Upland/Small Game
air rifle
12/27/12 @ 7:16 PM
i have a crosman 760 pumpmaster that shoots pellets around 625fps. i was out hunting squirrels today and couldnt seem to kill one. is the crosman 760 strong enough to make an ethical shot or should i look into to buying a stronger air rifle? which air rifle do you think would be the best choice? thanks.
Matt
Displaying 1 to 8 of 8 posts
I'll add my input, but I think the post below me sums it up. Get a PCP air rifle. I've done as much research on air rifles as anyone, and I'll tell you right now you should get a PCP. Breakbarrel springers are very hard to be consistently accurate with. You need to be able to hit a one inch target over and over again at whatever distance you plan on shooting squirrels at. For me with my .25 cal Marauder, this is 50 yards, although I've made 80 yard headshots and had the pellet go through, ricochetting off several trees in the process! It's practically whisper quiet, mine shoots about 24 good hunting shots before it's time to recharge, and there is absolutely no felt recoil. There are downsides to PCP, like having to either hand pump the air into the resevoir, and also the Marauders are fairly heavy rifles. You're going to dish out about $750 I believe for the pre packaged kit at Pyramidair.com, but it's worth it trust me!! Otherwise, check out RWS Diana's for spring guns. Great little guns that don't break the bank. Try and get Nitro Piston if you can, much better for hunting and the cold.
I have been hunting with air rifles for many years and if you get a good gun that has the power and accuracy it is a fantastic choice for squirrels. You will need to spend a little money to get one that will do the job but it is well worth it. I have 2 that I hunt with, I have a Beeman Kodiak 25 cal. break barrel that I needed to replace the spring after about 3yrs.so I opted to put in a nitro piston spring that fit this gun and it still shoots great at about 760 fps and very accurate. With a good scope I have reached out to 65yrds and head shot squirrels with no problem. I bought a Benjamin marauder 25 cal. last year and I would have to say this is the best PCP gun on the market especially for the price. It is not cheap and you need to buy equipment such as a hand pump or scuba tank/carbon fibre tank to fill it up. But this gun is so accurate it is amazing, I can put all 8 shots out it rotary clip at 50 yrds into a 1/2in. group and it usually only looks like 2 or 3 holes. This gun is powerful enough to hunt coyotes and have even watched videos of guys hunting hogs with this gun and putting them down with 1 shot to the head.
I would say to any one who wants to hunt with air guns to pay the price for a decent gun that has the power and accuracy, you wont be sorry. There are a lot of nitro piston guns on the market that are not too high priced and will do the job. Look on line and do some research and you will find something that works for you.
Pyramid Air sells all sorts of guns and has a lot of informative info/videos and reviews. Check out their site if you want.
Hope you all have a Happy New Year and if you can get that air gun that you really want. 
If you have any questions message me and I will see what I can do to help.
If you have any questions message me and I will see what I can do to help.
IMHO, Wounding animals is unethical. If you like hunting animals I would buy a decent air rifle {I like break barrel style} and keep the 760 for plinking targets or cans only.
I have a Crossman storm. Its a break barrel .177 and is suppose to shoot 1200fps with a specific ammo. I shoot Beeman pellets out of it and shot through a chronograph and was getting 1025fps. The scope that comes with it isn't the best, Its a 4x32 cheapy but gets the job done.
The 760 is a piece of junk, sorry but it's true. I bought one for my baby brother when he was 8 so he could learn the basics of gun handling. It's probably one of the most inaccurate air rifles you can get, that's probably why it's only $25. If you want a real air rifle, try a spring fed break barrel. Also, I would not shoot an air rifle when it's this cold outside. The cold air is denser making it almost useless in a pump air rifle so even if you hit a squirrel, it probably won't even penetrate the skin. Don't believe me, leave your air rifle outside in the cold for one hour and then try shooting an aluminum can with it and see what happens(have your saftety glasses on).
Displaying 1 to 8 of 8 posts
