Ernie Bass
member
Facing he inevitable, I am now on the hunt for a good PCP capable of taking down deer. Looking at a number of them. Ammo is cheap. I like to shoot and shoot often.
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Wrong forum.
I deleted my xbow post, lol
Ammo is cheap, but a deer capable air rifle isn’t. Nor are they silent.
Quieter than a conventional firearm, but noisy enough that there’s no mistaking what you just heard.
As a career game warden I had more than a few episodes of dealing with individuals using air guns to poach small game. Until recently it wasn’t even legal to take game species with an air gun as they weren’t listed as a permissible means for taking “game” species. However not prohibited for non-game species.
My experience with low end air guns is that cheap isn’t really, as cheap isn’t good, and don’t hold up or provide expected results.
A .30-32cal air rifle (PCP) provides power roughly equivalent to a .32acp from a 3-3/4” barrel. Not exactly amazing power.
However, a low end power-wise bow and arrow yields amazing penetration.
Of course skill is an aquired asset. Earned, not purchased. Practice, practice, practice...
I’ve never owned or shot a PCP gun. Side and barrel springers don’t seem to age well. Single stroke pneumatics lack power.
I vote for bow and arrow. Arrows are expensive, but reusable indefinitely if cared for.
I had a dozen target arrows (aluminum) that I purchased in high school that lasted decades.
The very best “silenced” .177-.22cal air rifles produce 88-90db or equivalent to an Arrow light duty stapler on hardwood. Hardly “silent”.
Naw, I don’t know much about air guns.
I just own 6.
We tried to get the big bore air guns legal to use here in ny for deer, but they enjoy taking are rights away more.
I've never gotten into air guns much but always had one around and love shooting them. For some reason most don't like for appreciate air guns, or do most know how long they have been used. I believe most think they were invented in the middle 20th century.They have been trying to take Away Air guns for years. They get worst every day. That said, ammo is getting harder and harder to come by. Air Rifles are improving all the time. From Small calibers up to the Big Bore. As I mentioned in my original post, I will be looking for the right rifle, fill options etc. It will take awhile as some of the really nice rigs cost a bundle. Just like a lot of things, big upfront cost, but pays back slowly over time.
Not according to [email protected] decibel rankings
According to the international journal of audiologists a suppressor on an airgun only reduces dB levels between 2.7db @350-500fps to 5.6db at 1,100fps. (Article: Are Airguns safe for indoor shooting). They recommend ear protection for guns exceeding 600fps...
So, 88-2.7 = 85.3. Not exactly a whisper unless you’re profoundly deaf.
Again, about like a stapler on hardwood.
You could get a suppressed, full auto 45 or 50 cal air gun mauled to your front door (in most states).
I inherited my dads 25 cal gamo spring gun it's definitely louder than a 22CB out of a long gun or suppressed 22LR subsonic.
Ballisticly it's almost as powerful as a 22LR subsonic. Shoots a little bit bigger and heavier projectile a few hundred FPS shy of a 22LR subsonic.
Yeah.748,
Are you sure those 25cal pellets are heavier than a .22?
... also get to reuse your “ammo”.
Last time I was at the range there was a guy who had just bought a really nice air rifle. It was a big bore, and he was really snobby about it and how he could do anything with it that I could do with my AR that I was sighting in. Standing behind him I could see the bullets flight, and although impressive as an engineering accomplishment, it was not impressive on performance. He got good at smacking a gong at about 100 yards but literally everything I hit the gong with was louder which I take to mean more powerful. Seems to me that the best quiet and easy technology right now is either high end crossbows where range is limited or integrally suppressed muzzleloaders which seem to be a weird contraption intended solely for the purpose of avoiding NFA laws (and expensive). It’s great that technology is advancing in a small part of the shooting hobby, but from what I have seen, read, and heard the technology is not quite ready for mainstream hunting until there is at least one more major power upgrade through some sort of technological advancement.
If you can find it.