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Hunting & Fishing Air Gun Hunting
- Thread starter 83Scout
- Start date
There are some very serious pcp rifles that could certainly make a lethal kill on small/ med game. They tend to be expensive and large/heavy besides being a bit more complex and fragile than a conventional rifle. Probably not the best choice for a child’s hunting rifle, but a great choice for practice and introducing new shooters to the sport.
That’s what I was wondering. Besides the allure of a high powered pellet gun, I don’t know if it’s any better than introducing them on a .22.
Disclaimer: There is really a ton of options and info on this subject, and I am far from an expert.
I have taken coyotes and raccoons along with countless smaller animals with hi power 22 and 25 cal pcp air rifles. They can have similar performance to the 22lr.
Some of the advantages that I like are sound,( many high end rifles come suppressed, no tax stamp or paper work needed)
They can be legal and welcomed in more rural settings, where a firearm is not and better for indoor use.
For anyone thinking of giving serious air rifles a try I would suggest looking at the Benjamin marauder.
I have taken coyotes and raccoons along with countless smaller animals with hi power 22 and 25 cal pcp air rifles. They can have similar performance to the 22lr.
Some of the advantages that I like are sound,( many high end rifles come suppressed, no tax stamp or paper work needed)
They can be legal and welcomed in more rural settings, where a firearm is not and better for indoor use.
For anyone thinking of giving serious air rifles a try I would suggest looking at the Benjamin marauder.
If you live in a residential area and like to shoot in your back yard they are nice, and they're pretty useful for squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons, and possums when you want to be quiet. Don't spend your money on a spring powered gun, they require a light grip that builds detrimental habits to real riflery and the bi-directional recoil pulses from the spring will wreck nice optics. A decent .22 or .25 pneumatic will run you anywhere from $3-500, I have a Benjamin fortitude that is on the cheaper side but is magazine fed, regulated for consistent shots and reasonably quiet. Then you have to be able to pressurize it and the good hand pumps are expensive, $275 for a Hill, compressors are even more and the wait can be a pain in the ass. With a regulated gun like the bejamins or some of the hatsan stuff or the ritzy English guns you can get decent energy to hunt and still get about 40-60 shots. They're cost effective to shoot, and give trigger time when you can't make it to the range and if you like to hunt squirrels and rabbits in somewhat urban environments they are legal to shoot in your back yard and carry less energy than an errant rimfire round. Most of the "moderated" airguns are quiet enough that you hear more sound from the pellet tearing through the target than from the muzzle. They're also great for rats and pigeons inside of barns. I have enjoyed mine since I can spend time shooting while my young kids sleep without the long drive to the range and I can rid my house of chipmonks. Good for teaching kids and wives who hate recoil and pressure waves. Would recommend a .25 for hunting medium game, FX and a few others make guns that you can swap out air tanks with so you don't have to pump up so much they are a bit spendy though, you could have a Bergara HMR for about the same money. A used Benjamin marauder in .25 Cal has a lot of things going for it if you're willing to spend $400 on something the atf doesn't even look at.
That said, if you live in the country, a long barreled .22 with shorts is a much cheaper set up or you can probably buy a Savage mk2 fvsr used and a suppressor for less than you will have in the air rifle and pump.
That said, if you live in the country, a long barreled .22 with shorts is a much cheaper set up or you can probably buy a Savage mk2 fvsr used and a suppressor for less than you will have in the air rifle and pump.
I have a RWS and its hell for squirrels, crows, rabbits and wood chucks w head shots. Backyard fun...
I believe my brother in law has a marauder. I can’t remember if his is a .22 or .25. But he really seems to like it. Says he can consistently hit a baseball sized target at 100. Not super impressive, but for an air rifle I think that’s pretty good.
I was seriously looking at the 45 or larger air guns for deer hunting. Though after talking with local DNR they explained that it wouldn't be legal. What is typical in other states, is that you can use them during muzzle loader season.
Have taken plenty of critters, from mice to fox with my day state mk4 in .22 cal. Was able to consistently put all pellets within a single ragged hole at 100 yards. Though at $2k for an airgun it had better shoot that well. I am honestly pissed I sold that rifle. Today's PCP rifles are nothing like the bb guns of yesteryear.
The quackenbush line of rifles have always been quite appealing. The AirForce line of rifles also has some potential as well.
Have taken plenty of critters, from mice to fox with my day state mk4 in .22 cal. Was able to consistently put all pellets within a single ragged hole at 100 yards. Though at $2k for an airgun it had better shoot that well. I am honestly pissed I sold that rifle. Today's PCP rifles are nothing like the bb guns of yesteryear.
The quackenbush line of rifles have always been quite appealing. The AirForce line of rifles also has some potential as well.
As far as kids go, I have always thought that the Benjamin 392 multi-pump pneumatics would make a good starting tool for kids. They're a decent quality rebuildable rifle, air generation is on board, there are trigger improvements and moderators available and the power would be somewhat determined by how strong your kids are. Starting out, most kids might get 3-4 pumps in and as they grow they can put more in so the power kinda develops with the responsibility. Shooting an older model 342 as a kid I remember that the time it took to put in those eight pumps made me focus a lot on each shot going where I wanted it to and making clean kills on small game animals. Even though these multi pumps cost about $175 on sale, they are much higher quality than the Daisy bb/pellet combos and they can be repaired, a good Sheridan or Benjamin multi-pump will last a kid well into adulthood if cared for and you can get a lot of rabbits and squirrels for the pot for almost no money in ammo. As with everything, shot placement is key.
For PCPs, the manual pumps are going to limit small kids from shooting much when you're not around because they physically don't weigh enough to achieve 3-4000 psi. There are a few guys in the rimfire section that take air rifles out to 200 yards with .25 Cal slugs, and a guy with an aorforce Texan that shoots rats at night with night vision, they have a lot of uses. you might check on some of those threads.
For PCPs, the manual pumps are going to limit small kids from shooting much when you're not around because they physically don't weigh enough to achieve 3-4000 psi. There are a few guys in the rimfire section that take air rifles out to 200 yards with .25 Cal slugs, and a guy with an aorforce Texan that shoots rats at night with night vision, they have a lot of uses. you might check on some of those threads.
