Peep Sight for Squirrels & RWS 54 Instead of Scope?

[Swifty Morgan]

I have taken up squirrel hunting, and the best place on my property is close to some smaller lots. I don't know the people who live there. It's conceivable that they're hysterical retirees from Hillary country, who will wet their Depends and start shrieking if they see someone hunting. I decided to get an air rifle so I could shoot right under their noses without their knowing it. I bought an RWS 54. It will arrive Friday.

I looked into scoping it, and it appears you have to spend a lot, because this particular gun is very hard on scopes. I would have to put around $400 into a scope in order to get something that will take the pounding. I'm not sure I need one, though.

I am considering putting a peep sight on the gun. It's very unlikely that I'll ever have to shoot farther than 100 feet, and I don't know if I want to blow $400 to see that far.

Wondering if anyone can advise me here. Do I really need a scope for squirrels with this gun?

 

[JohnKSa]

I decided to get an air rifle so I could shoot right under their noses without their knowing it. I bought an RWS 54.

You won't be shooting right under anyone's nose with that air rifle unless they're stone deaf. It's not as loud as a firearm, but it still makes a lot of noise.

I am considering putting a peep sight on the gun.

I've done a lot of airgun shooting using peep sights. Some folks have trouble getting used to them, but they always worked well for me. I find them more accurate and faster than open sights.

I think you can get the accuracy you need to take squirrels at 30 - 40 yards with peep sights assuming you do your part.

 

[Kookla]

I had a RWS 48 in .177 several years ago- like John mentions above, it wasn't quiet. Not what I'd call a backyard friendly gun. I do have peep sights on a Benjamin 392 that I really enjoy. I've used that on squirrels out to 20 - 25 yards when I use to hunt.

 

[Slamfire]

Scope it. You can pick up the squirrel against the tree much better. This cheap Russian air rifle scope is holding up, more important is the mount. Notice how many screws hold it to the rifle, that is not a mistake, these air rifles will slide scopes and bases in ways that a centerfire rifle won't.



Buy a selection of pellets and test different configurations and brands. It makes a huge difference. I got all frustrated after having the chest of a squirrel perfectly framed in the scope, with a solid rest, and missed!. I tested the pellets I was using, and all the different pellets I had, and these air guns are just as sensitive to pellet type as center fire rifles are to bullet type. The best pellets in my RWS54 are not the best pellets in my M460.

I don't recommend this magnum M460 in heavily populated neighborhoods. It is just as loud as a 22lr.

 

[Sav .250]

All air rifles are not as quiet as a mouse.

 

[Swifty Morgan]

How does an RWS 54 compare to a 16 gauge shotgun?

 

[HankC]

How does an RWS 54 compare to a 16 gauge shotgun?

Springer double recoil is the problem. You want to use an heavy duty airgun scope on springer.

 

[JohnKSa]

How does an RWS 54 compare to a 16 gauge shotgun?

It's going to be much quieter than any shotgun or centerfire rifle. A long barrel .22LR with the right ammo would probably be more quiet than the 54--maybe a lot more quiet.

 

[Kookla]

Pyramyd Air has a video review of the Diana 54, at the end there's a measurement of it's db's. I think it measured out at 101 to 102dbs.

 

[a_canadian]

Leapers makes several scopes rated for airgun use, and they're decent optically considering the very low price tag. A Bugbuster 6x32 goes for between $80 and $130 depending on source.

 

[Swifty Morgan]

I decided to look some things up. I saw that someone had measured the loudness of a .22 LR at 140 dB, which, given that the decibel scale is logarithmic, is WAY louder than the ~102 dB attributed to the RWS 54.

I also read that CCI quiet .22 ammo comes in at 68 dB, but you're still shooting a 40-grain round which is more of a problem than an 18-grain pellet if it leaves your property.

Seems like nothing is ever simple.

 

[a_canadian]

Those numbers are all over the map, seemingly from profoundly different sources using widely divergent metering devices. The .22lr measure of 140dB is a bit low if using milspec equipment and standards for location and distance of the mic relative to the muzzle. Typically subsonic .22lr meters closer to 150dB. CCI Quiet will vary a lot depending on barrel length, but is well over 100dB from a rifle. There are of course many who say 'the sound of the bullet hitting the target is louder than the report' with that round, but the guys saying this are typically folks who have shot without hearing protection for years and are used to shotgun levels of noise. 68dB is the sort of number given by an iPhone decibel meter app, which samples at far too slow a rate and with too weak sensitivity to detect most of the peak noise level. I've seen an extremely quiet airgun (my wife couldn't hear me firing, at all, from the next room with the door open) meter at ~82dB using an app on an Android phone which had an exceptionally high quality microphone by reputation, still nowhere near the actual dB emitted by the gun which is probably closer to 105dB. Remember, a pop can being opened meters (with $5,000+ equipment, properly calibrated and positioned, as reported by Liberty Suppressors) at around 110.5dB, a normal car door closing at around 103dB.

A spring piston airgun is going to be heard by anyone within 100 yards if it's shooting about 500fps, provided they are not hearing impaired. It won't be loud at that low power level, but it'll be audible. At 700fps most will be heard within 200 yards. At 900fps people 300 yards away will have no trouble hearing it.

 

[Kookla]

I decided to look some things up. I saw that someone had measured the loudness of a .22 LR at 140 dB, which, given that the decibel scale is logarithmic, is WAY louder than the ~102 dB attributed to the RWS 54.

I also read that CCI quiet .22 ammo comes in at 68 dB, but you're still shooting a 40-grain round which is more of a problem than an 18-grain pellet if it leaves your property.

Seems like nothing is ever simple.

You said it should be arriving today, so hopefully you'll get it. If you are able to launch a few pellets, it'll give you a good idea of what the sound level is.

As an aside- I've read many good things about the accuracy of the Diana 54 and that it has been successfully used in field target. My own opinion would be that while you might not need a scope for squirrel hunting, maybe it'd be worthwhile to get one down the road for target shooting.

 

[Swifty Morgan]

I just fired it for the same time. I was thinking about returning it unfired and trying Remington CBee .22 subsonics, but it looks like they aren't available anywhere. There are some other brands of CB ammunition that don't look as good on paper.

I shot a few dozen rounds. If someone on a neighboring property sees me shooting it, they'll know what the sound is, but if they're sitting on the porch looking the other way, they won't realize the sound has anything to do with shooting. No one is going to look up from their copy of Mother Jones or Victimhood & Entitlement Monthly and shriek, "Edith! Someone near us owns a firearm!" That's good enough.

The accuracy seems fine, although the front sight is the size of a house. I am shooting into an area the size of a silver dollar at a distance which I guessed to be squirrel distance. Around 25 yards. The front sight would completely cover a squirrel's body. I should make an effort to adopt a proper sight picture so the huge front post won't be such a problem. A peep sight would be nice, however.

The trigger is fantastic. All triggers should be like this.

The gun is really heavy, and it has no strap lugs. Guess I'll have to live with the weight.

 

[maxxhavoc]

Well, the RWS is a nice air rifle. I would hang onto it.

I would say for your stated purpose, that I would call Mike at Flying Dragon and get one of these:
http://flyingdragonairrifles.org/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=55

It is a C02 gun (dual cylinder) that is quieter and will take whatever scope you slap onto it. Mike will set it up for you at your desired FPS. It probably won't shoot as straight as the RWS once you get used to shooting a springer, but it doesn't have reverse recoil, you don't need to use an artillery hold, it is quieter to shoot than my magnums, and the trigger isn't bad (at least on mine.) I have one in .22, and like it a lot.

Whether you go this direction or not, get some JSB Jumbo Heavies to try. They are the most accurate pellets in all my rifles. I wasted a lot of pellets figuring this out.

 

[Swifty Morgan]

Thanks for the tip on the pellets. I think that's what I'm using. The weight is 18.something grains. I ordered them because other people recommended JSB.

What is an "artillery hold"?

 

[Swifty Morgan]

Okay, I found a video about the artillery hold. Thanks for alerting me to its existence.

 

[maxxhavoc]

What is an "artillery hold"?

Wow. If you are shooting silver-dollar sized groups at 25 yards with a new rifle using a standard rifle hold....well, many squirrels will die.

Get some Daisy or Crosman crappy pellets. Shoot 250-500 of them and your groups will probably drop by 15-25% after the break-in. Artillery hold pretty much halves my group sizes vs a standard powder-burning rifle hold. You probably have a real winner in that RWS. And your aim ain't bad either.

 

[JohnKSa]

I also read that CCI quiet .22 ammo comes in at 68 dB, but you're still shooting a 40-grain round which is more of a problem than an 18-grain pellet if it leaves your property.

I was thinking about CCI Quiet .22, but I think that a .22Short out of a long barreled rifle might also be very quiet.

I certainly agree that shooting a .22 rifle, regardless of the type of ammunition, is more dangerous than shooting a conventional air rifle with conventional pellets. I wouldn't recommend using a .22 rifle instead of the airgun, I was just commenting about the noise level issue.

Sounds like you're getting good accuracy already. If you try a variety of pellets, you may be able to improve that significantly.

Because the RWS 54 has a recoil compensation design, it shouldn't be nearly as hold sensitive as a typical spring-piston airgun. You should be able to hold it like you would a normal rifle and should get good results shooting from a rest as long as you use a soft/padded rest.

 

[Swifty Morgan]

"You probably have a real winner in that RWS. And your aim ain't bad either."

Well, thanks. I think the gun can do considerably better. I taught myself to shoot when I was a kid, and I haven't bothered correcting my sight picture for rifles. I shoot with scopes, so I have been very lazy about iron sights.

I zeroed the sights today and forgot to change the sight picture. As it is, the squirrel or whatever is in the middle of the front post instead of on the top of it, so I can't actually see the point of impact. I need to change that tomorrow. Some of my shots today were just about on top of each other, so I think the gun will do very well when I can see where I'm aiming.

I Googled around, and I read that the weird recoil system on the RWS 54 makes the artillery hold unnecessary. I don't know if it's true.

 

[JohnKSa]

...the weird recoil system on the RWS 54 makes the artillery hold unnecessary...

I agree.

 

[Swifty Morgan]

How often do I have to clean this thing? Will a Boresnake do it?

 

[a_canadian]

If your groups start opening up then clean a little. A snake or a couple of patches are fine. But a lot of target shooters never clean their airgun barrels. Depends on how clean are your pellets I suppose. I clean rarely, maybe every couple of thousand shots, and use only JSB pellets.

 

[JohnKSa]

How often do I have to clean this thing?

Only if you want to. I suppose once in a great while you might want to run a patch through your bore. There's actually nothing that says you have to clean it at all. If you do, be careful about what kind of cleaning products you use, airgun seals don't get along well with some kinds of cleaners.

If the accuracy falls off suddenly, I would check for loose screws before I tried cleaning the bore.

 

[maxxhavoc]

Because the RWS 54 has a recoil compensation design, it shouldn't be nearly as hold sensitive as a typical spring-piston airgun. You should be able to hold it like you would a normal rifle and should get good results shooting from a rest as long as you use a soft/padded rest.

Nice. You learn something new every day.