Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Help Pellet Rifles & Pistols

A couple of other current topics discuss using pellet rifles for varmit control. I thought I'd start one on what people use for pellet pistols and rifles. In addition to a couple of Crosman 766 guns for my grandchildren (one in pink), I have two Gamo rifles and I am looking into adding a pistol. Currently have a Gamo Shadow Sport that shoots at 1250 FPS and just got a Gamo Hunter Extreme which shoots at a blistering 1650. I would like to add a pistol and am looking at the Desert Eagle Blowback which is listed at 425 FPS. Does anyone have a pellet pistol they like? Anyone with the Desert Eagle? How about just any blowback style? How do you like them? The thing I am looking for in a pistol is one with killing power and the ability to shoot several pellets without having to pump the gun or reload. This likely restricts me to a CO2 model which is OK with me, I'd just like the ability to shoot off a few rounds without pumping or reloading.

Bing

I am a big fan of .22 CB. Pretty much the same noise level as a pellet gun but some great knock down power. The pellet gun I use and like a lot is the RWS Model 34 Panther Pro Compact. Very accurate and I like how compact it is. No experience with pellet pistols.

I use the calibri's to shoot tree rats in the city. Not a lot of accuracy beyond 40 to 50 ft. I put one in a 22 pistol and shot through both sides of a metal coffee can at 15 ft. Even with no powder(poudre), they dirty a barrel pretty quickly.

Bing I can email you prices if you like. I wish I woudl have known I coudl have save you a chunk of money I believe.

I did my research and was close to getting a Gamo since one of my clients is Travis Turner ( Tbone in the ads for them). I instead went with the new crossman also 1250 fps with .22 cal pellet. It is MUCH quieter than the competetion with a new pistion style design. The gamo booth had a video showing killing hogs shot in brain with the Hunter Extreme pretty impressive.

Yes Dave they lose lots of energy beyond 60 feet.

The crossman is still in the box it arrvied yesterday. I will report success with nusiance goose work if I get a few bids.

50 cal. air rifle.
http://www.quackenbushairguns.com/bandit_1.html

Quackenbush makes some nice large bore air rifles!

I don't have much experience with pellet pistols. I do know that CO2 is O.K. for plinking, but for hunting or serious target work, it's not the preferred powerplant.

While speed is nice, it's really accuracy that gets the job done. When pellets are shot supersonic, and transition to subsonic, they move around quite a bit, and the accuracy goes away. Plus, the more powerful the guns are, the louder they are. Pellets don't have a lot of mass, so CNS (central nervous system) hits are preferred, dropping the animal very quickly. For that, you need accuracy, not a lot of power. In England, pellet guns are regulated to 12 lb/ft of energy, or they are classisfied differently and a permit is needed for posession. That translates to a .177 cal pellet going 600 fps. They hunt with them, and are very successful.

In looking at the blowback design pistols, it seems that they are made to simulate the feel of real guns with the action moving. I don't know how accurate they are. If you are looking for a repeating hunting pistol, this one is a .22 cal 6 shot repeater @ 1000 fps that has some good reviews.

I have an old FWB 124D and a newer Air Arms TX200 (rifles). I've done a LOT of hunting with the FWB (squirrels, rabbits and even a coon) but the TX200 is a tad more accurate. The FWB is set to throw a 7.9g Premier @ 850 fps, and the TX200 throws them about 50 fps faster. On a windless day, if I concentrate on what I'm doing, I can shoot <1 1/2" groups @ 50 Yds with the TX200. Both have Simmons 44Mag scopes, 6.5-20 power, AO Objective, and they hold up to the recoil very well.

Plinking is my main objective for a pistol. I have two grandsons who are really into that. Between my gransons and I we have over a dozen bb and pellet guns. I just bought the reissued Daisy 25 like I had as a youth.

FB

Esshup. That Evanix may be what I am looking for. I only have one .22. The others are .177. The .22 I have is an old Benjamin (now owned by Crosman), I think an HR22, that is in need of repair. The rear iron sight is missing and it doesn't hold a charge very well. I could likely but a new one for what a repair might cost but it would be great to pass on Grandpa's old gun to someone.

FB

why not a suppressed 22lr pistol or rifle? Yes they are legal here, and my bolt action 22 with suppressor is quieter than most air rifles with decent fps. Some paperwork, but well worth it.

You can suppress the PCP airguns as well, and no paperwork (i.e. Class 3) is required! In airgun terminology, the suppressors are called moderators.

I shot in one Field Target event where a guy had a PCP FWB that was moderated. All one would hear was the hammer hitting the valve to release the compressed air, then the pellet hitting the steel target.

22 LR makes about 130 db and looking at this chart there is a vast difference in the 22 vs air gun noise.

http://www.straightshooters.com/documents/decibelrating.html

When air guns exceed the sound barrier, 1100 fps or so, there is a loud crack and also the pellet will destabilize, making it less accurate.

I have a 177 pump pistol and a 22 co2 carbine and both are much quieter than my 22 pistol. Both air guns shoot at less than 750fps and are only effective to about 70 yards.

For the price of $24.95, this pellet rifle is real hard to beat:

Air Pellet Rifle

There is a companion pistol for $19.95:

Air Pellet Pistol

This is from the old Cummins Tool sales that were held out of semi-trailers at local fire departments, VFW halls, etc. They go by "Tools Now" now.

I've had several of these rifles over the years. For a long time they were $14.95, then $19.95, and now $24.95. They are incredibly accurate, whether with the peep sights (which are actually really nice) or with the cheap scope that is also available. I've sighted mine in for 30 yards. I can hold within about a 1-inch circle at that range. At that range, they'll also go through both sides of a coffee can -- or through a squirrel.

The pistol is no toy either. It just isn't anywhere near as accurate as the rifle -- or it could be me. It goes in the general direction it is pointed. But, it is fun to use for just plinking.

There is no pumping or CO2 cartridges. Just open the chamber, put in a pellet, pull the pump lever shut, and disengage the safety. It's ready to shoot.

Here is my 64 year-old college professor double-PhD brother-in-law, who had never shot a gun in his life until last fall. He nailed 10 balloons out of 10 shots at about 30 - 50 yards with my pellet rifle.



He thought that was great, but wanted to try something that made more noise. I got out the 12-gauge. One shot, and he was done. But, he did destroy a nice cardboard box that he was aiming at.

Cat, I have that rifle. A friend gave it to me. It's surprisingly powerful and accurate (and an astounding value), but the trigger is brutally stiff on mine. I almost run out of breath before I can squeeze off a shot. Unfortunately, the trigger is hard to get to, and I think is unadjustable anyway.

That pistol is intriguing too. I need a quiet plinker to keep in my truck or tackle box.

I bought a Gamo Big Cat 1200 from Wal-Mart. It's fairly accurate, and the trigger is much better... but still far from my hunting rifles. It makes a very loud crack when shooting the light "high velocity" pellets. It has a large BSA scope, but the optics are surprisingly poor. I'm 5 for 6 on squirrels at 20-30 yards, and it kills cleanly.

I also have that rifle and a 960 fps Gamo. I like both.

I have a crossman single pump breakdown. After I finally decided to zero in the scope, it does a good job on turtles(if that's legal it would). The sight in varies a good bit depending on the pellet fired. I am leaning toward the pointed; it's just a .17 cal.

I have an air rifle from cabelas shoots 1500 fps with a nice illuminated scope, very accurate. I've taken out muskrats at 70 yards! now they have gone nocturnal on me! lol i was surprised at the power from one pump! i use it for squirrel also does a great job. I can shoot at a crane 100 yards away & hit right next to it to scare it away.

I guess you know the obvious advanatge to me is that many cities(sadly) have ordinance forbidding discharge of firearm and air gun can can get around this.

There are a lot of reasons for a pellet gun rather than a rifle. Many airguns are a fraction of the cost of a rifle. Ammo is much less expensive than bullets, and much less dangerous for someone to get "caught" with them, such as at airports and at schools. Generally less range than rifles, probably a couple of hundred yards max for most of them vs the old "range one mile be careful" .22 admonition. Heck my .17 calaber rifle has a two mile range. Airguns are generally not as loud, lighter weight, etc. Yes you can buy a thousand dollar airgun, but you can't buy a rifle for $29.95 and you can get a decent airgun for that. There is a place for everything and the airgun fits many applications.

Bing

That is unfortunate. I've never given the trigger pull any thought. Because I haven't noticed, I'm assuming it is not significantly different than any of my other rifles or shotguns.

This is my third one of these cheap rifles. All have been great. I lent one to a co-worker, and then we both moved in opposite geographical directions. It wasn't worth trying to retrieve. My father-in-law liked my second one so much for squirrels, I gave it to him. The one I have now is about two years old.

Thankfully a few years back Virginia passed a law stating that no local firearm ordinances could be more restrictive than state law. Sure ticked off a lot of places off, but boy did it give a lot of people their rights back...

I was raised on a crosman 760 with a duplex air gun scope. But I had to go with a gamo because all that pumping gets old. Both .177. The gamo has a suprisingly loud crack, and you only get one choice of power with one pump, but with those hunter pellets it is deadly. Had a few CO2 rapid fire pistols, but they were cartridge eaters and not very powerful. Good for plinking cans and targets. I did have one pump pistol, but it is obsolete now. I just gave up on the pistols when the nicer one pump rifles came out. My boys sure love shooting the air rifle.

I've used that same excuse technique for many years with game of all sizes from rabbits to deer! I've probably scared more critters into longer lives than most.

This discussion brings back memories of a Crossman pump BB/.177 air rifle I had. After a couple of years of use, it wouldn't hold air pressure.

I looked into getting it repaired. The shipping costs and estimates for repair were more than a new replacement.

The users manual that came with the rifle stated in many places not to attempt home repair. I figured it already didn't work. I am pretty good at repairing things. So, what did I have to lose?

I took out the first screw, the second screw, and got to about the seventh or eighth screw when all hell broke loose! Innumerable small springs, small pieces, and at least 100 BBs exploded in every direction.

A couple of years later we sold the house were I did my fine gunsmithing. As I was cleaning out my workshop, I found more parts and BBs from that silly rifle than I could have ever imagined would have been inside that crazy thing.

You know that is what I had the ol Crosman 760. And I used it day after day. Nonstop. And it never lost pressure. I think if you did not keep the air piston seals lubed they dried out and died. Another was exceeding max pumps. I used to wait for the mailman every single day for my scope. Finally it showed up and I used it even more. Even got a jack rabbit one day. That was way back before my first .22. Maybe 1972 or so. Looking at those new Gamos makes wish I would have waited. They now have faster fps, noise suppressor and awesome red dot, green dot even blue dot 3 X 9 scopes. If I think back on my most cherished toy growing up it was my Crosman 760. I'd buy little milk cartons full of bb's every week.