N/A .25 PCP for iguanas

Tastes like chicken!

I did a hunt for someone once, we bagged 10 or 11, and they turned the meat into a white gravy over rice. It was very delicious. Iguanas look rough, but the meat is very clean, as they are mostly herbivores, with the occasional small lizard or bird egg thrown in to mix it up. Not as tough as squirrel meat, but just as clean.
In the 4 years of iguana removal I have done I have never seen any eat lizards or eggs, but I have seen 2 eat blackbirds and fish, it was very bizarre to say the least.
 
In the 4 years of iguana removal I have done I have never seen any eat lizards or eggs, but I have seen 2 eat blackbirds and fish, it was very bizarre to say the least.
I've never seen them eat ANYTHING but plant matter, but have read that they do consume a few smaller animals and bird eggs.

I guess if they get hungry enough...
 
I've never seen them eat ANYTHING but plant matter, but have read that they do consume a few smaller animals and bird eggs.

I guess if they get hungry enough...
Yeah, the first time I ever saw one eating fish was on one of iguana man's videos. After that I tried it myself with a fishing pole and some minnows and the iguanas went right after them.
 
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Hi All,
I'm new to the forum. Lots of great information here. I'm in the same situation as the OP with similar budget & wanting to get into the PCP world. I don't want to hijack the post however; I think it's in the same topic. If it's the wrong protocol, I'll start my own (I'll leave it to you to tell me)
-I live in Wellington / WPB FL.
- hunting Iguanas in the yard 20 - 30 yards
- target practice 20 - 25 yards (safe backdrop for flyers).
I have a break barrel .177 Bone Collector & have been using the Magnum Swarm Gen3i break barrel as well. I liked the Magnum but the lure of a PCP not having to (break my ass between every shot) break the barrel is very much interesting to me.
I'm now leaning toward the Avenger X .25 tactical setup. I was introduced to the Gamo Arrow, then went down the path of the improved version called the Arrow Classic .22 (more power & quiet) wood stock only & not sure if its even readily available. Then I learned the difference between regulated & not. I realize at my distances it would not be a major issue but makes sense to have it if its affordasble & it seems to be. Then I fell in love with the Nottos .22. I like that it is regulated & light weight & looks like a bad ass, but the shot count on a full tube isn't exactly what I want (limited to 20 shots I believe) & it is limited to the .22 with relatively low power. I could add a bottle but now leaning towards the .25 world. The Avenger X .25 tactical has a great shot capacity on stock tube. Maybe a little heavy as offhand shots for Iguana is where I'm at (similar weight to my Bone Collector). The Avenger has low & high power setting ... so maybe the .25 on low power ( 660 FPS) will be the key for 20 yards ??. Plenty of shot capacity for me (I'm looking for at least 35 -40 shots, this has lots more). It also has a modular feature which allows me (for a relatively small amount of $) change it into a .22 if I so desire.
I don't pretend to know anything regarding this PCP world so please tell me if I'm at least on the right path. Thanks in advance for the advice.

Note: I'm that guy who had to chase the Iguana down because the .177 was not enough (I do not want to be in that club anymore).
 
Hi All,
I'm new to the forum. Lots of great information here. I'm in the same situation as the OP with similar budget & wanting to get into the PCP world. I don't want to hijack the post however; I think it's in the same topic. If it's the wrong protocol, I'll start my own (I'll leave it to you to tell me)
-I live in Wellington / WPB FL.
- hunting Iguanas in the yard 20 - 30 yards
- target practice 20 - 25 yards (safe backdrop for flyers).
I have a break barrel .177 Bone Collector & have been using the Magnum Swarm Gen3i break barrel as well. I liked the Magnum but the lure of a PCP not having to (break my ass between every shot) break the barrel is very much interesting to me.
I'm now leaning toward the Avenger X .25 tactical setup. I was introduced to the Gamo Arrow, then went down the path of the improved version called the Arrow Classic .22 (more power & quiet) wood stock only & not sure if its even readily available. Then I learned the difference between regulated & not. I realize at my distances it would not be a major issue but makes sense to have it if its affordasble & it seems to be. Then I fell in love with the Nottos .22. I like that it is regulated & light weight & looks like a bad ass, but the shot count on a full tube isn't exactly what I want (limited to 20 shots I believe) & it is limited to the .22 with relatively low power. I could add a bottle but now leaning towards the .25 world. The Avenger X .25 tactical has a great shot capacity on stock tube. Maybe a little heavy as offhand shots for Iguana is where I'm at (similar weight to my Bone Collector). The Avenger has low & high power setting ... so maybe the .25 on low power ( 660 FPS) will be the key for 20 yards ??. Plenty of shot capacity for me (I'm looking for at least 35 -40 shots, this has lots more). It also has a modular feature which allows me (for a relatively small amount of $) change it into a .22 if I so desire.
I don't pretend to know anything regarding this PCP world so please tell me if I'm at least on the right path. Thanks in advance for the advice.

Note: I'm that guy who had to chase the Iguana down because the .177 was not enough (I do not want to be in that club anymore).

Pretty much ANY PCP will out-perform any springer. If nothing else, you don't have the POS shift with a PCP that is inherent to a springer.
But even with a PCP, you will be chasing a wounded iguana until you become the marksman that can always make an eye or ear shot. Hitting the body? You might drop it with a .50 cal. But even my .30 cal M3 won't drop an iguana with a body shot.

I have been hunting them very successfully between 15-50 yards with an Umarex Gauntlet .25 cal. But as I said, it requires a solid head shot.
 
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What is your preferred pellet?
For the past 3 years using .25 cal, it has been JSB

1712718699196.png


Since I bought the .30 cal, I find AEA to be a better buy and more consistency between pellets

1712718746391.png
 
Tastes like chicken!

I did a hunt for someone once, we bagged 10 or 11, and they turned the meat into a white gravy over rice. It was very delicious. Iguanas look rough, but the meat is very clean, as they are mostly herbivores, with the occasional small lizard or bird egg thrown in to mix it up. Not as tough as squirrel meat, but just as clean.
Why do people say everything always taste like chicken?

It reminds me of my uncle Tony. He would catch snapping turtles and one time he told me "there are 7 different kinds of meat in a snapping turtle". I replied, "No Tony, It is all turtle meat".
 
Why do people say everything always taste like chicken?

It reminds me of my uncle Tony. He would catch snapping turtles and one time he told me "there are 7 different kinds of meat in a snapping turtle". I replied, "No Tony, It is all turtle meat".
I have NO idea, but it has rung true for about 52 years for me!

It's really good, to put it another way.
 
New to the forum and air guns. I live in the center of south Florida iguana country and went shooting with a friend and was hooked. Looking for suggestions on a .25 PCP and optics specifically for iguanas at 20 yards. I’d like to be under $1000 all in if anyone can provide suggestions. Thanks in advance
Just a truth - shooting from a boat can create lots of deflected shots which can go skipping off everywhere! Please exercise caution
 
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I was down in the Key Largo area last summer. It was a diving trip primarliy but while there I visited a friend who was living down there (since moved back upstate). We went shooting iguanas two afternoons. Plus took a few off the porch. The big ones are harder to put down than I had thought, head shots do it but if you put one through the shoulder not so much. I know JSB is releasing some new .22 heavy pellets but otherwise, I would go .25 and the heaviest pellet available which is the JSB 34 or possibly their new, if released, Heavy Hades 36 grains pellet. I would not feel over gunned with a .30! That said, the smackdown a .25 gives vs a .22 pellet is huge IMO.

The rifles I brought were my two favorites, a .22 Urban (26 fpe) and my Marauder Super Light .25 (60 fpe). These two here:



As to the .25 being more dangerous to people and property, well, I have not observed that .25 flies much further than a strong .22. Pellets are just not ballistically efficient. But if you plan slugs, either caliber, could be a problem. We made sure we had a solid back stop to our shooting. Shooting in the direction of people and property with an expectation that a .22 pellet will probably not reach so far, not sure about that.
More on the Marauder Super Light please.
 
More on the Marauder Super Light please.
I do not want to distract the thread. My .25 Superlight is mostly a JSAR parts built rifle that has some Marauder parts with Houma reg and cut down shroud to carbine length. It is very light with the aluminum reservoir tube and synthetic stock, about 5.2 pounds bare plus or minus a skosh ;).
 
My personal choice from one who helps clean up the place of iguanas and the newest invasive and a ferocious predator, the brown basilisk a.k.a. "Jesus lizard," is my airgun of choice with no tuning, no mods, factory set, the Benjamin Marauder .22 with my Hatsan 3-9x40 scope. I take down around 4 every week with the JSB Exact, 15.89 gr, which offers me very precise shots. I also use my Vortex Ranger 1800 rangefinder.

The shots are 40 yd minimum and last week, I took down a large iguana at 63 yd, although it took 3 shots to complete the job. Our surrounding alligators do the cleanup task, if not them, then the coyotes find them at night when they’re further away from the water. This very large iguana (63 yd) was 25 yd away from the water line when shot and I witnessed something for the first time ever. Even though the surrounding grass was at least 15-20 in tall and without sight of the iguana, the alligator left the water, full body, walked the 60-70 ft to find from scent and grab the iguana for supper and returned to the water to then gobble it up. Here's a cool pic of the scene.

DSC03576.JPG
 
My personal choice from one who helps clean up the place of iguanas and the newest invasive and a ferocious predator, the brown basilisk a.k.a. "Jesus lizard," is my airgun of choice with no tuning, no mods, factory set, the Benjamin Marauder .22 with my Hatsan 3-9x40 scope. I take down around 4 every week with the JSB Exact, 15.89 gr, which offers me very precise shots. I also use my Vortex Ranger 1800 rangefinder.

The shots are 40 yd minimum and last week, I took down a large iguana at 63 yd, although it took 3 shots to complete the job. Our surrounding alligators do the cleanup task, if not them, then the coyotes find them at night when they’re further away from the water. This very large iguana (63 yd) was 25 yd away from the water line when shot and I witnessed something for the first time ever. Even though the surrounding grass was at least 15-20 in tall and without sight of the iguana, the alligator left the water, full body, walked the 60-70 ft to find from scent and grab the iguana for supper and returned to the water to then gobble it up. Here's a cool pic of the scene.

View attachment 483880
When Alligators start climbing trees to go after the iguanas you'll have a real problem.