A rifle you'll shoot every day - Rifle Man

Guns Magazine, August, 2002 by Dave Anderson

Dry firing is an effective way to learn rifle shooting skills. It is also boring. Shooting should be fun. That means hitting a target and watching it go spinning away, or putting a string of shots in the center of a bullseye. If we wanted to be bored we might as well stay at work.

Conventional wisdom is to obtain a .22 rimfire. A .22 rifle doesn't make much noise, doesn't recoil, and it's accurate and cheap to shoot. But this still leaves the problem of a place to shoot. Forty years ago my pals and I could take our .22s and walk a half-mile from the little town where we went to school and shoot all we wanted. Sadly, those days are past. The pastures we hunted are golf courses, Mayberry is a suburb of Metropolis, and Opie has grown up and moved to California.

For most people, finding a place to shoot a .22 is about as difficult and time-consuming as finding a place to shoot a 7mm magnum. But we still can shoot every day, without travelling and without much expense. We can practice different shooting positions, and develop the skills to hold steadily and release the trigger smoothly. We can accomplish this with some of the most advanced and accurate rifles ever made. In terms of accuracy and shootability, modern air rifles shoot rings around most firearms.

Types of airguns

Pump-up pneumatics: these have an air reservoir in which air is compressed by repeated strokes of a pump handle. An advantage of this type is that the power level can easily be varied; 3 to 4 pumps for target shooting, 10 or more for hunting. Repeat shots are relatively slow, and operating the pump handle does get old in a hurry.

C[O.sub.2] powered: Actions powered by compact 12 gram C[O.sub.2] cartridges are especially suited to pistols, as they allow a compact action size and permit repeating, even semiautomatic, action. Some rifles also use C[O.sub.2]. Accuracy fanatics have discovered point of impact can change with temperature. Another disadvantage is that cost per shot is higher.

Pre-charged pneumatics: These are similar in concept to pump-up pneumatics, but the compressed air is held in large (usually detachable) air bottles filled from a powerful air compressor or scuba tank. The bottles hold enough air for 200 to 300 shots, enabling repeating action.

The technological development and resulting accuracy of PCP rifles has been astounding. Top-of-the-line match rifles from firms such as Anschutz, Feinwerkbau and Hammerli may be the most advanced and accurate rifles ever available. Disadvantages of PCP rifles are its cost, which can easily run over $2,000, plus the need for a charging system or scuba tank.

Spring piston: This type utilizes a powerful spring compressed by breaking the barrel, or by a side lever. When released, the spring drives a tight-fitting piston that pushes a column of air, driving the pellet. Advantages are simplicity, durability, excellent performance (both power and accuracy) for the money, and fairly quick reloading.

The peculiar two-way recoil generated by the spring is tough on scopes and mounts. Though very accurate when consistently held, spring piston models can shoot to different points of impact from different positions.

Magnum Mania

"Smashing power!"

"Blazing speed!"

"Shatters the 1,000 fps barrier!"

So read the ads for today's airguns. The same power craze that has hunters using .30 caliber magnums to hunt scrawny 100-pound whitetails has infected the airgun scene.

If you want an airgun that is fun to shoot -- and one you'll actually use a lot -- you don't need the super powered, 1,000 fps-plus models. These cost more, make more noise, recoil more, tear up scopes and mounts faster, are harder to cock and less pleasant to shoot, require more maintenance, and are generally less accurate.

The air rifle I use most is a simple barrel-cocking spring piston model in .177 caliber with a velocity of around 650 fps (depending on pellet weight). It's quiet for indoor shooting and has enough power to thin out the sparrows in my barn and machine sheds without damaging buildings or machinery. It is currently fitted with a red-dot optical sight. The light weight of this sight seems to make it less susceptible to impact shifts from recoil, and it's easy to aim in dimly lit buildings.

For eliminating larger pests or hunting small game, the powerful airguns come into their own. Many enthusiasts feel .20 caliber is the ideal balance of bore size, pellet weight, and velocity. For such hunting I like a .22 caliber. The 12 to 15 grain pellets at 800 to 900 fps have plenty of power for gophers in the garden, or magpies and crows -- but with a much more compressed danger zone than a .22 rimfire.

High power models have their place, but I consider them special purpose rifles. My inexpensive, moderately powered .177 is the one that gets the most use. If you are not currently using a quality air rifle, give it a try. You'll get in more shooting, have more fun, and make yourself into a better rifleman.