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Question for the varmit hunters. (fps vs c)

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A

Artie

Member
Oct 1, 2017
36
0
Florida
Hi all. I want to get back into air gunning, and was wondering about something. The speed of sound, (c), at 68 F., is around 1125 fps. There aren't many air rifles, especially in my price range, that will best this. Does this mean that a varmint will always hear the rifles report before the pellet arrives? If true, does it really matter much? Is this a problem for anyone?

Thanks all. (BTW, my price range will probably be between $600 and $1200, in a PCP configuration.)

Artie

P.S. Is Benjamin to Crosman, like Acura to Honda? 
 
Well, good question....
Most Diablo shaped pellets are unstable faster than say, 950 fps so if you want supersonic speed AND accuracy, then bullets are what will work best. Shooting bullets from Airguns is not my area of expertise, there's lots of info available here and on other forums.
I do have a fair amount of experience hunting California ground squirrels which can be extremely wary at times. I rarely see a squirrel startle and duck a pellet from the report of a pcp or springer.
There are a fair amount of great guns out there in that price range, hard to go wrong with a Marauder, The FX streamline is in that ballpark too if you already have a fill set up.
A word of warning-the 'crack' of a solid head shot can be addictive....
Happy hunting!
 
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First off Howdy, As far as varmit hunting goes(yotes,fox and such) I'm a long time Archery hunter and keeping things simple and I've carried that style of hunting over to my Airgun shooting and hunting so I don't take really long shots with my airguns unless I know it will do the job or I'm shooting steel targets(cant wound a steel target), now for coyotes I have gone with the .357 for shots 50 to 100 yards and then I've also just bought a Texan .45 in which I'll be shooting 220gr swaged hollow points for 75 to 125 yards knowing that I'll be taking them out humanly with this caliber and I should mention that I'm hunting from a stand or ground blind so the weight and length of the Airgun isn't a issue. The 30 cal is also a nice caliber for smaller game and can be had in a smaller and lighter package if you want to pay out a few more bucks.
MOPO is that I won't ever hunt yotes or fox with anything smaller then a .357 buts that's me and not saying that the 30 or 25 isn't capable but for me I want the 1st shot to always count especially when you get out past 75 yards.
The Bulldog,Bullboss and Texan are 3 that would be in your price range that would all be nice varmit getters, then you also have to take shot count and what your air supply is going to be which makes a big difference in what Airgun you buy, I'm sure more folks will chime in with their opinions and ideas and that's what makes this Forum nice, a lot of knowledgeable folks.
Good luck on your quest.
 
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"Artie"Thanks John. And the Marauder is near the top of my list. Looks like a great entry level rifle with good quality and at a nice price. I won't necessarily take any pleasure in killing anything, but these rats have got to go. (To heaven or elsewhere.)
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If it's rats and things like that you can't go wrong with the Marauder, I'll never let mine go especially my .25s I really like the .25 caliber's for target and small game..
 
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Thanks Imold. (BTW, is the 1st letter of your name capitol "eye", or small el?) Rats will probably be the only thing I "hunt", but then again, my sons are avid hunters, so I might let them show me a thing or two. I know that styling is not a great reason to pick a rifle, but I also love something about the .40 cal Epox Badger. Just a simple clean design. I love it.
 
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Artie you bring up an interesting subject. Paraphrasing—Are varmints and other game capable of hearing the report from an airgun, thus be able to "dodge" the bullet so to speak? 

Most airguns use some sort of suppresser, which limits hearing the report much past 75 yards or so, and sometimes much closer than that. At least to the point of figuring out what the noise was. Under 75 yards, I suspect the pellet is faster than most game's reaction time, even if they know where the report came from, and what it was. But there is something that does happen, besides the muzzle report. 

Most birds can easily see the pellet coming their way, and a lot of the time they can duck a pellet quite easily, especially so if you're trying a head shot. I had a pigeon do that just this morning at about 65 yards. 

Whatever the case, you can't apply a set rule here, because every airgun and every specie have different characteristics.
 
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"Artie"Thanks Imold. (BTW, is the 1st letter of your name capitol "eye", or small el?) Rats will probably be the only thing I "hunt", but then again, my sons are avid hunters, so I might let them show me a thing or two. I know that styling is not a great reason to pick a rifle, but I also love something about the .40 cal Epox Badger. Just a simple clean design. I love it.
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Imold as in I'm old....
if I didn't have a .357 already but had a .30 then the .40 would be my next caliber but since I had the .357 my next choice of caliber is the .45 it just keeps enough room between caliber's to make a difference, I ran into to many close caliber's with my PB's it got to be a Ammo trap,17,22,22-250,223,6.5 Creedmoor,243,270,30-30,308,30-06,338winmag,45-70 so now I'm staying with .25,.357,.45 in airguns just to keep it simple plus I do have the .17 and .22 but those are just safe queens now.
 
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Should add where I'm from someone says they are going to varmit hunt they are talking yotes,fox,coons,skunks or problem 4 legged beaver, small game is rabbits and smaller and rats and mice we just say rodents. 
If I would of read your intro I would of suggested the Marauder.22 or .25 right away depending on the area your going to shoot, the Bullboss .25 is also a nice and accurate Airgun.
 
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Artie JohnL57 is on the money regarding as far as wanting to keep pellets under 950 fps to maintain accuracy. When you say you are going to be shooting rats do you mean like the rodent type found in the city and at farms where they feed livestock etc. If so you don't need a lot of power to kill them. If you have a very high population it might pay to have a rifle that will give you a high shot count to keep up with the action. When I shot rats it was at night and did not like having to come back to my vehicle to air up my rifle again and be walking through the dark. I just got the FX Streamline and it would make a very good ratting rifle with its three power level settings. Even at power setting one it will take out rats and you will get over a 150 shots per fill. When you need the power on high it will deliver 28 to 30 fpe and about 55 shots per fill and will take out many small to medium size varmints. Bill
 
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Thanks Bill, and sorry to everyone for meandering all over the place. This is only my 2nd post here, and I'm accidentally mixing two different topics. On one hand, I'm toying with the idea of having my sons teach me how to hunt deer, and on the other hand, wanting to deal with rodent control. Two different subjects. Two different style rifles. I'll try to stay on course in the future. My grandsons have already bagged several deer. I'm learning to like venison.

Artie
 
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Hey Artie. Just a different POV here. If you are almost only interested in shooting mice, you may want to consider a quality precision springer. PCPs require a lot of extra "baggage" to shoot. It's pretty expensive hobby when you factor in everything. An HW30 will probably suit your needs. I have never shot one, but people here rave about how easy and accurate they are.

anything above mice and birds, PCPs are the way to go. But do your research, there is a lot of peripheral equipment to buy. You can look for a hand-pump friendly gun. But then a lot of folk will tell you that you will be better off buying a tank. Then you have to have a way to fill the tank. And now you are kinda deep inside the Rabbit hole. 
 
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