Tactical Tools

As featured in Air Gunner Magazine:

John Rothery Wholesale is one of the biggest distributors of all things shooting, and I think it’s
fair to say that just about every gun shop in the UK will have an account with them. They recently told me that they’ve become the UK distributor for Walther’s huge range of knives and torches. These products have a distinctly military or police feel to them, which is all the rage today.

The first item they sent me was the Multitac multi-tool (tactical multi-tool?) which a large and solidly
built knife that features the usual 440 stainless steel locking knife blade, can opener and screwdrivers
and pliers. In addition to these, it has a really useful driver that accepts the standard hex ‘bits’, of which nine are included. This is superb because it allows you to pack along all the right ones for your stock and scope mounts, so that you never need worry about anything coming loose again. The tool and driver bits are supplied in a strong belt pouch that can be worn either vertically or horizontally.

The build feels very robust with even the handles being made of metal. The whole tool is coated
with a black, corrosion resistant finish, adding to the military look. I noted that there’s a built-in glass
breaker, to smash car windows in an emergency.

The second item is the (Slim Line Series) SLS110 which is a superb little LED torch that has two power levels: 10 and 100 lumens. I found it in use all the time on short, winter days and the high setting is powerful enough to see the ground in front clearly as you walk, whilst the low setting is ideal for close work. It comes with two slip-on, fibre-optic extensions that allow you to direct light precisely where you need it, even in the most awkward places. One unit is straight whilst the other
is curved at 90° –excellent for seeing into really confined spaces. It runs on a single AAA battery, keeping the body slender, as its name suggests. For me, it makes the ideal torch to add to your keys because it gives lots of power in a tough package without being too bulky in your pocket.

It looks like the Walther range of knives and tools do what they say on the tin, with features and the build quality where it counts. To find your nearest dealer visit www.bisley-uk.com and use their
‘Dealer Locator’ function by simply entering your post code.

Multitac RRP £34.95
Slim Line Series 110 RRP £26.95

How to fill an airgun.

How to fill an airgun

If you haven’t charged a PCP air rifle before do not worry, because charging a PCP rifle with air is not difficult but you do need to be careful if using a valve not fitted with a restrictor. Most modern valves now come with these but if they do not, it’s pretty easy to overfill a rifle which could cause it to break the receiver, something you don't want to happen as it'll go off with a bang. Now I've got your attention, hopefully you'll take care. Ideally get someone to show you how to do it until you're confident but when the time comes that you need to charge it yourself, here’s what you need to do.

 1. When you first get your bottle you'll need to attach the adaptor that came with the rifle to the end of the hose. It needs to be airtight but generally they only need to be tightened a bit more than hand tight. Be careful though as they're fine threads, often in brass and if you overdo it, you could damage the thread. Once it's on, leave it there. If you do have different guns, with various adaptors you can purchase a Best Fittings quick snap connector that can be used to quickly change the adaptor.

2. Ensure the adaptor is on the bottle and is hand tight. There's an 'O' ring on the bottle end that only needs to be hand tight to seal.

3. Tighten the bleed valve.

4. Check what pressure your rifle is designed to take and don't exceed it (on non-regulated rifles it's better to under fill by about 10 bar just to be safe).

5. Attach the adaptor to the rifle making sure that both the adaptor and rifle valve are clean and dry. Make sure it's fully engaged and never use oil or grease on any part of the filler or adaptor.

6. You're now ready to start filling. Make sure that the rifle is somewhere it can't fall over and use both hands to open the valve. As soon as it opens, close it off again quickly but gently. This stops you from venting 300 bar into a rifle designed to hold 180. It should now be much easier to open the valve and control the flow of air, once you've broken the initial seal and open it just enough for the needle to start moving on the adaptor gauge. Try not to rely on the one in the rifle, they're not very accurate and are very slow to move, lagging a bit behind the actual pressure. Aim to fill slowly, the process should take between 30 seconds and a minute. Don't be tempted to give it a quick blast at full pressure. You'll notice that the pressure rises quite quickly until it equalises with the air inside the rifle and then it slows as the rifle valve opens to receive air. Keep it going nice and slow until you reach your intended pressure.

7. Close the bottle valve firmly.

 8. Unscrew the vent valve and it will expel a blast of air. This allows the pressure to escape from the hose, so that when you remove the adaptor, it doesn't fly off at speed.

9. Uncouple the adaptor

10. Take care and have fun shooting your charged air rifle

Bisley Air Cylinders

Bisley Air Cylinders

The Bisley air cylinders from John Rothery Wholesale are a great item to add to any PCP owner’s kit to keep their guns filled and on point.  They come in three different sizes and are made from a single piece of steel and the amount of work that goes into making these cylinders can be seen in this video.  What impresses me is the sheer amount of pressure that these items can take and considering the thickness of the metal is only 3.7mm, it’s incredible that they can hold up to 300 bar safely. All cylinders for use with air rifles do require a check at your local diving shop every five years but if looked after properly, these can last you a lifetime.

When it comes to picking a size of air bottle it will come down to two things.  Do you have enough space to store a larger bottle and what sort of price you want to pay?  There is quite a variance with the amount of fills and shots when you compare the different sizes.  A rough guide to how many shots you will get is below.

15 fills approx. (about 1200 shots) from a 3ltr 300bar bottle

30 fills approx. (about 2000 shots) from a 5ltr 300bar bottle

40 fills approx. (about 3200 shots) from a 7ltr 300bar bottle

Cylinder vs air pump

There are many advantages to using a filling bottle over a stirrup pump. Firstly unless you are trying to shape up for the summer and get a good workout, there is much more of an advantage to using a cylinder as they aren’t as strenuous and do not require so much physical effort. They are quicker to fill and when they run out, you can take them to your local dive shop and get them refilled usually for under £5.

Another advantage to using a cylinder is the air from a pump can let moisture or grit in it when you come to filling your rifle, and this can cause severe damage to the inside of the air cylinder on your rifle, meaning you could eventually have to get your rifle stripped and the cylinder replaced, whereas the air from a dive shop will be clean and free from any moisture or contaminants.

One of the downsides however with a pump to a cylinder is that the pumps are usually quite lightweight and can be stored easily without risk of falling and damaging something. This is where cylinders loose out to the pumps because a cylinder is A LOT!! Heavier and if it falls and lands on your foot, you will know about it and this may possibly result in you needing to take a trip up to A&E. The Bisley 5 & 7L cylinders come with a boot on them to make them more stable but you will still need to be careful not to knock one of these over.

Warning!

One thing you need to remember when you are working or storing anything that involves high pressures is that if something does go wrong, it could go very wrong. You will need to take care of these cylinders because if you damage the valve, you have potentially got a rocket that could cause some serious damage; check out this video if you don’t believe me.

barnett sportflight

Sportflight Bow

The Barnett Sportflight bow

The Sportflight bow from Barnett is a good entry level flat bow that has a 25lb draw weight and comes with an ambidextrous soft touch grip, a couple of arrows, and a finger guard. It’s even packaged nicely with the packaging doubling as a carrying pack that you can put both bow and arrows into.

First impressions on this bow out the box

It is a sturdy well-built bow that comes pre-strung, the grip is comfortable in the hand and the holder is filled with information that would prove useful to new archers and those willing to get into the sport,  The look of the bow is quite nice with the purple lettering on the limbs and the colouring on the grip.

With a draw weight of 25lbs it has a fair bit of power behind it that may not make it suitable for small children but for older kids (9+) and adults it should be more than enough to get into archery at an entry level.

How it shoots,

for an entry level bow this bow fires quite well, the draw is not so much that it causes your hand to hurt but it would be advisable to use the finger guard provided if you are going to be shooting for long periods of time,

The grip feels good in the hand and is quite comfortable so I have no complaints there it may be worth investing some money into getting an arrow rest so you don’t scuff the shelf at the top of the grip there are marks on the bow for where to put an arrow rest should you want to.

Once you get used to the bow and you have a correct shooting position it should be possible for even a novice to become a regular robin hood in the garden with enough practice, and this is an excellent bow to get into archery.

Using the Sportflight Bow

Pros

Lightweight yet sturdy.

Ambidextrous.

Good Price.

Comes with finger guard and arrows.

Easy to use.

Good starting point into archery.

Cons

Not suitable for young children.

You can mark the bow without an arrow rest.

If you really get into using it two arrows are not enough.

how to use a bow

How to use a Bow

I know explaining how to use a bow and arrow may seem a little patronising to most readers, but there may be some, that don’t fully know or haven’t had a go, so please bear with me,

First things first, when using a bow it is important that you have a safe backdrop behind your target, this is so if you shoot and miss, your arrows don’t go sailing further than they should and embed themselves in your neighbours garden and/or cat.

The key thing with archery is always shooting from the same position because if you change your position even a little bit there is a fairly good chance your arrows will not go in the same spot.

Firstly place your feet shoulder length apart, with your left leg if you are right handed, or your right leg if you are left handed, facing forward towards the target, nock the arrow onto the string with the cock feather (the one with a different colour) facing away from the bow, and rest the shaft of the arrow on the arrow rest, pull the bow string back being careful not to touch/hold the arrow, so your hand is by your cheek or the string is against your lips or chin and flex your fingers so that the string slides off of them, you can look down the arrow to see roughly where you are aiming.