Expo airgunners?

[EMrider]

I've hunted and target shot all of my life. Combining the shooting sports with camping and exploring always makes for a great outing with my family and friends.

Over the past few years I have gravitated to air guns and found them to be a great match with my shooting, hunting and general outdoor needs. Airguns are remarkably accurate out to 50 yards, backyard quiet (some, but not all), dirt cheap to shoot, very convenient and safe compared with firearms. After some trial and error, I have settled on two .177 Beeman R7s as my ideal airguns. These guns have given my kids and I dozens and dozens of hours of plinking and target shooting fun over the past few years. We have easily put 30,000 pellets through the guns. Far more than all ammo through our firearms combined over the prior decade. I do not hunt often, but would be comfortable hunting birds and small game inside of 40 yards with the R7. They shoot with a muzzle energy of about 7ft/lbs (8.4gr @ 610fps).

All things equal, I would like to shoot the 22s, 9mm or .357 a lot more often. But things are never equal and the time requirements and logistics of shooting are what steered me towards airguns in the first place.

Not interested in trying to argue that airguns are "better". To each his or her own and all of our shooting needs and interests vary.

I would suggest, however, that airguns merit a serious look if you are an Expo type who enjoys plinking, target shooting or small game hunting.

Have any others given airguns a try?

FWIW, I am a dedicated spring powered airgun fan and favor the Weihrauch HW and Beeman R series. Not cheap, but the build quality is incredible.

R

 

[Wildcat]

I love airguns. My currents are a 1322 carbine and a techforce tf99 carbine. I prefer .22 myself. Both of these rifles are backyard friendly. Kids and i will sit on back porch and shoot till we get tired of pumping. Tons of fun. In the past when i was super serious about shooting them i had 3 pcp's in .22. A BSA Sportsman and 2 Benji Marauders. One in .22 and a .25. They were fun to shoot and quiet for the power levels. I sold the .25 cuz it was too much gun. It would blow thru a 3/4" plywood at 50 yards.

Wish i had more time to shoot. Guess i will have to get them out in the morning. $10 for 500 pellets sure makes it easy on the wallet.

Do you visit the yellow forums?

This is my 1377 that i converted to .22. It has an aftermarket piston, metal breech, lead dust collector, trigger work, valve work, etc.

 

[EMrider]

I love airguns. My currents are a 1322 carbine and a techforce tf99 carbine. I prefer .22 myself. Both of these rifles are backyard friendly. Kids and i will sit on back porch and shoot till we get tired of pumping. Tons of fun. In the past when i was super serious about shooting them i had 3 pcp's in .22. A BSA Sportsman and 2 Benji Marauders. One in .22 and a .25. They were fun to shoot and quiet for the power levels. I sold the .25 cuz it was too much gun. It would blow thru a 3/4" plywood at 50 yards.

Wish i had more time to shoot. Guess i will have to get them out in the morning. $10 for 500 pellets sure makes it easy on the wallet.

Do you visit the yellow forums?

This is my 1377 that i converted to .22. It has an aftermarket piston, metal breech, lead dust collector, trigger work, valve work, etc.

That looks like it would be easy and a lot of fun to shoot. The 1377 is a classic. I think they have been around for 25+ years. I did not know that they could be modified as much as you have done to yours. What kind of muzzle energy does it produce?

Two weeks ago I bought my first pumper. A Crosman 2100. I shot the same gun as a kid 30 years ago. My 9 year old has a hard time cocking the R7, but can pretty easily shoot the 2100. To my surprise, the quality and accuracy on this $60 gun are excellent. It is an incredible value and great fun to shoot.

I have a 25 yard range in the backyard and we have been shooting daily since the 2100 arrived. With 3 pumps it shoots at 385-390fps and is very very quiet. Perfect for plinking. We have probably burned a full tin of pellets in the past week. But as you say, who cares at just $10 for a tin of 500?

I do visit the yellow forum occasionally. Lots of good info there. But the majority of contributors there seem to be higher power PCP owners. I may try a PCP someday, but right now I like (and need) the simplicity and reliability of a good springer or pump gun. Just grab some pellets and shoot without any constraints.

Hope you can get in some shooting with your kids in the near future.

R

 

[luk4mud]

I have replaced many side mirrors on my (now sold) cruiser from air soft wars in the desert. My kids equate offroad trips with air soft wars.

 

[JWP58]

I'd like to have a nice PCP (Daystate, FX, ect), but I spend my toy money on other stuff it seems.

 

[1911]

Which air rifle(s) do you guys think would be a good choice for shooting squirrels? Noise and neighbors not a problem (I'm using a 10/22 or a .410 shotgun currently).

 

[EMrider]

Which air rifle(s) do you guys think would be a good choice for shooting squirrels? Noise and neighbors not a problem (I'm using a 10/22 or a .410 shotgun currently).

I'd suggest a Beeman R9.

I know of several professional farm pest removal experts (yes, I was surprised such a profession even existed too) who have taken thousands of ground squirrels with the Beeman R9.

A few caveats are that I prefer to be 100% self sufficient and not reliant on an external air supply.....so that rules out PCPs. Also, that shooting ranges are 75 yards or less, aka, reasonable for airguns.

The Beeman R9 is a German made legendary spring gun and available in .177, .20 and .22 (made by Weihrauch). With different springs, it can be setup to shoot anywhere from 8fpe up to 16fpe. My own preference for any sort of 35-50 yard small game or pest removal would be about 12fpe.

They are readily available new for about $450 and used for between $200-$400, depending on any mods. Many R9 owners have had their guns and shot regularly for 20 or more years with virtually zero trouble and zero maintenance.

http://www.airguns.net/reviews_r9.php

http://verminator.typepad.com/blog/2011/07/meet-my-twin-girls-goldie-and-brownie.html

http://www.airgunadvice.net/viewtopic.php?t=15303&sid=163bbcb2b27c2c8091d0a53a93d1272d

Good luck.

R

 

[1911]

I'd suggest a Beeman R9.

I know of several professional farm pest removal experts (yes, I was surprised such a profession even existed too) who have taken thousands of ground squirrels with the Beeman R9.

A few caveats are that I prefer to be 100% self sufficient and not reliant on an external air supply.....so that rules out PCPs. Also, that shooting ranges are 75 yards or less, aka, reasonable for airguns.

The Beeman R9 is a German made legendary spring gun and available in .177, .20 and .22 (made by Weihrauch). With different springs, it can be setup to shoot anywhere from 8fpe up to 16fpe. My own preference for any sort of 35-50 yard small game or pest removal would be about 12fpe.

They are readily available new for about $450 and used for between $200-$400, depending on any mods. Many R9 owners have had their guns and shot regularly for 20 or more years with virtually zero trouble and zero maintenance.

http://www.airguns.net/reviews_r9.php

http://verminator.typepad.com/blog/2011/07/meet-my-twin-girls-goldie-and-brownie.html

http://www.airgunadvice.net/viewtopic.php?t=15303&sid=163bbcb2b27c2c8091d0a53a93d1272d

Good luck.

R

Thanks for the recommendation and info! Shots are always less than 75 yards; I have a lot of trees so most shots are 25 yards or less. I will look into the R9 for sure.

 

[EMrider]

Thanks for the recommendation and info! Shots are always less than 75 yards; I have a lot of trees so most shots are 25 yards or less. I will look into the R9 for sure.

Ideal hunting range for an R9 is probably between 10 and 25 yards.

I have read about some experienced R9 hunters shooting 12-14fpe (.177 or .20 cal) who zero their scopes for 10 yards. With a 10 yard zero, they have a second zero at about 30 yards and a sub 1" kill zone from 10 to 30. That means they can hold dead on the crosshairs or only slightly above over their entire range of likely shooting distances.

Good luck.

R

 

[EMrider]

Yep airguns can be a whole lot of fun. I have a sorta decent Crossman pump that gets a fair amount of use just plinking around my property.

Back in the '80s I had a room mate that had a real nice RWS spring rifle in .177. If I remember correctly it shot close to or at 1000fps. I put a lot of rounds through that rifle. But my favorite was his BSA scorpion pistol! Around 500-600fps in .177. Also a spring gun. I loved shooting that thing. Should have bought one of my own back then. They are long out of production now.

Read up on the Lewis and Clark Expedition and see what they did with an air rifle. Amazing and 1800 technology too.

I did not know that air guns even existed in the early 1800s. Will have to Google that topic and learn a bit more, thanks.

Coincideltally, I am now reading the unedited L&C journals from their trip. Holy smokes, what an adventure. The entire log book is about 2500 pages, so I will do a search for the word 'airgun' or anything similar.

R

 

[JWP58]

Surely you guys know and follow Tedsholdover....

Love that his vids

 

[Wildcat]

teds videos are awesome. i like the slow motion of the pellet flying thru the air, the arch of the flight and then pow. pellet hits home.

if you are taking shots out to 75 yards i would recommend a PCP. more expensive but they have the ability to send a pellet that far downrange with enough power to get the job done.

 

[EMrider]

I enjoy the videos too.

Lots of good analysis and tips on how to shoot accurately.

R

 

[EMrider]

EMrider, Thanks for bringing this up. You got me thinking and inspired. I pulled the old Crossman down off it's pegs over the garage door and cleaned and oiled it. It's a long way from a Beeman or RWS but works just fine for hunting pop cans at 25-50 yards off my back deck! It will be going on my next wheeling/camping trip in a couple of weeks. Cool thing is it shoots BB's and Pellets. Camp fun doesn't get much cheaper than pop cans and BB's. I also dug out a couple of old Wrist Rocket style slingshots I haven't shot in ages. Going to have to get some new bands for those!

Good to hear.

I'm also heading up into the eastern Sierras later this week and plan to do a bunch of plinking and target shooting with my kids. Super easy with quiet airguns. A bit of a hassle to find a shooting area with the 22lr or 9mm.

I threw an old/cheap 4x scope on the Crosman pumper and have been impressed. With pellets, no target is safe. BBs are less accurate, but very easy to load.

R