Well WV legalized airguns for big game seasons, including bear.
If anybody is hunting big game with an airgun, I’d like to hear your suggestions.
Regs say .45 cal minimum and at least a 200 gr. bullet.
Thanks

PA has legalized airguns for small game only. Will keep tabs on this thread to hear about your states BIG game rules!

Deer are legally taken in I disnd during firearms season with airgun or arrow guns. You will need tanks to fill the gun or a high pressure compressor. You won't get many shot with big airguns and they are loud. Slug are not cheap and terminal performance will be less than a muzzle loader. I decide they were not for me. Now if I were a fellon I may chose this method.

Well I disagree that they are loud and the slugs I buy are fairly cheap. I'm getting 978 FPS out of my Airforce Texan SS 457 Cal. /CF with Nielsen Specialty Ammo 281 gr. hollow points slugs. My rifle has from the factory a suppressor almost the length of the barrel making it really quiet.
I get 3 perfect shots out of a full charge of 3620 psi. then I have to start using my mill dots for the 4th & 5th shot.




Nielsen Specialty Ammo 281 gr. hollow points slugs are $22. per 50. Mr. Hollow point sell cast slugs pretty cheap too.

You will need to spend some money to get set up to begin with, but then it's pretty cheap to shoot. I bought a Tiger Shark 74 Cu Ft 4500 PSI Tank that I fill with a GX PUMP CS3-I Portable PCP Air Compressor.


It will refill my rifle roughly 50 times from 2850 psi.

I just got a 30 cal for small game, thanks for the filling info Bigbuck, I need to get a better air pump.

Big buck near .50 a shot just seems high to me for an air gun and 3 shots back up not many shots. That are cool for sure and I was very tempted to get into air guns bigger than the .22cal pcp's I bought my boys but the cost didn't make since for me. Now .22 pellets are cheep and we have killed from coyotes down with them( trap line gun). The boys get around 25 shot and their guns only fill to 2000psi so fill in about 80 pumps from a 50$ Chinese hand pump from Amazon. Very economical practices for my boys with power enough to kill anything they can kill anything
they care to shoot with a.22lr with their air guns out to around 40 yards. My youngest is 9 nd shoots coke cans off a fence post that's 78 yards from the back porch off hand.


I think the arrow guns are more devastating for Deer size game. Maybe someday I will break down and get into med and big bore air. But. That shot count really starts dropping fast. Heck a 177 would be nice for the higher shot count.

Bigbuck thank you for the reply!

I was actually looking at that model. Where did you buy it from?

Is the tank necessary?

Can you fill the gun directly from the compressor?

Have you used either of those bullets on deer sized game?

I bought mine from Pyramyd Air.

I use my tank when I go to the shooting range mainly and yes you can fill the gun directly from the compressor. You can use the compressor off the electric inverter that the compressor comes with or hook it up to your truck battery out in the field with the battery cables attached .

They sell smaller air tanks that a guy could very easy backpack around.

Yes I took a doe late season with a Nielsen Specialty Ammo 281 gr. hollow point slug.

Bigbuck

Thank you for all the info! I have more questions.

Are the connectors to charge PCP airguns universal?

Or do you need adapters for specific make and model airguns?

Did you need to buy an adapter for the Texan SS for the compressor you mentioned? If so what adapter and where did you buy it?

What scope and rings did you use?

Any other necessities I need to get started?

I looked at the Neilsen Ammo site, and they listed no bullet weight that you mentioned for the 457??

While cool, I still prefer more traditional means of hunting.

I have to ask the question...WHY???

solving a problem which did not exist IMO, so many good legal deer and big game rifles and calibers out there now with tons of effective bullet options. These seem like a huge upfront cost with no real benefits (unless a felony conviction prevents someone from owning a traditional firearm)

Am I missing something?

Friend of mine got into them, he has a 30 caliber and a bigger one, claims it will kill deer, I forgot which brand, but....he was filling the tank one day and the tank blew up on him, almost cut his thumb off and his hand looked like a M80 went off in it... He swears he wasn't over charging it...He's healed up and still using the guns, but I'd be very careful filling one of those.....

Multiple reasons other than the felon one. And while federal does not recognize airguns as prohibited some states do.

The big push started in the UK when many hunting guns got prohibited BUT a 12ftlb limit was enforced. That was when some US guys said, hold my beer.

Meanwhile, more and more urban counties across the US went no firearms for hunting while wildlife conflict grew exponentially. Intriguingly coinciding with the rapid growth of the NWCO industry of the last twenty years.

They definitely have their place in the toolbox totally aside from the cool factor. Plus they are largely unregulated at the moment.

Why would someone choose to hunt with a muzzleloader or handgun or why choose a bow or even worse a traditional stick bow without even sights, or gasp why a crossbow

Yes there are so many great guns and bullets out there that there is really is no reason to limit yourself on range or firepower unless for you it’s less about killing something and more about challenging yourself, i can see and understand wanting to do something as easy as possible, after all not everyone is ok with letting that huge buck walk away because it was only 75 or maybe 100 yards away and they were armed with a more limited weapon like a muzzleloader or stick bow and couldn’t ethically take the shot, but for some it’s the challenge of doing it differently to overcome the limits of how they choose to do it making success so much sweeter

Heck you want limiting I know guys that hunt with a spear and spear thrower and even some that hunt pigs with a knife, there’s no real reason for them to do so except the challenge It takes to succeed, many of these guys could easily afford to hire a guide that could take them out and put them within easy rifle shot of any game they wished likely in a day or two at most, but in the end for them it’s not the end of the hunt that matters it the journey it takes to get to the end and if they end up having to make tag soup at the end of season, all it means to them is they have to work harder next year


Personally I have a quackenbush exile in 308 and really it’s not all that expensive to shoot once you get set up, I have shoot everything from expensive rifle bullets to cast pistol or even lead round balls through it depending on just what I was shooting at, those round balls make a very good short range pest load around the yard, and while loader then a 177 or 22 air rifle really not so much that it disturbs the neighbors, even though it’s perfectly legal to set of any firearm I want from a 17HMR up to my old 577 nitro

I have shot a lot of pests but no big game though I am sure it would take deer or similar sized game within its range I just haven’t felt the need to do so, on the power side it’s really on the lower end, some of the guns available now are pushing 45/50 cal bullets out at over 1500FPS and even more, and some that shoot smaller Caliber such as 22-32 cal at over 2000 or more

But for now most of those are custom hand built guns not production ones, like everything else there are those that are going to take and try to go beyond whats currently possible, just like those that have pushed the limits of crossbows or shotgun slugs for more range and accuracy, and what currently being done on the custom side ultimately works it’s way into mainstream availability

$1500 for a big bore air rifle would be a deterrent for me. I would like the .177 however.

That is the big issue to get into the game. Up front costs are high but once in cost per shot is less than 22lr unless you play with the custom or boutique slugs.

Can't say that with any deer rifle even with rolling your own ammo.

Like any other outdoor activity there can be danger involved, there is many a outdoor person that has been injured or even died while doing some outdoor activity, though I think it’s safer then most sports, i know people that have hurt themselves even died while hunting or even just sport shooting, a good friend is missing most of his ring finger and his pinkie on his left hand from when his pistol came apart on him and that was with factory ammo not handloads

Anything you do in life has its risks and dangers, so unless you just want to survive you pick and choose what dangers you are willing to accept for doing what you enjoy, even being born has its dangers

Ok the connector on the air compressor come with a male Foster quick connecter and fits all AirForce rifles.

I have a Hawke 6-24x50 Airmax 30 SF Compact IR, Ill., AMX IR, 1/10 MRAD, 30mm


The rings I bought are the BKL 30mm Rings, 3/8" or 11mm Dovetail, Double Strap, Matte Black


N.A.S. 281 gr. HP-BT-Knurl,45 Cal. Slugs are out of stock because they have sent their mold out to have it retooled and should have it back in just a few weeks. Here's what the slugs look like that I shoot.





The only other thing you might want to get a sling. I use a Butler Creek Neoprene sling that has 2 elastic loops for muzzleloader quick loads. Each quick loaders hold 5 slug perfect, this way your not digging in your pockets to get a slug just in case you need a follow up shot or to fill your second tag.

Nice set up big buck. My mission x bow came with a hawk scope and it has worked perfectly for 11 years. I had not heard of them before and was not confident in it but I was proven wrong. It's been a great optic.

Thanks PF.
Hawke scopes are huge over in Europe just like Leupold scopes are here in the states. They are becoming bigger in the USA and yes they are great scopes.

You can legally suppress them without involving the ATF. I wanted quiet guns for around the yard and didn't want to go through the hassle of suppressing a .22

makes sense. Thanks!

IL coon they are really amazing once you learn them. I have stayed with the small cal air guns due to cost but would love a big one.

Why did I buy air guns? My boys had .22s shotguns and centerline rifles and we can shoot then out the back door. No reason to buy air guns right?
I am into economics first and looking ahead I saw the ammo shortage coming. And I know my boys need more shooting practice than they had been getting. So I started looking at airguns. Pellets are cheap and on the shelf when .22 bullets are not. They are accurate and powerful enough to confidentiality kill anything I would also use a.22 with. While researching airguns on an airgun form I saw a sell posted in the deals thread where midway had the benjamin maximus for $90 off so $130 & free shipping so I ordered 2. An air pump was 60 from Amazon 2 cheap 40$ 4× Simon's scopes from Walmart that came with rings and they were set.

They have shot thousands of shots with them killed lots of game and varmints. Best of all every shot keep them out of my .22 ammo and was cheaper also.

Big bore is the same just higher cost of entry,. Man it's fun and to be honest I would love to shoot a deer with pellet gun, it would be more challenging like bow hunting. But the cost has not been practical for me yet for another tool when I allread have tools that work. Especially when the bill for the new septic system , and daughter tuition is coming up and that is how it has seemed to be the last few years alway so thing more important coming up.

Check out some of the small caliber guns and you may find you really like them. Watch some u tube video
of guys hunting with them making amazing shots at distance you would not dream an airgun could shoot. Warning it could get addicted .

Check out Trenier Airguns in Sparta, large assortment of pellets and slugs, from .177 to .35cal. Hes a FX dealer, and also takes trade ins and sells used guns. He also has a 100yard range.

AEA has several big bores starting at $449 and go up to $689 for a big bore bull pup. Im going to get a AEA HP SS Max Air Rifle (.45 cal). I already own tanks and compressors so im set there.

I wish it was small game! That would be lit

And fur bearer's
Big game will happen soon

Those velocity numbers are wildly misleading and unrealistic. All commercially available airguns are flinging projectiles at subsonic velocity almost without exception. Anything that is pushing those numbers is a rare anomaly. If you're looking to use air, expect to be sending lead at about 900 fps. Maybe a little more. Likely a little less.

PCP air rifles are nothing new like many think. Lewis and Clark had one along when they went west.