The local raccoon population needs some management. Semi rural area. My immediate neighbors don't care but I don't want to wake them up at night. Subsonic .22s are still loud and I don't think calibri rounds have enough punch. For simplicity, I'm looking at spring guns, mostly gas in .22 or .25. The gamo swarm magnum has my attention and is about the max I want to spend. The Stoeger S-8000 tac is also a contender. I like that it has accessory rails for a light, but some reviews mention keyholing. Anything else I should look at or know?
Same situation as you, needed to be able to resolve critter issues with the chickens and not broadcast it, plus fun to shoot. I have a 22 cal gamo swarm after returning a crossman crusher. The crossman was as quiet as a nerf gun, only problem is it shot an 8” group at 30 yards, barrel was flimsy with everything tight. Tried different pellet brands and scopes, it was the gun. Gamo swarm is louder, but shoots dime size groups at 45 yards. I’d love to have a Benjamin marauder 25. It is expensive, but you get a highly accurate, silent, powerful multi shot that will drop pretty much anything and is accurate at long distances.
Look at units with some sort of shroud/ suppressor built in- Back yard friendly. Coons are tough. Even with a powder burner .22 rf, unless you place a shot in vital zone they tend to get away. The noise of the rapid expansion of the air column behind a pellet as it exits barrel can be as loud as a 22rf, hence the shroud system. I've taken them with a high power .177 ( pcp unit ) but it did require several shots ( zero dark thiry hours) so was sniping a form rather than select points. That unit is loud enough to sound like a .22. i do not know how available locally 25 cal and up is but .22 is every where. I 've not played with anything air above .22 as yet. as the .22 shorts in the 16" barrel on my TC are real quite. If you can find them CCI Quiets in a long barrel are almost as quiet. both are 720 fps. The shorts in the TC make a little less noise than my Gamo Varminter springer ( no shroud)
I like your profile pic. My springer is the only reason I want these coons gone. When I took her out late last night, there were 3 of them out back. Fortunately she is very good about leaving things alone when told. I have .22 aguila calibri rounds but I think they're underpowered for the task. I shot some subsonic .22lr off my deck this morning and they're still too loud for late night use. All the air guns I'm considering have sound suppression built in.
I think if I was to try with my nitro piston .22 I wouldn't try for more than 15-20 yds with a good shot only. I only shoot a 14.3 grain in that rifle. No help on a .25 don't have one yet. unfortunately gas piston doesn't do well on heavier grain pellets where in pcp you get more range and a heavier grain. my .22 isn't that loud, neighbor across the street never hears it. But side neighbors never said anything either.
I have a flock of chickens and the coon population has dropped precipitously with the use of some dog proof coon traps and a Hatsan .30 big bore rifle. I think I got the rifle from pyramid air. It is 50lbs to pump in a break barrel. It isn't loud- I even shot a few rounds in my basement. There is no need to buy co2 or any extra accessories- just a good clean workhorse. 10/10 would recommend.
I’d just trap them, then dispatch em. But don’t know what your rules and regulations are. Or if you’re concerned about that. Coons are pretty easy to trap.
Here is my $.02. I hate piston rifles. They jump around every time. The only way to shoot them consistently is to hold them in exactly the same way every time. This puts their recoil and jitter into the same spot. We use a Pre Charged Pneumatic Benjamin Marauder in 25 cal. It shoots nickels at 50 yards from the bench. It takes squirrel and rabbit with no trouble here. Head shot on Raccoon would dispatch it humanely. Very quiet almost silenced report. Great value pricing.
PcP are better behaved than a springer.. yes piston and springer need held a specific way aka artillery hold. I usually use my 22 benjamin np for chipmunks mainly, So they can be accurate enough and do group well. They also need a scope to handle that abuse, not any scope will work. Pcp is definitely stronger than piston. And a lot more expensive but the Fpe goes up tremendously with PCP. that marauder is 500$ rifle and you need to buy a handpump for it. at the very least. So .. there is that.. Great value? I'm not so sure, definitely subjective to the person, I honestly think those maruaders are overpriced, but they do group/shoot nice which they should honestly for that price lol... a lot of people love them! My benji NP cost under 200, cock the barrel and shoot; I'd go for a groundhog with it at the right situation. Definitely squirrel and rabbit with it. I do have a .45 pcp if I really need to reach out and touch something.
I have shot coons in my live trap with super colibri rounds out of my .22 revolver, and few out of the trees and on the ground with my bolt rifle that is scoped and dialed in for these rounds. There is a guy that goes by "digital dan" that posts on another form about regularly taking out feral pigs with CB rounds. He has gone into a lot of detail about the subject. I think he is using the CCI longs if I recall correctly. I have these too and they are noticeably louder than the colibris out of a rifle. For that matter my Sheridan 5mm air rifle is louder than my .22 with the super colibri rounds. I wouldn't bother with heart/lung shots with either those rounds on coons, or grey squirrels for that matter, they will usually run off for a ways before dying...I just take head shots for humane kills. I am not sure but there may be a difference between the colibri and super colibri round, but in my testing and firing at phone books within 30 feet indicates a lot more penetration than my air rifle at maximum charge, with less noise and more accuracy.
Colibri (not recommended for rifles): http://www.midwayusa.com/product/2506163096/aguila-colibri-ammunition-22-long-rifle-20-grain-solid-point Technical Information Caliber: 22 Long Rifle Bullet Weight: 20 Grains Bullet Style: Solid Point Ballistics Information: Muzzle Velocity: 375 fps Muzzle Energy: 6 ft. lbs. Super Colibri:Aguila Super Colibri Ammo 22 Long Rifle 20 Grain Lead Solid Point Case Technical Information Caliber: 22 Long Rifle Bullet Weight: 20 Grains Bullet Style: Lead Solid Ballistics Information: Muzzle Velocity: 500 fps Muzzle Energy: 11 ft. lbs. Super Maximum (Hyper-velocity):Aguila Super Maximum Ammo 22 Long Rifle 30 Grain Plated Lead Round Technical Information Caliber: 22 Long Rifle Bullet Weight: 30 Grains Bullet Style: Plated Lead Round Nose Ballistics Information: Muzzle Velocity: 1750 fps Muzzle Energy: 204 ft. lbs I "borrowed" this from another site..
As an aside for anyone interested, Aguila makes a round called the "Sniper Subsonic." I bought a few bricks of this ammo for my revolver but have not done too much testing with them yet. It features a .22 short case and a 60 grain lead solid point slug. It comes out of the the muzzle at 950 fps and maintains 848 fps at 100 yards. Muzzle energy is 120 ft/p and 96 ft/p at 100 yards. It is a very hard hitting round with a big chunk of lead, but certainly louder than the Super Colibri, yet quieter than a standard high velocity .22 round.
I should add some stats for a .22 pellet rifle. For the nitro piston 2's in .22 you can look at getting anywhere from 850 fps to 720 fps with a grain of 12-18 and around 19-23 fpe Probably can find exact numbers on a youtube review of most air rifles.
I went ahead and ordered a Gamo swarm magnum. Videos show them getting 860-950fps with 14-16g pellets for almost 30fpe. Any action will be strictly head shots at close range.
Since the air rifle crowd has gathered. What would be the best rifle for shooting sparrows in and around barns? I tried a break barrel pump and could never get very good accuracy. Thanks.
I'd probably use a .177 gas piston, but you said you can't good accuracy with them so that leaves a PCP it doesn't have the reverse recoil. those low powered .22 rounds would work perfectly too.
What caliber and what were you using as ammo? Like a bb gun? ... I am not sure how ethical this is, but you could use some fly tape or a glue trap near a feeder.
We used to use a Crosman pump rifle... https://www.walmart.com/ip/Crosman-...l-Air-Rifle-700fps-177-BB-Pellet-760B/9222897
