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Air Guns for Practice

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Hi Dave,
They sound good. What kind of accuracy do you get compared with normal ammo? How well do they feed?
I live on 4+ acres, but I have, a church, school and main highway on three sides and lots of valuable livestock all around on neighbouring properties. I am carefull when handling firearms, and can build a good moderate backstop but **** happens, and the thought of an ammo mix up/accidental discharge/riccochet/stray round worries me. Am I being a bit paraniod?
That is the primary reason I'm interested in an air rifle/pistol.

Regards,
Josh
 
I have read that the winner of the latest Steel Challenge speed shooting competition is from Japan and since handguns are illegal there he did most of his practice with airsoft type pistols. He got here early to practice with the real pistol and ammo, but you gotta think there's something to practicing with an airsoft when he beat all the big name guys. I wonder what model airsoft he used?? I wouldn't mind setting up something in the house for low noise practice. I think the kids would love it too. Something along the lines of an old bedsheet as a backstop and about 6 plastic cups strung up in the air for targets and maybe another sheet underneath it all to catch all them bb's or plastic pellets.
 
I have a nice old Walther LP53 and using it helped me to improve scores in bullseye matches. I have many airguns and enjoy shooting chinese AK trainer air rifles, they have a folding stock, the same sights and creepy trigger like the average AK.
For action shooting, practice with a softair pistol helped my sons to improve getting into prone, kneeling position, shooting on the move etc.

It is a cost and time efficient way to improve one's shooting ability and up to a certain level can substitute the real thing very well!
 
I shoot my 9mm and .380 in the garage all the time with 'em. Use a hung blanket as a backstop.
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what? wait, just a blanket behind the target stops them??

this is something great for us city folks
 
I have read that the winner of the latest Steel Challenge speed shooting competition is from Japan and since handguns are illegal there he did most of his practice with airsoft type pistols. He got here early to practice with the real pistol and ammo, but you gotta think there's something to practicing with an airsoft when he beat all the big name guys. I wonder what model airsoft he used??
Click to expand...


Probably something like this, made by Clarence Lai:

Sc.jpg

More custom airsoft stuff here: http://www.dentrinity.com/ClarenceLai/cl.htm

Airsoft IPSC is a big deal in Japan and Hong Kong, where real guns are prohibited. http://www.airsoftipsc.org/

I've got a couple of airsoft pistols at home that I use to practice with for IDPA and USPSA. I've got a Western Arms 5" Infinity Limited (Single Stack) that matches my Kimber Custom II perfectly, fits in the holster and everything. Hell, even Bill Wilson owns a couple of Western Arms airsoft guns (info).

I love airsoft though for the force-on-force training it provides.
 
I know this is generally not considered "cool" among "firearms" guys but I think precision airguns are just as cool as firearms. I have a Beeman R7 with a Leupold scope that I will eventually get a full tune and trigger job done on.

One of the attractions for me is, I have no place close by to go shooting but I can shoot this gun out my back door all day long. Another obvious advantage is the cost of pellets being relatively dirt cheap compared to most powder cartridges.

As far as their worth as practice tools for shooting center fire guns? To a degree yes. You can practice your concentration, breathing and trigger control which are pretty much universal shooting skills but there are some distinct differences to.

For one thing, many air rifles are "hold sensitive" meaning their POI will change based one where and how you hold it and these guns generally do not do well shooting off of a rest. Another thing is the recoil pulse of an airgun is completely different than that of a firearm.

A spring driven air rifle actually recoils in the opposite direction (meaning they bounce forward due to the spring releasing). That's why when shopping for a scope for an airgun, its important to buy a scope that's rated for airgun use. Its not unusual for a scope that would last for a life time on a 30-06 can be completely ruined on a high power air rifle in as little as a few hundred pellets.

Anyway, airguns are just like firearms in one respect. You generally get what you pay for. Most of your sub $100 guns are junk and will be more frustrating than anything (one exception to that rule is the CZ made airguns). Spanish made airguns use to be considered bottom of the barrel but compared to all the Chinese junk flooding the market, the Spanish guns don't seem so bad. (I still wouldn't buy a Gamo though).
 
Dave,

I too am interested in the rounds you were talking about. How loud are they? Safe for neighborhoods in a garage? Cost? Places to buy? This could be a neat deal if they'd work out.

Oh yeah :cuss: to all of you for getting me thinking about air guns now.
 
Spanish made airguns use to be considered bottom of the barrel but compared to all the Chinese junk flooding the market, the Spanish guns don't seem so bad. (I still wouldn't buy a Gamo though).
Click to expand...

I've got a Gamo 220 that I got cheap at Big 5, and it shoots effectively at 50 yards, puts them out there at almost 1000 fps, and is heavy enough and solid enough to provide me with good position practice in the back yard. The trigger sucks, though.

Incidentally, I've got a really good X-Ray of my foot that shows a .177 caliber pellet lodged in the largest bone of my foot that's still there, courtesy of a Gamo...yeah, somebody forgot the rules, but it proves a Gamo hits HARD. :evil:
 
I am not Dave, but I own and have shot the Speer plastic bullets.
First of all, let me say that they are fairly loud. Not loud like you have to wear hearing protection, but if I lived in a city with my neighbors 10 yards away, I wouldn't shoot them in my house. They also produce quite a bit of smoke that contains lead (primer residue).
What these are is a plastic case and a plastic bullet. The bullet is seated into the case with your fingers. The bullet is shaped like a full wadcutter. The case is primed with a regular large pistol or small pistol primer. So, you need some kind of priming tool. After you shoot the bullet, you can reuse it. If you shoot the bullet into something hard, it will damage the bullet beyond being able to use it again. The rifling is also engraved into the bullet upon firing.
 
Sorry to miss all the questions. 444 gave some good data. Here are some more answers.

How loud are they? Safe for neighborhoods in a garage? Cost? Places to buy? This could be a neat deal if they'd work out.
Click to expand...

How load? Louder than caps. Not as loud as regular ammo. I use hearing protection when I shoot them.

Safe for neighborhoods in a garage? That's where I shoot mine. In the garage. I'm in a residential neighborhood.

Places to buy? Ask at any shop that carry's reloading supplies. Or buy online at Midway. I got mine at Sportsman's Warehouse.

Cost? I think under $10 per 50? 100? Anyway, 0ne box is probably close to a lifetime supply. I have re-used mine many times. That's one thing I like about the hung blanket backstop. It catches 'em and drops 'em right on the floor where you can find 'em. Needs to be a heavy blanket, though. It'll shoot through a light one. I bought my own surplus blanket, after putting a hole through one of our winter blankets. Oooopps.

What kind of accuracy do you get compared with normal ammo? How well do they feed?
Click to expand...

Accuracy is pretty good. Very close to POI for "real" ammo, at least at 15-25 feet. That's as far as I've shot 'em.

They won't cycle a semi-auto. They feed fine when you rack the slide. I mostly do draw/present/fire drills, or tap-rack-bang drills. Or some combo. Or just shoot for groups & trigger control. The drills have really improved my draw-from-concealment and get-off-first-shot-accurately skills. That's what I like best about them.

They were intended originally for revolvers. Feed fine in those! but I don't own any centerfire revolvers, so I use 'em in my 9mm and .380 carry guns.
 
I just brought home an Airsoft P226. It was less than $20 at Academy. Even though it's a single-shot spring pistol, it should give me a lot of trigger time for the fundamentals. It is magazine-fed, but the slide has to be racked for each shot chamber a pellet and cock the gun. This is not stated anywhere.
 
Primer powered rubber bullets.

Don't forget that the primers contain lead which will be sprayed into the air with every shot. You need to be very careful about keeping things ventilated properly and also have some sort of plan for removing the lead residue that will build up over time. Frankly, I wouldn't consider shooting any type of firearm inside my house or garage.

On the other hand, airguns do not put lead into the air, and with a proper pellet trap, and proper hygiene, there is absolutely no danger of contaminating the shooting area or of elevated lead exposure issues.
 
I just bought this P226 replica:

http://www.airsoft-war4.com/details.php?pid=3169

I intend to use it to practise since I am here in handgun-banned UK. Can anyone recommend an IWB holster for this?
And can anyone tell me what the real pistol's magazine capacity is (since I bought a spare magazine and might as well start getting used to a certain number of available rounds).

I am hoping that one day I will own the real P226.
 
Quick Kill shooting was taught with air rifles before progressing to ARs and Daisy adopted it as "Quick Fire".
 
I have a Crossman Beretta co2. I bought used from Scheels. Took it home and it jammed after shooting a few pellets. It has a rotary clip and jams when it is cycled. Anyhow, I took it back to Scheels for repair. Few weeks later, got it back. Still jams. Stay away from this product. Has a lousy trigger pull. In fact I understand many airguns have a less than desirable trigger pull.
 
In fact I understand many airguns have a less than desirable trigger pull.
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Many BUDGET/LOW QUALITY airguns have a less than desirable trigger pull.

Wish I could let you shoot a couple of mine...4 out of the 5 best triggers in my gunsafe are on airguns.

Anyone who enjoys shooting and hasn't had/taken the opportunity to shoot a really nice quality adult airgun is really missing out on something.
 
I still get a lot of use out of my Crosman Quest 1000 and Marksman 2004, a budget version of the Beeman P3.

My natural ability with firearms is extremely poor and there was a great amount of improvement to be seen just by spending some quality time shooting paper with that Marksman 2004 pistol indoors. I went from spraying pellets at 7 yards to getting cloverleafs. The pistol, which must pale in comparison to the P3, still has a great trigger and is more accurate than I am. Loading and cocking is a small pain but I'm still pleased with the purchase.

If I'm a poor pistol shot than my rifle shooting is worse. Not only can the rifle help with sigh aquisition and trigger control but it can be a good introduction to using a scope. At the distances I shoot the scope wasn't needed so I stick to the (very handy) fiber optic sights. The Crosman Quest has now taken dozens of blackbirds and grackles saving a few hundreds dollars worth of sour cherries for the farmer's market. A 1000 fps air rifle shooting magnum pellets can easily pierce and exit large rabbits. They would have been tasty if I hadn't overcooked them :eek:
 
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