Spring Squirrel opens this weekend in TN!

[Atchman2]

Well I'm VERY excited about the squirrel opener. I've seen bunches of them this spring. I'm sure it is due to the really mild winter we have had here. I've seen half a dozen at a time including lots of skinny tails raiding the bird feeders in my backyard.

This was from last year's opening day

My dog is coming along in his training, but it has hit a snag. He ATE my $1500 hearing aid the other day. I'm afraid the wife is going to demand his head or I'm going to have to get rid of him. He just has so much energy and can be destructive when he is bored. I hate to keep him in his pen all the time, but when I can't supervise him he gets into trouble.

Benjamin Discovery .22 PCP

I can't wait to try the Benjamin Discovery .22 PCP air rifle on squirrels! My son in law was spinning my Gamo spinner everytime at 30 yards, so I know it is deadly accurate. With the new muzzlebreak it is also incredibly quiet. Mostly I got the Disco because I can attach a camera to it for filming my hunts. I don't have to deal with the recoil issue from the last couple of years of trying to film.

 

[easy45]

good luck, I'll be fishing a bass tournament, not mouc of a spring squirrel hunter anyway

 

[timberjack86]

I will try to get me a mess of them after turkey season closes. Good luck!

 

[FOX FIRE]

Hey Atchman, I didnt know you hung out around here, this is Applachian from TNpred,good to run into you.

Is that the Benji in the second pic ??? nice look'n rifle.

Oh yeah...what kind of dog do you have ?? I've got a little Mt Fiest that lets me live here.

 

[catman529]

That's a beautiful air rifle. I'll shoot a few squirrels this spring, probably mostly in the backyard. Will have to take my air rifle in the boat when I float down the river to fish as well. Better make sure that's legal first.

 

[stik]

That's a beautiful air rifle. I'll shoot a few squirrels this spring, probably mostly in the backyard. Will have to take my air rifle in the boat when I float down the river to fish as well. Better make sure that's legal first.

it's legal if you are not under power and have permission from the landowner(s).

spring is for fishing i doubt if i'll do much, if any, squirrel hunting.

 

[FOX FIRE]

Wher ya float'n catman ??? think'n about try out a kayak myself.

 

[catman529]

That's a beautiful air rifle. I'll shoot a few squirrels this spring, probably mostly in the backyard. Will have to take my air rifle in the boat when I float down the river to fish as well. Better make sure that's legal first.

it's legal if you are not under power and have permission from the landowner(s).

spring is for fishing i doubt if i'll do much, if any, squirrel hunting.

what about on streams where the public boundary extends 10 feet onto the river bank, and a tree is growing on the edge of the water leaning over, and a squirrel is up there. Seems like it would be OK to shoot in that instance.

 

[mike243]

catman you might want to ck but folks property normaly extend to the water,you would have a lot of folks deer hunting out of boats if that rule was true

 

[RUGER]

Very cool looking rifle.

 

[Atchman2]

Hey Atchman, I didnt know you hung out around here, this is Applachian from TNpred,good to run into you.

Is that the Benji in the second pic ??? nice look'n rifle.

Oh yeah...what kind of dog do you have ?? I've got a little Mt Fiest that lets me live here.

I don't hang around here as much, but there are just a lot more view points over here. I've really enjoyed this forum because I've diversified my hunting to deer and turkeys and there just isn't as much help over at tnpredators.com. I'm a total noob at most hunting EXCEPT small game hunting which I've done my entire life.

The first rifle is a rare German RWS 36C. It has a stock that was refinished by one of the masters over at the GTA airgun forum. It was also tuned by Gene over there, also one of the masters of air gun tuning. It is one of those rifles you never will get rid of! It shoots GREAT! One hole out to my normal shooting range of about 35 yards. I can shoot further of course, but it is hard shooting spring air guns much further than that accurately. I don't normally use .177 guns on the bigger stuff such as possums or raccoons, but this gun will go right through their head. If a coyote or fox is stupid enough to stand still at 25 yards or below, I'm pretty sure it could take them out cleanly.

The second one is a .22 Benjamin Discovery PCP. You actually pump it up with a bicycle pump on steroids to about 2000 psi. It gets several dozen full power shots before you have to pump it up again. I put an aftermarket TKO muzzlebrake on it to quiet it down. If you don't they are nearly as loud as a .22 LR. With the brake, you can barely hear it at all making it perfect for suburban squirrel hunting. It would also take out a coyote or fox at close range. I got this gun because it has no recoil so I can mount a camera to the barrel. A spring air gun has a vicious recoil cycle that will ruin most normal scopes or cameras.

That was a picture of Toby from my game camera. He wasn't supposed to be out of the yard so he got CAUGHT!

For Christmas my kiddos gave me a mutt. He looks like a cross between a terrier and a hound. Not sure what he is, but he has the energy of my Jack Russel and the voice and nose of a Beagle. I've been training him on the squirrels that live behind my house. He actually tries to climb the tree after them!He is a silly little mutt, but I think he is going to be a great rabbit and squirrel hunting dog.

Here is my son Moses, my Jack Russel "Chip", and my mutt "Toby the Wonder Pup" They were "helping" me drive the RV the other weekend. Toby started out looking like he was going to be about Jack Russel size, but he is about 5 pounds heavier than Chip, and a couple inches higher at the shoulders. One unique thing about him is his paws. His nails go down almost like a cat! He can climb more than any dog I've ever seen.

 

[catman529]

catman you might want to ck but folks property normaly extend to the water,you would have a lot of folks deer hunting out of boats if that rule was true

I guess you're right, maybe the property map is a good place to look.

 

[catman529]

A spring air gun has a vicious recoil cycle that will ruin most normal scopes or cameras.

Not mine, my crosman air rifle came with a cheap scope and it's mounted tight and has been sighted in for a good while now. Close range it is dead accurate on chipmunk noggins

 

[stik]

A spring air gun has a vicious recoil cycle that will ruin most normal scopes or cameras.

Not mine, my crosman air rifle came with a cheap scope and it's mounted tight and has been sighted in for a good while now. Close range it is dead accurate on chipmunk noggins

if it came with the gun, it is most likely an air rifle scope made for the recoil.

 

[catman529]

A spring air gun has a vicious recoil cycle that will ruin most normal scopes or cameras.

Not mine, my crosman air rifle came with a cheap scope and it's mounted tight and has been sighted in for a good while now. Close range it is dead accurate on chipmunk noggins

if it came with the gun, it is most likely an air rifle scope made for the recoil.

I guess so. It's cheap whatever it is. $80 Crosman Recruit variable pump air rifle, has a reservoir for BB's and a mag that holds 12, plus a separate clip that holds 5 pellets which I use to hunt with (rarely use BBs). Came with the scope which isn't thicker than my thumb but sure does get the job done. Only complaint is the barrel is not rifled so shot distance is limited, and it shoots a max of 680 fps so I am limited to what animals I can shoot and kill. But for small pests it is reliable. I will upgrade someday but for now it is good.

 

[trealtree]

Hey there Atchman nice pics and Disco. I have the Marauder in .22 cal with a custom James Gaska Barrel and shroud extension. That thing will stack some pellets. I love getting out with it hunting squirrels.


Catman, As for the scope Multi pump pneumatics like the one you have dont have any effect on scopes, Spring piston air rifles as atchman pointed out will pretty much destroy most scopes that are not made for spring piston air rifles.

 

[catman529]

Is that spring piston type of rifle powered by air pressure or an actual spring like an airsoft gun? Mine is air powered but obviously has a spring to release the air. Got me a bit confused. What about the break barrel air rifles that shoot 1200 fps?

 

[trealtree]

Is that spring piston type of rifle powered by air pressure or an actual spring like an airsoft gun? Mine is air powered but obviously has a spring to release the air. Got me a bit confused. What about the break barrel air rifles that shoot 1200 fps?

Spring Piston aka Springer's use a piston system.

It is similar to 1 stroke of a gas engine, the piston has a head and the spring is behind this head that is inside an enclosed tube, when you chocolate chip cookie the gun it compresses the spring and piston head, when the trigger is pulled it surges forward toward the muzzle end compressing the air between your pellet and the piston pushing your pellet out and causing reverse recoil.

Instead of the recoil going backward into your shoulder like a regular powder burning gun, the recoil pushes the gun forward and then backward and piston stops just behind where the pellet was seated. This is what really messes the scopes up.

As for a multi-pump pneumatic like you have. When you pump the gun, each pump places a small amount of air in a temporary air holding chamber, similar to a compressed air tank only smaller.

When you pull the trigger there is an internal hammer that hits and depresses a pin that is inside this chamber and causes the immediate release of all the air inside this chamber into a port that is located between the end of your bolt and your pellet or BB. I hope this helps explain it. There are also many other types of air systems. Co2, Pre-Charged Pneumatic,Gas Spring,Single stroke Pneumatic,

 

[catman529]

Makes perfect sense to me.