Airguns.... who has what and how do you like it?

[01_ranger_4x4]

http://www.umarexusa.com/product/Walther-Talon-Magnum,21,47.htm

There is the Walther I've added to my consideration list...

01_Ranger, I've been kind of trying to stick with buying it local rather than order through a mail order company but that does look like a pretty good deal!

yeah i def understand buying local and i would if i could but we dont have any dealers of quality air guns in my area.

have you done the math on how many bricks of .22 ammo you could buy for $300? with even a marginal 4x scope you could easily achieve 50-yard first round hits with a .22, it's not like you need to save whatever you're shooting to eat for dinner

i have a .22 but i dont like shooting it in my yard out of respect for my neighbors. an airgun is perfect for shots up to 50 yards and its quiet and is just as accurate as my .22 in that range. plus i can shoot my air rifle all day for next to nothing.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

There's only one local shop I know of that deals with the higher quality airguns. Most just carry the cheap single strokes and the multi-pump stuff. I wanted something better, lol.

I can shoot a .22 here no problem, as long as I'm not shooting up in a tree, I got a lot of hillside to shoot towards. And with an airgun I'll probably be shooting at the same ranges into the same hillside. Arguably, I don't need the airgun at all and should just spend that money on more .22 ammo, but...

 

[AllanD]

So I've had a few different ones over the years, mostly pistols, but one pump-up rifle (Crosman). It's been a very good rifle, I used it for quite a few years before I moved up to shooting .22's and such. But now with the price of ammo I'm back to playing with airguns again.

Problem is, I'm rapidly getting tired of pumping 10 times to shoot at a crow in the yard or a target. So I'd like to get a single-stroke that is 1,000 fps or better with lead. I've been looking at Gamo since they are supposed to be really good last I heard, but I'm sort of unsure as to what to get. So I figured I'd throw it out here an see what everyone else plays with and if they have any input that will help me make a decision.

I looked at Gamo's website (I don't really like the looks of any of the current crop of Crosman guns). I'd kind of like to get their fixed barrel CFX, but I haven't been able to find any through a local dealer, so I'm not sure I'll get it. I'm budgeting around $300 max at this point. The other two I've been considering is the Whisper and the Shadow Fox (both claim similar specs and noise is not an issue). I can have my choice of the two for a $10 difference through a local shop.

So have at it...

The Air Rifle I've had since 1985 (and still use) it an RWS 45M,
yeah, it'll do better than 1000fps with the correct lightweight pellets.

It's a spring piston "break action" (you cock it with the barrel)
and the type is one of the most popular for a damned good reason, because they work.

And while some will propose getting a 22cal air rifle "for the energy" the difference in energy is rediculous (the difference between pitiful and piointless) 177's are the way to go, velocity = flat trajectory (easier to hit with) and velocity with the proper pellets give far better penetration.

a crow with an EXIT HOLE won't move very far and most of that will be straight down.

a squirrel is a hard target to penetrate at all (they have suprisingly resiliant skin) but a 177 that gets inside can do a lot of damage.
Far more damage to them than a huge bruise.

Personally I have a bolt action 22lr that shoots flatter and hits harder while actually making less noise than my air rifle, it probably heps that the 22 rifle
has a 26" barrel... and the 40grain "pellets" it launches make exit holes in much larger "game" than a squirrel or crow.

But I live where nobody would notice a gunshot... I live 3 doors down from a high power rifle range

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[robertc1024]

You can also get sub-sonic .22 rifle rounds if you don't want to make much noise. One of my good friends lives in the 'burbs and shoots squirrels all the time with it. Probably way illegal, but he lives in LA. The state not the city.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

The Air Rifle I've had since 1985 (and still use) it an RWS 45M,
yeah, it'll do better than 1000fps with the correct lightweight pellets.

It's a spring piston "break action" (you cock it with the barrel)
and the type is one of the most popular for a damned good reason, because they work.

And while some will propose getting a 22cal air rifle "for the energy" the difference in energy is rediculous (the difference between pitiful and piointless) 177's are the way to go, velocity = flat trajectory (easier to hit with) and velocity with the proper pellets give far better penetration.

a crow with an EXIT HOLE won't move very far and most of that will be straight down.

a squirrel is a hard target to penetrate at all (they have suprisingly resiliant skin) but a 177 that gets inside can do a lot of damage.
Far more damage to them than a huge bruise.

Personally I have a bolt action 22lr that shoots flatter and hits harder while actually making less noise than my air rifle, it probably heps that the 22 rifle
has a 26" barrel... and the 40grain "pellets" it launches make exit holes in much larger "game" than a squirrel or crow.

But I live where nobody would notice a gunshot... I live 3 doors down from a high power rifle range

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AD has spoken, lol

Mostly I just want an accurate toy to play around with. If I seriously want to kill something I'll step out the door with a 12 gauge an let 'er rip. Only one neighbor cares and she's certifiably crazy (plus she doesn't actually live there, she just comes around once every other day or so to collect mail and feed her dog, I should turn her in to the humane society). She also has no idea which neighbor shoots (probably because we all do, lol). The local cops could care less as long as nobody is shooting at the road. I love living out in the country, lol.

 

[goodie85]

i have a russian made pellet gun and ive had it since i was 5 or 6 years old still works like a beaut but now i am more into 25-06 or 22-250 and shotguns and pistols but every now and again i bring that pellet gun out and i can drop blackbirds from 50 yards out easy if its not windy

 

[feellnfroggy]

Allan is exactly right about the squirrels. I shot 10 of them to make a dinner for the family. Only 2 had exit wounds. Most the pellet got in and boucned around a little, ITs not as much their skin tho, as they have extremely tight muscle groups of the fast twitch nature. rock solid.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Allan is exactly right about the squirrels. I shot 10 of them to make a dinner for the family. Only 2 had exit wounds. Most the pellet got in and boucned around a little, ITs not as much their skin tho, as they have extremely tight muscle groups of the fast twitch nature. rock solid.

I think it's a bit of both. I had trouble cutting their hide with my knife but without sharpening it I was able to cut up two deer - they cut a bit easier.

 

[01_ranger_4x4]

hey for those of you that have a .22 cal air rifle, i have some pellets i need to get rid of. i no longer have a .22 cal (due to reasons listed above by AllanD.) heres a link to them on the site i got them from. http://www.pyramydair.com/s/p/Predator_22_Cal_16_0_Grains_Pointed_200ct/343 i only used about 10-15 of them. PM me if anyone wants them. i only want $5 just to cover shipping.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

those look like the Gamo red fire pellets I have in .177

 

[AllanD]

A friend got an RWS in 22 about the same time I got my 177 so we had ample time to directly compare results, yeah, he killed his share of squirrels, but many you could SEE hit and hear that distinctive impact sound would keep going until I hit them with a followup shot and the bruised caused by a 22 air rifle bellet was amazing....

OTOH standard velocity 22lr out of that L-O-N-G barrel on my winchester 67 is so quiet you can hear the "ping" of the firing pin crushing the case rim.
there is really little difference in report between std vel 22LR and my RWS.

If I actually bother to use Subsonic 22LR ammo that's even quieter and you can hear the echo of the firing pin before the sound of impact gets back to your ears at 50feet...

It's actually very "cool"

silencer? I don't need no stinking silencer.

a 22LR contrary to what is says on the box will go nowhere NEAR 1-1/2 miles

Back in the '70's the NRA did some exhaustive testing out on some desert dry lakebed and no 22 LR round consistantly made it past 3/4 miles. there was one round that DID make a few really close to one mile shots, it''s "kinda" a 22LR, the CCI stinger...
and 22Mag wouldn't reliably make 1-1/4miles unless the bullet had a tail wind.

so basically they won't fly as far as you'd think they would....

And a tumbling bullet (a richochet) will go even less distance because it has far more aerodynamic drag.

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