Looking for new air rifle...

[Slater]

ok, I really didn't know where to post this, so I dropped it here...

Story: raccoons are becoming a bother in my neighborhood again when it comes to putting the trash out. Just a few days ago, I had to go after one with a semi automatic AIRSOFT pistol... not the exact kind of arm you wanna go up against an adult raccoon with. I do have a powerful airrifle (.177 Crosman Powermaster 66C). Someone let me borrow it years ago to deal with raccoons, and it's been through hell and back, all rusty from rain and little maintenence. While it still packs a good punch, I'm not sure how much longer this old thing's gonna be reliable. Not only that, but it requires a lot of pumping to get it to its maximum FPS (600-700 FPS) per shot. This is very noisy, and often scares away a target before I can get a shot in (yeah that's the main point but it's more thrilling when you get to pull the trigger while you have a target).

So my question, what's a good air rifle that I can find on the market nowadays? I'm looking for something pneumatic (no CO2 or gas mechanisms plz), which means I'm willing to put up with multiple pumps so long as they aren't so loud that they hurt my ears every pump. .177 calibre cause it's cheeper and will do less damage than .22 (I don't shoot to kill, and if I accidently hit a tire or something I don't want it popping.). Don't need a scope, I'm a good shot (means I want real sights... don't want one that doesn't have 'em). Minimum FPS of 500 would be best, no limit beyond that.

Also, any recomendations for keeping a good gun running? will regular silicon lube spray do well?

[termyt]

I recommend Hoppes gun oil for all your rust proofing needs. A light coating of any gun oil will help retard rust on the metal areas of the gun.

As long as the inside of the barrel is in good condition, you may just need to oil your old gun and work the pump a few dozen times to work the oil in and the rust out. That could get you back into business. For that task, WD-40 is a great multi-purpose oil/lubricant.

And I would be remiss if I did not mention the irony of our favorite raccoon avatared member having problems with the rodents at home.

[Slater]

well yeah. I chose to go with a raccoon anthro for my fursona cause one day a raccoon broke into our garage and birthed a couple of raccoon kits. The kits were cute, but when my pet dog tried to go up against an angered mother coon... woo... those were chaotic moments... (and the mama won)
Yeah I don't really hate raccoons but I dislike having to pick the contents of a week's worth of garbage off the street at 5 in the morning on wednesday either.

Thanks for the tips btw. The inside is like a rust proof metal, it's just the outside that's rusted over a bit. I'm sure I have WD-40 around here, so I'll give it a go.

[Icarus]

*I forgot I don't do the color any more*

Anyway, you might try looking at Gamo. Some of them have pretty good velocity, and most are break barrel, so you only have to "pump" once, when you load it.

Good luck.

[Slater]

any particular model?

Edit: I found one on their site that I like, called the Maxima Air Rifle... but for some reason they weren't selling it there. http://www.gamo-airguns.com/air-rifle-maxima.htm
This is the first thing that Google came up with when I searched it. I said that I didn't want a scope, but for this kind of deal I'll gladly take it. Laser sighting is a big plus to the whole scope idea, and even if I decide it's still bad, I can easily remove it and use those wicked sick fiber optic sights.