Hunting small game w/ an air rifle?

[Anthony2]

Anyone else hunt small game(specifically rabbits, crows,etc.)with an air rifle?
I do/have for about 6 months now, and man is it ever a challenge!
I have one small problem:
The rifle I use is a break-barrel type, and can't be adapted to fit a sling...
Any ideas???
The problem is it works excellently for level ground type shots, but weighs nearly 12 lbs.
With the small size of the pellet and the heft of the gun, correct shot placement on birds is rather difficult.
Anyone have any suggestions on how to solve this problem?
Kind Regards,

[jhgreasemonkey]

I'm not sure what kind of problem you are having with mounting a sling. Maby you need a way to attatch to the front of the gun? So you probably have no way to drill and install a swivel stud on the front I am guessing. You can get a band swivel fastener. It clamps over the barrel (should be small enough to stay out of the sight) You can get one for a .22 and if its too big around then line it with black surgical tubing (get it in fishing tackle section). On the rear you should be able to drill and screw in a swivel stud. I am guessing this is what you need QD 115 RF at
www.gunaccessories.com/UncleMikes

[rem33]

Anthony
Good for you, i have enjoyed pellet guns almost as long as firearms. bet you will too. I mowed lawns saved my money and got me a Sheridan Blue streak in 1964, it has not been a week since i shot a crow with it. It has killed no telling the rabbits, ground squirrels, crows and a lot of other small game and vermon. It has been a good one went thru a lot, only had it rebuilt once 30 or so years ago.
You can shot pellet guns a lot of places you can't a 22. I have even used a box of newspapers with a phonebook or two behind it indoors, can be fun. 12 pounds does sound heavy, maybe a slip type of sling would work.

[Anthony2]

rem33- Ironically enough my grandfather just loaned me his Sheridan Blue Streak...Although we can't find ammo for it...the designation is 5m/m Cal.
We've tried .177 and cannot hit the broadside of a barn with it...Any suggestions?

Yes, 12 pounds is heavy..although it shoots at 1100 fps..so it (the new rifle) definetly has no problems taking the smaller game.

jhgreasemonkey-that should work perfectly.. ...I will definetly let you know!

rem33- You said you had yours rebuilt 30yrs ago? Well, this one hasn't been shot in about that long It's all original and is in rather good shape although the stock has some wiggle to it...I'd love to have it redone and return it to my grandfather...any suggestions?

[Dave Haven]

Ironically enough my grandfather just loaned me his Sheridan Blue Streak...Although we can't find ammo for it...the designation is 5m/m Cal.
We've tried .177 and cannot hit the broadside of a barn with it...Any suggestions?

Airgun Express has a good selection of .20 cal (5mm) pellets. Click HERE.

[rem33]

Try Pyramid Air or do a search for Sheridan or pellets on the net (google) you should be able to find several places to buy .20/5mm pellets, I am not 100% sure but think i bought some a couple of years ago made by Crossman at Wal mart.
Crossman owns Sheridan now Benjamin bought Sheridan 80'sI think then Crossman aquired them. Beeman has a rather good veriety too.
there are several guys out there working on Sheridans Sorry I don't have web pages for you, one is in Orange County Ca. maybe Garden grove??? a search should give you several choices. Send some emails, ask questions, you should find a capable guy. i needed a sight screw and had no trouble finding parts.

[Anthony2]

It helped alot not only did I learn a company changed hands...I found some cheap ammo!
By the way the link Dave posted sells the band swivel fastener. That and it's a little cheaper too.

Kind Regards,

[On Watch]

Mac1 does some magic on Sheridans http://www.mac1airgun.com

[Diggers]

Good Lord! A 12 pound pellet gun? Is it made of gold?

[Anthony2]

On watch-Thank you...I'm sure it will mean alot to him...
Diggers-No it's not made of gold...It's a mendoza that was made and sold by crossman...without the scope it weighs slightly under 12 lbs. with the scope nearly 13... Sometimes the weight is a pain...it weighs more than all but one of my shotguns!!!

[Jseime]

I've used them to shoot prairie dogs in places where a .22 would be putting holes in grain bins.

The most remarkable shot i have ever seen in my life was my buddy darren shooting from the top of a steel grain bin and hitting a gopher in the head at 40 yards with and old pellet gun whose stock is held on with duct tape. (I'd bet he cant do it again )

[chemist308]

Not exactly legal in my current state but I used to use a Crossman 760 to get rid of rabbits in my parents' garden. Worked quite nicely with just steel bbs and a tasco air gun scope. I always wanted a Benjiman--much nicer. Never thought much of the RWS break-opens though as they just seemed too expensive and probably loud.

[444]

There is a ton of information on-line about airguns. A bunch of forums and a bunch of companies selling stuff for them. A number of them have already been mentioned. One that hasn't, probably the largest and most famous is Beeman. They sell 5mm pellets as well as teh sling set up you need. http://www.beeman.com/
None of this stuff is hard to find.

[FirstFreedom]

In *theory* I'm ready to hunt stuff with my airguns, and have been since I was 14 years old or longer, since I picked up my first serious adult airgun (RWS model 45 - think I was 15 yrs actually). But in reality, I've only ever killed 3 things I've eaten with an airgun (backyard squirrel and 2 doves). But many a grackle & starling, and a crow or two have bitten it due to .177 fury however. Couple chipmunks, but I ain't eatin' them either. Main reason is that the powerful spring piston airguns are very heavy to lug around in the woods - a .22 is much lighter, and with colibris, quieter too.

lots of guns & ammo available here

www.pyramidair.com

and every time you buy 3 tins of pellets, you get the 4th one free.

[armedandsafe]

My son has taken on the task of clearing the dairy for which he trucks of pigeons. He has discovered just how marvelous is pigeon potpie. I'll be going out next Friday evening with him and my new Crossman 760 and the Chech break barrel.

I picked up the Crossman because I wasn't sure I'd be able to get the bbarrel fixed (needed new leather) in time. It came with the Crossman red dot in the package. As usual with Crossman red dots, the red dot won't zero, so it looks like I'll be using irons until I get it shimmed up.

Pops

[jhgreasemonkey]

Those Mendosa air guns are getting up there in price. Around $250+ I think. Thats a nice gun. Unfortunately its not "legal" to use an air gun for hunting in Wa. Which is BS because its a great and quiet way to rid your property of pests.

[swampdog]

I use a Benjamin pump in .22 cal for pest control around the house. It's light and handles like a fine lever action. Unfortunately, it's not the same rifle that I owned 30 years ago. The quality has gone down while the price has gone way up. I took 2 back before I found one that would shoot. The first one I got had a noticable bend in the barrel. Even with the sight adjusted to the extreme, it would still not shoot to point of aim, horizontally. The second one I got had no noticable bend, but for it to shoot to POA the front sight would have needed to be built up an 1/8". Third time is a charm and I got a shooter.
You should try a peep sight on your air rifle. At the ranges you should be using it on small game, a scope is unnecessary.

When I was a kid, many small, furry, defenseless animals fell to my air rifles. An air rifle is definitely a good trainer for shooting and stalking skills. I use a .22 for the same role, now.

http://www.airgunhunters.com/Gallery.html

[Death from Afar]

What is the most powerful break open air gun you can get? Do those powerful ones last as long as a lower velocity weapon? ( I have always wanted one for backyard play)

[roy reali]

When I was ten, we moved to a small farm. It was a bit run down with a lot of wild undergrowth. We proceeded to clear the land and plant fruit trees and vegatables. Cows and chickens were also raised. There was a problem with trying to grow some of our own food, birds.

Flocks of birds would eat and destroy things faster then they could be planted. My dad went and bought a 22 caliber, Benjamin rifle. He showed me how to aim the thing and then told me which birds to shoot and which to leave alone.


There was an old shed with wild berry brush along side of it. A covey of quail would use that area to rest at night. I would go into the shed and aim out of a whole in the wall. I would drop six or seven quail, then take them in to my mom. The next night we would have quail stew.

I have no idea how may birds I popped with that gun. It was enough to alow us to actually eat from the plants we were growing.

I think I killed more critters with that rifle then any other gun since.

[dave0520]

I would recommend the any of the RWS rifles. They are match grade, and most of them get 1000+ FPS.

[jhgreasemonkey]

I've seen a lot of 1000fps air rifles for a little over $100.
www.eaacorp.com sells the baikal line of air gun which are good quality and pretty inexpensive if you look around. Their site is a little high on prices compared to dealers. Also Big5 sporting goods on the west coast has a remington 1000fps w/scope for $110 right now on sale. I'm not sure how much you would have to pay in shipping to NewZealand though. That might be kind of steep.

[444]

"What is the most powerful break open air gun you can get?"

Sorry, but I can't resist putting in my two cents on the issue. AND, my opinion doesn't really follow the flow of this thread which centers around hunting with air rifles.
IMO, it is a mistake to buy an air rifle based on how many fps the manufacturer advertises it will shoot. First of all, from what I understand, a lot of the velocity figures put out in advertising are grossly overestimated. Even the honest manufacturers will post numbers achieved with the lightest possible pellets in a brand new gun (that may be at the top end of what might be typical).
On the other hand, these "powerful" airguns are a lot harder to cock. They are a lot louder. And (from what I have read) the shape of a typical air rifle pellet does not lend itself well to supersonic speed. In other words, it isn't stable at supersonic speed.
For decades, boys have shot all manner of small animals with air rifles. They did this using air rifles that were far less than what is currently being advertised as state of the art. As a kid I shot hundreds of chipmunks and thousands of birds using a Benjamn air rifle. I even shot and killed two cottontail rabbits with a single shot a piece using my Daisy Model 25 BB gun that probably shot at 300-400 fps.
Point being, there is a trade off to consider: power vs. having a good accruate enjoyable to shoot air gun.
I am not an airgun enthusiest but I own a few of them. Right now I have a Beeman R1 and an RWS 45. Both are at the upper end of the "power" scale. In the real world I do 99.9% of my shooting indoors to improve my rifle shooting. It is fun and IMO provides good solid practice at rifle shooting. However, both guns are loud: you can hear the report outside the house. They are not easy to cock although this isn't a huge issue for me. But, I have no need for all this "power". I could be doing the same thing with a much more plesant to shoot gun.
I have always been a "bigger is better" kind of guy. I guess as the years advance I am becoming a little more mature about things.