[12.7x99mm]

I need to get an air rifle to dispatch a few annoying critters (one coon and a few feral cats) and a noisy woodpecker. However I don’t want to disturb the neighbors and trigger them to call some whacko save the planet or PETA type organization. After I pop a few with a 22 or something else.

So I’m thinking a good quality air rifle silent and deadly to little pests

This my office and it’s a semi rural area in a condo development so there are people close by but not during the days to much.

I’m looking for suggestions for manufactures and power. I’m thinking a pump type for charging the air chamber and some ware around a .17cal or better

[Kharn]

IIRC, air guns go down in the Non-Firearm Weapons area, here's a thread where I asked for info on the Benjamin Sheridan 392 in .22: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20237.
For air guns, bigger calibers are definitely better for a clean kill.

Kharn

[9mmepiphany]

i'd heard just the opposite...that smaller calibres are the more deadly

in an air rifle there is not enough speed for expansion so you need as much penetration as you can get. the larger projectiles will not penetrate as much because they have less speed/more mass and more cross section...but you can give them a good whack. most air rifles top out at about 1000fps, and they are doing this with a .177 pellet. most of your "magnum" rifles are single stroke pumps.

i have a chinese "clone" of a RWS rifle and it is pushing a .177 out at about 1000fps...but i think it is almost as loud as a .22 CB. i picked it up at my local big 5 sporting goods store. it is called the B-21 and was imported by IAR...i think it was about $150

[HankL]

regardless of where this thread needs to be, an air rifle is not in order when you are wishing to dispatch a raccoon which may weigh 25 lbs. or a feral cat. If you really want to upset your neighbors imagine a wounded cat running around!

Noise wise, a subsonic 22 rf would fill the bill. Safety wise you will need to pick your shots if any safe backstops are available.

Leave the woodpecker alone, it is just doing what woodpeckers do.

HTH

[Kharn]

9mm:
My experiences are only with killing squirrels, anything bigger than a bunny (if even that big), I'd go to a .22lr.
You can usually get a .20 or .22 version of the same air rifle with only a slight drop in velocity (~50fps) over the .177 version, which would be less likely to over penetrate. Pellets arent normally stable if they go supersonic, so there's a practical limit to how fast you can push a pellet before you get accuracy problems.

Kharn

[9mmepiphany]

i think you're right. the .22 version is the b-22. i think the .20 might be a good middle ground.

i completely overlooked that the animal was as large as a racoon, that might be a bit much for even the .22 CB...i've only shot at crows and jack rabbits

[Combat-wombat]

Here, this site has good deals on airguns
Airgunstore.com (http://www.airgunstore.com)
If you're on a budget, a Gamo Shadow 1000 ($200) would do well. It's a single shot, single pump barrel break action that does not even need CO2. It will, however, deliver a .177 caliber pellet at 1000 fps. For ammo, try these from cabelas.Predator polymer tip hunting pellets (http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jhtml?id=0014190224838a&navAction=push&navCount=3&indexId=cat20742&podId=0014190&catalogCode=ID&parentId=cat20742&parentType=index&rid=)

[12.7x99mm]

HankL

Sorry the woodpecker is the first thing to go. When I work late I sleep here. and right now I’m not sleeping. Sorry but woodys going to get it.

I’m not worried about the coons since there nocturnal but the feral cats are history and they won’t last long with a shot in the boiler works.

I might actually get a live trap for them and drop them off by someone’s house I don’t like. They only have a roaming range of about 2 miles or so.

[Justin]

From the opinions of those who've 'been there, done that' on the pest thing, it seems like you'd be better off with a .22.

[JohnKSa]

Anything powerful enough to reliably kill coons & cats won't be very silent. You don't get something for nothing...

[HankL]

My spouse swears that her Remington 541-T with Remington subsonic hollow points is as quiet as our pellet gun. The round will drop a head shot coon like it a sack of bricks.

Her Leupold sighted 541 is zeroed from the back door to her bird feeder which is 24' 3 3/4". If you are not a bird don't hog out on the bird feed. :)

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid28/pef819ec79a95fb9d2a99ea53f970a2e0/fd6941b1.jpg

12.7x99, I feel your pain about the wood pecker but contemplating a federal crime on line isn't a great idea. :eek:

[bad_dad_brad]

Dispatched 4 racoons that got into my attic one night with a Benjamin/Sheridan Blue Streak in .20 caliber. Three young ones, were one shot one kill. The momma took two. All head shots. All within 10 feet.

The .20 caliber pellet is often toughted as a good varmint pellet at close range. Works for me.

[Sir Galahad]

Shooting a woodpecker is a federal crime. They are protected by the Migratory Bird Act. If you happen to get caught, you could wind up being charged with a felony. At the least, in some states, prepare for your local Game & Fish to confiscate ANY firearm, bow, or pellet rifle they feel was involved in the crime and NOT get them back. And prepare to lose your vehicle if they feel that was involved in the crime also. Prepare for some hefty fines of up to $1,000 and losing your hunting priveleges forever. I strongly suggest you think again before committing a federal crime. I also think you should consider that anti-hunters monitor web sites like this and love nothing more than to catch someone "red-handed." Please don't contribute to their campaigns by POACHING. If there's something I cannot stand, it's a poacher.

Woodpeckers remove harmful insects from trees. Sorry the noise nothers you. Would a chainsaw be better? :rolleyes:

[Sir Galahad]

One other thing, sme species of woodpeckers are protected by the Endangered Species Act also. Killing an animal under the protection of that act carries its own fines and penalties in addition to those for violation of Migratory Bird Act and local poaching and/or game laws.

[Drjones]

HankL:

Tell your wife I *love* her yellow kitchen gloves!!!

Nice touch!!!

"Just takin' out the trash, dear!"

And that look on her face fits perfectly!!!

"What am I doin' YOUR work for, lazy?"

;)

[12.7x99mm]

???

[hso]

You can get rid of the woodpecker with a fake owl.
The local wildlife agency will come out an set a live trap for the racoon and take it away when you call.

I'd use a can of tuna and a chipper shredder for the annoying cats.:scrutiny:

[Sir Galahad]

12.7, look, call your local Fish & Game and ask them what the penalties are for shooting a woodpecker. Then cal the federal wildlife service and ask them what the penalties are. I think you'll find you're taking a heckuva big and unnecessary risk of entering the realm of poachers.

[JShirley]

Imperial, Tristam's, Ivory-billed, and Red-Cockaded woodpeckers are all on the endangered list. Discussion of what tools might help protect against a large and dangerous (though protected) species is fine-since the right to defend our lives is the most basic right a living species has, but discussion on this board of how to kill a benevolent species that happens to annoy you is a definite no-go.

John Shirley

[Mr.Brown16]

Well I got a Winchester Air rifle 500 xs. Picked it up from Wal-Mart and I can tell you it is very accurate and has a good amount of power.

[El Tejon]

I use a Beeman C1 in .177 around Alcazar del Tejon. You can find this same rifle in .22 (C1 in .22 was/is very popular in the UK so I know you can get them there).

I also have a Crow Magnum and it is effective for what you envision, http://www.beeman.com/crow.htm.

However, if I could use a firearm, I would.

[hapuna]

I have a gamo 1000 and it seems like a good tool but I don't think you could take an adult racoon. The amount of pumping and the number of pellets needed could cause tennis elbow. The other odd thing is that the gun is not silent but makes an odd sound nothing like a gunshot.
We had a guy in the Seattle area take out a racoon trying to drown a dog with a Glock 10mm. That killed it.:eek:

[KevininPa]

Check out the Talon Owners Group Forum:


http://www.talonownersgroup.com/index.php


Kevin in Pa

[bpk1]

I have a crossman quest 1000, and I think it would and could take out a racoon, ans with only one pump per pellet. It shoots a .177 caliber pellet at nearly 1000 fps.

[skeeter1]

Well, I'm not going to pass judgement on which critter you choose to shoot, but... IMHO, a .22 airgun works much better than a .177. I've got 3 .22 airguns, two pumps and one CO2. The CO2 is that latest one, and the one I like the best. It's now the most powerful of the three, but you can have it ready to go in a moments notice. Get yourself some Beeman SilverJet pellets, and it's almost as good as a .22 short/.22CB. I'm partial to Crosman/Benjamin/Sheridan airguns, both rifle and pistol. They're hard to beat for the money. I had one spring-air, and I didn't like it nearly as much. I don't know a thing about PCP airguns, however. They might be the cat's meow, but CO2 is just so much more convenient, and not all that expensive to shoot.

[plexreticle]

Buy a trap, .177 pellet rifle will not meet your needs.