CO2 Pistol for Small Game?

rsako

rsako

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Curious..

Anyone out there use an air pistol for small game like grouse or rabbit while big game hunting? We always carry a .22 rifle for that purpose, but the laws in Alberta allow for air pistols or revolvers with a muzzle velocity of less than 500 FPS.

Most new CO2 pistols/revolvers qualify for this purpose.

I like to keep things quiet when going after whitetails and such...but I love the chicken treats too :)

Any recommendations on half decent ones that do the job that have 'magazines', because it can't be loaded while riding on a quad? I'm taking short range 10-20 feet mostly.
 
I'd say it's unrealistic and somewhat inhumane. I shoot my pellet pistol a lot, it's a 357 replica with an MV of 435fps which is pretty fast for a pistol. It is also fairly accurate, but I think it's ability to penetrate a skull is questionable. You are equally as likely to injure the animal. If I were starving I would use it without hesitation to try to harvest some eats if the opportunity was there, but in reality, it's not suited for shooting anything bigger than a starling at any distance.

If you want quiet your better off with a 1000fps pellet rifle, ideally in .22 for the heavier pellet penetration. Or just use CB longs from your .22lr.
 
A pellet pistol is more than capable of head shots on birds. But a CO2 gun needs to be kept warmer than a compressed air gun. The cold will reduce power of the CO2 cartridge.
 
If you are set on CO2, get a crosman 2240 and mod it to just under 500FPS shooting a 14gr. 22 pellet.....mods are easy and cheap, and a 22 cal pellet at 500FPS is plenty for head shots.

If you are worried about the cold, get a high power springer in .22....the HW45 is about the most powerful out there, and dances very close to 500 in .22.

WW
 
Wrong Way said:
If you are set on CO2, get a crosman 2240 and mod it to just under 500FPS shooting a 14gr. 22 pellet.....mods are easy and cheap, and a 22 cal pellet at 500FPS is plenty for head shots.
Click to expand...

This isn't bad advice, but I'd add 2 things. First, the advice about keeping the CO2 warm is critical. Any temp below about 13C (that's my personal experience) will drastically change the pistol's performance. So, in your jacket/under your arm, whatever. Part #2~the sights on these guns are pretty poor and dare I say, not ideal for grouse-head-sized targets. This leaves you 2 choices~better sights (might req. an aftermarket breech) and/or optics. The latter would be my choice, a nice low-mag scope...but it complicates the "keep it under your arm" idea a little. Provided you go this route, practice will be key, as will finding-out what pellets the gun likes most. If the weather is mild enough to keep the gun outside, Crosman sells a plastic, skeletal stock (Part # 1399) that transforms the pistol into a really small "carbine"~accurate shots much easier. This is how I had my 2240 set-up.
 
air pistol

Crosman 2240,Webley Alecto and the HW 45 are good for grouse .22 cal. is the way to go.
For lots of info on air pistols and rifles go to the Canadian Airgun Forum
Jack
 
Awesome advice folks.

Thanks for all the tips!

I'll go and check out the air gun forum as well.

Much appreciated :)
 
I have taken quite a few pesky squirrels over the past 2 years with my Umarex SA .177. Its Co2 and just above 350 when I last had a chance to chrono it. I wear it in a holster when I'm out in the stand with my bow too. Lots a squirrels out eating my deer bait. Plus they is tasty.

Gun in question
Umarex_2252100_1.jpg
 
Co2

keeping a Co2 cartridge warm in cold weather is quite easy , on my Walter cp99 and many Umarex pistols its easy to slip a hand warmer around the cartridge (the ones that you put in your gloves or boots do the job quite nicely) and last a long time
 
Never thought of that...Doh. Great idea!

Goose said:
keeping a Co2 cartridge warm in cold weather is quite easy , on my Walter cp99 and many Umarex pistols its easy to slip a hand warmer around the cartridge (the ones that you put in your gloves or boots do the job quite nicely) and last a long time
Click to expand...
 
I have several co2 pistols and small game is easy at close range . 10 , maybe 12 yards . A rabbits skull is like an egg shell and easy to penetrate . On grouse on the ground wait until they turn and take spine shots . No wings or thick breast feathers to get through . The back feathers are more like fuzz and the spine is right under the skin . With the Crosman 357 .177 , a pellet will go through the spine and internal organs and come to rest in the front breast with a 10 yard shot . In colder weather i use Hot Shot hand warmers and if i'm driving logging roads i just lay the gun up on the dash to keep it warm . I have an HW 45 in .20 cal and i've taken rabbits with head shots to 20 yards and grouse with spine shots to almost that range . I have a Webley Tempest that does the job nicely in .177 but the Tempest isn't an easy gun to shoot off hand . I have a 2240 all modded out and it works well also . My choices would be the Crosman 357 or the HW 45 and i have lots of air pistols . You don't need lots of power , just accuracy as a rabbits skull or the spine shot on a grouse is easy . No rabbits yet but several grouse with the CP 88 using CPL's , crosman premier lites . If you're walking in cool weather but not too cold tuck the pistol in your waist band up close to your body under your jacket to keep the co2 warm .
 
I usually carry a CO2 pistol when deer hunting. As already stated, the thing about CO2 is that it needs to stay warm. I own a few Umarex pistols that I use for grouse that I come across while I am deer hunting. Where I hunt, you generally aren't taking shots on birds beyond 10 yards in the bush, it's too thick. So these air pistols work pretty good.

Umarex has a few models that have a removeable magazine that holds the CO2 and usually BBs. This is handy as you can keep the magazine in a pocket with a hand warmer and the CO2 will stay warm for when you need it.

Here are a few reviews that I did on some of the pistols I have owned...

The first one is the Makarov. It does not have a removeable mag, but it is compact and pretty accurate.
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=456150

HK P30. My favourite air pistol. Shoots both pellet and BB, removeable mag.
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=451507

Pellets are generally more accurate, BBs have higher velocity. At least in the air pistols that I have owned that shoot both...
 
If you are not stuck on a CO2 gun, the Crosman 1322 or Medallion series multi-pump pneumatics are a pretty good bet. You will pretty much have to shop used, but the 2289 is based on the same internals (though more plastic parts) and can be built into the same style if you wish.
That takes the CO2 temperature issue out, though I do like the idea of the hand warmers.

Look around for pictures of the Crosman 150, to see if it suits you. Light, slim, usually a decent trigger, and the one-piece barrel models usually have really good barrels (read somewhere that they were made by Remington, but that could be wrong). The two piece barrel versions are pretty decent, and lighter.

The Benjamin Sheridan, or Sheridan pump and CO2 pistols are worth a look as well, and can be tuned to pretty close to the 499 fps max.

Do some reading on tuning the 2240 series. Worthwhile.

Check out Mac1 Airguns' site too. He builds target guns on the old Mk1 and Mk2 Crosman guns, as well as making and selling other accuracy and power enhancing mods.

Take a look at the bulk-fill adapters, allowing you to refill off a paintball cylinder. Makes really cheap shooting, compared to cartridges.

Cheers
Trev
 
I've shot a rabbit point blank in the spine with a 2240 and it was not effective. A headshot might have been but i would say for rabbits stick with a .22. The 2240 kills birds dead though thats for sure.
 
trevj said:
Look around for pictures of the Crosman 150, to see if it suits you. Light, slim, usually a decent trigger, and the one-piece barrel models usually have really good barrels (read somewhere that they were made by Remington, but that could be wrong). The two piece barrel versions are pretty decent, and lighter.

Cheers
Trev
Click to expand...

+ 1 on the crosman 150. Not sure how effective it would be on small game but it does shoot a .22 pellet at about 420 fps. As stated above it is a heck of a good air pistol for the money. Fairly small, excellent trigger and really accurate. They just don't make them like that anymore. I have several older crosman including mk1, 38t, cr600 but the 150 is by far my favorite and will most likely outlast me.
 
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