[tomzz]

430 Grains is excessive for North America. Dumb questions, what sort of velocity would you get with a 220 grain bullet, and would I be right in guessing that something like that would not be much less noisy than a 308??

[elmer fudd]

430 Grains is excessive for North America. Dumb questions, what sort of velocity would you get with a 220 grain bullet, and would I be right in guessing that something like that would not be much less noisy than a 308??

Air rifle ballistics are considerably different than those of modern firearms. With airguns you are effectively limited to about 1400 fps for a maximum velocity and for practical purposes closer to 1000 fps. This is due to the expansion rate of compressed air. With big bores like the one above you probably couldn't even get close to that 1000 fps figure without dumping your entire charge of air on a single shot. The way they make up for it is by using heavy projectiles. This gives the kinetic energy and momentum necessary for hunting large game.

The .308 would probably be about 150 fps faster and get a few more shots per charge. Both rifles would have a report similar to a 45 ACP.

I ordered a .25 caliber air pistol kit from Dennis Quackenbush, (the guy that makes these rifles), a couple years ago and he's a great guy to talk to. He actually charges very reasonable prices for completely handmade airguns, (last I checked they were around $700), but if you ever order one, be prepared to wait. He has something like a 3 year waiting list for his big bores.

[calex59]

430 grns is not excessive for North America if you consider the 700+ fps velocity. Muzzle loaders obtain much higher velocities than that and if you are shooting cast conical bullets without a sabot you need a large heavy bullet to drop even deer reliably if you are going to shoot at ranges more than 80 yds. My brother and I use a 450 grn cast lead conical and find they are adequate.

When I was young, before sabots, and hunting with black powder I used lighter weight bullets and found that I was wounding animals at ranges from 100 to 130 yards and had to track them for long distances. Going to a heavier bullet solved that problem. Without high velocity to impart shock you need a large caliber heavy bullet to put the animal down.

Air guns over .22 caliber are illegal in most states I believe. I may be wrong, feel free to check it out. It has to do with the silence factor.

[Chode]

i would guess an order of magnitude less noisey than a .308

no supersonic bullet crack to start with and the air blast is more of a loud puloop/thump...