Low power pester.

When going for a significant detune, simply backing off the hammer spring preload will produce a high extreme spread. What happens is you're gradually moving toward a state of valve lock where the hammer is barely able to knock open the valve.

However for short distances, say inside of 20-30 yards, a large spread may be of no consequence. There is also an upside...very short valve dwell makes it very quiet and very efficient. For inside a barn, that may be an excellent choice.

For example, one time I dialed a 30fpe .22 down to 13fpe for a little gray squirrel cull in the suburbs. All the shots were to be inside of the owner's fenced back yard with a maximum distance of 30 yards. That morning the rifle went 6 for 6 and it was so quiet that the neighbors didn't notice...and neither did the squirrels.

If you're interested in maintaining a tight ES, look at either restricting the transfer port or doing as you said, reduce the regulator's setpoint (and back off the hammer spring accordingly). 

Yes. You can also modify the tp wheel...fill the small low setting hole and drill out but much smaller. I would do what you said first though, an lower reg pressure (clock wise turn on reg I think, ideally depressurize gun below 2000 to perform this, or degas entirely but 1500-2000 should be fine.)



The ideal working range of the regulator on a .22 is 2000-2700~ IIRC, and for the .177 its 1900-2600. Those are figures I received from a rep at nova vista. So I would turn it down as close to 2000 as you can for really low power. (hint, they gave me a response for .25 cal too and they don't have any .25 cal models available....yet *wink*)

I bought an HW 30 for the same purpose. Easy to cut a coil off the spring if need be.

My Brocock sniper on The lowest setting might be OK 

Problem is you have to wack a pigeon pretty hard to kill it.

ATN X Sight 4 pro Plan to try this evening 

Even a 12 fpe gun will puncture the tin. My son's old Red Rider BB gun can do that also.
The key to "good steward" shooting in barns is to always be aware of your back drop. If your gun can't penetrate the tin then it will have a really hard time killing anything bigger then a sparrow.

.22 or .177 set to 12 fpe for that type of shooting is perfect! But you need to do your part and be mindful of the shots you're taking.

Wadcutters are ideal for this setting. Close range, less apt to penetrate the tin, and they have great knock down power.

I don’t use open sights. I have a ATN x sight 4 pro and yes I plan to use it on the HW30. It’s detuned and I’m not afraid of the recoil. 

Agree shot placement and watching the back stop 

In terms of the required energy to effectively dispatch pigeons, a few sources give a range of 5-8fpe (body/vitals). I don’t have experience with pigeons but I know that same range is effective on gray squirrels with proper placement so I think it’s reasonable, particularly in close quarters.

I have a crosman 2240 with a butstock it is co2 powered but has enough kill power without over penetration. Using flatter pellets helps keep from poking holes like a pointed will. With a moderator it is super quiet .

Try dry firing it if you havent, pressure in the plenum may be making it difficult to move.

I have the same issue at the dairy I pest at. The rats can be within 5 yards at times and the starlings at no more than 15-20 yards my Compatto even on low is too powerful for use in the building. To that end I have a .22 Artemis 700sa with folding stock on its way which will become my close range pester.

Dry fire with the air out of the gun? I can try that I though that would be a no go.



Just once to clear the plenum of any air. Even though you drained the tube of air, the plenum can still have a full charge. Which may be making the reg adjuster difficult to turn.

Click to expand...

Wade and I shoot thousands of starlings and pigeons from inside of barns. Wade's .22 Mendoza has a low power spring and shoots a 14.3g pellet at about 600fps (sub 12fpe) and doesn't penetrate the metal roofing or siding. My .22 D-34 shoots them in the 700fps range and usually doesn't penetrate but will if I hit a thin spot. We shoot only wadcutters for multiple reasons: they don't penetrate the metal as well as a pointed or round pellet head does, they seem to hit harder with the flat face and our ranges are very close so most any pellet will have acceptable accuracy. These pellets are effective on pigeons with an upper chest or head/neck shot. We both mounted a short section of picatinny rail on the right side and mount Streamlights on them.