Light weight and compact .22 for hunting - Suggestions?

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srserl

Member
Oct 16, 2015
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California, United States
I recently purchased a Brocock Contour, and haven't shot my heavy rifles since. I have decided to sell my 2 Hatsans (.22 AT-44 QE Long, .22 Gladius Long) to fund a nice light and compact .22 for hunting that has more power than the Contour (~16fpe).

What is your favorite light weight rifle?
For me, light weight means around 7lbs and lighter (Contour is ~4.5lbs). I am looking for around 30fpe+ (high 20's and up).
I prefer traditional rifle looks, but not totally opposed to a bullpup, and at least the bullpups don't have an ugly bottle hanging off of them (can you tell I don't like the looks of bottle guns?). I like repeaters, but high shot count is not too important for hunting. So far my top 2 contenders are the Brocock Compatto and Daystate Huntsman Regal, with the Regal leading due to its walnut stock and thumb-up shooting position.
What else should I look at? Budget is not set, but definitely <$1500.
 
I little eye candy to help you decide, lol! Taipan short. Less than 8 lbs. scoped and 22.75" LOA. Fifty four shots @ 26 fpe with a extreme spread of 14 or less fps with JSB's 15.89. Accurate (1/2" ctc @ 50 yards). It can be modified and tuned for 30+ shots @ 29-30 fpe if needed. Very good trigger, very efficient sound moderator. Simple and reliable magazines (12 pellets). Reasonable price. You get used to the stock after a while (if you don't like it at first glance) or you can get a fancy stock if desired :). In any case, you have several good options nowadays. Enjoy whatever you decide to buy! I forgot to add it shoots cheap CPHP's quite well, although not as consistent as JSB's, in my experience.

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Another Mutant recommendation here too. I have a Shorty and like almost everything about it apart from the stock.

It isn't the only good option for a compact 22 but it depends on what the priorities are and what you are hunting. For anything larger than a squirrel or further away that 50 yards, I tend to use my 25 Cricket. 

The Cricket, Wildcat, Vulcan and Mutant are all great compact bullpups. They each have their own strengths but you can't really go wrong with any of them. Importantly, they all shoot well out of the box and are immediately available. 

 
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I guess your Contour is in .177, by the energy level?

The S410 TDR in the US, I don't know if it comes with the silencer permanently attached or if it just doesn't have one, but either way, that kind of kills the deal, in my eyes.

Another one to consider is the new Air Arms Galahad. I quite like the cocking mechanism that is on the left side of the gun, and which operates in rotational fashion instead of linear. But its lines aren't as nice as the Compatto's.

It might be nice to try a bullpup, but there's no getting around the fact that they're more expensive. You could put that extra $400 into a KILLER scope. Like a digital one that does all the calculations for you, or a first focal plane mil dot, mil turret Atisan one like Matt just reviewed.

I have a .177 Compatto on the way from straightshooters. Can't wait.

if you want to keep the weight down, that's mostly going to be done by scope choice. If you got something like an AA S510 FAC Lightweight and put an aperture sight on it...

Another option might be a tuned Marauder pistol.
 
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The Mutant and Mutant Shorty are $1185. The Air Arms S410 TDR is $1100 so there isn't much of a saving by avoiding bullpups.

There are also a number of less expensive bullpups if you wanted to save some cash. The JKhan Bullpups start at $800 and the Hatsan ones are even less. 

Btw, a lightweight scope is around 12oz. A heavy scope is 24 and a very heavy one can be 29-30oz. You could make a larger weight saving by choosing one gun over another. A Galahad is over 8lb. A Mutant shorty is 6.4lb. To keep it feeling super light, you want a light gun and a light scope.

My Mutant Shorty with a 12oz Clearidge Ultra RM is featherlight, super quiet out the box, regulated and very accurate. Job done. It's an awesome little woods walker hunting gun. 
 
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Not sure what you consider a traditional look but the Ataman Ultra Compact is also out there as a lightweight 22 option (Espiecially if shot count is not important). 

The Ultra Compact is the lightest 22 cal (non-pistol) pcp rifle I have ever held. It's around 5.3lb unscoped which means, with the right scope, it can be around 6.5lb as you carry it. The Mutant is a feather but it's sumo compared to this thing.

When folded, it's a similar length to the Mutant Shorty. The action is the smoothest of any air gun I have held. The stock is poor but so is the Mutants (and most other air rifle stocks). I think the synthetic stock version is a better bet. It will need an additional LDC if noise is a factor for backyard plinking but for pure hunting, it's not too bad. 

PA say the one they are sending back can shoot dime size groups at 40 yards. It won't win any benchrest matches but it is accurate enough for hunting.

If you are prepared to put in some work or send it to a tuner, it has a lot of potential. I am waiting to get mine back from Pyramyd Air. I'm expecting it tomorrow if it went out when they said. For people who don't like bullpups, there aren't many other compact air guns of a reasonable quality. Certainly nothing as light as the Ataman. I have plans to add a longer barrel, better shroud and cf stock for mine.

The other one is the FX Verminator but it's a bottle gun and you don't like those. 

 
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"ddransoml"Man! This Mutant must be the Business! Will parts be available years from now? I tend to stay with time tested companies...gonna do a little research on the Mutant.
Click to expand...
My experience has been that airguns really don't wear out like powder burners can and parts that do wear out are springs and O-rings that are easily sourced from many different places.
 
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Thanks for all the replies so far; I will carefully consider all input before I make my decision (probably a Christmas present to myself). 
Mutant:
There certainly has been a wave of Mutant lovers on here recently, and I have considered it, but it really is kind of ugly. I'm sure I would want to replace the stock with something nicer looking (it's not just the wood, but the stock design that's ugly). Yes, I am tempted, but probably not this time around.

AA TDR:
This one was on my short list originally, but I don't think it would fit in the nice case it comes with after permanently mounting a moderator.

AA Carbine:
I don't know if they make a 510, but there is one called the 500 that looks pretty good, but I haven't heard anyone talking about them.

Ataman M2R Carbine:
Looks nice...I will have to check reviews on the web. Weight listed on PA is 6.17 lbs, so about the same as the Daystate Regal and lighter than the Brocock Compatto. It's not quite traditional, but has wood, and not just all metal...I kind of like it.

WAR Warp, FX Royale...bottle guns just don't do it for me, although I will probably end up with some type of bottle gun when I look for a .30 next year.

My new Contour comes in at about 5 lb 10 oz scoped, so I won't find anything quite as light in a more powerful rifle. It's more comparable to a P-Rod with a nice walnut stock and a L-W barrel. It's about the same power range as a P-Rod, and you could definitely get a P-Rod shooting as good and looking as good, but probably spending more money to do so.
 
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