Ok, so I was thinking today while I was rabbit hunting how little it actually takes to kill a rabbit, squirrel, birds, and other small game. I recently got two rabbits in a row with my Crosman 1377c, one after another. The Crosman 1377c is a powerful pnuematic, multi-pump air pistol.
It uses .177 caliber lead pellets. If you can get within 25 yards of your quarry, you're almost guaranteed to get a kill if you're a good enough shot. The ammo comes in tins about the palm of your hand, and those usually have about 500 pellets. Other ammo I like are these pellets from Gamo that have a hard plastic cone built into the pellet and those come in tins of 100 I believe.
Now as much as I would like the .22 caliber version of this pistol for the extra oomph, I don't have the money right now. However, this gun has taken game from chipmunks up to large rabbits. For a hunting pistol that's much quieter than even a .22 LR, and ammo thats even more portable, imagine the extra space you could make use of if you had this gun and one tin of ammo in you BOB. You could carry another rifle of a larger caliber for larger game, or something else.
I have a Ruger MK512, that I use as my survival pistol. It has the bull barrel and shoots better than I can. I use it with a Uncle Mikes bandoller holster and 4 mags. Works great for me. I think I paid $250 for it, the holster and 2 additional mags. Shoots best with CCI mini mags or Velocitors.
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"What the hell you doin' with that lawnmower blade?" " I aim to kill you with it."
I would want a handgun with more the 8-10 fpe at the muzzle. While it works for rabbits and squirrels, I would not want to have to fend off a threat with a .177 cal pellet gun. I have a Beeman airgun that is about the size of a fullsized semiauto. It works great for plinking in my backyard, but not much else. I will stick with my Beretta 92 or Glock 20 for my SHTF handgun.
he isnt talking about defending his life with the air pistol. i agree it could be a good survival "Hunting" pistol as the thread title states. it can easily take small game. and they have pellets designed for such instances. he mentioned also carrying a larger rifle for big game. i think he has a good point as something you can easily obtain Cheap. and for just some spare change buy a few tins of pellets that will last for quite a while and take up as much space as a spare pistol mag.
I have always wanted one of those Benjamin pistols, all metal and wood, but they do take CO2 cartridges, so that might be out. If air is your game, look at the Beeman Magnum P1. I would look at the .20 caliber options out there, but for the price you could have 2 rimfire handguns!
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I take my coffee how I take my women: bitter and overbearing.
my only concern would be durability... i can drop my sks from the roof onto the barrel and still shoot anything in sight... if i did that to an airgun would it mess up the internal mechanisms or damage the air cylinder... can it survive being dropped in the mud or dirt and keep on going... what about cold weather or high temperatures like here in AZ you can get some extreme temp variations...
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I would prefer a wristrocket (slingshot).
Totally quiet
Unlimited amount of free ammo (anything you can jam in it! LOL)
Cheap (so you can but lots of spares)
The only drawback to a slingshot is that the rubber tubing gets brittle with age...but some surgical tubing will work in a pinch.
Heck, for a BOB, a person could just pack a couple of feet of surgical tubing and make his own rocket out of a branch once in the BOA...would take up little space and tubing is nice for lots of applications!
Take it from me...a good wristrocket with a glass marble or steel ballbearing WILL kill small game (or at least stun it so you can finish it off)...even a nice rock will too. Accuracy is great with practice...I used to be able to hit anything in sight almost. I need to pick one up, now I'm curious as to how my slingshot eye still is! Haven't shot one in 15 years probably.
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Now a sling on the other hand (David and Goliath style) is easy to make...but HARD to use accurately. I practiced quite a bit as a youth...and never got better then a bucket at 10 yards accurate...I guess with practice it is deadly though. I might make me another one just to play with.
BTW...if you braid a couple of bike inner tubes together, tie them across a trailer (tailgate post to tailgate post) it creates a slingshot that will launch a volleyball size rock a couple of hundred yards! LOL good time, good times!
Now if a person subsituted a gallon jug malatov cocktail for the rock...it's make a fairly effective weepun wouldn't it!
__________________ I'm here for a good time, to h*ll with the red wine, pour me some moonshine!
Last edited by thrillbilly; 10-14-2009 at 04:25 PM.
I've used my Crosman 1377c air pistol when it was 15 degrees out, dropped it countless times, and never had any problems. You may think cold weather will affect it, but it really doesn't, I've taken mine out when I was deer hunting, and the thing will hold the charge easily overnight. If you're worried about the colder air and that it would affect the power, then you can pump it 1-3 extra pumps pass the max of ten. You're then getting the same volume of air still to operate it at its full potential. Just don't take it into a warm cabin after you do the extra pumps beyond 10, because that air in the cylinder will heat up and then it might start stressing out your seals.
Here are some of the things I've taken with open sights.
I took 2 of the rabbits in this picture with the airgun because they were too close to the back porch. The 1st and 2nd closest were the ones I took with the airgun, the dove and the other rabbit was shotgun.
Good Shooting there Pyro01!!! im glad it works for you but looking at the pistol now really has me worried about how it would do under stressful conditions... all the plastic would break if you were to abuse it beyond just normal wear and tear... thanks for the pics though, it is something to consider for a quieter hunting method
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As for the wrist rocket idea, I bought one about a year ago (trying to reduce my dependence on loaded ammunition) and with the 3/8" & 1/2" bearings, could hit a soda can at about 15 yards with ease, even pulled off a few long shots on a 2 liter bottle at 100 ft and won myself free lunch (nothing like projectiles and gambling while at work!)
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I take my coffee how I take my women: bitter and overbearing.
When I lived out in the S. West, I had some friends who were Navaho and Hopi...they used a "rabbit stick" a stick carved flat on two sides and slightly curved (kinda like a boomarang, but not as thin and not nearly as curved). They could put a hurting on a jackrabbit from quite a ways. They weren't intended to kill, mainly they just stunned the rabbit...they would carry a second stick, a heavier "club" and when they hit a rabbit they would run as fast as they could to it and finish it off.
__________________ I'm here for a good time, to h*ll with the red wine, pour me some moonshine!
