Thread: Air Rifles ("You'll shoot your eye out, kid!")

On the serious side;
the only thing that has kept me in the game/black when taking shots with a pistol or rifle, is the last thought before I squeeze; "placing a clear front sight on my target". I don't know much else.

Originally Posted by Grizzley1

He's right on that one,some of my old crosmans have 3way adjustable triggers and REALLY nice iron sights,however,the spring piston rifles are more prone to flinching as the violent recoil they have,pump-up are much more accurate but much more work. The new PCP (pre charged pneumatic) ones are charged with a separate tank and have much more power and more shots per charge,also the range they give you are better suited to a low power scope for quick target acquisition and follow-up shots that are out of range for your average airgun

+1 but they just don't have the same "character".

Originally Posted by Hirlau

Joe,
These guys won't charge you a dime and the rifle fundamentals are not bad.
But,,,, they might want you to stay a little while.

Attachment 92404

I'm too old and too fat.

I looked a little into air rifles, because I was considering setting up a range in my basement. You definitely don't need to buy an old one to get good iron sights. Competition air rifles have aperture sights on them.

I didn't look into the rifles beyond the price (I would rather drive to the range to shoot my .22 then spend a few hundred dollars on an air rifle), but take a look here: Competition Target Pistols and Air Rifles - AirgunDepot.com

When it comes to technique stuff, I can't offer too much advice, but here are some things that are working for me (offhand). Make sure you are comfortable with your stance and your placement of the rifle into your shoulder. I often do dry fire drills just bringing my rifle to my shoulder/eye and back down again. It seems that a stance at a 45 degree angle to your target is often recommended, but I am more comfortable at a 90 degree angle to my line of fire. You can play around with that and see what works for you, but the key is that your natural Point Of Aim should be at the center of your target. Shoulder your rifle, close your eyes, count to 5, and open them again. See where you end up pointing, and adjust accordingly. As for breathing, try shooting in the natural pause after you exhale. It's normally about 2-3 seconds, and you should be comfortable stretching that out 5-8. This allows your aim to settle a bit. You'll know you held too long if you start wobbling more; in that case, just take the rifle off your shoulder and try again.

Check out the Target Shooting thread, too. More advice from other folks in there.

I have a buddy's RWS Diana 36 at the house. It is a single stroke break barrel. Built like a deer rifle. Not a fan on how it recoils. It is loud as well! I pondered buying it from him, but now I think I may give it back. It is .177. I have a Crossman 10 pump pistol. It is pretty accurate and it has enough power to kill squirrels. Have killed a bunch with it. It too is .177. Years back I had a Benjamin/Sheridan .177 10 pump. Now that was a fine rifle! I got rid of it like a fool!

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

I looked a little into air rifles, because I was considering setting up a range in my basement. You definitely don't need to buy an old one to get good iron sights. Competition air rifles have aperture sights on them.

I didn't look into the rifles beyond the price (I would rather drive to the range to shoot my .22 then spend a few hundred dollars on an air rifle), but take a look here: Competition Target Pistols and Air Rifles - AirgunDepot.com

When it comes to technique stuff, I can't offer too much advice, but here are some things that are working for me (offhand). Make sure you are comfortable with your stance and your placement of the rifle into your shoulder. I often do dry fire drills just bringing my rifle to my shoulder/eye and back down again. It seems that a stance at a 45 degree angle to your target is often recommended, but I am more comfortable at a 90 degree angle to my line of fire. You can play around with that and see what works for you, but the key is that your natural Point Of Aim should be at the center of your target. Shoulder your rifle, close your eyes, count to 5, and open them again. See where you end up pointing, and adjust accordingly. As for breathing, try shooting in the natural pause after you exhale. It's normally about 2-3 seconds, and you should be comfortable stretching that out 5-8. This allows your aim to settle a bit. You'll know you held too long if you start wobbling more; in that case, just take the rifle off your shoulder and try again.

Check out the Target Shooting thread, too. More advice from other folks in there.

Yes, I've been following that thread. And thanks for that link. Those Avantis have the kind of sights I'm looking for, but the two problems is the price and the fact that they're single stroke pneumatic with low muzzle velocities (500 fps). I prefer the spring piston guns. They get muzzle velocities in the 900-1100 range. I'd like something in the 800-900 range because I like to shoot at longer distances than 10 meters, and I'm outdoors.

I've been considering the Benjamin Discovery Pre charged Pneumatics. They look pretty good. Still, at $400 it's something I need to save up for. I have a lot of expenses to cover over these next few years.

The Benjamin Discovery isnt a bad rifle,but its trigger is kind of gritty,but the cheapest way to get into a PCP. Know I know that I shouldn't even tell you guys about this but I cant resist,and I take NO responsibility for this info,BUT if you have a spring piston rifle that is solid and not too expensive,there used to be a gun called the Barracuda,now this was a well built gun with a little extra... it had a small dispenser for a drop of either that dropped into the pellet before closing. This would cause an effect called dieseling,in which when the piston slammed shut it would ignite and send the pellet at much greater velocities. Now I have done this with my Webley Vulcan and a drop of WD-40 and HOLY COW!!!! the sound is like a 30-30,and we didn't have a chronograph but it can really reach out there. Now my gun is a .22 and I doubt this is a recommended practice,but if your gun is strong enough,its a blast to try,but I wouldn't do it too often with your favorite gun.
Just puttin it out there for the more crazy of us.....and starting either works also.

I used to love my little Diana air rifle when I was a kid. My father bought it for me, and a big one for himself, so he could teach me to shoot. He made a range under the house and I would target shoot for hours. He was kind of scratching his head as far as fatherly activities go, but he was an old army man, so shooting was one thing he knew.

It makes me sad that if I ever have a son that is one thing I will not be able to pass down, Australian gun laws being what they are now.

Originally Posted by joesixpack

Several years back, I had a woodpecker trying to build a home in my hotel building. I thought the best way to get rid of him would be an air rifle so I walked down to the hardware store and picked up one of these. It's the Crossman breakbarrel.

I got it home and was both impressed and disappointed by the thing. On the up side, it was a pretty sound rifle. It had a solid walnut stock and a nice feel to it, and it seems to shoot pretty straight. On the down side, the sights were all plastic, and it was far too powerful for what I wanted to do. The pellet went completely through a 1" pine board, which means that it would go through my outer wall if I shot any bird pecking on my hotel.

Well, I got rid of the woodpecker by throwing things at it whenever I saw it again, but I kept the air rifle and have had a blast with it over the years. Whenever I'm feeling a little bored, I set up a target and crank off a few rounds in my back yard. But the years have taken their toll on both the rifle and on my eyesight. The plastic sights, though very good, have developed a couple of cracks and require careful handling. the other problem is that my eyesight isn't what it used to be. I wanted to find a rear aperture sight for this thing, but they don't make one. Daisy has one, but it looks like I'd need a gunsmith to put it on.

Yesterday I bought the Crossman 4X scope. I have never used a scope on any type of gun, so this was an entirely new experience for me. It's still fun to shoot, and I think that now I need to start seriously working on my marksmanship. I can shoot a palm sized group at 20 yds if I use a rest for the rifle,. Not nearly as tight as I'd like. Shooting offhand is worse. I hit the paper every time, but there seems to be no pattern or group. I am very shaky and my trigger pull is not nearly as smooth as I want it to be. It always feels as if my finger is rusted and my pull is "creaky". Does anyone else ever have that feeling? The other thing is my breathing. Maybe this is related to my pull being so unsteady but it seems like I end up holding my breath for too long waiting for the trigger to break.

Now I've always been a pretty good pistol shot. I could always get tight groups with my S&W .357, but I've not ever shot a rifle except in summer camp when I was 12 years old. Is there a really great difference between the two types of marksmanship? Anyone have a good resource for rifle fundamentals? And how much of my trouble is just the limits of the gun? How is the best way to figure that out?

Any help would be appreciated, and I know I'm in the right group to ask.

This is a great site for understanding air rifle dynamics and scopes etc, loads of animations, and even free targets that can be printed out Air Rifle Links and Demos
I own and use two QB78's in .22 flavour, these are a Chinese clone of the old crosman 160 Co2 powered rifles, most are pretty rough out of the box but are prime contenders for tuning and customising and are very accurate, mine will produce Dime sized groups at 50 yards with a 3-9x40 scope.

Originally Posted by osdset

This is a great site for understanding air rifle dynamics and scopes etc, loads of animations, and even free targets that can be printed out Air Rifle Links and Demos
I own and use two QB78's in .22 flavour, these are a Chinese clone of the old crosman 160 Co2 powered rifles, most are pretty rough out of the box but are prime contenders for tuning and customising and are very accurate, mine will produce Dime sized groups at 50 yards with a 3-9x40 scope.

I have one of the old crosman 160s ans there one of the rifles that unless you take it apart,you would never know it has an adjusable trigger, and this thing is at least fifty years old and still a beast. I also have one question for joesixpack...if you have a woodpecker, what are your balls made out of?? Sorry its an old joke and I couldnt help myself...lol