Max effective range of an air rifle?

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Guys, I'm wondering what the maximum effective range of an air rifle is. I need to hit a bird that's sitting still at 45 to 50 feet without making a lot of noise. I can't use a .22 rimfire. Can a .177 do that?
 
Really depends on air rifle. I have a BSA R10SE in .22 pellets that i would feel comfortable shooting small game at 50-100 yards. I also have a Bulldog air rifle that shoots a .357cal, 120-165gr lead bullet that is good for small deer and coyote at 50-80 yards.
 
I put a red dot on my hatsan 125 scout version in 22cal. A total tack driver !! Short money. Google the review on “pyramid air”
 
For something crow sized I’d opt for .22 instead of .177. Crows are surprisingly tough critters and you may need a little extra thump to take it down.
 
Depending on who or what charts you look at 5ftlbs of energy at the target is about the min for a larger bird.

Crows can get all Matrix on your ass and avoid pellets. They then laugh and taunt you. Kill zone on a bird is small. High center breast

.177 call has a tendency to pass through critters with out a lot of damage. Especially fast light pellets.
I like 10 grain when going with .177 cal.
Just be warned if your in a tight nieghbor hood pellets over 1000fps are load. Especially .177 cal.
I can poke vermin out to 25 yards with my old daisy 880 thats been modified with a walther barrel and sends a .177 cal 10 grain pellet at just under 700 fps. Which gives me around 7ftlbs at 25 yards.
 
Daisy 880 Whatever here, I shoot 50 feet across my garage, red dot, no accuracy whatsoever, the rifle sucks.
Looking for a good "auto" feed rifle.
All the Gamo's are single load arent they?
 
My old man had a woodpecker who thought it was fun to play rosie the riveter on the sheet metal chimney cap. Drove him nuts.
Took him a week of patience, but pop nailed it with my 30 year old .177 co2 pellet pistol, at that range or more.
 
Daisy 880 Whatever here, I shoot 50 feet across my garage, red dot, no accuracy whatsoever, the rifle sucks.
Looking for a good "auto" feed rifle.
All the Gamo's are single load arent they?
Your not going to find much of accuracy in a auto (semi auto) until you spend some cash.
What type of accuracy do you expect?
Also note the 880 does suck over all. The trigger is awful and by design you need to yank it. If you squeeze it air will escape before it completely opens the valve sending pellets down range at various velocity. Also make sure it has a rifles barrel. Although for less than $50 a few tweaks can turn it into something fun to shoot.
 
Google hatsan pellet rifles. Loved the first one so Koch I bought the same gun in 25 cal ! 125 sipper in 22 & 25. Both barrels. And the optics are nice as well. I upgraded the scope on the 25 and it’s incredible ! There is a video on line of a guy hitting an 8” pie plate at 106 yds ! I brought mine to the range and people laughed at me for bringing a “B.B.” gun until they saw my 100 yd target. Their no joke
 
Thanks everyone, great info. Let me give a little more info.

The situation is that there is a bird that site on a sailboat masthead, and sh*^& all over the boat next door. Not just a little, the boat is practically covered from the middle aft. The marina is a tight environment, and while most people are happy to look the other way if not outright cheer this project on, you never know if there will be some crow lover nearby. So this has to be a stealth project. Also, if the sniper misses the bird and hits the mast, we don't want to do any damage. Masts are aluminum and fairly light so a .22 rimfire would damage it.

On a still day, making the shot from a floating dock, shooting upwards about 50 feet, at a target that may be moving ever so slightly, would be a challenge but doable. I need enough power to deal with the bird but not damage the mast.

I don't own an airgun. I'm willing to buy one for this but that's about all I would do with it so I don't want to dump a lot of money into it. This one is available as a refurb for about $120. Is it a good choice?

https://www.amazon.com/Ruger-Targis...00KNB0AL0/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
 
Google hatsan pellet rifles. Loved the first one so Koch I bought the same gun in 25 cal ! 125 sipper in 22 & 25. Both barrels. And the optics are nice as well. I upgraded the scope on the 25 and it’s incredible ! There is a video on line of a guy hitting an 8” pie plate at 106 yds ! I brought mine to the range and people laughed at me for bringing a “B.B.” gun until they saw my 100 yd target. Their no joke

Pricy though!
 
So you want to shoot up a a moving mast from a moving platform with minimal damage and price?
I say grab a pumpmaster 760 and some pellets and just keep it handy. Pump it up and take a pop shot at it.
I do recommend the 397 also.
Maybe one of the inexpensive CO2 rifles so you don’t have to pump. Although it’s getting chilly and CO2 does not like lower temps.
 
So you want to shoot up a a moving mast from a moving platform with minimal damage and price?
I say grab a pumpmaster 760 and some pellets and just keep it handy. Pump it up and take a pop shot at it.
I do recommend the 397 also.
Maybe one of the inexpensive CO2 rifles so you don’t have to pump. Although it’s getting chilly and CO2 does not like lower temps.

On a still day the movement is pretty much non-existent. I'll check those out thanks.
 
Thanks everyone, great info. Let me give a little more info.

The situation is that there is a bird that site on a sailboat masthead, and sh*^& all over the boat next door. Not just a little, the boat is practically covered from the middle aft. The marina is a tight environment, and while most people are happy to look the other way if not outright cheer this project on, you never know if there will be some crow lover nearby. So this has to be a stealth project. Also, if the sniper misses the bird and hits the mast, we don't want to do any damage. Masts are aluminum and fairly light so a .22 rimfire would damage it.


This changes the whole problem; you don't need to shoot the bird at all.

Call Prepper, and have him park his truck near the marina - the bird will sit on his mirror and shit up the truck, then follow Prepper home.

***For a better explanation, search for "nemsis" started by Prepper. Be warned, I'm not responsible for choking, spitting or pissing yourself from laughter.
 
This changes the whole problem; you don't need to shoot the bird at all.

Call Prepper, and have him park his truck near the marina - the bird will sit on his mirror and shit up the truck, then follow Prepper home.

***For a better explanation, search for "nemsis" started by Prepper. Be warned, I'm not responsible for choking, spitting or pissing yourself from laughter.

Okay, good exercise for the slow parts of tonight's Sox game.
 
I have looked at about 30 rifles at this point. Knowing nothing about these, I'm paralyzed with indecision. Is there one I can get for about $150 or less that has a decent scope and will do the job? I can't even decide that caliper to go for...

If anyone has one they want to sell let me know!

PS - For no good reason I'm still leaning toward this one, although the reviews say its a bit heavy and loud:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KNB0AL0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A3AWOP9LX3X1E6&psc=1
 
I have looked at about 30 rifles at this point. Knowing nothing about these, I'm paralyzed with indecision. Is there one I can get for about $150 or less that has a decent scope and will do the job? I can't even decide that caliper to go for...

If anyone has one they want to sell let me know!

PS - For no good reason I'm still leaning toward this one, although the reviews say its a bit heavy and loud:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KNB0AL0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A3AWOP9LX3X1E6&psc=1
Don’t waste time with a scope. Zero the irons and start shooting. I would go with .177 for minimum damage to stuff around you. Anything over 1000fps will be pretty load. This subjective though. As conditions apply. Close buildings can echo and appears to be loader.
 
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