When most people think of an air-powered rifle they envision little Ralphie shooting his “Red Ryder” BB gun in the movie “A Christmas Story.” Either that or an “Airsoft” type that shoots plastic pellets. What they don’t realize is the American West was originally won using an air-powered gun.
Before we go any further, please be aware that today you can buy .30, .35, and .50 caliber PCP air rifles. That’s a FIFTY CAL! And PCP, or pre-charged pneumatic, is a tank of compressed air that can deliver up to thirty .50 caliber shots in a matter of seconds, each at 850 feet per second velocity. These are NOT toys. Now, back to our story…
When Lewis and Clark headed west to explore past the Mississippi River, they brought along at least one Girandoni air rifle. It was likely left over from a huge batch made for the Austrian Army in 1790. The Girandoni shot a .46-caliber lead ball through a one-inch pine board accurately at one hundred yards – without the smoke and noise of a musket. In fact, this gravity tube-fed weapon stored 22 lead balls and could fire all of them in less than thirty seconds, one at a time at 1,000 feet per second.
These were not great on the battlefield due to the care needed. They were also very expensive to construct and took a long time to use the hand pump to refill the air cylinder after every 22 shots fired. Eventually they fell out of favor in everyday field combat, however, they became Austrian sniper’s weapon of choice into the early 1800’s.
But in modern times, a good off-the-shelf break barrel style pellet gun from Walmart can provide the same accuracy, range, and damage of a .22 rifle without needing any special air cylinders or gun powder. I’m certainly not suggesting going into a firefight with a pellet gun – but the advantages of typically not needing a special license or firearm ID to acquire a high-quality weapon of this type is appealing. Not to mention the ammo is dirt cheap and plentiful. You can even buy pellet molds and make your own from melted lead, copper, or other metals.
Types of Pellet Guns
There are 5 common types of pellet gun as follow. Most are NOT suitable for effective home defense or anything above varmint control, with PCP being the typical exception.
Spring Loaded style pellet guns are, you guessed it, powered by a coiled spring. These range from the traditional BB gun style lever action to high-powered break barrels that use a piston spring rather than a pneumatic piston. These can be relatively weak powered to very strong with high velocity depending on the type. Higher-power units can be suitable for small varmint control. A .22 cal break-barrel heavy spring type can also take down mid-size game and be a good option for secondary home defense due to their low maintenance and high reliability.
PCP, which stands for pre-charged pneumatic, is type of air gun with its own air reservoir built in. You refill the compressed air with a pump (like a specialized bicycle tire pump or custom purpose electric pump). For quick recharges, a prefilled compressed gas tank that looks like a NOS cylinder. You can usually get at least 25 to 35 shots off before refilling with air. Lewis and Clark’s Girandoni rifle was a PCP type. The compressed air cylinder was the removable butt stock. PCP-type, of a large enough caliber (.25, .3, .35, and .5) are the ones I suggest for hunting. Obviously, the bigger the animal the larger the bore/caliber and the more power needed.
Note that with any CO2 powered gun that CO2 cannisters cool down quickly when the air is released and the cooler the air, the lower the pressure, thus the weaker the shot. Waiting a few seconds between shots can improve the power of each shot because it allows the cylinder to warm back up a bit.
Gas Piston pellet guns are often the break-barrel type. “Breaking” the barrel allows for the inflow of air while using the barrel as a lever, while closing it, compresses the air in the cylinder. That compressed air propels the pellet with a single burst of all stored air under pressure.
CO2 style pellet guns use pre-filled disposable high-pressure cartridges (12 gram is a common size). The compressed air is in that disposable cylinder (some can be refilled up to a few times with a special tool and system).
Variable Pump pellet guns contain a pumping mechanism that fills a reservoir with compressed air that will all get released at once with the trigger pull. Most pellet guns like this allow you to pump between 1 and 12 times, string that additional compressed air into a much more powerful shot.
Pellet Calibers and Types
Pellets have come a long wat since the soft lead flatheads that we shot from our Crosman and Daisy multi-pump air rifles in the early ‘80’s. There are dozens of styles and types now. Here are few from just one manufacturer. These represent a small range of styles and sizes ranging from .177 to .356 caliber.
There are some unique sizes out there – especially for smooth bore barrels, but here are the most common on the market for rifles barrels. Please keep in mind the below rule-of-thumb uses are based on a weapon propelling the projectile at a velocity of at least 800 fps.
.177 caliber – Best for target practice and plinking. Super cheap ammunition so ideal for target shooting. These can also shoot BBs, which are ridiculously cheap.
.20 caliber – For target practice, it’s a good compromise between .177 and .22, but not the easiest ammo to get in a pinch.
.22 caliber – Ideal for target practice and small game hunting, some limited home defense with ammo that is usually easy to get and cheap to burn through.
.25 caliber – Good for hunting small to medium-size game and home defense but not always the easiest ammo to get when supply-chain is slow. Get a nice .25 Caliber PCP rifle for multi-purpose use and practice with a cheap .177 pump gun.
.30 caliber – A nice option for hunting game up to deer size with a strong enough force behind it like some PCPs. Smaller to mid-size game is often achievable with select high-power spring or pneumatic cylinder type guns (usually break barrels) and/or CO2 types. It is certainly capable of home defense as far as stopping power assuming the gun has enough power.
.35 caliber – This is more of a niche size. If you go with this one, make sure you can get the ammo.
.50 caliber – This is the beast that will take down bigger game and offer some real damage to anyone trying to break into your home.
Top Picks for Prepper Defense and Hunting
Personally, I would go with a .30 caliber PCP rifle for stopping power or even hunting needs and a .22 caliber break barrel spring type as a low cost, slower firing backup or varmint deterrent (there are all sorts of varmints sniffing around in desperate times). GAMO makes a nice .22 caliber unit called the Gamo Swarm Whisper Air Rifle that retails for about $149.
Unfortunately, a good .30 cal PCP can run about $1,000 (but keep a lookout for deals!). My top pick as an alternate is the Umarex .25 Caliber Gauntlet PCP Pellet Gun Air Rifle, which is about one-third the price coming in at $319. Just stock up on .25 caliber ammo! This is not the most common size in most countries and might become difficult to find with supply chain issues.
Pellet Gun Ammo Options
Most pellet guns available over the counter at Walmart will be single shot and available in .177-caliber or .22-caliber size. Of the two, .177 is the more common and the standard size for BBs. Talk about cheap, often reusable ammo! Pellets flatten on impact, but stainless steel and sometimes copper BBs typically retain their spherical shape unless they contact a stone or metal surface. And you can fit 5x as many pellets in a pocket or pouch, as .22LRs, because most of a .22LR is taken up by the casing, powder, and primer chamber. The bullet is just the tip of that iceberg. With pellets you are just getting the actual bullet part. Air pressure takes care of the rest. Need something bigger? Read on to see the .30 caliber!
If you find yourself in a situation of having limited resources, multi-pump and break-barrel cylinder type pellet rifles are a very nice option for target practice, hunting very small game, and even some defensive opportunities in soft tissue areas. This is especially true given flattened pellets can be melted and reformed to new ammo with a $10 mold available on Amazon.
If you don’t think there is any value here, consider this… The .22 caliber Gamo Swarm Whisper air rifle fires a .22-caliber slug at 950 feet per second (fps). That’s 647 miles per hour (mph)! Do you think a yellow jacket stinging you after slamming into you at 647 mph would at least distract you and make you think twice? Of course it would. The same rifle in the .177-caliber fires at 1,300 fps, which is 886 mph. That’s supersonic. Damage is likely to be less overall due to the lighter weight of round, but if it hit soft tissue it could cause major damage.
The .22 model Gamo costs about $150 and can be used with a 10-round rotary pellet clip to decrease reload time.
Need something bigger with more stopping power? Consider a .30 caliber model like the Hatsan Mod 130S Vortex QE. And this too is a break-barrel gas piston powered rifle, so they are quiet and require no external pressure source such as a disposable or refillable canister. The Hatsan 130S is available on Amazon for $250. Want to see something crazy? This is one of the .30-cal “pellet” options available.
Here is a video detailing some the top-tared .22 caliber hunting pellets on the market. If you thought these guns were toys, prepare to be surprised.
Pellet Gun Power Options
I specifically mention break-barrel rifles that use high-power single pump spring pistons because they are super-fast and easy to get maximum power without having to rely on disposable air cylinders or larger tanks that would take a long time to refill with a hand pump (if an electric pump is not available).
Multi-pump piston-type pressure systems are great too – but it usually takes 10 to 12 pumps to get the high velocity you want to inflict maximum damage if that’s your goal.
You can typically get a high-quality multi-pump piston power rifle for $40 to $80. Crosman, Daisy, and Benjamin all have great 10 and 12 pump air rifles perfect for plinking and pest control for $50 to $65.
Just remember that no matter what type of air gun you get, load up on the best ammunition you can for hunting and defensive needs and use the cheaper stuff for target practice. Also get the right type of oil for your gun’s exact maintenance needs. Piston-powered rifles need piston oil. Don’t just use 3 in 1 or something generic. And finally, consider getting a bunch of quick cleaning pellets to keep your weapon clean between detailed maintenance.
What’s Next?
If you want some great non-firearm hunting and defensive weapon options, check out this post on primitive weapons. I know it sounds like a caveman with a stone-tipped spear, but this article presents options around archery, knives, and tomahawks. You can also check our post on distance primitive weapons such as the survival spear, high-powered hunting slingshot, and bow and arrow – including how to make a powerful bow for less than $15 and steel-headed spear for about $4!