Niece wants an air rifle for hunting; which one?

Teapot

Teapot

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My niece, who is fourteen, wants an air rifle or BB rifle for hunting squirrels. I am not so sure the mandated pressure/velocity of these rifles would be able to cleanly take a squirrel or rabbit. Perhaps the new polymer tipped Predator pellets would help? Any suggestions?
 
Teapot said:
What brand of air rifle though?
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Doesn't really mater it comes down to speed and size of pellet.. you can get an air rifle that is 1000fps .177 it will get the job done but its a non restricted firearm so depends on a few things
 
A springer might be tough for her. I bought a nice crossman 2240. I put a stock on it, a longer barrel and a steel breech fairly cheap. Still shoots under 500 fps but still has some thump with the heavier pellets. Make sure to use heavier pointed pellets, kodiaks or something like that. Even the 22 lead gamo balls penetrate very well for short ranges. A 177 pellet unless over 500 fps is just not enough for small game in my opinion. Even so, most small game require headshots with a pellet gun to be the most humane way of a sure kill.
Accuracy in a pellet gun and good glass are key to an effective airgun for hunting.
You can also consider a long barreled 22 cal rifle and use cb longs cartridges for the same amount of performance as the higher end registered pellet rifles. Probably less noise too.
BTW, my 2240 shot around 1" off the bench in a 40 yard indoor range the last time I took it out. I could see the pellets arc at that range but it still was fun. lol
 
The air rifle I shoot is the weihrauch HW 85K in .22 caliber.
It will do 700 fps or 850 fps in 177. Which is along the lines ballistically of what she will need

She will probably want something light weight and whats nice about a spring air rifle is that you can
shoot it all day with just a single stroke. The only problem is they may be a little heavy for her.

When it comes to weihrauch i like the rifles with K since they have a shorter barrel.
Like the HW 85, HW 95, and also the HW 50S in 177. These rifles are all just a little lighter and offer
decent enough power to dispatch a squirrel at 30 yrds.

I also have experience with the Diana 34s they have a lot of power and great accuracy but i find them
a little barrel heavy. Try a Diana 34 compact if you can find one.

Also you may want to look for a webley vulcan, or a BSA pro sport. these are also quite light and
break the 800fps mark in 177.

Personally i prefer the higher quality ones since i find you really get what you pay for in the airgun world.
An airgun is sort of a special thing or else you would just pick up a .22 am i right?
Although there are many cheap copies out there of high quality airguns today.
IE the ruger red hawk, B50, etc.
With the flood of them on the market its acutally dropped the used prices of the higher quality springers and they can often be found for a steal. My HW85 cost me $250 with 2 barrels and 2 stocks.

PM me if you have anything specific or want to chat about it.
 
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I'm going to echo those that have said that to take squirrels you're going to need a 500+fps.
I had a Diana that was rated at 1000 fps, and it would have done the job easily.

But it was expensive, loud and it recoiled surprisingly harshly. It wrecked a couple scopes too. And, of course, it was legally considered a firearm, so had all the attendant hassles.

A good .22 rifle with CB caps is as accurate, quieter and lower recoil and probably lighter. Plus easy to ####.
 
This would be a good one until it gets to cold out for co2.
Industry Brand/Shanghai Airgun/Xisico QB78D (Deluxe) Co2 Rifle
[IND-QB78D] $119.99
h t t p://scopesandammo.com/storefront/product_info.php/industry-brandshanghai-airgunxisico-qb78d-deluxe-co2-rifle-p-417
 
Airguns on average with good power are big and heavy if your 14 year old niece's nick name at school is moose or she works out all the time she might like some of the airguns named here.The diana 350 is in the 9 lb class and is 45 " long and cocking effort is i believe 33 lbs !
Your best bet would be to take her somewhere that sells airguns and let her try them out .
I and a few friends use the crosman 2240 for grouse , gophers and bush bunnies out to 20 yards but thats with a lot of practice.
You never put a price range up 2240 can be bought for under 75$ Diana 350 under 500$.
Check out the canadian airgun forum you will find lots of help there and links on where to shop near you .
My 12 year old niece likes the air pistols best but i put together a 2240 with Crosman steel breech,stock,14 inch barrel and a Tasco red dot for my dad as he can't see open sights very well and she loves it i don't think it weighs 4 lbs and it's still under 500fps and accurate.
good luck and congrats on getting another kid into the sport
jack
 
Specialty Shooting Sports in BC has RWS 34's in .22 for a little over $200 Can't beat that at 700fps+ My son has killed crows and a lrg apple tree eating porcupine with his.One shot to the ear hole.And yes we can shoot them in AB as they are pests..........Harold
 
Any airgun that is powerful enough to use for hunting will be classified as a firearm. Therefore, it makes sense to just get a .22 rimfire rifle instead.

The "over-the-counter" 495 FPS airguns that you can buy without a PAL mostly don't really reach that velocity. In my experience, they're tuned so that you MIGHT get near that velocity if you use some super-light alloy pellet. Using normal weight pellets you get more like 380 FPS.

My Crossman 2289 "Backpacker" was rated at 495 FPS. With Crosman 14.3gr pellets it would do about 350 FPS out of the box with 10 pumps. After modifying for more valve volume, weaker valve spring, heavier hammer spring, steel breech, 18" barrel, it'll do 490 FPS with 10 pumps, and 590 with 25 pumps (using 14.3gr pellets). At 590 it packs a wallop. 490, not bad. Out of the box at 350 was useless.

(Yes I have a PAL for my over 500 FPS pellet gun).
 
I second the 2289 Backpacker. No Co2 to buy, just pellets but should be easier to use than a break barrel. Fill in the bleed hole on the valve and you can get around 480 fps with 10 pumps. No PAL to worry about and she can vary the number of pumps for different circumstances. Plus you can use it with the shoulder stock or as a pistol.

I have one with a steel breech that is my go to pellet gun, (I have 5), because you never have to worry about Co2 levels, just pump, pellet and go.
 
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