AusVarmint

I haven't had an air rifle since I was 15, but I've got the opportunity to quite a bit of pigeon work (and I hate those little flying rats) and was therefore looking for a high power, accurate airgun for this role, and I've been recommended an air arms PCP in 22 cal. anyone go one?

also, any suggestions on scopes? I guess as they are recoilless an airgun specific scope is un-neccessary?

Never seen an airarms outside of magazine articles- so can make no comment on them

- but

Theoben rapid from Lewis at Beeman Au will be the goods
http://ausvarmint.kjd84.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=18

http://ausvarmint.kjd84.com/forum/viewt ... =18&t=8344

or a RWS Excaliber from Lewis
or a Theoben SLR98 again from Lewis

The SLR98 will allow you to shoot gas ram gun power without having to cart a pump or scuba gear round with you to refill the PCP

I shot "rats with wings" for ages/years with an RWS Excaliber turned down to 20 FPE ( about same power as SLR98) out to ranges upto and exceeding 40 yards

P

G'day Feralbuster,

Won't doubt Ogre's advise, but I will suggest that........

there have been 2 BSA Hornets advertised on this site recently.

Whitey had one for sale (.22, good price) on the for sale forum, and Lewis had one (.177, I think) on his forum.

Both of these should dispatch a pigeon at the appropriate range, and either would be a worthy entry into pcps. The .22 should be good to 50m with the right pellets.

And both were well priced.

I have one (in 177) and will vouch that they are value as far as pcps go.

regards, curan.

I have a RWS Rapier for sale (cheap). Check the forsale section they are great I just don't use mine enough.

I Have a steyr LG110HP for sale(CHEAP),check the for sale section,they are the best,I just dont have a need for mine anymore.

2 very bloody good options to consider

only pity is they are single shots- might slow you down a fraction of a second in a very target rich environment-but not really

The Rapier is a single shot version of the Excaliber- so its all good there

The steyr is a top brand so you really couldn't loose choosing either

Or as I said earlier- go shopping at Lewis's

kjd wrote:I have a RWS Rapier for sale (cheap). Check the forsale section they are great I just don't use mine enough.

http://ausvarmint.kjd84.com/forum/viewt ... 99&start=0

native hunter wrote:I Have a steyr LG110HP for sale(CHEAP),check the for sale section,they are the best,I just dont have a need for mine anymore.

http://ausvarmint.kjd84.com/forum/viewt ... 55&start=0

There are some airgunners who will argue the pros and cons of .20 caliber V's .22 caliber- a lot of that opinion is based on "user based" percieved advantages of one over the other- in field use either is great and will work wonderfully with correct placement.

You smack a "Rat" in the chest or Head, with either caliber from a PCP (or quality gas ram) putting out the power figures (Foot pounds energy=FPE) that either of the above guns- and others put out-
at ranges 50 yards and under with a quality pellet like a JSB Exact or Beeman Crow magnum or Beeman Field Target Special or Kodiak
The "Rat" will leak feathers and fluids and fall emphatically to the ground- trust me I did it for years

And yes this applies equally to Flying Rats, as well as rabbits, real rats/mice and cats and at ranges 5-10 yards less than the others- foxes too- for the bigger animals head shots are prefered option

At really close ranges, in sheds and stuff you actually have to be concerned about going through the "rat" and the roof tin as well. Owners dont like holes in their tin roofs

This "through and through issue" is the main reason I got Lewis to turn my Excaliber's power down to 20 FPE.
This drop in power level still allowed me to drop rats/rabbits/cats to 40+ yards but it greatly reduced the through and through the roof tin on ranges under 10 yards
It also gave me a shit load more full power (20 FPE) shots per fill of the guns cyclinder from the scuba tank- which is a very good thing.

hope this helps

P

I have a new AirArms S410K in .22 coming via Lewis. I have done a fair bit of research on them and they get vary good reviews. Things to consider are
-side lever operation as per HW100. The HW100 action was great.
-vary reliable mag system.
-quick fill charge system.
-accuracy is reported to be as good as any.
-variable power which is at your finger tips. Allows for toning things down in the shed situation and target work/plinking. Extends the shot count on lower power setting.

There is a test on the standard models in both cals in the latest Sporting Shooter mag. The next best thing to a paid add, but gives a good look at them.

The Rapids are good if you can get one. I think Theoben really need to look at themselves nowadays. You pay alot of money for a rifle with no quick fill. I have put a quik fill on mine which really makes them so much easier to live with.

As was mentioned, I have my .22 Hornet for sale. It is a great rifle. Not a mark on it. Very accurate (ask Yarah) and quik fill. Only thing it lacks is the multishot which is not an issue for me. Un fortunate that there is nowhere you can try them all.

thanks fellas,
Will have a look at some of the brands you mention. Not interested in single shot if I'm going to get one, needs to be a fast repeater for the lots of pigeons I have to shoot.

Any suggestions on scopes?

You can get one of those new FX semi auto's, they look pretty good and FX have a decent name, plenty fast for follow up shots!

The 400 series has a good following over here in single shot and multishot. There are three versions available in the uk- a carbine version 400/410k which is a popular at 12ftlb , but due to the chamber size will only make around 18ftlb for about 16/20shots, next is the Classic model which has a "longer " normal size barrel and cylinder, and will do about 80shots at 12ftlb and upto 30ftlb unrestricted. Final version is the 400/410E which is purely for export or fac over here and will do around 30ftlb for more shots with adjustable power output. A lot of people find the e version a bit long, but hey you get more shots per fill. As a knock open valve system you will have to suss out the power curve to get the heart of the fill. There are a few tuners over here that either fit regs or balance the internals to optimise performance. There have been moans about the blueing being a bit thin on some batches for a while but I believe this has been sorted now. and airarms service is very good. The latest trigger with the extra sear is a good improvement over the original version. Overall quality wise I would put them between the old titan falconrange and the hw100 series, which is where they fit price wise over here.These are uk specs so yours may vary slightly for fixtures and fitting.
Only available in .177 and .22.

neil



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