Air rifles......school me

Rimfire bolt action rifles, lever action, pump action and self loading rifles. Air rifles.

Air rifles......school me

Post by 1290 » 22 Oct 2014, 4:58 pm

Never owned an air rifle before ... shot one once many many years ago, so experience is just this side of zero.

So I'm looking at getting one for the wife so she can stop threatening to shoot the birds :? but what to buy? I've seen the Crosman 1077, seems quite nifty, running on CO2, semi auto and no manual labour to cock the lever etc, any pros and cons with these?

Any other recommendations?
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Re: Air rifles......school me

Post by Chronos » 22 Oct 2014, 5:10 pm

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Post by 1290 » 22 Oct 2014, 5:56 pm

I did see those 16g bike cartridges, the crosman takes 12g unthreaded I understand
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Post by on_one_wheel » 22 Oct 2014, 7:51 pm

In a nutshell you get what you pay for, the crossman 1077 is a pice of junk, I put a deposit on one but refused to buy it once it rolled in... absolute rubbish.

Propper hunting air rifles start around the $600 mark, take a look at the range that Weihrauch offer and some of the other big name brands.

good Co guns will set you back around the $1000 mark and more if you want a semi auto one.... but well worth it, heaps of fun.
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Post by Qldshooter » 23 Oct 2014, 12:55 pm

I've been looking at a few dianas, they seem to get a good rap, seem well priced.. might not be totally suitable for your Mrs, best bet, go into gun store and ask to see a few
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Post by Korkt » 24 Oct 2014, 1:52 pm

So many in s**ty plastic and equally s**ty workmanship these days.

An old second hand one would be better than many of the new ones, for a few coin less too I'm sure.
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Post by 1290 » 25 Oct 2014, 9:07 am

on_one_wheel wrote:In a nutshell you get what you pay for, the crossman 1077 is a pice of junk, I put a deposit on one but refused to buy it once it rolled in... absolute rubbish.

Propper hunting air rifles start around the $600 mark, take a look at the range that Weihrauch offer and some of the other big name brands.

good Co guns will set you back around the $1000 mark and more if you want a semi auto one.... but well worth it, heaps of fun.


I understand you get what you pay for, theyre only 60 or 70 bucks in the USA, 200plus here, so they are cheap.... but they sound like fun for the fam, 12 round semi-auto... I realise theyre not a full on target rifle, but why did you knock it back, just the plastic feel?? the finish? I doubt a rifle from a long time air/co2 rifle producer could be so bad as to fall apart and not shoot...
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Post by PaWNTANK » 27 Oct 2014, 10:18 pm

In the same boat as 1290. Don't really know where to start with air rifles.
Does anyone have experience with Gamo air rifles? specifically the Maxima and Hunter IGT.
Also if anyone could recommend decent pellets, my local only seems to sell some gimmicky zombie ones.
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Post by Qldshooter » 28 Oct 2014, 7:31 am

I just bought a second hand bsa .177 it's in awesome condition, looks about 30 years old, pta should come through next week. I think it's a mark 2 not too sure, $150 no plastic, all wood and steel.. I'll post some pics when the government says I can pick it up
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Post by Westy » 28 Oct 2014, 7:37 am

Hunter IGT I have one not bad for a springer but man it weights a tonne (that's a metric one for mausermate) would a .22 with Z's be a better option for the little lady????
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Post by Warrigul » 28 Oct 2014, 8:06 am

Qldshooter wrote:I just bought a second hand bsa .177 it's in awesome condition, looks about 30 years old, pta should come through next week. I think it's a mark 2 not too sure, $150 no plastic, all wood and steel.. I'll post some pics when the government says I can pick it up


I still have my BSA meteor from the early 1980's.

It has had about four main springs, many barrel seals, two trigger springs etc but still goes strong. I put a scope on it a couple of years back and pellets touch at 10m so is still accurate as the birds around here would testify.

Parts are about if you search but they are always available in England and this is where I got my last trigger spring from.

You pick up some of the rubbish about nowadays and wonder how they get away with selling it.
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Post by vexesus » 28 Oct 2014, 3:07 pm

Warrigul wrote:I put a scope on it a couple of years back and pellets touch at 10m so is still accurate as the birds around here would testify.


I know it's an air rifle and that's what it's supposed to be, but it's funny to read.

"accurate at 10m" just sounds so crappy :lol:
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Post by Warrigul » 28 Oct 2014, 4:56 pm

My main form of pistol practice is with an air pistol, hence the setup at 10m. Mind you practical range really isn't any more than 15m.

An air rifle is a poor substitute for a .22.
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Post by huccl » 28 Oct 2014, 5:56 pm

Ooow the air rifle aficionados aren't going to be happy with that last comment :lol:
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Post by on_one_wheel » 28 Oct 2014, 8:06 pm

1290 wrote:I understand you get what you pay for, theyre only 60 or 70 bucks in the USA, 200plus here, so they are cheap.... but they sound like fun for the fam, 12 round semi-auto... I realise theyre not a full on target rifle, but why did you knock it back, just the plastic feel?? the finish? I doubt a rifle from a long time air/co2 rifle producer could be so bad as to fall apart and not shoot...


knocked it back because it was just a toy made from inject molded hollow plastic, has a piese of thin walled tube for a barrel with a pretend barrel plastic cover over it, is too short for adults and my mate got his home first and we soon discovered just how below average those toys are... if you want one make sure you get your hands on one first. There is a reson they sell for $50 in the usa.

the other reson I didnt buy it was I didn't want to be leagally attached to a toy that needed the same security requirements as a real rifle.
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Post by AusC » 29 Oct 2014, 2:21 pm

on_one_wheel wrote:the other reson I didnt buy it was I didn't want to be leagally attached to a toy that needed the same security requirements as a real rifle.


A mate of mine has just an air rifle, past down from dad that he's just hanging on to for sentimental reasons.

Same storage requirements as we know. He had an inspection a while ago and the copper said he too thought it was a waste of time to come out and check on just an AR.
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Post by Westy » 29 Oct 2014, 4:35 pm

AusC wrote:
on_one_wheel wrote:the other reson I didnt buy it was I didn't want to be leagally attached to a toy that needed the same security requirements as a real rifle.


A mate of mine has just an air rifle, past down from dad that he's just hanging on to for sentimental reasons.

Same storage requirements as we know. He had an inspection a while ago and the copper said he too thought it was a waste of time to come out and check on just an AR.


the copper would be right in saying that!!!!!! :lol: :D :lol:
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Post by scrolllock » 30 Oct 2014, 10:35 am

I've heard a rumour (so far unproven and probably false) that there is some movement on deregulating air rifles and paintball markers.

Not holding my breath but here's being hopeful. We might be amazed and it does happen :lol:
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Post by Qldshooter » 30 Oct 2014, 3:06 pm

I should have my brand new 30 year old .17 BSA next week! Rats in the chook shed beware! Any suggestions on the best slugs to get? I was just going to go for the standard flat nose type jobbies.. but there's a sh1t load of others out there..
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Post by Gregg » 31 Oct 2014, 1:22 pm

No reason not to try the cheapies.

They're the best shooters as often as not (for hunting anyway).
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Post by Gee76 » 01 Jan 2021, 10:34 am

I have a 1980 177 Crossman air rifle it's been restored all parts been upgraded hand po lished back to the chrome look.
It's been painted charcoal to cover that brown ****** colour.
it has a haunting scope I put on myself take down birds easy old school is the way to go
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Post by Bello » 06 Jan 2021, 1:05 pm

Hi Mate
I have several older air rifles
177 and 22 caliber
My children leant firearm safety and rifle handling on them. The 177 is an old thing, short, and light so it was easy to hold and aim.
My humble advice is, decided what the air rifle will be used for, that is, hunting of just target work at the range.
Take your wife to the local gun shop and any other gun shop in your area to see how she feels holding different rifles, what's the fit like, what's the trigger like.
If the rifle is for her, them she must decide with your help of course.
Air rifles are great for plinking, no recoil, hardly any noise, so cheap to feed (If you get a beak open or lever style). No experience with co2
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Post by wildcard6 » 08 Jan 2021, 2:50 pm

I have a Diana 340 N-tec .22 caliber air gun. I absolutely love the gas-ram technology, because there's no spring to weaken over time. I believe the working life of this system will outlive my need for the gun too. You can cock the rifle and sit there as long as you like, not having to worry about the spring being compressed and weakening. As for pellets, these new HADES pellets from JSB are hard to beat. I was given some by a pest-control shooter who assures me that they 'smash' pigeons. I've fired them into cakes of soap and they stop after just two cakes and mushroom beautifully. Accuracy-wise, they are better than anything else I've used. The only downside to this gun is that it's not super-easy to cock it. A child or weaker person might find it a bit hard - but then again, they can always get stronger with practice. I'm using a Hawke Optics Vantage .22 rimfire scope on mine, even though it's not designed for use on an air-gun. I checked with Hawke in the U.K. and they assured me that it would work okay on a gas-ram gun and they were not wrong. The only thing I would say is that it lacks parallax adjustment capability and at the short ranges air-guns are used at, this would be a good thing to have. I get occasional misses on pest birds if my shooting position is awkward and my eye isn't centered in the scope for the shot. Otherwise, it will one-hole 5 shots at 25 meters and that's as good as a break-barrel air-gun needs to be. If you can find a Walther LGU in .22 caliber with an under-lever, they are a lot easier to cock, but they are a spring gun and not nearly as powerful as a gas-ram equivalent. Bottom line, some air-guns are kid's toys and fun for a short time. An air-gun you want to kill stuff with requires power so you can hit things further away than 10 meters. Gamo might be worth looking at, but the quality won't be as good as a Diana. The extra few dollars will ensure years of satisfaction. Long after the price is forgotten, quality remains undiminished.
The break-barrel Diana is a 'drooper' and requires special mounts for a scope - check with your gun shop about this. If they don't know what this is - find another gun shop. Check out 'gunroom.com.au' for a start. One problem these days is that the humble springer/gas-ram guns are being forgotten in favour of high-end PCP guns. While unarguably much more powerful and accurate, PCP guns are not for beginners or those on a budget.

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Post by animalpest » 09 Jan 2021, 1:03 pm

I have eight air rifles, from cheap springers through to high end PCP. They are used for pest destuction.

For small amount of shooting birds or plinking, the Gamo are ok.

Good PCP rifles are far superior but expect to pay up to 3K with a good scope.
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Post by Lsfan » 09 Jan 2021, 8:22 pm

Anyone have a stoeger x10? I’ve got a carbon fibre one on layby. Just wondering if they are ok. I thought I may take it to the range with a 22lr to see if it’s any good.
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Post by No1_49er » 09 Jan 2021, 9:38 pm

For a grand, would this do the job for you? http://www.ozgunsales.com/listing/88379 ... rifle.html
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Post by Lsfan » 10 Jan 2021, 8:12 am

No1_49er wrote:For a grand, would this do the job for you? http://www.ozgunsales.com/listing/88379 ... rifle.html

That’s a bit too fancy for me! An amazing bit of gear though.
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