Pellet gun for city pests

[Imaginos]

Crossbows are Great

You can get crossbows in most states, and shooting them USUALLY falls under the laws/rules for archery equipment except during hunting season.

DO NOT use field points! Use bolts with either blunts or broadheads, but make sure you put a "judo" behind the head to prevent over penetration. A judo is a little contraption that slides over the bolt/arrow shaft. It looks like a collection of mousetrap springs with little hooks sticking out from it. It is a common thing to add to an arrow when hunting in tall grass and brush. The hooks get caught on the vegetation and stop the bolt/arrow thus reduceing the chance of losing the arrow. In the case of critters, the judo catches on the skin and slides down the shaft slowing the arrow and preventing a pass-through.

I'd suggest blunts for the short range shooting you are talking about. Blunts kill through impact shock rather than by blood loss and vascular shock, but they are very deadly on small game.

 

[Sam Adams]

A subsonic .22 Long Rifle load, fired from a rifle with the muzzle 6 or 8 feet inside a half-open curtained window, will not be very loud outside. [Emphasis added]

I'll bet that its not so quiet inside.

 

[TimG]

I have a Gammo Varmit stalker .177, has a scope & a laser (all the crutches so you really cant miss) and shoots at 1000fps so it will kill anything from a gopher on down but its friggin LOUD. I've found that the 10/22 is much quieter.

Well I'll be... I guess that IS my first post here, I'm a lurker no more.. lol

 

[Biker]

Sam Adams...

A round like that really is pretty quiet inside.

Biker

 

[Sungun09]

www.straightshooters.com

Pomona airguns, Airguns of Arizona, Pyramyd airguns all good places.

You would be surprised at the accuracy of a quality airgun.

 

[Tyril]

Just to reiterate: high velocity airguns are LOUD!


I have a Gamo 220 Hunter, which is a basic 1000 fps .177 break barrel.

My .22lr CZ452 (24" barrel) is much quieter with subsonic loads.


I fired the Gamo a couple of time in my backyard without hearing protection, it was an unpleasant experience!
Also, the Gamo will put a pellet through 1/2" of plywood at 60 feet every single time. It would probably shoot through my drywall house, if a 2x4 stud is avoided.



-mike

 

[igor]

If you're serious about this (as it very much seems), I suggest the "trap'em and nail'em in the head once boxed" approach. No problems with backstop and you may come up with an idea on how to muffle even that .22 air gun to avoid all kinds of hassle.

Best of luck, new-fangled trapper .

 

[AJ Dual]

I am absolutely amazed at some of the responses to this question. The attitude seems to be that, regardless of local ordinances and laws, it "OK" to use a projectile weapon (including pellet and BB guns) in an urban setting, as long as you don't get caught.

Gee, you summed it up so nicely.

THR has a pretty Libertarian mindset. You'll find lots of people pretty much feel if they're bothering no one, and endangering no one, or the property of others, it's nobody's business, local ordinances or not...

However, anyone that injures someone, or breaks thier property ought get what's coming to them. I think everyone here agrees with that.

What I think is really needed is this: http://www.airforceairguns.com/talonss.html

They're very careful about what they say. And I'm not sure exactly what they've done, as the ATF frowns on airgun, airsoft, and paintball suppressors as being "readily convertable" to firearm use, and thus still considers them NFA items.

Although, I presume whatever it is, it's legal, as they've been in business for some time.

 

[deadin]

You'll find lots of people pretty much feel if they're bothering no one, and endangering no one, or the property of others, it's nobody's business, local ordinances or not...

I guess I can't see how you could fire a gun (Sub-sonic, pellet, BB, Bow and arrow, etc.) in a crowded urban environment without bothering or endangering someone or something unless you are doing it completely indoors. If the "projectile" can escape your property, it probably will (every now and then).

As for,

anyone that injures someone, or breaks thier property ought get what's coming to them. I think everyone here agrees with that.

,
I guess I'm more into prevention than punishment.

Dean

 

[Desertdog]

Another angle to consider before you start forcibly eliminating those vermin;
talk to Animal Control Department and see if they will furnish traps, instructions, and remove them after they are caught. Sounds safe and legal to me.

I know that Animal Control Officers will do that in this town.

 

[Limeyfellow]

Being outside city limits we have no problems with firearms being shot, though I occasionally have to get rid of a squirrel devouring my garden or a rabbit. An air rifle will do the deed. Sometimes I just get out my Marlin 60 though it can be considered a bit overkill. Most the time nowadays I just leave the predators to get them. We got a bobcat, a number of hawks, a helluva big black snake thats been around for years and a fox in the area that keep the rodents, toads, rabbits squirrels and possums numbers taken care off.

 

[Tinker]

I don't know about your .22 Crossman, but my .17 Crossman pump is deadly on the large rats that I bust in my barn. Seven pumps behind a pellet at 10 yards does the trick. I've seen the .17's at Wallyworld selling for less than $30.

 

[JohnKSa]

With my break barrel .177 air rifle I've dropped rabbits from 80 yards but had squirrels at 15 laugh at me and require another shot to humanely put them down

Rabbits die very easily. You can practically scare them to death. Squirrels are much hardier and take a lot of killing.

Discharge of a BB or Pellet gun is the same thing as a firearm in the city limits of Colorado Springs as far as local ordinance is concerned.

This isn't as unusual as one might think. Greenville, TX has a very similar law. Get caught shooting a BB gun in the city and you'll be cited for discharging a firearm within city limits.

Just a note for those advocating using a 22 with low power ammunition. This stuff is weak compared to other firearms but is still pretty powerful compared to a conventional airgun. While the velocities may be similar, a typical 22LR bullet is about FIVE times heavier than a conventional .177 airgun pellet. It is also far more aerodynamic. A .177 airgun pellet is a very poor projectile in terms of ballistics. Even when launched from a powerful conventional airgun at 1000fps or more, 400 yards downrange it will be harmless. At 500-600fps a lead airgun pellet will flatten out on glass sliding door without leaving a mark. It won't penetrate a typical wooden fence at any significant distance. The same is definitely not true of a .22 bullet--even from the low power ammunition.

If you don't have a tested and secure backstop, you have no business shooting a firearm in an urban area--regardless of how underpowered the ammunition may seem. Even an airgun can be dangerous under these circumstances although the margin of safety is much higher.

 

[charliemopic]

Snakes in the House!

I had/have a problem with Garder snakes and I hate snakes.
Yeah, yeah I know Garder snakes don't bite but i don't care.
One warm summer night me, the wife Katie and our lazy mini-Dachsund were watching TV and while laying on the couch I see this 14" long ooglyass snake crawl past me on the floor! And where does he go? To the corner where my Crosman 66 PowerMaster BB/pellet gun is. So I tell Katie who is not affraid of snakes to get the BB gun. I took aim and put one right thru the top of his head and it came out the bottom of his jaw.
Then again a year later I seen one making his way to under the fridge. I don't want anything to do with it so Katie got the machetti and took care of it.
I have chopped up several Garder snakes outside in the yard, last week one had a fight with my lawn mower and lost. He was a biggun too!
I have noticed a marked increase in crickets, earwigs and other insects around the house after I kill a few big snakes.
_ I live in a residential/commercial area where houses are very close. I asked 2 different LEOs about shooting a BB gun in my yard. Both said it wasn't illegal to discharge a BB gun in our area, shooting at property, pets or anything else that prompts someone to call the PD is. They suggest I tell my neighbors what I'm doing. I have and now the neighbors are use to seeing me walk around the house looking thru the bushes with rifle in hand. The neighbors know I am a 'responsible' firearms owner. One Fourth of July evening a neighbor came over to tell me he was gonna shoot his .25 auto pistol into the air and I shouldn't shoot back. He also invited me to shoot my guns into the air too. I not only told him I don't do that but I also tried to talk him out of doing it. That little .25 of his makes a helluva'alotta noise!

 

[MBane666]

We have big ground squirrels that wreak havoc on my Sweetie's flower gardens. They seem to be pretty territorial, with one "family unit" sacking the garden at a time.

We spray the garden with various icky smelling stuff, but eventually I have to whack both squirrels. I've been using an ancient Webley Tempest with "Crow-Magnum" HP pellets; still, I go only for head shots and the pellets work extremely well.

I'm VERY against poisons...too many other animals in the food chain!

Michael B

 

[SAWBONES]

"I am absolutely amazed at some of the responses to this question. The attitude seems to be that, regardless of local ordinances and laws, it (is) 'OK' to use a projectile weapon (including pellet and BB guns) in an urban setting, as long as you don't get caught.
Making them quiet doesn't make them any safer."

And I'm surprised that anyone on a gun-related bulletin board like this one would consider that personal possession and urban use of typical low-powered air pistols and rifles by intelligent folks in their own yards should be reasonably objected to!

Does a "nanny statement" ("Please use caution. Do not shoot at your own or neighbors' children or pets. Do not shoot at homes or in such a manner as to damage property. Be particularly careful about penetration when using high-powered German air rifles with velocities over 1000 fps.") have to accompany every post about matters of this sort, even for typical BB and air guns?

I live in the middle of town in a major city. My next door neighbor shoots Norway rats in his yard with a .22LR pistol. I know him and trust him to have adequate "muzzle discipline". More power to him, I say!

 

[shllyshny]

Had a 'possum up on the fence just driving my three worthless dogs nuts. I considered the .22, but decided against it. Instead, I grabbed the wife's favorite wooden cutting board (nice and heavy), walked right up to the ugly bastard and smacked him a good one on the melon. Wife didn't like that at all and refuses to use that cutting board now. What the hell, I washed the blood and hair off it!

Squirrels and raccoons are easier. Seems the little devils have a taste for anti-freeze. I fill a tin pie plate about 1" and set that on the roof. Takes care of the cats running loose in the neighborhood too.

My .02

 

[Gallant]

I've been having a opossum problem around my house, and all this information is very helpful.

OH, WHAT THINGS I KNOW NOW.

Poison laced Bbs might work; Kidding of course.

 

[Kentak]

Ditto what others have said about checking the local laws that apply. I think if you are careful, there is little chance you'll get caught. It would most likely be a neighbor who might be worried about a stray pellet, and that's within their right. But, I think you should know the legal penalties, just in case.

If you go ahead with this, follow all the same safety rules as you would with a firearm--especially where the pellet will go if it misses or goes through the target. A .22 air rifle could cause serious bodily harm.

K

 

[Big Wooly Mammoth]

Sling Shot?

This may be a silly question, but how effective would a nice heavy-duty sling shot with a heavy projectile be for taking down these bigger pests? I don't have much experience with them myself, but I know someone who is deadly accurate with one...

 

[Lonestar]

For a more safer and somewhat more legal option, set up a few Deadfall traps with heavy stuff around the yard. The rats, just get rat traps. Possums and Coons hitting the trash set up a dropfall in the likely path they are taking. A friend of mine has a machine shop and set up two engine block an an angle, with rebar trip post. It would not be safe if you had kids or small pest, and techinically its not legal to trap, but passers by would have no idea what it was, and just assume it was junk.

 

[DF357]

This stuff is great ! The falling of the hammer makes about as much noise.

I got a box, and friends can't believe it is so quiet. I use it in my rifle with no problems.

http://www.aguilaammo.com/supercolibri.htm

 

[mbs357]

I have an idea...
Link.
Not my photo, I'm afraid.

 

[Sheldon J]

the single cock spring air rifles will go 1000 fps and kill squirrels dead. Not racoon tho.

Actually with a hollow point my Gamo did in one with one shot to the eye, with the included BSA scope it will do 1/2" groups at 50 yards, thing fell out of the tree like a lead weight.

 

[gunsmith]

.22 pellets are pretty common

not as common as the .177 though.

I've shott the .22 pellets in my living room, lots of fun!

Though for bigger game like coon's and such I'd imagine you would want a .22lr or a .17hmr