For your small game hunting, ie: rabbits, squirrel opossum, raccoon in ur opinion which calibers work best ,and using 45,50 cal is it too much ? How about mess factor? Ethics? Exclude small hogs and coyotes.
N/A Overkill on small game
- Thread starter mikey fingers
- Start date
Being a low power guy and a pester /hunter , i think anything over .22 and 14 FPE is over kill regarding the OP's post .
Using .30 or .50 is just going for the Gore ! (exception in if that is your one and only air gun )
Using .30 or .50 is just going for the Gore ! (exception in if that is your one and only air gun )
Upvote 0
I prefer my .25’s at 40-60fpe. Over my .22 at 20fpe. My .22 at 20fpeI will only use on squirrel, rabbit and birds. My 25’s from squirrels up to coyotes.
Upvote 0
In my simple mind, it's a matter of energy INTO the right part of the target makes the kill, every bit of energy that passes through the target (and/or passes through a non-vital area) is not needed. Getting a decent trajectory and a manageable time to target is the other side of the same coin. How fast do I need to shoot? Each gun and ammo combo has a best accuracy solution - it is really up to you to find that magic recipe.
That being said, my .25 is around 40-ish FPE and I have backed my .22 down from 45 FPE to ~22 FPE for air usage considerations. I still get almost 100% pass through on squirrels with the .22 Hades at 22 FPE, even over 50 yards. The lungs, heart and head do not offer much resistance to the pellet. A gut shot, while lethal, has much more fluid and squishy stuff to absorb the energy.
For Coon, I would edge over 50 FPE in either .22 or .25 - and be sure of your aim. Coons are very tough, and an injured coon is wildly unpredictable. Yes, they can tear you up. Don't be fooled by the guys on the 'net that have a good bait station and a solid shooting position, shooting Raccoon is not for the casual BB gun guy. 'Possums are not common around here, and it has been shown that they are beneficial to the environment. Not sure I would seek them out for removal unless they were a persistent annoyance.
That being said, my .25 is around 40-ish FPE and I have backed my .22 down from 45 FPE to ~22 FPE for air usage considerations. I still get almost 100% pass through on squirrels with the .22 Hades at 22 FPE, even over 50 yards. The lungs, heart and head do not offer much resistance to the pellet. A gut shot, while lethal, has much more fluid and squishy stuff to absorb the energy.
For Coon, I would edge over 50 FPE in either .22 or .25 - and be sure of your aim. Coons are very tough, and an injured coon is wildly unpredictable. Yes, they can tear you up. Don't be fooled by the guys on the 'net that have a good bait station and a solid shooting position, shooting Raccoon is not for the casual BB gun guy. 'Possums are not common around here, and it has been shown that they are beneficial to the environment. Not sure I would seek them out for removal unless they were a persistent annoyance.
Upvote 0
I'm in agreement with JimNM. I get good results on squirrels with my 19 fpe 177, and 18 fpe 22 but they do drop a few steps faster with my 32 fpe 22 and 25. But anything much beyond 30 fpe (possibly upper 20s) in a 22 is overfill in my opinion for small game. But this is for inside 50 yard shots and if you need to take longer range shots (and have the accuracy to do that sensibly) you would need more fpe. All 10 shots I've take with a 32fpe 22 passed through and 16 of 18 with a 32 fpe 25 also sent through a squirrel and exited. The other two were front of chest shots that ended up under the skin behind a rear leg.
I killed a small raccoon with my 32 fpe 22 but it took three shots. I killed another small one with my near 50 fpe 25 and it was one shot and immediate death. These coons weighed less than 10 lbs and they can get up to around 50 lbs. Much bigger animal and not easy to kill like a rabbit. Even with 50 fpe I think they need a brain shot to get immediate death.
I killed a small raccoon with my 32 fpe 22 but it took three shots. I killed another small one with my near 50 fpe 25 and it was one shot and immediate death. These coons weighed less than 10 lbs and they can get up to around 50 lbs. Much bigger animal and not easy to kill like a rabbit. Even with 50 fpe I think they need a brain shot to get immediate death.
Upvote 0
Don't be too concerned about what other people think. If it works for you and you are happy with the results, enjoy your hunting.
Upvote 0
Prefer bringing more gun to the fight than conventional wisdom dictates. Near silent operation and low price ammo make airguns my go-to choice, however, big bores, like .45, .50, and higher, bring increased noise and ammo cost, therefore, hold little interest to me for small game. WM
Upvote 0
.25 at 30fpe and higher. Shot placement, shot placement , shot placement. If you can’t hit 1/2” at 25yards consistently, don’t hunt with it.
My recluse 357 before I put in a power kit with a 105 gr would put out raccoon easy enough a well placed 22 cal 25gr would do the trick as well
Upvote 0
majority of time when hunting squirrels I use the 25 but I also have used the 22 when I know the area will offer shots less than 50 yds. It Is a mater of range for me
Upvote 0
Actually looking to get the light hunter I like the 45 for hogs and those heavy air bolts .I love my air saber but that senaca ,dzam! Close to 600 fps
Upvote 0
Only coons that are gonna get up to 50# are pet coons, in the wild a huge coon is 25#, I trapped and hunted them for a long time the biggest one I ever caught/killed was 24# and was over 40 in long nose to tail huge skinny body. Guy I used to sell furs to told me he had something to show me when I took some furs in. He went in the backroom and came out carry something in both arms it was a raccoon that weighed 58#. Some guy jumped a persons fence in town and killed their pet coon and brought it to him to try and sell it, of course he called DNR and they arrested the fellow who ended up in all kinds of trouble.
He was keeping coon for owners until they decided what they wee going to do with it.
Upvote 0
Just what I would do would be shooting one of my Gauntlets in .25. I’ll limit that to 50 yards and nothing larger than a raccoon. Hogs, coyotes or bigger it will be a powder gun in .308. Opinions very but that’s what I’m comfortable with.
Rick H.
Rick H.
Upvote 0