Unique .45 Varmint gun

[BUTCHER45]

     Hey all,

     First time here. 
     I have a rather unique .45 caliber air rifle that I will be using to kill varmints.   I'd like to hear your thoughts on using this rifle on various predators and varmints and what I should keep in mind as far as bullet selection and shot placement on the various vermin.
     For all-around vermin use I am thinking the .45 144grain roundball at about 850-900fps will do the trick on nutria (my sworn enemy!) and coyote quite nicely. 
     As you can see it is a very accurate rifle.  These groups in the slideshow were shot at 25meters.  I  haven't done groups at 50 meters yet but did real good plinking at that range the other day.  The raccoon is one of many in-town raccoon I restrain myself from shooting in my front yard every week.
     Tell me what you all think. (edit: forgot to add I will be having a .223 or a .243 barrel machined for it that will swap-out in five minutes!)

   
                                                            Click on picture for slide show.



                                                                                            BUTCHER

[manofthe45]

Luis and clark used air rifles on their trip west way back in err...........  Greybeard's time to harvest antelope and bison.  Coyote in reasonable ranges with a 45 cal rb.  Please post the pics of the critters you will shoot stone dead.  If legal in your area I say go for it.

[dscp]

HOWDY !         IN WHAT STATE DO YOU RESIDE IF NEUTRA IS YOUR WORST PEST ?   DOWN ON THE BAYOU?
THANKS,
dscp

[SHOOTALL]

saw an article where the Va. game dept used a .50 cal. air rifle to kill deer !

[BUTCHER45]

     I live in Oregon (Willamette Valley).  If you go to any pond, slew, stream, or drainage channel in town there's nutria all over the place.  They cause a ton of damage to waterways and the environment. 
     Post pictures of the kills?  Oh I'll do better than that!  I am getting a muzzle brake custom-made to reduce muzzle-flip.  That way I can keep the vermin in my sights on impact so I can post kill-shot video's from my scope-mounted video camera!


                                                                                                               BUTCHER

             
                                                                                         

[dscp]

HOWDY !         I WONDER ??   YOU ARE HAVING A MUZZLE BRAKE MADE . THEREFORE YOU MUST HAVE NOT MADE THE RIFLE ! HOW DID YOU ACQUIRE SUCH AN UNUSUAL PIECE (IF I MIGHT ASK ) ? ON WHICH PRINCIPLES DOES IT WORK .  IF YOU GO OVER MY HEAD , THEN I WILL FIND SOMEONE TO INTERPRET . REALLY CURIOUS .
THANKS,
dscp

[BUTCHER45]

     Here is a complete description. 

http://www.pyramydair.com/site/manuals/bigbore/

     They are a production gun though mine is an older model and has been tuned and modified for more power and consistency.  If you get a 909 buy it from Mac1 Airguns as they go through the rifle making sure it works right before they send it to you and Mac1 is a third-generation airgunner.  Also be sure to get the version with two tubes it will give you a better number of shots and has very good balance for off-hand shooting.

                                                                                                      BUTCHER

[jamaldog87]

i had a Quackenbush 50cal. airgun  but i fired 45cal sabot in it. It was a hog killer and i did shoot a yote with it that was too far away( 200 yards) it was hit but we never found it. Yes these guns can shoot that far, I hear about a 457 Outlaw hitting at 400 yards on cans.

[NONYA]

200 yards with an air rifle...right.Are u sure it wasnt 1200 yards with a slingshot?

[jamaldog87]

read this and tell me i am full of it? http://www.network54.com/Forum/414006/thread/1184456294/How+far+can+this+thing+shoot-

How far can this thing shoot?
July 14 2007 at 7:38 PM zach allen   (Login sonargodz)
from IP address 71.211.189.108

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
I have been on leave for about a week and a half now, and I accomplished one of the things I set out to do on this trip. Below are some pictures of today when I went out with my brother to test out the Big Green Monster at 512 yards. I was using Eric Henderson's 450 grain boat tail with the exception of when we were shooting at the water bottle in the pictures. I couldn't find a deer sized target, so I decided on using the full sized sillouette shown. If this offends you, I would advise you to lighten up and take your Ritalin.

The maximum limit of this gun right now is 500 yards because of the field of view of the scope not being large enough for the drop. That doesn't mean that the gun isn't accurate though, as you can see from the pictures. I was aiming at the top of the target and although I was low, the group is pretty superb with the exception of one flyer in the center of the target.

All my shots were performed after topping the gun off to 3000 psi. When I do some further study I will set up a 3 shot drop chart for this gun at longer ranges. I was focused on seeing how repeatable it would be at long range on the first shot, and it performed way beyond my expectations.

The field of view on my scope is my only current limitation. The deformation and penetration of the fiberboard by the bullets indicates that they are still moving very fast at 500 yards. I need a tilted scope mount or vernier sight if I am going to shoot any further though. An externally adjustable mount is in the works, but I am more than satisfied with the current performance of the gun at 3000 psi with Eric's bullets. I know with higher magnification and a tilted scope base the groups would be even smaller. Thanks Dennis Quackenbush, Eric Henderson, and Bob Dean. I hope that you forum members all enjoy the pictures.


I was hitting a little bit lower than what I was aiming at, but I was shooting for groups to see how accurate it was, so it wasn't too big of a deal. My brother is a better shot than I am, but he couldn't get a good group because of the persistent wind that started soon after I shot my group.


I have heard someone say that to shoot an airgun over 100 yards is ridiculous. I won't mention any names, but some of his airguns are named after SUV's.


This gave us a pretty good field of view. It is a good motorcycle jump too.


My brother got tired of shooting at paper targets and went for this bottle instead.....

 
....and it should have ran when it had the chance. One of the most awesome shots I have ever seen.

The results speak for themselves. Quackenbush airguns are accurate and not just at short ranges.




 

[BUTCHER45]

     Stunt-Plinking at 500 yards is one thing; shooting at an animal like a coyote at 200 yards with an airgun....

     Those big-time airgun hunters you posted pictures of don't take shots at animals anywhere near that far away.  They know the limitations of their equipment.  Yes the power they have is impressive for an air rifle but they are not and cannot be in the same killing class as a good centerfire.  So it should not be used like one.

     Would you take a shot at a coyote with a 44 magnum at 200 yards?  A bow?   Most would probably pass for a closer shot at coyote I imagine.  To hunt with an airgun responsibly you must limit your range and shot placement as if you were using a bow because more often than not they die from an airgun shot in similiar fashion.  By bleeding them out.  Or the more chancy CNS shot which has less of a margin of error.
     
     No matter what airgun you are using it does not have the the fpe/energy possible to kill medium and big game like a centerfire can such as shutting down the whole body instantaneously without even having to hit the CNS. 
     I plan to go after coyote with my 909 .45 Air Rifle and shots will be limited to the high-shoulder at 50 meters MAXIMUM with only my best bullet to break them down so they can't run as far.  They are going to run unless you are really close and lucky with a CNS shot.

[jamaldog87]

yeah that is true, when i had that gun it was the 2nd airgun i ever had. but it can kill at 200 yards, just not cleanly( unless you aim for the head i was aiming for the body) but if i had to do it over again i would have a 45cal because they shoot flat-er. I did kill something at 200yards it was a fat coon and he was taken cleanly. I had the 50 back when i was younger and shot at everything that was game( this gun had a red-dot on it and was zero at 20 yards)  and it was hit or miss back then, but know because i have fire some guns and shoot a 12GA shotgun i know these are shotgun range guns. I have right now a 22. and 177 crosman and i have used the .22 for coons and nutra at 30 yards. I probby will not get one again becuase i can get a real gun for less and do more and i don't liike pumping those things.

when i had it i didn't know what kind of ammo to use so round balls, sabots with 44cal lead bullets and powerbelt ammo. I didn't know and what ever would fit in the barrel was used. one time i put a 490" DIAMETER round ball in there and put a hand full of steel bbs on top of that to see what would happen. I know a little about big bores but a lot more about small bores.