Help choosing a new .22 springer

Best choices IMO are the Beeman R9, HW95(same gun) or RWS 34. The HW77s or 98k are also good but much heavier. Same could be said about the HW80/R1. Why not use JSB 13.4 gr pellets in your current rifles? My R9 shoots them at 13 fpe.

Seems like what you have should work. Heavy is better for springers, as far as consistancy. Have you tried shooting off sticks? Ever since starting to shoot field target, I have found my expectations of acceptable accuracy have changed. Now I wonder how I ever killed anything hunting with airguns when I was younger, of course back then I carried 2 guns for a fast follow up shot(crosman 2100 and 1377 or daisy 880). Wasn't as worried about wounding things back then.

I also hunt quail and jack rabbits with my springers and have tried several different guns and calibers. Airguns are so effective and fun that I now prefer hunting quail with my springers or PCPs over hunting with a .20ga shotgun. I've tried everything from low power .177 (Beeman R7 at 7fpe) to high power .22 (Beeman R1 at 17fpe). After much experimentation, I've settled on a 12-13fpe gun in .177. My favorite hunting springer is my hw97k in .177 shooting at about 12.5fpe.

Airguns kill with precision shots to vital areas of the animal. Even with a 20fpe airgun, the ballistic shock to the animal is minimal compared with a 22lr firearm. In other words, with airguns shot placement is everything. I too have had jacks run off after a body shot. But I've dropped many with a well placed head shot at distances up to 50 yards. Quail are easier to drop with head or body shots. A springer shooting at 12fpe delivers plenty of terminal power if shot placement is good out to 50 yards.

This is a long way of saying that I think you already have the right equipment in your Beeman R9 for the hunting you enjoy. There is nothing wrong with a more powerful gun like the R1 or the hw80. But in my experience, increased springer power comes at the price of diminished accuracy, and beyond 12fpe, I value accuracy far more than power.

One bit of kit that has helped me tremendously while hunting is a Primos monopod. This has improved my accuracy so much it felt like cheating the first time I used one in the field.

Good luck choosing.

R

"hdrk1111"EM,
Thank you for your reply. I will choose a heavier pellet and use a shooting aid such as the primo you have recommended. I have until the third week in October to figure this out. That said if others are using a .177 with success than I too shall make it work. Any particular pellets I should start my hunt testing with ? and again thank you all so much for taking the time to help out an old dude who is new to air gun hunting.

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Good plan. For me, the biggest incremental help with springer accuracy for hunting was the monopod. I'll never hunt without one again.

I usually hunt with JSB 10.3 pellets. They are easy to load and I only need one mildot or less of holdover out to 40 yards. Most of my shots on quail (or dove) are 30 yards or less. Sometimes the hardest part is retrieving them in heavy brush after they are down. FYI, in CA you can legally take eurasian collared dove or any type of quail with an airgun, but not other species of dove. I'm also counting down the days until the season opens.

Jacks are quite a bit more challenging with a .177 springer, although it is very satisfying to get one. Desert hunting involves a LOT of walking and stalking to get within 40 yards and if I get one in a 5 hour hunt that is a good day. Jacks are definately easier to hunt with a higher powered PCP.

Good luck

R

If you zero at 30 yards you will be essentially dead on from16-34 yards. Then you only have to worry about holding over if the shots are closer or further, no holding under. If you zero further out there will be a point somewhere between about 40-45 yard zero that will keep you within 1 mil of holdover at 50 yards and the pellet will hit a max height of 1 mil above zero at 24-25 yards.

A shooting support really improves my success. I expect you will find the same help. One thing I had to accept was my HW's aversion to resting direct on the support. My accuracy suffered until I learned to rest the forearm on my hand/wrist/etc. which then rests on or grips the support. I conclude only PCPs and low powered springer and maybe CO2s will shoot accurately in contact with the support. Others may have figured out how to support an 18 FPE springer directly on a support. If so, I sincerely wish to learn your technique.

I like my Hatsan Striker 1000x .22 for it's balance and accuracy. It weighs like 8.69bs with the Hammers 3-9x32AO mildot scope. I got 5-6 shot groups inside the diameter of a dime @ 25 yards with CPHP's. H&N Baracuda Greens give more velocity for better penetration with the rounded-point alloy pellets.
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I really like my HW95 in .22. I am sighted in at 30 yards and getting around 14+ fpe. I am always amazed at the accuracy, I routinely shoot small birds (english sparrows/starlings) out past 40 yards. I use a laser range finder and a mil-dot scope, and have my hold overs printed and attached to my range finder. I shot a jackrabbit that has been eating my landscaping at 67 yards, right behind the eye the other day. It made a complete pass through and rabbit fell where he stood with just a couple kicks. Works great for pest control and hunting. I may pick up a .177 eventually for pest birds, but the .22 really hits hard.

Did you see AEAC's review of the AoA Diana AM03 Stealth? Maybe a worthy contender for your needs?