The Three Popular Airgun Models
There are three basic types of airguns. They differ in the way they are charged with pressurized air. All three have their place. Each is more or less convenient, more or less powerful. Your needs will determine which you should use. Let’s dive into the three systems.
CO2
CO2’s are powered by a CO2 cannister that you insert into the gun. These are convenient because the cannisters are small, easily carried, ready at a moment’s notice, and relatively inexpensive. CO2 guns, however, are not as powerful as the other two. Also, the pressure drops shot by shot, so your trajectory and pellet power drop, too.
Most CO2’s spit out pellets at only 600-800 fps, so they’re not really a viable option for hunting. Most are .177s to, I assume, conserve CO2 gas. It requires a lot more air to fill a 22-caliber bore. So why even buy a .177 CO2? Well, they do serve two purposes.
CO2 guns are less expensive than the other types.
They are great training guns because they’re easy for small shooters to load and operate. They can be shot quickly and repeatedly without laborious recharging with pumps of various kinds.
If you want to run pests out of your garden but don’t want to kill them, CO2 BB guns are great. Most are semi-autos so you can scatter a whole herd of tomato eating deer as fast as you can pull the trigger.
At least one company makes CO2 guns that mimic real firearms, both rifles and handguns. This makes them convenient, inexpensive training tools. I was conducting an Airgun 101 seminar 2019 in Reno at the Reno SCI Convention in 2019 where I discovered a lot of grandads and dads who wanted to use airguns to start kids in hunting/shooting. I had an AR style airgun on my demo table that looked, felt and had the same features as the real AR that it mimicked. As you can imagine, all of the kids were telling grandad to buy them one.
Yes, CO2’s are great for getting kids into shooting. There are a lot of cool targets. Spinners, flippers, shooting galleries etc. So if your kid doesn’t want to hunt but wants to shoot or plink tin cans, CO2’s are the ticket.
BREAK BARRELS
Break Barrel airguns are powered via an internal spring or air cylinder you charge by “cocking” the barrel itself. They are loaded with pellets or BB’s one at a time by setting that projectile in the breech. Break barrels are the most popular airgun for several good reasons. They are inexpensive, simple to operate, always ready to shoot, require no fillers or cannisters, and throw .177 pellets as fast as 1,450 fps, .22 pellets at 1,250 fps. This makes them a good choice for small game and varmint hunting.
They have a unique recoil. They kick backwards and then forwards. To get any degree of accuracy you need to use something called The Artillery Hold. Hold the rifle tightly with your trigger hand, but only cup the fore-end lightly in your off hand. Let the gun slide backward and forward when you shoot. Hold your off hand in the exact same spot every time. Different holds will alter point of impact.
With a Break Barrel you can shoot slightly more aerodynamically efficient pellets with polymer tips.
The major pain with hunting with a BB is that every shot you have to dig in your pocket, open a can, pull out a pellet and load it. (Although I do have a small canvas pouch that I can dump pellets into which does speed up the process immensely). But, a few companies have come out with air rifles that utilize a rotary magazine. This is great. Buy 2-3 extra mags and you can hunt and shoot high speed. Right now I’m in love with the UMAREX Synergis which is actually an underlever gun but to me is somewhat of a hybrid break barrel because it compresses a gas piston for its power source.
PRE-CHARGED PNUEMATICS (PCP’s)
These are my most favorite air rifles because they’re the most accurate. I get 3/16” groups with some of mine. So they are the ultimate hunting airgun. They don’t travel as fast as a BB, most of them probably 900-1,100 fps but accuracy trumps speed.
These look like real firearms, but they’re airguns.
They are powered by compressed air which is stored in a tank on the gun. Most of them will hold 3,000 psi. Yes, I said 3,000 psi, not 30 psi like your truck tires. That’s some serious air pressure. The PCP regulates the air for each shot so whether your tank has 3,000 or 1,800 psi it shouldn’t affect the trajectory of your pellet.
PCP’s are the most complicated of the airgun family. To charge one you must have an external air source. If you use an air tank these cost about $350.00. And not that it is expensive but to fill the tank but it is inconvenient because you have to run to a skin-diving shop and pay them $6-$8.00. Plus, on a busy day of shooting, I’ll go through two tanks in 2/3’s of the day. So if you’re hunting with one you’ll want two if not three tanks.
You can buy hand pumps that resemble a bicycle pump but they’re a MAJOR pain to operate. Let’s just say if you go this route, you can cancel your gym membership!
But, have no fear. Umarex saved the day. They offer a compressor called the Umarex Ready Air which you can plug into a 110 outlet or hook up to your truck battery out in the field. I think I’d suggest buying the compressor instead of air tanks because it’d be about the same price and the UMAREX Ready Air compressor is more versatile.
Tune in again next week for the third article in our Airgun Series titled 10 REASONS TO SMALL GAME HUNT WITH AIRGUNS.
A break-action air gun is charged by “breaking” the barrel to squeeze air into its reservoir.
