Air Gun Home :: View topic - How long is considered "safe" to leave a spring gu

Mentolio · Veteran Member

Title just about says it all...
I've read conflicting things regarding this topic. Some think leaving a spring gun cocked for over an hour will fatigue or ruin the spring. Others say "nah, don't worry about it." I have an Umarex/Browning Leverage that i've got shooting well, and want to hunt with it. While loading isn't really a laborious or lengthy procedure, by any means, I think it would be nice to have it loaded and cocked when a squirrel or rabbit presents itself in the woods. What is your experience/opinion on the subject?

Mentolio · Veteran Member

Hunting season has been over for a little over a month and a half now, at least for airgun hunting small game here in New Jersey. Now is the season to refine my shooting and the hunting equipment I carry. So I pulled the good-ole Leverage out of the gun locker for some practice, and what do I find? A loaded, cocked (safety on, at least) airgun! DUMB-DUMB-DUMB!!!!!
Chrony numbers were down, accuracy seemed a bit off (could also be crappy scope), and it's got a Gamo seal in it, so it looks like it's time for a rebuild to include new spring and actual Umarex seal...sigh.

Alstone · Moderator & Site Supporter

I use a TX200HC for vermin usually for rats or pigeons, and find that if you need to cock the gun when you are ready to fire then the moment is lost, especially is you are laying on the ground also the noise is a problem. So I cock the rifle load up and put the safety on and leave it like that until a target presents itself, on a bad day this could be up to three hours.

My TX is now 7 years old and as shot around 40,000 pellets at about 11.5 fpe, and so far no problem with spring wear, I have added a shim or two over the years to maintain the output, I did buy a spare spring last year but haven’t felt the need to use it yet.

A lot does depend on the quality of the gun, high end Springer makers tend to fit very good springs as this is the heart of the gun. A test a few years ago by a UK airgun magazine tried out several springs from a range of guns buy leaving then cocked from 2 days to 2 weeks some still shot within 1fpe of the set power level after the 2 weeks, these were mostly the most expensive guns whereas some of the cheaper ones were struggling after 2 days.

A lot does depend on how near to maximum the spring is compressed, a quality gun maker will leave some a bit extra on the spring to allow for settling down, others that want to advertise the high power output of there guns run the spring at maximum, this leads a decreasing loss of power over a short time.

Al

robert w · Senior Member

better quality guns id say 3-4 hours,lower end guns 2 hours max. but if you have to leave it cocked for 2 hours while hunting you just as well shoot it n go drink some good cold lager cause the quarry knows you are there and are waitin you out

AirGunEric · Site Admin

Let's make it simple (from a practical use point of view)- leave it cocked when you are out in the field waiting for a target, leave it uncocked the rest of the time, and don't worry about it. When/if they day comes the spring needs to be replaced, just do it (no I don't work for Nike)- think of it as an excuse to smooth everything out at the same time.

Mentolio · Veteran Member

Rebuild went well, and I got an "average" (calculated from seven different pellets shot in strings of ten each) increase of 50.something fps. The old spring was definitely shorter than the new one, and looked like it had some "kinks" in it. I know length isn't necessarily the deciding factor in actual "spring power," just an observation I made. Last season I eventually just did as you guys are suggesting and kept the gun cocked until a target presented itself, or I felt it had just been cocked too long (usually more than an hour, but rarely more than two).
On a side note: this gun is a Chinese junk-box. No part of it seems to be very precise, and many of the parts look like something I made in my garage. That said, this gun has always shot accurately, and killed most of the squirrel I took last season. I'll keep it for now but when the time (and budget) is right, I will be replacing it with either an Air Arms TX200 (which I have wanted since learning what an underlever was) or an RWS 460 Magnum. For now, this gun will be good enough, especially considering I'm not bothered by getting it wet or dirty (the thought of taking a TX200 into the woods frightens me a bit...it's so damned pretty!). Thanx for all your replies!