Airgun World

AIRGUN WORLD JUNE 08 EDITORIAL

How can it be the June issue already? I know you'll be reading this in May, but just to cheer you up, the 20th of June is the summer equinox and after that the days begin to get shorter as we head toward winter. Oh well, that's another one over - happy new year. As a kid, I distinctly remember old people (that was anyone over 30) telling me that time passes faster the older you get.
Time really does fly as the years roll by and if I've learned anything, it's the need to pack that time with as many good things as possible. Among the other things the passing years have taught me, is that passing on what I've learned is one of those good things I should pack into my life. This very much includes airgun shooting and teaching young people how to get the most from our sport.

I firmly believe that everyone with the opportunity and knowledge to teach young shooters will find that doing so opens a whole new level of shooting pleasure. In my experience, coaching youngsters and novices is the most enjoyable shooting pastime I've ever taken part in. That's why I've started a new coaching series aimed specifically at teaching young people to handle, shoot and thoroughly enjoy airguns. It's a series that's long overdue and the techniques demonstrated will be useful to airgunners of all types, and ages. As ever, if there's anything you'd like me or our expert contributors to cover ­ perhaps you have a problem with your own technique ­ then let me know and I'll sort out a tutorial in the mag'. I see the passing on of knowledge as one of the most important parts of my job as editor and there's going to be more of it in Airgun World.

On the subject of your requests and suggestions, we're getting some great feedback from the forms attached to your competition entries and I've already put your ideas into action. So many of you have asked for reviews on classic rifles such as the Feinwerkbau Sport, Original 45, Weihrauch HW35E, plus a host of BSAs, Webleys, Dianas and similar blasts from the past, that I've commissioned our own piece of airgun heritage, Jim Tyler, to do a series on these guns.

Keep those ideas coming in, not just to help us make Airgun World the magazine we all want it to be, but to put yourself in line for winning a serious bit of kit. I'm currently negotiating for a rifle and scope combo as the end of year prize draw for everyone who offers a suggestion, and even the slightly worrying person who wants to see George Stevens doing his reviews in leather bondage gear will have a chance of winning. Yes, really.

This month's mag' is a right old mixture, with a non-leather clad George testing the legendary BSA Meteor Mk7, Nick Jenkinson, Tony Arnewood and Jim Tyler looking at hunting scopes, and Tim Finley plinking up a storm with a budget-priced Gamo. Phil Bulmer sees the light and takes us through the rights and wrongs of shooting at home, and Gary Cooper takes part in an airgun pentathlon before copping off for a weekend's shooting at a rather splendid Lincolnshire estate.

There's much more of course, but the biggest story of this issue has to be Ben Taylor's Smooth-Twist barrel. This is a breakthrough that really could change the way our guns are made and how they perform. I was privileged to be in at the start of the Smooth-Twist development and I'm proud that this magazine is the first to reveal the full story of Ben's invention. It's all in your super soaraway (sorry!) Airgun World ­ the magazine that your feedback helps to build.

We'll be back, back, back (sorry, again) in July's edition with more revolutionary revelations, top-class tutorials and fantastic forays in the field - and I promise I'll drop the tabloidspeak.
Have a great month's sport and don't forget to pass on that knowledge, OK?

Terry Doe – the air-miles airgunner.

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