70 Year old needs Help!
- Thread starter Shutterbug54
- Start date
Thank you so much ch!In my opinion, a CO2 air rifle probably would be about the best thing for your situation. I recommend the Diana Chaser "kit," which gets you a very capable little carbine rifle, according to everything about it I've read. It's basically a Diana Chaser CO2 air pistol, but one that's had some performance enhancements and the mods and equipment to turn it into a pretty powerful and psychedelic-looking little carbine! I like it myself and have been considering getting one. It is powerful and many owners recommend it for the type of situation in which you find yourself, and you could hardly ask for a better rep than Diana.
Personally, my favorite, most accurate CO2 airgun (other than my semi-auto Umarex 850M2 Magnum -- perfect for small game and birds, but it's a pretty hefty rifle) isn't available anymore, that being the Sheridan 2260MB. Crosman picked it up from Sheridan and remade it, but their version (not available now either, IIRC) wasn't half as nice as the Sheridan, so that leaves me recommending another rifle with many overwhelmingly positive recommendations: the Beeman QB78D. I have the same rifle, but the S version with the synthetic stock instead of the very nice wood stock, and I have been wishing I'd bought the D (deluxe) model ever since. ;-) Lastly, even the Crosman 1077 (I have the 1077W version with the wood stock, my third airgun purchase back in '21), should be more than powerful enough for birds, and it's a very nice, accurate and inexpensive 12-shot semi-automatic that's also lots of fun, on top of being capable of handling close-in small game and pests. The new Crosman 1077TAC version supposedly performs even a bit better than the original, judging by the advertised fps, if that can be trusted, and many reviewers seem to think it's the best version yet of the venerable 1077 (also available in two different synthetic-stocked versions). Naturally, there are lots of others as well, but that might do to at least get you started in the right direction. Start shopping around online and reading the reviews left by buyers/users. See what the folks here can do for you. Maybe even look to the 'experts' at an online shop such as Pyramyd Air (pyramydair.com), where you can contact them by email, describe your needs, and find they'll be happy to provide you with options and suggestions, probably doing a much better job of it than I could. They've been great for me over the years, and if you make a purchase there, after-sale service is absolutely top-notch as well, about the best anywhere, in my experience.
I'm closin' in on 70 myself now and after four back surgeries and a degenerative nerve disease diagnosis, have been disabled for quite awhile, but I also have developed some pretty nasty arthritis problems (I have all three types) in my hands, wrists, elbow and shoulders particularly, so I certainly understand your situation. If you don't want to go with the super expensive PCP side of the airgun hobby, requiring compressors and considerable other dry-air paraphernalia (I don't think you could use the affordable PCP rifles with a hand pump at all, especially given the number of pumps they need (nearing and more than one hundred, I believe)), there's an off chance you still might be able to consider a cheaper, almost child-like, variable pump pellet rifle. As I mentioned, I'm disabled, but still can use even the worst of mine, with some pain and difficulty, but many are dead easy to pump up and don't really bother me at all: my first choices would be along the lines of: the Daisy 880 kit (I like its all-black version with a front blade and adjustable rear notch sight, instead of the brown and black 880 as sold alone, which uses a fiber optic front sight I don't really like. Even though it might seem somewhat toy-like, with a mostly plastic and rolled metal construction, it does have a rifled barrel, it shoots very accurately on my 30ft indoor range and hits quite hard... harder even than the CO2 air rifles! The next step up the rung would be the improved version of that same air rifle, the Winchester 1977XS (some places sell it using the name Winchester 77XS, but it's the same thing). It's a better rifle than its smaller Daisy cousin in every way, at least to me, and I have and continue to use it for pests and STILL get some of my most accurate target shooting groups with it after four years of use. I bought it back in '20 and loved it then (my 2nd purchase after the Daisy 880), and now, 28 airguns later (some of which are very good quality pumpers costing many hundreds of dollars), it's still one I reach for when I don't want to mess around with anything -- no CO2 cartridges, multi-shot magazines, and definitely no trying to 'break' my VERY tough air piston break barrels, or anything else. Just pick it up, grab some pellets (neither it nor the Daisy have been pellet picky for me with anything I've put through them), give it four or five VERY easy pumps (of course, it's well broken-in now too, making the pumping super easy), and shoot hole-in-hole groups at thirty feet as long as I can stay in the right mindset.Another easy-to-use pumper you might consider (at right around only fifty bucks) is the Umarex NXG APX. Very light and handles well, it's accurate (even with a fiber optic front sight) and also is a very easy pumper. compared to most of the others I have in both .177 and .22 caliber. Lastly, for more power that also might not be too tough to pump up (especially for birds), is the .22 caliber Crosman 362. I LOVE it, so much I bought the anniversary edition with the Walnut stock and many improvements too, but again, I bought mine back when it was first released, so it too is very nicely broken-in and extremely easy to pump. Even better, if you want or need all the power it can give you, it only needs EIGHT pumps instead of the usual ten (as with the Daisy, Winchester and Umarex).
Still... It's very possible that pumpers of any kind might be out of your reach altogether too, especially if you haven't fully recovered from your surgery(ies) yet, so unless you want to spend a fortune on PCP equipment, or maybe try to acquire a used version of one or more of the pumpers mentioned -- to get one already well broken-in -- I think CO2 just might be the way to go for you. There are many more great candidates that would meet your needs than I mentioned as well. If you'd like more recommendations of CO2 or other airguns, or have any questions at all, feel free to write me. I'll be glad to try to help. Whatever you end up going with, let me wish you good luck with your situation! Those birds don't stand a chance.
I can’t believe how much help this group has been.
Shutterbug 54
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Mine is one of my most accurate short-range shooters. Super comfortable, I really like the open sights and it handles exceptionally well -- love it!! When I saw what Crosman did to the poor thing after these no longer were available, it made me shudder-rr-rrrrr. ;-) GREAT little shooter!
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It's just personal preference of course, but I really like the Clevercraft mount for the 1377/1322 (and the 2240?). It's a very good, less expensive and super easy to install option than replacing the breech, and I didn't have to resort to mounts that tighten into the barrel to be able to use something other than the open sights. It is a very nice option for such excellent pistols. Also, once I saw the difference it made in the accuracy I could get, I don't think I've taken the shoulder stocks off any of mine since I put 'em on (like lots of us, I have all three of those sweet little Crosman shooters). That really is about the very best (and affordable) upgrade ever! ;-)
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What's this? A custom crosman part I've never heard of? I'm been slacking!
Thanks for the info, I'll check them put. Both my rigs have multishot breeches, but never hurts to have options!
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Crosman 2300s co2 pistol. Deadly accurate at those distances. Easy to use. Not that expensive.
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I can think of two good shooting effective rifles, the Benjamin Maximus and the Crosman 760. The Benjamin will need a hand pump since it’s a pcp but it is not hard work. I have a red dot on mine and it’s an effective gun. The 760….well those have been around forever and would be perfect. Both are cost effective ie not expensive. Lots of other good recommendations here but for a budget solution to your problem those are the first two I thought of.
RICK H.
RICK H.
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Glad to oblige. I bought mine some time back through Amazon.com for about thirty five bucks or so. It's a clever, sturdy mount that was great for me (I used it to put a red/green dot sight on my 1322). I hope they're still available; you'd probably quite like it if you ever have the need again. Now that I think about it, getting one for my C362 might be a good idea. Very easy installation, super stable and I imagine much safer than the Crosman mounts.
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Forget about it,get a CO2 rifle,nothing else,you do not Need anything else What you do is call the the Air Gun shops and tell them would you are trying to do,,the cost you want to spend...OK ,they should be able to set you up,make sure the rifle has sights,if not you are going to need a scope....You could just go to Wal-MART and GET WHAT YOU NEED OR ORDER FROM Wal-Mart, have done it and I get fast good service form them .I like pistols to,but they are much harder to learn to shot,if going the pistol route it me be advantagous to get a stock for it,My CO2 pistols are accurate and get many shots from one cartridge.
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I agree with the CO2 rifle idea. Sparrows at that range should be easy to get.
A break barrel or a hand pump would irritate your shoulder I’m thinking.
And I’d pick a .177 caliber for the flattest trajectory. And a Bugbuster 3X12 would be the perfect match for the rifle in my opinion.
Post up about what medicine you decide on for the sparrows!
Best of luck.
A break barrel or a hand pump would irritate your shoulder I’m thinking.
And I’d pick a .177 caliber for the flattest trajectory. And a Bugbuster 3X12 would be the perfect match for the rifle in my opinion.
Post up about what medicine you decide on for the sparrows!
Best of luck.
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Oops. Missed that part. I say leave it empty. They say the cartridge will damage the seat if left in long term.
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