Crosman 66 Hunting? Daisy 880 Hunting?

[DavidS]

It has been a long time since I have been hunting with AirGuns.    As such I would ask what people that have used the gun think about hunting with the Crosman 66, as well as the Daisy 880.

I also have a Crosman 2289 that I will use for hunting, though not so concerned with that one.

My Crosman 66 has been modified to produce significantly more energy than factory stock, and I will eventually take the time to increase the power of the 880.

When I was young I had used the Crosman 66 quite a bit for hunting, and a Daisy .177 Powerline MSP (I think it was an 880 though not sure [been to long]).   I still have an accurate enough shot off hand at the distances that I hunt and these rifles produce the needed energy, and I have studdied the laws where I plan on hunting next year.

Since it has been over a decade and a half since I have had the chance to do any hunting I would like to know what others think of there experiences with hunting with these two guns.

Thank you for any information.

[Marc]

Shot my first rabbit with an 880, but he required a finishing shot.  I used to hunt with one a lot when I was a kid, with iron sights.  Dropped one squirrel clean with it at about 15 yards, neck shot.  Also shot quite a few pigeons with it - rarely a clean kill.

Today I'd scope it and make sure I could put em' in a dime size group, and limit shots to 15-20 yards for sure. 

Wow - thinking about that gun is bringing back a lot of memories!

If you have more powerful guns I'd really pass on the 880 for most game.

[DavidS]

@Marc:
Thank you for that.   As I am into power modding my guns, and the 880 looks like it has a lot of extra to squeeze out of it, potentially much more than my other guns I do think that it will end up being my most powerful .177 given time.

[stonykill]

  so far my 880 has only killed rats, a weasel and starlings. One shot and dead. I use 10.5 heavy domes. If I am still achieving 600 fps at 10 pumps that's 8fpe. More than needed for rabbit, squirrel and smaller. WITH PROPER shot placement. I pass on EVERY shot that I am not 100% sure of a clean head shot on mammals or a good breast shot on feathers. Period.

   these are not my figures. Nervoustrigger ran these numbers a year ago on his boys 880.

   

  so instock form, if YOU are a good shot and your 880 groups well and is accurate to 20 yards small game hunting is on. More than enough power to do it dead stock if you do your part. IF you do not do your part don't blame not enough power. A bad shot is a bad shot. All there is to it. And 20fpe will not help you recover a gut shot tree rat any easier than 8 fpe will.

[DavidS]

@Stonykill:
I agree with you 100% on that.   any gun that will produce more than 7FPE at the muzzle will give you a good kill with in 25 yards if you can place the shot.   That is something that I learned very young.

I am mostly curious about what limits people find with hunting with the current versions of these guns.  Obviously carry weight is no problem, and these are both extremely accurate guns so this is not an issue.  This leaves the question of what fails, how do the withstand a little bit of lite dust in the end of the barrel (sometimes unavoidable), what conditions cause issues.

Obviously as they are MSPs the lower the temp the higher the MV all else equal, though lower temp also means denser air and thus faster fall off of power.

[stonykill]

@Stonykill:
I agree with you 100% on that.   any gun that will produce more than 7FPE at the muzzle will give you a good kill with in 25 yards if you can place the shot.   That is something that I learned very young.

I am mostly curious about what limits people find with hunting with the current versions of these guns.  Obviously carry weight is no problem, and these are both extremely accurate guns so this is not an issue.  This leaves the question of what fails, how do the withstand a little bit of lite dust in the end of the barrel (sometimes unavoidable), what conditions cause issues.

Obviously as they are MSPs the lower the temp the higher the MV all else equal, though lower temp also means denser air and thus faster fall off of power.

  I'm a woodworker. My 880 follows me in the shop daily. i keep it close by. Dust happens in a wood shop. It hunts in the rain, the snow. It plinks in the rain and snow and zero F weather. Don't know if that is what you want or not...but it's all I got........

[DavidS]

@stonykill:
That is exactly the type of experience I am interested in.    Thank you for that on the Daisy 880.


@EVERY-ONE:
Any similar level of experience with the Crosman 66?

More on the Daisy 880?

[bradyman1]

I have taken squirrels with my 880 out to 25 yards and even a skunk at 20 yards with it. Do your part on shot placement and it will take care of business.

[Bryan Heimann]

If the gun is accurate, at this power level it will take squirrels and cottontail rabbits cleanly with one well placed shot, from probably as far away as you can kit the 1" kill zone in field conditions.  I'd be confident out to 25 yards, maybe a little further if you have a good one.  The daisy 880 I had as a boy would easily penetrate the first layer of a turlte's shell at the muzzle on ten pumps. But it took a headshot to kill them cleanly.  Dispatched many turtles as a child with my 880, even a few snapper.  much tougher than a rabbit or squirrel. they weren't all hanging from my line.  If I could hit em behind the eye they were dead.  Big if though, hard shot on a turtle floating in the water.  But squirrels and especially rabbits should be no problem with the 880.  I rolled a cottontail as a boy with just a daisy 840 and a bb (probably a 300 fps shooter) fortunately I had a good dog to finish it off, lord knows how many shots it would have taken to finish that poor bunny.  But the 880 and the 66 will get her done as long as you have the discipline to pass on shots you can 't make.

[Bryan Heimann]

@Stonykill:
I agree with you 100% on that.   any gun that will produce more than 7FPE at the muzzle will give you a good kill with in 25 yards if you can place the shot.   That is something that I learned very young.

I am mostly curious about what limits people find with hunting with the current versions of these guns.  Obviously carry weight is no problem, and these are both extremely accurate guns so this is not an issue.  This leaves the question of what fails, how do the withstand a little bit of lite dust in the end of the barrel (sometimes unavoidable), what conditions cause issues.

Obviously as they are MSPs the lower the temp the higher the MV all else equal, though lower temp also means denser air and thus faster fall off of power.

My boys both have daisy 880's.  I keep them in the shed, and it is very dusty in there.  I believe they are 2-3 years old.  I keep the pump head oiled with non-detergent 30 wt. and I store them cocked with a pump or two of air.  I have a board from a fence that I like to shoot from time to time, and on ten pumps they will still put a pellet through that board.  Cphp, pointed, or 10.5 grain cpum doesn't matter.  One is literally 5 shots in one hole accurate at ten yards, the other shoots them into a cloverleaf or a little larger ragged hole but actually seems to shoot a little harder.  The heavy crosmans are the favorite pellet, the points are least favorite but still good for half inch at ten yards.  Killed many bullfrogs this summer . Still in freezer, probably should cook them soon...

[DavidS]

WOW!

I guess it is time to find some one in with a good condition new generation Daisy 880 that would like to trade for a near Stock good condition Crosman 66, so I have an extra Daisy 880.   I am really thinking more and more that for .177 the Daisy 880 is the way to go.   Not going to make any requests here as I can not afford shipping for a while I am saving up to get some land, so I would have to find someone local.

[lillysdad621]

I also got a powermaster 66 and i find it to be quite appropiate for squirrel and pests at 20 yards or less... starlings you may stretch out to 30, but i actually shoot mine open sights, and the best level of accuracy i can get is 1 inch at 45 feet. I like to bring it with me while walking the dog, and i use it at 8 pumps only with daisy wadcutters (7.5). I am shooting 565 fps and it is deadly on chipmunks... sometimes i sit near my wood pile where they hide and pump it up and load it... My back against the faence and as soon as a little head pops up wham! pellet to the noggin... I am thinking on putting a 4x32 on it and zeroed it at 22 yards... it will be point and shoot from 15 yards to 25... i just wish that the receiver was metal... the scope messes up the balance of the rifle. I put mine together from a modern 5 shot clip and an older single shot... black stocks, black shroud, single shot. black sights...

[Bryan Heimann]

Crosman 66 is a good one, too.  Comparable to the 880, and with. Crosman you can always get parts to fix it super cheap- probably some real good mods for it, too.  It is nice to have a choice...

[K.O.]

I have taken quail with an 880 and yes a good  .177 is usable for hunting.

I prefer as much fpe and speed as I can get though... .22 bucks wind better and .25 is better at it than .22 and 30g is better than 20.1g...

the trick is to get the speed to the point they are decently flat shooting.

If I have to pump a little more to get as much fpe as I can  I am willing so if you ask me if I would rather hit a rabbit/tree rat  with 3fpe or

14fpe...

me I like the 13xx platform a lot there  are many advantages to it,  that is why I turned my 2100 into one  it will very easily change

from .177, .22, .20 and .25

I just recently looked at the  66/664 and realized  it will also have some advantages as a 13xx power plant...

I am not against any of the guns mentioned but for long trips the ease of maintenance  power and the ability to have multi calibers it is very

hard to beat a well tuned 13xx.

learn how to get the leade to its best and just how simple the power mods can be...(you can go expensive or inexpensive).

I know the chances are not big but it does happen(it did to me a coyote) and you are faced with a rabid yote, coon or wild dog, tell me you

would rather not have 20+ fpe...

way back when I did a lot of 2 month hikes/ exploration in the 70's and 80's I wished for a .25 pumper and have said so before but what I had

was  700-800 fps .22...

point is by your description of what you want to do with it this is my honest opinion.  quail for the day heck I got a few with a wrist rocket

when I was about 10 and good round rocks are not all that hard to find...

[K.O.]

My response is based on your comment in the other thread

"If I am out in the woods for a couple of weeks hunting having to carry everything with me"

[lillysdad621]

K.O. what gun did you carry with you on your hikes that did 700 to 800 in .22? by the way, you are right. the 13xx platform is the best for the job. Not a sniping tool but within 25 yards in any caliber is very efficient. I have issues getting over 510 fps with a .22 and the 10 inch barrel. i generally pump 12 times, but do you know any tricks to speed it up without resorting to a longer barrel? in my eyes. 550 is the speed with 14.3 gr... daisy.

[DavidS]

@K.O:
As to the 13xx platform I have my 2289g, that is a good consistent 17FPE shooter.

@lillysdad:
It is very easy tomodify a 2289g or 1322 to reach 700FPS with out spending much money.   Though you will have to pump 18 times to reach 700FPS.

[K.O.]

Back in those days it was mostly a Benji but for a while a first variant 2200 both modded by a friends dad who said that his dad had taught him. Modding is not a new thing.

The 30 yards was my rule also but it was more because of my eyes Imo.

I think 550 is very good for the 10.5' barrel and if you can get more tell me how that is about it I think.

My 2289 clone is spot on at 30 yards and scoped I might push it to 35-40 but my back yard range is only 30.

One small trick it to not use an extended probe I go to the effort of a seating tool to seat the pellet past the port.

A problem with many of the 13xx barrel is you usually need some leade work in that process I made mine to seat pellets past the port with a

tap or shake. I did it more for accuracy than speed though.

[K.O.]

Port to .160
http://www.network54.com/Forum/275684/thread/1211140448/1211339438/some+interesting+valve+stuff+for+pumpers+(Pics)

and valve work I have read stuffing the piston helps but have not done it yet.

[DavidS]

I usually go with a stuffed piston.  Though I have a steel piston ( I like the stuffed better).

For my 2289:
-Stuffed piston.
-Shimmed Cup.
-Slight nose trim on valve.
-Shim to take space between Valve O-Ring and Valve head.
-Slight reduction of valve volume with a hollow Spring guide.
- Ported the vavle.
-Increased ID of Transfer port.
-Lighter Valve Spring.
-Steel Breech.
-24 inch barrel.
-Recrowned barrel.



Almost all of the same mods on one of my Powermaster 66's, just no change in the breech or barrel.