I am dealing with a lot of squirrels and last year they tried to invade the attic. I have traps that have removed some and I have removed a few with borrowed air rifle. I need to purchase an air rifle and would like a good one. Shots from the house will be in the 25-50 yard range. Any suggestions on brand/model? Any other removal methods?
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What is your budget ... as you can spend from $100 or $1000+ -
Rws....Comment
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Didn’t realize they could go that high. I was thinking $300 would be about right. The one I have is a cheaper Gamo. While I have taken a few out, consistently hitting a coke can at 35-50 has been a problem. Rifle may be ok if I upgraded scope.Comment
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Have a gamo wildcat whisper in 22cal. Bad to the bone. Knock off squirrels coons and rabbits with no problems.Comment
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Grew up in a small pecan orchard. My dad killed about 300 squirrels per year for 60 years. Multiple traps and twins with pellet guns.....
In a 10 square mile area any squirrel that dies is almost instantly replaced. You would need a hundred houses in the 10 mile area hammering away to make a significant difference.....
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If you want a "good" gun that is inexpensive to shoot yet will shoot accurately, I'd go to www.pyraminair.com and order a Beman R1 in .22 cal. or other lower model Beman, then I'd buy a 3-9X40 Hawke Sport Optics scope with Beman mounts and scope stop. With that set up you will be able to take out squirrels consistently at 35 yards and less... maybe even out to 50 yards... The next step up would be a PCP air gun (pre-charged pneumatic), but then you'll have to get a pump or cylinder to fill it with and that can get expensive.
When you buy the spring air Beman, also order a JSB "pellet sampler" with it. Use that sampler to find out what pellet it shoots best, then order that pellet and stick with it... To get the best accuracy out of a spring gun, you'll have to learn to shoot it with the "artillery hold"... google that and practice... You'll be a genuine squirrel sniper in no time and for close to the 300 buck mark you were looking to spend...Comment
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Originally posted by SaltwaterSlick View Post
Looked it up and will try it. Never heard of this technique. Ty...........Comment
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Johnny, the springers are VERY temperamental to shoot accurately. They don't like to be "held". They like to be carressed. They all have a funky reverse recoil because of the internal dynamics of that big spring (or gas piston) and piston that makes it next to impossible to hold them still on the fore end. They need to be able to "float" up front. The other thing is not all scopes will stand up to the vibration/recoil of a spring piston air gun. You MUST use a scope on them that is break-barrel spring air gun rated. All Hawke scopes are rated for spring air guns.Comment
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[QUOTE=SaltwaterSlick;13836778]If you want a "good" gun that is inexpensive to shoot yet will shoot accurately, I'd go to www.pyraminair.com and order a Beman R1 in .22 cal. or other lower model Beman, then I'd buy a 3-9X40 Hawke Sport Optics scope with Beman mounts and scope stop. With that set up you will be able to take out squirrels consistently at 35 yards and less... maybe even out to 50 yards... The next step up would be a PCP air gun (pre-charged pneumatic), but then you'll have to get a pump or cylinder to fill it with and that can get expensive.
I had a Beeman R1 for many years, shot that thing a lot, to the point, I had to rebuild it. It was a pretty good air rifle. But from what I have seen in recent years, you can buy more powerful air rifles, from more common sources now days. Not so sure those air rifles and not build by RWS or Beeman.
I finally got my hands on a old Sheridan Blue Streak in 5mm, maybe 18 years ago. Wanted one of those since I was about 10 years old. I remember shooting fence posts with one when I was about 10. We were shooting them from close to 100 yards and the pellets were completely buried in the posts. The one I got is from the 70s, if I remember correctly I looked it up some years ago. I have shot and killed all types of things with that gun. I can guarantee, that gun will punch holes deeper from any range that the Beeman R1 will. I have dropped larger critters out to around 70 yards with it. It is very surprising how powerful it really is. If you can find the old original Sheridan 5mm pellets. It is my top choice for small game air rifles. I have killed coons, skunks, a lot squirrels with it. I have killed squirrels out to 60 yards, that I can remember. That's about as far as I am good for with open sights, now days. Back when I first got the Blue Streak, I did a comparison between the 22 caliber R1 and the Blue Streak. I shot both at a lot of different targets. Shooting at 1/2 pine boards, the Blue Streak would punch through out to around 50 yards or so, but the R1 would not punch through at any range. Someday I am going to find the seals to fix the Sheridan and get it working again. It was one amazing air rifle. The newer Sheridans made since they were bought out by Benjamin, both the Sheridan and the Benjamin air rifles have dropped significantly in power.
There are a bunch of interesting air rifles out there now days. I think my next air rifle is going to be a 357 or 45 caliber Airforce Texan. Use that for the bigger critters and the Sheridan for the critters 50 lbs. and under.Comment
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I have a Sheridan Blue Streak 5mm (.20 cal) with a Redfield 4x Rimfire scope on it. Deadly out to 25 easy, but you have to pump it mutiple times.Comment
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I too have a Sheridan original 5mm Blue Streak that I've had since about '65 or so... If you get on Airgun warriors forums, there's a guy on there that you can send the gun to and he will rebuild it and make it operate like brand new... don't recall his name or site, but just search rebuild or repair Blue Streak and it should come up... My R1 is also an original from San Ramon, CA. built by Feinwerkbrau in Germany. There's no way that Sheridan will shoot like the originals do. My addiction has progressed WAY beyond that though... I now shoot PCP bullpups in 22 and 25 cal. and will probably get me a 9mm(.357) too... I don't use air in them as I have a ready supply of high pressure nitrogen and it is dry so don't have to worry about moisture like you do with air...
My current favorite, an ATN Vulcan in .25 cal. Hawke 6.6-24X50mm scope...
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22 rifle with the Aguila 22 LR Colibri Subsonic Ammo 400 FPS will kill the tree rats very dead , they have another round sub sonic as well that is like 1000 fps . I have shot both out of a Marling bolt gun not as loud as a pellet gun .Comment
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^ May try this first. ThanksComment
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I bought a Gamo break barrel with a scope on sale from Midway and the thing couldn't hit a squirrel if it was sitting on the end of a barrel. It's been super frustrating.
I'm inclined to get a multi-pump Benjamin with open sights and huck the Gamo in the dumpster.Comment
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