Your Dream Hunting Machine

Jump to latest Follow Reply
"Willie14228"Okay, so birds squirrel and other small critters are fine and well,
But let's move up to deer, hogs, and like size
What would you bring?
Now let's get it set up how would it be equipped, what kind of scope, accessories and other little toys

Click to expand...
My 25's and 257 are powerful as heck, but I bought a Benjamin Bulldog just for the scenario you are stating here. I did not want to spend a lot of $$$ on something I would use only a few times a year (Cost me $679.99 using a 20% discount sale at Crosman and bought it on Friday so there was no shipping).

I wanted enough power for heart/lung shots on deer, hogs and yote. My gun is OK accurate at 50 yds with 125gr RNFP's but I'm testing others. I'm shooting those at 795 fps but hope to be shooting those in the 835 ish area with a couple of small mods next week. I have some of Nicks ammo to try if the wind is OK.

I can tell you the gun is very powerful and loud, and I mean both of those ... it hits like hammer at 50-60 yards, and it is loud enough for you to use an earplug in you stock side ear to stop your ear from ringing ! Mods can improve both of these things. Upping the velocity by 60-100 fps and lowering the cylinder ping quite a bit.

wll2506
 
Upvote 0
I'm not really interested in boiler room shots on medium sized animals with airguns. If I want to be sloppy and noisy like that, I'll just bring my 6mm Remington.

I'd probably go for a .25 cal bullpup like an FX Wildcat and a fixed Leupold 10X scope with AO. With an accurate gun like that, why not take head shots, and have something nice and handy to carry around?
 
Upvote 0
"Willie14228"I like head shots too Smaug but 200 boars have a noggin almost as hard as mine lol
Click to expand...
That's right, and lower power would limit your shot options because of head shape too. If they're facing you, the angle of the forehead would make just about ANY head shot deflect. Maybe the same with quartering too, and rear head shots .... they don't really have backs of heads, do they?

Thinking more about it, I'd probably just go all-in and get something in the .45 or .50 cal. range. If it's going to be big and clunky, it might as well be capable of taking big game too. Unfortunately, I'm not educated enough about big bore airguns to say exactly what I'd go for. Maybe Quackenbush, just because I've seen a video interview of him, and he seems like a really sharp guy.
 
Upvote 0
"Smaug"
"Willie14228"I like head shots too Smaug but 200 boars have a noggin almost as hard as mine lol
Click to expand...
That's right, and lower power would limit your shot options because of head shape too. If they're facing you, the angle of the forehead would make just about ANY head shot deflect. Maybe the same with quartering too, and rear head shots .... they don't really have backs of heads, do they?

Thinking more about it, I'd probably just go all-in and get something in the .45 or .50 cal. range. If it's going to be big and clunky, it might as well be capable of taking big game too. Unfortunately, I'm not educated enough about big bore airguns to say exactly what I'd go for. Maybe Quackenbush, just because I've seen a video interview of him, and he seems like a really sharp guy.
Click to expand...
One of the sellers at the Texas airgun show had a 308 quackenbush I was afraid to ask what he wanted for it. That is the only model that costs more used than it does new. 
I have talked to Him on the phone the guy is something else and yes he is as sharp as a razor and about as straight as they come. He has been offered twice what he prices his guns for to be put at the top of the list and he has refused. I too would love to have one of his guns. 

The only Really good headshot is with them slightly facing away from you and placing the shot right behind the ear. That shot will usually do a total lights out without a squeal or huge amount of impact noise. I don't know if its unique to pigs but almost every shot that I have made like that they will sit, arch and topple over. 
I have seen a 357 deflect off the noggin of a big boar. 
 
Upvote 0
Quakenbush rarely accepts new orders these days. His website always says he is booked up for the next year. I guess this is to be expected when you sell custom high power air rifles for half the price of everyone else. They come up for sale in the classifieds fairly regularly though.

Extreme Big Bores sells a similar product without the weight albeit for a higher price but they have some cool options. I was moderately interested in one of their big bore pistols at one point but they couldn't make what I wanted. 

The problem with all of those high power air rifles is that they have none of the benefits of an air rifle but all of the inconveniences. It would be like owning an old fashioned black powder rifle except you're limited to two shots. 

I have seen various people hunt hogs and deer just fine with 25 or even 22 cal air rifles. They take heads shots but those things have big heads. I'd be inclined to prioritize accuracy above all else with any air rifle purchase and then set your max hunting distances based on power and your ability to be accurate. 

 
Upvote 0
Always use the best tool for the job or you only invite difficulties. That said for close to medium range out comes my Ruger Mini 30, 2x7 Burris Scope, trigger modded by Impact Guns sitting in a Butler Creek stock. Can you kill a hog or deer with a serious air gun. Yes. Are the chances of horribly wounding an animal only to have it escape and suffer a protracted death greater with an air gun? Absolutely yes.
 
Upvote 0
The same is said shooting the mini 30 or any weapon, I shoot A Ten point Titan cross bow, A 50 Caliber black powder, and have killed hog and deer both with them.
It is not just about if a weapon will kill the animal we all know big bore will, with proper shot placement, the same goes with all weapons.
This thread was not a question of personal ethics it was one of what would be your dream Hunting air gun, be it for deer, hogs or any larger animal please stick to the topic.
 
Upvote 0
Air Force Texan with all their accessories. Then send it to Neil Clauge to have a customer moderator made. Then off to Zasadny to have the barrel work, regulator work, and tune done. He has already done a front bottle/rear bottle gun, so I'd just do front bottle and change to 480cc carbon. Then off to Steve Corcoran to see if he could get a stock for it that would not be so buttugly. Might actually get the gun a year or so after starting the process.
 
Upvote 0
Western Big Bore Bushbuck .45. 100% American made and packs 600 ft. lbs. of energy. Scope-Athlon first focal plane. Scope base-Cold Shot 150 MOA adjustable. Air gun bullet of choice is the .45 T-Rex or .45 Eland from high arc hunter. While on a safari in June 2016 Kip Perow of AOA killed several large African game animals using a .45 Bushbuck and the .45 eland bullet. The gun and bullet combination performed stellar. AOA will be posting videos of the hunt in the future. These bullets are not for sale by AOA until late Oct. 2016
Links: https://www.airgunsofarizona.com/WesternBigBores.html
https://www.airgunsofarizona.com/Athlon.html
http://coldshotusa.com/
 
Upvote 0
Have friends that combined own a couple of thousand farm nursery and sod acreage. I made converts out of most and they all use pcp's for pest removal, none are looking to use them for deer. A recent questioneer was sent out by the NYSDEC asking for input on a 30 cal airgun deer season . Amongst my friends it was universally rejected. A question arose as why you would allow an 80 FPE airgun such as an FX Boss when all 22's and even 223's are not allowed in other parts of the state. Even when jumping to 9mm or .357 you have some guns that only achieve slightly above the energy of a sub sonic .22 rimfire. Non of the 4 landowners expressed any interest in surrendering their slug guns, and suspected an alternative gun grab that would curtail or limit the slug guns in an already anti gun state. On Long Island NY no rifles are to be fired, given the congestion and the potential stupid that would cut a rimfire cartridge loose on a critter in a tree I concur with their limitation. WE all enjoy plinking and taking pests. States that enjoy open carry and boast liberal gun laws are fine but states in the NE we are happy with what we have, and increased scrupulation from big bore or unneeded attention will only create more legislation. My neighbors in NC shoot .45's in the back yard and a few have the necessary permits for full auto. Tx and others you don't have to deal with the political BS we have going on here. None of the landowners have used a 20 gauge since the smooth bore Deerslayer
 
Upvote 0
"guod123"Have friends that combined own a couple of thousand farm nursery and sod acreage. I made converts out of most and they all use pcp's for pest removal, none are looking to use them for deer. A recent questioneer was sent out by the NYSDEC asking for input on a 30 cal airgun deer season . Amongst my friends it was universally rejected. A question arose as why you would allow an 80 FPE airgun such as an FX Boss when all 22's and even 223's are not allowed in other parts of the state. Even when jumping to 9mm or .357 you have some guns that only achieve slightly above the energy of a sub sonic .22 rimfire. Non of the 4 landowners expressed any interest in surrendering their slug guns, and suspected an alternative gun grab that would curtail or limit the slug guns in an already anti gun state. On Long Island NY no rifles are to be fired, given the congestion and the potential stupid that would cut a rimfire cartridge loose on a critter in a tree I concur with their limitation. WE all enjoy plinking and taking pests. States that enjoy open carry and boast liberal gun laws are fine but states in the NE we are happy with what we have, and increased scrupulation from big bore or unneeded attention will only create more legislation. My neighbors in NC shoot .45's in the back yard and a few have the necessary permits for full auto. Tx and others you don't have to deal with the political BS we have going on here. None of the landowners have used a 20 gauge since the smooth bore Deerslayer
Click to expand...
Using similar logic though, why should we allow traditional bows? Airguns and bows kill in a very similar manner. While .30 might be a touch small, larger rounds are at least as capable as any bow. The heavier, sub-sonic .22LR rounds, can and will take down a deer cleanly. And I'd almost guarantee that the restrictions in NY date back to the Vietnam era, when to put it bluntly, the .223 ammo available sucked. 
 
Upvote 0
The post loaded as I was correcting spelling and my sleep depraved vocabulary. The last line I wanted to add is all use 12 gauge rifled slugs. Many of the rights that are taken for granted in the rest of the country don't exist on Long Island. You don't see a firearm in Walmart, hand loading supplies are non existent. Pellets are not shipped from Walmart.com to any NY addresses. Gun stores survived only by changing to Sporting Goods. There are town ordinances that prohibit "items" that propel objects at 300 fps or greater, others flat out ban paint ball to slingshots. Residents looking to limit duck hunting, your in a blind legally floating off the land you can't legally discharge a firearm from. Now looking for legislation to stop the discharge over navigable waters. It's sad how a large group with no interest and less knowledge can shut down or limit hobbies of others. I've seen how money and publicity can sway public opinion overnite.
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back
Home
Forums
Resources
Menu