what is the biggest game air guns can take????

[pointerDixie214]

hey, i just got a Gamo Shadow 1000. I know for sure i can take squirrels with this, as i have with a slower shooting rifle. just curious what the biggest animal i can HUMANELY hunt with this gun. what about racoon or rabbit? thanks for the input... i have heard of people taking yotes with them, but i don't think that would insure a humane kill... any thoughts?

[driftrider]

If the rifle is accurate, then you shouldn't have any problems killing rabbits out to 25 yards or so. A headshot is the best, but a broadside or quartering away shot to the vitals will also do the job nicely. My brother and I used to kill rabbits all the time with a fairly inexpensive crossman pellet rifle when we were growing up (garden pest control was one of our chores). We liked to use the pointed pellets because they seem to improve penetration quite a bit.

I think that a raccoon is too big for all but the top-end, ultra-high velocity (relatively speaking) air rifles. And a coyote is just way too big for any air rifle. You'd be very likely to just lodge a pellet into a muscle or against a bone, likely resulting in infection and a slow painful death for the animal. I know people use .17HMR and .22WMR for coyote at short ranges, but I personally wouldn't take a shot at a coyote with less than a .22Hornet.

Just out of curiousity, why not a .22LR? It'll take small game up to raccoon in size, and is dirt cheap to shoot. .22LR rifles are usually inexpensive too. A .22LR can be loaded with .22CB Longs for short range use if noise is an issue.

Mike

[pointerDixie214]

noise is part of this issue. i have a .22LR but i have never tried that ammo. plus i think shooting airguns is fun in its own sense. i have used the .22 for raccoon and stuff, but i was just curious... thanks fr the help!

[driftrider]

I believe the CB Longs are made by CCI if memory serves. It is designed for indoor .22 pistol shooting and indoor shooting gallerys where noise control is more important than velocity. Hence, the velocity (as published) is about 750 fps. From a rifle like my 10/22 the noise is comparable to an air rifle. The advantage is that you're shooting a larger heavier bullet than an air rifle can, and the accuracy is excellent. It'll kill a rabbit very effectively to 25-35 yards. The only major downside is that it will not cycle a semi-auto. When I used to shoot it out of my 10/22 I could hear the bolt come back maybe 1/4" and then go back into battery. So if you own a semi-auto, you'll just have to manually work the bolt after every shot, which really isn't a big deal.

But I definitely think that it's better rabbit medicine than a .177cal or even a .22cal airgun.

Mike

[zak123]

Hogs, deer, bear, moose are all taken with the DAQ airguns. They are big bore 50 cal airguns. They kill them just like regular guns.

[deerslayer223]

Rabbit is the biggest. And that is only with a head shot or a shot right behind the shoulders!

[Legacy357]

i have a gamo 220 hunter and i killed a squirrel at 52 yards with it!!! i have killed crows and doves with it too. most of the time it bounces off the crows, the only one i killed with it i put it through its eye. it says that my gamo shoots 1000fps but it dies out really fast over longer ranges. My gf had 2 raccoons in her chimney and i would have never shot them with my pellet gun. It took about 13 shells to kill the huge coons!!! if they are pests, set a trap and then u can shoot them in the cage with the gun almost to their head to reduce noise as well.

[take-em]

hey legacy I have that same gun with a scope on it and i have killed crows with it. How far were you shooting at the crow? My shot was about 30-40 yards.