Air Gun Hunting

[Hunter2468]

Im 15 and my dad and mom will only let me buy a air rifle for small game. The biggest game i will be hunting will be rabbit, squirrel, and maybe a skunk or two. This is what i am thinking it looks good for small game. I can get a .22 cal or i would and i have to stay under $260. Any way this is what i was thinking...

http://www.airgundepot.com/gamo-airguns-shadow-varmint-hunter.html

What do you think?

[keb2739]

Do you live in the city, or someplace where hunting is not allowed? Not looking for specifics, just wondering why your folks are limiting you to an airgun. The one you picked out will certainly take some small game, and I'd submit it will, with practice, make you a better hunter when you finally get to take to the field with a firearm. Probably want to concentrate on head shots, but I don't have much experience with airguns, other than to run an occasional cat out of the yard (not lethal, just motivating LOL).

Good luck hunter. Demonstrate to your folks that you can be safe and ethical, and hopefully we'll see you out hunting one of these days.

Happy/Safe Hunting,

Kyle

[markmazuch]

I'd go with a .177 cal. They shoot faster. I had one when I was a kid. Bagged all sorts of bunnies, birds, squirrels, cats, etc. Go with a break action if you can find one. The kind that you **** by pulling the barrel down. They are only single shot but they teach you to make it count. I guess all of em are single shots. Check out the one's Cabela's has. The one you selected is a good one too. I'd recomend staying with a .177 cal. They soot around 1200 fps as apposed to approx. 800 feet per second for the .22 cal.

[Hunter2468]

The one i listed shoots 1200(fps) so it sounds like that might be a good choice. My parents wont let me get a gun because they dont like to hunt or shoot. I love it but i never get to go, so if i get and air rifle when we go to my cabin i can shoot at small game around there.

[MOhunter]

a .22 at 1200 fps is close to a regular 22LR and that plenty for tree rat and wabbit. just make sure you can hunt what your hunting and you have the propper permits.

[Hotshot57]

i am 13 and luckily my parents support me in my hunting adventures. I think that the rifle you picked would definately be a good choice, in fact i've heard of people taking turkeys with Gamo's. You might be able to persuade your parents to allow a marlin or a savage .22LR. they do not cost as much as the gamo's and the .177 has around the same .fps as the .22LR. GOOD LUCK.

[Hunter2468]

Thanks, my parents are even second guessing the air rifle so i might get notihing at all! Thanks for the feedback though...

[Obsessed]

If you want to find a nice 22 for a good price send out a want add in the paper or some sort of free publication. I got a really nice one for $100. I can consistantly make 50 to 70 yard shots. Don't get an airgun scope for your 22. they are just not worth it. you will be siting it in every week.

[MOhunter]

you might also consider getting into air riffle or .22 match shooting. the high school class is very competitive. it's also not hunting but you can use the gun to hunt as a side effect. some places also offer scholarships for college. the cost is realy no more then other sports when you factor in gear and stuff they require. and you could be good enough to go to the olympics.

in fact i encourage all youngesters to give it a try in what every competive shooting availble in your area.

[citori]

That model would work well for small game, I have a similar Daisy (among others) for my own use. I would suggest one in the 1000 fps range as it would be more than capable for your use and a decent one can be found for nearly half as much. The laser might be a neat "doodad" but is not legal for hunting in many places, is an expensive option, and I strongly question if it can stand up to much firing of an airgun. The break opens are operated off air generated by the compression of a spring and the more powerful the gun, the stronger the spring, harder it is to ****, and greater the "recoil" of the gun. This recoil is what destroys standard rifle scopes and I'm pretty sure it will do a number shortly on the laser. Save yourself $80 and find a model without the laser. The scope is the next question mark as an air rifle generates a "reverse recoil" that is actually very destructive of normal rifle scopes. Air rifle scopes are designed to resist this force but it often isn't cheap. Again, I would skip the scope and save some money. If I really wanted one, I would buy a scope I knew was designed for air rifle use. BSA has some at a reasonable price and they can be found in the Cabela's catalog among other places. The air gun mentioned above came with one as a standard option. I would stay away from those marked "air rifle/.22 or rimfire" as they are typically not designed for air rifle use.
The .177 is enough for most of the animals you are looking at though I would use some of the specialty pellets such as the dome or pointed for hunting. these usually weigh a little more so should penetrate a bit better for better kills. For practice and targets, the standard flat nose pellets would do fine and are generally cheaper to boot. The .22 is a good gun and would be my prefernce if I needed to regularly include woodchucks into the mix. I use my air guns pretty regularly as its low noise is a very nice feature at times. It is also much cheaper to shoot than a .22 rimfire and though it can be dangerous if improperly handled and used, many do not think of them as "real" guns and have a greater tolerance towards them. This could be important as a first step to getting a "real" gun in the future.

[BushyTailSniper]

Personally It Depends On Witch Distance Your Are Shooting From If Your Shooting Up To 25 yrd i reccomend the Crosman 2250b XT (Scoped) Medium Range 25 - 40 Recommend the Benjamen 392 (Scoped ) For Long Range The Izh-baikal MP 513M (Scoped) The Link To The IZH is http://www.pyramydair.com/cgi-bin/model.pl?model_id=443 The Benjamen Is http://www.pyramydair.com/cgi-bin/model.pl?model_id=1104 And The 2250 b XT Remember for close range is http://www.pyramydair.com/cgi-bin/model.pl?model_id=366 Good Luck With The Air Guns If You HAve Any Questions Go To Pyramidair.com/blog they should be able to help you

[tuck2]

Ask around to find out if there is a 4-H shooting club in your area. The 4-H clubs were started for farm and ranch kids but now they include city kids as well. If you get in to shooting club , you can learn how to shoot better and gun safety. I have a 17 and 22 air rifle. The 17 Cal shoots the pellet out at 950 ft/sec muzzle velocity and will put a cotten tail rabbit down at out to 35 Yds with a lung heart area shot. Try various brands and weights of pellets to find out which shoots best in a air rifle . There is a lot of differences in pellets.

[airborne]

I shoot competition pellet rifle every year. I own a Gamo, Daisy, RWS and a cheap china rifle. I did not like the way the Gamo shot. The daisy does wel and my RWS just broke a main spring after just two seasons. Not common I heard but to common for me. Think about wear you would need to send it to be repaired. I called RWS and they want $120 to fix mine including shipping and handling. I can buy a new one for $189. I tore it apart myself and found the broken main spring. My point is, choose an air rifle that can be repaired. In our club, a Beeman is the most accurate. We found that speeds between 500 and 700 FPS are the best. I don't know if 500 FPS would kill small game at any distance but I would think 750 is good. The 1000FPS and above had flyer shots. This happened with several brands of rifles.
We shoot indoors at 33 feet. Good luck and think about the club shooting that was mentioned before.

[wranglerdude]

airborne, Any recommendations on an air gun to shoot sparrows in a horse barn? I need something that is accurate but slow enough not to penetrate the metal roof. I've been using a Red Ryder BB gun but it is not accurate enough. Would you go with 177 or 22? Thanks.

[Hunter2468]

definately go with a .117 cal for sparrows go under 1000fps or you will put a hole in the barn. The .22 cal has more knock down power more for like squirrel and rabbit. Are you shooting them in the air or on the ground? i Will give a couple recommendations. I have a gamo hunter 440 but it shoots to fast for the barn. For ground go with http://www.airgundepot.com/ynghuntr.html
For air go with the air rifle shot gun... http://www.airgundepot.com/gamo-viper-express-shotgun.html

[citori]

Wranglerdude,
go to the Daisy or Crossman websites and pick out a pneumatic air rifle. These require up to several pumps to achive maximum velocity and work well with fewer. This is what my Crossman 1400 is and I use it and some .177" Daisy for the very same purpose. Start with two pumps and work up from there as needed. You can place a cheap scope on these as well as the $10 EOTech type sights for better accuracy. If you get one of the .177 cal models you should use BBs as they loose velocity very quicky and are less likely to pierce your tin. Of course they will be much more likely to ricochette but a set of safety glasse will help prevent injury. BBs are also much cheaper than pellets and I like that.

[wranglerdude]

Thanks for the info. I'll check these out. The birds I'm shooting at are usually sitting on the rafters with nothing but roof behind them. Sometimes I miss so don't want to put a hole in the roof. Out barn cat comes to the sound of the BB gun being cocked and fired. She is really disappointed when there's no dead bird!

[airborne]

airborne, Any recommendations on an air gun to shoot sparrows in a horse barn? I need something that is accurate but slow enough not to penetrate the metal roof. I've been using a Red Ryder BB gun but it is not accurate enough. Would you go with 177 or 22? Thanks.

Go with the .177
Daisy makes a rifle in .177 that shoots around 650. Type in... daisy.com... and it will show what they have and the price.

I shot my RWS at 30 yards with a pointed tip at a 12 gauge metal box and it put a deep dent it it. It shoots 1000FPS. This would go through a tin roof.

500 to 650 with a blunt tip would kill birds. It doesn't take much. Daisy's cost around $119. Don't get the $89 one. It is to cheap. The ones I have (3) all shoot very accurate. As for pellets, look for ones that cost around $7 to $9. These have good round bells on the pellets. Good pellets don't leave a lot of lead residue on your fingers. Don't use the MATCH brand that Wal-Mart sells. They are cheap but junk and do not shoot well.

Scope... DO NOT put a regular rifle scope on your . The impact of the plunger taking off and the sudden stop at the end will destroy the insides. Air Rifle scopes are made to handle this forward and backwards thrust. DON'T let anyone tell you anything different. Believe me, we learned the hard way at the club.

[air gun hunter]

why dont you just get a sorta low powered air gun - my parents are the same way- and with that low powered gun show them that you can be trusted with it and once you do that they might consider you getting a 22 or something. if that doesn't work or you dont feel like doing that just try to make a deal with school grades like if i get all A's abd B's then can i have a 22- it works

[airborne]

Well you got a lot of reading out of all this. Did you get a chance to talk to your parents yet? We all hope it works out well and would like to know if you are joining a club. Keep us posted.

Good Luck

AIRBORNE

[killian]

Im 15 and my dad and mom will only let me buy a air rifle for small game. The biggest game i will be hunting will be rabbit, squirrel, and maybe a skunk or two. This is what i am thinking it looks good for small game. I can get a .22 cal or i would and i have to stay under $260. Any way this is what i was thinking...

http://www.airgundepot.com/gamo-airguns-shadow-varmint-hunter.html

What do you think?


I have a Gamo and it works well. But if you want the most bang for the buck look here- http://home.joimail.com/~sifu_mcconahy/id1.html. His PSP 392 gives over twice the power of the gamo your looking at (with real numbers not gamo's made up fps) and is easier to shoot accurately. Almost no recoil so it is easier to scope. And accurate to over 50 yards. Skyler claims to have taken jackrabbits out to 80-85 yards. What ever you get choose a airgun rated scope. A springer air rifle like your looking at will eat up a standard scope. And buy a decent one piece scope mount or you'll end up sighting the scope in too often

Killian