Best Air Rifle?

[birdmove]

Hah! Yesterday I did some target shooting with the Ruger, and I'd have to say, it did pretty horrible. Inconsistent. Darn break barrels. My better multi pumps are so much more consistent. Right now, I am leaning towards returning the Ruger.

Jon in Keaau/HPP

[MarkP]

I should have returned the NPXL but here I am waiting for the arrival of a bolt on front sight meant for a 12 gauge shotgun and a peep sight that bolts to the weaver rail. I had high hopes of dime sized groups but if I can keep the shots on a 3" stick-on target with any regularity it will be an improvement over the numerous scopes this gun has damaged. Golf ball sized groups would make the gun usable.

[oink]

I've shot many of the quiet .22 rounds. The Aquila is probably the quietest of them all. However, they aren't real consistent and accurate range is limited. They are also very dirty but nothing having a rod with bronze bore brush handy won't resolve. The CCI's are better. The best, which I can no longer find were the Remington CB Longs. They were the length of a 22 long, were a tad hotter, cleaner and just a touch louder but much more consistent and accurate to longer ranges. The 22 long format made for better feeding and extraction. But alas, no more unless you're lucky to find old stock. With the Aquila I'd say 15 yrds is max for consistent accuracy. 25 yrds is possible but a lot of luck becomes involved. That said, I shoot the crap out of the Aquila as they are easily available, fairly cheap and very quiet. You could easily shoot them in your yard without disturbing neighbors. They will eliminate pests, even some larger ones if shot placement is perfect. A coup de gras is likely to be required for larger pests. I use the CCIs too as those are usually the only other ones to be found. Any zero set with regular or high velocity .22s will be meaningless when using the CBs especially the Aquilas. In spite of the shortcomings of the Aquila I shoot the crap out of them because they are still loads of fun and they're just so quiet.

PS: You can also get the subsonic or so called quiet rounds. They do lack the supersonic crack of regular .22s but they aren't really quiet. Your neighbors will definitely notice. You could get a suppressor if they're legal in Hawaii but then they start at about $250+ for a cheap one and that doesn't include the cost of the $200 Federal stamp.

Sorry I ran on so long.

Edit to add that the Aquila's contain a disclaimer to not shoot in rifles as they might not leave the barrel, but I do. Just pay attention. They almost always do but I did mention they were inconsistent and you will eventually get one with insufficient propellant, so pay attention.

Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.

[MarkP]

My experience with the Aquilas was that they were extremely inconsistent. The CCI Quiet 22s were so much better that I never looked back.

[birdmove]

Today I returned that Ruger Explorer to Walmart in Hilo. I really wanted it to work for me, but I do have some accuracy standards. I had already compromised by moving my pellet trap up to 7 yards. Yeah, I'd get a few good groups, but not enough, and way too many fliers. If I could have counted on 1/2" groups off a rest at 7 yards, I would have kept it. Also the auto-safety is now failing to actuate about half the time.
Broke out my lowly smooth bore Crosman 760 multi-pump, and after some warm up shots, got 3 groups in a row, rested of 5 shots into about 1/4" center to center. It only likes one pellet, but it's a doozey. I am shooting it at 7 yards in deference to it's smooth bore barrel. A $30 air rifle that'll do this is fine by me. Also, it's just plain fun to shoot, though I have more accurate air rifles.

Jon in Keaau/HPP

[MarkP]

More accurate than 1/4" center to center? You do have some impressive standards.

[oink]

I have an old Crosman around somewhere. It probably needs new seals and does need a new rear sight bridge. I used to get fair accuracy out of it. It wasn't actually a smooth bore but it wasn't far from it. the rifling was very fine and shallow. I should find it and get it fixed. I had a friend that had one but I don't remember the brand. It might have been a Crosman also but I'm not sure. It was a multi pump too. However it had very visible deeper cut rifling. His rifle was very accurate. He was an excellent marksman in general. I could out shoot him with a handgun but with a rifle I got smoked, and I'm not half bad. I would like a good, reasonably priced, adequately powerful and accurate, simple to use air rifle. I can't spend too much as I'm thinking about getting one of the new Gen 5 Glock 19s. The Dept went all 9mm on me so I can no longer mooch 40s or 45s. I quit being able to mooch 44s several years back. Any suggestions on the air rifle?

Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.

[tada]

I got the one from Wal-Mart for $33. But I don't understand more than .177 and single shot.

[birdmove]

Mark P, I said I wanted my air rifles to at least 1/2" or less at 7 yards.That's not being a nit picker.

For me, I would stay away from break barrel air rifles. They are extremely touchy to get decent accuracy from. Take an experienced regular firearm shooter that can shoot accurate groups at 100 yards. Now give him a magnum level break barrel. Due to the unique recoil of this airgun type (a two-way recoil due to the type of power plant they use) they require tons of practice. That excellant marksman with a 30-06, now can't hit the broad side of a barn. He gets so disgusted that he runs it over with his D-8 Catterpillar.
If you want an airgun that your prior shooting experience will directly apply, there are other good options.
If one is on a budget, I would stay away from PCP air rifles. The PCP stands for pre-charged pneumatic. That's a fancy way to say, those guns have a built in air tank. But, once you buy the airgun, you then have to buy a device to fill the gun's tank. Either a very special air compressor, or a very special hand pump. Your bicycle pump will not work, as we are talking about 100-3500 psi. The cheapest decent PCP air rifle is about $180. A hand pump will probably run at least another $100. This type does tend to be very accurate. Let's move on.
Next comes the CO2 rifle. These take either the small, more common 12 gram CO2 cartridge that you can buy at Walmart. In colder climates these types aren't as practical, as the CO2 gas has consistency problems in the cold. Here, in Hawaii, they work great. Most of these airguns get between 30 and 50 shots from a single CO2 cartridge. Some of these use a single CO2 can, others use two of them. The drawback is that you are tied to the CO2 cans. Mostly, you can't order them from Amazon, as they won't ship them to Hawaii. Some CO2 air rifles use the larger 88 gram CO2 cartridge, but those are way hard to find here. If you get a CO2 airgun know this. Do not leave the CO2 cartridge in that gun when you are done shooting and put the gun away. And always use a drop or tow of Crosman's Pellgunoil, or 20 n or 30 weight non-detergent oil on the tip of each CO2 cartridge.Otherwise the cartridge could leak, or even stick in your gun and be a pain to remove it. For a good inexpensive CO2 air rifle, I would suggest the Beeman QB78 line. The QB78 and QB78 Deluxe both have nice wood stocks. The QB78S has a synthetic stock. Here is a look at those:
https://www.airgundepot.com/beeman-qb-series.html

Though made in China, airgun shooters give these a good reputation.

Now, onto my favorite air rifle type, the multi-pump pneumatic. This type has a small built in air holding chamber, and a lever, or pump arm. You have to pump them up for each shot. Usually they will be fine to shoot at from three to eight or ten pumps for each shot. I like these because mine have been super reliable and you control how much power to use, and they are self contained. You need no special pumps, as the pump is contained in the rifle. For my Crosmans, I find eight pumps to give good accuracy yet still have the power to send a rat to meet his maker.
The multi pumps are single shots. But, some of the Crosman models have a five round magazine. On those, you remove the magazine, put in the five (or 4, 3, 2, 1) pellets, and slide the mag into the rifle. The magazine must be advanced by the shooter from pellet to pellet. These work well, and are much easier to load.
The multi pumpers can run, from the cheapest smooth bore air rifle, about $35, to around $170.
The smooth bore Crosman Model 760 is the gun I mentioned in my earlier post. The problem with a smooth bore compared to a rifled bore is accuracy. Every thing being equal a rifled barrel should out shoot a smooth bore. And, an airgun with a rifled barrel will certainly offer better accuracy the longer the distance. But, my Model 760 shoot well enough at seven yards to have fun target shooting and rat hunting. It is, alas, a very plastic airgun. But, I have at least 2000 shots through mine with nary a problem. Since the 760 is a smooth bore, it cab shoot pellets OR BB's. Mine, like most BB guns, won't group well at all withe the BB's. But, shooting steel BB's won't degrade the barrel as it is a smooth bore.

Here is a video of a gent shooting the Crosman Model 760 at 20 feet off a rest using 5 pumps and lead pellets showing the accuracy he is getting. You can skip ahead to 2.24 if you want to see just these groups. The first part shows how to pump and shoot the gun. MY 760 is getting better groups than his. Bear in mind, with any airgun you have to buy a selection of pellets and then try each of those to find the most accurate one. My 760 doe well with two different pellets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg3CIp4Ayo4&t=445s


If you want a much nicer multi pump air rifle, that has a wooden stock, and brass barrel (no rust....ever!), then look at the Benjamin 397 and 392. Crosman owns Benjamin by the way. These are single shot bolt action air rifles. I understand they are noticeably harder to pump than many other guns of this type.

https://www.amazon.com/Benjamin-397-Air-Rifle-177/dp/B002J1U846/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1517682318&sr=1-1&keywords=benjamin+397+air+rifle

The 397 is .177 caliber and the 392 is .22 caliber. .22 caliber pellets are harder to find here with any selection. These airguns are a bit more involved if you want to scope them, but there are good mounts available. I think if you talk about an air rifle to hand down to your kids some day, these Benjamins are more likely to be the choice. These have rifled barrels and shoot pellets only. No BB's.

Now, for my choice for the best value and good accuracy in a multi pump air rifle. My choice is the Crosman 2100 Classic air rifle. One desirable feature this one has is that the receiver is metal and not plastic. Since the scope clamps onto the receiver, it's possible to clamp down too hard on the mounts and damage the plastic. Metal is good. It has a rifled barrel, and Crosman says it will shoot bb's or pellets. I wouldn't advice shooting BB's in a gun with a rifled barrel, as many of us airgunners think the steel BB's may damage the rifleing and degrade the accuracy.
This one is a single shot. You pump it up with three to ten pumps, open the bolt, insert a pellet and close the bolt. Again, for target shooting or just plinking, you can use three pumps. For hunting, eight to ten. Don't buy this one with an included scope. Buy it scopeless. Why? The scopeless one is cheaper and their included scope is junk. Get a decent airgun scope, like a 4x32mm or even a 3x9x32mm. The gun is a good shooter and deserves a decent scope.
Here is the 2100:

https://www.amazon.com/Crosman-2100-Classic-Action-Rifle/dp/B00GA8S7C4/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1517682590&sr=1-1&keywords=Crosman+2100

Walmart won't have the 2100, or the Benjamin 397 or 392 in stock. Ever. They will have the Crosman 760. Always. I would suggest buying from Walmart, as they have a great return policy. You can return the airgun for any reason. And, you have months after the purchase, to return it. Here is the 2100 without scope from Walmart:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Crosman-Class...r/15939531

This scope would be a good match. It's a 4 power with adjustable objective lens. This feature is good for airguns, as it assures you can get a sharp view of the target at the closer ranges airguns are used at, like 7-10 yards. It'll also focus at long range distances.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Barska-4x32-A...e/30224447

Remember, if you buy an airgun, you can't just buy a tin of Crosman hollow points, take it home and expect great accuracy. Every airgun is different, and will shoot some pellets better than others. Some are super picky, and some may shoot well with lots of different pellets. My Crosman 760 is very picky, and it took me lots of target shooting to find that it really only likes the Crosman Premier Super Match wadcutter pellets. Any other pellets I've tried shoots worse groups and/or throws sometimes wild "fliers" out of the group. Yesterday I got three nice 1/4" groups at 7 yards with that 760. I'm happy with that.






Jon in Keaau/HPP

[birdmove]

quote:

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Originally posted by tada

I got the one from Wal-Mart for $33. But I don't understand more than .177 and single shot.

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I would think for $33, it is probably the Crosman Model 760 then? Is this it?

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Classic-Crosm...ck/9222897

Jon in Keaau/HPP