Need Airgun for pest control
Discussion
A pistol could be all you need, here's the one I have:
http://www.gunmart.net/gun_review/accuracy_at_a_st...
Very cheap but effective, although loading it can be a right pain in the arse. Sights need to be bang on for it to be accurate, and it can take forever to get them right, but it would be reasonably effective against a rat at <10m. Anything long range is going to need a rifle of some kind. But be prepared for an expensive shopping spree, some of the scopes on air rifles can be over £400 on their own.
http://www.gunmart.net/gun_review/accuracy_at_a_st...
Very cheap but effective, although loading it can be a right pain in the arse. Sights need to be bang on for it to be accurate, and it can take forever to get them right, but it would be reasonably effective against a rat at <10m. Anything long range is going to need a rifle of some kind. But be prepared for an expensive shopping spree, some of the scopes on air rifles can be over £400 on their own.
I can't tell you much about prices at the moment, but I have an Air Arms S200 with a Bushnell telescopic for target shooting. Despite being a .177 for that purpose (you'll want a .22), it stops rats very nicely indeed and is accurate to closer than a pellet's width at 20m.
About six or seven years ago, I paid £350 for the rifle and sight, though it does also need a 200bar pump to charge it!
See if you can find a secondhand compressed air rifle within budget. You'll want a telescopic sight to make life easier (might seem overkill but trust me, exceptionally helpful and also makes zeroing a million times quicker and more precise), and despite the added cost of having to get a pump, compressed air guns are so much better than "springer" break-barrels. Apart from anything else (like firing 200 shots without making any physical effort or moving my position!), I can load follow-up shots very quickly to catch something wounded/escaping.
About six or seven years ago, I paid £350 for the rifle and sight, though it does also need a 200bar pump to charge it!
See if you can find a secondhand compressed air rifle within budget. You'll want a telescopic sight to make life easier (might seem overkill but trust me, exceptionally helpful and also makes zeroing a million times quicker and more precise), and despite the added cost of having to get a pump, compressed air guns are so much better than "springer" break-barrels. Apart from anything else (like firing 200 shots without making any physical effort or moving my position!), I can load follow-up shots very quickly to catch something wounded/escaping.
McSam said:
(you'll want a .22),
At the risk of starting a 200 page flame war, I prefer .177 for all pest control. Don't even mention .20 
Another vote for airgunbbs. For rats and skyrats, £300 is far more than you'll need (but maybe not as much as you'd want
. Don't even think about shooting something live until you can hit a 1" target every time at the distances you'll be shooting vermin at. And remember it's an absolute offence for a pellet to leave the boundaries of your property, so consider your chosen shooting positions and backstops very carefully.For just occasional use I wouldn't bother with a pre-charged pneumatic (PCP) as whilst they might be nice airguns, the additional cost of the charging equipment wouldn't be worth it. I also wouldn't bother with a pistol as they are limited by law to 6 ft/lbs. I dare say there will be some on here who would argue that is plenty sufficient power for disposing of rats or pigeons, but any self respecting airgun shooter would always advocate using a full power rifle for dispatching vermin humanely.
That leaves you with a spring powered rifle. I wouldn't get hung up over calibre as both .177 and .22 are more than capable of doing the job you have in mind, so if you are looking at second hand and find a rifle in your price range, the condition should be the deciding factor, not the calibre.
That leaves you with a spring powered rifle. I wouldn't get hung up over calibre as both .177 and .22 are more than capable of doing the job you have in mind, so if you are looking at second hand and find a rifle in your price range, the condition should be the deciding factor, not the calibre.
AceOfHearts said:
Ive got a HW95k and love it
I definately think a good second hand Weihrauch is worth the money, but once you start you will get addicted!
I have 5 guns in the house now
This is the reason I suggested a PCP rifle to start with I definately think a good second hand Weihrauch is worth the money, but once you start you will get addicted!
I have 5 guns in the house now
if you get a cheap one, you'll only end up upgrading it when you realise you want to do a lot more shooting than just the occasional rat!Never having used .22 for pest control myself, I can't comment on the relative effectiveness from personal use.. But I do a perfectly good job with dome-head .177 pellets, and if I had trouble I could always switch to sharper-pointed ones, so perhaps you needn't worry about calibre after all
McSam said:
This is the reason I suggested a PCP rifle to start with if you get a cheap one, you'll only end up upgrading it when you realise you want to do a lot more shooting than just the occasional rat!
Never having used .22 for pest control myself, I can't comment on the relative effectiveness from personal use.. But I do a perfectly good job with dome-head .177 pellets, and if I had trouble I could always switch to sharper-pointed ones, so perhaps you needn't worry about calibre after all
I do a perfectly good job with a .22 HW99. I chose it because it's simple, perfectly accurate and relatively cheap. if you get a cheap one, you'll only end up upgrading it when you realise you want to do a lot more shooting than just the occasional rat!Never having used .22 for pest control myself, I can't comment on the relative effectiveness from personal use.. But I do a perfectly good job with dome-head .177 pellets, and if I had trouble I could always switch to sharper-pointed ones, so perhaps you needn't worry about calibre after all
However I have just upgraded to a multishot PCP as it's also quite noisy and hard to silence due to the foresight mounts. I also have a bigger rat problem than I thought
I've also gone for .177 on the grounds that a head shot is a head shot and that's easier to achieve with .177 at longer ranges because you don't have to be so accurate with range finding.
) if you get a bad one.http://www.freeads.co.uk/uk/buysell/leisure__hobbies/huntingsporting_equipment/air_guns/17671411/webley-vulcan-22/view
this ?
this ?
Shame you didn't post this last week as I have just sold my Air Amrs S410 TDR for £350.
A few mates of mine shoot regularly so I'll ask around as I know one of them was looking to sell his 410 as well. But airgunbbs is the probably the best place to source one.
Try and get a charged one, you'll need a air bottle (something like a divers pony bottle will do but check the stamps on the shoulder of it) and the lead. If you can get one converted to use a cartridge then it makes life so much easier. Scope is a must and you can get some cheap Reich(?) ones (Made in china). .22 is preferable over a .177 though the later is more accurate IMHO. Also make sure you check the muzzle pressure it should be less than 12. A lot of air guns are modified well over that and Air Arms ones are easy to do. Anything over 12 you need a FAC licence for I think.
Ratting is great fun
A few mates of mine shoot regularly so I'll ask around as I know one of them was looking to sell his 410 as well. But airgunbbs is the probably the best place to source one.
Try and get a charged one, you'll need a air bottle (something like a divers pony bottle will do but check the stamps on the shoulder of it) and the lead. If you can get one converted to use a cartridge then it makes life so much easier. Scope is a must and you can get some cheap Reich(?) ones (Made in china). .22 is preferable over a .177 though the later is more accurate IMHO. Also make sure you check the muzzle pressure it should be less than 12. A lot of air guns are modified well over that and Air Arms ones are easy to do. Anything over 12 you need a FAC licence for I think.
Ratting is great fun
Edited by Sexual Chocolate on Thursday 8th November 10:58
Bill said:
I do a perfectly good job with a .22 HW99. I chose it because it's simple, perfectly accurate and relatively cheap.
However I have just upgraded to a multishot PCP as it's also quite noisy and hard to silence due to the foresight mounts. I also have a bigger rat problem than I thought
I've also gone for .177 on the grounds that a head shot is a head shot and that's easier to achieve with .177 at longer ranges because you don't have to be so accurate with range finding.
Fair enough However I have just upgraded to a multishot PCP as it's also quite noisy and hard to silence due to the foresight mounts. I also have a bigger rat problem than I thought
I've also gone for .177 on the grounds that a head shot is a head shot and that's easier to achieve with .177 at longer ranges because you don't have to be so accurate with range finding.
stop talking about multishots, it's very easy to turn my S200 into an S210 and outrageously tempting to do so! I do see your point with the .177 over longer ranges, not something I'd considered with a twenty-yard garden.S410 is a gorgeous gun, SC, nice
I would have one if I wasn't defiantly left-handed!Gassing Station | The Lounge | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff