BB gun for pest control

[Renze]

Do not select a .177 cal rifle. You will get better performance with a .22. Pellets for .25 and .30 cal rifles get expensive but deliver more energy if you need to address animals larger than rats.

I know, i read all about it last week. .177 bullets will fire supersonic and will be inaccurate when they become subsonic again.
You dont want the sonic transition, you want to travel the trajectory either subsonic or supersonic, so pellet weight must be adjusted to the guns energy. Meaning that you might use a lighter pellet on a higher power PCP to maintain a supersonic bullet trajectory, and uou might want to use a slightly heavier pellet on a lower energy rifle to maintain a subsonic bullet trajectory.

I am looking at the Gamo Magnum IGT gas ram, .22 caliber, 45 joule of energy. Its the most powerful breakbarrel on the market, and at this energy a 1 gram .22 pellet stays subsonic, so i can buy cheap standard pellets in town, instead of requiring heavy pellets or slugs to keep it firing subsonic. According to online calculators, 45 joule should fire a 1 gram .22 pellet at just over 300m/s where the sound barrier is 330m/s
Its much cheaper than a Weihrauch, and according to my hunting colleague, Gamo is just good.

I am just not sure whether i want the 10 round magazine or the manual loader. Keeping a tin of pellets at hand is always a PITA as you drop them so easily, but i dont know if the 10 shot magazine accepts any shape of pellet and how it holds up over time..

 

[reb]

I have a ten round Gamo .22 rifle. The magazines have held up for a couple of years, and are still working. The rifle is most accurate with approximately 17 gram, round nose pellets. For me, changing weights of pellets produces wider patterns.

 

[Renze]

The rifle is most accurate with approximately 17 gram, round nose pellets.

I suppose you mean 17 grain (1.1 gram)

Good to hear that the 10 round magazine holds up.

Can you use any size of pellet, or can the magazine only take standard pellets ?

 

[reb]

Right. I meant grain. I have used up to 25 grain pellets, as I recall. They worked, but I'm not sure any larger work.

 

[CalG]

Right. I meant grain. I have used up to 25 grain pellets, as I recall. They worked, but I'm not sure any larger work.

For the most bang for the airgun buck,
The old Evanix AR6 PCP with the six round "revolver" double action is hard to beat.
As fast as you can cock the hammer!
Loud though, and a PCP. I've got one in .17, and one in .22. They hold air FOREVER!
Heavy Enjin pellets go out supersonic on a fresh fill. (double action is reduced velocity)
14 grain are over driven on high fill and single action.
I've taken 3 ground hogs with the .22. One shot each from about 35 meters. DRT!
Like letting the air out of a balloon.

 

[ning]

I've had a Browning 800 express .177 pellet pistol for probably ten years. It's a pretty big pistol, barrel break, supposedly about 700fps and it's pretty accurate - I can pop rats at a pretty decent distance.

I use Barracuda Green lead-free pellets because it's possible a chicken/duck/goose may end up eating a stray pellet, or possibly a cat eating a shot rat.

The size and accuracy of the pistol - and reluctance of pellets to ricochet - make this a good thing for inside the chicken house or barn.

I used to have a Beeman R-1 with a nice scope and that was a lot of fun to shoot, quiet and very accurate. Spring broke on it

 

[jyoutz]

if rat poison is not available, and if you have no pets then a small dish of Prestone Anti-Freeze will eliminate rats. A hardware store my nephew once worked at used this with a cover that kept larger animals from getting to it. Not very humane because they suffer as they die but very effective.

RSKY

If you do have pets, use a box trap and peanut butter on a cracker to bait them. Dispose of the trapped rat as you wish.