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ARTICLE 002: Adult Precision Airguns & Airgun Powerplants
In the epilogue of Article 001, I committed to writing about adult precision airguns and airgun power plants in this edition. So here we go…
Here’s how I would define an adult precision airgun: any airgun that is capable of point of aim (POA) to point of impact (POI) accuracy under ¼ inch at 10-15 meters. A match air rifle can place pellets in the same hole (e.g. 0.04 POA/POI) all day long at 10 meters. Another qualifier for this class of airgun is that it is capable of maintaining this level of reliable precision for years and in some cases decades with proper maintenance. As with most things, you get what you pay for. But, this level of air rifle won’t be found in Walmart or K-Mart. Dicks Sporting Goods, Bass Pro Shop and Cabela’s may carry a few air rifles in this class. For the most part, serious airgun enthusiast with an appetite for accuracy and quality airgun workmanship find themselves ordering their airguns from a select group of well established distributers. Quality precision airguns can range from approximately $300 to over $3000. There are people who pay more than they need to and others who find incredible deals resulting from diligent and patient searching. Once you decide how much you’re willing to spend, know what it is you want in an airgun and determine what primary application you intend to use it for (i.e. plinking, punching paper, competition, field target, hunting, etc.) you are ready to research the various manufacturers. Sorting through the plethora of airgun models can be quite the daunting experience. Every implement (airgun) is skillfully marketed to be chosen for your hard earned money and claiming to be better than the others. But there’s hope… I do plan to provide you with field tested research reports on some of the popular models that may satisfy your existing, or soon to be, refined airgun pallet. If you already own one of these mechanical works of art, please tell me about your gun at: charles.hollins@comcast.net. Let me know the model, caliber, year purchased and your likes / dislikes. I’ll collect this data and present it in a future edition of this column.
Okay, I digress. There is another characteristic of some adult precision airguns referred to as “magnum”. How’s that for a class designation? Airgunners in the know frequently ask if an airgun is a magnum level shooter. Generally speaking, a magnum air rifle is: capable of producing in excess of 12 foot pounds of energy (12fpe) at the muzzle; has an accuracy potential of at least ¼ inch at 10 meters and under 1 inch between 30-40 meters; and propels medium to heavy pellets >900 fps in .177 / >800fps in .22 / >550fps in .25 [air rifles, because of the barrel length and compression chamber size, are the airguns capable of achieving the velocities indicative of the magnum classification]. I’ll be discussing airgun models I own in this class that produce 14fpe to as high as 100fpe. Yes, airguns that exceed 100fpe are out there.
Now we’ll stroll through an introduction to airgun power plants. There are two umbrella categories under which the major airgun power plants are covered and they are spring piston and pneumatics. In this article we’ll describe the spring piston powerplant.
The spring piston is one of the most common airguns in the market today. The power plant consist of a steel coil spring (mainspring) inserted into a hollow piston tube with a notched rod at the rear end that is caught by the trigger sear when the spring is compressed (gun is cocked). The piston tube is closed at the front end and has a replaceable seal and the piston/seal assembly is driven forward under the mainspring power when the trigger releases the sear. The piston travels within a canal called the compression chamber that has a small hole (transfer port) through which the suddenly compressed air must exhaust / exit. The transfer port channels the highly pressurized air to the rear of the pellet sending it forcefully down the bore and out of the muzzle on its journey to the intended target. A pellet in the breech blocks the free travel of the powerful piston, resulting in an extremely high psi [>1000? Fahrenheit compression temp]. You can think of the pellet as the pressure release valve. Another version of the spring powerplant is the gas spring, also referred to as gas ram. The gas spring is common in vehicles with hatchback doors that we refer to as the “shock”. The gas spring used in airguns are very powerful and retain a higher level of consistency and a smoother operation than steel springs. Gas springs contain pressurized self contained gas inside a leak proof chamber. When the airgun is cocked the pressurized gas is placed under even greater pressure and held in that state until the trigger is pulled, which allows the piston to spring forward to its original position. If a steel spring is left compressed (the gun is cocked) it may begin to suffer spring fatigue after an hour (the time factor for spring fatigue depends on the quality of the steel spring). The symptoms of spring fatigue include lower power, spring canting and spring noise during the firing cycle. A gas spring can be left cocked for extended periods of time (hours) without any signs of failure or damage.
Well, that demonstrates a portion of the mechanical technology that has been applied in the development of reliable spring powerplants.
In article 003 I will describe the exciting world of pneumatic powerplants and pellet selection.
Visit our "Contact Us" page to provide comments or ask questions about Adult Precision Airguns.
Here’s how I would define an adult precision airgun: any airgun that is capable of point of aim (POA) to point of impact (POI) accuracy under ¼ inch at 10-15 meters. A match air rifle can place pellets in the same hole (e.g. 0.04 POA/POI) all day long at 10 meters. Another qualifier for this class of airgun is that it is capable of maintaining this level of reliable precision for years and in some cases decades with proper maintenance. As with most things, you get what you pay for. But, this level of air rifle won’t be found in Walmart or K-Mart. Dicks Sporting Goods, Bass Pro Shop and Cabela’s may carry a few air rifles in this class. For the most part, serious airgun enthusiast with an appetite for accuracy and quality airgun workmanship find themselves ordering their airguns from a select group of well established distributers. Quality precision airguns can range from approximately $300 to over $3000. There are people who pay more than they need to and others who find incredible deals resulting from diligent and patient searching. Once you decide how much you’re willing to spend, know what it is you want in an airgun and determine what primary application you intend to use it for (i.e. plinking, punching paper, competition, field target, hunting, etc.) you are ready to research the various manufacturers. Sorting through the plethora of airgun models can be quite the daunting experience. Every implement (airgun) is skillfully marketed to be chosen for your hard earned money and claiming to be better than the others. But there’s hope… I do plan to provide you with field tested research reports on some of the popular models that may satisfy your existing, or soon to be, refined airgun pallet. If you already own one of these mechanical works of art, please tell me about your gun at: charles.hollins@comcast.net. Let me know the model, caliber, year purchased and your likes / dislikes. I’ll collect this data and present it in a future edition of this column.
Okay, I digress. There is another characteristic of some adult precision airguns referred to as “magnum”. How’s that for a class designation? Airgunners in the know frequently ask if an airgun is a magnum level shooter. Generally speaking, a magnum air rifle is: capable of producing in excess of 12 foot pounds of energy (12fpe) at the muzzle; has an accuracy potential of at least ¼ inch at 10 meters and under 1 inch between 30-40 meters; and propels medium to heavy pellets >900 fps in .177 / >800fps in .22 / >550fps in .25 [air rifles, because of the barrel length and compression chamber size, are the airguns capable of achieving the velocities indicative of the magnum classification]. I’ll be discussing airgun models I own in this class that produce 14fpe to as high as 100fpe. Yes, airguns that exceed 100fpe are out there.
Now we’ll stroll through an introduction to airgun power plants. There are two umbrella categories under which the major airgun power plants are covered and they are spring piston and pneumatics. In this article we’ll describe the spring piston powerplant.
The spring piston is one of the most common airguns in the market today. The power plant consist of a steel coil spring (mainspring) inserted into a hollow piston tube with a notched rod at the rear end that is caught by the trigger sear when the spring is compressed (gun is cocked). The piston tube is closed at the front end and has a replaceable seal and the piston/seal assembly is driven forward under the mainspring power when the trigger releases the sear. The piston travels within a canal called the compression chamber that has a small hole (transfer port) through which the suddenly compressed air must exhaust / exit. The transfer port channels the highly pressurized air to the rear of the pellet sending it forcefully down the bore and out of the muzzle on its journey to the intended target. A pellet in the breech blocks the free travel of the powerful piston, resulting in an extremely high psi [>1000? Fahrenheit compression temp]. You can think of the pellet as the pressure release valve. Another version of the spring powerplant is the gas spring, also referred to as gas ram. The gas spring is common in vehicles with hatchback doors that we refer to as the “shock”. The gas spring used in airguns are very powerful and retain a higher level of consistency and a smoother operation than steel springs. Gas springs contain pressurized self contained gas inside a leak proof chamber. When the airgun is cocked the pressurized gas is placed under even greater pressure and held in that state until the trigger is pulled, which allows the piston to spring forward to its original position. If a steel spring is left compressed (the gun is cocked) it may begin to suffer spring fatigue after an hour (the time factor for spring fatigue depends on the quality of the steel spring). The symptoms of spring fatigue include lower power, spring canting and spring noise during the firing cycle. A gas spring can be left cocked for extended periods of time (hours) without any signs of failure or damage.
Well, that demonstrates a portion of the mechanical technology that has been applied in the development of reliable spring powerplants.
In article 003 I will describe the exciting world of pneumatic powerplants and pellet selection.
Visit our "Contact Us" page to provide comments or ask questions about Adult Precision Airguns.
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