Spring Recoil And Air Pistols

By Ian Pellant

This is an article that has been a "long time coming". I learned to shoot a spring air rifle as a child, and shot countless tens of thousands of times as a youth, so have an early, subjective "understanding" of the feel of spring air rifles. However, I'm a relative newcomer to spring air pistols, only in the past few years, and found that my air rifle experience was of little help when learning how to shoot them. In fact, my first attempts were downright discouraging! Either the pistols were hopelessly inaccurate, or I was doing something completely wrong. The fault was mine; I just didn't understand all the weird and wonderful things that happen when a spring powered airgun is discharged. After all those years with rifles, air pistols were a humbling experience!

Now, after about 3 years of shooting, experimentation and meditation, the light has finally dawned (and stayed on!). I was tempted to call this article: "Zen and The Spring Air Pistol", but that's too pretentious. I don't know it all yet! But hopefully, enough has bubbled from the subconscious to make a worthwhile presentation for others embarking on the path to mastery of a spring air pistol.

The essential problem is that spring airguns have a considerable jolt when shot. This jolt largely occurs before the pellet has left the barrel, so if we hope to shoot accurately, something has to be done to focus it in a harmless direction. I say "jolt" for simplicity. It is really a combination of the action of the compressed spring being released causing a series of reactions against the frame of the gun, which get transmitted to the shooter through the stock, that we feel as a "jolt". This jolt is colloquially called "spring recoil". It's the net result, and how we handle it, that concerns us when learning how to shoot. Here is my largely subjective / speculative analysis:

The Nature of "Spring Recoil"

When a spring is compressed and then released to drive a piston down a chamber in a "springer" airgun, a number of actions / reactions occur. The resultant "spring recoil" is a series of quick and violent movements transmitted to the frame of the airgun before the pellet has departed. Because this movement occurs whilst the pellet is still in the barrel, "taming", controlling or accommodating the movement is extremely important.

"Spring recoil" consists of a number of reactions (which I call "jolts"):

Unless the airgun is of a "recoil-less" design, "spring recoil" is something we either love or hate, or at least learn to live with.

A side effect of the "jolts" is a vibration shock wave being transmitted along the airgun. This is possibly similar to "twanging" a length of steel wire supported at one end only (such as a car antenna) and noticing that the oscillation often forms an harmonic. The amplitude of the vibration may be large at some distance along the wire and null at certain points. This analogy is a bit contentious when applied to spring air rifles, but does help explain why accuracy is much higher when the rifle is held at certain points along the stock than others and usually suffers when the stock is rested on a hard surface. If the vibration shock wave has high amplitude at a point where the rifle is in contact with a firm surface, the stock will bounce away from the surface and... the shot goes "wild".

Because the net "jolt" is in the direction of the piston travel, it can be appreciated that with the piston causing a jolt forwards, away from the shooter, anything attached to the rifle will be left behind. This creates the infamous 'scope creep and "reverse recoil" that causes so much anguish. Because the rifle moves forward so vigorously, any sights mounted on the rifle are snapped backwards; this causes not only the metalwork to slide backwards, but the lenses in telescopic sights are also snapped backwards in their tube, instead of forwards as occurs in firearms. I effect, most spring air rifles have the opposite "recoil" to firearms. That is why firearm 'scopes are prone to breakage.

Some old design spring air pistols resemble cut down spring rifles, with the piston traveling forwards. Most contemporary pistols, however, have the piston traveling back towards the shooter, which places the majority of the jolt against the hand. Amusingly, some advertisers have claimed that this is "firearm-like" recoil, because of the direction, and the pistols are promoted for firearms training. This is a stretched analogy. Most of the recoil in firearms results from the jet effect at the muzzle after the bullet has left the barrel, whereas most of the jolt in spring airguns occurs before the pellet has moved much at all. If you cannot shoot a powder pistol well, then trying a spring pistol is a sure path to frustration. The converse however is largely true: master a spring airgun and firearm shooting follows easily.

Learning to Live With a Spring Air Rifle

Because the spring causes so much movement in the airgun before the pellet departs, we must allow it to happen in the most benign way possible. We can't stop it. In fact the more we fight it, the more the gun will rebel and upset accuracy!

Usually the most effective way to dissipate the jolt is to allow it to happen as near to being in-line as possible. If the barrel of the airgun moves backwards and forwards along it's center line, then, barring any vibration harmonic causing the muzzle to move around, the accuracy of the pellet will not be affected. Think of allowing the gun to move exactly parallel to the barrel, as if on rails... in fact that's the basis of design for several "recoil-less" spring airguns.

The "secret" of shooting a spring air rifle is to hold it loosely and let it move in-line. This usually means:

In other words: don't get a "death grip" on the rifle and attempt to keep it from moving. The harder you hold it, the more unpredictable the reaction is likely to be.

Since a rifle is a long, fairly straight device, it is quite easy to manage. You have three main contact points - the shoulder, trigger hand and stock hand, all roughly in line with the barrel. Imagine that you are providing "rails" for the rifle to move back and forth along, and shooting then comes naturally. Spring pistols are much different animals.

Spring Air Pistols

Pistols are nothing like rifles. Obviously. The most significant differences with my spring pistols are:

In a nutshell: spring air pistols jolt upwards on firing and will swing sideways if held incorrectly.

The upwards swing of the barrel is readily experienced with the Beeman P1, but not readily understood. The P1 has a "low" power cocking position, short of the full cocking stroke. "Intuitively" one would expect that shooting at lower velocity would cause the pellet to strike lower than when shot at full power.... not so, at least when I shoot! Low power shots usually strike 2" to 3" (50 to 75mm) higher than full power shots. Why is this so? My only explanation is that the longer "lock time" at low power allows the gun to pivot more upwards before the pellet leaves the muzzle than when shot at full power. Of course, adjusting the sights to shoot lower at low power is a simple matter, but, "logically" when one wants more range, one uses full power, but this will usually shoot lower... The low power stroke is rarely used on my P1.

The argument for allowing a spring pistol to move in as linear motion relative to the barrel is just as valid as for a rifle, but we have more handicaps to overcome and less to hang on to. Very challenging!

The two main problems to overcome are:

Sounds difficult to handle?... can be!

Once again, our challenge is to allow the pistol to move as much as it wants, but in the direction we want. The more the pistol moves freely, the less jolt is transferred to the hand; or more particularly, the less reaction is likely to occur with the various contact surfaces between hand and pistol. It is very unlikely that your hand grip on the pistol will be exactly the same each time you shoot. The tighter you hold the pistol, the more the variation in hold will cause variable results...

Essentially, the hand holding the pistol must allow it to move vertically the same amount for each shot, and not allow any rotational movement. It is much easier to be accurate if the striking point differs vertically at different ranges, than laterally! We can easily apply range estimation for vertical trajectory - that becomes instinctive, but if the aim has to be adjusted sideways... well... shooting wasn't meant to be that difficult.

What we need to achieve is even support on both sides of the pistol stock and squarely provide support at the rear of the stock if the gun is not to rotate when fired. By "squarely" support the rear of the stock, I mean that when the pistol jolts back into the hand, the rear of the stock must react evenly against the contact surfaces; if the stock is not supported or strikes a glancing blow to the palm of the hand, it will probably twist and throw the shot sideways. This is what I call "torque reaction".

Consider the main contact surfaces between hand and pistol:

Since my objective is to shoot single handed, the inherent problem seems to be that with over 90% of the hand on the trigger side we only have our opposable thumb to balance out the contact surfaces if the pistol is going to jolt in-line. To correct this "imbalance" we need some support from elsewhere. We can get it from the heel of the thumb.

This may seem a bit esoteric, but the objective is to support the pistol evenly on both sides, while supporting the rear of the stock perpendicularly to the long axis. I almost guarantee that most novices will pick up a hand gun in precisely the wrong way to get the required support. At least I did when I first tried, and from listening to others, I was not alone. For some odd reason, the temptation is to pick a pistol up and wrap the forefinger into the trigger guard so that the first joint of the finger rests against the trigger. I have small hands. This wraps the fingers around the stock, with the palm in contact with the side and the thumb sort of hangs around the other side in a lost fashion trying to balance the weight. Then if you point the pistol at the target, the wrist is usually cocked out to the side and the rear of the pistol stock "hangs loose" below the crotch between thumb and forefinger. This "instinctive" grip is all wrong!

Just consider what is likely to happen with this hold when the pistol jolts backwards on firing (for a right handed shooter):

I've exaggerated the scenario a little to illustrate the problem: If the hand does not react to the spring jolt in a manner that keeps the pistol in line to the target, then the shot will most probably go in an unpredictable direction... been there, done that, couldn't hit the broad side of a barn!

Some spring pistols are fairly insensitive to a poor hand hold. Most are intolerant. So before looking at actual pistols, let us do some hand / eye exercises.

Firstly, if you are right handed, confirm that you are right eye dominant. Sounds odd perhaps, but many right handed people are left eye dominant, and while this usually does not cause problems when rifle shooting, it can cause havoc in archery and pistol shooting. To find which eye is dominant:

If you are right handed, but left eye dominant, you will probably have difficulty shooting a pistol or bow without either closing the left eye, wearing an eye patch, or learning to shoot with the less dominant hand.

Now for the hand:

What we are trying to achieve is a shape that forms a square "U" with it's centerline projected back through the wrist joint and along the forearm. Imagine holding a pistol. The objective is to develop a relaxed support system that can hold both sides of the stock evenly with thumb and base of forefinger parallel to the barrel and in-line with the forearm. When the pistol is fired from such a grip, it should not torque to either side and the backwards jolt will transfer evenly to the crotch of the hand and straight along the forearm. We are trying to achieve the in-line support essential to keep the gun on target without any swing to the side.

Now repeat the exercise, then lift the forearm up to a shooting position. If done correctly, the "U" shape in the hand will be centered along the forearm. The thumb will be to left of center and the back of the hand to the right of center. Imagine a pistol in that hand, and you will appreciate that the sights would be exactly in-line with the forearm. Also note that the tip of the forefinger is just to the left of center - imagine it resting on the trigger. With such a hold, you can use the forearm to "point" at the target. By first sighting with the forearm and the sights on the pistol, second, a more stable and accurate hold can be achieved.

Finally, when you feel comfortable with this "U" shaped hand, bend the elbow, trying to keep the hand shape and look at the heel of the thumb. It forms quite a substantial support surface. Move the thumb backwards, and that support surface vanishes! Imagine the difference between the back of the pistol stock resting on the heel of the thumb, and on next to nothing.

Pistol Stocks and Grip

Many spring air pistols have rather neutral stocks. One example is the Beeman P1 which is modeled on the Colt 1911 automatic firearm.

The P1 / Colt stock promotes a "grab and shoot" style of grip which, in my small hand, tends to wrap around too much. It is an ambidextrous design with a safety lever on each side.

Applying the "U" shape hand hold to this pistol is not very comfortable. The safety cannot be avoided, but if you place the thumb on the pivot of the safety on one side, and the trigger finger resting on the corresponding opposite side, a fairly well balanced hold can be achieved. The metal work on the stock has vertical grooves on the front and rear surfaces, so finger tips can rest on grooves at the front and the heel of the hand rests on grooves at the rear. This helps resist torque.

Because the P1 is relatively heavy and has high velocity and short lock time the pistol is easy to shoot accurately; but this really is a "brute force" solution.

The Webley spring air pistols have been around for over 50 years. Early models had neutral design stocks, similar to P1. Then, 20 years ago, Webley introduced the Hurricane (followed by the Tempest), with a new stock design with a heavily sculpted thumb rest; intended for right handed shooters only!

It is an ingenious design. Pick it up incorrectly and the sculpted grip will confuse your thumb.

If you apply the "U" shaped hand to the Webley stock, the pistol suddenly fits like a glove. The thumb should be evenly supported along the thumb rest, with the tip resting on the top of the safety.

The Tempest weighs less than the Hurricane, but both are more sensitive to a poor hand hold than the P1.

One "learning experience" I had was to purchase sets of wood "Combat Grips" for the P1 and the Webley pistols. Results were not outstanding. The grips for the P1 are bulky and prevent my small hand achieving a good "U" shape. The wooden grips for the Webley pistols lack the sculpted thumb rest and do not encourage a good hold. Notice how raked back the stock is on the Webley pistols and you may imagine how lost the thumb becomes with nothing to rest it on. It becomes difficult to keep the thumb parallel to the forefinger if it is sticking up at an angle!

My personal favorite is the BSA 240 Magnum. It really taught me how to hold a spring pistol.

The 240 has probably the most intriguing stock design of any of these pistols. Notice that is much more vertical than the others and has a very curved and rounded rear shape. It is a very smooth stock, with no stippling or checkering cut into it. It does have very pronounced grooves cut on each side which lead to the trigger. Pick it up incorrectly and it feels wrong. With the trigger finger too far into the guard, the rear of the stock will stick out unsupported below the hand, the thumb will curl across the groove and the trigger guard will cut down onto your second finger. Shoot it with such a hold, and it will twist around in your hand.

This is definitely a pistol that tries to tell you when you hold it incorrectly!

Pick up the 240 with a "U" shaped hand and suddenly it feels right. The thumb slides right along the groove, perfectly balanced against the forefinger in the groove on the other side. The tip of the trigger finger rests nicely in-line on the trigger with the lower joint of the finger just clearing the stock. Held correctly, the thumb and forefinger are straight and level with each other. The enigmatic curve to the rear of the stock fits squarely and comfortably against the heel of the hand. The remaining fingers wrap lightly so that the tips are flat on the front surface of the stock (not wrapped around to the side), and the trigger guard no longer cuts the top of the second finger. Hold it right, it feels and shoots right; hold it wrong and it will complain.

Of course, all hands are not created the same size. My fingers are short and muscular. As chance would have it, the trigger finger side groove on my 240 was cut about 2mm lower at the top edge than on the other side of the stock. I tolerated this for about six months before finally deciding that it was worth trimming back. The one thing I really like about the 240 is that the stock is one solid piece of wood. It is easy to remove and reshape a little if not quite to your liking. In the before and after photos below, the enlarged trigger finger groove can clearly be seen... still wondering about the groove leading to the safety though!

 

Synopsis

"Recoiling" spring airguns will jolt in the direction of piston travel before the pellet leaves the barrel. Don't fight it. Always use a relaxed hold on the rifle or pistol, commensurate with safety and steadiness.

Allow the rifle or pistol to jolt in-line to the bore by not providing uneven / biased support to the stock. Rifles are easy to keep laterally in line, but will vary vertically if not held correctly. Spring air pistols will shoot wild if held poorly. Both will give very good accuracy if held correctly.

Give the "U" hold a try, and if your pistol shooting becomes erratic: stop, think and practice a little Zen - the Art of Mediation - and listen to what your pistol and hand are trying to tell you.

As always, shoot safely and responsibly; be especially careful when shooting a spring air pistol for the first time!

Finally, for those whom must ask: "which pellet is best": I am currently favoring the heavy 9.5gr (9.35gr weighed) RWS Super-Mag pellets in all of my .177 spring pistols. These pellets not only give outstanding accuracy, but the extra mass seems to dampen the spring piston jolt a little and the pistols shoot smoother... Perhaps that's my imagination, but the more consistent accuracy is a fact.