Hi guys, new dude, first post. I'm in need of a rifle that can shoot into about 1/2" or max 3/4" at 25 yards for cleaning the cowbirds off of my birdfeeder. I have a Swarm 2 but it seems to struggle with that level of accuracy. Do you folks have a suggestion of a gas piston rifle that can be accurate enough for such work under the $200 mark? I'm also open to suggestions on a different type of pellet (currently using regular Crosman .22 HP's) that may work better in my Swarm. It suffers from frequent fliers with the Crosmans. I prefer .22 caliber because I have giant hands and finger and they are easier to work with than tiny .17's but I can work around that if needed. I'd love to go PCP but I'm not serious enough about it to spend the money at this point and getting a fill is a bit of a problem out here in the country. Thanks for any input.
Rifle for 1/2" accuracy @25 yards suggestions wanted
- Thread starter VarmintMike
- Start date
Weihrauch have quite a few rifles that will meet your requirements with open sights. Can be purchased at a very reasonable price from Krale.
https://www.weihrauch-sport.de/federkolben-knicklauf
https://www.weihrauch-sport.de/federkolben-knicklauf
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it would just come down to the individual gun and you could do some basic tuning to it .. alot of aggravation for unreliable results at pesting .. why i gave up on springers .. i got a gamo big cat thats pretty good to 20y or so .. but a prod and handpump will be roughly 10X more positive on pests .. its not the power or pellet .. its the reliable and consistent accuracy that makes the difference ... i know right now my prod, sitting for a few days, i can pick it up any time and bust a pest stone cold dead, one shot, fast as i can get the hairs on him .. prod is the cheapest setup i know that will instill that kind of confidence out of the box ...
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PM pdxFrank he has a lot of experience getting less expensive rifles to perform at that level. He's always willing to help.
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They are three pump power houses and really accurate. You can easily deal with the cowbirds at 25 yards if you set up to shoot off of bags with a bug buster scope or even a red dot. These groups are at 25 yards shot off of two bags out of a window. You would be hitting a bird every single time. Zoraki pistols are totally amazing little guns for the price. They are around $260 if I remember correctly. A super value and a really versatile gun.
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I had a lot of trouble with the springer I had. In all honesty it was single grouping when held so lightly it could shake in a straight line. That would be forearm resting on one finger or just on knuckles and trigger hand just touching stock. Just enough pressure keep from falling off shoulder and no more. But as you can see this isn't anything you could quickly get into to pop a bird and you feel the pressure of taken to long to shoot and I would screw up. So moved on to PCP. Get along much better. As far as another springer for yourself I would say to stay away from so called magnum springer as they hardest to be accurate with as they shake the hardest. So perhaps an entry level PCP might help you, and would be easier load and quicker to get ready. Can tell you I have a Hill hand pump and filling a 185cc tank from 100 bar to 232 bar has been around 70 strokes, give or take a few. I get about 30 shots from that fill. I find the artillery hold is the most accurate hold for springers and hardest to me to use. Good hunting!
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I think I’ve read on these forums that the gamo swarm magazines were mangling up the pellets during the feeding cycle and subsequently caused horrible accuracy. I forget what solution they came up with. Maybe you can use the search function on this forum and read up on it.
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I’ve a .177 GAMO Swarm Maxxim 2 and after searching found that it likes H&N Baracuda Hunter Extremes. 1/2” @ 25 yards is about average group size. But I can do about 1/4” @ 25 yards with my Weihrauch HW97 K.
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Thanks guys, I have ordered a H&N sample pack and will see what my Swarm can do with them but I will fall back on some of the other replies if nothing fits the bill accuracy wise. I agree that as far as birds are concerned power is not what is important. Thanks again!
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If you can't find a pellet that meets your needs. The Weihrauch 35 from Krale is about the cheapest high quality, deadly accurate airgun that I am aware of. You might could find used within budget. But much safer to buy new. Only reason I mention is because no one has.
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My sample back came in today and I didn't get past the 2nd of 5 types within it due to the accuracy of the Baracuda Greens! It stacked 7 pellets into very nearly one ragged hole. There was no need to waste the other pellets after that. I did have to adjust the scope a fair amount but when my rifle shoots like that it is easy to re-zero. I started knocking the 1/2" dot out of the target paper all the while shooting in a light variable breeze and only using tripod sticks as a rest. That kind of accuracy I only get out my rimfire with subsonics off of a bench. Highly impressed to say the least!
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Upon further research I see where the Green are for PCP only due to being so lightweight. This hurts my feelings but maybe the heavier version (Power) is just as accurate. Anybody have experience with the Greens hurting a springer or gas gun?
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I shoot the greens out of my low power HW30 .22, and 15FPE HW98 .25. So far so good. AEAC also put the .22 greens on the “yes” list on his review of a 16FPE Beeman R9.
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I might just add to my user experience with this MAXXIM. I would say that it's more accurate to say that 3/4" is an average group at 25 yards. Sometimes it groups a little better but oftentimes there are flyers. I feel like the lightness of the gun w/ the high output(somewhere near to 15 fpe) make it quite difficult to shoot accurately. Somewhat hold sensitive. Compared to my HW97...well there is no comparison. That said, it does the job inside of about 35 yards. Outside of that it's just too difficult to shoot accurately unless I am at a bench. It also seems a bit pellet picky. At least more so than my other air rifle.
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