As the title say it,im loking to buy fun plinking/small game pest control rifle, did lots of research and still not sure what to choose, they all have advantages, my only question is, is .22lr still hard to get, and if not, is the ammo price reasonable? Thanks.
.22 lr vs .22 high power air rifle, which to buy?
- Thread starter Gunggeek
- Start date
justinb1981
Regular
- Location
- Hamilton, Ontario
Pellets are cheaper but a .22 lr hits harder. A .22 caliber pellet weighs less than half of what a .22 bullet does. At the same speed kinetic energy is double. A .22lr is capable of taking bigger animals than a .22 pellet gun. What kind of pests do you need to control?
sillymike
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
22lr should be easy enough to buy...
.22 pellets are cheaper than 22lr, but not "that" cheaper. You're still looking at over $20 for 500pcs
A quality air gun will be as (if not more) expensive than a 22lr rifle.
A full power air rifle will be just about as noisy as 22lr.
If noise is a concern, 22 CB-long are usually pretty quiet, and still pack more punch than most .22 air rifle.
.22 pellets are cheaper than 22lr, but not "that" cheaper. You're still looking at over $20 for 500pcs
A quality air gun will be as (if not more) expensive than a 22lr rifle.
A full power air rifle will be just about as noisy as 22lr.
If noise is a concern, 22 CB-long are usually pretty quiet, and still pack more punch than most .22 air rifle.
Air Arms S410- or S510.
If you are serious about a 22 caliber airgun, these PCP rifles are hard to beat. Get the normal version, not the takedown. Quiet as CB's.
Not cheap, but excellent quality and accuracy. Aside from that, I like the Browning lever BL22 with CB Short or Quiets. Much cheaper and easy enough to find ammo.
If you are serious about a 22 caliber airgun, these PCP rifles are hard to beat. Get the normal version, not the takedown. Quiet as CB's.
Not cheap, but excellent quality and accuracy. Aside from that, I like the Browning lever BL22 with CB Short or Quiets. Much cheaper and easy enough to find ammo.
Best way to kill a 'coon with an air rifle is to beat it to death with the stock!
.22LR at the least, IMO
- Location
- Nova Scotia
22LR is like 95-120 FT lbs of energy. A 22 cal air rifle, your going to need a 22 cal over 800 FPS and 14.3 be lucky to get 20 FPE. Only a 1/4 of the FT lbs of a 22LR
Your honestly better running 22 CB caps
Your honestly better running 22 CB caps
a few hundred yards with an air rifle? Is that realistic?
I have both, an HW95 in .22 cal shooting in the low 800s and a couple of 10/22's and other .22s.
The air rifle is nice for sitting outside for some casual plinking without all the noise. For pests think more like grackles and squirells.
I really like the quality and mechanics of these rifles. Im also really into Weihrach air pistols for the same reasons and are also a real joy for me to shoot around the cottage. If you have a lot of neighbours but have space to shoot airguns may be your thing.
On the other hand, 22s serve a purpose for plinking and are better for larger pest control. Mind you make damn sure whats a long ways from that black bird or coon in a tree your shooting. If you were to get a quality air rifle i dont think you will be let down, save your cash though you will probably not appreciate a cheap one as much.
From your question im guessing your going that route.
Final tip if you want to go PCP make sure you can get a tank filled somwhere nearby up to 4000 psi the dive shops around here will only fill for folks with dive certificates, a friend of mine just found that out.
Oh and if you were wondering i bring my airguns to the range and nobody laughs at me....lol
The air rifle is nice for sitting outside for some casual plinking without all the noise. For pests think more like grackles and squirells.
I really like the quality and mechanics of these rifles. Im also really into Weihrach air pistols for the same reasons and are also a real joy for me to shoot around the cottage. If you have a lot of neighbours but have space to shoot airguns may be your thing.
On the other hand, 22s serve a purpose for plinking and are better for larger pest control. Mind you make damn sure whats a long ways from that black bird or coon in a tree your shooting. If you were to get a quality air rifle i dont think you will be let down, save your cash though you will probably not appreciate a cheap one as much.
From your question im guessing your going that route.
Final tip if you want to go PCP make sure you can get a tank filled somwhere nearby up to 4000 psi the dive shops around here will only fill for folks with dive certificates, a friend of mine just found that out.
Oh and if you were wondering i bring my airguns to the range and nobody laughs at me....lol
^Ian makes a great point there. However, I'm hoping that the OP recognizes that shooting a rifle in an upwards direction brings with it a whole new set of concerns. (air rifle or otherwise) Assuming that his raccoons are on the ground when they're messing with the compost bin, my vote goes to the .22LR for lots of reasons, most of which have already been mentioned here. Namely, that to get an air rifle powerful enough to dispatch a raccoon (not just ruin it's night) you're looking at a hefty price tag, and every bit as much noise as a .22LR shooting CB longs, CCI Quiet-22, etc. If you're in a rural area, that's of even less a concern. Standard, even high velocity .22LR should be fine.
I actually use both for pest control, and had my own air rifle out dispatching pigeons in barns belonging to friends this past weekend. In my case, it's a PAL-rated .22cal air rifle.. Industry-Brand QB-79 converted from CO2 to HPA. I don't own a chronograph, nor do I think I need to...seems to hit pretty hard.
(passes clear through them) I use wadcutter pellets, very effective. For raccoons, I'd never even consider it. Keep in mind, there are lots of .22 rimfire ammo options well suited to semi-quiet pest control jobs. CB longs, CCI Quiet-22, Aguila "Colibri" or Super Colibri. (haven't tried the 2 Aguila, but plan to on pigeons)The Colibri shells are awesome.
I haven't touched my air rifles in forever. I always go with rimfires.
High quality pellets are actually the same price as 22lr
I've wanted an air force condor but have never bought one because my 22lr are much more versatile
I haven't touched my air rifles in forever. I always go with rimfires.
High quality pellets are actually the same price as 22lr
I've wanted an air force condor but have never bought one because my 22lr are much more versatile
Remember! Your not restricted to .22 Cal. Look at options like .25 or .32 or larger airguns. Depending on where you live the larger airgun will be better. Less pesty, go with the rimfire. Not just .22 but other cailbers as well. My old neighbour used to drop "coons" with a .25 hats an pcp air rifle when I was a kid in 95' in a town house complex with no one knowing the difference. Just my 2 cents.
Sure you can use a pump to top off, i only mentioned the dive shop since my friend doesnt have the shoulders for a pump and a compressor is way outside his budget as well as possibly the OP's. To tell a truth i love airguns and im the guy at the club everyone asks about them but i never got the PCP bug because of .22Lr. PCP is more consistent but really IMO .22Lr can be cheaper especially when your sitting on a bunch of cheap ammo like me
