[walkman]

I want to upgrade to a pellet gun that has enough power to deal with squirrels in my wooded yard. But because I have neighbors who are unlikely to be sympathetic I have a couple of concerns.

1) Quiet: Which would be quieter, a .177 at 1000fps or a .22 at 750 fps.

2) What happens to a pellet that misses a target and projects into the open? It seems like a .177 pellet wouldn't have enough weight to hurt anyone if it fell out of the sky at the end of it's trajectory (If I was shooting a squirrel that was in a tree). Is that true? For a .22 pellet too?

 

[darkgael]

There is very little difference in the noise made by either caliber. The most common air rifles are "spring piston" guns, referring to the powerplant of the rifle. THAT is what makes most of the noise, not the pellet as it exits the barrel.
As far as a pellet that has missed, they can still be dangerous since you don't know where it will come down or who it may hit or where it may hit them.
Basic firearms safety tells us NOT to shoot unless we are certain of the backstop. If you don't know where the pellet is going to stop, you should not be shooting.
Pete

 

[walkman]

Thanks darkgael. 2 more questions:

1) Are spring pellet guns quieter than CO2 guns?

2) Backstop - does that mean people don't try to shoot squirrels out of trees?

 

[darkgael]

Walkman:
Both good questions. Don't know that I have a good answer to either of them.
I have both spring piston and CO2 guns. But...I'm always shooting them so I don't have a good sense of which would be louder to your (or my) neighbor. The CO2 guns always seem quieter to me as a shooter. A good place to look would be Pyramydair.com. Pick one or two of each kind of rifle to look at. For each gun they will provide a note as to loudness. I'm going to check as soon as I finish this.
The squirrel in the tree question. Yeah, people do. I do. And you are right if you are thinking that there is no real backstop there ever. All I can say is that I don't do it in a neighborhood where a home or people may be in the line of fire. Even today, when I was out grouse hunting...I missed a shot. Well , that one ounce of shot went somewhere. I was, however, on state hunting land and there aren't many people or roads and plenty of trees to absorb the pellets. It's sure a personal judgment, especially in a neighborhood.
Pete

 

[jake8958]

you dont need 1000 fps to kill a squirrel with a good head shot you could kill one with a gun a 600 fps like the 760 pumpmaster