BEYOND PLINKING
Great for target practice, competition and youth training, today’s high-powered air rifles can also take down everything from cottontails to big game
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You can hunt both big and small game with a PCP rifleHUNTING
Air rifles were long considered inadequate for hunting game, but no longer. Many of today’s models are suitable for knocking down everything from small game and upland game birds to predators and big game. Over the years, the evolution of air rifles with hunting applications has been little publicized, particularly here in Canada. But the single-shot, break-barrel .177-calibre pellet rifle of my youth has now been ramped up to a powerful .72-calibre offering, with velocities exceeding 1,000 feet per second (fps) with an accompanying 1,500 foot-pounds of energy (fpe). That’s indeed impressive, especially when 1,500 fpe is considered adequate for taking an elk.
Recent advancements in valve technology, air reservoir design and projectiles have elevated .50-calibre rifles to the extent they can now generate muzzle energies exceeding 700 fpe, and shoot one-inch, two-shot groups at 70 yards—accuracy that supersedes a lot of shotgun slugs.
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Provincial regulations vary on hunting big game with an air rifle. In B.C., for example, you can hunt several species, such as deer, with a .35-calibre air rifle or larger, but other big game such as elk and moose the off the table. Not all jurisdictions have progressive regulations such as those in B.C., so be sure you check your local regs.
Regulations for hunting small game and upland game birds are generally far more favourable. Here, the ideal calibres are .22 .25 and .30. A .30-calibre rifle, for example, is capable of producing 1,000 fps and 99 fpe, which is plenty of punch for smaller game. Along with offering a quiet and effective way to bag a few grouse for the pot on a backwoods big-game hunt, air rifles are also ideal for pest control in areas where noise and firearms discharge bylaws are in place.
RIFLE OPTIONS
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Where it is legal to hunt big game, I recommend .50-calibre or larger precharged pneumatic (PCP) rifles. They can provide the power, precision and multi-shot capabilities most hunters are looking for. The only downside is the initial cost, and the need for a handy air source to refill them.
I also recommend PCP rifles for hunting small game and upland game birds, but in suitable calibres such as .22 for upland birds, and .25 or .30 for rabbit-sized quarry. If you want to keep the cost down, though, consider a gas-piston rifle or a spring-piston break-barrel gun.