Author Archives: Jim Chapman
Harder to Justify my Rimfires!
I’m going to share a story that recently caused me a lot of frustration. Since I jotted this in my field log, I have taken every opportunity to build up my supply of .22 rimfire ammo. Over the course of a few months I’ve found occasion (small) supply’s and bought when ever I could. Sometimes … Continue reading
No Country for Old Boar Coons!
It was just getting dark when a buddy and I unloaded our gear on the edge of a harvested corn field. Guns and lights are standard night time hunting gear, but we also carried an electronic call, which we’ve found very useful for raccoon hunting night or day. We hiked a couple hundred yards across the … Continue reading
Texas Varmint Hunt!
My hunting has been a bit slow over the last couple months, I’ve been traveling a lot for work, doing some family trips (spent this weekend at the Fields Museum in Chicago….love that place!), and thought I jump into my field journal and share a hunt from seasons past. A couple summers back I was invited on … Continue reading
Air Powered Handguns for Hunting
Back in the days when I did most of my hunting with firearms, and rifles at that, I started looking for some new challenges. I soon settled in on handgun hunting, buying myself a Thompson Contender with a number of barrels in a variety of calibers. That gun was used on everything from prairie dogs … Continue reading
Weather Blocked! It’s down to the Basement!
The weather this summer has been undermining my attempts to shoot, torrential rainstorms replete with ground striking lightening, howling winds, everything is soaked …… and the frustrating thing is that I’ve got several guns from Daystate, Hatsan, Gamo, and FX to shoot. On top of the weather, my day job has had me traveling to … Continue reading
Air Rifle Stocks
Taking Stock! Whenever I look at a new rifle the stock is one of the main features I hone in on. It doesn’t matter how powerful or the inherently accurate, if the stock is not right I’ll never wring the full potential from the gun. I’ll hold the rifle and look at it while getting … Continue reading
Airgun Pigeon Control in South Africa
Returning to South Africa on one of his trips, I brought a mid powered small bore precharged pneumatic air rifles along to get some pigeon shooting in during breaks from hunting plains game. The action was fast and furious and the pigeons just kept on coming! I was out on a friend’s stock (sheep) farm … Continue reading
Pellet Adjacent Trivia!
I tend to talk about new guns, accessories, scopes, binoculars, shoot sticks, pellets, and hunting techniques. But this week I’m going to take a look at the steps some shooters take with respect to preparing and loading their pellets in order to achieve the best results; sizing, lubing, and seating the pellets in their guns. … Continue reading
Bottle Fed Air Rifles
When buying any new air rifle there are several relevant factors to consider; power, accuracy, loudness (or quietness depending on perspective), trigger characteristics, the guns physical dimensions and how it fits the shooter, etc. Another important item specifically related to precharged pneumatic airguns is online air storage capacity, which dictates shot count and therefore how … Continue reading
Mussings on Airgun Power
What is the right power level? The level of power that can be generated with airguns depends on what type of airgun you’re talking about. Most of the inexpensive CO2 and pneumatics that are produced for the mass market plinkers generate from 4 to 10 fpe, while some of the the big bores can generate over … Continue reading
