oldfart
Member
I use the Super Colibri ammo in one of those Romanian .22 trainers. There is no "pop," just the sound of the firing pin hitting the cartridge. They're accurate out to about 15-20 yards and deadly!
Squirrel Medicine- Air Rifle Recommendations?
- Thread starter BigRedBowtie
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I realize theres probably not too many cat lovers here BUT I had one that would 'retrieve' for me under these circumstances. I told my Dad about this and he said "Oh Bull????-prove it!" so I pulled the C-1 from the safe and the cat immediatly headed for the deck and started scanning the trees out back. I shot a, well lets not get too specific here, a 'thing' which flew away at high speed. The cat hit the fence at high speed and didnt come back for twenty minutes. I went back inside and put the C-1 back in the safe and looked out back, and here comes the cat with the victim in his mouth. I Miss that cat.
stevelyn
Member
Another recommendation for a .22 rifle and Aguila Super Colibis. I've whacked a number of tundra rats with them and a few feathered vermin as well.
Super Colibris are loaded with a 20 gr bullet at an advertised velocity of 500 fps.
Don't doubt the power Colibris have. I have a couple metal canisters that used to contain bottles of Speyburn Scotch, hanging in an alder bush 25 yrds from my house. The cans are perforated from all the shots I've taken with both handgun and rifle.
The rifle is much quieter than the pistol. The longer the barrel, the quieter it'll be. However, I wouldn't recommend anything over 20". You reach the point of diminishing returns running the risk of getting a bullet stuck in the barrel.
Aguila recommends their use in handguns only. I've fired about 3000 or so through my rifle without a problem. One of my co-workers has had one get stuck in his barrel out of a brick.
Super Colibris are loaded with a 20 gr bullet at an advertised velocity of 500 fps.
Don't doubt the power Colibris have. I have a couple metal canisters that used to contain bottles of Speyburn Scotch, hanging in an alder bush 25 yrds from my house. The cans are perforated from all the shots I've taken with both handgun and rifle.
The rifle is much quieter than the pistol. The longer the barrel, the quieter it'll be. However, I wouldn't recommend anything over 20". You reach the point of diminishing returns running the risk of getting a bullet stuck in the barrel.
Aguila recommends their use in handguns only. I've fired about 3000 or so through my rifle without a problem. One of my co-workers has had one get stuck in his barrel out of a brick.
Yes, I will second the idea that:
.22 supercolibri from rifle ===> quieter than springer airgun, but
.22 supercolibri from pistol ===> louder than springer airgun
Then former is the way to go, but with 16 or 18" bbl preferably so as to make sure they don't get stuck.
I will also second that you should browse
http://www.compasseco.com/
The Tech Force Chinese knockoffs of other major makes seem to be getting much better in quality from the accounts I've read.
Mainmech48, how in the heck did you find a model 48 RWS for $240 at Cabela's?! Haven't they been $390-425 everywhere for years? They have been when I looked - great deal on a very good gun.
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...s+48&noImage=0&returnPage=search-results1.jsp
.22 supercolibri from rifle ===> quieter than springer airgun, but
.22 supercolibri from pistol ===> louder than springer airgun
Then former is the way to go, but with 16 or 18" bbl preferably so as to make sure they don't get stuck.
I will also second that you should browse
http://www.compasseco.com/
The Tech Force Chinese knockoffs of other major makes seem to be getting much better in quality from the accounts I've read.
Mainmech48, how in the heck did you find a model 48 RWS for $240 at Cabela's?! Haven't they been $390-425 everywhere for years? They have been when I looked - great deal on a very good gun.
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...s+48&noImage=0&returnPage=search-results1.jsp
Commissar Gribb
Member
that may be the best cat that ever lived
TooTaxed
Member
If your squirrels are a pest, you don't necessarily have to kill them to get rid of them.
A few years ago I lived in Atlanta and had a lovely pecan tree in the back yard...but the squirrels started picking the nuts while they were still green, took one bite, dropped them and grabbed another. By the time they were ripe...no more nuts! I decided if I couldn't have nuts, I'd have squirrel stew instead! I seripticiously (?) shot one (our neighbors would have gotten upset if they knew), left the head and tail on when I skinned it, and hung the remains in the tree. That worked for about three days...then the aquirrels just avoided the branch the skin hung from. And, I couldn't eat the meat...the green pecans had flavored it, I suppose.
My father discovered the solution. He had sport shooting at the squirrels with his old Daisy Red Rider BB-gun...And the squirrels very quickly decided they didn't like being stung, and stayed away. (GREAT pecans!)
Your post reminded me of the fun I had as a kid with my trusty Daisy Red Rider. I used to shoot grasshoppers clinging to the tall grass stems in the fields, and I would maneuver around red wasp nests hanging in the bushes and pick off the wasps one at a time without hitting the nest (VERY important!), then when it was empty pick off the nest with a shot to the stem. And, we used to shoot bottle caps tossed into the air!
A few years ago I lived in Atlanta and had a lovely pecan tree in the back yard...but the squirrels started picking the nuts while they were still green, took one bite, dropped them and grabbed another. By the time they were ripe...no more nuts! I decided if I couldn't have nuts, I'd have squirrel stew instead! I seripticiously (?) shot one (our neighbors would have gotten upset if they knew), left the head and tail on when I skinned it, and hung the remains in the tree. That worked for about three days...then the aquirrels just avoided the branch the skin hung from. And, I couldn't eat the meat...the green pecans had flavored it, I suppose.
My father discovered the solution. He had sport shooting at the squirrels with his old Daisy Red Rider BB-gun...And the squirrels very quickly decided they didn't like being stung, and stayed away. (GREAT pecans!)
Your post reminded me of the fun I had as a kid with my trusty Daisy Red Rider. I used to shoot grasshoppers clinging to the tall grass stems in the fields, and I would maneuver around red wasp nests hanging in the bushes and pick off the wasps one at a time without hitting the nest (VERY important!), then when it was empty pick off the nest with a shot to the stem. And, we used to shoot bottle caps tossed into the air!
My neighbor directly across the street has 2 large pecan trees. He is almost constantly catching squirrels in a squirrel trap. He then goes to the one spot in the country and releases them. He will catch and release 50-85 a year, year in and year out - he keeps count. The traps work well apparently, if you're so inclined. But I doubt that one specific spot in the country can support that many extra squirrels, as an eco/bio matter - food, etc. Maybe it can though; dunno. In any event, more fun to shoot them and eat them, in my book.
agent slice
Member
I have never tried any of your ideas tootaxed but thay sound like thay might work. let me tell you,those 
squrels just run for thair lives when thay see me with my trusty crossman rm 377! :banghead:
so what I like to do is trap in a "live" trap and then shoot them at close range.
agent slice signing out!
squrels just run for thair lives when thay see me with my trusty crossman rm 377! :banghead:so what I like to do is trap in a "live" trap and then shoot them at close range.
agent slice signing out
!A quick word on squirrel management. They are very smart animals. If you've had problems with them destroying bird feeders, you know what I'm talking about. Researchers have found that a population of squirrels will watch the experimenters. The community learn from failed attempts what doesn't work, and from successes what the winning strategy is. In this respect, it can be said that they do indeed have a kind of knowledge culture.
So you can exploit that. I had some trouble with them trying to get into a screened porch area, they saw birdseed and wanted in. They caused significant damage. So I got a used Daisy spring-air BB gun that is so low-powered it's laughable. But all you have to do is go out and plink at a few of them. The BB smarts and they dash off. A few rounds of that, they find someplace else to go, and associate humans (you) and your home with danger. There are easier pickings elsewhere.
I prefer this method because, unless I wanted to eat them, there's no point in killing them. They serve a useful function in the forest around my home and I want them on the job, doing whatever it is they do. But now they respect my property. A "refresher" course every 6 months or so is all the remedial instruction that's needed.
Update: I see "too-taxed" is confirming this strategy.
So you can exploit that. I had some trouble with them trying to get into a screened porch area, they saw birdseed and wanted in. They caused significant damage. So I got a used Daisy spring-air BB gun that is so low-powered it's laughable. But all you have to do is go out and plink at a few of them. The BB smarts and they dash off. A few rounds of that, they find someplace else to go, and associate humans (you) and your home with danger. There are easier pickings elsewhere.
I prefer this method because, unless I wanted to eat them, there's no point in killing them. They serve a useful function in the forest around my home and I want them on the job, doing whatever it is they do. But now they respect my property. A "refresher" course every 6 months or so is all the remedial instruction that's needed.
Update: I see "too-taxed" is confirming this strategy.
shotgunsrfun
member
pellet gun(air rifle over 1000 fps) storm xt I think its called. Works great for me. Put a nice scope and your good
RebelRabbi
Member
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2010
- Messages
- 78
Aguila 60 grain SSS is my medicine for pests. Not as quiet as the Supercolibri I admit.
I dug mytwo air rifles out late last week and cleaned them up. A 35 year old Feinwerkbau 224 and a 300 target rifle. They still shot fine and retained the zero when I had put them away several years ago. Squirrels and blackbirds now beware.
Uncle Mike
Member
Don't go 'stinging' the skwaks...putting out eyes or causing painful infection from open, non lethal wounds, resulting in slow, painful death, is not the best way to handle the situation...is it?
Kill them, or run them off. Stick a cat, owl, hawk, decoy in the tree, it'll work for a while, but hunger is a powerful thing. A supply of field corn strategically placed will do the trick also.
As for a good air rifle, there are many, and money dictates the quality you carry home, as was mentioned the RWS 34 is great.
I have a RWS model 52 in .25 caliber that really wackes skwaks, but range is limited by the heavy slug! .22 caliber is a good compromise between trajectory and energy with a barrel cocker.
The Gamo line is good for the money, but be careful, some high end Gamo's are just as, or close to as much as some better built main line manufacturers like RWS and Beeman!
There are much to say about airguns and there quality and caliber, so do some reading up on it before you commit!
Kill them, or run them off. Stick a cat, owl, hawk, decoy in the tree, it'll work for a while, but hunger is a powerful thing. A supply of field corn strategically placed will do the trick also.
As for a good air rifle, there are many, and money dictates the quality you carry home, as was mentioned the RWS 34 is great.
I have a RWS model 52 in .25 caliber that really wackes skwaks, but range is limited by the heavy slug! .22 caliber is a good compromise between trajectory and energy with a barrel cocker.
The Gamo line is good for the money, but be careful, some high end Gamo's are just as, or close to as much as some better built main line manufacturers like RWS and Beeman!
There are much to say about airguns and there quality and caliber, so do some reading up on it before you commit!
KevininPa
Member
.22 for fur. .177 for feathers.
General airgun rule. Headshots are a must for any self-respecting airgunner. My favorite airgun is an AirForce Talon SS. Made in America. Accurate and quiet though spendy $$$. Still much less than some Euro models though. If you search you can find blemished models for less.
If not made of money, I still think that the Benjamin Sheridan line is decent quality for not a lot of money. The .20 or the .22 would fill the bill nicely.
General airgun rule. Headshots are a must for any self-respecting airgunner. My favorite airgun is an AirForce Talon SS. Made in America. Accurate and quiet though spendy $$$. Still much less than some Euro models though. If you search you can find blemished models for less.
If not made of money, I still think that the Benjamin Sheridan line is decent quality for not a lot of money. The .20 or the .22 would fill the bill nicely.
agent slice
Member
allthouh I 
hate to admit it squirrels are very very smart animals.
what they would do to me is every night when I was sleeping thay would go
and make a big mess of my tree house
! when ever I saw one of those
littel pests I would run back inside to go get my crossman rm 377 they were
gone as if thay vanished into thin air! my next step was to buy a few rat traps
and set them up around the tree house; try and guess what got the bait taken away from it without catching a single squirrel :banghead:!
then a friend of mine gave me a live catch trap;that is when I started
trapping them and then killing them!
why I can"t do that is because if those littel pests see any thing in the shape
of a rifle they run and they hide!
I do understand that all animals have a purpose. by the way I figured out later that only 3 or 4 squirrels were trashing my tree house and once they were gone I had no more squirrel problems!
also check out the thread "a commonly over looked survival tool" under
"non firearm weapons"
hate to admit it squirrels are very very smart animals.what they would do to me is every night when I was sleeping thay would go
and make a big mess of my tree house
! when ever I saw one of thoselittel pests I would run back inside to go get my crossman rm 377 they were
gone as if thay vanished into thin air! my next step was to buy a few rat traps
and set them up around the tree house; try and guess what got the bait taken away from it without catching a single squirrel :banghead:!
then a friend of mine gave me a live catch trap;that is when I started
trapping them and then killing them!
why I can"t do that is because if those littel pests see any thing in the shape
of a rifle they run and they hide
!I do understand that all animals have a purpose. by the way I figured out later that only 3 or 4 squirrels were trashing my tree house and once they were gone I had no more squirrel problems!
also check out the thread "a commonly over looked survival tool" under
"non firearm weapons"
Kernel
Member
The Benjamin Model 397, .177 cal, is about $125 at Farm & Fleet. Since it's a pneumatic, you can dry fire it, if you like. Dry firing, even once, will wreck most springers. And, you can regulate power by the numbers of pumps - nice for indoor practice. The Model 392 is a .22 cal, if you'd like to go that route.
agent slice
Member
I agree!
dagger dog
Member
One of the German made quality spring piston air rifles will set you back 275-300 $, it will become one of your favorites, very hard to put it down once you open a 500 count tin of quality pellets. May I suggest a Beeman R9 in .20 cal., it is not one of those that advertise 1,000,000 fps with an alloy pellet, but it is one you can hunt with ,it pushes the .20 cal(5mm) pellet to about 850, go with the Kodiak Match pellets 15$ for 500, I think they are in the 20 gr area. You need to use quality pellets to take advantage of the accuracy this rifle. Topped with a Bushnell Sportsman 3X9 variable , and you doing your part stalking, head shots will definitley do Rocky no good. The R9 has an adjustable trigger,hard wood stock, and very nice bluing.
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