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Hey folks,looking at buying an air rifle for stepping up my annual starling genocide program :gun14:

This will be in town killing the little bast@rds before they nest in my shop and decimate my cherry tree.

Any experience/opinions/comments are welcome.

This will be my first real air rifle,been limping by with my 9 year old's crossman and finally had enough of that:bash:

Thanks,Sean
 
You only need around 700~800 fps and .177 caliber to cleanly do the job. That velocity will almost splatter an 8 grain .177 diabolo pellet against a steel plate at 10 meters. From my experience [as echoed in the video], the magnum springers are not at all fun to shoot. They have a stiff spring that creates a very uncomfortable double-snap firing behavior. The first recoil motion happens when the spring is released and the second when the piston slams home and compresses the air. The harsh motion will literally destroy a firearm scope. A milder rifle will be much more accurate, cock easier and have a smoother action, and be all around more enjoyable. The match accuracy with a good air rifle will have you shooting it a lot, so IMO step around the magnum marketing hype and get one with better manners.

YouTube - ‪Ruger Air Magnum - Super Velocity .177 Spring Rifle‬‏
 
Interesting.

I watched that video earlier tonight.

I liked the way it looked with the heavier bullets that slowed things down and made for better accuracy and less noise.

Any experience with Gamo air rifles?
 
As far as the recoil and optics damage goes...does all of this fly out the window if you use a "real" scope? I'd like to think that if a scope can handle a 7-8# 300winmag it'll take any air rifle in stride....
 
......Any experience with Gamo air rifles?.... if you use a "real" scope? I'd like to think that if a scope can handle a 7-8# 300winmag it'll take any air rifle in stride....

The Gamo airguns are strong designs, but just a bit less finished. They are priced well and far better quality than the Chinese stuff. Gamo builds for other labels, so that says a lot about their standing within the industry.

Your scope might hold up on a lower velocity air rifle. If it were mine, I wouldn't put it on that magnum. It's about how the elements are secured in the tube.
 
Back to the topic...

The Ruger air rifles are NOT made by Ruger. They use the Ruger name and logo, but are made in China.

From my personal experience...They are no worse, and no better, than any other mediocre, imported spring-air rifle. So, in this price range, pick out the one you want, make the best deal, and it will accomplish what you want it to.

WAYNO.
 
You might want to check your local regulations to find out if you can do that legally in town. I know most cities and villages take a dim view of people doing that.

That's exactly why I won't be using a .22 no matter the ammo. :) This is a small redneck town but they'll still frown on discharging firearms in city limits.

Sounds like maybe I'll be sticking with a european gamo rifle. That's what I was looking at in the first place when I ran across the ruger.

So as far as gamos go are there any that are better or worse than others?

Are there other rifles in the same $/quality range I should be considering?
 
That's exactly why I won't be using a .22 no matter the ammo. :) This is a small redneck town but they'll still frown on discharging firearms in city limits.

Sounds like maybe I'll be sticking with a european gamo rifle. That's what I was looking at in the first place when I ran across the ruger.

So as far as gamos go are there any that are better or worse than others?

Are there other rifles in the same $/quality range I should be considering?


I bought a Crossman Nitro 22 cal, nice gun for $200, but then I found a Beeman R-1 for $600, REALLY nice gun. One doesn't shoot any better , but the Beeman has a trigger to die for. But you can get triggers for the Crossman for $35. the only other difference was how fast it shoots. Beeman 720fps. Crossman 640 fps. RWS's and Gamos are really nice guns, it depends what you want to accomplish and how much want too spend. By the way I'd let the Crossman go for $150. Most towns consider air rifles as firearms, along with bows and arrows, spudguns. Soooo don't let your neighbors know what your doing. F Grump
 
and...

The Ruger Air Magnum appears to be a XISICO XS28M, a Chinese made clone of a RWS Diana 350 P Magnum.

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...The Ruger Air Magnum appears to be a XISICO XS28M, a Chinese made clone of a RWS Diana 350 P Magnum.

The video claimed the Ruger Air Magnum was an RWS 350, but did not clarify the place of manufacture. No doubt it could be a Chinese product, just about everything is these days.
 
If you are looking to discreetly eliminate small pests you might consider the Gamo Whisper. It has a built in sound reduction system that might lend itself well for your purpose.

Make sure the scope you get is rated for an air rifle. It's a common mistake to presume that because a scope works on .300 WinMag that it will work on a measely air rifle. The recoil on springer air rifles goes forward while the recoil of a firearm goes to the rear. Most scope manufacturers stake the internal glass in place on one side which works fine for a firearm but it's on the wrong side for a springer air rifle and can come apart internally. Leupold makes a good scope that is double staked and they don't fall apart in an air rifle. Unless you're willing to buy a scope that costs 2-3 times more than your air rifle get an air rifle scope.
 
Went ahead and ordered a Gamo Big Cat from Cabela's. Doing in store pickup so it should be here in a few days. It comes with a Gamo 3-9x40 scope,we'll see how that turns out.

<broken link removed>
 
Good luck with your Cherry trees. I myself got one bowl of perfect cherries last year, but at least I get some target practice.

250rebel005.jpg
 
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Big Cat came today.

Ran a couple quick groups to get it on paper and it seems to shoot well. Initial groups getting the scope zero'd were nickel/dime size at 20 yards using a plastic tote and my kid's bicyle helmet as a rest :D .

The 3-9 scope that comes with the Cabelas refurb is a BSA and seems decent.
 

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