Air Rifles

[Seahawk]

My last one, a Crosman 760 from the late '60's, is long gone.

The issue is Dottie, my "Hybrid" Heeler, hates the sounds of guns, will come immediately to my side if the are gunshots around my farm...not unusual.

She came to us over a year old and I will not try and "fix" the issue since she will never be a hunting dog. That and she is the deal.

I would, however, like to address some of the Ground Hogs I see on out daily walk-abouts.

Before Dottie, our Labs were delighted that I used a scoped bolt action Savage in .22 WMR. Not going to happen with the D.

While I still carry a .22 pistol in the Ranger, I'd like to be able to reach out and touch the varmints without a lot of noise.

So, advice. I will start the homework but I am interested in any first hand knowledge I do not have: Ranges, calibers, how to ready, etc. I know there have been a few threads on this, but specifics on killing a 4 to 12 pound Ground Hog are what I am looking for...workable?

[cabmandone]

Funny you posted this thread. I've been thinking about posting the same thing. Benjamin is the one I'm currently looking at in .22. But I think you'll find those break barrel rifles are about as loud as something like a standard .22 rifle. I have no experience with the Pre Charged Pneumatic rifles but I've read that they're wicked accurate.

I have a Gamo .17 that was a tack driver at 20 yards but I'm struggling with it this year. I think the cheap scope it came with "flexed" a bit. One thing I did with the Gamo was buy different weight pellets to see which one it shot the best. The ones it didn't like, I sent down range through my older Gamo.

As usual, shot placement is the key. I took out a groundhog at about 15 yards with the Gamo with a head shot. But I'm typically a "head hunter" when it comes to groundhogs anyhow. I'm either gonna knock them down or miss completely. Thankfully I don't miss very often.

Candy, candy and more candy from the PCP's
https://www.airgundepot.com/pre-charged-pneumatic-air-rifles.html

[Lyle O]

My $0.02...

Years ago I bought my dad a RWS Diana, 0.187 caliber. That thing is as accurate today as it was when new; my brother has it now, and uses it for iguanas in Florida. I have borrowed several times for the same purpose, and decided to buy my own rifle; I bought a Beeman Black Cub, dual caliber (.177 and .22). I found that, while the RWS shoots a very quick slug, it was not big enough to take down the big ones (slug was going right through them). I now use the .22 in the Beeman, and it is deadly. But around your farm, especially for ground hogs, you are going to need the bigger slug. Mine is a barrel-break to charge (not pre-charged) and it works great for me.

Good luck...

Lyle

[Tobra]

Suppressed .22 rifle?


We would cover all the holes we could, drop a smoke bomb in and pick them off as they came out. Bolt action .22 running .22 shorts, whisper quiet

[Por_sha911]

Suppressor and sub-sonic ammo. An expense up front but may come in handy down the road.

[rfuerst911sc]

My dad bought me a Diana single break .177 in 1968 when we visited relatives in Germany . It is very accurate and powerful enough to drop a woodchuck with a clean head shot . I still have that rifle . I will say the " kachunk " noise it makes when firing might scare a dog that is jittery to sudden noises .

[Bill Douglas]

A timely subject. I'm thinking of buying this Diana 340 N-Tec 340 air rifle in .22. Does anyone know anything about them, good or bad?

[wdfifteen]

In your situation, I would be considering some sort of bow. I'm not real familiar with them, but we have bow season for deer and turkey here, so they must be pretty damn lethal. Pesonally, I would go with a bow because a bow sounds like fun, and an air rifles doesn't.

[masraum]

I guess this might be overkill?

[Crowbob]

Originally Posted by Por_sha911

Suppressor and sub-sonic ammo. An expense up front but may come in handy down the road.

This would be my vote.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

In your situation, I would be considering some sort of bow. I'm not real familiar with them, but we have bow season for deer and turkey here, so they must be pretty damn lethal. Pesonally, I would go with a bow because a bow sounds like fun, and an air rifles doesn't.

As in bow and arrow or crossbow?

I think hunting with a bow and arrows is a lot harder than shooting something with an air rifle, and I think most bow hunting is done at fairly close range.

And whether using a bow and arrow or a crossbow, you're likely to want to go retrieve the arrow/bolt which is not a requirement when using an air rifle.

[vash]

I have a .22 PCP airgun. it is almost as loud as a .22.

a .22LR shooting CCI "Quiets" is less noisy. suppressed, it is non existent in noise. my dog isn't bothered by the quiets thru a regular barrel

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by masraum

I guess this might be overkill?

I'll go ask Alice, 'cause I am headed down the Rabbit Hole!

Originally Posted by Por_sha911

Suppressor and sub-sonic ammo. An expense up front but may come in handy down the road.

I have a call with my son later today...he has a suppressor on a larger caliber rifle without sub-sonic ammo and it is still a big improvement.

BTW, the last time a shot a bow and arrow the arrow had a suction cup at the business end

[Seahawk]

VVV Excellent. Thanks!

Originally Posted by Lyle O

My $0.02...

Years ago I bought my dad a RWS Diana, 0.187 caliber. That thing is as accurate today as it was when new; my brother has it now, and uses it for iguanas in Florida. I have borrowed several times for the same purpose, and decided to buy my own rifle; I bought a Beeman Black Cub, dual caliber (.177 and .22). I found that, while the RWS shoots a very quick slug, it was not big enough to take down the big ones (slug was going right through them). I now use the .22 in the Beeman, and it is deadly. But around your farm, especially for ground hogs, you are going to need the bigger slug. Mine is a barrel-break to charge (not pre-charged) and it works great for me.

Good luck...

Lyle

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

I'll go ask Alice, 'cause I am headed down the Rabbit Hole!



I have a call with my son later today...he has a suppressor on a larger caliber rifle without sub-sonic ammo and it is still a big improvement.

BTW, the last time a shot a bow and arrow the arrow had a suction cup at the business end

Let me introduce you to a 100 yard crossbow. Wicked accurate and nothing but a "thwack" when the bolt flies. Fun? Hell yeah.. Economical? Nope... not by a longshot. The bolts would be a bit pricey if you can't find them after they blow through the target. And they will blow through the target. A friend of mine practices at 100 yards with his and yes it has enough punch to ethically harvest a deer at that distance.

https://ravincrossbows.com/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21199577707&gbraid=0AAAAAod9lSuaDWl3sTpuWy_TLUfBcvYHi&gclid=CjwKCAjwpMTCBhA-EiwA_-MsmYSf1-kJ8uW4_XYvosrUIsjXEZUC5OiwCV_kAzZFSijyp9k4atdeqxoC 0AQQAvD_BwE

[Seahawk]

^^^ Interesting.

My son hunts with a cross bow...there are three deer seasons here: Archery, muzzle loader and slug.

He, of course, has all three.

He will be taking over the farm starting next year so the cross bow may be a shared option...again, interesting.

Thanks!

[Crowbob]

My TenPoint Xbow sends a dart (arrow) @440fps. You can barely see it travel. Mine is sighted at only 10 yds. but I can, and have, buried consecutive darts @ 30 yds. Such a shot would pass though a groundhog like a knife through hot butter.

I use lighted darts because $$$$.

[herr_oberst]

I live in the city; this thread got me looking and I saw some C02 pistolas that looked like just the ticket for squirrel season here, if I could find one that hits that sweet spot between power and noise. (A rifle even in my back yard, if anyone happened to be looking would "probably be frowned upon" in the middle of Portland, OR.)

[Jeff Higgins]

I'm sure it will come as a surprise to exactly no one on this forum that I'm a bit of an airgun enthusiast. I own and shoot a variety of rifles and pistols, from vintage American pump-up pneumatics to modern high end German and English spring piston guns.

I place airguns in two very broad categories. My first category are those that can be fired without the need of any support equipment. My second category are those airguns that require support equipment in the form of a secondary air supply or secondary pump.

My first category includes the traditional American pump-up pneumatic, like the venerable Sheridan Blue Streak, the old Benjamin, the Crossman 760, and the like. I believe the only one still available is the Crossman, which is no more than a cheap plastic "kids' gun". All of the "adult quality" guns of this type are long since out of production, although they can be found on eBay, Gun Broker, and other internet sources.

None of these are powerful enough to reliably dispatch a 4-12 pound groundhog. I have three vintage Sheridans and one Benjamin, all modified by Tim MacMurray of MAC1 Airguns to better than double their original power output. Even at that, they achieve maybe 20-25 ft lbs of muzzle energy. By way of comparison, the lowly standard velocity .22 LR achieves about 140 ft lbs. Not even in the same league. Oh, and these pump-up guns are quite loud. Nowhere near .22 LR loud, and probably not loud enough to scare even the most gun shy of dogs, but they do have a pretty good little crack to them. But, well, probably immaterial, because they still just don't have the oomph necessary.

More powerful, and still available, are the various higher end "springers", or spring piston guns. These are cocked by breaking the barrel, or with a side lever, or some with an under lever. Some of these are available in .25 caliber, which I would still consider to be marginal of a 4-12 pound groundhog. But, well, if you want fully self contained, this is the upper limit, power-wise. And, incidentally, these "springers" are not loud in the least. I have a suppressor for my Weihrauch HW80, but it really makes no difference at all. I can't see any dog being frightened by one of these even unsuppressed.

My other category includes the "PCP", or Pre-charged Pneumatic. These carry an air tank that holds enough air at high enough pressure to allow for several shots between the need to recharge from some external supply. In the old days everyone just used a SCUBA tank, getting them refilled at dive shops. Today we have dedicated tanks just for these rifles, much lighter and more compact, that makes carting them around far less of a burden than it used to be. In addition, we have high pressure pumps, like bicycle pumps, that can also be used to recharge these.

It's in these PCP rifles where we find some serious airgun power. Guys hunt deer with them (but that's a topic for a different day). There are many available in .25 caliber and larger (.30 would probably be good for groundhogs) that have plenty of power. You can spend some real money on these, though, and their support equipment isn't cheap either. Think several thousand dollars for the good stuff.

If it were me, I would be taking a good look at one of the better .25 caliber springers, like from Weihrauch. Not cheap either, at somewhere in the $700-$900 range before you even put a scope on it, but definitely of "heirloom quality". I use Weaver scopes meant for the .22 LR on those that I do scope, avoiding the dedicated "airgun" scopes. There is an issue with the "reverse recoil" destroying most scopes, but Weaver (and others, like Leupold) rate their ".22" scopes for this use. I destroyed a lot of "airgun" scopes early on, but my current crop of Weavers are now well over ten years old, with thousands of rounds fired, and they are holding up just fine. And they are not expensive, either.

And yes, you can look at other things, like crossbows, bow and arrow, etc. Maybe fine for deer hunting, where their "vital zone" is larger than an entire groundhog, but (at least in my opinion), completely unsuitable if you really want to kill groundhogs. They are small, skittish, low to the ground, and hard enough to hit with a rifle. I'll just about guarantee that those offering these recommendations have never actually tried it.

Anyway, those are my thoughts. I've killed countless rats, possums, bunnies, crows, squirrels, and the like with air rifles. Nothing as big as a bull groundhog, though. I think I would "need" a new air rifle for that.

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

I live in the city; this thread got me looking and I saw some C02 pistolas that looked like just the ticket for squirrel season here, if I could find one that hits that sweet spot between power and noise. (A rifle even in my back yard, if anyone happened to be looking would "probably be frowned upon" in the middle of Portland, OR.)

For your situation, compound bow with small game broadhead. If you practice, A 30 yard shot is easy. And the best part is, virtually no noise at all from a compound with a string suppressor. Buy something with a short axle to axle length and just open a window. No one would even know you shot.

Something like this
https://diamondarchery.com/bows/pro-305/