That double hole pass through would have the ability to cull a squirrel or rabbit.
- The AGN App is ready! Search "Airgun Nation" in your App store. To compliment this new tech we've assigned the "Threads" Feed & "Dark" Mode. To revert back click HERE.
A very silly question
- Thread starter WeihrauchMan
- Start date
That double hole pass through would have the ability to cull a squirrel or rabbit.
It’s like asking why do people buy Corvettes when a Subaru works just as good. Not to pick on Subaru but you get my point.
My THING is long range. I like shooting pellet rifles out to or beyond 100 yards and powder burners beyond 400.
But you are correct an HW 30 will accomplish a good amount. Not too many years ago that’s all we had.
I have a HW 30 and I do like that gun a lot
My THING is long range. I like shooting pellet rifles out to or beyond 100 yards and powder burners beyond 400.
But you are correct an HW 30 will accomplish a good amount. Not too many years ago that’s all we had.
I have a HW 30 and I do like that gun a lot
Upvote 0
Simple,hunters don't shot plastic bottles in their back yard,they need more power to shot farther and be as humane as possible towards their intended target.That said, you are right about plinking or target practice .
Upvote 0
More speed equals a flatter trajectory.
Often there's no time to stare and ponder "is that squirrel 32 yards or 36 ?" So you just hold for a 35 shot and the squirrel dies.
With a 10fpe gun a range judgement mistake of 3 steps amounts to a miss by 2 inches.
Often there's no time to stare and ponder "is that squirrel 32 yards or 36 ?" So you just hold for a 35 shot and the squirrel dies.
With a 10fpe gun a range judgement mistake of 3 steps amounts to a miss by 2 inches.
Upvote 0
I think most people here would cringe at the thought of hunting with a gun producing 6 fpe at the muzzle. I think if anyone admitting to doing that would also be inviting a lot of criticism too. It’s one thing to plink and target shot at distances with that power of gun but a whole other thing to hunt living animals with it. The objective of any ethical hunter should be to make quick clean humane kills as possible. Accuracy has a lot to do with a quick kill but since there are more average shooters than exceptional shooters theres got to be some margin of error factored in and that margin of error is more easily made up in a little more speed and energy. Sure in an ideal and perfect scenario and with perfect shot placement your HW30 moght kill a squirrel at 30 yards. But not many hunting situations are going to be ideal and will present a perfect scenario and no hunter ever makes the perfect shot every single time. So many factors and things to take into consideration with the shooter being the biggest part of the equation. Wind, shot angles and even the animal moving at or during the shot all going to factor in. In my opinion, 12 fpe at the muzzle is going to be on the lower to bare minimum end of the power spectrum for most hunters interested in taking squirrel sized animals out to 30 yards.
Just my $0.02 anyways. The exchange rate on my opinions suck though and probably only worth what you actually paid for them.
Just my $0.02 anyways. The exchange rate on my opinions suck though and probably only worth what you actually paid for them.
Upvote 0
Nothing wrong with more power, but you ask a fair question. 6-7fpe is plenty of power for squirrels and rabbits inside of 30 yards.
R
R
Upvote 0
As a teenager, for years the only airgun I had was a Crosman 766 “American Classic”. Prolly only generated R-7 power, but I shot it nearly everyday, and it accounted for a wagonload of small game.
Didn’t shoot much past 30 yds, but compared to the 761XL it replaced, I thought it was powerful medicine. Didn’t have much to choose from, back in those days..
Dozens of airguns later, I still like to keep hunting ranges short, and my 16 fpme guns don’t kill squirrels any deader than that old 766 did. Power is nice, but accuracy is deadly.
Didn’t shoot much past 30 yds, but compared to the 761XL it replaced, I thought it was powerful medicine. Didn’t have much to choose from, back in those days..
Dozens of airguns later, I still like to keep hunting ranges short, and my 16 fpme guns don’t kill squirrels any deader than that old 766 did. Power is nice, but accuracy is deadly.
Upvote 0
Oh I agree. But as you clear out the critters near you, then you have to reach out to get the critters not so close. Our ground squirrels would sit up for us inside of 40 yards when we began with our airguns. Now the close burrows are empty and they’re all a hundred yards out now. I might have not needed so much power then(or a lot of holdover for that matter) but am glad I have it now (and Strelok for holdover!)
Upvote 0
Yes the hw30s is a fenomenal airgun, accurate and easy to handle and shoot, and it doesn't have much recoil so you can learn pretty fast how to shoot at some longer distance, i have shot both mine at 50 yards , and this is probably what it all come down to, learn your gun, endles of questions at forums about what airgun to buy for hunt/pesting right away with no experience, and as cheap as possible with as much power as possible, so you buy a 1400 fps Gamo and think you can hit an animal at 100 yards right away, you need to now your limits and practise practise practise, find the right pellet for varius distances, not bashing Gamo ,they can surely be great guns, but as i said you need to know your and your guns limit, and the hw30s has enough power to kill a bird at 50 yards, i now this cause a bird flew right in front of a pellet when i was shooting papertargets at that distance....
Upvote 0
For most of my 65 years I've had to settle for airguns of low power (relative to current offerings), and often fantasized about airguns capable of (first) small game, and as that became reality, (later) medium to large game. Like anyone long subsisting on bread crumbs, when presented with a feast, why wouldn't we FEAST?
As taken from my latest airgun book, Custom, Classic and Otherwise AWESOME AIR PISTOLS!
Precharged Pneumatic Pistol POWER
We love our toys, you and I. Being men-folk, we’re fascinated by physics. Rather, gizmos relating to physics like wheels, motors, projectiles and shooting implements. Good thing we’re fascinated by such tools; because lacking such benign interests, we’d never get our minds out of the gutter! And mechanical gizmos being immensely more easily manipulated than females, no wonder we take such comfort and sanctuary in our ‘stuff’. Of few things more fascinating than mechanical things (and, arguably, females) are powerful mechanical things! Which brings us to precharged pneumatic air pistols.
As if any handgun isn’t a wonderment from the masculine perspective, powerful handguns could be considered wonderments on steroids! But depending on One’s tolerance for abuse, some magnum firearms can actually be too much of a good thing. Though that point has not been reached with production air pistols, it may exist in a few one-off customs. If so, it was no doubt built by some manic mechanic!
Suffice to say I'm not the least bit embarrassed, much less apologetic, about my fascination with POWERFUL mechanical gizmos! Like my .50 caliber air pistol, for instance!
As taken from my latest airgun book, Custom, Classic and Otherwise AWESOME AIR PISTOLS!
Precharged Pneumatic Pistol POWER
We love our toys, you and I. Being men-folk, we’re fascinated by physics. Rather, gizmos relating to physics like wheels, motors, projectiles and shooting implements. Good thing we’re fascinated by such tools; because lacking such benign interests, we’d never get our minds out of the gutter! And mechanical gizmos being immensely more easily manipulated than females, no wonder we take such comfort and sanctuary in our ‘stuff’. Of few things more fascinating than mechanical things (and, arguably, females) are powerful mechanical things! Which brings us to precharged pneumatic air pistols.
As if any handgun isn’t a wonderment from the masculine perspective, powerful handguns could be considered wonderments on steroids! But depending on One’s tolerance for abuse, some magnum firearms can actually be too much of a good thing. Though that point has not been reached with production air pistols, it may exist in a few one-off customs. If so, it was no doubt built by some manic mechanic!
Suffice to say I'm not the least bit embarrassed, much less apologetic, about my fascination with POWERFUL mechanical gizmos! Like my .50 caliber air pistol, for instance!
Upvote 0
For many people it's simple economics. When you buy an under $200 break barrel in the US, it comes with 18 FPE whether you want it or not. New guys don't want to spend more than that until they know their shooting area is airgun friendly. No offence to the multi-pumpers, but I like to cock it once then shot once and many others are the same. I have an antique Beeman that shoots very smooth at 10FPE, so I do see your logic, just not quite that slow. If Benjamin or Umarex had an adult size break barrel shooting 13FPE (.177) or 15 FPE (.22) it would probably be their most recommended model on this forum.
Upvote 0
I think most people just ignore low powered guns for pesting because power sell. Its a joy to pest with my fwb 300s mini. Jsb 8.4 @ 6 fpe have sent many starling and sparrows to rest @ 35 yds. That happen to be distance to bird feeder from deck. Yes, i have a 60 fpe gun also. Just saying.
Upvote 0
Why did the chicken cross the road? Because he can.
Why did the air gunner seek more power? Because he can.
Penetrating plastic bottles has never been used as a standard for measuring ones hunting potential, I bet that 6 fpe @ the muzzle will bounce off a rabbits skull @ 30 yards...
Why did the air gunner seek more power? Because he can.
Penetrating plastic bottles has never been used as a standard for measuring ones hunting potential, I bet that 6 fpe @ the muzzle will bounce off a rabbits skull @ 30 yards...
Upvote 0
I think the answer is very simple - it's easier to just hold "dead on" and not worry about holdover. So most airgunners subconciously want more power than needed.
Used to hunt with a 14 fpe .22 caliber springer, and had to hold-over on anything much past 30 or so yards. Later on started hunting with a 17 fpe springer, now I have close to 10 more yards of non-holdover "reach" as it were. Just a thought -
But Air&Gas man NAILED IT
Used to hunt with a 14 fpe .22 caliber springer, and had to hold-over on anything much past 30 or so yards. Later on started hunting with a 17 fpe springer, now I have close to 10 more yards of non-holdover "reach" as it were. Just a thought -
But Air&Gas man NAILED IT
Upvote 0
I like to shoot out to 100 yards. At that range there is still plenty of hold over with a much more powerful air rifle.
Upvote 0
I've enjoyed the many comments from the experienced airgunners here. It seems like I have read thousands of forum posts trying to discern a pattern in all the purchases and the reasoning. Here are a few of my general thoughts.......and I may be WAY wrong but here goes.....
1. Most of the 'general' springer/gas piston market sub $400 is an attempt to compare speed and macho. A narrow band (like Weihrauch, Sig etc) is for quality.
2. The pneumatic market is a totally different animal and group need.....it's more powerful and more accurate in general out further. It generally is utilized by more well healed participants.
3. All of the 177, 22 and 25 'hunting'......no matter if it's with a springer or pneumatic aims at the same narrow group of small vermin....squirrel, rabbit, rat ...for the most part with varying distances.
4. Most of #3's 'hunting' is within 30 yards for most people....thus most of the high power equipment in relation to hunting is not required.
5. True air rifle 'hunting' for medium game such as hog/deer.....is done with pneumatic air guns in the 'large bore' hi power group and only up to about 50 yards.
6. I was humored by watching some of the recent youtube shows 'hunting' for rabbit with 25-40 fpe pneumatics....almost all of it within 30 yards for rabbits and squirrel and rat....when all they needed was a 5 lb. HW-30 177 shooting 6 fpe. Who 'needs' to shoot over 30 yards for rabbits, rats and squirrels? Not many I would imagine.
7. I understand that 'target' competition (a small group of purchasers among air gunners) have a unique set of needs different than the above description.
So .....yes....it's a great hobby....I love it....I've had the 48's and 350's in my past........but truly....as I look around....it appears that much of the airgun development is a solution for a problem that does not exist.
1. Most of the 'general' springer/gas piston market sub $400 is an attempt to compare speed and macho. A narrow band (like Weihrauch, Sig etc) is for quality.
2. The pneumatic market is a totally different animal and group need.....it's more powerful and more accurate in general out further. It generally is utilized by more well healed participants.
3. All of the 177, 22 and 25 'hunting'......no matter if it's with a springer or pneumatic aims at the same narrow group of small vermin....squirrel, rabbit, rat ...for the most part with varying distances.
4. Most of #3's 'hunting' is within 30 yards for most people....thus most of the high power equipment in relation to hunting is not required.
5. True air rifle 'hunting' for medium game such as hog/deer.....is done with pneumatic air guns in the 'large bore' hi power group and only up to about 50 yards.
6. I was humored by watching some of the recent youtube shows 'hunting' for rabbit with 25-40 fpe pneumatics....almost all of it within 30 yards for rabbits and squirrel and rat....when all they needed was a 5 lb. HW-30 177 shooting 6 fpe. Who 'needs' to shoot over 30 yards for rabbits, rats and squirrels? Not many I would imagine.
7. I understand that 'target' competition (a small group of purchasers among air gunners) have a unique set of needs different than the above description.
So .....yes....it's a great hobby....I love it....I've had the 48's and 350's in my past........but truly....as I look around....it appears that much of the airgun development is a solution for a problem that does not exist.
Upvote 0
Here in England we're stuck with the 12ftlb limit for rifles, we do alright. It is indeed great for backyard plinking and practice. You can have more power if you've a firearms certificate, but firing off an FAC level air gun in a garden is a no no.
I'm cool with it. More power would be nice, but it is what it is.
I'm cool with it. More power would be nice, but it is what it is.
Upvote 0
my preference lies in PCP's of which I have only 2, but I also like my springers.
it's all relative to size of game, distance to target AND caliber/power; ya gotta match yer guns to yer "needs"...pure and simple. if yer gonna shoot an elephant, get an elephant gun...if yer gonna shoot a squirrel, get a squirrel gun.
in response to the penetration of a plastic bottle: it stands to reason that if the pellet/projectile will penetrate a plastic bottle, especially if filled with H20, it will most likely penetrate a small critter. where a TOTAL pass thru is not necessary to deliver a humane kill, the damage done by the penetrating missile is usually adequate to destroy most small creatures internal organs.
it's all relative to size of game, distance to target AND caliber/power; ya gotta match yer guns to yer "needs"...pure and simple. if yer gonna shoot an elephant, get an elephant gun...if yer gonna shoot a squirrel, get a squirrel gun.
in response to the penetration of a plastic bottle: it stands to reason that if the pellet/projectile will penetrate a plastic bottle, especially if filled with H20, it will most likely penetrate a small critter. where a TOTAL pass thru is not necessary to deliver a humane kill, the damage done by the penetrating missile is usually adequate to destroy most small creatures internal organs.
Upvote 0
I'm not a backyard residential air gunner, I live far enough from anyone else to have a 400Y powderburner range off of my back porch so low FPE isn't a necessity. If I lived in the concrete jungle 6FPE would be much more appealing.
Upvote 0