Best Air Rifles for Pigeons
Pigeon shooting is an outdoor activity that demands precision and reliability. It is a fun way to home your shooting skills and even more fun when you have the right gear at hand. In this guide, our focus will be on the best air rifles for pigeons available on the market.
The air rifle industry continues to grow in this ever-evolving world. Modern air rifles are outfitted with highly advanced features that guarantee reliable performance in all fields. These firearms are simpler to use for users of all levels and outstanding in terms of performance and consistency.
When it comes to buying an air rifle for pigeon shooting, it is important to consider your shooting needs, preference and budget. We have scoured the market and put together a list of the top tier air rifles designed for targeting pigeons.
These air rifles are not only accurate and easy to use, but also powerful enough to prove to be an indispensable tool for pigeon control. Let’s take a look.
Best Air Rifles for Pigeons-Top Recommendations
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Gamo Wildcat Whisper Air Rifle
Gamo Wildcat Whisper Air Rifle is with no doubt one of the bets air rifles for pigeons. It comes with an array of high-quality features and a user-friendly design that makes it an ideal firearm for pigeon shooting.
Weighing 5.6 pounds, the air rifle is reasonably lightweight, easy to carry around and simple to shoot with. It has a whisper noise dampening technology that ensures quiet shooting all through. Additionally, it employs an IGT piston technology which delivers a terminal velocity of 1300fps.
When it comes to construction, the air rifle is constructed with a tough all-weather stock. The stock is ambidextrous to fit all shooters and align perfectly with the scope. The air rifle also has a single cocking break barrel for constant and smooth cocking.
Features
- .177 caliber pellet
- Single cocking break barrel
- Inert gas technology
- Whisper noise dampening technology
- All-weather ambidextrous stock
Pros
- Accurate and powerful
- Good value for the price
- Lightweight
- Ease of use
Cons
- Cheap scope
- Noisy
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Crosman Fire CF7SXS Break Barrel Air Rifle
The Crosman Fire .177 break barrel air rifle offers the ultimate balance of performance and value. It has a light and smooth cocking force compared to similar air rifles in its class.
With the Nitro Piston technology, this firearm produces less recoil to enhance shooting comfort. It produces 70% less noise to prevent spooking the pigeons. Besides, it generates velocities up to 1200fps with the rifled steel barrel.
Another impressive thing about this air rifle is construction quality. It has an all-weather design and synthetic thumb-hole style stock and foregrip. Other than that, this air rifle comes with a 4×32 scope included so you don’t have to incur extra costs buying another one separately.
Features
- Nitro piston technology
- 1200fps velocity
- Sound suppression technology
- Rifled steel barrel
- All-weather stock and foregrip
- 4×32 scope included
Pros
- Quiet
- Powerful
- Great speed
Cons
- Inaccurate
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Crosman Benjamin Trail NP XL 1500 Air Rifle
Sitting comfortably in third is the Crosman Benjamin Trail NP XL 1500 Air Rifle. This nitro piston air rifle shoots .177 caliber pellets with a velocity up to 1500fps.
It has a checkered hardwood stock that gives it an elegant eye-catching look. When shooting, this air rifle produces 70% less noise compared to spring powered air guns. Besides, it has a smooth cocking motion and less recoil to accommodate all users, even the beginners.
For extra value, the air rifle comes with a 3-9x40mm CenterPoint precision scope featuring a range estimating reticle and adjustable objective. Other than that, it is outfitted with a Picatinny mounting rail system, sling mounts and bull barrel.
Features
- 1500fps maximum velocity
- Smooth cocking
- Picatinny rail
- Checkered hardwood stock
- Rifled steel barrel
Pros
- Quality construction
- Accurate
- Low noise
Cons
- Heavy
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Gamo 6110017154 Varmint Air Rifle
Gamo 6110017154 Varmint Air Rifle is next in our list of the best air rifles for pigeons. It shoots .177 PBA platinum alloy pellets at 1250fps, making it a perfect tool for pest control, small game hunting and pigeon shooting.
The air rifle is constructed with durability in mind. It has an all weather molded synthetic stock with non-slip texturing on both the forearm and pistol grip. A Monte Carlo cheek pad is also included to align your eye with the scope.
Moreover, this air rifle functions with a break barrel and a spring powered cocking system. It also comes with a manual trigger safety to prevent accidental firing.
Features
- Synthetic stock
- Spring powered cocking system
- 30lbs cocking effort
- .177 caliber pellets
- 1250fps maximum velocity
- Single shot magazine capacity
Pros
- Well built
- Powerful and accurate
- Reliable performance in all fields
Cons
- Noisy
- Not easy to use
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Crosman 1077 RepeatAir Semi-Automatic Air Gun
RepeatAir Semi-Automatic CO2-Powered Air Gun lives up to Crosman’s reputation of making a wide range of quality firearms and firearm accessories. It is fun to shoot with even for the beginners, lightweight and easy to carry around.
This CO2 powered air rifle comes with a 12-shot semi-automatic rotary clip. This enables fast follow up shots which is essential for pigeon shooting. Furthermore, it has an easy access CO2 cartridge housing for easy change of the CO2 cylinder.
To ensure incredible shooting accuracy, the air gun comes with fiber optic front sight and an adjustable rear sight. It is also built with a durable checkered stock with sporty color styling and dovetail receiver.
Features
- 12-shot rotary click
- Ambidextrous all-weather stock
- 780fps maximum velocity
- Shoot .177 caliber pellets
- Adjustable rear sight
- Fiber optic front sight
Pros
- Ease of use
- Reasonably lightweight
- Accurate
Cons
- The power could be better
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Umarex Unisex Adult Ruger Blackhawk Pellet Gun
Next up, we have the Ruger Blackhawk .177 Caliber Pellet Gun. This is a spring piston single stock break barrel air rifle that shoots .177 caliber pellets with a speed up to 1200fps for alloy pellets and 1000fps for lead pellets.
It is built with a composite polymer black stock that is durable and weatherproof. The stock is ambidextrous and has checkered grip areas in both the forearm and the pistol grip. This ensures non-slip grip even in the harshest environments.
With a cocking effort of 30lbs and 3.3lbs trigger pool, the air rifle is very simple to shoot with. It also brings to the table fiber optic sights that aid in precision shooting and quick target acquisition.
Features
- Spring piston powered
- Fiber optic sights
- Shoots .177 caliber pellets
- 3lb trigger pool
- Ambidextrous stock and grip
- 4×32 scope included
Pros
- Well made
- Accurate
- Fantastic value for the price
Cons
- Heavy
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Daisy Model 25 Pump Action BB Gun
Daisy Model 25 Pump Action BB Gun, marks our next pick in our list of the best air rifles for pigeons. This air rifle is built with youths in mind. It is user-friendly and recommended for ages 10 and older with adult supervision.
With the 50-shot capacity and a maximum velocity of 350 feet per second, this air gun guarantees fast follow up shots. On top of that, it comes with a rear sight which is adjustable for windage and elevation to fine tune your shooting accuracy.
Another impressive facet of this pump action BB gun is solid construction. It is equipped with an array of features which include stained solid wood pistol grip stock and a smooth bore steel barrel. The quality construction is also complemented by a decorative engraving on the receiver.
Features
- Safety trigger block
- 350fps muzzle velocity
- Smooth bore steel barrel
- 50 shot capacity
- Decorative embossed steel receiver
- Ambidextrous hand orientation
Pros
- Lightweight
- Easy to use
- Highly functional
- Durable and well built
Cons
- Poorly designed loading mechanism
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Springfield Armory M1A Underlever Pellet Rifle
This is another high-powered pellet rifle ideal for pigeon shooting. It has an underlever design with a cocking lever put underneath the barrel. The cocking effort is a mere 35lbs which makes it easier for you to use the extendable cocking lever.
The firing mechanism of this pellet rifle is a force to reckon with. It has a high velocity up to 1,000fps for the 0.177 caliber version and up to 800fps for the 0.22 caliber version. Besides, it fires both types of pellets with a coiled spring.
Another impressive feature of the air rifle is safe and secure loading. This makes it a good choice for beginners. It has a two-stage trigger system to prevent misfires and an anti-bear trap safety mechanism that keeps the loading chamber open when you are loading the pellets.
Features
- Ambidextrous handling
- Hardwood stock
- Rifled steel barrel
- Fixed front sight
- Adjustable rear sight
- Non-adjustable two-stage trigger
- Anti-bear trap safety mechanism
Pros
- Accurate
- Eye catching appearance
- Comfortable and user-friendly
Cons
- Heavy
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Barra Airguns 1100z PCP Air Rifle
Barra Airguns 1100z is a pre-charged pneumatic air rifle that shoots .177 caliber pellets. It is built with premium components to meet and surpass the needs of every serious shooter out there.
The highlight of this air rifle is it comes with features that make customization easy. For starters, the hammer spring is adjustable so you can adjust the power, noise and shot count based on your needs. Further, the trigger is adjustable and has a manual safety to prevent misfires.
What’s more, this air rifle is crafted with premium materials for reliability and performance. Both the breech and the scope rail are machined from a single block of metal for unmatched durability.
To top off everything else, the air rifle comes with a reinforced polymer stock that has ambidextrous comb height adjustment which helps with scope alignment.
Features
- Rubber but pad
- Shrouded rifled barrel
- Externally adjustable hammer spring
- Ambidextrous comb height adjustment
- Aluminum air stripper
- Shoots .177 caliber pellets
Pros
- Durable
- Ease of adjustability
- Smooth cocking lever
- Beginner friendly
Cons
- Not accurate
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Umarex Ruger Air Hawk Break Barrel Air Rifle
Lastly in our list of the best air rifles for pigeons is Umarex Ruger Air Hawk Break Barrel .177 Caliber Pellet Gun Air Rifle. This air rifle has an overall length of 44.8 inches and weighs 8.25lbs.
It strikes the ultimate balance of value and performance by offers a powerful muzzle velocity of 1200fps with .177 caliber alloy pellets. The high muzzle velocity is then complemented by fiber optic sights to better meet your everyday shooting needs.
Moreover, the air rifle has an elegant hardwood semi-Monte Carlo stock which is sculpted to provide solid support as you shoot. The grip on this stock is non-slip to ensure smooth shooting in all weather conditions. The air rifle also comes with an adjustable 2-stage trigger that guarantees safety.
Features
- Fiber optic sights
- Semi-Monte Carlo stock
- Spring piston break barrel
- Single-shot cocking mechanism
- 1200fps muzzle velocity
- Rubber recoil pad
- Automatic safety
Pros
- Comfortable grip
- Accurate
- Elegant look
Cons
- Heavy
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Best Air Rifles for Pigeons Buying Guide
Here are a few things to consider when buying an air rifle for pigeon shooting.
Caliber
The first thing to consider is the caliber the air rifle shoots. For pigeon shooting, .177 and .22 calibers are most preferred. If what you are after is velocity and accuracy, go for .177 caliber air rifle and .22 if you are in need of more stopping power.
Weight
How heavy an air rifle weighs can make or break your pigeon shooting expedition. Whether you are new in this kind of shooting activity or not, we recommend that you go for a lightweight air rifle. It will be more functional and less fatiguing during extended shooting sessions.
Accuracy
Accuracy is another thing to take into account. The best air rifles for pigeons offer phenomenal accuracy in all shooting conditions. An air rifle that comes with a quality scope and fiber optic sights is also preferable as it maximizes shooting precision.
Noise Level
It is also important to take a look at the noise the air rifle produces. Go for options that have noise dampening technologies. With such air rifles, you will be able to shoot quietly and not cause noise pollution in your neighborhood.
Best Air Rifles for Pigeons FAQs
- How far can a .177 air rifle shoot?
About 50 to 100 yards, .177 caliber ammunition has the highest effective range of any other air rifle pellet size. A good .177 air rifle can shoot around 80 yards but the range might be affected by several factors included the brand of the pellet and shooting environment.
- Which is better for pigeon shooting.177 or .22 air rifle?
It depends on preference and how far you will be shooting. .22 caliber has a higher stopping power and is a better choice for short-range shooting. On the other hand, .177 caliber is better for shooting pigeons at a longer distance.
Conclusion
Hopefully, you have found this article to be of great help. With a quality air rifle at hand, the task of pigeon shooting becomes easy and fun. Consider your shooting needs, preference and budget and use this guide to find an air rifle that will not just hone your shooting skills, but revolutionize your pigeon shooting as well.