I am thinking of getting a pellet gun for rabbit control around my house. Anyone have any recommendations? I have been looking at a Ruger AirHawk, but really don't know much about them...

Hey Tiki- I am looking for a good one also for my grandson. His Dad bought him an el cheapo and it is wortless. The poor kid can't hit anything and is getting frustrated. This should be interesting

I was looking at pellet rifles (rifles, not guns, since the vast majority are ... well, rifled. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />) too. Never knew there was such wide variety of options. If you check out http://www.pyramydair.com/ , these guys have a huge inventory and seem to have their heads and hearts in the right place. Check out their Guides and Blog sections for what seems like good information.

Thanks Momaw, i will check out the site.

We have a few here...
RWS which was expensive at around 350 or so.
Excellent gun,very powerful.
I also have a 20 year old crossman that you pump up.
And a 30yr old Sheridan 20cal pistol that you pump
as well...
Tell ya the truth,for a "oh man,there's a rat!" quick shoot,
we grab the pistol 9 outta 10 times. The distance is usually about 15
feet or so. For "foolin around" we grab the crossman.
Why,cuz the RWS was so expensive that we have to be careful
with it,and we all know it aint fun if you have to be careful <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
We do use the RWS when we do some serious target practice.
It is very accurate and powerful.
All depends on how much you wanna spend I guess.
I would stay away from co2 type guns.
Happy shopping and let us know what you decide.

My dad has a beeman R9 it is a great airgun

I'll second the "no CO2" comment if you want to kill wascally wabbits. From everything I'm reading about it, it just can't deliver the projectile speed that compressed air can. CO2 seems better suited for targets, where you want consistent speed more than maximum speed, or plinking, where you just want to shoot a lot. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

The consensus among air rifle hunters seems to be that, to kill intermediate vermin you want around 20 footpounds of energy. Rabbits, foxes, groundhogs, all those. There's lots of rifles that can do that and more.

How about one of the Crossman Pumpmaster air rifles. I shot those when I was a kid, and I recall them being real accurate. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I won't recommend a specific brand but I will recommend that you get one rated at least 1000fps.

Here's a video you might find interesting. Play the one titled "Hunting Experience."

http://www.gamousa.com/Catalog.aspx?Action=Videos

Ok,
I've been thinking of getting one for small critters, and have seen that my
local Canadian Tire store carries Crossmans and Beemans. All but one are in
the .177 calibre, but one of the Crossmans is in .22 calibre. Didn't know
that they came in anything other than .177.
What's that advantage of a .22 over a .177 other than the increase size?
More stopping power? Do the rifles then have to be more powerful as well?

Dumb questions from someone who doesn't know much about Air Rifles.

Also, I've been thinking of getting a bow.
Forgiving the "noob" question, but wouldn't a bow be better for hunting
intermediate game?

Cheers.

Not a dumb question. I've had both. I never noticed much of a difference. The .22 pellets are hard to find sometimes.

I've also got a bow, and yes it would be better for game larger than raccoon size. No I don't hunt raccoon just using it for a size comparision <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />. You ever hunted with a bow? They are a lot harder to master than a pellet rifle. Get both if you have the funds.

Funds???? What's that? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

In the run up to Christmas, I spent far too much on things that will be needed
in the coming years I think. Not trying to come off as being paranoid here,
and trying to be optimistic I'm hoping that they won't be needed, but given the
economic situation, I'm preparing in advance, just in case.

Popped for a tent trailer, a small freezer, a shotgun, a backup power generator,
a couple of knives (SOD included), and stocked up on a whole bunch of staples.
I think that I'm going to have to lay low until the CC bills are paid for.
Hopefully that will be someday soon.

I was thinking of grabbing one of those cheap 40lb Junior fiberglass bows or a
cheap pellet gun to play around with just for fun.
Picked up a slingshot that I was thinking might be fun to play with too.

Cheers <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />