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Pellet Hunting Overview |
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When I think back to my youth and all the fun I had toting around my bb gun out in the woods in search of sparrows, grackles and the occasional squirrel I can’t help but conjure up great memories that bring a smile to my face. Nothing brings that instant amount of freedom out in a kid it seems that the ability to roam the woods with your very own weapon in hand in search of prey that always seems to be two steps ahead. To that end, pellet gun hunting is surely a fun activity for kids that will allow them time out of the house, get them expending energy that they desperately need to be getting out of their systems, and creates an early bond with the environment that often lasts a lifetime.
There are some ways that the pellet gun hunting world is different these days, though. First, the idea of just letting kids roam completely by themselves for hours on end is something that most parents can grasp. Given the current feeling on this, it is imperative that a parent find a way to have an adult with them as much as possible. This likely isn’t a bad idea as a child and a bb gun it seems will often enough lead to poor decisions. That isn’t to say that all of them will display bad judgment, just that we all know the person that shot of the neighbors light bulb / bird feeder / window while out trying to waylay a bird or similar. Besides what way to give your child a slice of your history and fun times out in the woods than being there with them as they go about their hunting time. Maybe they will even listen long enough to catch a pointer or two that would have taken them years to master!
Now, what is the quarry? With a pellet gun we are somewhat limited on what we can pursue. Shooting a deer would be a horribly sadistic idea, not to mention those that decide to turn them on neighbors pets such as dogs and cats. We should be teaching at all costs to avoid such disasters. Instead, let’s find animals that are sized correctly to be targeted with our bb / pellet gun. Among these would be the squirrel, rabbit, birds (such as sparrows, grackles, black birds, and mourning doves), mice, rats and similar sized creatures. The raccoon is likely the largest animal I would even consider trying to waylay with a pellet and I would suggest you start much smaller than that.
Keep in mind that all pellet guns are not created alike. The key measure to keep in mind is the muzzle velocity measured in feet per second. If in doubt, the higher the better. If you are serious about using this gun for pellet gun hunting then you should be buying a gun with at least 700 feet per second of muzzle velocity. Truth be told you should be targeting a gun with 1,000 feet per second or more if you are taking shots at more than 15 yards of distance. In addition, the bore diameter of today’s pellet guns differ quite greatly. The baseline is the 0.177 pellet, but they are also in 0.20 and 0.22 sizes. Generally speaking, the larger the better as the pellet with more diameter causes more damage and cleaner kills. This isn’t to say that a 0.177 pellet does work, just that you run the risk of it going through the animal and leaving it maimed, which no one wants to see happen.
As can be seen, the world of pellet gun hunting is a great area to begin your fun in the great outdoors. A pellet gun is a ticket to everything that a life afield has to offer. I suggest it as an excellent way to get kids involved in nature and away from all the pursuits that will lead them to a sedentary lifestyle.
When I think back to my youth and all the fun I had toting around my bb gun out in the woods in search of sparrows, grackles and the occasional squirrel I can’t help but conjure up great memories that bring a smile to my face. Nothing brings that instant amount of freedom out in a kid it seems that the ability to roam the woods with your very own weapon in hand in search of prey that always seems to be two steps ahead. To that end, pellet gun hunting is surely a fun activity for kids that will allow them time out of the house, get them expending energy that they desperately need to be getting out of their systems, and creates an early bond with the environment that often lasts a lifetime.
There are some ways that the pellet gun hunting world is different these days, though. First, the idea of just letting kids roam completely by themselves for hours on end is something that most parents can grasp. Given the current feeling on this, it is imperative that a parent find a way to have an adult with them as much as possible. This likely isn’t a bad idea as a child and a bb gun it seems will often enough lead to poor decisions. That isn’t to say that all of them will display bad judgment, just that we all know the person that shot of the neighbors light bulb / bird feeder / window while out trying to waylay a bird or similar. Besides what way to give your child a slice of your history and fun times out in the woods than being there with them as they go about their hunting time. Maybe they will even listen long enough to catch a pointer or two that would have taken them years to master!
Now, what is the quarry? With a pellet gun we are somewhat limited on what we can pursue. Shooting a deer would be a horribly sadistic idea, not to mention those that decide to turn them on neighbors pets such as dogs and cats. We should be teaching at all costs to avoid such disasters. Instead, let’s find animals that are sized correctly to be targeted with our bb / pellet gun. Among these would be the squirrel, rabbit, birds (such as sparrows, grackles, black birds, and mourning doves), mice, rats and similar sized creatures. The raccoon is likely the largest animal I would even consider trying to waylay with a pellet and I would suggest you start much smaller than that.
Keep in mind that all pellet guns are not created alike. The key measure to keep in mind is the muzzle velocity measured in feet per second. If in doubt, the higher the better. If you are serious about using this gun for pellet gun hunting then you should be buying a gun with at least 700 feet per second of muzzle velocity. Truth be told you should be targeting a gun with 1,000 feet per second or more if you are taking shots at more than 15 yards of distance. In addition, the bore diameter of today’s pellet guns differ quite greatly. The baseline is the 0.177 pellet, but they are also in 0.20 and 0.22 sizes. Generally speaking, the larger the better as the pellet with more diameter causes more damage and cleaner kills. This isn’t to say that a 0.177 pellet does work, just that you run the risk of it going through the animal and leaving it maimed, which no one wants to see happen.
As can be seen, the world of pellet gun hunting is a great area to begin your fun in the great outdoors. A pellet gun is a ticket to everything that a life afield has to offer. I suggest it as an excellent way to get kids involved in nature and away from all the pursuits that will lead them to a sedentary lifestyle.
March 15th, 2010 at 10:33 am
Superb post what is the best paintball gun in your opinion?If you do not me asking.
March 16th, 2011 at 2:14 pm
with todays new advanced ballistics in air gun rounds it’s my opion ,that the old adeges that 22cal for fur and 177 for feather is no longer tru these rounds are not the rounds that your farther used in his red rider just like it took a longer time for the US ARMY TO CHANGE from the old m-14 7.62 to the m-16 223 cal the new gun of today with the higher volositiy gun of to day have change the game with new metals and plastics the sizea of game that can be taken has change after owneing some of today most modern like the RWS-48 AND THE GAMO SOCOM EXTREM ANY SHOT IN THE KILL ZONE WILL DO THE JOB