Frank,
I think, over the years, your posts are getting better and better —
in both
▪ helpfulness
, and ▪ humor!
Thank you!
Matthias
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Is it possible to have TOO MUCH gun??
- Thread starter HogKiller
- Start date
Frank,
I think, over the years, your posts are getting better and better —
in both
▪ helpfulness
, and ▪ humor!
Thank you!
Matthias
Mike,
I appreciate you thwarding off the nonsense that some AGN members sometimes get infected with.
Thoughts like:
▪ "Too much gun."
▪ "Overkill."
▪ "Excessive power."
Adding another to your "good solution" to the OP's problem:
MatthiasUpvote 0
Regarding your ammo choices, wondering if you have ever tested Polymags at your distances. Plus, I think you have to tune your gun so impacts don't pass through, but dump its retained energy upon impact.
As an example, I am shooting a .25 JSB 24 gr Diabolo at 865 fps. The squirrels I hit in the head at 50 yds usually passes thru. I should probably back off my velocity.
As an example, I am shooting a .25 JSB 24 gr Diabolo at 865 fps. The squirrels I hit in the head at 50 yds usually passes thru. I should probably back off my velocity.
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Just about got that for sparrow shooting within 20 to 30 yards. I don't know how many times I was asked, don't you think that's too much gun for what you are doing? Nah
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Squirrels have a will to live better than any animal
huge oversized eyes,side set ears for a reason, to SURVIVE. Every waiting minute of their lives they are on alert to what may get them
if they were 100 lbs I’d never go into the woods ,because you couldn’t kill them
head shots are mandatory. Then they still drop and do the “squirley shuffle“.
Bigger calibers give better wound channels but ,still get running dead get aways.
Some bigger PCP can use expanding pellets ,but most springers Domes are best ..
huge oversized eyes,side set ears for a reason, to SURVIVE. Every waiting minute of their lives they are on alert to what may get them
if they were 100 lbs I’d never go into the woods ,because you couldn’t kill them
head shots are mandatory. Then they still drop and do the “squirley shuffle“.
Bigger calibers give better wound channels but ,still get running dead get aways.
Some bigger PCP can use expanding pellets ,but most springers Domes are best ..
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personally i like .22 wadcutters for squirrels , like a truck hits them , and yes i do not take shots over 35 yards and only head shots .
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When you are talking about subsonic projectiles, surface area matters. Larger caliber and a square meplat will kill better. Diablo pellets have the killing efficiency of a FMJ. Esentially ice picking through stuff. It's probably part of the reason why so many here on AGN are O.K. with not looking for or finding the stuff that they shoot. If you're shooting critters at 100 yards, you are going to have runoffs.
As @beerthief states, reduce your maximum range and shoot flat, square meplat (wadcutter) pellets if recovering critters is of primary importance to you. In my .25's the Crow Magnum is the only square pellet that I've been able to source. They are hammers under 40.
As @beerthief states, reduce your maximum range and shoot flat, square meplat (wadcutter) pellets if recovering critters is of primary importance to you. In my .25's the Crow Magnum is the only square pellet that I've been able to source. They are hammers under 40.
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of course my thoughts on this are quite generalized but 1040 fps is way too hot as diablo accuracy tends to fall off after 915 fps and just wastes air... Slugs are different and results may vary. A tiny creature like a ground squirrel is gonna die ethically went hit with a <20 fpe 13.4 or 16.1 gr pellet shooting at speeds from 820 to 915 fps...
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That is helpful.
Would you share some details (I'm heading out this week to buy pellets)? Thanks.
(1) What guns (barrels) perform well for you with this pellet?
(2) What velocities are you shooting them (that give you precision)?
Thanks!
Matthias
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In my experience LW Crosman barrels shoot them well. But speed is your enemy. The guns I have that shoot Crow Mags are backyard neighborhood guns. Not powerhouses. And like beerthief said, a wadcutter is also a real small critter smacker. But it’s a backyarder also.That is helpful.
Would you share some details (I'm heading out this week to buy pellets)? Thanks.
(1) What guns (barrels) perform well for you with this pellet?
(2) What velocities are you shooting them (that give you precision)?
Thanks!
Matthias
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Speed, expansion, energy... all that means nothing unless the projectile meets resistance.
If you are only headshooting it dosent matter what shaped pellet you shoot at a ground squirrel. Nor how fast its going. The ONLY thing that matters is accuracy.
If you are shooting a squirrel with an expanding pellet and it does not hit a bone much the same. There just isn't much resistance passing through a squirrel. You are poking holes. A really explosive projectile isn't going to do much more than a round nose.
If you hit the spot the projectile meets the most resistance the pellet will expand more and deliver more energy. The big shoulder bones offer the most resistance. Especially when the front feet are on the ground. When the bones shatter they become projectiles too. You compound the effectiveness of the wound.
On a tiny animal like a squirrel you just can't rely on the bullet alone. The size and weight of your target dictates your bullets terminal performance. You try to hit the spot that offers the most resistance to the projectile.
If you are killing an animal to eat its a completely different story. If you are shooting a large enough animal that your projectile meets resistance for adequate expansion then that's different too. But when shooting animals with too little mass to offer resistance the strategy changes completely.
At least it does for me...
If you are only headshooting it dosent matter what shaped pellet you shoot at a ground squirrel. Nor how fast its going. The ONLY thing that matters is accuracy.
If you are shooting a squirrel with an expanding pellet and it does not hit a bone much the same. There just isn't much resistance passing through a squirrel. You are poking holes. A really explosive projectile isn't going to do much more than a round nose.
If you hit the spot the projectile meets the most resistance the pellet will expand more and deliver more energy. The big shoulder bones offer the most resistance. Especially when the front feet are on the ground. When the bones shatter they become projectiles too. You compound the effectiveness of the wound.
On a tiny animal like a squirrel you just can't rely on the bullet alone. The size and weight of your target dictates your bullets terminal performance. You try to hit the spot that offers the most resistance to the projectile.
If you are killing an animal to eat its a completely different story. If you are shooting a large enough animal that your projectile meets resistance for adequate expansion then that's different too. But when shooting animals with too little mass to offer resistance the strategy changes completely.
At least it does for me...
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You didn't hit a "vital". You didn't anchor the animal. At least he wasn't anchored long enough for you to get to him. Head shots are notorious for knocking them down flat and 3 minutes later running away. Lots of animals will go down hard and then manage to recover.
A ground squirrel will struggle around a few seconds and die or run (crawl) off. A shot gives you enough time to get over there and finish it. But if you sit too long they may dissappear. It all depends on the damage you did. It's a crap shoot unless the shot went perfectly. Few do.
If your sitting in a "spot" and don't want to blow your cover after a shot some are going to recover and run off. To insure they don't stink up the joint you need to walk over immediately and get them. Or give them another shot.... throw out another anchor!
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Actually, I'd say screw airguns and use my Savage A17, but.....the dog on the property that goes nuts with firearms is still breathing. THAT is why I got into airguns. Of course I'm very aware of shot placement but a head shot at 100 yards is problematic. My body shots are mostly in the heart lungs area, again what I'm seeing is pass through even with RMR/FX hybrids. I've got some slugs that my Raptor likes, giving them a go on Friday,
We've dug out two that have made it back to their burrows, they died half way in, but most of the get ways, there isn't a darn burrow to be seen. Most of the area has been mowed, EXCEPT for one that, for some reason, they refuse to do.
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Oh I agree, the issue is, when there are multiple in the same close vicinity if you go you spook them for half an hour, as for a follow up shot, if I could seen them I would. Going to see what happen Friday IF I can get there and my work load isn't too great.
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On squirrels and rabbits I like head shots because there isn't much meat on them as it is so I'd rather not take out their shoulder and the meat along with it. Maybe if I used a smaller caliber but probably not, just used to head shots. The dirty 30 just doesn't leave much meat at the exit side
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Those big PCPs are different animals for sure. Diameter and speed makes up for a lot of error in a kill.
I wait for a head shot on a tree squirrel or a rabbit for sure. I'll wait for the right shot or pass.
If I'm shooting a ground rat in the yard I can't let it get away. It will go into a hole and stink and the dogs will get into it. So I dispose with the formalities of a headshot. I'll take the quickest shot I can get that gives me time to get on top of him and step on his head.
After the head shot strategy produced mixed results I started hitting them in the superstructure. I hit too far back on a couple at range and it didn't work. But for the most part I'm having luck with the shoulder strategy.
I think every shot I've made passed through. Even hitting them across both shoulders. A "chest shot" with just ribs is iffy. But a chest shot through some shoulder bone rips them up pretty good. More like a rimfire.
My .22 springers only get 600-650 fps. at my altitude so I need all the help I can get. The farthest shot about 50 yards. Most have been about 25.
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That is helpful.
Would you share some details (I'm heading out this week to buy pellets)? Thanks.
(1) What guns (barrels) perform well for you with this pellet?
(2) What velocities are you shooting them (that give you precision)?
Thanks!
Matthias
My primary airgun is an FX Maverick with the 500mm barrel. I run the Crow Mags anywhere between 550 and 950 depending on circumstances. ie. I normally turn the hammer setting down if I'm shooting a large volume of starlings in a sitting in order to maximize shot count. If I'm just potting a couple crows I'll crank it up. My normal all around setting produces 850 fps. They don't seem to be velocity sensitive but I'm not trying to stretch the range. The majority of my shooting is 12-35 yards.
I'm shooting a digital scope with settings for all of the above. Where you'd normally input the yardage it's sighted in for, I input the hammer setting so that it shows up in the display.
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Thanks for your reply, Jim!
So, to summarize — and please correct me if I got this wrong:
You have precision sufficient for pesting — with H&N Crow Magnums .25cal —
out to 35 yards —
at 850ftps MV —
from an FX Maverick 500mm barrel.
(➠ I am interested in high velocity precision of hollow points — as the high velocity is necessary for hollow point expansion.)
Thanks again, very helpful!
I'll give the Crow Magnums another try in my .25cal P2 500mm.
Matthias
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Actually, I'd say screw airguns and use my Savage A17, but.....the dog on the property that goes nuts with firearms is still breathing. THAT is why I got into airguns. Of course I'm very aware of shot placement but a head shot at 100 yards is problematic. My body shots are mostly in the heart lungs area, again what I'm seeing is pass through even with RMR/FX hybrids. I've got some slugs that my Raptor likes, giving them a go on Friday,
We've dug out two that have made it back to their burrows, they died half way in, but most of the get ways, there isn't a darn burrow to be seen. Most of the area has been mowed, EXECPT for one that, for some reason, they refuse to do.
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