Anyone here into air guns?

[Hoon]

I strongly recommend people find a decent PCP. There's just no going back to a break barrel after that.

 

[mac1911]

Just picked up a Daisy 35 for my daughter's birthday. She's turning 8.

We'll be unwrapping the presents at my anti-gun sister-in-law's house this weekend.

I've got a big old brass bell I'm going to hang in the back yard for her to plink at.

Just a warning make sure everyone around is wearing eye protection BBs fricken bounce back with authority. Use pellets in it. Its a smooth bore so don't expect much of accuracy.
shooting at metal with BBs or low velocity lead pellets is just not a good idea. pellets going 500fps or less can bounce back off pine boards.

Tough at that age its hard to find a decent air rifle that fits well for young kids that's not a low powered smooth bore. Also the trigger design on the these low priced guns are more like a valve that a trigger. If you squeeze slow it will let the air out.
If you have kids interested in target shooting really check into the used refurbished daisy 853 the cmp offers.... they run 300$ new and you can pick one up for 115$ shipped through the cmp.... I love mine and wish I grabbed one a few years ago when CMP offered them.... If I didn't just pick up 10 1911 mags from the CMP I might have ordered another 853!

 

[mac1911]

I strongly recommend people find a decent PCP. There's just no going back to a break barrel after that.

I bought my disco on a whim , used right price ect,ect. I have to really control myself as I fight the urge to step up into something silly like a edgun or airmax , air force, high pressure compressor and tanks...

I recently bought a power adjuster for my disco. I tuned it down to 725fps I can run from 1800fps-1100fps before accuracy and velocity dive off.
I can get a good 25-30 shots now before I loose accuracy. the accuracy fades around 1200fps and the velocity starts to stumble from shot to shot.

soda can accuracy at 50 yards is good from 2000psi into the yellow on the gauge....about 45 shots with 13 grain pellets.

 

[Dean Crawford]

This is what you need.



Dean

 

[Hoon]

I bought my disco on a whim , used right price ect,ect. I have to really control myself as I fight the urge to step up into something silly like a edgun or airmax , air force, high pressure compressor and tanks...

I recently bought a power adjuster for my disco. I tuned it down to 725fps I can run from 1800fps-1100fps before accuracy and velocity dive off.
I can get a good 25-30 shots now before I loose accuracy. the accuracy fades around 1200fps and the velocity starts to stumble from shot to shot.

soda can accuracy at 50 yards is good from 2000psi into the yellow on the gauge....about 45 shots with 13 grain pellets.

I bought mine after wounding a couple of animals with a cheap break barrel.

Power is cheap but you have to spend a bit for accuracy.

I love my Disco, primarily use it for rabbit hunting. After about 100 pellets it really settled down and started shooting very accurately.

I put a cheap UTG 4x scope and a suppressor on it, not planning any other mods.

Predator polymags, JSB Heavy, and Crosman Premier pellets all shoot extremely well (.22 Cal). I just run a few dry patches and a brush every once in awhile and have no complaints for the $$.

 

[Kevin_NH]

A good PCP should be the second (and third) airgun you purchase.

I agree that Pre-Charged Pneumatic airguns are great (I've got 4), but refill hardware is a pretty big investment to make. For somebody who does not currently own any airguns and mostly wants something to deal with the occasional pest, I would start with a gas piston break-barrel.

Why gas piston? Lightweight, minimal recoil, usually much quieter than PCP (assuming same energy/barrel length/baffles) long useful life with no supplies to purchase other than pellets, you can leave the gun cocked with no damage, and quality guns are relatively inexpensive and easy to find in stock.

 

[knoxy]

Just a warning make sure everyone around is wearing eye protection BBs fricken bounce back with authority. Use pellets in it. Its a smooth bore so don't expect much of accuracy.
shooting at metal with BBs or low velocity lead pellets is just not a good idea. pellets going 500fps or less can bounce back off pine boards.

Tough at that age its hard to find a decent air rifle that fits well for young kids that's not a low powered smooth bore. Also the trigger design on the these low priced guns are more like a valve that a trigger. If you squeeze slow it will let the air out.
If you have kids interested in target shooting really check into the used refurbished daisy 853 the cmp offers.... they run 300$ new and you can pick one up for 115$ shipped through the cmp.... I love mine and wish I grabbed one a few years ago when CMP offered them.... If I didn't just pick up 10 1911 mags from the CMP I might have ordered another 853!

Roger That. Plenty of safety glasses to go around. We'll see if she gets into it. Going to get her up to speed on safety and the basics first.

 

[slap shot]

I've got a Diana 48B Black Range like this, just fitted with a different scope. 1,050 fps is quite some power, even with a .177.

There's also an older Weihrauch HW35.

Love the German ones. My first and favorite an rws Diana 45. Bought it from Beeman back in the 80s.

 

[mac1911]

Roger That. Plenty of safety glasses to go around. We'll see if she gets into it. Going to get her up to speed on safety and the basics first.

Growing up my Dad banned steel BBs they always found their way to the most expensive windows. Proper back stop is a plus.
I like to use cheap crackers for targets and those nasty chalky candy disc things.... heck hunks of chalk are fun targets also...I use the nubs left over from the fat sidewalk chalk
my kids use.

 

[mac1911]

This is what you need.



Dean

Nice , see I cant go any further into the PCP guns because I wont just buy a few tanks or a scuba tank for fills. I will have to pick up a high pressure air compressor, a few scuba tanks and a handful of small tanks...
That's the one advantage to the disco is low psi....only 2000 for a fill but really it shines on 1800-1200 psi anyway so you don't need a full charge. 2000 psi is not to hard with the hnd pump... I seldom drop below 1300ish psi before refilling to 1800. takes about 25 pumps.

I see some battle wounds on your muzzle device.

 

[Dean Crawford]

"I see some battle wounds on your muzzle device."

It is just a plastic cover over the Muzzle Device, although when I am chasing something in thick brush, I am not afraid to extend it in front of me to break through. I have several thousand kills with it, it is actually a 25 cal model that I modified by drilling out the air passages, and can now get a 1000 FPS with a 30gr pellet and 30 quality shots with a full tank @3500 psi. I have several, Airforce Condor, BSA Lonestar, all modified.

Dean

 

[mac1911]

"I see some battle wounds on your muzzle device."
It is just a plastic cover over the Muzzle Device, although when I am chasing something in thick brush, I am not afraid to extend it in front of me to break through. I have several thousand kills with it, it is actually a 25 cal model that I modified by drilling out the air passages, and can now get a 1000 FPS with a 30gr pellet and 30 quality shots with a full tank @3500 psi. I have several, Airforce Condor, BSA Lonestar, all modified.

Dean

Nice....love the bttle wounds. I like a gun that gets used. I have not actively hunted in many years. Only pest control in the garden now.
that's a nice wallop 30 gr at 1000 fps is sweet.

 

[Dean Crawford]

Here is a 22 cal 15gr beside a 25 cal 30gr.

It will lift a grey squirrel right off the branch.



Dean

 

[Hoon]

Here is a 22 cal 15gr beside a 25 cal 30gr.

It will lift a grey squirrel right off the branch.

Dean

A 30gr at 1000fps...thats got to be viscous on small critters

 

[mac1911]

Here is a 22 cal 15gr beside a 25 cal 30gr.

It will lift a grey squirrel right off the branch.



Dean

I use a 18 grain 22 at about 625fps and that's pretty damaging on a grey. The 30grainl must be really good.
Geez the 30grain you could nick their nose and the shock would put them down!

 

[LittleCalm]

I prefer a 30 cal. 45 gr. domed pellet running at 900 fps., or a .357 cal. 81 gr. domed pellet running in the 700+ fps range. If you don't mind only having a few shots per tank, you can run .45 and .50 cal. as well. Modern PCP air gunning is getting quite sophisticated.

 

[dhuze]

I prefer a 30 cal. 45 gr. domed pellet running at 900 fps., or a .357 cal. 81 gr. domed pellet running in the 700+ fps range. If you don't mind only having a few shots per tank, you can run .45 and .50 cal. as well. Modern PCP air gunning is getting quite sophisticated.

I use a 110 grain .30 cal bullet in mine at 850 fps. I only get 3 shots before the fps drops off. I start at about 3200 psi and 3 shots gets me down around 2000 psi.
What sucks for me is, I only have a hand pump and I get tired pumping it back up.

 

[LittleCalm]

I use a 110 grain .30 cal bullet in mine at 850 fps. I only get 3 shots before the fps drops off. I start at about 3200 psi and 3 shots gets me down around 2000 psi.

What sucks for me is, I only have a hand pump and I get tired pumping it back up.

I would highly recommend that you get a bottle gun if you are going to shoot large bore. With a 400cc or 500cc bottle you will get many more shots (e.g., 30 per fill). Then get a carbon fiber 88 cu ft. 4500 psi tank and a shoebox freedom compressor set up. This is a reasonably economical set-up for big bore, as you can get the tank and compressor used off of the Yellow forum for, say, $800.

 

[mac1911]

I prefer a 30 cal. 45 gr. domed pellet running at 900 fps., or a .357 cal. 81 gr. domed pellet running in the 700+ fps range. If you don't mind only having a few shots per tank, you can run .45 and .50 cal. as well. Modern PCP air gunning is getting quite sophisticated.

At this point where really stretching the "neighborhood" friendly options. Air guns have been on a huge surge in quality, choices and markets.

 

[Varmint]

Only thing I have is a Glock 17 airgun I bought in Japan 20 years ago I think it was. In Japan I think they're limited to like 80 m/sec muzzle velocity, you can shoot your hand and it just stings a little. You actually refill it with a large can. It also looks very realistic.

 

[LittleCalm]

At this point where really stretching the "neighborhood" friendly options. Air guns have been on a huge surge in quality, choices and markets.

You can get quiet big bores or any caliber these days since the 2010 2nd circuit case saying that suppressors only an NFA item if intended to be used on a firearm. After that decision, the airgun manufactures started putting "moderators" or LDCs ("lead dust collectors") on everything. Barrel shrouds work tremendously well also and come standard on many air rifles. Go into any dicks or cabelas or Wally World and most everything has some kind of sound surpressor right from the factory.

 

[mac1911]

You can get quiet big bores or any caliber these days since the 2010 2nd circuit case saying that suppressors only an NFA item if intended to be used on a firearm. After that decision, the airgun manufactures started putting "moderators" or LDCs ("lead dust collectors") on everything. Barrel shrouds work tremendously well also and come standard on many air rifles. Go into any dicks or cabelas or Wally World and most everything has some kind of sound surpressor right from the factory.

noise is the least of the concerns for the the larger bore air guns... I feel safe discharging 22 cal 15 grain pellet in my yard with a ols fence as a back stop up against heavy tree and brush line.

 

[dhuze]

At this point where really stretching the "neighborhood" friendly options. Air guns have been on a huge surge in quality, choices and markets.

I will say that, my .308 air rifle will get the police to my house if I shoot it there. The only thing that doesn't make it sound like a firearm is you don't get the sonic crack. 450 psi coming out of a .308 hole in an instant gets really loud.

 

[LittleCalm]

noise is the least of the concerns for the the larger bore air guns... I feel safe discharging 22 cal 15 grain pellet in my yard with a ols fence as a back stop up against heavy tree and brush line.

Totally agree. The big bores that shoot in excess of 600 fps need suitable backstops, which often are not feasible in tight neighborhoods. Noise is becoming a lesser concern these days.

 

[mac1911]

Totally agree. The big bores that shoot in excess of 600 fps need suitable backstops, which often are not feasible in tight neighborhoods. Noise is becoming a lesser concern these days.

I had neighbors that used to call on me because I was walking around with "guns" ....it only took a few trips out for them to stop coming. They moved. The other and new neighbors could careless what I do as we seem to be on the "my yard my business" mind set.

 

[LittleCalm]

I had neighbors that used to call on me because I was walking around with "guns" ....it only took a few trips out for them to stop coming. They moved. The other and new neighbors could careless what I do as we seem to be on the "my yard my business" mind set.

I find that walking around in my yard with only underwear on and rubbing my belly tends to keep nosey neighbors away.

 

[Carl in Ct]

My nutty neighbor who owns the land behind me just went along the back yards of everyone who borders her land and put up survey tape to mark her property line. She actually tied it to the corner post of my horse pen. I removed it and tied it to a stick a little ways away then went and knocked on her door to see what's up. She said she was trying to get her stuff in order in case she sells eventually. I asked her if she had a problem with anything I was doing and she said she wanted me to stop mowing on the other side of my fence (which is on the property line). She said she was getting ready to send out letters to everyone and was glad I stopped by to talk about it. Funny, she could have talked to me instead of the passive aggressive stunt she pulled and mailing letters.

I said fine but I told her I moved her tape and I told her she cannot attached anything to my fence posts. Not only are they my property but if my curious gelding decides to snack on her surveyors tape it would probably mean a couple thousand dollar vet bill that she would have to pay, not to mention what my horse would have to go through. I told her I would need to keep the grass/weeds off the fence but I would stop at that and not mow any further.

We ended the conversation ok and I think she will keep quiet as long as I don't mow over the line but what a jerk she is. She said she "was advised" that if I mowed that tiny little stretch of field long enough I would have a legal claim to it, like in the old days of squatter's rights or some such thing. I'm no real estate expert or attorney but in the modern era of deeds which are filed with the town with specific boundaries set by surveyors (in 1980 in this case) I have a very hard time believing she would really have anything to worry about from me or my other neighbors mowing a couple feet onto her field. Sounds life wives' tale legal advice to me.

So if I get an air gun eventually I will have to make sure I stay off her land and try to not let any stray shots cross the line either, which I planned on anyway.

 

[bgoum]

We'll be unwrapping the presents at my anti-gun sister-in-law's house this weekend.

 

[qqac]

She said she "was advised" that if I mowed that tiny little stretch of field long enough I would have a legal claim to it, like in the old days of squatter's rights or some such thing. I'm no real estate expert or attorney but in the modern era of deeds which are filed with the town with specific boundaries set by surveyors (in 1980 in this case) I have a very hard time believing she would really have anything to worry about from me or my other neighbors mowing a couple feet onto her field. Sounds life wives' tale legal advice to me.

So if I get an air gun eventually I will have to make sure I stay off her land and try to not let any stray shots cross the line either, which I planned on anyway.

She's not completely off base. Adverse possession and prescriptive easement are still the law in MA, unless you have registered land.

 

[Spanz]

She's not completely off base. Adverse possession and prescriptive easement are still the law in MA, unless you have registered land.

good fences make good neighbors! Keep to your side of the fence and it will all work out fine.