Greetings to all and sundry! I joined this forum specifically to ask this question, but I realize that it is so strange I had best explain myself first.
I got into adult air rifles two years ago after an impulsively bought Savage .17 HMR (A beautiful instrument, but alas) languished on my gun rack, only offloading ten cartridges and eventually being sold. Living in city limits, it was not legal to use for the plague of rabbits that bedevil my garden and stock my freezer.
I started with (I still groan to think) a Gamo Silent Cat, bought from Walmart. I still have it and use it (and like it, heretical though that sentence is), but I wanted something... more serious. So, I got a Hatsan 155 Torpedo Vortex (an underlever gas-ram with walnut stock). Now, both have been broken in and I love them both, but the Hatsan presented a new challenge, ammunition-wise. I should also mention that both are .177's. Until the local raccoon population started to get aggressive, buying .22 pellets didn't appeal to me when I could use the same pellets in both guns.
The Gamo did fine with easily available off-the-shelf pellets (Crosman Gold Flights being its favorites), but the Hatsan is so powerful it flings anything less than 10 grains supersonic, killing its wonderful accuracy. Crosman Ultra-Mags and H&N Sniper Magnums do well in it, although I prefer the ranged flight characteristics of cylindrical pellets like the SM's. It still fires them around 1025 FPS, generally excellent for rabbits. I've looked at H&N Rabbit Magnums and Piledriver pellets, but the price and mixed reviews make me leery of a blind buy. Even though they are generally remarked "PCP only" (and I have no interest in PCP rifles at this time), I'm very confident the Hatsan could squirt them out with authority. However, an unrelated trip to my local sporting goods superstore planted the germ of an idea in my head.
If you have read this long-winded explanation, my question is simple- Has anyone ever tried firing rifle bullets (the kind they sell for reloading) through a magnum air rifle? Just looking for a few more joules at impact for those thieving raccoons. .17 bullets with a true diameter of .172 might be a little small for a .177 (though the Hatsan's breech is quite snug with most pellets), but what about a .22? I have a .22 Hatsan 135 on the way, and I am curious before I start experimenting. Thank you for your time and patience with this befuddled neophyte.
I got into adult air rifles two years ago after an impulsively bought Savage .17 HMR (A beautiful instrument, but alas) languished on my gun rack, only offloading ten cartridges and eventually being sold. Living in city limits, it was not legal to use for the plague of rabbits that bedevil my garden and stock my freezer.
I started with (I still groan to think) a Gamo Silent Cat, bought from Walmart. I still have it and use it (and like it, heretical though that sentence is), but I wanted something... more serious. So, I got a Hatsan 155 Torpedo Vortex (an underlever gas-ram with walnut stock). Now, both have been broken in and I love them both, but the Hatsan presented a new challenge, ammunition-wise. I should also mention that both are .177's. Until the local raccoon population started to get aggressive, buying .22 pellets didn't appeal to me when I could use the same pellets in both guns.
The Gamo did fine with easily available off-the-shelf pellets (Crosman Gold Flights being its favorites), but the Hatsan is so powerful it flings anything less than 10 grains supersonic, killing its wonderful accuracy. Crosman Ultra-Mags and H&N Sniper Magnums do well in it, although I prefer the ranged flight characteristics of cylindrical pellets like the SM's. It still fires them around 1025 FPS, generally excellent for rabbits. I've looked at H&N Rabbit Magnums and Piledriver pellets, but the price and mixed reviews make me leery of a blind buy. Even though they are generally remarked "PCP only" (and I have no interest in PCP rifles at this time), I'm very confident the Hatsan could squirt them out with authority. However, an unrelated trip to my local sporting goods superstore planted the germ of an idea in my head.
If you have read this long-winded explanation, my question is simple- Has anyone ever tried firing rifle bullets (the kind they sell for reloading) through a magnum air rifle? Just looking for a few more joules at impact for those thieving raccoons. .17 bullets with a true diameter of .172 might be a little small for a .177 (though the Hatsan's breech is quite snug with most pellets), but what about a .22? I have a .22 Hatsan 135 on the way, and I am curious before I start experimenting. Thank you for your time and patience with this befuddled neophyte.
