554 NATO?…Mentioned it several times🤔

 

Also, Creedmore.

 

Ahh but which .177 pellets? I liked h&n sniper magnums. This was 20+ fpe from a breakbarrel.

I far prefer my crossbow bolts... ill stick to 9mm for two legged critters personally just cause its always on me.

For the record- the power plant on a breakbarrel be it spring piston or gas piston aint gonna last you 33k shots before needing to be rebuilt.

Spring piston can be rebuilt gas piston cannot (unless its theoben gas piston and you know exactly what you are doing) the spring piston system is a bit tempurature sensitive and you lose velocity in the winter. Also your lighter weight breabarrels are like 7-8lbs not including a scope.

Personally id prefer a .22lr for survival use because the physical gun is far more accurate/lighter and way more versatile than a pellet gun.

 

Ahh but which .177 pellets? I liked h&n sniper magnums. This was 20+ fpe from a breakbarrel.

View attachment 497050 View attachment 497051

I far prefer my crossbow bolts... ill stick to 9mm for two legged critters personally just cause its always on me.

For the record- the power plant on a breakbarrel be it spring piston or gas piston aint gonna last you 33k shots before needing to be rebuilt.

Spring piston can be rebuilt gas piston cannot (unless its theoben gas piston and you know exactly what you are doing) the spring piston system is a bit tempurature sensitive and you lose velocity in the winter. Also your lighter weight breabarrels are like 7-8lbs not including a scope.

Personally id prefer a .22lr for survival use because the physical gun is far more accurate/lighter and way more versatile than a pellet gun.

It's like this: I would prefer to eat expensive, fresh meals to my stored food. But if it's bad enough and I'm hungry, I'd be more than willing to eat the cheap rice I've got in 30 year storage. As far an maintenance, I'm putting together a pretty good gunsmithing bench and buying enough spare parts to keep all of my guns working.

I'd really like to learn a lot more about crossbows. You won't attract attention using one, which could save your life. What bow do you have and how much money did it take to get set up?

 

We keep a .22 pellet rifle, don't care for it much but we keep it anyway.
Our best bet is on .22lr .22wmr and I think that's were we'll stay..

 

I never had good luck with my 3 pellet guns. I broke 1, 1 never aimed straight and the last was underpowered.

My 3 plus year survival plan figures on zero hunting for food. So I am not worried about going through my 22lr stash.

 

So how do you plan to get enough calories to survive? I'm storing beans, rice, canned foods. Got at least 1500 lbs of white rice put away in 30 year storage now. I don't see how I can grow a lot in my location until the first year of chaos subside. Lush gardens will attract starving people.

 

I gave away my old Barnet crossbow with low miles...that's what I think of crossbows.
Air gun wise there are air guns and then there are air guns.
I have the latter in .22 , it has it's place and is far more accurate than I am.

 

I've got a Crosman Optimus .177 cal. It's a good gun for shooting pellets.

If you can't get pellets super cheap, like no more than 1.5 cents, you may as well buy 22lr that you can get for 6 cents.

 

Sames on airguns. I have a couple nicer break barrels. One springer and one gas piston. Squirrel, rabbit, quail, chicken size birdies all day long. In a world WROL I have no doubt larger game would be fine inside 50 yards. Although, stocking parts would probably be necessary.
Crossbows?? Meh. I don't think it would work like Darryl's. Using day in and day out might not be the best plan. They are complex, strings break, limbs break, bolts deform. Finding replacements would be much more difficult than many firearms. A nice recurve might be a better plan.

 

I have a few thousand pellets stored up. Why not? It's super cheap.

 

Have a Beeman "WEBLEY" in 177 Taken a lot of back yard bunnies and tree rats. When we lived in the city

 

I own 10 air guns I think. I have killed a lot of squirrels and a few rabbits and I have no idea how many birds with my Crosman/Benjamin 22 pump I have been using for the last 15 years. Before that was a Sheridan Blue Streak until I wore it out. You can harvest a lot of game with an air rifle. Another air rifle I have is a Beeman break open springer that came with two barrels. The 177 shoots hard but I keep the 22 caliber barrel on the gun. I like 22 better than 177.

As for a bow I will take my old recurve. We had a Barnet crossbow and it was OK but nothing to get excited about. You needed to keep the rails the string rode on waxed or your string wore out pretty quick and the speed dropped off quite a bit. I had a compound too and liked it way better than the crossbow but the recurve is my preferred bow set up.

Its nice to have all kinds of guns but unless you live next to a national forest or have access to hundreds of acres to hunt on hunting will play out pretty quick. You better have stored seeds and a couple of years worth of stored food. Plus a clean source of water. Having a fishing hole nearby is good too. Even little fish will make a meal. And fish like perch will bite on about anything and they normally run in big groups so getting enough for a meal isn't usually that hard. They are also some of the better tasting fish.

 

Its nice to have all kinds of guns but unless you live next to a national forest or have access to hundreds of acres to hunt on hunting will play out pretty quick. You better have stored seeds and a couple of years worth of stored food. Plus a clean source of water. Having a fishing hole nearby is good too. Even little fish will make a meal. And fish like perch will bite on about anything and they normally run in big groups so getting enough for a meal isn't usually that hard. They are also some of the better tasting fish.

agree with above , nothing wrong with being able to harvest from different resources, I would add some traps /snares as well , set them on the way to your fishing spots so you cover more area with a diverse chance of harvesting something and store lots of hooks ,for something so cheap now they are worth a small fortune if you need them to fill your belly

 

..Anyone else with other ideas?

IMO, sure .177 is 'cheap', etc (so'r .22 pellets, for that matter) but, IMO - if yer gonna go Air Power for "Serious Hunting" ...Go Big or Don't Bother.. ie:

The .50 Cal Seneca / Sam Yang 'Dragon Claw'.. Also shoots 'AirBolts' at ~500fps - which are Devastating.

And, here's some 'efficacy data' for ya: (2) They call Sam Yang 909 airguns "Seneca's" these days...... and (2) Airguns... | Survivalist Forum (survivalistboards.com) ..and re: Air vs Reloading (2) PCP Airguns for Survival | Page 2

Last thought: Sure - .50 cal 'pellets' are Not cheap.. But, since you're not Also worrying about Brass and Powder, etc, with PCPs, you Could simply buy-up a Metric ❌-ton of the 'super-cheap' .177 pellets - and a .50 cal Mold - and you'll be 'covered for Both options'. But, the .50 cal will Guarantee you can put Meat on the Table with yer "airgun".

..I far prefer my crossbow bolts... ..

+1 for this, too.. My personal choice:

Excalibur Matrix 405 Recurve.. Thing hits like a Mother.

(PS - Not my personal one, just kiped the image online, quickly, for Demo's sake.. Mine is near-identical, only difference being I've got a Hawke AR scope, and the 'silencer' brakes.. Work really well.

Bolts are also Not cheap, however so one thing I did was to put a small 'dot' of the 3M 'Scotchlite' tape (think: the Yellow 'caution stripe', like on the back of Firetrucks / Ambulances, etc) on the back of each flat-nocked Bolt, so that If one gets 'buried in the bush', with a good Bright light, I stand a Chance of finding it. And, does Not affect flight-true / speed, etc, and the adhesive is strong enough, that they Don't come off, even with the brutal 'smack' of that much draw.

Yes, I know they 'make LED nocks' for 'em, but.. At like $33. for 3x of em (IIRC) - I have about 120 Bolts - yeah, that would be a tad... Cost prohibitive...

.02
jd

 

Before I spent $500 on pellets I would buy a dehydrator and learn how to dry and store fruits and vegetables. You really need more than just meat. Meat all the time will get tiresome and you will have to range further and further to find it after a while.

 

not a bad idea ,but after things get bad it might not be much use if power fails, it might be wiser to buy some garden tools and practice growing some of your own food and a canner with jars for storage if nothing else it can be heated with wood

 

I don't know what the magic number is, but most of us aren't going to be surviving multiple gunfights and expending thousands of rounds. Now having a bunch of ammo is good to have as long as there aren't any holes in your other preps. I have a crossbow, don't like it much. Besides tracking a dying deer through the neighboorhood is not what I want to be doing. To many eyes. I'd rather a headshot with a .22 after dark. Can you drop a deer DRT with a Xbow? Maybe, but probably not.

 

Have you shot a deer in the head at night? I've shot a lot of deer with both bow and xbow. They do run a bit and bleed out at the same time which is a good thing. How many deer have you taken with the Xbow you don't like

 

Creedmore? 554 Nato? Nope. Though I've got several thousand rounds of 554/223 and 9mm each. And about 20k rounds of 22's, about a thousand 12 gauge cartriges... My newest buying binge?

It's .177 pellets! Plenty affordable. I've got a break barrel rifle that shoots those things incredibly hard. I'll be getting another.

You won't be fighting with these, though a very well placed shot will take the fight right out of a guy who's attacking you You'll be feeding yourself and discouraging wild animals. They are plenty capable of killing small game. Of course, I've got 00 Buck and 554 Nato as a backup. But the fighting ammo will get shot up faster than people think. So then what good is your AR 15 when you have no ammo? I think along the lines of conserving ammo as much as you can, because I won't be able to go to the sporting goods store to pick up more after the SHTF. I have to justify every single shot. You can get the .177pellets for around 1.5 cents each. It's a value that can't be beat. For $500 invested (which is a drop in the bucket when you compare it to what I've got in my guns and ammo), you can have 33k shots. I'm buying up about $100 a month now. But still buying 5k 22 bullets monthly as well. Holding off on the bigger ammo for now.

Otherwise, I'm getting a crossbow. A good one isn't cheap, but it's good for silence, which may be extremely important, especially at the beginning of SHTF, when there are zombies afoot.

Anyone else with other ideas?

Haven't been bitten by the air gun bug. Have you looked into maintenance for the rifle? Curious about what components to stock up on. Springs gaskets etc. Thinking 22 rimfire does everything better. That said I don't really know. The Xbow I do. Don't need to buy the latest and greatest. 200# recurve Excalibur will outlast you. Couple extra strings a lot of arrows and broadheads and you're set for life. Any size game. Can't beat that. The push for speed advertising is pushing the limits of limbs IMHO

 

Your idea has merit. I've thought about getting a couple pellet guns, and a bow, but for dealing with pests and getting food, I've got traps. I should get some more traps.

 

My one worry about head shots is shooting the jaw or nose off and causing a slow pain full death and not much chance of recovering the deer. I've read about the the shot. Aim between the ear and eye. Guess if you don't flinch and the deer don't move

 

I agree completely, deer move their heads way to much for my comfort. My first headshot shot was through the top of the skull center (head was down feeding on acorns) and the second was just behind the eye (she was making eye contact). The shot from the top of the head didnt fully penetrate though and the shot from the side of the head went straight through and i lost the arrow under the leaves. Not ethical shots in my opinion, but effective if you can hit them.

 

I bought a Ruger 22 caliber air gun about a year ago. It was on sale for 50% off.
I got a couple of cans of pellets and a spinner target with it as well.
I’ve never shot it.

 

I still have a functional.177 caliber 10 pump crosman 2100 that I’ve had since age 12 (I’m 45 now) and it has killed 2 rabbits and a few squirrels……and an obscene amount of frogs and birds from when I was a 12-13 year old jerk (I still feel guilty about all the critters I killed for no reason). I have multiple .177 pistols too…. I prob have over 1000 pellets of all types.

But my PCP .22 caliber air gun runs circles around any .177 I’ve ever shot. 980 fps and good for like 45 high power shots at full charge.

 

Yes, but how are you going to keep charging it if SHTF? With my break barrel, I do it once and that sucker shoots 1200 fps, hard enough for small game. I'll confess, I never shot any animal with this gun yet. Just bought a scope for it at Cabela's yesterday.

 

Creedmore? 554 Nato? Nope. Though I've got several thousand rounds of 554/223 and 9mm each. And about 20k rounds of 22's, about a thousand 12 gauge cartriges... My newest buying binge?

It's .177 pellets! Plenty affordable. I've got a break barrel rifle that shoots those things incredibly hard. I'll be getting another.

You won't be fighting with these, though a very well placed shot will take the fight right out of a guy who's attacking you You'll be feeding yourself and discouraging wild animals. They are plenty capable of killing small game. Of course, I've got 00 Buck and 554 Nato as a backup. But the fighting ammo will get shot up faster than people think. So then what good is your AR 15 when you have no ammo? I think along the lines of conserving ammo as much as you can, because I won't be able to go to the sporting goods store to pick up more after the SHTF. I have to justify every single shot. You can get the .177pellets for around 1.5 cents each. It's a value that can't be beat. For $500 invested (which is a drop in the bucket when you compare it to what I've got in my guns and ammo), you can have 33k shots. I'm buying up about $100 a month now. But still buying 5k 22 bullets monthly as well. Holding off on the bigger ammo for now.

Otherwise, I'm getting a crossbow. A good one isn't cheap, but it's good for silence, which may be extremely important, especially at the beginning of SHTF, when there are zombies afoot.

Anyone else with other ideas?

Have you ever thought about casting pellets?

 

It's way over my head. I just can't do it. Spring coming up, got an 11,500 square foot garden. That alone is murder. And it seems like I have 100 other projects.

 

Creedmore? 554 Nato? Nope. Though I've got several thousand rounds of 554/223 and 9mm each. And about 20k rounds of 22's, about a thousand 12 gauge cartriges... My newest buying binge?

It's .177 pellets! Plenty affordable. I've got a break barrel rifle that shoots those things incredibly hard. I'll be getting another.

You won't be fighting with these, though a very well placed shot will take the fight right out of a guy who's attacking you You'll be feeding yourself and discouraging wild animals. They are plenty capable of killing small game. Of course, I've got 00 Buck and 554 Nato as a backup. But the fighting ammo will get shot up faster than people think. So then what good is your AR 15 when you have no ammo? I think along the lines of conserving ammo as much as you can, because I won't be able to go to the sporting goods store to pick up more after the SHTF. I have to justify every single shot. You can get the .177pellets for around 1.5 cents each. It's a value that can't be beat. For $500 invested (which is a drop in the bucket when you compare it to what I've got in my guns and ammo), you can have 33k shots. I'm buying up about $100 a month now. But still buying 5k 22 bullets monthly as well. Holding off on the bigger ammo for now.

Otherwise, I'm getting a crossbow. A good one isn't cheap, but it's good for silence, which may be extremely important, especially at the beginning of SHTF, when there are zombies afoot.

Anyone else with other ideas?

I own a website call Premier Aiguns..... and sell a buttpile of pellets of all types. A well designed break barrel rifle shooting a .117 (as mentioned above) will do plenty good for small game.....for the higher velocity ones you will actually need a supressed rifle because of the supersonic crack.

Also in terms of accuracy each rifle is unique just like standard rifles. Umarex is a large brand that specializes in air rifles but also owns Walther Firearms...... their higher end rifles actually have Walther engineered barrels on them and can shoot sub-MOA.

Across the spectrum there are a variety of pellet shapes for the job you need to have done. By far though the RWS pellets are the most consistent out of the tin and then followed the the Sig Sauer Pellets.

Overall the .177's are fantastic buys......but .22 pellets are gaining rapidly in popularity in the "less free" States because of delivered energy.

Lastly for your preppers out there.......I would suspect that in very short order calibers higher than .22 (.25, .30, .50) will require an FFL as many of these rifles have similar ballistic performance to a firearm.

Hope this sheds some light on air rilfes.

HK

 

I own a website call Premier Aiguns..... and sell a buttpile of pellets of all types. A well designed break barrel rifle shooting a .117 (as mentioned above) will do plenty good for small game.....for the higher velocity ones you will actually need a supressed rifle because of the supersonic crack.

Also in terms of accuracy each rifle is unique just like standard rifles. Umarex is a large brand that specializes in air rifles but also owns Walther Firearms...... their higher end rifles actually have Walther engineered barrels on them and can shoot sub-MOA.

Across the spectrum there are a variety of pellet shapes for the job you need to have done. By far though the RWS pellets are the most consistent out of the tin and then followed the the Sig Sauer Pellets.

Overall the .177's are fantastic buys......but .22 pellets are gaining rapidly in popularity in the "less free" States because of delivered energy.

Lastly for your preppers out there.......I would suspect that in very short order calibers higher than .22 (.25, .30, .50) will require an FFL as many of these rifles have similar ballistic performance to a firearm.

Hope this sheds some light on air rilfes.

HK

Is there a suppressor for my Crosman Optimus 177? It's amazingly loud.

 

I’m really pneu to air so please don’t get cross while I bow & bolt away quietly.

I can’t take on another gun platform hobby.

I own and shoot an old Crossman and a vintage Daisy ‘red ryder’ style that my Mother In Law bought at an auction.

I have been interested in looking at a high velocity .21 cal (just playin’), but as soon as I do, I’ll spend a poo pot load (SPL) of money.

A crossbow?, oh, hell, no! I’d be broke by the end of February.

The punch line: I haven't hunted in almost 50 years due to a bent wheel.

But, an Adult Red Ryder range model air rifle with a compass in the stock and a thing that tells time, is on the list. Really.

As a kid, we were lucky, my old man kept me and my brother in BB guns through our pre-teen years. Dad got us both the Crossman M1 Carbine with a removable clip. It was cocked by jacking the barrel. It looked so good.

 

You're going to get a bajillion responses, but ok, my .02 with is: the ultimate ammo - is what fits your application at the time...hunting... target shooting, self defense.

So for me WW2 re-enactments, K.98 Mauser 7.92 x 57 blanks of course, (duh!)
Range day w/ my Glock 19 is 9mm, blazer brass is perfectly fine.
Bergara B-14 Wilderness .300 PRC would be something like a Hornady Match Extremely Low Drag-Match ELD-M Ammo.

 

You're going to get a bajillion responses, but ok, my .02 with is: the ultimate ammo - is what fits your application at the time...hunting... target shooting, self defense.

So for me WW2 re-enactments, K.98 Mauser 7.92 x 57 blanks of course, (duh!)
Range day w/ my Glock 19 is 9mm, blazer brass is perfectly fine.
Bergara B-14 Wilderness .300 PRC would be something like a Hornady Match Extremely Low Drag-Match ELD-M Ammo.

It's all about what's affordable to a prepper. When you start prepping, it's one thing after another and expenses add up to many thousands quite quickly. I'm trying to keep it as cheap as possible since I've already dropped about 7k on guns and ammo. Otherwise, I'd just buy 200k 22lr's and be done with it.

 

Made it through one winter with a paper route and a .177 Benjamin.
Drove the route and potted rabbits.
( pretty sure the statute of limitations has run out by now.)

 

Have 4 pellet guns. Nothing fancy. A spring break barrel, two pump beebee/pellet, and a co cartridge 12 shot rifle. The spring will take down a squirrel, possibly a rabbit? It will knock a hole in a piece of tin. I like the pellet guns because they are silent, decently accurate, and mostly nonlethal. Good when you have a neighbor dog getting at your chickens. Good for knocking down a mud nest from a persistant bird.

 

Just bought this pump BB/pellet gun off Amazon. Yes, it's dirt cheap but apparently you can over pump them several times. If you read the ratings, you'll find a guy pumping them way over the limit, with increased power. It shoots .177. Silently. Can kill small game, Youtube videos of people shooting it with impressive accuracy. If I really like it, I can buy three or 4 more without breaking the bank. I already have 18 firearms to shoot real bullets with. My break barrel pellet gun is as loud as a 22 rifle, which is disappointing.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017AVYHRS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Creedmore? 554 Nato? Nope. Though I've got several thousand rounds of 554/223 and 9mm each. And about 20k rounds of 22's, about a thousand 12 gauge cartriges... My newest buying binge?

It's .177 pellets! Plenty affordable. I've got a break barrel rifle that shoots those things incredibly hard. I'll be getting another.

Absolutely 500 pellets for 7 bucks great for small game and varmints have several rifles