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Gunshots on Kaloli Point
#11
The problem with the "spring piston" air rifles is that. most are quite loud. Some may be loud enough to be mistaken for a .22 long rifle even.
The climate here is ideal for CO2 air guns also, as they are much more consistent in warm climates.
And, yes, there are big bore air rifles as in the movie No Country For Old Men.

I like multi pumps as you vary the power, noise, and velocity by how many pumps you use. Maybe 3 for bench rest targeting, and 6-10 for hunting.
You can get a nice little multi pump that shoots tiny one hole groups for $50. I have some.

Jon in Keaau/HPP
Jon in Keaau/HPP
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#12
MBB - Just curious, but why respond to a year-old thread rather than starting a new one? Thanks in advance.
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#13
Anyone try white shark arms indoor range in Hilo? http://www.whitesharkarms.com
I thought their membership was quite affordable. They have several shooting leagues that are very fun. They allow large caliber on the weekends too. 25$ an hour for non members.
Been having Good Fun for sure!
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#14
Most of the higher power and larger caliber (non PCP) air guns use a gas piston. It's easier to quote from the web:

"Welcome to the new world of break barrel Gas Piston mechanism. At the heart of this new technological break-through is a nitrogen filled gas piston, instead of a coiled steel spring. The Gas Piston Short Stroke will not be adversely affected by temperature and allows for much easier cocking force.

These airguns can be cocked for long periods of time without degrading or losing velocity, like steel springs.

Gas Piston technology dramatically reduces felt recoil by eliminating the double hit and spring torque associated with steel spring guns. While reducing recoil, gas piston airguns are generally much quieter than their spring counterparts. Some manufacturers claim as much as 70% noise reduction compared to spring air rifles.

Many manufacturers utilize gas piston technology including Crosman with their patented Nitro Piston™ technology, Gamo with their IGT (inert gas technology), Hatsan Vortex gas airguns, and Umarex has also recently announced that they will start using gas pistons in some of their air rifles."

Usually these guns are loudest if you shoot lighter pellets that break the sound barrier as the pellet creates a mini sonic boom. If you shoot lead pellets its usually not a problem. Also the gas piston rifles get quieter after continued use when the parts get broken in. They also become more accurate.

ETA: accuracy
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#15
I have a Gamo Hunter 220 in .177. After cleaning and lubricating I shot a standard weight pellet. Some lubrication must have gotten into the compression chamber. There was a loud crack that echoed a lot. Subsequent shots, with 10 grain pellets, were much quieter. I have been considering getting the Benjamin Nitro Piston NP2 in .22. I have only ever shot the Crossman pump up BB guns and that Gamo so I don't really know what I am missing. In fact I never did shoot it much until recently. After hundreds of shots at a fixed range, dialing in the scope, I realized the scope was creeping. There is a little stop that clamps to the dovetails that is supposed to stop this. It has a little set screw that engages the top of the gun. After researching these things on the web I learned that on most guns with this feature there is a corresponding hole or dimple in the right place. Not on mine. Also the stop had a rubber bit that fell apart. I ended up gluing the scope mounts to the gun with JB Weld. Now my crosshairs are no longer horizontal/vertical and the scope is pretty hazy. Basically the whole set-up is pretty low end. I was happy with it for years because I never knew it was a piece of ****. I have been very tempted by the NP2 but the PCP guns seem like the ultimate. The entry level Crossman/Benjamin is reportedly very loud though.
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#16
MarkP, that is a negative aspect of the more powerful spring piston air guns. I have a Crosman Phantom of that type in .177. I tried mounting a scope. The unique two way recoil (first recoil in one direction, then the gun switches and recoils in the other direction), though not the type of shoulder punishing recoil of, say, a 45-70 rifle, is easily enough to make your scope mounts slide. I then switched to a mount with a stout steel scope stop pin. That stopped the movement, but the 2 way recoil then destroyed my scope. I removed it and will just ues the open sights. Be careful to get a scope that is made for spring piston air rifles, because you can destroy any standard rifle scope. They are not made for two way recoil, and will not hold up.

MY Phantom's recoil also makes getting tight groups, for me anyway, a rare event. You can read about the "air gun artillary hold" on the web. I can get way more tight groups, and do it way more often, with my Crosman multi-pumps.

Lastly, a spring piston air rifle can be quite loud. Easily could be mistaken for a .22 long rifle. That's not good. A nitro piston system is supposed to be easier on the recoil, and the noise, making them easier to shoot well. There are a lot of shooters, even top smokeless powder shooters, that can't hit the broad side of a barn with a spring piston gun.

Since I want to be able to take out the rat population, and the little critters like to come out after dark, I need a quiet air gun that's accurate enough. If I fired that Crosman Phantom at 9:30 at night, well, I would never do it.

MY Crosman Model 664, and 1322 and 1377 all fit my needs. The 664, I got new for about $40. I tossed the crappt scope it came with, and got a decent 2x7 with adjustable objective, and got a great combination. Reliable, accurate, quiet, inexpensive, doesn't try to look like an "assault weapon".

Jon in Keaau/HPP
Jon in Keaau/HPP
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#17
The .22 Crosman nitro venom is only $130 on amazon with free shipping and it comes with a decent scope. They make a more powerful break barrel (you can do your own search on amazon to find easy) both in FPS and also up to .25 but you'll pay more for it. The venom is very accurate but you need to put a few hundred pellets through it before you get the accuracy. It has no detectable recoil and if you shoot lead pellets its nearly silent. Of course it makes a noise but I would say the pellet impact is just as loud as the gun is. There is a dizzying array of pellets available for it. I find the hollow point to be the best for hunting. Cocking it isn't easy or fast which is a pain if you miss your target. For accuracy you need to be careful what type of pellets you use and to inspect them. When I was sighting mine in I carefully inspected the pellet's skirt (or whatever its called) and selected only the ones that looked perfect. Frankly if the higher powered nitro pistons were available at the time I would have got one of them, the ones available now deliver almost 1/3 more energy making the .25 an option that was previously only available on a PCP rifle.

I really wanted to get a PCP rifle suitable for pig hunting. I know a guy on Kauai that uses a Benjamin Maurader and it's like shooting a gun with a suppressor (maybe even quieter). The high cost of the rifle and pumping accessories is one hurdle, another is that surprisingly the ammo for it cost about the same per round as traditional gunpowder ammunition (that doesn't make sense to me since you can get .22 pellets a few dollars for 500) but he hunts on his property in a subdivision and needed something quiet.
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#18
Is there anywhere on the island where you can buy air gun pellets other than Walmart (very few available, and sometimes none!), Sposrta Authority (again, just a few Crosman, and a Benjamin or two), Del's (Daisy, and sometimes a Winchester pellet-no 22 caliber)??

Does J Hara's stock airgun stuff?

I get a few through Amazon, but, many supplier's won't ship to Hawaii. Pyramid Air, I believe will ship here, but shipping is pretty high.

So, as far as I know, locally, I can buy maybe three different Crosman pellets (and not any in 22 caliber), a couple of Benjamin in .177 (Benjamin is now part of Crosman), and a couple of Daisy pellets in .177 only.

That leaves a lot of the "premium" pellets out there.Since an airgun is similiar to smokeless powder firearms in ammunition (you must test fire an assortment of pellets, some of which your airgun may hate, some it will love, but, hopefully it will like some that are available to you), a sellection of pellets to try is needed.

Jon in Keaau/HPP
Jon in Keaau/HPP
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#19
Dels only sells plinkers. Their slingshots would be more deadly. Walmart only has crap. Sports Authority had a few .177 rifles but nothing impressed me and their prices were too high. Though it would be worth a second look since they seemed out of stock of a lot of things when I was looking.

JSB Diablo makes good pellets and they have a "Test" pack of 4 different types of pellets. I used one of them for sighting in the venom.

I like shopping on amazon because you can read all the reviews and the Q&A. Even if you don't wind up buying there its a good resource. Also Amazon will stop selling items if they get too many returns so the stuff that has been listed a long time has generally survived the consumer test. I bought some Gama alloy pellets that were .25 mislabeled as .22 and I had to return them and shortly after I noticed a lot of the reviewers said the same thing and then they quit selling them.
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#20
J. Hara does indeed sell a fairly wide assortment of both air guns and pellets.

I know that the .25 would pack the most punch but the pellets are something like 5 times as expensive as .22 pellets.

I have been surprised at how quiet .22 CBs are out of a rifle and very impressed how much more power they have than the lowly .177 air rifle. That being said I have no idea where to buy any.

ETA: Generally I have had good luck with Crossman Premier pellets.
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