Best Air Rifle?

[Bill]

Hi Jon,

Thanks for the information. As it turns out, the TKO muzzle brake is the one I installed. I agree, it reduced the sound a lot.

[MarkP]

A few nights ago I again woke to the sound of an intruder nibbling on something. I turned on the light over my bed and saw a rat scampering around. He was incredibly brazen. I went searching for my old Gamo Hunter 220 only to discover that I had taken it elsewhere. It was not available. This left only the NPXL and an old Gamo CO2 pistol that hadn't been fired in years. Knowing the range would be very short I took the NPXL outside and shot at a tin can a couple of times at about 10' range. Even aiming 1 1/2" high it was hitting a little low but I figured I would be able to compensate for that. Armed with the massive rifle, a tin of pellets, and a flashlight I retired to my perch in the elevated sleeping loft. Only minutes passed before the sound of an extremely clumsy or careless rat stumbling around on the counter signaled the return of my prey.

I turned on the flashlight which was laying on the bed where it would shine in the right direction without being held. There was ratty climbing into a box of Triscuits. This explained the weird crinkling sound I had been hearing. He hesitated briefly on top of the box before diving in. One opportunity missed although I didn't really want to shoot the powerful gun with all the other items on the shelf plus a nicely finished wood wall in the line of fire. I settled down to wait, the occasional crinkling of the plastic liner indicating that ratty was still in the box. After what seemed like several minutes the crinkling had stopped and I had seen no more of ratty. I considered blindly shooting into the box but no truly ethical and safety conscience hunter would do so so I got up and stalked him on foot. My stealthy approach was ruined when I inadvertently trod on a dry Triscuit and when I got up to the box he suddenly broke from cover and made a dash across the cereal boxes, disappearing somewhere behind them. He had nowhere to go from there so I had only to wait, gripping the massive gun tightly, blood rushing in my ears....then I saw him scampering up the wall (painted steel, still don't recall just how he was able to do that). He gained the steel channel where his predecessor had met his fate and inexplicably stopped.......

I threw up the rifle, the muzzle only 3 or 4 feet from ratty where he crouched in the steel channel. He was quartering away from me and almost protected by the section of wall between the kitchen area and the shower. This wall did not go all the way to the ceiling and I was able to shoot over it but it would be a near thing. I tried to aim high, placing the 3rd or 4th mildot below the cross-hairs on the furry blob where I took the center of mass to be. I should also have aimed forward as well since I was shooting from behind him. The mighty NPXL roared, the pellet thwacked against steel and rattled off other surfaces as it spent its remaining energy cartwheeling through space, and ratty jumped, landing in the tub.

I expected him to jump out but he seemed not able to. As the seconds passed I realized that he had been wounded in the hind quarters. I felt a pang of guilt. Aiming from behind, the pellet hit far back as well as low. Well, there's more than one way to skin a cat. I quickly grabbed the armed snap trap I had set on the floor in an area where ratty had spent a lot of time hanging out and staring at me and placed it in the tub. Ratty eventually staggered over and began crawling over it. When he tripped it he was reclining full length on top of it so the results, while interesting, were not significant in terms of ending the stand-off. I quickly grabbed up the Gamo pistol, inserted a pellet, and took aim when he again crossed over the wooden trap, intending that the trap would stop the pellet should that be necessary. Phuttt. The ancient seals had let almost all the CO2 escape. I hastily inserted another CO2 powerlet, waited for him to cross the trap again, and aimed for the back of his head at a range of 12". The report was much louder this time and I could hear the pellet bounding off the plastic tub/shower enclosure, eventually coming to rest in the tub. Ratty twitched a bit but this shot had hit home.

A necropsy revealed that the final shot from the little Gamo pistol had gone right through his noggin. Good thing I waited until he was on the trap. The leg wound was severe, but had nearly been a miss. No surprise there given my past experience with the NPXL.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

He was incredibly brazen.

MarkP, your saga reads like Hemingway on safari.
Surrounded on all sides, above and below, by danger, fear, and cunning, the difference between life or death measured in inches and seconds. Yet with a keen eye, a lifetime of experience knowing when and where critical adjustments need be applied as man and gear meld in the crucible of mortality, your survival was assured. The Triscuts once again belong to you, and only you. Well done MarkP, well done. The trophy tonight is yours.

[birdmove]

Quite a story about that rat! I haven't been out ratting at night since I built a new coop. The old one has rotten wood. I picked up a moderately lowered brake barrel to try, as the "magnum" level ones are just too hard to shoot with practical accuracy. It's a River Explorer. Not really made by Ruger, but by Umarex. It is supposed to shoot around 500 fps. I have finally got a decent eyeglass prescription, and can use my BSA red dot sight.
Still breaking in the River. I am shooting it a 7 yards for now. Looks like I found a pellet it likes. Crosman Premier 7.4 grain wadcutter. Have to order more as I am about out.
I did some penetration testing shooting into a wooden board. I'm quite sure this would take and rat at 7 yards with a head shot using this pellet. Got the Ruger through Walmart and can still return it if I decide to for a while.
My multi pump air rifles are fine at 7 to maybe 15 yards or so.

Jon in Keaau/HPP

Update: I got that Ruger for $49 plus a little freight. Just checked the price and it is now at $84.25. I wouldn't pay that much for it.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Umarex-USA-Ru...7/15137011


Amazon is the same price, but the website has lots more reviews:

https://www.amazon.com/Ruger-Explorer-Caliber-pellet-Airgun/dp/B0030NZ5UE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1516990022&sr=8-1&keywords=ruger+explorer+youth+break+barrel+.177+pellet+rifle

[MarkP]

"The Triscuts once again belong to you, and only you. Well done MarkP, well done. The trophy tonight is yours".

Yeah, well they tasted kinda funny so I ended up throwing them out.

[birdmove]

I prefer cheese on my Triscuts.

Jon in Keaau/HPP

[bgiles]

The borrowed Crosman .177 Quest I last used is incredibly loud. A regular .22 rifle using Aquila brand Sans Poudre (without powder) is quieter and shoots flatter. The bullet is only half of the normal 40 grains and pushes the 20 grain bullet with the primer only. Take care to ensure it has left the barrel before shooting a second one, as a tight or dirty barrel could leave it stuck in the barrel.Unfortunately, J. Hara doesn't carry this one...anyone else familiar with these rounds?

[birdmove]

I hadn't heard of those. I wonder what the velocity might be, and if you could use an airgun pellet trap or? I use either a metal store bought pellet trap, or a wooden one I made with scrap boards and stuffed with ole towels and rags. I also set these at the bottom of a short rock wall that is a good 4 feet thick. Safety first always.

Jon in Keaau/HPP

[MarkP]

I have used them as well as CBs and CCI .22 LR Quiet ammunition. The .22 Quiet wins by a long shot. It is way more accurate than the other two, is a full 40 grains, shoots at 700 fps, and is pretty quiet out of a rifle.

I shoot into a 5 gallon bucket full of rubber mulch. Lay it on its side and shoot through the lid. Works great.

[birdmove]

I have an ancient .22 rifle my dad gave me way back. It's a Savage pump action take down rifle with a tubular magazine and an octagonal barrel. Haven't shot in in decades. No place to target shoot here without risking arrest. It seems in Hawaii, they believe if they shun and ignore the existence of firearms (except for making legal owners take them in and register them) maybe they'll just go away. If we had a legal shooting range, maybe some of those bog booms we all hear at night now and then might stop?

Jon in Keaau/HPP