Need advice please.

Jump to latest Follow Reply
I

Imfishman

Member
May 2, 2023
3
5
Waterford, Ca, USA
I am new to this forum and it seems like there is a wealth of knowledge and experience here. Sorry in advance for how long and complicated this is:

I am looking for a PCP for pest control. I have a 9 acre ranch with almonds on it. The place is overrun with ground squirrels (100’s if not 1000’s of them!) and are causing havoc. The squirrels are skittish, hear EXTREMELY well, and believe it or not have learned the shape of a rifle (literally will stand there staring at me 30 feet away if I don’t have my gun but won’t get within 150 yards of me if they see my rifle!) They have even figured out a way to get into the walls of my house from underground and line my tiled roof every morning as lookouts! Lol My ranch is surrounded by residential housing that is approximately 500 – 700 yards away from where I will be shooting, hence why I am not using a conventional firearm.

I purchased 2 springer's to help with the situation, a Gamo Fusion .177 and a Gamo Swarm Magnum .22 and my son and I have dispatched countless with them. I found that the .177 seemed to be more accurate at 75 – 80 yards, but the kill power was not there, especially if hitting them at shorter ranges like 40-50 yards as the pellets seemed to go right through with little damage (most of them made it back to their hole where I assumed they died a not so good death, which brings ethics into the mix.) I also found several issues I had with the springer's: 1) a huge learning curve to shoot them accurately. 2) I have a bum shoulder and cocking them is painful. 3) I have broken 3 “airgun” scopes due to the double recoil. I am hoping that a PCP with a decent scope and a fill compressor will be my solution. I have set aside a budget of $1,500, but could go a little if I had too, but that would mean having to sleep outside with the dog if my wife finds out!

I have read dozens of articles/blogs and watched countless youtube videos about PCP’s but none seem to address all of my specific needs/variables. I am currently leaning toward purchasing a regulated Marauder, with a scope and fill compressor, but not sure if that is just pissing money away based on my needs.

These are my needs: Accurate at 100 yards (+); Enough power to humanely kill ground squirrels at that distance; not so much power as to endanger the neighbors, and quiet. Not asking for much, I know! Lol

My questions are: 1) What is the best caliber pellet for my needs .22, .25, or .30? 2) Is there a budget PCP that will fit the bill or will I need to keep saving? 3) What would be a good scope for this situation?

Thank you if you read it all the way to the end. Any opinions/suggestions are welcome.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mike-K and iAMzehTOASTY1
My personal experience with pellets and PCPs is that 100 yards and further is asking a lot. A wind you can barely feel on your bare arm can move the pellet 6" at 100 yards. If you can get as close as 75 yards the Benjamin Marauder in .22 or an older Gen 1 .25 caliber is a solid affordable choice and leave room in the budget for a scope and inexpensive compressor. As to a regulator, Motorhead whose opinion I respect advises it's more effective to get an unregulated Marauder and put in regulator of your own. He lives in the Sacramento area and is active with the Sacramento Valley airgun club.
https://sites.google.com/site/sacvalleyairgunclub/
I use tanks to fill my PCPs so I have no compressor experience. Another really nice option for more $$ would be a Daystate Revere, they are heirloom quality guns.
Summer is coming so sleeping outside won't be too bad, LOL!
I too got way into airguns due to ground squirrels-you probably know this, but if you miss a squirrel you are educating it. They get smart very quickly! You might try a blind you get into before the squirrels come out in the morning. I've had to stalk some of the more wary squirrels for months before I got a shot at them.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Rawroots, iAMzehTOASTY1 and Ezana4CE
Upvote 0
In order to keep things simple and adhere to your concern for your neighbor’s safety, pellets are going to be your best bet. Slugs have too much run out, can be difficult to tune for and have a higher tendency for ricochet.
I am not well versed in air guns that would fit your budget to include a decent scope and air source. There are plenty of folks here who are. Follow the advice others will give and you can buy a lot of air gun for under $1K.
Using pellets I have killed ground squirrels as far as 75 yards humanely. 100 is a stretch in my view and inside of 60 yards is ideal.
Your requirements are a comprehensive wish list. I am just not sure you are going to find something that does all of that for your stated budget.
As for caliber? 22 or 25 and I would lean to 25.
If you have somewhere to fill a tank, I would get a larger tank and avoid the nightmare of cheap compressors. They have a reputation for failure except the YH but then you are dealing with external filters, bucket of water etc. The air tank is a simple no repairs or maintenance solution to air supply.
 
  • Like
Reactions: iAMzehTOASTY1
Upvote 0
I wouldn't go the slug route... Being new to PCP you would find it difficult and time consuming not to mention a bit costly.. stick with pellets.. but a 100 yard ethical kill using a 22 pellet.. sure not a problem but conditions have to be good... Low or no wind and you have to do your part..throw in the excitement and maybe a rush to shoot before it gets away... A 22 might not be good for you... A 25 has a good down range thump.. would do a great job and a bit more ethical if you were off your mark a bit...but still a 100 is a good poke.. practice practice is what it takes in any caliber.. a 30 would rock those little buggers quite well also
 
  • Like
Reactions: iAMzehTOASTY1 and baloo
Upvote 0
If you estimated your kills with the Gamo to be out to 80y, then getting 20% farther with a pcp is no problem.

That said, these are probably overly generous distances. I doubt your Gamo is actually lethal at a true 80y. I shoot squirrel sized spinners with a high end .30 cal pcp at 110y measured and it’s no gimme shot. Even harder when its first shot cold bore hit required.

I think you should buy a $600 pcp, $200 scope, $75 for mounts, and that leaves $700 for a compressor or bulk tank if you can find a place that will fill it. Stick with .22 for the squirrels. You may need a laser rangefinder because outside of 50y, the drop is significant if your distance estimate isn’t perfect.
 
  • Like
Reactions: beerthief and iAMzehTOASTY1
Upvote 0
I have a friend who lives @ Lindin who has fruit & nut orchards ( So a very similar area ) Have gone there to try and pest out some of his squirrels as well.
Only found 2 successful ways to get them .... BLIND TO YOU Ambush, or Post up on a den area and wait them out.
The latter is typically head shots being all you see is a nose, eye & ear sticking out of the hole.

Either way ... PRECISION tool rules the day & a PCP is best tool by far. IMO a .22 in @ 30-35 fpe is quite sufficient. While a .25 will reach out a bit further, the caliber will be near 1/3 again more costly for pellets & use more air.
 
  • Like
Reactions: beerthief, flatpick65, Ranchibi and 3 others
Upvote 0
With a problem as big as you describe you might try the Squirrelinator box traps. They have one-way flaps that let squirrels in to get at the bait but they can't get out. Once there's one squirrel in the trap, others will join the party which finishes up with a swimming lesson in the water tub which comes with the trap. If you can get the bait figured out they work well and they work while you do something else. Stake down the traps or coyotes will steal them to get at the trapped squirrels!
1683044092274.png
 
  • Like
Reactions: beerthief, dgeesaman and iAMzehTOASTY1
Upvote 0
I have had several seasons experience shooting ground squirrels in my part of the world. There are a few things that will help you out. Get an electric call app for your phone. It doesn't have to play really loudly, but it will help entice the squirrels out of their holes..

The second thing you may want to look at is the ghost blind. It is mirror panels that you set up around your stool, so the animals can't see you. I had one squirrel that I shot at five times from 25 yards and he couldn't figure out where the pellets were coming from, and I couldn't figure out where the bells were going :)

For maximum Carnage and least chance of pass-through, use the Hades pellet or the predator polymag. 22 caliber at 20 ft pounds to 25 ft pounds is sufficient to shoot ground squirrels effectively 75 yards.

The steady rest, like a tripod or a shooting table will greatly enhance your shooting ability. Have fun and take some pictures for us!

Shoot'em good!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rawroots, iAMzehTOASTY1 and Ezana4CE
Upvote 0
A 25 will make a bigger hole and therefore tend to kill more quickly. The pellets will also have a better ballistic coefficient for less wind drift and a little less drop. To hit at 100 yards you will need to know the yards accurately to deal with the drop, I would want a laser range finder. Longer shots also suggest a little more powerful PCP than I use for tree squirrels. An Avenger is kind of a more modern Marauder. I have one in 25 and it is accurate enough for this, I think. But dealing with drop and wind drift at 100 yards will still be challenging. I'm pushing 25.39 FX pellets at about 930 fps. That may be a bit fast. It might be better to go up to the 33.95 and keep the velocity more like 850 fps. I have the original plastic stock rifle which works fine. There is also a wood stock version and a bullpup. My favorite airguns are P35s and two of my three are accurate enough but probably not the 25. There are many airguns under $500 which could work. There seems to be a bit of variability in the barrels of these guns with the good ones accurate enough but the "bad ones" may not be. You may want to purchase from a supplier that is good about returns in case you get a "bad one". Umarex offers relatively inexpensive guns that get good reviews. The Crosman Craftsman series guns are built by Kral and have a good reputation for accuracy. There is a bottle gun for more shot count, a tube fed long gun that would probably be my choice for you and a bullpup.

I recommend a Athlon Talos 6-24 scope. You should find it under $250. The glass is pretty good and the side parallax works OK for ranging - if you lack a range finder. Normally I think 16X is plenty for hunting but you are not staying under 50 yards like I normally do so a little more magnification may help. More magnification also helps if you need to use parallax for range finding.

You probably want a small portable compressor like the GX CS2. They are around $300. Target Forge has done several videos on them. I do not own one but his review and others are favorable. They can run on 120V or 12V or batteries. It will take several minutes to fill a gun but for hunting you will not have to refill the gun a lot.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Nattboy and iAMzehTOASTY1
Upvote 0
As always, I'd suggest .25 at least as it's a more forgiving caliber & can easily reach 100 yards. I'd also suggest an "out-of-the-box" shooter that doesn't need tinkering and shoots pellets superbly. Of course, MY choice is the FX Royale, Boss, Bobcat platform but there are other great out of box shooters too ( Daystate Huntsman, Taipan Veteran, etc). There might be other airgunners in Original Poster's area who'd love to come help with his varmint problems!
EDIT: I'd also suggest PELLETS, not slugs! A GOOD out of box shooter itself is capable of 100+ yards if the owner has the ability.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: iAMzehTOASTY1
Upvote 0
JimNM said:
I have had several seasons experience shooting ground squirrels in my part of the world. There are a few things that will help you out. Get an electric call app for your phone. It doesn't have to play really loudly, but it will help entice the squirrels out of their holes..

The second thing you may want to look at is the ghost blind. It is mirror panels that you set up around your stool, so the animals can't see you. I had one squirrel that I shot at five times from 25 yards and he couldn't figure out where the pellets were coming from, and I couldn't figure out where the bells were going :)

For maximum Carnage and least chance of pass-through, use the Hades pellet or the predator polymag. 22 caliber at 20 ft pounds to 25 ft pounds is sufficient to shoot ground squirrels effectively 75 yards.

The steady rest, like a tripod or a shooting table will greatly enhance your shooting ability. Have fun and take some pictures for us!

Shoot'em good!
Click to expand...
Squirrel call app is a great suggestion. I use mine quite often. Gets their curiosity going enough sometimes to pop their heads up. Top of heads is ALL I NEED! Then I just "remove" it 🤪 👌 Also, if you use a camo poncho & camo face mask it's a LOT less hassle than setting up mirrors. They can't see me from 15 yards away sometimes! Also gives me freedom to move around property.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: dgeesaman and iAMzehTOASTY1
Upvote 0
If you could find a second hand Crown that fit your budget I'd recommend one of those.

The ground squirrels sound like ideal critters to hunt, a good excuse for a walk-about with an airgun. Easy for me to say as they are none around here doing damage. We have a lot of chipmunks but also mink, foxes and hawks that prey on them so I don't get much pesting.

Since the squirrels are a serious problem on home turf I'd suggest trapping them.

Interesting thread, good luck with a solution!
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back
Home
Forums
Resources
Menu