Killing chipmunks is about to get serious damnit!

[engineer40]

I have a chipmunk/gopher problem around my yard. Those dang things are everywhere. I have taken quite a few out with my son's cheap Daisy air rifle. Although I have missed more than I've hit. I have got probably 6 with the bucket of water with floating sunflower seeds. However that only works for about 2 days before a raccoon finds it and starts coming every night to knock the bucket over. Then I had a great idea! A chipmunk and a rat around about the same size. I'll just put out a couple rat traps! (A rat trap is just like a mouse trap but about 4 times as large and the springs are way stronger).

Only had the rat traps out for a couple hours and when I walked by the window... sweet! I got my first chipmunk! While I was walking up to it thinking "That is a big ***** chipmunk!"

Apparently, a rat trap is strong enough to kill a squirrel! Crap, so my rat trap idea isn't going to work. I have too many squirrels around the house too. They would most likely get to the traps first most of the time.


Before I write this next part, I'll need to preface by saying, I really do not know much about air rifles. The only things I've ever shot with them are pop cans or water bottles.

I always thought my son's pellet gun was at least Minute of Pop Can accurate.

Tonight a chipmunk/gopher was chilling under the bird feeder. I grab the air rifle and....... went on to miss 3 times in a row! Ahhhh! I was furious! I had never actually tested the accuracy of the air rifle on paper before.

The family immediately could tell I was on a mission and proceeded to stay out of my way. I was acutely focused on now getting this dang air rifle sighted in! I created a make shift shooting bench out of my ironing board and weight lifting bench. Fairly redneck, but the height worked great.

Wow, I never realized how inaccurate BB's are! It always felt like I hit most of the pop cans I aimed at. But now that I was shooting at a paper target, I have no idea how! Even at 20 yards, it was at least a 3 inch group using the BB's. WAY too large of a group for shooting at something the size of a chipmunk! I'm surprised I ever hit any of those little critters in the past.

Obviously, I assumed pellets would be more accurate, but I didn't realize how much more accurate they were! I didn't realize it would even make a difference at the short distances I was shooting.

Once I switched to testing with pellets, the groups got great! Here is a 5 shot, 1 hole group at 20 yards.

OK, here's the bad news... You see that the group is to the right of the bullseye? I have maxed the scope out as far as it will go with left adjustments. I can't get the group to move any more to the left.

So now we're on to the meat of my post here. I'm sick of messing around with this cheap air rifle. It's fun for shooting cans and that's about it.

I'm horribly uninformed when it comes to modern air rifles. I know there are many different options now, rather than the old school, 10 pump Daisy's. I'm ready to be edified about the newer air rifle options!

Initially I think one of the break barrel, 1 pump style of air rifles would fit my needs. I'm assuming this because I'll only really use it around my house. I have a couple acres, but even shooting a 22 rimfire would make me nervous. Even though I cannot see my neighbors, there are a couple that are fairly close.

I know there are the kind of air rifles now too that you can fill up with an air compressor. But sometimes I go a couple weeks without shooting it at all. I'm just assuming, if I see a critter I want to exterminate, it would be a hassle to get the gun full of air pressure before using it. Do you guys agree on that? These style of air rifle also appear heavier, but that may not be true.

I guess my requirements are:
-Quick to grab and use immediately with pellets.
-Most likely I'd like to stick with 17 caliber projectiles.
-As quiet as possible. I've read that some of the newer air rifles actually make a significant amount of noise when fired.
-A solid way to mount a real scope.
-Lightweight.
-A decent trigger. My son's Daisy feels like it's a 10lb trigger. It's horrible. Of my entire arsenal, its the worst, except maybe my Hi Points.
-Good value for money spent.
-Accurate!


Do you guys have any suggestions to help steer me in the right direction?

How far should I expect to be able to shoot a higher end air rifle accurately?

Thanks! I really do appreciate everyone's opinions with this. Air rifles is a subject I just never had a reason to know much about.... (Until now!).

 

[engineer40]

Oh, another question I have...

Should I go for the fastest velocity pellet gun I can find? Or should I stay below the speed of sound?

From the rest of my shooting I've done, I know that projectiles do weird things when crossing the sound barrier while slowing down. I know some guys that shoot 22 rim fire rifles accurately, actually use ammo that starts slower than the speed of sound so they don't have to worry about that.

Thanks!

 

[338Rocket]

I don't know anything about air rifles, but I've been getting a few chipmunks with the long bow. Hopefully cut the infestation down while keeping me sharp for deer season.

 

[HARPERC]

My last attempt at air rifle flopped! I went to cheap, and got a lousy trigger, and accuracy wasn't what I hoped. Break barrel Beeman soured me on the break barrel thing.
My old Benjamin pump gave good service years ago, I would skip the 5mm pellet option.
If you go to Pyramid air they often have online support while you shop. Real helpful but it's been a while.
I will likely go with one of the charged models when I buy one. My memory is such I'd have to look it up, but I think the Benjamin Marauder is what I decided. The kids got me sidetracked with 17 HMR stuff.

 

[Anschutz]

I'm horribly uninformed when it comes to modern air rifles. I know there are many different options now, rather than the old school, 10 pump Daisy's. I'm ready to be edified about the newer air rifle options!

Initially I think one of the break barrel, 1 pump style of air rifles would fit my needs. I'm assuming this because I'll only really use it around my house. I have a couple acres, but even shooting a 22 rimfire would make me nervous. Even though I cannot see my neighbors, there are a couple that are fairly close.

I know there are the kind of air rifles now too that you can fill up with an air compressor. But sometimes I go a couple weeks without shooting it at all. I'm just assuming, if I see a critter I want to exterminate, it would be a hassle to get the gun full of air pressure before using it. Do you guys agree on that? These style of air rifle also appear heavier, but that may not be true.

I guess my requirements are:
-Quick to grab and use immediately with pellets.
-Most likely I'd like to stick with 17 caliber projectiles.
-As quiet as possible. I've read that some of the newer air rifles actually make a significant amount of noise when fired.
-A solid way to mount a real scope.
-Lightweight.
-A decent trigger. My son's Daisy feels like it's a 10lb trigger. It's horrible. Of my entire arsenal, its the worst, except maybe my Hi Points.
-Good value for money spent.
-Accurate!


Do you guys have any suggestions to help steer me in the right direction?

How far should I expect to be able to shoot a higher end air rifle accurately?

Thanks! I really do appreciate everyone's opinions with this. Air rifles is a subject I just never had a reason to know much about.... (Until now!).

It's okay to be uninformed. I'm assuming Engineering was fairly unknown to you when you began school but now you know more than I with my Statics and Dynamics, Thermo, and Design courses I had to take. I know a good deal about Airguns and have shot them at everything from Carpenter Bees hovering in the yard to electronic 10M Olympic targets at West Point. I'll start you with your caliber choice and move to the types of rifles you may want to consider. I'm not sure of your price range but I think we can get you to a spot you'd like to be to get rid of those Chipmunks.

Caliber: You say .177 because it's what you know and Wal-Mart carries a Metric Buttload of choices I assume. The only real choice they carry is the Crossman Premier Domed Pellet and most of them carry .177 and .22. These are stable and hard hitting for their caliber. I will suggest going with a .22 because of the energy it delivers at the target. Airguns already don't have much energy so any extra you get is great. A 1000 fps .177 will have about 40% less energy at the muzzle than a 900 fps .22 and at 40 yards it will be about 50% more. This is important on animals with very small vital areas. A .177 will shoot flatter than a .22 but the wind will push it around a lot more. I find that I'm a lot better at range doping than wind doping so between energy and windage, I'm apt to go for a .22.

Type of rifle:
-I'm not sure if you have shot a spring gun before but they are very finicky about how you hold them as they have a very violent recoil that pushes back until the piston stops then lurches forward. This requires an Airgun Specific scope as it will thrash any scope not made for airguns. They are also quite loud and the most accurate rifles can be quite expensive.
- PCP Airguns are fairly expensive but have a lot of advantages over a spring gun. They can be quiet, provide repeater capability with many models, and you can use any scope as there is no violent recoil. The other thing is that many of them have a shroud where the barrel ends a few inches in front of the barrel tube. This allows you to put a piece of tape over the barrel that makes it a lot quieter while keeping rain out of the barrel. My Anschutz with this configuration makes a louder sound when the pellet hits the squirrel or target than the report of the rifle. You can also leave the rifle charged for a long time where in a spring gun once it is cocked it must be fired or the spring will fatigue and lose power.

Again I really don't know your budget but I can give some recommendations If I were going to buy an airgun I would be trying to get something that would allow me not only to hunt small game and kill pests but also allow me to practice shooting at range for the big game rifle. When 2000 pellets costs less than 40 rounds of rifle ammo you can get a lot of quiet, recoil free practice in the back yard. For me that would be a PCP, I have an air tank already from shooting competitively but a used one can be picked up for pretty cheap and then you can use that for a while and pay 10 bucks to have it refilled. For a lower end model I would go for a Marauder at around $500 or maybe a Discovery for around $400. You can work up from there to whatever you would like to spend but the only difference is that groups get smaller and quality goes up. I hope this helps at least a little bit.

 

[engineer40]

I don't know anything about air rifles, but I've been getting a few chipmunks with the long bow. Hopefully cut the infestation down while keeping me sharp for deer season.

That is impressive! Seriously!

 

[engineer40]

Anschutz, thanks for the detailed response!

I actually like the thought of 17 caliber because they don't carry the energy of a 22 caliber. I have a few 22 rim fires and don't feel comfortable shooting those into my yard. Like I was saying in my first post, even though my neighbors are far enough away to not see them through the trees, they are really not that far away. I do agree with your statement though about small critters having small vital areas, and that really had me pondering on caliber choice.

I do like many of the features of the PCP style air guns better. What I wasn't sure about it if it would harm them by keeping a charge in the tank long term? Maybe even a week+ at a time?

Also, what kind of tank and pressure is needed for charging a PCP style? My air compressor goes to 165psi I believe. I'm just assuming I could fill it with an air compressor...

Since you mentioned competing, how far can a person shoot an air rifle accurately? I remember a few great YT videos I saw last year of a guy shooting some birds with a PCP style at almost 90 yards! I think he was using a 25 caliber if I remember correctly.

This all has me wondering if I would be better off just investing to get a silencer for one of my 22 rim fires instead...

Thanks!

 

[engineer40]

I was able to answer most of my own questions.

-An air compressor will not work as these air rifles need 2000-3000PSI.

-Plent of people shooting these over 75 yards at critters.

-Most people say it's actually better for the rifle to leave it fully charged with air for long term storage.

 

[Anschutz]

Anschutz, thanks for the detailed response!

I actually like the thought of 17 caliber because they don't carry the energy of a 22 caliber. I have a few 22 rim fires and don't feel comfortable shooting those into my yard. Like I was saying in my first post, even though my neighbors are far enough away to not see them through the trees, they are really not that far away. I do agree with your statement though about small critters having small vital areas, and that really had me pondering on caliber choice.

I do like many of the features of the PCP style air guns better. What I wasn't sure about it if it would harm them by keeping a charge in the tank long term? Maybe even a week+ at a time?

Also, what kind of tank and pressure is needed for charging a PCP style? My air compressor goes to 165psi I believe. I'm just assuming I could fill it with an air compressor...

Since you mentioned competing, how far can a person shoot an air rifle accurately? I remember a few great YT videos I saw last year of a guy shooting some birds with a PCP style at almost 90 yards! I think he was using a 25 caliber if I remember correctly.

This all has me wondering if I would be better off just investing to get a silencer for one of my 22 rim fires instead...

Thanks!

On my air rifle, I have kept the cylinder charged for weeks at a time and it always had air in it unless flying. My competition gun was only meant to shoot well at 10m and had a muzzle velocity of 550 fps. It would shoot under an inch out to about 40m but had really lost all of its steam here and opened up a lot. Look up AirArmsSA. That guy shoots some really high quality air rifles at some animals we just don't have here in the States and he's deadly accurate. As far as the .22 airguns go, you have to completely separate yourself from the .22 LR when thinking about them. A 40gr standard velocity .22LR has about 5 times the energy of a .22 pellet. As far as filling it, your standard compressor is definitely not up to task. A PCP airgun typically fills to 3000 PSI. How do you achieve such high pressures? A dive tank is what I used. It would fill the tank several times before needing to be refilled itself. I got a used one and it was less than $15 for the shop to fill it. Most fire departments will do it for you as well, I'm sure a few bucks into the lunch fund wouldn't hurt your chances either. Back to caliber for the airgun, I'm pretty sure no one ever did anything because someone on the internet told them it was better. Hell, more than once I shot squirrels with my comp airgun at my grandmother's. With a scope on, that rifle is so accurate their isn't a chance inside 20 yards. I told my Wife once to just aim for the eye and there was a one eyed dead squirrel a few seconds later. I am of the belief that for headshots a .177 on a squirrel is fine. At my low velocity, I just used my match pellets because the flat head hits and pushes back into the skirt (expansion). I'm not sure that I had the energy to go through a squirrel's head but they mostly just twitched after getting shot. All in all, I think you would be satisfied with a PCP in either .177 or .22 with a decent scope and maybe a bipod. I'd like to set one up just like a hunting rifle and practice on little pictures of game but that's the kid in me.

 

[RockyMtnMT]

I was fascinated by all the air guns at Shot this year. There is rifles that they are using for big game hunting.

I would love to design a projectile for these that is lathe turned for precision. The guys that we talked with did not think it would work. They did not think the air guns had enough force to engrave a copper projo. I think we could make a design that would work.

If there are any thoughts here I would love to hear them. I may have to design one and see if it will launch out of my Crossman pump gun!

Steve

 

[Anschutz]

Until going to Midway's Site this morning to start ordering parts for my Antelope/Deer build, I forgot about the Gamo Coyote. Which is another good option from what I have heard. Most Gamo products are Made in China but this one is made in Europe by BSA and is much better than most Gamo products from what I've heard.

 

[Greyfox]

When I first moved into my house I had a major issue with the chipmunk population. With literally hundreds infesting my stone walls, foundation, lawn, gardens, etc. extermination services tried by my wife proved useless and costly. After much experimentation with air guns, traps, poison, etc, I finally settled on my Savage BVSS 22LR using very quite Winchester Match CB's, VX3 Leopold 6x20 EFR turret. With very consistent sub .5" groups at 50 yards and a Shooter Ballistic program, and the extended focus range of this scope I could make certain head shots from 10-50 yards. The fun part was that I was able to establish elevation and wind dope calculations on a small scale level simulating LR hunting settings which made for great practice. A 50 yard head shot on a chipmunk at 6x power was comparable to a chest shot on deer at 800 yards with 20x scope setting. 0ver a couple of year period, a brick of 500 rounds accounted for hundreds of chipmunks, essentially eliminating the population. Now, a single or two may show up once a month. For these stragglers I use my Schafer Silvertip.

 

[engineer40]

That's a great picture Greyfox! Also, thanks for the suggestion on the 22 CB's.

I had a fairly rewarding day today. I set out about a dozen little piles on sun flower seeds on some rocks and stumps at the edge of the yard.

The good news... I shot 5 chipmunks today. 4 are confirmed dead. 1 left a heck of a blood trail for a little critter, but did wiggle back into his hole. I'm assuming he isn't going to make it.

The bad news... I shot at 6 more that got away with no blood found. As of now I'm still using my son's cheap Daisy air rifle that I was complaining about earlier in the forum post. I have to guess about where the pellet is going to fly because the scope is out of adjustment and is still shooting right (I cannot adjust it any more to the left, it's bottomed out). Well, how much right it's shooting is dependent on exactly how far away your target is.


Update: My setup cannot be trusted. I just put it on paper again and now it's high and to the right (with no more adjustment to go down or left). It's funny because these are just critters I'm shooting at. No bragging rights at all. It's not like I'm shooting at a trophy buck. However I still had that same frustrated feeling come over me mid day when I'm questioning if it's my equipment or if it's me doing something wrong.

 

[RockyMtnMT]

That's a great picture Greyfox! Also, thanks for the suggestion on the 22 CB's.

I had a fairly rewarding day today. I set out about a dozen little piles on sun flower seeds on some rocks and stumps at the edge of the yard.

The good news... I shot 5 chipmunks today. 4 are confirmed dead. 1 left a heck of a blood trail for a little critter, but did wiggle back into his hole. I'm assuming he isn't going to make it.

The bad news... I shot at 6 more that got away with no blood found. As of now I'm still using my son's cheap Daisy air rifle that I was complaining about earlier in the forum post. I have to guess about where the pellet is going to fly because the scope is out of adjustment and is still shooting right (I cannot adjust it any more to the left, it's bottomed out). Well, how much right it's shooting is dependent on exactly how far away your target is.


Update: My setup cannot be trusted. I just put it on paper again and now it's high and to the right (with no more adjustment to go down or left). It's funny because these are just critters I'm shooting at. No bragging rights at all. It's not like I'm shooting at a trophy buck. However I still had that same frustrated feeling come over me mid day when I'm questioning if it's my equipment or if it's me doing something wrong.

Peel the scope and run the open sights. Should be more predictable.

Steve