Pellet rifle advice.

[N80]

I live right down town in a small city. Have too many squirrels. They're driving me crazy. Can't shoot them in the front yard......too many strange looks from passers by. Neighbors don't really care. But I can shoot them in the back yard.

I've got an old Benjamin pellet rifle with a peep sight. Super accurate (clover lear cluster at 20 yards) and deadly for the squirrels but it has a number of drawbacks. It is fiddly to load with a little spring loaded bolt action sort of thing. It is also a multi pump thing and takes 8-10 pumps to get lethal velocity. The pump is loud and by 7 or 8 is pretty hard too. But the biggest problem is that it uses 5mm pellets which are hard to find and pricey.

So I'm looking for a good, single pump pellet rifle. I've got good scopes to fit it but it will need to have mounts or at least drilled and tapped for mounts. .177 caliber should be fine. Need 1000 fps or more. Would prefer it to be around $200. Have read reviews of some of the Gamo rifles carried by Academy Sports and Cabelas. The ones around $200 get knocked because of poor accuracy. That will not do.

Any advice?

 

[davrow]

I haven't experienced poor accuracy with Gamos. I do find them (the ones with the built-in noise suppression) quieter. That is all I have now, a Gamo... of course being able to wait for a sale at Cabela's makes a big difference. Mine came with the scope, which is fine for air rifle distances.

edited: wow, went over to Cabela's and read the Gamo reviews... a lot of unhappy people. I guess I was lucky with mine.

 

[oldpilgrim]

got a .22 rifle? Use this. The hammer falling makes more noise than the shot. Plenty powerful to knock off varmints. It's fun to use.

500 round brick - 22 LR Super Colibri Powderless Cartridge Primer Fired 20 Grain Bullet at 500 FPS - NOT FOR SEMI AUTO | SGAmmo.com

 

[Winmac]

Take a look at hatsan, i have a mod33 considering is their low end gun I'm impressed with its squirrel capabilities and I understand they still make there own rather than rebranding Chinese offerings.

 

[Panik]

If you haven't already you might want to check out Pyramidair. I haven't bought from them so I can't vouch for their service as a retailer. However, they have most of the major brands of air rifle available and some pretty nice price/brand/option sorting features on their website that make it easy to compare different models. Not trying to advertise for them, just used their site to drool over stuff I want.

For what its worth Beeman used to make as well as import very solid, well regarded air rifles, and the have several models that meet your price point.

 

[N80]

got a .22 rifle? Use this. The hammer falling makes more noise than the shot. Plenty powerful to knock off varmints. It's fun to use.

I've got a few nice .22s but even shooting the squirrels in the back yard is technically illegal. So if I get caught or if someone complains, it will look better in the newspaper if it says "BB gun" rather than "rifle".:laughing:

In the early 50's, when things were a bit different, my Dad, who was born in this house, used to shoot them in the front yard with a .410, which would be the ideal weapon of choice if the goal is simply extermination.

And I know I can't make a huge difference in the squirrel population here downtown (even though I did make a huge difference when I used to live out in the county), shooting them serves two purposes. First, it will make me happy and second, at least they will run away when I come outside. Now they just sit there.

 

[oldpilgrim]

I've got a few nice .22s but even shooting the squirrels in the back yard is technically illegal. So if I get caught or if someone complains, it will look better in the newspaper if it says "BB gun" rather than "rifle".:laughing:

In the early 50's, when things were a bit different, my Dad, who was born in this house, used to shoot them in the front yard with a .410, which would be the ideal weapon of choice if the goal is simply extermination.

And I know I can't make a huge difference in the squirrel population here downtown (even though I did make a huge difference when I used to live out in the county), shooting them serves two purposes. First, it will make me happy and second, at least they will run away when I come outside. Now they just sit there.

fear not, whatever you get 'caught' with will be described as an assault rifle by the press.

 

[kf4uda]

fear not, whatever you get 'caught' with will be described as an assault rifle by the press.

You are exactly right. More precisely, it will be described as an AR15 assault rifle. Apparently there is no other kind

 

[texasjohn]

I have a buddy who has a high end pellet gun, cost is somewhere around $400 as I recall...however, I was stupendously impressed with it...can't recall brand/model. shoot me a PM if really interested and I'll find out. Features included

at 60 feet all pellets fit within thumbnail size pattern...I was really impressed. bench rest
it pumps up to about 3000 lbs of air pressure, uses bicycle type pump.
One pump up is good for 15 to 20 shots.
Pressure holds for several months, so it's always ready
15 pellets fit into a round magazine.
operate bolt after each shot to be ready to go again
sound is nil...less than any daisy air rifle I ever had.
his came with a scope.
after sighting it in, we took it to the tank and shot a duck on the water with it...it was in season...conclusion is that it is deadly on small animals

 

[oosik]

When I lived in town - I used a Sheridan Silver Streak 22 cal pellet rifle. Pump it up while inside and not even the squirrel will hear. Now that I live out on the far side of nowhere - closest neighbor is 3 miles distance - I grab that which is closest at the moment. 22 or 12 gauge - the squirrel knows not the difference.