New Here - Need Gun Recommendations for Predator Control

[farmer_930]

Hi everyone. New to the world of airguns. I work with an endangered species recovery program that protects small nesting birds from predation during the nesting season. Predators are things like coons, skunks, foxes, and badgers. Most of the time trapping works but every so often we end up with a critter that is smart enough to avoid capture. Some of our sites are located within city limits so firearms are not always an option. That brings me to airguns. I'm looking for guns/optics that I could have my technicians carry in their trucks as a backup. I would want it to be fairly simple and rugged. Shots under 50 yards, mix of day and night shooting. Anything fit the bill?

Thanks in advance for any recommendations and feel free to ask questions!

 

[uladz]

There is actually a similar discussion about the best semi-auto rifle for squirrels, skunk, raccoons, etc. happening right now here. Probably in the same category as you are looking to get. See the link below.

Looking for pistol or compact pcp for squirrels SAM

I have a larger caliber for coyotes I’m still working on and should have sighted in and ready to call in coyotes hopefully monday night but I’m wondering what I should be looking at for squirrels, skunk, raccoons. I would like SAM. I would really like a compact or pcp pistol that can have stock...

www.airgunnation.com

There are lots of options out there, probably more than you can imagine . Because you are looking to use it day or night, you probably would be looking to get an NV scope on in that can work both day and night. Also, a wide selection of options. But it all depends on your budget at the end of the day. Both the gun and optics can range anywhere from $500 to $3000 give it or take.

 

[Bedrock Bob]

Get a PCP rifle big enough to handle your largest animal. Don't try to hunt with a spring rifle unless you learn to shoot it first. They are tricky to learn to shoot and they have their limitations. You will have to make perfect shots on skunks wandering around. That's not going to work every time.

I know nothing about PCP rifles but I have shot a springer for a few years. If you are going to shoot at a badger at 50 yards you are going to need more rifle. You could get it done with a spring gun for sure. But you'd be better off with a PCP that didn't have the learning curve and shot enough lead to make a shoulder shot count.

 

[N2 Shooter]

Knowing your budget would be very helpful.

 

[JimNM]

It takes a LOT of power to deal with badgers. An injured and pissed off badger is nothing you want any part of and it is totally irresponsible to attempt to remove badgers by airgun. Centerfire powder burner power would be appropriate.

Please consult your local wildlife management agency for advice with your problem animals. Both for your staff's safety and to keep from getting cross ways with the local and federal laws.

 

[farmer_930]

There is actually a similar discussion about the best semi-auto rifle for squirrels, skunk, raccoons, etc. happening right now here. Probably in the same category as you are looking to get. See the link below.

Looking for pistol or compact pcp for squirrels SAM

I have a larger caliber for coyotes I’m still working on and should have sighted in and ready to call in coyotes hopefully monday night but I’m wondering what I should be looking at for squirrels, skunk, raccoons. I would like SAM. I would really like a compact or pcp pistol that can have stock...

www.airgunnation.com

There are lots of options out there, probably more than you can imagine . Because you are looking to use it day or night, you probably would be looking to get an NV scope on in that can work both day and night. Also, a wide selection of options. But it all depends on your budget at the end of the day. Both the gun and optics can range anywhere from $500 to $3000 give it or take.

Thanks. Will take a look at that thread.

 

[farmer_930]

Get a PCP rifle big enough to handle your largest animal. Don't try to hunt with a spring rifle unless you learn to shoot it first. They are tricky to learn to shoot and they have their limitations. You will have to make perfect shots on skunks wandering around. That's not going to work every time.

I know nothing about PCP rifles but I have shot a springer for a few years. If you are going to shoot at a badger at 50 yards you are going to need more rifle. You could get it done with a spring gun for sure. But you'd be better off with a PCP that didn't have the learning curve and shot enough lead to make a shoulder shot count.

Thanks. Will look at PCP rifles.

 

[farmer_930]

Knowing your budget would be very helpful.

Should have included that! Want to stay under $1,000 for rifle. Thanks!

 

[farmer_930]

It takes a LOT of power to deal with badgers. An injured and pissed off badger is nothing you want any part of and it is totally irresponsible to attempt to remove badgers by airgun. Centerfire powder burner power would be appropriate.

Please consult your local wildlife management agency for advice with your problem animals. Both for your staff's safety and to keep from getting cross ways with the local and federal laws.

Yeah - probably should have left badgers off the list. Other than that, we work directly with USDA APHIS and state wildlife so have that covered. Appreciate the input!

 

[ZekeZX10]

Yeah - probably should have left badgers off the list. Other than that, we work directly with USDA APHIS and state wildlife so have that covered. Appreciate the input!

.25 caliber will handle everything pretty much up to coyote and even then alot of .25 calibers will put out enough energy for coyotes...30 cal cover's all. Here's a guide for how much energy you need for different critters. I'd stick with a pcp https://www.airgundepot.com/vault/articles/basic-airgun-hunting-guidelines/ and I've never shot this but this guy does a ton of reviews and I've followed him for a couple years and he reviewed this gun and has incredible accuracy especially for a gun in this price range. Take note of the different pellets he uses and the different accuracy results he gets. Some pellets are terrible in this gun and some are awesome. No matter what pcp you choose every rifle will have pellets or slugs it shoots better than others. Hope this helps

 

[JimD]

I have seen reports about badgers being good at fighting but the information I googled up says they top out at about 26 lbs. Raccoons can weight twice that. So I think that an air rifle that will cleanly take large raccoons can also take a badger. There is another thread here where the author took 3 pretty good sized raccoons judging from the pictures with a 50 fpe 22 caliber air rifle. I do not have that powerful a 22 caliber but my two 25s are almost that high in fpe and I would use them on a raccoon. I killed a little one with a 32 fpe 22 caliber PCP but it took three shots.

My kill shot on the little raccoon was between it's eyes. I think the three in the thread I mentioned above were also head shots. I don't know how reasonable it is to expect technicians to execute head shots. A body shot would likely kill the animal but not before it runs a significant distance. I would think a 50 fpe airgun is not what one would want for body shots on even a 26 lb badger or a 50 lb raccoon. If you need to cover body shots, which seems reasonable to try and cover then you would need to move up to a 30 or 35 caliber to get 100-200 fpe.

A fairly inexpensive gun available in both 30 and 35 is the SPA M60B. What I read suggests the fpe of the 35 caliber in this gun will not be much greater than the 30. That might be my misconception. These guns will be under $1000 as would an Umarex Gauntlet which is also available in 30 caliber. The Benjamin Bulldog would be somewhat more powerful than either of these and is also priced under 1000. It is available in 257 (not the same as 22 or 25), 357 and 45 caliber. Any should be adequate for this but I would get the 257 or 357 at most. It is more difficult to make guns this powerful quiet but I think it is possible to do but it would raise the cost. You might be able to stay under $1000 with the M60B and the Gauntlet even with effective suppression but they are the least powerful.

An Arken Zulus seems to be a great optics choice if you need night vision.

I do not own a M60B or any of these guns I am suggesting but I have 3 P35s which are also made by SPA. I have found them to be reliable but all PCPs have a tendency to develop a leak over time. One of my P35s is a couple years old and has not needed any new O-rings but the other two have needed an O-ring or two replaced. A little maintenance cannot reasonably be ruled out with PCPs regardless of what you spend on them IMHO.

 

[farmer_930]

.25 caliber will handle everything pretty much up to coyote and even then alot of .25 calibers will put out enough energy for coyotes...30 cal cover's all. Here's a guide for how much energy you need for different critters. I'd stick with a pcp https://www.airgundepot.com/vault/articles/basic-airgun-hunting-guidelines/ and I've never shot this but this guy does a ton of reviews and I've followed him for a couple years and he reviewed this gun and has incredible accuracy especially for a gun in this price range. Take note of the different pellets he uses and the different accuracy results he gets. Some pellets are terrible in this gun and some are awesome. No matter what pcp you choose every rifle will have pellets or slugs it shoots better than others. Hope this helps

Thank you! Great info.

 

[farmer_930]

I have seen reports about badgers being good at fighting but the information I googled up says they top out at about 26 lbs. Raccoons can weight twice that. So I think that an air rifle that will cleanly take large raccoons can also take a badger. There is another thread here where the author took 3 pretty good sized raccoons judging from the pictures with a 50 fpe 22 caliber air rifle. I do not have that powerful a 22 caliber but my two 25s are almost that high in fpe and I would use them on a raccoon. I killed a little one with a 32 fpe 22 caliber PCP but it took three shots.

My kill shot on the little raccoon was between it's eyes. I think the three in the thread I mentioned above were also head shots. I don't know how reasonable it is to expect technicians to execute head shots. A body shot would likely kill the animal but not before it runs a significant distance. I would think a 50 fpe airgun is not what one would want for body shots on even a 26 lb badger or a 50 lb raccoon. If you need to cover body shots, which seems reasonable to try and cover then you would need to move up to a 30 or 35 caliber to get 100-200 fpe.

A fairly inexpensive gun available in both 30 and 35 is the SPA M60B. What I read suggests the fpe of the 35 caliber in this gun will not be much greater than the 30. That might be my misconception. These guns will be under $1000 as would an Umarex Gauntlet which is also available in 30 caliber. The Benjamin Bulldog would be somewhat more powerful than either of these and is also priced under 1000. It is available in 257 (not the same as 22 or 25), 357 and 45 caliber. Any should be adequate for this but I would get the 257 or 357 at most. It is more difficult to make guns this powerful quiet but I think it is possible to do but it would raise the cost. You might be able to stay under $1000 with the M60B and the Gauntlet even with effective suppression but they are the least powerful.

An Arken Zulus seems to be a great optics choice if you need night vision.

I do not own a M60B or any of these guns I am suggesting but I have 3 P35s which are also made by SPA. I have found them to be reliable but all PCPs have a tendency to develop a leak over time. One of my P35s is a couple years old and has not needed any new O-rings but the other two have needed an O-ring or two replaced. A little maintenance cannot reasonably be ruled out with PCPs regardless of what you spend on them IMHO.

Thank you!

 

[HogKiller]

Hi everyone. New to the world of airguns. I work with an endangered species recovery program that protects small nesting birds from predation during the nesting season. Predators are things like coons, skunks, foxes, and badgers. Most of the time trapping works but every so often we end up with a critter that is smart enough to avoid capture. Some of our sites are located within city limits so firearms are not always an option. That brings me to airguns. I'm looking for guns/optics that I could have my technicians carry in their trucks as a backup. I would want it to be fairly simple and rugged. Shots under 50 yards, mix of day and night shooting. Anything fit the bill?

Thanks in advance for any recommendations and feel free to ask questions!

Welcome to the Rabbit Hole®, a place that money goes to be burnt. If you absolutely want to make sure something you hit dies, go with a .30, only down side is, they aren't cheap to feed. edit: Just saw city, you'd down to a .25, it'll still put the hurt on fair size critters....except for Calif. Ground Squirrels, they are armored. Go quality, more money, less pain, generally. Define the range you're shooting 100 yards or less you'll be golden, then there is slugs or pellets, slugs will give you more energy dump and better accuracy at range, WHEN you find the right one for that gun, they like to go FAST. Then you get to dump money on a compessor and tanks. Day/Night, you're looking at a Zulus LRF, because you're 50 yards and less It'll be perfect, 20x zoom, records and has razor sharp digital optics. Just my not so humble opinion. Personally I like FX Mavericks but there are plenty of good guns out there.

 

[farmer_930]

Thanks so much. Looks like multiple plugs for the Zulus. Rifle in either .25 or .30. Now the hard part - lots of great gun recommendations. Should be fun. Thanks all!

 

[farmer_930]

Thanks again everyone. Thought I would close this out by reporting back. I ended up buying an Avenge-x Tac in .25 and topped it with an ARKEN Zulus. Decided the LOP adjustment on AR style stock would be helpful as a couple of folks on our crew are on the short side. Working on a heavy pellet tune right now with a 50 yard zero. Thanks again!

 

[JimD]

If you have the rangefinder option on the Zulus it would seem to matter less where you zero it but my opinion is 50 yards is too far. 30 to 35 yards should put you about at the apex of the pellet flight path making you always holding dead on or over your target, never under. The Zulus will adjust the aim point if you have the range finder and use it but it may still be handy to "keep it simple" by avoiding the need to hold under. For most purposes, with a 30-35 yard zero you can hold where you want to hit from about 20 yards to about 40 yards covering a lot of the range I would prefer to use an airgun in. Short and long you have to hold over.

 

[Smitty911]

Even with the .25 Cal, the energy carries. I'm not sure I'd take on the liability of one of my employees shooting at something inside city limits. Noise, Neighbors, Pass Throughs, Missed Shots, how much time and money are you allowing for ensuring they can shot in the first place, how to handle Buck Fever, Air compressor issues or Bottles, wounded animals, etc. etc. You also want to check your Business Insurance to make sure they would cover something if < God forbide, something went wrong.

In Town, if there was shooting to be done, i'd be the only one doing it.

Smitty

 

[farmer_930]

If you have the rangefinder option on the Zulus it would seem to matter less where you zero it but my opinion is 50 yards is too far. 30 to 35 yards should put you about at the apex of the pellet flight path making you always holding dead on or over your target, never under. The Zulus will adjust the aim point if you have the range finder and use it but it may still be handy to "keep it simple" by avoiding the need to hold under. For most purposes, with a 30-35 yard zero you can hold where you want to hit from about 20 yards to about 40 yards covering a lot of the range I would prefer to use an airgun in. Short and long you have to hold over.

I didn't get the rangefider version. I ran ballistics on a 34 gr pellet at 850fps. If you zero at 50, pellet will be within 0.5 inches of POI from 20 - 50 yards. Energy at 50 was slightly over 40 ft*lbs (more than adequate for skunks etc). Am I missing something? I come from long range centerfire world so it is entirely possible I'm missing something. Thanks!

 

[farmer_930]

Even with the .25 Cal, the energy carries. I'm not sure I'd take on the liability of one of my employees shooting at something inside city limits. Noise, Neighbors, Pass Throughs, Missed Shots, how much time and money are you allowing for ensuring they can shot in the first place, how to handle Buck Fever, Air compressor issues or Bottles, wounded animals, etc. etc. You also want to check your Business Insurance to make sure they would cover something if < God forbide, something went wrong.

In Town, if there was shooting to be done, i'd be the only one doing it.

Smitty

Good feedback all around. These sites are often within city limits jurisdictionally but outside of the city proper and are generally several hundred acres in size. As far as actual in-town shooting, that would be a no-go. Thanks!