Ordered an Air Rifle

NY Leatherneck

NY Leatherneck

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So not seeing an sub forum on air guns since they are considered firearms in DEC code, I figured I would post here. Been thinking to pick up a decent one for plinking and dispatching any unwelcome vermin for quite a while, I went with a Hatsan 95 gas piston, QE in 22cal. Heard good things about it. Solid wood Turkish stock and German made rifled barrel. On back order but I can wait the week until in stock. Any airgunners here? Thoughts?

stock pic
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BDSKJCHRIS

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airguns are a dangerous hobby, i had a marauder in .25 caliber that i put a $450 scope on, and about $600 in upgrades, and i fitted an airsoft aics chasis to it, ended up selling it with the pump for what i paid for the stock rifle. just make sure you stick with jsb pellets, no shitty ones. now i have an fx bobcat MKII in .25, i still miss the marauder, (was able to push an 43 grain pellet and .22lr velocities).
 
meketrefe

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A new thread that is not politics? wow !! lol

I have a Gamo 22 full power (the old style) that is 35 years old and it works like day one. It has been great to keep the back yard clean of pests.
These shoot 22 pellet supersonic so they are a lot louder but they are great to take up to small fox. They are also a lot harder to break, need some muscle,
I guess a trade off for power to shoot in places where firearms including rimfire are not allowed or too close to neighbors for confort. But they should be
treated with the same respect. Some are very powerful for being simply powered by compressed air.

If one has small kids they are a perfect way to introduce them to the shooting sports and proper handling.

With all the powerful airguns up to 50 caliber that can take on Buffalo this "hack" (open project) based on the inexpensive single shot pcps is something that really catches a lot of attention to
get a very inexpensive repeater going.

Archer has very inexpensive kits to convert these guns in bolt action repeaters and can go for up to 400 shots / per air fill with paintball cartrige and up to some very respectable 700fps
for a 5mm pellet and 650 for 22 caliber.






http://www.archerairguns.com/QB78-Re...terspecial.htm



I like this stock...



But would like one that covers the archer repeater kit ....

Scope and rings not included.
LARGER PHOTO EMAIL A FRIEND

Archer conversion...



The kit is so simple everyone should have one of these air rifles. The chipmunks are moving out !! lol

 
enigma

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That Hatsan looks nice, best of luck with it. I've got an RWS 34 and a Crossman Nitro Venom in .177. Both work great on chipmunks - we used to have an abundance of them here damaging our garden and tunneling under the lawn. I found the Crossman Premier hollow point to be an accurate pellet. You might want to try them.
 
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BDSKJCHRIS

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just another thing to note, make sure you keep your pellets flying subsonic. here's why: the shape and design of a skirted pellet as well as the twist rate of most airgun barrels are not meant for supersonic or transonic flight. basically what ends up happening is when the pellet slows down and sound catches up to the pellet, a lot of turbulence occurs and causes the pellet to do weird things like corkscrew through the air. this leads to wider groups, more "flyers", and when hunting/pesting a bad shot.

usually staying in the 980fps range and under leads to the best accuracy/consistency with air rifles.
 
togmaster

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I shoot a Beeman R9 in 20 cal. Absolutely a joy to shoot and accurate as all hell. I was able to set up a target stand/pellet trap at work and can practice up to 25 yards indoors. I'm looking to pick up a PCP sometime in the near future.
 
Criticalt

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Ive been considering an air rifle.
Can an air rifle kill a woodchuck?
We have alot of woodchucks and other critters around our farm. Usually I use my 22 to get rid of them but the rifle scares the crap out of our goats, chickens and cattle. It takes most of the day for the animals to calm down after I fire the 22.
 
meketrefe

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Try 60gr subsonic 22LR that is a lot quieter. And yes an air-rifle will pop a woodchuck or a fox but go for a full power PCP in 22 or 25 caliber with proper
pellets for hunting. Will also pop a small fox and even a coyote if you hit it in the neck or head. The main problem is getting close enough with some of those bastards. The air rifle has less range obviously. At the other hand they can be scary accurate between 25-75 yards so this allows you to place pellets right on the head given the shot. Even small birds are not hard to hit. That is how I protect my cherry trees from open buffet.
 
NY Leatherneck

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enigma said:
That Hatsan looks nice, best of luck with it. I've got an RWS 34 and a Crossman Nitro Venom in .177. Both work great on chipmunks - we used to have an abundance of them here damaging our garden and tunneling under the lawn. I found the Crossman Premier hollow point to be an accurate pellet. You might want to try them.
Click to expand...
Yeah i ordered a bunch of them. Heard good things about them.
 
Toecutter

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Criticalt said:
Ive been considering an air rifle.
Can an air rifle kill a woodchuck?
We have alot of woodchucks and other critters around our farm. Usually I use my 22 to get rid of them but the rifle scares the crap out of our goats, chickens and cattle. It takes most of the day for the animals to calm down after I fire the 22.
Click to expand...
Yes I've killed 6 woodchuck this year with a .177 air rifle. I use heavy 10.5 gr pellets head shot drops them at 30-40 feet. My air rifle is more effective then super colibri 22s.
 
Criticalt

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Toecutter said:
Yes I've killed 6 woodchuck this year with a .177 air rifle. I use heavy 10.5 gr pellets head shot drops them at 30-40 feet. My air rifle is more effective then super colibri 22s.
Click to expand...
That was another quetion, which caliber is the best for hunting woodchucks, squirrels snd such?
 
meketrefe

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Criticalt said:
That was another quetion, which caliber is the best for hunting woodchucks, squirrels snd such?
Click to expand...
I only have 17 and 22. I like the 17 for the birds and flat shooting. Even a bird you want to eat w/o destroying the meat and w/o being too large.
22 is better full power otherwise might be too slow but better for squirrels and woodchucks even small fox. I mean the 25 caliber is better but IMO it doesn't justify the extra investment and lower round count in PCP. I am not an expert on the 25 though. You even have 30 caliber now.
I think the 22 might be a good all around and you can go with light or heavy pellets too.
I would go full power though, as much as the technology, laws and budget allow you to.
The gamo I have do not make them anymore because the power/speed limitation in Europe where it is made. It is a bitch to charge.
It seems to me the archer kits might be a decent trade off for fun vs. to speed yet still effective.
I do see the appeal of something that can take both air and CO2 and even 2000 psi fills vs. the 3000 psi ones unless one dumps a huge investment.
I am no expert about airguns. I just tell you based on the limited experience I have.
 
Toecutter

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Criticalt said:
That was another quetion, which caliber is the best for hunting woodchucks, squirrels snd such?
Click to expand...
I'd say go with a .22 airgun. I have a crosman phantom .177 rated at 1000 fps . I got it in a pinch I needed to kill some stuff. if I bought another it would be a .22 test all your pellets find a good brand they can be very inconsistent in shape and weight. supersonic pellets fly like shit don't bother with them.
 
Frankly

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My own private Idaho... not enough room for firearms but perfect for airguns, 50 yards and closer. I use an HW30 break barrel and a FAS 604 pneumatic pump 10m air pistol, both low power, low speed 0.177. I have a picnic table with a few risers as my bench.

In general the air guns are quieter so your pest will calm down and return sooner. No semi-automatics (I think FX makes a few) so fast follow up shots are non-existent.

I like that Hatsan too, the Koreans (and Russians) are making some cool guns. I wish our local Crosman would step up and stop cheapening their products. There are some really nice higher end guns being made now but it gets a lot more expensive than conventional firearms really quickly so I like the self-contained springers and pump over compressors and carbon fiber air tanks....

Here's some sweet made in America stuff: https://www.rapidairweapons.com

And these are pretty awesome too: http://wickedairrifles.com
 
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Phauxtoe

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You can check out CMP I believe they have an air gun section and airguns they recommend!
 
togmaster

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meketrefe said:
A new thread that is not politics? wow !! lol

I have a Gamo 22 full power (the old style) that is 35 years old and it works like day one. It has been great to keep the back yard clean of pests.
These shoot 22 pellet supersonic so they are a lot louder but they are great to take up to small fox. They are also a lot harder to break, need some muscle,
I guess a trade off for power to shoot in places where firearms including rimfire are not allowed or too close to neighbors for confort. But they should be
treated with the same respect. Some are very powerful for being simply powered by compressed air.

If one has small kids they are a perfect way to introduce them to the shooting sports and proper handling.

With all the powerful airguns up to 50 caliber that can take on Buffalo this "hack" (open project) based on the inexpensive single shot pcps is something that really catches a lot of attention to
get a very inexpensive repeater going.

Archer has very inexpensive kits to convert these guns in bolt action repeaters and can go for up to 400 shots / per air fill with paintball cartrige and up to some very respectable 700fps
for a 5mm pellet and 650 for 22 caliber.






http://www.archerairguns.com/QB78-Re...terspecial.htm



I like this stock...



But would like one that covers the archer repeater kit ....

Scope and rings not included.
LARGER PHOTO EMAIL A FRIEND

Archer conversion...



The kit is so simple everyone should have one of these air rifles. The chipmunks are moving out !! lol

Click to expand...

Anyone have any experience with these guns? They are made in China which is not always a bad thing.
 
meketrefe

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togmaster said:
Anyone have any experience with these guns? They are made in China which is not always a bad thing.
Click to expand...
Those are the same under several brands. kind like a Chinese volkswagen. I don't have one but I have been told they are great shooters after the repeater kit
upgrade from Archer. They are really simple so no much can go wrong with them and one can shoot all weekend with one bottle.
 
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