Pre Charged Pneumatic Rifles

    One of the side hobbies a Speardiver can get when not diving is airgunning. An addictive and interesting activity. There are a lot of options for airgunning ranging anywhere from traditional spring action brake barrel and pump guns to the sheer power and accuracy of precharged rifles.


    The ones that i like the most, and are suitable both for plinking and hunting are precharged pneumatics, that can be filled either from a hand pump and a Scuba tank ( yes, finally a good use for a scuba tank :laughing:) and a high pressure hand pump.


    Those guns are capable of very powerful shots and for hunting they can take down game from rats to boars, depending on power settings and models. They can be divided into small calibers such as .177" , .22 and .25 for critters and pests from feral pigeons to coyotes. The larger calibers are called "Big bore" with calibers from .357 to .50 cal that are very capable to take down even a buffalo.


    Here a couple of vids of small and big bore:
    Start watching from 1:20


    L3Outdoors Feral Hog taken with Benjamin Rogue and Pulsar 112111.wmv - YouTube


    This two boars were taken with .22 pellets


    Sumatra Pellet Rifle Kills 2 Wild Hogs in SC w/ Eunjin .32 gr. .22 cal pellet Second hog kill video - YouTube

    I'm a Speardiver, not a freediver

    One of the best entry guns for this is the Crosman Marauder pistol (The one I got) and the Crosman discovery and Marauder rifles, powerful enough to get critters the size of a coon.


    Benjamin Marauder Pistol - Incredible accuracy and efficiency - YouTube



    But a very powerful option is an Air Forve Condor, equipped with a Lothar Walther barrel and power regulation. A vid with some hares taken with a Condor at 70 yards:


    Condor hunt 2 - YouTube


    Go to 3:30

    I'm a Speardiver, not a freediver

    The filling can be done through a scuba tank (3000 psi) and a fill station (a valve and a hose to be attached to the pistol or rifle recervoir ) most pcp´s are filled to 3000 psi but can others could be filled at 4500 psi and some as few as 2000, like the Benjamin discovery.

    I'm a Speardiver, not a freediver

    Great to get fresh, hormone free meat. There´s something interesting about the "karma" involved with hunting. Hunting has shorter lines of karma, cause is quite different to hunt an animal that is free and wild instead a farm raised animal, that has no space and is literally swimming in its own feces.


    " I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself. A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
    without ever having felt sorry for itself" ... D .H. Lawrence

    I'm a Speardiver, not a freediver

    Thanks Monster.


    Do you shoot your Marauder as a pistol or a riffle?


    I see in the testing the furthest they shoot it is 20 yards. What do you find is the Marauder effective range?


    Is it capable of taking hares the size shown in the last video? Those guys are taking much longer shots with the Condor. Is it better to use a Condor?

    Thats amazing. Shame they seem to cost as much as a regular hunting rifle but the compromise in maintenance and cost almost makes it worth it... plus how quiet it is.

    If you are interested in seeing some cool pcp airgun videos, search ted's holdover on youtube. the guy has an incredible amount of informative and entertaining videos on air rifles. I sold all of my firearms when I moved from Virginia to Cali because I didn't want to deal with the regulations, but this guy's super fun videos inspired me to buy an airgun take the requisite hunting safety course so I can at least take small game on some friend's private property; its a blast. Plus, the guy is a spearo with some spearing videos from mexico and the bahamas thrown in.

    One of my favorite hare recipes is to make sausage. It comes out amazing.


    I made this one up myself with a little help from a friend of mine who stews them with these ingredients.I first brine the jacks in a salt water solution for 3 days in the refrigerator then I freeze them in the brine till ready. If the brine is too bloody I change it out prior to freezing.


    3lbs diced rabbit preferably hind quarters
    2lbs diced pork belly
    1 cup raisins
    1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
    30 grams Kosher salt
    4 ground bay leaves
    1 1/2 teaspoon ground Sage
    10 grams Black pepper
    1 teaspoon ground Oregano
    1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
    10 gloves crushed garlic
    Apple cider vinegar


    Once the rabbit is diced cover it with cold water and a good splash of apple cider vinegar and let it sit for a few hours. Check it every 30 minutes or so and drain it and fill again. It will turn color and will release a lot of blood.While the rabbit is in the vinegar brine place the other ingredients in a bowl with the diced pork belly. Remove rabbit from brine and drain as much of the water as you can. Then add to the pork belly, garlic and other ingredients and stir till everything is evenly coated. Get the meat grinder ready and grind with the medium blade.You can keep it like this or stuff into sausage casings. Cook to an internal temp of 160 degrees and enjoy!


    Are the raisins neccessary ? I hate those things.


    We generally marinade rabbits in Italian dressing for a couple hours and then brush on more while grilling.


    As an aside, wife just got a new pressure cooker so it'll make jack rabbits a more palatable addition to out larder.

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