12 ft lb guys, why use a big gun?

[AKM]

I'm mainly a backyard pester so my guns are set right around 12fpe for sound control and safety. My normal range is 5-50 yards.

I fear ricochets and over penetration so a 12fpe rifle helps in that regard while still delivering humane kills.

Just last night a ground squirrel popped out from under my deck while I was in my shop. The shot required that I hang out my shop window and shoot sideways to clear a garbage can.

I used my P-rod to achieve this. A big long and heavy air rifle would not have done this near as well or as fast, probably would have ran out of time or missed the shot with a big heavy gun.

[Ribbonstone]

Do live in the U.S.

Have no limitations on airguns...have some that are -6 foot pounds...some that are +60 foot pounds.

Have too darned many airguns.

Buty even without being an Anglophile,I still ened up with a bunch of PCP's hanging around 12 foot pounds. 

(Although you have to admit,becasue I used the term Anglofile,I've must have  considered it....which has to seem odd for a Hillbilly/Cajun back ground).

Without the legal restrictions,really don't care if threy go up to 13.5 foot pounds or if they hang around 11.2 foot pounds....basically are 12 foot pound rifles that run efficently and shoot great.

They run from just under 4 pounds (far left) to just under 11pounds (far right)

THey all could be proportionally shorter/little lighter if used "bare barrel" (without the LDC or the shroud extentions).


DSCN2942 by Robert Dean, on Flickr

IF I'm walking miles and miles,not shooting much....will pick up one of the left sided rifles.If I'm staying in one place and shooting a bunch (like +220 shots per fill) will pick up the one on the far right.

Eveything else...like shorter hunts with less walking,but still shooting catch-as-catch can without a formal rest....gets delt with by the middle rifles.

Why?...results.  Really short and light is great for carry,getting on target quick...but with a bit of real-world accuracy sacrifice.

Meidum weight,but adult sized,are the choice for all around use.

The big heavy 12 foot pounder sits on the bags so nicely, that the over all average accuracy is measurably better.

Evidently it  bothers/offends some folks...always get helpful hints on how to boost the power up....thanks in advance, but no need...have others that do that.

[fwbsport]

Do live in the U.S.

Have no limitations on airguns...have some that are -6 foot pounds...some that are +60 foot pounds.

Have too darned many airguns.

Buty even without being an Anglophile,I still ened up with a bunch of PCP's hanging around 12 foot pounds. 

(Although you have to admit,becasue I used the term Anglofile,I've must have  considered it....which has to seem odd for a Hillbilly/Cajun back ground).

Without the legal restrictions,really don't care if threy go up to 13.5 foot pounds or if they hang around 11.2 foot pounds....basically are 12 foot pound rifles that run efficently and shoot great.

They run from just under 4 pounds (far left) to just under 11pounds (far right)

THey all could be proportionally shorter/little lighter if used "bare barrel" (without the LDC or the shroud extentions).


DSCN2942 by Robert Dean, on Flickr

IF I'm walking miles and miles,not shooting much....will pick up one of the left sided rifles.If I'm staying in one place and shooting a bunch (like +220 shots per fill) will pick up the one on the far right.

Eveything else...like shorter hunts with less walking,but still shooting catch-as-catch can without a formal rest....gets delt with by the middle rifles.

Why?...results.  Really short and light is great for carry,getting on target quick...but with a bit of real-world accuracy sacrifice.

Meidum weight,but adult sized,are the choice for all around use.

The big heavy 12 foot pounder sits on the bags so nicely, that the over all average accuracy is measurably better.

Evidently it  bothers/offends some folks...always get helpful hints on how to boost the power up....thanks in advance, but no need...have others that do that.

I think you are a PCP man!  I think that is superb to stick with it the way you like it.

I love my PCPS but all of them are "down" because I left them too long without looking at them (leaked air) or shot them too much to recharge them (TM 1000 that's supposed to be a famous company, RAW) but the work to make sure the gauge was right and the shot count right killed me on using them.

I would take a Tarantula or Black Widow or Daystate Huntsman from the 2000s and use it to date but now it's all "Crown" this and that "name" for Daystate and the Tarantula by FX is non-existent.  I did buy the .30 FX Boss to my disappointment but that rifle took ALL the fun away from a simple PCP like the Black Widow or Tarantula or Huntsman with the rotating clip inside the rifle.

After those PCPS came Air Force this and ugly tactical PCPS I wouldn't be caught dead with.

I'd rather an R7 instead of any PCP offering today.  Even better if I needed power with accuracy I'd get a Diana 54 and say to grub with all the rest.

And you all know I am biased to a springer always instead of PCP.

But Mr. Ribbonstone, I would enjoy your company to try and convert me to today's PCPs!  The best ones were made vintage years and today it's all plastic and rotary daisys.

 

[bReTt]

More weight equals more inertia, which then translates to more stability and potential accuracy. Light weight doesn't do you much good if you can't hit things.

Definitely true if you are shooting off a rest.  If you are standing, then supporting more weight tends to reduce the amount of time you can aim, before fatigue sets in.  When your muscles are fatigued they tend toward tremor.  Sure, you want to use your skeleton as much as possible, but that is not always possible.

Strictly speaking it is not weight, but moment that matters:  Weight x distance from your body.  The older I get, the sooner too much moment starts to wear out my ability to aim.

That's why offhand shooters condition themsslves to hold a heavier (more steady) gun for time/shots required.  The best of both worlds.  There is a point where more weight is detrimental but generally speaking weight = stability when shooting offhand.

[fwbsport]

More weight equals more inertia, which then translates to more stability and potential accuracy. Light weight doesn't do you much good if you can't hit things.

Definitely true if you are shooting off a rest.  If you are standing, then supporting more weight tends to reduce the amount of time you can aim, before fatigue sets in.  When your muscles are fatigued they tend toward tremor.  Sure, you want to use your skeleton as much as possible, but that is not always possible.

Strictly speaking it is not weight, but moment that matters:  Weight x distance from your body.  The older I get, the sooner too much moment starts to wear out my ability to aim.

That's why offhand shooters condition themsslves to hold a heavier (more steady) gun for time/shots required.  The best of both worlds.  There is a point where more weight is detrimental but generally speaking weight = stability when shooting offhand.

I can't shoot the HW50 offhand for good results.  I'd rather a 12 pound D54 .20 Hector Special to make sure the target is obliterated.

I can also use the HW95L .22 or .25 better than most and that is around the 12 ft lb area in the first place.

I can shoot any HW80 better than an HW50 and any HW95L better as well so why waste the time with the HW50?  It's an "in between" light rifle incapable of dealing with its own vibration pattern compared to anything lighter (R7) or heavier (R9) and a waste of time.

I have the .22 HW50 but it's not my favorite .22.

The favorite .22 is the HW95L .22 with its Z3 Swarovski and mount.

The HW95L .25 with the Trophy does better at accuracy.  Go figure!

[Michael Edelman]

The recent generations of airgunners here- those who’ve picked it up in the last twenty years- all seem to be possessed by the need to have more and more powerful airguns. (That sort of thing isn’t limited to airguns, of course. Sporting magazines have a lot of people convinced that you can’t hunt deer without an AR in the latest new cartridge, a 4WD ORV, and this year’s camo pattern.)

For me, the attraction of an airgun has always been that it’s quiet, accurate, simple, and inexpensive to use.  If I want a gun with 60-120 foot pounds of energy it’s much easier and a lot cheaper to use a .22LR than to get involved with high powered airguns. A lightweight spring piston gun around 12 ft-lb is easy to carry, easy to cock, and teaches you how to really hunt.

[anti-squirrel]

I can answer the why part easily.

Same reason .25 caliber is enjoyed in the UK.  Those big pellets buck the wind very well.  Otherwise, like Brett said, those physically larger guns are more stable when detuned.  Heck, I shoot my 95QE offhand and find it was easier to shoot than my 10 FPE CZ-634, which is only .177 and half the power.

The recent generations of airgunners here- those who’ve picked it up in the last twenty years- all seem to be possessed by the need to have more and more powerful airguns. (That sort of thing isn’t limited to airguns, of course. Sporting magazines have a lot of people convinced that you can’t hunt deer without an AR in the latest new cartridge, a 4WD ORV, and this year’s camo pattern.)

For me, the attraction of an airgun has always been that it’s quiet, accurate, simple, and inexpensive to use.  If I want a gun with 60-120 foot pounds of energy it’s much easier and a lot cheaper to use a .22LR than to get involved with high powered airguns. A lightweight spring piston gun around 12 ft-lb is easy to carry, easy to cock, and teaches you how to really hunt.

Marketing and hype sells high-power airguns.  People are suckers.

RE: 60 to 120 FPE, there's a number of PCPs that shoot there and while more expensive initially than a garden-variety .22LR, over the life of ownership they are cheaper with every passing shot (pellets simply cost less) AND are legal to shoot in a suburban backyard, plus less risk of damaging property, plus PCPs are pretty darn easy to shoot.  I'll take my Leshiy and Lelya any day over my Savage MarkII, especially since the PCPs are shrouded/quiet.