I can see why people hate air rifles.

[thirty-ought-six]

Sure, really nice air rifles might exist if you want to spend over $300, then you might as well buy the real thing.

To the dismay of Walmart's and Dunham's Customer Service, I've been through 5 different high powered rifles, including Crossman, Ruger (Umarex) and Gamo.

I've reached the same conclusion..

The scopes SUCK.

On the last one (Ruger), I tightened the scope screws to the mount using loctite, and the stupid scope would still move, and loose it's adjustment.

I'm thinking the amount of recoil present screws up the scope. People think air rifles don't kick, and they don't, but they have double recoil which jars the crap out of the frame, which is hell on the scope.

 

[splattergun]

The scope and the rifle are 2 separate issues. It is not uncommon for a cheap scope to be packaged with a decent rifle, air powered or powder powered.
I have recently bought a couple air rifles, including a Ruger. One came with a fairly decent scope, the other is not so good (the Ruger). So what? I did due diligence before purchase. I read many reviews on the guns in question and went in knowing the scope was less than stellar. I'll get around to replacing it eventually. Aside from that, I'm please with the accuracy of the gun, without the scope.

 

[HOOfan_1]

I had a cheap Crossman pump when I was a kid never had a problem with the scope shooting at ~25 yards. I can think of plenty of reasons to buy an air rifle.

Not a firearm
Legal to discharge in many places a firearm can't be.
You can set up a cheap backstop to shoot indoors.
Quiet without buying a supressor.
Cheap ammo.

 

[wally]

I had a cheap crossnan pump when I was a kid never had a problem.

The pump-up air guns don't beat up a scope the way a spring-piston gun does.

I had one of those Crossman pump-ups with a cheap scope, was a fun combination that got a lot of use. Once its seals were shot, I put the scope on a Chinese spring-piston gun and the reticle broke on the first shot. Still accurate was accurate enough to dispatch the occasional rat in the back yard, but the neighbor's cat has done such a great job I haven't touched it years.

 

[TexasPatriot.308]

unless you are stepping up into the world of competitive shooting like in the Olympics or national shooting with ultra high price air rifles, you will not find a reasonable price air rifle and expect to get tack drivers. even centerfire rifles in package deals come with cheap optics. I cant really see a reason to scope an air rifle, I have a friend that got into that kick, spent hundreds of dollars on good scopes for 200-300 air rifles, they just aint meant to be super accurate. if you notice the competition shooters use peep sights, I am sure they aint cheapies either.

 

[d2wing]

The absolute worst are GAMO. Not just the scope the whole gun. As far as accurate the Daisy target rifles are very and I have a QB78 by Industry that is very accurate and easy to shoot, it uses 2 CO2 cartridges. All in the 100-150 range. These guns are not real powerful. And they have almost no recoil and do well with cheap scopes or target sights. For spring/air guns you need a scope rated for them, I have had good luck with Winchester air rifle scopes. You need a recoil stop on the bases. You might want to check with an air rifle specialty site like Pyramid. I like to buy air rifles from Mike at. Flying Dragon Air guns. He stocks better quality Chinese guns and others. He tests each gun and will do custom tunes and is cheap. Yeah it is frustrating. I use them for plinking and small pests. You pretty much have to go $$ PCP for high power or long range. I don't like the way you have to shoot spring guns.

 

[chicharrones]

I cant really see a reason to scope an air rifle, I have a friend that got into that kick, spent hundreds of dollars on good scopes for 200-300 air rifles, they just aint meant to be super accurate. if you notice the competition shooters use peep sights, I am sure they aint cheapies either.

For me, scope use is good for seeing small targets, especially in shady wooded areas. One Benjamin break barrel I have came with a cheapie (but air rifle resistant) scope with nice little holdover marks on the reticle. It sure helped with shooting at different distances (which isn't that far with a .22 nitro piston gun).

The other side of it is that I like aperture sights best, but most break barrels don't come with aperture sights. They come with those barrel mounted jobs which are okay for some eyes. Or, those break barrels don't come with sights at all. I have one that came without sights and replaced its cheapie scope with a cheapie red dot.

I do prefer the aperture sights over the scopes, but in shady wooded-brushy areas, I need help seeing the squirrel heads. A cheapie 4x works pretty good for that.

 

[chicharrones]

You need a recoil stop on the bases.

Absolutely. Even a 500 fps springer will make scope rings slide down the rimfire sized dovetail.

 

[wojownik]

I dunno ... just picked up a Winchester "M14" .177 co2 rifle. Was very pleasantly suprised with the accuracy. Very surprised. Even more surprised when I tried bb's.

Let enthralled with the velocity - the specs state a max of 750 fps ... danged if I couldn't get more than 530 our of it, across 5 different types of ammo. I'll have to remeasure with new air cartridges this weekend.

 

[moxie]

My current squirrel gun is a Daisy Powerline 880. I love it! Got it at Walmart 4-5 years ago for <$40.

I never opened the plastic bag the scope came in. The iron sights are fine.

And, it shoots and kills squirrels better with BBs than with pellets. And the BBs are a whole lot handier.

So why condemn the gun because you don't like the scope? Makes no sense.

 

[chicharrones]

I dunno ... just picked up a Winchester "M14" .177 co2 rifle. Was very pleasantly suprised with the accuracy. Very surprised. Even more surprised when I tried bb's.

CO2 air rifles are so much easier to shoot well than break barrel springer guns. I only have one CO2 rifle and love shooting it. Yep, it's slower than many break barrel guns, but I don't care.

 

[thirty-ought-six]

What kind is that?

 

[Slamfire]

My first decent air rifle was an RWS Dana M34, barrel cocker. I have gone through extraordinary measures to prevent scope creep. I used a combination of adhesive and tape to keep the scope in place.

Now I have an RWS 460 Magnum and the scope crept on it. I tried using clamp on 22LR rings and the things slid on the rail. I ended up buying the RWS lock down scope base, with integral rings, http://www.midwayusa.com/product/34...ith-integral-1-rings-rimfire-and-airgun-gloss and scope creep has been cured.

It is absolutely counter intuitive, but air guns are harder on scopes than centerfire rifles. Because they reverse direction it puts a heck of an acceleration on the scope and mounts. I think it has to do with the second derivative of velocity, when velocity reverses, acceleration hits infinity. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_graphs_and_derivatives

I could be full of baloney on this, but I remember something like that from Calculus.

Looks like Gamo sells a lock down version for their rifle: http://www.midwayusa.com/product/13...ngs-with-1-inserts-3-8-grooved-receiver-matte You might want to try that before giving up on the rifle.

 

[thirty-ought-six]

It's more than creep, the scope itself looses zero.

I went ahead and put the scope on my Marlin 60, looks pretty cool with it.

I'm going back to the open sight system and will fiddle with it tomorrow.

 

[jmorris]

The best air rifles cost more than "real" rifles. Look at competition versions of both.

 

[Art Eatman]

What's an "HW", German-made .177? Also marked "Weihrauch". Williams receiver sight.

A guy offered it to me at my gunshow table, about 35 years ago. I gave him $90 for it.

Grouped okay, but the sight adjustment was maxed out at "too high". (Which is why it was cheap, I guess.) So, after some thought, I very carefully bent the barrel, a smidgen up to raise the front sight. "Never underestimate the capability of a jackleg gunsmith."

Great squirrel gun at ten to fifteen yards when the little devils mess with my front-yard bird feeder.

 

[Swing]

Hate? Nope. Just find them intensely boring.

 

[chicharrones]

What kind is that?

A modified Crosman 2260 CO2 rifle. Crosman calls it a Heritage 2260 now.

 

[chicharrones]

Grouped okay, but the sight adjustment was maxed out at "too high". (Which is why it was cheap, I guess.) So, after some thought, I very carefully bent the barrel, a smidgen up to raise the front sight. "Never underestimate the capability of a jackleg gunsmith."

Nice.

 

[Louca]

Grouped okay, but the sight adjustment was maxed out at "too high". (Which is why it was cheap, I guess.) So, after some thought, I very carefully bent the barrel, a smidgen up to raise the front sight. "Never underestimate the capability of a jackleg gunsmith."

I did the same thing with my HW 30S. The thickness of the breach seal was such that the barrel was angled downward, just a tad. I thought I was crazy when I bent the barrel, but it sure fixed things. Now, after almost 30 years of operation, I think it needs a rebuild, spring doesn't feel right anymore.

Lou

 

[cslinger]

Or you could spend 150 to 200 bucks and get a good scope applicable for the platform. I have 2 Nikons, a Hawke and a Bushnell all rated for air guns that are great scopes that hold zero and have shown to be very reliable.

As for the cost of airguns like most tools and or hobbies you need to pay to play. A Gamo vs a Weihrauch or Diana or Air Arms etc. is like comparing a HI Point to a SIG. My Weihrauchs put many of my powder burners to shame in terms of accuracy, quality, trigger and fit and finish. You pay for quality.

Lou,
Only 30 years of use on that spring. Pfffft what garbage.

 

[rszwieg]

double post

 

[rszwieg]

I'm not a rabid airgunner but having hunted and plinked with a Beeman R1 for a dozen years I wouldn't be without one. You can sit under a hickory and pop a limit of tree rats in less time. There is no waiting for things to settle down after a discharge of a firearm. And I don't have to worry about that nosy neighbor lady bitching about me shooting a garden raiding rabbit in the currant bushes.

I too had problems with it wreaking scopes but a really good scope and solid mounts cure that. Make sure the stock screws haven't worked loose. I put thread locker on them.

I like springers as you don't have to get tanks or CO2 cartridges or wear an arm out like we did with my cousins Sheriden. Some guns with other powerplants though, are awful good...and useful.

Airguns aren't general woods bumming tools IMO. If I'm going to run a trapline with opportune chances at small game or furbearers like treed coons or wandering foxes I want a .22 rimfire.

Keep an open mind about this. You may change your tune with more experience.

 

[Chevota]

There are some things you can do to drastically reduce the scope problems on those guns. Kinda a lot of info to post, but I have a tuning guide I made which includes that info. If anyone wants it just email me; chevota at hotmail and reference this post, what fixes you're looking for, and what gun(s) you want to do them to. I've never broken a scope, and many of my scopes are not airgun rated. They don't slide back, and they stay on target. And it includes mods for both the gun and scope to improve accuracy. Even bundles scopes that "suck" can often be just fine after a little work.

 

[MedWheeler]

Air rifles are like veggie burgers. They're good if you know what they're supposed to be, and don't expect them to be something they're not.

Bite into a veggie burger expecting it to taste like a real beef patty, and you'll be sorely disappointed.

Gotta be realistic.