Kill factor for 22 CO2 pistol.

[tightgroup tiger]

I have a Crossman 2240 Co2 pistol that I have been working with. Actually I have an American Classic pump up also.
I already know that the American Classic, which is .177 pellet doesn't have enough energy to kill a squirrel at 20 yds.
My other air pistol is a 2240 CO2 that is 22 Cal and has a muzzle velocity of 650fps.

What I need to know is, do you think that a 22 Caliber pellet at 650 muzzle velocity would have enough energy to kill a squirrel at 20 yd?.
Or do I need a rifle for that?

 

[PistoleroWadcutterGANG]

Please a few more details. Weight of pellet. What pellet your using. How certain are you of the velocity: (chrono?) If your velo numbers are correct and using a lighter weight 22 cal pellet for the pistol (12grs) your looking at around 11.2 ft/lbs of muzzle energy which is plenty for 20 yards. A lot of other countries have ft/lbs regulations stipulating lawful range under 12ft/lbs. And they take all kinds of small game much farther than 20 yards. ****The dependent thing is a GOOD accurate shot on heart or CNS*** I think your going to be fine. Good luck to you.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

Shoot a squirrel at 20 yards and find out.

 

[JohnKSa]

I already know that the American Classic, which is .177 pellet doesn't have enough energy to kill a squirrel at 20 yds.

Conventional airguns poke caliber sized holes in the target. Those are very small holes. If you don't poke the holes exactly where they need to be, they won't have the desired result. If you poke them where they need to be, then as long as you can get sufficient penetration, they will do the trick.

When killing a squirrel with a .177 pellet gun in the 600fps muzzle velocity class, if you want them to fall, you'll have to hit them right in the brain. Shooting them in the body is not going to knock them down. If you can get a decent shot through the heart/lungs area, it will kill them, but it will take awhile and you may not recover the critter. Pretty much the same thing applies with a .22 pellet gun in the 600fps muzzle velocity class.

It is absolutely not like using even a rimfire firearm to shoot them. Precision is the name of the game and if you don't get a perfect shot the first time, you'd better be ready with a quick follow-up or you'll get to watch them run off with a hole in them.

So, no kill factor--just tiny holes. Put them exactly where they need to be or get used to disappointment.

 

[jmorris]

My Benjamin .22 cal air pistol won’t penetrate copperhead at 1 yard.

Only thing I have ever killed with it, is time.

 

[Ethan Verity]

It would absolutely kill it... BUT I doubt it would be a clean and humane kill. It sounds like you're at minimum energy levels to begin with, combined with the added difficulty of getting perfect shot placement using a pistol format.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

Weight of pellet.

17 gr. Crossman Premier.

So, no kill factor--just tiny holes. Put them exactly where they need to be or get used to disappointment.

That's what I was afraid of. Putting them where I need to at 20 yds with a pellet pistol, even with a dead rest is not easy to do. I may start put a scope on my 22lr rifle and sight it in with quiet ammo. CCI's 710 fps stuff is maybe quieter than the CO2 pistol. I'll have to test that. I haven't been able to find the 710 fps CCIs lately, I hope CCI didn't stop making it.

My Benjamin .22 cal air pistol won’t penetrate copperhead at 1 yard.

Only thing I have ever killed with it, is time.

I've gotten 1 chipmonk, two squirrels, and two grackles, with the 17 cal pump up, but at a much closer range. It didn't shoot through them but it killed them. And pumping up that 10 pump pistol is a chore. I hit one squirrel at 20yd with it and it knocked it off it's feet but it did get up and run up the tree. That was with 6 pumps, I have to check out what 10 pumps will do if I can pump it up that far.

Thanks

 

[chicharrones]

My Crosman 2260 C02 .22 rifle will pop into a squirrel skull easily and make it DRT. But I've never scoped the 2260, so my hit distance in the shade of the woods with the factory issue peep sight is really 15 yards or less. That's with a touch of white paint on the front sight so I can see it against a dark background.

To scope that gun, I'd have to install the metal "receiver" with dovetail grooves for a rimfire scope. The barrel clamp scope mount is unstable, of which I have one on my Crosman 1377 pistol for red dot usage.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

Yeah, I think the same rule applies with air rifles, the longer rifle barrel will have more velocity than the shorter pistol barrel. I just received a couple cans of different pellets to try with the CO2 pellet pistol. I'm going to the range today so I will see if they are more accurate than the Crossman Premier.
They are Stoeger's x-Magnum pellets and Gamo's Red Fire ballistic tip pellets.
My pump 17 cal absolutely loves the Game Red Fire. They shot the best group by far of what I've tried in it.
So I want to see if that happens with the 2240.

It would absolutely kill it... BUT I doubt it would be a clean and humane kill. It sounds like you're at minimum energy levels to begin with, combined with the added difficulty of getting perfect shot placement using a pistol format.

I found out the pump pistol (17cal) shoots just about point of aim at 20 yards. The Co2 pistol is still climbing at 20 yds so it shoots like 4" high at 20 yds and between that and the trigger, it's harder to hit something with.
The rear sight is already as low as it will go. I may have to add to the front sight. I need to find a pellet that is more accurate than the Crossman premier first. If I can't improve on the accuracy with the 2240, I will have to go the rifle route.

 

[chicharrones]

Yeah, I think the same rule applies with air rifles, the longer rifle barrel will have more velocity than the shorter pistol barrel. I just received a couple cans of different pellets to try with the CO2 pellet pistol. I'm going to the range today so I will see if they are more accurate than the Crossman Premier.
They are Stoeger's x-Magnum pellets and Gamo's Red Fire ballistic tip pellets.
My pump 17 cal absolutely loves the Game Red Fire. They shot the best group by far of what I've tried in it.
So I want to see if that happens with the 2240.

I found out the pump pistol (17cal) shoots just about point of aim at 20 yards. The Co2 pistol is still climbing at 20 yds so it shoots like 4" high at 20 yds and between that and the trigger, it's harder to hit something with.
The rear sight is already as low as it will go. I may have to add to the front sight. I need to find a pellet that is more accurate than the Crossman premier first. If I can't improve on the accuracy with the 2240, I will have to go the rifle route.

I've read that CO2 guns definitely need a certain barrel length to get max velocity. I can't exactly remember the figure anymore. Probably more than 10" but less than 24". Lol.

I trimmed my older 2260 down from the original 24" to something more suitable for my usage. Short range rat and mouse control at night, and just plain fun.

 

[Fyrstyk]

I have killed squirrels at 25 yards with my Daisy 717 single pump pistol. I mounted a long eye relief scope on it, and from my window sill I can shoot aspirin tablets quite regularly with 7.5 grain Beeman pointed pellets. With my RWS 45 .17 scoped rifle, I get 1/4" groups at 30 yards rested, but the crack of that rifle is louder than a .22 RF short. For the longer shots I now use a Mossberg .22 RF rifle with scope with the Eley subsonic 40 grain hollow point bullets. Rested groups are around 1/4-1/2" at 35 yards, and it is quieter than the air rifle, in fact, I can't tell if the gun fired unless I see the squirrel fall or i eject the spent case. All of the shots I take on squirrels are head shots. With the air pistol and rifle I aim for the eye, and many times that is where I hit them. Instant kills.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

I have killed squirrels at 25 yards with my Daisy 717 single pump pistol. I mounted a long eye relief scope on it, and from my window sill I can shoot aspirin tablets quite regularly with 7.5 grain Beeman pointed pellets.

I can't shoot that good but I had the CO2 pistol to the range yesterday and shot this target at 10 yds.
I had several go through those two holes on the right side.
As with my pump up, the Co2 pistol prefers Gamo Red fire ballistic tip bullets over all the others. The Stoeger X-Magnums are the ones scattered about the center x. I looked at scope mounts for it yesterday on Amazon, The scope will cost more than I paided for the gun. But that's usually how it goes.
I definitely need to lighten the trigger on it.

 

[chicharrones]

All these 21st century produced Crosman 1377, 1322, 2240, 2260 etc. need trigger jobs.

For my 1377, I simply installed a lighter spring from my worn out Crosman Backpacker that was made in the 1980s. It's amazing how heavy the springs have gotten due to lawyer-itis.

For my 2260, I did a trigger job like shown here.

 

[JohnKSa]

Yeah, I think the same rule applies with air rifles, the longer rifle barrel will have more velocity than the shorter pistol barrel.

Velocity vs. barrel length with airguns is kind of tricky. It's definitely possible to end up in a situation where shortening the barrel increases the velocity. With spring-piston guns, especially, the pressure in the barrel can drop very rapidly due to the dynamics involved, creating a situation where the barrel friction is a more significant force than the acceleration due to air pressure.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

All these 21st century produced Crosman 1377, 1322, 2240, 2260 etc. need trigger jobs.

For my 1377, I simply installed a lighter spring from my worn out Crosman Backpacker that was made in the 1980s. It's amazing how heavy the springs have gotten due to lawyer-itis.

For my 2260, I did a trigger job like shown here.

Thanks,
I'll read up on that when I get home from work.

 

[Landgroove]

My Beeman R-8 will kill them. Shoulder or head to get them to drop, though. 735 fps. (optimistic)