Pellet Gun for Survival, any suggestion?

[JOERM]

I have a few low power pellet guns, .177 cal in a pistol and a pump but none will kill much of anything. I would like to get a high powered one but there are so many models, types to choose from. I have my rim & center fire survival guns ready for this but I want something quite to kill small game, (never know when one must hit the hills to get away from civil unrest, for what ever reason. Or just knock a critter off during the day while the neighbors are home.)

My guess is that I'd like to have an air gun that would pop the head of a grouse at 30 or 40 feet, if it did that then it would pop squirrels, robins even a small wild rabbit, maybe. Single shot single pump, no CO2, and I guess a 2X scope? What's the next size up from .177? Of course reliability in adverse weather conditions is a must. Some of the real expensive air guns have velocity around 800 fps or more I think. I'd also like to have one somewhat compact, seen some that are huge and heavy. Price range at this point is not a factor, not that I have the money, just want to see the options.

Any suggestions? Or maybe this has already been asked, if so, where is the link?

Thanks in advance. Joe

 

[Chromedhearts]

I know there are pricier .22 even .38 and .45 air rifles but I have killed a pile of squirrels and rabbits with a Crossman .177 pump. You do have to pump it a few times to get killing velocity, but with patience and well aimed shots it will do the trick.

 

[Badkarma 1]

Hey Joe, I can heartily recommend a Benjamin 342 pump rifle!! It a pneumatic (ya gotta pump it) and is .22 caliber. Both my Grandpa and Dad had/have one and there deadly out to at least 50ft!
My Dad sent his in a few years ago to be bebuilt with new rings and seals and I got to try it out on a piece of eigthth inch steel, made one helluva dent!! Dale

 

[Iggy]

I have a Beeman R-10. It is absolutely the most accurate thing I own. It is a break barrel model.

It reputedly sends a 177 at near a 1000fps. It is sudden death on small critters out to about 50 yards if you hit them in the head.

 

[-db-]

I had a Daisy 880 pump rifle as a kid. I remember it was advertised at 680 fps for a .177 lead pellet back then. I took squirrels with it.

I was looking at airguns in the Midway catalog just last night and saw they still make the 880 and nowadays it's got fancy fiber optic sights, comes with a scope and shoots at 700+ fps. For a basic rifle, it's probably not a bad deal at around $50.

 

[walnutred]

I have two that I'd recommend, both pretty traditional. One is the old Sheridan Blue Streak, mine is 20 caliber. The other one I really like is one of the Chinese training rifles that was imported a few years ago. Mine was $19 in '93 and the kids and I have shot the heck out of it with no trouble.

 

[seagill]

Have you considered a compound bow? You can hunt anything from squirrels to elk.

 

[daparrothead]

Check out the Gammo varmit hunter, they are awesome! One pump and ready to go, I've taken down many possum & coons with mine. Comes with a laser & led light mounted on the top of the scope, these are awesome for the price. If you use the Gammo pellets they shoot 1250fps.

 

[mod29]

Beeman R-1 in 5mm (.20 cal).
High quality, high power, very accurate.
Pricy but worth it.

Beeman R1 and R1-AW

The 5mm shoots flatter than a .22 cal, and has a bit more weight than a .177. Perfect for high-power air rifles like the R-1.

-Jim

 

[Wyo]

I have one of the old Benjamin pump guns, .22 caliber, that I have taken many, many cottontail rabbits and squirrels with. Never tried it on a grouse but I expect it would work on them too with a head shot. Those old Benjamins last just about forever with almost no maintenance and are more than adequate for small game. The only downside I can think of is that my wife has trouble getting more than 4 or 5 pumps on it, but even that is enough for squirrels and cottontails out to 50 feet or more.

 

[JOERM]

Have you considered a compound bow? You can hunt anything from squirrels to elk.

Yes I have and plan to research that as well. They used to be illegal here in WA. Have no clue as to what to get and what they cost. I don't want a lot of bells and whisles that that can be added, just a plain jane model. I can shoot a re-curve pretty good.

Joe

 

[JOERM]

I have a Beeman R-10. It is absolutely the most accurate thing I own. It is a break barrel model.

It reputedly sends a 177 at near a 1000fps. It is sudden death on small critters out to about 50 yards if you hit them in the head.

50 yards? You must have a scope on that puppy. 50 yards? Dang man. Had no idea a pellet gun could have that kind of range.

Joe

 

[JOERM]

Check out the Gammo varmit hunter, they are awesome! One pump and ready to go, I've taken down many possum & coons with mine. Comes with a laser & led light mounted on the top of the scope, these are awesome for the price. If you use the Gammo pellets they shoot 1250fps.

1250 fps is unreal for sure. What cal is it? I'll log on to their website now and check it out. Had no idea that some air could push a pellet out the muzzle at that vel!

Thanks for all the input, more then enough for me to get started. I really want to get one within a few weeks.

Joe

 

[Iggy]

50 yards? You must have a scope on that puppy. 50 yards? Dang man. Had no idea a pellet gun could have that kind of range.

Joe

Yup, got a bodacious variable scope on it.

Just a hint, air rifles will destroy a regular rifle scope in short order. If you go for a scope, make sure it is for air rifles.

 

[JOERM]

Yup, got a bodacious variable scope on it.

Just a hint, air rifles will destroy a regular rifle scope in short order. If you go for a scope, make sure it is for air rifles.

I don't get it. I'd understand if it were the other way around but a reg rifle scope on an air gun? Is it the lube or something coming out the muzzle?

 

[Downlow411]

Sound level?

are any of these quite, most I have shot are as loud as a 22 rimfire.

 

[m1gunner]

If you want quiet, use Super Colobri ammo out of a 22 rifle. From my 10/22, the impact of the pellet makes more noise than when fired.

A red dot sighted in for these in a 10/22 is deadly on squirrels in the tree tops.

 

[Alpo]

Joerm, my understanding about scopes is because of the recoil. Rifles recoil back, but because of their springs, air guns actually recoil forward. This, supposedly, will beat a regular rifle scope to death, quite quickly.

I bought a Ruger Blackhawk. .177, 1000 fps. Figgered I could play with it in the back yard. Keep my eye sharp and thin the squirrels in my pecan trees. I fired it exactly twice. It's louder than my 22s. I was afraid the neighbors would call the cops.

Now I plink in the backyard with Super Colibris. They are quiet, but the one squirrel I shot with 'em took five of 'em to put him down. About 25 feet.

 

[bigshot500]

my .02 My RWS 52 in 22 is an amazing adult air rifle. For starters it weights almost eight pounds! no plastic here, solid wood tock, nice finish and quality bluing on the barrel. Much like any rifle you will have to try several different brands of pellets to find the one your rifle likes. Mine settled on a crossman premier 14.3 grain domed pellet. With these accuracy is fantastic! I have dropped birds out to 85 yards sitting on limbs. If you do your part it will drop game out to 100 yards (smaller critters- squirrels etc) with properly placed shots. Due to the pellets light weight compared to a standard 40 grain 22lr bullet, wind does play quite a bit of havoc.

The RWS makes for enjoyable days when one does not feel driving to a range as plinking in your backard is a nice way to pass time.

 

[Smith357]

The next size up from .177 is 5mm/.20 then up to .22.

If you are looking for a powerful easy to handle lightweight carbine the The Benjamin pump guns have that covered in spades. Over the years I've had many an air rifle from nice magnum springers to cheap wally world Co2 rifles. The one that I still have and cherish after 20 years is my Benjamin Sheridan Silver Streak 5mm. It a good solid American made rifle that is light, accurate enough, and powerful enough to put small critters in the stew pot. With 8 pumps it send a 14.3 grain pellet clean though a 1/2 pine board. I can regulate the power with fewer pumps for dispatching yard varmints in the city or down to just two pumps for punching holes in paper. It's much lighter than a magnum springer and has every bit as much power because it uses very heavy pellets. Don't be fooled buy raw velocity numbers, many of those super fast velocity numbers on the box come from running super light pellets to jack up the numbers for marketing, but magnum springers actually work better with heavy pellets but then heavy pellets numbers don't look so good to the marketing dept.

 

[SF180A]

Lots of good information on this thread. Back in the late 70s while assigned to the 10th Special Forces Group, we taught survival and mountaineer training to West Point Cadets. We were given permission from the base Game Wardens to take local game (fish & fur) for the survival class. Several methods were used to include cross bow, traps & snares, and lastly a lowly old pump air rifle one of our team sergeants brought with him for plinking varmints around the camp. Believe it or not, this air rifle took more deer and made a believer out of our skeptics, let alone fed our camp with fresh venison (no one went hungry that summer!
Air rifles have been around for a long time, and even accompanied Lewis & Clark on their famous exploration as told from the history channel, referenced in the below link.

YouTube - Girandoni air rifle as used by Lewis and Clark. A National Firearms Museum Treasure Gun.

So given the right air rifle and pellet, I think you could easily find one to fit your needs quite well.

Safe shooting,
SF180A

 

[MotoShot10R]

YouTube - Benjamin Rogue .357 Air Rifle Shot Show Media Day 2011

 

[loutent]

I followed the "heads-up" from a fellow forum member last summer and bought a .177 Hammerli Storm Elite on sale from Midway for about $90 and added a Barska scope to it. Being my first pellet gun, I was amazed at the power - I wanted it mainly for garden pests in our suburban vegetable garden. Here's a few pics that I have already posted, but show what these are capable of:

A groundhog head shot from 15 yds:

 

[JOERM]

Thanks for all the great advice and data. I'm kind of leaning toward the Benjamin .22 Marauder.

http://www.crosman.com/airguns/benjamin/BP2263

Having a 10 shot mag is attractive and so is having a pressure tank so you don't have to pump it with every shot. Will be doing some more searching to see how many rounds can be fired before you need to hand pump more air into it. They claim that it is very quite which is a big plus for what I am looking for. Also, not having to pump with each shot will keep things quieter as well. It comes with a pressure gauge too.

The price is on the high end for sure but I'll look around on the web, there's always a better deal somewhere. The one draw back is the thought of packing a hand pump around in the woods. Hopefully it will fire off 3 or 4 dozen shots before refill, if that's the case then the pump stays back at camp.

thanks again for all the input. I really like the looks and features of this .22 Marauder.

-----
I just looked up the cost for the PCP pump, $200.00. I think I will re-think this and go back to the hand pump single shot search.

Joe

 

[geddylee10002000]

Maybe a tad bit more than you asked for but check out

Quackenbush Air Guns

 

[jimmyj]

Hi:
Consider a single shot bolt action .22RF rifle using CCI .22 CB short cartridges. Works for me.

 

[Gebe]

Sorry if I'm off-topic here but I've always loved air guns and in the past have had many Beemans, (and other brands), including the R-1, R-7, R-10 and many others including many air pistols.

They were all good but when I discovered sub-sonic .22 ammo, I sold off all of my air rifles except one and kept a couple of pistols.

Don't get me wrong, air rifles are fun and pellets are certainly cheaper than sub-sonic .22's but like others have said, a lot of sub-sonics are WAY quieter than most pellet guns and are more devastating on small game out to 50 yards and even more.

A good quality bolt action rimfire matched up with several bricks of Colibri, CCI CB's or other quality sub-sonic .22 ammo that your rifle shoots well, will cost you less than a quality air gun and serve you well for what you're looking for.

By the way, the only air rifle I kept was a Sheridan .20 cal., (when Sheridan was still Sheridan), that I purchased new from Mr. Beeman himself at the original Beeman brick & mortar store in the 1970's. It had been tuned and serviced by Beeman for maximum power and cost me a whopping $50.00! I liked it more than all my Beeman branded air rifles.

That said, if you enjoy air guns, go for what you want!

 

[sipowicz]

You'll shoot your eye out!

 

[Superflywimpy]

Rws makes a pretty darn good product.....

As you well know Germans over do it on alot of things they make. But I have a RWS magnum 350 that has almost replaced any 22 rimfire I own. Can take critters at about 60 yrds. Sends a 22 pellet about 990 fps with a single stroke. No noise to attract unwanted attention. Only drawback it weighs in at 9 lbs,so it's like lugging a m1 garand around. If I had to resort to eating all the flying rats I have downed with it,I would have put on at least 5 lbs. I Also have a Crossman 397PA in 22 good for short range 20 yrds. Which ran about 120.00 ,the RWS with out scope was 320.00 Pretty much you get what you pay for. Shop around as there so many to choose from.