Bit of an odd question, but please bear with me...
I am a bit of an armchair survivalist. Despite an annoying desk job, I have a well equipped bug-out-bag packed in my basement. Every time there is a severe storm coming, I am ready to live without power for about 3 weeks. I basically live a typical suburban life while secretly waiting for the apocalypse so that I can live in a debris hut and hunt and gather for my family. Ridiculous, I know, but I am what I am.
In light of all this, I am looking to make a single lifetime purchase of a pellet gun. From my survivalist perspective, some ideal characteristics would be:
It would probably need to be a break barrel - it can’t have any consumable inputs since I don’t plan to buy a lifetime supply of CO2 cartridges. I also don’t plan to buy a lifetime supply of bullets or gunpowder - thus the need for a pellet gun (I could however see myself buying a few thousand pellets just to have around).
It would have to effectively take down small game. In my area, there is pretty much only small game, aside from a few coyotes that I would never mess with. Thus I would need a gun that could take down the rabbits, pheasant, partridge, etc., that would be fair game in a survival situation.
It would have to be durable, and maintenance free - if I am being the Davey Crocket of my apocalypse I don’t want everyone in my family to starve due to a broken spring.
Again, I know this is a bit over the top, but I plan to get a great pellet gun and your advice/input would be greatly appreciated.
C_F_452010-10-05T14:37:40Z
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The most accurate and durable spring piston air rifle that I'm aware of is the Feinwerkbau(FWB) 124D
They haven't been produced since the late 80's, but no problem, you can still find them on Gunbroker, etc. http://www.gunbroker.com http://www.airguns.net/classifieds/place_ad.php
If you would rather buy new. Then I would suggest a .22 caliber Diana(RWS) 350 Magnum. It's a very well built rifle(lifetime warranty) and among the most powerful springers(25ft-lbs) http://www.airgundepot.com/rws-air-rifles.html http://www.pyramydair.com/air-rifles
Spring piston air rifles required very little maintenance. A drop or two of silicone based lubricant every 500 shots or so, and you're good.
Pellets: You can lay in a good supply, and the cost is relatively very low. http://www.pyramydair.com/pellets You will need to try a variety of good quality pellets to see which your rifle prefers(accuracy)
Hunting Generally speaking, domed pellets are the most effective on small game, while wadcutters are for pest birds http://f4bscale.worldonline.co.uk/over.htm http://www.americanairgunhunter.com http://www.adventuresinairguns.com http://www.network54.com/forum/79537 __________________
Added
The suggestion of a Benjamin 392 is a good one. But if I went with the 392 I would go with one of Mac 1's "Steroid" models http://www.mac1airgun.com It's not a springer, but there are some advantages to a multi-pump. ___________________
Added for "Gamo Viper or Shadow Express" IMO these are among the worst airguns ever built. They are bad idea, poorly executed. As a shotgun they are only deadly to small birds or mice at extremely close range(10 yards at most) and as a .22 they are useless because they lack "hunting accuracy"(smooth bore)
Gamo Viper Express - article/review http://www.americanairgunhunter.com/viperexpress.html There is a good reason the price of these airguns fell like a rock and now they have almost completely disappeared.
Crosman Quest All of the Crosman(Phantom, Storm XT, Quest, etc) springers in the $100 price range are chinese built junk(IMO). Accuracy isn't all that bad, 1in 3 shot groups at 30 yards are more like it. It's the durability of these rifles, most are lucky to last 3 months if you shoot much**
**300 pellets per week
IMO, the best of the "$100" springers is the built in Turkey by Hatsan...Daisy Powerline 1000WS it's somewhat more durable, slightly more accurate and much more powerful than a chinese built Crosman springer.
I would not recommend either(Daisy or Crosman) as a survival weapon. In a survival situation you need reliability, and those rifles are not the answer.
Airsoft will not kill a squirrel, just cause it unnecessary harm. Some pellet guns will take them out instantly. The one you mention is not one of them. You need more power, like a 22 pellet going 900-1,000 fps, not a 177 pellet going 1,000 fps. Your gun MIGHT reach 1,000 fps with a very light pellet like a Beeman Laser. Far less from a heavier pellet. As for accuracy\y, this Chinese gun may or may not give the consistency of shot placement you require. You can choose a more accurate, consistent rifle like Benjamin Discovery PCP, then on top of that the increased power still means lights out squirrel for shots you were not quite "on the mark".
With every day pass, our country is getting into more and more trouble. The inflation, unemployment and falling value of dollar are the main concern for our Government but authorities are just sleeping, they don’t want to face the fact. Media is also involve in it, they are force to stop showing the real economic situation to the people. I start getting more concern about my future as well as my family after watching the response of our Government for the people that affected by hurricane Katrina.
According to recent studies made by World Bank, the coming crisis will be far worse than initially predicted. So if you're already preparing for the crisis (or haven't started yet) make sure you watch this video at http://www.familysurvival.tv and discover the 4 BIG issues you'll have to deal with when the crisis hits, and how to solve them fast (before the disaster strikes your town!) without spending $1,000s on overrated items and useless survival books.
Gamo viper or shadow express. Its a break barrel spring power, shoots .22 pellets AND special gamo shot shells. The shot shells hold 9# shot its basically lead BBs. Its very powerful with pellets and useful with shot shells, but if you care about your family get a decent .22 and/or a higher power rifle and shotgun. EDIT .357 magnum rifles are low recoil and good for hunting coyote sized animals.
its break barrel, .22 and it only costs about $100 depending where you buy it from. since they're so cheap, you can get 2 for the price of one slightly "better" but more overpriced model; or have more money to spend on ammo.