Phil Bonus & Reviews

You might think that air rifles are nothing more than toys. You had one when you were a kid right? You’d shoot cans in the backyard are practice target shooting to improve your aim but you would never hunt with an air rifle right? You’d be surprised what air rifles today are capable of. 

A friend of mine recently told me about a hunting trip he took to South Africa. The unique aspect of this trip was that it was an airgun only hunting trip.  They were going to South Africa to hunt big game with air rifles. The modern airgun is capable of much more than was once possible.  On this hunting trip to Africa the group had several different types and calibers of air rifles ranging from the awesome .50 caliber Dragon slayer to 9mm and .45 caliber air rifles.  

When I first heard that there was a .50 caliber air rifle on the market I didn’t really believe it until I saw it. The bullet is massive and can easily take down big game in the right situation.  Air rifle hunting with big bore airguns poses some unique challenges over regular hunting. The first being distance. A .300 win mag (standard cartridge used in deer hunting) has an effective range of around 1200 yards. That means you can get off a kill shot without the animal even knowing you are there.  With a big bore you are limited to around 100 yards and even 100 yards can be pushing it. 

Hunting big game at these distances requires a lot of stealth. Some hunters find the thrill of hunting with an airgun more appealing than that of a regular firearm because of the considerable skill it takes to track and stalk an animal to get into range.

You can also hunt smaller game and pests such as rabbits, squirrels, raccoons and birds with the smaller .22 caliber air rifle. There are many affordable options in this caliber and recently Crossman has introduced the new Benjamin Discovery and Marauder series of pcp air rifles. The Marauder and Discovery have a built in compressed air tank and can propel a .22 cal pellet up to 1000 FPS. The nice thing about these hunting rifles is that you can shoot up to 40 full power shots before having to refill the compressed air chamber with a hand pump or scuba tank.

If you enjoy hunting take a air rifle with you on your next hunt. In you down time you can target shoot or hunt small game. It’s cheaper and makes less noise so you wont’ have to worry about scaring game away.

Source by Scott R Thomas

Nothing is worse than having an amazing smartphone with little or no battery power. Seeing the dreaded “20% battery remaining” pop up as soon as you leave for the day is something I never want to see. Having a portable iPhone charger handy can keep your iPhone charged when it matters most. There are many portable iPhone chargers which can keep your iPhone charged when you are away from the USB or wall outlet, but which is the best? Below are four general categories of portable iPhone chargers to help you make your decision easier.

Standard Car Charger
Car chargers have been around long before the iPhone and continue to be a popular choice. Often times accessory packages include a car charger, which means in most cases users have a car charger for their iPhone from the start. While the car charger is a staple in portable chargers, its functions are quite limited. It’s most obvious restriction is the fact you have to be in or around your vehicle to power up.

Battery powered charger
Battery powered mobile device chargers simply transfer the power from standard batteries (such as 2 AA) to your iPhone. Generally they are relatively cheap to buy plus easy to keep charged. Simply pop in the 2 AA (or similar) batteries and you’re ready to go. One tip for if you plan on using a battery-powered charger regularly is to use rechargeable batteries. This will save you countless trips to a store as well as save money over time.

iPhone charging case
Charging cases are easy to use and provide ongoing power to your iPhone. Charging cases are basically an iPhone case that has a battery inside. The case surrounds all or most of the iPhone, and it charges an iPhone by connecting to the charging outlet at the bottom of the device. The case can be charged by plugging its charging cord into your computer’s USB port (usually a micro or mini USB). Along with an improved battery life, iPhone charging cases also protect your iPhone from being damaged.

iPhone solar charger
iPhone solar chargers are great for anyone who is regular outdoors or by a window. There are two main categories of iPhone solar chargers- solar charging cases (resemble standard charging cases) and off device solar chargers (connect to the iPhone via a charging cord). Most solar chargers are also capable of charging up from a USB which is a great way to charge the device faster as well as if there is no sun. With solar chargers you can continuously add power to your charger without the need for batteries or an outlet.

Source by Jonathon Knepper