effective range

Head shot will kill them.At that range I'm thinking body shoots will be doing pretty good for a springer.

BSA's are good rifles but like all manufactures they tend to be optimistic on velocities. I think you might get a little less fps and fpe then you think. I think one of the most limiting factors for shooting pigeons will be accuracy and fighting the wind at longer distances. It won't take a lot of fpe to kill a pigeon if you hit it in the head or neck region or into the vitals from the high back area. I would do a lot of practicing to see what you and the rifle are capable accuracy wise and probably not try longer shots unless it is dead calm. I know this is not your exact rifle your thinking about buying but here is a review of a BSA that might be similar to yours. The review might give you an idea of its performance. I will say that over in the UK they pull of some amazing shots with their 12 ft lb rifles. If you could find a gas spring rifle with a little more fps you might be able to stretch your distance out a little further.Bill

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ1LOAy-f_I 

Here is another thought if you ever wanted to get into PCP's

"Gene93"Hello,
I am thinking of buying a BSA Lightning in .22 and I will use it for pigeon hunting. It's muzzle velocity is about 700 fps, and it has 19.5 ft.lb of energy. Nothing to write home about, but I like using spring/gas ram rifles. Do you think I could kill a pigeon at 60-70 yards with it (if I hit it, of course)?

MOD EDIT: MOVED TO HUNTING SECTION

Click to expand...

Absolutely yes. At 70 yards, your pellet should have at least 10fpe of energy. That is way more than necessary to kill a pigeon if the accuracy is there.

R