Air rifle hunting

MP-44 · March 10, 2001, 04:28 PM

What do you use and for what? After spending a couple of thousand for German and British airguns I have found the best for me is the lowly Sheridan. Mine is an older model(all metal & wood) with a Tasco 4x32 A/O airgun scope . I can get 3/4" groups at 40 yds and this makes life pretty miserable for the starlings, english sparrows & rats out to 50 yds. It has taken a few groundhogs at ranges less than 20 yds with head shots. So whats your favorite?

Art Eatman · March 10, 2001, 08:11 PM

I have a mid-range quality air rifle--don't recall the brand--which works well on birds and squirrels to 20 yards or so. That's about the limit for my trifocals and the peep sights.

The ongoing improvements in air rifles have been interesting. Both accuracy and performance are continually increased. The current G&A has an article about a 28-gauge!

About the cheapest practice I can think of, ammowise...

Art

labgrade · March 10, 2001, 11:28 PM

Used to use, as wee tyke, a .22 CO2-powered Crossman pistol for rabbits on down.

Still have some (mumble) pump-up BB rifle that seems to work quite well for the odd "quiet task" & for the dog when she tries to climb the fence.

Figured a good, quality BB rifle would be the cat's a$$ for a survival-type shooter where the li'l critters were in abundance - pretty quiet & you can even reuse the BBs after diggin' 'em out. (wolves can survive offa mice, why not me?

)

& Art, didn't Lewis & Clake have a couple .50 cal hand-pumped air rifles on their trek west?

Hope this doesn't turn into a "is the .177 pellet big enough for rats?" thread ....

March 11, 2001, 01:37 AM

A 10 year old Sheridan Blue Streak with a 4X scope sure works great for me. It was made before Benjamin bought them and reduced them to .177 caliber and put a bunch of plastic parts in them. If you can find an older one, then you've got a gem.

kerth · March 11, 2001, 09:38 AM

RWS Model 48. .177 cal lead pellet, rifled barrel, 1,050 ft/sec, accuracy to 30 yards must be seen to believed. When I lived in town shot starling, crow, rats, opossum, rabbit and squirrel. Head shots only on the last three. Now that I live out of town the air rifle mainly gathers dust, .22 lr is a much better tool for the task.

fulltlt · March 13, 2001, 11:33 PM

My grandpa bought a Sheradin Blue Streak for me when I was 12 years old. It's the old model with the thumb safety. That was more than 35 years ago. He paid $12 for it used. I worked hard on the farm all summer for that gun by helping baling hay, picking rocks, cutting thistles, etc. I would hunt pigeons with it in the hay mow after the work was done. Grandma would cook them up into a pigeon pie for us. The biggest animal I ever killed with it was a raccoon that was eating our chickens. Every night I would hear a chicken squawk it's last so I decided to stay up and ambush that coon. Armed with a flashlight and the Sheridan, I got him! I have since learned how hard raccoons are to kill so that shot must have hit him in just the right spot. That old Blue Streak truly is a gem of a gun.

Hot Core · March 14, 2001, 08:56 AM

Hey MP-44, Kind of surprised that no one has taken you to task for aligning the words "lowly" and "Sheridan" next to each other. From my perspective, they just don't go together any better than having " MY " name included on a list of Democratic Supporters. ;^)

I see "tlt" has one even older than the one I have. I got mine in the 1977/78 time frame and it is as fine a pump-up air rifle as you will find for the money. I got mine to control a neighbors pet that decided to sleep on my boat cover. By adjusting the pumps, I got the pet to go elsewhere without having to kill it.

Since then, I've used it on a good many things, including Crows that just got too close during siesta.

By the way, for all you Air Rifle fans, the good folks at Beeman has seen fit to provide "Sample Packs" of their various pellets in each size. I got one in the 5mm size for my Sheridan and it came with 6 different types of Lead pellets plus some of the felt Cleaning pellets. Got a total of 175 pieces in the pack. I'm sure you all realize that pellet rifles seem to like one style pellet more than others and this gives you a chance to try a bunch at once.

For those of you interested in such stuff, here are the relative weights of the 5mm pellets from Sheridan and Beeman:

Beeman Silver Bear - 10.0gr
Beeman Silver Sting - 11.0gr
Beeman Ram Jet - 11.5gr
Beeman Silver Ace - 12.6gr
Beeman Laser - 13.8gr
Sheridan - 14.7gr
Beeman Silver Arrow - 15.4gr

Needless to say, the lighter pellets are "faster" for those of you interested in going fast. But, the heavy pellets do seem to penetrate real well on critters.

Good hunting and clean 1-shot kills, Hot Core

Drundel · March 15, 2001, 01:34 AM

I use my dads with a Bushnell 3-9 and I swear it measured over 50 yards while dropping robbins. For some reason I always miss or over pentrate on crows and never bring them down.

I have a Beeman sample pack for .22 and its fun. I love that silver arrow on long range shots. I used to shoot competitive air rilfe and I would love to have tried out those Diawna, Anzutch, and Walthers (sp?) on some small birds.

fulltlt · March 15, 2001, 06:48 AM

Hot Core wrote:
"By the way, for all you Air Rifle fans, the good folks at Beeman has seen fit to provide "Sample Packs" of their various pellets in each size. I got one in the 5mm size for my Sheridan and it came with 6 different types of Lead pellets plus some of the felt Cleaning pellets. Got a total of 175 pieces in the pack. I'm sure you all realize that pellet rifles seem to like one style pellet more than others and this gives you a chance to try a bunch at once."

How do you get the Beeman "sample pack"?

Hot Core · March 15, 2001, 07:15 AM

Hey tlt, I got Sample Packs at Gun Shops that have Air Rifle sections. There are at least two different Gun Shops in the Charlotte, NC area that carry them.

I'd imagine one of your local Gun Shops would also have them on the shelf. If not, you could order them direct from Beeman. Or, here are the phone numbers of the Shops where I got the ones I bought:

Carolina Sporting Arms (704)375-7987
Hyatt Gun Shop (704)394-0387

By the time you included the Shipping Cost to you, it might be a bit high, but both those Shops have(had) them.

It has been awhile since I got the ones I bought, but they were $7-$9 depending on the caliber. Not the cheapest pellets on the market, but enough of each to see which type provides the best accuracy in your rifle, or gives the best "On-Game" performance.

Good hunting and clean 1-shot kills, Hot Core

March 14, 2001, 08:56 AM	#7
Hot Core Senior Member Join Date: November 22, 2000 Posts: 118	"...lowly Sheridan." ?!?!?!?!? Hey MP-44, Kind of surprised that no one has taken you to task for aligning the words "lowly" and "Sheridan" next to each other. From my perspective, they just don't go together any better than having " MY " name included on a list of Democratic Supporters. ;^) I see "tlt" has one even older than the one I have. I got mine in the 1977/78 time frame and it is as fine a pump-up air rifle as you will find for the money. I got mine to control a neighbors pet that decided to sleep on my boat cover. By adjusting the pumps, I got the pet to go elsewhere without having to kill it. Since then, I've used it on a good many things, including Crows that just got too close during siesta. By the way, for all you Air Rifle fans, the good folks at Beeman has seen fit to provide "Sample Packs" of their various pellets in each size. I got one in the 5mm size for my Sheridan and it came with 6 different types of Lead pellets plus some of the felt Cleaning pellets. Got a total of 175 pieces in the pack. I'm sure you all realize that pellet rifles seem to like one style pellet more than others and this gives you a chance to try a bunch at once. For those of you interested in such stuff, here are the relative weights of the 5mm pellets from Sheridan and Beeman: Beeman Silver Bear - 10.0gr Beeman Silver Sting - 11.0gr Beeman Ram Jet - 11.5gr Beeman Silver Ace - 12.6gr Beeman Laser - 13.8gr Sheridan - 14.7gr Beeman Silver Arrow - 15.4gr Needless to say, the lighter pellets are "faster" for those of you interested in going fast. But, the heavy pellets do seem to penetrate real well on critters. Good hunting and clean 1-shot kills, Hot Core

March 15, 2001, 01:34 AM	#8
Drundel Senior Member Join Date: November 9, 2000 Location: Friendswood, TX Posts: 559	RWS 34... I use my dads with a Bushnell 3-9 and I swear it measured over 50 yards while dropping robbins. For some reason I always miss or over pentrate on crows and never bring them down. I have a Beeman sample pack for .22 and its fun. I love that silver arrow on long range shots. I used to shoot competitive air rilfe and I would love to have tried out those Diawna, Anzutch, and Walthers (sp?) on some small birds. __________________ Shotshell Information Page Texas A&M University Proud member of the Fighting Class of '00

March 10, 2001, 04:28 PM	#1
MP-44 Senior Member Join Date: January 1, 2000 Location: VA Posts: 396	What do you use and for what? After spending a couple of thousand for German and British airguns I have found the best for me is the lowly Sheridan. Mine is an older model(all metal & wood) with a Tasco 4x32 A/O airgun scope . I can get 3/4" groups at 40 yds and this makes life pretty miserable for the starlings, english sparrows & rats out to 50 yds. It has taken a few groundhogs at ranges less than 20 yds with head shots. So whats your favorite?

March 10, 2001, 08:11 PM	#2
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	I have a mid-range quality air rifle--don't recall the brand--which works well on birds and squirrels to 20 yards or so. That's about the limit for my trifocals and the peep sights. The ongoing improvements in air rifles have been interesting. Both accuracy and performance are continually increased. The current G&A has an article about a 28-gauge! About the cheapest practice I can think of, ammowise... Art

March 10, 2001, 11:28 PM	#3
labgrade Member In Memoriam Join Date: November 29, 1999 Location: west of a small town, CO Posts: 4,346	Used to use, as wee tyke, a .22 CO2-powered Crossman pistol for rabbits on down. Still have some (mumble) pump-up BB rifle that seems to work quite well for the odd "quiet task" & for the dog when she tries to climb the fence. Figured a good, quality BB rifle would be the cat's a$$ for a survival-type shooter where the li'l critters were in abundance - pretty quiet & you can even reuse the BBs after diggin' 'em out. (wolves can survive offa mice, why not me? ) & Art, didn't Lewis & Clake have a couple .50 cal hand-pumped air rifles on their trek west? Hope this doesn't turn into a "is the .177 pellet big enough for rats?" thread ....

March 11, 2001, 01:37 AM	#4
KilgorII Guest Posts: n/a	A 10 year old Sheridan Blue Streak with a 4X scope sure works great for me. It was made before Benjamin bought them and reduced them to .177 caliber and put a bunch of plastic parts in them. If you can find an older one, then you've got a gem.

March 11, 2001, 09:38 AM	#5
kerth Senior Member Join Date: November 29, 2000 Location: Huntsville, Alabama Posts: 130	RWS Model 48. .177 cal lead pellet, rifled barrel, 1,050 ft/sec, accuracy to 30 yards must be seen to believed. When I lived in town shot starling, crow, rats, opossum, rabbit and squirrel. Head shots only on the last three. Now that I live out of town the air rifle mainly gathers dust, .22 lr is a much better tool for the task.

March 13, 2001, 11:33 PM	#6
fulltlt Senior Member Join Date: December 31, 2000 Posts: 120	My grandpa bought a Sheradin Blue Streak for me when I was 12 years old. It's the old model with the thumb safety. That was more than 35 years ago. He paid $12 for it used. I worked hard on the farm all summer for that gun by helping baling hay, picking rocks, cutting thistles, etc. I would hunt pigeons with it in the hay mow after the work was done. Grandma would cook them up into a pigeon pie for us. The biggest animal I ever killed with it was a raccoon that was eating our chickens. Every night I would hear a chicken squawk it's last so I decided to stay up and ambush that coon. Armed with a flashlight and the Sheridan, I got him! I have since learned how hard raccoons are to kill so that shot must have hit him in just the right spot. That old Blue Streak truly is a gem of a gun.

March 15, 2001, 06:48 AM	#9
fulltlt Senior Member Join Date: December 31, 2000 Posts: 120	Hot Core wrote: "By the way, for all you Air Rifle fans, the good folks at Beeman has seen fit to provide "Sample Packs" of their various pellets in each size. I got one in the 5mm size for my Sheridan and it came with 6 different types of Lead pellets plus some of the felt Cleaning pellets. Got a total of 175 pieces in the pack. I'm sure you all realize that pellet rifles seem to like one style pellet more than others and this gives you a chance to try a bunch at once." How do you get the Beeman "sample pack"?

March 15, 2001, 07:15 AM	#10
Hot Core Senior Member Join Date: November 22, 2000 Posts: 118	Hey tlt, I got Sample Packs at Gun Shops that have Air Rifle sections. There are at least two different Gun Shops in the Charlotte, NC area that carry them. I'd imagine one of your local Gun Shops would also have them on the shelf. If not, you could order them direct from Beeman. Or, here are the phone numbers of the Shops where I got the ones I bought: Carolina Sporting Arms (704)375-7987 Hyatt Gun Shop (704)394-0387 By the time you included the Shipping Cost to you, it might be a bit high, but both those Shops have(had) them. It has been awhile since I got the ones I bought, but they were $7-$9 depending on the caliber. Not the cheapest pellets on the market, but enough of each to see which type provides the best accuracy in your rifle, or gives the best "On-Game" performance. Good hunting and clean 1-shot kills, Hot Core