Pellet rifle suggestion for squirrel control

[basicblur]

I've got a "squirrel problem" with my bird feeders - I've been pestering them with a CO2 BB pistol, but need something more accurate and apparently more lethal (the only way you're going to keep them from a food source).

Someone loaned me a Beeman R1 in .177 to try, but I can't hit a darn thing with it. They have a nice Leupold scope on it, but it's both slightly tilted and I have a terrible time with eye relief - can't go messing with their scope, but the only way I can get a good sight picture is to hold it off my shoulder. Doing so means accuracy suffers, and since I don't have it jammed into my shoulder, the recoil keeps me from seeing where the pellets are hitting so I can correct.

Anywho...
Anybody got some suggestions?
I'm currently considering the SIG MCX but can't quite pull the trigger.

CO2 powered would be nice for no muss, no fuss shots - a break barrel rifle is quite a production just for one shot, and my squirrels are currently so gun shy that It's difficult to crack a window in order to get a shot off. With a spring powered rifle, if you don't get the shot off you can't just let it set 'til next time.

I'm torn between:
1. .177 or .22 pellet.
2. The SIG MCX or Winchester MP4 (seems to get good reviews).

I've pretty much squirrel-proofed my feeders, but I've got so many of the darn things that I need to thin the herd a bit.

Suggestions or experience anyone?

 

[Predator55]

I have a RWS mod 34 Diana and it is a shooter. I take out pine squirrels at the tops of white pins without any problems. The gun is balanced and easy to cock and hits hard. You can spend more on a higher powered rifle but no need. Remember pellet rifle recoil is forward not back, so you need a scope that's designed to handle it, and once zeroed your tree rat issue will be gone. 177 is all that's neede but if you want a larger round go with the 22, just a bit slower in speed.

 

[rondog]

Got neighbors? They can be problematic. Seems yuppies and their puppies have this aversion to seeing their adorable fuzzy lil' skwerls flopping about.

Myself, I use a cheap Daisy Powerline 880 with a Nikon P-223 on top.

 

[35 Whelen]

If you own a .22 rim fire just get either some CB's, short or long, or some Super Colibri's by Aguila. Any of the three are very, very quiet and will do a squirrel in.

35W

 

[MIL-DOT]

I have a RWS mod 34 Diana and it is a shooter. I take out pine squirrels at the tops of white pins without any problems......

My brother's been using the same thing,also with great success. They're awesome, hard-hitting airguns.
I traded my Beeman R9 with Bushnell Elite scope a couple years back (for an AR15, no less!! ), so now I'm using my stainless Marlin 60, with subsonic ammo to go after the squirrels.
I live in a well-foliated, spread out, semi-rural subdivision, but I still have to be conscious of the neighbors, but the subsonic rounds don't really have a discernably louder report than the springer pellet rifles do, and the occasional shot doesn't attract any attention.
My biggest obstacle is that the damned squirrels are getting smart . I just walk around the corner of the house, and they all beat feet like Godzilla just showed up !!
Anyway, if you have a .22 rifle, just get you some subsonic ammo for it.

 

[Ohen Cepel]

Quite .22 ammo could be an option depending on your location.

I have a Nitro Venom .22 which I really like, powerful and pretty quite. I prefer a break barrel since CO2 has let me down too many times. Check out Pyramid Air if you haven't, they have just about anything you could want in the air world.

I prefer .22 over .177. Bigger hole is usually a good thing along with a heavier pellet. In the right gun you can get the .22 up to 800fps or so, a .177 to have the same energy would be breaking the sound barrier which hurts accuracy and makes more needless noise.

Pyramid rates their stuff by velocity, sound level, etc which I find helpful.
Expect anything you but to shoot lower than stated though, seems most test with silly light weight pellets to get the fps up.

 

[Reloadron]

Why isn't this thread listed in Air Guns?

As to a good pellet rifle? I always liked the RWS and Diana guns and I also remember the Beeman guns being OK. Problem is do you want to buy a pellet rifle just for this single problem? Once the squirrels are eliminated be it a BB rifle, Pellet rifle, .22 LR using CB caps or similar do you plan to keep the rifle? A really good quality pellet rifle can carry a hefty price tag.

Ron

 

[nettlle]

Pellet rifles are quite but not noiseless. A CB cap doesn't make much more noise than a pellet gun. Not enough difference to purchase an expensive pellet rifle to me anyway.

 

[swampcrawler]

I also suggest one of the quiet .22 rounds.

Otherwise either the old school Benjamin Sheradin, which is the old pump up style. As a kid I killed an unreasonable amount of bushy tails with the .177 variety and 6 pumps of compression. It can (some say should) be left loaded and pumped up.

The Benjamin Nitro Pistol guns get good reviews as well. But again, one of the quiet .22 rounds is, in my experience, literally quieter than a pellet rifle.

 

[Steel Horse Rider]

I have a Crossman long barreled pump type .177 caliber pellet pistol that I use to keep the underside of my deck from becoming the local breeding ground for rabbits. You have to pump it about 20 times, which doesn't help fast second shots, but once I got the sights figured out it has been mostly a one head shot exterminator. Quiet too....

 

[Float Pilot]

I have a RWS 177 caliber that I have been using for 18 years or so. I can hit a soda can at 45 yards ( my practice target ) with iron sights. I chronographed most pellets at around 1100 fps muzzle velocity. HOWEVER,,, the 177 caliber just goes through most pest critters and they go off to die and stink in odd places. If I ever buy another pellet rifle it will be at least 22 caliber or larger....

 

[okiedave]

Airforce Texan .45 cal but they wont have much eating meat left!

 

[geneo]

I have a RWS mod 34 Diana .22 cal. I got tired of all the tree rats getting into every thing around the house. As of this morning the count is # 222.
I've had the RWS .22cal for two years and is a very good springier rifle.
gene

 

[okiedave]

Air force 45 cal pre-charged but you will not get much eating meat from the squirrel

 

[rcmodel]

That would be as dangerous as using a 30-06 here in town.

A .177 is plenty enough to take out squirrels,

And there is very little risk of a ricochet talking out the neighbor's picture window.

rc

 

[Hanshi]

I've killed oodles of suburban squirrels with BB and CB cartridges. They're accurate, effective and inexpensive compared to buying another rifle. I killed rabbits, gray squirrels and ground squirrels with a 5mm Sheridan Blue Streak I bought over 50 years ago. It won't pump up any longer and needs fixing. It's an old but great rifle. I received a .177 Remmy pump some 10-12 years back and it accounted for lots of pesky squirrels.

 

[35 Whelen]

Forgot to mention...I've fired several hundred CB longs out of my old Savage 24, and literally, the loudest part of firing one of these rounds is the hammer striking the firing pin.

35W

 

[280shooter]

I picked up a RWS model 45.back in 1980 .I shot 1000 and 1000s of pellets out of it.never had a problem with it, I did how ever removed the sights front and back.
I did have a gunsmith put a different scope mount on it,the recoil would walk the scope right off the mount. I like it for one reason, it doesn't crack.or snap,the only thing you hear is the noise of the spring, I killed a ground hog today,one shot, 24 yards.rabbits done run when you hit them in the kill area,squirrel the same way.
Get a good scope for spring powered guns.

 

[basicblur]

Why isn't this thread listed in Air Guns?

My bad - I didn't even realize there was an air gun forum - didn't scroll far enough down the page.

Mebbe a mod can move it?

 

[joneb]

I have Hatsan 87 .22 and really like it, for under $200 shipped it's hard to beat.

 

[basicblur]

Folks, I'm fully familiar with subsonic 22 rounds etc. - I just feel more comfortable in my location using something less powerful.

A .177 is plenty enough to take out squirrels,
And there is very little risk of a ricochet talking out the neighbor's picture window.

At's more what I'm looking for - I can only take shots in certain directions due to housing.

The fellow that let me borrow his Beeman R1 gave me a Pyramid Air catalog - I've spent some time at their site, and just went thru the catalog (twice) - still can't decide.

Thought I wanted .177, but am beginning to think about .22 (ricochets aside).
When I initially saw the "1,400 fps" etc. claims, I knew I didn't want anything supersonic, but digging deeper I see that's only with alloy pellets - I'm now thinking about going .22 and sticking with heavier pellets so the SS crack is not a problem, but will have more energy with a .22 than a .177.

I thought the SIG MCX would be ideal, but reviews seem to be mixed - seems too many folks are having valve problems, not sure about that 30-rd. "belt", and folks seem to have jams when trying pellets with a point, etc.

On the other hand...it would be darn quick, easy, simple, quiet for multiple shots. With the Beeman R1 I currently borrowed, darn if it doesn't seem like a big production every time I crack the window to take a shot.

If I had more open spaces, I have plenty of stuff that would be quiet, accurate, and would make short work of them (one shot, one kill).

As it is, I'm going to go the pellet route.

BTW - are the inert gas system guns really any quieter than the Beeman R1 I'm currently using?

If you can believe the company hype, they claim stuff like Crossman's Nitro Pistons is quieter than a spring powered rifle.

Our local Walmart and Dick's have little to nothing - a few "possible" Gamo and Crosman's, but I'd rather spend a little more and get something a little nicer?

 

[joneb]

I got this:http://www.airgundepot.com/hatsan-model-87-quiet-energy-qe-mod87.html in 22 cal. and put a better scope on it.
The 95 was my other option.

 

[basicblur]

I got this:http://www.airgundepot.com/hatsan-mo...-qe-mod87.html in 22 cal. and put a better scope on it.

Thanks - since a number of folks have Hatsan, they're probably going on my short list - will have to spend some time at their site.

One other tidbit of info I did pick up - they say with their piston system you don't have to worry about spring fatigue even if you leave it cocked for hours.

That could be handy in case they all scatter before I can get a shot off - it really sucks having to waste a pellet if you don't get a shot just to relieve spring pressure. I wouldn't have to wait long as they're usually back PDQ.

 

[Tactical Lever]

The spring piston guns are slightly quieter than a pneumatic gun. And the gas ram guns may be a little quieter. That said a multi-pump pneumatic, or a pre-charged pneumatic (PCP)are not too loud, and the way I went.

I have a Crosman 2240 that is a pretty powerful and accurate CO2 pistol in .22 cal. Only pain is the CO2 eventually leaks out; I could probably put in a gauge, and maybe change a seal. I also have a Crosman 1322 multi pump pistol (.22), which I can see becoming a favourite. I also have a Benjamin Discovery in .22 that I bought as a package with the pump. It really smacks the big corvids around here. I also bought the CO2 filler for it, which gives you roughly twice the shots and quieter, but less power. Mounted an old "big rifle" scope on it, and with the right pellets is probably MOA out to about 1/3 of the way down the 100 yard range. Or about 1/3 of inch at typical air rifle range.

Next I will probably buy a Crosman 392 to round out my collection, and mount a peep on it. Or an old Sheridan Blue Streak, or similar.

Done with high power springers for the most part. Hard keeping a scope on them, and takes a special skill to shoot accurately. Try resting improperly, or holding too tight, and it doesn't work too well.

I like the .22; hits way harder. Had a .25 cal springer for a while that hit pretty hard, but I found the pellets expensive, the gun very hard to hit with, and my Disco with a quicker .22 pellet actually outpenetrates it, at least in pine boards. Keep your velocity sub sonic (and some say under 1000 fps) for good accuracy, otherwise trans-sonic shock will play havoc with the pellet. And if you do get a piston gun, stay away from the light non-lead pellets. They are hard on them, as the piston hits the end without enough resistance. And you need an air gun rated scope for a spring/gas ram piston.

 

[Kookla]

I gathered a bunch of squirrels years ago with an inexpensive Crosman 2100- .177. I kept my shots to 20 yards and under.