Air Power

[Rockindaddy]

For years South Florida has been plagued with invasive Iguanas. Most counties Miami-Dade and Monroe do not allow a discharge of a rifle or pistol unless you own over 5 or more acres. Air rifles and pistols are not firearms unless you live in the Peoples Republic of New Jersey, NY, or Massachusetts. You can't own a sling shot in New Jersey! Of course the Felons all own guns and the DA's don't prosecute them. Anyhow most south Florida residents in urban areas take out the Iguanas with pellet rifles and pistols. Its taken awhile to get a rifle that really works. The Sheridan 5mm pneumatic pump rifle works very well. I have turned a few friends on to this rifle shooting a solid lead skirted pellet. However the big lunkers require a little more lead to take them out. Bought a Beeman 25 cal pre charged pneumatic (PCP). This rifle was made in England by Theobean Rapide and is of excellent quality. This rifle needed a little tuning but it drives a 31 grain lead pellet 900 fps and shoots raggety hole groups @ 50 FT. You have to charge the air cylinder to 200 BAR (3000 psi) with a scuba bottle or I bought a little lunch box size compressor that pumps up the tank in 3 minutes.The Beeman has a 12 shot rotary magazine too. It's fun to shoot in the yard and the Iguana's are getting thinned out. One year I shot 56 of the critters. My friend is a lobsterman. We stuff the Iguanas in the lobster traps and send them to the bottom and exchange them for lobsters. Good trade!

[GhostHawk]

Airguns have their place for sure. I have yet to switch over to the dark side (PCP's) but I totally agree about the Sheridan Streaks.

With no primers involved they also tend to be significantly cheaper to shoot than powder burners.

[Texas by God]

A cousins son in law killed a doe this year at close range with a .35/9mm PCP air rifle.
It dropped to a lung shot but tried to get back up, a neck shot finished it.
This is our guide cousin trying it out. The owner said that it shoots a 90 gr pellet at 1000 fps- so who says that a .380 won’t kill deer?


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[W.R.Buchanan]

Good to see another Lizard Hunter! I am trying to get set up to go to FL this summer to visit my brother. if I get to go I will be taking my Air Venturi Avenger 25 cal. and be booking a hunt with the Python Cowboy and Otto! He feeds his Pigs with the carcasses. I like that you are doing Lobster Bait, I have heard that others donate to fishing boats to be used as Chum. Apparently the Puerto Ricans eat them? I doubt they taste like chicken?

If I can work a Pig Hunt into the trip I'd take one of my Shotguns,,, probably the Autoberg?

I must take advantage of the Target Rich Environment that is Florida,,, before I croak.

Randy

[dverna]

A cousins son in law killed a doe this year at close range with a .35/9mm PCP air rifle.
It dropped to a lung shot but tried to get back up, a neck shot finished it.
This is our guide cousin trying it out. The owner said that it shoots a 90 gr pellet at 1000 fps- so who says that a .380 won’t kill deer?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I see the fellow using the artillery hold. Nice touch! Needed with springers but PCP's can be shot like normal guns.

[Rockindaddy]

Air Power! That was my original post showing the results of a PCP (pre charged pneumatic) rifle. Great for pests in Urban areas. I have found that there is very little in savings if you are comparing projectile weight and velocity. My Beeman 25 cal Super 12 is made like a fine watch. The air bottle is charged to 200 BAR or 3000 lbs from a scuba bottle or I have a small lunch box size compressor that runs on 12 volts DC or 120 volts AC. Cost of German 31 gr 25cal pellets are $ .06 cents each. The Beeman pellets are 26gr and cost about the same. Can't recall the cost of the 25cal round lead balls. This great air rifle has a lot of blood on it. Many Iguana's have gone into chum bags and lobster traps. But I also have a bolt action Marlin 22 LR that is suppressed. The air rifle makes more noise than the Suppressed Marlin 22. I drive Winchester 45 gr boolits @1090fps and CCI 40 gr Standard Velocity boolits @1070fps. My 22 LR ammo costs $ .06~.08 cents per round ordered on line through SG Ammo. The H&N German pellets are $.06 to $.08 cents depending on how fancy and heavy they are. There is no real economic advantage to shooting heavy pneumatic pellets over a 22 LR. I do have a nice break barrel .177 rifle made in the Czech Republic that is cheap to shoot but does not compare in any way to the PCP or 22LR guns. Why are air rifle pellets costing the same as 22Long Rifle ammo???? The obvious advantage of an air rifle is in Urban areas where a powder propellant cartridge rifle discharge is prohibited.[/ATTACH]

[MarkP]

My son's friend paid big $$ for an Iguana at a local pet shop.

[GhostHawk]

Well if you go bigger bore the cost for pellets certainly increases.

But to be honest I was thinking 500 pellet tins of crossman HP pellets at under 6.50 $ a tin.

As to your .25's, well you can not find primers for that price, much less powder, brass and bullets.

I do not personally compare airguns with rimfire. Apples and oranges IMO. Although the PCP's are certainly getting close to approaching that power level if not yet quite IMO the accuracy at beyond 50 yards.