Air Rifle? (Gamo Pro Fusion)

[chrish]

no offense intended towards our normal chatter here at KT, but this has been the most interesting subject I've followed here in a long time.

I hope you guys in the know will keep talking

I agree! I'm following this one as well. I've looked at the higher end PCP rifles that Da Burger mentioned, but boy are they pricey. Have not found a single one under $1500. So that'll end that discussion pretty fast for me. I'll be back looking at CO2, spring, pump, etc.

I'm gonna check out the Benjamin Marauder that JimBianchi mentioned. I've run across that one before, i.e. seen it in the searches lately. But I've never looked for reviews/vids. That's still a bit more than I thought this little venture would cost, but $500 is way better than $1500.

Really out of my element here, so the more info the better.

[Popeye]

no offense intended towards our normal chatter here at KT, but this has been the most interesting subject I've followed here in a long time.

I hope you guys in the know will keep talking

Have to agree mr Surveyor. I never in my wildest imagination would have dreamed this post would have gone as far as it has, and stayed on topic. I had no idea all these things existed in the world of air guns. I was just looking for a air rifle that cost a couple hundred bucks tops. However I have learned that there are some very serious air rifles and air rifle enthusiast.

I went to the GS early yesterday as I heard they were getting some 22lr ammo in. I did manage to score a couple hundred rounds. While I was there I checked out there Air rifles again, but did not buy one at the time. Later on in the day I hit a Walley World to see what they had. I walked out with a Gamo Bone Collector as that seemed to fit in my $200 price range after the tax. Seems like a pretty good entry level air rifle that seems to be pretty well made, and should fit my needs quite well. I did get a chance to sight it in some at about 40' and can pretty much put the PBA platinum pellets that came with the rifle in and area the size of a shirt button from a bench rest,but still need to do some tweeking to the scope and trigger for longer distances. If regular ammo stays scarce or becomes way to expensive to shoot on a regular basis I might look into a more expensive air rifle at a later date.
This is the rifle I bought
http://www.pyramydair.com/s/m/Gamo_B...276664DE.app03

[MW surveyor]

Bought a 1377 about a week ago to get some pistol practice in the back yard as I've been working out the house on a steady basis. Already had an older pump Crosman .177 pellet rifle that I mounted a 4 power scope on it.

The pistol and the pellet trap set me back a whole $50.00 (pistol was on clearance at Academy) and that's with 1,500 pellets! With a total of 4 to 5 pumps in the pistol and shooting at 10 yards, those pellets seriously deform to nearly twice their diameter when they hit the steel of the trap.

The rifle is way more accurate and has taken a number of squirrels that had the misfortune of trying to live in my attic! One shot, one kill!

[Popeye]

Might have to check out the 1377 for some back yard plinking.

[Ikeo74]

Might have to check out the 1377 for some back yard plinking.

Popeye, you got a great deal on that Gameo. There are some great features on that one and the price was right. Have fun now.

[wyntrout]

There are some awesome air rifles out there! This isn't a new video... 2-years old, but it was very impressive watching the 430 grain hollow point go clean through a 275-lb hog! There's slow motion video, too, but you can see the round zipping through the pig.

4000 PSI, 860 FPS, and 706 ft-lbs energy! And the other pigs did NOT get disturbed by the shot or their buddy dying!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eUx_oEpyTw

There are probably lots of other videos like that out there. You can search and see what the guns cost... heart stoppers!

One thing I didn't understand was the cammy finish on the metal, but the stock was blindingly shiny!

Wynn

[Ikeo74]

There are some awesome air rifles out there! This isn't a new video... 2-years old, but it was very impressive watching the 430 grain hollow point go clean through a 275-lb hog! There's slow motion video, too, but you can see the round zipping through the pig.

4000 PSI, 860 FPS, and 706 ft-lbs energy! And the other pigs did get disturbed by the shot or their buddy dying!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eUx_oEpyTw

There are probably lots of other videos like that out there. You can search and see what the guns cost... heart stoppers!

One thing I didn't understand was the cammy finish on the metal, but the stock was blindingly shiny!

Wynn

It looks like that air rifle would take down an elephant! WOW

[K9_Two_Tone]

More Airgun Info

Here is a bit more information on air rifles:

Some of the finest come from Europe. In Germany, for example, has a long hunting tradition, but after WWII it was difficult for average citizens to own firearms. As a result, firearm manufacturers developed some of the finest and innovative airguns of their day. Think Anschutz, Feinwerkbau, Walther, Weirauch and Steyr (Austrian). England has joined the fray with Air Arms, Theoben, Daystate, etc., and Sweden with FX and other airguns. We cannot forget the US with Benjamin/Sheridan, Air Force, etc.

The most common type are spring pistons. These range from cheap to very exotic both in price and in quality. Most require practice to shoot well because the pellet is still traveling down the barrel as the piston goes forward and immediately snaps rearward. This double snap will quicly destroy the best firearm scope if its internals are not properly braced. Some manufacturers have either used double opposing pistons or allow the barrel to recoil in order to reduce vibration. Designed right, spring pistons are a joy to use and will last forever. Only occasional tune-ups are needed after shooting tens of thousands of rounds.

Gas rams are similar to spring pistons except the compressed spring has been replaced with a gas spring similar to the ones used to hold the rear hatch or trunk lid on your car. When fired, they have a very sharp snap and feel firearm like when using. Since there is no spring compressing and then uncoiling, they are vibration less. But the feeling is deceiving. They are even harder on scopes then spring pistons. Some don't like gas ram firing behavior and that gas rams are much harder to cock (perhaps 30-40 percent?) than an equivalently powered spring piston.

CO2 are not much good for anything except close range target shooting and playing around in the backyard. Compressed CO2 is a liquid that turns to gas. The more you compress CO2 in an attempt to get more power, it turns into liquid negating your efforts.

At one time most of us have either owned a Sheridan or Benjamin pump pellet rifle. These are inexpensive and require a lot of muscle effort for the level of muzzle energy. As you pump one of these up, the effort increases as the number of pumps increase. You are compressing air which generates heat and wastes your pumping efforts. It's a good way to work on your chest and shoulder muscles. Since these release unmuffled compressed air when you pull the trigger, they are quite loud and would have your neighbors calling the police.

This brings us to precharged pneumatics (PCP). They range from reasonable to cardiac-attack expensive. The differences between the bottom and top are similar to owning a ruger 1022 versus an Anschutz Meister Grade 22lr with an Model 54 action. Both will get the job done, but their is a certain pride of ownership that comes with shooting a Feinwerkbau, Steyr or a Whiscombe spring piston (if you can find one).

PCP's use compressed air, often at 3000 psi. Some use higher pressures, some use less. This is normally furnished via a SCUBA tank. Hand pumps exist, but that takes a lot of effort to reach operating pressures. Also, some manufacturers recommend to not using hand pumps. SCUBA air is especially dried. Using hand pumps introduce moisture into rifles and may void any manufacturer's warranties.

PCPs are extremely accurate and shoot well with even poor technique. For that reason, PCP has it's own category and normally is not allowed to compete against spring pistons. There is no vibration because the firing mechanism is simple a valve that allows an air release. There is no heavy piston movement. Many PCPs have built in shrouds that muffle the sound to unbelievably low levels.

That's enough typing for this evening. I hope you get into the world of airguns. I prefer shooting them to firearms. No cleaning, no noise and no need to travel to the range.

[TucsonMTB]

Awesome post, sir! Thank you.

[JimBianchi]

CO2 are not much good for anything except close range target shooting and playing around in the backyard. Compressed CO2 is a liquid that turns to gas. The more you compress CO2 in an attempt to get more power, it turns into liquid negating your efforts.

I would disagree with this comment about CO2.

I have half a dozen semi custom and stock CO2 airguns, and for me, 10 months out of the year I can shoot them without issue.

One of my 2250's (most common CO2 ever produced, more mods available than any airgun ever made) produces 18 foot pounds. That's 22cal pellet going 800FPS. I have hit pigeons at 40yrds and go clean through them, if I avoid the wings, those are like armor! But you get the picture, CO2 can work wonders as a small varmint killer.

Only in extreme heat (above 90 or so) and below 40 will CO2 begin to really be affected by temps. I've used them longer than any other airgun and know how they hit and can cold-bore hit a pigeon at 50 yrds most days. (all my airguns are scoped.)

I find now that I have a lower powered springer airgun, an R7, I am enjoying the self contained spring guns again. The big power house springers can be a pain to plink with. Lots of power to cock, hard to shoot really well.

I shoot an airgun of some kind, three times a week, at least. Looking forward to tomorrow. I saw the pigeons getting brave again!

[aray]

I have a very similar problem and deal with it annually. Background:

My wife is a tomato fanatic, so each year we grow several plants in our Earth Boxes on our elevated deck which is a story high in the back of the house off a slider door to our kitchen. Being on an elevated deck keeps the rabbits & deer away, but the racoons simply climb the deck stairs and get into the tomatoes. And even that wouldn't be a problem, but: a) we have a big rabies problem in racoons in our county, and b) when my wife goes out to water the tomatoes in the evenings, the slider door is in-between where the Earth Boxes are and the stairs, i.e. the escape path for the racoons. So if they surprise each other - bad things happen. Consequently I have no choice but to take out the local raccoon family unit each year.

So far, each year the family units have consisted of four raccoons, though I've heard from others that they can range up to about six that travel together. They're territorial animals so once you've eliminated the ones that "own" that area, you'll be good to go for some time, until of course eventually others move in. In my case, I've only had to go through one round of trappings each season.

Our state prohibits live relocation, due to the rabies threat. Plus, studies have shown that relocated animals have a very high mortality rate anyway. (The new ones are dumped into someone else's territory, they have no family structure to draw from, etc.) So we have no choice but to put them down.

I use a high powered Crossman .177 pellet rifle. I got some hunting pellets that have a point to the nose of the pellets. My rifle is pump air, and I fully charge the chamber with the maximum of 10 pumps.

I hate for the animals to suffer so I put them down with one shot. My first year while experimenting I hit them in the heart area, or on the side of the head, etc. That didn't get the job done with one shot, at least not with the tool I had available. Like others, I live in proximity to some other houses so discharging a 22 would be illegal.

But after a bit of experimentation in past years, I now know that if I hit them square on between the eyes, just slightly elevated (no more than one inch) on their forehead from the line that connects their pupils, at a perpendicular angle to the shape of their skull (i.e. straight down into their head not at a glancing angle) that I get one shot, one kill - every time. They go down fast.

I do stand back about 6' because I don't want blood splatter to come back at me (again due to the rabies threat in our area). Some disposable rubber gloves get put on, cage gets taken back into the woods to dump the body, cage gets reset with new bait, wash up time, and I'm set for the next customer. The hotel is open for business again.

I've never caught two raccoons on two consecutive nights. I don't know if that's because their friends are skittish after seeing what happened to the first guy (until their hunger overcomes their fear) or alternately I know some pack animals forage in slightly rotating different areas each night, allowing their food sources to replenish in their absence. Dunno, but the raccoons don't seem to care if the bait is old or stinky, so I just leave it out for days and only clean it out and put fresh bait in if if goes over a week old. Usually within 2-3 weeks I've snagged all four animals anyway and the problem is solved for that year.

[johnh]

Santa brought my son a Gamo Hornet this year. It has proven quite accurate, and has plenty of power for small game. I have a yearly issue with birds nesting over my hot tub. I have a cover, but they make a royal mess of it and anything else under the nest. I tried all the non-lethal fixes I could find, including rubber snakes and blocking them out with fishing line. They actually built a nest on a rubber snake, and then sat in it with their wings resting on the fishing line. So the Gamo has been pressed into action. I typically scare them off so they fly into trees beyond my fence, and drill them at about 50m. Generally one shot center mass with a pellet hits them every time, and they drop like a rock. No mess, no fuss, and the critters in the woods get fed.

[K9_Two_Tone]

Taking Down Raccoons with an Air Rifle

FYI. Here is a link to a recent Yellow Forum (an airgun website) on raccoon hunting with airguns. One of the bloggers showed that he used a Beeman R9 spring piston air rifle and .177 pellets. Lots of previous yellow forum posters have successfully used similar setups.


http://www.network54.com/Forum/79537...ccoon+Question

[Popeye]

Pic's or it didn't happen.
I picked these two up the other day.
Air guns 007.jpg

Air guns 004.jpg

[MW surveyor]

Bottom one looks just like mine!