I'm in need of a powerful, accurate air rifle

Z

zombieslayer

New member
I own several guns, and a couple air rifles in .177 caliber. Im looking to get a powerful, larger caliber air gun for pest control. Its legal to shoot air guns but not anything else, as i currently am living in a family owned home just inside the city limits.
As far as pests go, its mostly possums, coons, and rabbits. I just have way too many. As well as a possum with a badly broken jaw who needs to be put down.
Looking to spend 600 or less on a good reliable accurate rifle. Any thoughts or suggestions appreciated.
 
I do know of one around your price range. It's called the Benjamin marauder very accurate, powerful, Quite (because of a shrouded barrel) it's comes in 3 deferent calibers .177 .22 .25 the .177 and the .22 come with 10 round mags and the .25 comes with 8 round mags. your looking at $470 or so for the gun but then you will need a way to pump it up because it is a pcp such as a scuba tank or a high compression hand pump ($100-200) it is also very adjustable a quick google can tell you more. But, it should have more than enough power for the varmints you listed. Hope this helps!
 
I love my RWS/ Diana 460

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/3206985/rws_460_air_rifle_short_review/

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Nice. Those 22's, are they able to cleanly put down possums and coons? Im needing good clean kills. Thanks for the suggestions. Are there any air rifles that achieve velocities higher than 1100fps?
 
Yes, but you don't need that velocity to take those animals a med weight .22 pellets going 800-1000 fps will be more than enough for possums and coons.in the airgun world you get what you pay for, springs guns for the most part are not as accurate as pcp guns because of hold sensitivity. (hast to do withe harmonics of the spring) pcp guns don't have that but are generally much more expensive. Go to http://www.pyramydair.com/. And look at deferent guns and there reviews.
 
I checked out several websites but this is the only one thats not selling anything ;). Im thinking a pcp .22 is what im after. I just dont want wounded animals running around the neighborhood. I know, shot placement is key, but i remember a pretty low kill rate with all the air rifles I had as a kid. Thats why I guess I'd rather go overkill.
 
Im with Paw Paw on this one. The Benjiman pump in .22 cal will work quite well. My dad gave me one for X-mas back in 56 when I was 10. It replaced my daisy red ryder. A lot of squirrels and rabbits have given their all to it through the years, and occasionally I still use it to drop one out the tree. The latest acquisition was a "diller" that was digging up the garden. That was about 2 weeks ago.
 
The spring powered versions are plenty accurate enough at the distances you would probably be shooting.
Lots cheaper and less complicated, too.
One pump and go.
 
Hey I just seen on TV a .357 caliber air rifle thats supposed to shoot 1500fps. I dont recall the make of it but it looked awsome. Ill hunt around and see what I come up with
 
Gamo makes a .22 that makes 1300 feet per second . It cost about $450 I believe. Its called a "Gamo Hunter Extreme". Im very sure you could take out any of the critters you mentioned above easily everyday all day:eek:
 
For the money...

Benjamin / Crosman 392 .22 pump. A classic design. I have used mine on Raccoons, Opossums, woodchucks etc. 600 FPS with a .22 14.3 grain pellet in the head, and its a done deal. The 2011 Gun Digest has a report on the gun. Why pay 3 to 4 times as much when the 392 will do the job? Air is free and pellets are cheap. 8 pumps and at 25 yards, most small / med game is as good as dead if you can shoot.
 
Between myself, my dad and brothers we have a Benjamin marauder in .22, a RWS Diana Panther 34 in .22, and THe Benjamin Sheridan pump up rifles in .177, two .20 cal, and one .22.

The Marauder is the most accurate of the group by a huge margin. It is the quickest to reload, the quietest, but the most expensive. Also i think the .22 will do 1000 fps. So very powerful. It also has a dovetailed reciever. It is the heaviest of the group, and kinda ugly if you ask me.

The RWS panther is the best looking rifle of the group, fairly quick for reloads, is rated for 1000 fps. But unfortunately it is the least accurate by a huge margin. we have attributed the poor accuracy to the operator having to manipulate the barrel to break open the action then close the action possibly not returning the barrel exactly to where the rifle is zeroed for. And then the spring action vibrates the gun so bad that it actually moves the rear sight around after shooting for a little while. Blue loctite on the screws helped but the rifle still will simply not hold zero. I haven't yet seen anybody shoot that rifle with any really accuracy. I have seen dozens of missed starlings and very few hits. Maybe we got a lemon.

THe Benjamin Sheridan pump up guns are good. THey are the least expensive of the group. Plenty of killing power for pests. I haven't noticed much difference in killing power between the .117, .20, or .22. I think its a bullet weight/velocity trade-off. Accuracy is good for an iron sight gun. Cons are that they are the slowest to reload, lower velocities than the other two guns and no scope mount.

I would recommend the Marauder with a scope and the scuba tank and adapter if you can spend the extra money for it. If you dont want to spend that kind of money on an air rifle the Benjamin Sheridan pump up rifles are good. There are some great youtube videos about the marauder. It really is extremely accurate. I wouldn't recommend the RWS panther 34 to anyone. Even to somebody I don't like.
 
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The short answer is yes a powerful enough one will. But springers can damage scopes and knock off your zero after every 2 or three shots. That's the main problem I've had.
 
Well I actually prefer open sights. And shots would all be pretty close. Say, a hundred feet or so. Ive always had the luxury of being able to shoot anything on my property. But im living in a family owned home in a nice neighborhood for a few months. Other than birds and squirrels when I was a kid, I've never considered shooting an animal with an airgun.
 
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