Big bore air rifles legal for modern gun deer season in Arkansas

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"LITTLE ROCK - Deer hunters will be able to pursue their game with one more option this season, thanks to a recent regulation change by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. During the annual hunting regulations review process, commissioners voted to legalize large-caliber air rifles that meet certain standards for deer hunting during modern gun season.

The change comes at the request of airgun enthusiasts and after being thoroughly reviewed by AGFC biologists with the help of subject-matter experts. Ralph Meeker and Jeremy Brown, the AGFC's Deer Program Coordinators, spent months researching airgun designs and ballistic data and personally met with several big bore airgun and ammunition manufacturers and airgun enthusiasts. Their research also involved contacting many other state agencies that allowed airguns for hunting to determine any issues they may have had in legalizing the weapons for deer season. "
For more info:
https://www.agfc.com/en/news/2018/0...legal-for-modern-gun-deer-season-in-arkansas/
 
I know absolutely nothing about this. Seems like the guns would have to be rather large and bulky to hold enough compressed air.
 
jmr40 said:
I know absolutely nothing about this. Seems like the guns would have to be rather large and bulky to hold enough compressed air.
Click to expand...

I don't hunt, I am more of a plinker; however, these developments interest me. Here are a couple of examples of hunting air rifles. This first one is a Winchester Model 70, it is available in .357 and .45. Certainly they a a bit bulkier than some guns; but they are not excessively so.
winchester-model-70-3.gif
from here

This Seneca is available in a wide range of calibers.
sam-yang-recluse-dual-tank-357-cal-4.gif
from here
 
.455_Hunter said:
You guys must have some pretty tiny deer. There is no way I would use an air gun on a big barrel chested Colorado Mulie.
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Why not? Those .45s and .50s can shoot a 200+ grain bullet, slow, but not THAT slow, certainly in the handgun range for .45 colt. I watched a show where they shot and killed quite dead a bison. They got within 30 yards of it, wasn't a 500 yard shot, but they killed it!

All that said, I just cannot get into the air guns, especially the PCP stuff. Buying a compressor that pumps that much air and buying scuba tanks doesn't appeal to me and hand pumping certainly doesn't appeal to me. I'm lazy, rather just drop a .308 in the magazine or at the very most, dump some 777 down the bore and tamp a 385 grain Hornady Great Plains minie over it. :D

There's also the air bows, push a bolt/arrow out of an air rifle. I can't get into THAT, either, and especially since the only game I could take legally with it in Texas last time I checked is hogs. I have semi automatic weapons for hogs. :D
 
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I know that the Lewis and Clark expedition carried a big bore air rifle. So this is certainly not new. It is just a part of firearms that I've never explored.
 
MCgunner said:
Why not? Those .45s and .50s can shoot a 200+ grain bullet, slow, but not THAT slow, certainly in the handgun range for .45 colt.
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The legal energy requirement in Colorado for big game hunting with a handgun is 550 ft-lb at 50 yards. From the article, it stated legal air guns can be as low as 400 ft-lb (assume at the muzzle?). That is significantly lower energy at impact distances. Sure, it will kill, just like shooting them with my .455 Webley will kill them too, but will it be ethical and quick. I stand by my claim of lack of suitability for Colorado hunting.
 
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There could be one big advantage to hunting with an air gun .... if they are very quiet. I have never heard a "hi-powered" air gun fired. If they don't make much noise, it would help save the next generation's hearing.
 
Patocazador said:
There could be one big advantage to hunting with an air gun .... if they are very quiet. I have never heard a "hi-powered" air gun fired. If they don't make much noise, it would help save the next generation's hearing.
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They're kinda loud just judging by that TV show, "American Airgunner" on Pursuit channel. But, they make silencers for 'em and they work rather well and you don't have to jump through all the legal hoops with an air rifle as it's not considered a "firearm" by BATFE.

As for what's ethical, a big, heavy bullet kills by blood loss, not energy. If you think it's unethical, don't use one, but don't grab your bow or your crossbow and tell me THAT'S ethical, either. :D I do hunt with my crossbow, legal in Texas now in bow season, but I won't be getting a PCP air rifle. I like watching that show about 'em, though, have learned a bit about 'em. Before I were to spend all that money on a PCP air rifle set up, I'd get me a new crossbow. I've been wanting one. :D
 
I googled a bit to gain some knowledge and found this. https://www.airgundepot.com/airforce-texan-ss-hawke-scope-combo.html

Seems like it'd make a decent deer getter to 30 yards or so. Specs are decent, anyway. I'll stick with what I've been doing, though. :D


Specs
  • ManufacturerAirForce
  • Caliber0.45 cal
  • Velocity930 fps
Best Uses:
Hunting hogs, javalinas, coyotes, deer, bowling pins, gallon-size and 2-liter water jugs.
 
If it were legal for me I'd probably get a big bore PCP and limit myself to bow hunting distances. Guys in Texas take hogs with them so I figure it would work on deer as long as the range isn't too great. Some of those PCP's are a far cry from what most folks consider an air rifle capable of.
 
jmr40 said:
I know absolutely nothing about this. Seems like the guns would have to be rather large and bulky to hold enough compressed air.
Click to expand...
Do your research. It's fascinating what airgun technology has to offer these days.
 
jmr40 said:
I know that the Lewis and Clark expedition carried a big bore air rifle. So this is certainly not new. It is just a part of firearms that I've never explored.
Click to expand...
I read in an article (American Rifleman?) that air rifle brought along wasn't for hunting purposes but more of a passive aggressive display of our technology. They'd have the natives shoot it along with flintlocks. We got this and that, you have a bow...

What kind of fps are these larger cal air rifles doing?
 
Most air rifles are limited to sub-sonic velocities. Only a few air rifle designs can achieve super-sonic velocities and never by very much over Mach 1 due to shock-wave dynamics in the internal ballistics. Due to that velocity limitation most air rifles don't try to go super sonic due to the accuracy issues that arise around tran-sonic velocities.
 
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