Hunting with an air rifle?

Steve33

Steve33

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Does anybody here hunt with an air rifle? Not the walmart specials but one that requires a PAL to purchase? How does it work for you? How loud is the "crack" when it shoots? I'm guessing it breaks the sound barrier so there would be a sonic boom.
 
If by air rifle your refering to a pellet gun, you can't hunt with an air rifle. You can use them for small pests like gophers and pigeons ect. As far as sonic boom is concerned ..... Wtf ( respectfully ).
 
Mr.4x4 said:
If by air rifle your refering to a pellet gun, you can't hunt with an air rifle. You can use them for small pests like gophers and pigeons ect. As far as sonic boom is concerned ..... Wtf ( respectfully ).
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Well....

I intend on using it on small pests around the cottage. If you buy a pellet rifle at Canadian Tire or Walmart, they have a max muzzle velocity of 495fps so that they do not require a PAL to purchase. These are dangerous toys and about as useless as tits on a bull.

I was looking at some of the Stoeger air rifles at my local gun store and they have muzzle velocities in excess of the speed of sound (1,126 ft/s). This means that when fired, they will create a sonic boom. The big argument about suppressors/silencers is that they can not tame the sonic boom of a bullet so there is no such thing as a silenced firearm. My concern is that I don't want to be upsetting my neighbors at the cottage with loud rifle cracks. I have asked around and nobody I know owns one of these types of rifles so I thought I would ask here.
 
check out the air gun section.

i shoot stuff with my 1132fps ruger airhawk in .177 all the time. it's a lot quieter than a 22 short and the same as a 22 cb short. it can sure make the feathers of a magpie fly!
 
you can also check out airgunform .ca

Yes, you can hunt with an air rifle, there is an entire forum, including laws and regs at the above mentioned forum. I hunt with my crosman 2289, although in all the times I've carried it I've never got close enough to make a comfortable shot, eventhough I am an excellent shot with this rifle.

FPS at walmart and CT is listed way above what you can expect the gun to actually be shooting. Expect a gun listed at 495 fps to actually shoot around 380 fps.

As for pest control, you don't need anything requiring a pal. Infact, check out the Dealer section in the above forum, there is a guy who has Canadian Hunters with scope for a very reasonable price. I bought my dad one last year for chipmunks and he loves it. Shot noise is not noticable. I wouldalso recomend a springer model vs a pump *whichmy 2289 is) for stuff like this. Good luck!
 
LOL! I'm sorry... I completely missed the airgun section here! My mistake for posting in the wrong section. I've never really considered airguns as more than toys so when I hear about them, I usually just ignore it.
 
Mr.4x4 said:
If by air rifle your refering to a pellet gun, you can't hunt with an air rifle. You can use them for small pests like gophers and pigeons ect. As far as sonic boom is concerned ..... Wtf ( respectfully ).
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Yes they do make them. And yes they do break the sound barrier.

Airforce rifles (by Crosman)

Airforce%20Condor.jpg


Fires a .22 @1,300 f/s with high preasure air.

Speed of sound is 1,126 f/s. So yes there is a "sonic boom" albeit more of a sonic snap.

Mate that with some JSB hunting pellets and no rabbit is safe.
 
Well holy sh*t! I appologize for my ignorance. Air rifles sure have changed since I owned one ( mid 80's ) they sound pretty neat! May have to get one!
 
I have the first Airforce Condor sold in Canada. It's .22cal and will drive a pellet through a 2x4 like nothing. Many a crow has succumbed to it, a mirror on the van too, but that is another story.:redface:
 
Steve33 said:
Does anybody here hunt with an air rifle? Not the walmart specials but one that requires a PAL to purchase? How does it work for you? How loud is the "crack" when it shoots? I'm guessing it breaks the sound barrier so there would be a sonic boom.
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Your best bet is to google "airgun Forums".

Canadain airgun forum is OK but don't get into the hunting stuff as they go all legal stuff on ya if you ask something that may seem to lead to illegal hunting, yes they consider pest shooting, rats and ground hogs and them vermin, at your cottage illegal if you don't have your outdoor card with the proper sticker.

Best bet is to stick to the US forums and then the Canadain forum for the type of air rifle you want as some in the US are not availble in Canada.

Each airgun company has a forum. ei: airarms forum, talon airgun forum, daystate forum etc, etc. If you want to chat with airgun hunters that know how to hunt with a air rifle visit the UK forums.

Try AirgunSource and Specialty Shooting Supplies Outdoors for your eyecandy

BTW... I pest control raccoons, skunks, ground hogs and anything smaller than that with my AA S410 in .22cal. I keep them within 30 yards with a head shot. Drops them like a hot potatoe and then they do that death dance. Come to think of it, there's a raccoon sh*tting on my garden shed roof... guess you know what I'll be doing over the weekend.

Lastly... Youtube is your best friend ;) So grab a bag of chips and beer and start using up your bandwith.
 
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I've done a ton of hunting with an air rifle, pursuing squirrels, crows, groundhogs, rabbits, grouse, gophers ect. and one rabid coon. I've also shot hundreds of starlings and pigeons. I use a Benjamin Discovery in .22cal and I can shoot starlings and pigeons out to 70 yards. My Discovery shoots at 900fps and is capable of 1.5" or better groups at 70 yards. (0.5" groups at 50 yards, 0.2" @ 20 yards) The gun is fairly loud but still quieter than a .22 rimfire. I use the Predator Polymag pellet for all my hunting.

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I am curious as to the advantages to using an air gun that shoots at more than 500fps (thus requiring a PAL and I believe is considered a firearm) as opposed to a 22. Since both a 22 and a fast air gun fall into the same class, are you not much better off with a 22 as it has more power? Is reduced noise the only advantage?
 
911alertme said:
I am curious as to the advantages to using an air gun that shoots at more than 500fps (thus requiring a PAL and I believe is considered a firearm) as opposed to a 22. Since both a 22 and a fast air gun fall into the same class, are you not much better off with a 22 as it has more power? Is reduced noise the only advantage?
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Reduced noise and cheaper ammo... air guns can now have the same power as a 22lr though most are somewhat less. And yes... over 500 is a full firearm.
 
911alertme said:
I am curious as to the advantages to using an air gun that shoots at more than 500fps (thus requiring a PAL and I believe is considered a firearm) as opposed to a 22. Since both a 22 and a fast air gun fall into the same class, are you not much better off with a 22 as it has more power? Is reduced noise the only advantage?
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It is still legal to shoot airguns with in most city limits, most people would not understand the need for a pal and if the police show up will be quickly dismissed as a pellet gun
 
I played around with one that belonged to a friend (RWS air rifle). I chronied the pellets (35g. I believe) and they were moving about 1200 fps.....Nice critter gitr for around the house/cottage .
 
Steve33 said:
Well....

I intend on using it on small pests around the cottage. If you buy a pellet rifle at Canadian Tire or Walmart, they have a max muzzle velocity of 495fps so that they do not require a PAL to purchase. These are dangerous toys and about as useless as t**s on a bull...
Click to expand...

I've taken dozens of crows, some pigeons, rabbits, and even a squirrel with a .177 cal 495 ft/s air gun. It's all about shot placement.


7mmlefty said:
I thought the speed of sound was 860 fps ish?....

More than that should create a snap!.:D
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Speed of sounds varies with temperature and pressure. At STP (standard temperature and pressure) it is 768mph or 1126 ft/s. h ttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_of_sound
 
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