Air Rifles Anyone?

Believe me, if I need a rifle capable of a bison...I'm not going with an air rifle! I'm going with my .45-70 buffalo rifle (i.e centerfire, smokeless...HAMMER!) So, I'm not looking to replace anything. My biggest comment was how convenient some of these air rifles are for small vermin at short ranges in tight quarters.

Out beyond 100 yards, I'm going to choose a much different firearm, one where I don't care about supersonic 'crack' because the bullet gets there long before the sound (something like a .270 Weatherby Mag, or 7mm Mag, or even a .220 Swift or .22-250).

My main purpose here was talking about in close, quiet and in tight quarters.

I'm impressed with the air rifle for this purpose.

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
a reply to: anonentity

Wow! That's pretty cool!

I did not know this!

I'm used to raw power from primers and smokeless powder...who knew????!!!

Wow!

ETA - I'm already over 1,000 FPS with a standard pellet, so I wonder how much faster I can get with that? I guess I have to be careful though because the barrier of sound is not far off...which defeats a silencer with the supersonic 'crack'.

I have a Benjamin in a .22 caliber with a silencer for varmints.

The first shot when you oil it up goes supersonic... after that it settles in.

They are a REALLY fun gun.

Happy you got one to play with.

I just got a .177 Umarex Trevox, which has a built-in sound suppressor and shoots at up to 600 fps, for some cheap and quiet pest control. I haven't gotten a chance to try it yet. They're $80 on the Umarex website HERE.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

There are a few videos on YT of people hunting rats with airguns and night scopes.

1 shot 1 kill.

I have an old Crossman Medalist pomp pistol in .177. I have shot rats and rabid cats with it and put them down. I had the seals replaced a few years ago and it is as good as new. Inside of 25 feet it has more power than the .22 target pistol I have.

my son got me one of each caliber breakguns, the 22 really hits hard

accurate a plenty...if they didn't have silencers....nosey next doors would be out lookin.....

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I think I know how you think, and you think in the way of a sustainable thing, as long as you can get the pellets. I have a PCP air rifle and I uses a hand pump to pressurize it. It's a minor workout to do it, but it's not difficult. As it turns out, where I live (Cayman Islands), we can't have guns like normal people, unless we are uber rich, or politicians. My Bride and me knew that when we moved here 26 years ago. She had to give up car racing, and I had to give up compeititive shooting.

I like a PCP. Most of them have a range of 20-30 pellets which can be delivered at the same pressure, which allows you to sight it in at the range in which your target is. There are a great many air rifles, and a great many calibres.

When I went back to the U.S. to visit my kin a couple of years ago, I wandered into a Cabellas, and it made me want to fall to my knees in homage to the wall of air rifles.

I have purchased replacement seals, grease, rebluing compounds. I am not allowed to order a mold for pellets, but you are. That's what I would do.

I have a Crossman Nitro Venom break-barrel. You can get 1200fps from .177 alloy pellets but it is typically under 1k for lead.
A very nice and accurate rifle, but OH SO Heavy.

I have a .17 crossman with the sounds suppressor, as well as an old pellet rifle and a Daisy BB rifle.

The best practice for archery vs. deer is hunting rabbits with a bow. So I go out after deer season and get squirrels and rabbits. The Kids come with me; but they don't want to go to the effort of learning to take small game with a bow, even thought that's our plan in an emergency--we have neighbors within earshot.

So the kids bring the bb & pellet guns. Pot luck will fill the stew pot in an hour, if we walk in a line and "beat the bushes."

My two favs are (squirrel) Brunswick stew and pheasant/rabbit stew.

I have a Gamo break barrel in .177 that uses a nitrogen piston instead of a spring. It's supposed to last longer and be better in cold weather. It shoots special lightweight pellets 1200+ fps, but they make a loud crack like a .22 rifle. I prefer heavier pellets to keep it quiet, plus they are more accurate. This is a legit air rifle, not just a pellet gun like I had as a kid.

This thing is as fun to shoot as any 'real' gun I have. I can hit 1" groups from 50 yards all day long. It could be tighter if I was better. It's a decent workout if you're gonna shoot a couple hundred shots in an afternoon. A tin of 500 pellets costs $6-10 dollars so it's pretty cheap to shoot.

Any squirrel, bird, or rabbit has no chance from 50 yards in. For raccoon or possum sized you need to use the pellets specifically for hunting. I've watched YouTube videos where they take full-grown wild boar with the same exact rifle with one shot instadrops. With .177 pellets.

I now have the opinion that a quality air rifle is the 2nd most important prepper weapon after a 9mm pistol for most people. It would be far more practical to hunt the more plentiful small game and birds instead of deer or whatever. I prefer the break barrels because you don't need anything other than the gun for it to function. The multi-pump guns are too loud and slow for a follow-up shot if you miss your first. The pcp guns are more expensive and require an outside source for air. They are the preferred choice for serious air rifle enthusiasts though.

originally posted by: SouthernForkway26
I have a Gamo break barrel in .177 that uses a nitrogen piston instead of a spring. It's supposed to last longer and be better in cold weather. It shoots special lightweight pellets 1200+ fps, but they make a loud crack like a .22 rifle. I prefer heavier pellets to keep it quiet, plus they are more accurate. This is a legit air rifle, not just a pellet gun like I had as a kid.

This thing is as fun to shoot as any 'real' gun I have. I can hit 1" groups from 50 yards all day long. It could be tighter if I was better. It's a decent workout if you're gonna shoot a couple hundred shots in an afternoon. A tin of 500 pellets costs $6-10 dollars so it's pretty cheap to shoot.

Any squirrel, bird, or rabbit has no chance from 50 yards in. For raccoon or possum sized you need to use the pellets specifically for hunting. I've watched YouTube videos where they take full-grown wild boar with the same exact rifle with one shot instadrops. With .177 pellets.

I now have the opinion that a quality air rifle is the 2nd most important prepper weapon after a 9mm pistol for most people. It would be far more practical to hunt the more plentiful small game and birds instead of deer or whatever. I prefer the break barrels because you don't need anything other than the gun for it to function. The multi-pump guns are too loud and slow for a follow-up shot if you miss your first. The pcp guns are more expensive and require an outside source for air. They are the preferred choice for serious air rifle enthusiasts though.

The downside to break barrels is IF you accidentally let go of the barrel it will be hitting you like a boxer for the higher power ones. They do have portable gas rechargers if you want to use the high power air rifles. I want to get a custom one made one day that the spring in it takes 2 to cock it or a portable stand with small pulley system. just for fun mind you.

The one I got was just a Gamo - Shadow Whisper. Wasn't that expensive really, but it's laser accurate and will take out rabbit sized critters at 50-60 yards easy (with hollow point pellets). Has fiber optic sights on it which I like, but they take some getting used to. Came with a scope, but I'm way more accurate with just the iron sights, and the sights are adjustable too. I'm liking this thing...and this coming from a big time centerfire rifle guy.

One thing I learned which was really helpful was, not all air rifle pellets are created equal, not by a long ways. And, even more importantly; more expensive does not mean better in many cases. First thing I did was went out and got the most expensive .17 cal pellets I could buy. They were 'okay', but nothing to write home about. Then I read some articles about what this particular rifle likes to eat. Turns out some of the cheapest pellets, Daisy, were at the top of the list. Tried some of those and, WOW, what a difference! And they're FAST too. I can put 3 and 5 shot groups at 50 yards all practically through the same hole (all in the 'X' ring for sure).

Anyway, FWIW.

a reply to: yuppa

Yeah, I suppose if you ever let go of one they would whack you pretty hard if your face was in the way, but for me they're pretty easy to manage. I have really long arms though so leverage is on my side. I actually turn mine sideways to break it, as opposed to some who pull them down forward in front of them using their body to brace the stock. It's a nice workout on the pecs and traps anyway.

Shoot a .22 Springer myself. With Suppressor. Its a pretty competent weapon. My pal has a number of rifles and we do test different ammo so its worth checking what works best for your rifle. Results can vary greatly - though here in the UK we are limited 12 ft/lbs before needing a licence.

He has a springer and two PCP's - these are gas fired but rely upon manual charging - people use the sort of auxiliary tank divers use for quick charging - the alternative is a foot pump!

All have been great fun target guns and have been fitted with laser sights and night vision when called for. Mostly used for vermin shooting and work very well for task on that function.

In my view (and I do have access to 12 bore clay shooting at a range) - the rifles have provided a very worthwhile investment in time and effort.

OK all. I have been looking at air guns/rifles for a few months now. I haven't owned 1 since I had a cheap co2 pistol when I was a teenager. I haven't bought 1 yet because all I was seeing were the ones that shoot 400-450 fps and I just didn't think that was enough. After reading through this thread I'm really interested in the Benjamin or one of the other high end higher priced guns but it sounds like they need some type of air compressor or something to charge them is that correct? Until recently I didn't even know they made them this powerful so any help or explanation would be really appreciated.

originally posted by: awhispersecho
OK all. I have been looking at air guns/rifles for a few months now. I haven't owned 1 since I had a cheap co2 pistol when I was a teenager. I haven't bought 1 yet because all I was seeing were the ones that shoot 400-450 fps and I just didn't think that was enough. After reading through this thread I'm really interested in the Benjamin or one of the other high end higher priced guns but it sounds like they need some type of air compressor or something to charge them is that correct? Until recently I didn't even know they made them this powerful so any help or explanation would be really appreciated.

If you are in Canada, most of what you will see are under 500fps anything over is classified as a firearm

I think for the Benjamin, you would use a scuba tank, or co2 tank, foot pump, high pressure compressor. The compressor is ideal, not cheap though, around 600

a reply to: vonclod

US here. A scuba tank! I'm just picturing carrying a scuba tank around to power my air gun. I know that's not how it works but still, the image made me laugh. Thanks for the response. Seems I'm going to have to learn a lot more than I wanted before I decide what I am going to buy.

originally posted by: awhispersecho
a reply to: vonclod

US here. A scuba tank! I'm just picturing carrying a scuba tank around to power my air gun. I know that's not how it works but still, the image made me laugh. Thanks for the response. Seems I'm going to have to learn a lot more than I wanted before I decide what I am going to buy.

You can still get a simple break gun in .22 that will do 1000 fps+. That Benjamin sure looks fun though.

This one looks fun, full auto, .30 735fps, looks like 100 shots a fill
www.airgundepot.com...

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I have an airsoft Umarex classed as a toy, it looks and weighs like the Soviet Marikov, I found that the barrel was .22 and the ball bearings were half a thou under. So for an experiment seeing it was not the blowback style, I loaded the fifteen shot mag up and shot it at a rolled carpet to see what happened I oiled the barrel and the bearings'. The first four shots had a deep penetration into the carpet. It sounded just like the real thing but with a suppressor. I wouldn't have a clue what the fps is, but its lethal. and must be around seven or eight hundred fps. Simply because the valve dwell period would tend to to stay open a little longer with the heavier shot. The warmer the CO2 canister is kept the more power it seems to have. I believe if you are handy you can mess with the dwell period to get a longer charge, but this is just the stock setting.

The best air rifle I had was a RWS, can’t remember what model but the wood stock and rifle itself was high quality. Stupid accurate. Shot the .177 at 1,000 FPS. Had to use a special scope since the recoil is backwards from a regular Rifle. Loaned it to a friend and he said the same thing about accuracy, he went and bought one.