DAYSTATE VIP DAY

As many of you will know, I'm a big fan of Daystate's PCP air rifles - and even use their computerised AirWolf as my main hunting tool when I'm not testing. 


So, you'll understand whey I'm about to highly recommend the special VIP Day they've got on offer in conjunction with this year's Midland Game Fair at Weston Park, Shropshire - an airgunning Mecca which takes place on the weekend of 17/18 September 2011.


You can get yourself on Daystate's VIP Day for just £60 (£30 for under-14s accompanied by an adult) - and that's even refundable if you buy one of their rifles from the Fair! Even if you don't, it's great value - here's what you get:

• A guided tour of their Staffordshire airgun factory (fascinating - I've been there many a time)
• Free entry to the Game Fair
• A courtesy coach from factory to Fair (fast-track entry), and then back again
• Lunch at Weston Park
• Daystate Seminar, including demonstrations
• A chance to shoot Daystate's current range of PCPs (including a preview of a new one!)
• One-to-one coaching by airgun experts

Interested? Then ensure your ticket from either Daystate's website here, or call Hannah on +44 (0)1782 791755. 


The VIP day commences at 09:00 on Saturday, 17 September (at the Daystate factory), after which you'll get the red carpet treatment all day until Daystate drop you back at the factory for 18:00.

Heads up on a new night sight

The infra-red sight picture as seen through the 3-inch monitor of the NiteSite

Every now and then, something comes along in the airgun world that makes you sit up and think 'wow - what a great idea'! Well, the latest gadget I've had on top of my rifle is just that - the new NS50 night-hunting device from NiteSite.


I'll be filing my full report in the September 2011 issue of Airgun Shooter magazine, but I'm impressed enough with its performance to give you a sneak preview. In fact, because the NS50 comes with a video-out socket, I hope to post some night-action recordings of rat and rabbit hunts pretty soon. Meantime, though, you can watch the manufacturer's sneak preview trailer that they've put together prior to their unveiling of it at this year's CLA Game Fair on AirgunTV, here.


The NiteSite ingeniously bridges the gap between conventional lamping and night vision (NV) - and it allows you to shoot after hours with your daytime combo. It takes just seconds to change over to NS-vision... so you can shoot in the day, twilight and after sundown without any hassle whatsoever.

Heads-up: using the NS50 NiteSite on a Daystate AirWolf

How? Open up the NS50's custom case, push the camera module onto the eye-piece of your scope and mount the TV monitor (which incorporates a variable infra-red illuminator) above it... and with the cables all pushed in to place, you're ready to see in the dark without the aid of any white light at all.


Because you can't rest your head on the stock with the NS50 in place, I was initially sceptical, but I've been out with it a few times now, and it's really not a problem. You simply rest the rifle and look 'at' the monitor, rather than 'through' your scope. It takes all of five minutes for getting used to, after which the sheer brilliance of the NS system shines through.


My pre-production prototype sees much further than the 50 yards the NS50 is meant to - and the NS200 (which is good for 200 yards) would be fantastic for fox shooters, especially if they shoot from a vehicle.


A big round of applause to the English inventors, NiteSite.

GAME FAIR TICKET UP FOR GRABS

If you're thinking about going to this year's CLA Game Fair - the world's leading country sports event - why not have a go at winning some tickets... gratis? 


Airgun Shooter magazine has got five pairs of adult tickets up for grabs in a free-to-enter competition - and you can find out how to enter (via email) on their Facebook page, here.


Besides all the usual attractions, the Fair plays host to the Airgun Experience - an extravaganza of all things airgunning and a kind of 'Airgunmakers' Row'. There's more details on the Game Fair's website.


I'll be there with some of the award-winning Airgun Shooter team, too - come along to the Blaze Publishing stand (no. R1128) on the world famous Gunmakers' Row for a chat or to ask any questions. 


We've got a few 'show deals' on the go - so check them out, too.


So... see you at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire sometime between 22 and 24 July. Oh, and good luck with that ticket draw on the magazine's Facebook Page!

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.  

10 SHOTS PER SECOND!

Now, if you live in Britain and are reading this Blog post, you're going to be disappointed - because UK gun laws don't allow the guns I'm about to tell you about. But in many other parts of the world, you can own them - and I think you'll want to! I'm talking about the new Giant and Speed PCP air rifles from the famous South Korean gunmaker, Evanix.


I've been to the factory and am in no doubt as to their ability to manufacture top-quality air rifles - but their latest incarnations are a clear sign as to how how much of a world power Evanix is actually becoming. 


This video from AirgunTV shows their new Giant, (a twin, carbon-fibre buddy-bottle fed PCP) and Speed (a conventional cylinder PCP) - both of which are capable of firing pellets in full-auto mode at an incredible 10 shots per second! Yes, TEN shots a second!

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

NEW DAYSTATE PELLET (and a free tin!)

If you're fed up with your pellets' consistency altering from one batch to the next, then you'd do well to try out Daystate's new American-made RangeMaster Li (standing for Lightweight).


I've only shot a couple of tins' worth in my .177 Air Wolf and .22 Theoben Elan... but I can tell you that I've already decided to switch to them; they definitely perform better than the Air Arms Field I've been shooting for the past few years.


I got news of them via the high-precision sport of Field Target. FT competitors don't suffer poor pellets gladly... and they were saying very nice things about the RangeMasters.


Actually, I cheated a bit. Knowing I wouldn't be able to find the time to undertake tests for myself until spring, I commissioned one of Airgun Shooter's writers - professional pest controller, Pete Meek - to try the .22s. His results, which are printed in the April 2011 edition of the magazine, were conclusive proof that Daystate's new ammo is a bit special.


Because they're made from a single die, the pellets are remarkably consistent - and they're so smoothly finished, they appear to possess better ballistic coefficients (for their weight). This means they not only shoot more accurately, but they also have a slightly flatter trajectory. In the case of Pete's test, the 14.3-grain Li dropped around an inch less at 50m (from a 30m zero) compared with the similar Crosman Premier roundhead.


As Pete's .22 results impressed me so much, I cheated again - and commissioned twice-world champion Stuart Hancox for his verdict on the 7.9-grain .177 version. I didn't have long to wait for his verdict - he'd already ditched his JSB-made ammo in favour of them for his competition work!


So, with their verdicts - along with the buzz the RangeMasters are creating around the UK - I've collared Daystate into giving away a free tin. Collect eight 'Star' tokens from Daystate products, stick them onto the collecting card we've supplied with April's Airgun Shooter... and you've got yourself 500 shots for nowt. (And I've even printed a token inside the mag to start you off...)

Airgun Shooter - the UK's leading airgun magazine

The Mindless Minority

So... over the past couple of weeks, we've had an idiot popping off soft airgun BBs at school kits, a psycho murdering Somerset swans with an airgun and pathetic Ashley Cole having an accident with a loaded pellet gun. Isn't it funny that all this happens when the latest shooting legislation - see details here - is announced by the government. Maybe I'm getting a bit old, but it does make you wonder whether the anti-shooting brigade have had a hand in at least two of these three stories...


Buth, I'm surprised at how lightly the press has let us off; I was expecting a real hatchet job on airguns, yet even the Jeremy Vine show on BBC Radio 2 gave, I felt, a good case 'for' our side.


The truth is, the laws in the country are already so incredibly strict that incidents such as these only serve to show how pointless all this 'tacked-on' legislation - for the Anti-Social Behaviour Act, 2003; Violent Crime Reduction Act, 2007; Crime & Security Bill, 2010 are not part of the 1968 Firearms Act per se - actually is. No government can ever legislate for the madman - as was so well put by the current Prime Minister in his response to last summer's shooting incidents (by madmen).


The facts are, all these cases are breaking laws which were around with the original Firearms Act - and my hope is that the full force of the law is brought to bear on the culprits. We've got the laws - let's apply them.


The Scottish sniper is a moron... though, again, conspiracy theorists among us would wonder whether he was a plant by the anti-shooting lobby. After all, plastic BBs shot from what is a toy isn't really life-threatening, but perfect fodder for the sensationalistic media.


The Somerset swan killer will, I hope, be found and publicly hanged (metaphorically speaking). Armed trespass and numerous breaches of the Wildlife & Countryside Act should ensure he gets his just deserts.


And the old King Cole? Well, as would appear to be the case, it's the celebrity under the spotlight rather than the airgun. Let's hope his time has come and this is the final straw in what has, of course, been a pretty negative couple of years as far as PR is concerned for him. If he'd been the victim of the shot, I'm sure the media would have made much more of how 'dangerous' airguns are - so it may even be a mixed blessing that he was the jerk who jerked the trigger. But I sincerely hope he doesn't just get let off with a slap of the wrists; he's a role model for many and should be well and truly admonished for his misdemeanour, in my opinion.

LATEST AIRGUN LAW

When the Crime & Security Act received Royal Assent in 2010, one element relating to airguns – Section 46 - was held in abeyance, awaiting ‘activation’. By way of a Commencement Order, the government has now activated it – so from 10 February, it is now a legal requirement of all airgun owners to take ‘reasonable precautions’ to prevent unauthorised access to their airgun by anyone under 18 years old.


First and foremost, an in anticipation of the incorrect reporting we're going to see and hear in the UK's anti-shooting media, let me emphasise one thing.


This new legislative requirement DOES NOT MEAN you need to store your airguns in a Level 1 gun safe!


Actually, while this is 'yet another law' levied indirectly on the airgun shooting community (by way of a 'catch-all' statute), it's not really that restrictive - and my guess is that most airgunners already comply with the new requirements. This new law relating to the storage of airguns is, in effect, just common sense.


In most cases, the law is going to apply to airgunners who have people under the age of 18 either in their household, or as visitors – but all that’s required to comply with the new provisions is a simple measure to prevent those minors from gaining ‘unauthorised’ access to the air rifles or pistols. It does not mean that you have to invest in a high level home security system, like a police-approved gun safe and/or household alarm system.


Simply storing your airgun in a lockable cupboard, where the keys are kept securely in the presence of adults will suffice – although this should be in the main property, rather than in a shed or out-house. 

Alternatively, you could fit some form of lock – like a trigger lock – or security cord (anchored to a solid wall) which stops anyone from operating the gun. It goes without saying that the guns should be stored in an unloaded state and pellets should be kept separately, preferably also under lock and key.


And when you're out and about with your airgun, if you ever have to put it down when there are minors nearby, you must remember to take steps to prevent unauthorised access by them. (For instance, you may need to padlock the rifle case, or lock it in the boot of your car.)

But, like I said, It’s basic common sense – except that if you ignore these new requirements, you now face a fine of £1,000.

The Home Affairs Select Committee's final response on firearms control - the inquiry initiated following the shooting incidents involving Raoul Moat and Derrick Bird in the summer of 2010 - has now been officially released.

Obviously, the HASC has looked at firearms control on the wider scale and only certain elements of the report are applicable to airgunners -  but what, exactly, does it mean for us?

Well, having now had time to read through and evaluate its 60-odd pages, I must say that I'm very pleased to report that the Inquiry has taken a very balanced, sensible and altogether pragmatic view when it comes to airguns. While they have openly admitted that the 34 (no less!) current pieces of legislation governing the control of firearms places an onerous burden on the police and those members of the public who wish to abide by the law, they have also recognised that thousands of people use firearms responsibly for recreation and work, and puts forward that it has no intention of restricting such activity.

Specifically, when considering measures to combat the misuse of the estimated seven million low-powered airguns in circulation in the UK, the Committee acknowledged three crucial points:

·         NO AIRGUN LICENSING

Firstly that there have been a number of recent pieces of legislation to tackle misuse - the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003, Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 and the still-to-be-implemented Crime and Security Act 2010 - and that before considering whether or not to incorporate low-powered airguns into the firearms licensing regime, the government should continue to monitor closely the impact of this recent legislation. In this respect, the 2010 Committee very much concurred with the views of its predecessor Committee (of 2000), when the then-government concluded that there was no need for airguns to be brought into the licensing regime. This view was further enforced by the Association of Chief Police Officers who submitted evidence to the 2010 Inquiry, maintaining (as they did in 2000) they were 'not convinced' that applying certificate control to low-powered airguns would 'produce proportionate public safety outcomes'.

·         AIRGUN MISUSE IS FALLING

Secondly, the Committee was encouraged by the success of the tougher laws, and the enforcement of them. Official Home Office statistics show that since the first of the three, aforementioned new pieces of legislation affecting airgunners - the 2003 Anti-Social Behaviour Act - offences involving airguns have dropped every year, and there are now down by over 56 per cent. The latest, published figures (2008/09) show 6,042 offences relating to airgun misuse, as opposed to the 2002/03 figure of 13,822 - a significant drop indeed when you think how many pellets must be fired each year from those 7,000,000 airguns.

·         THE VAST MAJORITY OF AIRGUNNERS ARE RESPONSIBLE

Thirdly, in its submitted evidence to the Committee, the Home Office also stated that the 'vast majority of airguns are used in a responsible and disciplined manner for legitimate purposes' and by shooting clubs as a way 'to introduce new members to the safe handling of firearms' - and they also acknowledged the importance of airguns in the field, citing notes from the National Farmers' Union which state 'the ability for farmers to use airguns is vital for controlling smaller pests'.

While obviously not primary legislation, the recommendations put forward to the government in this report are very fair on the part of the airgun industry and I, for one, heartily agree with their overall synopsis that there should be greater enforcement of the laws already in place, as opposed to creating yet more. 

This, of course, does not mean that we, as airgunners, should become complacent - but it does, for at least the time being, indicate that our sport is not likely to be further legislated against. I'm encouraged...

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