Q&A: Could your rifle go over the 12ft lb limit?

Mike Morton answers one of your burning questions, could you rifle creep over the 12ft lb limit if it gets too hot?

There has long been an urban myth about airguns, especially PCPs, going over the limit if they have been in a hot car on the way to a shoot

Q. I’ve heard my rifle can creep over the 12ft lb limit with certain pellets at certain temperatures. But I only ever use Pellet X, so is this really a problem for me?

A. Most air rifles these days are tested to ensure they are below the legal limit, and leave the factory around the 11ft lb mark, which compensates for muzzle energy variations in the range of pellets typically on sale in the UK.

There has long been an urban myth about airguns, especially PCPs, going over the limit if they have been in a hot car on the way to a shoot. BASC conducted tests with a range of PCPs that they had in cars for several hours with an outside temperature in the high 20s Celsius, the doors and windows shut, no ventilation, no air-con… In other words, they made the car as hot as possible and left the airguns in there for several hours. The result? The power dropped for PCPs and increased for springers; but using light, medium and heavy pellets, they still could not get any of the rifles to go above 12ft lb.


This article originally appeared in the issue 99 of Airgun Shooter magazine. For more great content like this, subscribe today at our secure online store: www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk

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