Field Euth ?

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MCACpKY

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Dec 18, 2018
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Ky
First post here, requesting the advice/opinion of the eperienced airgun owners here.

My Animal Control department is considering purchasing air rifles to replace .22 LR and 12ga shotguns for field euthanasia. I have looked around and found that the Benjamin Bullpup .357 seems to fit our needs, but would still like the benefit of this forum's knowledge and experience. We need a weapon that is effective at close to mid range (rarely, if ever beyond 30m). We have a mix of Urban and Rural areas within our jurisdiction, so safety (overpenetration) and the volume of the report are our biggest concerns. Most of our shots are taken at the skull of the animal. We need something that can be used on everything from injured cattle and horses, all the way down to deer and coyote. 

My main areas of concern are safety (ballistics) and cost (i will need to get three of whatever platform we end up going with). If any of you can recommend a particular weapon or company, please do. 
 
Will you be using any of these guns for taking free-ranging animals, or will they all be captured or otherwise under control first? If you won't be taking free ranging animals, you can get away with a smaller caliber. If you want the freedom to shoot one with a margin of error for a less than perfect brain or lung shot, you'll want to go with a larger caliber like you are considering. 

Unfortunately, any airgun that's appropriate for dispatching larger animals are going to have the potential for over penetration. .357 airguns are especially strong beasts. Pellets will be safer in most circumstances than bullets in terms of penetration and retained energy at distance, so you'll want an airgun that can perform well with pellets.

I'd recommend considering the Airforce guns in their SS models, either in .25 or .308. The .308 Texan SS can shoot .300 pellets well, so you could load it up with some Predator Polymags, a kind of high-expandable pellet, and rarely get total passthru. But if the need is there, you could have a lot more power and shoot bullets. The design of the guns is very utilitarian and are of a slim enough design they could be kept under the back seat of a vehicle with ease. You'd want to look only at the SS models because they come suppressed from the factory. You don't want to fool with the hastle of adding aftermarket suppressors. 

I have no experience with the Bulldog. I am a fan of Benjamin/Crosman airguns, but the Bulldog seemed to bulky for my tastes so I stayed away from them. 

If you are new to PCP airguns, have you checked into what air sources would be available to you? You'll need a way to reliably fill the guns. I have friends who are LEOs who have access to firehouse fill tanks and compressors. 
 
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Lots of good input here. I can't vouch personally for the bulldog but I think that is a fine choice being considered. Price point, parts availability, and enough presence on the Internet with Google searches that will answer most common concerns or questions of owners.



I'd stick with pellets as Bullfrog mentioned if over penetration is of concern, and they shoot very well at 800-850 fps which will greatly reduce the report compared to the required FPS to shoot a slug, or in the current event a powder burner. 



Caliber wise, .357 is a great choice, generally ranging from 150-250 fpe, there would be no problem dispatching the animals previously mentioned. I would however consider an after market LDC on any air rifle if you want maximum sound reduction, as I am unaware of any .357" that comes with one comparable to say a DonnyFL emperor. Pyramid air rates the Bulldog at a '4' which is pretty high on their rating scale but tolerable. An emperor from Donnyfl would likely bring it down to a solid '3' on their scale.



Another option to consider is an Evanix Rex .45 cal, would generate roughly 120-130 FPE, is smaller by 18", but only a single shot. So follow up shots would require a reload, and with its smaller cylinder size 3-4 shots would probably be max where as the Bulldog may achieve 8 to 10 at a higher FPE per fill and has 5 rd magazine. Can still buy 3 Rex's at the cost of 2 Bulldogs, and spend the savings on LDC's to really quiet them down, provided the slightly reduced power and shot count / single load isn't of concern.



If length is of no concern the Air Force Texan like Bullfrog mentioned is a great option, but the most expensive of all mentioned so far. HTH



-Matt
 
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Back to the Benjamin Bulldog. As pertains penetration, use slugs when penetration is needed and pellets when safety concerns override penetration concerns. Being a repeater, after learning the idiosyncrasies of the action and magazine you could probably mix pellets and slugs in one mag to use as needed; or have one mag with slugs and one with pellets to use as needed. 
 
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