Air guns-Rifles

[IAM Rand]

Did a quick check and didn't see that this topic has really been explored so here it goes.

I have been seeing more and more that air guns, mainly rifles, have really come a long way. Just wanted to pick some more informed minds than mine on this topic. I have watched American Airgunner on TV and am very amazed at how far air rifles have come. I guess the advice I am looking for is an all round rifle in the .25 and above good power.

The second part to this question is how to charge the rifles. I know that you have to buy a god-awful expensive bottle to charge them and then on top of that, you have to buy something to charge the damn bottle.

Kind of a long way from Daisy where you just cocked the handle and shot. If I am going to have to spend 2-3k on all of this it might be better to just stick with regular pew-pews.

Just looking for an all round good shooter that I don't have to sell my first born for......wait, he is gone to the dark side, maybe I will sell him, not sure I will get to much for him though

 

[bigwheelzip]

The second part to this question is how to charge the rifles. I know that you have to buy a god-awful expensive bottle to charge them and then on top of that, you have to buy something to charge the damn bottle.

No help on the gun choice, we've only a hand-pumped Crossman. But my son-in-law is a scuba diver, and said scuba shops and paintball fields can charge a bottle for a few bucks.




Sent from my motorola one 5G using Tapatalk

 

[tt66]

Funny that you bring this up, I have a new air rifle arriving today.

I looked hard and long at the PCP guns but decided to go with a break barrel in .177 caliber. The tanks are expensive to purchase but our local Walmart can fill them. I went with a Hatsan MOD 135. It is supposed to be a nice gas piston break barrel. I figured if I shot this one a good bit, I would have time to figure out what to progress too.

Good luck with your search and let us know what you get.

Tim

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

Hello IAM Rand,

There are a number of great, super-fun air guns out there, but like you said... some can run into a lot of money.

The pre-charged pneumatics are top of the line, and by the time you get a real compressor, etc., you've spent real $$$. I use a "spring air" (barrel cocking) Beeman in .22. It's really accurate for my target shooting and pest control. The newer guns have a gas piston to compress, as opposed to a spring, and that's even better.

A good place to check out online is Pyramyd Air | Premier Online Airgun Store they have EVERYTHING you could want. I don't have any financial connection to them other than being a customer on occasion.

Best wishes to all!

Roger AKA Mr. Wonderful on the S&W Forum

 

[reddogs]

.22 caliber air arms tx200 and hw95 handle everything in my yard and woods around it.If i went up to.25 cal pcp would probably be best.Compressor scuba tank fittings to fill plus gun and scope get expensive quick.Air guns can be very accurate and fun to shoot and ammo is still reasonable.Pcp guns that have magazines are much faster to load but it is expensive to get into.I will probably get one but i don't need it for varmints.

 

[Echo40]

The only air guns I've ever owned are a Daisey Red Ryder and am Airsoft Walther PPK/S.

 

[IAM Rand]

I guess there is not much choice if you want the bigger caliber airguns, you have to shell out the $$$. I was just interested in some that I had seen on TV, specifically the 30 cal and 50 cal rifles. Not that I plan on going hunting with them anytime soon BUT, the way things are going in the good ole U S of A.(PS not trying to get political, just sayin)

It is always nice to have an alternative that doesn't rely on primers.

 

[Eric300]

I always wanted to get a PCP, but like you, I didn't want to spend as much, or more, on the support equipment as I did on a good PCP. I've had Webbly Scott, Diana, Beman, and a few other 'higher end' springer (break-barrel) rifles over the years. The main issue that I have with springers is shot-to-shot consistency since you need to hold/shoulder them differently than their gun powder counterparts (google 'air rifle artillery hold'). So, a couple of years ago I dropped almost a grand on an Air Arms Pro Sport (with walnut stock) under lever cocking rifle. Beautiful air rifle and crazy accurate. I saw in another post above by Reddogs regarding the Air Arms TX200 or a Weihrauch HW (I'd go with the 97). Both are great, accurate, well build air rifles as well. Can't go wrong with either of them. Good luck with your quest. A good air rifle is great fun and relatively cheap. I shoot my air rifle and rimfires more than any other firearms that I own.

 

[505Gibbs]

Airguns of Arizona is another good place to look. FWIW

 

[Catwrangler]

All you go fast guys with them fancy new air guns, Hah. I'd been a Daisy spring gun user, but my Dad gave me a Benjamin 310 pump gun for my 12th birthday. (.177 CAL. smoothbore for BBs.) Perfect for a kid when BBs were 5 cent per bag. Capable of pellets, but not as accurate accurate as the 312, which was rifled. I shot English sparrows, grackles, blue jays, tree rats, rats and chipmunks well beyond my limit. Sent it back for a rebuild of the pump seals in the early 80's and used it to teach my son gun safety. Still have it today using an it to shoot in the house and occasionally snipe tree rats near my fruit tree and modest garden. If my neighbors were to see me at work, I'm sure "red flag" would be flown. (This is no way political.)

 

[CajunBass]

The only air "rifle" I've had for years now is a Uramex M1A1 that is really handy for keeping the soda cans at bay.

Full sized replica of a Thompson submachine gun, it fires regular BB's using two CO2 cartridges for power. Magazine holds 30 BB's, and fires in either full or semi modes. More fun than you can shake a stick at.

(Kimber Micro 9 for size comparison)

 

[Shrek Of The Arctic]

Air guns are kind of a challenge for me.

PCPs come with a fair bit of infrastructure, and when the O rings go out, can be a real hassle. Springers are simpler, but the reverse recoil and need to use a lighter hold than you would with a firearm is strange. I tend to wonder if gas piston air guns might be the way, but of the many thousands I spent on air guns (before I got out of them) I never took the time to try one.

I did kinda come to question common perception of air guns. It seems everyone starts out wanting "the power of a .22 long rifle!" I came to consider that if someone wants the power of a .22 long rifle...maybe they oughta just shoot a .22 long rifle...

Don't get too wrapped up in numbers. The deadest dead as in not even a twitch has been snowshoe hares shot with a .22 caliber Predator pellet, which is like....14...maybe 16 grains. It came out the barrel at a whopping 625 FPS.

I never tried it, but I wonder if a .25 caliber could shoot bulk #4 buckshot? Not like a preferred load, but a plinking load? That'd sure be cheaper

I'm down to just three air rifles. An old .20 caliber Sheridan Silver Streak, a .22 caliber Weihrauch HW-50, and a .177 Benjamin Discovery that I just can't move up here.

Sheridan is my best pest control gun. HW-50 is fun, and still legit for hunting and plinking.

When looming at Gamo or RWS particularly, realize the velocities tend to be greatly exaggerated.

 

[VaTom]

Great thread. Air Guns date back to late 1700's. Didn't know this until I visited the post museum at VMI (Va. Military Institute) in Lexington, Va. They have a great firearms collection as part on the museum. One display case has air guns dating back to the early 1800's. One of their alums collected them and gifted to VMI. Lewis and Clark took one on their exploration to gather small bird and animal specimens.

If you are ever driving south on I-81 through the Shenandoah Valley stop in and visit VMI.

 

[IAM Rand]

This may be a far fetched question but, if you had to take one airgun rifle into the apocalypse, what would it be and why. I know that the PCP guns need a high pressure system to fill the tanks. I am sure there is some smart guy that has devised a hand or foot pump to fill a tank(after several days I am sure).

All things being equal, what rifle would it be????

 

[H Richard]

The new pre-charged pneumatic air guns there are now compressors that will go this high and for home use. Not cheap, but in the $500 range for the compressor. Air rifles have gone mainstream, and up to 60 caliber. Big game now being taken with air rifles. I heard some one was planning to take a Cape Buffalo with an air rifle. Not sure what caliber. Go to Pyramid air and browse.

 

[Alk8944]

Even Lewis and Clark used an air rifle on their expedition, a .46 caliber Girandoni.

 

[diyj98]

I tried the PCP guns, but agre filling up the tanks was a pain, especially after our one and only dive shop went out of business. So I sold mine and went back to my first love of German sping powered guns. Of course you're stuck to the smaller caliber guns with springers.

Personally I think the thing about spring guns having to be held differently is bit overblown. True if you zero them off sandbags, they'll shoot to a different point of aim while being held due to the spring recoil acting differently, but I never found that to be a huge issue. I just zero them while resting on my hands and not the actual sandbags.

They will kill cheap scopes though. The magnum spring guns will kill even the cheapo "airgun scopes". I've had good luck with Bushnell Elites and Leupolds holding up fine on magnum spring guns though.

 

[diyj98]

This may be a far fetched question but, if you had to take one airgun rifle into the apocalypse, what would it be and why. I know that the PCP guns need a high pressure system to fill the tanks. I am sure there is some smart guy that has devised a hand or foot pump to fill a tank(after several days I am sure).

All things being equal, what rifle would it be????

Mine would be a good quality German spring gun in 177. 177 just because the pellets are more common than other caliber. And German becuase I prefer the higher quality to the cheaper Spanish and Chinese made airguns.

And yes, they do make hand pumps like the Hill that can be used to charge PCP's. I've done it, but it gets a bit old with a full day of shooting.

 

[smoothshooter]

This may be a far fetched question but, if you had to take one airgun rifle into the apocalypse, what would it be and why. I know that the PCP guns need a high pressure system to fill the tanks. I am sure there is some smart guy that has devised a hand or foot pump to fill a tank(after several days I am sure).

All things being equal, what rifle would it be????

Quality hand pumps are easy to come by. I have one that will do over 4,000 PSI. But pumping past 2,000 gets to be work.
I have a Benjamin Discovery in .22 that operates at 2,000 PSI max. Most precharged pneumatics operate at 3,000 PSI.

 

[smoothshooter]

Hand Pumps

This may be a far fetched question but, if you had to take one airgun rifle into the apocalypse, what would it be and why. I know that the PCP guns need a high pressure system to fill the tanks. I am sure there is some smart guy that has devised a hand or foot pump to fill a tank(after several days I am sure).

All things being equal, what rifle would it be????

Quality hand pumps are easy to come by. I have one that will do over 4,000 PSI. But pumping past 2,000 gets to be work.
I have a Benjamin Discovery in .22 that operates at 2,000 PSI max. Most precharged pneumatics operate at 3,000 PSI.