Do any of you have air rifles? I think they're extremely cool and thought I would start this thread in case anyone wanted to talk about the topic.
Here are my questions for you:
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What air rifle do you currently have, why did you choose it, and what do you use it for?
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What air rifle do you wish you had, why would you want it, and what would you use it for?
These are my answers:
- I have a Gamo Raptor Whisper .177 Break Barrel air rifle. I chose it because I believe it's the most bang for the buck for under $150.
I like the break barrel design for "sustainability" reasons. Even though I wish I was a little stronger (break barrel rifles require a bit of muscle in order to load them and I'm just barely able to get the job done) I like that the break barrels don't require external equipment to charge them, like PCP rifles do, and they don't require CO2 cartridges. I like an air rifle that is completely self contained and only needs ammo in order to work. We use our air rifle to control squirrels, which have developed a taste for the roofing shingles on our house.
- If I didn't have to pay any attention to our budget I would buy a Diana RWS Model 34 .22 break barrel air rifle and add an "ATN X-Sight II HD 5-20 Smart Day/Night Scope w/1080p Video, Ballistic Calculator, Rangefinder, WiFi, E-Compass, GPS, Barometer, IOS & Android Apps".
The Diana rifle has the break barrel design that I like, a nice hardwood stock, and the .22 caliber has more stopping power when hunting larger sized furry critters (like hogs, for instance). The X-Sight II scope makes it easier to hunt at night and makes it easy to create really cool videos. The rifle goes for around $300 and the scope is around $600.
I'm not an "all-in" prepper but I'm prepper-minded and think that air rifles are a cheap backup plan that can put food on the table if the need ever arose. I've tried to develop some pioneering skills, over the years, so that I'd be better able to take care of my family if the world suddenly changed in any significant way.
We have firearms, of course, but air rifles are much cheaper to operate, the ammo is very cheap and still somewhat easy to find. Also, an air rifle can greatly reduce the need to burn through firearm ammo.
I think that preppers, campers, and survivalists would be well served to own an air rifle. Even the $89 Gamo Varmint air rifle is a solid choice for putting birds and rabbits on the table.
If none of y'all are into air rifles I'll delete this thread but, if any of you are, I wouldn't mind hearing from you!
