The long history of air rifles

Hunters have some interesting ways of defining “traditional” weapons.

For example, traditional archers only respect a handmade longbow made of bois d’arc and handmade arrows. Crossbows offend them as unsporting and modern, even though the crossbow was in service, at least for military purposes, since the middle of the fourth century.

Traditional firearms means flintlocks and black powder with patched balls, although percussion caps are acceptable in some circles.

The big-bore air rifle is absent from that conversation, even though it has a storied place in the exploration of the West.

Meriwether Lewis carried a .46-caliber repeating air rifle during the Corps of Discovery’s journey to the Pacific Ocean and back in 1804-1806. Lewis’ “wind rifle” was important to the expedition for many reasons, not the least of which was killing game at times and places when detonating percussive firearms was imprudent. The rifle’s ballistics were roughly equivalent to those of the .45 ACP, and Lewis is believed to have used it to kill animals as large as American bison and elk.

An example of that rifle is now on display at the National Firearms Museum in Virginia, and it provided at least some of the 9 pounds of meat that each member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition is said to have consumed every day.

Given the history of the air rifle in American history, it’s curious that the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is considering banning air rifles for deer hunting because they are considered “new” technology.

Superficially, passing such a regulation isn’t a big deal. Only a few hunters use them to kill deer, and the tiny number of deer they kill is biologically insignificant. There appears to be no compelling biological reason to pass such a regulation.

Wildlife biologists with the AGFC see an ethical problem with them. They don’t want greenhorns and knuckleheads trying to plink deer with their little Daisy and Crosman .17-and .22-cal. starling poppers. Comparing those guns to bigbore models is faulty.

Seth Rowland is one of a small group of hunters who hunt white tailed deer and wild hogs with big-bore air rifles.He also makes custom air rifle ammo. Rowland acknowledged that small-bore air rifles are ineffective and unethical for anything but small game. Except in the hands of expert marksmen, that’s also true for bigger calibers, like .308. The ballistics of a .30-cal. air rifle, Rowland said, are about equal to a .22-magnum, which is not a legal round for deer.

Rowland said that .40-cal. is the smallest diameter that is dependably adequate for deer-size game. That’s also the smallest legal diameter for muzzleloaders in Arkansas.

“It is the caliber that Missouri went with and it has worked well for several years,” Rowland said. “There are only a few .40-caliber airguns out there. They are all American made and offer plenty of power and a nice-size entry wound. They are putting out a minimum of 470 foot pounds of energy.”

Arizona allows .35-cal. air guns for hunting Coues whitetails, bighorn sheep, pronghorn and black bear. Alabama allows .30-cal. air guns for deer.

“The problem is there are some lower-powered airguns in those calibers,” Rowland said. “They also make pellets in .30 cal. and .35 cal. The problem with pellets is they are lightweight, and with a Diablo-style skirt they shed speed and energy pretty fast.It works a lot like a badminton birdie. It’s drag stabilized.”

The ballistics of a .46-cal. air rifle are roughly equivalent to those of the 45 Long Colt, which is sufficient for deer and hog hunting. The same cannot be said for the 9mm Luger, .380, .32 ACP and the .25 ACP, but they are legal for deer hunting in Arkansas as long as your gun’s barrel is at least 4 inches long.

Big-bore air rifles are not for novices and tyros. Air gun hunters stalk their prey and take only short shots. Prices start at about $700. You can’t buy ammo for them off the shelf, either. It is specially made, like the kind that Rowland produces.

All in all, this group is probably as discriminating as the buckskin-and-longbow crowd, and that’s saying a lot.

For a look at just what you can do with a big-bore air rifle, a simple Internet search with the key words “big game hunting air rifle images” will produce multiple hits showing big-game air rifle kills from around the world.

Some are very impressive.