Air rifle recommendations

[dac]

Want to try some air rifle hunting this year for squirrel and rabbit, started looking around and realized how many options there really are, so was hoping some of you guys with more knowledge then me could recommend a decent air rifle.

I've been considering the crossman Optimus,but Looking for a rifle in .22 cal(I think), spring powered,prefer under $200. 

Thanks in advance

Edited February 4, 2017 by dac

[1957Buck]

What to try some air rifle hunting this year, started looking around and realized how many options there really are, so was hoping some of you guys with more knowledge then me could recommend a decent air rifle.

Looking for a rifle in .22 cal(I think), spring powered,prefer under $200. 

Thanks in advance

 

       Hunting what? Where What State? Under $200 nothing worthwhile  Spring loading?   Daisy Red Rider 

 

There are Air Rifles used for Big Game to ones being used in the  Civil War along with Louis & Clark had them on their expeditions.

Your question is too general. Be more specific please   

Edited February 4, 2017 by 1957Buck

[Roon]

Not for nothing spring power sucks, unless you can get use to and hold perfect every time, I wanted a PCP, this year but think upwards of a grand is a hard nut to swallow.

I have a Benjamin NP 1500. It's a .177cal, fast as heck and killing squirrels out to 60 yards with it.

That said I think my present to myself will be the Benjamin NP in the .22cal gun shoots at around 920fps and gives little more weight to pellet for stability.

Go with Nitro Piston can't go wrong for entry level.

From Jim Flynn round $270 out the door.

All done with my NP 1500, shot in eye was 41 yards

[Cedars]

Nice shooting.

[1957Buck]

Nice outfit U have there reasonable also. what state is it used in ?  No wonder you killed so many they have Bloodshot Eyes 

[dac]

       Hunting what? Where What State? Under $200 nothing worthwhile  Spring loading?   Daisy Red Rider 

 

There are Air Rifles used for Big Game to ones being used in the  Civil War along with Louis & Clark had them on their expeditions.

Your question is too general. Be more specific please   

 

 

Sorry,rabbits and squirrels in NJ

Edited February 4, 2017 by dac

[mazzgolf]

I got a similar set up as Roon - only its a Benjamin Titan NP in .22. But me and Roon both have the same trigger upgrade A Charlie da Tuna - can't mistake that gold trigger!  

 

Note: The Benjamins come with very poor scopes (at least that's what all the reviews said when I researched before I bought mine, and when I got mine, I agreed - the scope had to go.).

 

Also, the trigger is HORRIBLE! And by HORRIBLE, I mean REALLY HORRIBLE!   But a very simple and easy $30 upgrade to a Charlie da Tuna trigger and it made a world of difference. Highly recommend getting one of his triggers. Very simple to install - took me 10 minutes (and that was going slow). Airgun felt like a toy with the stock trigger - feel like a "real" gun now with the new trigger.

 

All total, my setup is under $300 - maybe $250 when you add in the new trigger and replacement scope. And unless you are into paying for FFL fees or NICS checks for airgun purchases, don't buy one here in NJ where they are considered firearms and comes with all the crap that goes along with that.

 

Edited February 4, 2017 by mazzgolf

[1957Buck]

I And unless you are into paying for FFL fees or NICS checks for airgun purchases, don't buy one here in NJ where they are considered firearms and comes with all the crap that goes along with that.

 

 

 

 

If you buyin NJ your regular Firearm Id  is all you need.

If you but outside most likely it is Reciprocal and you will still need that NJ ID.And since NJ considers it a Firearm .

   Do it anyother way it becomes in NJ a Illegal Firearm  \     

Edited February 4, 2017 by 1957Buck

[mazzgolf]

If you buyin NJ your regular Firearm Id  is all you need.

If you but outside most likely it is Reciprocal and you will still need that NJ ID.And since NJ considers it a Firearm .

   Do it anyother way it becomes in NJ a Illegal Firearm  \     

 

If you buy in NJ, not only do you need to show FID, but you MUST get (and pay for) a NICS background check (because airguns are considered firearms in NJ it is no different than if you were buying an actual rifle or shotgun).

 

You don't need any of that if you buy, say, in Delaware. In DE, airguns are considered nothing more than toys. No need to show them NJ FID and definitely no need to pay a background check/NICS fee or FFL transfer fee. You can literally pick one off the shelf and pay for it at the cashier and walk out. You can bring it home into NJ yourself and it's legal.

[1957Buck]

If you buy in NJ, not only do you need to show FID, but you MUST get (and pay for) a NICS background check (because airguns are considered firearms in NJ it is no different than if you were buying an actual rifle or shotgun).

 

You don't need any of that if you buy, say, in Delaware. In DE, airguns are considered nothing more than toys. No need to show them NJ FID and definitely no need to pay a background check/NICS fee or FFL transfer fee. You can literally pick one off the shelf and pay for it at the cashier and walk out. You can bring it home into NJ yourself and it's legal.

 

What happened since I bought my last Rifle last year where my NJ Firearm Purchase Card was all I needed. You do not need a background check every time you Buy other than Pistols. And what I said about Reciprocal Stands also the Part of it becoming a Illegal Unregistered Firearm in NJ. Been There done it. 

[1957Buck]

Self Explanatory   

[mazzgolf]

Well, where did you buy your rifle in NJ? Was it a private sale (or was is an inheritance from a will)? I know if it's a private sale of a long gun, you just have to show FID but no NICS (I never did private sales). But AFAIK, if you buy from a licensed dealer, you not only have to show FID, but you need to undergo a NICS check (Isn't this a federal law?). I've never heard of NOT getting a NICS check when buying any firearm from a licensed dealer in this state (or any state really, like I say, I thought this was federal law that buying a firearm from a licensed dealer required a NICS check for long guns ????). If that is true that you do NOT need a NICS check when buying a rifle in the state of NJ, then I'll eat my hat. I don't believe it. I had to go through NICS when I bought my shotgun and rifle in this state. I'd be pissed if I was made to pay for it (and wait the several days it took, back when the state police was slow walking the NICS checks) when I didn't have to. But I suspect you did not buy from a store or an FFL licensee when you bought your rifle - perhaps a private sale (in which case, no NICS check).

 

NJ defines airguns specifically as firearms - see NJ Statute 2C:39:1(f):

 

f."Firearm" means any handgun, rifle, shotgun, machine gun, automatic or semi-automatic rifle, or any gun, device or instrument in the nature of a weapon from which may be fired or ejected any solid projectable ball, slug, pellet, missile or bullet, or any gas, vapor or other noxious thing, by means of a cartridge or shell or by the action of an explosive or the igniting of flammable or explosive substances.  It shall also include, without limitation, any firearm which is in the nature of an air gun, spring gun or pistol or other weapon of a similar nature in which the propelling force is a spring, elastic band, carbon dioxide, compressed or other gas or vapor, air or compressed air, or is ignited by compressed air, and ejecting a bullet or missile smaller than three-eighths of an inch in diameter, with sufficient force to injure a person.

 

 

So, no matter you buy a rifle, shotgun, or airgun within NJ, its considered a firearm sale - so whatever the rules are for long gun, they are the same for airguns in this state. And I believe in this state, a NICS check is required for any and all firearms purchased from a licensed dealer. If you bought a rifle from a licensed dealer in NJ and did NOT go through a NICS check, that dealer broke the law and you had that rifle transferred to you illegally.

 

But these laws in NJ are for purchasing an airgun - and these NJ laws don't apply in states like PA and DE because airguns are not considered firearms (neither are they considered firearms by federal law) so they don't ask for FID nor do a NICS check. Order an airgun online at Cabelas and go pick it up in Delaware - see if they even bother asking for your driver's license  They didn't for me. It was as if I was buying a toy - like a Lego set or Lincoln Logs.

 

Illegal Unregistered Firearm in NJ

 

NJ doesn't require registration of long guns. As long as you purchased it legally (which, in Delaware, means that I didn't steal my airgun  ) I can transport it myself into the state and own it, no registration required, no NICS, no FID. I would not be considered an "illegal unregistered" firearm because there is no registration required and it was legally purchased following all federal and state (Delaware) laws.

 

I would like to be proven wrong that you don't need NICS checks for long gun or airgun purchases here, but I simply don't believe that is the case (based on reading the statutes and my own personal experiences). And I know for sure registration of long guns are not required in NJ, so airguns need not be registered - if you bought them legally in another state, it is perfectly legal to transport them back to your home in NJ without performing any additional background checks or FID checks. At that point, the gun is legally owned by me.

[Mr12gauge]

Well Cheyenne mountain must be law breakers then cause the guy told me no nics is required for air rifles. Call them

[mazzgolf]

Well Cheyenne mountain must be law breakers then cause the guy told me no nics is required for air rifles. Call them

 

Well, I don't get how they can do that. I copy-n-pasted the NJ statute above - you can see it is very clear and is explicitly called out - airguns are firearms just as any rifle or shotgun. Unless the NJ administrative code says you don't need NICS for airguns (I dunno), I don't see how you don't need a NICS check. Maybe some lawyer or someone else here "in the know" understands what the deal is.

 

Mind you - I think its stupid NJ considers airguns as firearms. If its true NJ really doesn't require NICS checks for airguns, that's the way it should be anyway. But the fact they classify them as firearms like any other rifle or shotgun tells me unless there is something specific in the laws or statutes that exempt airguns from NICS checks, I don't see how they aren't required here.

 

From NJ DFW: http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/pdf/airgun_faq.pdf

 

Q7. Are air guns considered firearms in the state of NJ?

Yes. In NJ, air guns are defined as firearms.  Therefore ALL firearm laws that apply to

other modern firearms in NJ, also apply to air guns.

 

Edited February 5, 2017 by mazzgolf

[username]

Want to try some air rifle hunting this year ... recommend a decent air rifle.

 

Diana RWS in 17 or 22, side or break action.

Great rifles.