Author Topic: Pellet Guns?  (Read 2975 times)

zxcvbob

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Re: Pellet Guns?
« Reply #50 on: October 21, 2021, 12:29:33 PM »
Are there breeds of dogs that are better at hunting stuff like gophers? 


All I know for sure is don't hire a groundskeeper.

Dachshund?  Or maybe a Jack Russell terrier.
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MillCreek

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Re: Pellet Guns?
« Reply #51 on: October 21, 2021, 12:38:34 PM »


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230RN

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Re: Pellet Guns?
« Reply #52 on: October 21, 2021, 12:39:29 PM »
Here is my question of the day and then I will quit.

Why a pellet gun? You still have to worry about ricochets don't you?

When I did collared dove control at a friend's wheat farm in WA I would use a bolt action 22 and either shorts or CCI Quiet from about 35yds away to pop their little heads off. The CCI Quiet are only moving around 700fps, slower than most pellet guns.

I used a Marlin bolt with a Cabelas rimfire scope on it. It was one of the most fun and useful guns I have. When doing gopher control for a friend near Calgary or in MT and WA I would use a 17HMR, Although fast with only a 17gr bullet moving as fast as it does I think the potential for ricochet may be lessened by the bullet fragmenting if it hits something. That is just a guess as I can't recall ever getting a ricochet wit the 17HMR.

bob

Piggybacking on that, I found that bullets like the 60 gr Nosler partition bullet could not be shot at the low angles of prairie dog shooting without a ricochet.  The bullets held together too well and it was darned annoying. 

Bang. Whop. Kapweeeeeeng.

On the other hand, 53 grain SX bullets from Hornady never ricocheted.  It would seem they would disintegrate on hitting a blade of grass.  Well that's an exaggeration for the sake of illustration, but the fact remains that I never ever heard a ricochet from those bullets in .223 Remington.

A little overkill for Ben's usage, but this confirms BobR's observation.

Terry, 230RN
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RocketMan

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Re: Pellet Guns?
« Reply #53 on: October 21, 2021, 12:45:50 PM »



Ben will need a little Kenny Loggins music playing in the background when he goes after the gophers.
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Angel Eyes

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Re: Pellet Guns?
« Reply #54 on: October 21, 2021, 06:02:15 PM »
Ben will need a little Kenny Loggins music playing in the background when he goes after the gophers.


... and change his name to Carl.
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Cliffh

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Re: Pellet Guns?
« Reply #55 on: October 21, 2021, 06:39:45 PM »
Daisy 880 for a cheap control - reliably kills ground squirrels

I have one of the 880's and wouldn't recommend it for shooting any kind of squirrel.  Not enough punch, even with max pumps in it.  Not very accurate - OK enough for punching holes in paper but trying for a head shot on a squirrel at any distance? - not so much. 

Ben

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Re: Pellet Guns?
« Reply #56 on: October 22, 2021, 09:03:20 AM »
Regarding the .410, I saw this:

https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/savage-301-turkey-single-shot-shotgun

Which could be an interesting alternative, and cheap enough as well. It even takes a red dot.
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MillCreek

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Re: Pellet Guns?
« Reply #57 on: October 22, 2021, 09:25:41 AM »
Ben will need a little Kenny Loggins music playing in the background when he goes after the gophers.

My wife went to a Kenny Loggins concert a couple of months ago.  I did not know that Kenny Loggins was originally from this area.  She said that 'I'm Alright' got the second-biggest applause of the evening.  'Danger Zone' was first.
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Quote from: Angel Eyes on August 09, 2018, 01:56:15 AM
You are one lousy risk manager.

WLJ

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Re: Pellet Guns?
« Reply #58 on: June 12, 2022, 11:08:59 AM »
With everything going on I'm back at looking at pellet guns
And wouldn't you know it the one I want has gone way up Grrrrrr..

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08B3PT2QP/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_5?smid=A18CQ5FFITKTLU&psc=1

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cordex

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Re: Pellet Guns?
« Reply #59 on: June 12, 2022, 09:22:22 PM »
I have no experience with them, but BattleHawkArmory has it for $500 plus $20 shipping.

MechAg94

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Re: Pellet Guns?
« Reply #60 on: June 13, 2022, 09:17:09 AM »
I need to check with my gun dealer.  He got one for someone that worked pretty good and was fairly quiet.  Just .177 pellets, but that is mostly all I want.  It was a single shot break open design with a suppressor permanently mounted. 
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Ben

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Re: Pellet Guns?
« Reply #61 on: April 13, 2024, 06:23:53 PM »
Well, 2.5 years later... :rofl:

A Diana Model 48 showed up at the door last night. After seeing that my idea of what an air rifle should cost was way off, I decided to go classic with the Model 48 springer in .22

It's a really nice rifle. Quality build. Heavy as all get out. The trigger is REALLY nice. I haven't tested it yet, but maybe just over 2lbs. As I was looking more into which air rifles do what, I almost went with a PCP because some reviews said the 48 would be marginal for stuff like rockchucks, but then I saw videos of guys using it for just that. I think it's key not to go much past 40 yards for something that big, plus use the premium hunting pellets. I was watching videos of guys killing squirrels dead at 75 yards with it. The below image is the first shots at 35 yards, iron sights, from a rest. There's actually 15 shots there. Really accurate once I dialed in windage and elevation. I bought a scope for it as well, which I'm putting on tonight and I'll sight that in tomorrow.

Also, it's unexpectedly loud. Almost .22 loud. I might actually wear my electronic earplugs when I shoot it.

As I did research, I was fascinated to learn that some of the PCP guns will take deer size game. I was really close to getting a .25 caliber Umarex Gauntlet 2, which would have been around the same price. People apparently take pigs with that one. However as  I researched, I learned that you pretty much have to have a special air gun compressor to fill the tank to the 4500PSI holding pressure, and those compressors start at $500. Maybe someday.





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MechAg94

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Re: Pellet Guns?
« Reply #62 on: April 13, 2024, 07:01:10 PM »
Gamo Swarm Magnum 10X GEN3i
https://www.pyramydair.com/product/gamo-swarm-magnum-10x-gen-2-multi-shot-air-rifle?m=5272#10614

I got this a few weeks ago.  Took it to the range the 2nd time today.  Shooting around 2" groups at 50 years with 20 grain lead pellets.  22 caliber.  It is very quiet.  Comes with a scope and a 10 round magazine.  You can single load into the magazine, but it loads itself when you cock it.

Negatives:
1.  If you have shoulder issues, cocking it is going to suck.  It isn't too bad, but I can see someone without much strength having problems.  I don't know if the 17 caliber is easier.  My Dad's Umarex might be a little easier.
2.  I bought pellets with 14, 15, 20, and 35 grains just to see what was accurate.  The Gamo 15 grain pellets shoot 12" or bigger groups at 50 yards.  Would not recommend.  The 35 grain pellets drop 2 feet at 50 yards compared to the 20 grain.  I figure they are too heavy for this rifle.  The 14 grain pellets are accurate, but shoot lower than the 20 grain.  I guess they don't seal against the barrel as well.  I don't know.  I am just going to buy more of the 20 grain since they work.  Since pellets are relatively cheap, I might try more types/brands.
3.  The scope gets the job done, but I might try to get a better one at some point.

Overall, I like it, but you could spend some money on aftermarket 10/22 parts and put together a 22 that is more accurate than this.  It's value is that it is an air rifle, not a firearm.
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zxcvbob

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Re: Pellet Guns?
« Reply #63 on: April 13, 2024, 07:10:05 PM »
Well, 2.5 years later... :rofl:

A Diana Model 48 showed up at the door last night. After seeing that my idea of what an air rifle should cost was way off, I decided to go classic with the Model 48 springer in .22

It's a really nice rifle. Quality build. Heavy as all get out. The trigger is REALLY nice. I haven't tested it yet, but maybe just over 2lbs. As I was looking more into which air rifles do what, I almost went with a PCP because some reviews said the 48 would be marginal for stuff like rockchucks, but then I saw videos of guys using it for just that. I think it's key not to go much past 40 yards for something that big, plus use the premium hunting pellets. I was watching videos of guys killing squirrels dead at 75 yards with it. The below image is the first shots at 35 yards, iron sights, from a rest. There's actually 15 shots there. Really accurate once I dialed in windage and elevation. I bought a scope for it as well, which I'm putting on tonight and I'll sight that in tomorrow.

Also, it's unexpectedly loud. Almost .22 loud. I might actually wear my electronic earplugs when I shoot it.

As I did research, I was fascinated to learn that some of the PCP guns will take deer size game. I was really close to getting a .25 caliber Umarex Gauntlet 2, which would have been around the same price. People apparently take pigs with that one. However as  I researched, I learned that you pretty much have to have a special air gun compressor to fill the tank to the 4500PSI holding pressure, and those compressors start at $500. Maybe someday.





Nice.  That's a springer, ain't it?  Make sure your scope is rated for airgun use.  The recoil is different and will wreck most normal rifle scopes. Leupolds are supposed to be immune to this but I don't know.

I have a Model 34 in .177.  I should have bought the same gun in .22, but the .177 is adequate for rabbits and squirrels if I use good hunting pellets.  Target pellets will kill them but not humanely; in .20 or .22 cheap target pellets (is there such a thing in .22?) would probably work just fine.
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Ben

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Re: Pellet Guns?
« Reply #64 on: April 13, 2024, 07:19:07 PM »
Nice.  That's a springer, ain't it?  Make sure your scope is rated for airgun use. 

Yup, sidecocking springer. I bought the scope (Leapers UTG True Hunter) at Airgun Depot, same place as the rifle, and it's an air rifle rated scope. I also got the RWS (Diana) mount designed for the Diana springer rifles.
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Ben

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Re: Pellet Guns?
« Reply #65 on: April 13, 2024, 07:26:05 PM »
2.  I bought pellets with 14, 15, 20, and 35 grains just to see what was accurate.  The Gamo 15 grain pellets shoot 12" or bigger groups at 50 yards.  Would not recommend.  The 35 grain pellets drop 2 feet at 50 yards compared to the 20 grain.  I figure they are too heavy for this rifle.  The 14 grain pellets are accurate, but shoot lower than the 20 grain.  I guess they don't seal against the barrel as well.  I don't know.  I am just going to buy more of the 20 grain since they work.  Since pellets are relatively cheap, I might try more types/brands.

I too, bought a sampling of pellets. The ones I shot today were Crossman 14.3s, which seemed to get good reviews as plinking rounds. I also bought:

H&N Spitzkugel 16.05 grain
Hades Diablo 15.89 grain
Predator Polymag 16 grain

Those three were all highly rated for small game, especially the Polymags. Once I see what performs best, I'm just gonna order a boatload of that. Even the "high end" pellets are cheap, relatively speaking, so I don't see a need to keep both plinking and hunting rounds and then worrying about keeping track of downrange performance for multiple pellet types.
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BobR

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Re: Pellet Guns?
« Reply #66 on: April 13, 2024, 07:42:07 PM »
I have been toying with the idea of a pellet gun for use against the flying rats in the neighborhood. Presently I use a pump BB gun. Inaccurate and the BBs will sometimes bounce off of the targets. I have also been toying with threading the barrel on my Marlin 81TS, with a muffler and 22 shorts it will probably be more quiet than a pellet gun. I used to use the Marlin to snipe Collared Dove in WA at a wheat field so I know it shoots well. I will have to ponder this a bit.

bob

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Re: Pellet Guns?
« Reply #67 on: April 14, 2024, 03:27:19 PM »
It's already been noted, but worth mentioning again.  Springer air rifles will knock loose the reticle on most (yes, most) scopes.  Big RWS rifles are notoriously hard shooters.  My personal experience had lower end Hawke glass on a .22 Diana 34 wrecked in less than one tin of pellets.
The scope was airgun rated, and I was baffled by the sudden loss of precision.   The rattling scope was boxed up and  hawke sent me a new one, within a week, mid 2020.

One of the causes, I learned, is adjusting the reticle to its limits to account for close range POI. The springs that support the crosshairs in the tube are over tensioned.  And the forward recoil on a big springer smacks em loose.  There are scopes (I believe Ben's choice is one) and even more mount options that are designed for close range, and are airgun rated.

There is a whole 'nother world of airgun tuning which includes spring tuning, tube smoothing, exotic lubrication and aftermarket seals.  I indulged, and my 34 is much smoother and consistent, and wears a Williams Peep sight.

The Hawke is on a Benjamin Marauder PCP.  Even now it's POI is 50yds and most shooting is done at less than 20yds with a holdover.  The RWS gathers dust.

The PCP is just plain boring to shoot.  It stacks pellets end to end.  The 34 and my other springer, a smooth shooting little .177 wierauch, are true for 8 or 9 shots out of 10.  The velocity of the 1 or 2 odd shots might be up to 20% either side of the s.d. and it shows at the target.   They're fun to shoot, trying to account for a springer's inherent inconsistencies, but for varmint control I demand the PCPs predictably, because even at 875 fps the .22 pellet weighs less than 20 grains, and a 1 shot in the tracks kill requires 3/16" accuracy.   

My aunt had an old Benjamin 314 pump.  That was a great gun, but they've been out of production for some time.  The pneumatic pump design offers the same predictably as a PCP, but follow up shots are slow.


edited for added content and grammar
« Last Edit: April 14, 2024, 07:02:37 PM by Tuco »
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