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Mice & Rats killing pistol suggestion please

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whats the gripe with co2? i have alot of options around here but for mice in the shed, gophers at 15feet, those big yellow lubber florida grashoppers etc i grab the diana chaser ..i just check fire it if it sits more than a week, usually the co2 holds for quite awhile, but i picked up a brick of 40 cartridges at wallyworld over a year ago .. bet i havent used 10 of them yet .. anyway the thing is dead accurate at close range, open sights is all it needs and theyre cheap with a really nice stock ... id get the rifle kit just to get the moderator and the shoulder stock, thats how i have mine setup with the pistol barrel .. its just the right tool for those particular jobs lol .. the co2 is kindof a pain but i dont target shoot or anything with it .. its just ready when i need it ... those lubber grasshoppers are usually everywhere this time of year but danged if i can even find one to have fun with since i got the chaser rockin ..makes quick work of them lol ...
 
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I second the motion not to use poison. Not only cruel, but if the critter dies where you can't get to it (inside a wall, etc.) there can be serious smell, insect, etc. issues. Ask me how I know...yuck...😝

Springers are quieter than pneumatics or CO2. No one has mentioned the head of that class, the Beeman P1 (aka HW 45)...so I will. Not even close to your budget I'm afraid, and yes a learning curve to shoot well. But is IS quite accurate, and has fine sights, a world-class trigger, and plenty of power. it's an all-round excellent, heirloom-quality gun that is fun for a lot of other things.
 
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Gotta love Dave Larsons post here. Really think it great that a guy is prepared to experiment and share like this.
His rat pic looks a lot better than the one i sketched for posts i did with Johnny Piston 2021.
Ill add it so you can have a laugh at my bad sketching…

It also highlights something similar i have found. Ill add some pics to show you.
When running the untuned 53k at 440 fps, i noticed the pellets would pass through 2 large cooking apples placed one behind the other at about 10 paces, which seemed impressive, but did not do so well with a little cloth rat toy my pooch use to play with, the pellet stopping in the fluffy wading inside. This highlights the problem.
Tough hides, even if its cloth needs quite a bit of force to penetrate, and if it does not penetrate, the pellet is not going to get into vitals, it will just heavily bruise, or cause malignant death.
This is where my 500 fps rule offers me a personal bench mark. (It is not a rule for you to play by, you are free to make your own rules guys) At this 500 fps, i noticed i got clean pass through on the toy. …Also clean pass through on household cans taken at 12 paces. (ensuring 10 yards)
Its a realistic proposition.

I dont have an issue with Gas, if you dont mind the loading of bulbs, the power curves, and dependancy on bulbs, its fine…....can be powerful enough, and certainly accurate enough.
Sadly in the UK not so much….Our constant altering climate, requires a more stable propellant…and anything sub 10 degrees playing havoc with power.

Results prove the test as reasonable, with a recent rat shot clean through the neck at about 8 paces.
Credit going to Daves test then.
 
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Look at the state of my rat sketch from posts with Johnny Piston in 2021

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As promised, with the carrot inside, shot clean through and breaking out the back…the gun drifting from 528 to 537 fps …just inside of single fig consistency…
This test proves its worth because i have back engineered the test after already taking several rats, shot clean through from approx 6 to 15 paces (absolute max i intend shooting at.)
The carrot experiment a pretty good test Dave….

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Puppadore said:
Thank yo so much! I had no idea poison spreads! I thought a mouse would eat it, die, and I would toss the body.

I will try using the P17 against mice and plinking. If the hobby becomes fun, i will definitely get a Zoraki!
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Poison, ok, so you recover the body and dump it, Land Fill and then chemicals leach out, back onto water tables, etc. etc.
Rats are just as likely to die in you wall and smell up the place for a few weeks, ask me how I know.
If you don't recover it and something else eats it, well now you have two deaths. One Shot, One Kill, use enough tool for the job.

Good luck.
 
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I decided to brave the heat, 98F at about 8:15 pm here and shot my Zoraki a bit. That thing is incredibely accurate, and one pump literally shreds a soda can at 10 meters. I have progressed to the point where I am standing up and shooting one handed, bullseye style. Getting dark it was hard to see the sights and target but I think I had about 24-25 hits out of 30 shots, and the cans were hanging so not absolutly still. Until very recently I have not shot pistols a lot, but my arm seems to be developing some strength for holding a pistol, and holding it more steadily. My next step needs to hand a paper target up and see how well I can do.
 
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Puppadore,

Mice get into buildings at work. We are provided glue traps, but I think they are inhumane.

With my P17, Bugbuster scope, shooting rest and wadcutter pellets, I've humanely killed mice up to 10 yards. My P17 shoots ragged-holed groups at 10 yards. I would rather leave the mice alone, but find poop on kitchen counters and tables, so they have to go...

Mice are baited into range with nuts, peanut butter and cheese. This setup may not be practical if you don't have the time. I check the corpses and wadcutters completely pass through their heads and chests, causing lots of damage. We don't have any rats, so I don't know if this will work on them.

I would gladly send you a Bugbuster and mount/rings (no charge), but I just joined and can't send PMs, yet. Perhaps in a few days, I'll have 10+ posts and you can let me know if you're interested in the scope and rings.
 
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Lil E said:
Puppadore,

Mice get into buildings at work. We are provided glue traps, but I think they are inhumane.

With my P17, Bugbuster scope, shooting rest and wadcutter pellets, I've humanely killed mice up to 10 yards. My P17 shoots ragged-holed groups at 10 yards. I would rather leave the mice alone, but find poop on kitchen counters and tables, so they have to go...

Mice are baited into range with nuts, peanut butter and cheese. This setup may not be practical if you don't have the time. I check the corpses and wadcutters completely pass through their heads and chests, causing lots of damage. We don't have any rats, so I don't know if this will work on them.

I would gladly send you a Bugbuster and mount/rings (no charge), but I just joined and can't send PMs, yet. Perhaps in a few days, I'll have 10+ posts and you can let me know if you're interested in the scope and rings.
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Hi Lil E, thank you so much for the reply and the offer. However, I will try to deal with the mice with everything I've got, but with more time/effort.

As you've mentioned, the glue traps and also bucket traps with water, poisons, etc.. seemed inhumane to me as well. But i think quick shot is much of a painless & humane way to deal with them. The issue I am currently having is not really how I shoot, but rather not knowing how mice operate. And if you would let me know how you are doing this, with a bit more detail, it would help very much.

Do you just put bait on the ground and wait on one spot during night time? Do you use flash lights and if so.. how do you deal with them scattering away as soon as light is shined?

FYI, also I will be returning my P17 to exchange to Crosman 1377 (i probably would not enjoy pumping at all). Reason is purely cosmetic... with a 1 year old at home, wife seems sensitive on even how the gun looks, and I eventually want her to use it too.
 
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Mice are most active when you aren’t and where you aren’t.

I don't know how anyone has the time or patience to sit around trying to ambush mice with an air gun with the thought that they will eventually eradicate them. And at my house it would have to be total eradication. I’m talking scorched earth no survivors type irradiation. No sir, my wife wouldn’t tolerate me dinking around with an air gun to shoot mice. If she saw a mouse/rat I’d have until sundown to have something going to get rid of it/them. And it had better be efficient and effective if I wanted to sleep in the same bed with her again. And IMHO I don’t think air guns would be either. Mice and rats can breed faster than you’ll be able to shoot them.

You don’t have to put water in the bucket traps. Get one like this and they shouldn’t be able to jump out. If shooting them seems more humane to you than just shoot them like fish in a barrel after you caught them. Two pumps with the 1377 from a foot or two away and it’s done.

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That's "totally dorked up my reply"... Need to use a computer, instead of a phone.

What I wanted to say is:

My apologizes for providing info without knowing your family situation or where you planned to shoot... My goal for replying was to let others know that a P17 (1) is accurate enough and (2) has enough power to dispatch mice...

Like MileHighAirGunner, my wife would NEVER allow me to "dink around" and/or shoot mice in our kitchen. I do that at work, where I'm by myself, in an office building, with shooting rest and P17 strategically located, working behind a computer monitor and watching my bait station at the same time (like duck hunting in a blind or deer hunting in a tree stand). I also noted in my reply that you may not have the time or patience this type of setup.

With a wife and child around, MileHigh's suggestion of using the bucket lid mouse trap would be best. I've watched YouTube videos on that trap and it's simple and ingenious! You can search "bucket lid mouse trap" on the internet and find many brands and vendors. I've made homemade versions, but mine don't match those.


I know most readers will think "what is wrong with these two?!?!?!", but I'm with you on humanely killing animals (even pests).

Also...I owned a 1377 when I was a kid and don't believe they are as accurate as a good P17. Perhaps forum members can provide their opinions. I would definitely mount a scope on a 1377/1322 for shooting mice. 1377s don't have scope grooves and you'll need to add some type of mount. Mr. Harman makes inexpensive scope mounts (https://buck-rail.com/product/crosman-scope-mount/).

We can talk offline, in the future. My offer still stands - let me know if I can help in any way!

Lil E
 
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Hello everyone, OP here.

I tried to invest more time and stayed stationary a bit further with the Crosman 2100 with scope. I stayed outside about two hours listening to audiobook and killed 3 mice total. Before this, I was unsuccessful trying to sneak to close range with Beeman P-17 and make quit shots.

I tried using the Beeman P-17, because I'm cross dominant and prefer to shoot, right-handed / left-eyed. However with a scope, this seemed rather uncomfortable. And if I was going to shoot right-hand / right-eye, might as well use a rifle with scope for better support.

I do not like Crosman 2100 because of the multiple-pumping required, so are there any break-barrel or PCP guns that allows you to control the power?

Thanks.
 
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Puppadore said:
Oh no.. I thought P17 would be powerful enough to kill mice. I might just use the P17 for plinking and use rat poison instead. That's a bummer.
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Lol yeah because that is so much more humane. 😁 No insult intended it just struck me as humorous.

A half a foot pound will kill mice all day long and would probably severely wound a rat. Full of Psalm if you need to hit the target with two times the body weight. I suppose when you get down to the size of mice or up to the size of elephants the rules change some but in general two times the body weight at the muzzle is sufficient energy to kill just about anything.

Don't worry about that two and a half foot pound pistol being enough to kill rats unless you got some 1 lb rats. Probably not.

Have you thought about it co2 powered pistol? The reason I suggested is it sounds to me like you're sensitive to the loading effort.
 
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