Best $150 air rifle?

D

Dave R

New member
Anybody shoot air rifles here?

I've got a lot big enough to shoot an air rifle, and a hankering to do it more, with spring coming on. I just may treat myself.

So who makes the best in that price range? Galco? Beeman? I hear Sheridan has lost it since they were acquired.

I'll primarily punch paper, but Magpie/crow control is possible. And I took a "Quail of opportunity" last season with my antique Czech model that probably shoots 350fps.

Would I have to spend bigger bucks to get something that will shoot 1" groups or better at 25 yards?
 
I would reccomend the hunter 440 by gamo on the website it is listed at $229.95 but i have seen it for as cheap as $129.00 it is quite accurate and at 1000 fps it is powerful. I have taken anything from mice to opossum with it in my backyard, overall a great air rifle available in .177 or .22 caliber
 
Dave R....

Do yourself a favor and look at the RWS model 34. RWS is highly regarded in the air rifle biz for building high quality, very accurate rifles. It will easily shoot under 1" at 25 yards. (more like .5" or better.) Those Germans definitely know how to make air rifles. Nice heavy feel (about 8-9 lbs.), nice walnut stock and just a good, solid, quality feel to them.
Anyway, my model 34 is in .177 caliber. (rated at 1000fps.) I have a Simmons 4x32 competition air gun scope on it with an AO. Great scope! The best pellets for mine are the heavy ones (8-10 gr.)
It will easily take squirrels, crows and other small game. In fact, I took a cottontail today from about 20 yards. No problem.
Price wise, I paid $160.00 for mine April 2000. If you are seriously looking to buy a nice high-powered air rifle, go take a look at the RWS line of rifles.

BTW, if you plan to scope your air rifle, be certain you buy a scope specifically made for air guns. If you put a regular firearm scope on it, you WILL destroy it quick. Air gun scopes are constructed differently than firearm scopes in that the glass is braced in such a way to handle the push/pull type of recoil that is unique to air guns. Just a word of caution before you mount your Leupold to your seemingly tame air rifle. :D
Try this website: http://www.airgunexpress.com/ they are great people to work with and have a nice selection of equipment.

Regards,

kgs :)
 
The RWS 24 & 24 Carbine are in your price range. Here's some links to get you started. One thing about the spring-piston guns, they're not designed be cocked for more than a few minutes, it ruins the springs, that's why they're not the best choice for a hunting airgun. A pneumatic or "air-piston" (a modification of the spring-piston design) is the way to go for a field rifle.

They're out of your price range but ya gotta check out the custom air guns from MAC1, I'd love to have one of his "Steroid Modified" BENJAMIN/SHERIDAN - a 900fps, .22cal, 14 pump pneumatic!! Pump it twice for practice in the basement, 3 times to chase away a stray dog, 6 to pop a sparrow..... well, you get the idea. Only a pneumatic gun lets you vary the power to suit your needs. The Talk Forum on Straight Shooters is pretty active.

http://www.straightshooters.com/

http://www.mac1airgun.com/steriodags.html

http://www.airgunletter.net/mfrs.html

http://sites.onlinemac.com/gunn1/alk.htm
 
I use a Gamo Hunter 890. Comes with a BSA scope and mount. 1000fps, with a real nice wood monte carlo stock and limited lifetime warranty. A real quality rifle that is darn accurate. I use it for wild chicken control and routinely get 50yd kills with this puppy....
 
looking outside the box...sm-1000

this is most likely the best bang for the buck in a serious air rifle. it is a chinese copy of the german rws with a longer barrel for less than half the price. check some of the air rifle sites for reviews.

i got mine at big5, it is imported by IAR. also known as the b-21 in .177 cal and b-22 in .22 cal. brolin arms imported the first generation gun for awhile. bunch of updates, from customer feedback in the 2nd gen.

[Edited by 9mmepiphany on 03-13-2001 at 07:04 PM]
 
dave - IAR has a website, stand by while i grab my sgn

ok - http://www.iar-arms.com
they're in san juan capistrano ca (949)443-3642

this is an old copy, 12/00, price then was $129.95, i paid $99 at big5

fyi - b21 .117 cal 950 fps; .22 cal 800fps
 
how loud are these rifles?

I have a $40 Crosman.177 air rifle that I got from the local
store. How much LOUDER would the 1000 fps air rifle be
than my cheapie air rifle?

I have neighbors who don't like me shooting crows, so I
need stealth...

Thanks in advance.
 
Most bang for the buck

The best you are going to do for a springer in that ballpark is a BSA Super Sport, .177 or .22(.22 is best in this caliber) look at Straightshooters.com for more info on all quality springers. Typical price will run $185+, which is unreal for something in this class.
 
Navaho,

I suspect any of the "magnum" air rifles are going to make more noise than what you've got, most likely in the 300-400 fps range? By comparison, the light .177 pellets make a distinct "crack" coming out of my RWS 48; the heavier 10.5 gr Crosman Premier pellets eliminate that but it still makes a noticeable noise. If you're looking for stealth, you might think about upgrading to something more like a target rifle in the 400 fps range.
 
Tom A,
Thanks for the noise comparison.

You're probably right about the 300-400 fps for my current cheapo air rifle.
-----
Unfortunately I don't think getting a target rifle with similar velocity (400 fps) will improve my crow-kill-ratio, as my main problem seems to be that they're so FAR away (the top of 150' trees, typically).

In other words, I think I _need_ 1000 fps in order to reach out and whack them. :cool: So maybe I'll just have to leave my car running when I go crow hunting, and blame the noise on the engine backfiring ;)

-----
Q#1: why are these 1000 fps rifles so heavy???

For example, the RWS clone: SM-1000, aka the B-21 at http://www.iar-arms.com) is listed as weighing --->9.9 lbs! <---- :eek:

That's not only heavier than any of my centerfire rifles, it's also heavier than the legendarily heavy M1 Garand!

What's up with that? :confused: Do they make it that heavy on purpose, or do the internals of a high quality air rifle simply weigh a ton?
-------
Q#2: some reviews of these 1000 fps air rifles talk about recoil. Recoil?!? From an air rifle? My current air rifle (300-400 fps) has none that I can perceive...

How's the recoil of a 1000 fps air rifle compare to, say a .22LR rifle, or a .223 AR-15, or a .308?

Thanks!
 
Navaho,

Roger on the distance requirement. My squirrel-control activities don't go much beyond about 30 yards. In that range the magnum rifle pellets will typically pass right through the critters; I'll try some hollow-points next time I get some.

A spring-piston rifle needs a hellacious spring inside to get the 1000 fps velocity so I suspect the design has to be beefy and heavy to take that into account (the RWS 48 requires a 30 lb pull to cock it). Because of the moving mass of the spring and piston there's a noticeable recoil, a little more than .22 LR.

I seem to recall that some of the gas guns produce magnum velocities. Recoil ought to be less. Don't know about noise. The Crosman CO2 pistol I had as a kid wasn't all that quiet.
 
Navaho, Not only do magnum spring-piston air rifles recoil.... they recoil in both directions. First they kick back due to the pellet and the gas jet, then they recoil forward due to the inertia of the spring and piston. This is the reason why spring-piston air rifles need special scopes. Put a regular rifle scope on a spring-piston air rifle and it'll break (even a Leupold). You have to use a scope specifically designed for recoil in both directions.

Why are magnum air rifles so heavy? I wondered that too, all I can figure is they make them heavy on purpose, probably for a couple of reasons: they're meant for adults so the weight discourages child-play, target rifles are always heavy, Germans seem to like heavy things (beer, guns, cameras, pretzels, binoculars, cars, people, tanks, etc). There are some light magnums. RWS and Beeman make carbine versions of their full size rifles. A Beeman 24C wieghs only 5lbs. -- Kernel
 
navaho - there is a "crack" when you fire new magnum airguns. it is the residual oil in the chamber actually igniting from the heat of the compressed air, this causes the velocity to be increased but erratic (point of impact changes) it steadies down after about 200 rounds.

the weight is to help steady your hold. remember that the pellet is moving slow enough, after you break the trigger, that "follow-thru" becomes a accuracy varible...a pellet gun is held "lightly" when "fired". some euro pellet guns are going to shorter barrels to reduce weight.

if you are firing around the house, you can cut the noise signature, heard by your neighbors, by shooting through an open door/window with the muzzel inside the house :)
 
I own different air rifles but the one i use most is the Crosman biathlon. very cheap and no need for extra biceps, shoots most acurrate, easily 1 inch at 25 although not powerful enough to break a glass at 20. for around $50.00
has the best peep sight ever created. i used to drop avocados that were to high in the trees with a single shot just at the limb.

keep blasting!
 
Noise levels

Backyard noise level comparison. RWS model 48, quieter than my neighbor kid's crossman with 7 pumps, quieter than .22 lr in 24" barrel (imagine that) and louder than low velocity .22 shorts from 24" barrel. My model 48 is subsonic, measured 1,050 fps, you shouldn't have a "crack" until you exceed 1,150 fps @ sea level.

Regarding scopes; I have put several tins (500 ea) through my M48 with a 4x Burris compact mounted. Never had any failures or zero wander. Scope is currently on a 30-'06 auto and works fine. Maybe I was lucky, but this scope held up to a high power spring piston gun.
 
Get an older Sheridan blue streak. You can find them on any of the airgun ad boards. The ones I have owned have been very accurate and had enough power to take small game out to 50yds. If you are thinking of buying a spring piston air rifle I would suggest trying one out bfore you make the purchase. They are hard to shoot due to the massive spring jumping forward during firing. You have to hold them just right to have them group in the same spot every time. If you sight in on a sand bag and then while hunting you lean on top of a fence post to pop that starling its a good chance your rifle would be shooting to a different point than what it was sighted in for. And I am not just talking about the cheap ones, I have used FWB 124s, Rws 48(heavy piece of junk), RWS 45, 34, Vulcan II, Beeman R7, and several Chineese. And I am not the only person who has this problem. There is a good article on The Airgun Letter web page about 3 guys who went ground squirrel hunting with air rifles. One used an scoped older Sheridan the other 2 used $500+ air rifles and the sheridan out shot them. Now the guy with the Sheridan had alot to do with it but from my reading the other guys were experienced airgunners also. Another problem with spring pistons are they are VERY HARD. on scopes. BTW I sold all the spring pistons I mentioned above but I still have my 10yr old Sheridan. It is the best hunting air rifle I have found.
 
Gamo Hunter 440

Another vote for the 440, I have a 220 and wish I would have got the 440 with the nicer stock. Other than wishing for a raised comb stock you can't beat it for the money. It has replaced my 22 for all squirrel, grouse and ptarmigan hunting. We have had many a great meals thanks to it. Very accurate and the BSA scope that it came with has yet to lose it's zero after approx. 4000 rnds.
 
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