What can you hunt with an air gun?

I’ve killed numerous deer with air guns over the past several years, throughout both North and South Carolina. And it never fails that someone at the deer processing facility or on social media tells me, often loudly, that it’s illegal and unethical to shoot deer with an air gun.

For the record, it’s not illegal to shoot deer, or many other game animals, with an air gun in the Carolinas, at least not on private property. It is also not unethical, as long as you’re using enough firepower for your intended target, and as long as you know the maximum effective range of your air rifle.

And air guns come with plenty of firepower to kill any game animal in the Carolinas, and beyond.

The most common air gun calibers are .177, .22, .25, .30, .357, .45 and .50. The caliber you need depends on what you want to hunt. You’ll find a little bit of overlap between some calibers.

Probably the most common caliber used by Carolina air gun hunters is the .22 caliber. It’s great for squirrels and rabbits, just like conventional .22 rifles.

Air rifles in .22 caliber include multi-pump guns, which require the hunter to pump the gun by hand numerous times, spring/gas piston models, and PCP (pre-charged pneumatic) models.

Pick your quarry

PCP air rifles have the longest range. Hunters can expect to kill squirrels and rabbits up to 75 yards away with a PCP air rifle. Spring/gas piston models have a range of about 50 yards, and multi-pump models are true out to about 30 yards.

Predator hunters have a good option with the .25 caliber air gun. The PCP models are great for hunting beaver, foxes, bobcats and coyotes. Head shots are the deadliest. And these guns are typically very lightweight. The disadvantage with any PCP gun is that you need either an air tank or an air compressor to add more air. Each model is limited to an extent with how many shots it’s good for before you need to air up again.

A small, but growing community of air rifle deer hunters is present in both Carolinas. A few rely on .30 caliber air guns for their deer hunts. Others prefer to bump it up to .357, .45 or even .50.

The .50 caliber air gun can take down any game animal in the Carolinas, including bears that weigh up to 500 pounds. Of course, you don’t want to shoot a squirrel or rabbit with a caliber that large, but it’s great for whitetail deer, and especially for big, wild hogs.

For these bigger caliber rifles, PCP is the way to go. It is just the type of power needed to send those calibers down range at the speed required to down your game.

One of the most important factors in choosing a hunting air rifle is picking one with enough power. But matching the correct ammunition is just as important. You can find all sorts of resources for figuring out what you need for your intended game by visiting Pyramyd Air at https://www.pyramydair.com. They’ll help you dive as deep as you want into figuring out the minimum foot-pounds of energy (FPE) required to kill game animals of whatever size you’d like, what your maximum effective range is, and what type of scope works best for your air gun.

Wild hogs

In March, deer season is long gone, but it’s always hog hunting season in the Carolinas.

Hogs are abundant in many areas of the Carolinas, and hunting these animals keeps us sharp on the trigger. And the biggest bonus of all is the meat provided by these creatures. If you get into hog hunting, you’ll never have a lack of game meat in your freezer.

On top of that, hogs are pretty sneaky animals. Hunting them isn’t as easy as many folks believe. Their sense of smell is considered among the best of all animals.

Hogs are also very difficult to bring down without accurate shooting. Many hog hunters talk about “head shots,” but the most successful hog hunters talk about “brain shots.” Miss the brain by a little, and you’ll watch that hog run off like it hasn’t even been hit.

Another reason they’re hard to hunt is because they are most active at night. Luckily, hunting them at night on private land is legal in the Carolinas.

Baiting with corn and other feed is the best way to pattern wild hogs, but they’re unpredictable enough that it’s not a sure thing. Night vision scopes are a big plus, but because many hogs will show up just as dusk is settling, high-quality scopes that let in a lot of light can be very good as well.

Stay in hunting shape, keep your freezer stocked, and get plenty of air gun practice by hunting wild hogs right now. You won’t regret it.