pellet gun recommendation

[juanbenae]

looking for a rifle pump pellet gun currently and looking to spend $100-$150 and wonder what the brain trusts suggestions might be. have a gray squirrel that has had my ire for a while due to tunneling under the paved driveway and other placed i don't want undermined.

i kept putting it off cause i moved to the mountains and wildlife issues were expected, but it's now gone too far. ive got a bunch of black oaks on my property and a couple over the house that give pretty decent shade, but the eggcorns can be a nightmare. denting car hoods and generally making a mess that again I'll deal with, but that's where this gray squirrel comes in. it is now in the tree over the house feeding on them and dropping a ton of scrap husks and litter to the point the roof is full as is the patio. he got to go cause in this case two strikes is it.

what do you guys use that will be somewhat easy to get sighted, is well made, and you've been happy with? oh, and can't use a .22 cuase ive got neighbors and a road as close as a 1/4 mile from my "range" area.

TIA

[Evans, Marv]

I have an RWS Diana, mod. 48 in .177 that is dead accurate after zeroing in. I use it for ground squirrels around my place. Don't remember what it cost, but I think it was a little more than what you're saying your price range is. However a few bucks more for a one time expense isn't a big deal. I've hit squrrells up to 100+ ft. away with the iron sights & I'm not exactly the greatest shot in the world.

Edit: I just checked the Air Guns of Arizona website. The rifle costs about $380 now. I think it was a decent amount less when I bought it eleven years ago.

[craigster59]

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

I have an RWS Diana, mod. 48 in .177 that is dead accurate after zeroing in. I use it for ground squirrels around my place. Don't remember what it cost, but I think it was a little more than what you're saying your price range is. However a few bucks more for a one time expense isn't a big deal. I've hit squrrells up to 100+ ft. away with the iron sights & I'm not exactly the greatest shot in the world.

The RWS Diana's are around $300 but it's an investment.

Remember, "The most expensive thing you can do is buy cheap".

[Evans, Marv]

Remember, "The most expensive thing you can do is buy cheap".

True & like I said, it's a one time investment.

[beatnavy]

Ha! I'm going through this right now. Moved into our house about 18 months ago, and last year I managed to "live and let live" with the squirrels. This year they've been especially aggressive with my wife's garden, getting in the garage, and generally pissing me off. I have my late FIL's RWS Diana Model 45 with a Bushnell scope. I'm having a bit of a hard time reliably zeroing the scope, so it's not dialed in yet, but I do squirrels' attention at this point. And one squirrel met his maker from about 150 feet out a couple of days ago.

All good points on the cost / value. You'll drive yourself crazy with something that's not accurate or reliable. You'll also want something that is powerful enough to kill with one shot if you hit 'em correctly. My heart is not so hard that I enjoy dealing with a wounded animal, even a squirrel.

[Evans, Marv]

I don't have a scope, but I talked to Air Guns of Arizona about them. They said air guns have more recoil generally than lots of rifles, & if you don't have a scope built for it accuracy suffers. I'm sure other guys on here with more knowledge than I have can comment.

[LWJ]

I bought my RWS 52 at a pawn shop for $120 ish. Brand new.

Pawn shops are full of pellet guns. Cheap.

[Rick Lee]

I so want to shoot all the pigeons around my house, but it would be almost impossible to do from concealment and without the neighbors hearing or seeing it. I had a cheap Airsoft pistol with the biodegradable pellets. But throwing rocks was more accurate.

[The Synergizer]

Good thing with pellet guns. You can just buy on Amazon..

[beatnavy]

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

I don't have a scope, but I talked to Air Guns of Arizona about them. They said air guns have more recoil generally than lots of rifles, & if you don't have a scope built for it accuracy suffers. I'm sure other guys on here with more knowledge than I have can comment.

Hmm, that's interesting. I may have to look into that.

[vash]

Two things T:

1. Buy a vintage Benjamin Blue Streak. I found mine at Gunbroker dot com. I paid $100. Send it to Mac1 Airguns and have him refresh it. He pumps it up and it hammers. I have one that needs to go to the guy, but I’m taking there myself when I visit a friend in January. Open sights; it is so accurate. They can update you to a peep sight. Mine is a .20 cal and it will knock down a grey squirrel. Dont ask how I know. I couldn’t imagine it with the bumped up PSI.

2. I’ll come and visit with my PCP airgun. . Couple of beers and some laughs. I bet we can knock them back a couple of seasons. When Is CB visiting you?

[vash]

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

I don't have a scope, but I talked to Air Guns of Arizona about them. They said air guns have more recoil generally than lots of rifles, & if you don't have a scope built for it accuracy suffers. I'm sure other guys on here with more knowledge than I have can comment.

This applies to the springer guns. You can get a reinforced scope to handle the recoil.

[Jeff Higgins]

A standard, unmodified Benjamin 392 will fill the bill. $200 from Airguns of Arizona. The 392 is .22 caliber, they also make a 397, which is the same rifle in .177 caliber. The .22 caliber is far better for squirrel control.

Like most things in life, of course, the sky is the limit on air rifles. I really got into them in the early Obama gun panic years, when firearms and ammunition were all but unavailable. I figured a quality air gun would "get me by". Hah - years later, I have quite a collection of them. Far from just "getting by", they are a very interesting and enjoyable pastime in and of themselves.

I have four pump guns modified by MAC1 as mentioned by Vash. Two vintage Sheridan Blue Streaks, one of which I have owned since I was about ten, and one purchased off Gun Broker a few years ago. The other two are modern versions thereof, one a Blue Streak and one a Benjamin 392, which are now identical to one another (the Blue Streak was discontinued a few years ago). These are very powerful air rifles, exceeding 20 foot pounds of energy with a full charge. They are, unfortunately, very loud. This may or may not make a difference. Neighbors proximity becomes an issue.

Every bit as powerful, but far quieter, are the quality spring piston guns. I have a variety from RWS and Weihrauch that will match the power of the pump guns. These are not cheap, however, running into the $300 - $600 range, or more.

And yes, scopes are a big problem on the spring piston guns (but not on the pump guns). The reason for this is that they recoil forward when the piston hits the end of its travel. Scopes that hold up to really heavy recoil from conventional firearms will fail on these rifles. You have to make sure that whatever you mount on one of these is "airgun rated".

I have had great luck with Weaver scopes meant for .22 rimfires. Weaver does rate these as "airgun compatible", where they do not give that rating for their centerfire rifle scopes. Forget the cheap $100 or less "airgun" scopes from companies like Leapers, UTG, Hawke, Umarex, etc. I have never had one hold up for long, even though they are "air gun rated". You do have spend some money if you want a scope, unfortunately, at least for a spring piston rifle. Not so much for a pump gun, though. They are very easy on scopes.

Anyway, a pump up Benjamin, with its open sights, should work just fine of squirrels. Assuming you can use open sights well enough to hit them properly, the rifle will have all of the power you need. There are scopes and mounts available, should you need them.

[juanbenae]

Originally Posted by vash

Two things T:

1. Buy a vintage Benjamin Blue Streak. I found mine at Gunbroker dot com. I paid $100. Send it to Mac1 Airguns and have him refresh it. He pumps it up and it hammers. I have one that needs to go to the guy, but I’m taking there myself when I visit a friend in January. Open sights; it is so accurate. They can update you to a peep sight. Mine is a .20 cal and it will knock down a grey squirrel. Dont ask how I know. I couldn’t imagine it with the bumped up PSI.

2. I’ll come and visit with my PCP airgun. . Couple of beers and some laughs. I bet we can knock them back a couple of seasons. When Is CB visiting you?

that's sounds like a deal. beers was up about 3 weeks ago for the maiden off road testing of his 4runner. we did a few minor trails the 1st day in his rig, then went up to the niagra rim trail in my jeep and his rig the second day. he was thrilled to finally get it out n a lil dusty after such a long build. very capable rig. we had a real good time.

trying to put a slick rock run together with my buddy who lives in arnold in the next month or so that chris is trying to get loose for. he just started a new job so it may be tough to get away again if we do a thursdee or friday to avoid the weekend crowds. plus his kids home schooling. stupid covid! if something gets set up ill ping ya so you two could possibly both head this way in his rig for the slick rock run. my pops will be along, but my place will sleep 4 if you are down. otherwise anytime you want to come up let me know.

rocky squirrel update-- i already have one of those long barrel pistol type pellet guns that admittedly was never really sighted in. i took a crack at him with it last evening for a while and "had him surrounded" taking at least 20 shots not even bothering him one bit. he was hitting me more with eggcorn bits than i was him to be sure. what turned out to be the last shot i thought id gotten his attention by getting close cause it took off and went thru a number of tree tops and disappeared.

well, even this blind old squirrel may have found a nut cause he has not been back to this point today even though he was most active yesterday morning. i did before the last 3-4 shots last night take a couple shots a wood retaining wall and determined to some extent where and how the sight was off and tried to compensate for that the last 4-5 shots. hopefully he ran off to die...

good advice on spending more up front and i should have known that was the case. at this point if it does in fact not return i can look into the pawnshop angle cause there are two in sonora. still would not mind hearing more about units say in the $200 range if somebody has a good experience with one. i am on a retired fixed income, own a 911 and a jeep that need bits too ya know...

[stevej37]

Gray squirrels are tree squirrels....they don't tunnel.
What size are these? If the smaller ground squirrel...it can easily be caught by trap.
My yard had lots of them this spring...caught all of them with plastic clam traps in a matter of days.

[flatbutt]

New Jersey administrative code stipulates that air guns, including pellet guns, constitute firearms and must be registered with the State Police. Using a pellet without registering it with the State Police is illegal. New Jersey State Police provides a form for voluntary registration of previously owned firearms which have been obtained legally (either under a previous law or in a different jurisdiction). People wishing to purchase a new gun must first obtain a license and permit to purchase one before registering the gun.

So registration is voluntary but using an unregistered one is illegal. Huh?

[juanbenae]

Originally Posted by stevej37

Gray squirrels are tree squirrels....they don't tunnel.
What size are these? If the smaller ground squirrel...it can easily be caught by trap.
My yard had lots of them this spring...caught all of them with plastic clam traps in a matter of days.

they are pretty big for a squirrel i guess. i will have to google a ground squirrel to see what they look like. ive got plenty of gophers, voles & moles that i battle in the turf areas of the property. ive not seen any other squirrels around and there is really no vegetation to speak of near the holes by the paved road so i do not anticipate any of the usual suspects are to blame.

still no sign of the gray squirrel from yesterday that actually i believe is the one that's been around the property since early spring. hate to kill anything around here besides the gophers, moles and voles but the mess it was making was immense. it will be a year early next month that ive been at the new place so i did not see any of this until now.

[stevej37]

These are the ones that I had in my yard.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_squirrel
They would spend all day cracking walnuts from the low tree limbs or the ground.
The ones they didn't eat..they would store them under the hood of my car or in any crevice of a building they could find.

They were easy to eliminate with the traps I mentioned.

[vash]

Originally Posted by stevej37

These are the ones that I had in my yard.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_squirrel
They would spend all day cracking walnuts from the low tree limbs or the ground.
The ones they didn't eat..they would store them under the hood of my car or in any crevice of a building they could find.

They were easy to eliminate with the traps I mentioned.

Yup. Two or three decimated my yard once. I set up a ground blind and waited them out. The fish and game guy told me it was illegal to trap and relocate them. I asked him what did he suggest, and he said, “you look resourceful “. I took that as a blank check.

[cabmandone]

Gamo. Great "bang" for the buck. Mine is a WalMart special. Thing is CRAZY accurate. I use it squirrel and rabbit hunting and for taking out starlings in the spring.

This looks close to what I have.
https://gamousa.com/product/varmint-177-cablier-break-barrel-air-rifle/