NDR - Air rifles?

Ryan Werden

Ryan Werden

Well-known member
I'm looking to buy a high-powered air rifle for use around the house. I live in a wooded area but within city limits that doesn't allow discharging of firearms. My problem is I have more critters destroying different parts of my yard than I know what to do with. I currently have 5 skunks living under my shed (two adults and three youngin's), chipmunks out the yin-yang, coons and crap loads of squirrels. What has really got my nuts in a knot is that I recently had about 5 stumps removed from my yard. I wheelbarrowed in about 12 yards of top soil to fill in the holes from the stumps as well as even out a bumpy backyard. So I've broke my back hauling dirt, planted seed, fertilized, watering tons to have everything dug up by these critters.

When the stumps were dug we found that the rotting stumps were full of grubs. In doing some research these are a favorite food of skunks, coons and moles so I've been treating my lawn for grubs and other bugs as well. So I hope to eliminate one of their food sources.

Sorry to go on a rant. Back to my question, does anyone have input on a good, accurate air rifle? Or is anyone looking to get rid of one they don't use much? I have a cheap daisy now that is good if the critter stands perfectly still at 3 feet in front of you and waits for you to pump it 10 times.

Thanks for any input.
Ryan
 
One thing to consider is that at least some on the premium air rifles are pretty loud. I have an RWS model 48 and it is loud and very sharp sounding. A .22 shooting CB caps is much quieter in comparision. Then again, I'd much rather get caught shooting a "pellet gun" then a "rifle".

On those skunks, you know they will spray when you shoot them?

T
 
Tod - I was hoping that they wouldn't be as loud as my .22. And as you say, I would rather get caught with a pellet gun than a .22. I suspect most law enforcement would give ya a warning if you were 'plinking' around the backyard vs ripping of shots from a rimfire.

The skunks can spray all they want. In most cases they're 50-75ft away when I see them, however, will allow me to get fairly close before they start to get alarmed. It's not uncommon for my family to get a good whiff of skunk perfume while we're sitting in the living room or at the kitchen table. We've had some great weather recently and the windows have been open and the ac off. I can handle the smell for a bit if it puts an end to this.
 
In a .22 I said CB caps, have you ever tried them? they are not a long rifle.

You are in for some smelly times if a skunk unloads 50-75' from the house.
 
Shoot them in the head with a scoped 22 sighted at 50 yards,with cb or shorts,and lay your daisey by your side.
 
In my experience, skunks will ALWAYS spray when shot in the head. The only shot that may prevent them from spraying is a low velocity load in the gut ie. liver, stomach. Doesn't always work but often enough to give it a try. Live traps are probably the best bet, just have a garbage can full of water near by to take care of them. Other than that, fence over the den opening after they come out at night so they can't get back in and hopefully move on to another site.
 
Tod, I'm not familiar with CB caps. I'll see if I can't find out what they are. Do you use your .22cal with them?

Like I said, they can spray all they want. We're dealing with that now and they haven't been shot at...
 
I think it will take one heck of an air rifle to cleanly kill a skunk or a racoon. You will probably just end up wounding & pissing them off and a pissed off skunk is gonna spray a lot.
For the racoons, a live trap will definately work best.
For the skunks, good luck. If you shoot them, they will spray and spray a lot. It will not be just the whiff you catch from them being around, they will empty their scent glands & it will stink for a long, long time. If you catch them in the live trap, you can usually cover the trap with an old blanket and then slide them in a garbage can of water to drown them. Or put the covered trap in the back of the truck & take them for a ride. Skunks will tolerate a good bit of handling in a covered trap. But any way you handle it, you have a chance of getting sprayed.
If you know where the den is, then waiting until they leave in the evening & then closing the den works. But remember that a skunk can squeeze through a lot smaller opening than you think. So, if they are lving under a building, you need to close up all the opening.
As far as squirrels, chipmunks, etc..., they are pain but then thats part of living with wildlife.
 
Pete, I have a trap that would work but figured I'm more likely to get directly sprayed trying to cover up the trap for dunking. I don't care if they spray once I've shot them, as I won't get it directly. They already stink up the yard so whats one more time.

And I'm not as adventurous as Dave Parks to try and 'extract' the scent...

Ryan
 
Carl

For the skunks would poison work? Seems like a pile of fish with poison would get rid of the skunks and racoons without the skunk smell. Of course there's the fish smell...........
 
CB caps, CB shorts and CB longs shoot in a regular .22, your better sporting goods retailers carry them.

Please report back on the smell after dispatch.

T
 
In the heat of the moment after my, not so smart dog had been skunked twice in a month, I shot a skunk a little over 100 yards from my house with a 22LR. I can't remember where I hit him but I remember a long groan as he died and it was at that moment as a greenish-yellow cloud started drifting with the wind toward my house, truck and family, that I realized I should have checked the wind before I sqeezed of that shot.
 
If I was gonna plunk coons with an air rifle, I'd get a 25cal R1 from RWS. I have an RWS mod 34 in 177 and it kills squirrels and rabbits as fast as a .22. If you shoot a skunk anywhere but in the head, it will climb back in the hole and die..mooch-o stink-o...if you shoot them in the head they WILL spray. Live trap them..then take a sheet and hold it up in front of you while you slowly walk to the trap..then cover the trap with the sheet and you won't get sprayed. Skunks can root up a yard faster than a Troybuilt tiller. A high powered pellet gun will ricochet off the smallest stone..so keep that in mind unless you hate your neigbors and don't mind sitting in jail. Todd is right about the CB caps, a guy that works for me has put a huge dent in the cat population in town.
 
yep- I got a agree with the rest of the dbhf members replys. I live in south mpls and we had a couple of nuisance squirrels as well as a couple of raccoons that had to be destroyed. I purchased a rws 34 .22 with a rws 4x scope while it does a nice job on the squirrels, I did want to take a chance on the coons so on a friends recommendation I tried the cci cb short caps in my remington model 12 pump. They are quieter than the pellet gun and drop a coon in its tracks shaking with proper shot placement plus the skinny little pump .22 looks harmless to the non firearm enthusiast (aka urban hippster) Some of the german pellet guns look like a elk rifle. Who know maybe some day I will have an urban hunting show on VS watch out tred barta!
 
I feel for you with skunks and assorted varmints tearing up your yard. I may be a sissy but I don't think I could shove a trap with a live critter into a trashcan full of water and drown him, sheesh, that gives me the willies thinking about the poor bastard clawing at the cage for several minutes. I'd much rather give him a quick, clean kill with a head shot. But then you got to deal with the stink.
I had a mama skunk with a bunch of little ones living under my storage shed a few years ago. I put a radio in the shed with Rush Limbaugh's show on one afternoon and turned the volume way up. Two hours of that windbag and they left the same day and didn't come back...seriously.
 
If you have a live trap or two you might want to look into making yourself one of these. Click Here I have no idea how well it works but many animal damage control trappers use them because they have to be quite and avoid spraying.

Makes me think back about 25 years ago when my dad decided we had a coon problem in our sweet corn. We borrowed a friends live trap, he had coon hounds and wanted a coon for training. First morning the neighbors dog was in it so we let it out. Second morning a skunk was in it, we told the traps owner he could come pick up his trap.

Tim
 
If it wasn't illegal! As far as I know there is not a poison approved for use by the general public for nuisance animal control. And it is not a legal method for taking furbearers/game animals.

Also, there is the high probability for collateral damage, including the neighbors dogs & cats, raptors, etc..

And then when the critter dies under the house/shed, the stink is gonna make skunk essence seem nice.
Over all, using a cage trap & sheet technique is most likely the safest and most legal way to do it.
 
Well looks like I need to do a couple of things.

1) Try the live trap first. I'll use an old sheet as recommended. If I get sprayed, I'm gonna mail a piece of my jeans to each person that recommended that approach (insert smiley). If i get one he's going swimming. Hopefully there's no real such thing as Karma. Cause I'd sure rather get one in the back of the head then suck in water...

2) I'll also look into cb caps for my 22. If I get a raccoon in the trap I imagine it will be flippin out when I get near it. And I wouldn't be a fan of getting clawed through the cage. Might just stick the muzzle in the cage and dispatch him that way.
 
we had luck soaking a rag in concentrated amonia and putting it under our shed - the skunks didn't like the smell (lol) and left
 
Sounds like a plan. With a coon, you could take it out in the country and pop it with a long rifle through the cage. My buddy got a skunk out of his basement with the trap and sheet trick..just do everything slowly so it doesn't piss it off or startle it. A local trapper told me if I got a skunk in a leghold trap to shoot it through the lungs from a hidden position with a solid,not HP, 22 bullet so it wouldn't equate the sting with you..I wouldn't do that in a trap though.
 
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