Best BB gun or rifle for hitting varmits!?

Question

Okay so now I am totally confused: I just want to take some pot shots at a bunch of coyotes that keep coming nearer and nearer to our house every week - we live on 12 acres in the mountains - so I check out online a bunch of air-rifles and air-guns and have become totally confused by electric, CO2, sizing, pellets etc.

Given I don't want anything about guns really, and i don't ant to to be too close to any critters I guess I am in need of a air-rifle - which type or one to chose?

okay, so I dont have any pets. Since I dont have any pets I dont have any pet food around; and there is no food source other than the odd mole or some field mice running around.

i am not looking to kill anything just scare them, and I would be happy enough to let them be, but at 2am when they start howling and I have to be up at 4am for work I get a little frustarted

Answer 1

Taking "pot shots" at coyotes is unsportsmanlike. An injured coyote is likely to suffer much before it dies.

If you're just interested in scaring them, then buy a blanks gun. However, if you must shoot one to kill, then out of respect for the animal, aim to kill and make sure you finish the job.

A coyote is a pretty big varmint. To take one down, I think you'll need at least a .22 caliber air rifle. A rule of thumb I've heard is .177 for feather, .22 for fur.

I would advise buying a spring-piston air rifle, which in my limited experience, appear to deliver the greatest impact force for entry to mid level rifles. I've heard that pre-charged pneumatic rifles can be pretty powerful too. Search online for air rifles and you'll find online air gun vendors that have a lot of information on the differences between the various types of air rifles and calibers.

Answer 2

Well if you want to kill coyotes and varmints then a pellet gun probably wont do the trick.You could get a .22 long rifle for the smaller game, but against coyotes and shooting long distances its not quite up to the task.

While pellet guns are nice for birds and small critters it lack the power to take down bigger creatures. The .22Lr is good for longer distances but again lack the punch for bigger animals.My suggestion would be a .223 caliber weapon. It has the best of both worlds in my opinion. It isn't to big for small animals and not so small for bigger animals.It also is pretty good at long ranges. This is the same round the military uses for the m4/m16 and is a favorite of varmint shooters.It also is pretty cheap to buy in bulk. The .22 is the cheaper round but lacks the punch.
Try: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ab/Rifle_cartridge_comparison.jpg/300px-Rifle_cartridge_comparison.jpg
For a comparison (the .22 is the farthest to the right and the .223 is the one on its immediate left)

The recoil on the .22 is almost none and the .223's is very small. I had a 10 yearold shoot a semiautomatic .223 and he had no trouble with it.

As for the price you can get one about anywhere guns are sold. They can cost around $200 all the way up to the $1000's.If you quality and topnotch accuracy are not important to you try a Wal-Mart gun (if Wal-Mart doesn's have one try a sporting goods store like Cabelas or Sportsman Warhouse. If you want to spend more money and get a good quality one try a Ruger Mini 14.
What ever brand you choose you proablly have the option of Semi automatic and Bolt action. It mainly is up to you to decide which one you want. The Semi auto will be easier to shoot faster because all you have to do is pull the trigger and it will fire until it runs out of ammo. The Bolt action will be a little slower because you have to cycle a new round into the chamber manually but they a generally a little bit more accurate.(also the semi auto will probally be able to hold more ammo)

As for the price it all depends; you could buy a used or cheaper bolt action one for around $300 (about the price for a good Pellet gun) or $500-$800 dollars for the Ruger.

Hope this helped.

Answer 3

I'm a big fan of high quality spring piston air guns, but there is no way you should be shooting at a coyote with one. The chances of a humane kill are very slim.

To use an air rifle you would have to go with a powerful PCP
http://www.quackenbushairguns.com one of his rifles would do the job.

This one would also do the job, but it's nowhere near the quality of the above rifles
http://www.pyramydair.com/p/big-bore-909s-sam-yang.shtml

Unless the coyotes are molesting your domestic animals or livestock I would leave them alone. Coyotes only do two things, eat and make little coyotes. Coyotes serve a purpose, they keep the rabbit population down for one. Keeping the rabbits out of your garden will be a lot tougher than keeping the coyotes away from your house.

Coyotes are shy animals, they will avoid humans if given half a chance. Remove the food source that's attracting them, if you can't do that you owe the coyote a quick and painless death.

First you buy a rifle powerful enough to do the job, then you become proficient in it's use.

This is a great little rifle.
http://www.marlinfirearms.com/firearms/centerfire/336w.aspx

Dick's Sporting Goods sells the Marlin 336, with a factory mounted scope for $329 when they are having a sale.
http://www.dickssportinggoods.com

Wal-Mart will have the same rifle for around the same price.

Answer 4

Trying to "sting" or scare a Coyote away with ANY pellet Rifle or BB Gun is just plain dumb.....Sorry, but that is the way it is. If you are unable for some reason to obtain a "real" rifle, then your best bet is to leave them alone. Like others here I hunt Coyotes as Varmints and have for many years, and I shoot rifle calibers like 223,308,243 etc and a few close up shots with a 17HMR rifle. If you aren't going to put them down the right way, you might as well sit on your back porch with a garbage can lid and a piece of wood to whack it with......


NO need for confusion..Air/Pellet Guns and "Paintball Guns"
are NOT the way to go here.....

PS. Stop leaving the half full Dog Food Bowls on your porch!

Answer 5

None of the ones you list will work worth a darn, for one thing they do not make any noise and without practice u won't be able to hit anything. If you get a real gun and just wound one it can stagger away and die in extreme pain or you can miss the coyote and hit your neighbor and he can stagger away and die in extreme pain. What you need is more information and training. Take a gun safety class and then get a real gun if you think you need one. Unless you are worried about them eating fido, just leave them alone. The advice about removing any attractions like pet food is good.

Answer 6

For Coyotes, pellet/bb guns are not the way to go. You need a bigger caliber rifle to have a chance to take a dog down.
.17hmr have the speed, but maybe not the knock down power at long range.
-Ruger .204 has plenty of speed and knock down power.
-I use a Savage Model 12 FLV in the .22-250 caliber rifle only for Coyotes. I could use my Remington Model 742 in the .30-06 caliber. Just don't have a scope for it yet.
.220 Swift is a great caliber for dogs too.

Answer 7

Crying to mommy? So you think a bb is going to stop a grown man with adrenaline pumping? Haha. I don't even think a .22 could stop someone on the attack high on pcp.

Answer 8

"Pot-Shots at Coyotes" with a BB gun?
Real bad idea!
You won't kill them, minor wounds at best.
You might make one mad enough to attack you, (mostly, they'll just run away).
Those coyotes consider your land their territory.
You can purchase a small center-fire rifle, (223 is
about right), and kill them, or learn to live with them.

Answer 9

What you really need for your purpose is the following calibers >>22 Hornet, 218 Bee, 222, 22-250 any one of them will serve your purpose. Forget about the BB or Pellet gun approach.* Bad Idea.*

Answer 10

I have used all kinds of pellet rifles for birds and squirrels (pest control)

It is highly unlikely you will kill a coyote with a pellet gun but to scare it off
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5913354
(downside to this is you will have to pump it)

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5913352
(better choice...more expensive but only takes1 pump and only takes pellets)

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4665486
(this is your best bet single shot shotgun and almost cheaper than the pellet gun)