Airgun for my boys

[daughenbaughredneck]

My sons im trying to get them interested into the hunt. I bought them a airgun says that it shoots 640fps, we went out squirrel hunting and they were hitting them in the head. to no avail. it just seemed to startle them. so i went out and bought gold pellets because they said they add a extra 100fps well still the same prob. no kills just making the animal jump. it is not a CO2 it is pump. i pump it about 15 times

[varmint stalker]

By gold pellets I'm guessing you mean the Gamo Raptors? They do increase the velocity, but they don't change their shape at all, and they are lighter so they dont pack as much of a punch, causing some over penetration problems.

What were the distances they were being shot at? Are you sure they were getting hit in the head? Often squirrels will jump and appear to be hit even when they weren't, especially when it's a close shot.

Squirrels are pretty resilient as well. With .177 caliber air rifles you have to make a very good shot to take them down quickly, otherwise 9/10 times they will run off, often times to die later. Often times the pellet wont penetrate properly from distances out past 20 yards with the lower velocity rifles like yours. I have cleaned several squirrels with .177 pellets under their skin. You might need to get a 1000 fps air rifle if the distances are longer, but even then placement is key. I have also found that with newerpump actions like that, accuracy tends to fall off when pumping it more than 10 times. Hard to say if that's the case, but it might be worth a shot trying it out.

Although learning basic marksmanship and the fellowship are the most important aspects of airgun hunting with youngsters is key, it is hard to get them into it if they leave thinking it is impossible to kill a squirrel. Hope you have better luck in the future, and if you have anymore questions I will be more than happy to help.

[daughenbaughredneck]

thank you for your answer, ok one more ? my son is 8 and 6 that i take out but the 1000 fps guns. In illinois you need a FOID card they dont issue them at that age. i was shocked you needed a foid card to get a airgun. Any other suggestions?

[Seif5034]

getting a kid started i think it'd be easier just to pick up a .22lr they are cheap to shoot and you won't have as many problems as you would with an air gun. with air guns i hear (from more experienced guys) that it's more like archery than a firearm. you need to be closer to game, and a lot of spring powered guns have scope issues. plus with a .22 you can go to almost any sporting goods store and pick up parts/cleaning supplies

[varmint stalker]

That is odd about the card, sounds alot like England. Funny thing is, is that these air rifles that claim to shoot 1000+ only actually shoot around 900 fps with lead pellets. Not sure the regs there in Illinois, but that might go to your benefit so long as you stay away from the PBA pellets.

Seif is right, there are alot of restrictions with air rifles. These days air rifles are way different than we remember as kids. Spring actions produce a double recoil that wreaks havoc on scopes that aren't designed specifically for air rifles, and because of the break barrel action sometimes the barrel doesn't line up the same way as when you zeroed which can greatly effect your accuracy. On top of that, you will find with many pellets that they arent all manufactured the same size. Some pellets fit tighter than other when loaded which also greatly effects accuracy. Then there's the problem of needing to get close to your target, and we won't even get into tuning and all that.

All in all, being proficient with an air rifle these days is a bit of an art, but once you get it figured out they are amazing tools. Low maintanence, extremely cheap shooting, you can shoot it in your yard (if legal) or even in the house, and they are amazingly accurate if you get the good ones. The .22, however, I do believe would be a better choice for your situation. For $10 you can get 550 rounds, you have a range out to 50 yards without a scope for a beginner, and you have a greater chance of a kill with a poorly placed shot.

[fastkilla]

me and my friend can down squirrels with the dasy pump air rifle which goes about 650, so maybe your not making clean shots

[kevin1]

A squirrel's ribs are much easier to puncture than their bone heads, switch to hollowpoints or pointed field pellets and aim further back. BTW, overpumping a pump airgun will quickly ruin the seals, if you haven't already, most pumpers limit out at ten strokes anyway. I used to take out small game up to bunny size with headshots from as far as 30 yards with a Daisy 880 pumper, perhaps you need to upgrade?

i was shocked you needed a foid card to get a airgun. Any other suggestions?

Pellet guns, especially rifles, are considered weapons nearly anywhere I've ever been, and are usually covered by discharge ordinances. I suggest you move200 miles east, the problem will instantly disappear...