[Jeff Higgins]

Squirrels are notorious in the airgunning community as being one of the most difficult animals to kill. Most will tell you that it takes a good deal more power to cleanly dispatch one than it does a similar sized rat or even a much larger rabbit.

The super light for caliber pellets that outfits like Gamo employ to artificially boost the velocities of their cheap air rifles are all but worthless for dispatching pests. Airgun pellets are ballistically challenged anyway, even the heavier for caliber examples. Remember, a standard .22 long rifle bullet weighs 40 grains. A standard .22 pellet goes about 14 grains, with "really heavy" pellets going maybe 25 grains. Their ballistic coefficients are very, very low - they slow down and run out of steam very quickly. The super light pellets make this bad situation even worse.

I've been amassing a bit of an airgun collection over the last few years. I've arrived at several conclusions. First and foremost, like anything else in life, you really do get what you pay for. The Gamos and other Chinese, Spanish, or Turkish airguns are simply junk. They are sold on two merits - their "gee whiz" velocities and low prices. They simply cannot compete with better made guns when it comes to velocity with reasonable pellet weights or when it comes to longevity and lasting quality.

My favorites are the German made RWS and Weihrauch lines. Both make high quality spring-piston guns that are more than up to the task accuracy and power wise for dispatching squirrels. They are significantly more expensive than the Gamos and what not, but they are truly lifetime investments.

At the low end of the price scale is the RWS 34 - the biggest selling "adult" airgun of all time. And for good reason. Mine is now almost two years old, has surpassed 5,000 rounds, and is as solid as the day I bought it. It really, really got quiet as is broke in, too. The loudest sound is the pellet hitting something solid. I paid less than $250 for it through Airguns of Arizona. Mine is a .22, shoots a 14.5 grain pellet at 570 fps, and is instant death on our squirrels, rats, crows, and bunnies. I would highly recommend it as a first or only airgun. Quiet enough that I shoot it in my backyard without any neighbors having any idea I'm doing it.