Had cause to shoot at a critter the other day and was amused/disappointed to hear the pathetic efforts of my Daisy Grizzy BB gun as it flung a bb at it. "Never again". I went in search of a better air gun, and came across GAMO, and like their products, especially this one: http://www.gamousa.com/product.aspx?product=ACCU177&productID=572 Are there any members here into Air Guns? Are there any other brands I should consider? Looking for accuracy and power in a pump gun.
I've built two. One long ago from a completed upper Bushmaster parts kit (the trigger was never any good). And the last one just this year from scratch with an Aero Upper and various other parts. Spent about $1,000 for the whole thing including a Chinese ret dot. Best rifles will be Lewis Machine Tool, Bravo Co., Noveski, and other top $$$. I think for about $1,500, a Daniel Defense rifle is a good bet. I also think the prices are going down.
Go to the Beeman site. They have a wide variety from moderate to super expensive. I've got a FWB 124 that will easily penetrate a 2x4 or a squirrel.
What kind of critters? I use this http://www.cabelas.com/product/UMAREX-FORCE-X-COMBO/1841614.uts It is just a decent, cheap gun. But, it is no good for coons or ground hogs. It is good for squirrels or rabbits. I did kill 1 ground hog with it, but it took a ton of pellets to kill it, actually it took a ton to disable it, then I killed it up close with 2 pellets to the brain. I can't shoot .22's in my yard with the rifle or would use it. I take trapped coons in the garage to dispose of them to keep nosy neighbors problems to a minimum. Coons are tough as hell to kill. I trap em, sometimes 3 coons in a night and it always takes a few .22 LR's to kill them. At least kill them somewhat quick unless you want to wait a few minutes while they kick, twist and bounce around and bleed to death in the cage. Sometimes the coons rip a hole in the welded wire cage 3 or 4 inches wide. Given enough time and teeth I guess they would rip the metal cage apart. I give them 1 .22 in the head, 1 in the body and another 1 in the head and they are still going. We can be glad politicians are not coons...did I say coons are tough as hell? The Brits are big on air rifles...that is all they are allowed in the UK. If Hil had got in no doubt we would had to be big on air rifles as well.
I recently bought a Benjamin marauder .25 PCP. Hits hard. Hits pennies at 22 yards with zero effort. I've piled up ground squirrels at over 80 yards. Very quiet too.
Yep, coons are tough unless you marinate and cook for a long time at low moist heat. A .22 to the base of the brain kill 'em about instantly.
Looks like a good choice. Here's a YouTube video on it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imEI0JSF854 I'm thinking you must live in a city or town where you can't discharge a firearm at nuisance critters. If not, I'd suggest a .22 LR.
I have a .177 Beeman long barrel hard gun Air. This is one in a cache of real and air weapons given to me by a relative over the last several years. This Beeman was made in GERMANY in the 1950's and I was given the original case, box and product description booklet. It was the elderly cousin told me it was last used in the early to mid 1960,s and it was nicely oiled wrapped in a chamois cloth just as were all the other older guns I was given. It has an 8 inch barrel and a scope which I adjusted zoned in and it hits within 1/4 in pattern sometimes one in 3/8 at 25 feet. I have a long basement with concrete walks where I set up a range. I live in a Condo and have a neiigbhir who feeds squirrels and birds year round. I gave woods in the back and a basement window with a nice view to where the peckersheads are feeding. I use Crosman destroyer pellets and if I hit one of them in the neck or vertebrae it can go down and be imboblized for anther application of lead. My neighbor came back early one day and saw a squirrel thatvI convinced to commit suicide so she asked me what happened. I shrugged my shoulders and gave a sad concerned look. The neighbor goes away fir about a month a couple three times a year so I can work on trying to take down a pest in one shot when she is away. Hey I tried!
Although cool, I'm talking about .177 pellet guns. - - - Updated - - - I hadn't heard that name in a long time, forgot all about them. Thanks!
Squirrel. I remember seeing some videos on YouTube of the Brits using air guns to kill rats, racking up considerable numbers. Wonder if I could find out what's hot over there, would be cool to have something no one else around here has.
I have a large collection amassed over 45 years the simplest and most reliable are "springers" which normally use a barrel to co ck the airgun. There are no valves to break, the guns are generally very accurate. They do recoil. The best brand imho is the German Weirauch -often sold as Beeman. Their REKORD trigger is the finest on the market. Other good brands include DIANA and WEBLEY. GAMO aren't bad but they are sort of entry level. the next are single stroke or multi stroke Pneumatics. the variable power angle is a benefit and a curse-a curse because they are inconsistent. The advantages are no recoil but they have valves. CO2 guns work like Pneumatics without the effort but are more expensive to operate since you have to buy CO2 cartridges or fill canonisters the state of the ART are Pre-charged pneumatics and the best brands are FX, AIR ARMS and a few others. You need a scuba tank a place to fill it or an expensive (200+) bicycle type pump to charge them. My son has a state of the art FX and a compressor unit to fill it but we are talking an investment of 3000 dollars for the money a springer is your best buy and I have one that I got at age 13-44 years later and over 50,000 pellets it still works fine
Yup, no shooting allowed. :/ Watching the video you posted prompted me to look up the ACCU177 and while it's cool and all, loading it is a PITA. Deal killer for me. I have a few .22's laying around, if only I could, I sure would. - - - Updated - - - Definitely will be checking Beeman out.
Thinking about this one, in maybe a larger caliber than .177. Any opinions on it's gas piston? Claim is they last longer than springs, any truth to that? Can only imagine how hard a .30 pellet hits. Hatsan Mod 135 Vortex QE http://www.airgundepot.com/hatsan-135-air-rifle-vortex-piston-qe.html Still considering a couple spring guns, both by Webley and Scott: The Rebel has a carbine element/aspect and can easily be fed through the lattice to get a bead on the varmint. http://webleyandscott.com/shop/proddetail-airguns-prod=WRREB22FAC.php.html Or the Tomahawk, A beautiful rifle. Sophistication through simplicity. Utilitarian, yet more sculpture. Has a little more than 3x the velocity than the current pellet gun I have now so it represents a significant increase in performance for me. http://webleyandscott.com/shop/proddetail-airguns-prod=WRTOM177FAC.php.html
I have the original theoben. a bit rusty-junior left it in the basement for a couple years and I have the Beeman that using an air piston that you can adjust with a pump. advantages-you can leave them coc k ed longer we have a tomahawk-great gun, a bit stiff to co ck
I am usually super busy at work, and during a break I glanced at the post and thought he said AR rifles instead of AIR rifles.
If you want to hunt large game, look at Quackenbush..... I've bagged a half dozen hogs and one deer with mine....Effective range is only about 50 yards though, makes for a challenging hunt.