Squirrel hunting gun recommendations (sorry)

[MongooseV8]

Hi Vanilla , I’m always wondering about the reason guys say they’er going to use Airguns for hunting.
The hunting laws are the same as 22lr or shotgun in my state. Compared to a 22lr an air rifle is USUALLY
heavier, more awkward handling, lighter slower projectiles, and more complicated .
Maybe some people have felonies and can use air ?
I bowhunted deer for 30 solid years I didn’t do it for the extra challenge. I did it because of special seasons
and I also live in one of the few small bow only areas in NYS.

For me it comes down to the area I need to do a lot of pest control. Too many houses and people everywhere these days. I cant fire up my 243AI to deal with some tree rats. Even a 22lr is too dangerous in most cases for me. There is also the noise issue, I like not having to wear hearing protection and keep the neighbors happy. And the last reason is the cost. Even though I have spent a lot on my pcp setups, price per shot is still alot less than my varmint rigs. Have you bought primers recently lol.

 

[SpindleB]

Those all sound like good options, but why not do hot on the Notos? Just not enough juice?

Essentially, but the platform too. I like to modify my guns but the notos you have to work at for what appears minimal gain.

I took a broken Talon SS and literally replaced all the parts but the frame and the power wheel. If I cranked it to the Max I get 1086 FPS, 90j (69FPE).

 

[SpindleB]

Now this one is a stretch but it has one big upside.
Hatsan Sortie Tact
A large pistol small carbine with a folding stock. Decent out to 25-30 yards.
$259 refurb from Hatsan

The upside?
Semi Automatic

I have one, it hangs on a hook. When a squirrel out back gets behind the garage I grab it and head to the corner of the garage. I've fired it out to 45 yards, meh. You could take a squirrel at that distance but you better aim center body. But you do get 12 .22 chances without taking your eyes or aim off the target.

 

[BryanH]

I threw the scope on the .22 Stoeger XM1 S4, pumped it up with my el cheapo pump, and fired a magazine of Eunjin domes at about 15 yards. It’s incredibly quiet. Decent group of 7 shots here, seem to graze the tree but it stacked them up pretty good. My index is on the aim point, pinky on the impact point. The group hit so far low and to the right, I had to inspect the scope. It is visibly pointing to the left, and the front ring is visibly canted left. So I called it a day. I will pick up some el cheapo tipoff rings first chance I get.

My goal is to keep the cost of this whole rig below the price of a federal tax stamp. I feel like that fully offsets the cost of admission back into the PCP world many times over, and justifies the effort to pump the rifle in my mind.

 

[BryanH]

Got the XM1 S4 straightened out today. Dropped the scope in a pair of El Cheapo $10 tipoff rings from wally world, and shot this 0.55” center-to-center group at 19.4 yards verified by LRF with the 28.4 grain Eunjin domes. I was in a rush, too, because i was fa-fa-fa-freezing out there in about 3 or 4 degree temps.

Altogether it took 13 shots between zeroing and shooting this group, and that took my pressure down from 3000 to about 2500 psi. Took 33 reps to fill the gun with my cheap pump.

So I have $160 in the gun, $10 in the rings, and like $33 or so in the hand pump. Bought everything brand new. I think if you can get a deal on a new, old stock Stoeger XM1 S4 it would make one heck of a start for a very small investment. Shoot crosman hollowpoints and it will pay for itself quick if you are not burning up your .22 LR ammo

Here is a picture of the whole target including the sighters, two close-ups of the group, and a picture of my range set-up. The OEM scope is not great, but I found it adequate for shooting this target in fading light.

 

[BryanH]

I put a 3-9x BSA Sweet 17 on the XM1 S4 and ran 5 mags of Eunjin domes through her at 41.9 yards, LRF verifed. The highest and lowest impacts on target would have been less than 1.25” apart center-to-center. If you overlayed all 5 of those 7 shot groups (1 mag per target), you’d have a 35 shot group less than 1.25” center to center. That’s spread mostly vertical. I only had a front rest, and I was in a hurry to get to my Saturday night 3D archery league. I had just filled the rifle, too, and was definitely struggling with breath control. That probably had as much an impact on the vertical spread as the velocity drop.

I shot these groups with unsorted pellets straight from the tin. Hard hitting 28.5 grain domes. Packing .25 cal momentum in a .22 rifle . Out of 5 magazines, 5 pellets were too deformed to fit in the magazine. Some needed a light push to go into the mag, but some others dropped in. The bolt was stiffer to close on some than others. But every shot was accurate. I am really happy that it likes these ugly pellets. My benji pumper likes them, too, and they lay the smack down.

I have had a lot of struggles with the price point PCP rifles in the past. This is the first one I have been satisfied with, and the cheapest one I ever bought.

Now you got me looking at that XM1 Scout, too. Looks like a heck of a gun.

Here are pictures of my 40 yard targets, a close up picture of the first target I shot with the bow square for reference, and a picture of those deformed pellets that would not fit the magazine.

 

[rdpjr6504]

Pitney rifle .22- $220.00 delivered to your door with code BLACK20- Shoots 14.3 at average of 904 fps out of the box and it is all wood and metal and regulated.

 

[Vanilla_Gorilla]

I put a 3-9x BSA Sweet 17 on the XM1 S4 and ran 5 mags of Eunjin domes through her at 41.9 yards, LRF verifed. The highest and lowest impacts on target would have been less than 1.25” apart center-to-center. If you overlayed all 5 of those 7 shot groups (1 mag per target), you’d have a 35 shot group less than 1.25” center to center. That’s spread mostly vertical. I only had a front rest, and I was in a hurry to get to my Saturday night 3D archery league. I had just filled the rifle, too, and was definitely struggling with breath control. That probably had as much an impact on the vertical spread as the velocity drop.

I shot these groups with unsorted pellets straight from the tin. Hard hitting 28.5 grain domes. Packing .25 cal momentum in a .22 rifle . Out of 5 magazines, 5 pellets were too deformed to fit in the magazine. Some needed a light push to go into the mag, but some others dropped in. The bolt was stiffer to close on some than others. But every shot was accurate. I am really happy that it likes these ugly pellets. My benji pumper likes them, too, and they lay the smack down.

I have had a lot of struggles with the price point PCP rifles in the past. This is the first one I have been satisfied with, and the cheapest one I ever bought.

Now you got me looking at that XM1 Scout, too. Looks like a heck of a gun.

Here are pictures of my 40 yard targets, a close up picture of the first target I shot with the bow square for reference, and a picture of those deformed pellets that would not fit the magazine.

View attachment 541411View attachment 541413View attachment 541412

That's some nice grouping! I'm really on the fence about getting the Notos (cheaper, easier to shoot in my smallish backyard) and the XM1 Scout or Ranger.

 

[BryanH]

The notos is probably quieter than the ranger or scout, but you can overcome that with a moderator. But Stoeger has got the ergonomics and fit/feel figured out. The notos . I think the Notos would make a great family gun though, and it would be great for popping critters from a vehicle.