2 new small game riflesyou need to check out

[ray55classic]

I was wondering if anyone here has seen this new Benjamin Rogue .357 air rifle which just came out, or for that matter the wood stocked Benjamin Marauder .25 cal which has been out awhile? check this site www.crosman.com under PCP rifles . the .357 is supposed to shoot 145 gr Nosler ballistic tips and 90 &175gr benjamin extreme pellets at 700 to 1000fps! with a shrouded barrel that acts as a silencer and an 8 round clip this bolt action looks like it can deliver. If it pans out as advertised and is not over a grand one will be in my house. The .25 cal marauder shoots at around 900fps is an 8 shot bolt action virtually silent and is selling around $450 or so with the pump. I will get this one 1st. a quiet rifle with the specs of the .357 or the .25 would imho make a very useful small game getter.

 

[TexasPatriot.308]

isnt this what .22 shorts were for.....22 longs and long rifle a step up. and the .22s are so much cheaper.

 

[ray55classic]

hello fellow texan ' one thing i should point out Luling is a beautiful rural area where people are a lot more forgiving about firearms and noise than they are in the suburbs of Houston where I live. 22cb.s either aquila's , cci's or the ones remington made either make enough noise to get noticed or don't have enough power to kill squirrels or rabbits humanely. and I've yet to find a .22 that shoots a 175 grain bullet.

 

[Red Tornado]

That 145 grain at probably 800fps or so is basically a .38 Special. That's pretty impressive.
I'm not conviced there won't be substantial residual noise. Admittedly, though, I'm not really familiar with the PCP guns, but it would be cool to have a Lewis & Clark style rifle.
RT

 

[FatPants]

Some of these high powered air rifles are very impressive. I read an article a while back about someone hunting elephants with one in Africa. I dont know how practical they are, but still very cool.

 

[ray55classic]

That's exactly what I thought , that is squarely in .38special territory even the .25 weighing 27gr at 1000fps is a close equivalant to a .22 shorts 29grain bullet . While they won't take the place of conventional firearms , for situations such as I have{suburban enviorment,large squirrel population,nosey neighbors,owner of mature pecan trees and a small garden}they seem like the answer to a prayer. While I wish they were less expensive this is 2011 anything well built ain't cheap and ain't gonna get any cheaper. Try to find a silenced conventional rifle with specs like this will be pretty costly plus you'll need all that government paperwork to own it, that's something I'd prefer not to do. If the .357 will shoot cast bullets{I don't see why it wouldn't} it will be very economical to shoot, at current prices about 7cents a round and a lot less if you cast your own. The .25 will cost around a nickel a round.cheap shooting in my book.

 

[lloveless]

I don't see 140 gr bullet being pushed at 700 fps much less 1000 fps by an airgun. If that was the case why the .25 only doing 1000 fps. Why not 2000 fps?
ll

 

[ray55classic]

Loveless,using that logic how can a 30-06 shoot at 2500fps and a .22 long rifle only 1200fps? they're different rifles ,different designs. You should try googling big bore airguns. During the Napoleonic wars the Austrians used airguns against the French quite effectively{back before the French learned to surrender so well}, Lewis and Clark carried one on their expedition. The Koreans have been building bigbore airguns {9mm,.45,.50} for a number of years,they're very powerful, but they're as loud as a firearm,{Google} A number of air powered shotguns are built in the Phillipines. If you need some more convincing that air can propel a large projectile very fast, get a large full oxygen bottle like used with a cutting torch, lay it on it's side, take a sledge hammer and knock the valve of it, Oh I forgot, you better get the hell out of the way!!!

 

[Dr.Rob]

Shotgun News had a great article about hunting with big bore air rifles. Definitely not your Daisy Red Rider.

As I recall one of the game species taken was a Russian wild boar with a 45 cal airgun. Pretty impressive.