They are basically very quiet and they can bring down a bird, squirrel, rabbit, and if you're good, ducks, geese, pheasant etc... One of the major bonuses is the relative silence of an air rifle. You are not broadcasting your presence to everyone within a mile or so. This might be a life savor if there are gangs of looters or whack-jobs in the area.
Another bonus it the availability of ammo. I have fired BBs, Pellets, tiny stones and small nails with killing accuracy. If it fits the barrel properly to be propelled by the air you pumped into the weapon (or CO2) then generally you can fire it. Yeah, it isn't always good to fire non-rated projectiles, but in a pinch, you do what you must. Options are good to have.
I killed this squirrel with a framing nail from my .117 cal Air Rifle this morning
Another one of the solid bonuses of an air rifle is the low weight. It can easily be carried in a cut out holster or strapped to your bug out back pack.
Power
The general rule with air rifles is that .177 is good for birds and .22 is for fur. This is because the .117 lacks the stopping power and penetration of the heavier .22 pellet (Not to be confused with a .22 cal firearm). But I have been able to kill squirrels with a .177 air rifle as long as I pump it ~30 - 35 times and take careful aim at the kill zones. To kill a squirrel you will need a weapon with a muzzle velocity above 600 fps. I have read that you can kill small fur bearers with a MV as low as 300 fps, but I have not achieved it.
You can pick up an efficient air rifle at Wal-Mart for ~$25, but if youre going to use it for hunting, splurge a bit and get the $50 - $100 range. Picking up a .22 cal with a 1000fps MV would make rabbits, and other such game much easier to harvest. I once killed a Massive Canada Goose with a .22 1000 fps air rifle firing pointed tip pellets. A good friend has even been able to use his air rifle to fire long thin harpoon-like projectiles with 20lb test fishing line attached and has had amazing success harvesting Salmon and large spawning fish during spawning season.
Air rifles can be a great addition to the survival pack for hunting anything from bullfrogs, to waterfowl to jackrabbits. They're quiet, light, the ammo is variable and cheap. They don't need a re-loader because there is no gun powder. Many come with tac-rails for mounting a scope and if it comes down to using it for defense... "You can shoot someones eye out with that thing Kid!"
Air rifles can be a great addition to the survival pack for hunting anything from bullfrogs, to waterfowl to jackrabbits. They're quiet, light, the ammo is variable and cheap. They don't need a re-loader because there is no gun powder. Many come with tac-rails for mounting a scope and if it comes down to using it for defense... "You can shoot someones eye out with that thing Kid!"
Thanks for that great post Sword Overseer, I am a new convert to 'Preppiness', and stumbled on your blog, via Survival Godness's.
ReplyDeleteWe have several of these weapons and was sitting here yesterday thinking how we could legally carry knives and guns here in Europe.
We already Bugged Out of the rat race 10 years ago to a remote location, now I realise we have to make plans to make our Land Rover a BOV in case we have to BO from our BOL, so I have lots of research to do.
I shall be a regular visitor on here, and will link to my blogs if you don't mind, but my family still need converting!!
There are several tricks that I have learned to use locally to clandestinely carry weapons here. Some are risky if you get stopped by someone intelligent enough to to identify them. Some good examples are weapons disguised to look like common carry items like a walking stick or cane, a cell phone or other small items.
ReplyDeleteSome suggested reading would be books by Ragnar Benson. He has some very useful books. One in particular is his book on improvised weapons.
Some easily disguised weapons are called Zip guns. two sections of pipe that fit together, inside which a bullet or shot gun shell may be placed and fired by ramming the two pipes together. In my youth I built several of these and was able to walk around with a 20 gauge shotgun that looked like a simple walking cane.
It can be built easily using smaller ammo too.
Another option is the cell phone gun, they are harder to build but if you take the time, you can even make it light up and make sounds when you press the buttons.
Zip Guns:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1wV3lmbSv4
Cell Phone Gun:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L4yncqEFYw