Too Many pidgens

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msnden

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New to the world of Air guns, Title says it all, I don't like the thought of wantan killing but I have reached my limit of these birds, time to take action!!
would like a recommendation on a decent air gun ($200/250 range) thinking of a pump up (thinking I can regulate the power for closer/distant shots) would a .177 be adequate for these birds??, also my old eyes could use a little help, are the scopes that come with some of the guns adequate?? I do know (or think I do) that air gun scopes differ from rifle scopes. Thanks in advance for any & all information, Thanks
 
Multi pumps don't require special scopes, anything will do. Get a cheap one like a daisy 880 and the scope will be worse than irons.

.22 may be better, not necessary but that extra power comes in handy.

A Benjamin 392 will fit your bill nicely, just keep in mind that it may be noisier than you expect, do you need something that is truly neighborhood friendly?
 
Wanton killing??? That is an evil! However, stew the meat and make pot pie and it's wildlife harvest. The ancient Daisy kept in the machine shed (B-B) does an excellent job on the pigeons around here. At least when I give hubby strong hints I'm in the mood for pigeon pot pie he has no problem bringing enough to satisfy the kids and my appetite. Unfortunately, there aren't enough to pigeons in the world to satisfy him.

Maybe his mother is right and I have ruined him. :(
 
Get a break barrel springer in the 800 to 1,000 fps range in .22 cal. You'll be shooting instead of standing there pumping. Check out Airgun Depot.
 
For less than $150, the Crosman 2260 rifle in CO2 is a winner, add a good .22 scope and those birds are going down. Shoots and handles like a rimfire, one CO2 cart gives near 40 good shots with no pumping, no weird 'double recoil', just shooting fun! I prefer Airgun Depo over PA, better service and less policy problems. PA doesn't like us hunting small critters.......
 
You'd best look into the legality of shooting PIDGEONS with anything where you are first. Usually illegal to discharge any kind of rifle within city limits.
 
I also agree that you should get a break barrel in .22 rated around 800 - 900 fps. 1000 fps is good but springers that powerful are a handful, like the Walther Talon or Hatsan 135.

PCP's are great, but above your price range.

I would get a Hatsan 95 in .22. It's rated at a true 800 fps using lead. Most other velocity claims are based on light alloy pellets and are about 200 fps higher than actual speed with lead pellets.

Here's a link to the Hatsan 95: http://www.amazon.com/Hatsan-Rifle-...UTF8&qid=1432061032&sr=8-2&keywords=hatsan+95
 
Thanks to all, you have been a big help, I will check on the legality, but No matter, a few have to go!! thanks again
 
I had quite a few pump up 177's as a poorly supervised child with a hundred acres of woods as my backyard. IMO, a 700 fps 177 is not powerful enough for pigeons unless close up and to the head. I made many a headshot at far range that didn't even kill. There is at least one bird that flew off minus one eye. Birds are tougher even than cottontails. You hit a cottontail just about anywhere, and it will die of a heart attack.

For 177, I would suggest a "1100-1200 fps" break barrel, which would get you around 850-900 fps in 177. Or an "800 fps" 22, which might get you high 600's to mid 700's.

The only pump up I would suggest for pigeons is a Silver Streak.
 
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We had a sparrow problem at our house when I was a teenager, hundreds would gather in two sycamore trees in our front yard. We tried just about everything before we finally just cut them down.

One time a box of shot shells (25), fired from the backyard over the house, killed over 120 of them.
 
I would advise against a break barrel if you are even remotely concerned with noise, or regulating power. The pump option sounds good. My old daisy has blown her seals but she once put a pair of steel bbs through a racoon's forehead with full pass through out the back of the skull. The ones that accept bbs or pellets are OK for most things, but if you want ant decent accuracy you need to avoid steel bbs, I would buy one designed for either and only put lead pellets through it until the pigeon problem is remedied.
 
Well, as far as noise, a springer, or better yet a gas-piston, is actually a little quieter as far as comparable power is concerned. A Silver Streak, or w/e model number they're calling it nowadays, will wake you up at 10 pumps. Much louder than a break-barrel with equivalent power.

Unless you are real close, you don't want to shoot a large bird like a pigeon at less than 10 pumps. And unless you get down to less than 6-7, you're not going to be shooting a heck of a lot quieter. To the shooter, a springer might seem as loud, but not to an outside observer. Break-barrels generate higher pressures with smaller volumes of air. That's why they don't get faster with a longer barrel. Stick a 24" barrel on a pump up, and you can gain over 100 fps.
 
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I haven't seen an air rifle that makes less noise than a long barrel .22 bolt, pump, lever with cb rounds. With a suppressor they make more noise dry firing than firing a round.

That said they are about the same energy as a pump air rifle, maybe more.
 
jmorris,


Have you shot a Marauder? That's the quietest out of the rifles I own. I wonder if the CB's are as quiet? Marauder's are extra quiet with a de-pinger. Someone in another thread recommended.....

Ruger Blackhawk. It is a Chinese clone of a Diana 34. All Diana parts will fit in it.

I have the 1000 fps model and it works well. Kids have a problem cocking it.

$130 in Canada and it came with a 4x scope and rings that so far have worked well.


Maybe a good affordable option?
 
Not yet, if I figure out how I am going to fill it, I will.

CB longs will feed from my 26" Remington pump and my suppressed 77/22 and are "Hollywood quite" actually make less noise than they do on TV.
 
You'd best look into the legality of shooting PIDGEONS with anything where you are first. Usually illegal to discharge any kind of rifle within city limits.
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This is good advice. While it is legal to kill/hunt PIGEONS anywhere in the U.S., as far as I know, it is true that it is not uncommon for there to be local laws regulating the use of airguns--especially inside city limits.

That said, it is far more common to be able to legally shoot an airgun than a firearm. And it is certainly safer as long as we're talking about conventional airguns using diabolo style pellets.
 
My two bits....and this comes from someone at war with starlings. I would second the Benji 392. Couple reasons, you don't need a great deal of power for birds. A 177 will do it, but I like just a little more mass to work with. Also if you are fighting air rats (starlings, pigeon) they are usually hanging around barns, and buildings....you don't want the pellet zipping through the bird and hitting your tractors, barn, and other equipment you have in there. MSP is perfect.

Any scope will do on the rifle, it is accurate enough for good kills, and if you have lazy barn kitties they will be happy with the free food....mine don't even catch mice anymore.

MSP is very easy to master shooting....something springers are not, true you do have to pump the thing up, but one of the great things is 3 pumps you are inside, 10 outside, 8 across the loft....you get the choice right then....something NO OTHER air rifle is so easy to do.

Good luck, and stay away from the springers and others along those lines....unless you want holes in the wood around your barn and dents in your tractor as the pellets will zip right through the birds.
 
Another vote for the Benjamin 392. I'm on my second. Between my son and I we wore the first one completely out although it took a lot of years to do it. Very versatile rifle. It's capable of taking jackrabbit sized game at full power.

The manual that came with my newest rifle says 8 pumps maximum.
 
Pigeons aren't called "Sky Rats" for nothing. Our town has been trying to eradicate them for decades. Their numbers are now far down from the '70s, but they continue to hang on. They tend to take over areas from the smaller cousins, doves.
 
Little off topic but a good story anyway.

My Dad told me back during the depression days they used to go up in the belfry of our church "Dad was sexton" and capture and butcher the pigeons so other folks could have meat to eat.

We think times are hard???????????
We have no idea.
 
MSP is very easy to master shooting....something springers are not, true you do have to pump the thing up, but one of the great things is 3 pumps you are inside, 10 outside, 8 across the loft....you get the choice right then....something NO OTHER air rifle is so easy to do.
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So true. I have taken two rodents with MPP's, and both times I used only 3 pumps. One was a house mouse that tried to move into my gas stove. Instant kill with a 3 pump headshot from a Crosman 760. And I just eliminated a small tree rat the other night.

I could just make out a silhouette of the rat in my orange tree by the glint of a street light. My scoped Venom was useless. My scoped 1377 was useless. So I grabbed my newest addition, a 1322. It was too dark to see the sights, and I didn't want to turn on the lights and run him off. But I was able to get close enough to barrel-sight. Being able to use only 3 pumps boosted my confidence in case of a miss/deflection, being in the city. I had to aim COM, though, cuz I'm not that good. And I wasn't too sure 3 pumps would be enough, even though this rat looked to be about half the size of his parents, which had met their end in my snap traps.

Well, as it turns out, 3 pumps wasn't enough for wherever it is I hit him. But it knocked the rat out of the tree and stunned it long enough for a 3 pump follow up to the noggin at point blank. That was a frantic 5 seconds, while I reloaded, wearing sandals with a stunned rat at my feet, and so dark I could barely see it. If I had thought it through, better, I would have used 6 pumps, lol.

Before my own invasion, I had always thought "tree rat" was a derogatory name for a squirrel.
 
You are lucky. We have Egrets around here. You can't touch them because they are protected.
 
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