who routinely harvest whitetail deer with a Theoben .20 caliber air rifles tuned to the 30 FPE level at distances no responsible bowhunter would even attempt(45-50 yards). These guns shoot dime sized groups at 50 yards and sub 2" groups at 100 yards.

There are numerous plans for low pressure, large caliber air weapons on the internet known as 'spud guns'. If I were stuck in the UK, such a weapon firing darts,bolts or shot charge would be more than capable of taking larger game or a bird on the wing. The other plus is that officialdom wouldn't know about it.

Originally posted by crgintx
reply to post by severdsoul

 

The long proven stability speed limit for diabolo style pellets is between 920-930 fps no matter what the caliber. Most domed pellets are pretty accurate from 700fps up to 920fps. Domed pellets have a little better ballistic coefficient than pointed pellets and are the best choice for hunting at longer distances. My .177 Air Arm S-400 XTRA FAC is tuned to shoot 10.0-10.6 grain weight at 920-950. Most of the top US field target shooters shoot anywhere from 870-920 fps with either JSB Exact 10.2 grain pellets or Crosman Premier 10.5 pellets. Even my low-buck Chinese B-21 can shoot dime sized groups at 25-30 yards with .177 JSB 8.4 grain pellets at 940fps.

The old springer limit of 800 fps with accuracy was broken years ago by numerous airgun tuners like John Bowkett, Ivan Hancock and Ken Turner. Ivan Hancock's famous Mach 1 airguns in fact shot through the sound barrier(1100 fps) with good accuracy.

The Korean PCP guns will push their heavy for caliber pellets with near match accuracy at 1000 fps+ at well beyond 100 yards. Along with the Air Force Talon/Gunpower Stealth, they are easily the best all-around hunting airguns for the money right now.

Stateside, numerous whitetail deer and smaller wild boar have fallen to air rifles with as little as 15-16FPE muzzle energy. I've known a couple of hunters who routinely harvest whitetail deer with a Theoben .20 caliber air rifles tuned to the 30 FPE level at distances no responsible bowhunter would even attempt(45-50 yards). These guns shoot dime sized groups at 50 yards and sub 2" groups at 100 yards.

There are numerous plans for low pressure, large caliber air weapons on the internet known as 'spud guns'. If I were stuck in the UK, such a weapon firing darts,bolts or shot charge would be more than capable of taking larger game or a bird on the wing. The other plus is that officialdom wouldn't know about it.

I prefer the nylon sleeved Promethius pellets in 22

reply to post by Northern Raider


Those pellets work well with a very clean barrel with no choke. Choked barrel tend to shave little ribbons of the PTFE at the muzzle crown. They can be very accurate pellets but they tend to shed energy quickly due to the light weight but they're fine for airgun game out to 40 yards.

I prefer lead pellets because even at sub-12 FPE velocities they will have some expansion when striking flesh.

Has anyone tried upgrading your pellets?
There are lots you can do with hollow point pellets....

Im gona do a seprate thread on this 1
www.abovetopsecret.com...

[edit on 28/4/09 by parrallel]

Crossbows are just as lethal and they are legal to own.