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Recommend a air rifle that fits these needs
- Thread starter Arsenul
- Start date
I'm wondering if your biggest limitation might well be the fact the laws taking big game with large bore PCPs haven't kept pace in most states for the harvesting of same.. Arizona being the prime exception.
Oldspook beat me to suggesting looking into the Hammer. That said, I have been very happy with my single shot Air Force Texan .457 suppressed with Neil Clague's LDC. Unbelievable in quieting down that bad boy. Hoping and praying Indiana sees the light one day soon in at least allowing for the taking of deer.
Good luck!
Oldspook beat me to suggesting looking into the Hammer. That said, I have been very happy with my single shot Air Force Texan .457 suppressed with Neil Clague's LDC. Unbelievable in quieting down that bad boy. Hoping and praying Indiana sees the light one day soon in at least allowing for the taking of deer.
Good luck!
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Maybe the first thing to do is to check what game is legally taken in your area with an airgun. It is not a given, you know.
Assuming it IS legal, go with a .50 cal. However, you should know that 700 FPE may be marginal for brown bear and moose though. A typical 30-06 hunting load is about 3,000 FPE, and if you make an animal that big mad, you might find YOURSELF being hunted.
If it were me, I'd rather have a 30-30 or 30-06 rifle for the big stuff and a .25 Marauder for the small and medium stuff. I think you could do that for $1k.
Your terrain also makes a difference. Is it dense woods? Plains? Canyons? Open desert?
oldspook's advice is also solid.For a survival situation, I don't think you can do better than a shotgun. A big game hunting airgun is a poor choice for survival, IMO. It'd do well on big game and for self defense, but the majority of your food gathering would be small game, and a big-bore ruins a LOT of meat on small game. Not to mention, it makes a lot of noise and spooks every animal within a block of you.
Assuming it IS legal, go with a .50 cal. However, you should know that 700 FPE may be marginal for brown bear and moose though. A typical 30-06 hunting load is about 3,000 FPE, and if you make an animal that big mad, you might find YOURSELF being hunted.
If it were me, I'd rather have a 30-30 or 30-06 rifle for the big stuff and a .25 Marauder for the small and medium stuff. I think you could do that for $1k.
Your terrain also makes a difference. Is it dense woods? Plains? Canyons? Open desert?
oldspook's advice is also solid.For a survival situation, I don't think you can do better than a shotgun. A big game hunting airgun is a poor choice for survival, IMO. It'd do well on big game and for self defense, but the majority of your food gathering would be small game, and a big-bore ruins a LOT of meat on small game. Not to mention, it makes a lot of noise and spooks every animal within a block of you.
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I'm in Michigan, and after doing research, the only air rifles I can use for big game use a .30 caliber and above. For big stuff I'm trying to figure out, hence the post, but for smaller game I plan on getting a Crosman Marauder. Unsure if I should get the new model or not.
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They are all able to shoot slugs. The Benjamin Bulldog was specifically designed to work well with those Noslers which are slugs.
The heavier 300+ grain slugs are usually used in higher caliber air guns (than 9mm) like the 45 and 50 cals but there are repeaters for those too. The American Air Arms Slayer is one but more than $1000. The Inovairtech Mac repeaters are another and I believe they are less than $1000 now.
The extra long 9mm slugs won't fit in some mags but I don't think they are necessary in most cases. If they were necessary, they could be fed manually. I do that with 59gr slugs in my 25 Cricket as they don't fit the mags.
I'm not sure I'll ever understand the need for a "survival gun". In a real end of the world Walking Dead type scenario, other people would most likely be the biggest threat as they try to steal your food to survive. I know this because I did my research (watching all available season of the Walking Dead).
I also know that ammo shortages becomes a problem after several seasons (I mean years) so a crossbow would be my tool of choice as the arrows can be reused and they can take most game and they don't need air or much maintenance. After all, you can't order new O rings from eBay during the end of the world. Darrel from the Walking Dead has being using the same arrow in his crossbow since season 1!
I'm all for being prepared but I generally believe it makes most sense to prepare for right now first. Any of the 9mm air guns will kill a dear or Moose, or pig with a head shot. They would probably kill a bear too but I wouldn't want to be relying on that (or any air gun) to defend myself from a bear who I made angry by trying to kill it (and missing).
There are people who regularly hunt pigs with a 22 PCP gun and have no problems. There isn't much that will survive a well placed head shot with a hollow point at 50fpe and above inside 50 yards. A friend of mine found this out by accident when he hit a whitetail in the head with a 25 cal Cricket - the top of it's head looked like a squirrel from his position. It dropped on the spot.
In fact, the guy I bought my 25 Career 707 from used it to hunt pigs and deer and it maxes out at 100fpe with the slugs I have here.
What other preperations are underway for this end of the world plan? Have you built your secret underground bunker yet?
Wait... what do you mean "I'm not taking this seriously"... of course I am!
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Perfect. Get a .50 cal air rifle for all game pig size and bigger.
.22 or .25 cal. for smaller.
As for new Marauder vs. used, since you're now talking about two rifles, two scopes and two sets of rings, go for a used one to try to stay within your budget. Just try to make sure you get one that'll shoot inside 1/2" @ 40 yards. It's not good if it's not accurate. The new Marauders that were just introduced, ("Field and Target" model) is going to cost $630. A clean, good-shooting used Marauder with no mods should be attainable for around $300-350.
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According to Crosman interview by AEAC the new Marauder is NOT ideal for hunting. They will not even offer the .25 in a regulated configuration because they said it is not ideal for hunting and the .25 is a hunting rifle.
Thurmond
Thurmond
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I didn't read/hear it that way. The way they're marketing it is that the regulator can be bypassed for full power for hunting, or valved in for lower power, with higher consistency and shot count. Even regulated, it will have plenty of power for lots of small game.
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No argument there Smaug. Any gun can be used for hunting as long as it's limitations are embraced. It would probably been better stated if I said the new additions to the Marauder do not enhance the gun for hunting at all IMHO. Personally I do not see .22 caliber guns (most but not all) useful as hunting tools BUT I have very few small furry targets like many persons do in the form of squirrels. My focus is on coyote and pig sized game so I generally dismiss smaller calibers than .25 as plinkers rather than hunting guns. Just my take on my particular situation. 
Thurmond
Thurmond
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