CO2 air rifles

[slowworm]

Can anyone recommend a decent CO2 air rifle? One that runs off those small CO2 canisters as I use them for a pistol.

I am aware the power and range will be limited but for close range ratting and target shooting it should be fine.

I have looked at the SMK rifles but not convinced so I'm currently looking at the Crosman 2250XL which seems to meet my requirements but seems a tad expensive.

Anyone with any experience would be good, for example I've read the 2250XL is accurate out to 30m, is that true and if not what's a realistic ratting range? 20m would be ample, 25m perfect.

 

[jcr71]

SMK Victory CP2
i have one that i use for back garden ratting.
its nice and light and can be used as either a gun or a rifle.

 

[slowworm]

Looks interesting, thanks. Have you chronoed it at all to work out the power for pistol and rifle? A bit of a search suggests about 5.5lb and about 8lb.

Have you used it much and have you had any issues at all?

 

[Ystranc]

SMK have improved a lot over the last few years though most won’t achieve much over 8.5 f/Lbs. They are however cheap, accurate and consistent. I have taken squirrels and rabbits with one without difficulty.
I even managed to compete in an HFT comp with one and not look like a prat.
The only downside is the wasted last few shots as the power drops of but before you can open the gas tube to replace the bulbs.
I buy my bulbs by the thousand and they work out about 26p each.

 

[jcr71]

ive used it a fair bit to shoot rats from my kitchen window. its small and light and very accurate, so really suited to the job.
the chap i got it from had cleaned up the internals and said its shooting at 9ftlb.
thats plenty for my use as a back garden gun. most killing is done at about 15 foot.
a full powered rifle would be too much for my usage.

the only issue ive had is light rusting on the barrel. my own fault for leaving it in the garage unoiled and uncovered.

 

[slowworm]

Thanks both, looks like it's worth a try. Looks like it would be more flexible than the Crossman.

Funnily enough, today I noticed the first signs of rats trying to gnaw they way in again.

 

[wickerman]

smk qb78 copy of old crosman can be made more powerful with trobb kit light weight accurate

 

[Ystranc]

Or you can simply put a stronger hammer spring in. To do so you will need to make a tubular tool that acts like a screwdriver to remove the hammer valve through the gas bulb reservoir. Do not discard the filter from the hammer valve whatever the online tutorials tell you or fragments of metal from the gas bulbs will ruin the gas seal in the hammer valve. It is up to you to chronograph the gun using a heavy pellet to ensure that it remains legal. A tiny drop of pellgun oil on the end of a co2 bulb will help the gun stay gas tight. The highest static pressure that CO2 will give will be between 800 and 860 psi (55-58 bar)so there is a limit to what you can expect from these guns..making them run hot simply makes them noisy and waste gas. Your average sub 12 f/lbs PCP airgun will take more like 200 bar or nearly 3000 psi