what gun to buy for "varmints"

[polo1665]

All you have to do is discharge the firearm at about a 32 degree angle up to see how far the projectile will travel (45 degrees if you are in a vacuum).

That would be a pretty tall groundhog. The point was to relate potential distance to the discussion of varmint elimination, but I understand your point. Generally you would be shooting at an angle toward the ground when varmint hunting. Unless you are the same size as the varmint of course

I'll remember the vacuum part if I ever run into a situation where that would apply.

You can school me though. Why a steeper angle in a vacuum? Just in case I'm ever caught in that situation.

Mark

 

[Highbeam]

Yes, and I get to see someone sitting behind bars each month who had the arrogant and ignorant attitude you seem to possess concerning firearm safety. It's time to put your big boy pants on and become a responsible person if you are going to use firearms. I place your rude "blah, blah, blah" into the same category as your assertion that you possess a firearm that has a lethal range of over 12,000 yards; simply uninformed and unaware.

Here's a quarter.... As I said, it's your choice to worry so much about the one in a million odds of something bad happening that you never accomplish anything. That input is not constructive in a thread about which gun to buy.

 

[/pine]

semi- Off Topic...

All you have to do is discharge the firearm at about a 32 degree angle up to see how far the projectile will travel (45 degrees if you are in a vacuum).

This brings up an interesting bit learned from physics class of long ago...even some experienced shooters may not realize this...

velocity has no effect on gravity (some may find this hard to believe, but it's true) For instance

Imagine that there was a place that was virtually flat...we all know the earth is round so even if it looks flat it's not. The Horizon (where the earth curves below the line of sight) is about 7 miles at sea level...

OK...now if you clamp a gun in a vice etc. perfectly level...and at the same time you hold a matching projectile (bullet) level with the one in the chamber...and at the exact millisecond that the gun is discharged you release the projectile...Both the one shot and the one dropped will hit the ground at the exact same time...regardless of the fact that the one discharged may be thousands of feet away...both will pass through the planes of space below at the same rate (gravity)...
Like I said...some may find this hard to believe but it is absolute fact

 

[Egon]

Doggone Moss; will backing up on a house do more damage to humans inside than shooting a .22 ??

 

[RavensRoost]

Looks to me like there are only 3 safe solutions: ignore the pests, trap them, or get a crossbow and practice a lot.

Is this horse dead yet?

RavensRoost

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Looks to me like there are only 3 safe solutions: ignore the pests, trap them, or get a crossbow and practice a lot.

Is this horse dead yet?

RavensRoost

Or get the smoke bombs designed for killing chucks. I used 4 of them today in an alfalfa field next to Rt 20 and surrounded by houses. I light two per hole and stuff some hay behind them before filling the hole with dirt. So far I have never had a hole dug back out. The hay is to keep the dirt from covering the smoke bombs themselves.

If you know where the holes are then go with the bombs and then no one gets hurt but the chucks.

 

[MossRoad]

You can school me though. Why a steeper angle in a vacuum? Just in case I'm ever caught in that situation.

Mark

I can't school myself, let alone anyone else.
From what I have read, 45 degrees will give you a perfect parabola (arc) and give you the maximum range. HOWEVER... that doesn't account for the resistance of the air. The air resistance will slow the bullet down so it can't reach its maximum height and it falls short. If you are really interested in it, do a google search for bullet maximum distance angle (or things similar) and be prepared for the math.

 

[MossRoad]

Doggone Moss; will backing up on a house do more damage to humans inside than shooting a .22 ??

Hmmm. Hadn't thought of that.

 

[mbohuntr]

There goes the neighborhood, after 30 years of shooting everything from dandilions to deer, I'm gonna put away my guns cause there is a chance it might strike a person. Now I'll be the first to say that there are places where you just can't safely or legally shoot, and don't think that the courts won't rightfully hang you for that mistake, but... hundreds of thousands of hunters shoot millions of rounds at a level target where there is a chance the round will travel beyond their line of sight and there are only a couple of instances where innocent people were hit. Of those, most are attributable to a gross breach of safety and/or common sense. ie shooting up at a skylined target, shooting at noise, camoflaged hunters etc. I respect peoples opinions, but common sense tells you you are more likely to run over a pedestrian on your way to work than hurt a bystander by shooting down at a soft target with a weak round in a safe direction. You still drive don't you? Know your target and beyond, but where does it say "behind you"? Life isn't sterile, I refuse to live in fear of "possibilities"

 

[vsteel]

I think there is some common sense involved. No I don't think its reasonable to say you need a mile radius, but you also need to think of a ricochet at a slight angle so it keeps a lot of velocity and can also add some height possibly going further than you intended.

Keep in mind the skill of the person shooting the gun to take those variables into account. Is a person going to keep that in mind all of the time or get excited about getting the animal and circle around and make a bad choice.

As mentioned the size of the animal does matter, but I am curious as to when a pellet gun is mentioned, is that a wally world special or a higher end break barrel model?