Many people say that great power doesn’t usually come with great affordability.
Well with the Ruger Air Magnum, it does.
This beautifully crafted air magnum delivers pounding power at a price other air magnums can’t touch.
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Ruger Air Magnum “Many customers enjoy the rifle’s ability to take out pests from long distances.” Product highlights:
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Ideal for taking care of your pest problem with its beautiful all-weather stock, and fiber optic sights, the Ruger has certainly gained a reputation when it comes to this monstrous creation.
Ruger Air Magnum – Guntype
This is a spring-piston gun.
A spring piston is easy to use, costs less than conventional guns, and has impressive accuracy .
It’s one of the 5 types of air rifle you need to know before buying – more on that here.
Besides, the Ruger Air Magnum is a break barrel gun.
This means that in order to cock it, you slap the barrel downward while holding the gun upwards.
You then insert the pellet and swing it back to its original position.
The first few times may seem difficult if you’re a beginner, but you’ll pretty soon get the feel of it.
The beauty of the break barrel is it gives you unlimited shooting capacity .
You can shoot hundreds of rounds without worrying about running out of gun powder.
In addition, the single-shot feature on the Ruger Air Magnum gives you added accuracy because you can only shoot one shot at a time, so you have control over the type of pellet you’re using.
The barrel on the Ruger Air Magnum comes with two types of caliber (the internal dimension of the bore measured in inches): .177 and .22 .
Both are ideal for plinking paper targets and spinners .
If you like to hunt, then the .22 caliber should be your choice for small game and pests.
For more on the differences between .177 & .22 and which jobs they do best, see this post.
Stock
The stock on the Ruger Air Magnum is made of the beautiful black all-weather synthetic stock.
It is lighter than general wood stock.
Although it lacks the authenticity of the wood stock, it has several advantages over wood.
For more on the in-depth comparison between synthetic and wood stock, see this post.
Another feature that the Ruger Air Magnum provides is the ambidextrous stock.
This is a huge upgrade compared to other air magnums of the same price range.
So whether you’re left-handed or right-handed, you’ll have no problem using it.
To switch grip, simply reverse the bolt according to your dominant hand and you are good to go.
Sight
One of the most important deciding factors when shooting is sight.
Your shot success depends on having the right scope and ideal adjustment of it.
Proper alignment of the target, lighting condition, and surveying equipment with range can improve your shot drastically.
The Ruger Air Magnum comes with traditional iron sights.
They are fiber-optic, front and rear.
It uses optical fiber for the dots, which gathers and channels the ambient light in a way that makes it brighter than the surrounding.
Fiber optic sight helps with fast acquisition and has a huge advantage when shooting in low light conditions like dusk.
The rear sight is fully adjustable.
If you enjoy a bit extra magnification, the Ruger Air Magnum comes with a weaker rail, and the combo comes with a Ruger 4×32 scope.
Trigger
The Ruger Air Magnum comes with a two-stage adjustable trigger.
The trigger allows you to tweak and modify the amount of force it takes for the trigger to break and the shot to go off.
The usual trigger pull is about 3.3 lbs which are really impressive for a magnum of this price range.
Velocity, accuracy and power
Velocity: The maximum velocity of the Ruger Air Magnum is a blistering 1,100 FPS (feet per second) from a .22 pellet.
There is no doubt that at 1,100 FPS, it is a leading performer.
Even with regular lighter-grained lead pellets, the supersonic crack is still present,
This means that the velocities with standard pellets are still in the 1,000 FPS range.
In 0.177 caliber:
- The velocities are a high of 1,326 FPS with H&N Field Target Trophy Green 5.56 gr, a low of 1,278 FPS and an average of 1,307 FPS;
- RWS Hobbies 7.0 gr pellet recorded a high of 1,168 FPS, a low of 1,133 FPS and an average of 1,150 FPS;
- H&N Barracuda match 10.65 gr pellet recorded a high of 1,019 FPS, a low of 1,003 FPS and an average of 1,012 FPS.
The consistency of the Ruger Air Magnum through different pellet grain sizes and product proves that the Ruger Air Magnum really packs a punch.
Rick Eutsler from AirgunWeb tested the Ruger Air Magnum here:
Power and Accuracy:
The Ruger Air Magnum manages to deliver on the accuracy and shooting from 25 yards out;
The .177 caliber – H&N Barracuda Match 10.65 gr pellet produced 1,019 FPS,
Which is equal to 24.5 FT-LB with 5 shots, 0.444 inches center to center with a 109 DB average noise level.
From 50 yards, the 10.65 gr H&N Barracuda Match pellet produced 1,019 FPS,
Which is equal to 24.5 FT-LB with 5 shots, 1.817 inches center to center with a 109 DB average noise level.
These tests were carried out with a scope so it’s pretty impressive.
Loudness
The Ruger Air Magnum is not your usual quiet stealth air rifle.
Because of the power it packs, it gives away a little noise.
With a noise level of 3-medium, it certainly isn’t your backyard plinker, and is ideal for protecting the garden from vermin.
Ammo
Airgun pellets come in different sizes (calibers) depending on the usage.
However, the three most popular and most used pellets are .177, .22, and .20.
Because the Ruger Air Magnum only comes in .177 and .22 caliber, we’ll only discuss these two.
The .177 caliber: the .177 cal is the most popular caliber available on the market today.
The .177 cal is the smallest of the three calibers and usually produces the highest velocities
Although this depends on the amount of airgun energy, which can affect the trajectory (greater accuracy from a long-distance).
So if your purpose is for target shooting and small game hunting, then I recommend choosing the .177 caliber.
The .177 caliber is also suitable for small pest control.
Currently, some airguns produce up to 1,300 FPS.
These velocities can easily kill raccoons, squirrels, or birds.
For more on the best air rifles for squirrels, see this post
.22 caliber: the .22 caliber pellet is larger in weight and size compared to the .177 caliber.
It also has more downrange knockdown power than .177.
However, the .22 caliber lacks in range and is only effective at around 45-50 yards depending on the pellet.
Nonetheless, you can get within 50 yards of most varmints so range should not be an issue.
Whether you’re going after small or large pests, the .22 caliber’s tremendous knockdown power will do the job.
(For more on the differences between .177 & .22 and which jobs they do best, see this post.)
Automatic safety: another really cool feature on the Ruger Air Magnum is the automatic safety.
It holds the trigger in place, ensuring the trigger only fires when intended to.
This reduces injuries (or death) that may occur due to accidental discharges.
Shooting Ability
The effective shooting range of the Ruger Air Magnum is up to 50 yards.
Because of the velocity and power of the Ruger Air Magnum, it is easy to take out vermin with one shot; this makes it suitable for pest control.
Warranty
As of this time, the Ruger Air Magnum has a one-year limited warranty.
Specifications
- Caliber: 0.22/0.177
- Velocity: 950 FPS with 0.22, 1,300 FPS with 0.177
- Stock: all-weather synthetic stock
- Barrel length: 19.5 inches
- Overall length: 48.5 inches
- Barrel: rifled
- Front sight: fibre optics
- Rear Sight: adjustable for windage and elevation
- Trigger: two-stage adjustable
- Action: break barrel
- Cocking effort: 42 pounds
- Ammo: pellets
- Fire mode: single shot
- Weight: 9.5 pounds
- Loudness: three-medium
- Powerplant: spring piston
- Scope rail: weaver mount
- Trigger pull: 3.5 pounds
- Use: pest control
- Warranty: one year limited
- Manufacturer: ruger
- Recoil pad: rubber
Customer review
The Ruger Air Magnum is respected among past consumers.
Lots of reviews boast of its power and accuracy.
Many customers enjoy the rifle’s ability to take out pests from long distances.
One customer said that his Ruger Air Magnum .22 kills squirrels and raccoons from 40 yards with a single shot. That’s pretty amazing!
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Price
The Ruger Air Magnum currently goes for a price of about $200.
It’s a bargain considering the awesome quality and amazing features of this gun.
Conclusion
The Ruger Air Magnum is probably one of the best rifles within this price range.
With its impressive power, accuracy, and velocity, beautiful synthetic ambidextrous stock, and fiber optics sight that gives you the traditional iron sights feel, the Ruger Air Magnum is certainly a gun any shooter would love to own.
