Air Rifle Hunting

A jack-rabbit is "big game" when air rifle hunting.

The fun of hunting with an air rifle is similar to bow-hunting, and even reminds me of fishing with ultra-light tackle. Most air guns require you to cock or pump before you can shoot; somewhat like drawing a bow. You need to get close with a bow or an air rifle.

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With ultra-light fishing equipment you are more likely to get some "action" because you have a better chance of hooking a large number of smaller fish. But your equipment may not be up to the task if you hook a big one.

Air rifle hunting is similar in that you are hunting smaller animals, more likely to get some "action", and if that's too slow you can start picking off grasshoppers or sniping at yellow jackets for fun. But your equipment is ultra-light and not very good for larger game or pest.

This hunting should be limited to hunting for small game or pest.
Even the best, most powerful, air guns will not reliably take game bigger than jack-rabbits. There are exceptions, and there are some very specialized larger caliber air rifles, but that's not what this page is about.

Advertising claims using words like magnum power, high power, extreme power, and such are a little misleading. Those words are true only when comparing air guns, not when compared with firearms. Claims of pellet rifles shooting at speeds of 1200, even 1600 fps. (feet per. second) are made.

You can "bet the farm," those muzzle velocities were with very light weight pellets. Some .177 caliber pellets weigh as little as 5 grains, that is about 40% less than the weight of a typical 8 grain .177 pellet. Such light weight pellets will start out faster, but loose the speed advantage quickly. For air rifle hunting many experienced hunters prefer pellets of normal weight or heavier.

Although the advertised velocities may be a bit misleading; we can still use them as a rough guide to categorize air gun power. For simplicity we are talking only about .177 caliber guns here. If you choose the same gun in a larger caliber you will get less velocity making it a little harder to shoot accurately, but a little more energy (power).

600-800 fps. Many guns in this range are used for hunting; especially in Europe. Some places in Europe don't allow firearms and limit air guns to about this power level. Many spring-piston rifles, inexpensive pump-up pneumatics, and a few CO2 powered rifles can reach these velocities. The pre-charged pneumatic handguns can reach these speeds. Animals of rabbit size at 20-25 yards are reasonable targets.

800 fps.-up. Many shooters in the USA are going to buy these guns. These guns can extend the range, but not by a huge amount; pellets loose energy rapidly. No gun, no matter how powerful, gives us an excuse for careless shooting. An air gun hunter should be thinking precision head shots, not power. Scopes made for air guns are highly recommended. Note: Spring air guns have reverse recoil and will eventually wreck any scope not made for reverse recoil.

Some guns have excessively heavy, rough, trigger pulls. Guns, especially spring air guns, can shoot differently, depending upon how they are held. Even the heaviest pellets will be moved around by the wind.

Many factors make air rifle hunting fun, and sometimes challenging.

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