Pellet vs squirrel

[Virgil Co.C]

Have a Benjamin which was in my mind pricey ,22. It drops em no problem .Also have a Gamo which also gets the job done , not so pricey. Both are breaks and are loud . Seen a you tube where they make some homemade silencers for them , nothing fancy .Soda bottle and tissues. Pretty much some kid messing around. It worked . Curios about the legality of it . Me I ain’t giving anyone the excuse. Anyway they are fun to shoot . Can’t really zero the scope . Cheap one it ones with. Just get aggravated. But more of something to scratch the itch. Also have the ole red Ryder. Watch the bb go . I like it because it’s a lever.Feel like a kid again shooting it. All the kids and grandkids started on it.Now that pisses of a squirrel.

 

[John from MD]

Have a Benjamin which was in my mind pricey ,22. It drops em no problem .Also have a Gamo which also gets the job done , not so pricey. Both are breaks and are loud . Seen a you tube where they make some homemade silencers for them , nothing fancy .Soda bottle and tissues. Pretty much some kid messing around. It worked . Curios about the legality of it . Me I ain’t giving anyone the excuse. Anyway they are fun to shoot . Can’t really zero the scope . Cheap one it ones with. Just get aggravated. But more of something to scratch the itch. Also have the ole red Ryder. Watch the bb go . I like it because it’s a lever.Feel like a kid again shooting it. All the kids and grandkids started on it.Now that pisses of a squirrel.

If you can, put a red dot on your break barrels. They are notorious for breaking scopes some more than others. I switched to a Bushnell TRS25 red dot for my Gamo Whisper and it has never failed. I love this rifle but, after it broke a $400 scope, I almost threw it in the woods. Luckily I decided to put the red dot on and now I am very happy.

 

[Ranchero50]

I have one of the wood stocked Gamo game hunter's with the gas piston in .22 and it's pretty good about dropping squirrels with the cheaper heavy Crossman pellets, especially under 15 yards. It still zings a random flier every once in a while but overall not too bad. Damned tree rats dug up my bulbs a couple years in a row so it's game on.

 

[lazarus]

If you can, put a red dot on your break barrels. They are notorious for breaking scopes some more than others. I switched to a Bushnell TRS25 red dot for my Gamo Whisper and it has never failed. I love this rifle but, after it broke a $400 scope, I almost threw it in the woods. Luckily I decided to put the red dot on and now I am very happy.

Fortunately I've got a couple of spare TRS25s (I picked up 3 for stupid cheap a few years ago. I run one on my Buckmark and used to have one on my AR (has a Sig red dot now)).

I'd prefer a scope, but if whatever scope came with the air gun died, not sure I'd spend the money to replace it. So I appreciate the red dot suggestion. Other than plinking, I doubt I'd be using a pellet gun past maybe 25yds on squirrels.

 

[Bullfrog]

Fortunately I've got a couple of spare TRS25s (I picked up 3 for stupid cheap a few years ago. I run one on my Buckmark and used to have one on my AR (has a Sig red dot now)).

I'd prefer a scope, but if whatever scope came with the air gun died, not sure I'd spend the money to replace it. So I appreciate the red dot suggestion. Other than plinking, I doubt I'd be using a pellet gun past maybe 25yds on squirrels.

To give a bit more info... one reason they are notorious for breaking scopes is that they produce recoil in both directions - first one, then the other, and firearm scopes only need to withstand recoil in one direction - rearward. They simply aren't designed to take force in the other direction.

Why is an Air Rifle Scope Necessary?
Many people assume that a conventional rifle scope can be used in place of an air rifle scope. However, this can be a costly mistake. In particular, gas/spring-piston, and many higher-powered air rifles create lots of recoil, but not just the typical, unidirectional recoil of a conventional firearm. Rather, there is two-way recoil: at first when the large spring mass uncoils (or gas-piston is released), which sends the rifle backwards, and again when the piston reaches the end of its length, which jars the rifle forwards. This “double recoil” wreaks havoc with lenses and delicate internal parts and can destroy an ordinary scope within a few shots.

Good info that TRS25s can hold up to it. Thanks John, I'll have to mentally file that away somehow.

 

[John from MD]

I can tell you that the scopes my Gamo's broke were made for airguns. In the past, I have had scopes on Chinese sidelevers and underlevers and big Beemans and never broke one until I got my first Gamo. One thing that is different, is my Gamo's are gas spring where as all my other break barrels were springers.

The TRS 25's biggest issue is that the dot is not bright enough for bright sun. That is why I switched my rifles to other brand dots. However, this is not an issue when i am shooting in my basement, I use setting 2 and from my garage into the woods, I use setting 7. On really bright summer days, I can't use it from the garage even on setting 11.

 

[johnkn]

I’ve got a Swift 16x airgun scope on my custom Macarri R9 spring .22. Several k rounds and zero problems. I’m not sure if they still build air gun scopes.


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[John from MD]

I’ve got a Swift 16x airgun scope on my custom Macarri R9 spring .22. Several k rounds and zero problems. I’m not sure if they still build air gun scopes.


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A custom Macarri probably doesn't have the jolt of a factory gun if for nothing else other than the Macarri Tar on the spring.

 

[lazarus]

I can tell you that the scopes my Gamo's broke were made for airguns. In the past, I have had scopes on Chinese sidelevers and underlevers and big Beemans and never broke one until I got my first Gamo. One thing that is different, is my Gamo's are gas spring where as all my other break barrels were springers.

The TRS 25's biggest issue is that the dot is not bright enough for bright sun. That is why I switched my rifles to other brand dots. However, this is not an issue when i am shooting in my basement, I use setting 2 and from my garage into the woods, I use setting 7. On really bright summer days, I can't use it from the garage even on setting 11.

That’s why I finally switched on my AR. Noon day full sun and I can just barely make out the dot on 11. My buckmark it’s okay. I’ve got a QD release on it and I can just use the irons. And if I am careful I can make out the dot. In the woods it’s not really a problem.

Something I might bet my life on though…

 

[smdub]

I've got a bunch of Bushnell Elite 3200 AO scopes on my springers. Never killed one.

 

[John from MD]

I've got a bunch of Bushnell Elite 3200 AO scopes on my springers. Never killed one.

They must be from when Bushnell made good products.

 

[johnkn]

A custom Macarri probably doesn't have the jolt of a factory gun if for nothing else other than the Macarri Tar on the spring.

The tar probably helps, but there’s not a lot of it. I think Jim is the one who recommended the Swift on my “moderated” Tarantula R9 years ago. I think he got out of much of his building business not long after I got mine.


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[TI-tick]

I own half dozen BB and pellet rifles and never had an issue killing a squirrel. Even my ancient crosman 760 pump will kill em. It's 40+ years old..shot placement is the key.. squirrels have a hard head. Never take a headshot with an air gun unless you know for a fact it's powerful enough to penetrate a skull. The heart is really too small to take an ethical shot so like the OP right behind the top of the front shoulder and put that bb or pellet right through both lungs. If you can't get a good shoulder shot don't take the shot if you intend to kill it

Crossman .177 760. Right below the neck on an upright straight on shot, or between the ear and the shoulder on a side shot.

DRT

 

[teratos]

A suppressed .22 bolt gun is stupid quiet with subs. I can’t imagine a pellet gun being quieter. Click…thwack.

 

[TTBJ]

.177? muzzle speed?

 

[CraZ4GunZ]

My Hatsan 95 in .22 gets the job done with standard Crosman 14.3gr domed pellets.
Slapped a Barska air rifle scope on it and it is deadly.
Saw my first squirrel in more than 2 yrs today.

 

[Bountied]

My RWS 54 .22 with a Hawke 4-12X does the trick on tree rats. I use the one piece mount that has a recoil lug so it cant move. The model 54 is a recoiless system where the action recoils backwards when fired. It's pretty deadly with JSB Diablo pellets can't remember the grn maybe 22grn?

It chronos at ~850fps, even if I don't get a one shot kill it's enough to knock them down for a follow up. They are on to me now and run when I open the door. It makes it harder to get a clean shot. I need to bait the bastards.

I have a RWS 48 in .177 but it goes straight through, if it's not a head shot they get away. I got one squirrel that had 2 holes in him that had healed. They are tough.

 

[sbmike]

I've got a Hatsan PCP rifle in .22 (with heavy pellets) and use it mainly for English sparrows (that invade my bluebird nests).
But I had an elusive ground hog I hadn't been able to catch with a regular .22 LR rifle. I keep the Hatsan set up and loaded for the sparrows and one day last fall I came home and noticed the groundhog in my back field. I didn't think I had enough time to go get the rifle so I thought I'd see what the Hatsan would do. I knew it was a very long shot and only a very precise shot would work (not a good combination for me). I took the shot and to my amazement, the groundhog dropped. I really couldn't believe what I saw but I took out my range finder and discovered it was an 80 yard shot so I figured the varmint had just dropped down to where I couldn't see it. I walked out into the field and found the dead groundhog with a hole in his right eye. I probably could not make that shot again in a million tries but it showed me the power of this "toy" that I got delivered to my door. It's a very far cry from the bb rifle I had as a kid which I used to pump up and load with dried rice to make it seem like a shotgun.

 

[KingClown]

You can 3D print suppressors for air rifles

 

[gtodave]

My Hatsan 95 in .22 gets the job done with standard Crosman 14.3gr domed pellets.
Slapped a Barska air rifle scope on it and it is deadly.
Saw my first squirrel in more than 2 yrs today.

What planet do you live on? I'm watching one in my back yard right now.