Best air guns & accessoiries according to redditors

This tray works great for 38spl. https://www.amazon.com/MTM-Universal-Ammo-Loading-Tray/dp/B0013RD6OQ

> https://www.amazon.com/Lee-Precision-Breech-Lock-Challenger/dp/B003ISVWC6

yes. i also got mine from amazon.

the parts that need improvement are discussed in the customer reviews near the bottom of the page. powder dispenser and scale are the items i remember getting lukewarm reviews. those parts are cheap to upgrade. so no worry.


you need dies for the caliber that you are reloading.

for some reason i have 2 sets of .223 dies. i know i purchased one, i'm not sure if the other came with the kit.

i purchased a 2" bench top cut off saw [$32]

a jig to cut my cases [$13] 300blk

a case length guage [$10] 300blk

ammo loading tray [$7]

dies [$39] for each caliber

digital caliper [$16]

frankford scale [$32]

frankford bullet puller [$16]

tumber kit [$75]

i spent a good month or so on /r/reloading before i actually purchased anything.

i asked questions and made a shopping list.

those guys are very helpful

research what you actually need for the caliber / bullet grain you want to reload before you buy anything.

double and triple check what powder you need as well. it could save your life.


i kinda over did it with supplies

haven't opened half the boxes yet.

Here's a solution:
http://www.amazon.com/Crosman-1077-Repeat-Semi-Automatic-Pellet/dp/B001BS3YW6

then send me to bodies, I'm in the mood for a little lunch. That'll learn 'em to try and attract a mate!

Don't forget an Ammo Tray. Seems like the one thing everyone forgets (me included).

Let me start off by addressing the fact that I'm nowhere near an expert and I'm sure I'll get a correction or two ;)

If you're looking for squirrel and rabbit the lowest caliber you'd be looking at would be .22. Depending on the gun you may even want to look at something in .25 cal. I'm not sure if there are any .25 cal springers out there, but if you wanted to stay under $200 .22 would be your best bet.

If the $200 is your hard limit, then you're definitely going to be looking at what we lovingly call a "springer". That just means that the power plant for the weapon is run by a coiled spring, or newer (and better) weapons have a nitro piston (like the pistons that keep a rear hatch open on a car). Typically this style would be a "break barrel" where you cock the gun by pulling down on the barrel until the spring is locked into the cocked position. The nitro piston has much less vibration after the shot than its spring powered counterpart, which increases accuracy.

Still, you WILL want to learn the artillery hold. It will help keep the frustration down a lot. The main issue is all that vibration after the shot goes off, but before the pellet leaves the barrel. The key is to let the barrel do its thing, and always hold the gun in the same position. That way the vibration pattern is always the same which leaves you with a much more accurate shot. All that vibration also means you'll want to look for an air rifle rated scope. Springers will kill a regular powder scope. I've had reticules come loose on me, and scopes not able to hold a zero.

I'm not super knowledgeable on what a good break barrel would be. Ted has a good video on very entry level multi-pump guns and what they're good for. I doubt that that would suit your purposes though. Ted also reviews a Benjamin Trail NP that would be right around your budget from Amazon, but I have no direct experience with it. I've used a Gamo Bull Whisper and it's alright, but I don't have any other break barrel to compare it to. Gamos can sometimes have QC issues.

A situation I ran into is that I started to really like air rifles, and the next step up is a pre-charged pneumatic rifle. Amazon has a pretty good sale going on with the Benjamin Discovery right now. It has the air pump included and the Disco comes with open sights. You can also put a scope on there. PCP has near 0 recoil, so you can put any scope on there you'd want. Ted, from Ted's Holdover, has a great video about the Benjamin Discovery and why it's a great starter gun.

Alright, I'm ready:

1 6 days of food for 4 people so 24 days of ready to go food.

2 I really wish Amazon sold guns, a .22 single shot air rifle is the best I could do for a ranged weapon. This could be used for small game as well as a deterrent to violence until I can reach either the guns in my house or the gunshop 5 miles from home.

3 I'm not a fool that would be caught dead without ammo

4 For when A fight is absolutely unavoidable, a combat suit.

5 Since I don't plan on punching zombies to death until I can reach my primary weaponry, a bat.

As I've hinted at, I live in a medium sized city with a population of roughly 150,000 people. The food packs are essential because they would allow me to hide in my basement or another securable location for nearly a month. Though I would probably begin foraging when I have a week's worth of food left, just to be safe. Hopefully by the time I am forced to search for more food and water most people have died and the risen dead have moved on.

If I could reach my house I would secure the firearms/ammo I have there. After securing a good amount of resources I would "appropriate" a gas efficient vehicle and head north in search of other survivors and a remote location where I would live the rest of my days repopulating.

Basically a tray that holds your brass. Here is a link to one. They’re supposed to help you stay organized.

MTM Universal Ammo Loading Tray Red (includes one tray) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0013RD6OQ

Yeah...those bots lol.

I'd recommend some "Frankfort Arsenal" case lube (it's lanolin based) vs. Hornady One-Shot. If you google "Hornady One Shot stuck case" you'll get a bajillion responses from folks who have stuck them (myself included). Sticking a case is almost a certainty with new folks and one-shot.

Link:
https://www.amazon.com/Frankford-Arsenal-Spray-Non-Aerosol-Reloading/dp/B007KBPU02


Now as far as where to apply, you put the cases in a loading block and just give them a good spray on all 4 sides of the block; you don't spray down into the case mouths, more at a 90 degree angle, about 1-2" above the case mouth, and far enough away from the loading block to get one side of it in 1-2 sprays....so 5-6 inches away from the block. Technically you don't want to get any on the neck/shoulder area of the case, but with spray lubes that's almost unavoidable. Once you apply it, you'll let the cases sit for ~5-10 minutes to allow the alcohol to evaporate out of it, leaving just lube.


Before you run the case up in the press, you can use your fingers to feel the body of the case to confirm there's lube there. It's obviously hard to describe how much to spray on your cases via the internet, but there's definitely such a thing as too much, but it's way better to have too much than too little; stuck cases REALLY suck. You'll learn over time.


If you put too much lube on a case, you'll get dents in the case necks (this is more prevalent on .223 and smaller cases than anything else), but it's ultimately harmless, and will blow out once you fire the case.


FL = Full Length



You don't necessarily need another scale; the chargemaster lite comes with 2 50 gram check weights so you can confirm the scale is working/accurate.


Things you're missing:


Chamfur/Deburring Tool:
https://www.amazon.com/Hornady-050117-4-Blade-Chamfer-Deburring/dp/B078489V3X/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1541992415&sr=8-14&keywords=Chamfer+Deburring+tool


Shell Holders (No need for the competition ones, just get the standard RCBS ones)


You'll want a funnel/powder drop tube setup. I prefer extended drop tubes, because with certain extruded powders you can get an extra 1-2gr of case capacity with a long/slow pour.

https://www.amazon.com/MTM-Universal-Powder-Funnel-Kit/dp/B00162KNDA/ref=sr_1_8?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1541992775&sr=1-8&keywords=Powder+drop+tube


Case tray(s). I'd get 2, one that you get nasty with lube, and one that's used for unlubed cases.

https://www.amazon.com/MTM-Universal-Ammo-Loading-Tray/dp/B0013RD6OQ/ref=sr_1_6?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1541992863&sr=1-6&keywords=case+tray


Case tumbler couldn't hurt; especially for tumbling lube off cases after you size them. You don't need anything fancy; a basic frankfort arsenal vibratory one with some walnut media will work just fine.


You'll want some ammo boxes


an extra decapping stem and/or some decapping pins for those dies coudln't hurt, but they're not required. You will bend one eventually, especially if you ever pick up some military range brass.

This is definitely worth the money:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0013RD6OQ/ref=wl_mb_recs_1_title

You added the Lee single-stage but then added the universal decapping die. You may want to rethink this as you also have the Lee .243 dies; the resizing die has a decapping pin. Clean and lube your cases prior to starting the reloading process and you won't need the universal decapping die.

You're also going to need a tumbler of some sort and media. Amazon has the Frankford Arsenal tumbler but I'm not even going to link to it because it was incredibly loud (from the basement, I could hear it on our 2nd floor). Dillon's tumblers are, supposedly, quite nice. I go the wet tumble route via StainlessTumblingMedia.com.

Additionally, invest in a good scale; you're going to need to weigh powder charges to make sure they're correct, otherwise you'll blow your face off. I started with a Frankford Arsenal one because of the price but quickly realized I hated when it turned itself off, so now I use the Hornady one, which does not shut off

You'll also probably want 2 or 3 reloading trays

Is your .243 a bolt gun? You may want to look at the Lee Collet sizing die, supposedly it'll work the brass less than a full-length resizing die. It's part of the Lee Deluxe .243 set which does not include the factory crimp die. The Lee Ultimate .243 set includes the full-length resizer, collet resizer, bullet seater, and factory crimp die, for what it's worth.