Canadian Airgun Forum

Hi folks,

I'm relatively new to air guns. I missed out on this hobby as a kid, but now I have my own kids and when they are old enough may introduce them to the hobby. For now it is just me, but hoping to get the wife interested in some target practice shooting for fun.

Started on Father's day with Crosman AirSoft P311 kit for about $60 which came with 2 handguns and blue/red 6mm plastic BB's and a sticky target. Had fun with that for a while and just trying to improve my accuracy shooting in the basement from about 15-20 feet away. These were my first ever airguns so I was happy to load up my 12 BB's and shoot before having to remove the cartridge from the handle and reload 12 BB's again each time I wanted another round of shooting.

About a month ago I came across a cheap BB handgun (Daisy Powerline 340) at Canadian Tire $40, and wanted to try something with a bit more of a punch and perhaps improve accuracy. I had a pack of 4mm copperline BB's to try it with and was happy to find out I could shoot at my airsoft targets without any issue, no damage at all and actually stuck better to the "sticky target" than my plastic BB's and no damage at all. However, I noted that I couldn't even penetrate a can of coke.

I liked the fact that I could "shake" the Daisy and it would feed more BB's into the loader cartridge without me having to load them manually... So I could store 200 BB's in the handle and keep reloading after shooting about a dozen BB's just by pulling out a spring-lever, shaking the gun, and then pushing it back in. That was so much easier than the Airsoft where I would always risk my BB's flying out before I could load the cartridge if the spring slipped from my thumb, or it would prematurely release the spring as I loaded the cartridge and I'd have BB's all stuck inside and jamming the gun.

Now the Daisy Powerline 340 couldn't get through a can of coke, but it did seem to pack a better punch than the Airsoft. My accuracy improved but it was still not great. I would shoot from about 10-15 feet and hit fairly well, but when I got to 20-25 ft I could barely hit anything accurately. I realise now that it has to do with the short barrel, lack of rifling, low fps, BB themselves being round, etc. Still a fun hobby though.

So to complete my gun gear for now (I don't want to invest too much as I had already spent $100 on the 2 airsoft P311 kit and the daisy 4mm BB gun)... I decided to get a Ruger Air Hawk. I waited until it was available at Walmart.ca which seems the best deal at the moment ($99) and did a "price match" with Bass Pro Mills which they honoured so I wouldn't have to wait for shipping, and if there was any problem it would be easier to deal with the store directly. I brought it home yesterday and just opened it up for the first time and it is nice solid feeling bit of kit, with a 4x32 scope. Certainly for a beginner like me, I am hoping it will satisfy my shooting fun for a while as I don't want to spend more on this hobby for some time. The cost of the pellet ammo will ensure I dont' go crazy (I admit I am reusing my plastic and metal BB's so far because I only hit very soft targets in the basement and can easily collect them from the trap). I'm fairly sure lead pellets don't survive shooting.

So there you have it.... my story so far. Any advice or ideas on how to start with the Ruger Air Hawk would be appreciated. I'm having fun with the AirSoft P311's and Daisy Powerline 340, but I have not yet shot a single pellet from the Ruger Air Hawk. I could barely cock the gun when I first read the instructions, it took way more force than I thought but I don't have any experience to compare it to except for the handgun cocking. I haven't set up the scope yet, I'm not sure how to use those tinted lens covers, I don't know how to line it up and also no idea what I should be shooting at and whether I can do so safely in the basement (I don't need to puncture a hole in my natural gas line or a pipe) and I'm pretty sure my airsoft targets will be destroyed by this thing so I will need a different target/trap. Also no idea how to maintain the Air Hawk either.

So hopefully with time and participation in this forum I will learn. Thanks for listening.

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New at plinking with: Crosman Airsoft Stinger P311 Challenge Kit, Daisy Powerline 340, and Ruger Air Hawk 0.177 490 fps.

Welcome to a great hobby and an amazing place to hang out and learn. Welcome to the forums!

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eastcoastairgunner.com

I just tried the Ruger and was able to hit toonie sized groupings at 25 feet! Not sure if that is good but I can't get any further distance in my basement to try. I was shocked at the power compared to my other pistols. Whereas the pistols couldn't pierce a coke can (just dent it), the Ruger went right through it, through a bunch of cardboard and foam pads and embedded in my basement insulation when it finally hit concrete! Whoah! I'm using pointed 0.177 lead pellets, the cheapest I could find ($10 for 500).

Any guidelines on what to expect or aim for skill wise, as far as distance and grouping size? What is a normal shooting range distance? What targets are safe to avoid bouncing the pellets or do they tend to stop with a thud when they hit hard thick metal also? For now I am limited to 25 feet unless I can find a safe place to shoot outside without disturbing anyone. My guess is the best place is to go to a shooting range for air gun hobbyists.

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New at plinking with: Crosman Airsoft Stinger P311 Challenge Kit, Daisy Powerline 340, and Ruger Air Hawk 0.177 490 fps.

lol~~ I reused my BBs too except I can't find it anymore~ But pellets absolutely can't survive. the lead pellets are so soft and the hitting power will change the shape of the pellet even an no-lead alloy pellet. But it's not that expensive at all while compare to the powder burners~

Rifle is still a little bit far to me yet, too long, and not convenient for my usage. I am thinking the carbines now, Crosman 1322, 2400 etc, .22 cal first as I have a few .177 pellet pistols already. And for the power, shooting range, accuracy, the carbines will be much better than BB/pellet pistols. This is my main reason for the advance.

Just my 2 cents~ have fun with your collections~

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~Plinkers~
FX-M3-22 Compact#PP700-Carbine#Diana48-177#XS28M-25@26fpe#HW45 Beast#AW-Custom Z-Killer DE
~Competitors~
FWB300SU#Tau-7#IZH-46M#FWB-65#CP88-C
~Target~
HW 30s/35e/97k/40+Extender/P3+Scope/70#CZ200s Laminated@10fpe#AA ProSport-177@12fpe

Wow~ and no need to surprise~ It's a rifle, so the pellet went through the longer rifled barrel with much higher FPS (said 490, right?) than your BB pistol, it got such a power to penetrate those objects. I use my pellet pistols with under 400 fps power and alloy pellets, the pellet can go through the thicker spay paint cans. And my BB MP5 with 400 fps, can also smash the coke can into pieces.

BTW, I found card boards will be good as a stopper (of course not one or two layers, maybe 5+), but the foam pads looks no use at all. The pellet from my pistol can go through even one foot thick foam pad... so use a duct tape to put together several flatted card board boxes would be a good stopper for you I think...

Go search from websites, Youtube, Google, forums... you can find many tips, experience, knowledge to help you improve your skill, postures, techniques... and it's the same to learn from the real firearms, most of us all started from the replicas right? And said many buyers are using this replicas to train themselves for a better understand and control on the real thing.

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~Plinkers~
FX-M3-22 Compact#PP700-Carbine#Diana48-177#XS28M-25@26fpe#HW45 Beast#AW-Custom Z-Killer DE
~Competitors~
FWB300SU#Tau-7#IZH-46M#FWB-65#CP88-C
~Target~
HW 30s/35e/97k/40+Extender/P3+Scope/70#CZ200s Laminated@10fpe#AA ProSport-177@12fpe

Welcome to the forum hawkster! If you are in the GTA area, definitely do not shoot outdoors as it'll only take one phone call before the police will show up at your place of residence. Since you only have 25 feet of space, you will require some kind of a backstop/pellet trap to stop the pellets/BBs from hitting your insulation or wall. You can make one with any sturdy container and line the back part with duct seal. Duct seal can be purchased at Home Depot or Rona at around $3.00 per 1lb pug(see my attached pic). These 1lb pugs are about an inch thick and depending on how big your container is, you'll need to buy the appropriate number that'll fill up the back portion of your backstop. Below is a link to an article on making your own pellet trap.

http://www.pyramydair.com/blog/2011/05/ ... llet-trap/

Here are some images of homemade pellet traps using duct seal.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=pellet+t ... 18&bih=460

Duct seal is safe as it prevents ricochet and is very quiet when the pellet hits. The only downside is you'll have to pluck out the old pellets with a needle nose plier after every shoot or when the trap gets very heavy with all the lead inside. I shoot from 20 to 25 feet and my trap with the duct seal is able to hold up to the high powered rifles i have that are PAL rated (over 500 fps & 4.2 foot lbs)

Since your Ruger Airhawk is shooting at approx. 490 fps, and has a rifled barrel, do not re-use spent pellets as it can damage the rifling system within your barrel.
Accuracy and shooting distance depends on the shooter, and the gun. I have air rifles that can shoot hole on hole to quarter inch groups at 25 feet and some that will shoot half inch to 1 inch groups at the same distance. Good shooting skills coupled with a quality air rifle will definitely give you tighter groups versus a lower end rifle; especially when you get to distances past 20 yards

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Megiddo65

There is an airgun club in Toronto if you are currently living close by in the GTA. I can't find their website as I think it's down, but I shot there for almost 2 yrs and the members are awesome to deal with. Try e-mailing them at info@torontoairgunclub.org

I talked to a member about a month ago and they are still in operation.

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Megiddo65

Thanks for all the advice! I have shot maybe a couple dozen pellets out of the Air hawk so far just to work on my aim and to align the scope. I heard that it takes a while to "break in" the rifle so it gives more consistent results.

One surprise I wasn't ready for was learning that when I use the scope I can see that I'm moving around a lot... the rifle is heavy and if I stand up to shoot I am waving around and can't keep the scope cross hair lined up steady with my target.

Could also be due to my left hand getting tired from breaking the rifle for reloading. It is the same hand used to steady the stock while aiming as I use right hand for trigger, right shoulder to hold butt of rifle and right eye to look through scope.

To improve steadiness I am down on my right knee with left knee up so I can rest my left elbow on my knee and that stabilizes my left hand so I can hold the rifle steady when I aim. Even then my cross hairs move but much less.

I may try a diagonal line in the basement to give me a few more feet... may be able to get 30 feet if I move things around. I assume that for each shooting distance I'm going to need to adjust the scope to compensate for the trajectory (up/down) gravity and pellet falling over longer distances?

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New at plinking with: Crosman Airsoft Stinger P311 Challenge Kit, Daisy Powerline 340, and Ruger Air Hawk 0.177 490 fps.