NYAGT: Pellet Rifles - New found hobby

[edro]

Growing up, I had a Crossman 760 Pumpmaster .177. I had a lot of fun with it.
Once I was old enough, I got into real guns and didn't look back.

That is, until the European Starling entered my life.

They decided to take up residence in my barn, 2 of my trees and both of my bird houses. 5 families in all (that I know of).
I tried shooting them with my .22LR, but it wasn't very accurate and if I missed, the birds left for a good 30min. due to the sound.

I decided to get a pellet rifle from Walmart, after watching some review videos online. I got the Gamo Silent Cat.
The first day I got it, plunk, plunk, plunk, 3 dead starlings.
The next day, plunk, 1 dead starling.
The next day, plunk, 1 flopping starling (that might have gotten away).

The good thing about it is the sound and accuracy combination. The sound doesn't scare them off as badly as a .22LR. As long as you use standard pellets, they won't break the sound barrier and the sound it just from the spring in the gun and the pellet smacking the target.

The only annoying part is single loading the pellets. It would be nice to have a semi-auto, but those are as pricey as a real gun.

Just thought I would see if any of you shoot pellet rifles.

 

[pontifex]

I've been thinking about getting one to shoot around the house since shooting real guns isn't very possible where I live. Also to save money on ammo. although I don't have the money to buy one at the moment.

 

[Legios]

There was a small island off the coast of Puerto Rico that I basically cleared of any and all lizards. I couldn't tell you the type of pellet rifle I had, but it had a high body count on it.

 

[OlafSicky]

Bird killer !!! Just let these birds live they are quite useful. Who cares if they live in your barn, do you live there?

 

[waggy]

I had a .22 pellet rifle. it was accurate at 100 yards and very silent. I used it for small game hunting all the time.

 

[gorcorps]

What the hell kind of 22LR rifle did you have that was so inaccurate? My Browning Buckmark can take the wings off a fly, and that's just a PISTOL.

 

[DrPizza]

Lots of fun to just sit around, taking turns attempting to plink off nearly impossible to hit targets.

Personally, I wouldn't use a 22LR for birds, unless they're on the ground. There's a hell of a range when you're shooting them at 45 degrees. (Unless you know what's downrange.)

 

[clamum]

What the hell kind of 22LR rifle did you have that was so inaccurate? My Browning Buckmark can take the wings off a fly, and that's just a PISTOL.

No doubt. Maybe the sights just needed adjusting; otherwise that must've been a really terrible gun!

 

[edro]

Personally, I wouldn't use a 22LR for birds, unless they're on the ground. There's a hell of a range when you're shooting them at 45 degrees. (Unless you know what's downrange.)

Another reason I chose pellets.
The birds sit on my barn, or on the power lines too. I don't want .22 holes everywhere.
The pellets simply lodge into the wood siding, and no worries about the pellet killing someone down range.
I still haven't shot one that was on the power lines (scared the pellet will nick the insulation and cause corrosion on wires).

 

[DAPUNISHER]

I bought my son the Crossman M417 and with the GAMO match pellets the damned thing is very accurate. We load up 4 clips usually with at least 2 different types of rounds and plink away.

 

[edro]

My .22 is a Remington Nylon 66, one of the cheapest .22 rifles known to man.
I was using Blazer ammo and a decent Weatherby scope.
I only took ~5 shots with the .22 at the birds before I realized it was dangerous, destructive and scared away the birds.
0-5 with the .22
5-20ish with the pellet rifle. (I have higher quality pellets coming in the mail)
Some pellets simply "float" off course. I target shot with rifle rests, so I know I was dead on.

Also remember... birds are small! Their body is smaller than their silhouette. You can hit their feathers and they fly away.

 

[AnMig]

I have a Marlin .22 bolt action that is fairly accurate but it is really reliant on the ammo you are using (amount of powder ect) I usually try to stay subsonic and use Wolf match grade ammo. However due to the recent .22 LR ammo run I have not been able to find any online.

I have a Benjamin pre-charged .22 pellet rifle. it is actually more accurate at <30 yards than my Marlin. It is the cheapest pre-charged air rifle I could find. Fitted with a suppressor it is very quiet. You can get 30-40 shots before you have to pump it up.

I think I actually tried the Gamo silent cat but it was still fairly loud (with the spring and bullet going super sonic) so I returned it.

 

[SlowSpyder]

I have a Ruger Air Hawk and love it. I just wish I had a place to shoot it more... its a bit too much for the basement or around other houses/people.

I called the local state park (I have a small game license) and explained I have a proper hunting pellet rifle that meets the laws regarding hunting in this state. The ranger said that for saftey I cannot hunt there with a pellet gun, only shotguns allowed there. Meh.

 

[Pocatello]

I bought some CCI .22 quiet rounds from Wal-Mart last year for pest control. Like the name implies, they are very quiet compare to standard .22, these rounds are subsonic and accurate to 50 yards.

 

[phucheneh]

Suppressed .22LR's are the bee's knees.

But as already stated, you shouldn't find anything into the air that has a ballistic trajectory. Shot (as in 'stuff from a shotgun') only.

 

[moonbogg]

Stop it! You're going to start a tard-faced, pellet buy-up, panic-tarded buying frenzy! "There is a pellet shortage across the nation, and 'large velocity' break barrel rifles are nowhere to be found".

 

[lxskllr]

I have a Beeman I got from Dicks years ago. Good fun for suburban plinking.

 

[Ricky Spanish]

I have had a crosman 1322 for quite a while, love it.

 

[edro]

Update: Just killed 2 more starlings! Killed one, then 2min. later its friend dropped out of the tree to see what happened. Got him too!
They were really close to the house and I shot them out the window. ~10yards

 

[phucheneh]

You should take up taxidermy as another hobby.

...kill two birds with one stone (or would that be one bird with two stones? either way I approve of hitting birds with rocks).

 

[pontifex]

I have a Ruger Air Hawk and love it. I just wish I had a place to shoot it more... its a bit too much for the basement or around other houses/people.

I called the local state park (I have a small game license) and explained I have a proper hunting pellet rifle that meets the laws regarding hunting in this state. The ranger said that for saftey I cannot hunt there with a pellet gun, only shotguns allowed there. Meh.

lol, pellet gun being more dangerous than a shotgun? wtf?

 

[adlep]

Hmm,
Killing harmless things for pure enjoyment. That's a bad karma.

http://youtu.be/WfGMYdalClU

Do you eat those birds? If not, then you are a bad person. Taking lives for no reason.

 

[pontifex]

Hmm,
Killing harmless things for pure enjoyment. That's a bad karma.

http://youtu.be/WfGMYdalClU

Do you eat those birds? If not, then you are a bad person. Taking lives for no reason.

what parts of the flies, mosquitoes, and spiders do you eat/use?

 

[surfsatwerk]

what parts of the flies, mosquitoes, and spiders do you eat/use?

Compost

 

[adlep]

what parts of the flies, mosquitoes, and spiders do you eat/use?

You don't actively go around trying to kill random things unless you are a psychopath. There are billions of other creatures as well. Ants, wasps, mice, rats, rabbits, etc, etc...All of them are part of the environment that has a right to exist, unless that it, it poses a direct thread to you or destroys your property.
In case of OP, the only reason for killing birds is entertainment. Whats next? homeless pets?