Finding The Best Air Gun For You
If you are thinking about buying an air pistol or rifle, it is very important to research and find the one that best fits your style, budget, and purpose. Air guns are a great choice and can open up opportunities for shooting in areas where operating traditional firearms are restricted and they are versatile enough to be used for competition practice, hunting, every day plinking, and much more.
There are a lot of choices, and choosing the correct one can seem daunting, especially for first time buyers. Understanding your need is key to choosing the best air gun for you. This article can help you start thinking about the basic factors to consider when buying an air rifle.
What is the Air Gun’s Purpose?
One of the first things to determine is what you are going to be using your air rifle for. Do you need something for hunting? What type of game will you be hunting and how much stopping power do you need? Will you be hunting small game or large? Are you looking to do competition target shooting or recreational backyard plinking? What are the distances you will be looking to mostly commonly shoot at. Answering these questions can help you narrow down the style and quality of airgun you are looking for.
Research the Power Plant
Air guns differ from standard firearms and different ones have different ways of generating the gas pressure to propel the ammunition. There are basically 5 types of power plants used in air guns and rifles today and each type has it’s pros and cons. These 5 types are:
- Spring piston
- Pump Pneumatic
- CO2 gas
- Pre-charged pneumatic (PCP)
- The traditional BB gun
The spring piston is the most common type of airgun. In this gun, there is no storage space for gas and it instead relies on a powerful spring that when cocked and fired compresses the spring which then pushes a piston that compresses air to drive forward the pellet. Spring powered air rifles are simple to use and never need to be recharged, but they can sometimes be harder to shoot accurately for first time users.
The pump pneumatic air gun has a special reservoir that is filled by pumping up the gun with a specialized pump. Pulling the trigger releases the air in the reservoir and fires the gun. This type of gun is versatile as you can vary the power of the gun simply by adding more or less air. They are also some of the most accurate guns on the market. They provide consistent shooting and almost no recoil.
CO2 gas guns use a CO2 cartridge to fire. They offer the user the ability to shoot the gun many times before needing to be recharged, however they can be less reliable in extreme temperatures so only recommended for hunting in mild climates.
The precharged pneumatic or PCP rifle has a reservoir just like their CO2 cousin, but uses regular air instead of gas. These are some of the most powerful airguns on the market today and this power plant is favored by hunters looking to hunt larger game as well as competition shooters. The pressure in the rifle ranges from 1500 to 3500 PSI and can be obtained using a high-pressure tank or a specialized hand pump. Just like the CO2 rifles, they are virtually recoilless and very accurate over any distance.
Determine the Caliber
Once you have decided what you want to use your gun for and what power plant you like you can start looking at other details such as caliber. The caliber is the diameter of the bore (barrel) and determines what size projectile that it fires. A rifle that has a .22” diameter bore will fire a .22 caliber pellet. The higher the diameter of the bore, the larger caliber it can fire. The larger muzzle increases muzzle velocity and stopping power and is better suited for tasks such as hunting, while a smaller caliber is great for recreational shooting and backyard plinking.
Quality and Maintenance
While buying a cheap airgun may save you some money outright, purchasing a high-quality air rifle can save you trouble down the road. You will want to look at manufacturers with a reputation of making accurate and dependable air guns and check out each supplier’s manufacturer and store warranty policy. Generally speaking, the more expensive air guns come with better warranties, are built better, more accurate, have a higher PSI than their cheaper counterparts.
At Armory we take pride in exclusively importing Aselkon rifles. Aselkon uses only the highest quality materials and follows the strictest standards during the manufacturing process at their state-of-the-art manufacturing facility.
Get help on how to choose an air rifle with Armory,net
At Armory we pride ourselves in carrying only the highest quality air guns from some of the top manufacturers. Call or email us with any of your air rifle questions. We would love to help you choose your next airgun.
