I am looking for advice from all u fellow airgunners.I am on the lookout for a .177 airgun to compliment my diana 52 in .22 caliber.I have in mind the following-the Model 31 compact,model 45 or 36 and the model 460 magnum.I am looking for a airgun which will be carried a lot and.
Many thanks for your reply,what I am interested is power that can be obtained within 1000fps,I dont want a supersonic crack.The quarry mainly is carrion crows.Can u also please advise me what type of pellets are suitable for crows,my shooting will be within 25 yards max.
taken several crows I can tell you there are very tough birds but at 25yds you shouldn't have too much trouble taking them out with a 13-14fpe gun. The problem is you will probably be shooting them on the ground(?) while they are busy with carrion as you pointed out?
If that's the case you will most likely be shooting at them broadside I would guess. It is different that shooting them while they are on a tree because you then have a clear shot at their chest. If you are shooting at them from the side at 25yds I would opt for a little more power because those wings have very hard and thick feathers that act as "armor". Each feather as you probably know has a large/thick plastic-like bone in it that is very strong. I also prefer to 2 holes over 1 when shooting crows or most animals for a quick humane kill. The 460 .177 armed with Crow Magnums, CP heavies or JSB heavies will take care of the crows quickly of course.
If you use a 45 or 36 (that don't go up to 1,000fps btw), you may want to try head shots if you feel comfortable with that at 25yds and practice a lot before hand, but you should also be able to take them with a frontal chest shot using these guns. I would not take a chance shooting them through the side/wings with 36/45 however. I 'm not saying you can't take a crow with a 45/36 at 25yds with a quartering shot - it's just that it's more risky. Frontal chest or head shots work best on crows with medium-powered guns. If you have a strong 34/36/45 that shoots 14+fpe, then you won't have a problem no matter how you approach or shoot a crow, just make sure you aim for the upper 1/2 of the body.
The MV you post puts out all the possibilities except the 460 Mag. If we are talking REAL MV and not advertised MV.
I would probably try solid pellets first and only after I became confident with the setup I would try the hollow points.
Hunting ethics are as important a factor in the gun selection criteria than almost anything else. If you are going to restrict your shots to 25 yards and if you can hold all your shots into 1/2", then almost any gun will do, if you also restrict your shots to head/neck shots. Now, getting within 25 yards of a crow is a mighty enterprise if undertaken out in the open, but only you know what will be your hunting conditions.
IF (bif if), you are absolutely certain that you are NEVER going to take shots farther than 25 yards away, then you do not need the 1000 fps power level and you can select the 46 Stutzen in 4.5 mm's if you can shoot it into 1/2" all the time, that would compliment your D-52 downwards in the power ladder, if you want to sometimes take longer shots and/or cannot hold the 1/2" level of accuracy, then you will need to take chest/column shots and the 1,000 FPS D-460 would be advisable.
Do not allow our opinions to rule your choice, they are only guidelines for you to consider.
Personally I would stick to the 52, find a pointed/penetrating pellet that shot real well at the selected distance and practice, practice, practice till I could get all those suckers smack in the middle if the noggin'. But that is just me. Think how many pellets you can buy for the price of one gun and think how much practice you can get with those pellets.
I would start with Stratons, SuperPoints, Spitz Kugeln, Gamo Rockets, GAMO TS's and Copperhead Pointed, all available in both major calibers. You need a way to get INTO the Crow to kill it and those feathers, plus the sand-filled gullet make almost a Kevlar vest.
I really appreciate the time you have taken and advice you have given me which I consider valuable.I did have the opportunity to visit the store and check out the rifles I have mentioned earlier.The 460 almost weighs the same as the 36/45 and 31.I do prefer the fixed barrel over the break barrel as I feel it may have an edge over accuracy.To be honest I seldom shoot beyond 25 yards with an airgun as I do not have the confidence of an accurate shot which will ensure a humane kill beyond that range.I use only iron sights as my eyesight is still holding out,also I have seen to many complaints with ill fitted scopes.I have finally settled on the 460 .177 caliber and will post you some pictures of any success I may have with it!
I got lucky because they are very hard to get a shot at one of them. I changed the way I go after them. This time I went to the porch and swang the porch door open half way holding it open with my knee. I leaned on the wall a little and aimed at the one closest to me. I shot fast because the rest were flying away as soon as I raised the rifle. Then 8-10 secs later after they were circling over the one I dropped and doing fly-by's 10ft away from me (attacking me?) over my porch roof, another one landed on the same branch above the fallen one. I had cocked and reloaded by that time. I aimed quickly and took the shot within ~2-3secs after it landed. That's the beauty of shooting on iron sights. You can acquire your target faster and shoot much quicker than if you had a scope. First one got it in the head, and the 2nd one in the chest from the side through the wings. CP went right through. It fell inches from the first one. I was aiming at the 1st one's chest but luckily hit it in the head. That CP leaving the muzzle at 850+fps kept rising. It's a little unpredictable when shooting high up in the tree at an angle, not the same as when you target shoot and the paper is about the same height as your rifle. But I was shooting pretty much off-hand too and quickly so anything could have happened. A crow actually presents a bigger target than a squirrel so they are not too hard to hit if you know your gun well. It's just a matter of not spooking them or getting lucky when one stays behind while the rest head for the hills..
