Is this common from a $99 springer? Exp shooter, not so much with airguns.

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JayGem28

JayGem28

Member
Apr 14, 2017
30
1
Pennsylvania
Ok, so what I have is a Ruger Blackhawk elite .177 cal, purchased at wally world about a year ago (synthetic skeleton stock). My main purpose for this gun was to covertly take to work to dispatch some problem pigeons after hours (I'm the supervisor, so I stay after hours). Figured if i got caught and they seized it, I was only out $99. Okay, so back to getting the gun home... first few shots cracked like a .22lr, so i got on the internet, and found the info on heavy pellets and letting the gun settle down.. mounted the included scope and rings with my new heavies about 200 rounds through it to let it settle, and the scope wouldn't go down enough. Back to the internet... found barrel droop issues. Ordered a RWS lockdown mount with droop compensation, and put it on. Scope was crap. My dad had an authentic RWS Diana 34 (my gun is a clone of) and sold it, but kept the scope he had on it (he got himself a .22 M-rod). Scope is a airgun rated Barska 3-12X40 AO. Installed it on my gun and went outside, still all over the place, back to the internet. Learned about Locktite, did the mod and let it sit for a day. Went back out, and sighted it in a 25 yards and it drilled it. I've grown up around guns all my life, and my dad is a gunsmith. He builds guns for extreme accuracy and I was expected from a young age to strive for long range accuracy. So, that being said, I started to push the yardage, to see what i could hit. I made steel targets at work in various sizes, varying from an 8" steel circle, down to a 4" steel circle set out at 60 yards, and one steel plate 8"X12" at 80 yards. Using the mil-dots for holdover this gun will CONSISTANTLY make them ring. Gun is sighted in on bullseye @ 25 yards. I have purchased many different heavy pellets, my gun seems to like the Kodiak match 10.65 gr. (4.5 mil dot holdover), and the H&N Crow Mags in 9.26 gr. (2 mil dot hold over) for the long shots. Bought some crossman premiers when i got the gun, and shot them tonight at 60 yards, 1 mil dot hold over and rang it 90% of the time. This morning i caught a squirrel by my targets and thought... lets see what happens. Got my .22lr just incase a more powerful follow up was needed. Loaded a Kodiak match up and put the 4th mil dot on him, squeezed it and a audiable pop reported, insuring me i hit target. Squirrel down, no flopping, just dead! So, back to my original question.. Is this common from a $99 springer? I don't intend to keep trying to kill at this yardage, but it consistantly hits the steel. Sorry for the long post, but Airguns are quickly becoming my main hobby. I love it.
 
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Hi JayGem28,
I have a Crossman Shockwave in .22. I had some of the issues you had, like the poor scope and making sure everything is tightened up. But like what you discovered even though mine isn't maybe quite as powerful as yours it still hits hard. I killed 27 chipmunks last year at various distances. I shot at 2 Campbell steel chunky soup cans that were 6' apart, one behind the other and at 47 yards it went completely through one and one side of the other. I was holding over 1 mil dot at that distance. They are so much fun to shoot, no ear protection needed and ammo is cheap! Thanks for sharing, enjoyed your story!!

Tim
 
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"rgerling"Welcome to the darkside !! Better get your wallet out ! Your addiction has begun !
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yeah I was eyeing up the new Gamo swarm in .22 caliber for something with a little more punch. Was turned away at the prices of Pcp guns. But then realized that at some point in time I would most likely be purchasing one (Pcp). That being said, why would I get a bunch of guns in between that? The Mrod package ($600) is in my cart, on the fence to push the order button...
 
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Ok, so I've found the funds. We have this program at work... if you teach someone to weld and they pass their certification then you and the trainee both get $1000. My horse is coming in strong. So my next question is what caliber should I get, .22 or .25? Noise isn't a real issue, but I would like to be as quiet as I can be, maybe as loud as my Blackhawk as mentioned above. How do the decibel levels rate in the 2 calibers vs my springer?
 
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Jay

I just read your original post and it reminded me of my first airgun which happened to be a Wally World Ruger Blackhawk elite .177 cal. When I got home and took her out to shoot, I only got one pellet off due to the loud and sharp CRACK!! of the pellet being fired. Mind you at the time, I was living at my sisters house in the suburbs of northern Virgnia and the last thing I needed was to get my sister in trouble with her neighbors. knew right then and there that the Ruger wasn't going to work out.

I ended up driving to a construction site and spent a few hours shooting that POS rifle before throwing in the towel. I couldn't hit the side of a barn with that POS. The scope was total and utter crap. Unlike you, I ended up tossing the gun into my sister's storage closet and there she rests to this day.

If anything, the Ruger Blackhawk compelled me to find a better rifle. I had been bitten by the airgun bug big time regardless of my less than stellar first experience with the Ruger. I ended up diving head first into the deep deep end into the world of PCPs and purchased a new Daystate Mk4 Target in .22 with Huggett silencer, a carbon fiber tank and other heaps of pellets. All said, I spent well over $4000 on getting into PCP game. This was back in June 2014.

Anyway, many thousands of pellets (and dollars) later, I don't hesitate for a second to suggest going with the .25 cal option. It's a great hunting pellet, is accurate out to further distances, and hits hard. When you get your rifle, pick up a few tins of JSB Kings and you'll be good to go. In terms of noise, the .25 may be ever so slightly louder than a .22 but not enough to be concerned with. The Marauder, regardless of caliber, will be significantly quieter than the 177 Ruger Blackhawk.

Happy shooting!

PS - Have you considered getting a quality springer instead of a PCP? The German manufacturer Weihrauch makes some fine spring piston rifles with exceptional quality, fit and finish. From the stock to the trigger, I'm sure you would be impressed if you could see and hold one in person. Have a look at the Weihrauch HW95L Field Pro which is currently on deep discount from AOA. That is a great gun for a great price and even comes with a scope and proper Sportsmatch rings.
 
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Jay

I have only heard a .25 Marauder which, as I recall, was considerably quieter compared to my old .177 Ruger Blackhawk springer shooting Crosman Premiere 7.9 grain hollow points. It is difficult to gauge how loud an airgun is by watching a video. There are tons of users on here that own or have owned both a.22 and .25 Marauder and I bet they can answer your questions better than me. As such, you would be well served creating a new post under the PCP Airguns section titled "Need help deciding on which caliber Marauder to buy". Be sure to identify how you plan on using the gun, what is most important (and what isn't) in an air gun, etc. I am certain you will get tons of replies and advice going that route.

Also, try searching for "Marauder" using the forum search feature. You will find tons of posts related to your question. Here are two such posts: Benjamin Maurader .22 vs .25 and .22 or .25 Benjamin Marauder.

Lastly, be sure to take advantage of the coupon code NATION17 at Pyramydair.com for 10% off which brings the cost of a new .25 Marauder down to $413.99 or a .22 Marauder to $386.99.

I hope that helps.

Scott
 
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