Author Topic: Which spring-piston .22 air rifle should I buy?  (Read 2830 times)

Dirty Bob

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Which spring-piston .22 air rifle should I buy?
« on: August 31, 2020, 09:41:11 PM »
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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MikeBjerum

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Re: Which spring-piston .22 air rifle should I buy?
« Reply #1 on: September 01, 2020, 07:44:00 PM »
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.
If I appear taller than other men it is because I am standing on the shoulders of others.

alfsauve

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Re: Which spring-piston .22 air rifle should I buy?
« Reply #2 on: September 02, 2020, 09:25:19 AM »
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.

Will work for ammo
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tombogan03884

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Re: Which spring-piston .22 air rifle should I buy?
« Reply #3 on: September 02, 2020, 02:18:34 PM »
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




alfsauve

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Re: Which spring-piston .22 air rifle should I buy?
« Reply #4 on: September 02, 2020, 09:06:15 PM »
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.
Will work for ammo
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Sponsor

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Re: Which spring-piston .22 air rifle should I buy?
« Reply #5 on: Today at 02:31:16 AM »

tombogan03884

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Re: Which spring-piston .22 air rifle should I buy?
« Reply #5 on: September 03, 2020, 08:46:08 AM »
 ;D

billt

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Re: Which spring-piston .22 air rifle should I buy?
« Reply #6 on: September 05, 2020, 06:23:20 AM »
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.

Big Frank

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Re: Which spring-piston .22 air rifle should I buy?
« Reply #7 on: December 14, 2020, 10:17:07 PM »
.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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Rastus

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Re: Which spring-piston .22 air rifle should I buy?
« Reply #8 on: December 15, 2020, 07:04:04 AM »
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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Dirty Bob

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Re: Which spring-piston .22 air rifle should I buy?
« Reply #9 on: December 17, 2020, 06:58:06 PM »
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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Maker, tinkerer, general nerd

"Can't stop the signal, Mal." - Serenity (2005)

 

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