The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: Dirty Bob on August 31, 2020, 09:41:11 PM
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I'm new to airguns, and I'm looking for a spring-piston .22 air rifle, for low-cost shooting, available ammo(!) and quiet small game harvesting. I'm looking for 800 to 1000 fps with LEAD pellets. I am not interested in the gas piston rifles, because of concerns about long-term use without having to ship it back to the manufacturer.
Is there one under $300 that will give long-term service? I've been looking at some of the Hatsan rifles, like the 125 and the 95.
Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Dirty Bob
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I am not familiar with the Hatsan rifles. I know many friends that have gone the Gamo path. They are sold virtually everywhere. Most come with a supressor, and in the 1,300 - 1,500 fps range. I have shot many air rifles in the 600 - 700 range, and while meeting the rules for competitions, they do not make good squirrel or rabbit guns.
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I first got a Beeman R7 (.177) back in the day when Beeman was all the rage, credited as the father of modern air gunning.
Time's past, airguns have gone way beyond Mr Bob. PCPs are the rage. I tend to prefer springers as they are always ready. No CO2, no tank to fill. I would like to experiment with PCPs but that would cost me 2k+ rounds of ammo which is where I'd rather spend my money right now.
I wanted more power and larger caliber so went to a Weihrach HW77 in .22. Not cheap but, for a springer, very accurate with bunny stopping power.
A neighbor wanted to borrow my air gun to deal with cute brown rats. I hesitated to lone my good ones out, so I bought an inexpensive Crosman Titan Nitro in .22 to loan out. From a practical standpoint its lighter and gets the job done just as well as the HW77. We don't have many cute brown rates anymore since the feral cats next door are excellent hunters, but when we do I tend to grab the Crosman over the Weihrach.
There so many Asian imports now and some get good reports. I'd read up on the airgun forums to see what their takes are on them.
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Hey Alf, here's a PCP for you.
A little worse for wear, but so are you. ;D
https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/80/1311/rare-mortimer-son-girandoni-system-air-rifle
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The last time I had Meriweather and Bill over they were talking about how much PCP has advanced. They said if they had to do it over they'd probably chose an Air Force Texan .457.
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;D
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I have 2. One is a Sheridan, "Blue Streak" with a nice Walnut stock. And the other is a Chinese AK-47 type, that was given to me by a friend who has since passed away. Both are 5 MM (.177). They are both single shots. The Chi-Com is all steel, and actually weighs as much as any of my 7.62 X 39 AK's do. It cocks by breaking it open.
The Sheridan is a pump up. It can take up to 8 pumps, which will drive pointed pellets damn near through a 2 X 4. I keep them in good shape, but seldom shoot them anymore.
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.177 caliber is 4.5mm. 5mm is .20 caliber. That's what a lot of old Sheridans were and not many other airguns for a long time AFAIK. Instead of making a .177 and a .22 and offering people a choice they just split the difference and made one caliber. I almost bought a nitro spring air rifle recently but got screwed out of a deal.
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I'm new to airguns, and I'm looking for a spring-piston .22 air rifle,<snip>.
So Bob, what did you end up getting?
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I chickened out. I got a good deal on some ammo and spent my airgun money on it. Now I'm between side gigs, so $ is a bit short. I'm going to have to wait a bit.
OTOH, I'm not sorry that I jumped on the ammo deal, though the price and availability of pellets is what has me (still) wanting an airgun.
I'll be referring back to this thread when money is coming in again.
Thanks,
Dirty Bob
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I'd still rather have a nitro piston than a spring piston.
How can nitro piston technology make your gun sport more exciting?
By Sean Campbell
Last Updated on July 29, 2020
Edited by Big Frank
In the air gun market today, there are many air rifles made with nitro piston technology, even the best selling lists on gun retailer’s sites have a bunch of nitro piston air guns at the top such as the Crosman Nitro Venom, Benjamin Trail XL 1500, Nitro Venom Dusk, Crosman Vantage and so on. In this post, we will take an in-depth look at the nitro piston air gun so you will know whether you need one, whether one is right for you, and whether you should buy one at all.
When did nitro piston guns come to the market?
The very first air gun made with nitro piston technology was the Nitro Piston Short Stroke (NPSS). It was introduced publicly for the first time in the summer of 2009 by Crosman Corporation. Crosman had this technology licensed under the name Crosman Nitro Piston and used it for gun manufacturing in the wide range of air rifles.
How does it work?
A nitro piston air gun is a spring gun without the spring. Instead of using a coiled spring as the power plant, it uses a nitrogen-filled cylinder. The nitrogen in this cylinder is already kept under pressure and you put more pressure on it when you cock the gun. The air is held under tension until you pull the trigger. When that happens, the pressurized air expands and propels the piston forward. The piston, in turn, comes abruptly at the air transfer port. The compressed air has nowhere to go but behind the pellet as the chamber is sealed completely. As a result, the pellet is pushed out of the barrel due to the driving force of the compressed air.
Advantages of nitro piston air gun
Nitro piston guns do have plenty of advantages in comparison with spring air guns. Here they are:
First, a nitro piston air gun is lighter than a spring air gun. This is a real advantage for the guys in the field all day who carry their guns around.
Second, the nitro piston produces much less recoil than the traditional spring gun. When you shoot a spring air gun, the spring extends, causes strong vibration to the barrel in all directions, and generates lots of recoil. With a nitro piston gun, the nitro piston extends smoothly and has less effect on the barrel so it has much less recoil. The minimal recoil of a nitro piston gun gives us several benefits. First, since the recoil is inconsiderable, a nitro piston gun requires less practice to hold the gun properly. Second, because of very little recoil, most shooters (even the average skilled shooters) can shoot accurately with minimum effort. Third, with the spring gun, if you don’t hold your hands the same place every time you shoot, a quarter of an inch in difference of hand position can mean a half of an inch in difference in Point of Impact (the point the pellet hits the target). However, since there’s less recoil, when you are in the field and have your gun on a bipod or other shooting rests (rock, tree, etc), there is virtually no effect on POI EVEN if your hand positions change over the shot cycle.
Third, a nitro piston gun fires 55% faster than a coiled spring gun and 15% faster than a simple gas piston. It means that a nitro piston has a faster lock time (the time the pellet remains in the barrel until it is discharged) and a faster lock time means better accuracy.
Fourth, a nitro piston is not affected by weather. With a spring gun, the main coiled spring is lubricated with grease. When the weather gets cold, springs get harder and tougher. So it slows down the gun and makes it hard to cock. With a nitro piston, the nitro cylinder is lubricated with high-tech lubrication so it operates almost the same regardless of outside temperature.
Fifth, a nitro piston can be left cocked for days. With a springer, if you left the gun cocked for a long time, the spring would lose its strength which leads to a reduction in the gun’s power and accuracy. But with a nitro piston, you can leave it cocked for as long as you like. Nothing wears out. And a little thing to note that even though you can leave the gun cocked, you still have to shoot, cock and de-cock the gun every few months to prevent the seal from getting bonded with the bore.
Sixth, since it doesn’t have spring torque like a spring air gun, a nitro piston gun is very easy to cock with only 28 lb of required cocking effort.
Seventh, a nitro piston produces 70% less noise over the shot cycle than a coiled spring gun. This type of air gun is absolutely quiet and is great for field hunting where stealth is needed.
Eighth, a nitro piston is more long-lasting than a spring air gun. The general rule is do not get spring compression over 50% to remain its reliability. But in the air gun world, it is not uncommon to make the compression up to 100% to maximize performance. This weakens the spring and shortens its life-span. However, with a nitro piston, it doesn’t care about compression. Nothing here affects its life. That’s why the life-cycle of an average spring gun is only 5,000 shots while the nitro piston can easily get 10,000 shots before it loses power.
Disadvantages of a nitro piston
Although the nitro piston has lots of advantages, it does have some disadvantages. First, if the spring of a spring air gun is damaged or defective, it still works to produce some velocity. If the gas ram fails, it doesn’t work at all. But if the gas ram does fail, it will fail in the first few weeks after you buy it so you can return it anytime you want. Second, it’s hard to find a replacement nitro ram if you want to service and modify this type of air gun. There’s no way you can purchase an after market nitrogen strut. However, these disadvantages are really minor.
Conclusion
Understanding exactly what nitro piston technology is, its pros and cons gives you more information and confidence in the search for the best air rifle that fits you most. If you want to enjoy smoother cocking, quietness, less recoil, high accuracy, less maintenance for the gun then a nitro piston gun is for you. However, if you want to buy a gun so you can service and modify it for better performance later, you shouldn’t put the nitro piston air gun in the potential buying choice list.
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Well, my side teaching gig finally is going again (thank you, China virus!). I placed an order on a Hatsan 95 .22 air rifle. It's a spring air, barrel-cocking rifle, and it looked like a good place to get started. It offers about the right amount of velocity for my needs and should help me learn what I really like in air rifles. I want to put a good scope on top of it, learn which pellets it likes, and go to murderin' the squirrels that have devastated my pecan crop this year! Too late for about 90% of my pecans, but not too late for revenge!
Maybe if I put a row of squirrel heads on chopsticks or BBQ skewers, it will serve as a warning to the others. Probably not, though.
I'm not a fan of squirrels.
Dirty Bob
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I'm not a fan of squirrels.
Dirty Bob
Limb rats.
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Maybe if I put a row of squirrel heads on chopsticks or BBQ skewers, it will serve as a warning to the others. Probably not, though.
I'm not a fan of squirrels.
Dirty Bob
Have you tried crucifixion's ?
It worked on Sparticus . ;D
About 20 years ago I bought an off brand, ( Avid Outdoor) Chinese .177 spring powered gun for $20 from one of those truckload tool sales. Frigging thing is great.
Shoots accurate and has enough power to go through an American Rifleman, 2 couch cushions, and still went through the back wall of the bedroom.
Need more magazines for the backstop. ;D
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Let us know how the Hatsun works out. One thing you discover is that you can rush the trigger pull and that follow through, holding it very still till the pellet leaves the barrel are the tricks to accurate shooting. With chipmunks and squirrels I've had to pass up on a lot of shots because they wouldn't hold still long enough. Rabbits are another story as they tend freeze up a lot as they assess their surroundings.
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I bought a .22 cal Umarex Synergis nitro-piston under lever. It comes with 2 10-shot auto-indexing mags they call the RapidMag and I bought 2 more. They make a .1777 caliber with 12-shot mags but the .22 is only 10 shots. When you pull the lever down to cock it, it advances the rotary mag to line up the next pellet with the barrel. When you put the lever back up I guess it chambers the pellet. I haven't shot it yet or even fully cocked it, just flipped the lever down to the cocking position and back. But after cats were sitting on my front and back porches yesterday mewing I'm about ready to put the cheap scope on that came with it and zero it in. I'll make a black cat wish it never crossed my path, especially since I caught it in the act of pooping in my yard. I bought about 5 or 6 different kinds of pellets but need to buy some RWS silicone airgun oil. It won't rot the seals or anything. One type of pellet is copper plated on the outside and looks a bit like a FMJ bullet. One guy claims he shoots a couple of those after ever 50 or 100 lead pellets and it cleans out the leading.
https://www.umarexusa.com/umarex-synergis-22-caliber-under-lever-pellet-air-rifle-airgun