You probably think that because I write about airguns, I don’t shoot firearms. Well, you’re wrong. I grew up interested in firearms and only casually associated with airguns because they happened to be around.

Wow! Whenever that’s the first observation I make when testing an entirely new airgun line, I know things are going to be interesting. I’m looking at two of the four models Stoeger makes—the youth model X5 and the screaming X50 at the top of the line.

Velocity, alone, used to sell airguns. Speed is still important, but today’s crop of buyers also wants total silence! They want the fiction that the movies have told them is possible.

Maybe you’ve never heard of BKL. But if you’re a diehard airgunner, you not only know them, you remember where you were when you first heard they closed their doors. Fret no longer. BKL is back!

I’m asked this all the time. “How often should I clean my airgun barrel?” How about never? That’s my stock answer, but I usually add several paragraphs of substantiation to back it up. And most people probably don’t believe me. The crazy thing is that the same people who never clean their .22 rimfire barrels seem suddenly driven to clean their airgun barrels. They tell me it’s because the airgun stores sell cleaning kits. _Read more

Airgun purists will complain that I’ve overlooked both the .20 and .25 in my report, but I can explain. Twenty caliber has never been as popular as .22, and the .25 hangs on to life by the narrowest margin. The .177 and .22 calibers are dominant. Read more

Writing is only good if it has impact, and lately I’m seeing signs that those of us who write about the shooting sports are failing to connect with a large part of our target readership. If I’m right, this news should concern all magazine editors, writers, ad reps, factory officials and, in fact, anyone involved in the promotion of the shooting sports.

Every year the NRA holds its annual meetings in some large city around the USA, changing the location each year so most NRA members get a chance to attend. This time the event was held in Phoenix on May 15-17.

If you like shooting vintage airguns, you’ve probably run into the 8-gram CO2 cartridge. The very nature of the beast almost ensures that you encountered it at the worst possible time—just when you were ready to shoot your old airgun. It’s like inheriting your grandfather’s Betamax collection. Some great old films in that box, but darned if they’ll play in anything you own.

We always want what we cannot have. American airgunners want silencers for their airguns. Never mind the fact that airguns are already quiet; silencers are an issue in the United States and therefore we want ‘em! The Brits, who have silencers on every airgun they own, want more power. They look longingly at our unrestricted power level and imagine what they would do with it.

The 2009 SHOT Show started with a bang at the annual Airgun Breakfast as the airgun community honored SHOTGUN NEWS editor Bob Hunnicutt for years of tireless support of airgunning. He and this magazine are the reason we have this column every month and a number of airgun features every year, and it was time to recognize that fact publicly.

I was born at a time that airgunners now refer to as B.C., for before chronographs. When people my age wanted to know how powerful an airgun was, we tried to shoot through a can. One side or both meant a lot when the cans were made of steel.

AirForce Airguns has been developing the Edge, a Sporter-class target rifle, for the American 10-meter youth market. They’ll bring it to market in 2009. Their knowledge of pneumatic airgun technology and modern manufacturing approach have been put to work to update the state-of-the-art in youth target rifles.

Optics are hot with airgunners. More than half the adult air rifles and many air postols will wear a scope from their first shot. Anything new in optics is sure to be well-received, and this month I want to share two new entants into the marketplace.

Nearly every new airgunner seems to prize velocity over everything else. Read more

When startup airgun maker Sheridan realized the world was not ready to embrace the beautiful 1947 Model A, it quickly developed another rifle with the same functions but serious cost controls. From that point on, the Model C, or Silver Streak as it soon became known, dominated the Sheridan line. Read more

From the 1800's to the present: Learn more about the BB. Read more

Never a real star on the battlefield, the 8mm Egyptian Hakim probably has more of a following today among plinkers and gun nuts than it did while on active duty in the 1950s.Read more

Anyone who has hunted with a rimfire knows how well hollow-point bullets work on game. But do hollow-point pellets really work? Read more

Instinct shooting has been around as long as shooting, itself. The same instinct that allows us to throw rocks with accuracy can be applied to most of the shooting sports. Read more

As an airgun writer, I sometimes hear about developments that haven’t made it to market yet. Many of them never will, nor should they. Most are cockamamie ideas that stink. Every once in awhile, however, something good comes along. The air pistol I’m going to show you falls into that category. Read more