Air Guns for hunting?

I don't know any specific newsgroups. For general info, considering that many of the more expensive/larger field guns come out of Britain and Germany, web-based b-boards and forums in those two languages are a good bet. Most of what the British magazines write about is hunting small pests: birds, rats and rabbits. Anything larger such as groundhogs requires a powerful airgun, getting very close and making head shots (-a 'powerful' airgun here meaning a 20-ft-lb or more rifle).

alt.sport.air-guns is a newsgroup you can try. Multiple web pages are easily found with a Web Search. Yes there are groundhog getters, RWS has one, Dennis Quackenbush makes them.

## I don't know any specific newsgroups. For general info, considering ## that many of the more expensive/larger field guns come out of Britain ## and Germany, web-based b-boards and forums in those two languages are ## a good bet. Most of what the British magazines write about is hunting ## small pests: birds, rats and rabbits. Anything larger such as ## groundhogs requires a powerful airgun, getting very close and making ## head shots (-a 'powerful' airgun here meaning a 20-ft-lb or more ## rifle). # # Don't know the energy rating, but a pump Sheridan is perfectly capable of taking groundhogs. Many years ago, I hit one with a single chest shot while he was way up in a tree eating berries, and he was dead when he hit the ground.

John Martin

# # More powerful than a .22LR. 100 yd+ range. $495 for the .50 cal # version. I'm drooling over the prospect of buying one myself.

One hell! Get one in .50 and another in .308 and have a matched pair!

I'm drooling all over the keyboard now. Gotta have one!

I live in the St Louis MO area, and D Quackenbush usually is at the St Louis area airgun show each year (tho I haven't gone in the last 2-3 years). There are people who make airguns that do shoot muzzle-loader bullets with 100+ ft-lbs energy, but they need to be filled with a scuba tank and you usually only get one shot at 'full' power, and then one more shot at about one-third power. So they're not exactly real handy to use. ....The Career guns are probably the most popular 'high-power' airguns in the US, around 50-ft-lbs max, but you get multiple-shot usability- as much as 30-40 shots per fill, depending on the power level the gun is set to.

# # # # More powerful than a .22LR. 100 yd+ range. $495 for the .50 cal # # version. I'm drooling over the prospect of buying one myself. # # One hell! Get one in .50 and another in .308 and have a matched pair! # # I'm drooling all over the keyboard now. Gotta have one!

Yeah - me too. I was all 'oh great - yet another poser with a god-awful pri... uhhh.. *blink*

Crap. $495?!?!?

I can't buy a normal pre-charged rifle for that little, let alone this monster.'



My holiday present this coming up year.

An old pump up Crossman works too, for rabbit and chucks in the garden without freaking the neighbors. BTW. - I used to be able to buy .22 round lead shot for airguns but hav'nt been able to locate any lately. It was great airgun ammo for varmits! - Terminal performance was in the 22 short - CB cap range. Anybody know where to get it? Failing that, does anybody have a source for TT lead shot? It ought to be about the right size and I guess I could make a set of go, no/go gauges to select for useable size.

# > ... # # I live in the St Louis MO area, and D Quackenbush usually is at the St # Louis area airgun show each year (tho I haven't gone in the last 2-3 # years). There are people who make airguns that do shoot muzzle-loader # bullets with 100+ ft-lbs energy,

Quackenbush quotes the Bandit at 250 FPE.

# but they need to be filled with a # scuba tank and you usually only get one shot at 'full' power, and then # one more shot at about one-third power. So they're not exactly real # handy to use. ....

That's why dedicated airgunners cary a buddy tank with them into the field.

From Quackenbush's website:

# BIG BORES USE A LOT OF AIR # The way this gun gulps air, you'll want to use a scuba tank to refill # it most of the time. I found our test Bandit used 400-500 psi of air per # shot for the first two shots. That begins to taper off starting with shot # three. I felt that four good, powerful shots were available with each 3,000 # psi fill. It's possible to get more than 10 shots from a fill, but the # velocity of the final one will be down in the 400s. All big bores use a lot # of air, which may surprise those who are used to getting 30-50 good shots # from a smallbore PCP.

# The Career guns are probably the most popular # 'high-power' airguns in the US, around 50-ft-lbs max, but you get # multiple-shot usability- as much as 30-40 shots per fill, depending on # the power level the gun is set to.

Some of the smallbore PCP's I've read about have claimed 200 shots on a fill with around a 600fps power setting. But, frankly, I'll believe that when I see it.

# And I'd also point out that I have an 'expensive' airgun (Beeman RX # .177/Weirach HW-90?

# > ... # # An old pump up Crossman works too, for rabbit and chucks in the garden # without freaking the neighbors. # BTW. - I used to be able to buy .22 round lead shot for airguns but # hav'nt been able to locate any lately. It was great airgun ammo for # varmits! - Terminal performance was in the 22 short - CB cap range. # Anybody know where to get it? # Failing that, does anybody have a source for TT lead shot? It ought to # be about the right size and I guess I could make a set of go, no/go # gauges to select for useable size.

If you're using a smoothbore then try Beeman Perfect Rounds. If you're using a rifle then there are all sorts of .22 caliber airgun pellets out there. Crosman makes some really good ones. They're made of soft lead and expand nicely on body shots while retaining enough penetration power to drive completely through a squirrel's skull. That's what I used to use in my Daisy 922 and later in my Crosman 2200.

I took my first squirrel with one of those pellets out of my Daisy 922. It was getting ready to raid my mother's avocado tree. I shot it in the neck, and it dropped as if hit by a bolt of lightning.

And take a look at Beeman's hollow point pellets, particularly the Crow Magnum. I haven't had a chance to shoot any, but they certainly look interesting.

# # > ... # # # # I live in the St Louis MO area, and D Quackenbush usually is at the St # # Louis area airgun show each year (tho I haven't gone in the last 2-3 # # years). There are people who make airguns that do shoot muzzle-loader # # bullets with 100+ ft-lbs energy, # # Quackenbush quotes the Bandit at 250 FPE.

Quackenbush also makes a CO2 powered .25 cal pistol that he sells for $120 or so and puts out in excess of 25 ft-lbs. I'm impressed with his work and saving to get one of the big-bore behomoths.