Looking for opinions on a break barrel .22 air rifle from owners of PAL type airguns

savagefan

savagefan

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Howdee! We recently bought a small patch of dirt for recreation. Lotsa gopher hills, I would like to send them to kingdom come without disturbing the neighbors. So my needs are quietish with good power I would like to go $400 or less, TIA.
 
IMO a 'low-cost' air rifle will Not be very good for gophers unless you'll be within 50 ft or so. Even tho they're gophers an ethical kill is required for Karma. Better to get a Sav MKII and some 'quiet' subs.
 
You didn’t mention if you were looking for a PAL rated airgun or not. If higher power PAL the Gamo magnums are priced reasonably. If wanting quality and non PAL rated there are quality guns from Weihrauch or Air Arms. There are many choices available depending on your budget. Many choices available from D&L airguns or Air Gun Source. The internet is your friend, do some research.
 
If you go down the air rifle ‘rabbit hole’ you will quickly discover how expensive cheap BB guns can actually become.

CCI makes CB longs 29g bullets at 710ft/sec. Quiet and on par with many 22 & 25 cal air guns. If you still want to go with an air rifle Id suggest a PCP. Air gun source has some in the $550.00 range that will ruin a gopher’s day. They are very accurate !!!!
 
I think you are barking up the wrong tree unless your patch of land location prohibits firearms use? A cheap .22 with subsonic ammo and a longish barrel will be quieter and less maintenance than a breakbarrel air rifle. I view those in that price range as essentially disposable. They will break. And require specialized tools to work on.
All different air gun types in general require the user to be more “handy” to run and maintain than firearms. I went down that rabbit hole, I now only have a Crosman 2240 & 1322 pistols modified a bit for use on pests 10 meters max where I can’t use a firearm.
I still look at PCP rifles, but the use case for me is met by an accurate 22
 
PCP can be loud. My Kral could make my ears ring.

Then there is the whole PAL rated is technically a firearm thing. Buy like a TOZ 8m or Cooey 75 and shoot CCI quiets. Will have more power than an airgun and just as quiet. Also more accurate than most break barrels.
 
Mr Bill said:
If you go down the air rifle ‘rabbit hole’ you will quickly discover how expensive cheap BB guns can actually become.

CCI makes CB longs 29g bullets at 710ft/sec. Quiet and on par with many 22 & 25 cal air guns. If you still want to go with an air rifle Id suggest a PCP. Air gun source has some in the $550.00 range that will ruin a gopher’s day. They are very accurate !!!!
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the cci quiet segmented hp 710fps work surprisingly well on small game.
 
Thanx for the replies, I have several rimfires and a FV in .223 for long distance fun. We do have neighbors, we haven't met them yet as it's too cold to do much there. I'm sure they will feel more at ease if they see me with a "BB gun" than a .22, I will have to sound them out. I have a crosman pump up pistol in .22 which I can use up close from the golf cart and a cheapy break action from P A. I used to have a Diana 350 Magnum that I gave to one of my boys when he got his acreage, he used it to clear away his varmints including a coyote. Gamo and Umarex make some hi perf break barrels and in the states, they even have some with shrouded barrels to keep the noise down. 1000 fps range is what I want, I'm just asking if anyone here has experience with these units and what their opinions of them are.
 
savagefan said:
Thanx for the replies, I have several rimfires and a FV in .223 for long distance fun. We do have neighbors, we haven't met them yet as it's too cold to do much there. I'm sure they will feel more at ease if they see me with a "BB gun" than a .22, I will have to sound them out. I have a crosman pump up pistol in .22 which I can use up close from the golf cart and a cheapy break action from P A. I used to have a Diana 350 Magnum that I gave to one of my boys when he got his acreage, he used it to clear away his varmints including a coyote. Gamo and Umarex make some hi perf break barrels and in the states, they even have some with shrouded barrels to keep the noise down. 1000 fps range is what I want, I'm just asking if anyone here has experience with these units and what their opinions of them are.
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They may dislike both. I know my new neighbor had issues.

Shrouded barrels are illegal here. So any in Canada will be Faux and non functional.
 
savagefan.....lots of good advice here.
Does a quiet and accurate air rifle to take down gophers for $400 exist? Maybe, but like others mentioned you'd be better off with a 22lr bolt gun shooting subs.
There are some nice deals (rifle/scope combo) on the EE and since you're a Savage fan there should be a few. eg. MKII's, FVT, etc
 
savagefan said:
Thanx for the replies, I have several rimfires and a FV in .223 for long distance fun. We do have neighbors, we haven't met them yet as it's too cold to do much there. I'm sure they will feel more at ease if they see me with a "BB gun" than a .22, I will have to sound them out. I have a crosman pump up pistol in .22 which I can use up close from the golf cart and a cheapy break action from P A. I used to have a Diana 350 Magnum that I gave to one of my boys when he got his acreage, he used it to clear away his varmints including a coyote. Gamo and Umarex make some hi perf break barrels and in the states, they even have some with shrouded barrels to keep the noise down. 1000 fps range is what I want, I'm just asking if anyone here has experience with these units and what their opinions of them are.
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I see that you have some experience with ‘BB’ guns so I will revise my previous recommendations. As mentioned by others pcp’s do bark and standard break barrels are more of a challenge to shoot accurately.
I have in my collection of air rifles 3 ‘springers’ UNDERCOCK levers. AirArms TX200 MKIII, AirArms Pro Sport, Weihrauch 97K all in .22cal. Extremely accurate even for field target competition and effective at 750 ft/sec. With an airgun rated scope(Hawke) and SportMatch rings you will have a rifle that will not be as much of a concern to neighbors as a .22lr. Have them come over for a BBQ and let them fire a few shots at some pop-cans. They might even invite you over to shoot some of their pesky gophers….after all, it’s only a bb gun.
 
Dantforth said:
I guess I would ask why kill the gophers? If you have a reason then do not consider an air rifle. In order to make a clean kill on any gopher you will need to use a firearm.
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A quality air rifle will put a heavy pellet out at 1000 f/s and is capable of head shots at 50 yards. It is considered a firearm in Canada.

You can also make cleans kills with the hose down the gopher hole... it just takes considerably longer. Left unchecked gophers are destructive little fellows.
 
Dantforth said:
I guess I would ask why kill the gophers? If you have a reason then do not consider an air rifle. In order to make a clean kill on any gopher you will need to use a firearm.
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Why kill gophers? Walk around a piece of land and you’ll quickly figure it out. Try growing anything or have pets,livestock or even damage to equipment!! I could add many more reasons such as the diseases they spread.
 
An even bigger problem is badgers will dig down into gopher holes for din dins and the holes they leave are dangerous to livestock and even vehicles. Besides, I like shooting them. Me an' the boys have wiped out thousands of them for thankful farmers, it keeps your shooting/hunting skills way sharper than punching holes in paper.
 
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