air pistols

[jamiehollylee]

hiya im wondering wot is the best air pistol to go hunting with and if a pistol will do the job and the killing range if i can do the job any info will be apreciated cheers

[mimic]

crossman 1322 or Falcon Fn8

[Evilv]

Get a rifle mate.

 

Why would you willingly go hunting with:

 

A.) an underpowered tool

 

B.) a tool that is much more difficult to shoot accurately at a hunting range

 

 

I have an air pistol of about 5.5 ft pounds muzzle energy which I use to slaughter my fat chickens. I put it on their head and pull the trigger. It's a Crosman 1300 .22 pump up and it will kill any sized chicken at 1 cm very convincingly indeed. Thirty five years ago when I was a rogue and first had it, I shot numerous pheasants with it at ten yards. THEY RAN AWAY!!!

 

For my hunting, I use a near full legal powered air rifle.

 

Pistols by law must be lower than 6 ft pounds in muzzle energy (assuming you are a Brit here...) Most available pistols in the UK are well lower than this limit, and even at the full legal level, they would be underpowerd for killing small vermin beyond 15 yards. This assumes that you can group ALL your shots within an inch at that distance - unlikely with a pistol, I would say. Outside that limit, you will simply injure animals and leave them to suffer and maybe die of infection or trauma over many days. Not a sensible or humane man's way really.

 

To be honest, in my experience, the legal powered air rifle limit should be the minimum for hunting, unless the rabbits are tame enough for you to get as close as 15 - 20 yards. I have a B3 air rifle which is about 6 - 7 foot pounds and have shot rabbits with it, but never at further than 20 yards. Beyond that, I use my TX200 or Webley Axsor which are both right near the legal limit of 12 ft pounds.

Edited October 12, 2005 by Evilv

[Vulcha]

My gamo P-800 cost me £35 and i killed a pigeon with it. One shot aswell.

[spider.20]

hay jamie

 

i agree whit evilv. pistoles aint much use for huntin on acount of the sub 6ftlb rule. but i recon my lil crosman might be jus the job for pigeons in the rafters or the odd rat at sensible rages ofcourse. probly not much further than tem meters.

 

the only thing is the fact that you need to pump it up(its the american classic or 1322...i think) means that if you need a second shot then your poor pigeon has to wate...and flap about an bleed etc untill you can get the ten+ pumps in to give you near the 6 ftlb limit.

so it might do as a secondary or side arm to give any pigeons /rats still kicking the off but not realy for the main body of hunting.

that said it is an impressive gun. it shoots nice groups, not realy pellet fussy and has all the power you can posibly need from a pistole.

hope this helps

 

spider

[SNAKEBITE]

eeerrrrrrrrr.............

 

I might be a bit wide of the mark here but is it not illegal to hunt with an air pistol?

 

You might get away with carrying one to finish quarry off at point blank range but nothing more.

 

To be honest I'd avoid them in the hunting world altogether, avoid any problems.

[1 of 5]

I've owned and shot most of the air pistols about. Above 5 yds I'm simply not accurate enough to hit a killzone. Neither is anyone-else I know. If you want to hunt buy a rifle. Pistols ought to be left to plinking.

[24joy]

Rifle for hunting pistol for plinking. Think about the way things are at the moment for airguns in the public eye. Like most things in life, use a bit of common. 6ft/lb cpmpared to 12ft/bl, big piont is the law, as has been already posted.

[Sergeant]

I see no reason not to carry one to finish your quarry off (if the need arises) but wouldnt even try hunting with one, they are just too inaccurate. get a rifle, even a cheap gamo springer from the farmers coop would be better than a pistol.