The Air Rifles & Pistols thread

Spec me: Air rifle

I'm not totally sure I'm not breaking a wierd sub forum rule or something by posting this here, so if I'm doing so, I'm doing so in good faith and please accept my apologies.

Anyway, I currently shoot targets with a CP99 airgun, and it's quite fun, however I'd like to upgrade to a rifle now that I've got a pretty sizeable garden AND a shooting club at 5 minutes from my new place.

However, theres LOT of choice, and theres many criteria; would the forum air-rifle-nerd crowd care to ping in some suggestions given the following criteria?
+ Pretty quiet; sound suppressor pretty mandatory
+ A magazine would be nice
+ Reasonably lightweight, my wife is 5 foot and a little, and like to shoot too..
+ /possibly/ use it to shoot at pests (to kill, not to maim), but it'd mainly be targets.

It seems the 'lightweight' rule out the 'springer' ones, and leave the 'compressed air' ones in... also it seems the compressed air ones also are the ones with chance of having a magazine...

Anyway, I have a airgun shop not far off, so I could order stuff from there, but I'd rather have some suggestions instead of just staring a spec lists... That also include filler bottle and associated bits, if applicable...

I expect the budget to be around 600 to 800 max, from what I've seen. Also I like to get something in the 'mid to upper range' of quality, so not the El Cheapo, but not the gold plated Apple Watch grade ;-)

Thanks guys :-)
 
BusError said:
However, theres LOT of choice, and theres many criteria; would the forum air-rifle-nerd crowd care to ping in some suggestions given the following criteria?
+ Pretty quiet; sound suppressor pretty mandatory
+ A magazine would be nice
+ Reasonably lightweight, my wife is 5 foot and a little, and like to shoot too..
+ /possibly/ use it to shoot at pests (to kill, not to maim), but it'd mainly be targets.

It seems the 'lightweight' rule out the 'springer' ones, and leave the 'compressed air' ones in... also it seems the compressed air ones also are the ones with chance of having a magazine...

Anyway, I have a airgun shop not far off, so I could order stuff from there, but I'd rather have some suggestions instead of just staring a spec lists... That also include filler bottle and associated bits, if applicable...

I expect the budget to be around 600 to 800 max, from what I've seen. Also I like to get something in the 'mid to upper range' of quality, so not the El Cheapo, but not the gold plated Apple Watch grade ;-)

Thanks guys :-)
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BSA Ultra SE

Around £420-500 for the Air Rifle
Spend about £100-150 on a half decent scope
£50-60 on a Moderator
£100-150 for a diving tank for compressed air or Stirrup pump if you want the exercise for about £75-100

+ Pretty quiet; sound suppressor pretty mandatory Check: Remove muzzle break and add moderator
+ A magazine would be nice Check: 10 Shot in .177 or .22
+ Reasonably lightweight, my wife is 5 foot and a little, and like to shoot too.. Check: REALLY light rifles and ideal for the wife's small stature
+ /possibly/ use it to shoot at pests (to kill, not to maim), but it'd mainly be targets. Check: 16Joules version is the full 12ftlbs ~


Above would do what is required plus its a small airgun and lightweight so the wife could use without any problems. You can pickup stirrup pumps or a diving tank cheaper if you buy second hand too
 
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The Ultra/Scorpion is a great rifle to start with if your wife wants to try as well, very light and short. I'd also look at the AirArms S200 too which can be modded to fit a magazine if required (I had a heavily modded one for ratting). The S410 is a bit heavier for smaller people but also a great rifle.

As to calibre preference, well that is a question that can start wars! :D

Basically neither is "more accurate" as it's the skill of the user which determines that but there some dis/advantages to both to bare in mind -

.177's fly faster and with less "drop" so you can make a bigger error in guessing the range and "get away with it" as the pellet won't miss by very much - HOWEVER, it has much less terminal impact for pest control so you have to very careful to hit your quarry in exactly the right place. For target shooting .177 is used by virtually everyone due the points I mentioned so if you only want to plink away then this is the "better" calibre

.22's are the direct opposite of all the .177's points above. It's slower, heavier making it more difficult to be accurate without lots of practice but has much better impact on quarry.

It all come down to personal preference really. I've used both (and .20) very successfully in pest control but my preference was .177 for longer range quarry (35-45 yards) and .22 for shorter range i.e Ratting etc.

As for rifle preference I'd pop down to your local range as most people would be happy to let you have a go of their various rifles. My personal preference at your price range (£600-800 for just the rifle or for everything?) is BSA but of the rifles already mentioned just remember that all are PCP's and need another £100-200ish spent for charging equipment, usually a 3L to 12L diving bottle and another £150-200 on a scope, pellets, bag, cleaning kit etc. 2nd hand is probably the way to go for most of the kit TBH.

Regardless of what rifle you decide on the best things to do is practice constantly until you are 99% certain you can place a shot where you need to before you start shooting at quarry. That means practice in all weathers, times of day and in different "stances" (standing, kneeling, prone etc) because nothing is worse in hunting than causing a quarry unnecessary pain due to your poor abilities.

One thing to be careful with is that like all "sports" it can become a bit addictive where you constantly need the latest kit :D I started off with my dad's BSA Meteor springer plinking in the back garden and ended up 20yrs later with 3 customised rifles (one a £1500+ Daystate) and a £1K digital nightsight covering 4 farm permissions and spending almost my entire free-time shooting. All that stopped when I moved to Scotland in 2010 and I sold my kit and haven't shot since, although now I'm in Kent the bug is starting again :D
 
Thanks for all that ianh, this confirm what I was beginning to understand regarding caliber. I think I will go for .177, as I don't /plan/ to hunt anyway until, as you say, I've become adequate for it. I'm not too worried, as I use to shoot .22's a lot when I lived in france, so I'm not a complete newb at it.

For the gun, I /assumed/ 800 or so would get me a full kit... I have a friend who used to do scuba diving, and I'm going to ask her if she kept the bottles, I'm pretty sure she did.. that should help a bit.

But overall for 'new' activities, I try to buy the '7' on the scale of 1 to 10 for equipment, if you see what I mean, and it seems it's roughtly there, if I negociate a bit with the shop for a bundle for example... We'll see how it goes.

As for G.A.S, I'm reasonably immune. Well, not IMMUNE but I recognise the symptoms early and bang my head on the wall until it stops :-) (being a photographer and a guitarist.. you can imagine :-))
 
BusError said:
Thanks for all that ianh, this confirm what I was beginning to understand regarding caliber. I think I will go for .177, as I don't /plan/ to hunt anyway until, as you say, I've become adequate for it. I'm not too worried, as I use to shoot .22's a lot when I lived in france, so I'm not a complete newb at it.

For the gun, I /assumed/ 800 or so would get me a full kit... I have a friend who used to do scuba diving, and I'm going to ask her if she kept the bottles, I'm pretty sure she did.. that should help a bit.

But overall for 'new' activities, I try to buy the '7' on the scale of 1 to 10 for equipment, if you see what I mean, and it seems it's roughtly there, if I negociate a bit with the shop for a bundle for example... We'll see how it goes.

As for G.A.S, I'm reasonably immune. Well, not IMMUNE but I recognise the symptoms early and bang my head on the wall until it stops :-) (being a photographer and a guitarist.. you can imagine :-))
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Just to add that shooting in your garden is not always a great idea. It is easier if you have understanding neighbours though :) Just take some time to familiarise yourself with the relevant laws regarding shooting.

As for a rifle - you may want to consider TDR's. They tend to be much lighter and compact than full size rifles but still pack a 12ft/lb punch. Air Arms do the S410 TDR. The S410 is a superb rifle, I used to own one myself, but be aware that not all rifles have ambidextrous stocks - so if you or your wife are a leftie it is something you will need to look out for. The gunpower stealth is also a neat TDR.

On the cheaper side of the PCP market you have the BSA Ultra SE, Gamo Coyote, FX T12, Hatsan AT44-10 (this is a starter kit and might be worth a punt to start with), Walther R8, Webley Raider 20 shot,

I would also look at the Air Arms S200 and fit a mag kit. They are about £400 retail + £65 for the mag kit to make it an 10 shot. They also only weigh about 2.5KG and come in at 11.5 ish ft/lb.

I would look around in the 2nd hand market too. Personally, if you are not sure whether shooting is your thing - I would hold off buying and just pop down to your club and see how it goes.

Some ancillary things you are going to need to factor into your spend:

  • Dive/buddy bottle for refills + applicable valves and connectors and most importantly somewhere that can refill it like a club or dive centre (You could get a stirrup pump to start with but trust me, it's a lot of hard work!)
  • Cleaning/maintenance kit
  • Gun bag
  • Pellets of various brands/grains to find one that suits your gun
  • Scope and mounts
  • Sound suppressor (if one is not included with the gun)
  • Light - if you want one.
  • Targets with pellet catcher (or you could make your own)
  • Chrono (always best to have one)

PS a 7 on the scale of 1-10 is not 600-800 all in, in my opinion (thats more of a 4-5! :p ). I would be looking more like £1000-£1500 and that would get you some very nice kit if you are wanting not the best but not far off. You can get a good all round rifle for 600-800 and a decent scope for another 200.
 
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BusError - All the ones mentioned in your post could be considered 5-6/10 in terms of ability as none are "regulated" so their shot power is less consistent and therefore you need to spend time learned the power curve. This doesn't mean they're not as good built etc you just have lots more variables to be careful with.

Non reg'd the 1st 40 shots (for example) will be fairly consistent then the power will slowly drop so the pellet will drop more and more until the air cylinder is almost empty at say 90 shots. With a regulator fitted it makes every shot from 0-90+ the same speed and keeps going now to 110-130 shots but then it drops off extremely quickly but those first 90+ are virtually identical and are the sweet-spot.

However all those mentioned can be modified with a regulator which is what I did with my S200/Ultra hybrid or, if you buy 2nd hand, you could pickup a reg'd rifle (BSA R10/Weihrauch HW100) if you look around the forums (airgunbbs.com etc) for a much lower price.

BuffetSlayer - I'd avoid the Gunpower series like the plague, horrible ergonomics, leaky with inconsistent power. My friend bought one and never operated as it should and the web is filled with negative stories about them.
 
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Personally I'd suggest an S410 Carbine in .177.

Rationale...

- Really easy to pick up second hand, easy to service, little goes wrong with them
- Very "pointable", which will go down well with the missus
- Well understood rifle if you want to tinker
- If you decide this is something you want to invest more in, it will hold its value well for resale, and can also be modified to have a regulator if you just want to tart it up

Dont skimp on a scope, and don't consider a diving bottle smaller than 7ltr 232 bar (3ltr 300bar) or you'll be forever going back to your local diveshop/gunshop.
 
Makhaira said:
Personally I'd suggest an S410 Carbine in .177.

Rationale...

- Really easy to pick up second hand, easy to service, little goes wrong with them
- Very "pointable", which will go down well with the missus
- Well understood rifle if you want to tinker
- If you decide this is something you want to invest more in, it will hold its value well for resale, and can also be modified to have a regulator if you just want to tart it up

Dont skimp on a scope, and don't consider a diving bottle smaller than 7ltr 232 bar (3ltr 300bar) or you'll be forever going back to your local diveshop/gunshop.
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Can't argue with that logic. Although if either of them are lefties they will have to look at an ambi stock for it. I had a full length 410 in .177 and couldn't fault it. Great gun.
 
Aye 410 is a good little air rifle.

I'm currently looking for a cheap R10 to pickup for myself as my first PCP, i've seen some reasonably priced Huntsman's recently too so i am half temped by a Daystate
 
Montala said:
hitting a squirrel with with something like a small (6mm) plastic ball bearing which would 'sting' but not actually wound the animal, or penetrate the skin, is not irresponsible behaviour.
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What.

If that's OK, then surely it's perfectly acceptable to apply the same logic to shooting annoying children.
 
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