I had an airgun realization this week.

[USNCop]

After extensive experience with .177, .20, and .22 calibers in airguns, I'm really becoming partial to .22.
I thought to myself, "If I didn't already have a .22 B26, I'd trade my MM tuned .177 for one."
I've also had less 'runaways' using the .22.  But I think the .177 still needs to settle in so I'll give it more shooting time.

[Jerrycup]

Troy, I like my B-26 .22 as well. On a windy day, it has a noticeable advantage over my .177 rifle. The BAM is a nice rifle any way you cut it.

[Gene_SC]

Yep and I watched Jerry hit that cow bell over and over and over againat 75 yards with his B-26 at the Texas Shoot a week ago.. No dought that the B-26 is a great shooter.

[PelletPaul]

Don't have a B-26 but I hear they are fantastic weapons of destruction.  Keep on shooting.       P

[TexasShooter72]

I'm kind of partial to my .177's because I use them so often to keep the squirrels out of our trees.  The 350 Magnum .22 I've got is alot of gun to be using on little critters- mine mostly comes out for the coyotes.  I am however looking into either a .20 cal or lesser powered .22 just for bragging rights.  My 350 Mag might be up for sale soon to help finance this...

[PelletPaul]

Matt - Time for a PCP.................Paul

[TexasShooter72]

Paul, I've been itchin' to go in that direction!  Don't look now...  but you can see my latest purchase in the classifieds!  Going pre-charged will have to wait!

[PelletPaul]

Matt - It's the difference between black & white and color.  I've seen some really quality PCP's on the yellow.  Which one did you get? Don't get me wrong, I love my springer. In two weeks have taken 900 shots with it.   HW97 one of the most accurate springers in the world.  However, if there was a coyote eating my cat the Cyclone will get the nod everytime.       P

[TCups]

Here is the realization I have come to:  I shot several of my springers this weekend trying to post a score on the 30 yard bench rest competition.  And I mean I shot probably a hundred or more shots with each or 4 or 5 high end, pro-tuned springers.  Competitively, I can't shoot any of them for squat compared to a PCP.  3 or 4 or 5 bulls then a flyer 2 inches out of the black, then 3 or 4 more shots before I am back on target.  Off a rest, they are all hold sensitive, all different in the character of their hold sensitivity off a rest, all picky about the pellets they shoot well, and all hard to shoot accurately even off a rest, and all INCONSISTENT.  Springers are OK for casual plinking or popping squirrels with a head shot at 25 yards, but I just don't think I am ever going to shoot as well and as consistently with a springer as I would like to be able to, and I am sure I am never going to be able to shoot a springer with anywhere near the accuracy of a PCP or single pumper.  The more springers you own and shoot, the less accurate you become with any of them.  Bah! Humbug.

[TexasShooter72]

I should've said the GTA classifieds...   it's a BSA Lightning XL .22.

[PelletPaul]

Our friend PeakChick loves those BSA's.  Do some performance testing for us.  I'm sure your gonna love it.  Good get.       Paul

[USNCop]

I sense your bad taste for springers, however, I must disagree with your statement of a falling off of marksmanship.
That's a real shame because I just love my .22 B26 to death!!!
I believe learning to shoot a springer teaches one to learn how to focus on the basics and can only improve shooting skills.
Unless there is fault in the springer/pellets/rings/scope combo, fault can really only go to the shooter. (wind pending, of course).

I've never owned or shot a PCP but I've got extensive experience with pumpers.  It seems it would take about the same skill to shoot either
aside from a PCP having a scope or smoother trigger.

So far, I'm dropping feathered vermin to almost 50 yds with my B26.  I'm being limited by fences and such.  I really need to take it to the range to stretch it's legs.
I can only imagine what I could do with a nice PCP set up!

[Graham]

Once you can shoot a springer well, you can shoot a PCP well. Unfortunately, it doesn't work the other way.lol.

[TCups]

You know, it's not a bad taste for springers, or I hope, lack of skill shooting one.  It is the fact that I have several springers and if I pick one up I haven't shot in a while, it is like starting all over to get the hold right, and to start shooting groups of less than, say, 1 inch at 30 yards.  It isn't to say that I can't pop small varmints or pull off the occasional great shot at longer distances with some regularity, but the effort required to be able to shoot 20 or 30 consecutive shots consistently inside a 1 inch bull at 30 yards with a springer is, what? . . . discouraging.  And I am not so sure that I agree with the opinion that being able to shoot a springer well translates into being able to shoot any air rifle well.  In fact, it usually feels to me like spending the time and rifle-specific effort to zero in with one particular springer or another may well cause me to develop bad habits --  no, different habits -- that I have to then shake off and change when I shoot something else, particularly a really accurate PCP or rim fire rifle.  Where I am headed with this is that it may be time to (gasp) pick one springer, forsaking all others, and get really good with that one air rifle, presuming the reason I shoot is to be able to put the pellet on target consistently.  I can tell you that taking 3 or 4 spingers you haven't shot for a while out to the range to see how well you can do with shooting a carefully scored match with each of them is an exercise in frustration for me.  But if I pick up my Walther or my Air Arms S410, it's an entirely different experience.  In this case, all my mental efforts go to thinking about what I, the shooter, am doing - position, center, stance, breathing, trigger pull, etc. instead of thinking about the rifle and "how the hell did that shot fly 4 inches low and right?  Do I need to change my grip?  Is it not grouping because I am shooting FTS instead of JSB", etc.  Sometimes it is fun to work thru that sort of thing, but for the most part, for me, it is fun to not to have to work through that and to just go out there and punch one-hole groups at 30 yards.  If you can do that consistently with your springers, please shoot the bench match and post your scores.

[PelletPaul]

Springers have a place in this world that no other gun has.  A pocket full of pellets and your ready to go.  That's it.  A PCP must have support ei. air.  For some people this is a hassle.  Not for me though.  A tank of air at 45psi, a smaller tank 44cu ft. gets me 3500 shots on low power which is higher in fpe than most springers.  They are lighter, more accurate, adjustable power setting on some and once sighted in there on for ever, for the most part.  My HW97 is a extremely accurate for a springer and I just love to shoot it.  Nine hundred shots in two weeks.  I'am a hunter, period.  I know positively that when I put those cross hairs from my Cyclone on my target, regardless of hold, the pellet will hit there every time.  This is not true for a springer.  So it depends on your intension's with an air gun.  My HW97 will be used as a FT shooter and some hunting.    P