Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Air Guns why is everyone so enamored in air guns?

I am "enamored? by my air gun because I just got home and laid two pecan steeling squirrels on the ground. Theoben 177.

I can still get ammo for my Pellet Gun, not so much on my 22lr. The pellet gun has it's place as does the 22lr. The chucks in this pic along with a hundred or so of his buddies were taken with this R9 in .22 in a semi rural area with home around that would not be safe with the .22lr, but with the pellet rifle the shots were safe and nobody even knew I was around but the farmer that was glad to have them out of his hay. I have laid to rest 100-300 of these guys per year for the last 5 or 6 years with pellet guns. Shots range from 10 to 60 or 70 yards. Head or chest shots and it's good night.

Hard to beat the R9. Springer's rule.

Just finished with about 20 rounds of .22 pellets at water puddles from the rain/snow mix. No worry about noise or over travel of the projectiles - all from the comfort of my front porch. Can't do that with a .22lr. Hell of a lot of fun just to shoot...

The whole point of a PCP gun is to get power. I had a Career 22 lever action and it had close to the power of a 22 short. It was much noisier than a 22lr at full power. Though you could adjust the power way down.

You can shoot subsonic heavy bullet 22lr rounds that are quieter than a PCP with the same energy. Furthermore, you don't have to worry about running out of air.

I had a friend who loaned me his air arms S410 (22lr) which was precharged with a build moderator and it was pretty quiet. I read that the ATF had decided that 17 cal airguns with moderators were not considered to have suppressors. Larger calibers were considered to be suppressed. They may have changed that ruling and I missed it.

I shot my career for a few years and switched to firearms because a 22lr is so much simpler and for me had no disadvantages.

Conrad..

It's 2013... Not 2001.

Crosman makes .17 to .35 cal ariguns with FACTRORY installed moderators /shrouds that screw right off. There is NO ATF caliber reg as to what is an is not legal on an Airgun which to the ATF is a NON FIREARM. Maybe in some of the more ant-gun statyesd like MI , CA or NJ that might be the case, but it's not Federal law.

Their doctrine is "intended use". As along as any silincer or shroud is designed for use ON AN AIRGUN and used ONLY ON AN AIRGUN then there is no violation of the law. It pretty much like the law regardijng putting shoulder stocks form T/C RIFLE carbine on a handgun length T/C and making an illegal short barreled rifle.

As long as your don't use the moderator for a non intended, illegal purpose you are fine. Most makers go the extra step of using attachment systems (grub screws) and lightly constructed internals that will not last more one shot a Powder gun. Crosman went ahead and threaded their Shrouds on. They are the FIRST us Arigun MGF to build an Airrifle with a intregal supressor.. I am sure thir legal dept thoroughly researched US case law regarding silncers before they made that move.

As far as a Silenced PCP in .25 on down, Decibel level meters have shown they are quieter than even a supressed .22 LR subsonice round. And there are guns currently out of the box (like the Mauraders) that WAY outperform an unmoderated Career model rifle in terms of Noise level.

In most States, it's legal (and cheaper) to shoot a silenced air gun in your yard as long as pellet doesn't leave your property. Some of these are no joke at all, as in the past 10 years big bores have come along spitting lead slugs; not Diabolo low BC pellets.
Shooting some air guns at 200-300 yards is good practice for reading wind. Compare the Diabolo or air gun slug to a CF at 600-1000 yards. Fact is most of US Hunters 50-75 yards on a Whitetail in the woods is a long shot. Out West is a different story.
I personally got into air guns to get back to what my Father started me in when I was 7. Target shooting & hunting. I don't care to hunt anymore, even though it's now legal in my State. I still love to shoot groups anywhere from 25-200 yards currently. Once I get my .257 Texan hot rodded I'll be able to reach out to 500 yards with 40.6' of drop and gain a lot of experience with wind. It's cheaper, quieter, fun and w/ Diabolos you don't have to worry about over travel so much, where as I really don't want to shoot any red squirrel up in a tree if I used a .22LR unless I had tree as back stop. To each their own.
Why would I spend $3674.00 on a .25 PCP? Because I was an idiot who used drugs when young, hung out with the wrong crowd, and ended up loosing all Rights even though no weapon was ever used in any way. I've made NO secret about this on air gun forums for over 12 years now.
It's common sense. If I wanted to be a criminal I could spend $50-$500 and be in possession of a firearm. I choose to stay out of jail & not cost taxpayers $55,000 per year to house me.
Play Judge all you want if that's your game. I'll be shooting groups on my property in the middle of nowhere bothering no one.

Ohio does not allow for air guns in it our yard, any more than firing a firearm. And according to the regulations, here, there is no difference. (I know. I spent time in the back of a cruiser due to shooting a squirrel that was causing destruction to my wife's flowers. ) believe it or not, even a bow and arrow is classed as a "firearm" here, so no back yard practice.

However, when the all mighty .22lr was not to be seen on any shelf, at any price, I could still find pellets in many places.

Fun
Cheap to shoot
A fair one can be had for fair money, depending on what level of quality you're looking for
Springers require more skill to shoot well, and learning that skill is a worthy pursuit. Like the difference between fishing and fly fishing.
And (basically), no specialized range required

Sucks that OH is a fk'd up as CA, neither an airgun or a bow is a firearm, never was and never will be.

Hell, do they classify blowguns as a firearm?

I would make a sling and start hurling rocks for fun!


I am in the county and there are no restrictions but I do live near other houses and the HOA specifies no firearms. I shoot 22 suppressed often as well as CB's but have a chit ton of fun shooting my FX .25 caliber. Sucker simply smacks squirrels, rabbits, grackles and piglets with a 33.9 gr pellet at 975 <<< damn close the CCI standard velocity (grin)

I just joined the forum and am an avid Airgunner.
I also shoot Rimfire, Centerfire and Scattergun.
I literally can not believe what I just read in this thread.... So many untruths.

I have Pumpers, Springers, Co2 ...even a few PCP. (hover ~ 30 or so)
NONE are as loud as my .22LR. Some have suppressors or shrouds that is totally legal.... and the loudest thing is the trigger until the pellet hits the backstop.

If your thinking of going to Walmart and seeing a $50 air rifle, but it's too much for a "BB Gun"... they are probably not for you.
Sure it may be able to group fairly well, about like an out of the box, bottom of the line 10/22... but just like anything else, you get what you pay for.

I have a HW98 break-barrel springer that I will match accuracy with any gun out to 50 yards.
I have a 40 year old FWB-300s side lever that will stand up to anything that old at the 10M game. Including an Anshutz. The FWB was THE Olympic gun in the late 70's early 80's
I have a Air Arms S400-SL carbine PCP that will take a wood-chuck at 75 yards because I can surgically hit it in the fusebox between the eye and the ear.

If I want to shoot past 100 yards or hit a goose in flight, I grab one of my powder burners .

Sometimes I just want to shoot, and shoot well.
I can come home after work, grab one and a tin of pellets, walk out my back door and shoot all night long at the bench for about $5.

Recently picked up a Beeman R9 in 22 and am quite impressed. Amazingly though, we pretty much have a silent majority around here on air guns. I had no idea I was the only one going without.

On the outer edge of town now with not a Beldings ground squirrel in the yard. Might start supplementing the diet with Eurasian Collared Doves next.

Welcome to the 'Fire, get used to it.

i own a couple of air guns /air piston spring rifles yes they are alot of fun ! i have killed plenty birds,chipmunks ,rabbits,woodchucks even a fox. but for bigger tougher critters like possum or raccoons i like at least a 22 LR and a head shot. i would like to purchase a new type air rifle with the fill type air tanks which are kinda a semi-auto.

*Mods* I am a new member and if these are too graphic please delete.

'Chuck with a 1377 pumper pistol.



Bandit with a Gennisis NP

Now that I figured out how to post pics here, I will just leave these to name a" few" of mine.

My Hot Rod Benji Maximus...



My Vintage pumpers



And my latest pride and joy... HW 98

You aren't a real varmint hunter unless you have at least one air rifle.........................................

I’ve had a BB or pellet rifle for as long as I can remember. Currently it’s a Gamo Hunter 22cal. Enjoy it very much mostly just plinking around the house at 30 yards or so.

Friend of mine just bought a FX Infinity X. It plus accessories cost around $3k. I was skeptical to say the least. Thought he was off his rocker. We drank some beers and watched videos of guys using these for Varmint control and hunting. While his was on back order. After watching I was intrigued, but still a bit hesitant to accept their potential.

Since it’s arrival we have been out twice with it target shooting. This thing is for real! Way more accurate than any of my .22rf. It’s currently set up for .25 pellets. He has a slug barrel ordered. Once dialed in to about 910fps it literally stacks pellets at 110yards.

As the day progressed we had some empty Miller Lite 16oz cans with the bottle like top. I set these with their wide mouths facing us on the berm at 115yards. The caps were hung facing us on dead iron weed stalks. We proceeded shoot the caps easily, then one by one shoot through the can opening and out the back. Really fun plinking!

He is way more versed on the rifles particulars than I but I can speak to it’s ease of use. It’s magazine fed and holds 12 or 15. A lever on the right easily cocks it. The trigger is very light and crisp. A full tank of air was giving us 30-40 shots before velocity fell off. It’s incredibly quiet with very little recoil.

Old news for some of you Im sure. Impressive to say the least for me. I got to have one someday!

I have a RWS Air King .22. It's fun, but pretty dang heavy and also loud, not .22 loud, but probably just as disturbing to game in the woods as SS .22s. Mostly I shoot it in the yard into a putty trap I made, which is quieter than a steel trap.

Airguns are legal for hunting small game here, but I can't see using them anywhere guns are legal (and everywhere I hunt currently they are), as IMO guns are generally lighter and more convenient to use, as well as flatter-shooting. All that futzing around with figuring out the holds for even ordinary small-game ranges is more "fun" than I want to have for hunting. Certainly they have a place for those who are restricted, for whatever reason, from owning or using firearms, and are fun to fiddle with, like everything that shoots bullets, point-ed sticks, marbles, rocks, whatever. As I slide into my dotage, I may even pick up a nice PCP setup with a tank for farting around at home, but for now the bucks that would cost are better spent on other stuff.

Anyone who likes airguns or is interested in them should check out the YouTube channels like The Airgun Show and whatever the Fieldsports channel calls their version. The Brits are into these big-time, and do a lot of squirrel, rat, bird, and rabbit whacking with them. The rat killing at dumps is kinda icky to me for some reason, but the other stuff looks like fun.

ring3

I have not heard of an Infinity, are you referring to the FX Impact?

If so that is a BADA$$ PCP and was certainly tempting when I bought the Wildcat MKII.

After a few years with the Benji Marauder .25 at my old house that backed up to a private lake, I slaughered the varmints and small game. Coon, nutria, beaver, squirrel, rabbit, possum and grackles. The Benji is quiet but it was a beast, too long and too heavy for my interests and I was without an air rifle for a few years.

I had pretty much settled on an Airforce Condor or Talon until I stumbled on FX. I wanted short and light and the Wildcat was a purpose build bullpup and is worth it to me. I have shot it once at 100 yards and the groups were far better than my RAR 22 WMR but not as good as I believe they can be.


Hoosier

What is the story on the Benji?

I have not hear of the model.