Air Rifles/Pellet Guns

Geezer

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Here a while back I picked up a Gamo Silent Cat .177 air rifle from a forum member. I added a Gamo 4X scope. This thing is amazing. Maybe a little quieter than a regular air rifle, it is not silent. It's very accurate and has a pretty good trigger.

I had it at the family Thanksgiving gathering and after the big meal I brought out the Gamo. Young and old got a kick out of shooting it. There were a few there that had never fired any kind of gun before. They were shooting cans and grinning all over themselves.

That evening, my brother was on You Tube and discovered air rifle dieseling. This is where you put oil or grease in the hollow base of the pellet. It was supposed to give it more power and velocity. Of course we had to try it. The first shot was obviously louder and even seemed like some recoil was involved. We were shooting at an empty disposable propane cylinder, like is used on a camp stove, at 20 yards. Without dieseling it would dent the steel cylinder. Add some oil and it would penetrate the cylinder!

It's a lot of cheap fun. It looks like this.

Gamo-Whisper-Silent-Cat-Air-Rifle-e1429205146747.png

Does anyone else have an air gun? Let's hear some stories and see those guns.
 
Here is mine.

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I have a Banjamin Titan Nitro Piston .22 that I accurized. It is very much improved. I did two, and traded one to Tanstaffl.

When air rifles are shipped in a container from China, they are protected from rust by oiling them up. The oil detonates (deiseling) and ruins the seals. They shoot great at first. Then they deteriorate fast.

To fix this, you buy a seal kit (usually two seals), disassemble, clean, stone a few things, replace seals and reassemble. Then you have an air rifle that doesn't chew up it's own seals. That is when it will have maximum power, and it will remain that way as long as you don't add any oil to get it to deisel.

This maintenance requires a spring compressor.

Mine kilt a squirrel just this morning.
 
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An air rifle works by compressing the air in the chamber, and right before it reaches maximum pressure, the pellet moves. As the pellet exits the barrel, it drops the pressure behind it. When it works the way it is supposed to, there is no hard knock of the piston against the breech, it just deccellerates right before it stops. The Nitro Piston rifles have no spring mass to complicate the feel of the recoil, and they can be left cocked without losing potential energy. The combination of the Nitro Piston and the right pellet makes for a really smooth shooting air rifle, at a very low cost. It's worth experimenting to find the pellet that works best in your rifle, once it is properly set up.

I wouldn't get one from a pawn shop. They are so inexpensive, just by one new and make a spring compressor so you can replace the seals.
 
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Do the original "Red Ryder" BB Guns guns count? If so my boy and I have two. There is something so gratifying about cocking that thing and plunking soda cans off the back porch.

We also have a Crosman Shockwave .22 pellet gun with a fixed 4x scope that knocks the crap out of squirrels but it is no where near as fun as plinking with the Red Ryder's.
 
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I had one for a few weeks but never got around to shooting it. :(
That's only because you hid it and forgot about it.
 
Dieselling wrecks the seals, we used to do it all the time as kids. I'd like a nice semi auto pcp airgun but they cost more than a nice rifle lol
 
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Dieselling wrecks the seals, we used to do it all the time as kids. I'd like a nice smei auto pcp airgun but they cost more than a nice rifle lol

Yes, PCP guns are expensive but the prices are starting to come down a bit. I thoroughly enjoy my Benjamin Marauder .22 because I can enjoy it in the yard. A neighbor called the cops on me once, so I showed them the Marauder. They liked it and said have a nice day.
 
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I have one with a Ruger brand name, made by Gamo.

It's fast, I bet 1000 fps with light pellets. .177 only.

It hates squirrels. I have quite a few feral cats in the area that I don't see anymore either.
 
I have an assault air rifle that I bought 30+ years ago.

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It’s gotta be more dangerous than an AR-10, AR-15 or an M-16...’cause it’s an AIR-17!! But it’s probably pre-Hughes, so I’m GTG. :D

image.jpg
 
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I have more than several. But have to confess they have sat for much of the last 10 years as I have been concentrating on my powder burners. But with new neighbors I'll be shooting them more often. I live in the county and shoot in my back yard but powder burners are noisy and I'll be cutting down on my larger calibers and doing more rimfire and light loads and of course airguns...
 
Have one and loved it for some low key backyard squirrel hunting back in Canada (was on ~4 acres). The trees here in NC are freaking tall and squirrels way out of range. Though been considering taking out with me deer hunting since I ground hunt and have the noisy tree rats crawling around me making a racket while I lay motionless for hours. I usually just point my handgun at them with one hand, my index finger with the other hand, and mouth off in a heavy, demanding whisper "if you DROP ONE MORE stick, or crunch ONE MORE LEAF, I will cap your furry little rat @$$$$'...they've been amenable to this behavior so far. But they getting the pellet pretty damn soon I tell ya.
 
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Want one of these bad. Supposed to be HD, good to go and heirloom quality. I have had a Chinese side cocker for a long time and it will shoot quarter size groups at 50' but way off POA. Been meaning to put a red dot on it forever but cant find a gun smith who would put a rail on it for less than $100 and the gun only cost $50.

https://www.pyramydair.com/s/m/Diana_Model_48_Sidelever_Action_Spring_Piston_Air_Rifle/403
My Dad brought back a Diana from Germany when he was in WWII. It has a beautiful piece of wood, a wonderful 2 stage trigger, and shoots great.
 
Are you in a book depository?:eek:
Something like that, kids upstairs bathroom. Squirrels get the JFK treatment. I actually shot a squirrel a couple weekends ago with that gun and the JSB heavy pellets. It was in the neighbors yard prone on the bottom of a big tree. It was just sitting there waving it’s tail around and I figured, why not take a shot. Big tree would stop the pellet if I missed. Had a nice holdover and it hit the squirrel base of the skull. It just rolled off the tree and didn’t even flop around.
 
Want one of these bad. Supposed to be HD, good to go and heirloom quality. I have had a Chinese side cocker for a long time and it will shoot quarter size groups at 50' but way off POA. Been meaning to put a red dot on it forever but cant find a gun smith who would put a rail on it for less than $100 and the gun only cost $50.

https://www.pyramydair.com/s/m/Diana_Model_48_Sidelever_Action_Spring_Piston_Air_Rifle/403
Dad has a 48 and a 34. I love that 48. Sweet shooting air rifle. It’s really heavy though. Weighs as much as my larger Marauder. Has to be 8 or 9 pounds.
 
A neighbor called the cops on me once, so I showed them the Marauder. They liked it and said have a nice day.
A neighbor called the deputies out on me... I tol' 'em she wouldn't know a .22 from an air rifle. They laughed, and dropped it.
 
Something like that, kids upstairs bathroom. Squirrels get the JFK treatment. I actually shot a squirrel a couple weekends ago with that gun and the JSB heavy pellets. It was in the neighbors yard prone on the bottom of a big tree. It was just sitting there waving it’s tail around and I figured, why not take a shot. Big tree would stop the pellet if I missed. Had a nice holdover and it hit the squirrel base of the skull. It just rolled off the tree and didn’t even flop around.
Forgot to mention, it was just over 85 yards away. Definitely my record for a pellet gun.
 
Forgot to mention, it was just over 85 yards away. Definitely my record for a pellet gun.

That's a heck of a shot, to put one into the brain box of a squirrel at 85 yards! What tank pressure are you shooting with, and which pellet are you using to have enough kinetic energy to still be lethal at that distance?
 
Tank was around 2500psi at the time. Shot that one with JSB Exact Monster pellets. I think they are 22G.
 
I've been thinking real hard about picking up an air rifle for shooting in the back yard. I've still got the Daisy Red Ryder I got for Christmas back in 1988. It still shoots great too, but its about as accurate as a thrown rock. Fun for popping cans, trees, and my neighbors pigs when they dig under the fence, but not good for too much else.

Got to shoot a real air rifle in high school, and I really appreciated the accuracy. Been looking at the ones for sale at walmart, and online.

I want something that doesn't require CO2 or an external air source. Break barrel, or under-barrel cocking lever would be nice. Options for iron sights are a plus.

Also trying to decide between .117 and .22 caliber.
 
I've been thinking real hard about picking up an air rifle for shooting in the back yard. I've still got the Daisy Red Ryder I got for Christmas back in 1988. It still shoots great too, but its about as accurate as a thrown rock. Fun for popping cans, trees, and my neighbors pigs when they dig under the fence, but not good for too much else.

Got to shoot a real air rifle in high school, and I really appreciated the accuracy. Been looking at the ones for sale at walmart, and online.

I want something that doesn't require CO2 or an external air source. Break barrel, or under-barrel cocking lever would be nice. Options for iron sights are a plus.

Also trying to decide between .117 and .22 caliber.
Hmmm, caliber is a choice which depends on what your going to be doing with it. .177 is great for target but at least to me it falls short when It comes to hunting. It will take small game but a .22 with heavy pellets are better. As to action type all the Springer guns requires you to learn how to hold and shoot them due to there odd couple recoil. A pneumatic is a good choice such as a Sherition ( bad spelling)
 
@Geezer
The missus has been wanting an upgrade to her air gun, so this is the new .22 cal squirrel hunting rig thats under the tree for her this morning. Something kiddo can grow into as well.
I fondled it and checked function a coupke days ago, and, honestly, I think Im gonna like it a lot, too lol

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@draco88, that thing will bring a lot of grins to the whole family. Now you have me feeling like I need a .22 air rifle. Let me know how quiet it is.
 
@draco88, that thing will bring a lot of grins to the whole family. Now you have me feeling like I need a .22 air rifle. Let me know how quiet it is.

We played around with it some and its fairly quiet. Shooting a 15.4 gr pellet and it hits hard at both 25 and 35 yards. Good penetration, too. It completely buried the pellets in a piece of plywood at 35 yds. I dont know how much energy its carrying, but it is significantly more than my .177.
This thing could be more than a squirrel killer. With the penetration it showed me, and the right shot, I would think some mid size nuisance animals like feral cats and baby raccoons could fall to this thing.
Imho, money well spent
 
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