Tactical Pellet Rifle?

[thirtydaZe]

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?

[NE Bull]

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.

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[thirtydaZe]

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.

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TKing your advice on the nitro venom, thanks.

[Mudinyeri]

I have a Gamo. The rabbits in my back yard never know what hit them.

[justsomeguy]

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.

[zofoman]

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.

[JTH]

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?)

[thirtydaZe]

I bought the Nitro Venom



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.

 

[FarmerRick]

I bought the Nitro Venom



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.

[Mudinyeri]

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.

[thirtydaZe]

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.

[jFader]

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.

[NE Bull]

I bought the Nitro Venom



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!

[thirtydaZe]

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.

[FarmerRick]

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.   

[AWick]

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.

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Edit: they're wild rabbits.

[AWick]

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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[landon410]

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.

[thirtydaZe]

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?

[GreyGeek]

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.