Basic inexpensive air rifle?

[19-3Ben]

Here's the deal. I have a chipmunk problem in my backyard. Big chipmunk problem. Having examined my options, I'd like an air rifle.
As usual, funds are limited. I'd like to keep price in the $50-$70 range.

Distance of shots will be 20 yards max. Largest target would be squirrel sized, if that. the immediate need of this gun is for chipmunks, and otherwise will be purely a target gun.

Is there anything worthwhile that can be had in that price range?

The primary contenders based on a preliminary look at price and reviews are the Daisy Powerline 880, and Crossman Pumpmaster 760. If these are garbage, and if I should look elsewhere please let me know.

As for optics, given the limited distance, and non-rugged nature of the conditions, think I can get away with cheapo glass? All shots taken will be in broad daylight.

I know very very little about airguns, so if any of my assumptions are incorrect, I am perfectly willing to be edjamakayted. Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[Ryden]

Any of the AR-1000 clones like the Beeman RS2 will do you admirably, they are cheap and were made to be able to push a .22 pellet in excess of 1000 fps, much more than that for a .177 and can easily be tuned to do so.
Mine produces a nice sonic bang when fired.

I'd stay away from the BB pump guns and get a springer, either break barrel or side lever, that can take som good diabolo pellets instead.
A .177 gun is plenty good enough for chipmunks, you don't need to get a .22

I'd also recommend that you increase your budget to about $100, you will find much better rifles at that level.

If you can find a second hand RWS, Weihrauch, Beeman, Air Arms or other quality brand then just buy it. As long as it looks good and feels smooth, these guns will last forever.

As for optics, stay away from the El Cheapo brands, and more importantly, stay away from high quality scopes not made for airguns
I've killed a few myself and seen a lot of quality scopes being beat to death by the double recoil of a springer air gun, it is nothing like the recoil of an ordinary rifle.

I've taken lots of rats with the iron sights, no problem as you shouldn't shoot at much more than 30' anyway.

Edit:
Something like this
http://www.pyramydair.com/s/m/Crosman_Quest_1000X_Breakbarrel_Air_Rifle/552

 

[bikerdoc]

I got a Sears (Daisy) at a yard sale for 10 bucks about 5 yrs ago. Works great for pest control.

 

[Ryden]

Absolutely, those can be great buys. But then you need to know something about air guns to know what it is you're buying.

 

[19-3Ben]

Absolutely, those can be great buys. But then you need to know something about air guns to know what it is you're buying.

Right. And my problem is that I know almost nothing.
Thank you so much for the advice so far. I liked your idea about buying better quality used but unfortunately, having just checked Craigslist, there is nothing posted in my area except for some cheapo airsoft pistols.

 

[Taurus 617 CCW]

I use a .22 rimfire (carbine) with Aguila Colibri rounds. It makes little to no sound and travels around 600 FPS. Aguila gets the job done at short range. If you don't have a .22 carbine, I would take a look at the single shot break open pellet guns as well.

 

[19-3Ben]

If you don't have a .22 carbine, I would take a look at the single shot break open pellet guns as well.

I do have and I did consider this option (although my experience with super colibri was horrific. it left a grainy gritty crud in the action of a rifle that really scuffed it up horribly. It was like someone dumped corn meal into my gun.). My only problem is that I live in a suburban neighborhood. I'd really rather not get pinched for discharging a firearm within city limits.
With an airgun, if someone sees or hears me, at least I'm legal.

But this does bring me to another question. Since I am in suburbia I'd rather not startle the sheeple. Is there any trend in terms of which action type tends to be quieter? Obviously less noise = better.

 

[Piraticalbob]

I used a Daisy Powerline for much of my youth. While they aren't as well constructed as they were then, they are still more than capable of the minor task (chipmunks) that you are asking.

Alternatively, you can buy a Havahart trap as cheaply as an air rifle.

 

[Tdodge7]

The best air powered bang for the buck out there right now that I've found is the crossman phantom, it was $80 the last time I checked at walmart, synthetic stock. Or get the slightly more expensive storm model, which is the same gun but with a nice wood stock (though they only carry the phantom at walmarts so if you want the wood you'll have to order from somewhere like pyramid air online). The storm and phantom both are single stroke break barrel 1000fps pellet guns, they're very well built and they're actually blued steel, where as the sub $60 air rifles are all plastic toys. I love my storm....the squirrels aren't a big fan of it though.

 

[Coyote3855]

If you choose a .177, which as others have said is good enough for small rodents, use the lead pellets not steel BBs. I had a pigeon problem. BBs were cheap but ineffective.

 

[jj1962hemi]

I'd get on the PyramidAir website. They have a huge selection. Regarding "suburbia," my town makes it illegal to discharge an air rifle in the backyard ($50 fine) and to "hunt" in the backyard ($25 fine). I have a .22 cal pellet rifle that I bought from Pyramid that pushes a pellet at about 800FPS. It's a single pump, spring action with nice fiber optic sights. I'd stick with a single pumping/cocking rifle to avoid having to build up pressure while the little rats run along!

 

[shiftyer1]

The daisy powerline worked for lots of rats, pigeons, squirrels and a few rabbits when I was a kid. I also bought one for my son and he used it for at least 10 years. It's still floating around here somewhere minus the stock which broke off.

 

[C0untZer0]

I learned to shoot a rifle using the Sheridan Blue Streak.

My mom had a fairly expensive bird feeder that squirrels were tearing apart and the Blue Streak at 4 pumps would kill them.

Also had a problem with aggressive black birds scaring off the prettier and nicer sounding birds. The black birds would monopolize the bird feeder. Red Wing Black Birds are very territorial and they would go after any bird that came within their territory. So I was always either shooting squirrels, Grackles or the Red Wings.

After I moved out, her bird feeder didn't even make it through the summer.

 

[C0untZer0]

EEEEEK !

Somehow the Blue Streak turned into a $150 rifle !

 

[19-3Ben]

Wow, you guys are a serious wealth of info.

How many FPS do I need on a .177 cal to kill something like a chipmunk cleanly?
Also, is there any reason why I should consider an air pistol?

I was just looking at this Baikal. It's smaller than a rifle so obviously easier to walk around the house with, without attracting attention. Sound rating seems pretty low and reviews say it's accurate. Only problem is, at 360fps, I don't know if that's fast enough to really kill, or just injure a chipmunk. Last thing I wanna do is hurt an animal and leave it to suffer. I'm looking to solve a pest problem, not be a sadist.

 

[jj1962hemi]

I'd say 7-800 fps in .177 or 5-600 in .22, but I'm no expert. A pistol is fine, but you usually don't see the power. With a perfect shot, you can probably go lower. I think 360 fps is too low. I'd say 500-600 min.

 

[JohnKSa]

With an airgun, if someone sees or hears me, at least I'm legal.

Check your game laws. In TX, it is illegal to kill any game animal or protected species with an airgun. Only non-game, unprotected animals may be legally killed with an airgun. So it's illegal to use an airgun (regardless of power level) to shoot a squirrel in TX because a squirrel is a game animal, but you can legally shoot a mountain lion with one because a mountain lion is not a protected or game species.

In addition, it can be illegal to discharge airguns in some areas. I lived in a small town in TX some years ago where the city ordinances made discharging an airgun inside city limits the same offense as discharging a firearm in city limits.

It doesn't have to make sense. So be sure to check.

How many FPS do I need on a .177 cal to kill something like a chipmunk cleanly?

Conventional airguns, even the relatively powerful ones just poke holes--little ones at that. It's all about precision and penetration. With a hard round-nose lead pellet like the Crosman Premier, even 500-600fps will probably consistently shoot all the way through through a small animal like a chipmunk. But it won't have a rapid effect unless the tiny hole gets poked in exactly the right spot. If you want consistent instant kills, you'll have to make brain shots (not just head shots).

I'd stick with rifles unless you're really good with pistols. Pistols are harder to shoot accurately, and accuracy is exactly what you'll need if you're trying for clean kills on small critters.

If you really want a pistol, you might take a look at the Crosman 2240. It's functional and accurate and has enough power for your application. Because it's CO2, followup shots are going to be a little faster than with a pump-up gun. It's also possible to mount an optic on the 2240. I believe Crosman sells adapters. There's also a carbine version of this pistol with a longer barrel that would probably be an excellent pest-control rifle. The price might be pushing your limits though.

The department store pump guns are, in my experience, functional and accurate. That's about it. They are slow for a followup, and you need to resist the temptation to shoot them at different power levels (# of pumps) if you want accuracy, unless you want to do a lot of work to accurately characterize the point of impact at various ranges with different power levels.

They do not have the quality that you'd get out of a nicer spring-piston airgun, or even a nicer pump-up like the Sheridan/Benjamin guns. Of course a nicer airgun will cost more money. Still, I know a person who uses a Crosman pump-up rifle (2100) for pest control on a regular basis and has for a period of years. He did have to replace it a few years back after using it for several years, but the replacement has been going strong for maybe 5-10 years now. He has an inexpensive reflex/red-dot sight on it and it's accounted for a LOT of pests over the years.

 

[d2wing]

I am in this spot too. I have a decent old springer but it shoots about 600 fps. It won't reach the tree tops from my deck. I made the mistake of buying a GAMO Bone Collector. After hundreds of shots with 4 types of ammo, it will not group. The scope is really bad junk, the mounts are junk, parts have fallen off, I left it in my garage and it's already got rust on it, it's 3 days old. The worst part is that it doesn't seem to have an anti-bear trap system. I have 6 stitches for that little problem. Also the plastic trigger is crap. All in all it is unsafe, unusable junk. Oh it is supposed to be quiet and have less recoil. Not compared to my other air gun, but the GAMO does have more power. With the PBA ammo it sounds just like a .22lr. At this point I am considering sub sonic ammo, bird shot or a different pellet gun. Not a GAMO.

 

[d2wing]

Update. The birdshot #12, was not effective beyond a few yards and was loud.
The subsonic ammo was better, not as loud, and more effective range, but still
About the same noise as a loud pellet gun, so I guess I will be looking for a 700-900 fps airgun.

 

[mr.trooper]

Forget about the Crossman Quest.

The sights are almost never attached properly, and virtually every example of this gun has significant barrel sag. Waste of $100 in my opinion.

You are paying for the Crossman name. There is no way your $100 would buy you such a poor Chinese airgun any other way.

Look into the 'Tech Force' series of airguns, manufactured by Singapore Airgun - ALL METAL, decent wood, reliable airguns. $80 will buy you the TF 78 - one of the most customizable airguns on the market today; hell, there are actually companies that specialize in repairing and upgrading them. It's quiet as well.

 

[Nicky Santoro]

OP,
I have a cheap Chinese .177 side cocker that is crazy accurate with quality pellets such as Beeman or Crosman. Forget the cheap Chinese pellets that came with it. The stock looks like someone whittled it and the metal is rough, with enough flashing to almost make another rifle. I repeat, crazy accurate.
FWIW
YMMV

 

[Deltaboy1984]

I use a single shot Mossburg rifle with subsonic 22 shot hollow points. It is as very quiet and I have not had any compaints or police visits.

You can find a old single shot for under 100 bucks at most gun shops or at your better pawn shops.

Air guns are going to run you 150-200 bucks if you want a good one that has the power to kill all the time.

 

[tubeshooter]

If you get a department-store pump, be sure to leave 1 pump in the gun upon storage. This keeps the seals working properly.

I didn't know that before, and wanted to pass it along. A cheapie pump may do what you need it to, but it won't last too long if you don't leave the 1 pump in.

I'm using a Crosman Recruit, which is about like a Crosman 760 with an adjustable stock.



I agree with Deltaboy's last sentence in the previous post, if you are looking for more than a cheap BB gun.

 

[gordy]

20 dollar nail driver

I too have one of the cheap china pellet guns. I redid the stock, took off the sks style sight and put a scope on it. It shoots pellets right at 950 fps. It shoots dime size groups all day long at 50 feet. I can throw bb's better than it will shot them. I've killed a lot of bunnies and tree rats with it. Well worth the 20 buck I payed for it.

 

[d2wing]

After extensive searching I am going to buy a Q78 or 79 from Flying Dragon. They are co2 guns that can use 12g powerlets or bigger tanks like a paintball gun. They are less powerfull than a springer but can be tuned for higher performance, have no recoil are are pretty quiet. They are fairly accurate. I am looking at a modified gun for under $200 that is already tuned and tested.
I tried to buy one from Pyramid, they returned my money without explanation.
And no longer show the guns they sold as Tech Force which,is the same gun rebranded. These are also sold under other brands.