air rifle for plinking and squirrels

JeffG · Post by **JeffG** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 11:12 am

Anyone have opinions on the vast array of air rifles (other than our obvious first choice, the Red Rider), under $150

azzhandler · Post by **azzhandler** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 11:20 am

look at the GAMO guns, they are realitively inexspensive as airguns go, I have the RWS model 48 and its a super sweet kitty getter in town

JoeArizona · Post by **JoeArizona** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 11:24 am

The break-open Daisy/Winchester models that are sometimes in Sportsmans Guide and at Wal-Mart are hard hitting.

I have one with a wood stock...it's pretty heavy but well made and accurate. It can also be had with a synthetic stock and a scope for around $99 too!

Bob A · Post by **Bob A** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 11:27 am

I know nothing about air rifles and have often wondered about the max useful range. How long a shot would you take on a squirrel?

Bob A

horsesoldier03 · Post by **horsesoldier03** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 11:27 am

Check out the link, airguns seem to be a bit expensive these days, however they can be fun!

http://www.airgundepot.com/specials.html

cutter · Post by **cutter** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 11:29 am

My opinion;

Spring rifles are not as practical as pump or CO2, because of added recoil, and lesser scope options. The plastic stocked spring guns can be very painfull to shoot, and require special scopes. The pump rifles will not damage a scope, contrary to belief.

177 cal. are good for 30 yard shots , 22 cal. good to 40-50 yards.

Any of the Daisey 880 series rifles, would be just fine. There is a 22 version with aluminum action, but I can't remember the model designation.

Unless you are planning on shooting in the Olympics, any more than 150$ would be uncalled for.

Buffboy · Post by **Buffboy** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 12:03 pm

I recently bought a Crossman Quest 1000X from Cabelas for $99.99. I haven't had it long enough to say whether it's a great rifle yet but it's looking good so far.

Nath · Post by **Nath** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 2:35 pm

I have allways done well with German Weirhrach springers. I have allways chose 177 for faster and flatter shots. 22 air guns are to curvey and don't do anything particular good when they connect IMO. I have had many including pump up and reservior but still prefere the ease and independance of a springer. I had a tuned HW80 by my self doing more than 900fps and it would kill rabbits in excess of 80yds sometimes. I killed a couple of fox's up close with it too.
Now I have a HW95 (lighter version). It takes care of all sorts around home, farm pigeons and garden rabbits etc. I tuned it and think it,s doing a good honest 800fps and is flat to 45yds-does me. I shot a squirl the other day at 30ish yards aimed on his shoulder and down he went. Crows the same-sometime they fly a bit but not far. Kitty- Ohh yes

But only down the ear hole

JReed · Post by **JReed** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 2:44 pm

My Crossman 760 has sent many bunnies and squirels to the stew pot

.
$30 @ Wal-Mart

Rusty · Post by **Rusty** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 2:50 pm

We have three adult quality air rifles in our house. One is a Chinese solid breached model in .177. It does fine to practice form for high power shooting which is why I bought it. I have taken tree rats with it out to 20 yards, all head shots.
When my son was in about the 6th grade I bought him a BSA Supersport in .22 cal for woods roaming. It is a break action and is a big jump up in quality. I'm not sure what the current price on them is but I'd say it's over $150.
The third one we have that I consider mine is a Benjamin .22 cal that is a pump up. This is the classic Benjamin/ Sheridan that has been made in this country since about the 1930's or so. The Sheridan Streak was first made in 5mm or .20 cal.
Of the three if all were to come up missing the only one I would replace would be the Benjamin. I bought the optional peep sight for mine and it's a pleasure to shoot. Five pumps give you max. power. If you're just shooting paper three pumps will do just fine.
If you do a search for Mac1 airguns you can see the extra work that they can do to a Benjamin. A Mac1 Steroid Streak is in the same range of a .22 short. You can also mount a scope on a Benjamin that will make really fine shooting possible.
AND, it's made in the USA.

Rusty <><

Old Ironsights · Post by **Old Ironsights** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 3:49 pm

There are many nice airguns out there... but I guess my opinion is... "why"?

When Aquila makes Colibri and anybody with a reloading press can make Cantsneeze loads....

If all you you want to do is shoot in your house, I could understand. But if you want to thwack things... well...

100ftlbs beats 17ftlbs every time.

cutter · Post by **cutter** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 3:59 pm

Old Ironsights wrote:There are many nice airguns out there... but I guess my opinion is... "why"?

When Aquila makes Colibri and anybody with a reloading press can make Cantsneeze loads....

If all you you want to do is shoot in your house, I could understand. But if you want to thwack things... well...

100ftlbs beats 17ftlbs every time.

1.97$ for 500 shots...

Post by **AmBraCol** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 3:59 pm

You've all kinds of options under $150. Take a look at http://www.pyramydair.com/ They've some good prices and if you buy pellets at the same time you can get every fourth can for free. Mix and match, but the cheapest ones will be the free ones.

I've got my eye on the Gamo CFX, I like what I've read about it. They have the 22 caliber version in their combo, wish they had it available without the scope to save $$$ since I want it for shooting sans glass. BUT it's another $50 on top of your budget. A multipump like the Daisy 880 or the Crosman 760 will do just fine for anything from plinking to hunting. We took a lot of game with ours as kids (Daisy 880's) The down side is that a multipump is not a good option for a follow up shot. Too much movement to get 'er pumped up and ready to go again. The majority of CO2 guns do NOT make the powerlevel you need for good hunting. Most of them are quite slow in comparison the "Adult" break action guns. One think I like about the CFX is that it's an under lever. The barrel isn't used to cock, it is fixed in place. And reports are that it's quite accurate.

For hunting and such I'd take a look at what http://www.pyramydair.com/ has to offer. They even have Hammerli rifles in your price range.

stretch · Post by **stretch** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 4:36 pm

Jeff, see the link below about the Beeman SS1000:

http://shop.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=377054

I think Cabela's used to carry this gun, too.

I bought one of these, and well over a dozen tree rats met
their demise from it 2 years ago. (This year we have a family
of fishers down back, and hence no tree rats, or mice, or
cats

......)

The good:

If I do my part, it will shoot quarter-sized groups all day at
25-35 yards - some days dime-sized. Cocking effort is not
at all bad. The best pellets in mine that I've tried so far are
the Beeman Silver Arrow pointed pellets. They are about the
heaviest made in 177 at 11.5 gr or so (vs 7 or 8 gr for your
average Gamo or Daisy wadcutter), and will go through a squirrel
end-to-end at 20 yards. Beware shooting the lighter pellets through
the "magnum" air rifles. The 1000+ fps advertised is true for very
light pellets, but stability/accuracy problems can result from
driving them too fast. Most pellets at transsonic speeds begin
to do strange things. They are NOT designed as, and do NOT
perform as supersonic projectiles. Stick to the heavier pellets for
best accuracy in the more powerful spring-piston rifles. Head shots on squirrels at sub-25 yard ranges are no trouble if the shooter does his part. It's a spring-piston rifle, so no co2 to buy - evah!

The bad: The scope is cheap as nails, but it's accurate enough.
The trigger could use some work. It's made in China for Beeman.
Spring-piston guns can be hard to get used to. The recoil moves
the gun about quite a bit. Shooting from sitting, or leaning
against a tree helps lots.

I also have an RWS 48 in 22 caliber. All of the same applies to the
above gun, except it took me several years to come to terms with
this rifle. I added a pricey Bushnell air rifle scope to it, and it will
shoot as well as the 177 gun now, but with a LOT more power and
considerably more recoil. Don't laugh about the recoil - it's
obviously not gonna hit you like a 10-bore, but all of the twanging
and banging of the spring and piston do move the rifle around a
bit. Because of this and the fact that the pellet is in the barrel
awhile at relatively slow velocities, follow-through is very important!
The trigger and craftsmanship is MUCH better than the Beeman.
Then again, this one is made in Germany and was several times the
price of the SS1000. Beeman's Kodiak pellet (a whopping 21.7 gr or thereabouts!) seems the most accurate so far in this gun - and just
about the most expensive.

I find spring piston air rifles to be quite a challenge to shoot well.
It's an awful lot of fun to hunt squirrels with them. Ranges have to be relativley short, the critter has to stop, and the pellets will not
penetrate branches, so the line of sight has to be clear. It's a
great way to spend an afternoon in the woods.

Taget shooting in the backyard is also very quiet, and won't annoy the
neighbors. In Maine, air rifles are not considered firearms, so they can
be discharged close to civilization. I save firearm shooting at home for those situations when a firearm is really called for. One other ad-
vantage to air rifles is that the pellet will not carry nearly as far as
a bullet - so 100- 200 yards of woods is plenty of backstop. The
same is not true of the 22 WMR!

Hope this helps!

-Stretch

Blaine · Post by **Blaine** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 4:39 pm

I've had a Crossman 760 .177/BB pump-up for about 40 years that still works as good as the day I bought it. Not real accurate due to no rifling, but it hits pretty hard. I've a Gamo .22 springer that's never impressed me much, tho it was death on starlings and squills.....I just got a Sheridan Silver Streak from a Forumite here that shows some real promise...a very nice firearm with a decent trigger.

Post by **AmBraCol** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 4:47 pm

stretch wrote:Jeff, see the link below about the Beeman SS1000:

http://shop.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=377054

I think Cabela's used to carry this gun, too.

Pyramydair has it too, for a few bucks less.

http://www.pyramydair.com/cgi-bin/model ... el_id=1405

Cabela's has a similar one with a wood stock for a few bucks more...

http://tinyurl.com/38xqtr

Old Ironsights · Post by **Old Ironsights** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 5:37 pm

cutter wrote:
Old Ironsights wrote:There are many nice airguns out there... but I guess my opinion is... "why"?

When Aquila makes Colibri and anybody with a reloading press can make Cantsneeze loads....

If all you you want to do is shoot in your house, I could understand. But if you want to thwack things... well...

100ftlbs beats 17ftlbs every time.

1.97$ for 500 shots...

Point... but the next airgun I buy will use a scua tank for refils and push a .36 ball to 500+ftlbs...

I guess I'm just into .357 Magnums -- Powder or Gas...

Post by **AmBraCol** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 6:04 pm

Old Ironsights wrote:
cutter wrote:
Old Ironsights wrote:There are many nice airguns out there... but I guess my opinion is... "why"?

When Aquila makes Colibri and anybody with a reloading press can make Cantsneeze loads....

If all you you want to do is shoot in your house, I could understand. But if you want to thwack things... well...

100ftlbs beats 17ftlbs every time.

1.97$ for 500 shots...
Point... but the next airgun I buy will use a scua tank for refils and push a .36 ball to 500+ftlbs...

I guess I'm just into .357 Magnums -- Powder or Gas...

Well, there's also the matter of legality. I'm seriously looking into air power since it is not yet heavily restricted where I live. If I want to shoot rifle, it's gotta be air if I want to shoot much. A Walther semiauto 22 costs about five times more here than in the US - and we're limited to 100 rounds every six months. Air rifle ammo is not restricted and the weapons are much cheaper to purchase - although still astronomical by US standards. So air power makes sense.

I've read about those precharged pneumatics, don't know what it'd take to bring one in but it'd be a tough job I'm sure. Still, the idea has appeal.

Not everywhere are folks blest with the ready availability of multitudes of brands and varieties of ammo, not to mention components. Air guns allow us more choices for shooting.

And for those who are denied their constitutional right to keep and bear arms in the US - air guns are all that they can look to legally - and probably even airguns are not allowed to such in some areas.

So there's plenty of reasons for airguns, not to mention the challenge and practice they give us which translate to better performance with a cartridge gun. Since I can now shoot much more frequently (thanks to a Crosman 1377) my off hand pistol shooting has improved with cartridge guns as well - at a fraction of the cost of practicing with "real" ammunition.

Old Ironsights · Post by **Old Ironsights** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 12:00 am

My only (current) airgun is a 1377...

Best value/velocity pistol available IMO.

Look Here for fun stuff:

http://www.quackenbushairguns.com/

Santa, you've got 1 hour...

1886 · Post by **1886** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 10:23 am

We use a .177 cal. German RWS. My longest tree rat confirmed was 60yrds. 1886.

stretch · Post by **stretch** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 1:14 pm

1886, 60 yards for a squirrel is mighty good shootin' with an air rifle.

You have my congratulations! My longest shot has been about half of
that on the little pests.

GANJIRO · Post by **GANJIRO** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 1:32 pm

You could pay a few dollars more and get a WALTHER model 1894 levergun pellet rifle German quality and hey it looks great.

http://www.pyramydair.com/p/walther-lev ... ifle.shtml

preventec47 · Post by **preventec47** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 3:37 pm

I've got many of the rifles mentioned but the very best value for
the money is the Benjamin if you dont mind 6 or 8 pumps per
"hunting" shot. It may be the only one that qualifies as and heirloom
that may be passed from grandfather to son to grandson also.

The Daisy 1000x is awesomely powerful for a break action but it
has about a 12 pound lawyer trigger.
I have the RWS 52 and it is a beauty but at more than $300 it
is a bit pricey. Also, BTW, scopes on Benjamin work terribly
because there is no good solid way to mount them.
The peep sights are the best there is on the Benjamin.

1886 · Post by **1886** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 3:48 pm

stretch, That s.o.b. had been barking at the cats all day. I settled in for a nap and he started up again. The culprit was a big, mature old boy that I had not seen or heard before. Every time I tried to get close he would bug out. I decided to sit in the truck and listen to the game and see if he would get comfortable enough with the truck to show himself again. Well he did and he started with that infernal barking. He stood up tall on the branch trying to find the cats. I used the Elmer Keith elevation method and let fly. My longest and best yet.

stretch · Post by **stretch** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 7:13 pm

1886, they can be awfully tough to pin down once they've spotted
you. I heard one barking down back last year, and spotted him up
in a hemlock. I went down the hill after him and the chase was on. He
went from tree to tree, up, down, and sideways. He finally came
down to the ground about 20-25 yards away, and started moving
a bit and then poking his head up to watch me. FINALLY he settled for
a minute - all I could see was his head. I braced my shoulder against
a tree, took careful aim, settled down and pressed one off. The
squirrel vanished. Gone. I waited a minute and walked down to where
I'd shot him and there he - wasn't. I looked around - nothin'. I looked
even harder - not even a drop of blood. I walked back to where I'd
shot at him, retraced my steps - nothing. Now I'd shot him in the head
with an air rifle - I had not vaporised him with a phazer! I finally found a
little hole under a root. Hmmm.... poked a stick in and felt something soft.
Then I got down on hands and knees, and could just make out, I
thought, some fur. I poked around a little more with the stick to make
sure I wouldn't get bitten, reached in and grabbed a piece of fur - and
sure enough - shot right through the head he was. He must have
lived just long enough to duck back in his hole. I think he took me
most of 45 minutes to kill - but I got 'im!

.45colt · Post by **.45colt** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 7:31 pm

I started in the early 60's with daisy bb-guns. when I was 14 I used my hay money to get a Sheridan Blue Streak .20cal

. it cost $37.00 and I still have it. the first year I killed 14 fox squirrels with it.
My last Air Gun was an RWS 36 .177. it made alot of noise and I wasn't impressed with it. I now shoot c-b caps in the .22 for low power rounds.Jim.

gamekeeper · Post by **gamekeeper** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 4:05 pm

Nath wrote:I have allways done well with German Weirhrach springers. I have allways chose 177 for faster and flatter shots. 22 air guns are to curvey and don't do anything particular good when they connect IMO. I have had many including pump up and reservior but still prefere the ease and independance of a springer. I had a tuned HW80 by my self doing more than 900fps and it would kill rabbits in excess of 80yds sometimes. I killed a couple of fox's up close with it too.
Now I have a HW95 (lighter version). It takes care of all sorts around home, farm pigeons and garden rabbits etc. I tuned it and think it,s doing a good honest 800fps and is flat to 45yds-does me. I shot a squirl the other day at 30ish yards aimed on his shoulder and down he went. Crows the same-sometime they fly a bit but not far. Kitty- Ohh yes But only down the ear hole

+1 I got the Weihrauch 95 for a colleague and it's a beauty!

JeffG · Post by **JeffG** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 1:12 pm

.45colt wrote:.
My last Air Gun was an RWS 36 .177. it made alot of noise and I wasn't impressed with it. I now shoot c-b caps in the .22 for low power rounds.Jim.

I'm looking for a back yard plinker. Instead of an air gun ".45 colt" suggested these mini .22 loads. I have zero exoerience with them. What do you folks think?

rjohns94 · Post by **rjohns94** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 2:48 pm

with that price constraint, sheridan or benjamin is THE answer.

JReed · Post by **JReed** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 4:29 pm

My 1377 has also killed quit a few critters and makes for a great back yard/ garage plinker.

Post by **Ysabel Kid** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 5:47 pm

JReed wrote:My 1377 has also killed quit a few critters and makes for a great back yard/ garage plinker.

Jeremy -

That must have given you quite a scare when that sucker charged you!

Post by **AmBraCol** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 5:50 pm

JReed wrote:My 1377 has also killed quit a few critters and makes for a great back yard/ garage plinker.

How did it shoot, right out of the box? I picked up two last year. The first one got taken back and replaced with the second one. Both shot way to the right (or was it left?) when the witness mark on the rear sight was set for dead center. The second one was more acceptable and with a bit of fine tuning it shoots dead on at 10 meters. I had to grind the rear sight leaf down to get it on, at the lowest point it was STILL way high. Anyway, it's been a lot of fun to play with and with pellets it likes it shoots pretty good for such an inexpensive gun.

air rifle for plinking and squirrels

air rifle for plinking and squirrels

.22 CB caps for plinking