kodiakhuntmaster

Work has been stressful lately, so I wanted to try something different. I took my air rifle out for a fun day of squirrel hunting!



The temperature finally got above freezing, so I got out before daylight to set up. At dawn, I spotted a squirrel moving along a branch to my right, when he got behind a tree, I got into a better position and when he came back out, I was ready. He was facing kind of quartering towards me, and the pellet entered between his neck and shoulder, and exited behind his opposet shoulder. He was dead before he hit the ground. The shot was 24 yards.

After that, I moved to another spot about 150 yards away, and it seemed like there were squirrels everywhere! Which is really odd because it's been weeks since I've seen ANY squirrels on that property. They were all just out of range. After I sat there for about an hour, another bushy tail came down out of a tree to my left. He saw me move and bolted half way back up the tree, but when he stopped, I already had the scope on him. The sound of the air rifle was quickly followed by a loud "Thwack"! And he dropped like a stone. That one was a perfect head shot at 27 yards.

The challenge of hunting with an air rifle is something I've always enjoyed. There isn't much noise, no real recoil, and the squirrels never know what hit'em! Just a few more and I'll have a full meal!

For anyone interested in the gear, I was using a Beeman model 1073 in .177 with Gamo Rocket pellets.

jim1966

Nice double. Congrats.

tyleryeags

nice double i wish i could get out there pretty soon and get a few

Hick442

Thats cool. im yet to kill a squirrel with a pellet gun.

wabbles

Nice day of hunting! Ilove hunting squirrel with a pellet gun. My gunis not very fast so I have to wait for a good head shot. It really helps to perfect your hunting skills and forces you to be patient and wait for a clean shot.
Enjoy your squirrel hunting!

Jome1

Nice Job

wetpwdr53

Great job on those squirrels. I have a Beeman GS700 but it looks just like yours. I put a BSA scope on it last summer but just can't get any consistency with my groups. Any suggestions? Thanks

kodiakhuntmaster

Spring powered air rifles are probably the most popular for hunting, but they are also probably the most picky about detail too. Here's the most likely causes of your problem.

- The scope. For right now, take it off and shoot open sights at 10-15 yards. If your groups tighten up, then you know for sure the scope was the problem.

- The pellets. Just like firearms, air rifles can be picky about ammo. I tried several brands before I found which ones my rifle shot best. Gamo Rocket pellets worked good for me, but Gamo PBA and other "hyper velocity" pellets should be avoided since they're hard on your gun, expensive, and generally aren't accurate at longer ranges in most air rifles.

- Your form. Spring powered air rifles are "hold sensitive" and require a different form than most of us are used to. In short, you want to have as little contact with the rifle as possible. The most consistant way to shoot a springer is to put your left hand about 3-6" up past the trigger guard on the rifle's forearm, with your fingers open. The rifle should be resting on your open palm. Only your thumb and trigger finger of your right hand should contact the trigger and wrist of the rifle. And your cheek to stock weld should just be enough to get a good view of the sights.
You probably won't get your best groups from a bench rest either, if you do use a rest, use a rolled up towel or other soft object. The reason that the form is so different is because your gun is powered by a large spring piston that is moving before the pellet has even left the barrel and causing vibration. You want that vibration to happen as consistantly as possible, as consistancy is the key to accuracy.

If that doesn't work, check all your stock screws for tightness. Also, it can take up to 1000 rounds or so before your rifle settles in and shoots it's best.

jrbsr

Take the BSA off I had 3 of them.
The small BSA scopes are worthless.
You can put your finger on the turrants, and it will change the point of impact.

Throw it in a pond, and tie a doller bill on it so you throw away something of value.

Get a better scope.

JMHO