Hi Lez, apologies 1st if this comes accross as A bit snotty, and yes I have noticed the emoticon.
regarding your comment above re the XS36-2 Springer.
You seem to be of the opinion that if the Rifle is not one of the top brands i.e Air Arms, Logun, Theoben etc. it isnt sufficient to deliver A clean Kill. i
I Currently own An XS36-2 and to be honest I find it to be A very capable Rifle. A little noisy on the ear maybe, but still reasonable given the price.
Like any Air Rifle, once the scope is Zeroed properly and it is coupled with the right ammunition and a Competent shooter it is more than capable of Stopping Small vermin.
It'll certainly despatch pigeons cleanly. I know this from experience having done it. 20Yds range with A Head Shot.
Mine is currently fed with AA Diablo Field and at present is putting out around 11Ft/lbs at the muzzle.
I certainly agree that before anyone takes on Live Targets they should hone their shooting skills upto A decent standard 1st. as well as ensuring their chosen rifle is up to the Task.
However, I dont agree that in order to go Hunting for pigeons, Rabbits etc. that the Shooter should only buy Branded Rifles.
Lets face it, we'd All like to drive A top of the range Car, but how many of us actually do?
Most people dont, but the cars they do have still get them where they wanna go.
You (Amongst others) Advise i_am_sam82 to look for A sendhand Rifle.
in order to do the job.
Thats all well and good, but what if the S/H Rifle isnt up to scratch? i.e not as powerful as it should be due to age, use etc?
The buyer is then left thinking that because they have followed advice given and bought A S/H Branded rifle that it WILL do the job straight away. possibly to find to their Horror and or dissapointment that it doesn't and therefore leaves the quarry suffering unnecessarily. Then What?
Take it back to the seller? not much chance of that if not from A shop (Statutory rights etc.)
Sellers have rights too, i.e. private sales are generally on A sold as seen basis with little or no comeback. sometimes not even seen , let alone tried or tested.
Budget will take precidence regarding the choice as will common sense.
Therefore buying the best rifle your budget will allow and having some form of guarantee with it makes far more sense, than merely taking A chance.
Yes I agree the B2 and B3-f aren't really suitable for much else other than plinking but it doesnt mean they're all unsuitable.