Pro-Line

I posted this in the small game forum, but thought I might find a better answer here.

I am going to buy an air rifle. I've been squirrel hunting for 30 years...started with a 12ga...then 20ga...then 410...then 22...now a 22 pistol just to try new things.

Now I want an air rifle for chasing tree rats.

I had a buddy that bought an RWS and bragged at length at its accuracy. I went over to his place and we shot it off bags, and I was far from impressed. The best groups we could get were around 2" at 50'. The scope was tight and we actually tried another scope when I complained of the accuracy. Nothing changed.

Did he have a lemon?

What group size SHOULD I expect at 50'?

Who owns an accurate A.R. and what brand is it?

I don't care if I get a Beman, RWS, Gamo or whatever.

Thanks so much.

zrexpilot

I am less than impressed also. These break in hlf they sell arent that accurate, the problem is the spring it causes a lot of recoil, it seems off of a bag theres a lot of jump, I had better groups free hand shooting.
I dont know what to say, I think theyre all junk.
Probably have to spend a lot to get a shooter.

oldsmellhound

I don't have a lot of experience with the newer "adult" air rifles, but with my old Crossman as a kid I could shoot the eraser off of a pencil pretty consistently at 30 feet or so.

I just read an article in "American Rifleman" where they reviewed a couple different models of Gamo air rifles. Accuracy was very good - if I recall it was something like 0.5 inch groups or less. I don't remember what the range was, though - it might have been 15 yards (45 feet). The author was very impressed with them, though, and they aren't very expensive. Check out American Rifleman if you're interested.

2" groups at 50 feet is terrible for an air rifle, in my opinion. My rust-bucket CVA muzzleloader shoots less than 2" groups at 100 YARDS all day long.

JeffS

I've found with mine I need to try different pellets. Some of them won't shoot accurate at all and other brands shot really good. We used to shoot turtles in the head with my RWS at 50 yards. You have to allow for a pretty good drop.

DM

Many years ago i had a new RWS 45 given to me for a gift... It's very accurate and at 50' it will "easily" hit a quarter every shot. Since i bought mine, my brother also bought a RWS 45... His shoots as good or better than mine. Then i saw a used like new RWS 45 on line. I emailed the guy, and he said he'd take $95.00 for it and it had pelletswith it too, so ibought it. It's also accurate... I also have a Gamo that i haven't wrung out to see what it will do yet. And an old Chek made break open pellet rifle, my dad bought me when i was about 9.

Another brother of mine has several Beman pellet rifles and pistols... I've seen him shoot some very good groups with his too...

BTW, i chronographed my first 45 and depending on the pellet weight, it clocked from 900 to 1,050 fps.

DM

Swampdog

Bought my son a Benjamin in .22 .Shoots danged good.Or you could use CB longs out of your .22 Rimfire.Sounds just like an air rifle.

skb2706

I just bought a refurbished Gamo from Cabelas two months ago. There is a learning curve that goes along with spring piston air rifles. Don't shoot cheap pellets, don't shoot light for caliber pellets, don't ever dry fire them and keeping a scope and mounts secure is more difficult on a SP air rifle than it is on even the toughest CF rifles. My Gamo will put one thru a squirrels head at 50' as long as the scope doesn't shift.
go to charliedatuna.com

This dude knows more about air rifles than I need to know.

Paul L Mohr

Good pellet rifles cost money, about as much as a centerfire in some cases. RWS's can be accurate, but if you are serious I would look at Beeman or something along those lines. Webly & Scott make some really nice guns as well.

2 inches at 50 yards isn't bad for a pellet rifle though, especially a cheaper one. That is long shot for a spring air. Some .22 rimfires don't shoot much better than that.

Keep in mind that single stroke spring air guns, especially the magnums (900 fps +) have some serious forward recoil to them. If you don't get a scope made for it these guns will destroy them in short order. I have also had problems with keeping the mounts tight.

They also make pre-charge air guns that work similar to a CO2 gun or paint ball guns. They have a built in tank that you charge with high pressure. These are some of the most accurate guns and they have no recoil. They are far from cheap as well. I believe a lot target guns are this type. I used to have one that was a combination of a precharge and single stroke pump. I believe it shot around 1100 fps with little recoil.

As far as more affordable air rifles go, the pump Benjamin rifles are pretty decent and come in larger calibers. I don't know what the newer ones are like but my grandfather had one for years and now one of my cousins has it and it still works. It is probably 30 years old.

Paul

Paul L Mohr

I'm sorry, I miss read your post, you said 50 feet not yards. That is indeed crappy, a daisy pump gun should shoot better than that at 50 feet. Most of my better pellet guns I owned shot very good groups at 25 yards, like under an inch of from a rest.

Paul

Pioneer2

Air rifle shooting is all about tecnique.Springers arn't held tight they must be allowed to freely recoil for consistancy.Most RWS need a tuneup as they are harsh when new.Aftermarket springs and a good internal lube are a must.I prefer/own the Hans Wiehrauch rifles .Twice the price of RWS and twice the gun.Mine ie the HW80K/.22 Stateside called the Beeman R1 Cracking 750 fps + it drops crows,gophers and grouse.The HW 77 is powerful and more hold freindly.Forget all the hype about advertised fps it's never even close when chronied and nothing more than a marketing ploy to sell guns.They use super light pellets to get the speed that with etended use will damage the gun.Air rifles have been around since the 1600's and used by snipers in the Napoleanic wars.You can still get the .50 Dragon that with take boar and deer.........................................Harol d PS forget quality with the new Webley + Scott as they are now made in Turkey not the U.K. and have had a lot of issues with QC