Air Rifles

[warthog]

Anyone into air guns? I picked up a cheap Crosman that shoots 600+ fps. Pretty happy with it. Fairly accurate.

Looking to step it up to a Nitrogen Break Barrel style at some point.

Liking the entire Gamo line-

This is the front runner right now-



Anyone have a high powered air rifle that they really like?
I am looking in the 1000+ fps range- $250-400 range.

[systemoverblow'd]

[warthog]

Ha, yeah-

Spent part of the day yesterday making a pellet trap. Worked great.

Don't want to shoot my eye out, but really don't want to shoot my neighbor's window out off a ricochet.

These things are approaching .22 velocity, so not much worry about them bouncing back. More likely, going through something and doing some damage.

[XXX-er]

I used to shoot mine in the basement as a kid, to catch the lead I used a piece of 1/4 " steel plate angled at a 45degree in an orange box to deflected all the lead downwards

[GiBo]

I've had one of these since I was 13. Sheridan 22 cal. Still shoots well. Losing a little power, probably needs new seals. When it was new the damn thing shot through fence boards. Love air rifles. Good clean 'merican fun!

[warthog]

GiBo- That is the same one I used to have. Sheridan Blue Streak. That thing had some power.

The new ones are single pump and shoot 1100-1300 fps. One pump, through a fence board and embedded into another one.

[toast2266]

We used to go to the local thrift store and buy as much glassware as $20 could buy. We'd spend the next week in the basement with an air rifle reducing all the plates, bowls, and glasses to shards of glass less than 1/2 in diameter. Good fun.

[TNKen]

I might have one or two in the safe. Couple of Sheridans, Benjamin, and an RWS barrel break gun. RWS is pretty wicked.

http://www.airgundepot.com/rws-34-wi...let-rifle.html

[the Cock]

Got a RWS Dianna for my eleventh or twelfth birthday. Shot the piss out of that thing for the next five years. It put my buddies plastic Daisy bbgun to shame. Still got it back at the homestead sitting proudly next to a few shotguns and the 30 aut.

[Jer]

I used to shoot mine in the basement as a kid, to catch the lead I used a piece of 1/4 " steel plate angled at a 45degree in an orange box to deflected all the lead downwards

I used to do that too. Ma would drop me off at the Grandparent's on her way to work and I'd go shoot in the basement for 1/2 hour 'til I had to go to school. I also used to have a Sheridan Blue Streak. I was 5 - I had to put it on the ground and use both hands to pump it up. I sure was glad when I got a .22 rimfire

[warthog]

That Sheridan was pretty tough to pump after 10 or 12 pumps. Not sure how effective it was pumping it 20 times, but it sure felt more powerful.

[GeoMatt]

Also watching this thread. I picked up a low/mid-range air rifle (Daisy, ~600fps) last spring to "take care" of my nuthatch problem. They seem to like to make holes in my stucco. Have some neighbors with the same problem and solution as well. Found it to be pretty accurate with some practice in the wind. Given my so's utter distaste for the those of the beaked kind, I could justify purchase of another if accuracy over distance was greatly increased.

[Bunion 2020]

I bought a Stoeger Arms .177 single break with a decent scope. It was around 140.00 new.

Really keeps the gophers in check (and there are a LOT of gophers in the hood).

I have knocked a couple off at nearly 150'.

A terrible/fun hobby.

Great for developing good trigger finger.

[Jethro]

I have been shopping around for a high end air rifle for a while. The PCP guns seem to be the accuracy favorites, but the air tanks to charge them seem like a hassle. Now I am looking at fixed barrel side or under barrel cocking single shots, in .22 cal. You can also get them with integral silencers or shrouded barrels.

[slim]

I have an RWS break barrel. Got it on an airgundepot blow out sale for acting like a knucklehead in the backyard... total mistake... the thing is made to kill. Easily punches through my fence. Will knock a squirrel out of a tree three houses down.

[khakis]

Picked up my bb gun about a year ago. Crosman titan 22 np. Nitrogen piston, 22 cal, 900 ish fps? Think I paid just over a bill at sierra trading post. Love it. Came with ugly brown paint and heavy, creepy trigger so I refinished stock and added charlie datuna trigger, much nicer now. If I thought my free time was worth anything I would have just bought a benjamin or rws

[exsparky]

My dad slayed truck loads of pigeons with an old wood Benjamin until my mom lost it. I got him the most bad ass winchester at bass pro shops for xmas. It's a break action and even more deadly accurate but if you missed it can mess things up.

I stole it after some break in's in my garage and set up a sting.

Old story...

So two nights ago I hear something in my garage at 10:15 pm. I wander out there and see two little bastards running out of my garage.

I'm not going to let something like that slide... and so I decide to take things to the next level. So last night I leave my little ground lights on in my back yard and leave some bait between two lights. I then proceed to my makeshift snipers nest at 9:45 PM last night.


To my surprise at 10:45 I now see four little burglars instead of two. I then start to get a little nervous as I only have one shot in the big P-gun. I then decide that its now or never and I crack the window of my house to fire and all four of them split.


11:05, at this point all four have returned... and I still have the window open. I slide the barrel out silently... and flick the safety. One of them hears the click and runs sending the other three off at the same time.


11:10, all four back again in force. At this point the window is open, the safety is off and its time for me to take my shot.


CRACK!!!!!!! I let my one shot fly. I aimed for the black blur on the left (yah I know I need glasses) but it's so dark my fiber optic sight is just a dark blob I covered the other black blur with. I look at the aftermath and expect a fog of blood and brain matter. To my surprise I see the one lone target I shot at with his three buddies deserting him. My target silently turns to me and walks off slowly.


Did I miss???


11:20, three of them come back. I have now reloaded.



11:22, where is number four? I don't care, I draw a bead on the target on the left again... and fire. His two buddies split instantly and he alone wheels around silently and stares right at me and walks off slowly.


Still no blood trails or body parts, have I missed again???


11:40, I only see two of them return. I don't care about three or four and I fire again. This time I make sure I'm dead on target. There's no way I could have have missed. The one on the left again is the only one I see after I fire. He turns around silently and looks at me with those cold beady little raccoon eyes before he walks off silently. I know I tagged him this time. WTF??? I'm using a kick ass 2500 FPS winchester pellet gun with a stainless steel barrel.

Enough of this shit, I'm not going to let them eat any more of little clyde's dog food. I'm getting a trap and downing those little furry bastards in trash cans tomorrow night.

[MakersTeleMark]

I keep a Daisy at the front door for the express purpose of tagging raccoons. Had one come up to my leg inside last week when I wasn't paying attention. Didn't get the chance to return the favor, but the neighbor trapped it, spray painted its back, and dropped it off somewhere far away.

[Chainsaw_Willie]

exsparky- you probably hit, and quite possibly mortally wounded the ones you were shooting at. Raccoons aint no little pigeon. Unless you hit them in the brain or heart they aren't just going to fall over dead when you punch a hole in them. A pellet, even a .22 doesn't have enough mass to impart much kinetic energy to an animal as large as a raccoon. Even a .22 LR bullet won't take them down in one shot unless you hit them somewhere vital.

Hell, I ran one over with my car at 50 mph, heard and felt both tires on the driver's side thump-thump right over him and watched him get up and walk away in my rearview mirror. Raccoons are tough little bastards.

[exsparky]

Oddly, I saw two of them were flattened by cars about a month later.

My neighbors cat disappeared about then. I think he took care of business but since then it's been coyotes and rabbits only anymore so who knows.

I'm pretty sure the raccoon's were fine. They never made a noise, it was pretty creepy. Before when they were inside my garage they snarled and hissed a lot.

[Cono Este]

My mom took mine away. I always liked my GAMO the most.

My brother had a sweet BSA, and he was in one of those idiot pellet gun wars with the kids on the block once. Ricochet took another kids eye out. Can't believe I remember that. My mother had to drive the kid 4 hrs to the hospital because we were int he middle of no where africa.

[Jethro]

exsparky- you probably hit, and quite possibly mortally wounded the ones you were shooting at. Raccoons aint no little pigeon. Unless you hit them in the brain or heart they aren't just going to fall over dead when you punch a hole in them. A pellet, even a .22 doesn't have enough mass to impart much kinetic energy to an animal as large as a raccoon. Even a .22 LR bullet won't take them down in one shot unless you hit them somewhere vital.

Hell, I ran one over with my car at 50 mph, heard and felt both tires on the driver's side thump-thump right over him and watched him get up and walk away in my rearview mirror. Raccoons are tough little bastards.

25 years ago, a friend's mom ran a ski area restaurant and it was getting invaded by marmots. We took our .22 rifles up there, and drilled a bunch of them though the body with solid bullets. A few of them made it back inside the restaurant before they died, sometimes in joist bays. We went back with CCI stinger hollowpoints the next day, and they dropped right when we hit them. A powerful pellet rifle could easily inflict a fatal wound, but it could take a while. If you don't mean to kill them, get a Red Rider BB gun and just sting them a bit.

[MontuckyFried]

Haha. Modern day pellet guns rock. Told my landlord up here we were having a serious gopher issue and just wanted to inform him in case he wanted to do anything about it. He said, "I got a great solution! I'll be by in a bit to give you something." Indefinitely loaned me a sweet single-pump pellet gun (plus a full canister of pellets) that shoots around 1200 fps. Gophers stay the hell away from the homestead these days. Gotta love renting in Montana.

[Chainsaw_Willie]

exsparky - I doubt they were "fine" if you hit them. Whether they were mortally wounded or not would depend on where they were hit but just because they didn't freak out and start squalling doesn't mean they didn't die from the shot eventually. If you hit them in the lungs or in the gut they're going to die, they're just not going to do it right there in front of you.

I find it curious that you identify yourself by a former career. Just thought you'd like to know.

I have a .20 pellet from a Sheridan pump rifle in my left arm. Had it since I was 12 thanks to my best friend at the time. Doc said it's close to a nerve and removing it could do more damage than just leaving it there, so it's been there for 32 years now. I hardly felt it when it hit and wasn't even sure it had done more than broken the skin.

We use to keep the neighborhood population of squirrels, crows, and other misc. small animals in check. I shot a squirrel in the gut one time and all it did was sit in the tree and make a funny grunting noise 'til the second shot got it in the head. I was shooting a .22 Benjamin at the time. If you hit crows right they'd drop with one shot, if you didn't hit them right they'd fly away before keeling over.

If I move out to a more countrified location I'll definitely pick up one of the new break-barrel high velocity rifles. They're fun to shoot but it's illegal in the city and my neighbors would not be impressed.

[Patarero]

My wife picked up a GAMO after peace negotiations with invasive squirrel population failed. Can't remember the model. I know it shoots ~1000-1200fps. I put my muzzleloader scope on it, overkill. Fun to shoot, accurate in calm conditions and deadly on California ground squirrels.