[snowpro440]

any one reccomend a good air rifle thats quiet , heard anything good about gamo with the suppressor? something over 1000fps or about that:)

[JohnKSa]

My quietest air rifle is a Beeman R7. It will do about 600fps with a 7.9gr pellet so that's probably not what you're looking for if 1000fps+ is sounding good to you.

A suppressor on a spring-piston rifle can reduce the discharge noise by about 50% if it's perfectly efficient since about half the discharge noise of a springer is due to mechanical noise (spring & piston movement). In addition, if the pellet is supersonic (1100fps or more) then there will be a supersonic crack that the suppressor can't do anything about.

It will definitely be quieter than a non-suppressed airgun of the same quality & power level, but it probably won't be as quiet as one might expect.

[colt.45]

the gamo whisper is supposed to be pretty quiet. then again... all springers are really quiet. (it seems quite loud to the shooter because of vibration)

a multi pump pneumatic can be pretty quiet too. you can pump one 2-4 times for aplications that require low noise production while reserving the right to pump it 10 times in a hunting application or something of the like.

if you want to spend some bucks though, get an airforce talon ss. you can get one set up for CO2 useage for ~ $400. they are very quiet and have variable power. fill up a 20oz. co2 bottle for $4, you have around 900 shots worth of co2.

sigh... one of these days i'm gonna make a giant post on airguns.
would anyone like to see that?

[thebaldguy]

When lightweight air rifle pellets break the speed of sound they have a loud "crack" that sounds almost like a .22. I was amazed at how loud it sounded, even outdoors. Avoid lightweight pellets to prevent sound barrier crack.

I've read the ones with the suppressors are a bit quieter.

[alaskanativeson]

What about the pump rifles? Is the Benjamin/Sheridan the best one out there?

[Deltaboy]

Yes Dad has one that is 40 + years old and we still kill squirrels on the bird feeder with it.

[20nickels]

Colt.45,
Yes, airgun range reports are very cool.

[BHP FAN]

sigh... one of these days i'm gonna make a giant post on airguns.
would anyone like to see that?
you betcha,Red Ryder!

[alaskanativeson]

Yes Dad has one that is 40 + years old and we still kill squirrels on the bird feeder with it.
I have no doubt one from 40 years ago is good. I've been less impressed with the brand new ones I've seen on the shelves. Anything out there really worthy of a look?

[KevininPa]

.....I second the Airforce Talon SS. If you baffle the shroud and use a Condor bottle ( wide open valve ), you'll get over 900fps in a .22 cal pellet. I don't know what the .177 gets. The common rule of airgunning is .177 for feathers, .22 for fur. I've been lead to believe ;) that a Talon SS with a standard bottle will drop feral cats with a good head shot.

[maker]

Colt 45
I'd like to see that too.

[colt.45]

ok. you asked for it. expect to see an informative article on airguns an the new week or so. would you like to see anything in specific? please ask.

[kiawahman]

I'm totally impressed with the Crossman Quest 1000X for taking out unwanted birds, squirrels and chipmunks. It's extremely accurate, consistent and dependable. A great value for the money. I use .177 hollow point hunting pellets.
As for noise, I never gave that much thought, but nothing like .22 rimfire - that's for sure.

[rcmodel]

Any of the pump-up air rifles like the Crossman, Benjamen, etc. are VERY loud compared to a spring-piston gun. They crack about like a .22 RF.

It is worth noting that velocity isn't everything in an air rifle.

Like JohnKSa said in post #2, the Beeman R7 is about as good as it gets for low noise.
But it ain't no Magnum.
Which is good for us old guys!

http://www.pyramydair.com/cgi-bin/model.pl?model_id=572

Cocking force is only half that of the big 1,000+ FPS guns, it weighs much less, and is much easier to handle for long shooting sessions.
It also has the sweetest double-lever adjustable Rekord trigger you could ask for!

It is also probably more accurate then the Magnums, because the pellets never go super-sonic, and thus avoid all the air turbulence twice on the way to the target.
Once when they break the sound barrier at the muzzle, and once again when they slow back down below it at 20 yards or so.

As far as killing power?
A 700 FPS pellet in the head will do in any small varmint like a bolt of lightening. The exceptional accuracy of the R-7 makes that very easy to do!

rcmodel

[Ringer]

Been shopping for an air rifle too. Any comments on the (Diana) RWS 34? Particularly the Panther synthetic model with fiber optic sights. The R7 sounds nice but a bit more $$ than I was hoping to spend.

[rcmodel]

I have no experiance with the RWS 34, but it is probably a good air-rifle.
However from looking at the specs, it is a Big Magnum air-rifle.

5" longer then an R-7. (45" vis 40.2")
Nearly 2 pounds heavier. (7.75 vis 6.1 pounds)
And nearly twice the cocking force. (33 vis 18 pounds)

It wouldn't be for me, but you might be very pleased with it.

If possible, you need to handle a few different ones and see if the size, weight, and cocking force of a Big Magnum is acceptable to you.

They make me tired just thinking about it!

rcmodel

[Ringer]

Yeah, the cocking force is a bit of a concern for me. I've handled the RWS 34 and the overall fit was good. I can't find Beemans anywhere. I certainly don't need Magnum power to knock down targets and punch paper in my backyard. Wonder if Cabelas stocks Beemans. I'm running out of ideas on where to handle one.

[dagger dog]

If you're wanting knockdown power in a .177 springer go with some of the heavier pellet weights.

Beeman Kodiak at 10.+ grains or the even heavier Silver Arrow ,fired from a sub sonic 1000fps or less sping air gun are capable of taking squirrel or rabbit at sane ranges and with headshots, and are oh so quiet.
The previous posters statement about shooter perceiving the loudness is right on. But let someone else shoot the gun and listen from 20ft away and all you hear is a dull THUT about the sound of a can of soda would make if dropped on a carpeted floor from 4 feet.

There are so many "adult" size rifles out there know compared to ten years ago, the choices are great.

The Chinese are hot and heavy on the heels of the older European makers. Quality? well I'm biased to the Germans. Entry level guns by the German makers are now being made "offshore" (Asian), so do your hamework before opting on a entry level gun and make sure your getting what you pay for.

[SeekHer]

I would love to see a separate section devoted only to air guns!

My wife, daughters (10) and I all shoot competitive 10M air rifle (And Pistol) and Field Target as well as rimfire target and silhouette in all three formats…Of course different guns are used in each case but they can be divided into three basic categories.

We have set up a shooting range in our basement and the neighbour kids and adults come over and will shoot for fun and for practice for the various rifles/pistol teams they belong to…All safety precautions are mandatory—ear muffs and eyewear for everyone, including spectators, all range rules are obeyed instantly and we can shoot as many as five at a time…Target stops are just cardboard boxes stuffed with newspaper.

We have also included a few high density archery blocks to practice on during the winter months so we don’t lose muscle tone and memory.

Spring Guns
Cock with a break of barrel or an underlever and means that they are far more economical to make and purchase but have a slower release time so trigger control is paramount…Quite loud (comparatively speaking) with all the spring and levers moving after firing.

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r130/SeekHer/Seeker%20-%20Edged%20Weapons/Whiscombe_JW50_Mk_ll.jpg
Whiscombe JW50 Mk ll unfortunately no longer made and now go for $10K

Compressed Air Guns
Uses the little canisters of CO2 and are very expensive to operate but fairly quiet

Pre-charged Air Guns
Uses a charge hose from a compressed air cylinder—like a SCUBA tank—or from a foot pump…Usually more expensive to set up at first but much more economical to run afterwards and can be made quite silent.

Some of our Field Target Guns
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r130/SeekHer/Seeker%20-%20Edged%20Weapons/AIR_ARMS_EV2_Field.jpg
AIR ARMS EV2

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r130/SeekHer/Seeker%20-%20Edged%20Weapons/WALTHER_LG300_Dominator.jpg
WALTHER LG300

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r130/SeekHer/Seeker%20-%20Edged%20Weapons/SteyrLG110FT.jpg
Steyr LG110

Our Target rifles
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r130/SeekHer/Seeker%20-%20Edged%20Weapons/Anschutz2013-690supermatch.jpg
Anschutz 2013 - Wood

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r130/SeekHer/Seeker%20-%20Edged%20Weapons/Anschutz2013-690ALUsupermatch.jpg
Anschutz 2013 - Aluminium

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r130/SeekHer/Seeker%20-%20Edged%20Weapons/WaltherAirlg300alutec.jpg
Walther LG300

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r130/SeekHer/Seeker%20-%20Edged%20Weapons/STEYRLG110MATCH.jpg
Steyr LG110

Target Pistols
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r130/SeekHer/Seeker%20-%20Edged%20Weapons/MoriniCM162EI.jpg
Morini CM162

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r130/SeekHer/Seeker%20-%20Edged%20Weapons/MoriniKP40.jpg
Morini KP40

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r130/SeekHer/Seeker%20-%20Edged%20Weapons/PardiniK2S.jpg
Pardini K25

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r130/SeekHer/Seeker%20-%20Edged%20Weapons/SAMARMSK15-0.jpg
SAM Arms K15

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r130/SeekHer/Seeker%20-%20Edged%20Weapons/SteyrLP10_silber.jpg
Steyr LP10

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r130/SeekHer/Seeker%20-%20Edged%20Weapons/WaltherAirlp300.jpg
Walther LP30

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r130/SeekHer/Seeker%20-%20Edged%20Weapons/WaltherAirlpm1.jpg
Walther LPM1

I should point out that we have two guns for each division and discipline--tournament and a spare for standing and all position and prone, spring and compressed slow fire pistol and rapid fire so it accounts for a lot of guns in the family safes...Lots are passed down as they outgrow the grips or when one of the girls gets a new pistol or rifle, her tournament one gets sent down to be the spare and the old spare is given to one of the younger daughters and then each of course has to have their own favourite maker(s). I can only say is that it is expensive to get started but almost maintenance free once getting going and super cheap as you can get a pack of 500 pellets for $10

The best target guns come from Germany and Switzerland and pistols also from Italy but the best field target guns come from Britain and then Germany using match actions in sporter style stocks.

Spring guns are best for a survival type situation as you don’t need all the extra gear, like compressors and pumps, to keep it going but they are the least accurate and with some exceptions (Whiscombe) the least powerful but still more then adequate to dispatch small game at 35M with proper pellet placement.

[Zoogster]

SeekHer you are certainly into quality airguns. A bit higher quality than even I would recommend for most. I like accuracy but a design that is just a tad more utilitarian as well. I would rather have a gun that can be carried under field conditions (hiking around over various terrain) without wear, and could even survive some rough treatment. Some of the Olympic level ones are just a little too delicate, trimming every single possible excess from the design to achieve absolute perfect weight and balance. That achieves a level of additional accuracy that is unnecessary even at long range for taking something the size of a mouse, gopher etc (and quite frankly better than most could shoot offhand.)
A little less perfect balance and weight and a little more durability can be more practical for many.


One thing I would like to point out though is the UK has a foot pounds limit of 12 for rifles and 6 for pistols (any more and they are classified as firearms.)
In the US those limits do not exist.
So you can have a very fine quality airgun with even more power which can be much more useful for hunting or long range shooting even in the same calibers.
Airguns made for the UK market will usualy have UK laws in mind and not be setup to achieve the maximum power levels of the design, or not of a design that can be much more powerful as a result.

So the irony is that some of the finest airguns are from the UK, but they are designed or adjusted to adhere to UK laws and have far less power than a rifle of the same quality can be designed and tuned for the US market.

Personaly I would rather target shoot with a trajectory similar to what I would use to hunt. So even though the power is not necessary for target shooting (and requires a sturdier backdrop, is louder, uses more air etc) it helps with consistency.

An additional consideration when people think of power in airguns.
Diablo pellets are drag stabilized and are drasticly effected by breaking the sound barrier, and then falling below the sound barrier in route to the target. As a result it is best to remain relatively close to but below the sound barrier for maximum power and accuracy at range. Higher velocity in a given mass has less drop and more energy obviously.
In a more powerful gun you can use heavier pellets to slow the velocity and keep it below the speed of sound.
You want to keep it a decent amount under the speed of sound because the airflow around the pellet's edges can actualy approach the speed of sound before the pellet does causing turbulence and a loss in accuracy even without quite breaking the speed of sound.
If an individual chooses to use an airgun over the speed of sound anyways, they should try to use it within a range that the pellet will impact the target before it drops below the speed of sound, because the transition between supersonic and subsonic is where the most turbulence exists.

[UnclePete]

Ask any questions about airguns right just here (http://www.airgunbbs.com/forums/). Expect a million replies.

[Tom Krein]

With airguns 1,100+ fps sounds good in ads, but is not desirable.

A pellet is a diablo shape. Think of a badminton cock. They work by using drag on the skirt of the pellet. When a pellet crosses the sound barrier it wobbles, does it again when it drops below it. This adversely affects accuracy it is also noisy!

Airguns are a LOT of fun! They are a GREAT way to get in trigger time inexpensively.

If you are starting out I would STRONGLY recommend a Beeman R7 in .177 with a good airgun scope with Adjustable Objective. These guns are FUN to shoot and are crazy accurate. They are a SMOOTH shooting springer.

Use a mid-weight pellet like the Crossman Premier and you will be surprised at what you can do with one of these.

If you want more power I suggest going precharged or CO2 like the talon. They cost a good bit more and need charging gear but have the extra power.

HAVE FUN!

Tom

[Jefferson Herb]

I purchased a Benjimin Descovery with pump.They're less than 400.00,made in usa,have their own air gun forum,capable of sub1in at 50 yds,already being modified,why ask for more in 177 or 22 cal;did I say you can use co2 as well?

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Well I too recommend the Beeman R7 though I don't actually have one (plan to get one), as it's so highly recommended and you only need about 400-500 fps to kill a bird of small or medium size. For crows or squirrels, I'd want something going at least 800 or 800 fps with a lot of explosiveness.

They are right, that "1,000 Plus" and "quiet" are two irreconcilable juxtaposing ideas. But the BEST option there is the Air Force TALON in either .177 or .22 (yes, you CAN get the Talon in .22, but you have to mix/match parts from the condor and talon to do so, in my understanding). These are PCP guns; highly accurate, high quality, and very quiet with the noise reduction shroud. But if you're just shooting birds or targets, it's easier to just to get a high quality quieter springer such as the Beeman R7.