Spring Piston Safety Issues

Spring-piston air guns are among the most popular air guns available today, for a number of reasons: simple construction, one-cock powerplant, reliable functioning, and no need for additional equipment in order to enjoy them. However, spring-piston air guns, particularly the rifles, can have some safety issues that call for the user to be careful and attentive to the condition of the air gun.

Just this morning I was reading on one of the on-line forums about a spring-piston air rifle that was cocked prior to loading, only to have the stock break, which released the rear end of the gun which consequently snapped up and popped the user in the face, causing some minor injuries. After reading through the thread concerning the cause, I came to the conclusion that the owner had an air rifle that had a crack in the woodwork, but was still being used. I could be wrong about that, but that was what I gathered from the discussion.

If you own an airgun of any kind, it falls to you, the user, to insure the safety of your airgun by keeping an eye on the physical condition of the entire gun. If you notice a hairline crack in the stock, especially around the grip area immediately behind the trigger, you need to set it aside and not use it until that is fixed. When you cock a break barrel airgun, there is pressure being brought to bear on the wood that is attached to the receiver end of your airgun. The thinnest and weakest part of your wood stock is the pistol grip area, and if it is cracked, you run the risk of having it separate at a very unfortunate moment, leaving the entire rear portion of the airgun free to snap back up and cause injury.

I have mentioned before the detrimental effect of having the barrel snap back up while under tension from the spring. Think of it in reverse, and you have in mind what happened to the unfortunate individual who posted on an airgun forum about his mishap. While holding the barrel safely to prevent it from moving, the cracked stock gave way and the reverse happened.....the rear of the gun snapped up!

In the future, look for video entries showing safe and proper handling of air guns. Safety is everyone's responsibility, and making our sport and hobby a safe and fun event calls for us to be watchful, careful, and aware of the condition our air guns are in.

Be safe, be careful, and enjoy airgunning!

Bigbore Power: The Sam Yang Model 909

Air guns come in many sizes, with most being geared towards the smaller calibers such as .177, .20, .22, and .25. However, the Sam Yang Model 909 fires one of the largest projectiles available for an airgun. A solid round lead ball of .45 caliber is the round of choice for this airgun, and it really puts it out there in a hurry! The .457 roundball from Hornady left the muzzle on this gun at over 750 fps, resulting in just over 180 fpe. This is the kind of power you want when you hunt prey as large as the coyote, hog, and whitetail deer.



In the picture above, you see the 909 without its cocking handle. The handle is easily installed with nothing more than a phillips-head screwdriver. The receiver of the 909 is a nice pewter color that doesn't shine too much, yet remains attractive.



The 909 is all metal and wood with no pressure gauge, so count your shots when shooting. You can fire the gun on full power by pulling the cocking handle all the way back, or on a lower power setting by cocking it half the distance with the handle. To load the gun, simply open the sliding cover that covers the loading port and place the round in the barrel. Slide the cover back, and you are ready to cock it and fire.





The fill port is located at the end of the gun, just under the muzzle. A probe is included with the gun to attach to your pump or air tank to facilitate charging it with air. A recommended pressure of 3000 psi is used in this gun. The twin reservoirs allow you ample air for multiple shots from the gun depending on what power level you use.



The rear sight, like the front sight, is all metal and easily adjustable. When mounting a scope, you may want to use medium to high scope mounts to clear the rear sight depending on the type of scope you use and the size of its objective end. You can remove the leaf of the rear sight, but the open-sight mount is fixed to the barrel.



I loaded up the 909 and headed to a spot in the country to do some test firing. At 20 yards, it was easy to make nice groups shooting offhand in very hot and miserable conditions. Even with sweat pouring off my brow, I was able to keep the shots almost touching at my test distance of 20 yards.



I test fired the .457 roundball into a cement block. In the picture below, you see the result of the power inherent in this bigbore airgun. The flattened .45 caliber rounds ended up being between a dime and nickel in size.





Here is the gun in the configuration I tested it.....with a Tech Force scope mounted and cocking handle installed. Fill it up with air, and start shooting!



The Sam Yang 909 Bigbore is a large gun, coming in slightly over 42" in length. It handles a variety of projectiles, from roundball to many kinds of conical bullets readily available in catalogs and blackpowder venues. I know some fellow airgun hunters who have taken deer with this type gun, as well as hogs. They are pleased with the power level it can provide, and at less that $500 dollars, it really delivers the knockdown power you should expect from a bigbore airgun.