Gun Trade (GTI): What single new release from the first half of 2026 caught your attention the most, and why?
Dave Barham (DB): That has to be the HikMicro Alpex Pro day/night scope. I thought the dedicated airgun version, the Alpex Lite, was an amazing piece of kit, but the new Pro takes things to a whole new level in terms of low light and twilight performance. Yes, it’s primarily designed for longer range hunting, but if you want some of the very best day/night optics available to put on your beloved air rifle, then the Alpex Pro really does fit the bill.
GTI: The British Shooting Show is always a useful barometer of the trade’s mood. What was the atmosphere like this year — were exhibitors feeling bullish, cautious or something harder to read?
DB: It’s always a tough one to judge, but I get on with most people within the trade and they, like me, tend to speak openly and honestly about what’s going on. There’s still a buzz out there following on from the goldmine that was lockdown during the pandemic. During that time a lot of people either got back into airgunning or it brought in completely new customers who were willing to take the plunge for a hobby that they could partake in their back garden. Obviously there has been a dip in sales since then, but most major manufacturers are still doing well, even in today’s economic climate.
Not naming names, but there are manufacturers out there who are worried about the huge impact that the likes of Reximex are having in the UK market. The past five years has seen the quality of Turkish rifles increase dramatically, but with prices being held at very competitive levels.
GTI: What were airgunners themselves talking about on the show floor? Was there a product, a topic or a concern that kept coming up in conversation? DB: I love the British Shooting Show, it has grown into an absolute must visit for airgunners over the past four or five years, even to the point where most major manufacturers now use the show as the place to launch new products. That honour used to fall to the IWA show in Germany each year, but not anymore.
The main reason I love the show so much, apart from all the new launches, is getting to meet more of the airgunning public, including Airgun World readers. I’m a very approachable guy, and it’s great having airgunners of all ages popping over for a chat when they see me. This year was no exception, and generally the feedback was great. There was a lot of talk about the possibilities of a lead ban, both imminently and in the future, but I think we’re safe on that one for now.
GTI: The regulatory landscape has been unsettled lately. Which headline from the past six months has made you most uneasy about the future of airgunning in the UK?
DB: I know Terry Doe extremely well, and we speak on a weekly basis. He keeps me up to speed with what’s happening regarding the legalities and possible hurdles we face as airgunners in the future, because he is in direct contact with the powers that be, as I have already alluded to earlier in this interview.
Personally, the thing that makes me uneasy with regards to the future of airgunning in the UK is the unfortunate idiots, and I don’t use that term lightly. I’m talking about the people, sometimes kids but often adults, who go around shooting and maiming animals and even other human beings with air rifles. These indecent, illegal acts and the bad publicity they bring are never a good thing. You’re probably aware that it’s not just airguns hitting the headlines right now either. The catapult and crossbow fraternity are also suffering the same bad publicity, all because of a minute minority doing bad things with perfectly legal weapons.
GTI: What’s given you genuine cause for optimism — is there a development, a campaign or a shift in attitude that you think is moving things in the right direction?
DB: The recent establishment of the Airgun Focus Group is great news. Of course this was just the “official” naming of the group. The people concerned have been doing this for as long as I can remember, but not in the public eye as an “official” group.
Terry Doe has long been a key spokesman for airgunners, and the group has dealt directly with the Home Office for decades to keep UK airgunners shooting freely, tackling matters such as anti-tamper and the lead ban head on without the wider public knowing that it has been going on. I’m guessing that their going public is to give UK airgunners a bit more security and clarity, knowing that many of the key figures in the trade are (and have been) working very hard behind the scenes to keep UK airgunning safe from potential Government clampdowns.
GTI: The digital optics market seems to be moving at an extraordinary pace right now. From your perspective, where do you think that technology is heading, and what does it mean for the traditional glass scope?
DB: There’s always going to be a place for traditional glass optics within airgunning. For a start you can’t use digital day/night scopes in competitions such as FT, HFT or benchrest. Not only that, there is a huge number of back garden plinkers, weekend club shooters and general airgunners out there who have no need for digital scopes, and that’s not even counting the traditionalists, of which there are many. I have glass scopes on most of my rifles, in fact I only have two with digital kit on because those are the ones I use for hunting at night. I shoot plenty of rabbits, pigeons, corvids and squirrels during daylight with my glassware on top.
As far as I’m concerned, the new revolution of day/night and thermal scopes has completely changed the way I hunt and perform my pest control duties. At a guess I’d go as far to say that the addition of a handheld thermal spotter and digital day/night scope has made me five times more effective when hunting at night. Whether it’s rabbits or rats, my bag rate has increased significantly.
I was joking about around the end of 2023 on a podcast, about the “next big thing” being a unit that combines both traditional IR and thermal imaging, then just a few months later DNT released the ThermNight! I can foresee more of the same coming to the market, as well as more traditional tube-style digital scopes. The technology is out there and it’s becoming better by the minute. Prices will come down, quality will go up and the already hugely competitive market will just keep getting bigger as more and more companies emerge.
GTI: PCP technology has been dominant for years, but there seems to be a renewed enthusiasm for springers. Do you think that’s a passing trend, or is it telling us something more meaningful about what airgunners actually want?
DB: It’s the never-ending circle of life, and I can’t ever see it changing. If you’re into airguns you’ll own multiple PCPs and springers and enjoy shooting every single one of them.
For the first timer who buys a springer, they will often strive to own a decent PCP rifle, and once they’ve had that for a number of years they will probably invest in a more expensive springer again and so on. The same goes for the airgunner who starts off with a PCP. They’ll eventually want to get their hands on a traditional springer, to discover what that’s all about.
I love shooting my springers. It’s something that takes me back to my childhood and away from all the serious pest controlling I carry out here in Lincolnshire. It’s my form of “escape”, not that I really want to escape from shooting my many PCP rifles – I love what I do. It’s just such a different discipline, with a completely different skillset and of course a different kind of fun.
GTI: What’s your current personal setup — what are you shooting, and what’s on top of it?
DB: I’m still using my “go to” BSA R10se Super Carbine .177 for nearly all of my pest control duties. I think when it comes down to dispatching rats, rabbits, pigeons etc you must be confident in the gear you are using, as well as your own abilities.
I’ve had that R10se since they were first introduced, in fact it was one of the very first guns out of the factory. I fell in love with it from the word go, and it has never let me down. I couldn’t tell you how many pellets have been down that barrel, 100,000, 200,000? I really have no idea, but it’s a lot! I use it for all the pellet testing I do in Airgun World, too. It had two new regulators, a new pellet probe and countless seal replacements during its lifespan, and it’s still going strong. It’s a bit like Trigger’s broom.
I’ve currently got the HikMicro Alpex Lite on top. The ballistic calculator and ease of use, combined with quality manufacturing makes it the perfect tool for the job. In essence it’s cheating really, but I suppose there’s no such thing when it comes to pest control and shooting live animals.
GTI: If you could put one piece of kit from the 2026 releases on your own rifle tomorrow, what would it be?
DB: I’d have to say one of the new generation of tube-type thermal scopes, like the new Nocpix Bolt H50R or the new NEOS from HikMicro. By the time this magazine comes out in a couple of weeks there will probably be another one on the market that I’d love to have a play with – things really are moving that fast right now.
GTI: You see more new products than almost anyone else in British airgunning. What would you say to the trade if you had five minutes at the British Shooting Show podium — what does the market need more of, and what could it quietly do with less of?
DB: I think everyone I have met in the trade is pretty switched on. Some are exceptionally quick to react to trends, while others are more proactive and try to drive trends themselves.
I guess I’d just say, “Keep on doing what you’re all doing.” It’s such a small family in terms of companies, and most manufacturers have an inkling of what everyone else is up to.
When it comes to what the market ‘needs’, that is driven purely by consumers. For instance, a few years back it was all about synthetic stocks, then bullpups had a surge, then it was laminate stocks and now we have a fascination for tactical-style rifles, but always in the background, and always resurfacing is the traditional wooden sporter stock - you just can’t beat a bit of traditionalism, and the feel and look of a great piece of wood.