Air Rifles for Pest Control/Plinking ?

A second on the "Colibri" primer only .22 ammo.

It will dispatch a squirrel or even a coon (head shot).

M.
 
Here's my nephew shooting my Air Arms S310 (which I'm sadly selling....)

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With head and neck shots you can take wood pigeon, rabbits, corvids, rats etc....
 
EMT_Lee said:
You guys are making me want to go buy a high quality air rifle, now. Damn you guys...
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You too, huh? After I got that AirMaster77, a 3-9x32 scope and a bunch of pellets, I then found out I could get an air gun with a nitro piston for $99 and a 6-24x50 scope for $99... Then someone pointed out a PCP that's only $300 and I'm screwed.
 
+1 number 3 for the colibri .22 ammo. I like the Aguila Super Colibri. You can buy them online. I picked a few boxes up at my local gun show a couple years back and am absolutely sold on them. They are quite a bit more quiet than a spring powered air rifle but are very accurate in all on my .22 lrs and pack quite a wallup. I shot a rabbit in the head at about 10 yards and it instantly dropped him and made a very big wound hole. Give em a try!
 
KennyB said:
I had to cheap out and just get some of those bulk-buy Daisy match pellets for now (I couldn't find a place to ship them cheap), but I did find these before. How does Gamo's Red and Blue fire polymer tipped pellets compare? Also saw "crosman destroyers" which looked like a good mix between a match and a hunting pellet.
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Out of the "Cheapie" pellets, the Destroyers seem to be the better of the bunch.

EMT_Lee said:
I would be wary of using an air rifle for varmint hunting. Would you guys feel comfortable shooting something the size of an adult groundhog with an air rifle? I normally use a .17HMR, and I've had groundhogs not stop from body shots with 20 gr. FMJ's (they don't fair so well against the 17 gr poly-tipped rounds.. those things leave nasty holes.) If a 20 gr. round moving 2300 FPS doesn't always drop one, will a pellet? Granted, you could only use headshots, but hitting a moving target the size of a groundhog's head at 250 yards isn't always do-able.
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I'm not hunting Varmints, I'm using it for Pest control around the house, mainly crows making a mess around my garbage bin. I've been around firearms all my life 7 I had a Savage 17hmr when they first came out.
 
I ended up getting a deal on this Hammerli Storm from a friend here on BF. It needs a little TLC (a little surface rust on the barrel) & the Fiber Optic is broke loose on the front post, 2 of the little rings that hold the Fiber in place are broke & let the Fiber fall out...so I gotta get her scoped ! but she shoots great ! Powerful & accurate !
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.22 BSA Lightning Limited Dip. Its not a Fire Arm Certificate (FAC) model but has had the spring removed and replaced for one of Theoban's gas pistons.
 
I have a .177 Beeman R9 with a 3-9 x 40 scope on it. shoots around 950 fps .I shoot rabbits with it all the time. I shot on last night from 35 yds, dropped it instantly.
I use Crosman Premeir hollow point pellets 7.9 g

The Storm you purchased is a fine gun.

Scope it, find a pellet that works for you and you'll be in business.

Wal-Mart has a 3-9 x 40 scope that I used on mine for a few years that works great and is made ofr rifles just like yours. It was 30 dollars. I only upgraded to a Leapers after dropping my rifle and damaging the scope.
 
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Along these lines (and not to hijack Coaldiggers thread) but what's the opinion one of those airsoft guns -- or are they crap? I've never used one. I live in a residential area and despite my strong desire to take out the crows that frequent my roof with my .45 acp -- I tend to come to my senses. Thought an airsoft would annoy them enough without killing -- and missing wouldn't mean a hole in someones siding.
 
bearhunter said:
what ever you do, DO NOT get anything from UMAREXUSA...i got a walther talon magnum (.22cal) from them a little over a year ago. i recently sent it back for warrenty repair (the breech cracked where the barrel went into it), other than that it was in perfect condition. it only had maybe 70-100 pellets shot through it.
the rifle was sent UPS in the original packaging. they called a week or so saying that i would have to BUY a new one. they said that the stock was destroyed and tha the barrel was bent. BS...
i called UPS about the matter so they know what's up...i'm being scamed...
now they will not return calls or my emails. they have my property and refuse to cooperate with me. this is going to get ugly because i WILL NOT let them get away with this. the lady with UPS said that unfortunatly this is a common scam with worthless companys. they want to recoup their cost by claiming UPS damaged the product. we have the paper work that it was recieved in good order. umarex are damn liars. do not do buisness with them.
i just wanted to give you and anyone else who reads this a heads up.
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Contact the NRA, they have a link to a website called insureyourgunrights.com, I believe that's what it was and the link was a Join the NRA link.
 
i use a daisy 500fps target model with whatever pellets i can get my hand on. preferred lead free hollow points and i kill them darn chipmunks and starlings no problem from good distances for a pellet gun. yesterday i shot a chipmunk in a tree. behind right shoulder, he dropped and since he wasnt dead yet i gave him a mercy shot. then i got a starling from a bit farther than the munk and he went down on impact.

by the way. in Massachusetts these are varmints and free to kill year round. starlings mess up songbirds and chipmunks are a plain nuisance.
 
Out to 20~25yds the .177 Destroyer pellets & my Hammerli Storm do just fine, I've been plinking & it's a shooter ! Accurate & has plenty of power ! I dispatched a chipmunk in the back yard at 10yds with a shot placed behind the ear & it was "Lights Out" ! I have Several .22LR & I've been doing this a long time, this ain't my first rodeo ! I just wanted a Quite way to dispatch the pest & to be able to do it cheap ! The air rifle is the way to go ! No I wouldn't try it on a large critter but for the Crows, Chipmunks, Gray Squirrels, Starlings, Cowbirds, Rats, Mice...etc it is Perfect ! "Shoot what you like / Like What you shoot" To each his own !
 
Last weekend, I got the chance to play with one of the Gamo air rifles that are rated 1000fps. It had a hard time one-shot-stopping small birds (robins), so... as I said before, I seriously do not think these are the choice for pest control.

Mice? Who shoots mice? As for crows... you're going to have to show me that one before I'll believe it.
 
EMTLee , that doesnt sound quite right. I have an air rifle that shoots less than a 1000 foot per second and its deadly on starlings. Something is wrong if you cant kill a robin. Why would you shoot a robin anyhow?
 
It's right. I'm glad your air rifle performs better, but I still wouldn't use one for serious pest control. YMMV.

ETA: Oh. And, some of the birds had gotten into a storage warehouse where they were causing some damage with their feces.
 
Speaking from experience and owning a number of air rifles, any higher fps "magnum" gun will probably do what you want. Remember, it's all about shot placement (you knew someone was going to say it eventually, right? :D). The upper level Beeman, Walther, RWS, Theoben, and similar guns will all work fine. Frankly, I'd stay away from Gamo. The important thing to note is that you have to get the right pellet. There is no way to predict which pellet will shoot best with your gun; this is especially true for springers. I'd get a pellet sampler from Straightshooters - it's well worth the money.

http://www.straightshooters.com/straightshooters/sssampler.html

Note that springers, while generally cheaper than PCPs, can be very finicky on how you hold them when shooting (not all are like this, but many are). While PCPs are definitely more expensive, the Air Force Talon, Condor, etc. are hard hitting guns that will dispatch all kinds of different prey. You can cut some cost by using a hand pump rather than a scuba tank to refill them, but plan on building gnarly muscles pumping those babies up.


- Mark
 
EMT_Lee said:
Last weekend, I got the chance to play with one of the Gamo air rifles that are rated 1000fps. It had a hard time one-shot-stopping small birds (robins), so... as I said before, I seriously do not think these are the choice for pest control.

Mice? Who shoots mice? As for crows... you're going to have to show me that one before I'll believe it.
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It all depends on the type of pellet & the distance to the target & most important...shot placement ! I have taken 2-chipmunks & 1-black snake with no problems. I have taken 1-Crow in my back yard using my Wal-Mart "Cheapie" Daisy Powerline 880 Multi-pump (750fps) I was using Crosman Hollowpoint .177 Pellets & took a clean headshot at close to 10yds. My Hammerli Storm hits alot harder than the Powerline880. I wouldn't try to take anything out past 20~25yds, anything out past that & I'll use my 10/22 or MarkII !
 
coaldigger said:
Anybody here use a Pellet gun to do Pest control (Crows,Piegons,Chipmunks,Rats...etc) or just for plinking ? I'm going to give it a try, just haven't decided on which rifle to get, so many models out there & when I read the reviews they all say about the same thing:p Post some pics of your Pellet rigs with a description of it & what you use it for, this might help me decide ! :D
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I have been using a Winchester .177 air rifle, for geckos, and greckles (we call them "talingos" here). Those are very tough birds but at distances of 50 ft.or less, the rifle is lethal (800 fps.).
We don't have bigger varmints
 
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