BUDGET SUB 12FTLBS .25 AIR RIFLE OPTIONS.

[B B]

 I am looking for possible options for a  A BUDGET SUB 12FTLBS .25 AIR RIFLE.

Phone calls to several gun dealers came up with nothing.

 I was Considering a hatsan , but it seems they are rare in .25.

Any other options, and where i might actually get to buy one.

 

[enfieldspares]

This is meant in good spirit! Everyone will tell you that unless you are shooting at a KNOWN distance, and that that distance is under twenty-five yards that a .25" isn't the way to go in sub 12 ft/lbs. Within those limitations of range it'll hit and kill like Thor's hammer. But it'll have even so a loopy trajectory (so that's why you'll need to judge your distances almost exactly) and over twenty five yards the hold over will be horrible! There's a reason that sub 12 ft/lbs rifles aren't widely available. That's why!

My advice would be if you want "heavy" is get a PCP .22" and use a heavy pellet such as a 14 grain "pill" in a quality brand. I do all my PCP shooting with a .177" BSA Scorpion T-10 regulated by Rat Works using Bisley Magnum 10 grain "pills". It gives penetration but with weight. If you are going down the "springer" route you need light pellets. A "springer" in .25" sub 12 ft/lbs is handicapping yourself. And unless a modern quality make won't group well enough at that twenty-five yards.

Edited August 6, 2022 by enfieldspares

[B B]

1 hour ago, enfieldspares said:

This is meant in good spirit! Everyone will tell you that unless you are shooting at a KNOWN distance, and that that distance is under twenty-five yards that a .25" isn't the way to go in sub 12 ft/lbs. Within those limitations of range it'll hit and kill like Thor's hammer. But it'll have even so a loopy trajectory (so that's why you'll need to judge your distances almost exactly) and over twenty five yards the hold over will be horrible! There's a reason that sub 12 ft/lbs rifles aren't widely available. That's why!

My advice would be if you want "heavy" is get a PCP .22" and use a heavy pellet such as a 14 grain "pill" in a quality brand. I do all my PCP shooting with a .177" BSA Scorpion T-10 regulated by Rat Works using Bisley Magnum 10 grain "pills". It gives penetration but with weight. If you are going down the "springer" route you need light pellets. A "springer" in .25" sub 12 ft/lbs is handicapping yourself. And unless a modern quality make won't group well enough at that twenty-five yards.

Thank you for the Reply.

I Should have explained why i want a 12ft lbs .25 air rife and a cheap one around £100 too.

  I have several air rifles and pistols, in both .177 and .22, i dont have a PCP at the momnt and only ever owned one around 8 years ago a webley raider in .22 a old single shot.  I have never owned a .25, had a sheridan silvver streak in .20 plenty of .177s and .22s, but never a .25. 

I have shotgun and FAC but no desire for a fac air gun, i have a.22LR  brno/cz 452 which i use but i rarely use that i load 50 grain cast bullets at 2000fps in my .22250 tikka for much of my rabbiting etc.

I Like the .2506 Cal i have one in Tikka as well, And have for years contemplated a .25 air rifle but never had the need and simply never came across one to even tempt me.

 Now WHY i want one in sub 12ft l bs now. I have a webley vulcan in .177 a feinwerkbau 127 sport .22 and a BSA model D in.22 was my grandfathers  an smk x17 in.22 and two air  pistols A 177 Predom a Walther clone, and a er ts crossman 2240 in .22.

So plenty to go at in air rifles , but i am currently leaving the smk x17 in a shipping container right next to where i have a lot of rats . I am quite enjoying ratting, and the old smk x17 with its 6lb trigger and its 8/9ftlbs power level on a good day. But i now want a cheap 12ftlbs air gun and because i dont need esspecialy long ranges your 25m would be my max range and more realistic 15 to 20m typical. Now oppotunity knocks and t think the .25 will do what i need and a cheap hatsan etc will mean i dont care if it gets a bit of rust etc, not that i want it to rust mind.

  If you guys can recomend a budget make and model in.25 and where and how i might go about buying one, then i will get a .25. If not ill just buy a Hatsan 900 or similar in .177.

 

Edited August 6, 2022 by B B

[oldypigeonpopper]

Hello, have you researched all the spring .25 air rifles that you can buy in UK for your budget ? I had a look myself and do not think there a many makes to choose from but Hatsan have a few .25s

Edited August 6, 2022 by oldypigeonpopper

[Stonepark]

5 hours ago, enfieldspares said:

This is meant in good spirit! Everyone will tell you that unless you are shooting at a KNOWN distance, and that that distance is under twenty-five yards that a .25" isn't the way to go in sub 12 ft/lbs. Within those limitations of range it'll hit and kill like Thor's hammer. But it'll have even so a loopy trajectory (so that's why you'll need to judge your distances almost exactly) and over twenty five yards the hold over will be horrible! There's a reason that sub 12 ft/lbs rifles aren't widely available. That's why!

If you are going down the "springer" route you need light pellets. A "springer" in .25" sub 12 ft/lbs is handicapping yourself. And unless a modern quality make won't group well enough at that twenty-five yards.

 

A 12ftlb 25cal Springer is more than capable gun out to 40 yards, you just have to learn distance and hold over but using a light pellet, they are not extreme by any measure.

The table below shows the holdover for 12ftlbs, H&N 19gr FTT with a drop of 2 inch at 35 yards compared to a drop of 1.25 inch for 22 14.8gr H&N FTT.

 

Doing this on phone, no idea how it will look until posted.

However, shooting a 25 is like shooting a 22 5 yards more distant for hold over with FTT's

 

Edited August 6, 2022 by Stonepark

[bruno22rf]

Why ,on earth, restrict yourself to a limited choice of ammo for a calibre that is of no avantage whatsoever over the short ranges that an Air Rifles is capable of? If the "usual" common calibres dont do the job then something is awry, and around the £100 mark? A used .22 Remingtn Express should do the job with ease.

[B B]

I Want a .25 i got a few .22s and a 177 rifle all are 12ftlbs , and will do the job great. My Feinwerkbau 127 sport is .22 and i had it nearly 50 years. 

I just want a .25 i know i am strange i drive a 2 litre diesel alfa romeo as well. 😁

[Ultrastu]

I have to admit to a hankering for a sub 12 .25 bsa ultra  ( the only type I've yet to own ) but that's more from a complete my collection point of view than a " it will be useful " type of angle .a .25  h+n ftt at 19 grns would appear to be the ideal sub 12 pellet or possibly a lead free jsb at 16 grns (shame jsb don't make an rs version of the .25 exact King)  as far as how effective a .25 would be for hunting rats is ,it  has  been shown that the rats can out jump a slow incoming .25 cal (or any slow pellet )  and dodge it before it hits .

I personally feel you need a 500 fps + pellet on a rat that's more than 15 yds away  I've seen rats jump out the way of a slow .22 cal pellet of mine before . 

As for ferals in barns a sub 12 .25 would probably be good  but for rats a .177 is king . 

Edited August 6, 2022 by Ultrastu

[rovercoupe]

I almost exclusively shoot tree rats with the .25 these days because the pellets are the cheapest and a close ranges it just hits so hard and avoids over penetrating. I have a multi shot .22 that I use when there are a few about and want a quick second or third shot but I always go back to the .25 as it’s just so effective. 
 

and it makes me smile

[Stonepark]

53 minutes ago, rovercoupe said:

I almost exclusively shoot tree rats with the .25 these days because the pellets are the cheapest and a close ranges it just hits so hard and avoids over penetrating. I have a multi shot .22 that I use when there are a few about and want a quick second or third shot but I always go back to the .25 as it’s just so effective. 
 

and it makes me smile

👍

[Bemused]

I have a 28 ft lb .25 springer which I tend to use more than my 50 ft lb Ripley XL9 because it's more fun!

[B B]

On 06/08/2022 at 17:38, oldypigeonpopper said:

Hello, have you researched all the spring .25 air rifles that you can buy in UK for your budget ? I had a look myself and do not think there a many makes to choose from but Hatsan have a few .25s

And Hatsan is what.25  i ended up finding, a 1000X (Wood) £119 and only 40 miles away .

 Took some Locating, they dont seem at all common. But as is the way with these things, no sooner had i found this One, and I found another. If anyone else is looking for a cheap. 25 Hatsan 1000S pm and ill pm the details.

 

[snipper]

Big Dan has just done a review on a

.25 springer 

 

 

[B B]

3 hours ago, snipper said:

Big Dan has just done a review on a

.25 springer 

 

 

Thanks for posting that very timely.

  It looks like the Hatsan will be  what i expected it to be. And i came across the wood version the striker 1000x(Wood)  not the 1000s (synthetic) so i wont have the inserts to contend with , the video seemed a little critical of.

   Pick it up  Friday and i must admit i am quite looking forward to trying it out. Going to try H&N FTT .25s / 19 grain. and kind of like the idea of the .25 for lead free when it happens. Dont think i can ever remember being so keen to collect  a £119 gun in my life, certainly not an air rifle.

 

[snipper]

45 minutes ago, B B said:

Thanks for posting that very timely.

  It looks like the Hatsan will be  what i expected it to be. And i came across the wood version the striker 1000x(Wood)  not the 1000s (synthetic) so i wont have the inserts to contend with , the video seemed a little critical of.

   Pick it up  Friday and i must admit i am quite looking forward to trying it out. Going to try H&N FTT .25s / 19 grain. and kind of like the idea of the .25 for lead free when it happens. Dont think i can ever remember being so keen to collect  a £119 gun in my life, certainly not an air rifle.

 

Can't beat a new gun day 😊..... 

Hope you enjoy 👍

[oldypigeonpopper]

6 hours ago, snipper said:

Big Dan has just done a review on a

.25 springer 

 

 

Hello, he would do well to make the back ground presentable , old tyres and pallets !!! And no back stop , anyone can plink at tin cans but that's not really a decent review

[snipper]

8 hours ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

Hello, he would do well to make the back ground presentable , old tyres and pallets !!! And no back stop , anyone can plink at tin cans but that's not really a decent review

Checkout his other reviews and you'll get the lay of the land Regards back stops 👍...... 

He tends to do reviews of underdogs and tests with various cheap pellets 

[Stonepark]

His biggest mistake was not to readjust the sights between changing pellets as both the alloy and lead pellets clearly had different points of impact.

[snipper]

1 hour ago, Stonepark said:

His biggest mistake was not to readjust the sights between changing pellets as both the alloy and lead pellets clearly had different points of impact.

If your just looking for pellet grouping you don't need to adjust .... Only if you are re zeroing to use a pellet predominantly do you need to adjust 

[oldypigeonpopper]

2 hours ago, snipper said:

Checkout his other reviews and you'll get the lay of the land Regards back stops 👍...... 

He tends to do reviews of underdogs and tests with various cheap pellets 

Hello, he's better than silly Andy 🤔

[Chaz25]

I use .25 all the time its now my fav calibre the hatsan that my mate ordered seemed to have a tight bore like my BSA SS carbine so best to use a light std style of pellet I use rhino's for plinking and H&N for hunting its a great calibre just shorten up your considered effective range a bit.

Good you went for wood its a nicer stock.

Edited August 11, 2022 by Chaz25

[oldypigeonpopper]

Hello, did you get your .25 Springer ?

[B B]

Picked it up Thursday, fitted a cheap 4x32 scope and got 400 H&N FTT 19 grain pellets. Overall  its what i expected it to be, in fact i think its probably a bit more than i expected if i am honest.

I Am pleasantly surprised.  Woodwork Is good with even a bit of figure about it, it has machined grip areas on forearm and pistol grip masquerading as checkering but the stock is good for £119 air rifle.

  Trigger blade  on my rifle is a Metal blade not plastic  as i have seen on several reviews online. Trigger guard is plastic but seemed sturdy enough and serves its purpose, but it is along with the plastic Safety catch / rear sight / muzzle shroud/ foresight although all work well are the tacky parts of this rifle.

I wiped the gun down with an oily rag and lightly oiled the pivot points etc  initially and put it over my F1 chrony.  It settled down after a few shots and was thankfully legal out the box with no twerking. I might revisit this with heavier pellets just to be sure. ( What are the more knowledgeable on here thoughts on this aspect please) .,

The 4x32 scope is nasty , but will have to do certainly for now.

At 25yards it was touching on four and one flyer about 1/4 inch  away to the right, its accurate and again  better than i expected. I lined up four 12 bore hulls brass facing me and hit all four, i am pleased with it.i need to get a bit more time in on targets to familiarise myself with it, but for the money i think its actually good.

 

 

 

[Stonepark]

33 minutes ago, B B said:

Picked it up Thursday, fitted a cheap 4x32 scope and got 400 H&N FTT 19 grain pellets. Overall  its what i expected it to be, in fact i think its probably a bit more than i expected if i am honest.

I Am pleasantly surprised.  Woodwork Is good with even a bit of figure about it, it has machined grip areas on forearm and pistol grip masquerading as checkering but the stock is good for £119 air rifle.

  Trigger blade  on my rifle is a Metal blade not plastic  as i have seen on several reviews online. Trigger guard is plastic but seemed sturdy enough and serves its purpose, but it is along with the plastic Safety catch / rear sight / muzzle shroud/ foresight although all work well are the tacky parts of this rifle.

I wiped the gun down with an oily rag and lightly oiled the pivot points etc  initially and put it over my F1 chrony.  It settled down after a few shots and was thankfully legal out the box with no twerking. I might revisit this with heavier pellets just to be sure. ( What are the more knowledgeable on here thoughts on this aspect please) .,

The 4x32 scope is nasty , but will have to do certainly for now.

At 25yards it was touching on four and one flyer about 1/4 inch  away to the right, its accurate and again  better than i expected. I lined up four 12 bore hulls brass facing me and hit all four, i am pleased with it.i need to get a bit more time in on targets to familiarise myself with it, but for the money i think its actually good.

 

 

 

Good that it's living up to your expectations. On the pellets (if it isn't your hold) it should get a bit more accurate as the rifle beds in and any excess oil\grease in the cylinder is expunged after a few hundred shots. A better scope wouldn't go amiss but....

 

Rattus Norvegicus will now need to watch out if within 25 yards of you.

[Ultrastu]

Generally a springer will make highest muzzle  energy  with lighter pellets than heavier ones ( not always and worth a test ) the fits are around the lightest available  so that's good . Energy in brand new springers tends to be highest when new and dropped around 1/2 - 1 fpe when bedded in (ie when the excess lube /grease has burnt off .) 

Sounds like you have got a good gun enjoy  .

Maybe a nice 2-7 x32 hawke would fit the bill nicely .