Airguns for survival use

B

Bigdumplings

Joined
Nov 5, 2004
Messages
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I have just purchased online a ruger blackhawk .177 pellet airgun that is high enough fps (1000) to take out smaller animals. Before that i just had a simple crosman 760 pumpmaster. what are all of your thoughts towards using an air (pellet, or bb) rifle for survival uses. So far i can come up with a few advantages

1. ammo is cheaper and lighter
2. air guns that are slower then the speed of sound are quieter then guns
3. the legalities with owning an air rifle are much more relaxed then an actual boomstick
4. ammo would be really easy to find in a shtf scenario

the disadvantages

1. not enough power to take out larger animals
2. not very useful against predators of the 2 legged kind for defense
3. unable to use the sound from it as a signal for possible rescue scenario

What are your thoughts
 
I can't see it being that accurate past 10-15 yards. I wouldn't say that they're cheaply made, but I don't believe they are made to the same standards as true firearms.

However, they are light, quiet, and ammo is cheap and abundant.
 
Josh K said:
I can't see it being that accurate past 10-15 yards. I wouldn't say that they're cheaply made, but I don't believe they are made to the same standards as true firearms.
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Pellet guns do have more limited range than even rimfire firearms, but the better made guns are as good as many of the better firearms (and as expensive). Some of the better made and more powerful airguns cost upwards of $1,000 US and can put three pellets into one ragged hole within their effective range.
 
I would feel more comfortable with a 12 gauge, or even a 22. I think that the extra weight is worth it. If you had to be quiet I would prefer a bow, or crossbow. I live in norther California, at the southern tip of what is called the "Emerald Triangle". There are a lot of "two legged preditors" growing pot in the hills. The rangers don`t even go too far out, unless they have to.
 
well I think I could at least get squirrells birds and rabbits with it considering the 760 was accurate at that range and i was shooting bb's... but now i guess the issue is is it worth carrying a 7 pound air rifle and a half pound of pellets. the one thing i did wish i did was get the .22 version of it but the pellets i want to shoot only come in .177
 
i guess the other added benefit as to why i chose an air rifle is that i can practice in my parents backyard when i visit just outside nyc and other places where i couldn't legally be just shooting. regulations on air guns is almost non existent in ny unless you live within the 5 boroughs.
 
Much as I like airguns, I don't think they would be my first choice for the only gun in a survival situation.

I was first turned on to "adult" air guns from the writings of the late survival expert Mel Tappen. Airguns have a lot of advantages and he thought that the pellet airgun made a great supplement to regular firearms in a survival battery, but he did not make any pretence that it replaced firearms as a stand-alone weapon.
 
Air guns are great for cheap and easy target practice, but for a survival, shtf type situation, a 20 gauge shotgun or a .22 would be my preferred firearm.

The .22 isn't much bigger then the airgun, ammo is just a tad bit cheaper, range is increased (I'm guessing) about 10x at least. Toss in a good scope and if you're good, you could take down some pretty big stuff from a fair distance.
 
One of my friends has an RWS model 48 .22 cal. air rifle with a 3-9x scope on it. It's deadly accurate, quite powerful, and very nicely made. It isn't a toy by any stretch of the imagination.
 
In this wonderful state, you now have to register pellet pistols, and they are subject to the same laws as firearms, so you might as well carry a .22 handgun.
 
pvicenzi said:
In this wonderful state, you now have to register pellet pistols, and they are subject to the same laws as firearms, so you might as well carry a .22 handgun.
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He's not lying. It sucks. :(

In order to even buy one you have to get a purchase permit from the local PD or Sheriff's office.

If you're going to jump through those hoops, you might as well spend the extra coin anf get a .22.
 
I've done a fair amnt of airgun hunting for smaller game, squirrels and rabbits, they are more than adequate out to about 50 yards and under...However using standard .177 or .22 cal pellets I wouldnt want to tackle anything larger than a bunny. I think they are great for use when hunting in woodlots around semi populated areas, or for busting garden pests... THey are also great for training people how to shoot. for survival use they have there place.. in most survival circumstances you'll be eating small game if any. but many of the nicer airguns way more than a single shot .22 which is overall a better option.
 
Koyote started a great thread a couple of months ago about this but I can seem to find it right now. Maybe he'll chime in if he has time.

It prompted me to go out and buy a Crosman 1377 American Classic in .177. Killed 2 rats with it just a couple of days ago, both close range.
 
I spent about $150 on a basic Gamo .177 with a sort-of decent scope. It shoots about as well as I do out to 20 or 30 yards. It puts a pellet straight through a 1/2" piece of particle board, and the pellet sinks into several layers of cardboard before stopping. I would trust it to harvest tree-rats and bunnies, no problem.

It's single shot, slow to reload, etc. But it works.

I use only the Gamo brand "raptor" pellets now, and get good groups with them. I bought some cheap, plain lead pellets just for plinking after sighting it in with the good pellets, and couldn't get a decent group to save my life. I could FEEL the difference in tolerance when loading the cheapies into the chamber, and could HEAR the difference in the "pop" when firing them. Buy good ammo.

Sorry to hear about the weird laws in Michigan... here in WI basically anyone over 18 can buy an air rifle and use it for hunting small game with the same license as a guy with a .22LR or shotgun.

Replace a "real" gun? Naw. Put stew-meat in the pot? Yeah. Fun and cheap to operate? HECK yeah! :)
 
200892414218.jpg


homemade musket called " Bird Gun

matchlock.jpg


This gun is from year 1589 to modern day :p
 
Without wanting to be pedantic I think the answer lays in refining what the survival situation is. I can think of instances in which it would be a whole lot less useful than other times. Particularly cold conditions over ice would be a good example of where something else would be better. Take a different survival scenario and I'd answer differently.

Starting off absurdly small: Let's suppose that starting today I have no electricity for a month. The two most useful assets to me in hunting stuff would be a brace of ferrets and a good sporting air rifle. Tis true that if I were to bag a local deer that would provide me with food for a bit. But then I have no refrigeration because of the electricity thing so I have to take to other means to keep it good. And then there's the certainty of bagging one precisely when I need one. Aha, enter the role of cooperation, reciprocation, and whatnot with another I stumble across in the same boat that might want to devise a concept of fair deer shares. That makes it efficient. Without those others my big Fud patrolling the deer routes might easily be out performed by my woman taking more mundane things closer to the nest with the air rifle. Legality aside, I know that if I took an air rifle each time I walked the dog I could always come home with something for the pot. That to me is the meat and potatoes of it. The air rifle excels as a scavengers tool that can consistently deliver. While firearms could provide me with better food on the instances it came good, the air rifle would do the day in day out donkey work. I'm in no doubt that in the absence of electricity the two most economical tools for me to harvest flesh with so there are no gaps in the diet are the air rifle and the ferret.

I could play around with a myriad of scenarios that extended that in various different directions and sooner or later the firearm proper is going to win out, but there is a lot to be said for a good sporting air rifle in the hands of someone competent.
 
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I have killed almost 20 squirrels and 7 rabbits this spring with a Daisy springer .177 shooting only 650 fps. Keep in mind, this is only casual shooting, I am not trying to survive and this gun is anemic by comparison to the 1,000 fps airguns.

I can carry 1,000 rounds in my back pocket. By weight, ONE box of shotgun shells equals THOUSANDS of rounds of pellets. One box of 50 .22 LR equals over 500 pellets.

My shots have been from 15 yards, to OVER 40 yards

I have lost only 2 animals to poor shots TOTAL.

I Firearm hunt extensively, waterfowl, rabbit, deer etc. but I have decided that if it came down to it, a Benjamin pumper in .22 with a decent scope and a spare set of seals would be the ultimate survival gun. You could even make your own ammo in a pinch. It would last for decades. You would never need to contact society. Nobody would hear you. you would leave no casings behind.

Modern airguns are very capable of taking game including Turkey, rabbits, squirrels, any game bird and pests such as coyote and groundhogs out to almost 100 yards. With a .22 airgun pushing over 750 fps, I would even kill deer if it came down to it, although I do not consider it ethical and would only do so for survival.

Now don't get me wrong, you are not going to kill a charging bear with it, but for killing game to eat, it is beyond compare. Forget CO2 and PCP, go for a springer or a pumper and stay "self contained".

I have plenty of guns in 12 gauge, .270, .22, .45 etc. but if you can find a gun that can do all of the above better, go buy it, because no powder burner is going to compare.
 
wow great responses...truly overwhelming... some of you stated your preferences on type...I just ordered a break barrel that i think will far out preform the toyish crosman pump it will hopefully replace... what kind of airgun preferences do the rest of you have?
 
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