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makenzie71 · Member

We have a poor pigeon problem in our neighborhood and I'm wanting to nab an air rifle to help alleviate the situation...plus, these great big plump city-fed pigeons might make a tasty treat lol.

I've looked at a few guns at Wal-Mart...namely this crossman model here:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Crosman-Titan-NP-.22-Break-Barrel-Carbine/15103392

...as well as this one:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Crosman-Quest-.22-Break-Barrel-Carbine/15103389

There's also a Crossman Phantom at my local store that's not listed on their website, and a Beeman 1073.

I'm looking to spend between $100 and $150...the Phantom they have here is running $80, which would be well under my budget.

Any opinions on these guns? Do you guys have any other suggestions within that price range? I'm not interested in pumpers, PCP's, or gas guns.

sniper · Silver Status Member

Both would work fine for birds. of the 2 I have a crosman storm (same as the quest) in .177. .22 won't have as flat of a trajectory as .177 but will naturally make a bigger hole. Twisted Evil

most springers in the $100-$150 range seem to be of similar quality.
the gamo's are also decent (hate to say it).
Both brands do good with GRT trigger upgrades.
http://www.charliedatuna.com/

HTH's

makenzie71 · Member

Are there any places I can look to save a few bucks over Wal-Mart?

sniper · Silver Status Member

dobiman · Veteran Member

Is there a Sports Authority near you? They had the Ruger AirHawk on sale for $80 during the Black Friday weekend after Thanksgiving. They may repeat the sale since it's Christmas coming up. Other airguns are on sale at up to 20% off this week.

packrat · Senior Member

I'm confused...first you say they are "poor pigeons"...then you say they are "great big, plump, city-fed pigeons" now WHICH is it???

Seriously though..I'd go with the Quest it's lightweight, it's .22 caliber, and it comes with scope kit..It claims 950fps ..with real pellets (lead) you can figure around 800fps, which plenty of FPE for pigeon hunting. Probaly get the gun, a tin of 14.3 HollowPoint pellets, and pay the taxes all for your $150.00 max budget Cool

makenzie71 · Member

Mod33 · New Member

Wouldn't eat any pigeons that are "city fed"...flying disease bulbs. Shoot away though

fritz · Silver Status Member

Make sure its legal... or don't post about it here.

Quest.

Crosman140 · Senior Member

A year ago, I bought a Crosman G1 Xtreme (it's the phantom, but no iron sights and it came with a 3-9X32AO scope. I got it at Dick's sporting goods during a sale they had for $99+tax. Walmart often has a similar deal.

Any of the guns you mentioned would be good guns. My G1 spits out 7.9Gr .177cal pellets at around 900-950fps. Good for most small game and birds around my area.

That Titan looks like a pretty nice set up. I've seen that in Wally World around my parts. For $150 it looks like a nice gun and in .22, which many feel is a better hunting cal. Although, I have no problem using a .177 to do my work.

makenzie71 · Member

The more I think about it, the more I would like to put the extra money into getting that titan...I think it's more about the stock than anything (I love choate and thumbhole/pistol grip stocks) but I don't know if I'm up to making one myself for one of the cheaper rifles.

Now the Titan says it fires up to 950fps with Crosman's "special" ammo. What could I expect with plain ol' generic lead pellets? I really don't want that kind of speed at all times....most of the time, but not all the time.

packrat · Senior Member

I'd say you could expect around 800 fps..but ultimately it will depend on pellet weight...And you'll need to shoot it enough for it to "break-in". I definitely agree with you on the looks of the Titan..the stock on it IS pretty neat looking Cool

makenzie71 · Member

Well I decided...I'm going for the Beeman. Comes set up for a scope and hard sites...not stuck with a scope. Plus I can swap back between 22 and 177. There's a few things I don't like...no nitro piston, to be specific...but the few short comings are more than made up by the $50 difference. Plus, I'm getting it on trade...so no out-of-pocket really trumps all of it lol.

I'll try my hand at a custom stock. I have some very very nice 13-layer 3/4" German birch plywood. I'm going to layer two pieces together...a third on the stock for some extra thickness for a cheek rest. Plus some other things. Lots of carving and whittling. I make bows so pulling this off, while very new and uncharted for me, should be within my realm of "doing".

It'll be fun.

Crosman140 · Senior Member

I've seen that beeman. A nice setup.

A couple things...

. If you scope it, then when you switch barrels, you'll have to re-sight it in...you may have to do that anyway even if you go with iron sights.

. Don't use any "special" pellets. Those are just light-weight pellets that will just cause problems with your spring. Use standard, or heavier, pellets.

. Shoot a lot of pellets through it to get it broken in. Many say it can take hundreds of pellets to get springers settled in and some even say 1000 through it to get it ready.

. Forth and most important...post some pics. And when you make your stock, take lots of pictures so you can share your progress. We'd love to see it.

Nice job on the "no out-of-pocket." That's the best thing of all.

Have fun!

Here's some information that might help as you learn your new gun...

http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/hunting-gear-discussion/282329-my-review-beeman-1073-air-rifle.html

makenzie71 · Member

ack! Now I'm all pissed...picked up the 1073. When I break the barrel the piston doesn't lock back.