Can anyone give me advice on an air rifle for small chickens on the island of Kauai?

Range is about 25 yards.

Is .177 OK or do I need a larger caliber?

RWS M34, Beeman R9, or Tech Force 21?

Where to buy?

Thanks for advice.

Andy

.177 will do fine. The R9 is good. But I always forget to take the safety off when I use one.

I'd also suggest looking at the Weirauch HW 57 and the rest of the HW under levers.
http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews1631.html

What pellets would you all recommend?

Weight and point style?

thanks!

Andy

I'll vote for the R9 also. I'd recommend any quality domed pellet in the 10-11 gr weight range. I prefer the Crosman Premier 10.3 gr pellets. They are not as fast as the lighter ones but the hit harder, are the most accurate pellet past 12 yards and they kill well. Cabella's has some domed HPs in .117 caliber also. I've not used them but I have used their .22 cal domed HP pellets with excellent results. They may be worth a try. Also any of the domed Field Target pellets are a good choice. Try several and then use what works best in your rifle.

Don't bother with the assortment pack to test all kinds. Go straight to the domed middle weight pellets. You find happiness there. Head shots are the order for chickens. Their wings will be like a crows when folded; body armor! Head shots with and R9 using quality domed pellets will be a snap with the R9.

I'd also suggest a Simmons 4X scope but headshots at 25 yards should be doable with quality domed pellets and a fair amount of practice.

Larry Gibson

my b30 would do it,WELL and just about any scope.. jealous on that hunt.. only thing beter would be guinea fowl!

Thankyou for the advice.

I will let you know how it goes!

Ive got lots of chickens!

Andy

What part of Kauai if I might ask Andy?

We have a house on the SW side, in Hanapepe. About 3/4 acre w lots of gardening to do. Chickens are ruining my newly seeded yard.

I ordered a RWS 34 w synthetic stock. Supposed to arrive in 4 days from Pyramid Air.

What kind of break in proceedure do you folks use, and is there anything I can do to accurize the rifle such as lock tite bedding screws, adjusting trigger, cleaning and lubricating parts, or scrubbing bore?

I have no air rifle experience.

Andy

I have shot 5 chickens now w the RWS 34 and Beeman Kodiak 10.6 grain pellets.

All body shots.

Two at 10 yards, 2 at 15 and one at 30 yards.

Only the two at 10 yards or less acted hard hit. Maybe just shot placement.

4 out of 5 have not come back, and I heard neighborhood cats finish off one, and found another at bottom of 130 foot tall canyon I live on.

The one that came back a couple days later was a medium sized rooster and second shot finished him.

I cant really say shooting them is humane.

But they are just to "squirrly" for a head shot.

My advice on larger birds is to get absolutely as close as you can, under ten yards seems to help. And front or rear on rather than from side (through wing).

Andy

Relativly big birds like that and a .177, you have to get head shots to get solid kills.

As a second possible shot is the one from behind or slight quarting away?

Why you say because the breat and the back bone are about the same thickness, but the back has no chest muscle on it.

I used to shoot crows, this is in Sweden with a .22, most of the time I took a shot, the crow would fly up and just about manage to get away before they would expire in mid air.

Have you checked for penetration?

At times and at short ranges I prefered WC/flat nose bullet when using a .177, the bullets will not penetrate all the way through the bird and the will die within eye sight.

The farmers where I cleared out pidgeons, did not like me poking holes in the barn roofs ergo I used a low powered air rifle and .117/.22 WC-bullets.

Take care and keep on culling them chickens.

/Chris

8 Birds now. No change in reaction or statistics.

Andy

My preferred hunting pellet is the Beeman Crow Magnum. It seems to thump a bit more than the others which often whistle right through.

MY RWS HAS WORN AN APRETURE SIGHT AND GLOBE FRONT AND NOW IT HAS A SCOPE on it with a barrel compensating mount i had to get because of barrel droop.... i love how hard these air rifles hit! they aremuch like a .22 rifle in that have to find a pellet they like... and you have to kind of hold them loosely when shooting... all springers are more inherently accurate when you let them just a bit when shot....

DayState MK-3

I haven't shot Chickens but they shouldn't be tougher than Crows and I've killed untold numbers of them with a .177. Sometimes I'll try a head shot with a Pre charged gun if they are not moving but they will sometimes duck that. If they don't, they are dead like you switched 'em off.
With a springer I try for sort of a high chest shot from the side or the low back of the neck from behind, same from the front. Some do need a second shot so I'll reload while looking for them but mostly they don't go far.
If your gun will go through both sides of a bean tin at the range you want to hunt, it's got enough power, just get the pellet in a vital spot.