After answering someone on a rimfire board seeking airgun advice it dawned on me that my reply might serve to answer similar needs here. So below is 'Airgunning 101'. Tom
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Plinking pest birds like Starlings off of your birdfeeder is one thing; Fox Squirrels and groundhogs are something else entirely. In an urban environment anything that will take the latter down instantly will need to be suppressed to not attract unwanted attention whether it is an airgun or a firearm. To date airguns can be moderated with impunity, but to think that status quo will continue indefinitely would be disengenuous.
In practical terms unless you're willing to spend enough for a nice Kimber for a moderated precharged pnuematic with associated charging equipment then about the most useful thing would be one of the earlier Sheridan 'rocker safety' models built before Crosman bought Benjamin/Sheridan. Their quality, accuracy and usefulness hasn't gone unrecognized however and you can expect to pay, on average, between $100 & $150 for a good one. Still a bargain! With one of the Williams peep sights made for them and the pellet they like they are entirely practical hunting weapons for small game inside of airgun range. For most shooters that's @ 30-35 yard. The kill zone on most small game is @ 1" in size so practical hunting range is the distance that YOU and the gun can make that shot EVERY time. Sure---you'll hear tales on the internet of feats of marksmanship that verge on miraculous. And while some may be true they don't reflect day to day reality.
Scopes are an abomination on a multi-pump pnuematic! Nor are they needed inside the practical hunting range discussed above. At those distances a good peep is more than adequate and once set never needs to be readjusted. Unlike a scope which begs to be used as a handhold when pumping.
If you decide on a spring powered airgun do yourself a giant favor and avoid guns made in Spain, Turkey, Pakistan and anywhere on the Pacific Rim. Their reputation for inaccuracy and QC problems came about by no accident. Current 'wisdom' says that they're much better these days. Good. But rather than gamble on current 'wisdom' buy a German built Weirauch or Diana product or a British built BSA or Webley. And be aware that not all current Webleys or BSAs are built in Britain. RWS is the importer of Dianas in this country and at one time you could be assured that a gun bought from them was a German manufactured Diana. No more! They now sell guns sourced from everywhere. Much the same scenario exists in the case of Beeman. Once a name that was a virtual guarantee of the very highest quality the name has been prostituted by Marksman who bought them when Dr. Beeman and his wife retired.
Whatever you do don't fall for the hype of high velocities! Testing many guns across the chronograph for many years has more than adequately revealed that in the overwhelmingly vast majority of cases that advertised velocity is just that---advertising that bears little simularity to reality. Moreover the very LAST thing you want is a pellet that is trans-sonic! The unique waisted 'shuttlecock' shape of a pellet serves to help stabilize it at the speeds at which airguns function most efficiently. But the well-known destabilization effect of trans-sonic velocity in rimfires is as nothing compared to what happens with a waisted pellet! In short it is to be avoided like the plague if you want to hit what you aim at.
Caliber? I'll put it this way and you decide. Out of identical powerplants the .22 caliber yields @ 1/3 more terminal energy on target than does a .177. Considering the extremely limited power available which would you choose for lethality?
I could go on indefinitely because I've been hunting, repairing, tinkering, redesigning and experimenting with airguns for almost 65 years at this point. I've made ALL of the mistakes---a lot more than once. So I have 'opinions'. Respectfully, Tom @ Buzzard Bluff
***************************************************************
Plinking pest birds like Starlings off of your birdfeeder is one thing; Fox Squirrels and groundhogs are something else entirely. In an urban environment anything that will take the latter down instantly will need to be suppressed to not attract unwanted attention whether it is an airgun or a firearm. To date airguns can be moderated with impunity, but to think that status quo will continue indefinitely would be disengenuous.
In practical terms unless you're willing to spend enough for a nice Kimber for a moderated precharged pnuematic with associated charging equipment then about the most useful thing would be one of the earlier Sheridan 'rocker safety' models built before Crosman bought Benjamin/Sheridan. Their quality, accuracy and usefulness hasn't gone unrecognized however and you can expect to pay, on average, between $100 & $150 for a good one. Still a bargain! With one of the Williams peep sights made for them and the pellet they like they are entirely practical hunting weapons for small game inside of airgun range. For most shooters that's @ 30-35 yard. The kill zone on most small game is @ 1" in size so practical hunting range is the distance that YOU and the gun can make that shot EVERY time. Sure---you'll hear tales on the internet of feats of marksmanship that verge on miraculous. And while some may be true they don't reflect day to day reality.
Scopes are an abomination on a multi-pump pnuematic! Nor are they needed inside the practical hunting range discussed above. At those distances a good peep is more than adequate and once set never needs to be readjusted. Unlike a scope which begs to be used as a handhold when pumping.
If you decide on a spring powered airgun do yourself a giant favor and avoid guns made in Spain, Turkey, Pakistan and anywhere on the Pacific Rim. Their reputation for inaccuracy and QC problems came about by no accident. Current 'wisdom' says that they're much better these days. Good. But rather than gamble on current 'wisdom' buy a German built Weirauch or Diana product or a British built BSA or Webley. And be aware that not all current Webleys or BSAs are built in Britain. RWS is the importer of Dianas in this country and at one time you could be assured that a gun bought from them was a German manufactured Diana. No more! They now sell guns sourced from everywhere. Much the same scenario exists in the case of Beeman. Once a name that was a virtual guarantee of the very highest quality the name has been prostituted by Marksman who bought them when Dr. Beeman and his wife retired.
Whatever you do don't fall for the hype of high velocities! Testing many guns across the chronograph for many years has more than adequately revealed that in the overwhelmingly vast majority of cases that advertised velocity is just that---advertising that bears little simularity to reality. Moreover the very LAST thing you want is a pellet that is trans-sonic! The unique waisted 'shuttlecock' shape of a pellet serves to help stabilize it at the speeds at which airguns function most efficiently. But the well-known destabilization effect of trans-sonic velocity in rimfires is as nothing compared to what happens with a waisted pellet! In short it is to be avoided like the plague if you want to hit what you aim at.
Caliber? I'll put it this way and you decide. Out of identical powerplants the .22 caliber yields @ 1/3 more terminal energy on target than does a .177. Considering the extremely limited power available which would you choose for lethality?
I could go on indefinitely because I've been hunting, repairing, tinkering, redesigning and experimenting with airguns for almost 65 years at this point. I've made ALL of the mistakes---a lot more than once. So I have 'opinions'. Respectfully, Tom @ Buzzard Bluff
