Agree with everything from Bayman. My HW 30 is an absolute joy to shoot and is more accurate at greater distances than any of the much more powerful GAMOs I have had.I think that the OP would be best served by a pumper at this stage because I might be wrong but I think he isn't a very experienced airgunner. There's nothing easier to shoot than an accurate pumper. Anything bigger than an HW 30 is going to have a learning curve.
Quote from: HOSPassassin on December 09, 2022, 02:16:12 PMAgree with everything from Bayman. My HW 30 is an absolute joy to shoot and is more accurate at greater distances than any of the much more powerful GAMOs I have had.I think that the OP would be best served by a pumper at this stage because I might be wrong but I think he isn't a very experienced airgunner. There's nothing easier to shoot than an accurate pumper. Anything bigger than an HW 30 is going to have a learning curve.I am not a noob, but I am not into the high-end guns and PCP's by choice right now. So in that regard, I am not part of the airgun elite, but I know more than the avg guy with an 880. But I have learned way more than I ever knew existed about airguns over the last few years; I will keep learning. I grew up like many North American boys shooting BB and pellet guns for a good part of my youth. I even briefly even had a Diana springer in 177cal as a teenager (I learned early I did not like springers). I got back into airguns when the pandemic started and have focused the most on the 13xx and 22xx platforms. Buddy of mine uses 177 pellet gun for his squirrel problem and 22 sub sonic for his raccoon problem and he lives in a wooded urban neighborhood and can still pull it off. However, I have told him he should get a good 22cal break barrel instead. He traps them in a cage and dispatches them with the bolt action 22lr and says it is super quiet. So if on an acreage, I know that 22lr is an option under the right circumstances, so I don't need to buy a 500 dollar PCP rifle. I like 177 the best because it has less lead, less cost, easier to be accurate with. I am only interested in 22cal airguns for SHTF like the 2289g, AND if I get more serious about airgun hunting. On 5-10 acres, I would not want to be shooting at squirrels up in a tree at a 45* angle and worry about where the bullet was going.
Quote from: Sh00ter on December 09, 2022, 02:35:22 PMQuote from: HOSPassassin on December 09, 2022, 02:16:12 PMAgree with everything from Bayman. My HW 30 is an absolute joy to shoot and is more accurate at greater distances than any of the much more powerful GAMOs I have had.I think that the OP would be best served by a pumper at this stage because I might be wrong but I think he isn't a very experienced airgunner. There's nothing easier to shoot than an accurate pumper. Anything bigger than an HW 30 is going to have a learning curve.I am not a noob, but I am not into the high-end guns and PCP's by choice right now. So in that regard, I am not part of the airgun elite, but I know more than the avg guy with an 880. But I have learned way more than I ever knew existed about airguns over the last few years; I will keep learning. I grew up like many North American boys shooting BB and pellet guns for a good part of my youth. I even briefly even had a Diana springer in 177cal as a teenager (I learned early I did not like springers). I got back into airguns when the pandemic started and have focused the most on the 13xx and 22xx platforms. Buddy of mine uses 177 pellet gun for his squirrel problem and 22 sub sonic for his raccoon problem and he lives in a wooded urban neighborhood and can still pull it off. However, I have told him he should get a good 22cal break barrel instead. He traps them in a cage and dispatches them with the bolt action 22lr and says it is super quiet. So if on an acreage, I know that 22lr is an option under the right circumstances, so I don't need to buy a 500 dollar PCP rifle. I like 177 the best because it has less lead, less cost, easier to be accurate with. I am only interested in 22cal airguns for SHTF like the 2289g, AND if I get more serious about airgun hunting. On 5-10 acres, I would not want to be shooting at squirrels up in a tree at a 45* angle and worry about where the bullet was going. That's a very reasonable concern on such a small piece of land. In that case a .177 wadcutter is indicated. Most of them fly only 200-300 yards at best and they are amazingly effective on small game within their usable range.Just about any kind of break barrel is going to shoot wadcutters too hard to be really accurate unless you stay in the R7/HW30/Diana 240/Hatsan Alpha class. I find that they start to lose accuracy over about 700 fps.
I love my pumpers and prefer them for hunting over break barrels. As a backdoor gun they both have their pros and cons. I hunt with both and this season I’ve killed about as many squirrels with springers as with pumpers. I’ll continue to hunt with my pumpers until all the leaves are off the trees here. Then I’ll have to switch to my magnum springers to get sufficient range. The .25 caliber Hatsan Mod 125 comes out when the range gets out past 40 yards.
Quote from: Blowpipe Sam on December 09, 2022, 08:06:08 PMI love my pumpers and prefer them for hunting over break barrels. As a backdoor gun they both have their pros and cons. I hunt with both and this season I’ve killed about as many squirrels with springers as with pumpers. I’ll continue to hunt with my pumpers until all the leaves are off the trees here. Then I’ll have to switch to my magnum springers to get sufficient range. The .25 caliber Hatsan Mod 125 comes out when the range gets out past 40 yards.No trajectory issues with the 25cal? Have you ever tried a 22 past 40yrds, just curious.
My break barrels seem to shoot Daisy wadcutters okay but that is at 20yrds or less; have not tested them beyond that. The issue I have with the NP break barrels I have is that they do not put out as much power with a 10.5gr pellet. The 7-9gr range seems to be the sweet spot they are tuned for from the factory. On my pumpers, the 10.5gr is always more FPE. So if I were to use a break barrel in 177, I would be relegated to probably 7.9gr Crosman pellets. If I had to shoot a raccoon or a bobcat with a 177, I would really prefer 10.5gr.
Quote from: Sh00ter on December 09, 2022, 04:44:39 PMMy break barrels seem to shoot Daisy wadcutters okay but that is at 20yrds or less; have not tested them beyond that. The issue I have with the NP break barrels I have is that they do not put out as much power with a 10.5gr pellet. The 7-9gr range seems to be the sweet spot they are tuned for from the factory. On my pumpers, the 10.5gr is always more FPE. So if I were to use a break barrel in 177, I would be relegated to probably 7.9gr Crosman pellets. If I had to shoot a raccoon or a bobcat with a 177, I would really prefer 10.5gr.I guess it would help to know your current arsenal.Sounds like you are accustomed to guns you are inquiring about but to shoot a raccoon or a bobcat with a 177? That is not exactly what I would choose. .22 at a minimum. I have a Crosman Genesis NP and a Beeman Kodiak dual cal that are always "at the ready".
Pesting rats and hunting squirrels is 2 different things. Rats are dumb and slow and don't run tree branches. Many times a miss will not send them running. If you bark a squirrel, he's gone.
I'll tell you a story. In the 1960s, growing up as a teenager, I had a Crosman 140 pumper (I actually still have it). I did a lot of pumping and shooting. In the early 1970s, I bought a Diana 27S. It was one of those not well known in the US, break barrel springers. After that, I rarely shot the pumper. Standing there pumping the thing up 10 times before I could take a shot resulted in many a lost shot. You can leave a springer standing behind the door, and with one simple cock, have the gun ready to shoot. Out in the field, the slap, slap, slap, pumping noises aren't exactly stealth. PCPs require too much extra equipment. For springers, I'm talking about moderate power ones. The magnum springers are hard to cock, and uncomfortable to shoot.
Springer, of course.Followup shots:I got a rat tonight on my second shot. He heard the first miss, but he stuck around and I got a bead on him about 10 seconds later. He thought he was hidden behind a leaf, but I picked up a little movement and just went COM where his body must be. That was from about 18-20 yards.I once got 3 shots off on the same rat. That one got away due to a loose stock screw. So there's a potential downside to some springers. Readiness: I keep a pellet in my spring guns. Cock, flip up the scope cover, and that's it. Plus if I have a rat that is being getting too comfortable I can just leave the rifle cocked and keep an eye out. I have no qualms about leaving a springer cocked, other than the paranoia that someone might pick it up and drop it or pull the trigger.Downside of springers is the weight. Hold sensitivity, too... but that also boils down to weight. More weight cures it, anyhow. So HW97k isn't too heavy; it just starts out with enough weight for the power so's to not be hold sensitive.
...I've tried keeping a pellet in the Springer I had, and whenever I'd break the barrel open the pellet would usually get jolted out....