Airgun World – Summer 2026 – Airgun World

For Gary, a former tree surgeon well used to muddy woodlands in his native south coast, that moment arrived when he stopped fighting his environment and started engineering his way through it. When we speak, the British weather is doing its level best to look like winter rather than spring, threatening the upcoming weekend’s competition at Buxted.

For most, persistent rain is an inconvenience. For Gary, it is simply a backdrop to the machinery he relies upon. The machine in question is a Quantum Outback four-wheel- drive power chair, clad in robust tyres and built to tackle terrain in which standard wheelchairs would struggle. It is Gary’s mobile firing platform, his transport and, in many ways, his salvation. To understand why Gary is so fiercely protective of his time under the canopy, it helps to understand what he lost. For years he worked as a tree surgeon, spending his working life outdoors.

It was physical, demanding work, but decades of manual labour in the damp, combined with a severe fall, took a heavy toll on his back and neck. Then came the loss of his left leg, amputated above the knee. The physical trauma was severe, but the psychological aftermath was the real challenge. “I lost my leg and got depressed,” Gary says. “I was put on anti-depressants and saw a psychiatrist because losing it was traumatising.”

For an outdoorsman, being trapped within four walls was hard. Gary tried fishing for a few years, but found the physical logistics too punishing. Then, his brother suggested they visit a local airgun range. Gary eventually joined Swallows Air Gun Club in Laughton, where the club’s organiser, Jerry, introduced him to HFT. The effect was almost instantaneous. The dense woodland settings of HFT courses matched the environment of his old career.

Guest editor Pete Sparkes explains how he is working to widen the appeal of HFT DISABLED OR ENABLED? Gary Martin shares his inspiring HFT journey PETE SPARKES FOREWORD FROM THE GUEST EDITOR SUMMER 2026 EDITOR’S PICKS MAN ON A MISSION Gary Martin hasn’t let the loss of a leg stop him from getting out in the countryside, and he’s got his mojo back thanks to airguns and a serious piece of four-wheeled hardware.

Page 46 RING THAT BELL! Have you ever wondered what it would be like to shoot air rifles in a pub with your mates? We sent Mark Camoccio to a local hostelry to meet the folks from the Lincolnshire Bell Target League to find out more. Page 54 SPRING IN THE STEP Jamie Chandler puts forward seven solid reasons why the humble springer is better than the more advanced PCP. We’d love to know what you think on the matter, too!

Page 62 HAVE YOUR SAY If you have any comments on the content featured in Airgun World, or have any thoughts on what content we should feature, what we’re doing well or where we can improve, please email: airgunworld@ twsgroup.com THE AUGUST ISSUE OF AIRGUN WORLD IS ON SALE FROM 22 JULY THE KRAIT! THE KRAIT! PETE SPARKES W hen I helped set up the UKAHFT in 2002 and later the WHFTA in 2009, I never claimed to invent HFT. What we did, however, was avoid it becoming a game of big, expensive rigs and endless scope-clicking.

I wanted a discipline rooted in realistic hunting scenarios using standard hunting rigs, where you set your parallax at the start and rely purely on real-world marksmanship. Today, that original spirit remains entirely unchanged and is better for it. HFT is a magnificent leveller. It’s a sport where a newcomer can turn up with a basic spring gun and a modest scope, get paired with an experienced shooter and have a brilliant day out.

We have actively stomped out gear snobbery. You don’t need to spend thousands on high-end glass; some of our top shots, like former World Champion Alex Honeywell, still compete successfully with 20-year-old optics. The individual behind the stock always makes the difference, not the price tag. To keep it fair, our main shooting discipline is the prone position and we enforce a strict 150mm limit from the barrel centre to the underside of the stock.

The true skill lies in your preparation and your ability to read the course.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: 31d63b43809796c2
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 50,867,089 bytes (48.511 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• Pages: 103
• Language: English (en)

Reading & Word Statistics

• Estimated Reading Time: 180.82 minutes
• Total Words: 36,165
• Total Characters: 232,551
• Average Words per Page: 351.12
• Average Characters per Page: 2257.78

Most Frequent Words

airgun (163), air (161), rifle (126), new (122), world (122), shooting (111), range (107), target (87), scope (82), one (78), shop (74), rifles (72), com (71), now (66), price (66), also (66), it’s (62), stock (61), night (61), pellets (59), barrel (59), bsa (59), today (55), use (55), available (52), like (51), back (48), shooters (48), pro (47), subscribe (47), save (47), kit (47), hft (46), arms (46), time (46), guns (45), day (45), two (45), well (44), shot (44), field (42), pcp (41), free (40), gun (40), airguns (38), performance (38), need (37), lrf (37), first (36), trigger (36), optics (35), design (34), get (33), krait (33), club (33), around (33), thermal (33), hunting (32), place (32), rrp (32), gear (31), top (31), system (31), good (31), alpex (30), open (30), weight (30), konus (29), set (29), gamo (29), digital (29), pellet (29), within (29), tel (29), sport (28), shoot (28), much (28), fps (28), fearless (27), gary (27), standard (27), end (27), airgun-world (27), targets (27), power (27), compact (27), see (27), airgunners (27), battery (27), years (27), without (26), length (26), right (26), scopes (26), offer (26), side (26), pistols (26), bell (25), email (25), shots (25).

PDF Download