I have been in a few stores looking at air rifles. Mainly interested for squirrel. I will be shooting within a range of 20 to 75 yards. The quieter the better. Accuracy is important. I have been using a CZ 457 .22LR but the neighbor has complained. Looking to spend under $400.
Suggestions for a squirrel gun
- Thread starter Atrox88
- Start date
I'm not knowledgeable enough to answer your question very well, but I can say that in my hunt for a pellet gun, I used the Airgun Depot website (and it's gun finder tool). https://www.airgundepot.com/air-rifles.html - look for the button that says, "Not sure? User our guide."
CoalCrackerAl
Member
I have one of these. Very accurate out to 50 yards.
Ruger Impact Elite Gas Piston Breakbarrel .22. Cal. Pellet Air Rifle - Walmart.com
Ruger Impact Elite Gas Piston Breakbarrel .22. Cal. Pellet Air Rifle - Walmart.com
Thanks. The "not sure" function is helpful. I saved a few to look at later.
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d2wing
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I had a QB78 .22 for that purpose and it worked well but it quit on me. I have a Ruger .17 that is pretty accurate but for more power I have a Hatsan 95 .22. I also have a HW30 .22. They all work but 50 yards is a long way for a air rifle unless you go PCP. PCP can have more power with less recoil if you don't mind the expense and pump. Hatsan has good deals on refurbs and close outs. but they are not top quality. I wouldn't own a GAMO.
Power wise I use .22 cal. and like 800 fps and up. Less is ok if fairly close.
Power wise I use .22 cal. and like 800 fps and up. Less is ok if fairly close.
Atavar
Member
If quiet is an issue just make sure the velocity of the pellet stays subsonic. That is generally 335m/s or 1100ft/second.
The loud crack you hear is the pellet crossing the speed of sound (either direction)
If you live in the great white north remember that the speed of sound goes down with temperature.
The loud crack you hear is the pellet crossing the speed of sound (either direction)
If you live in the great white north remember that the speed of sound goes down with temperature.
Atavar
Member
You might also want to try subsonic .22lr ammo as an experiment. Similar noise to dropping a book.
The Gamo Urban is made in the UK by BSA. Both BSA and the Urban are well respected PCP rifles with superbly accurate barrels and simple design and reliable all metal construction. Regardless of the many NASCAR dad break barrels with fantastic FPS claims Gamo, not alone in that, and others, make for them.
https://www.amazon.com/Gamo-600054-...86-916f-b6795f1b5f1a&pd_rd_i=B01CSRO70G&psc=1
The Urban will easily take squirrels at 50 yards and beyond. But there is also the Beeman Chief, an easy to pump rifle:
https://www.amazon.com/Beeman-1322-Air-Guns-Rifles/dp/B072J31LH8
Pellets are typically most accurate when propelled at velocities below about 900 FPS. All of these break barrel rifles with supersonic claims are of dubious merit at best, horrible accuracy and the only way they get those velocities is by using lightweight alloy pellets. And the light alloy pellets are damaging to the spring motors in the damnable things. And they, break barrel spring rifles including gas piston, all ruin scopes with obnoxious reverse recoil. I have several PCP rifles that will easily send alloy lead free pellets to supersonic velocities but there is no accuracy beyond about 25 yards if that as they corkscrew through the air, especially as they decelerate through transonic velocity.
Atavar
Member
If you have a patio door facing your yard another option is buying or making a “table for one” style squirrel feeder and hanging it on a tree that is line of sight from the door.
Then you can set up a shooting bench inside the house and shoot from comfort while maintaining a good backdrop.
If you keep the muzzle in the house you will contain noise quite effectively and minimize visual exposure to the neighbors.
Of course I do not advocate breaking local shooting laws.
Then you can set up a shooting bench inside the house and shoot from comfort while maintaining a good backdrop.
If you keep the muzzle in the house you will contain noise quite effectively and minimize visual exposure to the neighbors.
Of course I do not advocate breaking local shooting laws.
PistoleroWadcutterGANG
Member
Happy to answer your questions. Been at the Adult Precision airgun game for a very long time. (4decades) Specifically PCP and Springers (low and high end). Hatsan and Umarex/Walther both post refurbs for massive discounts. If you're thinking you'd like to go multi-shot PCP you can cheap and still get a great unit. A very good used high dollar springer can be had for your stated money. Heck if you go .25caliber PCP I have some sealed pellets you can have to get started. This CZ carbine for instance is very simple design and easy for a new pcp person to get up and running. VERY easy to pump up if you don't want to do all the pcp air tanks / charging equipment. (Ignore the moisture in the system nay sayers)
This is a AirArms/CZ 200. IT's been tuned to run Match Kodiak extra heavies right at 890. Shot count is much lower. (I don't need 100+ shots right now)
This is a AirArms/CZ 200. IT's been tuned to run Match Kodiak extra heavies right at 890. Shot count is much lower. (I don't need 100+ shots right now)
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random_guy
Member
well over your price tag my airforce condor I easily take care of them at 75 yards before I moved to a new house.
Did you try some subsonic .22 ammo in your 457
I have not. I have tried Standard Velocity with the can attached and it's pretty quiet.
tightgroup tiger
Member
CCI makes some good 22 sub quiet ammo. This stuff is about as quiet as a subsonic springer air rifle when fired out of a 22 rifle. The sound doesn't seem to carry very far.
Aquila make these, they are about the quietest there is.
Make sure these will clear a short rifle barrel before shooting next shot. You have to try this before you find out you stuck 3 bullets in your barrel. This is the quietest 22 ammo there is but it really made for a handgun barrel length.
I know people that shoot these out of a shorter barreled rifles. They say it's just a pssst.
20 gr bullet at 420fps muzzle velocity though? I doubt it would kill a squirrel at 20 yds.
I shot a squirrel at 20yds with my 17 cal Crossman American pump pistol at 6 pumps and it didn't even draw blood. The squirrel was mad at me for a while, but he got over it.
At 20yds, I would think the same thing would happen with this Aquila ammo. It's for close up.
Just so you know.
I use the CCI Quiet ammo, it's louder but gets the job done.
Aquila make these, they are about the quietest there is.
Make sure these will clear a short rifle barrel before shooting next shot. You have to try this before you find out you stuck 3 bullets in your barrel. This is the quietest 22 ammo there is but it really made for a handgun barrel length.
I know people that shoot these out of a shorter barreled rifles. They say it's just a pssst.
20 gr bullet at 420fps muzzle velocity though? I doubt it would kill a squirrel at 20 yds.
I shot a squirrel at 20yds with my 17 cal Crossman American pump pistol at 6 pumps and it didn't even draw blood. The squirrel was mad at me for a while, but he got over it.
At 20yds, I would think the same thing would happen with this Aquila ammo. It's for close up.
Just so you know.
I use the CCI Quiet ammo, it's louder but gets the job done.
I use to use 22 CB Caps all the time since they are no louder than an air rifle. But most towns/cities have laws about discharging firearms. So this is where a good air rifle comes in.
I've been using a Ruger American Rimfire for years and I can't count how many squirrels I've dropped with it. It's been extremally accurate! I've got it paired with a Riton 1 Primal 3-9x40. It's a perfect scope for a cheaper rifle if you want to get something that's not too expensive but has good glass.
Atavar
Member
Be careful there. A lot of those towns classify air guns as firearms.
Yes some cities definitely do. Luckily the small town I live in does not.
If your goal is to eradicate squirrels from your property, my suggestion is to use a trap. I have found the best bait for squirrels is whole walnuts. In the past three weeks, I have removed a total of 27 squirrels with number 28 probably sitting in the trap as I write. If your neighbor is not right on top of you, I suggest subsonic 22 ammo. I doubt they'll hear anything as it is pretty quiet.
gwpercle
Member
If you wish to continue using your CZ rifle try a quiter ammo ... CCI 22 CB Shorts are available from Midway .
They may be quiter than the Quite 22 LR ammo CCI sells .
Air rifle / pellet gun was my Dad's tool of choice , shot from his open kitchen window .
Live traps are another option ... used them for raccoon problems ... will work for squirrel .
Nothing wrong with catch and release ... down the road !
Gary
They may be quiter than the Quite 22 LR ammo CCI sells .
Air rifle / pellet gun was my Dad's tool of choice , shot from his open kitchen window .
Live traps are another option ... used them for raccoon problems ... will work for squirrel .
Nothing wrong with catch and release ... down the road !
Gary
a_canadian
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383 grey squirrels as of yesterday's shot just before lunch. That's over 8 years. I've used a few different airguns, depending on the distance and angle in question, ranging from 6fpe in .177" to 21fpe in .22". Good placement at the base of the brain from the side works with the lighter impacting airguns, while a trickier shot from the front or top of the head has me picking up the more powerful airgun to make sure the job gets done in one. K baffle suppressors make them all quiet enough that no one has ever noticed a shot, and my neighbours are close. The nut tree makes fine 'bait' almost year-round, as they eat the buds when there are no nuts, and the nuts they find on the ground when the leaves have dropped. I harvest most of them but leave a few to bring the squirrels close, then usually hit them while they're nibbling through shells.
teerex.otw
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383 ?!
That’s not a squirrel problem, that’s an infestation (and a health problem to boot !)
Bet your neighbors wouldn’t even thank you for your efforts (if they knew).
That’s not a squirrel problem, that’s an infestation (and a health problem to boot !)
Bet your neighbors wouldn’t even thank you for your efforts (if they knew).
a_canadian
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I've spoken with 2 neighbours about the issue of squirrels, in terms of attic invasion, danger to old wiring, diseases they carry, havoc for practically every garden plant, and those neighbours very much appreciate my efforts, so long as I only take shots which are safe for them and their properties. I'm careful about such things, of course. But the majority of my neighbours would positively freak out if they knew someone was shooting for any reason. Hence the need for quiet guns.
A .22lr, even with CCI Quiet and a good suppressor, is simply too loud for an urban environment. Besides the current total of 383 squirrels (they go in the city compost bin, enhancing soil richness for our city parks), there are also 189 rats taken over the same period. More than half of them from a corner hole in one neighbour's roof, just behind a gutter, where they've repaired the soffit three times but the rats keep chewing through. I use thermal to spot them, then an infrared monocular adapted to a 3x scope on a low powered PCP to take the shots. On a budget, infrared offers better clarity and precision. I can't afford truly accurate thermal scopes yet.
A .22lr, even with CCI Quiet and a good suppressor, is simply too loud for an urban environment. Besides the current total of 383 squirrels (they go in the city compost bin, enhancing soil richness for our city parks), there are also 189 rats taken over the same period. More than half of them from a corner hole in one neighbour's roof, just behind a gutter, where they've repaired the soffit three times but the rats keep chewing through. I use thermal to spot them, then an infrared monocular adapted to a 3x scope on a low powered PCP to take the shots. On a budget, infrared offers better clarity and precision. I can't afford truly accurate thermal scopes yet.
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