bfriendly
Bigfoot friendly
Just watched a quick video on how and why to use the artillery hold….WOW! WHODATHUNK? I am glad I saw this!
Welcome Guest!
Air Rifles for squirrel hunting
- Thread starter Swamper72
- Start date
ZARA SPOOK
Member
Has anyone ever tried the Hansen?
JonathanG2013
Senior Member
I am not sure who made it. In the late 80's my dad bought me a bb and pallet combo that looked like and M16. It was a pump model with iron sights.
I had no problem giving the tree rats a dirt nap. With proper head shot, most pellet guns will work no mater the caliber.
I had no problem giving the tree rats a dirt nap. With proper head shot, most pellet guns will work no mater the caliber.
I think you mean Hatson. I have not shot one but read up on them a lot. I always wanted the Hatsan 135E Vortex in 30 cal. A beast of a springer (+30 fpe) although the 25 cal is a better choice for hunting at longer range than 30 yards and has basically the same muzzle energy as the 30 cal. Pricewise their sprngers are between the walmart chinese and the german high end springers. My guess is quality wise they are the same or better than their price order suggests and similar or better than the high end Gamos in quality and performance but I really don't know. They are made in Turkey I believe. Reviews from users and professional reviewers are generally good. Hatsan makes some of the most powerful production springers and PCPs out there. Walmart, Airgun Depot, Pyramid Air and others sells them online. Not sure who sells them retail. Just type in the manufacturer and model number and you can find some professional reviews. Any reviews by Tom Gaylord are the best. Note you want to order from a reptuable seller that will take the gun back if you get a lemon. Test the **** out of it quickly when you get it as higher odds getting a lemon with the non-german guns but all of them do have lemons occasionally. With those powerful Hatsans, you need a good springer rated scope. Pyramid Air has an excellent track record on customer service and returns. Not sure on the others. Note I use springer to mean both the metal spring and gas ram powered air rifles. The Hatsan 135E Vortex has a gas ram. Cannot find the metal spring version anymore.
660griz
Senior Member
I use a Gamo Swarm Maxxim in .177 Very accurate. Head shots all day. Love the 10 shot magazine. Suppressed but, not real quiet, doesn't scare my goats. 
I use Gamo Rocket ammo. Heaviest I could find at the time.
I use Gamo Rocket ammo. Heaviest I could find at the time.
Antfinn88
Member
Hatsan Jet 1 in .22
Breaks down into a pistol so it fits easily in my pack. Makes it easy to bring in the tree with me.
Attachments
Sorry to bring up an old thread but wanted to add an accuracy issue to the ones I stated earlier. I just had on one of my high end German break barrel spring air rifle. I was shooting like 2" groups at 20 yard. When I spoke with Air Guns of Arizona (a great vendor) they said to check if you over tightened the barrel pivot screws. Turns out they need to lightly tightened (just a portion of turn past snug), I did mine at 8-9 lbs torque and it fixed the problem. Also finding it is pellet picky so try different high end pellets if accuracy is not what you want it. Really need an airgun forum.
Doug B.
Senior Member
There is some great information here! I bought a Gamo Swarm Whisper which is of course a cheaper pellet rifle. It came with a scope and as I set it up I noticed that it is very inconsistent. I have killed several squirrels in the yard with it which is why I bought it. The inconsistency has lead to a good many missed shots. I do think the scope that came with it is part of the problem and I plan on getting a quality scope for it. I also plan on trying different pellets just to see if that changes things any. Any advice on this would definitely be appreciated!!!
Probably repeating myself plus long winded today as I love airguns to death. That is a good gun with good reviews. Gamo is a solid company with experience and probably one of the best values. I think people have used high power Gamos to kill hogs (behind the ear) and coyotes.
Scope needs to be springer rated. You have a magnum rifle which can kill a scope. UTG scopes are durable, cheap and often used on magnum springers. I like the 3x12 UTG Bugbuster. It is parallax adjusted down to 3 yards so made specifically for airguns. Would be a good scope for rimfire rifles. The side parallax adjustment on this scope is better then the one on the front on some of the scopes in this price range. Good value in my opinion. It is short, light and reasonable glass. For a cheaper option, try the 3x9 Hammers scopes as some say they are good scopes but some have gotten lemons or get a fixed UTG 4x scope. For better options with great glass, look at the Hawke scopes but be careful as only their high end scopes are rated for magnum springers. Also plenty of other manufactures but most are very expensive. See Pyramid Air or Airguns or Arizona. Done successful business with both. Also Airgun Depot and Others but have not used them. Some sell UTG stuff and others do not.
Some users have ordered guns or expensive stuff overseas from Krale as was significantly cheaper but they have recently raised prices so about the same as Airguns of Arizona and Pyrmamid Air now. Amazon sometimes has deals. I believe the Bugbuster scope is sold with the Picanny rings or the dovetail rings. UTG has a lifetime warranty. I bought mine at Amazon as cheapest I could find. Pyramid Air sells them too.
Barrel droop is a problem on a lot of break barrels. In some case severe. If you can visibly see it easily, send the gun back for service or replacement if under warranty. You need to use the artillery hold and shoot all you can quickly before gun is out of warranty. Try to put a 1000 shots in it before warranty expires. That will smooth the gun out and give a better cocking and shot cycle. Also this will help ferret out any power plan defects With all guns, you can get a lemon and especially with cheaper one. Set the scope to mid range on elevation and try some shots. If shooting way low, you can shim the back ring of the scope or try a UTG drooper mount if dovetail mount with Picanny rings (recommended option). Don't adjust the scope too far either way. You can also get expensive adjustable scope rings and may have to use 2 of the methods described together.
Look up reviews of this gun and host of videos by Tom Gaylord (B.B Pelletier - best reviewer and considered a guru in this business) . Pyramid Air features him alot. Look up lubricants as you must use special lubricants on the springers as conventional gun lubricants will hurt the gun. Gamo and RWS sells lubricants but you should not have to do anything now. Thinking every 1000 shots but not sure. Look at the videos and articles on springer lubrication. One I was on one website, I found this thread on a Gamo Swarm https://www.airgunnation.com/threads/new-to-breakbarrels.1287984/#post-1471388
Go to Pyramid Air or Airguns of Arizona and buy quality pellets. I would not use the cheaper pellets except maybe try the Gamos. See what shot good from Tom Gaylords review. Also JSB, H&N. RWS and Crossman Premiers is what I would try. Several brands like RWS and H&N have pellet samplers. I would go on this website and ask the members what pellets you should try on this gun plus ask about scopes, mounts, barrel droop and any questions. (https://www.airgunnation.com/). Introduce yourself and say you are a beginner. I have gotten excellent responses. Other websites that may have reviews and good information (https://www.airgunweb.com/) This one I believe has a review of your guns (https://hardairmagazine.com/ham-review-center/). Most pellet guns are pretty picky on what pellets they shoot well. I would chronograph if you can. Usually the pellet that produces the best accuracy has the most energy. I would lean to heavier pellets as they usually shoot better in magnum springer guns but not always.
There is a lot of us airgun crazys all over the world that hunt, compete and collect them. Can get expensive especialy collecting the German ones and the vintage ones I used as a kid. However, springers are ussually the cheapest to own and what I would include in my survival package as quiet, cheap, ammo storage is small and good for small game. Best of Luck.
Scope needs to be springer rated. You have a magnum rifle which can kill a scope. UTG scopes are durable, cheap and often used on magnum springers. I like the 3x12 UTG Bugbuster. It is parallax adjusted down to 3 yards so made specifically for airguns. Would be a good scope for rimfire rifles. The side parallax adjustment on this scope is better then the one on the front on some of the scopes in this price range. Good value in my opinion. It is short, light and reasonable glass. For a cheaper option, try the 3x9 Hammers scopes as some say they are good scopes but some have gotten lemons or get a fixed UTG 4x scope. For better options with great glass, look at the Hawke scopes but be careful as only their high end scopes are rated for magnum springers. Also plenty of other manufactures but most are very expensive. See Pyramid Air or Airguns or Arizona. Done successful business with both. Also Airgun Depot and Others but have not used them. Some sell UTG stuff and others do not.
Some users have ordered guns or expensive stuff overseas from Krale as was significantly cheaper but they have recently raised prices so about the same as Airguns of Arizona and Pyrmamid Air now. Amazon sometimes has deals. I believe the Bugbuster scope is sold with the Picanny rings or the dovetail rings. UTG has a lifetime warranty. I bought mine at Amazon as cheapest I could find. Pyramid Air sells them too.
Barrel droop is a problem on a lot of break barrels. In some case severe. If you can visibly see it easily, send the gun back for service or replacement if under warranty. You need to use the artillery hold and shoot all you can quickly before gun is out of warranty. Try to put a 1000 shots in it before warranty expires. That will smooth the gun out and give a better cocking and shot cycle. Also this will help ferret out any power plan defects With all guns, you can get a lemon and especially with cheaper one. Set the scope to mid range on elevation and try some shots. If shooting way low, you can shim the back ring of the scope or try a UTG drooper mount if dovetail mount with Picanny rings (recommended option). Don't adjust the scope too far either way. You can also get expensive adjustable scope rings and may have to use 2 of the methods described together.
Look up reviews of this gun and host of videos by Tom Gaylord (B.B Pelletier - best reviewer and considered a guru in this business) . Pyramid Air features him alot. Look up lubricants as you must use special lubricants on the springers as conventional gun lubricants will hurt the gun. Gamo and RWS sells lubricants but you should not have to do anything now. Thinking every 1000 shots but not sure. Look at the videos and articles on springer lubrication. One I was on one website, I found this thread on a Gamo Swarm https://www.airgunnation.com/threads/new-to-breakbarrels.1287984/#post-1471388
Go to Pyramid Air or Airguns of Arizona and buy quality pellets. I would not use the cheaper pellets except maybe try the Gamos. See what shot good from Tom Gaylords review. Also JSB, H&N. RWS and Crossman Premiers is what I would try. Several brands like RWS and H&N have pellet samplers. I would go on this website and ask the members what pellets you should try on this gun plus ask about scopes, mounts, barrel droop and any questions. (https://www.airgunnation.com/). Introduce yourself and say you are a beginner. I have gotten excellent responses. Other websites that may have reviews and good information (https://www.airgunweb.com/) This one I believe has a review of your guns (https://hardairmagazine.com/ham-review-center/). Most pellet guns are pretty picky on what pellets they shoot well. I would chronograph if you can. Usually the pellet that produces the best accuracy has the most energy. I would lean to heavier pellets as they usually shoot better in magnum springer guns but not always.
There is a lot of us airgun crazys all over the world that hunt, compete and collect them. Can get expensive especialy collecting the German ones and the vintage ones I used as a kid. However, springers are ussually the cheapest to own and what I would include in my survival package as quiet, cheap, ammo storage is small and good for small game. Best of Luck.
Last edited:
GunnSmokeer
Senior Member
Three points:
1-- "Barrel droop is a problem on a lot of break barrels. In some case severe. If you can visibly see it easily, send the gun back for service or replacement if under warranty."
YES, QUOTED FOR TRUTH, and This was a serious problem with a West German made RWS 'Diana' model 36 air rifle I had.
It was accurate, tight groups, with both iron sights and a scope,
but I could never get the group centered to the crosshairs on any of the three scopes I tried, because of the severe barrel droop.
So rather than buy shims or an adjustable mount to fix the problem,
I sold the gun and used the money to buy a different break-barrel spring piston .177 rifle.
2-- My replacement adult air rifle is branded as a Winchester but it's actually made by some factory in Turkey. It is advertised to shoot composite pellets at 1000 ft./s and I can confirm it is at least as powerful as my model 36 RWS rifle.
This Turkish gun is louder & it vibrates more, but I think it has a slight edge in power.
They are both equally accurate when fired from an improvised rest. I have never shot the new rifle from a double sandbag benchrest and I probably never will.
3-- I don't want to be limited to head shots on squirrels I want to kill them with body shots too and for that reason I won't hunt them anymore with ordinary Crossman or Daisy pump rifles like the
Crosman 760 Powermaster I have now,
or the Daisy powerline 880,
or the Crosman model 1400 that I used to have.
I don't think those air guns have enough velocity to RELIABLY, humanely, kill a squirrel (or pigeon for that matter) with a body shot at 20 yards, but certainly spring-piston rifles can.
1-- "Barrel droop is a problem on a lot of break barrels. In some case severe. If you can visibly see it easily, send the gun back for service or replacement if under warranty."
YES, QUOTED FOR TRUTH, and This was a serious problem with a West German made RWS 'Diana' model 36 air rifle I had.
It was accurate, tight groups, with both iron sights and a scope,
but I could never get the group centered to the crosshairs on any of the three scopes I tried, because of the severe barrel droop.
So rather than buy shims or an adjustable mount to fix the problem,
I sold the gun and used the money to buy a different break-barrel spring piston .177 rifle.
2-- My replacement adult air rifle is branded as a Winchester but it's actually made by some factory in Turkey. It is advertised to shoot composite pellets at 1000 ft./s and I can confirm it is at least as powerful as my model 36 RWS rifle.
This Turkish gun is louder & it vibrates more, but I think it has a slight edge in power.
They are both equally accurate when fired from an improvised rest. I have never shot the new rifle from a double sandbag benchrest and I probably never will.
3-- I don't want to be limited to head shots on squirrels I want to kill them with body shots too and for that reason I won't hunt them anymore with ordinary Crossman or Daisy pump rifles like the
Crosman 760 Powermaster I have now,
or the Daisy powerline 880,
or the Crosman model 1400 that I used to have.
I don't think those air guns have enough velocity to RELIABLY, humanely, kill a squirrel (or pigeon for that matter) with a body shot at 20 yards, but certainly spring-piston rifles can.
I have never shot a squirrel with an airgun except with my Daisy 99 when I shoot them in the butt off my bird feeder. A few weeks ago, I just pointed and shot at a squirrel but did not aim just to scare him off. The BB hit the bird feeder and ricocheted and hit my neighbors SUV windshield. It ended up costing me $800. Lol and crying at the same time, I could have bought a good airgun with that money.
Anyway the reason I am against body shots is that I have read that advice on several air rifle hunting articles and my brother told me several of the ones he shot in the body with a 22 rimfire rifle with 40 grain solids ran off and he lost them. He was sure they died but he never found them. He uses hollow points and aims for the head as if he hits the body, it kills them instantly, so they don't suffer, but ruins the meat. I am sure most air rifle body shots will kill a squirrel and certainly hitting a spine or breaking a shoulder would drop them. However I am afraid if I hit them in a body, I may miss a vital to anchor the squirrel. Since an air rifle is so less powerful then a 22 firearm and I shoot 177, more chance they will die a painful death and I may not even find them for the cook pot. In my theoretical opinion, if a squirrel has a long way to escape, a body shot sounds like a good option, if close to their nest, not so much. Plan to do some serious squirrel hunting next year with my RWS 350. and my brother has promised my how to fix squirrel and dumplings.
Anyway the reason I am against body shots is that I have read that advice on several air rifle hunting articles and my brother told me several of the ones he shot in the body with a 22 rimfire rifle with 40 grain solids ran off and he lost them. He was sure they died but he never found them. He uses hollow points and aims for the head as if he hits the body, it kills them instantly, so they don't suffer, but ruins the meat. I am sure most air rifle body shots will kill a squirrel and certainly hitting a spine or breaking a shoulder would drop them. However I am afraid if I hit them in a body, I may miss a vital to anchor the squirrel. Since an air rifle is so less powerful then a 22 firearm and I shoot 177, more chance they will die a painful death and I may not even find them for the cook pot. In my theoretical opinion, if a squirrel has a long way to escape, a body shot sounds like a good option, if close to their nest, not so much. Plan to do some serious squirrel hunting next year with my RWS 350. and my brother has promised my how to fix squirrel and dumplings.
B. White
Senior Member
I paid more than I ever thought I would for an air rifle last year, but Midway had the .22 Benjamin Marauder semi-auto blemished version for way below the normal price. It carries like a pressure treated 4X4 with a scope on it, but I got it for shooting them in pecans near the house. It almost is not fair. The one chasing doesn't know what happened when the lead one hits the ground and doubles are easy. Didn't matter where I hit them, they fell. I forgot how many shots I got using a hand pump, but I thing it was 20 something.
For any questions or information on airguns, these members on the below forum are great. https://www.airgunnation.com/.
Gadestroyer74
Banned
What’s the best out of the box springer ? What type of pellets to use with it ? Just want to shoot squirrels coons maybe a coyote ? Give me the scoop fellas. Figured it would be better and cheaper than firing my crossbow etc
HW, Air Arms, FWB (have only one model) and to a lesser extent RWS/Diana have the reputation for the best out of box springers for quality and accuracy. I think HW (German) and Air Arms (English) win most of the field target competitions. Hatsan and Gamo usually not as accurate but they have some powerful ones Most cheap springers from China shoot pretty good although better chance of getting a lemon. Shoot much better if tuned. Not great in quality or finish but good enough for hunting and plinking. In my opinion and other serious airgun shooters, the more popular springers that are a good value are the RWS 34 and the HW 50. Try to find one used to save money.. If tuned, even better. Wait list for HW. Inventory slow to come out of Germany
rellis84
Senior Member
I'll be dusting off my Gamo Whisper in .22 to hunt the rabbits and squirrels on the farm. I've been biting my nails waiting for the first frost of the year to start.
