Weapons of choice?

[Trevorusn]

Well, .17 WSM and .22 Magnum are par excellence in varminter rounds. In .22 LR my daughter has a pink Savage Rascal with the sweet Accu-Trigger and nice simple peep sight that can tackle most varmints. I've never been the biggest .22LR fan, weak ballistics and poor energy retention. However, .17 WSM is a whole 'nother beast. With a 20gr loading hitting 3000 fps and 400 ft.-lbs of energy, it will easily dispatch coyote sized pests at 100 yards with easily managed recoil. If you are looking for a small caliber sidearm, Ruger has several revolvers chambered in .22 Magnum, which while not as fast as .17WSM packs about the same muzzle energy. Lol, you got me goin now...

 

[Howard E]

All of that is true, but keep in mind......as long as we are ONLY talking about turning out the lights on a trapped animal at nearly point blank range, enough is enough and even a dinky little .22 short or even CCI cap......is enough. In the right hands....even an air rifle is enough.

 

[Trevorusn]

Sounds like those experienced at snuffing varmints are mostly on the same page.....which is another way of saying we may be preaching to the choir. Those wanting to dispatch varmints are, for the most part, already prepared and experienced at doing so. The Little Badger was new.

But for those lacking experience and a weapon to do the same, you should now have some ideas on what others use. Aside from buying new, you can also look at gun shops and pawn shops and other places for similar guns from Remington, Winchester, Savage, Stevens, Ruger, Rossi and who knows how many other past and present .22 rifles.

The single shot bolt action rifles get mentioned a lot as they allow you to shoot the smaller, quieter, shorts. Repeaters often only handle long rifle shells, which are faster, louder and more powerful. Few may be aware of this, but when farmers take a 1,500 pound steer to a butcher house, the guy out back who puts him down prior to slaughter, likely as not, will put him down with just a dinky little .22 long rifle shot to the poll. Drops like a rock. So these are not toys.

So an extension of this, if you do get yourself a weapon, be aware of how dangerous this thing in your hands can be. This has serious implications.

So far, we have been talking about shooting a trapped animal at close range, which likely as not, means shooting straight down at a steep angle, and parking the bullet in the animals brain pan. Some will try to use the same gun to shoot free roaming animals at a distance. That now means a horizontal shot. Had this discussion a few days ago with son and grandson of a neighbor who was going to use a brand new .22 to go squirrel hunting. In the local woods. While it may seem like this is a rural area.....and farm in question was 40 acres......distance a .22 long rifle will carry is much farther than that.

With respect to Longfellow....."I shot an arrow into the air, it fell to the earth, I knew not where". The same could be said for a .22 rifle shot into the top of a tree that misses it's target and flies off somewhere into the distance. There is no place around me within 10 miles that I could shoot a gun like that into the air without risking having it fall to the ground and hit somebody, somebody's livestock or their house or other property. No place.

About 40 years ago, a guy we knew took a shot at a rabbit that was in his garden. Shooter was at the bottom of a slope, shooting up a gentle hill.....he missed high.....bullet flew past rabbit, over an Interstate highway......and came to rest in the brain pan of a lady out in her yard and killed her dead where she was standing. True story. He was convicted of manslaughter and went to prison for it. Total accident, but didn't matter. He was determined to be reckless and negligent and they held him responsible for her death.

The point being, that while a .22 rifle works for some jobs, it is not appropriate for others. One other being using it on fast moving varmints in the yard or at a distance in any kind of populated area where there is a risk of an errant bullet leaving your control into "I know not where". A shotgun is often times the better choice for that.

So some of have equipped ourselves with both....shotgun and rifle. And we use them safely.......or don't use them at all.

Ahh, age old problem that so many never realize...one the projectile leaves the muzzle you cannot take it back so you better know where it's going...

 

[Trevorusn]

Savage has some of the best and most basic rimfire bolt actions today, same as Ruger. But I'd use a Ruger Bearcat revolver for trap dispatch, easier carry than a rifle for such situations and it can be chambered in several rimfire options.

 

[David61]

Have you killed before? Behind the top of ear down towards the base of the neck and skull on the opposite side. .22 pistol or rifle. An air rifle not a bb or pellet gun. That would be 900 fps+ in .20 caliber and up and 1100fps in 177.
I kill rabbits with a .177 pellet pistol @ 35 yards and coons with a head shot my .20 Sheridan air rifle. Hunting and putting animals down takes some skill and is not for everyone.
Oh and don't wear your wifes cloths or use a baseball bat in the UK.
https://www.foxnews.com/world/lawyer-fox-baseball-bat-kimono-rspca

 

[centrarchid]

In addition to a .22 bolt action, I also use a piece of heavy oak hand rail that is stored near location most predators are caught in foot hold traps. The hand rail is not a well balanced as a baseball bat, but is can still deliver enough force to dispatch in one blow owing to its mass and length. The rifle is still preferred, while the big stick is often more accessible and more resistant to storage outdoors. Accessibility more important when I need to beat dogs to trapped animal.

 

[Trevorusn]

This thread seemed to jump around a bit, goin from trapped animals to shooting at angles at distance to safety and woodswalking, is the OP looking for a trapline firearm or a varminter or is this becoming a more generalized post?

 

[Molpet]

Have you killed before? Behind the top of ear down towards the base of the neck and skull on the opposite side. .22 pistol or rifle. An air rifle not a bb or pellet gun. That would be 900 fps+ in .20 caliber and up and 1100fps in 177.
I kill rabbits with a .177 pellet pistol @ 35 yards and coons with a head shot my .20 Sheridan air rifle. Hunting and putting animals down takes some skill and is not for everyone.
Oh and don't wear your wifes cloths or use a baseball bat in the UK.
https://www.foxnews.com/world/lawyer-fox-baseball-bat-kimono-rspca

I had a Sheridan in the 1970's. Great pump air rifle. Many a squirrel and rabbits for the pot. A few coons

 

[David61]

Sheridan blue streak.
It was made in 1968. I picked it up at a gun show a few years back. It looks and shoots new. I had a Benjamin back in the 70s.

 

[Howard E]

This thread seemed to jump around a bit, goin from trapped animals to shooting at angles at distance to safety and woodswalking, is the OP looking for a trapline firearm or a varminter or is this becoming a more generalized post?

Sorry......intended target audience for this thread was folks with limited to no experience with guns. Know a guy who recently bought a really nice used 870 Remington pump in 12 gauge. I had to show him how to load it. That level of skill. Then AFTER I had it loaded, I cut down on a one gallon water jug with a load of #4 buckshot at about 20 feet. Focused blast at that range blew it into 4 pieces. Made sure he knew if that was somebody's head, it would have done the same thing. If folks are going to have em and try to use em, they need to have some respect for what it is they are holding. These are not toys.

Intent is to provide background information so would be varmint trappers will have some idea on what kind of guns they should be looking at to dispatch trapped predators. And a feel for what is involved if they decide to go that route.

BUT.......once such a gun is acquired...even if the original intent was only to dispatch a trapped varmint, knowing folks as we do, it may not be limited to such restricted use. The part about shooting fast moving varmints in the yard on in the distance is a likely scenario an inexperienced somebody might try....perhaps out of ignorance of the danger involved..... and the point to all that was to point out the risks and responsibilities a person assumes once any type of firearm is placed in their hands.