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Best airgun options for whitetail?

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Reedmosser said:
From having a Texan TX2 valve 50 cal for three years I can't give you the same experience as others My Texan eats the pin that goes through the trigger. Airforce techs know nothing except to change every part. My barrel was extremely rough. My Texan currently does shoot well and cleans up well too..After 3 hrs of hand lapping with multiple lead laps starting at 120 grit. My Texan eats parts and requires being able to diagnose and or repair yourself. So truthfully my Texan has some reliability issues. My experience shooting game a 50 isn't too big. Often no blood trail . Tracking with no blood thick brush pretty hard. I'd go big cal unless you are taking head shots.
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I can't wrap my head around no blood trail with a 50. What shot placement, what type of bullet, pass through? I've shot many deer in my life with low power subsonic projectiles, mostly PB handguns only a couple with my 357 Texan, (all air rifles are low power in my book) and have never had a problem with a blood trail. Picky about the shot, must be broadside in and out the rib cage, no part of shoulder, depending on gun used either full wadcutters or semi-wadcutters. The semi and full wad cutters cut the deer's hide just like they do paper, big clean caliber size entrance hole, if bullet doesn't upset, caliber size clean cut exit hole. If the bullet upset passing through, still a decent enough exit hole although much smaller than entrance. A deer's hide stretches a lot with a bullet pushing through it leaving a much smaller entrance hole than caliber unless the bullet cuts like a wad cutter, whether low velocity or high velocity PB's. My first several deer in 1980 and 81 were with a 38 special handgun less powerfull than my Texan, great blood trails on all shooting 158gr semi wad cutters at less than 850 fps. Including some that were over 200lbs. Shot placement and bullet. The worst blood trails, non-existant, I've ever had were with a 444 marlin shooting 270 gr speers at 2200+ fps. On two occasions, a perfect broadside shot left no blood trail, the speer dumped so much energy the deer's diaghram split, allowing stomach to move fully into chest cavity and plugging the holes from the inside. They both had little balloons of intact stomach sticking out the holes tight to the shoulder when found.
 
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I just measure the Fps of my Vulcan 3 .30 Cal with the JSB Hades 44.75 grain. I got 1100 fps, than mean 120 foot pounds of energy.

I have taken two coyotes at 55 yards with those pellets with chest shots but with 77 foot pounds energy.

I am certain that 120 foot pounds with those pellets are going to make a huge expansion on a deer. My bet is that it will be devastating.
 
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Yes no blood trail even with dead on the spot neck shots pass through. Hollow points 100 percent no blood trail and will not pass through. Know will game be dead from chest shot...yes....can you find it.. I live in hilly extremely thick brush. A 223 rem with 55 grain hp kills like lightning for deer... And is too small and not allowed to hunt deer with in many states. For me I can't track for hundreds of yards,physical disability s. So if I use a big bore to take game its neck shots only. I really don't think it matters if you use a 50 cal with 400 grain plus slugs or a 30 cal pellet with 44 gr at close to 900 to 1000 fps. If you take.a neck or head shot drop on spot. Video s of 72 cal Zeus deer heart shot no blood and ran awile. I have had possums take a solid 460 grain slug to the body at 860 fps and live another day. Have awesome video of it. For me a love hate relationship with subsonic hunting... Hope this helps.someone just being truthful with my experiences. Many airgun hunts on YouTube are in high fence hunts... Game easier to find.. For me leaving game over night is not a option. I butchers my own and don't want to eat something laying around full of guts and blood . I rather take a neck shot. Drop instantly than slit throat let remaining blood run out and game is gutted skined and in cooler within a hour. Meat this way taste better. No Adeline running wounded. Same way I butcher hogs.
 
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Seeker said:
Basically dome shaped pellets are better for a deer than HP slugs. That is what airgun deer hunters say.
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That I'm not sure about, sure if you going for the brain shoot pellets will do fantastic but for a Heart/lung shot I rather have something that cuts a nice hole but still retains momentum if need to go through a rib,...big Meplat or wadcutter is what I would take
 
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scrummykoalas said:
Wondering what y’all recommend (if not restricted by budget) for an airgun dedicated to whitetail. So far, I had sorta zeroed in on offerings from Daystate, but wanted to see suggestions from others.

Much appreciated.
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Bushbuck 45 all day long ... Chambered in .452 gives you infinite variety of casting ability as well as production ammo. In my opinion it is the highest quality big bore on the market (why I bought it). Also happens to be one of the best shooters for big Bore competitive events (that and the Texan).
 
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AtlasAirguns said:
Bushbuck 45 all day long ... Chambered in .452 gives you infinite variety of casting ability as well as production ammo. In my opinion it is the highest quality big bore on the market (why I bought it). Also happens to be one of the best shooters for big Bore competitive events (that and the Texan).
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Thank you. Will look into the Bushbuck.
 
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I have a Benjamin bulldog.357, I have not shot a deer with it because in Wisconsin it’s not legal. I have casted some heaven for caliber bullets and done some testing and would not hesitate using it for whitetail.

Check out Pit Bull air rifles, that take the Benjamin Bull dog and make it something special. They will never be a Air Force Texan , but then they Arnt 7 feet long either
 
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