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Air rifles

6K views 41 replies 18 participants last post by  Old Philosopher 
#1 ·
Has any been using air rifles for hunting small game such as squirrels? I was wondering how effective they are. i bought my girl a cricket (small 22) but was thinking of getting an air rifle for her and maybe myself. Cheap ammo. What fps do you think i should be around if I did get one? Just throwing it out there.
 
#2 ·
Air rifles are a great addition to anyones survival preps. Cheap ammo, easy to carry, not a threat to the government, no license, very quite, and will take small game. I recommend the spring loaded or pump models.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Suprisingly, there is little mentioned about airguns and survival, which is sad, since they are so stealthy and you can use them in situations that even a .22 would attract too much attention. There are some SERIOUS air rifles made and they are excellent for hunting small game and vermin. They are very quiet and cheap to shoot, I personally use a Sheridan Blue Streak, but there are easier to use break action spring loaded rifles that develop some excellent velocities (1000fps)
such as some of those at this link (not an endorsement, just a good example)


http://www.airgunsbbguns.com/Beeman_Air_Rifles_at_Cobra_Airguns_com_s/33.htm

As much as I like my Blue Streak it is a 5mm, and a .22 or even a .177 cal might be a better choice due to common availability of pellets (and .177 BBs).
I would also consider scoping it to conserve ammo, BUT spring action air guns have dual direction recoil forces that believe it or don't can mess up a regular rifle scope, so make sure you use an airgun scope made specifically for a spring based air gun, not a cheap co2 or pump up type.

Edit: Per http://www.chuckhawks.com/22_rimfire_cartridges.htm , "The standard velocity .22 Long Rifle takes a wax coated 40 grain RN lead bullet to a muzzle velocity of 1,138 fps. The muzzle energy is 116 ft. lbs. in a standard 22" rifle test barrel."
So you can see the better .22 cal airguns are an excellent choice for hunting rabbits, squirrel and similar sized game.
 
#40 ·
Staying on topic...

Suprisingly, there is little mentioned about airguns and survival, which is sad, since they are so stealthy and you can use them in situations that even a .22 would attract too much attention. There are some SERIOUS air rifles made and they are excellent for hunting small game and vermin. They are very quiet and cheap to shoot, I personally use a Sheridan Blue Streak, but there are easier to use break action spring loaded rifles that develop some excellent velocities (1000fps)
such as some of those at this link (not an endorsement, just a good example)
Congratulations, Palladin! I'm shooting the same Blue Streak I've had for 51 years! Seriously! Anything that can put that 20 cal/5 mm slug through a 2x4 with 12 pumps does the job for me. I've "hunted" with the .22 cal "hourglass" type pellets, and I think the solid 5 mm are superior. It's all about sectional density.

A friend of mine in town has still not gained his citizenship, so he can't own a firearm. But he shoots an Olympic match grade .22 cal air rifle. At a recent Turkey Shoot, nobody could beat him at 100 yds, and the rifle was punching holes through the 1/2" plywood backstop. We were all shooting .22 LR conventional weapons, and we had to ask him if he was done, because we couldn't hear him shoot.
 
#5 ·
Effective, once you have aquired high marksmanship with it and can therefore hit upper chest/head. More useful than a small squirrel filled with shotgun pellets too IMO. Will kill squirrels at 800fps in my experience, just don't expect it to work 100% from a considerable distance (30 yards plus). I concur with jfountain on the spring gun choice.
 
#6 ·
In the Sep 2008 issue of Outdoor Life, someone asks what the best bullet for squirrels is.
The shooting editor says his squirrel hunting is done with an air rifle or an old .32-caliber caplock muzzleloader. He does say that short hollowpoints work best when using a 22. You can get "hunter" pellets for your air rifle.
Me, I got laughed off a site for even mentioning air/pellet guns.
I even killed a big old grackle with my Daisy Red Ryder BB gun.
 
#18 ·
I've used many different air rifles for small game and most of them worked well. I own 3 rifles. 1 level action daisy [owned it most of my life], a daisy grizzly and now a crosman 2100. I'ved used single pumps, multi-pumps and break barrels. For small game, break barrels or a .22 air rifle would be your best bet, unlike you like a challenge.

Pretty much why I use my air rifle to hunt and not worry about getting a .22 or anything is because of what you mentioned. No license, its cheap, government wont look at me as a threat etc.

Choice is yours. Good luck.
 
#22 ·
"Both rounds are so quiet that the impact of the bullet hitting the target is way louder then the report from the explosion."


This has been my experience, also. I, too have a marlin bolt gun and I have tried both cb shorts and cb longs. No difference in sound, and I have shot them alongside people with air rifles and it was hard to tell them apart. I would like to get an air rifle some day, but for right now, I agree that the cbs work quiet well for stealthy shooting.
 
#26 ·
well, i think the 22 is all you need but if ammo prices is the case then definatly get an air rifle because your rite ammo is super cheap for them
i assume you are talking about a pellet gun
now i havent really had any mad air guns just your basic pump up pellet gun and bb gun so i mean just try to get one around 500fps or more i would suggest
i dunno if they make high velocity ammo for them or what but if your just hunting squirrel or rabbit or something you will have to aim for the head because anywhere else will just wound it and they could run off and die in a tree or live on so you really cant predict what will happen with them
only downer
but i use a 20 gauge nef pardner with birdshot and you dont have to worry at all whether you are gonna get that squirrel or not cus all those birdshot are gonna slap that sucker rite off the limb
good luck
 
#27 ·
I find that my 10/22 with cb longs is 1)AS accurate as my Gamo
2) Absolutely more lethal on squirrels
3)Louder, because the sound of the bullet hitting it's backstop is much louder than a pellet that's going 100FPS
But, pellets are cheaper than CB caps, therefore the pellet rifle gets shot more often.
Also, in town, you don't have to worry as much about a stray pellet, they lose velocity really fast, much faster than a conical CB cap bullet.
 
#41 ·
I think the key is .177 for birds and squirrell-sized game, and .20/.22 for anything larger. It doesen't matter if your .177 is shooting 1100 FPS or not, for Raccoon and Possum sized tasks it isn't humane. I found that out the hard way last summer, and had to get the series of Rabies shots due to a horrible experience with a very, very angry raccoon. I ended up killing the poor thing eventually, after shooting it over 20 times, 10 of which were head shots with Crosman hollow point pellets that do 1000 FPS from my rifle. They wouldn't penetrate it's skull, but they sure did blind him and make me feel really, really bad. I learned the hard way not to use a pellet gun for a .22LR substitute. No matter how logical it seems on paper, or how much plywood it blows through. Animals are tough. And we owe it to them to kill them humanely when we have to kill them. (Like when they appear rabid and they have bitten you)
 
#42 ·
You're absolutely right, CF! Don't bring a pellet rifle to a gun fight.
One thing I've noticed about air gun ammunition is that it doesn't have much "knock down" power. The .177/.22 hollow-style pellets, even the Benjamin with a rounded tip, flatten out before they'll penetrate. The 5 mm stuff punches right through like a target like an ice pick. Ballistics experts might argue with me, but I think a lot of the hydrolic pressures transmitted through the target (game) are due to their expansion characteristics. Most of the hour-glass type ammo expands upon contact, and the solid type don't expand at all. Any animal big enough that the concussion of the impact doesn't kill it, is either going to run away, or (as in your case) stay and fight. :) Quite honestly, I wouldn't expect to kill (cleanly) anything with an air rifle bigger than a rabbit.

No matter how logical it seems on paper, or how much plywood it blows through, animals are tough.
No joke! I've seen more than one dump rat take 1-2 .22LR slugs and still wanna fight! Plywood doesn't have that will to live. :)
 
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