All round air rifle

opeldave

Hi
Could anyone reccomend a beginners air rifle suitable for both target & hunting rats etc & small game.

Preferably one availble locally.

& Of course im on a budget would prefer to spend €100 ish.

Would prefer a decent 2nd one over a new cheapie lol.

Thanks:p
Dave

Duck's hoop

A ton won't get you that much. Even in what people call a 'pellet gun'. 2-3 get you a nice springer, good for bunnies and mags. Good plinking fun too. You'll most likely need a 'scope on it too unless the bunnies are deaf or you're like Jim Bowie.

Check out AirgunBBs forums. PCPs way out of your budget. AirArms or Weirauch springers good accurate and reliable. Aim and Swing in Cavan have some secondhand.

Sparks

€100 is tight, and PCP might be out of range but a second-hand CO2 might not if you bought from the US and got a good deal. You would also get a good deal on an SSP (single-stroke pneumatic) model, or something like this. No real hassles with shipping either because it's an airgun. Just make sure they hold it for you until the licence is sorted out here!

ianoo

hi dave

i had a GAMMO CFX ROYAL up to recently in.22 and would recomend it

it was agreat all rounder ,knocked rabbits crows and mags out to 30yrds no prob

second hand they are going for about 225 euro but worth it
you wont get much for 100 i am afraid and anything that cheap would be best avoided....

ian

opeldave

Duck's hoop wrote: »

A ton won't get you that much. Even in what people call a 'pellet gun'. 2-3 get you a nice springer, good for bunnies and mags. Good plinking fun too. You'll most likely need a 'scope on it too unless the bunnies are deaf or you're like Jim Bowie.

Check out AirgunBBs forums. PCPs way out of your budget. AirArms or Weirauch springers good accurate and reliable. Aim and Swing in Cavan have some secondhand.

Ive spent some time in Cavan but ever heard of Aim & Swing?
Im having a bit of a blond moment who is Jim Bowie lol?
Id be happy with a springer as I couldnt afford much over €200 max:(

opeldave

Sparks wrote: »

€100 is tight, and PCP might be out of range but a second-hand CO2 might not if you bought from the US and got a good deal. You would also get a good deal on an SSP (single-stroke pneumatic) model, or something like this. No real hassles with shipping either because it's an airgun. Just make sure they hold it for you until the licence is sorted out here!

Nice link I prefer the look of this one though.

http://www.targettalk.org/viewtopic.php?t=21083

I always favoured aperture sites over optics dont know why just find they feel more "natural":pac:

So its fairly easy to get an airgun from US?

Sparks

who is Jim Bowie lol?

American chap. Good with knives, died in the Alamo. Think Duck's meant to say Davy Crockett, he was the alamo sharpshooter chap if I remember right (my early american history's a little weak).

Sparks

opeldave wrote: »

So its fairly easy to get an airgun from US?

Pretty easy, I got my Izzy that way. Ordered it, told pilkguns (the dealer I was using) to set it aside and not send it until the paperwork on our end was sorted, we sorted that and had them ship the order (we bought mine initially as a club pistol and I later bought it off the club and got my own licence - you have to do a fair bit of carving to a pistol to get serious with it, and that's not fair for a club pistol). Quite easy.

opeldave

Mr Bowie knife indeed;)
I think maybe he did mean Davy Crockett alright lol.
I wouldnt mind a try of a nice muzzle loader .577 or whatever did the job in them times.:cool:

Sparks wrote: »

American chap. Good with knives, died in the Alamo. Think Duck's meant to say Davy Crockett, he was the alamo sharpshooter chap if I remember right (my early american history's a little weak).

opeldave

Sparks wrote: »

Pretty easy, I got my Izzy that way. Ordered it, told pilkguns (the dealer I was using) to set it aside and not send it until the paperwork on our end was sorted, we sorted that and had them ship the order (we bought mine initially as a club pistol and I later bought it off the club and got my own licence - you have to do a fair bit of carving to a pistol to get serious with it, and that's not fair for a club pistol). Quite easy.

Hmmmm thanks that opens up a whole load more affordable alternatives for me.:D

(Wanders off to google pilkguns)

Cheers again for all the help lads.

Dave:cool:

Sparks

no worries dave, let us know how it goes!

opeldave

Sparks wrote: »

no worries dave, let us know how it goes!

Will do!
I cant find a webite for pilkguns though just a email address for a compny that arranges shooting trips?

Also is there any restrictions on what power or calibre I might buy
(as the 12ft/lbs law in uk muzzle energy)

Thanks again;)

Sparks

http://www.pilkguns.com/ is the Pilkguns site opel. I've had no problems with them, but there are others if you look.

cavan shooter

opeldave wrote: »

Ive spent some time in Cavan but ever heard of Aim & Swing?
Im having a bit of a blond moment who is Jim Bowie lol?
Id be happy with a springer as I couldnt afford much over €200 max:(

Ian Jameson in Mount Nugent (aim and swing) and a decent chap to deal with

opeldave

Any restrictions on power or anything like that?:D

Im guessing not but ya never take anythig for granted in this country:P

Sparks

Not in this country, but it tends to fall into three categories - low power, under 12 ft/lbs (the German stuff is all under 7.5J, which is about half that), which gets used for indoor target shooting, medium power which gets used for field target shooting, and high power, which is for whacking bunnies. All three have the same licence here, and in the US all three are just airguns.

opeldave

Sparks wrote: »

Not in this country, but it tends to fall into three categories - low power, under 12 ft/lbs (the German stuff is all under 7.5J, which is about half that), which gets used for indoor target shooting, medium power which gets used for field target shooting, and high power, which is for whacking bunnies. All three have the same licence here, and in the US all three are just airguns.

Thanks thats what I was hoping to hear:p

The search begins:D

Duck's hoop

I think I meant Davy Crocket, but in my defence they both died in the Alamo and I'm sure Jim could shoot a bit too .

If you can check out Tannyocky guns near Newry.http://tannyokyguns.com/ great selection.

opeldave

Duck's hoop wrote: »

I think I meant Davy Crocket, but in my defence they both died in the Alamo and I'm sure Jim could shoot a bit too .

If you can check out Tannyocky guns near Newry.http://tannyokyguns.com/ great selection.

Ha no bother thats a fairly comprehensive stock list:eek:

Duck's hoop

And get a .177 for a flatter trajectory in a springer with lower power. The .22 is what's called 'loopy' and more pronounced in a sub 20 ft lb rifle, the .177 pellet generally goes where it's aimed at. Flat.

opeldave

Duck's hoop wrote: »

And get a .177 for a flatter trajectory in a springer with lower power. The .22 is what's called 'loopy' and more pronounced in a sub 20 ft lb rifle, the .177 pellet generally goes where it's aimed at. Flat.

I was thinking of a .177 but would it have enough "ooomph" to cleanly take rats & crows & bunnies even at 30yards ish?

Duck's hoop

As far as I'm aware you're not legally entitled to shoot any live quarry with an air powered gun in the ROI. I should probably have made this clear at the outset. However, hypothetically even a 12 ft lb gun is capable of rendering small animals, such as rats and rabbits, quite dead at 30 yards. It takes only 4 ft lbs of energy to break the cranium of rabbits and you should have that, and then some, at that distance. You would need to be hitting them in their hypothetical little heads though. And for that you need to practise a bit. Shoot a few tins at paper or whatever until your groups are sub 1 inch.;)

opeldave

Duck's hoop wrote: »

As far as I'm aware you're not legally entitled to shoot any live quarry with an air powered gun in the ROI. I should probably have made this clear at the outset. However, hypothetically even a 12 ft lb gun is capable of rendering small animals, such as rats and rabbits, quite dead at 30 yards. It takes only 4 ft lbs of energy to break the cranium of rabbits and you should have that, and then some, at that distance. You would need to be hitting them in their hypothetical little heads though. And for that you need to practise a bit. Shoot a few tins at paper or whatever until your groups are sub 1 inch.;)

Yikes I thought hunting was fine with air-rifles:o
There are always features in the UK mags every month about hunting with air-rifles:D

But this is Ireland anythings possible:(
I may as well just get a .22 Brno & be done with it lol:)

Duck's hoop

opeldave wrote: »

There are always features in the UK mags every month about hunting with air-rifles:D
I may as well just get a .22 Brno & be done with it lol:)

In reality people probably do shoot sensibly with air powered guns.
If you get the .22 then you will have a proper bangstick which is a totally different tool to the air rifle. I'd try air, it's good fun and can teach you a lot about shooting. Maybe you know a lot already, even so air rifle shooting, even on targets, can improve your shooting. And once set up, it's cheap and quiet.

Sparks

Some of us would even argue that until you've shot air rifle, you don't really know how to shoot

(Actually, being serious, it really is quite dramatic what shooting air rifle standing will teach you about shooting smallbore (or fullbore) prone)

It wasn't me!

Sparks wrote: »

Some of us would even argue that until you've shot air rifle, you don't really know how to shoot

(Actually, being serious, it really is quite dramatic what shooting air rifle standing will teach you about shooting smallbore (or fullbore) prone)

Very true. You learn about balance and stability, trigger control and breathing, fundamentals that carry across every discipline.

opeldave

It wasn't me! wrote: »

Very true. You learn about balance and stability, trigger control and breathing, fundamentals that carry across every discipline.

Well Im definity in the beginner catagory;)
Have shot shotgun ,full & semi auto centrefire rifle & rimfire & 9mm smg & pistol.But that was a lifetime ago & I still dont own my own rifle yet:o

Id be leaning more towards target practice & plinking its just I might get asked to plink a few rats/bunnies etc some day & wouldnt want to do it if its illegal or inhumane with a air-rifle

Duck's hoop

If your scope's dialled (or your iron sights), your aim is steady and your barrel straight, then you hit them in the head, out to 35 yards (more with higher power) it's humane. They're dead. End of.