# Hunting > Varminting and Small Game Hunting >  Air rifle advice

## Noswal

Hey team
Doing a bit of research on air rifles for my brother-in-law
He has rabbit issues to sort out and doesn't have a FAL
Personally id have him buy the best available and not have him missing and making the damn things gun shy.
He could rock into Guncity and they'd likely sell what ever they have on the shelf, id like him to have some options before spending.
Cheers guys

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## Cigar

Not a PCP air rifle, as they do require a FAL

There are few people on here who know a lot about air rifles I’m sure they will help, but they may not be online until later in the day.

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## MB

My air rifle knowledge is decades out of date. Personally, for non-PCP/FAL rifles, I would avoid the models that claim high FPS. Accuracy beats power every time and "high power" springers are hard to shoot well. I've heard good things about the Cometa brand.

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## timattalon

> My air rifle knowledge is decades out of date. Personally, for non-PCP/FAL rifles, I would avoid the models that claim high FPS. Accuracy beats power every time and "high power" springers are hard to shoot well. I've heard good things about the Cometa brand.


I could agree that accuracy is very important, but it does also need the energy to do the job. If specifically targeting small game, I would lean towards a .22 calibre air rifle. Bigger wound track etc. For a 22 cal Air rifle as peed of 800-1000 frps would work well and still stay below the speed of sound thus avoiding the loud "crack"....

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## Noswal

> I could agree that accuracy is very important, but it does also need the energy to do the job. If specifically targeting small game, I would lean towards a .22 calibre air rifle. Bigger wound track etc. For a 22 cal Air rifle as peed of 800-1000 frps would work well and still stay below the speed of sound thus avoiding the loud "crack"....


I was thinking the same thing. I’ve not used 22 air rifle myself but mostly I only used them as a kid. I’ve got a cheap one for pigeon but it’s low powered so as not to hole the aluminium roof on the shed. It’s a piece of shit.
He needs to kill everything he aims at, probably out to 50yds and it needs to be reliable.
NV would possibly be an option as well although he needs to get back to me with a budget.

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## gun guy

One of the guys to talk to would be ron young in ak. Bit of a hassel but he wont sell you crap and knows his stuff..

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## MB

> I could agree that accuracy is very important, but it does also need the energy to do the job. If specifically targeting small game, I would lean towards a .22 calibre air rifle. Bigger wound track etc. For a 22 cal Air rifle as peed of 800-1000 frps would work well and still stay below the speed of sound thus avoiding the loud "crack"....


Sure. Quick online calculation. Even at 800 fps, a 15gr pellet would give a muzzle energy of 21.32 foot-pounds which should be plenty. My comment was really aimed at the marketing of crap like Gamo which use fps as a major selling point, claiming speeds of well over 1000 fps.

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## andyanimal31

> Hey team
> Doing a bit of research on air rifles for my brother-in-law
> He has rabbit issues to sort out and doesn't have a FAL
> Personally id have him buy the best available and not have him missing and making the damn things gun shy.
> He could rock into Guncity and they'd likely sell what ever they have on the shelf, id like him to have some options before spending.
> Cheers guys


My brother was I the same boat.
I ended up getting a  .177 weirauch.
It's pretty impressive to be fair and good quality

Sent from my SM-A025F using Tapatalk

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## gun guy

I used a hw77 for a long time also had an early gamo hunter for long enough seemed to do the job as well

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## Gibo

> My brother was I the same boat.
> I ended up getting a  .177 weirauch.
> It's pretty impressive to be fair and good quality
> 
> Sent from my SM-A025F using Tapatalk


Without a FAL? Or did you not see that bit

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## Longranger

Weirach is very accurate ......in 0.177 does 600fps so not that powerful. Dianna FT are both powerful and accurate in 0.177. Well worth a look at them in 0.22. 

My Dianna completely disintegrated a pellet hitting steel at 60yds so might stop a rabbit if hit well.Close up it goes through a 2" pine board......only downside is it's hard to cock, but for a big boy it might be OK.....!

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## Noswal

Well I can finish this post up as since I last spoke he’s gone in and bought.
About the only thing that I’ll add is he bought a .22 model so he got that right lol
Thanks guys

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## Maca49

> Weirach is very accurate ......in 0.177 does 600fps so not that powerful. Dianna FT are both powerful and accurate in 0.177. Well worth a look at them in 0.22. 
> 
> My Dianna completely disintegrated a pellet hitting steel at 60yds so might stop a rabbit if hit well.Close up it goes through a 2" pine board......only downside is it's hard to cock, but for a big boy it might be OK.....!


Theyre the berries, wish Id never sold my one!
Much of your accuracy will come from the make of pellet used.I bought a Camo for a local .. problem. Accuracy was shit, until I paid 30 odd dollars for a pit of same weight pellets, like night and day

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## Ultimitsu

Get either one of the 3 below:

1. Any variant of  Air Arms TX200 Mark 3
2. Diana 54 or 56
3. Any variant of Weihrauch HW97k

If he buys used he will not lose any money on resale, these guns hold their value very well.

The choice between 177 and 22 is hard. You get less drop and better plinking opportunities with 177; you get more killing power with 22. If your BIL intends to get firearm license one day, then go with 177 for now. Once he has a firearm license a 22 air rifle is somewhat redundant.

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## Longranger

> They’re the berries, wish I’d never sold my one!
> Much of your accuracy will come from the make of pellet used.I bought a Camo for a local ….. problem. Accuracy was shit, until I paid 30 odd dollars for a pit of same weight pellets, like night and day


You need heavy pellets otherwise you will stuff the buffer on the piston....you should never sell a good gun, they are too hard to find........!

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## Maca49

> You need heavy pellets otherwise you will stuff the buffer on the piston....you should never sell a good gun, they are too hard to find........!


Yes, I’ve a .22, good for what I use if for, but the secret to accuracy is same weight projectiles.

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## gun guy

> Well I can finish this post up as since I last spoke he’s gone in and bought.
> About the only thing that I’ll add is he bought a .22 model so he got that right lol
> Thanks guys


What did he get?

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## Bagheera

> Get either one of the 3 below:
> 
> 1. Any variant of  Air Arms TX200 Mark 3
> 2. Diana 54 or 56
> 3. Any variant of Weihrauch HW97k
> 
> If he buys used he will not lose any money on resale, these guns hold their value very well.
> 
> The choice between 177 and 22 is hard. You get less drop and better plinking opportunities with 177; you get more killing power with 22. If your BIL intends to get firearm license one day, then go with 177 for now. Once he has a firearm license a 22 air rifle is somewhat redundant.


I've had the AA and a Weihrauch HW95 (break barrel) in 22 and found them both hard to shoot well. 177 might be better.  20m would be a more realist range.  I know everyone shoots deer at 500m but really 200 is what everyman can do.  50m with an airgun is for an expert. 

The scope is equally important.

There's a bit more info and a few pics on the Airgun Interest thread which I put up recently.

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## gun guy

anyone remember the old nz airgunners forum?

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## Noswal

> What did he get?


Not what he should have, I’ll leave it at that.
With what I’ve picked up using heavier good quality slugs will help with accuracy and performance.
I’ve already advised him to stop shooting at rabbits and learn how to shoot his rifle lol The worst thing he can do is scare them into hiding before he understands what the rifle is capable of. 
I don’t know what scope he’s got in it but it’ll likely be a GC special, Ranger probably.
He needs to understand his drops and have a solid gauge on distance or I’ll be doing a trip with my hornet to shoot them from range lol

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## PadLo

I've been shooting air rifles since I was a kid. I can lend you my crosman if you are unsure. It's 1100fps with alloy pellets.

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## Mooseman

Yes pellet weight dictates pellet speed, the 1000 plus fps quoted are usually with the lightest for calibre. My Crossman 1000 will shoot Gamo 4.9 gr pellets at around 885 fps whereas the White Point 8.95 gr (177) only gets along at 718 fps. The heavier ones will definitely kill better.

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## gun guy

> Not what he should have, I’ll leave it at that.
> With what I’ve picked up using heavier good quality slugs will help with accuracy and performance.
> I’ve already advised him to stop shooting at rabbits and learn how to shoot his rifle lol The worst thing he can do is scare them into hiding before he understands what the rifle is capable of. 
> I don’t know what scope he’s got in it but it’ll likely be a GC special, Ranger probably.
> He needs to understand his drops and have a solid gauge on distance or I’ll be doing a trip with my hornet to shoot them from range lol


uh oh. oh well as long as hes safe with it and has some fun...

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## MB

> Not what he should have, I’ll leave it at that.


Gamo then  :Grin: 

My mate bought one for his lifestyle block against my advice. There are a lot of bunnies limping around his place now. I had a go with it. 3 inch groups at 25 metres with an artillery hold. Usable I suppose.

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## gun guy

I recon air chief. I've actually had a good run with the gamos Ive owned. Had some chinese piece of shit once it was shooting so far to the right I actually had to bend the barrel to get it half decent.

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## Cypri

Hi as for airrifle, had them all virtually, my fave I kept is a diana aka rws , but the most important  thing is shot placement and a heavy slug, find which brand suits your gun, they are not all the same, my preference is 22 , but a good air rifle scope is MUST,

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## andyanimal31

I must say that my mentor and mate allan newnham advised and organized my brothers weirach.
He organized scope and shot it to find the best pellets and at 30m was shooting better than an inch .
I have used if and been pretty impressed and my brother is always talking about the plover and rabbits he shoots.
A quality bit of gear I reckon that shoots and kills well for what it is designed for.
It wasn't cheap but quality never is.
Buy once cry once!

Sent from my SM-A025F using Tapatalk

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## timattalon

> Sure. Quick online calculation. Even at 800 fps, a 15gr pellet would give a muzzle energy of 21.32 foot-pounds which should be plenty. My comment was really aimed at the marketing of crap like Gamo which use fps as a major selling point, claiming speeds of well over 1000 fps.


 @MB  And theres the rub...most brands market fps like its important...Hatsan 1250, Webley dominator 1350 et al...most struggle to actually achieve close to the posted speeds...more like this is what it gets if we round it up to the nearest big number.....Baikals on the other hand.....If Baikal marketed it as 1000fps, then when new and with normal pellets it would just exceed that, but after a bit of use and getting the mechanism all settled down it usually climbed and easily exceeded its posted speeds.....Pity they are so dam hard to get hold of.....the 513M was brilliant. Dearer than a 22LR but brilliant none the less....

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## gun guy

Baikal ij38 I think it was was my first air rifle.

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## Mathias

> Gamo then 
> 
> My mate bought one for his lifestyle block against my advice. There are a lot of bunnies limping around his place now. I had a go with it. 3 inch groups at 25 metres with an artillery hold. Usable I suppose.


The older Gamo's were good air rifles, like a lot of the cheaper brands, quality goes out when manufacturing costs rise. My old Gamo 880 Hunter is an excellent gun and accurate with good pellets like Lapua etc.

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## flock

This is what I sent to my brother inlaw whos after an air rifle to smack some pigeons pooing on his house.

SPRINGER AIR GUNS  - MY 20 CENTS WORTH

 That old BSA Meteor is only set up and cant surpass 650fps in 177 so power is limited.
22 cal  has more thump, foot pounds but Birds (feathers) tend to wrap around and prevent penetration, so 177 with a long heavy pellet  will outperform it. 
 Key performance is   --  lead pellets loose accuracy at higher velocity, so both 22  & 177   --- 900fps is optimum, no faster.  
-  Most Important Springer Air Guns  Artillery Hold

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOYSU5Lq7oA

Had a CFX  gamo with under barrel cocking which is excellent, barrel stays solid.  But issue was loading pellets was fiddly, back of pellet quiet often got damaged affecting accuracy badly. 
Stay away from cheap Gas  Piston set ups and even the expensive ones are no longer produced. 

For the money  Cometa Fusions,  are as good as it gets, dont see them second hand very often, Ron Young usually has the odd one and will be  serviced it if buying a second hand one.

Scopes

As for Springer air rifles, Leapers (UTG) are hard to beat, and also would be a great choice for the 22Lr. 
My HW 80 was 28ftps when I bought second hand,  it was rough and grouchy, moderately accurate, certainly powerful. Has been resprung and tuned to 22 ftps accuracy and is, getting 850fps  out of 16g slugs. Rig shoots to  half inch at 50 yards with no wind,  better than a 22Lr and  is easily capable of  head shooting rabbits. Dont get caught up with fancy pellets   -Webley Accupells,  JSB diabolos, or H&Ns domed pellets  are all good.

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## Jwabfrog

I am an airgun / shooting newbie but have recently bought a Gamo 1250 G-Magnum (without the swarm magazine). It is reasonably hefty to cock and recoil is considerable making it difficult to see shot placement through the scope after firing. I have the original 3-9x40 gamo scope which seems to be okay (if anyone has an airgun rated scope they want to sell, please let me know!: ideally 4-12 or higher and Hawke / UTG quality). I've shot plenty of bunnies with it up to 50m but typically around 20m. I have nothing to compare to as it's my first rifle, but on knees with artillery hold can get 2" groups at ~ 40m. Likely tighter if you were lying down or with a bipod. Like others have said before, the choice of pellets will influence accuracy. Hollow point accuracy appears to suffer over distance. Gamo lead pellets are rubbish, JSB diablo hades from Ron @ Youngs Airguns in Auckland are good hollow point option. Crosman pointed are reasonably accurate for the price @ $20 for 500 count tin.

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## T.FOYE

There's always the awkward moment when you're looking at a bunny at 100m and you wish you brought your 10/22....

But for diehard airgunnners you cant go past the AA TX200HC (underlever). That thing can hold its own against the PCP shooters if you're patient enough to practice each day.

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## Josan

Lets start with the target end of the equation. For a humane kill on a bunny you have to hit them between the eye and the base of the ear. That's a spot about 15mm in diameter. A good springer shooter can hit a 15mm spot reliably up to around 30m. That is with a quality springer, a matching good pellet, a stable scope and some practice. 0.177 or 22? If you hit them in the right spot, the caliber doesn't matter.
Up to 40m i would go for 0.177, because of the flatter trajectory. You have to be less accurate with your distance estimation.
Stick with either JSB/Air Arms or H&N pellets. Gamo, Crosman and the likes usually are rubbish. No one in competition uses them.
Hawke scopes are generally very robust and springer-rated. Not expensive, good quality.
So now the gun. Air Arms (Pro Sport or TX200), Diana, Walther and Weihrauch are the top brands. Especially AA and Weihrauch. They have outstanding triggers and the craftsmanship is a of a very high standard. They are not cheap, but have high resale values. In general 16J/12 fpe is more than enough to place an accurate kill shot on a bunny up to 30-35m if hit between the eye and base of the ear. That equates to around 240-250 m/s muzzle velocity with a 0.5 gram pellet. Remember with springers: the more powerful they are, the more difficult they are to shoot accurately. 16J/12 fpe is good middle ground for a springer.
Other European brands. BSA/Gamo have generally good barrels, bad triggers and overall mechanics are not that great. Cometa have good barrels but like Gamo finishing and triggers are sometimes mediocre.
Most other brands are made in China and generally do not have the quality and accuracy needed. With a lot of these Chinese airrifles i would stay within 20m.

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## flock

Back of the target (177 air rifle)  showing the spatter of the pellets against steel  at 25 yards

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## T.FOYE

Some just love that weihrauch HW77... Seems to be precisely on that balance point between all things.
Never had a go of one myself. I did also like my RWS Airking but it murdered a few scopes with its metal on metal recoil (those that don't know, these airguns have a sliding anti-recoil rail system).
Worked great with a fixed scope but wow you don't want to put anything telescopic on it. 
Freaking heavy to take rabbiting tho if i recall

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## 6x47

As has been suggested, you get what you pay for and quality is never cheap. Scored two small bunnies today at 40yds with head shots and it was instant lights out with the 40ft-lb Airwolf.. That however would be well outside many people's budget, ignoring the fact you need a std firearms licence to own one.

My old BSA .177 Supersport springer is still going strong and one very unlucky starling bit the dust at 43yds the other day holding over. In reality, this rifle lives in the garage to deal with pesky swallows that annoy us this time of year. Most shots are under 20yds, normally 10-15. I have shot a few rabbits with it over the years but never over 30yds, most closer. The PCP is on a different planet, with anything under 80yds being in -serious- trouble if I have a rest and the cheap rangefinder handy.

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## Micky Duck

> My brother was I the same boat.
> I ended up getting a  .177 weirauch.
> It's pretty impressive to be fair and good quality
> 
> Sent from my SM-A025F using Tapatalk


killed literally thousands of rats with a break open version...40 yards was no problem at all. plenty of grunt and good accuracy.

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## Micky Duck

you can always chest shoot bunny...it will go some distance before keeling over,but keel over it will. as long as it isnt under you front porch it will melt away in no time.

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## T.FOYE

"melt away" hahahaha thats so good lol. I'm definitely gonna drop that into the conversation when i wanna trigger my vegetarian mates

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## T.FOYE

Like that glorious comment from Borat to the anti hunting protesters in rural England.

Skip to 2:30. Quite possibly the best trolling i have ever seen. Worth a watch from the start too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqkKE45wCWU

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## Micky Duck

> "melt away" hahahaha thats so good lol. I'm definitely gonna drop that into the conversation when i wanna trigger my vegetarian mates


yip see it in few weeks in mid summer and it will put you off rice for day or two....

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## Northkiwi

Some good advice here.  I'm thinking of a similar purchase, but it's because the area is becoming more built up so .22 not really an option for long.  Got an under barrel lever cocking .177 off a mate, but it is neither accurate nor powerful.  OK to 20m.  I'm thinking PCP but still want to make sure it's relatively safe, no ricochet risk, ideally has magazine as there are a few rabbits about.  Would .22 PCP at 800fps be the medicine out to 40m?  Are PCP's OK for normal rifle scopes, don't have to be airgun rated?

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## 6x47

PCPs have near zero recoil so any scope (ideally that can focus down to ~30yds) will be fine.
Yes, a .22 cal PCP delivering 800fps would easily deal death and destruction to bunnies at 40yds.

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## Jusepy

Good thread but Im going to hijack it... sorry lads.
Anyone have a cheap springer air rifle for sale , want to plink away on wet days when I cant shoot on the farm as too wet.
does not matter if .177 or .22.
Prefer open sights , just something to keep my eye in on the long wet weeks in the mighty manawatu.
Anyways PM me if you have something.

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## Inder

Hi All, 

Good Advice on the thread. If you are looking for a springer then one can not go wrong with HW77/97 or TX200HC/MKIII. Both quality airguns. 

I have a question regarding importing. Is it allowed to import an air gun from abroad? I tried finding on net but not much information is available. 

-Inder

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## time out

My creepy Stoeger RX20 .22 air rifle 
I had a brain fade one day in H&F when they were selling them for $299  seemed like a powerful and fairly silent air rifle  scope and adjustable trigger looked good. I managed to get it reasonably accurate using Javelin rabbiter hollow tip slugs and had a couple of good kills. 
I clamped a Southern Star slimline torch on the scope  couldnt clamp it anywhere else  but probably not a great idea and didnt get a chance to light up a bunny so have taken it off. 
Had two opportunities in last week of so to head shoot a bunny laying low in the garden at about 10m  an eye looked like a good target  but both ran off 
So I took it to a safe place to make holes in a cardboard box at 20m  100mm to the left and 50mm high  no wonder the head shot didnt work 
So the next opportunity after adjusting the scope was a bunny laying low 30m down the lawn  buggar the fancy head shot so went for the middle  whack and he ran off  dog couldnt find him  but he will be around somewhere 
But back to the trigger  I adjusted it to the lightest setting  but there is so much creep that I have developed a jerk at the end of the creep. Is there anyway that I can get rid of the creep? 
My thoughts on a Stoeger are not to be printed  it has a very strong spring and I have to bump the barrel to open it  that cant be good for the scope!

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## xyon

> Hi All, 
> 
> Good Advice on the thread. If you are looking for a springer then one can not go wrong with HW77/97 or TX200HC/MKIII. Both quality airguns. 
> 
> I have a question regarding importing. Is it allowed to import an air gun from abroad? I tried finding on net but not much information is available. 
> 
> -Inder


You should be able to import a spring/gas ram or co2 air rifle without a permit. For a PCP you will need a permit and a firearms licence. for a pistol not much chance of getting a permit.

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## time out

I finally got to the bottom of why the Stoeger RX20 would not shoot accurately on an ongoing basis 
I have had four recent shots at rabbits about 15m away – they all ran off – dog couldn’t find them so must have been a clean miss 
I decided to take it down to my range spot to have one more try to get it accurate with some new Gamo hollow point slugs – but thought I should check a variety of screws on the rifle and the scope – the rifle had come loose in the stock – the scope rings were also loose and there were signs that the scope had been sliding forward – I tightened them all – particularly the rear scope ring that was very loose 
Down to the range and into a target on a box at 10m – it was about 75mm right and 75mm high – not that long ago that I had it reasonably accurate so something had moved badly – slowly got it into a nice group around the bull and then it went about 75mm right and 75mm high again – I checked the scope rings – the rear ring was loose again and the scope was still sliding forward – tried a couple more series of being accurate to being way out again – either the rear ring is stretching or the screws are stuffed 
I resisted the temptation to try Loctite or similar and decided to take it back to Tauranga H&F where I bought it two years ago.
By chance, the Guy who sold it to me and set it up two years ago was at the firearms counter – other than some initial muttering about no warranty after two years – he decided to take the scope and rings off a new Stoeger that he had just set up and fit it onto my gun. After about twenty shots through their indoor 10m tunnel – we jointly agreed it was very accurate and very stable – nothing was moving!
Rob said they sell heaps of them and have no problems. He was going to try my scope out on the new gun and if it moved, he would do a warranty claim. 
So how is that for good H&F service and a bloody good salesman! – well done Rob – you are a good buggar!
So I went down the hill to my range spot and put about 30 shots through it – I had to adjust it a bit to suit my hold and my eyes – but I got it into a nice group at 10m – I had to accept that Rob was a lot better with it than me – but the next rabbit that shows up at 10 – 15m is in for a surprise. 
I have also switched to Gamo hollow point slugs – they look much more fragile at the front end that the Gun City Javelin hollow point slugs that I had been using.  
I had managed to get a couple of back bone hits on rabbits using the Gun City slugs – they deformed a lot and did a heap of spinal damage – but was not humane kill – see picture of two deformed slugs  
The trigger is still horrible – it is like a three stage trigger – initial slack – then a long sticky creep – then when I flinch it lets go – I wish there was a solution for the trigger

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## Mintie

There is a "RC bearing" mod that can be done to some Stoeger triggers, google it to see if it works for yours.

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## Magnus

I have a cheap ruger Hawk thing I got from guncity for like 160 bux, no scope just open sights. Noticed bunny's getting out of hand at work so got there early before anyone turned up. Was surprised how accurate it is, shot placed well kills them good too. Knocked of 6 in 20 minutes and another 4 at smoko while having me coffee.

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## csmiffy

I made a couple of rollers ages ago.
Put one in my slug gun (didnt do much other some yard plinking and cant remember the model, it's been a while), but it did help.
If I can find them you can have one if it suits

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## Bagheera

> Hi All, 
> 
> Good Advice on the thread. If you are looking for a springer then one can not go wrong with HW77/97 or TX200HC/MKIII. Both quality airguns. 
> 
> I have a question regarding importing. Is it allowed to import an air gun from abroad? I tried finding on net but not much information is available. 
> 
> -Inder


I see what you mean.

If you happen to have a firearms licence in your home country you might be able to get a “visitor firearms licence” and a correso ding import permit as if the springer airgun was a firearm.

The two departments you will need to clear it with ate customs and the police. In principle, once you are here in NZ and have the spring airgun, you would be allowed to keep it, just as if youd bought it in NZ.  Customs on their web site point you to the police website but you might be able to get more specific advice if you can figure out a phone number yo call and can afford to wait onthe line to get someone who can give advice on airguns.

You could also make a post on the forum asking for contact details of a lawyer specialising in firearms matters (there are a couple) and get in touch.

  It will probably be quite straightforward.

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## Billbob

My 2 cents of air rifles and what to get

.177 cal. Ignore most of the marketing around .177cal  air rifles doing well over 1100fps But if this is your choice, buy heavy pellets of 9.5+ grains to drop the speed to well under 1100fps, buy doing this you will have a more accurate grouping and more energy behind the pellet for those far shots.

.22 is still the overall best all rounder caliber to get for bunny busting and possum control. 

.25cal is my favorite, I use a Hatsan 125 sniper, ballistic calculated scope turret and is excellent accuracy with furthest kill shot on a hare at 80m so far to date.

.30cal available from the Hatsan range is very accurate with huge take down power, but the .25 will give you a better range. 

Break barrels regardless of make and model will require maintenance, some brands more than others. The most importance is your scope and rings - don't skimp on quality on the scope mounts and make sure every 50 shots that they are tight. Second most important, is the breech bolt that the barrel pivots on is always tight - this is where a lot of the un-accuracy (is this a word?) comes from. I have often had to shim the breech on break barrels to remove the lateral movement when the shot cycle happens.  Never ever dry fire an airrifle - I have seen a staff at GunCity dry fire a air rifle - they should have been sacked!

Learn the Artillery hold - see Youtube for this. 

On a lot of new air rifles like Gammo and BSA (new BSA's are just rebranded Gammos with different stocks on many of their models) with the polymer barrel shrouds, the actual steel barrel beneath the polymer is not very strong and the barrels are easily bent! 

There also has been a shift with manufactures making lighter weight air rifles, heavier rifles and wooden stocks actually make it more accurate to shoot. BSA's with Gammo running gear but with the wooden BSA stocks will outshoot the Gammo for accuracy because they are heavier. light + high power rifles kick like a wounded bull and are terrible to master. 

You also want to spend some money on different pellets for see what your rifle actually likes to shoot, also dont skimp on quality pellets, H&N and JSB are two of the best brands, once you have decided on the best pellet for your rifle, don't change it. 

light weight and PBA pellets - dont even bother...!

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