bigpaul wrote:Forget Air pistols their vastly under powered, go for an Air Rifle at FULL POWER 12ft/lbs, my main post SHTF rifle is a Weirhauch 95 springer air rifle with an old BSA Meteor springer for backup! my SMK XS 78 co2 gun is kept for plinking at the gun club!
I agree for the most part but I have a webley typhoon pistol which is semi recoiless!!! and its in 177 calibre. with promethius pellets it puts rabbits down at ranges which are supposedly only at rifle level!! ie 20/25 yards with no problem at all!!
as for pocketable power I hunt woodpigeon with a hunter catapult fitted with theraband gold flat bands. and with a 44 cal lead ball it can deliver up to 3 times the legal power of a sub fac air rifle!!!
in fact I prefer this to both my rifle and pistol..
this catapult is not one of the barnett diabelo thingys its actually called the huner catapult.. and they are used by the worlds leading catapult users!!! just a thought!!!
I can also recommend Weirauch. I have a HW77 rifle with scope. Wouldn't have another. The HW45 pistol is powerful, and the HW45 Silver Star is very droolworthy!
I prefer .22 pellets as I find .177 too titchy for my fingers.
Hi, what are planning to use it for protecting your veg? A airgun and a bit of skill can help provide you
with free meet it you like pigeon, rabbit and with a bit of luck pheasant.
Januarys Gun Mart has two cheap guns tested the Gamo Viper Skeet at £291 list, had 3/8 inch groups at 25 yards, andthe Hatsan 85XTH is £192 and still had 3/4inch group. This is still good enough for most.
But remember spring air guns are hard on scopes, due to the vibrations so buy the best you can.
Buy plenty of ammo and get some practice, and for rabbits and pigeons it is best to hide your self away and wait for them to come to you. this way you can make sure of a good rest to help make sure of your shot.
AJC
I agree with the catapult suggestion, I think the guy who makes them is called fish, check YouTube for a mad german guy who uses ballistic gelatine to compare different calibre BBs from his catty against air rifles and even 'slingbow' hunting, one guy actually takes down a wild boar in New Zealand with an arrow fired from a catapult - nice and PC!
It's a good reminder to us all that whenever we discuss anything like bows, air rifles, etc that we make sure we keep things within the law.
Edited to add ...that it is another good reason to join a gun / archery / air rifle club. They will be able to advise you of all the relevant legislation that you need to adhere to
Yes, hunting with a bow is illegal. I was not, and never would suggest anyone do anything illegal. That's why I suggested people might consider joining an archery club. That way one can have fun and acquire a useful skill at the same time, in a perfectly legal, safe, controlled way.
If TEOTWAWKI were ever to happen though, (and I pray it never will) it would be a useful hunting skill to have.
I still don't really understand why bow hunting is illegal, at one time archery was a mandatory skill ! like has already been said unless you've got some land, or permission to hunt on someone elses then join a club, that applies to both archery and air rifles! as for pellets i use Defiant .22 pellets, they are better quality than the cheap stuff-you get what you pay for- but they cost a bit more-but the difference when shooting is quite astounding!
