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Pellet gun advice

deserth3

deserth3

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,078
Location
Conroe, TX
I recently read "One Second After" and as I was walking Hans the other night. Everyones trash can was on the curb waiting to be emptied. I started thinking that if a major disaster occured it could be awhile before trash was removed. Mountains of trash in back yards would breed a major rodent population. Worst case I'm picturing Ben and his army of rats.

So disaster rodent control. What would you use and why. I would think 22 cal. would be best. But eventualy you will run out of bullets. And I don't think 22 rim fire can be reloaded. Even if you have a large stock of powder and lead.

So I'm thinking about a pump pellet pistal. Easy to store, quiet, and ammo is cheep and easy to store. Also no powder, or co2 to run out of.
But I really have no experience with any. So I come to my fellow Hummer owners for advice.

What gun and caliber would you choose. And why.

One Second After by William Forstchen is a great read. But does look at the worst case scenerio. But that's another conversation.
 
Bigunit

Bigunit

Hammer Down!
Staff member
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6,561
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Arizona
BB rifles work just fine on rodents. Here is my BB rifle of choice:

http://www.airgunwarehouseinc.com/py-1065-1970.html

They also sell this cool Uzi BB rifle too:

http://www.airgunwarehouseinc.com/py-2270.html

We live in the desert and have a lot of wildlife around our place (mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes. javelinas, jack rabbits, snakes, gila monsters and packrats all inhabit the immediate area around our house). We use our BB rifles to keep the packrat population down since we moved into our house 14 years ago. You certailnly don't need a .22 for the rodents.

Of course a single-shot, barrel pump Daisy BB gun with a reservoir ($20 at Walmart) is just as effective (still have 2 of those around the house) and no CO2 cartridges to worry about!! :) A non-CO2 BB pistol is not powerful enough, especially at more than 10 feet. Trust me, I grew up shooting BB guns since I was 6 (& no, I never shot my eye out!).
 
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f5moab

f5moab

Mr. Beretta
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In hiding.....
You want to kill them, not annihilate them, so that when they are served, you don't have to pick lead out of the fillets.
Of course a lot depends on their size. 'Nam size rats would require a larger cal than most rats. Of course, 'Nam size rats could feed you for a few days.:)

I would go for a .17 or a .22, and no, you cannot re-load rimfire ammo.

Ammo is cheap, get plenty and not worry about it. The Zombies will get you before you run out of ammo.
 
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Bigunit

Bigunit

Hammer Down!
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Arizona
f5moab said:
You want to kill them, not annihilate them, so that when they are served, you don't have to pick lead out of the fillets.
Click to expand...

:asoff: Now that, is funny -- but true! I spent a considerable mount of time in Guatemala and some other Latin American and Carribean countries a few years back and rats the size that F5 is talking about, were and still are a delicacy in the finest restaurants in Guatemala! So yeah, I guess if if you are going to feast on the rodents, you don't want to fill them up with BBs or lead pellets - they could get stuck between your teeth or you'll shatter a few molars! :wink:
 
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MaxPF

MaxPF

AGNTSA
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1,394
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The dark side of the globe
To me, the biggest issue with air rifles is that for what a good one costs you can get a good .22. If you want to keep the sound down, use CCI CB rounds. They come in both long and short varieties. I generally get the longs because they are dimensionally the same as a Long Rifle .22, so they will feed in anything that takes .22LR. Note that while they will feed in a semi-auto, they don't have enough power to cycle the action, so you will have to manually cycle each round. They will feed through the magazine though - I have used them in Ruger 10/22's and Remington 597's.

They main advantage of air rifles is that they may be legal to shoot in places where firearms aren't. Even though CB's have the same or less power than a good .22 air rifle, they are still illegal to shoot in city limits.
 
deserth3

deserth3

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,078
Location
Conroe, TX
f5moab said:
You want to kill them, not annihilate them, so that when they are served, you don't have to pick lead out of the fillets.
Click to expand...
LOL.. I didn't think about eating them. I was thinking about the health aspect of what they can carry. But if something longterm happens. Food may be plentiful.
Wonder if rat tastes like chicken? :whaa:probubly won't care if you get hungry enough.

f5moab said:
Ammo is cheap, get plenty and not worry about it. The Zombies will get you before you run out of ammo.
Click to expand...
Chances are you're right.
But a 22 still makes a reletively big bang which can attact more attentin than you may want. And when the bullets run out you have a lite club.
:dh:
When pellets run out. I'm pretty sure I could manage to find something else that can be shot through the gun. Also many people may ignore pellets in a store where bullets will be long gone.
 
deserth3

deserth3

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,078
Location
Conroe, TX
Bigunit said:
BB rifles work just fine on rodents. Here is my BB rifle of choice:

http://www.airgunwarehouseinc.com/py-1065-1970.html

They also sell this cool Uzi BB rifle too:

http://www.airgunwarehouseinc.com/py-2270.html

We live in the desert and have a lot of wildlife around our place (mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes. javelinas, jack rabbits, snakes, gila monsters and packrats all inhabit the immediate area around our house). We use our BB rifles to keep the packrat population down since we moved into our house 14 years ago. You certailnly don't need a .22 for the rodents.

Of course a single-shot, barrel pump Daisy BB gun with a reservoir ($20 at Walmart) is just as effective (still have 2 of those around the house) and no CO2 cartridges to worry about!! :) A non-CO2 BB pistol is not powerful enough, especially at more than 10 feet. Trust me, I grew up shooting BB guns since I was 6 (& no, I never shot my eye out!).
Click to expand...

I was actually thinking about one of these;
http://www.airgunwarehouseinc.com/py-198.html
or
http://www.airgunwarehouseinc.com/py-232.html
or
http://www.airgunwarehouseinc.com/py-233.html

Small, lite, and easily transportable if need be. I was thinking about the 22 but F5 made the point .177 would be better for my purpose.
A pellet rifle may come later. But for practice shooting, I prefer a hand gun over a rifle.
 
Bigunit

Bigunit

Hammer Down!
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Arizona
The Crosman (first link) looks like a great choice to get the job done - and it's very affordable. If you get one of those, let us know what you think of it.
 
theBroken

theBroken

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Messages
143
Location
Michigan
Jokes aside just get a break barrel. They last a lot longer than the multi pumps. I've had the same Daisy since I was a kid and it works just like it did 25 years ago. Only thing I've ever done is add a small laser sight to it. I have no idea what model or year my Daisy is, it's just really old.
 
mudbug

mudbug

trail blazer
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232
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Brighton,Co
I would go with a benjamin 397 .177cal rifle. We've used them for years for hunting rabbits and squirrels. My brother and I still have the ones from when we were kids.
 
f5moab

f5moab

Mr. Beretta
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In hiding.....
Not for rats, but for keeping Zombies away from your Rat Mexicana....
400px-Minigun_2.JPG

If it happens, just come on down to Moab. I know of some caves around the river and we can live off Coyote, fish, rabbits, etc. Or we can go join the hippies at Hatch Rock...
 
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RuggedH2

RuggedH2

Web Wheeler
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247
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SL,UT
My friend had one of those Gamo air rifles that shoot at 1250 fps.

That damn thing was fun and accurate. I couldn't believe the power that it had. Unlike any bb gun I had as a kid.
 
deserth3

deserth3

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,078
Location
Conroe, TX
f5moab said:
If it happens, just come on down to Moab. I know of some caves around the river and we can live off Coyote, fish, rabbits, etc
Click to expand...
I things got that bad. You'd definetely have a better chance down there than I would up here.

f5moab said:
Or we can go join the hippies at Hatch Rock...
Click to expand...
Rather live with the Zombies. :) Of course since none of them believe in guns, they'd all be resorting to canibalism and starving while the dear and antelope eat the grass outside their tent.
 
theBroken

theBroken

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Michigan
A

Astronomer

I Am The Lizard King
Messages
64
Location
Heber Springs, AR
RuggedH2 said:
My friend had one of those Gamo air rifles that shoot at 1250 fps.

That damn thing was fun and accurate. I couldn't believe the power that it had. Unlike any bb gun I had as a kid.
Click to expand...

Gamo Big Cat 1200 .17cal (no CO2), I have one of these, $129 including scope at Big Five. It will kill a wild boar if you shoot it in the eye, I haven't done this, but have seen it done at 200 yards. With a 4x scope it is as deadly as any weapon I own for short to intermediate range. And while I haven't tested it, I'm pretty sure it will work on zombies.
 
WarMongur

WarMongur

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Messages
264
Location
Ladera Ranch, CA
I just inherited my favorite air rifle from when I was a kid. It's a Benjamin Pump Air Rifle. Coming in the nice large .22 caliber! I purchased pointed pellets when I used it in my teens. I was able to shoot squirrels, crows, and the occasionally annoying neighbor dog with ease. 4 pumps would put a pellet thru a squirrels skull from 50 feet (i used one pump for the dog ... and that did a bit more damage than I intended .. but he was only scarred ;)
 
supersapper-rpm

supersapper-rpm

"The Dude"
Messages
458
Location
NH/VA/WA
I've had a 760 pumpmaster since I was a kid, works good for me. They are cheap (like around $40), fire bbs and pellets and will kill a small rodent for sure. Probably traps would be the best way to get at your gourmet rat dinner though... esp. if noise is an issue. Also traps still hunt while you sleep(admittedly not as much fun though)....what about a nice wrist rocket? You can use almost anything lying on the ground as ammo when you run out of ball bearings and marbles?
 
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