Air rifle advice

[Nomad]

Hey folks, I picked up an air rifle at wally world, it's a Beeman 1073 (it's got barrels for .177 and .22 calibers). I've never owned a decent air rifle before and have no idea how to care for it. Also, I heard this is supposed to have an (unadvertised) adjustable trigger. I'd love to adjust it to a lighter pull. I plan on mostly target shooting, however we have a BAD rodent and rabbit problem (happens when all the coyotes are chased away dangit) and that's leading to a rattlesnake problem. It's open season on yard pests at my house right now as far as I'm concerned (not songbirds, not lizards, just PESTS). Any constructive advice would be wonderful! Also I'd like to know if anyone is familiar with these things? Especially these Beeman models. It's very hefty with a solid wood stock, and still has more kick than I'd have expected from an air rifle.

[BIGIRON]

Air guns are great fun. Can be almost as addicting as flashlights. For your close range, probably low light shooting, you might want to consider a red dot sight. You can hold a light alongside the forearm and do pretty well. That works for me with 10/22 and G2 or similar.

You'll be plesantly surprised at the accuracy of modern air guns. Most of them are ammo sensitive, so you'll probably want to try several different brands and types of pellets. Generally, the 22 will be more effective for small game but the 177 may be more accurate.

Hope you enjoy the rabbit stew. Remember, "Don't kill anything unless you're going to eat it or it's trying to eat you". We'll give you a pass on the rats.

[Nomad]

Apparently I got lucky and this is the "adjustable trigger" version that normally isn't found in the Wal-Marts, from what I've found it's luck of the draw and I got lucky. :-) I'm going to lighten up the trigger pull and enjoy it, the one I returned yesterday had such a stiff pull and I had no idea I could adjust it! I hope I didn't screw myself though, apparently there is a bit of variability on the quality of these, just like most Chinese made goods seem to. I think the moral of THAT story is to not be afraid of returning the craptastic ones. :-)

[hank]

And if you don't have toddlers, dogs, or inlaws, and are a patient and observant sort -- leave the rattlesnakes alone and you'll attract a population of kingsnakes or something comparable that eats them. Maybe hawks and owls.

I've found I can live comfortably with rattlesnakes around my usual summer longterm campsite in the mountains, once I have learned where each of them hangs out; they're very predictable and territorial. I think they're kind of like having spiders, one per room, here at home -- there will only be as many, and no fewer, than the local area can comfortably support. If one gets killed that opens up a spot and another moves in for the easy pickins.

Once you move whatever food source attracts your pests out a few hundred yards the rattlesnakes will follow them over time. If you don't have something around that preys on the rodents the fleas or the viruses will eventually take over controlling them.

Then again I get along with hornet-type wasps too (grin). Maybe it's professional courtesy, I used to keep bees long ago and have gotten quite comfortable noticing, and not stepping on or squashing, anybody large or small by mistake, and they seem to recognize me too.

[Dr Jekell]

Spring (break barrel) air rifles will have a noticeable kick to them due to the spring being released to create the compressed air to fire the pellet out of the barrel.

If you want one with almost no recoil then you could go with a Pre Charged Rifle but they tend to be very expensive & require more maintenance.

As for its care mainly when storing it give it's metal parts a wipe over with an approved oil & don't store the rifle cocked or half cocked (the barrel open half way between closed & cocked).

There is other maintenance that need to be done but if you are not comfortable doing so I would suggest you take it into your nearest REPUTABLE air gun specialist/repair shop. DO NOT take it to a regular gunsmith.

I also suggest you have a look around in your phone book & on the internet for a local air gun club as they can help you with your entry into the sport.

[hank]

Yay! I can get lead-free pellets for air rifles. It's been close to 20 years since I used my Benjamin .22 air gun outdoors, and I've gotten a lot more careful about scattering lead around the landscape since.

[Buster Bodine]

Once you move whatever food source attracts your pests out a few hundred yards the rattlesnakes will follow them over time. If you don't have something around that preys on the rodents the fleas or the viruses will eventually take over controlling them.

On the other hand, going out in the back yard and killing every single one of those little self propelled land mines will provide you with many hours of satisfying fun, a few interesting if very bony meals if you're daring enough, and could also possibly save you or a loved one from a bunch of skin grafts, horribly disfiguring scars, permanent loss of function in the bitten limb, incredible pain, and many thousands of dollars in hospital bills.

Hmmm...

Tough call, let us know what you decide!

[cernobila]

Beeman airguns are generally of good quality, look through their web site for care and maintenance.....

http://www.beeman.com/

[Burgess]

I had a Sheridan Silver-Streak 5mm air rifle.

Got it in 1968, and it served me well for 15 years !


Don't know if they are still made, however.


They were in Racine, Wisconsin.



Good Luck with your "varmint" problem.


_

[Bozzlite]

I had a Sheridan Silver-Streak 5mm air rifle.

Got it in 1968, and it served me well for 15 years !


Don't know if they are still made, however.


They were in Racine, Wisconsin.



Good Luck with your "varmint" problem.


_

Benjamin bought out Sheridan a few years back. Now Benjamin makes the 5mm Silver Streak. I bought mine in the middle 70's when they were still made by Sheridan. The 20 caliber pellet is right in between the .177 and the .22. Good compromise of pellet weight and speed. Pretty accurate too.

[Nomad]

Since I posted that I've found several resources. Many of my questions though just don't seem to make sense to the long time enthusiasts, too n00bish I suppose. :-)

Hey if anyone sees good clearance deals on this (I hear some wal-marts are clearing them out) let me know! I really like this gun so far, it's got a very satisfying ricochet sound when I miss too..LOL and it also completely blows through the piece of 1/2" sub floor I have as a back stop when I use anything but the wadcutter pellets. This is NOT your kid's bb gun!

Also, I seem to have an issue with holding the gun very still when aiming. I don't know if it's a problem with me physically or just that I'm not holding it right. I was attempting to use the old stance I vaguely remember my father teaching me 28 years ago when I was 10 and had a little .22LR (that was lighter than this pellet rifle by a fair bit too).

[aussiebob]

Remember, "Don't kill anything unless you're going to eat it or it's trying to eat you". We'll give you a pass on the rats.

I think anything big enough to try to eat you wouldnt be phased by a air rifle pellet.

[Patriot]

Generally, .17 caliber air rifles with good pellets will kill cottontail rabbits. I used them to kill dozens as a child. I usually got "pass through's" on about 2/3ths of the cottontails I'd kill. The .22 will produce roughly 30% energy at the same velocity and will kill large jack rabbits. If you're above 700fps for .17cal, and 550fps for .22cal, quick human kills on these animals are no problem. Obviously shot placement is always important. 17cal in the 425+fps (common velocity for pistols) will dispatch large rat sized game easily also.

Sounds like you're about to have some fun

[Zero_Enigma]

Since I posted that I've found several resources. Many of my questions though just don't seem to make sense to the long time enthusiasts, too n00bish I suppose. :-)

Hey if anyone sees good clearance deals on this (I hear some wal-marts are clearing them out) let me know! I really like this gun so far, it's got a very satisfying ricochet sound when I miss too..LOL and it also completely blows through the piece of 1/2" sub floor I have as a back stop when I use anything but the wadcutter pellets. This is NOT your kid's bb gun!

Also, I seem to have an issue with holding the gun very still when aiming. I don't know if it's a problem with me physically or just that I'm not holding it right. I was attempting to use the old stance I vaguely remember my father teaching me 28 years ago when I was 10 and had a little .22LR (that was lighter than this pellet rifle by a fair bit too).

The more expensive Beeman rifles are quality rifles from all I've heard. I bought a BF-3000 before which was cheap but returned it as it was cheap quality. The rule of thumb I remember being taught online was '.177 for feathers and .22 for fur' although if you have a 1000fps rifle and using heavy ammo (~10.9-12gr) you can still deliver a killer punch on small fur game.

The rifle you have a spring piston rifle. Most spring pistons I've used are HOLD SENSITIVE. What that means is you have to learn how to hold them. Don't hold the grip with a death grip. You have to hold it with with a little room to 'float/breathe' because the gun will snap it's bi-directional recoil. For those with spring piston guns I'm sure they know what I mean with the holding thing. Kinda hard for me to explain but easier if I showed you.

I would try buying a sampler ammo package from places like Straight Shooters (no affliation) which I recall they had something like a 20 type ammo sampler package with about 20rds of each type for you to try. If you're shooting close range like 10 meters most ammo would work well but if you're going for more range you'll have to test some pellets out.

A good site to check out is www.airgunforum.ca It was spawned from the MSN Airguns Canada thread a long time ago. There are many airsmiths on the site. Dispite it being Canadian there are many Americans on it and many a Canadians with high powered (we're talking 500+fps - to 1200fps) airguns.

Pyramid Air is one good site to find ammo. Airguns Of Arizona is another. Compasseco in Kentucky is pretty good. I've gotten two guns from Compasseco before and thier tech guy Eric is pretty good on the phone answerign questions when I ordered before.

The Leapers 'Bug Buster' series of scopes as I've read has a good reputation for it's range for 'ratting' and close range pest control with some mid-range as well. They can be be sighted in to 3 meters. Not everyone has good enough eyes to go open sights all the time and sometimes a scoped short range rifle is good for precision targeting.

Also check out www.xisicousa.com (no afflication butI like thier designs). I own the B3-1 AK-47 .22 folder and B5-10 SMG looking pnumatic (pumper). Lets just say the B5-10 was probably tested with heavy ammo in Canada because normal ammo hits HARD and you can pump to 10 pumps tho it was tested on 4 pumps if I recall right so it can knock out some smaller pests.

The B5-10 also is a 10+1 pellet manual gravity feed. The AK-47 model also has a .177 model as well. I think for the Canadian models they chopped off 2-3 coils to lower the power.

Also Todd Cooper did a full disassemble of the B3-1 with tune and lube how-to.

How much did you pay for your Beeman 1073? I recall Pyramid Air selling it for ~$173 USD. You Americans have the best stocked Wallys. >__<;; We in Canada only have ~2/3 the stock you guys have. BTW can you buy AK-47's and AR-15's in the USA Wallys? Like I know you need a background and licence check and such but curious even if they stock those.

Cheers.

[Nomad]

Just on for a moment, but I paid $125 plus tax for my Beeman 1073 with the dual barrels at Walmart.

[dd61999]

you might want to pick up a crossman 2240.

These are the maglites of the airgun world. There are so many mods to make an outstanding gun with these things.

[StarHalo]

The airgun I had as a teen was a Crosman Classic 2104x (http://www.crosman.com/site/listing/1216), a pump rifle with a scope; once you got the scope adjusted, and since there's no recoil whatsoever, you could easily do quarter-sized groupings from 60-70 feet away. The pump system also allows you to set how powerful you want the shot to be, two pumps will bounce off a squirrel's rump to shoo it, five or six to kill. Ten pumps will lodge a BB about a half inch into solid wood. The 200 BB reservoir means you can go target shooting all day and never reload, and the 17 round magazine allows you to manually load pellets when you want while still carrying BBs. These generally sell for about $70.

BTW can you buy AK-47's and AR-15's in the USA Wallys? Like I know you need a background and licence check and such but curious even if they stock those.

Nope, Wal-Marts stock basic rifles and shotguns geared towards target shooting and hunting, nothing too exotic. Same with the handguns. And here in the state of California, it's not legal to own an "assault rifle", state law has a specific list of various semi-auto rifles and guns that you can't buy, which also includes any type of shortened shotgun.

[Patriot]

Just on for a moment, but I paid $125 plus tax for my Beeman 1073 with the dual barrels at Walmart.

Congrats. It's a good value and you didn't break the bank.

[tradderran]

I had a Sheridan Silver-Streak 5mm air rifle.

Got it in 1968, and it served me well for 15 years !


Don't know if they are still made, however.


They were in Racine, Wisconsin.



Good Luck with your "varmint" problem.


_

I still have a pair of them one new in the box. That I got when I found out they sold out to Benjamin. the other one i have had for 25+years and still going strong.

[BIGIRON]

Trader, I've had one since the late 60's also. Was going to buy one for young nephew couple of years ago. Totally different quality. Bought a Gamo instead.

I still have my Crossman pumper that Santa brought for my 10th Christmas.

BTW, few years ago bought some 5mm pellets from Beeman that were more accurate than the Sheridan pellets but I think the Sheridan pellets provided a little more energy downrange.

[Nomad]

A bit of resurrecting an oldish thread but I figured I'd give y'all some updates.
I now have two of those Wal-Mart Beeman 1073s, one of which has been tuned up for me by a guy known as John in PA. WOW it's like shooting a different gun, in every single good way! I frequent the Gateway to Airguns more but I'm on both that and the Yellow (Kitching) forums. LOTS of good info there.

[Zero_Enigma]

The airgun I had as a teen was a Crosman Classic 2104x (http://www.crosman.com/site/listing/1216), a pump rifle with a scope; once you got the scope adjusted, and since there's no recoil whatsoever, you could easily do quarter-sized groupings from 60-70 feet away. The pump system also allows you to set how powerful you want the shot to be, two pumps will bounce off a squirrel's rump to shoo it, five or six to kill. Ten pumps will lodge a BB about a half inch into solid wood. The 200 BB reservoir means you can go target shooting all day and never reload, and the 17 round magazine allows you to manually load pellets when you want while still carrying BBs. These generally sell for about $70.



Nope, Wal-Marts stock basic rifles and shotguns geared towards target shooting and hunting, nothing too exotic. Same with the handguns. And here in the state of California, it's not legal to own an "assault rifle", state law has a specific list of various semi-auto rifles and guns that you can't buy, which also includes any type of shortened shotgun.

Hey just saw your reply (I know I know... I'm casting from the book of dead ) while looking up the old B5-10 and saw my reply here in the google search and saw the rest of the repluies. Interesting note, in Canada as far as I know there is no minimum length on shotgun barrels as long as the over all length of the gun is 16" total. Hence why Dominion Arms can sell it's 8" (8.5" ??) factory 12ga shotgun here on the regular 'unrestricted' firearms licence.

BTW how is everyones's shooting? I've not really shot much in all the years other then a few months ago when I was shooting at some pans to scare off the pesky racoons. The coonies around here seem to hold there ground for a bit not budging if you do a simple 'shoo shoo' and wave motion. They will just give you a stare down from a ground or partly up a tree.

[Zero_Enigma]

http://my.tbaytel.net/coopers/XS-B3%...ew/review.html



Paid like $90-95 CDN for it. Try finding another airgun with almost all metal and wood for that price. Last I checked (slightly over half a decade ago) you'll be paying something like $180 range before you start seeing more metal.

[DrVette]

I hope you are aware of "Dieseling" effect you can induce in your Beeman !
When oiling and cleaning, make SURE to never allow any combustible lubricant / anti-rust agent into the air chamber.

I have a RWS from the Albert Nobel Dynamit Factory in West Germany, yes "Dynamit" is how they spell dynamite.

If you do, it will sound like a .22 and possibly do damage to the spring chamber or other components.

Only use the .22 when hunting, and be prepared for a long and painful demise of the target.
For maximum knockdown, use RWS Hollow Point Pellets, they really make a tremendous difference !

Also, on a unit like yours, it takes a Dedicated Air Rifle Scope. I have about $375 in my RWS and bought the rifle used.
The scope, mounts and muzzle brake/stabilizer cost a ton.

When shooting, don't try to hold "dead-on" target, instead rotate in small circles and squeeze the trigger just before the target enters the zone.

I seriously HOPE you're NOT killing Rattlesnakes !
Here in the south, the only way to get bit is to catch one sleeping, otherwise they'll beg you to leave them alone by buzzing.

Copperheads, PLEASE, KILL them All !
These are aggressive and territorial critters.
I was mowing in front of the barn some years back, approaching the steps, I begain to get off to move them out of the way to mow.

Just as I touched the blade dis-engagement handle, BLAM, snake flew out of my discharge.
The snake was about 28" long, but almost 3" in diameter !!

The snake attacked the mower !
Lucky for me.. Now I spray a tiny mist of Diesel Fuel under the dry section of the barn on the floor as snakes dislike the odor.

Many years ago, I became friends with a Ga DNR Game Warden. He educated me on the animals we fear and why we should NOT kill or remove the habitat for many of them.

Among those is the "Wolf Spider" this one is BIG and has two large fangs. They do NOT run from you, just stare.
A search confirmed they are harmless, if you look closely when they appear "hairy" they will have dozens of little spiders hanging on.

The spider to fear will run and hide when he sees you, the Brown Recluse or Fiddle-back Spider.
To see the "Fiddle" you'll need some serious glasses. These spiders cause more harm to humans than any other in this area, the wounds are Gross and take months to heal and sometimes do permanent damage.

[Sub_Umbra]

Air rifles are the most accurate rifles made.

Back in the 70s Beeman (and one other outfit I no longer remember the name of) had some deals on new German air rifles (Fenwerkbou spelling). They had a package where they would take a new rifle, strip out the stock lubes and re-lube it before shipping it to you.

The lubes have a history of being very exotic.