I Did a bad thing!!

EdCaffreyMS

EdCaffreyMS

"The Montana Bladesmith"
Since .22 ammo is not existent, and with spring coming to Montana.....that means it's time to shoot gophers and Prairie Dogs! So I thought it might not be a bad idea to get myself a "good" airgun, because .22 cal pellets are fairly plentiful.

Well, I went a dipped a toe into the PCP (pre-charged pneumatic) airgun ocean..... and I'm afraid the PCP sea monster has swollowed me up! :)

I order myself a Benjamin Marauder/Syrod combo gun & scope.... it arrived today, along with the 4500psi compressor that makes it tick.
The gun works off 3000psi compressed air, and slings 14.3gr/.22 cal pellets at about 1000 fps. More then enough to put the smack down on gophers and prairie dogs. :)
I never knew this thing would be so accurate, and such a blast to shoot. Absolutely zero recoil, and sounds wise.... pssft... is about it.

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With the Lupus, I am certainly not as steady as I used to be, but this little gun can make even me look good! :) In all honesty.... it's more accurate than I am.

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Look out gophers!

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V

vlegski

Well-Known Member
Had a .177 spring gun since the 60s. Many a critters has gone on to the happy hunting grounds because of it.. great for kids learning as long as your arm holds out.. nowadays thats about 30 rnds to soon for kids. Havent tried a pneumatic due to cost. But they are starting to look better. Lol. That one group is smiling
 
C

cdent

Well-Known Member
Hey Ed, stick a full size gopher silhouette out on the dike, and calibrate your hash marks as a range finder. You gotta learn that rainbow. I still have my pump up Benjamin from near fifty years ago, thought I was a big time explorer hunter.

Went out after the gophers a couple of weekends ago, it was too warm to pass up. There weren't too many out, none of the little pups yet, but plenty enough for some fun. Might get out for a bit this weekend. Don't wait too long, the grass might start growing. It's a thing of beauty calling shots when you can see 'em kicking up some dust.
 
K

KenH

Well-Known Member
Yep, those "big bore" airguns are something else. I've got a .177 Benjamin Marauder and they are amazingly accurate. I fill my PCP from SCUBA tanks since I had them already. Sometimes I've wished I'd got the .22 or even .25 cal, but they use more air and I do most of my shooting inside so the wind isn't an issue. Wait until you try 100 yr shooting - you'll be even more amazed.

Do a bit of research on Lewis and Clark's airgun they took on their trip. A couple of links to read about:
warfarehistorynetwork.com

The Girandoni Air Rifle: The Lewis and Clark Expedition's Secret Weapon

Almost entirely phased out by 1810, it was during the Lewis and Clark expedition that the Girandoni air rifle fully came into its own.
warfarehistorynetwork.com warfarehistorynetwork.com

Lewis's Air Gun | Discovering Lewis & Clark ®

www.lewis-clark.org www.lewis-clark.org

As written by Lewis, he "charged it and fired myself seven times fifty five yards with pretty good success; after which a Mr. Blaze Cenas being unacquainted with the management of the gun suffered her to discharge herself accedentaly the ball passed through the hat of a woman about 40 yards distanc cutting her temple about the fourth of the diameter of the ball; shee feel [fell] instantly and the blood gusing [gushing] from her temple we were all in the greatest consternation supposed she was dead by [but] in a minute she revived to our enespressable satisfaction, and by examination we found the wound by no means mortal or even dangerous; called the hands aboard and proceeded."

The lady wasn't dead so no big deal it seems. Imagine the results today.
 
EdCaffreyMS

EdCaffreyMS

"The Montana Bladesmith"
razor-edge-knives said:
Now I gotta see the compressor!! It came with one?
Click to expand...
OH no... it didn't come with one..... the compressor was an extra $325! A lot of folks buy the special high pressure hand pumps, but my body just won't let me do that anymore.... so when I went the route of the PCP guns.... I knew I'd have to suck it up and just buy a compressor.

Look up Yong Heng compressors on the net and/or Amazon. There is a ton of YouTube stuff about them. They are very small, water cooled, and of course made in China..... but the alternative is to dump over $1K on a "name brand".... and they're still made in China. I did a BUNCH of research before finally dropping the coin on one.... So folks have had them for a couple of years, and not had any issues.... but those same folks are changing the compressor/crankcase oil ever couple of hours of use, using ONLY the high grade oils, and are literally running ice water to cool them.
It's supposed to be super windy here over the weekend, as in 70mph winds (we have a huge high pressure front moving in), so I doubt much shooting will get done....but that's OK.... March Madness is on TV.... and I got knives to make anyway! :)
 
EdCaffreyMS

EdCaffreyMS

"The Montana Bladesmith"
Here are pics of the compressor. Supposed to be 4500psi Max. I can already tell that I am going to have to get a better filter/trap/dryer for it..... I've only filled the gun tank (105cc) 4 times....and that tiny trap in the pics is already wet inside!

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John Wilson

John Wilson

Well-Known Member
air guns make A LOT of sense with the current ammo situation, not to mention the capability that they offer. PCP has taken that capability to a whole new level. Even the new gas piston guns are incredible, approaching .22LR energy. That’s crazy.

Having a compressor opens up the PCP world immensely. Like Ken says, a scuba tank is a great solution too if you have local dive shops or welding supply shops that will charge the tanks for you. I didn’t know that you could get a compressor that inexpensively now. That is a huge opportunity...

I coach a 4H smallbore rifle club and it’s gotten to the point that we are concerned about having a club next year because ammo is completely unavailable. If it doesn’t turn around then air rifles will be the only way that we can continue.
 
Drew Riley

Drew Riley

Well-Known Member
KenH said:
Yep, those "big bore" airguns are something else. I've got a .177 Benjamin Marauder and they are amazingly accurate. I fill my PCP from SCUBA tanks since I had them already. Sometimes I've wished I'd got the .22 or even .25 cal, but they use more air and I do most of my shooting inside so the wind isn't an issue. Wait until you try 100 yr shooting - you'll be even more amazed.

Do a bit of research on Lewis and Clark's airgun they took on their trip. A couple of links to read about:
warfarehistorynetwork.com

The Girandoni Air Rifle: The Lewis and Clark Expedition's Secret Weapon

Almost entirely phased out by 1810, it was during the Lewis and Clark expedition that the Girandoni air rifle fully came into its own.
warfarehistorynetwork.com warfarehistorynetwork.com

Lewis's Air Gun | Discovering Lewis & Clark ®

www.lewis-clark.org www.lewis-clark.org

As written by Lewis, he "charged it and fired myself seven times fifty five yards with pretty good success; after which a Mr. Blaze Cenas being unacquainted with the management of the gun suffered her to discharge herself accedentaly the ball passed through the hat of a woman about 40 yards distanc cutting her temple about the fourth of the diameter of the ball; shee feel [fell] instantly and the blood gusing [gushing] from her temple we were all in the greatest consternation supposed she was dead by [but] in a minute she revived to our enespressable satisfaction, and by examination we found the wound by no means mortal or even dangerous; called the hands aboard and proceeded."

The lady wasn't dead so no big deal it seems. Imagine the results today.
Click to expand...
Say what?! I had no idea air guns were around that long ago! One article I read said that the gun could shoot through a 1" pine board at 100 yards. That's insane. Apparently the gun was first made around 1780, or about 100 years before Edison invented the lightbulb. They weren't filling it with an electric compressor, that's for sure! :D
 
K

KenH

Well-Known Member
Ed, you done done it again - cost me money! Just placed an order for a Yong Heng compressor myself. I don't do much scuba diving these days, but it surely will fill an air tank for the PCP gun. Compressor should be here next Thursday.
 
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