Air pistol for pest control

[Wendell]

...the mouse spun like a Smartcar hit by a semi. Came to rest dead as a doornail...

x2

Unlike mice, squirrels - when hit center-of-mass - usually run.

About three feet.

 

[geologist]

I used to shoot field mice in my ATCO trailer in Geraldton with a Crosman 38T. It killed them dead.

Wire traps work great with peanut butter. If they're held by just a leg, a .177 pellet in the noggin kills them humanely.

We also used to try to just stomp them in the old trailer but damn the little buggers are fast!

 

[45-70guide]

crosman 357 has co2 but is a great squirrel killer

 

[drache]

Crosman 2289 w/ pistol grips or a Crosman 2240.

Cheap, reliable, readily available.

The 2289 is the Backpacker is it not? If so I got one and used to shoot Voles and mice in my father's place because the voles were too small to set off the mouse traps and the mice were too smart.

I used to bait them with dog food and these little bastards would be brazen enough to run right over your foot if it was in the way.

Laid down on the couch pellet gun in hand and waited while watching a movie. I only missed about once or twice but since I had stuck a piece of wood up behind the dog food I never wrecked anything. My dad paid me $5 for each one I SHOT (not trapped).

As for squirrels in the tack room, the 2289 did the job fine although I switched to a .22 Rimfire for outside the barn due to distance and trees.

 

[highplanesdrifter]

I terminated a frikkin big Pack Rat last month with my Crossman 1357 (.177) with one shot. I had set up a blind in the laundry room and took the screen off the little window so when I heard him galloping around the deck outside I got out of bed and took him out.
You guys that are shooting mice ought to see one of these suckers. This is mouse on steroids. I trapped another with a bait combo of peanut butter, crushed corn flakes and a small strip of bacon. Hopefully my neighbour will clean up his construction debris cause that's what they like. When I picked up the one (I shot) by his tail it broke off! He must have been the herd bull I guess - big teeth and claws and lots muscle. Yikes.

 

[daroccot]

Hmmmm, tell that to the possibly thousands of squirrels I killed as a child with a .177 495fps airgun.

x2 shot through center of mass, hits the ground, kicks for ~10 seconds, dead as dirt.

 

[nofate]

Hmmm, I have an old Crosman Mark I Target Pellgun in .22 cal. I will start my search for a seal kit for it so I can resurrect this fun gun and discretely deal with some pesky squirrels.

 

[texdores]

Air Pistol for Pest Control

My dad uses a CO2 air pistol to control the squirrel population at his place. Problem is that the CO2 leaks between uses and sometimes (like today) when he went to take a shot there was no gas left in the pistol and he was very disappointed/frustrated. Can someone recommend a pistol that can be used for pest control and that my dad won't have to worry about the pistol not be ready at a moments notice? Also, one that won't require a new CO2 cartridge to be loaded in order to fire 2 or 3 shots every week or two?

I've been shooting APs for the last 35 or so years. Provincial, Canadian, World's, World's Master's Games etc.
Won my share of Golds, etc. But to shoot an innocent squirrel with my $1500 -$2000 Air Pistol would never enter my mind. You are telling me that your Dad, the product of some 2-3 million years of human evolution can only come up with killing what he considers a pest. Who really is the pest here?

 

[KDX]

I've been shooting APs for the last 35 or so years. Provincial, Canadian, World's, World's Master's Games etc.
Won my share of Golds, etc. But to shoot an innocent squirrel with my $1500 -$2000 Air Pistol would never enter my mind. You are telling me that your Dad, the product of some 2-3 million years of human evolution can only come up with killing what he considers a pest. Who really is the pest here?

This post does not make any sense to me. Could you elaborate on what is 'worthy' of shooting 'an innocent squirrel' with? Maybe with your 35 years of experience you would recommend something like a flame thrower for those innocent squirrels at close range and possibly something like a RPG for the sneaky ones that hang up just out of range of the feeder waiting for you to take a potty (or Depends) break before they rush in to invade the feeder in a kamakazi like fashion. Perhaps a minigun would cover all the bases?

 

[hvmetalhead]

I used to have mice in an old apartment that chewed in through the walls. I learned a few things:

A) Mice will NOT let you see them to shoot them. Good luck, the second they hear you coming they are GONE. Unless you want to build a blind in your kitchen and wait it out all night long.
B) TRAPS are way easier.
C) 495fps .177cal is not going to do it w/o a head shot. I had a few caught in glue traps and I gave one 4-5 rounds before hucking it in the trash, since they are permanently stuck at that point and will die anyways. Still kicking. Tried this with a few little mice, the .177 barely penetrates enough to do any real damage. 4-5 rounds is probably what is needed short of sticking the muzzle in its face to actually kill a little mouse.
D) Bait traps suck.

Use glue traps. They work the best. You just gotta deal with the live critter being stuck forever. Either smack it with something heavy or what have you or just huck it away to starve to death. Don't try to remove it once its on there, you'll rip its legs off. Trust me.

I used a .177 at 495fps for pigion controll at work. a head shot droped them but a good chest shot usally droped them too. and the 50+ ft fall from the roof to the ground usally finished them off.

get a break action rifle. them work great cost little and shoot straight

 

[trevj]

One tidbit of data that I got out of a Brit Airgun magazine.

"Use Flats for Rats"

Flat nosed pellets. They transfer the maximum amount of energy over to the target at close ranges. If you shoot a mouse with a pointed pellet, and it goes right through without slowing down a whole lot, you have wasted the energy that was applied to move the pellet.

Ideal would be full penetration and stuck in the skin on the far side, but a flat pellet will transfer more energy than a pointed one. Seems counterintuitive, but at the ranges, and on quarry of the size in question, penetration is not the major problem.

Rat shooting is a bit of an art form there, and gets a fair bit of coverage.


Cheers
Trev

 

[sirjeigo]

My dad uses a CO2 air pistol to control the squirrel population at his place. Problem is that the CO2 leaks between uses and sometimes (like today) when he went to take a shot there was no gas left in the pistol and he was very disappointed/frustrated. Can someone recommend a pistol that can be used for pest control and that my dad won't have to worry about the pistol not be ready at a moments notice? Also, one that won't require a new CO2 cartridge to be loaded in order to fire 2 or 3 shots every week or two?

I have a hw45 with a .22 and .177 barrel for sale if you are interested. Also a cr600 converted into pcp with refill nipple. Email me

 

[savagelh]

can't go wrong with the 1377. If you're bored with it as a pistol, you can buy a stock and a scope mount for it. I know for a fact that it will kill a crow with one shot in the body very fast.