Ruger Air Rifles

Smoky14

Does anyone have experience with RAR and care to share an opinion?
I'm looking for a .177 cal with about a 1K fps that will last a few years and be accurate enough for urban pest control.

Any and all suggestions are appreciated[8D]

Thanks Smoky

Junkballer

quote:Originally posted by Smoky14
Does anyone have experience with RAR and care to share an opinion?
I'm looking for a .177 cal with about a 1K fps that will last a few years and be accurate enough for urban pest control.

Any and all suggestions are appreciated[8D]

Thanks Smoky
I liked them when they first came out and had planned on buying one until I saw on the box "Made in China", that turned me off. Wish they were made in the USA [;)]

md1634

I would take a look at any of the big air gun houses like Pyramid Air, they have customer ratings on their products. The also have information on air gun hunting, pellet selection ( which is VERY important), etc.

rigbysbud

Have you ever shot a spring powered air rifle before? The reason I'm asking is, I bought a used one last year and I hate it. I can't shoot it. It kicks like a 12ga and I miss every other shot. I recomend trying one before spending any money. You might do better with a pump or precharged gun. That being said the rifle I bought was a Ruger Air Hawk. It is made well but mine was used and abused so I can't offer a fair evaluation. I bought a tune kit for it that is supposed to settle down the recoil but I havn't installed it yet. It cost more than the gun but I'm curious to see if it does anything. I modified my stock by slimming it down around the pistol grip and rounding off all the square edges. That helped alot with the handling. Before it was like holding a 2x4. Most people probably wouldn't care one way or the other. The gun has taken a lot of abuse and it still works but if you miss every other shot well that's not good. Is it me or the gun? Go borrow one and see if you can shoot it.

fullcaseload

I bought a Crossman .177 break barrel for ground and tree squirrels. The horrendous trigger pull eliminates me from using it for that purpose. Can't hold the sights on a head shot long enough before the trigger finally breaks to get a humane kill even on a tin can. Gonna get something else but not before I try the trigger. Worst trigger, I have pulled in 60 some years. Accurate with bags off a bench, but so what?

MFI

Not made by ruger.. They use the name only ..Manufactured in China .. That being said we sell a ton of them.. Accurate and fun to shoot..

thunderbolt

I've only shot one, but was not impressed. Although reasonably good looking, it was heavy and clumsy. It did not seem to group well, but that may have been the fault of the included scope.

md1634

That's why the reviews are so important, unless you are going for really
high velocity the spring airs should be easy to cock and have a good trigger pull. I have a Beeman B3 that you could cock all day, no (or very little spring noise) and a decent trigger at about 2 to 3 lbs. The one thing you need to be careful about is a scope if you plan to use one. The backwards recoil of most air guns will blow the cross hairs of regular scope. Buy one that is made for air guns

beantownshootah

quote:Originally posted by md1634
The backwards recoil of most air guns will blow the cross hairs of regular scope. Buy one that is made for air guns


This.

To amplify, what happens with spring piston airguns is that when the piston is moving forward and the pellet is leaving the bore, you get a conventional rearward recoil just like any other rifle.

But when the piston hits the end of its forward motion it makes a sudden jarring "snap", causing the rifle to actually jump FORWARDS with a sort of reverse recoil. Ordinary rifle scopes are only designed to handle a conventional rearward recoil.

Its the constant back-and-forth double-recoil that jars the guts of ordinary scopes loose and ruins them.

On the original question, I wouldn't buy a Ruger branded air rifle. Bluntly, that company isn't known for making airguns, and as mentioned above, I strongly doubt that they had ANYTHING to do with either the design or manufacture of said guns. Their gun is probably an off the shelf Chinese design (themselves knockoffs of European guns) badged then branded as a Ruger.

If you won't want to shell out the money for a German RWS or Beeman, and you just want a cheapie gun you can buy off the shelf at a Walmart or sporting goods store, then I'd check out Gamo. Its a Spanish company, they actually specialize in airguns, and they have some pretty good designs at reasonable prices.

k.stanonik

Have never shot a Ruger air rifle, if you are looking for reliable and pleasant shooting I would suggest a older Sheridan.

gruntled

Big 5 had them in their ad this week for $69 for a reconditioned one.