12 Days of Christmas Gift Giveaways

All these prizes can be won from Airgun Shooter Magazine

So, Christmas is a-coming... and it could be your stocking that's getting fat, thanks to the Airgun Shooter 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways!


It's already started (sorry - I'm late on this one) - and with a total prize pot of over £595, it's well worth getting involved with. How? Simple - just make sure you've 'liked' Airgun Shooter's Facebook Page (click here to go to it)... and then your name automatically goes into the hat ready for the random prize draws taking place every day from 1st to 12th December 2011.


At the moment, the odds are looking good - with 16 prizes being shared among (at current count) 365 'likers'.


It doesn't cost anything to enter - just a click of that 'Like' button - and, as you can see from the image above, there's a wide range of cool airgun stuff up for grabs.

CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAYS!

You may remember that, last Christmas, I was able to give away Airgun Shooter mugs to readers of the magazine - and I'm feeling no less generous this year!

Airgun Shooter Xmas Edition - NOW ON SALE!

The Christmas Special edition of the UK's only award-winning airgun magazine is now on sale in newsagents (subscribe here, or get a virtual copy sent to your computer by searching 'Airgun Shooter' in either iTunes or here) - and there's lots of goodies up for grabs.


Two free-to-enter competitions to win over £1,100 worth of prizes - a pair of Stoeger rifle/scope combos with special silencers on, and a Daystate Huntsman PCP.


You can claim a free Airgun Shooter mug when you spend over £30 in the magazine's Media Store - where there's a great selection of airgun books and DVDs to tempt you in time for Christmas.


And many of the items in the Airgun Shooter Gift Guide Bonanza have been donated by the suppliers - and the mag can give them away in the run up to Christmas!


So, Airgun Shooter's 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways starts on 1st December, and to be in with a chance of winning one of these donated gifts, simply visit the Airgun Shooter Facebook Page (here) and 'Like' it. 


All of those who have done will go into a random draw that takes place daily between the 1st and 12th of December - and more than a dozen lucky people will get a freebie Christmas gift courtesy of Airgun Shooter magazine and those advertisers who have filled the stocking.


Remember - you must like the Airgun Shooter Facebook Page to be eligible for the free draw. 


(And while you're about it, don't forget to follow the magazine on Twitter, too: @AirgunShooter)


Good luck...  

Airgun Shooter Awards 2011

Got a favourite air rifle or pistol? Whether it be an old-timer or new-release, why not nominate it for an honour in the inaugural Airgun Shooter Awards?


Run in conjunction with the UK's best airgun magazine, Airgun Shooter (itself an award-winner!), everyone is eligible to vote in these awards, which include no fewer than 10 categories, from sub-£300 springers to CO2 rifles... to your ultimate No. 1 gun of 2011.


Full details and a guide to help you cast your votes are in the November 2011 edition of the magazine (available at thousands of UK newsagents from 13 October, and online at YUDUfree) - or you can shoot straight to the polling station by clicking here!

Voting closes on 14 December 2011

BSA RECALL NEW GAMO MODEL

Since Theoben has let its patent for the gas-ram powerplant lapse, there have been plenty of big name gunmakers who've jumped on the bandwagon of manufacturing air rifles that dispense with a conventional mainspring in lieu of a 'strut' of pre-compressed air.


The latest is IGT - Inert Gas Technology - from Spanish gunmakers, Gamo. The gas is, actually, Nitrogen - and I've had the supposedly full-powered Hunter IGT model on test for the past couple of weeks... which was earmarked for publication (once my comprehensive tests were completed) in Airgun Shooter.


Now, you may have been astute enough to have spotted words like 'supposedly' and 'was earmarked for publication' - you see, the Airgun Shooter test team highlighted a problem on the test sample BSA sent us that, as it turns out, is a problem right across the board. All the IGT models in the UK at the time of this post are underperforming in terms of power.


The Airgun Shooter test rifle produced a power in the region of 8 to 8.5ft/lb - well below what we'd been told to expect. Following our findings, we asked BSA to randomly test some more samples from their stock... and they found those rifles to massively vary "between 9 and 14 Joules" (6.6 and 10.3ft/lb).

Power stats from the Gamo Hunter IGT tested by Airgun Shooter

As a result, Gamo's UK distributor has been forced to recall all those models already sent to gun shops - and, obviously, it would be wrong of me to now file my test report in a magazine as authoritative as Airgun Shooter. All the same, well done to BSA for reacting so promptly to the fault.


And as BSA were able to highlight this problem quite early in the rifle's release, only a few of the rogue guns have found their way into consumer hands - but if you have bought one with the intention of using it for pest control, I would strongly recommend you consult your gun shop. Air rifles under 10ft/lb are rarely suitable for hunting humanely.


BSA are hopeful that the Hunter and Shadow IGT models will soon be back on sale, at their correct power level.


You see, power issues aside, I can confirm that I found the Hunter IGT one of the sweetest break-barrels I've ever shot. Beautifully engineered and finished, it let go with a very fast firing cycle with no vibration through the chequered beech stock whatsoever. It came with fibre-optic Tru-Glo adjustable sights and a rise-and-fall cheek that was perfect for use with a scope - and although its trigger was slightly below what I expected in a £259 air rifle, everything else was well on the money. Possibly the best sub-£400 gas-ram around.


But it's just you won't be able to read a full report about it for a while.  

ON LINE MAGAZINE

A very high percentage of the viewers of this Blog and the AirgunTV Channel are located outside of the UK - and many have commented that it's a shame they can't so easily get a copy of Britain's award-winning Airgun Shooter magazine.

But, thanks to the internet, you can!

Individual copies - along with discounted annual subscriptions - are available from the virtual publishing store, YuDuFree. 

So if you want to read the UK's No.1 airgun magazine - voted Best New Magazine of 2010 in the ACE Print Media Awards - simply click here.

And don't forget that you can also follow Airgun Shooter magazine on Facebook and Twitter.

Airgun Shooter - now available virtually across the globe!

AIRGUN SHOOTER WINS TOP AWARD!

The Association of Circulation Executives (ACE) has voted Airgun Shooter Best Magazine Launch, 2010 - and also placed it third, behind the new 'I' newspaper and the Daily Mail in the Overall Launch category!


The ACE awards are effectively the Oscars of the media industry, and recognise the contribution to the newstrade made by publishers on many aspects, such as sales, circulation and sector value. 


While the achievement in itself is particularly outstanding on the part of everyone involved with the magazine, for an airgun publication to take gold and bronze awards in these categories - particularly given the stiff competition - is testimony to just how big an impact the title's launch has had to both the shooting industry and the general newstrade.


As its launch editor, I am of course very proud - but this magazine has been a team effort. So, on behalf of the whole Airgun Shooter crew at Blaze Publishing, I must pass on a heartfelt 'thank you' to all those readers who have supported us. These awards are a true reflection of just how much we've raised the bar in terms of airgun journalism.


While the year's first 13 issues have clearly made an impact, the magazine continues to go from strength to strength and, as I write this, I'm only a few days away from passing issue no. 17 for press... and can tell you that not only are there some tremendous scoops lined up in that, but there are a fair few more to come from issue no. 18 onwards!


You can subscribe to the award-winning airgun magazine here...

Airgun Shooter wins top awards from the Association of Circulation Executives

FREE MUG - from me to you!

It's coming up to that time of year again - and I've been busy wrapping up these lovely drinking mugs to give away to Airgun Shooter readers as a Christmas present!


These official mugs cost £5.99, but readers of the new Airgun Shooter magazine - already the UK's fastest-growing airgun publication - get one absolutely free; Blaze Publishing, the publishers, are just asking for a small contribution of £2 toward p&p.


You'll find an order form on the December 2010 issue - our Christmas Special (left) - which is in newsagents nice and early, from 4th November. And, of course, it's also available for the iPhone or iPad here.


Or you can telephone them on 01926 339808 with your credit card details to claim your present. As it's Christmas, and the mugs also make ideal gifts for family and friends, I've also talked Blaze into doing a special deal if you want to buy one or more - just ask them nicely and you'll get a festive discount!


Note: Mugs can only be posted to UK mainland postal addresses