I had a couple of air rifles that didn't hold up but all ofthat changed when I bought the GAMO MAGNUM it is a tack driver it is .22 cal & Squirrels don't have a snowballs chance I am currently using the GAMO Redfire pellets but I am think of using the Crosman Hollow Point Premiere Pellets what knid og air rifles you fellas own
I have a Walther talon 22 magnum with a nitro piston that I bought 10 years ago and still going strong. I tested about 15/20 pellets through it the other day and found The 18.13 grain JSB jumbo heavies to shoot the tightest groups at 23 yards(the farthest safe backyard distance test range). The gun blows through 3/4” treated plywood. It’s a best. I do a trigger job on it taking it to 1 1/4 lbs last week and replaced the crappy 3x9 optima optic with a tasco varmint 2.5x10 Mil-Dot. I also have a browning 800 express springer pistol in 22 cal. I have a camouflage tasco PDP2 red dot on it. I polished the three trigger sears the other day and reassembled. It took my trigger pull from 4lbs to 2 1/4. I still would like a lot lighter trigger in it after test grouping yesterday and this morning. The best groups came from H&N Terminators. They shot better than the JSB 18,15, and 13 grain which shocked me. My five shot group was a littler over a half inch. Closer to 3/4’s if I had to guess. Kind of hard to shoot precise with the 5mm red dot as it’s almost a half inch diameter diameter dot at 15 yards to begin with. I also have a an umerex Ruger 1022 air rifle that I just received but it’s getting sent back in today. I put two sets of CO2 cartridges in it and they both poured air out. My browning pistol ive owned for nine years and the Walther 10. I haven’t done a lot of shooting with either just because they both had hard trigger pulls so I messed with both of them this past week. All I can say is after shooting both of this Springer pistol and nitro piston air rifle is that both are very challenging and not forgiving at all. I wish I knew somebody with a PCP I could try to see if they are easier and more forgiving for accuracy. I’m guessing a PCP air compressed rifle versus a spring or a piston recoiling in both directions is a lot more accurate and easy to shoot? I’m sure they are a lot lighter as well. Both my rifle and pistol are like brand new as I haven’t shot a tin through both together combined. I’ll work on that now that they are more trigger friendly.
My buddy has a Gamo magnum 22 and loves it. He shot a raccoon in his garage with that last year at close range (10’ or less) and predator pellets did not penetrate hide. He had several pellets that bounced off it and laying in its fur. After the gun/pellet combo failed he grabbed his cold steel blow gun and took it out for the count. I would assume his gun is weaker than mine or maybe his spring is getting weak? I shot a raccoon at 30 yards with my Walther right behind the eye and it exited the other side of its head with the same predator pellets. I know in my browning express at close range on trapline raccoons that the predator pellets won’t penetrate like his rifle. Last couple I shot I had pellets laying on top of the hide. I guess ill see how the terminators do since they have a metal spike in them.
Last edited by Tripplebeards; 02-26-2020 at 03:04 PM.
trapper44shooter -- welcome to the forum! I'm in my early 70s, and have accumulated, bought, traded, and sold air rifles for quite a few years -- making your question, albeit a good one -- kind of difficult for me to answer. My all-time-headsup favourite is a Benjamin Marauder .22 pistol with attached rifle stock. It is PCP, shoots to a dime-sized hole when secured in a rest up to about thirty yards, is whisper quiet, and has yet to disappoint me! In terms of rifles, I have a Sig Sauer Nitro piston .22, and a Crosman 1068 CO2 powered one -- these, for hunting and "fun". For target (10meter Air) I have an AirArms T200 in .177. Bion, they each have (imho) purposes -- e.g., that the Crosman is a repeater, it's main fun use is on "soda can rocket targets" at camp -- first shot propels soda can skyward, with the quick 2nd shot attempting to again hit the can while air-borne. The Marauder rivals, if not surpasses .22 rifle in the varmint/pest arena. As it is PCP, primarily for hunt expeditions, at camp, and the like where I don't wish to need an air pump -- I acquired the Sig Nitro -- a super great air arm, but -- for me -- its cocking (30lbs advertised?) force gets tiresome quickly... maybe from the PCPs and CO2, I've been spoiled.
BEST wishes. My dad used to profess that the reason there are 147 different brands of beer available is due to 147 different groups of people each believing their choice is the "best". Perhaps this also works with air rifles... whatever works best for you! I've never owned a Gamo -- you surely make it sound great!
geo
After letting both my spring type rifle and pistols sit for almost a decade after buying brand new and trying to seek new love for them in the last week with lightning the triggers a new optics I think I need to advanced a PCP rifles. I would assume they’re way more accurate and way more forgiving? At the time I bought mine there really weren’t any hand pumps available or a little compressors to buy. The only option was running to the aquarium store where they had scuba stuff to get refilled and buy an expensive tank which I was not doing. To much drama. I saw the other day but I could buy a foot type pump for 100 bucks I can deal with that. But if I do I’m going to be selling both of my rifle and pistol that I probably don’t have a tin of pellets through together on both of them first. Is there any resale value on springers? I paid $300 for my rifle and $150 for the pistol at the time. Both very accurate but I would rather have long range accuracy with more Knick down power.
"Yes", to answer your question re resale value on springers. At an estate auction I attended last summer, two air rifles -- a Diana and a Gamo -- went for more than their respective new prices at Pyramid. I'd figure exactly what *I* needed for the investment in them return, and list them perhaps here (WTS), or a Craigslist, or even a local ad- newspaper (e.g., the "Pennysaver", or "Free Trader") -- and see what happens. This being allmost Spring -- it may be a good time, too.
I'm real curious about the $100 foot pump? Most PCPs -- at least mine -- require air pumped in the three thousand pound range. Using a Hill hi-pressure pump (~$275.00) it takes about 125 pumps to fill an on-rifle cylinder from empty, and then one must pump again once level of air pressure drops to a level where accuracy and speed of pellet diminishes. A review of this pump is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rby4dDROdOY. A few others purvey hi-pressure 3-stage pumps, but pretty much all shooters in my circle use the Hill. Re compressors, I really enjoy the Air Venturi Nomad II 4500 PSI Portable PCP Compressor, which unfortunately has gone up in price one hundred dollars -- but, if you ARE into PCP's -- for me, it is the "cat's meow". Double its price is a heavy duty version, too -- way out of my range.
As an example, I fill a Marauder to 2,600psi, and get a minimal 40 very accurate shots before pressure drops to right about 2,000psi. A (another) real beauty of the Marauder is it uses circular plastic magazines, and I keep three of these loaded in a metal Altoids candy tin in my pocket while afield. With the full mag in the rifle -- it operates like a bolt-action rimfire -- actuate the bolt, and pull the trigger for next shot. Simple. And, when the mag is empty, bolt will no longer function, soit's time for a new mag. It is incredibly quiet, too, with the main noise being a slight "ping"; I understand that Benjamin now puts a baffle in to almost eliminate this.
Whichever -- whatever -- BEST wishes. My only regret is I "started" airgunning maybe 15 years back -- in retrospect, I wish now it was double, at least, that time.
geo
I changed my mind on the talon. I just figured out my tasco mil dot drops today. I have my gun zeroed at 23 yards with 18.13 grain JSBs. I set 2, 2 liters out at a 100/110 yards if I had to guess. I placed them in the middle of the woods in the background. I’ll use my range finder tomorrow to check the actual distance. I was zoomed to 10x in my tasco varminter and found the bottom of first mil dot and it hit about an inch and a half low at 100 yards! It sure doesn’t drop much. I turned the unopened PBR can side ways three times but it didn’t explode. I used two 2 liters with water for larger aiming points to figure out where to aim first before wasting the beer. I also had a spotter with binoculars. After I figured out where I thought I needed to aim I put the base of my dot on the middle of a one inch lemon that was on the lemon lime 2 liter bottle and I hit about 1.5” below the lemon. I should have 100 yards figured out now. I caught a pellet in each two liter. The rest sailed right through them. The PBR never stopped any of my pellets. I would assume there’s enough knockdown power for feathers at that distance and I’m guessing a headshot on a squirrel might put it down it I was accurate enough? I’ve got some more practicing to do before that’s going to happen.
Last edited by Tripplebeards; 02-27-2020 at 08:55 PM.
In the realm of hunting type air guns I Presently have an R9, Theoben Classic, and an RWS48 springers. Theres an Air Arms S300 single shot that I retuned and put a 5mm barrel on. A Daystate and Falcon 177 calibers too. The Daystate was the rifle owned by Tom Gaylord and written up in the Airgun Letter. All mine are single shots, seemed the magazines were fiddlely to me. Also have a couple Blue Streaks with adjustable pump cups and one carries a Burris 3x pistol scope in some rings I made on a wire EDM , back in the day. Those Sheridans are amazingly accurate, 1/2 inch at 30 yards for the mid 90s gun with the scope, the thumb trigger rifle will do that at 25 yards when I can see the target and sights well. I have the foot pump, got it around 2000 for a Walther 10 meter pistol. It works well and I charge the rifles with it as my tanks are out of hydro. You DO NOT want to charge a rifle from zero with it! I fill to 2000 or so with a tank if I have serviced a gun and the tank is bone dry. Some day I need to get a tank recertifications, or buy an electric compressor. Fact is, I shoot the R9 and thumb trigger Sheridan more than any other of the sporting guns. I shoot the FWB300 more than any of the others!
As to range , I was 90% or better on starlings out to 55 yards(measured). Tree was a preferred perch right out from my barn. Spent many fun mornings sitting inside the old barn shooting starlings from the trees and cattle feeder. Could not do that with a 22, no backstop. The R9 or Air Arms did about equality well accuracy and lethality. That was with Crosman premier domed pellets and H&N FTT in 20caliber. Had an R1 in 25. Bought a 22 barrel for it and it shot well but was HUGE and heavy. I sold it to a friend who wanted lots of power. Still have the 25 barrel, need to find it a home. I love the Theoben but it is a target gun, fancy walnut and beautiful but hard to tote in the woods. It got to shoot starlings from the barn too, same results as the R9 and AA. The thumb safety is a great early season squirrel rifle, but I need magnification to separate head from tree. Inside 20 to 25 yards it is deadly. FTT pellets in it are best. 6 pumps gets me factory specs and 1/2 inch at 25 yard accuracy.
I will generally be found plinking with the FWB or the thumb trigger. Hunting with the R9. I just find them less hassle than the precharged guns, even though the precharged are easier to shoot well. I am either lazy or I like the challenge ????
There are others in he safe but these fit the discussion.
The Theoben, R9, and AAS300 will all cut into one hole at 25 yards, rested. At 10 meters all the guns I have talked about will put the pellets in the same hole! I had, fou many years, in my desk drawer multiple “stacks” of pellets from my duck seal trap. They resulted from shooting 5 pellets into the same hole, all stuck together. Took them home and put in the lead pot when company got all lead panicked. Should make some more, those were fun times.
Last edited by rking22; 02-27-2020 at 09:02 PM. Reason: S300 not s200
“You don’t practice until you get it right. You practice until you can’t get it wrong.” Jason Elam, All-Pro kicker, Denver Broncos
I shot the S300 with premiers doing right at 800fps at 100 yards one very quiet morning. I have picture of the target somewhere, was foot and a half low at least. Group was decent, 3 inches or so for 5, but I could see the pellets in flight. The sun was low and behind me, looked pretty cool thru the scope,6x Burris I believe.
“You don’t practice until you get it right. You practice until you can’t get it wrong.” Jason Elam, All-Pro kicker, Denver Broncos
Originally Posted by rking22
I saw one of my pellets yesterday through my optic when shooting at a leaf at the same 100 yard target area. Today I couldn’t see a one of them. Next week I’m going to put a paper target over wher my PBR can was and see how tight I can group and try to pinPoint where to aim with my mil dot.
What Pellets do ya guys use to hunt Squirrels with I am gonna switch over to a different the red tips are bad for coming off & they just cost too much for just a tin of 125 let me know what does good for ya'll
What ever your gun shoots most accurate. Any pellet will kill a squirrel with the correct shot placement. Test As many different pellets that you can get Your hands in and use what ever groups the best. I’d tell you to buy a test pack of JSB pellets that gives you Approx 6 different kinds to test. I use to ”pick” a pellet like the predators until I tested them for accuracy the other day And found out they group approx an inch or more at 23 yards. You can’t kill what you can’t hit. Let your gun pick the pellet And not you.
About the only pellets I’ve seen expand as advertised out of my nitro piston rifle are predator, crow magnums, and H&N terminators but none shoot tight enough in my rifle. All shot approx an inch or more at 25 yards. The terminators shoot under an inch at 15yards in my browning 800 pistol. The JSBs match heavy jumbos will shoot in the same hole in my rifle. They may not expand but I will hit where I aim. They are also a better penetrating pellet. Some use it for brain shots on small hogs with 22 cal springers on YouTube. It’s also the #1 choice for a the best accuracy pellet in most air rifles in the world if you research it.
Last edited by Tripplebeards; 02-28-2020 at 06:48 PM.
I like a simple domed pellet of standard or above standard weight for squirrel hunting. As stated above , accuracy first then penetration a close second. Get a sampler of heavyish domed pellets and see what your gun likes. Nothing wrong with the flatnosed target pellets, but they dont carry tge weight and tend to open groups at distance especially with any wind. They were designed to go into 1 hole at 10 meters from mild shooting rifled and do that very well. Super light weight and gimmick pellets are like fishing lures that attract fishermen better than fish.
“You don’t practice until you get it right. You practice until you can’t get it wrong.” Jason Elam, All-Pro kicker, Denver Broncos
lol I have a whole pile of the light weight and gimmick pellets on hand wish I had half the $ money back I wasted on them. None are accurate enough for squirrels past 5 yards.
IMHO the best two pellet makers are H&N and JSB both have a variety of shapes. The vast majority of pellets I have shot during my life have been H&N Match in both .177 and .22 cals. I Have H&N Barakudas for both sizes and a variety of others that I bought 30+ years ago and never shot up. The only empty Pellet Tins I have are from H&N Match Pellets.
In the pic below L to R H&N Match, H&N Barakuda, JSB Exact, JSB Mega, and the other pic, I've been shooting alot of these also Lyman 525 gr 12 ga.
Randy
"It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,,It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do!"
www.buchananprecisionmachine.com
I have never shot a pellet gun but the "PCP" technology makes me with I had gotten into it.
I have the lil brother to that Lyman, mine is 20 gage. Shot pretty good from a M37 but never really got into load development. What I did do was plan and start some drawings for a single shot muzzle loading PCP to shoot it out of! But stock air tank or ball reservoir and under hammer to trip the valve. Run that one around the noggin a while. Randy, you have the technology ....,
“You don’t practice until you get it right. You practice until you can’t get it wrong.” Jason Elam, All-Pro kicker, Denver Broncos
Yeah, I just load most of those into my Trap load like the balls. Same load. 18 gr of GD different wad, one of the Claybuster Blue Wads designed for slugs. I use a 1/8" 16 ga. Nitro Card under the slug so the wad doesn't end up slug's cavity, and those are Roll Crimped in O/F Fed Blue Hulls. I like the Blue Hulls alot! They reload better than any others I tried..
I have also used one of the published loads of 23 gr of Unique with the same hulls wads and slugs. That slug was from a Mihec mould and it made two perfect slugs on the very first pour! He makes nice moulds.
Gonna shoot a 3 gun on Sunday and use some of those slugs. Plenty more where they came from!
Sorry about the Hijack I got cornfused. They're kinda like pellets?
Randy
"It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,,It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do!"
www.buchananprecisionmachine.com
I have a Benjamin pump rifle that's been in the family for decades. Several pellet pistols. Also have 2 Theoben Crow Magnum rifles. One is a .25 the other is a .20. They're pretty stiff to cock but pack a punch!
They each have their preference in pellets. Short range didn't show a lot of difference but as the distance increases the differences in pellets really show up. H&N and JSB seem to work well in relatively normal shapes. Exotic tips haven't been accurate for anything I've tried.
I briefly had a TX200 in 22 and RWS52 also in 22. They worked well but I traded a bunch of stuff around with my brother when he moved across the country.
Hah! rking22 I had the same thought some time ago... a simple large bore muzzleloading PCP airgun. Now to keep things more or less on track... there was (is?) an outfit that made muzzleloading airguns and I believe they had a 12 ga. rifled gun so Randy's 525 gr. 12. ga. pellet wouldn't be off topic at all!
I have two Weirauch rifles, one HW 35 and one HW 55 and a BSA Scorpion hand gun... all .177. As for pellets, even when I lived in Vancouver pellet selection was pretty limited. I found the H&N, RWS and Beeman were all high quality pellets and at the time Crosman were horrible. From what I am reading now Crosman must have improved but back then the size varied so much that some fell right through the bore! Also, they tended to be irregular shape and ragged skirt. I don't think GAMO were available.
Here in rural B.C. pellet selection is even worse and I suspect I'd have to order in but I am still working on thousands I bought about 30 years ago. I stocked up when good pellets were available.
More recently I have been eyeballing the PCP guns and am thinking I might like something in .30 cal. or 9mm. I'm thinking something large enough to cast for but I think .45 or .50 is a bit too big... hard on lead and hard on air but still a "pellet" gun. The mid range bore sizes from .25" to 9mm/.357" strike me as fun guns that would punch big holes and good for small game.
I see that pellets are available for all these gore sizes now but again nothing local so I'd have to order in or cast and casting would be my preference. If I was going to buy pellets I think I'd just go with a .22 or .25 cal. gun.
I've read some testing and reviews of various pellets but don't have links saved. If you do a search you might find some comprehensive testing and reviews of pellet performance.
Longbow
There’s been a lot of 50 Cal big bore PCP airguns out there for the last decade. I was thinking that would be a nasty slug for it. Sam Yang has made a 50 cal Dragon slayer for over 10 years which is the first production 50 cal PCP produced I believe. I believe Air Force came out with a 50 Cal a few years ago and Gamble’s been trying to release theirs for four years and still hasn’t because of issues. I’ve been wanting to buy a Sam yang big bore 45 caliber for 10 years but didn’t wanna deal with scuba tanks. Now that they make expensive foot pumps I’ll probably pull the trigger one of these years.lol I just have a really hard time spending $600 to a grand or more on an air rifle and then 300 and a foot pump. Especially since I’ve never seen or tried one in person. They have similar energies and velocities as a pistol.
I believe the 50 Cal Sam yang shoots about 650 or 700 ft./s... Or maybe that’s the 45 Cal version. They’re good for under a 100 yards on deer from what I’ve read and seen. And they’re also threaded in the front so you can put a suppressor on them without a permit for a very quiet toy that you can legally order in the mail! Energies and velocities are similar to shooting a pistol.
Here’s the same yang dragon slayer says 679 ft./s. They also make a Umerex hammer which is the one I said they’ve had issues with and haven’t released for four years now. I think 44 and 45 caliber like the AirForce Texan are more popular as they shoot flatter.
https://www.pyramydair.com/s/m/Drago...Air_Rifle/2499
I watched one of the videos at 30 yards t the bottom the link that blew through a beef bone and ballistic gelatin.
Last edited by Tripplebeards; 02-29-2020 at 02:50 PM.
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