Time to replace the Ruger Impact

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Spats McGee

Spats McGee

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A few years back, I bought a Ruger Impact .22 air rifle. Long story short: it needs a new home. I've taken it to the range 3 or 4 times now in unsuccessful attempts to get it sighted it. I shot several hundred rounds of about 5 different ammo types through it thinking "maybe the barrel needs to be broken in," and "maybe it doesn't like this ammo." (Apparently, it doesn't like any ammo.) Today was the last straw. I went to the range with 4 different kinds of ammo to try to sight it in. I hung up a Shoot-N-C target, and couldn't even keep shots on an 8" target at 25 yards. Even within one kind of ammo, I was getting POI shifts that I could have measured in feet. FEET, y'all!

So the Ruger Impact is going to have to find a new home. Thus far, the Long List of Candidates includes Benjamin, Diana, RWS, Hatsan and Gamo. Are there any other pellet rifle companies that I need to add to the LLoC?
 
Assuming you actually like the rifle enough to do a little work on it let me make a suggestion.
I have had rifles act similarly and after checking all the usual suspects like stock screws, scopes, ammo etc. etc. and being similarly frustrated I have almost always found it was a bad piston or breach seal. The breach seal should be easy to check out. The piston seal requires rifle take down and you will want some kind of spring compressor to do it. If I was a betting man I would lay odds you have a malformed, nicked/chunk missing or completely boogered piston seal. Cheap fix just a little bit of a PITA to get to.

For what it’s worth I have seen this with cheaper guns ala your impact as well as more expensive guns ala a Diana 54 and HW95 so nothing is immune to it.

As for suggestions I am a “Weihrauch guy” so to speak. Find one that speaks to you at a power level you want and it SHOULD be a very very nice rifle.
 
Spats McGee said:
So the Ruger Impact is going to have to find a new home. Thus far, the Long List of Candidates includes Benjamin, Diana, RWS, Hatsan and Gamo. Are there any other pellet rifle companies that I need to add to the LLoC?
Click to expand...

Gamo does have some decent stuff.
Benjamin, can’t say I am a huge fan of any of the Velocity Outdoors springer stuff. Pumpers are ok.
Diana, as long as it’s a “real Diana” as in German and not a rebadged Chinese gun they still make some great stuff but at least for me personally they are a tier below Weihrauch.
RWS. They were mostly rebadged Diana’s and I think gone now.
Hatsan. I have no experience with them.

Hope that helps.
 
That is sure a bummer. Can you send it in under warranty? If it's not an easy fix. I have an impact max too. It likes the cross-men premier pellets the best. It does ok with the parhana ones. My 2 beemans like daisy flat points.
 
Spats McGee said:
A few years back, I bought a Ruger Impact .22 air rifle. Long story short: it needs a new home. I've taken it to the range 3 or 4 times now in unsuccessful attempts to get it sighted it. I shot several hundred rounds of about 5 different ammo types through it thinking "maybe the barrel needs to be broken in," and "maybe it doesn't like this ammo." (Apparently, it doesn't like any ammo.) Today was the last straw. I went to the range with 4 different kinds of ammo to try to sight it in. I hung up a Shoot-N-C target, and couldn't even keep shots on an 8" target at 25 yards. Even within one kind of ammo, I was getting POI shifts that I could have measured in feet. FEET, y'all!

So the Ruger Impact is going to have to find a new home. Thus far, the Long List of Candidates includes Benjamin, Diana, RWS, Hatsan and Gamo. Are there any other pellet rifle companies that I need to add to the LLoC?
Click to expand...


One other thing comes to mind. I mean no offense from this question, but do you have spring gun experience/know how to shoot them? Most of us gun guys do not and therefore try to shoot them like we would a “real” rifle. Use a very light hold. Don’t bench on something hard, use something like a rolled up towel. Again, no offense intended just a thought that came to mind. Springers are a different beast. Being good with a powder burner doesn’t help you with a spring gun but getting good with a spring gun will absolutely pay dividends with the powder burners.
 
cslinger said:
One other thing comes to mind. I mean no offense from this question, but do you have spring gun experience/know how to shoot them?
Click to expand...
No offense taken. It's a fair question, 100%. And the answer is: not very much. This Impact is my first spring pistol pellet gun.
cslinger said:
Most of us gun guys do not and therefore try to shoot them like we would a “real” rifle. Use a very light hold. Don’t bench on something hard, use something like a rolled up towel. Again, no offense intended just a thought that came to mind. Springers are a different beast. Being good with a powder burner doesn’t help you with a spring gun but getting good with a spring gun will absolutely pay dividends with the powder burners.
Click to expand...
I've read up enough to know to use a light hold, so that's what (I thought) I did. The rest I used was a big rubber block and for some shots, I put my hand (palm up) between the rifle and the rest. I also tried it without the rest, elbow on the bench, with the rifle laying in the palm of my hand. IOW, the only grip I had on the rifle was my right (trigger) hand. Even with that, I was getting wildly inaccurate shots.
 
CoalCrackerAl said:
That is sure a bummer. Can you send it in under warranty? If it's not an easy fix. I have an impact max too. It likes the cross-men premier pellets the best. It does ok with the parhana ones. My 2 beemans like daisy flat points.
Click to expand...
It's not likely that it's still under warranty. I bought it about 3 years ago.
 
cslinger said:
Assuming you actually like the rifle enough to do a little work on it let me make a suggestion.....
Click to expand...
I'm not convinced I like the rifle enough to do my own work on it. It's not like I'm going to break the bank on a new rifle, and I'm sure someone will give me a little cash for this one. (Yes, I'll be honest with them about the accuracy issues.)
cslinger said:
As for suggestions I am a “Weihrauch guy” so to speak. Find one that speaks to you at a power level you want and it SHOULD be a very very nice rifle.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I'll add them to the list.
 
I like Pyramid Air for my air needs. Lots of options and I find their website pretty easy to use.

Not sure what price range you are in but I would suggest spending enough to get a good European made gun. Less likely to have issues there in my experience. Hatsan also makes good stuff but I would still go EU over Turkey.

Then, make sure you get a proper air rifle scope if you do put glass on it.

They are a lot of fun and pretty cheap to shoot after the initial buy (and scope). Quiet and I don't have to drive to my range to shoot them.
 
Sometimes it’s not just a light hold sometimes it’s finding the right hold. All spring guns have a bit of “personality” if you will that need to be learned. Keep in mind they all recoil like a SOB and the pellet stays in the barrel for a comparatively long time. This is why, generally speaking, a light hold works because If you try to control the recoil you are moving the rifle in a different location every time the pellet exits. The loose hold, in theory, let’s the gun do it’s own thing and it tends to recoil into the same spot each time (so to speak). This is generally why the light hold and attention to follow through is important.

NOTE - When I say recoil like a SOB I don’t mean like a .300 Win Mag. What I mean is more like an open bolt SMG combined with lots of 360 degree vibration. There is a big honkin’ piston in there similar to a SMG bolt slamming forward and then it bounces back and then there is that 360 degree vibration and during this the pellet takes a proverbial eternity to exit the barrel. So while “felt” recoil isn’t really noticeable per say actual mechanical recoil is actually playing quite a bit of hell on the gun/optics/barrel etc.
 
I don’t know what your needs or wants for an air rifle are but I have said this a hundred times. :). If you don’t need to kill larger animals at distance (greater then 20-30 yards) or if you primarily want a target/fun gun then save yourself a ton of time and buy an HW30S or Beeman R7. Don’t get hung up on POWWWWAAAAA!!! We are gun guys we have all the power we need likely at our fingertips with powder burners. Most of the time we want an airgun for fun but being gun guys we gravitate towards power. (We all do it. I’ve done it) The reality is for MOST folks wants or needs a nice lower powered gun makes a huge amount of sense. They are easier to shoot, plenty accurate for hole punching out to 50 yards or so, easier to cock, quieter and just all around more pleasant and fun.

All I am saying is, barring an actual need for a higher powered spring gun, don’t let a little 500-600 FPS springer turn you off, I think you will be surprised. I know I was. :)
 
Thank you, @cslinger. It looks like I've got more reading to do.

ETA: Yeah, I was going for POWAAA! I admit it.
 
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@cslinger, let me ask you this: Would it make sense to pick up a gas pistol pellet gun, learn to shoot that and maybe then give the Impact another chance? I'm not likely to get much $$$ for the Impact, and from looking at Air Gun Depot and Pyramyd Air, I a decent gas pistol rifle shouldn't be that expensive.
 
Spats McGee said:
Ruger Impact .22 air rifle ... I've taken it to the range 3 or 4 times now in unsuccessful attempts to get it sighted it. I shot several hundred rounds of about 5 different ammo types through it thinking "maybe the barrel needs to be broken in," and "maybe it doesn't like this ammo." (Apparently, it doesn't like any ammo.) Today was the last straw. I went to the range with 4 different kinds of ammo to try to sight it in. I hung up a Shoot-N-C target, and couldn't even keep shots on an 8" target at 25 yards. Even within one kind of ammo, I was getting POI shifts that I could have measured in feet. FEET, y'all!
Click to expand...
That's pretty bad.

When I couldn't go shooting while recovering from surgery, I tested several pellet rifles and all the pellets local Walmart sold. I set up various 15 to 50 yard soup/tomato can targets and for shot group size shooting, I screwed 2" steel bar stock pieces 6" long from Home Depot to pallet wood stakes and spray painted them white with $1 spray cans from Walmart to see dark impact holes better. I hammered 4 stakes side-by-side at 25/50 yards angled down so lead splatter would go into the ground.

I tested Crosman Legacy 1000 with BBs and pellets, Gamo Whisper, Beeman Silver Kodiak X2 with .177/.22 barrels, Swiss Arms TG-1 and all of them preferred the Crosman Premier Domed Hollow Point the best. I did see differences in group size from various pellets (I think I tested around 10 different pellet brands/nose profiles) but at 25 yards, I was seeing around 1" to 3" group variations.

Even with Crosman Legacy 1000 before rifling got smoothed from BBs, I was getting sub 2" groups with pellets. At 50 yards (Using decent 4x scope that came with Beeman), all the pellets were hitting inside 10"x10" plywood backstop (Mostly within 5"-6" circle) with Beeman .177 barrel and Swiss Arms producing smallest groups around 2.5"-3" consistently (At 25 yards, around 1" groups).

And after likely shooting over a thousand BBs with Crosman Legacy 1000 mostly with 4-5 pumps, I am still getting minute of soda can at 15 yards with 4-5 pumps and minute of tomato cans at 25 yards (Around 5") with 5-6 pumps using BBs.

Spats McGee said:
Would it make sense to pick up a gas pistol pellet gun, learn to shoot that and maybe then give the Impact another chance?
Click to expand...
I think it's the gun, not the shooter.
 
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Spats McGee said:
@cslinger, let me ask you this: Would it make sense to pick up a gas pistol pellet gun, learn to shoot that and maybe then give the Impact another chance? I'm not likely to get much $$$ for the Impact, and from looking at Air Gun Depot and Pyramyd Air, I a decent gas pistol rifle shouldn't be that expensive.
Click to expand...

When you say "gas pistol" I assume you mean C02 pellet or BB. If not then Airsoft????? I will try to quickly address all three.
C02 Pellet - The vast number of C02 pellet pistols these days are basically replicas. I find they tend to have pretty horrible triggers, a loud report and between the trigger, sights and volatility of the C02 (if its warm its shoots faster, if it colds it shoots slower, the more you shoot it the more it cools etc. etc.) I don't find them very accurate at least in my experience. They can be FUN but for me I don't care for them all that much.

C02 BB pistols have all the same downsides as well as the lack of accuracy and ricochet potential a round steel ball brings to the table. They do, however, typically have a fairly realistic blowback action and can be insanely fun to shoot. Again accurate not so much, fun yes.

Airsoft-Airsoft is actually a great training aid. You have a relatively safe projectile (they will still welt you and can injure an eye so still treat with respect you would a firearm) but they allow for cheap presentation training, instinctive fire, etc. etc. With the right equipment you can do force on force stuff. Again, accuracy is not going to be there, but they can be FUN.

If it were my money I would go with the following tiers of thought.

Tier 1 - REAL GUN MONEY($350-$600) - Buy either an HW30 or an HW95 and replace your rifle. The 30 is a sublime shooter and its just an amazing, fun, easy rifle. The 95 is much the same but with more power if you want to reach out or hunt. It will however be tougher to cock then the 30 of course.

Tier 2- REAL MONEY BUT GO PISTOL KEEP THE IMPACT (Around $280-$300) - Buy an HW40 or Beeman P3. These are single stroke pneumatic pistols that are insanely accurate, fairly easy to shoot and give you a vaguely modern firearm feel. Think Walther P99/PPQ grip. Now these are not dirt cheap but they are excellent.

Tier 3 - ALMOST CHUMP CHANGE YOU CANNOT AFFORD NOT TO DO IT (Around $100) :D - Beeman imports a Chinese copy of the P3/HW40 call the P17. It's like 45 bucks. You can have that and like 4,000 rounds of GOOD ammo for about hundred bucks. So keep the rifle, learn to tear down, check/replace the seals (should be cheap) and get a great pistol to dip your toes into the water.

I know money is different for everybody and I know disposable income is not always easy to come by. That said, IF you are able to I really would suggest a nice German or English Air Rifle. Yes they are REAL gun money but as hard as that is to swallow for us gun guys, most folks are amazed at the quality, fit, finish, trigger and accuracy you ultimately get. Again this is just my personal observations and experience talking and I don't claim to be in your shoes, but if your only barrier of entry is a mental one.......give a try I think you might surprise yourself.

Take care, shoot safe,
Chris
 
Crosman does make some decent, accurate, single shot C02 pistols. They will be accurate but still suffer from the C02 temp sensitivity and will be loud (comparatively speaking. Not I just lit off a .357 SIG in the bedroom loud but loud enough to approach uncomfortable indoors and will likely make you worry about the neighbors sending the black helicopters in. (They won’t. It’s just loud enough to your ears to cross that mental “this is loud and everybody can hear it” threshold true or not.
 
Spats McGee said:
No, actually. I meant gas piston. Like these.
Click to expand...

I, personally, do not like gas rams. I have one. They are generally harder to cock, have more of a report and just are not as “pleasant” to shoot. Now of course these are my opinions. The other downside is the vast majority of them on the market are cheap guns and are more likely have gas ram issues or seal issues and just have the same overall QC that can make them difficult.

For me personally I have found I prefer spring guns, single stroke pneumatics, or PCP guns roughly in that order.

That brings up the suggestion of the Daisy 753. It is a VERY accurate single stroke pneumatic that I think you can even still get through the CMP.
 
Somehow, I didn't think the gas pistons would be either harder to cock or louder. I might have read that on the internet, so it must be true, right? :p

That Daisy looks nice, but I'm not sure I'm prepared to shell out >$400 for a pellet gun. I think I'd like to stay in the <$300 range.

In any event and however I decide to go, thank you, @cslinger. You've been very helpful.
 
Happy to help.
Let me make one final suggestion. Order from these folks. They are LEGIT!!! They ship faster then domestic options. Even with the $50.00 shipping you can get a fantastic gun in your price range. They get stock often.
https://www.krale.shop/us/weihrauch-hw30-s/

https://www.krale.shop/us/weihrauch-hw50-s/

https://www.krale.shop/us/weihrauch-hw95/

I know seems odd to order out of CONUS and I was skeptical as well. I had my rifle at my door in 2 days far cheaper then anything CONUS.
 
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LiveLife said:
How about this air gun replica of Springfield M1A for $220 with reviews reporting 1" group at 25 yards? - https://www.airgundepot.com/springfield-armory-m1a-underlever-wood-stock-air-rifle.html

Here's detailed review (After reading the review, I may actually get one now) - https://hardairmagazine.com/news/the-springfield-armory-m1a-underlever-air-rifle-is-here/

View attachment 1038510
View attachment 1038511
Click to expand...


I owned one of those and one of those reviews is mine. :)
The good
-Although the stock is much beefier then a real M1A/14 when you actually nestle behind it you really feel like you are behind an M1A.
-Fairly accurate while I had it.
-Easy to cock and fairly quiet for it’s power.

The Bad
-CHEAP CHEAP Chinesium plastic internals. I started shedding unknown bits of plastic within 250 shots
-My trigger went belly up by about about shot 300 or less. Sheered a couple pins
-More plastic came out of the action/gears.

I returned. If this was made by somebody like Diana it would be amazing. Alas, unless they have changed the internals this is more a rifle to look at then to shoot.
 
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