I want to thin out the area red squirrel population a tad. I've had a couple other air rifles over the decades that are worn out and time for a replacement. It seems that the most accurate these days are also powerful-don't want/need that much 'pop' for these oversized chipmunks. Our property is a few acres with neighbors and I'll use a scope. Anybody have and happy with something for this type of use? thanks
Looking for quiet/accurate pellet gun-
- Thread starter Lapham3
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Gamo 1000 fps.
Gamo Whisper Silent Cat checks all the boxes you need!
I know there is one on the market (can't recall the name) but they are as powerful as a 22lr. They take a little refillable paint ball gun air tank. Suppose to be one of the most powerful if not powerful air rifle. With power and speed comes range and accuracy.
Personally I always prefer shotguns on squirrels. Overkill I know but effective. Cant really miss. I use to use my 22lr but I haven't went after them in years. Our neighbors all have a lot of cats and they are effective at chafing them off.
I feel your pain tho for years they seemed to hit all our fruit trees and bushes.
Go to Wal-Mart any $50 air rifle will work fine. Would suggest using pellets over bb's for better accuracy.
Personally I always prefer shotguns on squirrels. Overkill I know but effective. Cant really miss. I use to use my 22lr but I haven't went after them in years. Our neighbors all have a lot of cats and they are effective at chafing them off.
I feel your pain tho for years they seemed to hit all our fruit trees and bushes.
Go to Wal-Mart any $50 air rifle will work fine. Would suggest using pellets over bb's for better accuracy.
Multi-pump
Single pump
tank filled
You have many, many options.
Also, for squirrel I'd suggest a .20-.22 caliber rifle. Anything that is .177 caliber and has enough speed to take a squirrel reliably at distance will have a sonic crack.
Put a couple 100 rounds through it, then start buying tins of every type of ammo you can find.
Airguns can be picky, and it may take awhile to figure out what it wants.
Also, go and start studying up on airgun forums and perhaps get a subscription to an airgun magazine.
They are much different than a rimfire or centerfire rifle.
For instance, Due to them having more moving components they are sensative to how you hold them.
If you change your hold, it will change your point of aim.
On small game small changes mean alot.
Much experimentation must be done to learn your airgun.
In the long run it can be a rewarding journey.
BTW, I was friends with an older gentleman who used to hunt pidgins for farmers. He'd kill 500 a year easily, we would talk about his airgun.
I wish I was more into it back then. That's a lot more action that I see hunting anything else, and pellets are cheaper than ammo these days.
Single pump
tank filled
You have many, many options.
Also, for squirrel I'd suggest a .20-.22 caliber rifle. Anything that is .177 caliber and has enough speed to take a squirrel reliably at distance will have a sonic crack.
Put a couple 100 rounds through it, then start buying tins of every type of ammo you can find.
Airguns can be picky, and it may take awhile to figure out what it wants.
Also, go and start studying up on airgun forums and perhaps get a subscription to an airgun magazine.
They are much different than a rimfire or centerfire rifle.
For instance, Due to them having more moving components they are sensative to how you hold them.
If you change your hold, it will change your point of aim.
On small game small changes mean alot.
Much experimentation must be done to learn your airgun.
In the long run it can be a rewarding journey.
BTW, I was friends with an older gentleman who used to hunt pidgins for farmers. He'd kill 500 a year easily, we would talk about his airgun.
I wish I was more into it back then. That's a lot more action that I see hunting anything else, and pellets are cheaper than ammo these days.
I had a Daisy pump that shot BB's or pellets. Up to 10 pumps and no soda cans were safe. My dad gave me it and I really had a lot of fun with it. Had a wood stock on it. Reminds me of a 10.22 or Glenfield 60
If you want reliable, consistent accuracy and e power to punch out to 80/90/100 yards you need to budget several hundred for a pneumatic rifle with scope, bottle etc.
For less money and a reduction in range to 40/50 yards a beeman R1 is a good choice.
Any reason you don't want to replace the spring, guide and seals in the other rifles?
For less money and a reduction in range to 40/50 yards a beeman R1 is a good choice.
Any reason you don't want to replace the spring, guide and seals in the other rifles?
A regular .22 cal rim fire rifle is what you need. Use CB ammunition. Extremely quiet, accurate and far more hitting power than a pellet gun. About 700 ft.sec so it won't go far.
I think you will find that as the herd is thinned, it will be filled with new ones. An area can only accommodate "X" many critters at one time due to availability of food. Any thinning you do will be only temporary.
At one time I live trapped them in my back yard and hauled them off to dense
woods. In no time the numbers had increased back to the norm. It was a never
ending task.
At one time I live trapped them in my back yard and hauled them off to dense
woods. In no time the numbers had increased back to the norm. It was a never
ending task.
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I've has OK success over the years with the 'spring' type pellet guns, but accuracy was kinda iffy. My .22 with CB's is accurate , but does too good as it blows right through them with more noise. 40 years ago, .22 Long Rifle and .410 shotgun were used by many neighbors, but the current generation of neighbors would best not know about the herd being thinned. I'm not going to spend hundreds$ for something as loud as the CB's. Looks as tho the Aguila Colibri stuff may be worth a try. Of course, finding ammo to buy may be another challenge! thanks
I live in a suburban neighborhood - very quiet and no "real" guns can be discharged without trip to jail. For several years I had squirrels constantly trying to chew their way into my attic. A couple of neighbor's houses were infested with squirrels and the squirrels wanted to also move into my attic.
Used Haveaheart traps for many squirrels but also had to use an Airforce Talon in .22 for some of them. The Talon is expensive but powerful and relatively low noise and super accurate. An effective squirrel liquidator with a carefully placed shot. Probably shot 15-20 of them over a couple of years before the chewing on the house finally stopped.
http://www.pyramydair.com/s/m/AirForce_Talon_SS_PCP_Air_Rifle_Spin_Loc_Tank/135
Used Haveaheart traps for many squirrels but also had to use an Airforce Talon in .22 for some of them. The Talon is expensive but powerful and relatively low noise and super accurate. An effective squirrel liquidator with a carefully placed shot. Probably shot 15-20 of them over a couple of years before the chewing on the house finally stopped.
http://www.pyramydair.com/s/m/AirForce_Talon_SS_PCP_Air_Rifle_Spin_Loc_Tank/135
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You human animals must Share the planet with the animals.
Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
You human animals must Share the planet with the animals.
Overpopulation happens, and must be dealt with. Meddling "protectors of animals" cause a decrease in natural predators.
You human animals must Share the planet with the animals.
Overpopulation happens, and must be dealt with. Meddling "protectors of animals" cause a decrease in natural predators.
My choice is something from the RWS line.
You can tailor you FPS by pellet selection. My cheapie springer puts out lightweight pellets (I think the Gamo red tip) at just under the 1200fps mark (as measured with my chronograph) and heavy pellets at 970fps. Night and day difference between supersonic/subsonic as far as noise is concerned. Go as powerful as accuracy will allow.
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Accuracy beats power all day - the way I see it is you owe it to whatever you're going to kill, to do so in a humane way. Which means brain shots.
If you think about the brain size of a critter, can you hit that size target 10/10 at the ranges you want to shoot at?
Practice and practice and practice until you know your trajectory like the back of your hand but remember that knowing your holdover isn't much use if you can't estimate range.
Don't just injure them for fun, don't let them run off and bleed to death over the next 48 hours, please be as humane and as clinical as possible.
If you think about the brain size of a critter, can you hit that size target 10/10 at the ranges you want to shoot at?
Practice and practice and practice until you know your trajectory like the back of your hand but remember that knowing your holdover isn't much use if you can't estimate range.
Don't just injure them for fun, don't let them run off and bleed to death over the next 48 hours, please be as humane and as clinical as possible.
Weirauch is one of the best out there. SUPER accurate.
But it's really hard to beat GAMO for price versus performance...
But it's really hard to beat GAMO for price versus performance...
Be aware that some of the faster more powerful pellet rifles are relatively heavy. Heavy enough to significantly affect your ability to hold on target for the precise shot that the squirrel kill requires. I went with the much lighter airforce rifle because I could not effectively use the heavier springer rifles. Heavy rifle works great from a rest for stationary paper targets, not so good for a restless squirrel in less than ideal light.
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