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As a hunter I’ve been captivated by airgun hunting for several years now. Since obtaining a semi-automatic airgun I’ve been searching for the tools to handle the animals that I hunt or frequently encounter. Some of this includes nuisance work. I haven’t been too busy doing nuisance work over the past couple of years, but I anticipate things will pick up due to several changing circumstances. I am primarily concerned with feral hogs damaging agricultural land. I’d hunted them and still hunt them with .357 air rifles and have encountered a few challenges that I’ve documented. Mind you I’m no pro, I aim to do what I am asked to do and what I see fit to do, circumstances permitting. If can kill these animals and /or drive them away with pressure, it’s usually a win. When it comes to killing problematic nuisance animals, it’s nice to have a carcass to show every now and then. Not having a blood trail makes this more difficult for me to recover a shot hog that runs off, particularly considering that I usually encounter problematic feral hogs at night.
Enter the Western Rattler .45 LongStrike.
It is my intention to use this rifle on hogs (and maybe deer) and to compare the effects of the .45 and .357 on feral hogs. My focus will be to see i .45 slugs can produce any type of blood trail on feral hogs taking broadside, double-lung shots. I have no timeframe that I’m aiming for. It will happen when it happens. I don’t bait hogs that I’m not trying to trap, so when you see footage, photos, or read about me shooting these hogs, I’ve either been notified about their presence, prepared to ambush them based upon my info that i gathered, or I may just luck up on a hog or a group.
If you’ve read my .357 Rattler threads you may know that I’ve had issues with that rifle. It was purchased used and I’ve communicated with other owners of both the .357 and .45 and was told that the .45 doesn’t have the issues that their .357s had. I’ve also viewed a healthy amount of content on this rifle. I want to see what is what. I like the platform for what it is supposed to be. I’d like to see if a new Rattler performs better than my used Rattler. The folks at AOA were kind enough to to inspect my Rattler for issues I was concerned about repeating from my experience with the .357. It should be good to go, so I look forward to documenting my experiences trying ammo and taking this rifle afield. Considering how long it is, I may also purchase a standard length barrel that the regular Rattler .45s come with. The LS stock barrel is made by TJ Enterprises and the standard Rattler.45 barrel is a Sub-MOA barrel.
I would also like to be upfront and state that I was offered a moderate discount on my rifle by some kind folks at AOA. I was a bit hesitant about accepting, but I was able to reach an understanding that AOA or Western Airguns is not seeking a favorable review in exchange for a discount. I was encouraged to “tell it like it is” according to my experience. I aim to do just that. I can only assume that the discount is because someone put in a good word for me due to: me being active on forums for a number of years, I freely share some of my eventful airgun hunting experiences with the airgun community, and most importantly I actually use these rifles for what they’re built for….hunting afield. Considering that this is a new rifle with a valid 1-year warranty, I will attempt to refrain from jumping to conclusions out of frustration when I encounter issues with the rifle and see how problems can be sorted out utilizing my warranty.
More photos to come. I’m trying to decide which scopes I’m going to pair with this rifle. It will have its own traditional scope and its own thermal scope. Right now my high-resolution thermal scope is on my .357 Rattler. I may swap it out or just use my Pulsar Thermion XQ50 Pro LRF on this Rattler. Both are good thermal optics. Not sure which traditional scope I want to use. I have a few not mounted. I definitely want a FFP scope on here. We’ll see.
I want to believe that this gun is one of the best air rifles for me as I get after hogs and deer hunt in the East Texas piney woods and pasturelands. I’m about to find out if it’s a pipe dream or reality.
Enter the Western Rattler .45 LongStrike.
It is my intention to use this rifle on hogs (and maybe deer) and to compare the effects of the .45 and .357 on feral hogs. My focus will be to see i .45 slugs can produce any type of blood trail on feral hogs taking broadside, double-lung shots. I have no timeframe that I’m aiming for. It will happen when it happens. I don’t bait hogs that I’m not trying to trap, so when you see footage, photos, or read about me shooting these hogs, I’ve either been notified about their presence, prepared to ambush them based upon my info that i gathered, or I may just luck up on a hog or a group.
If you’ve read my .357 Rattler threads you may know that I’ve had issues with that rifle. It was purchased used and I’ve communicated with other owners of both the .357 and .45 and was told that the .45 doesn’t have the issues that their .357s had. I’ve also viewed a healthy amount of content on this rifle. I want to see what is what. I like the platform for what it is supposed to be. I’d like to see if a new Rattler performs better than my used Rattler. The folks at AOA were kind enough to to inspect my Rattler for issues I was concerned about repeating from my experience with the .357. It should be good to go, so I look forward to documenting my experiences trying ammo and taking this rifle afield. Considering how long it is, I may also purchase a standard length barrel that the regular Rattler .45s come with. The LS stock barrel is made by TJ Enterprises and the standard Rattler.45 barrel is a Sub-MOA barrel.
I would also like to be upfront and state that I was offered a moderate discount on my rifle by some kind folks at AOA. I was a bit hesitant about accepting, but I was able to reach an understanding that AOA or Western Airguns is not seeking a favorable review in exchange for a discount. I was encouraged to “tell it like it is” according to my experience. I aim to do just that. I can only assume that the discount is because someone put in a good word for me due to: me being active on forums for a number of years, I freely share some of my eventful airgun hunting experiences with the airgun community, and most importantly I actually use these rifles for what they’re built for….hunting afield. Considering that this is a new rifle with a valid 1-year warranty, I will attempt to refrain from jumping to conclusions out of frustration when I encounter issues with the rifle and see how problems can be sorted out utilizing my warranty.
More photos to come. I’m trying to decide which scopes I’m going to pair with this rifle. It will have its own traditional scope and its own thermal scope. Right now my high-resolution thermal scope is on my .357 Rattler. I may swap it out or just use my Pulsar Thermion XQ50 Pro LRF on this Rattler. Both are good thermal optics. Not sure which traditional scope I want to use. I have a few not mounted. I definitely want a FFP scope on here. We’ll see.
I want to believe that this gun is one of the best air rifles for me as I get after hogs and deer hunt in the East Texas piney woods and pasturelands. I’m about to find out if it’s a pipe dream or reality.
