Thinking of becoming a member?

If you've just joined and are thinking of buying a new airgun, the best thing to do is try before you buy. 

Our members have a vast range of airguns, from 19th century GEMs to state of the art FX and Daystate PCPs, through springers, gas rams, CO2, collectables and everything in between and are usually willing to let you have a shot or 20 with them.  

We also have some Club guns (full size and junior) for those in limbo.

So don't just rush online or to the nearest gun shop because that approach frequently ends up with people buying expensive guns that may not be right for them.

                                               Members airguns at Waulkmill.

Besides, there's usually someone selling an airgun or scope to raise funds for that new, must have, piece of kit so you may find an unexpected bargain at GARC - members frequently take along items for sale to Denwood and keep an eye on the For Sale page.

You can also ask for advice via the GARC Forum. 

And, if in doubt, remember this useful formula -

While the minimum number of guns one should own is three, the correct number is n+1 where n is the amount of guns currently possessed. 

This formula can also be expressed as s-1 where

s is the number of guns that would result in separation from your partner.

                      Recent in-club sales, a 1959 BSA Airsporter mk2 - best of the best!

     A Webley Hurricane

and a Terminator's Leg.

              Airgun Jargon for Beginners

Artillery Hold    Technique for shooting a Springer successfully.   Learn it.

BB    Ball Bearing.   Either steel or lead/copper in 4.5mm cal or plastic in 6mm.  Not for indoor use at Denwood.

Boinger    Another name for Springer.

Brick Lobber    An airgun in .22 cal or above.

Chrono or Chrony    Chronograph.   Electronic instrument used for measuring the velocity of a pellet.  Useful for testing and tuning your airgun and ensuring its output is legal.  We can provide access to chronographs.

Diesel/Dieselling    Combustion of excess lube oil/grease in the cylinder of a Springer.  Not good.

Dry firing    Pulling the trigger without a pellet being loaded while practicing your aim.  Some airguns can do this safely, some can't - never fire a cocked but unloaded Springer!

Exacts    JSB Exacts.  Most popular make/type of high quality airgun pellets.

FAC    Firearms Certificate.   Required if your airgun puts out more than the legal limit of 12ft/lbs energy.

FT    Field Target.   Type of outdoor competition involving knock down targets.

FPS    Feet Per Second.   How fast your pellet is travelling.   Measured on a Chrono.

Ft/lb    Unit an airgun's power output is measured in - 12ft/lbs max for a rifle, 6ft/lbs for a pistol.

Group or Grouping    A cluster of pellet holes in a target after a string of shots at a single aiming point - the tighter the grouping, the better.

Hamster    A holding/support aid mounted on the underside of a rifle's stock.  No one knows why it is called this.

HFT    Hunter Field Target.  Variant of FT but less technical and considered more manly.  Competition under simulated hunting conditions.

Hold Off, Hold Over and Hold Under    Aiming techniques to compensate for the effects of different target ranges and wind on your Zero without adjusting your sights.

Iron Sights    Basic, non magnifying sights.  Also called Open Sights.

Knock Downs    Metal targets commonly in the shape of hunting quarry animals - hit the kill zone and a part (or all) of the target will fall down.  Also called Tin Chickens.

Long Gun    A rifle.

Mil-Dots    Type of telescopic sight Reticle.  Allows calculation of ranges and Hold Over/Under aim points.

Open Sights    As Iron Sights.

Paper Punching    Shooting neat little holes in paper targets on the 10m indoor range.

Parallax/Parallax Error    Optical sighting error that can arise with inconsistent hold and aim techniques.  Can be dialled out with Parallax Adjustable telescopic sights.

PCP    Pre Charged Pneumatic.   Type of rifle/pistol that gets it's shooting power from an internal high pressure air reservoir that gets filled from a diver's bottle or stirrup pump.

Plinker    One who plinks.  Also, a low powered, imprecisely accurate airgun.

Plinking    Casual, informal target practice - shooting at tin cans!

Pumper     A pistol or rifle with a built in pump.  Differs from an SSP because they allow multiple compression strokes and variable power levels.

Rammer     A rifle powered by a pressurised gas ram strut instead of a traditional spring.

Reticle/Reticule    Crosshairs in telescopic sight.

Sidelever   As an Underlever but side mounted.

Spinners    Targets that spin when you hit them.

Springer    Any airgun powered by a coiled spring.

SSP   Single Stroke Pneumatic - pistol or rifle with a built in pump to compress air within a reservoir. 

Sub 12   A non FAC air rifle.

Sweeping    Allowing your gun's muzzle to trace a path across someone's person.  Very bad, don't do it.  Ever.

Tap Loader   Type of airgun with a rotating "tap" for loading pellets eg, BSA Airsporter/Webley Mk3.

Tin Chickens  See Knock Downs,

Underlever    Type of airgun (usually a springer) that has a fixed barrel and a separate, underslung lever for cocking.

Wadcutters    Flat headed pellets normally used for Paper Punching.

Wine Rack    Popular pronunciation of Weihrauch.

Zero    The point at which your aim and the pellet's point of impact converge.