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General Categories => General Firearm Discussion => Topic started by: thirtydaZe on April 23, 2014, 10:26:40 AM

Title: Tactical Pellet Rifle?
Post by: thirtydaZe on April 23, 2014, 10:26:40 AM
Lets say you need just a little firepower for some unwanted varments, but wanted to go big on awesomeness as far as a pellet/bb gun was concerned, keeping it under a couple hundred bucks, which direction would you choose, or, would you just consider a live trap first?

Title: Re: Tactical Pellet Rifle?
Post by: NE Bull on April 23, 2014, 02:25:28 PM
I'm pretty  happy with my Crossman Nitro Venom. Gas piston, scope, wood furniture.
If you want to go the tacticool look, get the Gamo silent hunter something rather . In tactical black, mil dot scope, laser and light and built in noise suppression. BA.

Sent from my C771 using Tapatalk 2
Title: Re: Tactical Pellet Rifle?
Post by: thirtydaZe on April 23, 2014, 05:29:55 PM
I'm pretty  happy with my Crossman Nitro Venom. Gas piston, scope, wood furniture.
If you want to go the tacticool look, get the Gamo silent hunter something rather . In tactical black, mil dot scope, laser and light and built in noise suppression. BA.

Sent from my C771 using Tapatalk 2


TKing your advice on the nitro venom, thanks.
Title: Re: Tactical Pellet Rifle?
Post by: Mudinyeri on April 23, 2014, 06:21:35 PM
I have a Gamo. The rabbits in my back yard never know what hit them.
Title: Re: Tactical Pellet Rifle?
Post by: justsomeguy on April 23, 2014, 06:27:44 PM
I have a Gamo. The rabbits in my back yard never know what hit them.

Yep, I've got a Gamo Showstopper and I've been pretty happy with it.
Title: Re: Tactical Pellet Rifle?
Post by: zofoman on April 23, 2014, 08:54:37 PM
Benjamin .22.....gets top vote in my opinion.   
I have both a Gamo in .177 (dont remember the model) and a 50+yr old Benjamin in .22....more rabbit & squirrel kills have been made with the Benji.  It may be slower in fps than the Gamo, but the knock down is better with the .22.  Use RWS superpoint or superdome pellets for max effect.
Title: Re: Tactical Pellet Rifle?
Post by: JTH on April 24, 2014, 01:49:05 PM
Truthfully, if going with a backyard thing, a .22 in a slower-than-sound pellet will give you best varmint results, with a corresponding lack of neighbor issues. 

This doesn't mean that a .177 is bad---but if the pellet isn't going that fast, a heavier larger pellet is going to help. 

If supersonic noise isn't an issue, then you can buy some RIDICULOUSLY overpowered spring guns out there in .177.  :)

(I have always wondered about the "sound suppression" devices, though.  There isn't any noise from gas or burning powder, so what exactly is being suppressed?  The spring or piston?  How does hanging something off the front end change that?  Does the compressed air, driven by the piston, make THAT much noise that baffles in the front will actually make any sort of difference?  It certainly won't change the supersonic crack is the pellet is going fast enough.  What is it for?)
Title: Re: Tactical Pellet Rifle?
Post by: thirtydaZe on April 24, 2014, 02:05:30 PM
I bought the Nitro Venom

(http://i3.squidoocdn.com/resize/squidoo_images/800/draft_lens17837571module149555480photo_1304611629crosman-nitro-venom-dusk-)

actually before the majority of memebers posted a bit later last night.  i think it'll be a good match for my needs.

somehow every spring i catch a bunny problem, which in turn ends badly for bunny babies.  my dog thinks they're squeak toys, i find the whole situation a problem that gets worse, and more irritating every year.

 
Title: Re: Tactical Pellet Rifle?
Post by: FarmerRick on April 24, 2014, 02:55:06 PM
I bought the Nitro Venom

(http://i3.squidoocdn.com/resize/squidoo_images/800/draft_lens17837571module149555480photo_1304611629crosman-nitro-venom-dusk-)

actually before the majority of memebers posted a bit later last night.  i think it'll be a good match for my needs.

somehow every spring i catch a bunny problem, which in turn ends badly for bunny babies.  my dog thinks they're squeak toys, i find the whole situation a problem that gets worse, and more irritating every year.

Sounds like you have a self-renewing food source in your back yard. I'd be training the dog to not "retrieve" them until they are full grown.
Title: Re: Tactical Pellet Rifle?
Post by: Mudinyeri on April 24, 2014, 05:21:59 PM
Truthfully, if going with a backyard thing, a .22 in a slower-than-sound pellet will give you best varmint results, with a corresponding lack of neighbor issues. 

I've never had a rabbit survive a head shot from a .177.  You might want a .22 if you're going after opossums or raccoons.
Title: Re: Tactical Pellet Rifle?
Post by: thirtydaZe on April 24, 2014, 05:49:06 PM
I've never had a rabbit survive a head shot from a .177.  You might want a .22 if you're going after opossums or raccoons.


I actually killed one with a bb gun 2 springs ago.  Was trying to scare him out of my yard, but plans changed when it hit.
Title: Re: Tactical Pellet Rifle?
Post by: jFader on April 24, 2014, 10:58:22 PM
I need to invest in something similar.... Let me know how that Nitro works out for you.  I frequently have to pop rabbits twice to stop them with the cheapo daisy pellet gun I have, which becomes a problem when I shoot them in my yard & have to follow them into a neighbor's property. I also have to hop the fence often to retrieve them.
Title: Re: Tactical Pellet Rifle?
Post by: NE Bull on April 25, 2014, 08:07:05 AM
I bought the Nitro Venom

(http://i3.squidoocdn.com/resize/squidoo_images/800/draft_lens17837571module149555480photo_1304611629crosman-nitro-venom-dusk-)

actually before the majority of memebers posted a bit later last night.  i think it'll be a good match for my needs.

somehow every spring i catch a bunny problem, which in turn ends badly for bunny babies.  my dog thinks they're squeak toys, i find the whole situation a problem that gets worse, and more irritating every year.

 
SWEET!
Title: Re: Tactical Pellet Rifle?
Post by: thirtydaZe on April 25, 2014, 10:26:56 AM
my air rifle arrives today, last night, the rabbit, i'm assuming is the culprit, was lounging in my lawn.  dog couldn't get him. 

his days are numbered.
Title: Re: Tactical Pellet Rifle?
Post by: FarmerRick on April 25, 2014, 12:29:36 PM
my air rifle arrives today, last night, the rabbit, i'm assuming is the culprit, was lounging in my lawn.  dog couldn't get him. 

his days are numbered.

Use a head shot, so as to not damage the meat.   ;)
Title: Re: Tactical Pellet Rifle?
Post by: AWick on April 27, 2014, 10:53:24 PM
So, being a youngin I've never had squirrel or rabbit, but now that I have 7 rabbits infesting my backyard (formerly 9, but two babies died of natural causes)... that might change things. I know how to field dress a rabbit,  since that was in the Boy Scout field guide, but what is the best way to prepare them? Just curious of course. :)

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Edit: they're wild rabbits.
Title: Re: Tactical Pellet Rifle?
Post by: AWick on April 28, 2014, 03:32:12 PM
Looked up the NG&P regs and see that the season is between Sept 1st and Feb 28/29. I also looked into it a bit more and didn't realize that rabbits can carry the nasties in the summer months and that the first few frosts kill off parasites and diseased rabbits.

Now, to see how I can rid my yard of those pests! Thanks for starting the thread as I had some similar questions and needs.

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Title: Re: Tactical Pellet Rifle?
Post by: landon410 on April 28, 2014, 03:47:20 PM
we used to take rabbits at 2 rivers and cook them like a roast
crock pot with potato carrots etc

rabbit isn't the best tasting thing I've ever eaten.
but yes, don't ever eat a rabbit until after its been cold for a bit.

Title: Re: Tactical Pellet Rifle?
Post by: thirtydaZe on April 28, 2014, 06:48:20 PM
we used to take rabbits at 2 rivers and cook them like a roast
crock pot with potato carrots etc

rabbit isn't the best tasting thing I've ever eaten.
but yes, don't ever eat a rabbit until after its been cold for a bit.




You mean to tell me i could have been sniping them from my camper door all weekend?
Title: Re: Tactical Pellet Rifle?
Post by: GreyGeek on April 29, 2014, 06:19:27 PM
Benjamin .22.....gets top vote in my opinion.   ...

And mine, too!   I have both a .22 Benjamin 392 and a Crosman .177 CS1K77 break barrel.  Both have scopes.  The Benjamin is a ten-pump (max) with a rifled barrel.  Deadly accurate and much quieter than the .177 because its muzzle velocity is only 950 ft/s whereas the .177 has a 1,200 ft/s velocity.  It gives a decided "crack!".

I used a Sheridan BlueStreak 5mm air rifle, the granddad of the 392, a lot before I went off to college.  It used Aluminum-Lead pellets that looked like a banded barrel with a cone on the nose and a conic depression on the back end.  The rifled barrel and 8 pumps gave the pellet the power of a .22 short.  Any small game under 50 yds was taken with a single head shot, using iron sights.   I got to know the that gun so well that an occasional shot at 75 or 100 yrs was rarely missed.  If I could see a squirrel's head he was in the pot that night!  Same with pigeons, doves and rabbits.
Title: Re: Tactical Pellet Rifle?
Post by: shooter on April 29, 2014, 07:20:53 PM
 be careful what you do with the bodies in the city, my dads neighbor got in trouble for putting a bunny he shot in the trash can,
Title: Re: Tactical Pellet Rifle?
Post by: thirtydaZe on April 30, 2014, 10:24:33 AM
Well, i figured i'd go ahead and post a pic, this is what it looked like out of the box, and installing the scope.

Seems well built, is heavy.  Obviously you can see, it's pretty cool.

That rabbit has yet to show it's ugly face.



(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rkpyuP4TRv0/U17kk-WgrnI/AAAAAAAABCQ/CmTgN0IDpp8/w441-h588-no/IMAGE_116.jpg)
Title: Re: Tactical Pellet Rifle?
Post by: AWick on April 30, 2014, 02:48:12 PM
(http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100218025058/wbau/images/thumb/6/63/ElmerFudd.jpg/480px-ElmerFudd.jpg)

Here wabbit!!!

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Title: Re: Tactical Pellet Rifle?
Post by: GreyGeek on May 05, 2014, 05:06:09 PM
...what is the best way to prepare them? ...Edit: they're wild rabbits.

Tularemia is an illness caused by a bacteria, Francisella tularensis, which can affect both animals and humans.  It is also called Rabbit Fever.

Avoid contact with the blood.  It's best to wear plastic gloves when cleaning the wild rabbit.    When I was a kid we'd coat our hands in Vaseline before we skinned the rabbits.   I looked for lesions on the liver.  If I found the liver had lesions I'd toss the rabbit.  Rabbit fever, if contracted in the lungs, can be fatal.  If it has lesions and you keep the meat be sure to cook it well, as if it were pork.
http://voices.yahoo.com/rabbit-fever-humans-contract-disease-tularemia-1628607.html (http://voices.yahoo.com/rabbit-fever-humans-contract-disease-tularemia-1628607.html)

Title: Re: Tactical Pellet Rifle?
Post by: sparky0068 on May 05, 2014, 05:10:31 PM
Feinwerkbau 300s works for me.
Title: Re: Tactical Pellet Rifle?
Post by: depserv on May 15, 2014, 04:10:12 PM
I have a Gamo Big Cat 1200, .177 cal.  Hadn't shot it for quite awhile so I took it out to the range awhile back, and at 25 yards the hits were all over a 9" pie plate.  So I didn't know whether to contact Gamo about sending it back or just throw it away and buy a new one, since I see a 1000 fps Ruger and Crossman at Walmart for around $100. 

Then I decided to see if maybe the scope was the problem, since pellet guns are likely to come with cheap scopes.  So I put on an old 4x Leupold I didn't have anything else to do with and now the pellet gun I about threw away is shooting tight enough groups that no rabbit should be able to escape its wrath. 

I mention this because if a person wants a pellet gun for what might be long term survival if the grocery stores ever shut down, he might think about putting a better scope on it.  Mine came without iron sights, as I assume most probably do.  But it might be worth looking into finding one with them, if long term survival is the goal.

A few questions:

It's my understanding that shooting even a pellet or BB gun in town is illegal; is that correct?

Is there ever any reason to clean the bore or any part of a pellet rifle?  Do the barrels get leaded?  Does anything get lubed? 
Title: Re: Tactical Pellet Rifle?
Post by: CitizenClark on May 15, 2014, 04:51:51 PM
It's my understanding that shooting even a pellet or BB gun in town is illegal; is that correct?

I assume we are talking about Lincoln, and I think the answer is "it depends."

Generally speaking, discharge of firearms is prohibited within Lincoln, unless it falls within one of the exceptions set out in the relevant ordinance. Your Gamo is not a firearm under this ordinance because it is not a pistol, rifle, or shotgun. It is, however, a weapon that can propel a leaden or dangerous projectile, and you are prohibited by city ordinance from firing or discharging it "for the purpose of throwing or projecting missiles of any kind by any means whatsoever in such a manner as to endanger the safety of persons or property."

According to my reading of the exceptions to the prohibition on the discharge of firearms and other projectile weapons in Lincoln, shooting inside an enclosure in a manner such that the projectile never crosses an area outside that enclosure, is within the exceptions and therefore is not prohibited, assuming that you do not cause damage to persons or property. (See Lincoln Municipal Code 9.36.080 Exemptions. "The provisions of Sections 9.36.010 and 9.36.050 shall not apply to ... (c) a private building within which the instrument is fired, discharged, or operated in such a manner as to prevent the missile projected from traversing in the space outside of the private building")

In reliance on this exception, I hear that some wild-eyed firearms enthusiasts may even have basement ranges set up in their homes! ;)

Here is the PDF of the relevant portions of Lincoln's Municipal Code: http://www.lincoln.ne.gov/city/attorn/lmc/ti09/ch936.pdf (http://www.lincoln.ne.gov/city/attorn/lmc/ti09/ch936.pdf)