Airgun Hunters?

[LeoJr2006]

Hello! Just stopped by to see if there are any airgun hunters in here. I figured the best place to check is the small game forum.

Started a new forum up for airgunners! Come check it out, we're trying to build membership.

AirgunBBS-USA.com

 

[not2mnydslft]

I have a 22 CAL crossman pump that is fun to shoot, Is a good starling getter . Now that I got neighbors all around it is the only gun I can shoot safely from my backyard. The starlings get gun shy real fast though and I usually only get one shot. I had a few years behind one growing up. Ive looked at the newer single breakers and always wondered how they shoot.

 

[DeerMeadowFarm]

The only things I ever shot on a regular basis with my airgun was gray squirrels off the bird feeders at my parents until I got sick of skinning them. I have shot a mouse or two as well but that's it for critters. My cousin in Maine and I shot several large bumblebees one summer until one of us got stung...

 

[nbbucks]

I used to shoot a lot of small birds and red squirels when I was younger until one day I had a chickadee land on the barrell of my gun. From that moment on I stopped shooting them.

 

[waldo007782]

with todays air guns shooting small game should be ok.as a youngdter i used a pump up crossman, for a sure kill you had to get close. todays spring piston gun shooting 1000 fps range has increased dramaticly if you buy a spring piston air gun you need to break in the spring before you hunt, 200 rounds should do it then you zero it in at 25 yards and star huntin

 

[Isaiah]

I had a 5MM Benjamin Sheridan Silver Streak air gun when I was a kid. I did a lot of squirrel hunting with it.
The best air rifle I have owned.

 

[Turas]

Bumping this old thread out of interest. We moved to Vermont from a region that promotes air rifle hunting for small game and turkey. This was said to cut down on noise, lead pollution, wildfire risk, and complaints from non-hunters. (For my part, it’s nice when I don’t have to break out Hoppes and brushes every time I call it a day.)

I may be missing it in plain view, but I can’t find Vermont regs about air rifle hunting, either pro or con. Are we okay to hunt with air rifles? And if so, are there rules about type of rifle, ammo, game, location, etc.? Thanks to anyone who can point me in the right direction, if there is one.

 

[RememberBaker]

I don’t believe VT has any specific rules or regulations for air guns. I believe you could use an air gun for anything that you could hunt with a rifle but calling a warden and asking would probably be the best idea. Turkeys would not be legal since they can’t be hunted with a rifle.

 

[NH Mountains]

I would contact fish and game but, this link gives a list of game that can be hunted in Vermont. Don’t believe everything you see on the internet.

Vermont Airgun Laws and Hunting Regulations | AirgunLaws.com

Brief Overview Of Vermont State Laws Concerning Air Guns Vermont has no laws restricting air guns. People with felonies are permitted to own air guns…

airgunlaws.com

 

[Turas]

I would contact fish and game but, this link gives a list of game that can be hunted in Vermont. Don’t believe everything you see on the internet.

Good advice on both counts. I had seen that website, but without citations I didn’t give it much weight. (Hunting big game with an airgun? I guess it’s technically possible, but there’s got to be more context.)

It’s very helpful to know that the regs don’t address air rifles either way, so I’m not wasting a warden’s time on something I’d missed.

 

[RememberBaker]

I just bought a Gamo rifle to fool around with. I shot it around 40 times yesterday to get it sighted in and see how it would group. This is the last 10 shots at 25 yards, the bullseye is 5/8”. Looking forward to seeing what it will do with other pellets.

 

[Turas]

I just bought a Gamo rifle to fool around with. I shot it around 40 times yesterday to get it sighted in and see how it would group. This is the last 10 shots at 25 yards, the bullseye is 5/8”. Looking forward to seeing what it will do with other pellets.

Terrific group. Air rifles are underrated fun (and skill). Which model / setup did you get? Do you go with an artillery hold?

 

[Tailfeathers]

Good advice on both counts. I had seen that website, but without citations I didn’t give it much weight. (Hunting big game with an airgun? I guess it’s technically possible, but there’s got to be more context.)

It’s very helpful to know that the regs don’t address air rifles either way, so I’m not wasting a warden’s time on something I’d missed.

Big game with an airgun is certainly possible when you start getting into some of the big bore PCP air rifles . I got a .457 Airforce Texan LSS to mess around with for a little while. It ended up not being for me, so I didnt keep it long, but here is an example of what I was slinging out of it. pretty cool technology if you dont mind big expensive compressors, lugging around scuba tanks and such.

 

[mowbizz]

I have two high end pellet rifles…a Beeman R9 and with a 3-9 scope and a RWS Diana with the same scope. Both are .177 cal. And are lights out accurate out to 50 yds.
I could hit a small circular saw blade at 100 yds (with holdover) and light winds…
Killed many varmints with the R9…so much fun!

 

[Turas]

Big game with an airgun is certainly possible when you start getting into some of the big bore PCP air rifles . I got a .457 Airforce Texan LSS to mess around with for a little while. It ended up not being for me, so I didnt keep it long, but here is an example of what I was slinging out of it. pretty cool technology if you dont mind big expensive compressors, lugging around scuba tanks and such.

That’s a long way from the Daisy springers most of us started on as kids!

I recently learned that Lewis and Clark relied on a .46 cal compressed air rifle that did the job just as well as — for some purposes better than — a flintlock:

 

[RememberBaker]

Terrific group. Air rifles are underrated fun (and skill). Which model / setup did you get? Do you go with an artillery hold?

That was trying to hold on the center of the bull. I changed the scope after that group but didn’t shoot it again. Maybe tonight if I get home early enough. It’s a Swarm blah blah Gen3 something or other. It uses a 10 shot rotary magazine which is a little awkward to load but works nicely once it is.

 

[Turas]

That was trying to hold on the center of the bull. I changed the scope after that group but didn’t shoot it again. Maybe tonight if I get home early enough. It’s a Swarm blah blah Gen3 something or other. It uses a 10 shot rotary magazine which is a little awkward to load but works nicely once it is.

Those gas piston inertia-fed reloaders are slick as hell. My Benjamin predates that tech, but has still put a few cottontails on the grill over the years.

 

[RememberBaker]

I ordered a couple more magazines and a half dozen different pellets to try. It’s nice having something I can shoot off my deck.

 

[NH Mountains]

Here’s something that isn’t taught in school history.

 

[RememberBaker]

5 shot group, 25 yards, with one of the H&N pellets.