These ain't your granddaddy's air rifles.
They'll still shoot your eye out, but they're also dead accurate and powerful enough to lay down a squirrel with a single shot every time. They're calm, cheap to shoot, and easy to use. If you're looking to get serious about air gun hunting, you should try to select a rifle you know will have enough juice to get the job done.
We reached out to the good folks over at Airgun Depot and Pyramid Air to get a little expert advice, although if you're thinking about exploring the small game woods this year, you should know that air rifle technology has advanced enough to rival any rimfire rig.
What to Look for in an Air Rifle
A kid with a pellet gun is a menace to small woodland creatures. As outlined by something expert we spoke with, hunters focusing on squirrel-scaled video game should look for something with a .22-caliber bore competent at pressing a pellet a minimum of 800 toes-for every-next (fps). That'll offer you regularly dangerous shots out to about 55 yards and possibly even a greater distance.
Can you really kill modest activity with a .17-caliber pellet or a slow relocating .22-caliber pellet? Naturally. It's also easy to kill a whitetail with a .223 Rem. You can do it, but given the availability of other options, why not go with something that will be more reliable?
In spite of a .22-caliber air rifle, you won't be coming something away. A 14.3-grain .22-caliber pellet touring 900 fps offers 26 foot-lbs of power. A 40-grain .22LR traveling 1070 fps delivers 102 ft.-lbs. of energy by contrast. So, even though a .22-cal air rifle is more powerful than a .17, it isn't anywhere close to the most common small-game cartridge.
Airgun Depot recommends choosing an air rifle that uses either a pre-charge pneumatic (PCP) or spring-loaded ("springer") power plant. The previous uses pre-jam-packed compressed air (delivered via an electric or hand pump motor) and also the second option uses a major spring to compress fire and air the pellet (not as opposed to your kid's Nerf gun).
You will find pros and cons to each systems. We've chosen three PCP guns and two springers to give you some variety, but our primary goal is to give you a place to start. There are many far more alternatives compared to 5 shown below, but these are one of the best and most readily available.
Benjamin Marauder (PCP) - best air rifle for squirrels uk
You can't go awry with a Benjamin Marauder. The legendary type of air rifles is available in the two bolt-action and semi-automatic versions and can push a 14.3-grain .22-caliber pellet upwards of 850 fps. The 2-stage trigger is changeable, the gun can be tuned to various velocities, as well as the 215cc air reservoir can hold ample air to fire 60 photographs on a single tank.
These guns will also be super accurate. I applied a semi-auto Marauder to hunt squirrels a year ago, and I experienced no trouble generating headshots at 40 gardens. In writing, the gun will produce a one particular-inch team at 50 yards.
The Marauder can be a comparatively heavy rifle. The wood supply edition weighs more than 8 pounds along with the synthetic supply only cuts regarding a pound off that body weight. But it's achievable with a good sling, and i also didn't spot the gun's body weight having a squirrel from the scope.
Gamo Magnum (Springer)
The Gamo Magnum reaches the other conclusion in the variety. Rather than the Marauder's 10-pellet journal and enormous air tank, the Magnum relies on a break-barrel style and shoots 1 pellet at any given time.
Why would a hunter select the Magnum over the Marauder? For just one, it's about $400 less expensive and comes with a Gamo 3-9x scope. It's also slightly more powerful: it fires a 9.7-grain .22-caliber pellet at 1,300 fps and 14.6-grain pellets around 900 fps.
The break-barrel design and style is not really for kids. It requires 41 kilos of force to dick, which when achievable for most adults, isn't suitable for a kid's very first squirrel gun. But if you can weight it, there's absolutely nothing like sniping squirrels from 50 back yards using these rifles.
Air Force Condor SS (PCP) air rifles for squirrel killing
If you're trying to find some thing top-of-the-series, consider the Airforce Condor. Clocking in about $750, the Condor rivals the price of a quality hunting handgun, nevertheless it delivers much better accuracy and power than many other .22-caliber air rifles out there.
The condor is lower than the Marauder (6.1 pounds.) whilst firing a .22-caliber projectile about 200 fps more quickly (1100 fps max speed). Hunters can adapt power effortlessly employing a call along the side of the rifle, as well as the tank can power 40-50 photos.
The only real negative thing is the one-shot bolt measures design and style. This really is acceptable for sniping solitary squirrels, but several critters within a plant will require some dexterous reloading.
Benjamin Nitro Piston XL (Springer)
If you're trying to find one thing having a more traditional appearance, the Benjamin NP XL is an excellent option. The break-barrel layout signifies that, much like the Gamo Magnum, you don't have to worry about stuffing an air tank to focus on tiny online game.
The Nitro Piston XL is rated to launch alloy pellets at 1100 fps and normal steer pellets closer to 950 fps, meaning they have more than enough juices to adopt down squirrels and cottontails.
Much like the Marauder, the Nitro Piston XL is really a large rifle, and also the spring imparts more recoil than PCP rifles. But it's considerably less expensive than its PCP relatives, so you're acquiring similar individual-picture efficiency on little activity for around fifty percent the price.
Hatsan Bullboss (PCP)
This is basically the rifle for individuals who wish to feel like a special owner in the squirrel woods. The Hatsan BullBoss is actually a bullpup air rifle rated to fire a .22-caliber projectile 1070 fps. Its bullpup design makes it much shorter than the other rifles on this list, even though it comes with a 10-pellet rotary magazine and uses a side lever action to feed new pellets into the chamber.
It's about as heavy as the Marauder and the Nitro Piston XL. These are no doubt among the best, even though while the Gamo Magnum is 49 inches and the Nitro Piston is 48, the tactical BullBoss is only 36.
Final Shot
"Five best" lists can be misleading, there are likely better air rifles out there. If you haven't looked at air rifles since you were 11, but again, these ain't your granddaddy's pellet guns, they combine power and quality, and affordability, and they're a great place to start.
Some might be more expensive than you're expecting. They'll get tiny video game without having to break a sweating and can be counted on from the forests year in year out.