I know you want one, you know you want one. There are a lot of great reasons to buy an air rifle, lets have a look at them.
All the best shooters got their start with pellet pushers.
The slow recoil and low exit speeds of ‘springers’ amplify user error, when you can get it right with a spring powered gun you’ll be ahead of the game with a PCP, rim fire, or centre fire rifle.
It’s the cheapest way to practice.
From $20 a thousand, pellets are cheap and get cheaper the more you buy, they have no use-by date and take up very little space - most sizes of shoebox will hold 100,000 which will last anywhere between a long time and a lifetime.
They are the best introduction to shooting
Without the BANG and with negligible recoil, the air rifle is the perfect starting point. Just as many of us started shooting with pellet pushers, so we shall start a new generation of shooters. Personally I’ve introduced new shooters ages 8 to 56 they’ve all wanted to do it again.
You can shoot them where you can't shoot anything else
In many inner-city jurisdictions you cant hunt control pests with anything else.
Making a ‘Phutt’ rather than a ‘Bang’ they are the subtle alternative to firearms, and less provocative than using your compound bow. For example in the gun-unfriendly UK you can still practice in a suburban garden, taking squirrel, parrot and pigeons for the table right outside your kitchen window.
Pellets for Pests? Gets you hunting land
When you are asking about; trying to gain permission to hunt on farmland, an air rifle for pests tends to to get a yes on first asking, more often than a centre-fire for deer and pigs. Farmers will up-grade you later when you’ve shown your safe and you’ve offered them rabbits and / or scotch!
Easy and paperwork free
In many places they are online purchases; you’re over eighteen, you makes your choice of best air rifle for your needs, and wait [impatiently] for that exiting knock on the door.
Home customisable
There is no better (or safer) first project for the home gun-tinkerer; start with lightening the trigger, then reducing the recoil by smoothing the spring’s path, before refinishing the stock. Lot’s of fun doing the work, lots of satisfaction in the end result, and you’re creating an heirloom for pennies.
Sometimes they are the best choice
The squirrel hunters weapon of choice, a silenced PCP gives you the pellet speed you need, and is quiet enough that the bushy-tailed tree-rabbits may well stick around so you can take a second shot at one of his pals.
Low-power leads to high-skill
When you can stalk rabbits to take a lethal shot on an inch wide kill-zone at 25 yards, you are arguably more of a hunter than the fella who was escorted by a guide to shoot into the four inch circle of a game animal’s vitals at 100 yards.
You cant buy skill with money. But you can train for it with a pellet pusher!
Go on, go on, go on, you know you want to
More soon
SBW
Dammit, you talked me into it!!
ReplyDeleteWas applying for a hunterslicense, and thus the mandatory lessons/schooling, but it would be ideal for me and my son. Spending time together and getting him used to the idea of hunting himself...
Thanks man, you're costing me cash, but the reward will be priceless!
You can also take them apart and walk through town with them in a very smart back pack, without drawing any unwanted attention. It also has its place around stables and other livestock. However PCPs rely on seals and pressurised cylinders so the tolerances have to be tight, this can make initial costs grater than rim fires, although running costs thereafter are far less.
ReplyDeleteThey're also accurate as heck, so you get to practice your shooting skills for next to nothing.
ReplyDeleteI shot my 10-meter Olympic style airgun a lot, so when I picked up smallbore target and action pistol, I already had good breathing and trigger control.
How much would it have cost to develop that with a .308? (Plus I could shoot 10 meter in my own garage.)
I've not had an air rifle in a long, long time..simply preferring the .22LR. But, after the recent unavailability of .22 ammunition I'm beginning to rethink that.
ReplyDeleteA nice PCP in .25 should suffice very nicely!
I love my Benjamin Marauder .25, although living in the Tx boonies made getting my tanks refilled something of a challenge. Carrying them into the field is also no mean feat.
ReplyDeleteMy next will be a springer, probably .22 cal.
Phillip
ReplyDeleteI'd love a .25 but they're classed as firearms here so for the extra hassle but less outlay a 17HMR seems a better prospect to most.
how many full power shots to do get out of a fill?
I warmly recommend the Hill pump, tough as old boots but you won't want to carry it too far from the truck You can find mini cylinders for about £80 here I'm guessing you can get one from someone like Pyramid Air?
Do you know your exact bore dimension? I have to go and see a pellet guru in the next week or so and he may have something for you.
Sten, I start to see a change in accuracy at about 10 or 11 shots, but it still delivers a pretty good smack, even after two full mags (16 shots).
ReplyDeleteNot sure the exact bore dimensions. Most of the specs just say it's .25".
I've looked into a hand pump, but pumping 3000 psi is not a small trick. If I were planning to hit the field with it more, I'd pick up a small tank. For now, I have two SCUBA tanks.
We'll have open carry, here in Texas, soon enough. But you know what? I practiced with a Co2 air pistol in my back yard before I moved on to a .45 etc. Per your post, the practice didn't hurt one bit.
ReplyDeleteAnd in England, I guess the airgun opens up all kinds of opportunities. I understand it's a science in the UK...
Yes it is, more about pellets and pellet design in the next post
ReplyDeleteSBW
Some great advice there. I have seen a large influx of rabbits on my property this year, probably because the dog is getting too old to chase them, or else he has become a bit wiser. I really don't want to use the rifle on rabbits, just seems like such an overkill (no pun intended), but it does seem like an air rifle will be a good alternative. It will certainly keep peace with the neighbours!
ReplyDeleteYes it is, more about pellets and pellet design in the next post tank you sir..
ReplyDelete