Air Rifles as Survival Tools
BY PGF
11 months ago
We talked previously about quiet game hunting in less permissive environments. This recent article at Survival Blog touches on several useful applications for Air Guns.
Quiet, hard-hitting, accurate, affordable, and reliable. A good quality air rifle in .177 or .22 caliber meets all these criteria. No, you don’t have to spend thousands. Just one hundred to three hundred FRNs will provide you and your family with a nice rifle and several thousand pellets.
Springer and now gas ram rifles take care of problem pests around the garden and homestead, rabbits, gophers, ground squirrels, starlings, and crows are dealt with humanely and did I say quietly?
My German-made Dianas, both a Model 34 Classic, and a Model 34 EMS, and both in .177 caliber are equipped with inexpensive scopes and will easily maintain quarter-size groups at 30 yards, Both will push a heavier 9.5 -10.5 grain pellet out to rabbit and squirrel killing distances of 40-50 yards, if you do your part with pellet placement. As many old hunters said it’s not so much what you hit them with as where you hit them.
More at the link.
And Outdoor Life reports on The Best Air Rifles of 2023.
Choosing an Air Rifle for Small Game
The rifles I gravitate toward for small game and varmint hunting are primarily .22 and .25 caliber rifles that generate power in the 20 to 40 ft-lb range. This energy output, in conjunction with sub-1-inch accuracy at 50 yards, makes for an ideal flat-shooting, small-game rig. Features that separate the top picks from the rest of the pack are an ergonomic design, fast cycling action, reliable high capacity magazines, large volume air storage with a correspondingly large shot count, shot-to-shot consistency, and a low sound signature.
Choosing an Air Rifle for Predators
For most hunters, it makes sense to choose an air rifle that can take either small-game or predators. The rifles I use for combined small-game and predator hunting are .30 to .35 caliber, and are designed to shoot Diabolo pellets at 50 to 100 ft-lb. These rifles are fine for shooting a coyote or bobcat at closer range (within 50 yards), but not over-the-top to use on smaller-bodied game, such as rabbits or squirrels.
In my opinion, a primary predator gun should be optimized for solid lead slugs, generate 100 to 150 ft-lb, provide at least 10 consistent shots per fill, and print groups under 1 inch at 100 yards. I don’t mind a single shot rifle, but I want a fast-cycling action, easy access to the loading port, and a light, crisp trigger to enhance accuracy.
Other models and applications are discussed at the link to Outdoor Life.
On May 20, 2023 at 7:14 am, Joe Blow said:
We’re all big-bore fans here, for sure, but, food for thought. In a preparedness environment, and air (pump) or spring powered weapon may be invaluable. So long as you can manufacture, recover, or stock enough projectiles, you can conceivably hunt indefinitely.
No matter how much you stack, at some point you may run out of ammo, or primers, or powder. Yes, I have researched home-made blackpowder (you ain’t making modern propellants without a huge chemistry lab), AND home-made primers in the event my stockpiles run out some day.
For a couple hundred bucks, I can stash one of these in the closet next to my cache of primers. Not a bad idea for those that think 2 is 1 and 1 is none.
On May 20, 2023 at 7:44 am, Hedge said:
If you want long term, quiet food acquiring just get traps. Last forever, cheap and they work. For the price of that pellet gun ypu could have a big box of traps. I have 3 different sizes and snares. I’ll let you look into that but there are some very good snares out there or build them yourself cheaper. They can get up to deer size game if you know what to do.
Just my 2 cents.
On May 20, 2023 at 9:23 am, Michael said:
I own a good quality break action .177 and 22 air rifle. Once you find the pellet they like and a decent scope (air rifle scope as the backwards recoil messes up “real scopes”) they do as well as YOU can shoot.
.177 for feathers and 22 for fur seems to be truthful. Shot placement is critical, unless you’re just driving away a pest.
For the rather scary price of the “Predator Air Rifles” I’ve seen, my little old single shot with a decent scope 22 with a massive amount of standard velocity ammo seems far more practical.
I also enjoy the Ruger 10-22 so I’m not a dinosaur LOL.
I agree with Hedge, traps are very useful, they hunt 24-07 compared to the few hours I can spare between “Real Life”(tm). I find a simple Roughrider 22 revolver quite useful for my trap line.
I’ve shot some of my buddies 22 and 25 caliber PCP air rifles. NOT QUIET, my little single shot IS far quieter shooting standard velocity 22 LR.
And I can get a huge amount of 22 LR for the price of that PCP, it’s SUPPORTING Equipment (slow hand pump vs scuba store?) and frankly not cheap pellets.
On May 20, 2023 at 11:16 am, Bradley A Graham said:
We have some obese pigeons and doves around the castle. They seem to absorb multiple .177 fodder and take awhile to bleed out even with head/neck shots but the .22 pellets just hammers them.
I agree that .22 LR is worth it’s weight in gold. I love the old rifles that can handle short, long and long rifle. The Aguila Super Colibri is a proven killer for me even out of a 2″ barrel.
On May 20, 2023 at 5:48 pm, Hassin bin Sober said:
You can take any game animal in North America with a Quackenbush air rifle. Dennis Quackenbush’s .458 (500 fpe) has been used to harvest bison, black bear, and African plains game. It’s bore diameter and rate of twist were selected specifically so it can shoot bullets commonly cast for the .45-70, The incredible part is they’re hand-made and only $600, and there’s a line to get one.
And there’s plenty of caliber options between .177 and .458 for whatever size critter you intend harvesting. Ammunition is cheap, you don’t have to reload, and there’s no tell-tale odor of burned nitro after the shot.
$600 is about what I paid for my .20-cal RWS springer almost 20 years ago. At first I couldn’t believe I was stupid enough to pay that kind of money for a glorified BB gun. Now it’s the only gun I use for rabbits and tree rats. I have to be a little more conservative with shot selection but I still bring home a limit if there’s adequate game around.
On May 20, 2023 at 8:57 pm, Trumpeter said:
In ’68 I had a CO2 Crossman in .22. I shot cherries out from under birds at 30 yards and followed wit a head shot. Sure miss that old devil.
On May 20, 2023 at 9:51 pm, Mike said:
For what it’s worth, i have an FX Dreamline in 25 and it’s the most accurate gun I’ve ever shot. Same hole at 22 yards (the max i have in my back yard). I could survive with it if I Learn to be stealthy. Worth every Penney .
On May 22, 2023 at 6:28 am, jrg said:
We’ve used break barrel springers for rat / mice eradication. My Brother had a homing pigeon loft in backyard, and periodically, the vermin predation on them causes this action. RWS 45 in .177 and a 4x scope was often employed for this during dusk, when animals could be spotted in trees, on power line, and along roof edges.