Hi All, I'm Jeremy. Like many of you, I started airgunning in my youth with multi-pump pneumatics. I got back into it about 10 years ago and got a few more airguns. OK, more than a few.
Here's my collection so far:
- My favorite is my .177 Marauder, which has been putting squirrel meat on the table recently. I'm loving Ted's recommendation for marinating a couple days, then roasting in the oven. (grill would probably work too, if wrapped in foil)
- Weihrauch HW30s, which is not that good. Its accurate and well-finished, but the trigger/safety mechanism is dicey. I haven't had a chance to open it up, and I'm hoping I can fix that without having to take out the spring & piston, as that's a little intimidating.
- Stoeger X20 break-barrel spring piston rifle, in .177. This is a great intermediate power gun. It's not too hard to cock (for an adult male) and not to hold-sensitive. Very accurate, now that I've replaced the trigger. It's noisy though, so it doesn't get much backyard use. I wish they had the suppressed model out when I was buying. Shoots a 7.9 gr. pellet at about 900 fps.
- Daisy 953 (single pump pneumatic, ~450 fps w/7.9 gr. pellet) A fun target gun. I plan to shoot this in the basement, with my 12 year-old boy, once I build Ted's rubber mulch trap.
- Crosman 1377 American Classic (multi-pump pistol) I modded this for a bit more umph. This will be a good basement or garage plinker.
- Daisy 717 single pump target pistol - Very accurate, low power. This'll be another one I feel safe shooting with my son.
- Diana 56 TH side cocking spring piston rifle. - I don't like this one. I can't get a scope to stay put, due in large part to the recoilless mechanism. and a gun in .177 with this much power needs a scope to realize its full capability.
My airgun hobby went into remission for a while while I lived in a condo. Now, I've finally got a house in an unincorporated town, so if I'm quiet (Marauder) and careful, I can do some back yard hunting. There's also a local gun range that has a dedicated airgun range. I'll try to get out there a bit more often too.
Guys on the yellow forum used to always repeat: ".22 for fur, .177 for feathers" But I tell you what: this .177 Marauder is putting the lights out on these squirrels, even with chest shots. In this past week, I had two straight through head shots, a straight through chest shot, and one miracle shot yesterday. Pellet entered the shoulder, broke a rib, went the whole length of the body through the guts, then out the belly and into the rear leg, where it broke the knee.
I also popped a couple of larger pest animals: a skunk and opossum, but didn't recover them. Heard the huge meat slap, found a blood trail on the opossum that ended at the base of a tree. (did it climb up and bleed out somewhere?)
My airgunning dream is to hunt pigeons with Ted, meet his family and just hang out.
Anyway, that was kind of a rambly intro post, but I'm happy to be back into the hobby!