Pellet rifles -who likes them ?

[ol mike]

I do.

I have a gamo cfx royale .177 -it's a fixed barrel model -1,000fps w/a leapers 4x scope.
I have shot so many crap birds [crows -pidgeons -starlings -sparrows -bluejays] ,ground squirrels etc. i couldn't begin to count them all.Also shot several grey squirrels that wouldn't stop trying to chew their way into the house -dead w/ one shot.

If anyone is contemplating getting a pellet rifle the gamo fixed barrel is the best deal out there [midsouth shooters supply].It has a dead air space moderator -looks like a small silencer and is VERY quiet.
The Leapers scopes are top-notch -get a 3x9 or 3x12 w/side focus -Pyramid Air- has good prices on scopes and pellets.

Don't try to apply to pellets what you know about bullets -save yourself the time and money and buy some RWS FLAT TIP 'HEAVY' MATCH PELLETS =9gr and up -no 'good bc' sharp point -no cute little red tip =these will not shoot well trust me.If you want to shoot that type i'll sell you all you want.

Don't buy a break barrel -everytime you cock it it bends the barrel a little and soon you'll run out of elevation in your scope.

Don't put a regular scope on a 'springer' no matter how good/tough it is -magnum spring air rifles have forward and reverse recoil and will destroy the best scopes.

Don't try to shoot a magnum spring air pellet rifle off of a sandbag -it will shoot patterns -you must learn to shoot a 'springer' -hold them very lightly in your hands and concentrate on keeping the crosshair on the target as the spring reacts.

I practiced shooting offhand for hundreds of shots w/ the pellet rifle -when i went to wyoming shooting pd's i killed five in a row offhand from 80 to 125yds w/ my cz 22 fireball .
Pellet rifles are definately great fun and practice -and when there is a dumpster diving job-site crow hanging around -it'll be going to crow heaven.

 

[Len Backus]

I like em but the 20 rabbits I killed in my city lot backyard hate em.

 

[James Jones]

I had an RWS 48 in 177 for years but lost it during hurricane Katrina and haven't replaced it yet. I have a costom Ruger 10-22 with a 1-9 twist barrel specificly to shoot Agulia 60gr SSS ammo I built a suppressor for it and its actualy way quieter than the old RWS was.

I'd still like to get a little pellet rifle just to help limit the range and chance of over penitration and such

 

[davewilson]

i bought .20 cal Benjamin Sheridan for my 9 yr old but must admit i love to shoot it. my work is pest control and when we get a pigeon job, i'm usually the trigger man with another holding the light. i'm planning on hunting some squirrels this fall but i have to find out if it's legal here in Pa. i was shooting flying grasshoppers in the quarry a couple weeks ago while the boy was fishing. they're not particularly easy to hit offhand. but a lot of fun! i love shooting that thing!

 

[ol mike]

Rabbits will destroy a garden that's for sure.

James -that's a trick set-up -fast twist 22 w/ the 60gr's -i too would worry about ricochets w/ something moving heavy and slow.Be great on bigger stuff though.
Those RWS guns are very nice well worth the money -anything RWS is good stuff.
A past co-worker had an RWS 54 w/ the floating action [no spring recoil] -22cal side cocker -man it would drop crows out of the tallest trees -he was an excellent shot w/ it.
I was ignorant to modern pellet rifles and when he told me about it -i mentally rolled my eyes thinking -big whoop - a pellet rifle ,but after seeing him drop a few crows out of the job-site trailer window -i'm ignorant no more !

Dave - i saw you mention a pellet rifle on the other thread and been meaning to start a thread and that pushed me over the little edge.
I had a benji-20cal -real nice but too loud ,one thing amazing about them was when sighted in whether you shoot it w/ 3 pumps or 8 pumps it hits the same poi.
I shot a crow behind my house w/it and flew 20-30' and smacked into the sliding glass door of a new house ,i went up on my porch to get a better look and in the amount of time it took get there and turn around and look --the new home owner was looking at me and the bird --just smiled and waved.I got all paranoid and forgot to wave back -laugh-.

Just looked up the gun i have on pyramid air -gamo cfx $219 w/a scope -one stroke of the handle is like 10 pumps from the benj pump -way more fun .
I know two other people w/ them same gun/scope combo -shoot lights out -i can't say enough good things about them for the money..

Check the youtube vids -lotsa good crows.-Mike

 

[dirtball]

OL MIKE
I also have a CFX .177, I Agree with all you have said except I am shooting Gamo's PBX (the gold ones) pellets and the 40 to 50 squirrels that have departed my yard just hate them.
But I have GOOD triggers on all of my rifles and I HATE that friggin Gamo trigger. I know there is some one out there that makes a replacement for it, just need to find and buy one.
Dave

 

[mo]

I have a RWS 48. I really enjoy shooting pellet rifles. I've been thinking about buying a new one, the RWS is just to big and heavy. I can tell you first hand they will kill any rifle scope you put on them. I broke a vari x3 and a simmions, and finally put an air rifle scope on, and that cured the problem. When I was a kid I had a Sherdian 5mm, and could regularly hit a shotshell primer from 20 yds with open sites. Man I wish I could still see to shoot like that now. They are cheap, fun, and make great practice....

 

[CoachChris]

Another pellet worth trying is the Beeman Wadcutter Coated pellets. The only place I have seen them is Sportsman's Warehouse.

Word to the wise. Don't leave the spring types cocked for any length of time. My girlfriend was shooting my Gamo and left it cocked for 2 days. I took it out with me when walking the dogs (plinking) and found it cocked. Put a pellet in it and fired. It went from 1,000fps. vermin slayer to Daisy BB gun in 2 days! Depending on cost I'll probably send it out to have it fixed this winter.

Chris

 

[ol mike]

OL MIKE
I also have a CFX .177, I Agree with all you have said except I am shooting Gamo's PBX (the gold ones) pellets and the 40 to 50 squirrels that have departed my yard just hate them.
But I have GOOD triggers on all of my rifles and I HATE that friggin Gamo trigger. I know there is some one out there that makes a replacement for it, just need to find and buy one.
Dave

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Dirtball - i agree about the triggers but after so much practice i know exactly where mine breaks -a creepless 2lbs trigger would be nice !
I've killed ground squirrels out to 80yds w/ mine - i always aim a little high and usually can see the pellet wiz past their head to get the elevation -next shot is more often than not on the noggin/neck area -dead.

 

[esshup]

I'm not sure about the break barrels going bad. I've had a FWB124D since Beeman brought them here and have run 10's of thousands of pellets thru it with no problems. I'm on my 3rd Spring. Simmons 6.5-20 44Mag scope holds up just fine as well. I have the same scope on my AirArms TX200 as well.

For practice, look and see if there are any Field Target clubs around. The matches are fun and great practice!

If you can learn to shoot a Springer well, then centerfire is no problem.

Crossman Premiers are my pellet of choice (the light ones, not the heavies).

 

[FAL Shot]

I would take a Benjamin or Sheridan multi-pump any day of the week over a springer no matter how fancy the springer might be. Any PCP air rifle shoots JUST LIKE A FIREARM so there is no need to learn a special artillery hold that Springers must have and any PCP rifle will shoot well off of sandbags. Friends don't let friends buy springers, and if you don't know what I mean, then you are definitely unqualified to give modern air rifle advice.

Heavy round nosed pellets are the best for hunting purposes. Classic examples are Crosman Premier, H&N Baracuda (also known as Beeman Kodiak), and JSB Exact. My most used pellet is the JSB Exact, as 5 people make the pellets and 15 people inspect them. They are ALL match grade right out of the tin, no need to grade them. Made in the Czech Republic a few miles from the CZ factory, where quality control still means something. Never found at your local department or hardware store, which is a good thing, as they are not aiming at the lowest common denominator mass market mentality that really would rather be at home watching Bone Collector, sucking on a beer, and eating pizza, and then go hunting to fill up some in-between time between belching and farting episodes.

I just got back from taking out prairie dogs with head shots at 80 yards, in the wind, so I might know a little bit about what works and what doesn't in regard to air rifles. Those who shoot rabbits in the garden or squirrels out of the backyard bird feeder have less stringent demands, and even a springer can get some hits there. You ain't gonna succeed against prairie dogs at 100 yards in Montana wind with your Gamo springer, even on full body shots, much less headshots.

I gave away my Leapers scope (it was unscrupulous to sell it to the poor kid I gave it to) that Pyramyd Air sold me, and got a decent English brand with a ballistic reticle made for airguns and rimfire designed by Nick Jenkins, the UK shooting champion. It is a Hawke Nite-Eye SR6 3-12x50mm with illuminated reticle. The illuminated reticle in the Leapers scope sucked bigtime. It was far too bright for night shooting even on the lowest setting. It was bought as a 35-yard parallax scope, but when I checked it, it was really just a 100-yard parallax scope that had 35-yard parallax written on the box. The Chinese figure you are too stupid to know the difference and make just one scope model and label them differently knowing that 90%+ of those who watch Bone Collector will never catch their little trick. Actually, 100-yard parallax suited me better, but if you get to know Chinese scopes, you know the ******** doesn't stop at the fudged parallax setting. I have bought my last Chinese scope, thank you very much. Back to Burris, Leupold, Bushnell and Weaver for me. Nikon is OK as well, although I don't own any, but friends do.

I made my own "deturbulator" (my word, as I invented the thing) for my BSA Lonestar PCP rifle. It is neither a noise suppressor, muzzle brake, deresonator, or flash suppressor.....but contains elements of each one and does the job of each one to a certain extent. While a fire flash does not exist in air rifles, a PCP air rifle emits a condensation flash from the muzzle, and my deturbulator warms up the cool wet air (that all PCP rifles produce when fired)and prevents a condensation flash similar to the way it could cool down and prevent a fire flash from a firearm. You will remain unseen in any stealthy situation. The main reason I like it is the fact it noticeably improves accuracy by removing disturbances, because the noise, recoil, ringing and condensation puff were never all that disturbing in themselves....but they do affect pellet accuracy somewhat it would seem because when they are addressed the accuracy improves. Without a deturbulator, the pellet receives a kick in the butt and a slap in the face when it exits the muzzle. My pellet, in comparison to what comes out of your air rifle muzzles, has been full body kissed by a Valkyrie in a carnal knowledge way and is headed STRAIGHT into battle. With my BSA Lonestar at Dogtown, I am definitely a Deturbed Individual.

 

[tuck2]

for me pellet guns are fun , I have a 10 meter range with a portable bench rest set up in my den with the target in the storage room. I shoot a old Bejmen 312 22 cal pump, a benjiman sherridan blue streak 20 cal pump , a crosman blue streak 20 cal pump, a beeman r-1 17 cal and a beeman rs 1000 22 cal. most of my shooting , pellet testing is in the winter. Shot a few cotten tail rabbits and a bunch of unwonted birds with the pellet rifles. All of them have scope sites except the old 312 22.

 

[Bman940]

I've been shooting them for years. Love wearing out the turtles in my pond.
I have easily shot 5000 rounds thru my break barrel and I have not noticed any "bend" or my scope being off at all. I have an old Nikon Monarch UCC that I bought from a buddy 8 years ago. It's help up very nicely.

I just had this conversation with a freiend the other day, it seems like the Air-Rifle craze is taking off again like the 22LR frenzy did a few years ago.

It would be great seeing some shooting ranges put in pellet rifle only areas with maybe some of the old carnival style targets. Knock em down and they pop up,moving, spinning...just something to make it more exciting for young folks to keep shooting.

 

[cowboy]

OL MIKE
I also have a CFX .177, I Agree with all you have said except I am shooting Gamo's PBX (the gold ones) pellets and the 40 to 50 squirrels that have departed my yard just hate them.
But I have GOOD triggers on all of my rifles and I HATE that friggin Gamo trigger. I know there is some one out there that makes a replacement for it, just need to find and buy one.
Dave

I am with you - did you put an after market trigger in your air rifle? I am looking to get a new pellet gun but my main criteria is it has to have a decent/good trigger. I am not well versed on pellet rifles and any help would be appreciated