What is the most quiet air rifle?

[robpete]

Hello, I need some help from you air rifle gurus. I have a bit of a squirrel problem, but live in a densely residential area. I need something very quiet, but yet very effective. I have a budget of around $200 on this. I've only looked at the Gamo Whisper Fusion so far. What else is out there? PS- a scope isn't vey important to me. All of my shots will be within 25 yards and open sights will do just fine. Thanks in advance!

[grizzlyadams]

the gamo guns are really not that quiet...even their whisper line is 100dB. so far through testing the stoeger suppressed lin is the quietest coming in at under 90dB. the stoeger x20s would probably be your best bet. in .22 caliber it will make short work of your problem. that being said, it does not have open sights, but comes with a compact 4x scope. the trigger is funky, but that can be remedied

[dbosman]

Be aware that some in some states or municipal areas, 22 caliber air guns are considered firearms. Thus subject to those no discharge of firearms laws.

[Gunor]

Bust your budget, but my .177 Marauder is extremly quiet. Sorry, no meter.

Think CB longs in a bolt gun with a can on it. I can shoot it in the basement, and my wife does not nag....

[rattletrap1970]

Any PCP air rifle with an integral suppressor will be very quiet. Like all you hear is the spring ping quiet. My Falcon was like that. Very deceiving that a 21gr Beeman Kodiak .22 caliber pellet left the muzzle at 980ft/sec

[robpete]

How do the PCP rifles function? Please excuse my ignorance, but I have had an air rifle since my youth....and that was a cheapie Kmart special Crossman 10 pump.......

[grizzlyadams]

with a pcp, you need an outside air source, like a special hand pump, or high pressure tanks, which will run you a few hundred on top of the price of the gun....way over your stated budget. the cheapest way to get into pcp is a benjamin discovery, but they are loud. you can get the gun and pump for about 400

[10 ga]

Squirrel problem and residential area! Your solution is traps. Easiest and most "non-visible" is to take something like a wood duck nest box but not so large and put rat size snap traps in it. Bait with peanuts and peanut butter inside and put the traps on all 4 walls and the bottom. Equip with a hinged side and set it on a tree in an area used by the squirrels. Just check at night and reset traps and remove squirrels under cover of darkness. You can literally eradicate squirrel problems in a localized area with these traps. The best traps are the ones with a larger "treadle" instead of the small metal pan. If you can't find the treadle traps just get the others and fashion a treadle with a piece of "rat" wire. The box type traps are a PITA. Trapping is 24-7-365 and a whole lot less problems than shooting. 10

[nhrifle]

For a combination of quiet and effective on squirrels, look for one of the variable pump Crosman or Daisy rifles. The Powermaster 66 has my vote. Quiet, very accurate, and will flatten anything up to rabbit size, maybe bigger if the shot is placed well.

[HollowPoint]

I just took delivery of one of the Umarex Octane air rifles. Mine's a 22 cal. It comes with a suppressor of sorts permanently attached.

One of the reasons I got it was because the reviews I read about it showed noise level tests at 90-91 decibels with heavier pellets; like the 18 grainers.

I have no way of formal testing but, I have been using my little daisy red ryder to keep feral pigeons at bay and even out to thirty yards when I've missed, the sound of my little daisy would send the roosted flocks flying to safety.

I've taken a few shots with this new Umarex at pigeons roosting on the same telephone poll at the same distance and and they'll just start looking around intently but, they'll stay put. If I miss a second time though, that will send them flying.

It seems odd to me because when pull the trigger on this air rifle, I'm holding it right next to my ear so it seems really loud to me. I guess for the pigeons down range it's a different story.

HollowPoint

[Papa smurf]

My Crosman Nitro Venom .22 cal. is rather quiet and then again maybe its my 75 year old ears . ------------------Papa Smurf

[felix]

I shoot a Kimber 22LR, in a very dense neighborhood as well. Dogs put out a very short duration squeal, but they do it at anything on the ground or in trees. People don't even look up or around. Sounds like a dry kindling stick cracking AT MOST. About 80 shots this year with absolutely no suspicion. Ammo: any short, long, or long rifle with a 29-31 grain boolit, some copper coated. Box nomenclature says CBee, Quiet, etc., but all say 700-730 fps. The nature (frequency spectrum) of the report is just as important as the decibels (volume). For example, a report can be a normal sounding "thud" or a "snap cap". Neither noise can be recognized as a gun. ... felix

ANYTHING going faster than the speed of sound, boolit, pellet, air, gas will alert the neighborhood in the wrong way. Powerful pellet guns are offenders unless the air velocity is squelched after the boolit leaves the gun. So, both "projectiles" must not exceed the sound limit to be effective. Long barrels, silencers, or whatever would be needed to assure negatives don't happen. ... felix

[45 Bravo]

This is my squirrell eradicator, .22 caliber.
Quiet, variable power, deadly accurate.

And lots of fun to shoot.
Oh, and cheap to shoot..
87508

[Smoke4320]

This is my squirrell eradicator, .22 caliber.
Quiet, variable power, deadly accurate.

And lots of fun to shoot.
Oh, and cheap to shoot..
87508

so what is it ?
general cost ?

[prsman23]

Looks like a tricked out crosman 1377 to me.

[45 Bravo]

It started life as a 1377 in . 177.
Now it sports a 12 inch stainless Walther barrel in .22 caliber, a aftermarket flat top piston, and pump cup.(you can pump it more than 10 times with no ill effects)
A Mellon air bolt, a power adjuster (so when you pump it up 15 times it still will dump all the air in one shot)
A steel breech for strength and mounting optics.
Some internal trigger work, and other accessories..

Chrony test put it at 602 FPS with croman premier hollow points.

I have about $120 in it.

[felix]

OK, you guys want dollars? Or, pure air guns, BR style as much as possible having a fully electronically-regulated gas tube underneath. My brothers and I had fun shooting this thing today at minuscule targets at 75 feet. 9mm case hit at 75 feet, no problem. ... felix

[45 Bravo]

Yea, its called mini sniping. 9mm cases at 35 yards.
I can't justify spending $1500-$2000 for a air rifle.

A Daystate airwolf, nice gun. But there again, just too much cash to outlay..

I can't justify $200 on an air rifle in its stock form.

I can justify $100ish, doing the work myself.

If I spend more than $200 it will be a powder burner..

While airguns are very accurate , and you can shoot them most anywhere.

That's just a lot of money...

[felix]

A long barrelled 22LR in your closet will work with the 29-31 grainer boolits plenty good enough for 35 yard birds, squirrels. And, just about as quiet. ... felix

[HARRYMPOPE]

Yea, its called mini sniping. 9mm cases at 35 yards.
I can't justify spending $1500-$2000 for a air rifle.

A Daystate airwolf, nice gun. But there again, just too much cash to outlay..

I can't justify $200 on an air rifle in its stock form.

I can justify $100ish, doing the work myself.

If I spend more than $200 it will be a powder burner..

While airguns are very accurate , and you can shoot them most anywhere.

That's just a lot of money...

I have broken down and spent some cash on nice German and English spring powered guns. but i feel like a sucker for spending over $500 for basically a dolled up tube with a spring in it.You can knock the Chinese airguns all you want but for $100 and elbow grease you get a pretty darn good shooting piece for closer range plinking.They may not be 'heirloom" quality for sure but get the job done.

[45 Bravo]

I have no problems with some Chinese rifles.
The qb series from archer airguns are very affordable, quite accurate, and highly modify able if that is what you are looking for.

[grizzlyadams]

the chinese know how to make a gun when they want to. most of the cheaper breakbarrels are chinese these days, all of your crosman,benjamin, stoeger, ruger , winchester and others....all china made. some of them are nice guns, the bam guns are a bit shoddier when it comes to QC, but the xisico guns are pretty nice. bam makes crosman/benjamin, and stoeger. xisico makes the ruger, browning leverage, and umarex brands. for just under 200 bucks, the browning leverage is a real sleeper. in 22 caliber it is insanely accurate, i can hit a dime most times at 30 yds with it. and in 22 it stomps nutters. it is pretty quiet as well. it is an underlever rifle and comes with a decent scope, needs better rings than whats included though

[45cal]

In my life I have had three Benjamin Sheridan ,got old and the pumping would kill my rotators.
I treated myself to a Benjamin Marauda in 22 cal.
Got a divers air tank and this thing is wonderful.
The air gun is very Quite[comes with built in suppressor,it is also very accurate with rws super points.
It was a lot more money than O P wants to spend but for me and at my age it works for me.

[W.R.Buchanan]

If your budget is only <$200 there are two options that will not break your bank at all.

First if you absolutely have to kill the problem then use CCI CB longs or CB Shorts. Both use a 29 gr bullet at 710 fps the report is almost none existent IE; all you hear is the striker hitting the cartridge.

If don't you want kill them, buy a Havaheart trap, it will cost you about $30-50, it is re-useable, and you aren't killing the squirrels. (We like squirrels in my neighborhood because we are so humane and civilized out here in CA!) When you catch them you simply deport the problem to someone else's neighborhood, or better yet take them to the great wild areas away from your house and let them go.

In the last 10 years I have caught 37 raccoons, 7 opossums, and 2 skunks in Havaheart traps,(I have two.) and deported them to wooded areas near a lake 5 miles up wind from my home. Except the skunks which Animal Control kills in the trap and then dissects their heads to check for rabies

I would warn you that in CA and I'm pretty sure other states as well, Transferring a nuisance to some where else is frowned on by Fish and Game. IN CA those Raccoons are worth about $10K a pop. In MS I doubt anyone would give a ship, but you still would be best served by using a little discretion when relocating your pests.

When I lived in a housing tract in town we had a serious Mockingbird problem. I shot 3-400 of them over the space of several years. I never had a problem with the neighbors because a pellet gun going off once in a while just blends in with all the rest of the ambient noise. However if they see you with the gun outside waving it around or your pellets do some damage to someone's property you will have problems.

This is definitely a situation where stealth is your friend.

Another way is to get a large cat or dog like a Jack Russell Terrier. Our Squirrels never touch the ground because our cats are always around. The squirrels end up in a feud with the Blue Jays over the Peanuts my wife puts out. The Blue Jays are on them instantly and usually get most all of them. The squirrels just sit in the trees and bitch at the cats and birds. It is really quite entertaining to watch the battles.

Hope some of this helps with your Squirrel Problem.

Randy

[Smoke4320]

Mini claymores :) :)

[huli]

If Youre looking for Quiet they named the gammo Whisper wrong. I have one it is as loud as a 22 rifle . I was disappointed on first shot. It sshoots real good nice scope on it and is real accurate but definetly not Quiet

[hoosierlogger]

If Youre looking for Quiet they named the gammo Whisper wrong. I have one it is as loud as a 22 rifle . I was disappointed on first shot. It sshoots real good nice scope on it and is real accurate but definetly not Quiet
That is the exact same thing I thought. I bought one a few months ago to go squirrel hunting with. It is LOUD out-of-the-box, but it has quieted down a lot. Still not as quiet as they advertise.

[69daytona]

You can download a db meter for most cell phones for free and they are fairly accurate. Haven't used it for testing my pellet guns but use it for my old cars exhaust.