Hunting and gathering are precisely those actions that helped a person become rational and survive in a not too friendly world. Today, collecting has reached a new level of its development and has become known as collecting, and its objects are now not the roots and fruits, but artistic and other values. Hunting also accompanied humanity at all times of its existence and moved from a category of necessity to a state of hobby.
Today, in order to satisfy their instincts given by nature for survival, people do not need to plan spears and pull a bowstring. Even the guns that rescued game hunters for so long have gradually outlived their age, as they were replaced by pneumatic hunting weapons.
The principle of pneumatics
If in the old days hunting for the poor was a way to survive, and for the rich it was entertainment, today it is a way to satisfy the most ancient instinct. Since the advent of the first firearms, its manufacturers began to make guns for hunting animals.
As demand for the killings grew, so did the rifles, until their production was put on the conveyor. By this time, hunting rifles had improved, cheapened, and they became available to many lovers of hunting.
When the first weapon for hunting (pneumatic) appeared, its manufacturers did not discover anything new, but applied the principles known in ancient times. The prototype of modern pneumatics were wind pipes, which were used by the natives of South America for fishing animals.
The basis of a modern pneumatic gun was 2 types of wind tubes:
- in the first, the direction of flight and the velocity of the projectile determined the strength of the hunter's lungs;
- in the second, they used two tubes twisted into one another, and the dart was sent into flight by a powerful blow of a hunter at an outer tube closed at the end.
In the first case, a more accurate shot was obtained, but in order to make it, the shooter had to get as close to production as possible. In the second - it was possible to shoot from a long distance, but the accuracy of the hit was much lower.
The same principle is laid down in a modern weapon for hunting - a pneumatic gun. It just improved.
The benefits of pneumatics
The first pneumatic guns appeared in the 17th century and immediately showed an advantage over firearms:
- firstly, they could be used in any weather, while powder guns stopped shooting even with little dampness;
- secondly, a series of shots could be fired from it one after another;
- thirdly, the pneumatic hit rate was higher, and there were no accompanying loud sounds and puffs of smoke.
Today you can hear the opinion that the most powerful pneumatic weapon for hunting is more expensive than a weak firearm. In fact, this is not so. This type of guns has become popular with many hunters because of a number of significant advantages:
- Pneumatic hunting weapons are recognized as environmentally friendly. The first to introduce it on a regular basis were the British. Their scientists found that, for example, a high level of mutations and mortality of birds in one of the reservoirs is associated with the influence of lead compounds, which settled in large numbers at its bottom after many decades of shooting game here.
- The cost of a shot from such a weapon is cheaper than from a firearm.
- The procedure for obtaining a license is simplified, and for some types of pneumatics it is not required at all.
The absence of noise and low weight of pneumatic hunting weapons with a high level of hit makes it more attractive in the eyes of many hunters.
Types of Airguns
Modern arms factories produce pneumatics, both for self-defense, and for sport and hunting. All of them can differ in size, caliber and weight, but work according to one of four principles:
- Spring-piston is reliable and low cost. In this type of pneumatics, the hermetic container, with the gas mixture inside it, is directly connected to the barrel. When the weapon is cocked, its spring is compressed, and when the trigger is pulled, it is released and hits the piston, resulting in a shot.
- The basis of compression pneumatics is the preliminary injection of compressed gas into a special hermetically sealed compartment of the rifle. To make a shot, you need to turn the lever, which will move the piston associated with the container with compressed gas. It is believed that this is the best pneumatic weapon for hunting, as it has high accuracy of hit and bullet speed, and has no recoil. Such a rifle can have a single or multiple downloads, which allows not only to make several shots from one injection, but also to control their power.
- Liquefied gas weapons use carbon dioxide in a liquid and gaseous state. This is a fairly powerful and accurate type of pneumatics, the only drawback of which is the inability to use at temperatures from 0 degrees and below.
- Air cartridge weapons are the most powerful and expensive. Its accuracy and bullet speed are the highest. In such a gun, compressed air is located in a special container, which is filled with an air compressor before going hunting. Depending on which caliber is used, 50 to 200 rounds can be fired. Most manufacturers make a container of compressed gas an integral part of the gun, but there are samples where it is connected to the barrel with a special hose.
For hunting, all types of weapons are used, except for those working on liquefied CO2. To get the maximum result when firing, you should know in advance which caliber to choose for the gun.
Caliber pneumatic bullets
When a hunter asks about the quality of a weapon, he is interested in what kind of power a bullet develops at the moment of a shot. It is affected by energy, which is measured in joules, and the caliber of airguns for hunting.
There are several types of ammunition for hunting:
- The most popular is the caliber of 4.5 mm. A standard bullet weighs 0.48 g, and energy can develop up to 40 J. The most effective hit on weapons of this caliber is 55-60 m. It is most suitable for hunting game weighing up to 1.5 kg.
- Airguns for hunting - caliber 5.5 mm - are designed for standard bullets weighing 0.88 g. The energy developed by such a projectile is 75 J and the distance to the target reaches 70 m. Great for hunting game weighing up to 4 kg (hare, pheasant and others).
- Pneumatic weapons for hunting - 6.35 mm caliber - generate energy up to 110 J at a distance of up to 70 meters. Recommended for hunting wolves and foxes.
- For fans of big game, a 9 mm caliber weapon is suitable. It develops energy up to 300 J and is capable of hitting a target weighing up to 80 kg.
Arms firms produce pneumatics of all these calibers, but by the type of hunting rifles the most popular are those that are equipped with air cartridges.
Professionals Choice
The biggest demand, despite the high price, for big game hunters has a pneumatic gun called the Dragon Career Slayer of a South Korean manufacturer.
This is the most powerful weapon of this type with a barrel diameter of 12.7 mm. Initially, it was intended for special forces and was even used in the army of South Korea. The energy with which a bullet flies out of this rifle is 400 J, which is the largest power indicator in the world. Other weapon parameters:
- weight 3.99 kilograms;
- bullet speed at a departure of 220 m / s;
- the length of the gun is 1.49 meters;
- uses bullets weighing from 16 to 20 g;
- there is only one charge in the chamber.
This rifle is designed to shoot a large beast, and professional American hunters go with her to bison. The gun has a high accuracy of hit, and its reservoir with compressed gas is enough for 4 shots.
Second place
The next most popular is the "graduate" of the South Korean company - Sam Yang Big Bore 909S rifle, which has a caliber of 11.5 mm.
With an energy of up to 250 J and a bullet weight of 11 g, the velocity of its projectile is also 220 m / s. A supply of compressed air is enough for 5 shots, and the main purpose is to hunt wild boars, which can be done from a distance of 50 m.
Third place
Among the pneumatic models with a caliber of 5.5 mm, the most powerful and demanded is the representative of the products of the American company Air Force Guns. Their Air Force Condor rifle is considered the best innovative achievement in pneumatics due to the simplicity and reliability of the design, while the flight speed of the bullet can be adjusted from 70 to 390 m / s.
It also enjoys no less popularity because its caliber and power can be changed by purchasing the appropriate tuning kits. The pads available with this rifle allow you to maintain excellent alignment when collecting any components, and the air supply is enough for 200 shots. This gun can shoot both bullets and syringes with sleeping pills and darts.
On the acquired base model, you can attach trunks from 4.5 mm to 11.5 mm in diameter. This transformer rifle is perfect for both small game and animals weighing up to 4 kg.
Domestic pneumatics
Among the rifles of domestic production, the products of the Izhevsk arms factory are in demand. Although their air rifles are not reliable and powerful, they have quite decent performance:
- weapon weight 3 kg;
- power 25 J;
- projectile speed at a departure of 220 m / s;
- there is 1 shell in the store.
Domestic pneumatics is suitable for beginners who only know the basics of hunting.
Rare caliber
Pneumatic weapons for hunting, a caliber of 9 mm, are rare, because with all the advantages in the form of power and great lethal force, it has drawbacks. The weight of such a rifle is considered inconvenient, and if you add to this weak accuracy and an extremely limited number of shots, it is clear why they are not in demand.
