Airgun shooting is a great hobby and there are various accessories on the market that add to the experience, here’s a selection…
Discovery Universal 2-piece Mounts
A decent set of scope mounts is the key to shooting accurately with a telescopic sight and these two-piece mounts are just the job and one set can do the job for several different scopes!
The design sees the main aluminium rings sized for 34mm scope body tubes, which are now becoming increasingly popular, but they also come with two sets of plastic inserts; one for one-inch body tubes, the other for 30mm tubes. Therefore, you have three mounts in one, which can be handy if you have several different scopes to use, and just want to keep costs down. The two halves of the plastic ring just push into place and with double screw fastenings, everything is robust and secure.
The mounts are available in high (16mm base height) or low (10.5mm base height) specification, and for 11mm dovetail rails, or Picatinny/Weaver types.
Price: All variants £19.95
Contact: sureshot-airguns.co.uk
Reviewer: Mark Camoccio
Combro CB625 Chronograph
This mini airgun chronograph has been available for a couple of decades and it’s still a top seller! I’ve had one since they first came out and it’s still going strong; the current model is the Mk4, which is essentially the same but has more features. This clever unit consists of the main body that is made from a hard-wearing polymer that has two small sensors built into the top; the second part is used to align the unit with the rifle’s barrel. A small thumbwheel is loosened and, once aligned with the bore, the thumbwheel is tightened again. The weight of the pellet used can be input into the unit via the buttons and there’s an LCD screen that displays the FPS and ft.lbs. The pellet passes over the sensors and the internal circuitry works out the speed and power. Power comes from FOUR mini L1154 batteries. An impressive, compact unit that is highly accurate.
Price: £49.50
Contact: chronoscopes.com
Reviewer: Graham Allen
Weihrauch ½-inch Silencer
Air rifles make highly effective pest control tools and a moderator or silencer can quieten the discharge sound considerably. Pre-charged pneumatic (PCP) air rifles can produce a loud crack when they fire, so an efficient silencer can pay dividends in the field; they are also very handy when using an air rifle in noise-sensitive areas, like when shooting in a back garden for instance. The Weihrauch silencer is made from black anodised alloy and is 7½-inches long, weighs 3¾-ounces and is 30mm in diameter. There are a series of baffles inside the unit, wrapped in sound deadening material; this absorbs and quietens the sound considerably. The silencer is internally threaded ½-inch UNF, so can be used on the majority of air rifles available in the UK.
Price: Around £55-£60
Contact: hullcartridge.co.uk
Reviewer: Graham Allen
Rangesports Bean Bag
In the sport of Field Target shooting, the majority of shots are taken from the sitting position and instead of sitting directly on the cold, wet ground, competitors use purpose made ‘bean bag’ seats. A perfect example is available from Rangesports and are made from heavy-duty waterproof nylon fabric, they come fitted with a handy carry handle. The seats are filled with polystyrene beads and you can remove some if required to get the desired fit but must obviously conform the BFTA regulations regarding height. The ‘beans’ can settle after a while, so you'll have some spare to add back in. These seats make FT much more pleasurable and can also be used to keep expensive FT rifle/scope combinations off the ground when they are not being used. They are also very handy in the field when hunting or carrying out pest control; they can be folded up and used as make-shift bipods and placed on fence posts and gates etc. for an accurate shot, whilst also protecting the rifle’s woodwork. Available in five colours, the base model is £27 but Rangesports can embroider names and logos etc. and these cost £35.
Price: Embroidered £35, plain £27, + £3.50 p&p
Contact: rangesports.com
Reviewer: Mark Camoccio
Nikko Stirling Mountmaster 3-9 X 40AO
Quality airgun optics needn’t cost the earth and the Nikko Stirling MountMaster 3-9 X 40AO has a fully adjustable objective lens for a clear view of the target and is adjustable from 10-yards to infinity; so, plenty for the average airgun user! It uses a 1-inch body tube that is 322 mm long and overall weight is 380-grams and has a wide field of view with a fast-focus adjustable eyepiece and the elevation and windage turrets feature ¼-inch adjustments. The internal lenses use optical coatings to ensure that the image seen by the user is bright and clear. This scope is ideal for airgun use but can also be employed on rimfire and small centrefires. With the MountMaster, the purchaser doesn’t have to buy a set of mounts, as a set of double screw 3/8-inch Match Mounts are supplied, along with dust covers for both lenses. A Half Mil Dot reticle is employed, which can be used for rangefinding and holdover and under. The 3-9 magnification range is very versatile and is perfect for hunting and target shooting. The scope is shock tested and dry-nitrogen purged at the factory, to ensure that the unit is fully water and fog proof for guaranteed performance.
Price: £66.95
Contact: highlandoutdoors.co.uk
Reviewer: Graham Allen
Daystate Type 2 Air Compressor
All pre-charged pneumatic air rifles need a supply of clean, dry highpressure air and most users get their air from a diver’s cylinder or high-pressure stirrup pump, although most use the former. These cylinders are good for many hundreds of shots (depending on size and pressure) before they need to be re-charged, which is usually carried out at a diving shop. There are PCP shooters, however, who do not live anywhere near a suitable shop and do not fancy using a manual pump. Daystate produce a portable, self-contained, high-pressure compressor that can re-charge a dive cylinder at home or at an air rifle club or range.
The 3 HP (2.2kW) compressor incorporates a sophisticated filtration system that delivers breathing quality air and is quiet in operation. The 230v/16A Type 2 can fill a 10-litre scuba tank from empty in 20-minutes; if there is a residual pressure of 150-bar, which is quite common, it can top up to full pressure in less than 10-minutes. A large, easy-to-read pressure gauge can be specifically set to automatically cut the charging process when the required pressure has been reached. It also has a run-time counter to assist with servicing schedules. Weight is 43kg and dimensions are 575 x 370 x 490mm.
Price: £2275
Contact: daystate.com
Reviewer: Graham Allen
H&N Excite Smart Shot BBs
CO2-powered rifles and pistols are extremely popular and there are many different types available, with many being replicas of real firearms, such as Glocks and Walthers. The majority fire steel BBs and are great for informal target practice and plinking. However, the downside is the fact that hard steel BBs can ricochet when hitting metal or other solid targets; H&N’s new Excite Smart Shot BBs reduce the likelihood of this happening. These BBs are precision made from lead, which is obviously much softer that steel, so will deform on impact, but the copper coating ensures that they feed well in multishot magazines. Weighing 7.4-grains (0.48-grams) they are very well made and come in tins of 750. Even though ricochets are much reduced, safety glasses should still be worn when using this type of ammunition.
Price: Tin of 750 £11.99. Bottle of 1500 £23.00
Contact: bisley-uk.com
Reviewer: Graham Allen
Air Arms Heavy Duty Spinning Target
There are obviously many air rifle targets available but most feature only one actual target to shoot at; the Air Arms Spinner target however has six of varying size from 12mm to 30mm. The target is made from zinc-coated steel plate for long life, even when left out for long periods, in a back garden or on an air rifle plinking or zero range. The main part of the unit is shaped like an elongated capital ‘Y’ and the bottom part is twisted for strength and pointed at the end, so that it can be pushed into the ground; the top ‘arms’ are also twisted, with holes drilled in the top and there’s a threaded bar through the holes. There are three steel spinners and spacers on the bar and Nyloc nuts hold everything in place. The round targets on the end of the bars are smaller on the top and, once either the top or bottom are struck, the weight of the heavier bottom disc resets it for ‘no string’ plinking fun!
Price: £25.62
Contact: air-arms.co.uk
Reviewer: Graham Allen
Rowan Engineering ½UNF Air Stripper
An air stripper is attached to an air rifle’s muzzle and, as the pellet leaves the bore, air is ‘stripped’ away by the cone fitted in the end; the pellet is therefore left to travel forwards, unaffected by the blast off air. Pellets can sometimes be buffeted by the high-pressure air and can cause inaccuracy. Various ‘model specific’ strippers are available, but this version has a ½-inch UNF female thread that can be fitted to most air rifle barrels. All barrel/pellet combinations are different, so the cone can be adjusted forwards and backwards by up to 8mm and the user can ‘tune’ the unit for the best accuracy. Available in .177, .22 and .25, they can either be polished, natural alloy or anodised black.
Price: Alloy £46.95, Anodised £47.95
Contact: rowanengineering.com
Reviewer: Mark Camoccio
Dr. Bob Replacement Gamo Trigger
Gamo’s spring gun triggers are safe and reliable units but if owners feel that they lack a certain sophistication, they can replace it with one of these ‘drop in’ items, to convert it into a two-stage mechanism. Made from polished and anodised alloy, they simply replace the original trigger blade and the blade is set back compared to the standard item, for an enhanced feel. They are set at the factory but can be adjusted by the owner using the supplied Allen key. These cost-effective triggers can also replace those found on Mk1 Theoben Rapids and the BSA Comet.
Price: £28.50
Contact: drbobsgunbits.com
Reviewer: Graham Allen
Form BSA R-10 Laminate Stock
Form Rifle Stocks make a wide range of aftermarket stocks and this example is to fit BSA’s buddy bottle fed R-10 pre-charged pneumatic. Various laminates are available but this one is brown, green and grey and is made by bonding thin layers of wood together; it is very strong and it really shows the elegant contours of the design once machined. The thumbhole has a comparatively upright grip with finger grooves at the front and the grip flares towards to base to form a shelf. The butt features a roll-over cheekpiece and, on this model, it is height adjustable for optimum eye/scope alignment; a non-adjustable version is also available. The height is adjusted via a triangular button that is simply pressed in, allowing the mechanism to slide up or down as required. At the rear of the butt is a soft rubber ‘Limbsaver’ pad that grips the shoulder well, with a black spacer between it and the timber.
Price: £478.40
Contact: formriflestocks.co.uk
Reviewer: Graham Allen
Lyman Trigger Pull Gauge
The Lyman Electronic Trigger Pull Gauge is battery operated (9-volt) and comes with a removable trigger hook. The gauge features an easy to read LCD display, which can display in Imperial or Metric at the press of a button. The display can be switched between pounds and ounces or grams by using the 'LBS/ GM' button and can read right up to 12lbs in weight. Safety is a key consideration and that means having the gun safely supported where it can fire either down range, or where airguns are concerned in a workshop scenario, a pellet catcher can be employed. With the gun secure, the trigger hook is pulled against the trigger blade, and the roller tip design keeps it in position. The gauge can also calculate an average weight of pull from up to ten separate weight readings.
Price: £89.95
Contact: hannamsreloading.com
Reviewer: Mark Camoccio
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