16 replies to this topic

[Kevin G]

Hello CPC folks,Well . . . it would seem that Mr. Squirrel is up to his old tricks again.Digging and rooting through my wife’s bulbs.My wife is a horticulturist by training and by nature. Having her bulbs scattered about and munched isn’t sitting well with her. Also, Mr. Squirrel tends to root through just about all of her pots (she has a zillion of ‘em), killing and uprooting things that (for the most part) she has germinated from seed.Mr. Squirrel is VERY fond of ripping up her Bonsai trees. Not good . . . (WAaaAAAAAAaaaaAAAAy NOT GOOD).SoooOOOooooo . . . I am in the market for an air rifle. Most likely a .17 cal is on the ticket, though there is nothing wrong with .22 cal. I am just thinking the .17 cal is faster and perhaps quieter. My house is in the city and I have to be somewhat stealthy about this. The Gamo line looks pretty good and I thought I would ask you folks about your experience with Air Rifles and Air Rifle scopes.I don’t think I want a rifle with an on-board compressed air supply, more of a break action/pump. A “Hunter” configuration is what I am thinking, rather than a “Competition” rifle. If you folks could share your thoughts and experiences with Air Rifles and Scopes, I would be (so would my wife) in you debt.Thank you for your considered thoughts and responses . . . and a Happy Thanksgiving as well.Kevin G.

[ShooterJohn]

Hey Kevin nice to hear from you. First thing is .177 being faster is true per weight of pellet. But the faster you go the louder you get as the pellet goes super sonic. So .20 or even .22 caliber and a heavier pellet are quieter as they keep the speed down. Plus you get more foot pounds energy with the bigger pellets. You would think faster is better but it has the bad trait of going right through your intended target. As for PCP with on board air or a break action springer I shoot both. A Gamo would be fine if that's about all you want to do with it is take the occasional pest at relatively short range. PCP's are not just competition shooting airguns. In fact because of their extreme accuracy and most being very quiet they are excellent hunting and plinking guns. Read through our airgun section and see some of the different one available. The NEW Benjamin Discovery with a hand pump is a very nice and accurate airgun and almost cheap too. If you have any other questions post them and we'll try to get them answered for you.

[mackeralboy]

OK to get an idea of what will meet your needs let me ask you a few questions.1. How far of a shot are we talking about 5, 25, 50 yards?2. How much are you willing to spend?3. Are you concerned about noise and neighbors?once I know these I can help you shopping.

[ShooterJohn]

Good list there Mike!

[ratassassin]

How about a Beeman R9 Double Gold combo in .177? That would take care of Mr. Squirrel, fire subsonic pellets and give you range out to 50 yards. Beeman Field Target Special (FTS) 8.9 gr or JSB Exact 8.4 gr would be very accurate and have decent knock down power, too. I'm sort of jonesing for an R9. It's a great all around hunting and plinking rifle with a terrific trigger. But I suspect the next rifle I buy will be a .243 or .270 sporter because I've already got sufficient air rifles for my needs and want a decent deer rifle. RA

[Kevin G]

Hello folks!Thanks for the greeting John! When Tuna season rolls around I tend to disappear offshore, to be seen only infrequently. (smirk) The truth be told, I did make it out to the Chabot range twice in the last 6 weeks!Here is a pic of Empty Pockets from last weekend . . . we were off to Point Sur to catch our limits of Rock Fish.Nice Vermillion . . . Roberts 12 – 13 pound Ling!Anyway . . . back to things that go “Boom” . . .Quiet is the name of the game here and I surely don’t want to pass through Mr. Squirrel and into my neighbors window or what ever . . . no joy.Mackeralboy,1. I will guess my shot will not be more than 25 yards. That being said, it would be good to be able to shoot accurately out to 50 yards if (and when) I get back to Ceaderville to send more GS-Units to the ‘great pasture in the sky’.2. I don’t want to spend and arm and a leg . . . but I am VERY clear on the concept that you get what you pay for. To throw out a figure . . . ehhhhh 300.00 – 400.00? Scope included (if I can). I have not done much research and as such, my $$ response above could be modified, dependent or the rifle/scope package in question.3. Yes, noise is a concern . . . that being said: I used to shoot competitively . . . I will only need one shot. Accuracy is CRITICAL, as is a good trigger. Inaccurate firearms bore me and I tend to sell them in short order.Ratassassin,Go for the .243. With the 100 grain loads, you can drop a Deer dirt-dead AND with the Hornady 55 grain loads . . . drop a ‘Yote dirt-dead just as well. Your POI is different and you will need to sight in dependent on which load you use. My son hunts Deer and ‘Yotes with a Savage .243. Great all-around caliber.Thanks folks, I look forward to your responses after I have provided more info!Kevin G.PS . . . I didn’t know we had an airgun forum . . . (I need to get out more often! LMAO)

[acousticmood]

Hello folks! Accuracy is CRITICAL, as is a good trigger.

Check out the R-9 - it can be had for less than $400 then add a scope or the Goldfinger to include a scope and muzzle break.Best trigger in a springer and its adjustable.In fact I've got an R9 in .20 that is less than 5 mos old I wouldn't mind selling - I want to invest in a PCP.So ignore the plug - its still a great springer.btw - nice looking fish - George

[ratassassin]

Go for the .243. With the 100 grain loads, you can drop a Deer dirt-dead AND with the Hornady 55 grain loads . . . drop a ‘Yote dirt-dead just as well. Your POI is different and you will need to sight in dependent on which load you use. My son hunts Deer and ‘Yotes with a Savage .243. Great all-around caliber.

Thanks for the advice. I'm seriously considering it. Can you recommend a good non-lead 100+ grain .243 Win. ammunition that's certified to be compliant with the Condor Protection Act? I'd be hunting in the buzzard zone. I don't have any reloading equipment so I'd need to buy off the shelf ammo. From what I've seen though, there doesn't seem to be any cost advantage to shooting .243 Win. instead of .270 Win. It's all about a buck a round or worse. Does that sound right?RA

[Stan]

If you have people within 50 feet like we do air rifle is a No the alternative is a Havahart trap and a trashcan full of water No nosey neighbors’ to call the LEO’s as the only thing they will hear is the trap closing! http://www.havahart....imal-traps/1083PS Nice Boat and Fish!!

[Kevin G]

Good morning folks,Ahhhh . . . the coffee is kick'n in.Thank you for the responses guys . . . good info.MAN! I had no clue at all that Air Rifles were so expensive! Shoot-howdy . . . I can buy a centerfire for that much $$.Then again . . . you get what you pay for. Point taken.George,What configuration is your Beeman R-9? Is is scoped?RA,Wow . . . you got me there.I would have some concerns hunting Deer with a solid pill. Deer are 'soft' targets and you will simply punch through the Deer with a solid. No real chance in expanding. That being said, if the wound channel goes through the lung/heart . . . you will drop the Deer after it runs a short bit. Hit it in the gut and it will run for a while and there is a better than good chance you will have a tough time finding it. From what I have seen (and I am by NO means the end all and be all), most of the solids are in the heavier 180+ grain pills. The Trophy Bear Claw *I* think is lead free . . . not sure . . . there could be lead in the base. It is pre-segmented and designed to open on impact. I don't believe they are loaded in the .243's pill weights. I could be wrong as I have not looked into a pill configuration in that weight/caliber.Barnes makes a bunch of solids . . . most of which (I think) are too heavy for the .243 or .270 for that matter.My only thought is to surf the OTS ammo manufacturers and see what offerings they have in the caliber you select. Again . . . the .243 is very good choice, owing to the ammo weights and configurations that are out in an OTS purchase.I am impressed with the flexibility of the .243 to hunt both Deer and 'Yotes. I don't believe you have that option with the .270.Stan,Dang . . . I HATE it when people make sense. STOP THAT! (smirk)Lemmeseehere . . . $ 40.00 . . . no sound . . . trashcan. Where is the 'sport'? Thanks for the compliment. I might splash EP tomorrow and head offshore for some Squid and then down to Point Sur for the last Rock Cod trip of the season. It ends tomorrow . . . gotta check NOAA and see what the forecast is all about.Kevin G.

[acousticmood]

Hi Kevin,My R-9 is not scoped - just iron sights for a more sporting expereince LOL.Talk about the prices of air guns you are right on. The PCP I'm eyeing is over $900.If you don't have any expereince with springers you might want to do a little research. THey have a slight recoil and are sensitive to where you hold them. You can't squeeze the forend but you cradle it instead.The R-9 and its scoped version the R-9 Gold are probably the best value for springers.The Discovery PCP is an incredible value too but I hear its a bit noisy.Here's a good site to check out to get a good perspective of what its all about:http://www.straightshooters.com/oh - btw - the pellet rifles are thus far exempt from the lead ban and can be available for just about any game.Here's another site: http://www.bigboreairguns.com/Or you could save yourself thousands of dollars and not get hooked - just go to big 5 and get whatever they have for $100.00.Good luck!

[acousticmood]

Check this out:http://www.network54.com/Forum/79574/There are a couple of decent R-9 for sale right now scoped for less than $400.Good luck!

[mackeralboy]

Kevin,Nice looking Parker. Wouldn't mind haveing one of those myself. With regard to airguns, heres my advice. First off my experience with squirrels is they are tough little mothers. They are harder to kill that a rabbit. So caliber wise I wouldn't recommend anything less than .20cal and perferably .22cal. as there is a wider variety of ammo to choose from. You sound like you want a quality good shooting gun. I do not own nor have shot a Beeman R9 but they have a great reputation for quality and good accuracy. straitshooters.com is selling them for $395.95 unless you can get it cheaper from from acusticmood. I think you can only get the R9 brand new in .177 or .20 cal these days. I don't know how loud they are stock, but there are a few people out there who can either sell you or install a muzzle attachment that can reduce the sound of the shot. For any shots out to 25 yards or more, and the size of a squirrel, your deffinately going to need scope, so factor that into your cost. A good scope for the money that has a lot of bells and whistles is a Leapers 3-9x40 with a mil dot reticle. You can pick one up from cheaperthandirt.com for about $54.00. add in some rings with that for about another $20.00.Now if you willing to spend some a few more $$$$ and get a rifle that is accurate as hell and will probably meet all of your air rifle needs for years to come, take a look at the Air Arms TX-200. It is an underlever spring gun so the barrel stays fixed making it inherently more accurate. It has a built in barrel shroud that helps make it about half as loud. It has the same great trigger that the R9 is known for, and it comes tuned from the factory so it smooooooth as silk. I can't say enough about the accuracy of this gun, but i will tell you that it is the gun of choice amongst those that shoot field target compititions with a spring powered airgun. The ouch part is that it sells for $559.00 at straitshooters.com. One other option and it's a bit of a unknown is the BAM XS-B-40. It is basically a Chinese clone of the TX-200, and I would have to guess that it isn't exactly on par with the TX-200. Having said that, I have read some reviews on it that said it was a great gun and a close 2nd to the TX-200. You can buy one from bestairgun.stores.yahoo.net for $254.95Hope that helps outMc

[Mike17670]

I own a Beeman R9 with a Hawk 4-12 power scope in .177. I got mine at Predator's Archery in Gilroy, CA. for a really fair price. I routinely shoot paintballs at 50yards off a rest. The Hawk scope I got from Straight Shooters and found a zero of 30 yards , the mil. dot hit 41, 51, 61, and the top of the bottom post 64 yards. That's using JSB Heavy 10.2 gns.The Rekord trigger makes the R9 a real nice "working" gun to shoot. You won't be disappointed.Have fun,Mike 17670

[Beretta]

Enjoy story and Pics!!!!!!!!

[BowhunterGonzo]

<----maybe this cheap wad can help. i recently got the beeman dual cal Rs1. you can't beat it for the money. just make sure you set it up carefully, the first one i got i had to take back. i know my gun with the stock scope is accurate up to 65 yards. (i've dropped a few crows already) one thing i like about it is that it comes with both cal.s you get a 177 and a 22 for 169 on sale at big 5. down side is when you swap barrels you need to re sight your scope. up side is my buddy has this gun and hes taken it out to the Kern where a few TS soldiers were sniped as they made a raid for the cooler. the !77 is plenty for squirrels, but if you want pay back for the wife's garden load up the .22 my gun is set up and i really happy with it. now that i'm shooting that as much as my bow though im really thinking about a PCP. but if i'm going to spend that much money on a pcp i think i might get stevens 300 .223 first

[Locnload]

Barnes makes a .243 in 85 grs., with close to 100 percent weight retention.