Hi,
I am looking into getting my first .22 air rifle, after my Daisy 880 is showing a lack of power against the critters that destroy our garden - clearly need something in the range of 15 to 20 fpe. However, due to intending to use it for pest control purposes + backyard target shooting and having neighbors, it also shouldn't be too loud, so some kind of noise suppression is necessary and for this reason .177 won't do, as I'd have to go supersonic there.
And when I look around for things that fit my budget, it turns out that there are some really cheap break barrel options (e.g. Hatsan AirTact, Gamo Wildcat Whisper), and the next group appears to be mag-fed break barrels or underlevers.
So I am wondering, are these even an option for me? One issue is that I want to minimize the amount of lead in my garden, and thus would prefer shooting mostly PBA at targets.
Now I am aware that some pellets in the lead-free area have rather odd shapes and sizes - e.g. the Crosman PowerShot Gold Flight is extremely long and barely fits in my Daisy 880 breech, and the Gamo Luxor Cu is just crazy (BTW: not recommending, it behaves aerodynamically just the way it looks), I would assume that I will get problems with the magazines rather early than late. But as one example, with Gamo I can't get the Maxxim or Fusion noise suppression and the recoil reducing rail without also getting the magazine.
So I wonder, can some or all of these also be fed without using the mag, if necessary because either my mag broke or the pellets are simply too big? Or is that impossible or dangerous? Does this differ between manufacturers, or if it's a breakbarrel, I can just use it with the mag removed and insert pellets into the breech by hand or pellet pen? If this does not work conveniently, I can at least already strike out anything with a mag from my list (and might then go with the Hatsan AIrTact, as it also has open sights so the scope isn't a single point of failure, and if it breaks, it wasn't expensive anyway).
I am looking into getting my first .22 air rifle, after my Daisy 880 is showing a lack of power against the critters that destroy our garden - clearly need something in the range of 15 to 20 fpe. However, due to intending to use it for pest control purposes + backyard target shooting and having neighbors, it also shouldn't be too loud, so some kind of noise suppression is necessary and for this reason .177 won't do, as I'd have to go supersonic there.
And when I look around for things that fit my budget, it turns out that there are some really cheap break barrel options (e.g. Hatsan AirTact, Gamo Wildcat Whisper), and the next group appears to be mag-fed break barrels or underlevers.
So I am wondering, are these even an option for me? One issue is that I want to minimize the amount of lead in my garden, and thus would prefer shooting mostly PBA at targets.
Now I am aware that some pellets in the lead-free area have rather odd shapes and sizes - e.g. the Crosman PowerShot Gold Flight is extremely long and barely fits in my Daisy 880 breech, and the Gamo Luxor Cu is just crazy (BTW: not recommending, it behaves aerodynamically just the way it looks), I would assume that I will get problems with the magazines rather early than late. But as one example, with Gamo I can't get the Maxxim or Fusion noise suppression and the recoil reducing rail without also getting the magazine.
So I wonder, can some or all of these also be fed without using the mag, if necessary because either my mag broke or the pellets are simply too big? Or is that impossible or dangerous? Does this differ between manufacturers, or if it's a breakbarrel, I can just use it with the mag removed and insert pellets into the breech by hand or pellet pen? If this does not work conveniently, I can at least already strike out anything with a mag from my list (and might then go with the Hatsan AIrTact, as it also has open sights so the scope isn't a single point of failure, and if it breaks, it wasn't expensive anyway).
