Other Hunting Rifle

[MongooseV8]

I'd say 357 will be the ideal caliber. And keep it under 100. I'd be looking at a Texan or something with a lot of power.

This would be my choice. Cheapest solid hunting PCP you will likely find. But as others noted I would limit my hunting distance to 50yds or so on larger animals. Everything is more difficult with a PCP except spending tons of cash on a setup. There is no cheap way into this whole thing.

 

[Frozenspyder]

An AF Texan isn't a bad choice if you're okay with a single shot. There's four different models to choose from and they come up used relatively cheap fairly often. Plus they're simple as far as PCP guns go. There's very few O rings and moving parts to deal with so if something goes wrong, it's usually cheap and easy to fix.

 

[Ezana4CE]

I’ve got about 50 yards I can work with or slightly under, and where I’d be shooting would be down into the woods, away from any houses.

@JakeMcCoy I suggest that you hunt within the range that you practice shooting. How do you think you’re going to practice shooting at around 50 yards, but hunt out to 150 yards with an air rifle? Hunting within 50 yards you may also want to consider taking a look at an M357 Benjamin Bulldog and .457 Benjamin Bulldog.

 

[RossK]

Deer + Hog + 150yds + ethical + budget + PCP = Get a 243 winchester

 

[Coyote Slayer]

I have 6 air rifles, the best one for 100yd knock down power is my AEA Challenger 32" bullpup. in .30 caliber. I shoot 65 grain NSA hollow point slugs. Its super accurate, tremendous power, and only $450 + optic. I only take head shots on everything from rats to hogs. Meat doesnt get torn up, they just "drop".. You will need a moderator though. There are MANY ways to go with a moderator. This rifle is LOUD AF without a moderator and you had better have a strong backstop if shooting in the back yard. I would say this rifle will shoot through a car door, even though I havent tried that, yet, but I will. You wont have any doubts about taking a deer with this rifle after shooting just one magazine of slugs. You wont even consider it an air rifle, you will consider it a rifle rifle..because it is.

 

[Ezana4CE]

I have 6 air rifles, the best one for 100yd knock down power is my AEA Challenger 32" bullpup. in .30 caliber. I shoot 65 grain NSA hollow point slugs. Its super accurate, tremendous power, and only $450 + optic. I only take head shots on everything from rats to hogs. Meat doesnt get torn up, they just "drop".. You will need a moderator though. There are MANY ways to go with a moderator. This rifle is LOUD AF without a moderator and you had better have a strong backstop if shooting in the back yard. I would say this rifle will shoot through a car door, even though I havent tried that, yet, but I will. You wont have any doubts about taking a deer with this rifle after shooting just one magazine of slugs. You wont even consider it an air rifle, you will consider it a rifle rifle..because it is.

@Coyote Slayer Yea ok. An AEA Challenger is an air rifle.

@JakeMcCoy I’d advise against taking advice from a guy recommending a .30 caliber airgun for deer and hog hunting at your desired distances. These are airguns and not traditional center fire rifles. You’d be better served by differentiating the two and choosing your airgun and hunting application accordingly. There are members in Alabama that hunt with .30 air rifles. I suggest searching the AGN threads. There are several that I can recall that discuss some of these types of hunts, specifically deer and hogs.

Here’s a rough guide to refer to.

Game & Pest Hunting Guide | Tips & Recommendations

Get expert tips on hunting game and controlling pests whether you prefer airgun hunting or bowhunting from the outdoor experts at Pyramyd AIR.

www.pyramydair.com

 

[Coyote Slayer]

"@Coyote Slayer Yea ok. An AEA Challenger is an air rifle."

You should respect this as you would a powder burning rifle was clearly my intent. If you wish to split hairs, go right ahead. This isn't a crosman pump gun we had as kids.

@JakeMcCoy I’d advise against taking advice from a guy recommending a .30 caliber airgun for deer and hog hunting

I have taken I would suppose close to 400 hogs in my 57 years, most with my .243, but my .30 challenger has dropped dozens. 30 to 75 yards mostly due to Florida scrub and thick vegetaion. Im sure the Alabama Boys would agree with me that a proper .30 like mine is a great tool, especially for head shots. Having real world experiance in this topic, I would never advise anyone about anything if I didn't have actual real world experience. To say otherwise about my advice offends me to a degree. I do have a feeling you wouldn't get along to well with my friends out in the field as you seem condesending and easily respond in a manner that is sure call someone out. I bid you good day Sir.

 

[MongooseV8]

"I have taken I would suppose close to 400 hogs in my 57 years...."

I cant speak for anyone else, but in my book this makes all the difference. There are forum members that dont like to see a random new air hunter think they can split a deer in half with a pcp. Those of us that have spent time outside know that even a medium power pcp can be very effective in the hands of a skilled hunter. But sometimes I think we forget that not everyone has the same capabilities, and its so easy to give the wrong idea on a forum through text. I wish we could all have these discussions face to face at a bbq or something so not as much gets lost in the mix.

 

[Iron duke]

i hunted squirrel growing up (head shots), served 13 years in combat arms with just shy of 4 years in combat. size AND skill are critical. knowing the full capabilities of both you and the weapon you chose are equally important. i used a 25 cal umarex origin with tannerite pellets from edgun west to take down a manged coyote at 198 yards with a head shot. it dropped within 10 yards

 

[Chief Ten-Beers]

Deer + Hog + 150yds + ethical + budget + PCP = Get a 243 winchester

Got one! LOL

 

[Ezana4CE]

@JakeMcCoy Which air rifle did you decide to go with?

 

[beerthief]

I’ve got about 50 yards I can work with or slightly under, and where I’d be shooting would be down into the woods, away from any houses.

You should still build an appropriate back stop for the caliber and powder burner power ,not just 3/4 inch plywood .

 

[orangeokie]

You are basically going to need a head shot to humanely kill deer and hogs. You can easily get within 50 yards of these species and have a very good chance of delivering a lethal head shot. Same with Coyotes. A .25 or .30 cal slug would be at the top of my list for hunting. I specifically bought my FX Crown .25 and American Air Arms EVOL Paradigm .30 for hunting Coyotes, within 50 yards.

 

[Bhuntin]

You are basically going to need a head shot to humanely kill deer and hogs. You can easily get within 50 yards of these species and have a very good chance of delivering a lethal head shot. Same with Coyotes. A .25 or .30 cal slug would be at the top of my list for hunting. I specifically bought my FX Crown .25 and American Air Arms EVOL Paradigm .30 for hunting Coyotes, within 50 yards.

Last season my daughter and I harvested 5 deer 3 of which were bucks one hog with a Texan .457 all double lung shots full pass thru furthest was a 96 yard shot I’d say practice for vitals also got 2 gobblers with the swa .20 from Terry Tate great gun if you want to figure out hunting with an air gun call Chad with lethal air great help

 

[JakeMcCoy]

@JakeMcCoy Which air rifle did you decide to go with?

For now, I’ve got a Reximex Throne Gen 2. I had started with an AEA 457 challenger standard with the upgrade kit, but really all I can hunt right now is squirrels and sparrows, so I’m holding off until I get anything bigger or fancier.

 

[Ezana4CE]

@JakeMcCoy That will give you time to consider more options. Which caliber is your Throne?

 

[JakeMcCoy]

@JakeMcCoy That will give you time to consider more options. Which caliber is your Throne?

I got it in .22. I’m taking sparrows out to 55 yards, so I’m content with it for now. Eventually when I have money coming in again, I plan to get an RTI mora.

 

[Ezana4CE]

@JakeMcCoy Have you done much airgun hunting? If so, which animals?

 

[JakeMcCoy]

@JakeMcCoy Have you done much airgun hunting? If so, which animals?

So far, only squirrels, sparrows, and chipmunks. All within 40 yards, except the sparrows. Taking them from about 65 yards max. But they drop as soon as I hit them, running NSA 17.5 grain slugs.

 

[Ezana4CE]

@JakeMcCoy I think gray squirrel hunting is great preparation to give your hunting skills, especially if you’re stalking them. The Mora looks intriguing. From what I recall the velocity is in the mid-700s, but I don’t recall the projectile weight. I may be confusing the Mora with the AGT Netvor. Big bores are fun to shoot but they’re loud, more air hungry, and obviously the projectiles cost more unless you’re swaging or casting your own. The thing that I think would be good to figure out is where you’re going to be able to shoot yours to where it’s not disturbing neighbors and where you have enough range and a safe backstop. Once you’re able to reach play with the rifle at different distances I think you’ll get more of a feel for what some of us are saying about your initial desires hunting distance/range. Have you read any deer hunting threads in AGN?