Airgun FPS question

ssapach

ssapach

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I'm curious what sort of FPS rating I should aim for if I want a pellet rifle powerful enough to take down small pests, while still being quieter than any of the .22 rimfire quiets, shorts or subsonics of any kind?

Small pests would include magpies, pigeons, gophers and squirrels.

I'm not picky on caliber yet, but perhaps someone might sway me one way or another. I am a little picky about style though, wood stock is preferable.

I'm hoping for something $500 or less, preferably a spring operated as I don't want to have to buy a pump or recharge the gun. PAL requirement is not an issue.

Appreciate any input.
 
ssapach said:
I'm curious what sort of FPS rating I should aim for if I want a pellet rifle powerful enough to take down small pests, while still being quieter than any of the .22 rimfire quiets, shorts or subsonics of any kind?

Small pests would include magpies, pigeons, gophers and squirrels.

I'm not picky on caliber yet, but perhaps someone might sway me one way or another. I am a little picky about style though, wood stock is preferable.

I'm hoping for something $500 or less, preferably a spring operated as I don't want to have to buy a pump or recharge the gun. PAL requirement is not an issue.

Appreciate any input.
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I'd say distance you hope to "engage" those pests will play a big roll...but assuming shots are in the 25-30 yard range, I'd suggest a spring piston air rifle in .22cal, as close to 500 fps as you can get. I would have no issues using a gun like that, at that distance, in 22 for those kind of pests.

I just bought a Diana 24 in 22, it's supposed to shoot around 430fps. I'd say it would probably be enough power, but were the same rifle available in 500-600fps...even better. The "Magnum" springers have a tendency to be bigger, more expensive, and more unruly in my experience..at least when it comes to getting fast shots off using improvised rests. I'd rather have a smaller/handier size.

I checked D&L Airgun (in BC) just now, they offer a Diana model 34 Premium in 22, velocity stated @ 740fps. Price is $412.99. 46" long, 7.5lb..so not a diminutive air rifle. More power than what you need, but not overkill either. With your needs and budget, probably a great fit. Spring piston guns are also the most quiet of the airguns.
 
.22LRGUY said:
I checked D&L Airgun (in BC) just now, they offer a Diana model 34 Premium in 22, velocity stated @ 740fps. Price is $412.99. 46" long, 7.5lb..so not a diminutive air rifle. More power than what you need, but not overkill either. With your needs and budget, probably a great fit. Spring piston guns are also the most quiet of the airguns.
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X2 on this
 
The .25 cal nitro piston break barrel from Benjamin packs a big wallop for pests.

You could get away with .22 cal in the same gun if pellet cost is a concern, or if .25 is "overkill" for your pest problem.

A heavy .25 cal pellet travelling at 600-700 fps is deadly on crows.

At D & L: Trail NP XL 725 .25 900FPS (BNS-AR-019) Regular price $484.99

*it states 900 fps, but that is with light alloy pellets, with lead mid weight pellets like the JSB pellets it is probably shooting closer to around 600fps or lower, but still very much devastating on small game.
 
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Crows aren't a huge concern. It's the magpies stealing my strawberries and gophers eating other things in the garden.

My gut says stick to something of a common calibre, I'm not sure what the availability of .25 cal pellets would be?

So far, all my online reading tells me Diana makes quality pellet rifles. They make a few that tickle me just right as far as looks go too.

Expected range is fairly close as well, probably no more than 30 yards.....if even that far. I just want it to be effective and quiet.
 
crossman phantom in .22. 200 bucks kills pests dead. I dispatched several squirrels last summer who were trying to eat my trailer . it's ugly it's cheap and it kills things dead.
 
If you are shooting gophers, then a .25 cal would be a humane choice to kill an animal of that size with one well placed shot with a heavy pellet at close range.

.25 cal is common if you are going to order online, no issue there as obviously you have internet since you are on this forum.

I would not want to shoot a springer/nitro piston much further than 20-25 yards anyways, especially at game where the chance of a misplaced shot increases with distance. Shooting a PCP rifle is another kettle of fish as there is no double recoil to contend with.....better accuracy and in most cases more foot pounds delivered on target.
 
The old Air Rifle Headquarters catalog from the 70s had 400 fps muzzle as the squirrel, and 500 fps as for rabbits.

I would try out the gun to be sure of your accuracy. You need head shot capability with most springers, and some of the higher powered guns are very difficult to shoot. The Crossman Nitros were a nice gun, but pretty violent. They redesigned them recently, and they intended to make them more shootable. There are several models in that line and the mid gun might be the best, but I can't say relative to the current models.

Crossman pellets used to be terrible, but the simple dome pellet, is actually a very nice pellet these days, and they often shoot particularly well in the Crossman rifles, which was not always the case with rifle ammo combinations of any manufacturers.

Amazon sells .25 caliber so you can pick up extras almost any time. .22 is probably more practical, and much cheaper to shoot, if you are still shooting a lot of pellets for basic marksmanship skill. .25 is not going to go obsolete. SHooting at .25 in a .22 is a very bad idea as the piston will take a beating in most cases.

You certainly could shoot criters with iron sights, but most people use glass because of the accuracy requirements. You need fairly good glass to work on springers. This because the recoil buzz of these rifles can wreak glass and mounts that would stand up to a magnum cartridge rifle. At least hitherto, the Crossman glass in their combos was marginal.

And then there are the triggers. You may need to get a replacement trigger to get the best shootability out of your rifle. Or just buy a Weihrauch.
 
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VZ-fan said:
The .25 cal nitro piston break barrel from Benjamin packs a big wallop for pests.

You could get away with .22 cal in the same gun if pellet cost is a concern, or if .25 is "overkill" for your pest problem.

A heavy .25 cal pellet travelling at 600-700 fps is deadly on crows.

At D & L: Trail NP XL 725 .25 900FPS (BNS-AR-019) Regular price $484.99

*it states 900 fps, but that is with light alloy pellets, with lead mid weight pellets like the JSB pellets it is probably shooting closer to around 600fps or lower, but still very much devastating on small game.
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This is where I would go and get some poly mags these are deadly and accurate. Pellets aren’t as cheap as 22 but it’s worth the extra knock down power and nitro piston isn’t as temperature sensitive as a spring gun in my experience
 
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