Anybody here shoot air rifle? I got to thinking the other day that it would sure be nice if I could just go out my backdoor and do a little shooting whenever I got the notion. Even though I live in a rural area I have neighbors that raise holy h@%$ if anybody touches off a round or two. With that in mind I went looking at air rifles.
I found that it is possible these days to get a .22 caliber that shoots over 900 fps for not much over a hundred dollars and I could shoot out in my backyard whenever I felt the urge. Plus shooting a 14.5 grain pellet at 950 fps or 18 grain a little slower seems like pretty good cheap varmint control. Should be plenty of energy up to 25 or 30 yards maybe more. Reviews on some of these are quite good, but seem to be by shooters who just buy em and shoot em. Seems to me that it would be possible by maybe polishing the barrel, using a good bullet lube, use of barrel tuners, (rubber “O” rings even) and maybe even slugging the barrel and sizing the pellets to fit the bore, accuracy could be attained that was quite good, especially since even these inexpensive guns sport rifled barrels. Soooooooo.....to make a long story even longer, I found one at Amazon.com for $108.00
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..22 cal. air rifle
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- Last Post 07 September 2015
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The CenterPoint 4x32mm scope is not trash and the power is plenty for the practical useful range of the rifle.
I bet the scope will surprise you and stay on the rifle.
My .22 pellet rifle has 250 fps less velocity and kills squirrels just fine to 35 yards, so you have plenty of power too. I hope it works out well for you.
It is important to try a variety of pellet brands. It really isn't cost that tells you what pellets that your rifle shoots the best. Try as many brands and weights of pellets that is practical for you to try. One will be the best.
Note: pellet rifles are sensitive to cleaning and lubrication products and methods that effect accuracy pretty profoundly too.
Gary
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go for it !! yes for your intended usages .
also you will find more ways to enjoy your air gun .
i taught my son, y then my grandkids to enjoy shooting ... mostly with targets that went ” cling ' and/or blew up when hit with a pellet .... buy ballons bulk ... so much fun !!
mine were 17 ... first a pump-up sheridan blue/streak ... now a rws single spring ... either has enough power at 50 ft. to go thru a coke can ...
pellets are extremely cheap .... pellet guys make reformers ... but for plinking with walmart pellets my guns were capable of hitting quarters at 50 feet ... and usually dimes ... btw, i mounted an rws airgun scope ... worked fine, the spring shock hasn't broken it yet ...
when i shot ara i played with an olympic target air gun ... it would shoot flies at 50-75 feet ...oh, tried a barrel tuner, no improvement on the air gun .... ?????
btw, my grandkids are grown, the 17 rws spring gun is for sale ... excellent , with or without rws 3-9 ao scope .
yer gonna have fun ...
ken
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Thanks for the info guys. Looking forward to getting it.
Gary, I will give the scope a fair chance. I have read some reviews about it not holding zero but that can quite often be due to user error.
Terry
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I was unfamiliar with that brand till my Remington Spartan single shot 7.62X39 came new with one. Optics are clear for the full field, turret clicks are accurate and repeatable and zero holds fine. That is all I ask for.
Mine has a built in slanted sunshade, that is ugly, doesn't hold a lens cap at all but is a functional sunshade. See the sunshade:
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I read the specifications on the Crosman Optimus .22 pellet rifle you are interested in. Everything looks good except the very low weight at 3.4 pounds. A heavier rifle is much easier for me to hold steady, but pellet rifles in general don't get very heavy.
Gary
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Gary, I picked up the rifle a while ago and I really like it. The pellets won't be here till this afternoon and I'll be at work so I won't get to try it till tomorrow. However, the scope is quite different than yours. I won't be using it. The image is distorted except for the very center and there is a ton of blue fringe around everything. Maybe I got a lemon scope (it happens) but I didn't buy it for the scope. I have several scopes that will work on it nicely. I have an old Simmons 3 - 9 X 32 that has been collecting dust for a few years that might enjoy being put back into use, also have a couple of 4X Weavers. I thought about the weight as well and if need be I can lead the stock. Just have to see how it functions now. It will be fun to play with when I can't get out with my other guns. Hopefully work will slow down in the next week and I can at last try out some of the new knowledge that I have received from this forum. Terry
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I lucked out and found an RWS model 52 on sale at Cabelas a few years ago. It came with an RWS scope. It shoots very well to past 30 yards. I had a frozen deer head hanging off of a post in my back yard and Beeman Kodiak pellets went into the fore head about 4". The head kept kids from cutting through my yard. When we were kids my brother and I had co2 .22 pistols. The strike anywhere wood matches would crack and flare up on the sidewalk.
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I shot that pellet rifle today. I like the way it feels when it shoots but I was puzzled by the buckshot patterns it was printing. At 25 yards it would not hold ten shots in a pie plate. On ething I noticed was that the pellets I bought were not very consistent. Some fit the chamber a lbit tight and others were not as tight. I measure a bunch and the size ranged from just under .220 to .222. Next I weighed the pellets with similar results. Theey weighed from 14.0 (one was at 13.9) grains to 14.7 grains. Since I really do not want to weigh and size every tin of pellets I buy, does any one have any favorite brands that are more consistent. The ones I bought with the gun are Crossman premier hunting pellets. When I sorted a few by weight alone, group size improved to 2 - 3 1/2 inches @ 25 yards But I haven't had time to size and weigh them all yet (work just getting in the way of my fun time). One group with pellets weighing 14.3 grains looked promising -- 4 in 1 inch and 1 off to come in right at 2 inches. Again though, there was inconsistency in pellet fit.
I saw where delmarskid1 used Beeman Kodiak pellets. How were those for consistency/accuracy? What was the velocity of that rifle and pellet weight? Four inches into frozen is impressive! There are a lot of different pellets out there--brands, weights styles, so I guess I have my work (play) cut out for me. Ahhh. . .the perils of buying new toys :D.
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I never have chronograph-ed or weighed pellets. I believe that the skirts of the pellet need to fit the chamber tightly. Champions Choice sells pellet sizers. I'm not that gung-ho. Gamo pellets shoot well in my rifles. I've had good luck with crossman target pellets. They have a flat front like a full wadcutter. I think the kodiaks weigh near to 18g. I might try wiping the bore with a dry patch to see if anything is in there. I don't know how much you have shot air guns but they are prone to toss 'em if I don't use a deliberate follow through. It's one of the things that make them such good practice.
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I think you may be looking in the wrong place for the inaccuracy of your air rifle. I have never been able to improve air rifle accuracy by weighing or sizing pellets. I have a couple of good air rifles. I shoot all kind of pellets through them out of the box including whatever Walmart has Daisy, Crossman etc. The pellets vary in weight and diameter but all will hit a dime virtually ever time at 33 feet.
I assume yours is the typical break action spring powered rifle. If so the lighter the rifle and the more powerful the worse the accuracy, or maybe its just the more sensitive to how it is held. They are very sensitive to how they are held. A zero from a bench or even sitting is often way off for offhand shooting. Offhand zero right handed will often not be the same as offhand zero for left handed. That type of rifle especially the more powerful ones are very good at shaking scopes apart and changing zero-- the lighter and more powerful the worse. It is often recommended that only scopes marketed for air rifles be used. Just last week I had a FWB 124 apparently shake apart a Bushnell air rifle scope and the zero now jumps three or four inches at 25 ft. and is useless.
I suggest that you try it as a shorter distance to see if it shoots any better at normal competitive air rifle ranges.
Try to get a box of match grade pellets RWS or H&N. If it won't shoot them the other pellets probably aren't at fault either.
A good air rifle provides a lot of shooting pleasure. Good luck.
John
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Thanks for the suggestions, This is an area I am quite new at. I've never owned a good air rifle so really don't know all that much about them. Since I did get one decent group I'm pretty sure that it is capable of good groups. So it could very well be the scope. I notice the recoil is quite different from regular rifle, more of a hard jump than a push. Maybe I'll check grouping with the open sights if I can persuade these old eyes to focus properly. That would likely tell at least part of tale from what I understand from these posts. I think I'll check around for an air rifle scope in the meantime. Any suggestions? So the typical air rifle distance is 33ft? I started out at more than double that distance. So maybe it isn't as bad as I suspected??? Lots I don't know. The rifle is on the lighter side. Would adding weight to the stock be a benefit? Gas checks just came in--finally-- for my .22-250. So I can get started with that shooting project as well. Thanks guys Terry P.S.Just went and researched the difference between air rifle scopes and regular rifle scopes. WOW! Point well taken. Gonna go buy a scope made for air rifle.
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pondercat John is correct scopes need to be rated for use on spring powered air rifles. Spring guns have a reversal of recoil same as mounting scope on an auto pistol slide. Duane
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a 3.4 lb airgun is not an unlimited bench rifle. I brag like heck about my shooting and have to say your bench form has to be perfect and good quality front and rear rests to tell what an air rifle will do. My air rifle is the hardest to shoot rifle I own. It will eventually group 1” at 25 yards at my best and it is exhausting to shoot my air rifle at the bench because IT IS SO LIGHT !!!! It takes a lot of effort to steady a light rifle and get a good trigger pull for groups.
Don't be discouraged, You need top notch bench gear and a top notch marksman to do well with an air rifle.
You haven't even tried a bunch or different brand pellets yet.
Most .22 pellet rifles form the pellet skirt on chambering by the bolt fit. I have never weighed or measured a pellet either. Just find a brand the rifle likes.
The flat nose Crosman target pellets shoot the best from my rifle.
Any pointed pellets from my rifle can clearly be seen to screwball through the air when looking through the scope. No pointed pellets shoot well from my rifle. Some of the dome nosed ones are OK, but the Crosmans can't be beat from my rifle.
Gary
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Springer air guns usually take a box or two of pellets to wear in the parts and burn up most of the oil in the chamber. They will usually settle down and be more consistent. Try as many different pellets as you can. They are all a little different and you will find one brand, style, weight that your gun likes. I have cheap guns that only shoot expensive pellets and expensive guns that only shoot crossman cheap pellets, so experiment. The heavier guns are easier to keep on target and limit the double recoil of a springer. My target springer airgun weighs 9 pounds without scope.
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So would weighting the stock help? I could easily install a few pounds of lead. Gary, I rarely get discouraged and thanks for the encouragement. Its certainly another challenge though and I love challenges, but it is great to have those folk who have made many of the mistakes already help point my efforts in the right direction. Shooting air rifles, with the exception of my Red Ryder BB Gun ( I use it to shoot grasshoppers.... well its fun and helps me protect my garden), is a brand new sport for me and I already have learned more from this forum than I have ever known about it. Thanks to everyone for your help. Terry
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If you really want to know more about airguns than you ever wanted to, check out a book called The airgun from trigger to target by G.V. Cardew.
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Adding weight to stock would be good but you need to maintain balance. I would suggest shooting this one and after you become obsessed like most of us, buy a quality brand, Air Arms, RWS, or others.
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Adding weight to your pellet rifle may help a lot, but try it as is first to pick the ammo it likes. Then, see if the rifle shoots better when you add weight.
Rifle weight is a personal thing. I am most comfortable with a 10 pound rifle at the bench or in the field. That is just me. Many hunters shoot excellently in the field with 6 pound rifles. I am terrible with a 6 pound rifle. My .22 rimfire squirrel rifle weighs 10+ pounds. It is a Mil contract trainer, a Mossberg 144lsb all up at 10lbs 1 oz. with scope, Harris bi-pod and sling.
My main use for my air rifle is for Squirrel when I am bowhunting for deer. I carry it on my back and when I ground blind or tree stand, it sits next to me waiting for squirrel. 30 yards is both my archery for deer and my pellet rifle for squirrel distance limit. I generally wait for a frontal throat shot for squirrel or don't shoot.
Gary
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Rifle weight is a personal thing. I am most comfortable with a 10 pound rifle at the bench or in the field. That is just me. Many hunters shoot excellently in the field with 6 pound rifles. I am terrible with a 6 pound rifle. My .22 rimfire squirrel rifle weighs 10+ pounds. It is a Mil contract trainer, a Mossberg 144lsb all up at 10lbs 1 oz. with scope, Harris bi-pod and sling.
Gary I am also that way about weight. Most all of my rifles are 9 Lbs plus and I also like my handguns to be on the heavy side. Anyhow I will take your and Badammo's advice and shoot as is until I find out what it likes and how well I like it. Badammo answered my next question before I asked it.. It was gonna be basically do air rifles require a break in period before they settle down and how long or how much use is usually required? But I guess I don't need to ask that now. Also, not sure where 3.4 lbs weight came from, but I fully expected it to be lightweight when I bought it. I knew it was quite a bit heavier than that once I got it. I just weighed it on a very accurate balance scale and without the scope it weighs 6 lbs 5 ounces. But I still would be happier with about another 1 1/2 pounds or so. However, I will wait awhile before doing any modifications. Thanks for the info Terry
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just a thought, but a decent airgun scope is also just fine for other rifles ... mine are rws , 3-9 with ao, and i have used them on several other rifles, including high power . so far, so good . the point is you could buy a pretty good airgun scope and * amortize * it over a few rifles , not just your airgun .
i think your idea of testing with iron sights is good ...even better if you could glue on a peep rear ... a little angle iron with a hole drilled in it would work for testing .
ken
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