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rasinsmustdie · New Member

Hey guys. I'm new, not just to the forums but to Air-Rifle's in general. I've never really thought of them as anything more than something to shoot an aluminum can with. Monday night though, a friend of mine showed me one in-particular air-rifle that fired a pellet ( .117), but sounded like a damn .22LR Rifle!

Amazingly enough, that sucker can penetrate blocks of wood (no damage done, they were just pieces of 2x4's laying around from a project we did). Well, now I'm curious about Air-Rifles to the extent that Wikipedia doesn't even slake my wonder.

Just how fast (in FPS) can an air-rifle push a pellet? Say a .22?
The rifle Cody had (break-barrel), only shot one round. Are there semi-automatic air-rifles? Can they shoot a .22 size pellet faster than 1300 FPS? If so, how much would one of those cost?
Last but not least, is there an air-rifle that can drop a White-Tail deer (assuming its a shot to the heart of course)? I only ask because if such a thing does exist, my .22 Rifle could be getting replaced.

Thanks in advance! I hope I can contribute to these forums somehow in the future!

AirGunEric · Site Admin

Lots of airguns can do over 1300fps- but in .22 cal you are pretty much limited to PCP guns (see the glossary for terms: http://www.airgunhome.com/pages/glossary.html

Evanix: http://www.evanix.com/ehmar.htm

http://www.evanix.com/ehm2.htm

Their two upper-end "Hunting Master" airguns have 80J output in .22 cal or .177 cal - once translated, this works out to a 14.2gr .22 pellet traveling at 1375 fps.

The AirForce Condor will do 1250fps in .22 cal: http://www.airforceairguns.com/condor.html

And there's probably a whole lot more- but I haven't got the time at the moment to post up links.

As for price on these super-powerpul airguns- they are not comparable to a .22 LR rifle- i.e. think like $700+ for these sorts of guns.

That being said- the game isn't all "power"- that's just numbers. In fact, diabolo pellet design is such that crossing the sound "barrier" causes huge accuracy issues- so a more "bullet" profiled pellet needs to be used, and it better stay over the sound barrier by the time it hits its target, or it becomes just a relatively pricey lump of misplaced, spattered lead. Take a look at this article: http://www.shotgunnews.com/gaylord/speed/

-it may be a bit dated now, but the principles are applicable.

If you have a specific purpose in mind- let us know what it is and perhaps people can suggest a range of guns that would suit that purpose best.

Rogerflat · Silver Status Member

Also, the preponderance of commercial air rifles come in only three calibers: .177, .20, and .22. None of which are designed for shooting deer. Not sure why you would shoot deer in the heart with a .22 LR either, but I digress.

From what I hear, the best .22 cal airgun only ties the velocities produced by a .22 LR firearm. That being the Condor, which is a $900 minimum rig. A Ruger 10/22 with scope is less than $300 by comparison.

Getting the most powerful airgun out there in the hopes of replacing your firearm with it is not very practical. It won't be much quieter and will be more expensive.

One more thing rasinsmustdie. I have a pretty high powered .22 airgun and I've shot birds that weigh less than one pound and they have flown off. Now what do you think that it would do to a 150 lb deer?

swl · Member

It's almost impossible to kill a deer with a .22LR, guess that's why its illegal to hunt deer with .22s

Rogerflat · Silver Status Member

thepaladin · Senior Member

I don't know of anywhere it's legal to hunt deer with a rimfire, though a "very accurate shot" with say a .22 wmr would probably do the job. In my openion, stick with your .30-06.

As far as air rifles, there are PCPs in 9mm, .45 or.50 calibor that are suitable for deer.

In the case of say varment shooting there are several good springers (Your friend's break barrel is a springer) that will do the job. I'm considering a Walther Falcon that claims more than 26 foot pounds in .22. I'd suggest wandering around the net for some reviews and then look at some of the retail sights like Pyramyd and so on. You can get an idea what's available for what game in what calibors ay what price.

2RCHA · Veteran Member

Oi!, This is what you want for taking down a Deer http://168.144.194.108/AxiomLeMAK.htm , Man, I wouldn't mind trying this out next fall, Andy.

AirGunEric · Site Admin

Hmm- obviously I missed the "take down a deer" in the first post. Doh!

NOT a good plan with a .22 airgun (or even a .22LR rifle- to be honest). Maybe a .50 cal Dragon or such- but we're not talking 1300fps- more like 400fps but alot more muzzle energy to move that size/weight slug.

Rogerflat · Silver Status Member

Well, there was a guy on here a while back who allegedly was shooting some type of diminutive deer species whith his .22 cal air gun. He even had pics. However they were probably only 30-40 lb animals and he was knocking them in the head at 25 yards.

As far as that modified airforce number that is shooting arrow darts.....I would just plain be scared to use that.

RedFeather · Member

First, .22lr should only be used on deer as a survival strategy. Like if your bushplane went down in the boonies and all you have is a .22lr. While they can take deer, they are very marginal, producing more wounds than outright fatalities. If those are barely adequate, what would you consider a .22 airgun pellet at maybe one-third the weight?

Also, the one thing you want to buy along with an air rifle is a decent pair of shooting glasses. Especially if you are potting things like scrap wood, et cetera. Don't laugh. This time last year I was in the emergency room with my son, having followed the ambulance carrying his buddy. They and another kucklehead were shooting bb guns and the boy was hit in the eye. Luckily, the bb went under the eye and lodged behind it, but it was looking like some intense surgery there for a couple of hours. Having had four such operations, myself, I strongly recommend the glasses. They're cheaper than $30,000 for the operating theater, alone.

BTW, .30-30 is good for deer.

thepaladin · Senior Member

There is a species called a chevrotain or mouse deer in Asia and Africa. I can't see shooting them , but they run around 18 inches or so and about 4 pounds. You'd have to be pretty hard hearted to shoot one however as they live deep in wooded areas and aren't pests. But.... a .22 would kill one I suppose, but why? Question

AirGunEric · Site Admin

billandbeaufort · Senior Member

cw · Banned

Do you have any photos of your Barns that you
could post?

Rogerflat · Silver Status Member

I don't know if the OP was even serious or not. It could just be another one of those "sign on and drop a post about something illegal and stir up the flames and then leave" type deals. I mean considering that shooting deer with airguns is like a big "no-no" and yet this guy comes on talking about that right off the bat. Who knows/cares.

As far as juveniles posting here, I've not noticed many. You can usually tell age level/intellect by the wording in the members post, and I've not detected that there are many non-adults here.

Some people, kids and adults, will kill just to do it. But I shot a dove last night with my airgun and it served as the "meat" portion of my dinner. If I had just posted that I shot a bird, then people wouldn't necessarily know that I hunt for food unless I said so. And I've seen members get mad about that before. So don't always assume that airgunners are immature and irresponsible. Some are legitimate hunters.