Beeman. QB Chief; 100 yards; hunting squirrel; crossman hp

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Gabpan

Gabpan

Member
Mar 29, 2020
123
1
MI, United States
Hello all! 

I just purchased a Beeman QB Chief in .22 cal. Used up an amazon credit and got it for 170.00. no scope.

I have a question what is the effective and ethical kill range on a Beeman Chief .22 caliber firing Crossman Hollow Point 14.3 grain?

Specs say 850 fps at the muzzle for the beeman. Ballistic coefficient for the Crossman is .019. Using a calculator with these figures I am at about 5 fpe at 100 yards. That is below the recommendation of 9 fpe for hunting squirrel.

Thoughts on this or the rifle? I am a little concerned that it only has a 1 year warranty.




 
Many, if not most, manufacturers use very light weight lead, often even resorting to alloy pellets, in their velocity tests to suck in the unknowing with the high numbers. So if your calculations are correct the actually FPE would likely be significantly lower.

It's a Chinese copy of a Crosman gun. I'm not much for that kind of thing and I do my best to buy the real thing and not any of their copies.
 
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Unless you can shoot 3/4 to 1 inch groups consistently at 100 yards and have the recommended FPE it would be unethical to shoot critters at that range with it.
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I agree with that completely, except to say a 1” group at 100 yards alone isn’t enough. It has to land on a ½” radius at that distance to ensure a clean kill. In other words, the requirement is small groups that are also centered on the point of aim (POA). Precision + accuracy.

Groups that small at 100 yards with pellets is no small feat in the best of conditions, and nigh on impossible with any wind whatsoever. Layer onto that a requirement that the group is centered neatly on a precise point? Powerball jackpot odds.

I think Vetmx is on point with 50 yards being a much more reasonable goal.
 
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That’s one of the trends with airguns that kinda disturbs me. The kill zone on most airgun animals is small. Let’s say the size of a quarter to a half dollar. If you want to be long bombing animals at 80+ yards ethically, and the key word is ethically, your gun has to produce tiny groups at those distances all the time. Not just on a good day. How do you ethically dope for wind when your gun shoots over an inch groups at 100? You can’t, you’re just hoping to get lucky at an animals expense. I guess we classify animals as pests so we can justify all the wounding that happens when guys are shooting outside their limitations. It happens with all weapons and now it’s here with airguns. We all got bored, now we are going long.
 
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Unless you can shoot 3/4 to 1 inch groups consistently at 100 yards and have the recommended FPE it would be unethical to shoot critters at that range with it.
Click to expand...

I agree with that completely, except to say a 1” group at 100 yards alone isn’t enough. It has to land on a ½” radius at that distance to ensure a clean kill. In other words, the requirement is small groups that are also centered on the point of aim (POA). Precision + accuracy.

Groups that small at 100 yards with pellets is no small feat in the best of conditions, and nigh on impossible with any wind whatsoever. Layer onto that a requirement that the group is centered neatly on a precise point? Powerball jackpot odds.

I think Vetmx is on point with 50 yards being a much more reasonable goal.
Click to expand...


I completely agree with you. I shoot targets and inanimate objects all the time. With a little wind my poi changes radically, sometimes by 12 to 18 inches at 200 yards, although the group size may remain near the same. That is until the wind changes again which it always does.
 
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Despite the stellar shooting I see people claim here and other places, and I don't know any of them, hitting a squirrel at 100 yards with a pellet rifle is tall expectations. 14.3 grains is the low end of lead pellet weight as well.

That rifle is good to 50 yards for a squirrel, not the energy, the Indian. I knock down squirrel with a Benjamin shooting chronographed 860 FPS, at 30 yards(ish) with regularity. Raccoons and possums at about the same distance. That is a distance I can shoot dime size groups with reliable regularity.

Don't worry about what others claim they can do, worry about what you can do.

Happy obsessing and good luck.




 
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Shot placement is most important. Shoot targets at different tanges to determine your accuracy. I would never shoot a squirrel more than 50 yards. Most of my shots are taken under 30 yards. I aim for a head shot.
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That's ok richleep....in Southern Calif ground squirrels are considered vermin by the state and are taken year around.....if you go on a horse ranch and take out squirrels like I did, the rancher just wants them cleared out because the damage they do around corrals is expensive...so we leave the ethical kills to those who hunt tree squirrels by season in Northern Cali.
 
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It's a cheap PCP that's going to shoot like a cheap PCP. As others have said, your maximum ethical distance is going to be determined by accuracy, not power, but it's probably going to be 30-40 yards. You're hoping to get a tighter group at 100 yards with the PCP vs. your rimfire? With premium ammo, even a cheap rimfire is going to outshoot this air rifle. I would use the money to buy better ammo for the rimfire. 


 
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Yeah I am not really seeing the benefits. I have a break barrel .22 that does about 800 fps at the muzzle. Hatsan Edge .22.

That's why I never really understood small bore pcp. If the same projectile moves at the same fps then the only difference is the propulsion method right? The break barrel is very accurate to about 50 yards. 

I am coming to the conclusion that although it would be cool to finally have a pcp this may not be a wise purchase. 170 for the rifle another 60 for a cheap hand pump. I would probably rather get a 350 legend to be deer hunting legal. Plus these things only have a 1 year warranty. That's bad, real bad considering that some rifles are warranted for life.



I tell you if they sold that .50 caliber big Texan for 170 I would buy it. Lol.
 
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My 50 yard squirrel rifles are a 1975 Sheridan and a 1991 Sheridan shooting 20 cal cylindricals..(14 GR).



IMG_2436.1610170941.JPG

 
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Something some overlook is ground squirrels often stand up...so all of a sudden you have an 8" tall target to shoot at 100 yards...not one inch.
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You have a 8” tall target to hit, not necessarily kill. Are we airgunners that lame that we consider hitting something at extended distance a successful shot? Don’t think I’m an animal rights activist, I’m not. I perfectly understand the ground squirrel extermination thing. The problem is gullible people binge watching YouTube videos think if they buy a pcp, they can stack critters at distances that they should be using a center fire.
 
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