would bb/pellet gun be worth carrying?

D

dberry

Joined
Oct 16, 2007
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I was shooting with my nephews (age 6 and 7) and they were very accurate with their bb guns and they brought up a good question. Would a bb or pellet gun be good for small game due to cheaper ammo and easier to carry. What do ou think?
 
Wow, tough question. A Gamo air rifle was used to kill a wild pig, one shot between the eys, on the Outdoorsman channel. I did a little research..............1450 fps out of their $400.00 BB gun.[ a .22 rmfr is approx 1100 fps] If yours is in that league, the answer is yes. :)
 
I once had a 22 caliber Pump up pellet gun that would take rabbits and squirrels.
 
A typical pellet of .177 caliber weighs around 8-10 grains, versus a .22 long rifle that weighs 40. (a hollowpoint .22 lr weighs about 36 grains.)

The .22 lr reaches about 1250 fps from a rifle, the lighter 33 grainers like Stingers reach 1600 fps.

The typical pump-up air rifle isn't the best choice. I remember beating the hell out of a squirrel with my Crosman 1400 .22 caliber air rifle. The pellets didn't have enough power to penetrate his hide. Some 7-8 hits later, he finally fell out of the tree and I was able to finally hit his head.......it still didn't penetrate, but it was enough to end his suffering.

While I recognize that some air rifles are capable of cleanly taking small game, many of them cannot. Choose one carefully !

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I killed plenty of Arctic Ptarmagin and Grouse last fall with a single pump .177 pellet rifle. Put a little scope on it and actually HUNT them. Get close enough for head/neck shots using pointed pellets and they fall over easily. I was killing them with a 500 fps aprox. little Crossman. It's as fun as it gets because you have to be good.:D
 
sketchbag said:
David, do you recall the fps of that crosman?
Click to expand...

Not really, but I think it was in the 700 fps range.

I've learned since that the better caliber when it comes to air rifles is .177, as they go faster.

As has been posted, accurate head/neck shots are nearly mandatory.

(I did make a phenomenal shot with that 1400 on a pigeon once ! :D)

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I ve go tmy name on the top tem most wanted list in squirrel world because of a benjamin sheridan air rifle .177 with 800 fps and pointed pellets.
 
For rabbits, just about anything will kill them, you can actually scare them to death.

They should be ok for birds as well. My Grandfather got one to take out the pigeons that would congregate on his deck railing of his beach house. He wasted one of them, and never saw the pigeons again.

Squirrels, I think are a little tougher, so you will actually have to deliver a lethal shot to a vital organ, so I don't know about that.

But you should definately be good for rabbits and pigeon sized birds.
 
I think that BB guns do have a good survival purpose. They are silent, and cheap. Mine is a Weirauch HW80 in .22LR with a tuned spring and seal. It's getting close to .22LR performance on a range between 0-35yrds!

Birds are no match, rabbits will need a good pellet and a well placed shot. Which is easely possible with airguns! Do not under estimate the power of tuned .22 bb guns!!

CZ
 
Got an old one in .20 caliber that has taken many a squirrel and quite a few dove and grouse. 10 pumps and youre good to go. Mine has Phillips peep sights. You could probably feed yourself with it for a while in the right place.
 
yep mine was .177... .22's work great also they hit harder but are short on velocity so it's a trade off.
 
upnorth said:
I killed plenty of Arctic Ptarmagin and Grouse last fall with a single pump .177 pellet rifle. Put a little scope on it and actually HUNT them. Get close enough for head/neck shots using pointed pellets and they fall over easily. I was killing them with a 500 fps aprox. little Crossman. It's as fun as it gets because you have to be good.:D
Click to expand...

I did the same when I lived up north. Great fun, and puts meat in the pot!:thumbup:
 
In the last 30 years my mother and I have killed hundreds of squirrels with a Daisy 880 / 881 .177 pellet rifles. Out to 20-25 yards they are deadly on a head or ribcage shot. I recently moved her up to a .. uh.. whatever the current production Dasiy 22 is. One pellet, 10 pumps and the squirrels are DRT. I would be very selective on trying to use it for rabbits though, and would only take a clean head shot.
 
I was shooting with my nephews (age 6 and 7) and they were very accurate with their bb guns and they brought up a good question. Would a bb or pellet gun be good for small game due to cheaper ammo and easier to carry. What do ou think?
Click to expand...
Would it be legal to hunt with a BB-gun in Indiana? I'm pretty sure it's not allowed next door in Illinois.
 
A couple of friends own Gamo rifles and silent they aren't, but they make less noise than a standard .22lr load. They dispatch rabbits, squirrels and other small fuzzy critters just fine. Still, I'm thinking that a .22lr would be the better choice.
 
Yeah I think a 22lr would be a better choice, but I did see that Gamo air rifle on the outdoorsman channel. I have taken out many squirells and birds with my old pellet gun. Although, the only thing that really survived was a Crow. I shot that thing at least 10-12 times and it still flew away like nothing happened.
 
You can take up to a rabbit with a .177 so as long as thats as big as you are going, head to walmart and pick up a Daisy Powerline 880 for around $40. Grab some copperhead pellets and you are set.
 
Heck yeah they're worth it!

A Benjamin 392 with a Steroid treatment from this guy:

http://www.mac1airgun.com/steriodags.html

would be awfully hard to beat for a small game rifle.

I personally DO very much prefer .22 caliber rifles, and prefer the Benji's to Springers just due to sheer weight. My RWS 46 carries weighs more than my 30-06 or my scout rifle!

I've killed a few rabbits and squirrels with mine. I've had a couple of rabbits sprawl and just not even quiver. Couldn't have been deader quicker if they'd been hit by a speeding train.

If nothing else they're great for practice and plinking! Personally, I don't think any self respecting arsenal should be without a decent air rifle!:D
 
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