New to Air Rifle Hunting

[JohnL57]

"hasenpfeffer"I bought a magnum springer for hunting and I'm about ready to give up on it. I can't get any consistency out of it even with an artillery hold. And I'm no slouch with a rifle. In boot camp I was the second best shooter in my entire company.

I think manufacturers have pushed beyond the practical limits of springers. The fpe number on a magnum springer may be akin to the fps numbers on lightweight alloy pellets... impressive on paper but not really a good idea. At the range, the ~35 lb cocking effort gets tiring fast, and fatigue doesn't help your shooting. I'm debating whether to sell my springer, try to install a weaker gas ram to drop it down around 15 fpe, or build some crazy spring-loaded stock to try to get it to shoot straight.

Hasenpfeffer, Before you give up on springers have you tried any of the Beeman/HW rifles or RWS/Dianas? It could be your Nitro piston is a dud, my limited experience with them has not been positive. Something like An RWS 34 or Beeman R9/HW95 would make a nice hunter. Are there any AG shooters in you area, you could try some other rifles and see how you do. I too struggled with a cheap gun for what seemed like forever-I finally caved and bought a Beeman R9-AG bliss!
John