Air Rifles. Not just hot air.

Thanks to a recent rabbit outbreak, I’ve had the opportunity to rediscover just how much fun air rifles are. With the side benefit that shooting more has the alarming tendency to make even me a better shot. Who knew?

Shooting air rifles is just plain fun! It is also somewhat humbling. When I was in my teens, I had a full 10 yard range in our basement and at the time I practiced by shooting a target my father had made for me. It was 10 dimes set in groove in a wooden board in front of the backstop. At 10 yards I had multiple runs where I knocked over 100+ dimes in a row from standing position without missing. I ran a paper target of the internet that had similar size target spots and needless to say I’m about 10% the shot I once was…

But I’m having fun and it’s amazing what an extra 100 or so shots a week have done to make my standing shooting better. I now have a trap and a range in the basement, so it’s easy to pull out the rifle and fire a few groups every evening.

Anyone else doing this to stay in “shooting shape”?

Grouse

I have dabbled with the idea of getting a one-pump modern pellet gun for years.
I have an old Sheridan Blue Streak and I can hardly stand to pump it 8 times anymore. It as served me well but now I dont shoot it much at vermin because its easier to use the .22 with subsonics in the same place. What are some good brands/models to choose from?

The rabbits at my place don’t much like my Diana. Fairly affordable and accurate.

What has surprised me is the the level of accuracy that can be had for not much money. When sighting in off of a tripod rest, my el-cheapo sub-$100 Daisy rifle shoots ragged hole 5 shot groups at just short of 30 feet (the longest my basement range allows). It clocks in the low 700 fps with solid lead pellets.

From a rest, I have no trouble hitting a dime sized target at my range distance. I did notice there are sharp movements in point of impact when I switched pellet brands/types. I went from dead on to inch high and .5 inches right just by switching pellets, even though they were the same weight.

That was all the power/speed I wanted for indoor shooting and pest control. The noise is more of a low-toned thwack then a sharp-toned crack that suggests gunfire, so that is an added plus for pest control.

Despite advertising claims of 1000-1200+ fps, it looks like realistically, with solid lead pellets, most piston-powered rifles are in the 750-850 FPS range. The high end of the velocity chart is achievable only with alloy pellets that are very light and probably of marginal suitability for larger species pest control.

Grouse

My neighbors directly behind me hone their skills with their air rifles quite a bit. Even enough to shoot my siding and birds out of my trees to leave them dead for my dog to find.

All joking aside, I used to shoot USPSA pistol competition and I had an air pistol that I would practice with. It helped with the fundamentals of footwork and on-the-move shooting. Really decreased the cost of ammo!

I have a target in the garage that is set in front of the steel entry door at the back of the garage. I lock that door and set up a table in the driveway about 10 yards out from the garage door. I have a shop area in the garage and need really good lighting which benefits the target stuff.

I love shooting the air and run a hundred pellets thru one of the guns maybe twice a week. I have two scoped single break rifles, one each in ,22 and .177. I also have an older blue streak in .20 cal and I really don’t need to shoot that gun to know where its hitting with the open sights. At the 15 yard mark its 1/2″ high on a 3/4″ bull, dead on for windage. Woodchucks, possum, coon, rabbits and mr.sqiggles have all bit it due to this gun’s accuracy. I won’t even get started on crows…..maybe 6 50 gallon garbage bins full in the last four years.

..

I always think about it, but I haven’t “pulled the trigger” yet.

Go for it Ryan
I have a full size Gamo I bought at wallyworld for roughly a hundo. Comes with. 2-4×40 scope. I’ve used it to squirrel hunt often and have it sighted in at 30yrds. Last time I was at range wit it a guy a lane dwn tapped me on shoulder askin if I had a silencer. He said he kept seeing holes punched but no sounds lol

I’m thinking of buyin some of the newer .22cals for more knockdwn

I have a Beeman that I bought at FF. Came with two barrels. 22 cal and .177.
Also came with a scope. LOVE IT ! I bought it to kill the kingfisher stealing my pond fish. He hasn’t been back since.
A very accurate rifle at 30 yds.

WKW

I have a Beeman 2 barrel as well.

Has anyone tried the new lightweight “ballistic” .22 caliber pellets similar to the .177 hi velocity ones with the plastic nose. I get my best accuracy with the .177 and .22 lead pellets. In the .177 those higher velocity numbers are not all that accurate.

Tom Sawvell wrote:

Has anyone tried the new lightweight “ballistic” .22 caliber pellets similar to the .177 hi velocity ones with the plastic nose. I get my best accuracy with the .177 and .22 lead pellets. In the .177 those higher velocity numbers are not all that accurate.

Same experience and in looking on the net, that seems to be pretty common. My thinking was that he alloy in these lighter pellets is harder than lead, and therefore does not “grip” the rifling as tight. I suppose it also could be that the lighter pellet is more impacted by wind as well.

I was also concerned about these pellets for pest control use. I know from experience that lead pellets deform upon any contact with a solid object such that the velocity loss renders them highly unlikely to damage or harm anything after the first bounce, if they even ricochet at all. I’m not as sure about the pellets that have steel or alloy solid noses, it’s concerning enough that I’m sticking to what I know–pure lead.

Grouse

There is a bunny taunting me in my yard. Time to make a purchase.

It’s funny, Ralph, I had a bunny taunting me, eating in our flower beds, etc. But for whatever reason, he just disappeared. Boom! He was there, then he was gone.

It’s a shame. He was in such good health.

On an unrelated note, my dad just took out his two main garden-eating bunnies this week. He was pretty amazed at what a little 177 cal pellet can do even at only 750 FPS. He stoned them both with head shots at over 80 feet, neither one of them got even 1 hop away.

I’m sure a higher end air rifle would be better in terms of extending range, but in a lot of pest control situations that’s not really needed or even desireable.

Grouse

Corn and old table scraps on my birdfeeder seems to be giving me a crow problem.177 works great…

Ordered one tonight.

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If you want to be real evil lung shoot it so it dies off your property……..

suzuki wrote:

If you want to be real evil lung shoot it so it dies off your property……..

The neighbor’s lab would love that.

suzuki wrote:

If you want to be real evil lung shoot it so it dies off your property……..

True, but that is only assuming that the rabbit does not make a beeline for your garden shed and crawl underneath to die. In July. In 90 degree heat.

Not that that has ever happened to me. No, but in fact, it happened to another forum member who shot a woodchuck… Yeah, think about that. A whole woodchuck, under your shed, gently slow roasting in the July heat. Think of the aroma. It wasn’t good.

Yeah, it took a while for that sucker to cook down…

Grouse

There are some amazing air guns on the market, enough power to kill deer. Also air powered crossbows.

Here bunny, bunny, bunny.

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Rockin’ the old school iron sights. Whack and stack!

My gun is currently on loan to the neighbor. He’s got squirrels chewing on his siding, so he’s on a mission. So far he got one.

There seems not to suddenly be any bunnies around my house. I wonder where they went. They were all in such good health.

Grouse

It came with a scope. I’m not sure if I’ll put it on or not yet.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

I wonder where they went. They were all in such good health.

Stew pot?

Here’s a post from last summer about improving the accuracy of break barrel, air rifles. I thought the guys with new guns might find it useful. I like the Beeman Kodiak pellets that are about 10.65 grains. They’re definitely worth the little extra money and have no problems dispatching rabbits. One thing I think that matters in my son’s gun is snapping the barrel back into position with some speed/force so it seats consistently. I noticed that when target shooting the left/right was good but the up/down was poor until I started closing the barrel consistently with more force.

If I had to purchase another air rifle, I don’t know if I’d get one that has a scope. And if I did, I’d make sure it also has open sights in case the scope wasn’t working out so well.

Boone

https://www.in-depthoutdoors.com/community/forums/topic/break-barrel-air-rifle-accuracy/#post-1553397

Bunny #1 hit the dirt last night. Dropped him in his tracks. So far, I am very happy with the purchase.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

Bunny #1 hit the dirt last night. Dropped him in his tracks. So far, I am very happy with the purchase.

very nice
did u end up putting the scope on

My dad bought a pellet gun years ago for his cabin. We’ve had more fun with that thing than I can express!

mr-special wrote:

did u end up putting the scope on

Not yet. Maybe at some point I will, but I’ve been doing alright without it.