After I got my pellet gun, I was allowed to hunt birds that had the temerity to trespass into the garden that bordered the north side of the house. I would lie in wait until a bird landed in the garden or on the fence and then pick them off. I would then run quickly over to the spot they fell to avoid having a wounded or stunned bird fly off.
At least until one of the barn cats figured out what was going on. After that, if the cat spotted me in the garden, the cat would hang out in the garden and if a bird went down, that cat was on top of the bird instantly.
Once, I was in my best sniper prone position with the cat sitting next to me and a bird landed on the fence. I took careful aim and…hit the post just under the bird, which promptly took wing. I glanced over at the only witness to my poor marksmanship and I swear, the disgusted look the cat gave me perfectly communicated “You had one job…”
Airgun pellets are pretty much pure lead and unlikely to ricochet with much energy if at all. Not impossible, but unlikely in my experience.
Also with pump up air guns you velocity will vary a little depending on how fast you pump and how soon you shoot after pumping. You add energy by pumping and that heats the air, thereby raising the pressure a little extra. Lie in wait for 15 minutes or so and the velocity will be a ittle lower than if you’d fired immediately.
Muskrats seem a bit…ambitious…at first glance to try to take with an air rifle. I don’t know the ballistics of that Blue Streak offhand, but I’d have been cautious trying it with my grandfather’s R1 (at that time, also subsonic, but pushing 1,000 fps). Though looking them up just now, I was expecting something beaver-sized, but instead they only get about 4 pounds in size. Bigger than a gray squirrel?
I guess you could always limit yourself to head shots.
They will ricochet given the ‘right’ backstop. I used to have the idea that I would be a competitive small bore rifle shooter. I practiced with an airgun with a peep sight and a long sight radius. I didn’t have much room or money, but I would tack my targets to a scavenged old hunk of wood that used to be a basketball backboard. Pellets would occassionally rebound from the backboard and bounce to me, 10 meters away. I always wore eye protection. This was off a nearly perpendicular surface.
Still less annoying than my Glock caroming empty cases off the divider at the indoor range, right into my shooting glasses.
Few things look more disappointed than a Labrador hearing the gun go off, yet not being allowed to jump in the water to get the Bird. Dad and Granddad were both having bad shooting days (I was the dog wrangler and—if they would ever get one—bird and ammo carrier.), and both Labradors couldn’t understand why the kid wasn’t letting go of their collars when the guns went off. I swear, both dogs looked up at Dad, gave him a puzzled head cock and then hung their heads. Cute. But sad.
Are there non-lead options for ammunition? I don’t really want to drop a lot of lead into my garden soil. And i don’t want to spend a ton of time looking for spent pellets in the grass, either.
How well do you know your neighbors? Maybe you should talk to them first. It’s not inconceivable, even if you do nothing wrong, that SWAT arrives at your house because a neighbor called in and said either:
(a) Oh my God, he’s got a gun,
or
(b) Oh my God, he’s harming the defenseless little animals.
I remember a time when this would never happen but this is the year 2020.
I had great success earlier this summer battling the damn chipmunks. 5 gallon bucket half or 1/3rd full of water, sprinkle bird seed on top of the water and leave out where you’ve seen them. I got 3 in one night, and a total of 8 in about a week.
If only the red squirrels would fall for that too…
I regularly take out rabbits with a Winchester Air Rifle. I just use BB’s. Has an effective range of close to 40 yards. It’s pretty damn accurate, too.
Perfect. Then I am looking for a suitable bb gun. And I will definitely get some eye protection to go over my glasses. Do I also need ear protection? (And if so, maybe it will be a problem for the neighbors.)
There are some pellets made from an alloy that’s lighter than lead, thus providing higher velocities.
" The Gamo PBA Platinum airgun pellet uses enhanced non-lead alloy to generate velocities up to 30% faster than conventional lead pellets. These platinum pellets offer enhanced accuracy and maximum penetration for hunting applications. PBA is 100% lead free and environmentally friendly."
I have been target shooting for 45 years. I recently bought a PCP. Pre Charged Pneumatic air gun. This is not a ‘pump up’ air gun as people are familiar with.
If you have a LOT of energy, it can be pumped up by hand to the needed 2000-3000 psi. I gave up on that an bought a special compressor for it. The pellets are way cheep, but have to be ordered online for myself. I have been using JSB Match Diabolo Exact Jumbo Heavy pellets. 18.13gr. But you’re not going to find them at Walmart.
The rifle is in .22 and will shoot at 900fps. It’s about as loud as light hand clap. If that.
My target range is 80 feet. The rifle came with a 16x scope. It’s accurate enough to use that scope. My target range is 80 feet. Target is the size of a dime. It’s never missed that dime (I cheat and use a rest, I’m not that good of a shot!)
While I feel I’m ‘cheating’ by using a scope, I have found that I helps with concentration and relaxation to try to, as they say, drive tacks.
I bought it because I enjoy target shooting. And while I don’t have any neighbors, there may be some that may hear and be annoyed by a powder rifle that is shooting all afternoon. Sound carries across the valley.
IMHO, as a shooter of bb and powder guns for years, you would be lucky to hit a squirrel at 40 feet with a bb gun. Much less kill it quickly.
I don’t want to put out direct links to this gun or equipment. I am not affiliated with the company at all, but feel that would not be appropriate. Suffice to say that this kind of set up would cost about $1000. PM me if you would like.
I don’t see why it would be inappropriate. I linked upthread to an airgun dealer I’d never heard of until i googled it for this thread. Seemed like it might help the OP, with lots of choices and a wide variety of prices. Clearly you do though. What brand is it, at least, if you feel comfortable sharing it? I’m just curious. PCP seems to be what the high end Olympics, and the like, airguns are gravitating to.
EDIT: I didn’t know Biathlon could be done with an air rifle, though it seems obvious in retrospect. I too was poking around, seeing what the latest and greatest from Feinwerkbau was these days, and they make one. Wow though, has the price of the hobby changed a little from when I was a kid.