Hi, I am looking for an air rifle that is extremely accurate but not very strong. I live on a farm and we have had several cats and dogs come on our property and kill our chickens and rabbits. I am hoping to find a really accurate rifle that I can hit them from about 40 yards out without killing them. I saw a guy that said the vintage crosman 760 pumpmasters are the way to go as they were made much better than the current ones. I know I may have to lurk on eBay for a while or pay top dollar but that's fine. I was going to get a $250 gamo but I learned that would likely kill a cat which I would prefer to not do. I will have this rifle for a long time so I don't mind going all out trying to find the best for the job. I know being accurate at that distance without being too powerful may be tough but thought I'd check with you guys. Thanks!!
Air rifle cat/dog deterrent question
- Thread starter crtucker
- Start date
Most responses you will get will be this is not a good idea. It is inhumane, You will likely penetrate their skin and possibly vital organs. Pellet rifles are just not recommended as a deterrent.
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Don't shoot anything that you don't want to kill. If these are feral animals, they can be trapped or humanely killed. If they are stray pets, call your local animal control department for guidance.
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Welcome to our wonderful forum. I do have to say that your very first post is not going to be well received here. You are going to get an ear full of complaints regarding shooting dogs and cats with an air rifle. If I were you I would probably edit the post and make it an introduction as a new member and then ask about ways to deter dogs and cats. Just some friendly advice.
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how about Paint ball gun ? Splatter them with non toxic paint ball Ammo ?
Might be able to rent one for a week ?
OR hire a kid to hunt from a blind ? check at a local paint ball place
OK Scratch the kid idea , typed without thinking it through
Might be able to rent one for a week ?
OR hire a kid to hunt from a blind ? check at a local paint ball place
OK Scratch the kid idea , typed without thinking it through
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Check your local laws. Here we can dispatch animals that are killing livestock as well as leash/confinement laws against the owners. I trap wild cats with my live trap and catnip on an old coffee lid inside. Found out or animal control guy was just dumping them in different locations so looks like I have to deal with them myself.
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A lot of these responses are obviously from people that live in the city and don't deal with these problems. This far out in the country there are no animal controls that will come out here lol (unless you live in the city limits which I definitely do not). Also as far as being inhumane, I'm sure the dozens of chickens and rabbits of mine that were eaten alive would argue that wasn't very humane of the cats 
. They have cost my family several thousand dollars worth of food/money for my family. As a farmer it is my responsibility to protect the animals I look after. My bet would be if you asked the cats if they'd rather be shot in the behind by a low powered air rifle or humanely killed they would choose the former, but then again I'm not a cat so maybe I'm wrong.
. They have cost my family several thousand dollars worth of food/money for my family. As a farmer it is my responsibility to protect the animals I look after. My bet would be if you asked the cats if they'd rather be shot in the behind by a low powered air rifle or humanely killed they would choose the former, but then again I'm not a cat so maybe I'm wrong.Upvote 0
Thank you for your response. Yes, I checked with my local law enforcement and my sheriff said it was legal to dispatch them and that there weren't any options for getting animal control outside of the city limits where I live. I was just hoping to find a way to deter them rather than killing them outright. Looks like that might be the best option unfortunately.
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a 'good' 177, full power, and pop them in the rear end, it wont permanently damage them .. a cheap pos gun will risk hurting them worse .. i deal with this alot with things after my chickens, and i dont want to kill someones pet .. but yeah i wouldnt play around, it needs to be accurate and powerdul enough its going to burn it into their memory its a bad idea to stalk your livestock etc ..
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Instead of paintball, you could use pepper ball, if you go down the route of shooting lead, shoot to kill, I would imagine it would be difficult to get the fpe just right to ensure you don't maim the critters.
Good luck.
Good luck.
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exactly, I don't want to kill someone's pet regardless of it being my right or not, but I also don't want them killing my animals. We've lost 4 sheep to dogs, 7 chickens, and 2 rabbits to cats/dogs all in the last month alone. The sheep were high end breeds at $400 a piece that adds up to a pretty decent loss quickly.
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Get a .22 rimfire and start dropping them, I would have a zero tolerance policy if it were my animals.
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The term is "extreme prejudice". Humane shotgun or rimfire dispatch until they learn to not eat your livestock.
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22 cal pcp will take care of the wild animals make sure you call animal control to see if they can trap them first then if it were me go for it
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Anything more powerful than a Red Ryder BB gun will inflict wounds, possibly crippling; and that is way beyond uncool! With a little practice you should be able to consistently hit the south-bound end of dogs and cats to 25-40 yards, to better limit the chances of injury. But even close misses have deterrent effect, as critters are quick to realize they severely dislike coming under fire of any kind.
'Tis more humane to kill quickly with a well 'executed' brain shot with a weapon accurate and powerful enough for the job, than to injure out of ignorance of airgun ballistics.
Not a criticism; simply an honest opinion.
'Tis more humane to kill quickly with a well 'executed' brain shot with a weapon accurate and powerful enough for the job, than to injure out of ignorance of airgun ballistics.
Not a criticism; simply an honest opinion.
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I have a feeling that you may know whether these animals are pets, or feral. In either case, you're not likely to sting them into submission. It's a personal decision on ethics, but legitimate livestock protection is almost universally accepted. If the situation warrants their eradication, I expect you have a firearm that is more appropriate for the task.
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Pets or not, acquire an appropriate caliber weapon kill them and do not discuss it with anyone .
l
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This is NOT a joke! Get a DONKEY. May sound funny but it is real. We use them here in Fl on most farms. Your attacks are most likely at night while you sleep and a firearm or air rifle will be useless as you are sleeping. We have feral cats, coydogs and yotes here in large numbers. Donkeys woop dat butt!!! Ask a farmer before you just start shooting.
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Never shoot to wound. We can legally kill dogs and cats in defense of livestock here. A neighbor of mine tried calling animal control when a bulldog from down the road was killing his chickens. They said "we can't do anything, just kill it". He came over and borrowed a .22 mag for a couple days until it was caught in the act again. I have killed dogs chasing our horses, and one that was chasing a neighbors kid down the road on his pony. I only caught on cat in the act of stalking our chickens so far, but I think we have had a bobcatpulling on the wire of the coop last week.
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