Looking for a quiet airgun for indoor pest control

[ilikegunspdx]

If anyone is interested in 22LR suppressed sound levels I just did a brief test with results here

If u can find db levels for various airguns you could compare. Or just think of the sound of working the action alone and it's just a tad louder than that for 16" barrel guns. If you had a bolt action gun it would be a lot quieter than my test I would think.

 

[Mike97124]

We have neighbors that have been raising chickens and rabbits for a couple of years. Not just the 3 hens that Hillsboro allows, but about 9 or 10 the last time I counted them. As soon as they brought in chickens, we started getting rats. It took a lot of coordinated work to get rid of them last time using poison (something I hate to use because we have dogs). After I got rid of them on my side of the fence I made sure there was no holes or paths under it for an easy trip to our side.

That took care of things for the last year and half, but we started getting rats again a few months ago. Two of our Bouviers do an excellent job of taking care of any rat they can get a hold of. The problem is, the Bouvier is not the most subtle rat catcher in the world.

This batch of rats do a better job of not going into the rat traps as well. I catch a lot of young ones but the older, wiser, breeding machines avoid them completely. I can see the big ones come out at night with my IR camera I have out at the end of the ground level decking but they do not go near the traps no matter where I put them or what bait I use. I was about ready to resort to poison again when I got the idea to try a pellet rifle. The problem was finding one that was not that expensive, quiet and would kill the rats,

I wanted to get a CO2 rifle at first, because they were the quietest. But every review I read on the under $150 or price range would leak. Since I knew there would be times I'd load it and then because the dogs go in and out and that would keep the rats hidden, the rifle might site for a day before I'd have a chance to use it. I just couldn't see going through a cartridge per rat or two. I also thought about the pump ones, but the cheaper ones did not have that good of a review either. Even though they are noisier, I settled on a break barrel single shot and got a Gamo Raptor Whisper .22 caliber pellet rifle with scope. The scope got a lot of bad reviews for being cheap but the rifle fared fairly well. I got the .22 because I read it was quieter than the .177 pellet since it went slower (975 for this rifle claimed by Gamo).

I got the rifle from Amazon and it's not a bad rifle. Heavier than I expect since it's mostly plastic with a metal barrel and cocking action. It's not an easy pull to cock it either but I can cock it ok. The scope is cheap, but not bad for the price. I am using it at about 35 feet and I was able to site it in with about 6 shots (I didn't have a fixed bench to strap it to). It is loud though. If this is whisper quiet I'd hate to hear one that isn't. I shoot the 35 feet from inside my kitchen with just the barrel poking out the patio door. That way the noise is all inside and my neighbors shouldn't be able to hear very much. They can't see the barrel sticking out either.

I missed the first rat by a hair but have gotten everyone since them. The .22 drops them pretty quick but has not gone completely through them yet, which is fine with me. I hope to be able to get some of the bigger ones when I can stay up later at night and the dogs have been put away for awhile. Right now the rats aren't use to me leaving the patio lights on so they do not come out, but if I leave them on long enough they will start coming out more. I'm thinking of getting a IR site since my IR security camera picks up their beady little eyes real well in the dark. I just haven't decided if I want to spend the money on it yet or if one would even work on this rifle.

I may still have to resort to poison if I can't get enough of them with the rifle, but until I do, I'm actually having fun.

Mike

 

[turq]

The .25 cal Umarex Gauntlet gets good reviews and $300.
Need air tank, a lower pressure paint ball bottle might do to keep the pellets on property. About $50.Then you'll need a pump or paint ball shop.

 

[DeanMk]

Back in the early 70's my neighbor got a Daisy pump. Either an 880 or an 881, I don't recall exactly anymore.
That gun worked just fine.
As a young kid, I shot the heck out of that gun. Probably more than the neighbor himself!
I wasn't allowed to shoot any game with it, but it was accurate (at least to 20-30 feet) and always shot (unless I ran out of ammo).

Has production of that rifle changed since that time?

Otherwise, I would think it would be a good, inexpensive air rifle for general shooting (and would very likely put the kaputz on any varmits that would cross your path).


Dean

 

[veradium]

Whatever .22 you use, try the H&N Rabbit Magnum II pellets. The have great expansion and the little knoggin knockers will dispatch those pests with one shot. I use them in my Artemis PP700SA pistol at 730fps I have dispatched large rat invaders on my neighbors farm for him. I have a nice ldc for it so nice quiet sneak attack.

 

[DeanMk]

Maybe one shouldn't worry about the noise and just get the most powerful and reliable gun you can afford....I mean, they do make silencers for Air Rifles.

Here's some more!

 

[DeanMk]

…or maybe you wanna make your own...

​

 

[Mike97124]

The pellet doesn't make so much noise but that spring is loud... and you would need a whole gun wrap to silence that.

Mike

 

[DeanMk]

So just wrap it in a big comforter...even easier!

 

[Mike97124]

Now that would really get the neighbors excited to see me in the back all wrapped up in a comforter with just the tip of the barrel sticking out.

Mike

 

[DeanMk]

(Mike's Neighbors)
What is that on Mike's back porch?
I don't know, but I think it wants us to phone home.

…

 

[awshoot]

This may sound like a joke, but I'm really asking an actual question....

The OP asked about a quiet airgun. Now that I think about it, is there a loud one?
I realize some types are probably quieter than others (CO2 vs spring, for instance....wait...do they still make CO2 guns?), but are some models for any given type quieter than any others...AND, is it enough of a difference to really worry about?

...really!

Dean

I have an old springer style single shot but it is loud -- at least inside my garage without hearing protection it aggravates my tinnitus. Today UPS delivered one of the cheaper PCP types (Gamo Urban with integrated suppressor) and to my surprise, it came charged up (my pump is due to arrive tomorrow). I just spent a very satisfying 30 minutes sighting in a scope and making tiny little 13yd groups in my garage. Subjectively, it feels half as loud as my other one (a Benjamin something or other). Anyway, I'm going to beat this one up and make my mistakes on it, but I can totally see a near future with ever increasing airgun expenses. This is gonna be fun!

 

[former173rd]

I'll rent my first wife...you provide the chain.

 

[Jba]

be careful with air guns, you'll soon find they'll cost you more than a real gun. you'll be ordering ammo by the Ton and scopes by the dozen.

 

[birdmove]

CO2 rifles are known to be loud. Also, Ihave found it's not a great idea to put them away with a CO2 can in them. Stored that way, it could distort the seal andcause a leak, or, th seal may stick to the CO2 powerlet and tear on removal. This happened to me. Though, if you have a gun of that type that TKO makes their muzzle break for, your gun willbe quiet as a mouse fart. Also, Umarex makes the Fusion CO2 rifle that comes with a very quieting muzzle brake, and a scope.
The gent above sho bought a Gamo break barrel mayfind thatit auiets down nicely with use. Maybe not. They can be super loud at first due to oil in the compression chamber igniting and "dieseling".

I've taken rats at night in the dark with several multi-pumpers..I mount a small red flashlight onto my scopes. The kind where you can focus the beam of light. M aybe $9.00 on Amazon.this makes the rat eyes glow. Bait the little buggers so you can shoot them at whatever distance you target shoot at. I've taken thdm with a Crosman Model 66 (now discontinued), 1377, 1322, my Model 760, my Daisy 880.

The Gamo Swarm repeaters might be a good choice. Super easy to load each round, and no oroblem in total darkness.

 

[Mike97124]

I found that when I switched from a Gamo spring action to a Beeman C02 air rifle that the C02 was quieter than the spring action of the Gamo (one of their lower end models). The thawng of the spring was really loud, although it was suggested it appeared louder because it was firing up near my right ear.

One thing I liked about the break barrel spring Gamo was it was easy to insert the pellet with the barrel broken over. With the Beeman, the scope is right over the breech and it's hard to insert a pellet easily in the right direction in low light or the dark. Sometimes I have to use a small flashlight to check it went in with the rounded head facing the right direction. I've been real surprised with how long my Co2 has lasted. I have had the same two small bottles in the Beeman for almost 6 months after shooting about 50 pellets (I ran out of rats too soon ) and it will still bury the .22 pellet in a block of 2x4.

I only get a chance at a rat one at a time as they are real skittish when they come out. After getting all of them when they came out to grab food from the bird feeder at the end of my patio I didn't see any more for a couple of months and now I've started seeing one or two at night when I check the security camera recordings. These new ones are spooked more easily than the first couple of batches were, so it's more of a challenge to get them. The pellet gun has worked a lot better than most of the traps I've tried, although several of our dogs have a pretty good rat record as well.

I would love to get a IF camera system like the people I've seen on YouTube videos have, but they are a bit expensive for the rat problem I have here. If I lived on a farm or something like that, it would be worth it. It would still be fun to have one though.

Mike

 

[slidecreek]

If you got a revolver, 38 or,,, reload wax bullets. Kills those rats stone dead.

 

[Mike97124]

A .38 is too noisy when you live with neighbors all around you. Even a .22 with a suppressor would be noisy as well as over kill unless you have a large area to shoot in, like a farm. My .22 pellet does a fine job within the 22 to 25 feet I need to shoot and is pretty quiet, which for me is more important than bullet size. I just wish the current rats I'm starting to see would be more accommendating and come out during the day like the last batch did... But then, maybe that is why the last batch isn't around any more.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

A .38 is too noisy when you live with neighbors all around you. Even a .22 with a suppressor would be noisy as well as over kill unless you have a large area to shoot in, like a farm. My .22 pellet does a fine job within the 22 to 25 feet I need to shoot and is pretty quiet, which for me is more important than bullet size. I just wish the current rats I'm starting to see would be more accommendating and come out during the day like the last batch did... But then, maybe that is why the last batch isn't around any more.

I agree with that and use my .22 pellet pcp pistol with TKO for rats and larger quite often.

However as far as noise a powder burner .22 with long barrel plus subsonic ammo plus suppressor = extremely quiet. Add a bolt action gun to that and you get quieter than a TKO equipped airgun (when using cci quiet ammo). With regular subsonics the same setup powder burner .22 will be roughly the same noise level as the airgun (co2 or pcp) with a tko.

But u are right about overkill because even with cci-quiet ammo u will be ripping right through the rat like it's not there and into whatever is behind it (Cci-quiet segmented ammo can help a lot with over penetration though).

Here is a comparison of the $118 Threaded barrel armscor .22 bolt action with suppressor. The sound of pencil dropping on wood floor is about the same noise level. The sound of bullet hitting a muffled target coming though the window is louder than the shot itself.

 

[Mike97124]

That is amazingly quiet on the .22 rifle, although the subsonic ammo really helps there. That's why I went with a .22 pellet rather than the .17 pellet. I read that be .17 could break the sound barrier because it was so lite while the .22 was heavier and stayed well under subsonic.

I would love to get a PCP rifle but can't really justify it. My neighbor would need to start raising more chickens to attract a lot more rats or I'd have to start raising rats so I could release them for shooting. LOL! But from the YouTube videos and what I've read, for any serious pellet shooting, a PCP is the way to go.

Thanks for the video, that's impressive.

Mike