These powerful weapons are great for deer and hogs—even cape buffalo!
In recent years, there has been a push to allow the use of big bore air rifles for hunting big game. Many states have already adopted regulations to allow big bores and many more are currently studying the effectiveness of bullets propelled by compressed air for the quick and humane taking of big game animals.
Big bore air rifles are really nothing new. They have been around a long, long time. A .46 caliber Girandoni air rifle was credited as being one of the primary reasons for the success of the Lewis and Clark Expedition back in 1803. This rifle was a repeater and the magazine held 22 round balls, all of which could be fired in less than 30 seconds.
When the expedition encountered the various and numerous Native American encampments, they always entered the encampments dressed in full uniform and presented the inhabitants with gifts, followed by an air rifles shooting demonstration by Lewis. The Indians were highly impressed by the quiet rifle that shot accurately and powerfully so many times. The tribes didn’t know if there was one such rifle or if every man with the expedition was assigned one. Regardless, they allowed the expedition safe passage through their lands. The Girandoni pressured up to 800 psi. via a bicycle-type hand pump. Today’s PCP (pre-charged pneumatic) air guns pressure up to 3,000 or more psi via a scuba-type or carbon fiber air tank.
Luke’s 45 caliber Airforce Airguns Texan
Have you ever stopped and pondered the question, “Would I enjoy shooting and hunting with rifles powered by compressed air?” From a practical standpoint, there are many pros and cons to hunting with air, just as there is with any “tool” used for hunting.
In Texas where I live, air guns were first allowed for hunting squirrels just a few years ago. As of this writing, it appears the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commissioners will allow big bore (30 caliber and bigger) air rifles for hunting big game.
In March of this year, the commissioners agreed to put the process into effect to allow big game hunting with air powered rifles this fall. But because of a snafu regarding specifications as to the power, caliber, etc. of air guns to be allowed, the final decision was postponed until late August. From all accounts, it appears we will have the opportunity to hunt with big bores with the opening of rifle season; many air gun enthusiasts are hoping this to be the case.
Granted, Texas is world headquarters for hunting exotic big game and of course, wild hogs. There are plenty of opportunities here in the Lone Star State to put our air rifles to work hunting those as well as small game such as squirrel and rabbit. There are currently several states that allow deer hunting with big bore air rifles and more are coming onboard every year.
So why has shooting and hunting with modern PCP air rifles become increasingly popular the past few years? To answer this question, let’s take a good look at my shooting/hunting history. I began, as did many hunters of my generation, hunting squirrels and rabbit with an iron sighted pellet rifle and then graduated to a single shot .22 rimfire. Then as a teenager, I was given a trusty 30/30 for hunting deer. I discovered bow hunting in my mid-twenties which is a form of hunting that I still dearly love. Muzzleloaders came next when I was in my thirties. Learning about muzzleloaders was fascinating to me and I thoroughly loved developing the perfect loads and shooting my smokepoles. I hunted with them for many years and still, while on story assignments for magazines and my newspaper column, occasionally pack one of my front stuffing rifles to the woods.
Double Shot Air Shot Gun by AIr Venturi
So, why did hunting with a bow appeal to me? Or for that matter, a style of firearm that has greatly been improved upon since the days of Daniel Boone? When I began shooting muzzleloaders 35 years ago, I could buy a very economical and reliable center rifle for less money. A center fire rifle in which I simply slid a round into the chamber, pulled the trigger, and didn’t have to worry about keeping my powder dry or making sure my round ball or conical bullet was properly seated, or any of the myriad challenges that are inherent to muzzleloading. When I squeezed the trigger on my center fire, it always went BANG!
So why did I and many other hunters venture away from our roots shooting centerfires and become bow hunters or muzzleloader shooters? I’ll tell you exactly why; it was the challenge of learning something entirely new! I won’t mislead you, I love hunting and if that old lever action 30/30 would have been my only option, I would have been hunting with it still today. But we hunters have many options and I cannot understand why more of us haven’t broken out of tradition and tried new and challenging ways to spend our time afield.
The same analogy I’ve used for bows and muzzleloaders most definitely applies to air rifles. About seven years ago, I became totally enamored with learning all about today’s powerful air rifles. This was something entirely new to me. Yes, I’d shot “pump up” air rifles as a kid and young adult. I loved shooting them, but never considered them as being reliable game getters under the wide variety of conditions we encounter when hunting.
Enter the PCP air guns. I was lucky to have some good teachers who made my learning curve much quicker. You might say I took to shooting my PCP rifles like a mallard takes to water! I love shooting but I shoot to hunt, if that makes any sense.
Other than the sheer joy of punching tight groups into paper targets, I am ultimately preparing for the next hunt when shooting at the range. It’s important to me to know exactly where to set my sights and where my bullet will be at varying distances when the moment of truth comes and it’s time to squeeze the trigger on my air rifle. In the past few years, I’ve taken over 20 wild hogs and several exotics here in Texas, including an elusive aoudad.
I’ve used my Airforce .25 caliber Condor to cleanly harvest just as many squirrels and rabbits as I could have taken with my scoped .22. The Condor is just as accurate as my best .22 and the “wallop” of that 48-grain .25 caliber hollow-point Hunters Supply bullet dispatches small game with authority.
I’ve seen what the power of a well-designed air rifle can do. Just this past summer, I watched a good friend take a rogue 850-pound Zebu bull with my .45 caliber Airforce Texan, shooting a 350-grain Hunters Supply bullet. That big rascal was DOWN in a matter of a few yards and I still have a few steaks in my freezer from the hunt.
Earlier this summer, Melanie Peterson, last year’s Extreme Huntress, took a big bore air rifle to Africa and killed a Cape buffalo. I know for a fact that big lead bullets propelled by 3,000 fps or greater velocities are efficient game getters.
In my mid sixties, I am obviously from the “old school” when it comes to shooting and hunting. Before my education in modern day PCP air rifles, I too would have been skeptical if someone told me there “air gun” would cleanly kill an 850-pound animal. But, as the old adage goes, “I’ve seen the light!” I truly believe if more and more officials who are instrumental in making the game laws in the various states were subjected to the knowledge I’ve gleaned in the past half decade, they would readily promote the legislation of using air rifles for hunting.
