Newbie wants to buy an airgun...need ur help

[TRD]

Hey,
This is my first post here, I was kinda following this website for sometime and seems like a great place to be.

My uncle used to have a airgun (rifle) don't know which one, which I used to love to go crazy with when I was kid and then I kinda lost touch, but recently I held one of these rifles again and it was an amazing feeling. Me and my friends were at target practice for hours LOL...
I would love to own an airgun and use it for recreational purpose mostly... Like shooting targets, beer cans, leaves and stuff nothing much, well at least to begin with. i need your advise here... I live in Bangalore and don't really have place around my house to practice so i might end up traveling to our farm and stuff we'll see...

Anyway I wanted to know what gun is best to buy? I wanted to buy a .22 cal cuz i read somewhere that a .22 is better than a .177!
i was also confused if I need to buy a rifle or pistol (berretta). I looked up IHP and other websites and they say the pistols have a range of only 10 mts!!! What do you think I should buy? I kinda prefer the pistol (easier to transport, the barretta looks cool too), the rifle on the other hand is difficult to travel around with but comes with more power and range. I kinda trek a lot so at times travel interstate, I don't want the cops to look at a rifle and freak out!

Help please...
which is good for someone like me? Easier to maintain? or find parts for?

Please advise...thanks

[shadowphaxone]

Hi TRD

Welcome to IFG!!!

I bought an IHP pistol because of the same reasons mentioned by you. The range mentioned (10 meters) is not true as you can fire it effectively up to 20 meters. 10 meters is the effective range up to which you can shoot in a near straight (flat)trajectory.

Once you buy an IHP or any other pistol/ rifle ,it is bound to develop individual problems & it would be extremely difficult to find spares. There are no after sale service support for any air gun related product in India & this have to be done locally. The local armory shops will ask cut throat prices if they realize that you have very limited knowledge in the subject.

If you have gone through this site, you will realize that most of the repairing techniques as well as spares will have to be improvised. But this is the disappointing part as well as the crowning moment because you will be able to realize whether you genuinely in love with this sport...

# The decision to go for pistol or rifle is entirely dependent up on you.

# 0.177 Caliber bore should be used if you want to participate in official shooting competition. If not, go for 0.22.

# Manufacturer - INDIAN or FOREIGN????

Indian companies include IHP, Boss, Agni and a lot of local small scale industries.Build quality, shooting accuracy will be very low.

Foreign made products will have much better make and service life. But the cost will be high(I would recommend you to go for Foreign made gun if you are financially viable...)

When you to go for the purchase, DON'T GO ALONE TO BUY YOUR AIR GUN !!!....Take an experienced person (your uncle seems to fit the bill), otherwise chances are that you will be cheated....

If you cant find anyone else, there are a lot of IFG members from Bangalore, the senior most being Mack the knife. They would love to help start you up....

Welcome again....


P.S. - DON'T forget to read the Expected Code of Conduct on IFG section

All the best