# Anyone hunt with a Pellet Rifle?



## SuperflyMD (Sep 26, 2009)

I picked up a .22 caliber air rifle to take care of some raccoons that have been harassing my kids' cats, but it's kind of fun to shoot. It seems like a great way to get my girls out in the rough without too much noise to scare them off.

I was disappointed to find out it wouldn't be legal to take dove or squirrel with it. I can, apparently, shoot rabbits and ground squirrels. Not sure what else.

Anyone else doing this? What are you hunting for? Are there any edible birds you can take with an air rifle?


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## Paul Marx (Nov 13, 2009)

Are you sure you can shot Squirrels ?


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## Mojo281 (Sep 7, 2006)

PM JohnnyQuest... He is a pellet gun hunting machine!


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## Fishtexx (Jun 29, 2004)

My son just bought a Stoeger X-10 with the money he made raking leaves. I don't expect him to hunt with it, just hone his shooting skills and have fun outshooting his dad!


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## copperhead (Mar 15, 2005)

I have a gamo and deal squirrels misery.


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## flatsmaster14 (Mar 25, 2011)

copperhead said:


> I have a gamo and deal squirrels misery.


X2 can't even tell you the number of squirrels that met there maker with my break over.


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## sea ray (Mar 15, 2006)

JOHNNY QUEST is the man to talk to around here about that.


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## Mojo281 (Sep 7, 2006)

I actually have a gamo whisper and I shoot my fair share of tree rats, eurasian dove, and a handful of these....



















Now before anyone jumps my ace... They are considered an invasive species and are not regulated. Just so happens that I have a breeding population living in my area and they occasionally grace my backyard. A flock of 20 can be about as annoying as a screaming 2 year old... Problem solved!!


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## Robert10 (Jan 15, 2008)

Grass looks good......o ya and nice shot.


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## txsnyper (Feb 8, 2007)

Pretty cool...I wanna shoot a parrot now.
Would make a cool mount, and certainly a cool "story" of how you booked a hunt to South America just to hunt this rare species with a pellet gun.:wink:

Seriously I would shoot the hell out of them.
This reminds me of something...I'll start a new thread for it though.


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## Mojo281 (Sep 7, 2006)

txsnyper said:


> Pretty cool...I wanna shoot a parrot now.
> Would make a cool mount, and certainly a cool "story" of how you booked a hunt to South America just to hunt this rare species with a pellet gun.:wink:
> 
> Seriously I would shoot the hell out of them.
> This reminds me of something...I'll start a new thread for it though.


I may have just found an unexplored market... Guided parrot hunts w/ pellet guns!!

I have only shot those two, but hear them every morning and see them almost everyday!


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## Little-bit (Oct 19, 2005)

I heard parrots are good to eat. Are they?


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## Jeff SATX (Jan 18, 2011)

holy ****, i've never seen parrots like that, where are you? i'd be down for a guided parrot hunt, i hate those freaking things when they're in cages and would probably hate them more if they wouldn't shut up in the wild.

i'll bring the beer!


back on topic... get a good break open pellet rifle and have at it. i bought some cheap-o a while back and the accuracy sucks. my old one before it crudded out would shoot match sticks at 10yds.


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## Spex (Aug 20, 2009)

Only Grizz !!!!!!!!!!!!


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## coogerpop (Sep 3, 2009)

I've been a hunter all my life...but unless something is injuring my property or good to eat,I don't kill it... why just kill for the sake of killing..Hope that the parrots tasted good....I know they eat them in Mexico and South America!!!


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## g2outfitter (Jul 21, 2009)

Actually a few weeks past on tbe outdoor channel, they were hunting hogs with the new 357 caliber beaman air rifle. They were dropping these hogs in their tracks. Crazy if you ask me. They said it shoots around 1000 fps. Sounds fun.
Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 
Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk


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## S.O.B.(Salt On the Brain) (Jan 8, 2006)

I killed a 150lb hog with my .22 cal Benjamin Marauder, but it has to be adjusted for high power (which equals fewer shots) and is only borderline for pigs. They do make one in .25 cal which is plenty for hogs. 

Best part is they have a shrouded barrel (silencer) and make no more noise than a Red Ryder.

I intend to get a .25 next for hunting pigs so I can keep my .22 for plinking.

LF


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## xtreme (Jan 9, 2010)

Mojo281 said:


> I actually have a gamo whisper and I shoot my fair share of tree rats, eurasian dove, and a handful of these....
> 
> 
> 
> ...


A two year old? that is an understatement if I ever heard one


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## Fishtexx (Jun 29, 2004)

I didn't think about the "exotics" that could be in the hood. Gonna have to turn the boy loose on those freebies! My rule with him is and has been "you kill it, you eat it". Me thinks an exception can be made and some fun can be had.


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## SwineAssassiN (Jul 24, 2011)

Mojo281 said:


> I actually have a gamo whisper and I shoot my fair share of tree rats, eurasian dove, and a handful of these....
> 
> 
> 
> ...


you wouldnt happen to live in seabrook would you. when i lived there we saw them all the time. never seen one up close. really pretty


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## SpeckReds (Sep 10, 2005)

Those parrots are all around Clear Lake. I think the Green ones are called Quaker parrots. I have seen flocks of more than a 100 at one time together in Nassau Bay. They are super loud. They seem to be breeding like crazy around here. 

Last summer we saw a huge flock on the U of H campus off Scott street close to downtown.


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## jmachou (Aug 31, 2011)

Mojo281 said:


> I actually have a gamo whisper and I shoot my fair share of tree rats, eurasian dove, and a handful of these....
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I have had both of those birds as pets before and let me tell you what.... They are annoying as he!!

The first pic is a nanday conure and the second is a Quaker parrot. My mother still has the nanday conure going on 18 years ( dang bird won't die)

I see the Quakers at my house in Seabrook all the time in flocks of 2 or 3 hundred at a time


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## chad (Sep 7, 2006)

Man, I feel like I'm missing out on all of the urban exotics you guys have to hunt in your backyards! Here in Rockport the only back yard pellet gun targets I have are squirrels.


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## Mojo281 (Sep 7, 2006)

From my understanding, the first one is a black-crested parrokeet and the second is a monk parrokeet... I did not eat them, nor do I plan to. They are both in the freezer for a mount, waiting on the third species I have seen with red on it's head.

Saw about 30 monks again this am! You watch, we will all be shooting them while dove hunting in a few years!!!


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## shauntexex (Dec 12, 2007)

Get em Joe. If anybody can stalk, plan, and tactically find that other species it's you! Translate their flight path, decifer their food source, track their migration and it won't be long ladyyyy!


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## GUNSNREELS (Aug 17, 2010)

Rws is the way to go,if you want a pellet rifle.


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## jmachou (Aug 31, 2011)

Mojo281 said:


> From my understanding, the first one is a black-crested parrokeet and the second is a monk parrokeet... I did not eat them, nor do I plan to. They are both in the freezer for a mount, waiting on the third species I have seen with red on it's head.
> 
> Saw about 30 monks again this am! You watch, we will all be shooting them while dove hunting in a few years!!!


Monk parakeet also known as Quaker parrots and nanday conure (nandayus nenday) or also known as black hooded parakeet


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## Timemachine (Nov 25, 2008)

Ring Neck doves are OK to shoot and taste WAY better than parrots!!


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## TXFlats05 (Sep 21, 2011)

Mojo281 said:


> I actually have a gamo whisper and I shoot my fair share of tree rats, eurasian dove, and a handful of these....
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Nice Shot, but seriously, sharpen your blades on your mower!


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## SuperflyMD (Sep 26, 2009)

My gun is the Benjamin Trail NP. It's a .22 break barrel with a nitrogen gas spring. I'm still trying out different ammo, but I took it to the range the other day to use between groups on my Weatherby so the barrel could cool. I'm sure I'm the first guy to take a pellet gun to the rifle range, but the range owner was intrigued and even took a few shots.

With the Benjamin 14.3 gr pellet I was getting 2.5 inch groups at 25 yards from a rest. I also made some head shots on a silhouette stapled to the 50 yard target, but I can't say it was reliable. I thought it should be better, so I stopped on the way home and bought some Gammo Raptor PBA (pricey!) and Gammo Match Diablo 15.43 gr pellets.

Back at the house I was stuck with a 16 yard target, but was able to get the best groups with the 15.43 pellets. Surprisingly, the PBA ammos had the worst groups of the three. I'm told you can't really tell how well a pellet gun will shoot until you run a thousand pellets through it! At that point you're supposed to try out all the ammo again to pick your projectile.

Back to topic---

I read that some Texas counties have de-listed squirrel as game animals, and so it is legal to shoot them in those counties. I have no idea where those counties are. What I think would be awesome is turkey hunting with a high quality pellet gun. This is legal in some states and looks like a blast.

BTW: Those parrots have got nothin' on my kids when they were 2 and it's only a little better now that they're 4 and 7.


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## Haute Pursuit (Jun 26, 2006)

Mojo281 said:


> PM JohnnyQuest... He is a pellet gun hunting machine!


Yes and he is available now! :cheers:


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## SwineAssassiN (Jul 24, 2011)

ive shot tons of rabbits with my gamo


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## gstanford85 (Jul 12, 2009)

SuperflyMD said:


> I read that some Texas counties have de-listed squirrel as game animals, and so it is legal to shoot them in those counties. I have no idea where those counties are. What I think would be awesome is turkey hunting with a high quality pellet gun. This is legal in some states and looks like a blast.
> 
> QUOTE]
> 
> Brazoria county has no squirrel season. The counties are listed on the TPWD website.


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## hook'n'em (Aug 11, 2007)

*My Gamo Whisper Shot*

From 20 yards..


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## MEGABITE (May 21, 2004)

FYI, I'm starting to see alot of Monk Parakeets around Stafford lately. They're branching out


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## James Howell (May 21, 2004)

You wouldn't happen to live in Freeport, would you? 


Mojo281 said:


> I actually have a gamo whisper and I shoot my fair share of tree rats, eurasian dove, and a handful of these....
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## copperhead (Mar 15, 2005)

There had been a bunch of parrots or parrakeets nesting in Temple by the walmart. Animal control had to go in and take the nest out because it's a communal nest, it would get bigger every year and it was on a transformer, a fire hazard. The nest wieghed like several hundred ponds when they finally got it down. I just moved to the Lake Jackson/Freeport area, I hope to see some of these exotics here as well.


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## That Robbie Guy (Aug 11, 2009)

Ugh - now i'm going to have to research air rifles and justify why I really need one.


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## SuperflyMD (Sep 26, 2009)

That Robbie Guy said:


> Ugh - now i'm going to have to research air rifles and justify why I really need one.


Yeah. I've only had mine a week and I'm already thinking about upgrading--and I got the best one I could find without ordering online. Maybe we can make a deal....


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## smokinguntoo (Mar 28, 2012)

Mojo281 said:


> I may have just found an unexplored market... Guided parrot hunts w/ pellet guns!!
> 
> I have only shot those two, but hear them every morning and see them almost everyday!


Resurrected this thread after yesterdays trip to Stone and Son Marine in Garden Oaks - 34th & Ella. There were hundreds of these birds hanging around the shop and roosting on the wires and nearby trees. Employee said they started showing up after Ike and have multiplied. They're pretty loud and the noise can be irritating. If you have them nearby, you'll hear them. They stayed pretty fluid and moved pretty often.

Any other 2coolers live nearby that can comment on the population of these birds?

SG2


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## justin-credible1982 (Sep 12, 2006)

My sister lives close to stone and sons and sees them all the time in her backyard... 


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## daddyeaux (Nov 18, 2007)

I live a few blocks north of Stone and Sons, but I have not seen any parrots if that is what bird you are talking about.
Have removed 52 limb rats so far this year from my pecan tree.


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## smokinguntoo (Mar 28, 2012)

daddyeaux said:


> I live a few blocks north of Stone and Sons, but I have not seen any parrots if that is what bird you are talking about.
> Have removed 52 limb rats so far this year from my pecan tree.


They were all over the place. Smallish and green. They're heading your direction. Soon.

SG2


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## daddyeaux (Nov 18, 2007)

I will be on the look out. Guess I might want one of them Gammo Whispers.


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## Bottomsup (Jul 12, 2006)

You dont want a Gammo. They are pretty much bottom of the pile as for quality and accuracy. After I started shooting PCP's I sold all my break barrel guns except for a RWS my dad owned. The Benjamin Marauder is the best value out there. I wouldnt get the .22 as they have poor quality barrel but the .25 barrel is made by Green Mountain and they are tack drivers. It will out shoot any .22 rimfire I have and they are very quite with a built in shroud suppressor system.


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## Bottomsup (Jul 12, 2006)

Here is my Benjamin Marauder in .25 that I modified into a bullpup configuration. Short, quiet, accurate, no recoil. 1/2" groups at 50 yards all day.


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## smokinguntoo (Mar 28, 2012)

Bottomsup said:


> Here is my Benjamin Marauder in .25 that I modified into a bullpup configuration. Short, quiet, accurate, no recoil. 1/2" groups at 50 yards all day.


Cool! Pirate sidekicks - BEWARE! Invasive species.

I hunted Chaparral WMA many years ago and kept seeing a green bird. I asked the TP&W person what it was. They are green jays indigenous to the area. These birds are perhaps a little smaller but with the unmistakable parrot head profile.

SG2


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## daddyeaux (Nov 18, 2007)

Dam that is one fine pellet gun there. I cut my teeth on a Benjamin .22 cal pellet gun when I was 9 years old. I know Gammo is bottom of the line but just looking for something to cap the limb rats out of my pecan tree. Not more than a 10 yard shot. Just need something quiet, I'm in the the hood so don't want HPD knocking on my door.


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## dlbpjb (Oct 9, 2009)

Definitely need to upgrade me pellet rifle, feeling a bit off!!! LOL...


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## Row vs Wade (Jul 7, 2009)

My Gamo has a rap sheet that would make JQ proud, more mice, rats, and rabbits than I care to count have been humanely put down with my Silent Cat 1250.


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## Spooley (Feb 24, 2013)

Was using the Gamo Whisperer to dispatch nuisance squirrels at my home for a few years until I realized that the 22 cal subsonic round does a more humane job of killing since I so often struggled to put the pellet through the rat's cranium on every shot. Also noticed that the Gamo would wound the tree rats to the point of being paralyzed in the hind quarters. Having to watch those poor tree rats trying to escape my wrath by struggling to climb a tree with only their front legs operating made me reach for a tissue on a few occasions.


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## Bottomsup (Jul 12, 2006)

You would be happier with a new Benjamin pump up than a break barrel Gammo. Trust me on this as I have been shooting them for almost 40 years. Gammo and Gammo pellets are one step above Chinese guns.



daddyeaux said:


> Dam that is one fine pellet gun there. I cut my teeth on a Benjamin .22 cal pellet gun when I was 9 years old. I know Gammo is bottom of the line but just looking for something to cap the limb rats out of my pecan tree. Not more than a 10 yard shot. Just need something quiet, I'm in the the hood so don't want HPD knocking on my door.


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## Paul Marx (Nov 13, 2009)

I've got a pecan orchard full of tree rats if somebody want to get some practice with their pellet rifle . I shoot a Beeman R1 , but need to put my scope back on it . Crows are also on the shooting list . The crows showed up in the last couple of weeks and are eating my nuts . LOL


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## bigfishtx (Jul 17, 2007)

I still have my Benjamin Pump, .177 cal that I had when I was a kid. Thing is 50 years old and still shoots great.


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## txcowpoke (Sep 18, 2007)

I have a 17 cal. Benjamin marauder and I have shot dove and pigeons at 100 yards without problems. These guns are great. I charge mine with a scuba tank w/3000 psi.


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## Bottomsup (Jul 12, 2006)

I love smacking starlings at 100 yards out of the top of the cottonwood tree at the end of the driveway.


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## texasdave (Aug 15, 2005)

Hunted for years in St. Louis MO with a Sheridan .20 cal. Best year for cottontails was 103. My mother was so glad when the season closed. She fried everyone I brought home. Got stopped frequently by police and game warden who told me I was breaking the law. Carried a copy of Missouri hunting laws in my hunting vest to defend my rights had to start early at 12 y/o.


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## outtotrout09 (Apr 21, 2009)

Mojo281 said:


> I actually have a gamo whisper and I shoot my fair share of tree rats, eurasian dove, and a handful of these....
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Come on Mojo that is weak!! I figured you would have at least 50 parrots strung out and a video to go with it. :cheers:

Wont be long....


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## popo1984 (Apr 2, 2009)

I have those birds all over my neighborhood in South Houston. There was a huge nest in a palm tree on Hwy 3 for a long time and the city got a bucket truck and took the whole nest down. That was few years ago but they still fly all over the place so they surely have a nest nearby.


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## Pocketfisherman (May 30, 2005)

Paul Marx said:


> I've got a pecan orchard full of tree rats if somebody want to get some practice with their pellet rifle . I shoot a Beeman R1 , but need to put my scope back on it . Crows are also on the shooting list . The crows showed up in the last couple of weeks and are eating my nuts . LOL


Crows are on the protected list part of the Migratory Bird Protection Treaty. Grackles too believe it or not. http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/regulationspolicies/mbta/MBTANDX.HTML


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## CoastalOutfitters (Aug 20, 2004)

see #2

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/rehab/protected/


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## Paul Marx (Nov 13, 2009)

We have a permit from the state to take them on out orchard .


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