Looking for a CO2 gun to put down rabbits...

G

Gremlin

New member
I'm overrun with a rabbit population. My wife's screaming about them eating her flowers and I live in the city--no dog, no guns. I'm thinking a discreet, 400fps .177 pistol ought to do the job pretty quickly.

If I'm gonna spend the money ($200 or so) what's the best one to buy to get?

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Take the long way home...
 
I like gamo's "hunter series" longguns,I have a hunter mod 60 22cal.pelets that I have taken 30+ squirles with,it is very accurate and hits-em at 800+fps,best of all there are no co2 shells to buy,the barrel snaps open to load and you give it a full pump and your ready to go, reccomed head shots for the bunny's. (it is also whisper quiet.)cheaperthandirt has them in there new cat. and they now come with a decent scope for about $175.00.

[This message has been edited by pocketman (edited August 12, 2000).]
 
Why not try .22 CB loads in a rimfire rifle? They're just as quiet as most air rifles and I have effectively plinked game birds (headshots) for the pot on occasion out to maybe 30 yards. Should work fine.

If you need to really be quiet, grab a bow or crossbow and start practicing. Only problems are those squealing death cries when you don't make a good, quick and humane kill.

I quit using an air rifle (old Benjamin pump) in town because of the noise. Neighbors too close these days.

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Just one of the Good Guys
 
I would use a single shot 22 with Aguila Colibri ammo. It is primer driven only with no powder. It is more quiet than a bow and arrow and it pushes a 20 grain bullet @ 375 fps.
 
We had the same problem. The lawn looked like a cocoa puff cereal truck accident ... rabbit doo everywhere. The kids couldn't even play out there, and anything we planted just became bunny food within 24 hours. When we came home and counted something like 18 rabbits on the lawn (I'm not kidding) we finally declared war. ;)

We now use a Benjamin Sheridan .22 Model 392 air rifle, topped with a BSA air rifle scope, 2x7, with an adjustable objective (a scope is very helpful). See www.crosman.com for information about the rifle ... it is a pump-action. I rather like that, because it's only a one-shot affair anyway, and I don't have to feed it anything except pellets. I believe we purchased the scope from Cabela's. Rifle was about $110, and the scope was $60. You'll need to buy a scope mount adapter from Crosman ... another $10 or so, as I recall.

Whatever you buy, ask about the noise. My air rifle is quiet enough that it doesn't cause a stir ... I gather that some are pretty loud. IMHO, one problem about using a .22 is potential legal hassles. Explaining an air rifle is one thing, but regardless of reality, LEO's / judges may not care about the details of your .22 ammunition - it is a firearm, and that is a big issue in town for many folks.

For a quick kill, I suggest aiming at the eye, or just behind the eye. This drops them like a rock. Don't go for body shots ... take the head shot, so it's 'lights out' and humane as possible.

Funny story ... I thought I was the only fellow around here so motivated. Found out that a neighbor does the same thing, with an air rifle. Then my neighbor asked me if I had heard any loud noises lately ... I said no. He said that another neighbor, a sharp, older fellow around the corner, takes out rabbits with his 12 gauge shotgun! Now I feel a little under-gunned. ;)

The part I didn't expect? Some here might laugh, but I honestly believe this has made me a better shot. No kidding.

Good luck with your rabbits. Believe me ... this is an effective solution. And, in many situations, perhaps the only practical means to deal with the problem.

Regards from AZ
 
400fps. isn`t enough for bunnies. It`ll hurt em but not reliably kill them and you don`t need wounded bunnies hopping around. I`ve taken them at close range with a scoped Crossman 357 8" (510fps.) and pointed pellets but you have to go for the eye shot and it`s still not a 100% thing. What I`ve found works MUCH better is the Chinese Mod38 air rifle I picked up new at a gunshow for $35. It`s all blued steel and wood except for the handle on the underbarrel cocking lever. This thing shoots GREAT! The stock was pretty cheesy looking until I recontoured and refinished it but at 800fps. it`s just the thing for quietly thinning the small game population. For $35 they`re impossible to beat. Marcus
 
AND those ChiCom air rifles are VERY accurate. I agree of all the choices mine would be first -- the faster of the primer driven Aguila http://www.outlandsales.com/aguila.html

Second would be the Chinese; but as previously stated it may be quieter and more defensible... just in case.

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Talk is cheap; Free Speech is NOT.
 
Set up some claymores with trip wire around the garden and the perimeter of the yard. Mr. Rabbit doesn't stand a chance.


Seriously, use a pellet gun, not a BB gun, and some good hunting pellets. That should do the trick.
 
I use a Crosman 1077 C02 air rifle to get rid of squirrels in the bird feeders. That is the "semi auto" really revolver rifle they have in .177. I is very accurate and you can get 12 shots off as fast as you can pull the trigger. I picked up a fes extra cylinders and can (depending on temp) can get up to 48 shots out before needing a new CO2 cylinder.
 
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