An overlooked survival tool

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youngda9 said:
Things be pretty bad if you're relying on a red ryder as a survival tool...haha.
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I sold a gun online to this guy from Texas not too long ago. He as a hell of a nice guy and we got to BS'ing while were on the phone exchanging our info. He told me that during the Depression his grandfather and uncles kept the family fed using home made sling shots. They killed a lot of birds to provide the needed protein.
A red-ryder is an upgrade from a strip of inner tube and a forked stick IMO.
 
I am biased for a reason towards 22 though, for "survival" I used to buy all kinds of pellet/ bb guns when I was younger. single pumps, multi pumps. Even cheap spring pistols (like airsoft, that shot bb's) and over time, the seals would always break, and the gun would lose power over time.
What I don't want when I am hunting is power loss, and no backup.
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Ohh, don't take my post the wrong way. I wasn't in any way saying that the .177 caliber air rifle is a better survival tool than a .22. The 22 LR is a great survival tool. You can move up to deer, and even people with that one. Ammo is indeed fairly cheap, and easy to store in bulk, and they last forever. It's a great round for survival. No argument there.

But. It's a little overpowered for some of the smaller things I was talking about. It really doesn't take much to kill birds, squirrels, or rabbits. It seems like a waste, to me, to use 22 rounds on these. You know the right tool for the right job saying, right ?

I'm not saying an air rifle should replace your other firearms, it make perfect sense to have both, and as you said, over time the seals might leak, or it could get damaged in other ways. Just like your .22 sight might fall off, or have a dozen other things go wrong with it. It's good to have multiple options, and different tools based on different situation.

The air rifle really only gets expensive if you go after the high FPS and very over-built rifles. A simple 40 dollar Crossman, 750 FPS, no scope, should last for a very very long time. You need a scope, Tasco make some cheap scopes for these. As for ammo. 20 dollars worth in BB's should last a person a lifetime. Even if you do a lot of shooting for practice/fun.
 
I've spent about $300 on .177 pellets in the last 3 years... Thru a break barrel... It's still going strong, down maybe 10% on power from when new, but oh-so-smooth shooting now...

I expect another 3-4k rounds before spring and seal are updated... Simple enough.

If a person takes the time to understand the care, feeding and service of an air rifle, it can be every bit as reliable and long lived as a firearm... They're simple beasts, and the better ones are exceedingly well made.

J
 
Yeah, I regret throwing away my single **** crosman pistol when it broke.

There are even custom airgun smiths for some of those, hahaha


EDIT:

Why is shot censored?


shot shot shot.


guess I had a typo
 
DammitBoy said

"I've seen claims in advertising for these modern air rifles that you can take deer and wild boar with them. I'd be interested to know if anybody here has any experience hunting medium sized game with any kind of air rifle. Wouldn't a suppressed .22 rifle achieve the same goal?
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Hope you don't mean Gamo. In my opinion they have the most irresponsible advertising in the business. IMO their shots on hogs with .22 springers look staged. I wonder if those hogs actually died from the shot, and how many hogs they had to shoot with that springer to get footage of one that appeared to die from the shot.

Haven't taken any deer with my tuned Sam Yang .454 (yet), but I have taken nutria, an exotic ram, a wild boar, and coyote with it so far. Hoping to get a bobcat before this fur season is over.

My friends that have killed deer with theirs say the deer run about 20-40 yards, tip over, and die from a broadside double lung shot.

My 909 has been power-tuned, and get 4 shots between 693, and 699fps, with a fifth shot about 25fps slower when shooting 240grain slugs (about 260fpe), and shoots under 1 inch c-to-c at 50yards off of my steady stix. That easily equals four dead deer off of one airfill. Roundball, and 154grain EPP/UG's go 860fps.

Personally, I feel FPE matters little as far as killing power is concerned until you get more towards 1000fpe. As long as the slug is heavy enough, and going fast enough to completely penetrate the animal, that is going to do the job with a well-placed shot to the heart/lungs. They will run a bit, but just a bit.

The Sam Yang 909S can be tuned to put out 350-370+fpe, but will give you two power shots, with a finisher or two at that power level.

You can cast a roundball using a mold, and whatever pure lead you can get over a campfire like they did in the old west, and refill the reservoir on the gun with a special handpump.

If you want to see a state-of-the-art bigbore airgun that puts out between 575fpe (with the regular valve) and 700+fpe (with the hi-power valve), check out the .452 Gargoyle.

Click the first link for a slideshow. The second link is my buddy showing a coconut who's boss with his power-tuned Sam Yang 909 shooting a 205grain slug. I don't think a .45ACP would blow it up any better than that.

http://s181.photobucket.com/albums/x65/butcher45/?action=view&current=c184e37f.pbw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VYjW-577ls
 
I like air rifles, they're fun and cheap (to a degree).

In a true survival situation I can't see myself relying on an air rifle though. Perhaps having one doesn't hurt if you're going to be in a fixed position long term, like say your house. However, if you're traveling cross country on foot an air rifle is just extra weight for, lets face it, very limited capability. That weight would be better spent with a real rifle, even a .22LR or .22Mag is leaps and bounds more capable.
 
I can't really afford it, but I really want one of those Airforce guns, and I am not afraid to admit that it is because they look so cool.
 
I have an RWS model 48. Pretty stout gun. I shot a blackbird with it earlier today. No scope, open sights.

It is, at the same time, both the least powerful, and the heaviest gun I own.

If I were living in a cabin in the woods (and OH, how I wish I was), it would be fine, but if I'm living out of a backpack.....I'd rather have a .22 pistol. I can shoot my old .22 Masterpiece better than a rifle.
 
I shot a blackbird with it earlier today.
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While I'm not going to argue the morals of shooting some poor bird for the fun of it, I am going to tell you that some "blackbird"s are federally protected species.

yeah.
 
Indeed, the only birds legal to shoot all year round in North America are the House Sparrow (English Sparrow) and the Starling. Often Crow as well, but the great bulk of birds are either protected under the Migratory Birds Act or have specific licensed game seasons...

Be careful!

J
 
Starlings are black. Nasty, tearing up your house, crappin' all over everything....

I've shot them here inside the store with a Red Ryder BB gun...though it's pretty much dumb luck to actually hit one....you can watch the BB come out the barrel...sometimes it goes straight, sometimes it goes left, sometimes it goes right... It will sure kill one, though if it hits him.

They burrow themselves inside through the insulation and set off the alarms at night.
 
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I know someone who tried to use a .177 for pest control, traumatized as he was that multiple shots from his Gammo had no effect on the 1/2 dead critters that got half burnt in his chimney and needed to be put down.

FAIL. Raccoons are tougher that that, get a .22 for survival.
 
Noone should suggest that a small bore air rifle is adequate for 'coon. We're talking hare and smaller. They are perfectly adequate for that.

J
 
Yeah, I don't think I'd shoot a raccoon with a pellet gun unless I wanted 10 pounds of furry fury giving me grief.
 
Well, they're good for this....

rabbit.jpg

These are way more common 'round here than 'coon, and tastier too.

J
 
Well that's nice, but I'm really concerned when some think a .177 is an "overlooked survival tool"...


"Rabbit starvation, also referred to as protein poisoning, is a form of acute malnutrition caused by excess consumption of any lean meat (e.g., rabbit) coupled with a lack of other sources of nutrients usually in combination with other stressors, such as severe cold or dry environment. Symptoms include diarrhea, headache, fatigue, low blood pressure and heart rate, and a vague discomfort and hunger that can only be satisfied by consumption of fat or carbohydrates."


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_starvation

.22's are as cheap OR cheaper than good quality .177 rifles. Ammo is not too expensive, so why the .177???

In many states and municipalities air rifles are like any other gun except in not needing the services of an FFL .

Meager advantage for poor ability compared to a .22
 
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