Category: Airguns

Let’s take a light-hearted peep into the story of the airgun. Where did it begin? Where did it come from? Who was involved in its creation?

Lung Power

In the Middle Ages, firearms were making their debut appearance on the world’s stage. Black powder was invented by the Chinese in the 10^th century, and over the next couple of hundred years, it was introduced to the rest of the trading world. But long before these very first firearms sputtered into History’s war scenes, early air-powered weapons were being used for hunting.

The blowgun (blowpipe) propelled a projectile using the power of air. So they were, in the most basic sense, air-powered weapons. Not sure you’d bring down a bear with a blowgun, though – or live to try again, for that matter.

Early Mechanical Airguns

The contemporary definition of airgun is “a gun which fires pellets using compressed air or other gases”. A blowgun uses fast-moving gas (CO₂), but not compressed gas. So, let’s move forward to the first guns that fit the modern definition of airgun.

Sweden’s Livrustkammaren (Royal Armoury) museum, in Stockholm, houses a very special exhibit. It’s a bellows airgun dating back to 1580 – an artefact recognised by historians as the oldest existing mechanical airgun. Developments over the following couple of centuries resulted in some powerful weapons in calibres up to .50, with velocities as high as 1,000 FPS.

The best-known example of an 18^th century airgun is the Girandoni – also known as Windbüchse (‘wind rifle’) – developed by gunsmith and mechanic Bartholomaus Girandoni. This rifle, the world’s first PCP airgun, was famously used by Captain Meriwether Lewis and Second Lieutenant William Clark on their US mapping expedition in the years 1804 to 1806. Native Americans were very impressed by the “smokeless bolt of thunder” that Lewis and Clark were keen to show off.

Although powerful, the Girandoni was hard work. It took nearly 1,500 strokes of a hand pump to fill the air reservoir! But nevertheless, these new airguns had several advantages over their live-fire counterparts: they were smokeless; there was no muzzle flash; they were quieter; they could be fired in wet weather; and each shot took less time to prepare.

Turbulent Evolution of a Spring-Action Side-Lever

The Volitional Repeater was a rifle patented in 1849 by an American mechanic and prolific inventor called Walter Hunt (1796-1859), whose inventions included the ice plough, the lockstitch sewing machine, and the safety pin. Hunt’s Volitional Repeater featured a tubular magazine that was housed under the barrel, and cartridges were raised into the chamber via a lever mechanism. Mr Hunt sold the rights of his invention to manufacturer George Arrowsmith, and one of Arrowsmith’s employees, Lewis Jennings, worked on improving the design of the rifle’s lever mechanism.

The Jennings Magazine Rifle was manufactured by The Robbins and Lawrence Armory and Machine Shop in Vermont, but after three years, production ceased, and investors suffered heavy losses.

Horace Smith and Daniel Wesson – two employees of Robbins and Lawrence – made further developments on Jennings’ design, and began manufacturing the Volcanic, a lever-action, magazine-fed pistol. Just a year later, in 1855, the Smith & Wesson company became the Volcanic Repeating Arms Company, benefitting from investment by Oliver Winchester. Not long after all the patents and assets were passed to the Volcanic Repeating Arms Company, Messrs Smith and Wesson left.

It didn’t take long for the Volcanic Repeating Arms Company to fail, and all assets were sold to Oliver Winchester.

Carbonic Gas

The first airgun powered by carbon dioxide (which used to be called carbonic gas) was a pistol designed and built in the 1870s by a Frenchman called Paul Giffard. The pistol wasn’t a success, because the gas cylinder had to be sent back to the factory every time you needed a refill.

Development of CO₂ guns was slow, but by the 1930s, manufacturers were using 8g soda-syphon bulbs, which were filled with liquid CO₂. Two decades later, in 1954, Crosman produced the Powerlet, a 12g CO₂ bulb, which is still the power source of CO₂ guns today.

Recreation

In England in the 1890s, air rifles were proving very useful for poaching, thanks to minimal muzzle report. But theft wasn’t all they were being used for. In Birmingham, particularly, there was a growing trend for competitive target shooting. Matches between public house teams would be played out for prizes that were paid for by the losing team.

At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, air rifle events for men and women made their Olympic debut, and they have featured ever since. At the following Olympic Games, in Seoul, air pistol events were introduced, and they, too, have continued.

During the 20^th century, airgun target shooting grew in popularity, and now, almost a fifth of the way through the 21^st century, the sport has never been enjoyed by so many people.

Target shooting is an inclusive sport, accessible to all ages, both sexes, and to those with physical disabilities. A hundred years ago, shooting was a pastime for only the wealthy. But today there is opportunity for everyone.

Daystate was the first manufacturer to produce PCP airguns. Today, as the whole industry rides the waves of fashion and demand, Daystate is still steaming ahead, powered by technical excellence, sparkling innovation, and consumer feedback. So let’s have a look at one of Daystate’s latest models, the Wolverine R, and find out what some of Pellpax’s customers think of it.

Following in the wake of Daystate’s immensely popular bolt-action Wolverine 2, the ambidextrous Wolverine R, with regulated side-lever action, has made quite a splash in the shooting world.

Regulator

The airgun’s regulator – responsible for the ‘R’ in the name – is made by Huma, the internationally renowned Dutch regulator specialist, considered to be the very best in regulator technology. The advantages of this feature are three-fold. Firstly, you get more shots per fill-up; secondly, you get better shot-to-shot consistency; and thirdly – thanks to the consistency – accuracy is improved.

One Pellpax customer, who has a Wolverine R C-Type, says, “I like the accuracy and consistent power of shots. It has a great look and feel – a nice crisp trigger.”

The C-Type Wolverine R has a fixed air cylinder with a capacity of 200cc, whereas the B-Type has a 400/500cc steel buddy bottle, and the Hi Lite version has a 480cc super-light carbon bottle.

Right’s Right … Right?

All versions of the Wolverine R feature an ambidextrous thumbhole stock in a choice of high-grade walnut or grey laminate. The side lever can be positioned for either a right-handed shooter (90% of the population) or a left-handed shooter (10% of the population). After all, isn’t it about time we gave lefties a break?

The word right comes from the Old English riht, which in turn came from Germanic origin. The word is related to the Latin rectus, meaning ‘ruled’. In its evolutionary journey, right (in the sense of ‘right-hand side’) has travelled shotgun with right (as in ‘correct’).

Left is what has become of the Old English word lyft, meaning weak, which also has a Germanic origin. In German, left is links, and the word for ‘underhanded’ is link. The Latin for left is sinister.

The word adroit, meaning ‘clever’ or ‘skilful’, comes from the French à droit, which translates as ‘by rights’ or ‘properly’. The French word for left is gauche – used in English for ‘clumsy’ or ‘awkward’.

So, what I’m saying is, the left-hand side has always had bad press. And the 10% of the population who are left-handed have been on the wrong side of prejudice. But the Daystate Wolverine R, with a side lever that can be positioned on either side, is for everyone.

“That’s a really great feature,” says the owner of a B-Type. “My brother gave me his Wolverine R, but he’s left-handed and I’m right-handed, so we needed to get the lever changed over.”

More Info

This isn’t something you can do yourself, of course. For repairs and alterations, phone Pellpax on 01263 731 585 or email [email protected]

There’s a lot more to this rifle than we’ve looked at here. So why not take a more detailed look, here, at the various forms of this superb model.

In the words of one of our customers: “It’s champion!”

So as well as an archer, I’m also a huge lover of guns, including air rifles, and have spent much of my life doing small game hunting and pest control, both for the control of species that are harmful to farmland, and for the enjoyment of being out in the elements with just my dog by my side and my rifle in my hand. To someone who doesn’t shoot, this sense of freedom when you’re out in a field or woodland after your prey cannot be explained. I’ve had many air rifles come and go in my arsenal, but one of the most impressive has to be my Weihrauch HW95K, fitted with an MTC Mamba 3-12×44 AO IR.

A Light Weihrauch

This is a beautiful rifle, which is well balanced and accurate. Usually Weihrauch air rifles are renowned for being weighty guns, but this is one of the lightest in their range, weighing in at just 3.3kg and making this an easy gun to carry around all day without too much strain on the user. Take a look at our wider Weihrauch range.

I first took this gun down to the range for some setting up and was very impressed with the results. I generally go for air guns in .177 calibre, as I prefer the accuracy of these, along with the extra range and the flatness of the pellets’ trajectory (ideal for hunting). Firstly, I set up a paper target at 30 yards, and once I was getting one-inch groups, extended this range to 50 yards.

For a spring rifle to be getting such tight groups at this range, from a standing position, was very impressive, and I was easily still hitting spinner targets and tin cans on the top and bottom sides with ease. For me this was good enough to take the HW95K to a local farm for some field testing.

For a .177, pellet choice is very important when target shooting, and for overall accuracy you can’t beat a good quality domed head pellet, and so I began by using JSB Exact 4.52. But after a while, I actually found that my rifle preferred Rifle Airgun Ammunition Premium Round for tighter groups. I’ve found over time that the .177 pellet, though accurate, tends to over penetrate your target when shooting vermin, and so if you don’t go for a head shot, you haven’t got much hope of killing your prey, as the pellet passes through too cleanly. I have, however, found the solution to this issue with the incredible Baracuda Hunter Extreme by HnN, which causes enough damage for a clean kill. The last thing I want is to leave an animal wounded.

Easy Rabbit Hunting Rifle

The first rabbit I took with this was at a modest 30 yards (I always go for head shots to ensure a clean kill or a complete miss), and I was a little amazed at how this rifle feels to shoot. With such a crisp and clean shot, it took this first rabbit with ease.

After this, I have had huge success with this rifle at shooting spinning targets, but mostly hunting, where this rifle has not once let me down or had any faults, and with very rarely any misses, all of which were no fault of the rifle.

Over the next 6 months this has now become my rifle of choice for hunting, as I know that pretty much any pest within 60 yards is mine for the taking.

If you’re looking for a no-nonsense, high quality hunting package, check out this link for this rifle fitted with a scope, silencer, sling, bag, and pellets – everything you need to help you get rid of those pests once and for all. And check out how the Weihrauch compares to Hatsan air rifles for hunting.