High End Air Rifles

[jordyman]

Okay so I know that this may seem like a stupid idea being I already own real guns, but after reading up on the new generation of pellet rifles and reading of guys who are actually seriously hunting with these it caught my eye.
I live right on the edge of town, and my garden is getting devoured by the local rabbit population. This cant keep going on. I cant control the varmints with my handy dandy 10/22, or the 17hmr (as much as I wish, this wouldnt be a problem Im having) but I think I can remove my varmint problem with one of these.

So heres my question....

Ive had my eye on the Gamo rifles, and they are sexy and look like a decent gun. Some shoot up past 1000fps. But after a bit of study I found the old Benjamin style rifles. They hit at 800fps but I see pics of soup cans full of water with a hole in both sides. This seems like it would do me well. So give me your 2 cents, Id like to know anything you all can help me with. As far as type of firing mech, makes, so on.

 

[MtnBiker6510]

Sounds like it'll serve you well. I just have a cheapo Crosman for boredom while I'm grilling and its accurate and powerful enough. I'm in the city, also so my 10/22 give right of way to the Red Ryder.

 

[Yukon227]

You will be amazed. A scope and you can shoot the eyes out of starlings eating on the cherry tree at 40 yds. Not bad for a "toy". I have a Gamo and I love it when "stealth" is a necessity. Ive also taken a few chipmunks that were trying to move in my cellar.
I'm not certain how legal they are for hunting squirrels or rabbits but they can do the job.

 

[WhitleyStu]

Just to get you started both pistols and rifles come in three different power sources. There are single and multiple pump guns, and then there are PCP (pre-charges pneumatic) which you fill from an air tank or hand pump and then “springers” which you cock and a spring pushes a piston forward to create the pressure to drive the pellet. Be careful to not get a gun that shoots very near the sound barrier or you will have accuracy issues. Most pellets just don’t like traveling over 1100 fps. In January I decided I wanted to get a pellet pistol to shoot indoors as I was having shooting “withdrawal”. I did a lot of reading and decided to purchase a one pump 10 meter competition pistol for target. I purchased a Baikal 46M pistol and soon after a Weihrauch HW77 rifle, both in .177. I have been having a ball with both and started participating in online shooting competitions. They are great fun, little noise, and very economical to shoot. Last week I received an FX Royale 400, but don’t have pics yet. Be prepared to spend just as much on a high end pellet pistol or rifle as you would on a “powder burner”. Pyramyd Air in Ohio is my favorite dealer to purchase guns, ammo, and accessories. If you want to go high end Airguns of Arizona or Precision Airguns and Supply are good sources for these guns.

 

[tradertator]

You could always lure your brother over with beer or pizza, and play with his silencer. Welcome to INGO dingus .

 

[Rookie]

Benjamins are powerful, but the drawback is you have to pump them to get the power. The advantage of a break action is you can load it without cocking it so it's ready much quicker.

 

[Mr.JAG]

You could always lure your brother over with beer or pizza, and play with his silencer. Welcome to INGO dingus .

What he said...

Dingus.

 

[bullet]

You'll put your eye out.

 

[45fan]

Ive had a benjamin air rifle for almost 20 years, and it still shoots strait enough to keep the rabbits out of the garden. The best part about it is that I can adjust velocity, and not kill any garden varmints, only chase them away.

 

[badmac183]

my favorite low budget air rifle is the crosman 2100

 

[Leo]

I have purchased 2 FeinWerkBau target grade air rifles. 10 shot group ctc .039" With that level of precision, anything not in the bullseye is your fault. Air rifle training will make you a better marksman with whatever else you shoot. You HAVE to properly follow through you shot with an air rifle. Any flinch shows up big time. That Russian Air pistol Stu shows is amazing. It is as accurate as a rifle. I wish I had not sold mine, they have gone up $100 since the last one I bought.

Growing up with toy air rifles, it took a lot of decision the first time I dropped well over $1000 for a real Olympic grade air rifle, but now that I have, I understand. A precision grade pellet rifle is made to rebuild, so you don't have to worry about wearing one out.

 

[rtm]

I have a Benjamin Nitro Piston air rifle, it is a great rifle, well made and quiet. BUT the trigger is a piece of sh

 

[tradertator]

If you insist on an air rifle, anything shy of a Russian Drozd will have you disbanded from our family.

 

[TwinSix]

Gamo

I have a Gamo hunter that keeps the pests in check... not the quietest rifle around, though.

 

[2cool9031]

I started out with the cheaper spring powered air rifles and graduated to a .25 caliber RWS and a precharged .22 cal Benjamin Discovery with the pump, to fill it.
I would suggest going with a .22 caliber.
Also...be warned that some air rifles aren't very quiet.
Another choice would be using CCI CB Cap longs...they are very quiet when shot out of a rifle (quieter than the pellet rifles I have). But because of the lower power, you will have to cock your 10/22 after every shot.

 

[Lancem]

I've had a Beeman R10 for years in 177, works well on even some of the larger pests.

 

[danmdevries]

I have a gamo whisper in 177.

I have 4 acres but I'm in town and can't legally shoot anything (not sure if I can even use the airgun.)

Its not quiet. I don't know where they got off calling it the whisper.

But, it's one-shot dropped five groundhogs, four raccoons, a possum, three chipmunks and a mouse (at 120 feet) very accurate after spending some time sighting it and putting a decent set of glass on there.

I just wish it were quieter. Accuracy is wonderful, as the dead vermin can attest. Head shots, double lung and neck shots are all I've taken and all hit with an instant drop. But one or two shots is all I dare take. Cops showed up twice while I was sighting it in.

 

[Leo]

Dan, I used to use subsonics in a Marlin model 60 for varmints near the house. They were amazingly quiet, but would not work the action. It sounds like you and your air rifle is doing the job really well. Keep up the good work

 

[Claddagh]

I bought my RWS "Diana" M48 in .22 some sixteen years back for much the same problem that you're having. It's pretty heavy at about 8.5 lbs. with a 2-7X AO scope aboard, but will keep 10 pellets inside of 3/16" at 20 yds.

Report is about a toss-up compared with a Marlin 39M and CCI CB Longs. The CBs's projectiles are a bit more than twice as heavy and, given that the velocities are very comparable, deliver much more energy. IMHO, their most serious potential downside is that they also tend to exit "soft" targets such as rabbits and 'possums inside of 20 yds. much more often. Obviously, there are situations where this can be a matter of no small cause for concern here in the center of town.

The potential for unpleasant legal repercussions should your local PD stop by in response to a complaint from a neighbor or passer-by is generally (check your local ordinances first!) much diminshed by using an air rifle. However, there may also be State or local laws concerning the definition of "hunting" and/or distinctions about which species may be legally taken that you need to be aware of, too.

I've used my M48 during squirrel season very successfully in wood lots near the edges of town where the "crack" of a .22 RF could (and has) upset some of the suburban Bliss Ninnies or PETA types and drawn visits from BCSO or DNR officers.

 

[ADT knights]

I have a Remington Vantage 1200 and I've put and end to quite a few squirrels and pest birds with it in my back yard.

If not an air gun try a .22 that can shoot the cb caps. It is no louder than a break action pellet gun but maybe more powerful. Possibly a CO2 bbgun could work also.