I am looking for air pistol powerfull nuff to take squirrels / rats out . what do you recomend .
Mike .
Mike .
177 or 22
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Neither if you're intending to shoot live prey with a pistol.
Get an air rifle to ensure a clean kill.
Get an air rifle to ensure a clean kill.
+1 for rifle. A legal pistol in the UK will max 6 ft/lbs. No good for humane hunting. For accuracy a rifle is the business. Good luck with your purchase and enjoy it.......hc
I'd go for .22 (and a rifle for the reasons detailed above). A smaller caliber could go right through a small animal like a rat
Have you ruled out .20 cal? Best of both worlds, and definitely a short, fast handling rifle not a pistol, open sights for close range indoor work on rats (when safe and suitable) telescopic sights are a no goer for speed work indoors.
At what range are you wanting to shoot. If you trap them and want to finish them off then a pistol will be fine. Other than that...rifle all the way.
I'd go .22 either way.
I'd go .22 either way.
22 rifle with a laser sight on like this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/laser-sight-ls-11-scope-mount-1-25mm-twin-ring-/251238521336?pt=UK_SportingGoods_Hunting_ShootingSports_ET&hash=item3a7efb99f8 for close up rat shooting.
I am looking for air pistol powerfull nuff to take squirrels / rats out . what do you recomend .
Mike .
I don't know what all of your choices are there in the UK, but my preferred air pistol here that has killed squirrels and other critters is a .22 caliber Crosman 1322 pneumatic (pump up) pistol. You can also get different parts, both factory and after market to help improve it's performance. With a 14.3 gr .22 caliber pellet an unmodified Crosman 1322 will have a muzzle velocity of about 460 feet per second.
Mrostov, over here we're limited to 6 ft/lb muzzle energy for an air pistol, most run at about 3 to 4 ft/lb. Getting caught with anything more powerful means you may get a fine and or prison sentence. The crosman is available over here, but has it's power output limited.Dave
Air pistol over 6 ft/lbs is a firearm and the penalty for possession of an unlicensed firearm is a mandatory 5 years imprisonment ...
Interesting. I do know that the Crosman 1322 and 1377 pistols are completely user upgradable and you can change the parts around. Sounds like he might as well just get an air rifle.
When I was a kid we always had access to rifles, airguns, etc. However, over time with a lot of practice I got very good with a sling shot, a sling, and a bow. All of these are good for small game, and the bow can do larger game.
The sling (David and Goliath style) is probably the hardest of the three to master. However, I took to wearing it wrapped around my wrist and no one seemed to catch on to what it was.
A 'wrist rocket' style sling shot is a valuable small game killer. I like the type with the folding wrist brace that I can just stick into a pocket. These need a fair degree of practice also.
For a bow, on small game like squirrels, a blunt tip works good to knock them out of the tree. A brass cartridge case inserted over the tip of the arrow and held on with a bit of duct tape works good.
