suppressed .22 options (red squirrel issues)

[HarcyPervin]

So, let's just hypothetically say that I dislike red squirrels. When I say dislike, I mean that I loathe the little demon spawn. Lets also say that I wanted to bring a .22 pistol into the woods with me when deer hunting to potentially eliminate this problem. Any suggestions? I have seen the .22 CB rounds that are essentially a primer and a bullet, but have my reservations about shooting those out of anything semi-auto which is a must because I'd also like to use it for plinking. I live in MN, suppressors are illegal, but I hunt private land so....well you get it. I don't really want to go out of my way to break the law, so subsonic rounds may be the best bet, but if I blast one of those little red *******s I'd like not to scare away bambi in the process.

Advice?

Cheers

 

[griff383]

Im with you on those things, I grew up in MN and as a kid we werent allowed to shoot any animal with our bb guns, but dad made one exception. Legally you cant do squat to supress the noise of your 22, (go MN!! right?) try some 22 shorts or a CO2 powered pelet pistol.

 

[GCBurner]

You don't need the clackey-clack of a semi auto, either. Use the CB Caps in a bolt action rifle, and it's not any louder than a pellet gun.
Then you can be vewy, vewy qwiet during squirrel and wabbit season.

 

[RimfireChris]

The CCI CB Longs are very quiet, but I've only shot them out of a rifle, can't say as to ho wthey'll do in a pistol. As for cycling the action, you're outta luck with most of the lower velocity rounds. Another one might be the Aguila Colibri or Super Colibri. I've no experience with those but quite a few people seem to like them and say they're very quiet even in pistols.

 

[Legionnaire]

I live in MN, suppressors are illegal ...

'nuff said. Stay legal. Assuming it's legal to carry a rimfire while hunting deer, I'd opt for a revolver loaded with .22 shorts.

 

[waterhouse]

I live in MN, suppressors are illegal, but I hunt private land so....well you get it.

If they are illegal, don't even try making or buying one. It's a bad law, but one that should be followed.

You can shoot the low velocity stuff through a semi, and they are fairly quiet, but they will likely not cycle the action. You'll still be able to use the gun for plinking with regular ammo though.

 

[kingpin008]

I live in MN, suppressors are illegal, but I hunt private land so....well you get it.

Sorry, we're not going to help you break the law.

 

[Jorg Nysgerrig]

I hope some of the posters in this thread misread your post and that you're not actually looking for advice on how to break the law, but rather you are looking for recommendations for rounds with less report. Is that correct?

 

[Larry Ashcraft]

I closed this thread after a tug-o-war session with Jorg, but Jorg intended for it to remain open with his question.

I deleted my closing post. Sorry for any confusion.

 

[redbullitt]

Sling shot will do them nicely : )

 

[rondog]

Why not just a pellet gun? That'll still knock the wind outta their sails.

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

Semi Auto Pellet Gun. It'll cycle ammo, do the job and like a suppressed 22, is quiet as a pellet gun!

 

[Gouranga]

Sling shot or pellet gun. Sling shot is quiet, will take them out, and with a little training you can get pretty accurate with it. You can also pick your ammo up off the ground and it very likely is not a violation of any law.

 

[phoglund]

No, don't suppress illegally...but use quiet ammo.

I'd think a subsonic round or CB round with your semi-Auto is the best solution. Won't cycle of course but you can hand cycle the bolt for the low power rounds and let the action work as usual for the plinking rounds. By hand cycling you will be able to keep the shot even quieter as the sound of the bolt cycling makes noise as well.

Paul

 

[oneounceload]

I live in a subdivision, so even though suppressors are legal, the close proximity of neighbors (20 feet +/-) means I use my RWS 1000fps air rifle

 

[Mightee2]

CB rounds are still a bot noisy out of a. 22 revolver... expecially for the MN deer woods. An auto might be a bit quieter, but a rifle with CBs would be the ticket. Find an old .22 lever or bolt gun that you wouldnt mind letting it sit outside in a tree overnight. Those CB rounds dont have enough oomph to cycle the action of an auto.

 

[Legionnaire]

I don't doubt a rifle would be quieter, but I don't think I can recommend two long guns for this situation. Sounds like some kind of readily-accessible handgun is the ticket.

It does raise an interesting question: Just how quiet could one make a .22 pistol that was designed to be such without using suppressor technology? I assume some kind of single shot like a Contender/Encore (but smaller framed) shooting mild loads would be optimal ...

 

[trig1986]

keeping quiet

I don't know why no one else metioned this; Just use a small crossbow,it's super quiet and accurate,and can be carried along in a back pack. After all you did state that you intended to kill the ******s.

 

[Claude Clay]

i read it that the op is not wanting to break any laws.

as for when i declared war on the tree rats in my yard ( and their tunnel activity under my formerly level slate patio) i went armed with a Gamo 880.

initial contact with the enemy and their kin--the chipmunk, went well.
i was winning hands down. until they held services for the departed. 20 brethren came for the wake and 10 stayed!
after the 4th funeral i was forced to accept defeat

 

[GarryB]

I love the irony... if you lived here you could use a silencer... but you couldn't use a pistol for hunting...

Anyway, I would think of the suggestions given an air pistol or .22 short revolver would do the job, though I would look for a .22lr revolver that could also fire .22 short simply to make the pistol more versatile.

Another option could be trapping them of course.

 

[Animal Mother]

You won't find a .22 round that will be as quiet as a pellet gun when fired from an unsuppressed pistol. The closest you will come will be a Colibri, but they are very underpowered and will still be too loud out of a pistol, especially a revolver, due to the cylinder gap. However, the Super Colibri has more power and will actually be quieter than a pellet gun when fired out of a bolt action or lever action 22 rifle. As many others have suggested, you may want to try a slingshot or pellet gun instead.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

Any good bolt gun using some quiet ammo like these:

Will get rid of those Reds just as quietly as any 177 cal air rifle with way more punch!

 

[tango2echo]

I have a single shot .22 with a 20" barrel. The CCI .22 Shorts make far less noise than a surpressed .22 I have makes with STD. Velocity loads. The sound of the bullet hitting a tree when you miss is louder than the report of the rifle.

They chrony about 640fps for me and will wallop a squirrel at 20 yards.

 

[Pigspitter]

I've used the CCI CB Shorts in a rifle and a pistol. It's extrememly quiet out of a rifle, but it still makes a decent racket out of a pistol. Staying legal is the most important thing.

 

[zoom6zoom]

Here's a suppressed .22 that should be legal even in your state:
http://www.airgundepot.com/gamo-whisper-22.html

Works great on tree rats, too.