The Air Arms S510 Tactical

The Air Arms S510 Tactical
​ With The Ole Hedge Creeper

Well I really don't know where to start on this one, I am not normally a tactical fan, I much prefer wood over synthetic too, I suppose I am a traditional sort of guy, Air arms however never fails to amaze, just like with The Galahad, I am really not a Bull Pup fan, but Air Arms changed my mind on that with The Galahad, its still the only Bull Pup I like to this day, the same with this tactical version of the awesome Air Arms S510T, what more can I write about the S510 range, the model of the gun has been written about, filmed, won Airgun of the year more than any I know, so there is not much more to write about the actual guts of the gun itself as it were.​

The tactical version for me has one massive bonus point, the adjustable stock, as a professional pest controller I am required to shoot in many different scenarios, especially from my truck etc, this stock makes this brilliant model in the Air Arms S510 series a winner for me, look at the video that is accompanying this article for this will show you first hand what I mean, I suppose the best way to show you why I love this rifle is to take you along with me on some of the vast and various pest control contracts I do or indeed on the range, for this brilliant rifle in the S510 series fits in anywhere, weather in the field or on the range with The Ole Hedge Creeper behind the butt, now that makes it a winning combination.

First we start off on the range, obviously adding a hawk scope to it, then a new Helios's UK Pallas multi mountable hunting lamp, this was a cracking addition for hunting old school style lamping with a modern twist, the pressure thumb switch on the Pallas lamp was great, again look on the video that's with this article you will see it in action, I and my cameraman had a lot of fun shooting targets with the green filter and zeroing the rifle, the green filter is my favourite filter too.

​From here using the Helios Pallas and The Air Arms Tactical, we moved onto a various amount of different Agricultural Jobs, rats, feral pigeons etc, even a commercial job clearing a warehouse of feral pigeons, this was done with the greatest of ease, I really enjoyed doing this the old school way with a modern twist, by golly we have come a long way since the days of the heavy head lamb and motor bike battery in the ruck sack on my back leaking battery acid and rotting my cloths etc, such fond memories but I would not want to go back there now.

I then did some rat work on a new contract, first of all in the early evening shooting off the spare wheel of my truck, this new client was losing a great deal of Chicken, Duck and Turkey eggs, he also lost some young goslings and a great deal of chicks, rats were always going to be a problem here, as the location was right next to a river and active ditches, the S510T really made this easy work as the pile of very dead rats mounted, the evening came on and we switched to thermal, a Night Pearl Seer 35 Thermal front add on for the scope and the Night Pearl Scops Max III spotter, my client joined me, I started off spotting and the client shooting, then we swapped around and I added to the pile of rats greatly, my client was so impressed with this rifle he now wants to invest in one for himself.

​The next job was squirrel control on one of the prestigious sporting estates that I look after, the grey squirrel is a massive conservation issue, not only do they destroy our ancient broad leaf woodland, they kill all the ground nesting birds and song birds too, adult birds or young or indeed eggs in the nest, they also carry a deadly squirrel pox to our native red squirrels, it was a bitterly cold day, I was shooting off of my Gen 3 Primos trigger sticks, again the video that's with this article will show you best how we did, the cameraman and I had a lot of fun this day brining these grey conservation night mares to account.

The next job was a rabbit control job, actually I had to deal with the foxes attacking too, but you can read about that in the articles Out Foxing Charlie 22 and 23, this was during the late afternoon this rabbit job, the client called me in saying these rabbits are eating more grass than my live stock, it was my job to bring this balance back in line, I must say I don't shoot prone very often, my old back just wont take it any more, this was one of those rare days I did shoot prone, it was a lovely warm sunny afternoon, my cameraman sat back in the truck watching me, it was so lovely there I am laid out on my Jack Pyke Digi Cam Jacket, The Air Arms S510T mounted on the Jack Pyke sand bags, I was so comfy I actually dozed off, but my sixth sense always kicked in when a rabbit hopped out, there are two rabbits in the photos, but by the time I had finished there were several more, this rifle took each one as smooth as silk, with an ethical, deadly accurate strike on target.

The next job was a crop protection job, peas and barley were drilled as the spring drilling's, the client called me in after the crop had been hit hard, Corvid's were pulling the seed out to get to the leather jackets (bugs) and the pigeons were gobbling said exposed seed up behind the Corvid's, I did say to this client you always do this, call me in after your getting hit, you know its like shutting the gate after the horse has bolted, a shotgun could not be used here due to the near by location of a pub, some shops, a bus stop and a main road, the Air Arms S510T was the perfect choice to help protect these valuable and vulnerable crops, I will say that moderator does not cut the sound report down that much and she does bark, on this job that was a massive advantage for keeping the birds off the crop, 6 weeks I was on crop protection of this crop, Myself and The Air Arms S510T did our job well and the crop is now growing, gawd help us coming up to harvest time when this crop ripens, I think were going to be pretty busy again.

​There are so many pest control jobs I have taken this rifle on, far too many to write about, I think I will tell you of just one more in this article and catch up on the others in a later article or part 2.

The last Professional Pest Control Job I will tell you about is on a huge NEW contract on an Agricultural Education Centre, they do everything here from horticulture, live stock and more, their open areas, barns, clamps and seed beds etc were getting hit big time, there was so many mixed Corvid's, Wood-pigeons, Feral Pigeons, Rats, Rabbits and a multitude of other vermin that need bringing under control, a much larger pest control company that will remain nameless charged this facility a ghastly amount to sort this problem out, alas they did not, never send a boy to do a man's job, straight away when I went to evaluate this site and draw up a management plan I could see they had quite a problem.​

I have been there several times now both by day and by night, we have gotten on top of the public health risk and the place is looking a different place all together with everything cleaned and kept clean and disinfected.

I sat in one of the straw barns one one occasion just myself and The Air Arms S510T, using the straw bales as a rest or I used my Primos Gen 3 Trigger Sticks, these wood pigeon just kept coming and coming, the Farm Manager went off to make me a coffee as I got there, by the time he got back I had 6 Wood Pigeon retrieved with a further 3 to get, he laughed and said no wonder you came so highly recommended, I have not been gone 5 minuets, I also laughed and said its not always this easy I telle, the rifle never missed a beat, I then went on and sat in the trucks trying to keep the hoards off of the feed clamps, as these are in constant use and hard to cover up all day, these are a magnet for the Corvid's and Feral/Wood Pigeons and more, sat shooting from my truck that made the perfect comfortable shooting hide I made short work of any pest that tried to settle in, actually the bark of this air rifle really helped again here, one shot and everything kept away, perfect for what I wanted, but if you want a quieter bark I would suggest a different moderator than the one that came with this fac model, my client was very happy with my efforts and they have now signed a 2 year contract, a lot this is thanks to the Air Arms S510T, for she is as sweet on the eyes as she is in the hand, she looks the part on a professional job too, hmmm shall I buy this one too and keep it in my collection of S510s we will see, so watch this space.

I hope you have enjoyed reading my humble scribbles, stay safe and well one and all, add and S510T to your collection you wont be disappoint.​

The Air Arms S510 Tactical
With The Ole Hedge Creeper


By The Ole Hedge Creeper
www.theolehedgecreeper.co.uk