Puerto Rico. Home to fruit-filled rum drinks, beautiful beaches, dense tropical forests and millions of destructive, non-native lizards that are wreaking havoc on infrastructure and agriculture. We are, of course, talking about the iguana—which is what brought Associate Editor Jon Draper to the island paradise in mid-May, armed with a Hatsan air rifle.
A .25-caliber PCP rifle, Hatsan’s Galatian III is capable of sending a .25 grain pellet at speeds of up to 1,000 fps. For squirrels, rabbits, and even fox and coyote with the right shot placement, death is imminent.
The Carnivore can send its .30-caliber, 44-grain payload at a lizard-thumping 860 fps with enough air in the tank for about 20 shots before losing velocity. For the stateside small-gamer, that’s plenty of power in a single tank to get through an average hunt. Refilling a spent tank can be done quickly with the aid of a pre-filled scuba tank and adaptor kit or, using a bit more manpower, a PCP hand pump.
Modern technology has turned the air gun into a legitimate hunting tool. Here’s what you need to know to take a plunge into the world of air-powered projectiles.