Hunting Air Rifles

[FatsMcKay]

I live within Marion County and cannot fire a gun within city limits. The issue is that I live in the woods and have problems with possums/racoons/squirrells.

I currently have a Crosman Quest 1000x .177 cal air rifle that works quite well with small varmits, but was wondering if it would make more sense to upgrade to a better air rifle for some of the larger varmits. Any suggestions?

 

[armedindy]

10 gauge shotgun

 

[FatsMcKay]

I wish, haha. Are those things very loud?

 

[hooky]

I don't even think the airgun is legal.

 

[kevman65]

If you are in the "no discharge" zone of Marion County then it is illegal to discharge an air gun also.

So far I have just been given a "talking to" as they admire my rifle.

Its funny, the neighbor calling on me is the same one who asked me for help keeping critters out of his attic.

 

[FatsMcKay]

I mean, lets say I took my rifle somewhere I could fire it, does anyone have a preference on a specific air rifle?

 

[IndianaGTI]

I am pretty sure I saw a ".357" air rifle in cabelas and the Koreans make a "9mm" air rifle. Each of them shoot a 9mm projectile in excess of 1000 fps. That's plenty big to kill most any critter up to 150 lbs or so with a decently placed shot.

 

[clt46910]

I found if the .177 is not doing the job, move up to a .22 airgun. Heavier projectile that should do fine with most critters that are being a problem.

The bigger airguns are OK, but here in the states pellets for them might be harder to get. Plus most of them are not spring driven but use compressed air that has to be loaded from a tank.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

I have a break barrel .22 rifle. Haven't demised anything with it yet, but I feel confident I could. It has a suppressor built in to the barrel, so it's not noisy. They can't call in on something they don't know about.

 

[2cool9031]

I live in an unincorporated area so firing a gun isn't a problem, but the distance the bullet travels is. I shoot air rifles and 22's with CB cap longs.
I have 2 pellet rifles that I shoot often, to get rid of pests and to target shoot.
I have a Benjamin Discovery 22 cal precharged rifle and a RWS MDL 48 in .25 caliber. They seem to do the job just fine.

 

[FatsMcKay]

Thanks for the info. I'm thinking about moving up to a 22 air rifle. how exactly do the precharged ones function? are they hard to maintain?

 

[WhitleyStu]

Thanks for the info. how exactly do the precharged ones function? are they hard to maintain?

The proper name is PCP which stands for prechrged pneumatic. You can use a special hand pump, which looks like a bicycle tire pump, but will go up to approximately 3000 psi. Or you can purchase an SCBA tank and have it filled at a paint ball shop or scuba shop. I have a 4500 psi compressor so I don’t have to drive to a scuba shop every time I need my tank filled. Home << ShoeBox Compressors - The World's Smallest & Lightest 4500 PSI Compressor There are a lot of PCP pistols and rifles available now from dealers like Pyramyd Air. Air guns, BB Guns, Pellet Guns and Air Rifles from Crosman, Gamo, Walther and Beeman - PyramydAir.com There is a foster filling on the front or bottom of the firearm that the pump or SCBA tank attaches to. Fill time from a tank is only ~ 30 seconds and a little longer from a hand pump. The only maintenance is a drop of oil on the breach o-rings occasionally and cleaning the barrel when accuracy starts to drop off.