Air rifle question

New air rifles are advertised now at 1200 ft/sec bullet velocity w/ .177 caliber pellet or ball. Say shots w/ air rifle were fired on a raccoon at 75-80 ft would there be any damage to the animal or would the pellet just bounce off his hide. These would be rear end shots not likely head shots. Would a purchase like this for varmint control for coons be a waste of money.

I use a paintball gun. When they leave (in a hurry)they are fairly well covered in yellow ! Don't return for a long time.

For killing 'varmits',an air rifle is a waste of money.The last coon I shot,took five .22s to get him. Next time,I'll use something bigger.However,I once killed a mouse with a Daisy BB gun at 10 ft.Shot him in the head. Heck of a shot! LOL

I don't know what type of air rifle the fellow had that used to hunt groundhogs here but it would kill a ground hog at 35 or so yards.

new high velocity with the sabot ball is for target shooting, some mouse shooting in .177.
If you want something for pest control- old 5mm or .22 heavy pellets from Benjiman or RWS would be better- or the 9mm to .50 caliber Korean, Taiwan, Brazilian designs with air flasks, CO2 cartridges or pumpup chambers meant for heavy pest control in places were firearms are very restricted. 5mm/20 calibers and .22 available in springair and pumpup make fair pest control, quiet use tools- available various shops or can be ordered. Chinese made spring air model in .25 use buckshot ball or wasp wasted spitzer for squirrels, rabbits- illegal in New York City, some other cities since over 4.5 mm/.177caliber gets them classed as 'firearms'. BSA made couple in .22 and .25 also- UK lumped them in with 'firearms' last time they changed laws about 20 years ago but supposed to be available in Irish Republic yet and Spain- license upgrade from Gamo or El Gamo. Your laws may vary on use in city limits, some have built in 'hush' recoil reducer- my .177 has 4 maxim baffle in it and is fairly quiet for target shooting in garage and rat control. RN

2 weeks ago I bought a Ruger .177 Air Hawk with scope that is rated at 1200 fps. ($119.95) With research, that rating is with non lead pellets which are lighter, probably less accurate, as well as not being heavy enough to do much. With the typical lead pellets they are rated and check out more like 950 fps. That said, I am very happy with it. I sighted it in at 23 yards, or 69 feet. After getting it shooting accurately, I placed a 1 gallon plastic milk jug full of water at the 23 yard mark and shot it. The pellet went completely through both sides. That jug is a little more than 6 inches across. I was very surprised and shot several times through it and the water. I did try it on 2 squirrels, head shots at about the same distance. Both dropped right where they were. I also had a crow land in a tree outside the kitchen window. He had to be a dumb one because he let me open the window, remove the screen, get the gun and take a shot. That crow never flapped a wing and dropped like a rock. I have never been able to get close enough to show a crow in my life, so I was surprised he stayed there and was very impressed in how that pellet rifle performed. If you are only trying to hurt the raccoon and persuade him to leave, I am quite sure he would know he has been hit. I am not sure if the pellet would penetrate his body and become lodged inside, guessing it might.

On U-Tube there are quite a few videos about nailing rats and Squirrels with air rifles. The one guy was using a 30 cal. Pellet. Nothing got away. As RN said abuot tanks and CO2 etc. Watch the videos and see what you think. Almost look likes big game hunting.

Wont hurt the coon but he sure will move out.

22 long rifle right between the eyes will do the trick , why move the problem to your nabor

Dont kid yourself at 12oo ft per second its going to penetrate the skin so if you just want to scare the racoon get an old red ryder or daisy bb gun.

I have an RWS rife and at 25 yards it will put a .177 pellet thru a 3/4 board. I have shot rabbits and squirrels with it. I shot a wood chuck at about 30 yards and it went about 50 feet before dying. I have shot coon also but they ran off, I am sure if they were hit in the right place it would kill them. When we were in high school we use to coon hunt and we shot many coons with a CO 2 pistol on low branches and it killed them. Buddy shot a big boar coon once and it just p### him off. Glad we had the 22 that night

You should be able to find a ballistics chart for a pellet of BB at that muzzle velocity. 1200 FPS is almost the same the velocity as a shotgun or .22. At 75 to 80 feet it would still have a lot of energy. I would only aim for a lethal shot, as it would be strong enough that a wound could cripple a racoon or lead to a slow lingering death. Stick to the much lower velocities if you don't don't intend to kill.

Would not recommend it but those things are not toys so be carful. Local guy had big money air rifles like 22 25 cal He shot a fox (chicken coup issue) with one and it was like a 222 or 22 hornet had hit him. Guess some he had was more power than a 22 rifle and cost 10 times as much!!!

Actually the paintball idea is much better if you don't intend to do permanent harm.

Even the high priced air rifle in .22 or .25 cal can come close to a 222(3,167 FPS) and 22 Hornet (2,719 FPS).

Several years ago they arrested a couple guys north of me for shooting and killing deer out of the house window with a high powered air rifle

Hey, they worked for Lewis and Clark
Lewis and Clark Air Rifle

Even though the velocity of an airgun pellet can be similar to a 22LR the projectile mass is only about a quarter as much as the typical 35-40 grain 22 bullet. For an equal velocity this means the muzzle energy is also a quarter as much. Factor in the extremely poor sectional density and ballistic coefficient of an airgun pellet and you have a projectile that sheds velocity quickly and penetrates poorly compared to a bullet. In my opinion it would be highly unethical to shoot a coon with an airgun - why wound a creature when the likelihood of a humane, fatal hit is extremely slim. Being that I've never tried it I would venture to guess that the only way to kill one with an airgun would be a precise, close range head shot. These animals are tough - even a solid body shot from a 22LR high-velocity hollowpoint often requires a follow-up to finish things off. I can't imagine trying to take one with an airgun. (Not including, of course, the likes of the 46 caliber Lewis and Clark airgun that oldfarmtractor mentioned!)

There are a few companies making high powered air rifles. Sam-Yang makes one in 45cal. and maybe 50 cal. that can take dear down like a high powered cartage rifle.These air rifles carry enough air for about 16 shots before they need a recharge.

I too put a lot of what looks like close range shotgun holes (like you see through road signs) in ?" plywood target backing. I have 2 problems with mine: The spring loaded knocks you off boresight when it fires and the CO2 cartridges get weak after a few shots.

I was in WW the other day and found a 10 shot revolving magazine CO2 unit where by you can load up several magazines and put them in your pocket with spare cartridges for under a hundred bucks, open sights but good sighting instrument. Works great.

Yes, but these are all a far cry from the $129 "1200fps" air rifles you can get at your local WalMart.

For $129, it's going to be 1200fps shooting downhill with a tailwind.