Air rifle thread, why not

[IN_Varmntr]

I ran a Gamo Maxxim Swarm spring piston gun and couldn't stay consistent with it and ended up having issues with the auto-loading mechanism. Gamo sent me another one that promptly failed to work, and I'm not the only one who had issues with it.

Now I've got a .177 Benjamin Fortitude which is a regulated PCP gun so the air charge lasts much longer than unregulated guns. You get a little less speed but if you look at the reviews, many people are doing 70 shots before their velocities begin falling off.

I bought their package deal with a hand pump. Charge it to 3000PSI and recharge at 2000PSI and doing so shortens the pumping time and for as much as I shoot it, it doesn't require a whole lot of pumping.

As far as accuracy, watch some of the reviews for whatever gun you get as far as what pellets to run. I bought 1k cheap pellets to break in the gun and now shoot what I saw worked best for other guys. I take head shots on birds at 17 yards and it's not even funny how accurate it is.

I use this primarily for killing sparrows and starlings around the house and the Gamo spring gun I had was loud enough that you only had one shot at a bird before they all cleared. With the Fortitude, it's so quiet that I can generally shoot 2 or 3 starlings before they know what's going on.

There are tons of good options out there.

 

[jspradley]

I have a Walther .22 air rifle that's pretty neat. I have only shot squirrels in the back yard with it but it's pretty dang effective.

 

[HunterHawk]

I have a benjamin marauder in 25 cal.. the smack that thing puts on critters is ridiculous and it is stupid accurate. Fun guns for sure!

 

[Newtosavage]

I started researching air rifles about 7 years ago, and was blown away by their history, their accuracy, and the following they have. Some guys are as serious about their air rifles as others are about their conventional rifles.

After my search, I found a tuned RWS Diana in .22 cal that was barely used. It's very accurate IMO and a great training rifle. The squirrels hate it too. I've dropped them from as far as 70 yards before.

I've often said my RWS air rifle would be my shtf gun of choice. I can stuff about 2K pellets in my pockets, and never need reloading equipment. I'm confident I could feed myself and my wife for months on just that rifle.

My buddy bought one just like mine after getting to shoot it, and he eventually took an 80 lb. feral pig with a perfect head shot.

If you want an interesting read, look up the story behind the air rifle Lewis and Clark took on their expedition. It's quite a story.

 

[JDeanP]

If you're on the fence about air rifles like I was, keep an eye out for the refurbished Gamo sales on MidwayUSA.com They'll sell the refurbs for almost 70% off retail. I picked up a super ugly Gamo .22 that is an absolute blast to whack pidgeons with. Absolutely zero regrets on jumping in at that price.

 

[hodgeman]

Yeah, I picked up a Gamo .22 a few years ago during the great .22LR drought to shoot pests around the homestead. It worked pretty darn well. I even shot a few grouse with it.

If you're a serious gun geek with some disposable cash...skip the springers and go straight to PCP guns in .25 cal.

 

[Stalker69]

Dang, I been eyeing an edgun matador .25 cal. Holy crap they are expensive, but oh so cool. Not sure if I should buy one or not. Maybe a tipan veteran, save me 400.00 bucks, but not quite as “ cool” as the edgun. If the edgun still offered the blue laminated stock, I would have already ordered it.

 

[Droppndrakes]

I just got a Hatsan flash pup in 22 cal. I’m at 5 coons off the back deck. It’s very quiet and fun to shoot. eBay handpump for $45 and very easy to pump

 

[Stalker69]

What FPS you shooting them with ? And what grain pellet ?