I need to get something off my chest...

[Rookie]

Had one of these old Sheridan air rifles when I was in my early teens.
View attachment 204551

I still have mine.

 

[Gabriel]

Got my break barrel Gamo with a scope for $99 at Gander Mountain before the went belly up, and as many pellets as I could carry to the cash register. The gun rid my place in Indiana of chipmunk and starlings out to 40ish yards.

I have a Ruger break barrel springer. It might be accurate if it didn't have such crappy sights on it. They move if you bump them. I've been meaning to get an optic of some sort for it, but it's low on the list of things to buy.

 

[BigMoose]

CMP routinely sells surplus cheap but totally functional air rifles at Camp Perry.

Daisy 853 i think.

 

[Amishman44]

I spent MANY MANY MANY hours in my youth shooting air rifles....and loved it.
The only difference now is I have more digits in my age.

I grew up on a farm and shot pump-action .177 caliber air guns for many years...
Even after getting SA revolvers, rifles, and shotguns, we still continued to use
.177 pellet guns on pigeons in the barn to save the aluminum roof against
unnecessary damage!

 

[Cameramonkey]

I grew up on a farm and shot pump-action .177 caliber air guns for many years...
Even after getting SA revolvers, rifles, and shotguns, we still continued to use
.177 pellet guns on pigeons in the barn to save the aluminum roof against
unnecessary damage!

yep. I had a single pump M16 looking air rifle. It was awesome.

 

[doddg]

Achtung! Luftgewehr!

View attachment 204514

I have a Weihrauch rifle & 2 pistols I enjoy.

HW35





HW45


HW70

 

[patience0830]

I still have mine.

Took my first 2 rabbits with one that belonged to my uncle from his childhood. Think I was 12. Uncle Lloyd pointed them out sitting and I shot them.

 

[DadSmith]

Got my break barrel Gamo with a scope for $99 at Gander Mountain before the went belly up, and as many pellets as I could carry to the cash register. The gun rid my place in Indiana of chipmunk and starlings out to 40ish yards.
I would assume a decent .22 would easily stretch the distance well out past that.
I've heard alot of good things about the Benjamin Maurader, someone that knows way more than me about em should be along shortly.
.177, .22 or .25 , it won't matter 'cause you'll have way more fun than you think.

What is the model you bought?

 

[Rookie]

Took my first 2 rabbits with one that belonged to my uncle from his childhood. Think I was 12. Uncle Lloyd pointed them out sitting and I shot them.

I got mine in the mid 80s. Took quite a few groundhogs with it.

 

[Nazgul]

Interesting thread. Very different from shooting my 45-70's or 458 Win Mag!!

Any recommendations for a decent medium priced air rifle? Been thinking I need one for the farm.

When I look at them online there is so much info I can't make any sense out of the advertising.

Don

 

[jerrob]

What is the model you bought?

Varmit series, mine has a decent, wood stock and an "upgraded" scope.
I thought it was a 1,000fps gun, website claims up to1250, either way, It does what I need it to do, pest control, tin can eradication and opens up opportunities to spend time with the grandkids before introducing them to rimfire.

 

[Gabriel]

Everytime I scrol past that forum, the "OK I'm hooked" thread is listed on the right and I just keep scrolling.

 

[Rookie]

Ok I’m hooked.

I really like 10 meter rifle. The old Feinwerkenbau with Anshultz sights is still amazing. Mine is 50 years old and needs seals about every 8-10 years. Once you get past the toy store pellet rifles, they start to get really good, and really expensive. Get a good air rifle in your hands and...

www.indianagunowners.com

Completely different thread. You should click on it

 

[doddg]

Interesting thread. Very different from shooting my 45-70's or 458 Win Mag!!

Any recommendations for a decent medium priced air rifle? Been thinking I need one for the farm.

When I look at them online there is so much info I can't make any sense out of the advertising.

Don

I understand exactly what you mean.
Without some guidance & with so many directions to go, it's hard to know where to start.
Prices were all over the place from under $100 to over $1000.
I knew from my early research that I wanted to go with a spring powered & not use CO2 or air pump powered.
It just seemed so much simpler & I didn't want another hobby with another rabbit hole.

May 2021 on INGO someone was selling a $100 Umarex Octane spring airgun
5.5mm/.22 cal rifle which included a scope & a tin of pellets.
Convenient.
I bought it & tried it & was not impressed with it b/c I didn't know how to hold the gun loosely to shoot it accurately, instead of holding it like one of my .22 rifles.

B/C of ammo prices, I got motivated to do more.
In Oct 2021 on INGO I ran across an older gentleman who knew everything about air guns & had expensive ones.
I trusted him & realizing he bought good brands & as he was selling some of his less expensive pieces & bought a few, as is my style.
All of these were LNIB, barely shot.
I don't intend to keep all of them, but it has been fun to shoot them against each other like I do with other calibers.

- 10.2021 - $400 HW35E Weihrauch 4.5mm/.177 cal spring air rifle
- 10.2021 - $325 HW45 Weihrauch 5.5mm/.22 cal air pistol spring
- 10.2021 - $200 Diana LP8 Magnum Performance 4.5mm/.177 cal spring air
- 10.2021 - $200 Air Venturi V10 Match Pistol 4.5mm/.177 cal Single-stroke pneumatic
(From Spain, a single-stroke pneumatic powered pistol)
- 11.2021 - $250 HW70 Weihrauch 4.5mm/.177 air pistol



The original $100 Umarex Octane spring airgun 5.5mm/.22 cal rifle that got things started.


Weihrauch HW35 air rifle on 1.75" circles at 75'.


My favorite air pistol, Weihrauch HW45 air pistol on 1.75" circles at 21'.
The 5.5mm/.22 cal. punches bigger holes than the 4.5/.177 cal pellets.


Sample of all 4 air pistols back in February
1.75" circles at 21'.


The Umarex rifle target that got it all started.
This is not the original target when I first tried it out & shot different groups depending on how firmly I held the rifle.
25 yards at 3.75" circles.
As you can see, it's OK, but not up to the standards of the
Weihrauch HW35 $400 air rifle (w/scope, rings & rail, $550ish)

 

[Twangbanger]

All the enablers in this thread had me looking at options other than PCPs last night, too. I’m thinking of a break barrel now as well. Bunch of turds here, always kicking a man when he’s down…

There is nothing "cheap" or bottom-shelf about a spring piston gun. It's more mechanically repeatable than any PCP, although there is a skill factor in learning to hold it loosely. Something like an HW50, or they step up in power level as you go up to HW80, HW90, etc. The HW35 herr Dodd is showing is a nice gun, and the Weihrauches also come with really nice, adjustable open sights that you can hit surprisingly well with, so you may not even need a scope. All you have to buy is the gun. No compressors, tanks, or velocity changing after 30 shots. Just a pump per shot. If you choose one with reasonable cocking force, I think you'll be ahead in the long run.

I find that my guns that require charging tend to sit around more, where the spring piston guns just beg to be picked up for an impromptu session. Pick them up, put them down, done.

Pyramydair will have it on your porch tomorrow.

Lemme know if there's anything else I can help talk you out of...

 

[femurphy77]

Nah, it's a cheap addiction. Go ahead, you'll be fine.

Yeah you'd be surprised what you can pick up sub $1000.

 

[Basher]

There is nothing "cheap" or bottom-shelf about a spring piston gun. It's more mechanically repeatable than any PCP, although there is a skill factor in learning to hold it loosely. Something like an HW50, or they step up in power level as you go up to HW80, HW90, etc. The HW35 herr Dodd is showing is a nice gun, and the Weihrauches also come with really nice, adjustable open sights that you can hit surprisingly well with, so you may not even need a scope. All you have to buy is the gun. No compressors, tanks, or velocity changing after 30 shots. Just a pump per shot. If you choose one with reasonable cocking force, I think you'll be ahead in the long run.

I find that my guns that require charging tend to sit around more, where the spring piston guns just beg to be picked up for an impromptu session. Pick them up, put them down, done.

Pyramydair will have it on your porch tomorrow.

Lemme know if there's anything else I can help talk you out of...

Perhaps I’m about to go through a paradigm shift with spring piston air guns much like I did with Spyderco knives years ago. As a kid, I went to gun shows with my father and spent my share of hard-earned lawn mowing money on cheap Chinese folders with plastic handles and holes in the blades as a means of opening them. I learned over time how poor the quality was in these, and since Spyderco knives looked similar to the knock-offs, I applied the same quality to them in my mind.

Fast forward to my mid-20s and a buddy finally talked me in to trying a Delica. I was blown away but how good the knife was for what I paid for it. I’m a big user of Spydies now.

So maybe I just need to bite the bullet and try a quality springer to experience the same change in my thought process….

 

[femurphy77]

I still have mine.

Got two and two pistols.

 

[Rookie]

Mods, please move this thread to the air guns forum. That way it will be more tempting for the op to read other threads.

 

[Pepi]

Had one of these old Sheridan air rifles when I was in my early teens.
View attachment 204551

I've got a 1966 that still works great