Air Rifles

TXCOONDOG

TXCOONDOG

Well-known member
Since I live near Houston a lot of my places to hunt have been consumed by homes.

There are still very small places (5-25 acres) to hunt, but with homes being that close centerfires are out and a shotgun is to loud.


Bows and crossbows are a great choice for these areas, but I’ve been reading and hearing a little here and there about the use of air rifles in .25 & .308 calibers.

From what little bit that I have read/heard (here via search, magazines, etc) .25 is nice on animals such as coyotes, bobcats, raccoons, etc but really are limited to head shots and .308 calibers would be a better choice for body shots and read/heard that they could be used on larger game like feral hogs, small deer, etc too (shot placement and distance is key).


I need to learn more about air rifles before jumping off into it so where is the best place (website or additional reading material)to learn more about air rifles ?

Manafatures & types
Best Value (referb, etc)
Triggers
Limits & noise (do's & don'ts,FPS, accuracy)
Bullets (rounds nose, etc)
Maintenance (cleaning/care)
Optics
Etc

Any help in greatly appreciated
 
The problem with the rouge is its 1300 buck. Plus all the equipment to go with it. Get a sam yang big bore for 600 you then get more power and more shots and are proven accurate. If your just hunting with it. Get a good hand pump such as a hill pump with moisture trap. You can be hunting for a total of 800 bucks. If you wanted to go big bore that is. Now for small bore nothing will beat the benjamin maruder in .25 and a hand pump shoot the gun its quiet. Get to know it and it is fully capable of taking a coyote and under with proper head shots. If you want to get an airtank most firedepatments will fill the airtank for you and a tank setup will run around 600 buck but then you wont have to hand pump which isnt that hard to do anyways. Check out gatewaytoairguns.org they have a big bore section with alot of info. Whats your price range? That alone is going to play a big part in whats available to you
 
I'll have to wait until after deer season and holidays are over to buy anything.

However, I'm a firm believer in buy once cry once (learned the hard way) and don't want to just settle if it means I'll have to buy again.

Thanks for the info and help

 
Yes air rifles are like crack. Lol. There is nothing like a .25 lead pill slapping a steel plate or game animal . The loud THWAP. Lol oh yea and no ear protection required either.
 
I have several air rifles I have a 25 and a 308 cal also some smaller calibers. If you get into into hunting coyote sized game you will want to go with a pre charged rifle, you will need a pump or tank to fill these guns with high pressure air. My 308 has a fill pressure of 3500 and my 25 has a fill pressure of 3000 psi. Both have proven themselves as coyote killers, the 308 can reach alot farther out I have killed coyotes at 120 dropping it in its tracks with a upper chest shot. the 25 cal you need to stay with head shots and be inside 60 yards and the closer the better. Since getting my 308 I have not shot the 25 cal due to the 308 gives me more options for shot placement, its accurate enough I can head shoot a coyote out to 100 yards easy but you need to know yardage due to bullet drop. Another advantage of the 308 is that I cast my own bullets, I have a lead supply that was given to me so I basicaly shoot for free.
 
Originally Posted By: TXCOONDOGSince I live near Houston a lot of my places to hunt have been consumed by homes.

There are still very small places (5-25 acres) to hunt, but with homes being that close centerfires are out and a shotgun is to loud.


Bows and crossbows are a great choice for these areas, but I’ve been reading and hearing a little here and there about the use of air rifles in .25 & .308 calibers.

From what little bit that I have read/heard (here via search, magazines, etc) .25 is nice on animals such as coyotes, bobcats, raccoons, etc but really are limited to head shots and .308 calibers would be a better choice for body shots and read/heard that they could be used on larger game like feral hogs, small deer, etc too (shot placement and distance is key).


I need to learn more about air rifles before jumping off into it so where is the best place (website or additional reading material)to learn more about air rifles ?

Manafatures & types
Best Value (referb, etc)
Triggers
Limits & noise (do's & don'ts,FPS, accuracy)
Bullets (rounds nose, etc)
Maintenance (cleaning/care)
Optics
Etc

Any help in greatly appreciated

IMO these are the forums to do your research on....just do a search for the rifle you are interested in.

http://www.network54.com/Forum/79537/

http://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/inde...mp;action=forum

http://talonairgun.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=10

I have always suggested getting into bigbores with a Korean gun (.45 SamYang 909, .357 Fire 201/Recluse) to those that ask about them.

Korean guns tuned-up for power by Will Piatt of SaddleMountainGunsmith are a great investment. This will put the total bill at about $500 cheaper than the Rogue, and accuracy is practically guaranteed with the Korean guns.

In most of the states where air rifles are legal to take big game, the caliber must be .40 and up.....one of several reasons I suggest you bypass the Rogue. I have yet to see a comprehensive review that demonstrates the Rogue to perform as well as the tuned Korean guns generally do as far as accuracy, efficiency, low fps shot string variance/shot count, etc. The Rogue just doesn't seem to be there yet.

Feel free to PM me if you would like more specific owner reports on any bigbore airgun.....if I don't have them on file, I know where to find them real quick.

Boolit selection......think of what you would use in a .38spl/.45ACP handgun shooting similar ballistics for hunting. Flat nosed boolits are the most reliable performers.

For the price of the Rogue, you could get a high-quality rifle like this.......basically amounting to a fairly warm loaded .45Colt when using heavy boolits.

https://xp-airguns.com/Ranger.html

Here is a fun read.....tuned SamYang .50 DragonClaw (DC). I think it's for sale (owner moving to Italy and there's no airgun hunting allowed there). If you want cast your own ammo (.50 ammo selection is very limited unless you order your own molds), I suggest you grab this one up.

http://www.network54.com/Forum/79537/thread/1335910676/Couple+of+more+shots+with+the+Claw+-50

I have a few bigbore airgun predator hunts documented here if you care to search my post history.
 
I was just reading TPWD under "Means and Methods" and it seams that it is illegal to use Air Rifles.

I give them a call tomorrow for clarification (Private Property) before getting to in depth on this subject.

Texas: "Does not allow the taking of any game animal with airguns, but does allow the taking of exotics. Therefore you can take rabbit, ground squirrels, prairie dog, coyote, bobcat, feral hogs, rams, and other non-indigenous species. You cannot take squirrel as they are a game animal in most of the state, though in certain areas they have been delisted and can therefore be taken with air power."


Thanks for all the replies.

 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: TXCOONDOGI was just reading TPWD under "Means and Methods" and it seams that it is illegal to use Air Rifles.

I give them a call tomorrow for clarification (Private Property) before getting to in depth on this subject.

Thanks for all the replies.




It's my impression that Texas will allow airguns for non-regulated animals like coyote, Bobcats, wild hogs, etc.

No swqerl hunting in Texas with an airgun.....but Mountain Lion is fair game for airguns in Texas! Go figure.....
 
I was in the middle of typing (correcting) while you were typing.


The Game Wardens are pretty friendly around here so I will talk with them just to be safe.
 
Originally Posted By: TXCOONDOG
The Game Wardens are pretty friendly around here so I will talk with them just to be safe.

Always a good idea.
 
Firearms (Texas)

NEW LAW: Silencers may be used to take any wildlife resource; however, all federal, state and local laws continue to apply.

Game animals and game birds may be hunted with any legal firearm, EXCEPT:

white-tailed deer, mule deer, desert bighorn sheep, and pronghorn antelope may NOT be hunted with rimfire ammunition of any caliber.

shotguns are the only legal firearm that may be used to hunt Eastern turkey during the spring Eastern turkey season (see County Listing). Rifles and handguns may not be used to hunt Eastern turkey.

pellet guns and other air guns are NOT LEGAL.

fully automatic firearms are NOT LEGAL.

a shotgun is the only legal firearm for hunting migratory game birds (see Definitions - Legal Shotgun).


Nongame Animals (Non-Protected): Any lawful firearm, pellet gun, or other air gun is legal.


The following are classified as game animals:

White-tailed deer
Mule deer
Desert bighorn sheep
Pronghorn antelope
Gray or cat squirrel
Red or fox squirrel
Collared peccary or javelina
 
Another good site for info is americanairgunhunter.com.
As for the rogue 357 there are far better choices out there, anything that has a lcd screen isnt going to function well in the cold, as far as accurracy the korean line up of big bores can keep up and probably out perform the rogue, the price of the big bore's from korea are about half that of the rogue too.
 


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