.22lr to .177 report

[9ballbilly]

A year and a half ago my Son inherited the .22 Henry rifle that I formerly used for pest control. Needing an alternative but Finding myself motivated by limited funds, curiosity, and the scarcity of .22lr ammunition, I replaced that gun with a high powered .177 adult air rifle. Now 18 months later I can happily and confidently report that this was the right decision for me. The .177 provides plenty of power for controlling vermin, pellets are abundantly available and inexpensive, not to mention the reduced noise level is better tolerated by close neighbors.
IMO it is worthwhile for anyone finding themselves in similar circumstances to consider this route as well. You may find yourself as pleasantly surprised as I did.

 

[Deja vu]

been looking at a air rifle for a while. I have a lot of 22lr but still it would be nice to not have to use that ammo and have a cheep alternative.

 

[tuck2]

I enjoy shooting my rim and center fire rifle out of doors . But When its to windy, cold or hot I shoot my pellet rifles indoors at ten meters. The 20 and 22 caliber pump up air rifles pellet energy is such that I can shoot cotton tail rabbits out to about 35 yards but most of my shooting is indoors.

 

[BigBL87]

I bought a 177 break action simply due to ammo availability and being able to legally shoot in town. Isn't truly quiet by any means and I'm still breaking it in, but I've been very happy so far.

 

[aarondhgraham]

It's even better when you have two of them.

It's even better when you have two of them.

I set-up a 15 yard range in my yard,,,
The invite a bud over for beer & burgers,,,
It's an inexpensive plinking party after the meal.

Aarond

.

 

[g.willikers]

Yes, me also.
I mostly made the switch from .22s to airguns, both rifles and handguns, quite awhile ago.
Mostly for convenient practice, but also for the fun of it.
Don't miss the .22s at all.

 

[trg42wraglefragle]

I was hoping to see some kitchen gunsmith 22lr necked down to .177 giving 3000fps, and claims it was and MOA shooter to 300 yards. I'm disappointed.

I used to have a friends air rifle for a few months, it way insanely finicky on the way you would hold it if you were trying to do of sand bag type shooting. Was good for offhand practise though, was very satisfying when I was able to hit a 4" plate from 60 yards every shot.

Considering how cheap they are to buy and feed, there's no reason for shooters to not own one, and especially for teaching kids.

 

[Ozzieman]

Couple of months ago my brother calls up and wants to go shooting with me to help sight in his new air rifle otherwise known as the Anti squirrel steeling bird food gun.
My brother not knowing much about guns I figured it was some cheep piece of crap.
He showed up with a Ruger Air hawk combo. .177 air gun with a scope. The scope has a Ruger branding on it so I have no idea who actual made it.
The gun was very well made nice trigger and 1 inch groups at 25 yards but from there on out they became shotgun patterns.
The worst thing about the gun was cocking the barrel for the next shot.25 rounds will wear you out.
For 129$ I thought it was a nice package.
Strange thing is I can’t find it in Rugers catalog

http://www.pyramydair.com/s/m/Ruger_Air_Hawk_Combo/1504

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97btqwtFVlY

 

[Unlicensed Dremel]

Good to hear; very nice. I went the other way - switched from .177 springers to a .22lr rifle with Aguila Super Colibris for "round the house" stuff - just as quiet; maybe a little quieter, and very effective to 20 yards.

 

[Erno86]

Lately...due to the scarcity of 22 rimfire ammo, I've switched over to shooting my RWS Model 54 Dianna Air King in .177 {1100 fps/ recoiless/sidecocker/springer}, mounted with a 4-12X Simmons air rifle scope; from 25 too 100 yards at our range. It is reputed to be one of the most accurate air rifles under $3,000.

In order for the scope turrets to be zeroed in at 100 yards, I had to shim up the rear mount of the scope.

I use heavy match .177 caliber pellets. My 100 yard target is a metallic cowbell spinner. With the close backdrop of the 103 yard dry dirt backstop berm....I can get instant sight recognition of my hits and misses, with the scope set around 12X. Amplified hearing muffs also help with my hits on the spinner.

 

[9ballbilly]

Ozzieman, Mine did the same thing pattern-wise. I learned by doing a little research this is common during break-in period for air rifles. After about 200 pellets I'm consistently getting ragged, dime size, one hole groups at 10yds. I did read somewhere that certain guns can require as many as 500 shots to be fully broken-in.

 

[Gazpacho]

I have an Izh M46, 10m air pistol. It isn't powerful enough for pest control, but for serious plinking, it is amazing. It is an expensive pistol, but the accuracy is nothing short of eye opening.

 

[Vt.birdhunter]

"Firearm simulators" are growing in popularity in the airgun word. Sig, Smith Wesson, and a few other big names put out one to one replicas of standard pistols.

I have the SW 586 version and the Sig 226- both are almost all steel with the rough weight and balance of the real thing. Some cost more than a new Taurus

Great for saving money on ammo while practicing fundamentals, holster work, etc.


Gazpacho: I have the same Baikal 10m pistol; it makes average shooters look like superstars its so accurate. Nothing but bugholes at 10+ yards with crosman brown box's