I'm perfectly legal to shoot on my property, as it's unincorporated Ventura Co, but also had a neighbor complain when she kept hearing the pellet gun. A 1200fps pellet gun actually produces a much more penetrating sound than a CCI Quiet-22 in 20" barrel.

P.S….She stopped complaining completely when I shot the coyote that was eating her chickens and attacked her Aussie. Now she smiles and gives me free eggs :D

You're rapidly becoming a favorite person of mine.

You hit the yote with a subsonic?


Sent via Jedi mind trick.

Lived on a half acre in CA years past...would walk around and plink to my hearts content.
One day as I was shooting squirrels out of my Fig tree, our resident b!tchy old lady neighbor walked along outside of my 6' fence...said, "What are you doing, Don?"
So from then on I'd open both French doors to the back yard, sit in the house and plink away...better for distance shooting anyway.
Surprised that she didn't report me.

Yep! Right in the top of his head from about 50'. Much to my surprise…Dropped the cheeky bastard like a rock.

Momentum = mass x velocity; energy = mass x velocity^2. Energy figures are very deceptive when discussing terminal ballistics, as they significantly weight velocity. Lighter, faster projectiles from a given size power plant (be it compressed air, a compressed spring, or gunpowder in a case) will always show higher energy numbers than heavier, slower projectiles. Heavy and slow usually wins the momentum calculation, however.

I've run my own rather extensive ballistics tests on my various air guns. The spring-air guns deliver the most energy with the middle weight pellets, dropping off with either heavier or lighter pellets. The pneumatics, however, deliver more energy with the heaviest pellets I can find in a given caliber. I think both of these traits have more to do with power plant efficiency.

As far as penetration, I have fired a variety of pellet weights in .20 and .22 caliber into various test media. Everything from the "soft pine" mentioned in vintage Sheridan ads to wet phone books. Pretty predicable results, but it's nice to see it play out as predicted: heavier pellets, even in the spring-air guns after having exceeded their most efficient pellet weight, simply penetrate better. The heavier the better.

The only fly in this ointment is trajectory. The heaviest pellet I currently use is the .22 caliber JSB Exact Jumbo Monster, at 25.39 grains. Neither of my most powerful rifles (steroid Benjamin 392 pneumatic or RWS 48 spring-piston) will crack 600 fps with this pellet. That can be a real factor in my back yard, where my longest shot can be 40 yards. If I zero it at that range, its mid range trajectory will have it shooting right over a rat. If I zero it at, say, 20 yards, it will shoot under a rat at long range. "Standard" weight for .22 caliber is ~14.5 grains. Both rifles are well into the mid 800 fps range with that weight. I can zero at 30 and pretty much hold dead on a rat anywhere I can see them around the back yard.

Playing with this stuff is fun but, in the end, dead is dead. I've pretty much gone back to 14.6 grain H&N field trophy pellets for all of my .22 shooting. I've gone for trajectory and accuracy over weight. These things shoot through every rat I hit (as do the 14.3 grain Sheridan .20 caliber pellets), and hitting is easier with them. That's what really counts, all theory aside.

I will not buy an air gun, I will not buy an air gun, I will not...

LMAO!!!! Famous last words. You know you want one…no…You know you NEED one. :cool:

I rarely read a post or reply with more than two short paragraphs. My A.D.D kicks in and down I scroll. …Except when Jeff is educating us on Spoon stuff. I find firearm ballistics, old guns, and hunting tips super interesting.

My nail measure board test seems like a cave man throwing two rocks at a mammoth skull now.

Like a 90mph baseball or a 60mph bowling ball.

Ha ha - I love it. When my two boys were but young pups, it did in fact come down to this, right there in front of them...

We had a bird feeder hanging on a tree in the front yard in those days. One day, both of the little grunions came running up, all excited at the sighting of a rat on the bird feeder. So, in defense of hearth and home (and to play it up a bit for a couple of really excited kids), I grabbed the mighty Sheridan as they watched through the front window, from the safety of the living room.

Apparently the rifle was not enough for them, and before I went outside, they expressed concern over the prospect of their father being charged by a wounded rat, with no time reload. They insisted I bring a sidearm to the fray, so I grabbed my Sheridan pneumatic pistol, loading it and sticking it in my waistband. Now I was more than ready for whatever fate had in store...

Darn good thing I heeded their advice, too. The rifle knocked the little varmint right off the feeder, but did not kill him. He hit the ground and headed straight for me... The pistol was drawn, and I nailed him right through the top of his head right off the toe of my boot. I've been their hero ever since.

Truth be told, the little rat bastard was dead before he hit the ground. He just hadn't gotten the memo. And, it was the purest of blind ass luck I didn't shoot my own toe. But the boys didn't have to know any of that...

Back in 1968 my parents and I went to Germany so I could visit my one remaining living grandparent. While we were there my dad took me to an old gun shop that his dad took him to. Not sure what model number it was but we bought a Diana .177 pellet rifle. I think the thing that impressed me most was the quality of the sights for a pellet rifle. I killed a lot of cans with it :D . It was a squirrel/chipmunk terror machine. I still have it but haven't shot it in years. I've kept her oiled up and I recently bought some pellets I think over the Christmas break I'll dust her off and see what she can still do.

Those old Diana side-cocking pellet guns still go for good money. Very cool dial-in rear sight (but I'm a sight whore). Very nice pieces. Hang on to it.


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1450557761.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1450557772.jpg

Craig T yes that's the dial in rear sight pretty impressive for an air rifle. I'll have to run downstairs to the gun safe and pull it out to see what model number it is. And yes I'll never let go of it. Heck the wood stock/forearm are very nice pieces also.

Mine is a Model 35 here's a few pics.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1450563650.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1450563660.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1450563670.jpg

"Mine is a Model 35 here's a few pics."
~~~~~~~~~~
How old is your Mod. 35?
.
Also, how often do you guys clean your barrels?

Sweet.

I asked a few years back about what to use in an urban hood to off a ground hog. I think it was vash that suggested sub-sonic 22LR. Bought a Ruger 10/22.

Worked like a charm. Less noise than my GAMO.

You had a thicker skull to go through. My shot was behind but into the head.

Good job.

VERY nice piece! Pretty sophisticated front globe sight. More like what you see on a Winchester 52.

Here is my RWS/Diana side cocker, a modern Model 48 in .22 caliber. I have since removed the Leapers scope and RWS "droop compensating" mount (meant to compensate for barrel droop on barrel cocking springers, it's angled at 2 degrees down in the front) and have mounted an otherwise unused Leupold VX-2 3-9x in Weaver mounts.

This thing is amazingly powerful, approaching 25 ft lbs with the right pellet, going into the mid 800 fps range with the H&N 14.66 grain. Exceedingly accurate as well. Very much on the heavy side (way over ten pounds with scope), though, it's more of a fixed stand shooting than a carry around and hunt rifle. Perfect for baited backyard rats, it's taken its fair share.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1450579559.jpg