Anyone own a high powered air rifle? What kind and is co2 or pump up better

[Thunderbolt]

I want to get rid of some squirrels before they eat my pecans this year.  Where is best place to buy one.  What caliber is best? .177,.20,.22?

[Big Rig]

I have two .177 pellet/bb 10 pump air rifle (Crossman). I have had them for years...once you get them sighted...can clean kill squrrils at about 20 years from a deck. The trick is to hit them in the back of the head...mine were eating thru my trash can lids...I would wait until climbed up on the can rim for a clean shot...hit them right and they fall right into the can...clean kill...

I found loading the pellets backwards worked best...after 20 yards they loos trajectory...

[highcountry]

I have a RWS 48 .22 cal which is a side-lever pump model.  It shoots the pellet at a little over 900 fps and can kill squirrels, cats, dogs, and humans if head shot.  .177 cal guns shoots faster but with much lighter pellets.  These guns are definitely not toys.  My gun is phenomenally accurate

[rockrat]

I have the RWS 52 which is just like highcountrys.  Definitely not a toy.  Mine is also 22. and likes IIRC the "crow magnum" pellets.  They are a little heavier and a bit slower, but they carry alot more momentum.  If I had a crow at 50yds and knew the drop, it would be a dead crow.  It will take care of your squirrels without any trouble.  Only drawback, is that they are not cheap!

[john]

" What caliber is best? .177,.20,.22? "  ....   its all good     
buy a pump ...     
the co2 leaks out ...    P O S     
ya gotta shoot till its outta gas ...     
 poor little  squirrels  ...           
how many nuts can they eat ...               
 

[fudgie]

I have two .177 pellet/bb 10 pump air rifle (Crossman). I have had them for years...once you get them sighted...can clean kill squrrils at about 20 years from a deck. The trick is to hit them in the back of the head...mine were eating thru my trash can lids...I would wait until climbed up on the can rim for a clean shot...hit them right and they fall right into the can...clean kill...

I found loading the pellets backwards worked best...after 20 yards they loos trajectory...

DANG THATS FAST! 

[fudgie]

Dad got a .177 from sportsman guide. It very powerfull and heavier then my 20 ga single shot.

I say get a nice .22. You can use it for other animals to. If your in town, just shoot it once. Then neighbors wont know where it came from. 

[¿spoom]

I've only shot the .177s but I'll agree that the pump is the way to go. As long as you can pump it, you can shoot it. Too many horror stories of an almost new cartridge being empty after a few shots and then a few weeks sitting around.

[R J]

NO cartridge, only PUMP.

I have an old antique out in the garage that has to be 45 years old.

Modification: My son said it is a Daisy

It is a pump, leathers in the pump are probably shot now.  In California we used it for gophers.   It called for 5 pumps, it did plenty of damage to your target, most of the time it only got 3 pumps.    Not sure of the brand, wife doesn't know I still have it.  If she did I'd be dead, our middle daughter shot her foot with it, and mom thinks I got rid of it, 30 years ago..

It shoots the pellet..........   in front wards or back wards.   Found that out by accident.

[solo1]

I've owned a few.  I had two Sheridans.  I shot squirrels with them.  Plenty of power but not very accurate, accurate meaning 3/4" inch groups at 33 feet.  The two others were an R1 barrel cocking (bad accuracy) and my present RWS in .177 .  The RWS is the most accurate consistently at 1,000 feet/sec.  It also is a barrel cocking. 

RWS in .22 caliber would be the best bet IMHO.  Keep in mind the higher the power, the higher the noise.  Accuracy on air rifles seem to vary depending on different factors. The ones that I've had are nowhere close to a .22 firearm in accuracy or range.

[junior]

lets learn from others mistakes shall we?

10 Pump BB Gun (Funny!)	powered by Aeva

[TJ]

I have a Gamo Hunter-single pump-1200 fps and it even works on armadillos ...
Used to get the ones the Boyz missed.... 

[chrise2469]

I have a break open Gamco that's 800fps.  Whacks gophers (richardson's ground squirrel) just fine up to 20m.

Here is a nice video of rats being killed. I dropped the h from http because not everybody likes seeing rats killed.  You have been warned.
ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dS_jxZTQ5Cg

The rifle is a super expensive Weihrauch HW 100, very accurate but very expensive and you need a scuba tank to charge the air cylinder for the rifle.

[Jess from VA]

I've had a 10-pump .177 (single shot)... just OK, and rudimentary sights and accuracy.

I replaced it with an RWS Diana (West German) high quality .22 cal spring piston (also single shot), which is a pump, but you only have to rooster a lever or the barrel once.  A little slower, say 800fps vs 1000fps on the .177, but the .22 was much more accurate, and had much more hitting power.  You must use hunting pellets, not target pellets.  

Now both are supersonic, and make quite a bit of noise (if it is illegal to shoot whee you live as it is where I live).

I would avoid CO2, it is extra cost, more things to go wrong and leak, and after the cartridge is half used, power goes way down. And noisiest of all.

So I ended up using a Ruger 10-22 (semi-auto .22LR), with a 4X fixed Swift optics scope, and Super Colibri .22 cal subsonic rounds, which are quieter than both of these air rifles, and kills squirrels better than both of these air rifles.  The Super Colibri  .22 rounds have no gunpowder and are propelled only with the fulminated murcury in the rimfire primer.  Up to 50/60 feet they are pretty damn accurate.  But not enough power to cycle the semiauto, so must be loaded singly with a pair of needle nose pliers (cannot use magazines).  A single-shot bolt action .22 rifle would work better, but I didn't have one.

This is the ammo.    http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/AMM066-5.html

I have also used two Havaheart live traps with bait (one whole peanut), and drowned about a 1000 of the furry bastards.  And of course this makes no noise at all.  Overall, I took out far more squirrels using this method, baiting and checking traps from time to time, since I could not not just sit and wait for them to show up on my bird feeders/landscape.

http://www.amazon.com/Havahart-1025-Two-Door-5-Inch-Squirrels/dp/B000BQQMJQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=gateway&ie=UTF8&qid=1285526471&sr=8-2

You must use two sets of vice grips to hold the doors closed when dropping the traps into a 55 drum of water, or the doors open and the squirrel comes shooting out of the water climbing up your face.  

[czuch]

Benjamin Sheridan .22 air. Man that sucker was hot. Accurate for 50 feet and big hole in the back.
Had rats in the shed. Had a ball with a piece of bread with peanut butter under a wire screen.
Had a 10watt bulb in a light fixture and shot em out the bathroom window. Landlord noticed the screen. Showed him why and said I'll fix it before I leave.
Up till midnight drinken beer and shooting rats with the landlord.
.22 Benjamin. Not cheap, but you'll have it forever.
I also have a Winchester 67 that only shoots .22 shorts.  Loud as a hand clap.

[T.P.]

This will be the last airifle you ever buy. and get it here at Natchez


http://www.natchezss.com/Category.cfm?contentID=productDetail&brand=RW&prodID=RW2166200&prodTitle=RWS%20Model%2048%20.177%20Caliber%20-%201,100%20fps

[CajunRider]

Can I have the squirrels???  Dem tasty critters!!    

[Thunderbolt]

Appreciate your takin the time to reply.  Now, got some thinkin to do.

[grizs50]

458 DAQ 400 Grain Hollow Point Water Jug Test, mrhollowpoint1 #9	powered by Aeva

Now this is an AIR RIFLE!!

[Jess Tolbirt]

WAL MART sells a small b-b gun that is a multi pump for about 50 dollars,,,thats the one you want.
10 pumps on that baby and you can knock a fly off a match stick at 50 yards...this is a rifle , they also sell a pistol copy of the old benjamin....
b-b's are .177 cal....

[x]

I don't think the 177 is good enough to kill a cat or a dog... even a head shot.  Not enough mass, not enough spin.  Animal will flop around a lot.

[T.P.]

I don't think the 177 is good enough to kill a cat or a dog... even a head shot.  Not enough mass, not enough spin.  Animal will flop around a lot.

WHAT THE HELL !  Why are you talking about shooting cats and dogs, when he wants a tree rat gun???

I just dropped a coon with a head shot........YEP   .177  11OO FPS it will work.

[JOCK3]

it all depends on how much money you want to spend.Over here in the UK its a PITA to get a shotgun liscence and as for a firearms ticket you need to belong to a gun club and have shooting rights on a country estate.I have a Webley FX 2000,it got proper hunting scopes and is fitted with a light so that i can dazzle the target.Over here we have to by law limit our air rifles to 12 lbs but if you know how to adjust them you can turn them up,just dont get caught.

with my webley at 12lbs,i can put 8 pellets into an area thats smaller than a quarter at 50 yards,at 60 yards they tend to fall just outside the quarter,my rifle is a .22 calliber and ive gone through a variety of pellets to find the right ones,i use a domed pointed pellet called an acupell.The rifle its self is pressureised up tp 200 bar and has an 8 round clip,its a bolt action so i can pop them off pretty quickly and from one fill i can shoot about 100 pellets before i notice a drop in performance.

id forget a co2 and go for a .22,the .177 has a much flatter trajectory but lacks stopping power.i have killed foxes at 30 yards with my .22 and rabbits at 60 after 60 yards the drop on the pellet is too much to judge

[Valkernaut]

Found this but can't vouch for it's accuracy....

http://www.pyramydair.com/site/articles/velocity/