Will a well-placed 500 fps .177 pellet........

They say 3 for squirrels ( I assume smaller and chipmunks ) But require 4.5 FPE is for Bigger gray squirrels.

A 7.9grn at 450 FPS is only 3.5 FPE

Close to 500 FPS, would be enough I would say.
 
I just went into the basement and "fired" a pellet into a 2x4 from about 10 feet. The nose of the pellet penetrated to a depth of about 1/4". I'd try shooting a steak, but I don't have one, unfortunately, but I believe that the depth of penetration would be at least an inch.
 
Iloverevolvers said:
...... more or less instantly, humanely kill a squirrel from 20 feet?

Thanks.
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My personal experience says no, but I was at maybe 30 feet. Hit the squirrel dead on in the body, it did a dance and squirmed for about 5-10 seconds, then recovered, and then climbed up the fence. Used a Crosman Premier .177 domed pellet.

I won't make a definitive statement but will just say this. You may want to chrony that sub-500fps air rifle. I had a a Gamo Recon scout rifle years ago. Said it was "up to 495 FPS". I ran it through the chrony. It barely cleared 435 FPS. Every single break barrel air rifle or CO2 air pistol that was sub 500 that I have owned and chronied had results from 415 - 470 FPS (and the 470 FPS was only one rifle).

A .22 pellet even in a "supposed 495 FPS" rifle or even pistol (2240) will likely yield more the result you are seeking.
 
thegazelle said:
My personal experience says no, but I was at maybe 30 feet. Hit the squirrel dead on in the body, it did a dance and then climbed up the fence.

I won't make a definitive statement but will just say this. You may want to chrony that sub-500fps air rifle. I had a a Gamo Recon scout rifle years ago. Said it was "up to 495 FPS". I ran it through the chrony. It barely cleared 435 FPS.

A .22 pellet even in a "supposed 495 FPS" rifle or even pistol (2240) will likely yield more the result you are seeking.
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Well body shots require more energy. Close to double than what a noodle shot requires.
 
OkayShooter said:
Well body shots require more energy, nearly double than a noodle shot.
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True. I can only speak to what my experience was. Maybe if I got it in the head, it would have been much different.

However, I have shot squirrels with my sub-500 FPS break barrel .22 and it was a humane dispatch.
 
Shot placement and pellet type are the big considerations. Head shots are a must for a quick kill ( at very least it will knock stun them in to falling ) and fallow up shot if needed . Pellet types that I have had best results with are flat nose, hollow and or polytiped ( pointed ) they seem to do the most damage, mushrooming and or fragmentation.
 
shoot it in the ear or eye and you're good, you may get a Michael Jackson impression but dead is dead
I killed hundreds of gophers (among other pests) with a Slavia 177 when I was a kid, i don't even think that it broke 400fps
 
J.Hancock said:
I wouldn't shoot anything bigger than a field mouse with a 7.9gr pellet at 500fps.
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I know one pest control guy that exclusively used sub-500 fps pellet guns for pigeons. His choice was a Gamo unit with a tube magazine above the main body, that he could simply crank the barrel over and close it again, and shoot again repeatedly.

A fella could do a lot worse than to look at some of the Brit Rat Shooting videos, at least for the shot placement aspect. If you expect to kill it with a center of mass shot, you probably will, but you will probably never find the body. On the other side, a well placed pellet into the side of the head is like to drop him like Thor's Hammer, even out of a lower powered gun.

More power is better if you can get it, but accuracy counts a lot more than power if you want a clean kill.

If you just want it dead, live traps work 24-7, and you can drown it in a bucket, or take it off to some other folks area to be dumped off.
 
My ruger break-action air rifle knocks pigeons down with head shots (the birds are sitting, not flying). I don't see why a head shot with a pellet wouldn't do a squirrel - not like they have thick sculls.
 
Maybe. I used to shoot them with one, they'd fall out of the tree doing the funky chicken, and then my retriever would kill them.
 
AikiNut said:
My ruger break-action air rifle knocks pigeons down with head shots (the birds are sitting, not flying). I don't see why a head shot with a pellet wouldn't do a squirrel - not like they have thick sculls.
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Bird bones are thin, hollow, and light, so they's can achieve take-off speed, and fly.
 
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