I'm asking YOU!

by Harley Ayre

This will be a different kind of blog. Instead of me telling you about some aspect of airgunning, I want to ask your opinions about some important things.

Calibers
There are four smallbore calibers: .177, .20, .22 and .25. There are lots of PCPs in .177 and .22 but a lot fewer in .25. And .20 caliber is pretty rare. Why is that, and what is your favorite airgun caliber? If you have more than one, tell me all of them and what you use them for. Do you have any interest in calibers larger than .25?

Fill pressures
The most common fill pressure these days is 3,000 psi, which is 206 bar. But is that the best pressure? A few German guns now have a maximum fill of 300 bar, or 4,350 psi. BSA has some rifles with a 250 bar maximum fill. On the other end of the spectrum, the American-made US FT rifle uses a maximum fill of 1,800 psi to get 60 shots of 10.5-grain Crosman Premiers at 900 f.p.s. So, the pressure can go either way. Do you wish it would go in a certain direction and can you tell me why you want that?

Regulators
You probably know what regulators do, so do you want one in an airgun? If you don't know, a regulator drops the air pressure in the reservoir to a lower pressure. It then fills a firing chamber with lower-pressure air. The firing valve is tuned to the lower air pressure. As long as it's available, the valve functions the same from shot to shot. Do you want one of these, or do you just want a gun that has lots of shots with very little velocity variation from shot to shot?

Repeaters
How important is having more than one shot? Do you actually use this feature (or wish you could) or does it just sound better than a single-shot? There are tradeoffs with all repeaters. Usually, the feed mechanism dictates what pellets can and cannot be used. Sometimes it limits the length of the pellet, while other times it restricts the type of nose the pellet can have. Today's repeaters are almost as accurate as single-shots, so accuracy isn't the objection it once was, but a repeater can jam if the pellets don't feed smoothly. That fact can limit your pellet choices, too. So, how important is the repeating function to you?

Size and weight
Do you want a big, heavy rifle or a small, lightweight one? You probably know that the longer the barrel the more efficient the airgun. Is that more important, or is a portable, lightweight gun what you want? Are exotic materials like titanium worth the extra cost to keep the weight low?

Materials and finishes
Is a highly polished wood and metal gun with deep bluing important, or do you want a matte black or camouflage finish on your airgun? Is figured wood more important than a stable stock made of fiberglass? Does the use of engineering plastic matter? What about aluminum?

Pellets
Do you like using diabolo pellets, or do you wish airguns could use solid bullets, instead? What is the greatest distance you usually shoot? How accurate do you want to be at that distance?

Accessories
Besides a scope, what are the most important accessories? Bipod? Night vision? Laser rangefinder? Pellet holder? Scope with digital imaging/video capability? Visible laser? You tell me.

Anything else?
Have I left anything out? Is there some other feature you would like to see, or one you wish would go away? I'm trying to learn how good today's crop of airguns is and what improvements are needed to make them better. You are the only ones who know the answer to that.