Best Air Rifle?

[Frank]

Have owned my 1963 Blue Streak for 30 years...rebuilt 11 years ago, can put 8 of 10 JSB Diabolo Exact .20 cal pellets within a quarter circle on 4 pumps and yes I store under load of 1 pump...Great rat kill'in tool

[birdmove]

rocketman, interesting website. Haven't seen them before.

frank, a friend of mine has one of the Sheridans. I haven't seen it. Don't know if its a Blue Streak or Silver Streak.

Jon in Keaau/HPP

[Frank]

hey jon...I think the silver and the blue are basically the same gun with the finish being the difference -nickle vs. blued...btw the grouping is at 35'... forgot to add that above

[terracore]

Can anybody recommend a semi-auto air rifle for rats? I'm looking for something on the affordable end of the range so no PCP rifles. I've never been impressed with the co2 guns I've used in the past but it's been a long time so I expect that the technology has improved.

I have a .22 break barrel that is lethal enough but the reloading time makes it impractical for this purpose.

[birdmove]

If you don't want a CO2 or PCP, then there are manual break barrels with multi round magazines out there. Not many.

The Gamo Swarm.

https://www.amazon.com/Gamo-Swarm-Maxxim-Air-Rifle/dp/B01N4E7114/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_1?keywords=Gap+Swarm+air+rifle&qid=1556468942&s=sporting-goods&sr=1-1-fkmr2

This one comes in .177 and .22.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3S0_7y0QOzQ






Jon in Keaau/HPP

[birdmove]

Here is a new one. This one holds 5 pellets I believe. Waiting for the accuracy test from this site.This one is only about 500 feet per second. This one is a side lever. So, not technically a break barrel.

https://www.pyramydair.com/blog/2019/04/...le-part-2/

You may have to advance the magazine with each shot, not sure on this one.


Jon in Keaau/HPP

[birdmove]

If you would consider a CO2 repeater, Beeman has a new model coming out. The Crosman Model 1077 is a repeater too. The 1077 has a horrible trigger and accuracy isn't that good. CO2 guns lose power in colder climates, but do very well here. The Crosmsan is cheap, and is actually a revolver, in that it has a 12 shot cylindrical magazine, and with each pull of the trigger, cocks it, advances the magazine, and fires the gun. A lot of people like them.

Here's the Beeman catalog. Scroll down a bit till you come to CO2 airguns, and look at the QB II. It's not out yet it seems. The one below that is the single shot version. The repeater is a bolt action, so you just rack the bolt to cock and advance the magazine.

Not a lot of airgun repeaters that aren't PCP.

Jon in Keaau/HPP

[kander]

So I thought I would chime in on this conversation although dated. I purchased this air rifle over a year ago. It has been very impressive.
https://www.amazon.com/Benjamin-Armada-A...00WR799TW/

It is a middle ground air rifle. After checking specs between air guns I picked this one because of accuracy, power, shot capacity. While a high end multi pump or co2 air rifle may provide some middle grade performance. This rifle provides near high end performance with shot grouping of 1/2" at 100 yards with the correct pellet. Its mounting rails allow for attaching flashlights, laser or any type of scope system you might want to throw on it. Its built in sound suppressor reduces muzzle pop and the .22 caliber provides sufficient punch to even take down a medium sized pig. So if rats or mongoose are of issue this is a showstopper. Make no mistake this gun is not a toy. This rifle is lethal and in a pinch could be pressed into home defense. At close range will punch through heavy gauge steel plate with the correct pellet at cost of accuracy.
Although its pricing for performance nearly places it in the rankings of more expensive air guns at over twice the price makes it a decent value. And because of its price makes it more compared to what you might expect to pay for a regular firearm it makes it a viable option.
The charging system (hand pump) is not ideal, a scuba tank charging system would be. Hand pumping will be a workout if you use the rifle a lot as each charging allows up to 30 shots.
For what its worth.

[birdmove]

Looks good. Terracore though, has specified, for his use, he doesn't want a PCP, or a CO2 shooter either. That narrows the field down considerably. Hatsan has a break barrel self loader similar to the Gamo I mentioned above. But, I am hearing that one has many problems. If he was okay with a PCP, there would be a number of options.

Jon in Keaau/HPP

[randomq]

Just saw a .357 PCP online yesterday! FPS between 800 and 1000. (A 357 Magnum fires between 1200 and 1500 FPS.) If I get rich I'll get one with a suppressor for silent hunting!