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Self-Defense Weapons: Traditional and Modern

Chapter Forty
Pellet Air Rifles: .177 Caliber and .22 Caliber

 Copyright © February 20, 2024 by Robert Wayne Atkins, P.E.
All Rights Reserved.

The following information is Chapter Forty in my book: Self-Defense Weapons: Traditional and Modern.

The Basic Disadvantages of All Pellet Rifles:
  1. The life expectancy of a pellet rifle will very, very gradually decline each time a pellet is fired. Therefore a pellet rifle that is used a lot (1,000 pellets per year) will have a shorter life expectancy compared to a pellet rifle that is only used occasionally (100 pellets per year).

  2. A break barrel pellet rifle is a single-shot rifle. Unlike a bolt-action rifle, you must fold the barrel forward on the rifle, insert a pellet, and then return the barrel to its original position. This is a slow time-consuming process. It is much slower than a bolt-action rifle where you can usually load about five cartridges into the magazine and then eject and insert a new cartridge by simply operating the bolt.

  3. It requires a moderate degree of effort (20 pounds or more) to fold the barrel forward to load a pellet (this is called breaking the barrel). Some women, and some teenagers, may not have the strength to do this. If you will grasp the end of the barrel as close as possible to the front sight then it will be easier to break the barrel to insert a pellet.

  4. A pellet rifle would be useless against predatory animals. Therefore I would never carry a pellet rifle into the woods as my only method of firearm protection.

  5. A pellet rifle would be almost useless as a self-defense weapon. A pellet could penetrate a thin shirt and the skin of a person and theoretically it could kill a person. However, if a person were wearing several layers of clothing then the pellet may not do anything more than make the person angry. On the other hand, a pellet shot to the neck, eye, or ear could be deadly. Therefore, this is not a toy for a younger child.

  6. The range of a pellet rifle is significantly less than a .22 caliber rimfire long-rifle cartridge (22LR).

  7. A pellet rifle should never be dry fired. Always have a pellet in the chamber before pulling the trigger on a pellet rifle. (Note: You should also never dry fire any type of .22 rimfire firearm.)

  8. Pellets are single use items and each pellet may only be fired one time. The same pellet may not be fired a second time because it may damage the inside of the rifle barrel.
The Basic Advantages of All Pellet Rifles:
  1. Although a pellet rifle does have a serial number, it does not need to be registered as a firearm. However, each nation and each geographical area has its own laws so please check the laws where you live.

  2. A pellet rifle may be purchased in many states within the United States without any type of paperwork. Once again, each state and each county can have its own pellet gun laws so you will need to verify the laws in the area where you live.

  3. In February of 2024 the .177 caliber hollow point pellets are relatively inexpensive at approximately $7.75 per 500 pellets, or about $0.0155 each. The .22 caliber hollow point pellets are almost twice as expensive and they cost about $11.30 for 400 pellets, or about $0.0283 each. But the .22 caliber pellets are worth it.

  4. A pellet rifle makes a muffled "twang" sound when fired. In my opinion it sounds very similar to the "make believe sound of a handgun with a silencer when fired in a movie." A real silencer, or sound suppressor, does not muffle the sound the way the movies would lead you to believe.

  5. A pellet rifle may be a reasonable option for anyone who lives in an area where firearm laws prevent honest law-abiding citizens from owning firearms.

  6. Depending on the hunting laws in your area a pellet rifle could be a reasonable option for hunting small game animals, such as squirrels or rabbits. However, I strongly recommend steel traps and snares for collecting wild game instead of any type of hunting rifle.

The Beeman Dual Caliber Pellet Air Rifle

Beeman Pellet Rifle
  1. The Beeman rifle in the above picture has a quality European hardwood stock that has a solid rubber butt piece at the end of the stock to cushion the rifle against your shoulder. But the current version of this particular rifle has a black synthetic stock instead of a wood stock.

  2. The Beeman rifle comes with two interchangeable barrels: a .22 caliber barrel and a .177 caliber barrel. To swap the barrels you remove a single set screw on the underside of the barrel at the front of the wood forearm grip, slide the barrel out of the rifle, insert the other barrel into the rifle, and replace the set screw. This is all done with an allen wrench that is provided with the rifle.

  3. The rifle will fire a .177 caliber pellet at approximately 1,000 feet per second (fps) and it will fire a .22 caliber pellet at approximately 800 fps. (Note: An object needs to be traveling faster than approximately 1,100 fps to break the sound barrier, or 1,128 fps at sea level at 70ºF or 21ºC.)

  4. The rifle has iron sights and the rear iron sight is easily adjustable for both windage and elevation. Both the front and rear iron sights are permanently attached to the front half of the barrel.

  5. A 4x32 scope and scope mounts are included with the rifle. However, the scope is mounted onto the rear half of the rifle. The front barrel must be folded forward to load a pellet and then returned to its original position. If the front barrel is not 100% perfectly realigned with the rear half of the rifle then the point of pellet impact will not be consistent when using the scope.

  6. The safety is automatically engaged each time you fold the rifle barrel and insert a new pellet. I like this. The safety is directly in front of the trigger and it is easily disengaged by pushing it forward with the end of your finger before pulling the trigger to the rear.

  7. Since the barrel can be completely removed, the pellet rifle may be stored in a space 32.5 inches long by 6.5 inches wide by 2.0 inches thick, if the scope is removed.

Pellet Performance

I/8 Inch Thick Playwood 5/8 Inch Thick Plywood
1/8 Inch Thick Plywood5/8 Inch Thick Plywood

Pellets are single use projectiles and a pellet cannot be reused. Therefore I recommend that you invest in at least 5,000 pellets. If possible, buy pointed pellets or hollow point pellets. I do not recommend the flat nose target pellets for anything so please don't buy them if anything else is available for sale.

I tested the penetration power of the .177 caliber pointed pellet on some old scrap pieces of plywood that I had. The results are as follows:
  1. 1/8 Inch Thick Plywood: A .177 caliber pointed pellet completely penetrated and exited the rear of the plywood at 25 feet, 50 feet, 75 feet, and 100 feet. The results are shown in the above picture on the left.

  2. 5/8 Inch Thick Plywood: A .177 caliber pointed pellet completely penetrated and exited the rear of the plywood at 25 feet, 50 feet, 75 feet, and 100 feet. The results are shown in the above picture on the right. A .22 caliber pellet also completely penetrated the plywood at 100 feet but the result is not shown in the above picture on the right.
The reason I conducted the above tests was to determine if the pellet rifle could be used to kill small game animals. I know that animals have fur and skin and their hides are not made of wood. However, I also know that skin and fur is not as hard as wood and if a pointed pellet will go completely through a piece of plywood then that pellet has a good chance of penetrating the hide of a small wild game animal and killing that animal. If I were using a pellet rifle to hunt small game then I would get close enough to shoot the animal in the brain.

I did not conduct tests out further than 100 feet because when you are in the woods you normally won't see a small game animal until you are relatively close to it. In addition, there are shrubs, and bushes, and other types of vegetation in the woods that will prevent a clear shot at a long distance. Finally, a small game animal is a relatively small target and you will need to be within the repeatability accuracy of your pellet rifle.

The above shooting tests were conducted with the iron sights on the rifle from a standing position without any type of additional support below the front rifle barrel. I was not aiming at a specific spot on the plywood. I was just aiming at the plywood in order to determine if the pellet would penetrate the plywood. Therefore the grouping of the four shots on each piece of plywood is nothing more than random chance. (Note: I drew black circles around each of the small pellet holes and I labeled each hole with the distance to the target.)

Even though a pellet rifle will not accumulate gunpowder deposits inside the barrel it will still gradually accumulate lead deposits inside the barrel from the lead pellets. Therefore at the end of each shooting session you will need to swab the inside of the barrel using a cleaning rod, a cleaning patch, and a tiny bit of cleaning solution or lubricant. Replace a dirty cleaning patch with an unused cleaning patch. Continue cleaning the inside of the barrel until your cleaning patch is almost as clean when it is removed from the barrel as when it was inserted into the barrel.

Pellet Rifle Recommendation

The Beeman Dual Caliber Air Rifle is a nice rifle.

If you cannot find this specific model then a different pellet rifle would be fine. A pellet rifle should have a spring piston and it should be .22 caliber.
  1. Purchase a Break Barrel Spring Piston Rifle.

    • Break Barrel Spring Piston Rifle: When you break the barrel it cocks the rifle and it compresses a spring behind the piston. When you pull the trigger the spring forces the piston forward which forces air down the barrel and this pushes the pellet out of the barrel. A spring piston rifle will usually fire between 10,000 to 20,000 pellets before the spring loses its power.

    • Break Barrel Gas Piston Rifle: When you break the barrel it cocks the rifle and it compresses the nitrogen gas behind the piston. When you pull the trigger the compressed nitrogen gas pushes the piston forward and this pushes air and the pellet out of the barrel. These rifles are quieter, easier to cock, weigh less, have less vibration, and less recoil. However, these rifles usually have a shorter effective range and a lower pellet velocity than a spring piston action rifle. A gas piston rifle will usually fire between 3,000 to 5,000 pellets before it loses power. In addition, the seals that hold the nitrogen behind the piston will gradually deteriorate over a period of a few years and the nitrogen will leak out and the rifle will stop working.

    • Pre-Charged Pneumatic (PCP) Rifle: Air that has been pre-compressed is used to push the pellet out of the barrel. The rifle has an air reservoir inside it. Air is added into this reservoir from a hand pump, a scuba tank, or a special air compressor which you must purchase separately. These rifles are quiet and have minimum recoil and good accuracy but they require proper lubrication on a regular basis. The rifle will fire between 25 to 30 pellets before it runs out of air. Then you must take the rifle to its recharging station and add more air.

    • CO2 Cartridge Rifle: It uses a disposable CO2 cartridge as a power source. When the trigger is pulled a small valve is temporarily opened and a burst of compressed CO2 gas pushes the pellet out of the barrel. Temperature affects the CO2 gas and the accuracy of a CO2 rifle will change as the weather changes. And the cost of the CO2 cartridges increases the costs of shooting the rifle. Finally, if you run out of CO2 cartridges then your rifle will not work.

  2. Purchase a .22 Caliber (5.5 mm) Rifle and Not a .177 Caliber (4.4 mm) Rifle. A .22 caliber pellet costs about 82% more than a .177 pellet because a .22 caliber pellet is approximately 65% heavier than a .177 caliber pellet. This can make a big difference when hunting wild game animals that are a little bigger than a rabbit, such as an opossum, or a groundhog, or a raccoon. However, if you cannot find a .22 caliber pellet rifle then a .177 pellet rifle will be acceptable.

Legal Issues

Each state and each area has its own laws that pertain to pellet rifles. Please learn and follow the laws in your area.

Conclusion

The above is a complete copy of all the information about "Pellet Rifles" that is in Chapter 40 of my book.

Click here if you would like to read some more information about my book: "Self-Defense Weapons: Traditional and Modern."

The reason that I decided to include the above information about "Pellet Rifles" on my "Grandpappy.org" website is because I suspect that a pellet rifle might be a very reasonable option for many families for the following reasons:
  1. Most areas do not have any laws that prohibit an adult from buying a pellet rifle or from buying pellets. Since no "information" has to be collected, this means that you would be the only person who knew that you owned a pellet rifle (and some pellets) for an unexpected "survival" scenario.
  2. Many areas do not have laws that prohibit the discharge of a "BB" rifle or a "pellet" rifle within a residential area. If your area does not prohibit the use of a pellet rifle in a residential area then you could use the rifle to legally shoot any wild game animals in your area (if your area does not have laws that "protect" the wild animals in your area). This might allow you to harvest fresh meat for your family to eat during an unexpected "survival" scenario without breaking any laws and this would allow you to avoid problems with law enforcement officials.
  3. A pellet rifle makes a trivial sound when it is fired. This means it could be used to hunt wild game silently and nobody would be attracted to the location where you shot and killed a wild game animal.
  4. Pellets are really, really cheap compared to any type of ammunition that uses gunpowder.
  5. Pellets will last indefinitely if the pellets are stored in a reasonable environment because pellets do not have any type of primer or gunpowder that can gradually degrade.
  6. A pellet rifle is more accurate than a bow and an arrow at the normal ranges that an arrow can be shot.
  7. A pellet rifle is easier to learn how to shoot compared to a bow and arrow. You simply point the rifle at your target and pull the trigger.
  8. You could easily carry 500 or more pellets with you and those pellets would take less space than 2 arrows. If you had an arrow quiver then you could take between 10 to 20 arrows with you but those arrows would weigh more, and take more space, then 500 pellets. And 500 pellets cost less than 2 arrows.
If you invest in a pellet rifle then I strongly recommend a 22 caliber pellet rifle. I also recommend that you invest in at least 5,000 pellets in 22 caliber. If a 22 caliber pellet riles is not available, or if the 22 caliber pellets are not available, then the 177 caliber pellets are about 1/2 the price of the 22 caliber pellets. However, there is very little difference in the price of a 177 caliber pellet rifle and a 22 caliber pellet rifle. I recommend the purchase of the pointed pellets, or the hollow point pellets. I do not recommend the flat nose target pellets for anything so please don't buy them if anything else is available for sale.

Most people are not aware that pellet rifles are currently being made in a variety of different ways. Some of those rifles will last a very long time but some of them have a relatively short life expectancy.

A very brief summary of the life expectancies of the different types of pellet rifles is as follows:
  1. Break Barrel Spring Piston Rifle: It will shoot between 10,000 to 20,000 pellets before the spring loses its power. When the rifle is not cocked then the spring is in its extended full relaxed position and the spring will not gradually loose it power. A "spring piston" rifle is the only type of pellet rifle that I currently recommend.

  2. Break Barrel Gas Piston Rifle: It will shoot between 3,000 to 5,000 pellets before it loses power. In addition, the seals that hold the nitrogen behind the piston will gradually deteriorate over a period of a few years and the nitrogen will leak out and the rifle will stop working even if it has not been used to shoot pellets.

  3. Pre-Charged Pneumatic (PCP) Rifle: Air that has been pre-compressed is used to push the pellet out of the barrel. The rifle will fire between 25 to 30 pellets before it runs out of air. Then you must take the rifle to its recharging station and add more air.

  4. CO2 Cartridge Rifle: It uses a disposable CO2 cartridge as a power source. Temperature affects the CO2 gas and the accuracy of a CO2 rifle will change as the weather changes. And the cost of the CO2 cartridges increases the costs of shooting the rifle. Finally, if you run out of CO2 cartridges then your rifle will not work.
A pellet rifle may or may not be a reasonable investment depending on a variety of other issues. If I could only purchase one rifle for hunting small game animals, and if I was not legally prohibited from buying a rifle that shoots bullets that use a primer and gunpowder, and if I could legally shoot that type of rifle in my area, then I would purchase a semi-automatic rifle that shoots 22LR cartridges to hunt small game animals. A semi-automatic 22LR rifle is discussed on my website at the following link: Rossi RS22 Semi-Automatic 22LR Rifle.

Respectfully,
Grandpappy.

Grandpappy's e-mail address is: RobertWayneAtkins@hotmail.com

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