My .50 Cal Airgun set up

[Kirk]

This is my .50 Cal Sam yang Dragon Claw.

336 grain 50 cal air rifle pellets compared to a roofing nail.

It has a report similar to a subsonic .22 long rifle round. I have it sighted in at 100 yards and is grouping under 1 inch. I am getting 6 shots before having to recharge the air supply.

 

[TN Song Dog]

Been waiting for someone to post an airgun. Very cool! Let's see the targets next.

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[Tennessee Lead]

Wow!


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[Kirk]

I will post some pictures of the targets. I plan to try some saboted .45 cal Barnes Expanders in it this weekend. I am still experimenting with projectiles to determine the best hunting round.

So far I have tried some of the Air Venturi projectiles and two of three styles grouped well but I am not seeing the kind of expansion I want to see.

50 Cal, 336 Grains, Flat Nose was accurate and had best the penetration as well as expansion.

50 Cal, 177 Grains, Round Balls were a little less accurate, had decent penetration but not what I am looking for.

50 Cal, 185 Grains, Hollowpoints were not very accurate in my rifle. I had some pretty wide groupings but the expansion was great.

I have had really great results in muzzle loader with Barnes Expanders with great penetration and expansion. My research revealed that they will work equally well in air guns. I will post my findings after I shoot a few groups.

 

[fairchaser]

Any idea what kind of FPS you are getting? How is the air replenished? I was just wondering how you know the air is insufficient. Is there a gage? How about the kick?

 

[Kirk]

The air is replenished by using either a scuba style tank, foot pump or a specially designed compressor. I bought the Nomad 4500 PSI compressor because it was overall more convenient and cheaper than the scuba tank option.

The rifle has an air gauge on it with color coded zones indicating desired pressure level.

The rifle has zero kick. Recoil is not felt at all.

 

[Kirk]

It is averaging in the 680-690 FPS on the first 6 shots. Then falls off rapidly as the gauge gets in the yellow zones.

 

[Phil Floyd]

Interesting. What does that thing weigh?

 

[Andy S.]

Interesting. What does that thing weigh?

From what I can tell, about 7.5 lbs.

https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2014/ ... air-rifle/

 

[Soju]

Nice setup! That dragon claw is a beast, I had the Same cal. Awhile back. Airguns are a blast to shoot, I own a few, and list keeps growing,lol. Glad to see a air gun forum section on here.

 

[dirtyhands]

Do you plan on hunting with it this year?

 

[Kirk]

I plan to shoot some ballistic gel next week with my 30-06 and then another block of gel with the .50 cal Airgun. If the airgun provides the right amount of shock and penetration in the ballistic gel I plan to use it. If it doesn't then I am sticking with the gunpowder arms.

All the videos I have seen of actual airgun hunts and ballistic gel shots paint a very positive picture of the killing potential of this particular type of .50 cal air gun. I am the type that must prove it to myself before I will use it on deer.

 

[TheLBLman]

I don't see why it wouldn't work ok,
especially if you place your shots much like if you were using a .243 or an arrow.
Avoid shoulder shots,
and anything other than near perfect broadside shots?

 

[Soju]

Hey Kirk, with the right shot placement and distance with the .50 cal it will do the job on a deer. Have you did in chrony testing with different type of ammo, if not I would start there first, it will give you a good idea of the velocity and ft lbs you r getting from your ammo. Thought I would add my two cents. I do plan on using my .45 Air Force Texan this year for hunting. Still testing out a few Bullets to use.