Airgun hunting

[ChrisG]

So... I don't think we have an "Airgun" category for this anywhere, so I am posting this here.

In the past 5 years or so, I have come to find that the utility of an air rifle is amazing! Especially of the PCP variety! I own/have owned a lot of rifles and handguns in various calibers over the years, but when something is rustling in the cow paddock or chicken coop at 11pm, I always reach for the FX Impact, .25. It sounds like dropping a pencil when it fires, and the impact sounds like a baloon popping, most of the time with a complete passthrough on animals as large as a bobcat or coyote I am wondering if there are any other folks here (especially in africa for monkeys or other pests) who have found the utility of airguns ever increasing as their power goes up and they become more affordable. It's hard for smaller animals to argue with a 47 grain bullet at 915fps.

I have a lot of chicken raiders and such, including an opossum infestation. On a side note, if you haven't tried opossum, give it a go... they aren't bad to eat at all!

 

[LucasK]

I shot a lot of small game with springers when I was younger. I have read quite a bit about PCP airguns but don't have any. To many other things to spend money on right now . Did you buy a high pressure air compressor or do you go to a dive shop to get your tanks filled?

 

[ChrisG]

I shot a lot of small game with springers when I was younger. I have read quite a bit about PCP airguns but don't have any. To many other things to spend money on right now . Did you buy a high pressure air compressor or do you go to a dive shop to get your tanks filled?

I bought the Yong Heng 4500psi compressor. Then I built it into a cart that I welded up for it with a coolant tank and an old air conditioner evaporator coil as a radiator. Then, a small diaphragm pump to pump coolant through the system. On the side, I welded and camming metal strap to hold an SCBA tank. I use the compressor to bring the tank up to 4000 psi and then fill guns off the tank. The FX Impact is only filled to around 3650psi, and I have another cheaper PCP that I regulated that only fills to 210bar (2150psi?)

That setup works well, and the whole thing probably only costs about $450. There are no dive shops near me, but the air from them would likely be superior because it is so dry.

I like springers because the powerplant is right on board, but I could never shoot them accurately past about 20 yards, and no matter how big they are, they are severely limited in power for bigger vermin. Last I saw, Hatsan made a .30 cal springer, but with lead pellets, it is limited to like 580fps for 33ft-lbs. My cheap .22 PCP matches that with 25.39 grain pellets.

I'm glad there are other people on here who enjoy airgun hunting! It's some of the best fun I have had hunting!

 

[skydiver386]

I have several types of air rifles, both match and hunting. This a pic of my Walther LG400 10 meter competition rifle during a match in Cincinnati. Most everyone that has a PCP rifle uses a scuba tank, or carbon fiber tank and air from the local dive shop. My Walther uses 300Bar (4200psi), but most hunting rifles are limited to 3,000psi.

 

[steve white]

There are BIGGER airguns, one I think called "Dragon Claw" which take on wild hogs, etc. I think Keith Warren? used one in Africa a couple of times on TV.

 

[ChrisG]

There are BIGGER airguns, one I think called "Dragon Claw" which take on wild hogs, etc. I think Keith Warren? used one in Africa a couple of times on TV.

Yes, there are a variety of them. AEA makes the Zeus, which is a .72 cal monster shooting 1200 grains slugs.I can swap the barrel, magazine, and probe on my FX for a .35 cal, but you're limited to magazine length, so probably 100 grains is the heaviest that will fit.

The other downside is that, my .25 gets around 25 incredibly, stupidly accurate shots per fill. A 9mm, .45, or .50 cal will likely only get 3-7 shots before pressure drops to unuseable levels.

My gun can put 25 shots into almost the same hole on calm day at 80 yards, still carrying over 70ft-lbs. The new FX panthera can hit a coke can at 250 yards with boring regularity and still be carrying enough energy to dispatch a woodchuck.

 

[ChrisG]

I have several types of air rifles, both match and hunting. This a pic of my Walther LG400 10 meter competition rifle during a match in Cincinnati. Most everyone that has a PCP rifle uses a scuba tank, or carbon fiber tank and air from the local dive shop. My Walther uses 300Bar (4200psi), but most hunting rifles are limited to 3,000psi.View attachment 573264View attachment 573265

What are you shooting for hunting? If memory serves, 10 yard airgun is done at very sedate power levels with a .177 and wadcutters.

 

[Ridgewalker]

I use an old Crosman (renamed Diana) .177 springer or a Browning .22 springer pistol to eliminate trapped raccoons occasionally. One to the brain and done.
A PCP has always been on my want list, but expensive and the technology seems like it changes a lot.

 

[ChrisG]

I use an old Crosman (renamed Diana) .177 springer or a Browning .22 springer pistol to eliminate trapped raccoons occasionally. One to the brain and done.
A PCP has always been on my want list, but expensive and the technology seems like it changes a lot.

I dont know as the technology changes much as of late, but you're right about the expensive part.. a regulated PCP of some quality (FX, Taipan, Huben, EdGun, etc.) will start about $1,400 and go up from there. And that's just the gun, then you have to fill it. They are amazing in what they can do, though, and for someone like me, who lives in a state where suppressors are completely illegal, a moderated airgun is the ticket. Plus, the accuracy benefits over something like a .22LR is a big plus.

I know a lot of people will quote the "paltry" energy of airguns and say they can't do what a powderburner will. While that's true in some cases, a hole through the vitals is a hole through the vitals, and 60-80 ft-lbs will do that all day on animals the size of a coyote or smaller. That bobcat in my first post was hit through the lungs after the slug broke the near leg bone and punched through. That was 92ft-lbs at the muzzle and probably 75-80 when it got there 70 yards away. No slouch.

Bigger airguns (Hatsan's Piledriver comes to mind) will punch all the way through Elk and Moose on a broadside shot. So... hole through the vitals=dead moose. Treat it like a crossbow that can shoot a further range, and it works a treat.

 

[skydiver386]

What are you shooting for hunting? If memory serves, 10 yard airgun is done at very sedate power levels with a .177 and wadcutters.

I have an Air Force Talon with several barrels and an air arrow kit, but primary is a Benjamin Marauder .22 cal. One of the best things about air rifles is the fact that they are very quiet and can be equipped with a moderator. They call them shrouded barrels, to differentiate them from a screw on suppressor, which the ATF requires a tax stamp for.

 

[ChrisG]

I have an Air Force Talon with several barrels and an air arrow kit, but primary is a Benjamin Marauder .22 cal. One of the best things about air rifles is the fact that they are very quiet and can be equipped with a moderator. They call them shrouded barrels, to differentiate them from a screw on suppressor, which the ATF requires a tax stamp for.

Oh, I have a Donny FL screw on moderator for my FX. The difference is that it is 1/2"x20 thread, so it won't fit on any powderburning rifle. It also would be a grenade as it is just made of aluminum. My Diana Stormrider (my cheap PCP) also has a threaded moderator with baffles in it. You can see the FX Moderator attached to the shroud in my picture above. It makes a huge difference. Otherwise that That FX sounds like a .22LR fired into a tin can.

 

[skydiver386]

The 22LR fired into a tin can sound, it that at the muzzle, or the breech? I'm not that familiar with the FX, but a lot of newer rifles have a De-pinger that quites them down considerably. The original Marauders didn't have this, and had a lot of internal noise mostly heard by the person firing it.

BTW, Tree Rats are more than fair game with an Olympic level 10 meter air rifle and flat nose pellets. I figured it takes only 3-4 FPE to get into the brain housing group of a squirrel. The 10 ring in 10 meter shooting is literally the size of the period at the end of this sentence. A side shot through the eye hole and it's lights out, meat for the stew pot.

I would never take a 3k+ 10 meter rifle out hunting, however, it has been known to be poked out the window when a shot presented itself.

 

[ChrisG]

The 22LR fired into a tin can sound, it that at the muzzle, or the breech? I'm not that familiar with the FX, but a lot of newer rifles have a De-pinger that quites them down considerably. The original Marauders didn't have this, and had a lot of internal noise mostly heard by the person firing it.

BTW, Tree Rats are more than fair game with an Olympic level 10 meter air rifle and flat nose pellets. I figured it takes only 3-4 FPE to get into the brain housing group of a squirrel. The 10 ring in 10 meter shooting is literally the size of the period at the end of the sentence. A side shot through the eye hole and it's lights out, meat for the stew pot.

I would never take a 3k+ 10 meter rifle out hunting, however, it has been known to be poked out the window when a shot presented itself.

It's caused by the barrel shroud. They come with one that only has two baffles in it. The addition of the DonnyFL quiets it down considerably. The FX is regulated, so it doesn't need a depinger as the regulator acts as one. Usually, a depinger is just a flow inhibitor somewhere to stop the gas from vibrating when the valve slams shut and introduce some turbulence inside the reservoir.

I had considered the Marauder, but then I got a chance to try out the FX Maverick and was sold on FX airguns. They are capable of changing power settings on the fly and are infinitely tuneable for shooting pellets at 500fps or ultra heavy slugs just under the speed of sound. Mine can push a 34gr. Slug over the sound barrier, but it is detrimental to accuracy and not quiet anymore.

 

[ChrisG]

BTW, Tree Rats are more than fair game with an Olympic level 10 meter air rifle and flat nose pellets. I figured it takes only 3-4 FPE to get into the brain housing group of a squirrel. The 10 ring in 10 meter shooting is literally the size of the period at the end of this sentence. A side shot through the eye hole and it's lights out, meat for the stew pot.

The issue I run into is that, even at 900+ fps, the stinkin' fidgity little squirrels move their head between the time I pull the trigger and the slug/pellet impacts at 40-50 yards... but an olympic airgun has the accuracy going for it.

 

[skydiver386]

The key is to put out bait, birdseed works fine, then let them dip down to grab a nut, when their head comes back up it will always come back to the same position. When their head comes back up, you should already have your sights lined up and start your trigger squeeze.

The guys at the Squirrel Hunter Channel on YouTube have this down to a science.

 

[ChrisG]

The key is to put out bait, birdseed works fine, then let them dip down to grab a nut, when their head comes back up it will always come back to the same position. When their head comes back up, you should already have your sights lined up and start your trigger squeeze.

The guys at the Squirrel Hunter Channel on YouTube have this down to a science.

Went out this afternoon for about 10 minutes and two more squirrels are now in the freezer thanks to the FX!