ok, which way do you do it...

when hunting with a springer, do most of you cock it (very stealthly) when you see what ever it is you're gonna shoot or do you leave the gun cocked for a certain period of time and then shoot it if you don't see any game.  I know you're not supposed to leave the spring cocked for extended periods of time, but how long is an extended period...30 min, an hour, all day?  Might be a dumb question, the only hunting I've done with a pellet gun was over 20 yrs. ago and that was with a sheridan and I just pumped it up when I went out in the woods and didn't worry about it.  
                             Thanks, Scott

[longislandhunter]

Hey Scott,

I cock and load the gun as I enter the woods to start hunting.  If by the end of the hunt I haven't had a shot present itself than I simply pick out a convenient rock, tree stump, or something else to take an aimed shot at and fire off my 1 shot target practice :)

Most of my small game forays usually last anywhere from 45 minutes to perhaps an hour or two, depending on the size of the wood lot I'm hunting.  I don't believe that time period will hurt the rifle, however I openly admit I am certainly no expert when it comes to stress tolerances/effects and airguns, so I'm hoping one of the other guys on the forum who are in fact experienced enough to definitively answer that question will chime in.  You've got me wondering now also.  

Jeff

[shadow]

I'm guilty of that too.When Im out hunting which is about all I do with my airrifles other then sighting in scopes and trying new pellets. I cock it when I hit the fields and woods. I dont want to be fumbling around trying to load, making noise and attracting attention from every varment around me. As far as possible damage, It's possible he he maby reducing the life of the main spring and related parts.I agree with longislandhunter, there are other members here that will give you great advice. I figure when my shadow sport starts losing steam it,s going to CDT for a tune. Right now Im still getting the feel of it. Happy hunting, Ed

Hey Jeff,
        Here's what I found in the Library on this forum:  http://www.gatewaytoairguns.com/library/Keeping%20a%20Springer%20Cocked.htm
They started the test by leaving the guns cocked a WHOLE week!  Have you ever checked the velocity of any of your guns when they were fairly new and now after you've used them for hunting?  Just curious if leaving them cocked for a few hours time after time after time has the same (or cumulative) effect as leaving them cocked for a week straight.  I'm not really worried about it, just more curious than anything.  
                                    Regards, Scott

In hunting with spring-piston air rifles, I carry mine "locked and loaded" for as long as it takes for a shot to present itself, however long that is.

I've always done it that way, and my experience with respect to hunting with air rifles predates the introduction of the R-1 by a couple of years or so, so I've been doing it that way a long time.

Some would say that I am doing it wrong, too.

However, I do most of my hunting in dry, dusty California High Desert.  With all of the dust and grit that my rifles get subjected to, they usually don't go more than two seasons without tear-down for cleaning, anyhow.  While I've got one apart, it ain't that big of a deal to put it back together with a new mainspring and piston seal.  Those parts hardly cost the moon, so it doesn't hit my wallet too hard doing it that way.

I've always tended to look at the mainspring and piston seal as "wear items" that I am going to replace at some point, because at some point, I know that I'll be replacing them or having some else do it for me.

Also, the nature of the game that I hunt -which is primairly upland game birds like valley quail, Gambel's quail, and chukar, is such that the rifle really needs to be cocked and locked in order for me to capatalize on the moment when game is spotted.  And the economics work out for me because whatever I spend on pellets or rifle upkeep during the course of the year is a fraction of what I spend in gasoline driving all over California during the hunting season.  When I am burning sixty to a hundred bucks worth of gas and walking 3 or 4 miles just to be in a position to shoot, I want to be able to simply flick the safety off and shoot.

And from the thrid Saturday in October to the end of January, I am out hunting almost every weekend.  That's a lot of sixty to one-hundred dollar fill-ups.  For me, the cost in parts and time to swap mainsprings and seals isn't very significant in the grand scheme of things.

But it could be for others, so ultimately, whether to keep it cocked and locked or only cock once game is sighted remains an individual thing.

If you do it my way, you most likely WILL be shortening the life of your mainspring.

-JP
http://www.uplandhunter.net

[CharlieDaTuna]

Leaving a gun cocked for an hour or two at a time will not hurt it much at all and would be the way most would hunt. But... there is another option but requires being careful depending on the make and model of the gun.

As you know, it takes very little time to cock the gun. It's the time it takes to load the chamber that irritates you. So.... partially open the breech   enough to insert the pellet and close without cocking (or cock the gun if de-cockable load and then uncock). Then it's just a matter of cocking, aiming and shooting...no lost time in loading.

[Gene_SC]

I always load after I get out in the sticks. I keep several pellets in my front pocket for easy access. I don't think I have gone more than a couple hours with gun cocked. I tend to agree with JP. My hunting is for squirrels mostly. JP on the other hand shoots dim dang birds.. hehe. JP and Jeff are avid hunters, unlike myself who goes once n a while.

Ya got to love this sport....:)

Gene

[daved]

And replace the spring with a gas ram!  This is just a teaser, guys, there WILL be more info later.  But I now own a gas ram CFX, and I gotta tell ya, I'm more than a little impressed.  If my results so far are typical, Theoben needs to get much more agressive in their marketing.  But like I said, more later :-)!

Dave

PS Hey, JP, great to see you back on board!

I used to have an rx1 years ago and liked it except it was just too heavy of a gun to lug around.  I've been looking at the theobens...the crusader and evolution and slr98.....niiiiccce!! all of them under or at 8lbs, but I'll have to hit the lotto first :)