pointerDixie214

Hey. I have a remington air gun that shoots pellets at 725 fps and bbs at 755 fps. would it be humane to hunt squirrels with this gun? i would just use my .22LR, but I will be shooting these in my yard and my naighors might frown upon that! the pellet i have are pointed 7.9 grn. thanks for the help!!!

johnkeltgen

It is perfectly humane to hunt squirrels with it!!!! However, be careful to shoot them in the HEAD... NO body shots. In additon, I'd stay away from the pointed pellets. I have a Beeman that I use and the pointed pellets go straight through them (I learned NOT to make body shots after that). You also need to find the effective range of your pellet gun, I don't normally shoot farther than 30 yards, if that. Go with either the standard pellet, with the flat head; Or even better, they do make hollow point and hollow cavity pellets nowadays. I too live in a semi-urban area (town of about 400 folks) and the dang squirrels like to destroy my bird feeder and tear up my sunflowers!!!! Gotta be careful that no one sees me shoot which is why I took the screen out of my front room window; Just crank 'er open and fire away! Not only do you have to be careful that no one sees you shoot, you have to be careful that no one sees the dang thing fall out of the tree! People tend to frown on that as well! But to keep from rambling... shoot 'em in the head and you shouldn't have any problems!

Handles

Back in my college days my roommates and I would shoot squirrels out of our back yard for food with a crossman air rifle. It topped out at 650 fps with pellets. Rarely would we have one that needed a second shot. We kept our range to about 15 yds. Aim right between the eye and the ear. Just like with a rifle, shoot the type of pellet that works best in your gun. Mine liked the flat, target pellets the best.
Practice is the key. we had a 15 yd "range" set up from our kitchen table down the hall into the living room (cardboard box with a thick phone book behind it). We shot everyday, making bets on shots. We started out trying to hit an outline of a quarter that we drew, then a nickle then a penny, and dime. After we could hit a dime 4/5 shots we started taping playing cards to the box. Once you can take out the diamonds on a five with five shots... you are ready for squirrels. Up for a new challenge? Try taking out the tiny diamonds on a card in the two corners just below the number "5" or "8" whatever. that's tough.

pointerDixie214

thanks for the tips! most of my shots will be within 10 yds. i actually have a garden in my courtyard, and that's where they come in. i have a pointer, and they drive her crazy too... i just set up a "bird" feeder, because I have to bait without anyone knowing about it, my girlfriend included! i finally got rid of an annoying ird that wakes me and my dog up and 5:00 every morning too! i don't kow why i didn't think of this earlier. the good thing is, that only two people could possily see me do it, and one wants to shoot the friggin things with me! they eat his stuff too. anyways, thanks for the help... i am gonna set up a little target range in my house today... i think i can do that 5 of diamonds, but i want to make sure. thanks again!

Handles

We stuck a couple apples on to a 2x4 with two angled nails pounded through it. The squirrels would sit nice and still eating the apple but they couldn't just run off with it.
This might be a little too obvious for your girlfriend though.

pointerDixie214

i think i might try that... it would be worth it! how long did it take them to find it? i can set that up in my courtyard with tomatos, and i doubt she would even notice!

Handles

If I remember right they didn't touch it until my roommate took a little chunk out of the apple, then they were on it within a day. We went through 3 apples and 14 squirrel that fall.

pointerDixie214

thanks, i already started by nailing the nails into the 2x4!!! now i just have to put some maters on there... i think i am gonna cut one in half and put half on each nail...

pointerDixie214

hey, they already found it, and they like the bird feeder too...
i am gonna wait until tomorrow and then only shoot at them when just one is around, that way they don't figure me out! i zeroed a scope on it today, just a crappy one, but after i was done i put four pellets through one hole with it! the other shot was just a little off, and this was from 15 yds. i am hoping to get at least a couple in the next few weeks... maybe that'll save my tomatos!

bowhuntmaine

I have an RWS and love taking it out and shooting squirrels with it they were getting into the bird feeder last month after the snow melted and I took care of them in a week got 4 and havent seen any more for about two weeks. I have found a hollow point beman pellet it is a buck or two more than your regular ones but i think it is much worth it. good luck.