Just ordered my first break-barrel air rifle!

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Busyhands94

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Title pretty much says it. I have been having a bit of a problem, I don't get out to the range as often as I should. I've got .22s and blackpowder guns but decided to buy a good air rifle so I can plink in my backyard and keep my skills sharp. I had really been into airguns from the time I was 7 until I was probably 16 and got my first firearm. I tried Cb ammo in my .22, that stuff is quiet and I liked it but it's expensive. I then decided to go back to airguns for my target practice as a cheaper alternative, so I bought a Crossman Quest 1000 from Pyramid air. I'm still waiting to get it in the mail, but I did buy some Crossman Destroyer pellets and erect a small berm to shoot into at the end of my yard. So I figure this will be a fun way to get my trigger time in, but before I dive in is there anything I should know about break-barrel airguns? How do I keep it running consistently shot after shot? What kind of cleaning is required? I have only owned pneumatic airguns and CO2 pistols, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

~Levi
 
Never dry fire it without a pellet in the barrel.
It can knock the seals out without the air cushon slowing down the piston at the end of the stroke.

Use only Air-Gun Oil to oil the seals occasionally.
Other oils can desal or ignite in the cylinder and harm the seals.

Crossman pellets from Wallyworld are as good as it gets for accuracy until you get into expensive match grade pellets.

rc
 
I used to have a Crosman Phantom before I sold it to buy my first .22. It's pretty much the same as the Quest. Don't dry fire it without a pellet, don't leave it cocked for long periods of time or the spring will get weak and it will lose power. I never really cleaned the barrel of mine and didn't have any problems. Crosman premier hollow points were always the most accurate. Was alot of fun to shoot in the basement and took a good number of squirrels with it too.
 
Depending on the rifle, you may also have to learn the artillery hold, to get accuracy out of it. There's a lot of info on the net about it, but my short definition (from experience) is this:

  • Hold the rifle securely but loosely in your hands. Let the rifle "vibrate" in your grip - don't pull it tight into your shoulder like a regular rifle. Seems counter-intuitive, but it lets the rifle do the work.
Cleaning a break barrel is rather simple, and rarely needed. Instruction book will have more info.

Hope that helps, and enjoy the heck out of it!
 
Thanks for all this helpful info guys! I look forward to shooting my new airgun when it gets here! I will be sure to take good care of it. How loud would this be with some Crossman destroyers compared to say, CCI .22 CB shorts? I imagine keeping the velocity down with a heavier pellet would dampen the sound of the discharge. I figure another cool thing about this is that I can get the used airgun lead from my trap and make Minnie balls with it. That's a sweet little perk! :D

I do have another question, does the rubber butt pad come off with screws? I am thinking of maybe drilling out a compartment to stick some pellets in and some small survival items, that would be pretty cool! My buddy Jamie did that with his 10/22 Ruger, I liked it a lot.

~Levi
 
I shoot the RWS Model 48. I just could not get behind moving the barrel each time I wanted to shoot. Yeah I know they are accurate but sometimes accuracy comes from a state of mind.
Pellet selection is the key to accuracy with the higher powered air rifles. You will need to try out several brands and styles to find the one that works best. I use crossman premier super match. I run a 3x9 scope on mine and without much effort keep 3" groups at 100yds. The pigeon population is down around the horse barn for some reason.
 
How Loud

I am in the same boat. I have a Storm XT, Wich is about the same gun. The first 5 to 10 shot of mine were loud. It dieseled and broke the sound barrier. Now that it has settled down I would say it is a little less noisey than just a cap in my muzzle loader. I have around 1000 shots through mine and it shoots way better than I do. The trigger is bad out of the box but there is a couple of easy fixes for it. Hope you have as much fun with yours as I have with mine.
 
6x6 is correct, pellet selection is extremely important in air guns. Each rifle/pistol has a favorite it likes to be fed. I sighted in a Quest for a guy I work with and as stated previously, the artilery hold will come in handy on this rifle, as it does have a fair amount of spring bounce. Learning to shoot air guns will make you a better overall shooter. PyramidAir-Blog is a vast pool of knowledge on airguns, just go to pyramidair.com and click on blog. Tom has been researching, shooting and writing on air guns for years! Enjoy the new addiction.
 
Well it sounds like I made the right choice in getting an airgun! I'm addicted to blackpowder, but I need to shoot with something cheap and quiet without all the boom and smoke. I am actually considering making a mold for airgun pellets, that would be cool to have just to cast a couple rounds for hunting or something like that. Maybe if I run out of pellets I'll put it to use, after all it's good to have a backup since I rarely go to wallmart. Now... Lets see if I can convince my mom to let me shoot in the house (into a pellet trap of course) when nobody is home. That would be so freakin' cool to be able to shoot in the living room. Course I'd need to put a piece of plywood up to catch any stray shots. I can't wait to get back into airgunning, this will be fun.
 
Congrats. I can't even begin to tell you how much fun I have had with my daughter, and her BB gun and pellet rifle. When ground squirrels began to invade the garden, I turned her loose. :evil: She has the pump-up style Crossman. Of course, she always wanted to use the full 10 pumps. The girl can shoot. Of course, she had to have pictures with her trophies. :cool: You are correct inexpensive and fun trigger time.

Geno
 
Lead pellets are much quieter than the high velocity alloy ones. This may matter if you have close neighbors. They are also more accurate in my Phantom. Lots of fun!
 
After every tin I run some of the lead removal cleaner (same as I use for my 22LR's when I use lead bullets in them). Dry the barrel completely. You can order pellets online pretty easy. I just went to Ebay and bought small quantities of various brands/styles until I found some that worked well.

I used to use the crossman 2100 classic (pump style). when I got my RWS I tried the wd40 in the barrel to see what all the hype was about with the dieseling effect. Let me tell you it is not hype. I think I could have touched off a .40cal pistol and made less noise. Only did it once as the wife was real unhappy.

Have fun and enjoy.
 
The pellets are hollow up the back. You won't be able to cast them like that. Just continue to buy them. They are cheap enough after all. Especially if you buy them in bulk.

The instructions with the rifle will tell you what sort of oil and how often to apply it. Don't do the typical man thing and just toss the book into a corner to be forgotten.... :D

I'm in the same boat as well for wanting something I can shoot at home. In my case doing so outdoors even with an air rifle would have folks all agog. But I've got around 15 to 17 yards of open space from front to back of the basement. So I'm thinking of small targets and a couple of air guns. Likely a break pump rifle and a break pump pistol. I don't want to get into the whole CO2 thing.
 
I just got my first break barrel pellet rifle for Xmas, a Beeman. I tried using the PBA pellets, but found out quickly that they're really too light for a springer- you can feel / hear the difference when the spring piston smacks the end of the bore. Breaks the sound barrier too & echoes down the neighborhood. As it turns out mine's been more accurate with heavier pellets, anyway.
 
I have an RWS model 34. I have tried about a dozen different pellets in it, from RWS, Crosman, and Beeman. I can tell you, with absolute certainty, that the most consistently accurate pellets are the Beeman Kodiak Match pellets. And they are also as deadly as they come. Very heavy, and the first time you shoot a pesky rodent chewing your vegetable garden and you hear the telltale "POP" they make when they hit you will never even want to try another pellet. I know I don't. And BTW, I zeroed my scope in when I bought it 3 years ago. I don't go out and shoot it regularly at targets or anything. I only use it for vermin control. In 3 years, it has not lost its zero. I hit my target first time every time. Only twice have I had to take a second shot to keep something from needless suffering. These pellets are mean. My best shot was a one shot squirrel from about 50 yards. I heard the "pop", and it ran to a tree, got about 4 feet up it, and then fell and stopped moving. Try them. Hell, I recommend them so strongly I'd be willing to snail mail you a couple dozen!
 
One other thing. Make sure you get a scope specific for airguns, and make sure all you loctite all the screws when you mount it. Otherwise you'll be wondering why your accuracy stinks, and you can't hold a zero.
 
Another pellet to try are the JSB Exact heavies, and AA fields. Both are fairly affordable, and have been excellent in my experience. I dont shoot springers well, but ANY airgun can be a real blast.
 
Just remember non airgun oils can also detroy the seals in your rifle. Springers really don't need much in the way of cleaning after the initial cleanup. If I remember correctly, most air shooters, including competition shooters, clean their bores seldom to none at all. Airgun rifling is very fine and can be damaged easily. CO2 guns do form moisture in the barrels and running a couple cleaning patches through to dry the barrel is a good idea after each shooting session.
Yes, indoor (livingroom) ranges are a big advantage to airgunners. My livingroom and hallway provide a 10 meter range for practice. And pure lead pellets saved from your pelet traps can be a great source of lead for round balls for your muzzleloaders! My daughter's first deer with a flintlock smoothbore was taken with a round ball she molded from our spent pellets.
 
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Well I am definitely going to try some different pellets until I find the one that gives me cloverleaf groups! I have been thinking about getting one of those Gamo pellet samplers? I don't think I've ever shot Gamo before. I have shot RWS, those were pretty good but kinda expensive. I shot them in my Crossman 38T, it's a .22 caliber CO2 pellet revolver. It actually gave decent groups, given I do my part and don't drink too much coffee beforehand. Daisy pellets were pretty good, Crossmans were fabulous. Sadly I don't have that nice little gun anymore, I gave it to a friend who had a HUGE rat problem. Course, having an airgun was great because I could shoot in my shop. No smoke, relatively quiet compared to .22 CB's from a pistol barrel, a tackdriver, and I could shoot outside the shop if I wanted to as well. It's like a firearm minus all the inconveniences that keep you from shooting regularly! :)

~Levi
 
Springer airguns destroy scopes, even scopes that can handle powerful rifles. The recoil is different. So if you scope yours, get one that's made for high-power air guns. (or a Leupold, supposedly they'll take the punishment)
 
I do have an airgun scope my fishin' buddy gave me, not too powerful though. I was going to try it on my .22, but I don't have the stuff to mount it with. I might try putting it on my airgun for longer range shooting, that might be fun! Although I have the eyes of a hawk, I shoot irons at 100+ yards at water jugs and hit a good number of times.

Now I might go hunting with it on my neighbor's land since it's quiet enough and sound won't carry as far as a .22 rifle. I want to try those Kodiak pellets, I'm also thinking about getting some Rabbit Magnums to try. Those are heavy and shaped like little bullets, I have also found in my 760 air rifle (I used to hunt with it) that Crow Magnums are definitely great pellets. They kill pretty cleanly, I like that because I NEVER want to make an animal suffer. What I want is to pull the trigger and have my kill drop like a stone, that's ethical and what God would want us hunters to do.

~Levi
 
I've been using a Tasco world class on my RWS for years. No problems.

Also regarding the cleaning. I clean the bore after a tin of pellets. Approx 250. I use a Q-tip soaked in CLP and push through w/ a steel rod. This is typically what they look like when it needs cleaning.

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