Airgun newbie - advice needed

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Pancake81

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I do a lot of 22 and centerfire shooting, and have been active in both silhouette and Long range (centerfire) silhouette in the past. Along with this i have had a bb or pellet gun sit in my shop or closet for about 25 years now. But, technology has changed, lol. I have always kept one around for plinking, popping the odd pack rat etc. But I am wanting to purchase something with a little more hoof.

“In my day” everything I came across was 495 FPS. I have always had a license(pal) so that was never the hiccup, I just didn’t know about these high powered air guns. Lately I have been shooting a fair amount of small game, and I would like to upgrade my air rifle situation. I would be looking $200 and under, and I prefer scoped. From what I have briefly read on this forum is my rifle scopes are no good on an air gun.

Locally there is a ruger air hawk in .177 rated for 1200 FPS asking $160. Would this be a good fit. Could it take a squirrel at 50 yards? Could it take a raccoon at 20 yards?

Forgive me, I am absolutely rookie in this field.
 
Break action airguns that claim super-dooper-high-velocity are about as accurate as a politician promises... Take it with a grain of salt.
- To come any where near the velocity listed, you'll need to find some very (very) pellets... which most likely won't be all that accurate, and won't have enough energy left at 50Y to humanly kill something the size of a raccoon.

Weihrauch, RWS, Diana and Air Arms all make somewhat affordable break-action rifles
- But they are still at least double your expected budget
- They're available in .22 @ 700-800 feet per second. I still wouldn't hunt raccoon at 50Y with that

Hopefully someone with more knowledge of lower-end airguns (or raccoon hunting) will come along to suggest a better option.
 
For larger than rabbits you’re going to need .25 cal and pcp, just for human kills. .177 is usually left for targets and birds or close range, .22 is usually used for small game as it had better energy. Unfortunately your budget doesn’t really allow for good quality unless you find a good deal on a used airgun.

For most springers and gas rams you need an airgun rated scope as the reverse recoil will damage scopes. There are good cost effective scopes on the market now so there options there.
 
The spring guns are not a good option because .177 and .22 pellets at 800-900fps (real-world velocities) have a very limited range and fpe. Raccoons are out of the question. I hit a squirrel square in the head at 35meters and it just shook it off. At least you could stun the critter then rush in with a shovel and beat it to death, lol.

Large caliper PCP airguns exist in .25, .30, .357, .45 and even .50 caliper. Hunters will use slugs over pellets. You can take hogs and mule deal with some.
The bad news is the expense and complications.

As far as the expense expect to pay well over a thousand for a large caliper gun and another thou for an air compressor and range bottle. If you are fit you can get a high-pressure hand pump to charge your PCP gun.
As far as the complications go expect 40-50 shots before needing to recharge from a compressor, bottle or hand pump.

I have a cheap $300 Diana Stormrider .22 PCP and a $100 Chinees hand pump from ebay. It's my basement gun and it's quiet, cheap to shoot ($0.05 per/shot) and very accurate after I did a bunch of mods like adding a second barrel band and a $100 aftermarket regulated air valve. I get 50 shots at 760fps before I have to pump it up. Cheap air guns are fun because they are project guns where you can see a big improvement with a little refinement.

For more info on hunting with airguns I would look for youtuber 'tedsholdover' and a website called 'airgun101'. But these guys are shooting the $1500-2500 airguns.

Oh and dont expect good accuracy with Crosman pellets from CT. They are terrible. You will need to mail order good pellets / slugs from JSB, AirArms, ie. german pellets.

The largest air gun supplier in Canada is airgunsource. My favorite is a one man operation out of SK called airgunarcheryfun but COVID has him over a barrel.
 
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A Ruger air hawk in .22 would be ok for squirrel or rabbit at 50 yards but forget about shooting raccoons.
Raccoons are tough, I tried to shoot one as a teenager with a .177 pellet gun of about the power of the air hawk, and even head shots at point blank range would not finish it.
For Raccoons use an air gun that can put out 30+ ft./lb. or better yet a .22 rim fire.
An air gun shooting over about 900 fps will generally not shoot accurately unless slugs are used.
Also the speeds that are listed for springers is a joke unless you use pellets that are so light they are nearly useless.
On Scopes, check out Hawk Air Max scopes for springers. A scope that will stand up to a springer like the air hawk will cost about $200.
 
Pancake, as noted above, it's wise to take the claim of 1200 fps with a grain of salt. Such high velocities are produced by using ultra-lightweight alloy pellets. They are very inaccurate and because they are so light don't have much energy. Best accuracy with an air rifle is achieved with muzzle velocities under 900 fps.

Pushtone said:
The spring guns are not a good option because .177 and .22 pellets at 800-900fps (real-world velocities) have a very limited range and fpe. Raccoons are out of the question. I hit a squirrel square in the head at 35meters and it just shook it off. At least you could stun the critter then rush in with a shovel and beat it to death, lol.

Oh and dont expect good accuracy with Crosman pellets from CT. They are terrible. You will need to mail order good pellets / slugs from JSB, AirArms, ie. german pellets.
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It sounds like you missed the squirrel. A head shot would have killed the beast quite easily.

A typical .177 caliber 8.4 grain pellet with an MV of 800 fps produces 11.94 fpe. A 16 grain .22 caliber pellet at 575 fps yields 11.75 fps.

In the U.K., where air rifles with a muzzle energy greater than 12 foot pounds of energy (fpe) require an FAC, the average hunters are quite satisfied using 12fpe air rifles for squirrels and rabbits. With the latter especially it's important to have good shot placement. But air rifles with such power levels and careful shooting are adequate for the job, especially for squirrels.

The observation about using good quality for best accuracy is very apt. Canadian Tire rarely stocks good quality airgun fare. JSB and Air Arms are good brands, both made by the same Czech pellet maker -- JSB. H&N and RWS are both German makers of quality airgun ammo.
 
Hi all,

I really appreciate your feedback to my post. From what you have provided I think my best bet is to locate a .22 cal Airgun with an above 900 FPS rating. My main use would be rats and squirrels working within 30 yards, but I didn’t know a heck of a lot about air guns, and given the FPS rating I thought medium Sized varmints might be a option. From what you have told me it’s just best practice to use the rimfire in that scenario.

I see a lot of .177/.22 air guns with high velocity that come with scopes for under $300. You folks seem to be calling this springers. A name derived by the break action spring/plunger setup I am imagining. If I don’t exceed rats/squirrels at 30 yards will these fit the bill?

I am curious as to accuracy on on these ones. Surely they can’t be near as good as my cz, lol. But could you hit a loonie at 20 yards with a rest? Is that realistic expectation. Excuse my ignorance but my previous relationship with pellet guns is aim and hope for the best. I would like to get into something that at least could take a squirrel with some reliability
 
It's unlikely you'll find a .22 cal spring piston break barrel air rifle (a springer) that shoots at 900 fps that is relatively affordable. This would be a very powerful air rifle indeed and not easily found.

If you are shooting squirrels and rats under 30 yards, a .177 will do the job too.

Be aware that in Canada air rifles with a muzzle velocity in excess of 500 fps are viewed under thel law as firearms and as a result will require a PAL in order to purchase and own.
 
grauhanen said:
Be aware that in Canada air rifles with a muzzle velocity in excess of 500 fps are viewed under thel law as firearms and as a result will require a PAL in order to purchase and own.
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And have the same restriction as to where you can "legally" use them... If you're planning on using one within city limit, you might want to check your local bylaws.
 
Yup, completely understand gentlemen. But I thank you for reiterating it. Along that topic I wanted to ask this question. Once exceeding 495 FPS, it falls under the provision of a firearm. Easy to understand. However, depending on what projectile you are shooting it could greatly change (lower) the velocity of a the projectile.

So if you had a a 600 FPS rifle and were shooting heavy pellets, it could potentially lower the velocity to below 495 FPS. In which case you would not have to follow municipal discharge laws. Although, because of the potential to shoot above 495 FPS, you would still need a pal to purchase or lawfully acquire and be in possession of.

Should authorities arrive while you are discharging, expect seizure. And hopefully they seize your pellets as well so could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the set up you had at time of seizure was actually discharging below 495 FPS.

Or, does it not matter if you are shooting below 495 FPS, so long as the firearm is “capable” of discharging exceeding the 495 threshold?
 
Pancake81 said:
Or, does it not matter if you are shooting below 495 FPS, so long as the firearm is “capable” of discharging exceeding the 495 threshold?
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As far as I know, the crown will want to use the manufacturer's published data for it's "classification" whether it's a firearm or not

If your municipality as a "no discharge" bylaw, even a sub-500fps is most likely considered a "firearm"

As an example, in Mississauga
https://www.mississauga.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/16125851/Discharging-Firearms-By-law.pdf
“Firearm” means any barrelled weapon from which any shot, bullet, missile or other projectile can be discharged and that is capable of causing bodily injury or death to a person, and includes anything that can be adapted for the use as a firearm, and for the purpose of this by-law includes a slingshot, a spring gun, air gun, paint ball gun and air soft gun

-

No owner or occupier of a property shall permit the discharge of a Firearm or Bow on the property that they own or occupy, except as provided for in this By-law
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Thanks for the discussion sillymike. This is not an issue for me personally, I just enjoy healthy legal discussion. The air guns are new to me, so just curious as to Some of the specifics.

You are correct, Airgun a meet the Definition of a firearm under many bylaws.
 
With your shooting back ground, you’re going to be disappointed with a springer. (Accuracy)

It’s just going to frustrate you. Springers have three recoils:

Back, as the spring fires forwards,
Forwards, as the spring slams to a stop,
And back again, as the pellet is accelerated.

2 of these recoils occurs before the pellet even begins to move, greatly affecting accuracy.

So you can compensate with what’s called “the artillery hold” and allow the rifle to buck around all it wants, but the same way every shot. But that means holding it EXACTLY the same way. Every shot. Perhaps not a problem for target shooting in a league... But when it comes to hunting or shooting rats, etc. real world conditions require holding the gun differently for every shot. A PCP would be a better but more expensive option.

For the price, go ahead and buy the ruger if you’d like, give it a whirl and try it for yourself. You can resell it for about what you spent if need be. But again, to be frank, I think it’s just going to frustrate you.

Another option:

Stick with your 22lr, but start playing with CCI Quiets. Small, 29 grain bullets at just 710 FPS. More accurate than a springer, about as loud, and about as expensive as the high end pellets you’ll feed the ruger trying to get it to group.

Food for thought.
 
Firearms Act and Criminal Code Air guns with a maximum muzzle velocity of 152.4 metres or 500 feet per second and/or a maximum muzzle energy of 5.7 joules or 4.2 foot-pounds
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Over 500fps "and/or" 5.7 joules fpe.


Have a Benjamin .22 (springer/break barrel) purchased a while back from Crappy Tire. At the time it was on sale. Rated for 495fps, while the exact same rifle in the States was 1200fps.
Ordered a main spring from Gravel. It now run 950-980 on my chrony.
Will it hit a Toonie @ 25m....yes...just not every time.
Would I shoot a Raccoon with it, not a chance. Birds and squirrels sure.
Is it as loud as a .22LR pretty close.
I have a sound meter, should see how close they are.

mXYcW3u.jpg
 
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If you get an airgun and like the hobby you will very soon after buy a PCP rifle. They are lighter, shoot more accurately and usually more powerful. So, although I have three spring guns, just save the money you would waste on a cheap spring gun and buy a good PCP. You don't need to get an FX or Daystate, but you will not be sorry if you do. I have a Diana 460 Magnum spring gun, that is a violent thing to shoot with awesome power but my favourite is a Daystate .25 cal that, although much more powerful than the 460, is lighter and effortless to shoot. It is also the most accurate rifle of any kind I have ever shot. I don't regret the money I spent on it and it has held a lot of it's value. I know that $1500. (a good PCP and hand pump) is a lot more than $200. but the cheap Chinese airguns really are crap unless you want to get into taking them apart and "tuning" them. Basically rebuilding them. This is part of the hobby for some.
 
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