Tough Squirrels? (looooooooong)

You're more than welcome to try mine.

You know I think he's checking out new neighborhoods. It must really suck being the new kid and getting shot the first day of school.

Anyway come on out; just be ready to eat.

[Gamo X-Ring Shooter]

I regularly hunt squirrels with my Gamo CFX and have run into the same problem before.  They are tough little monsters.  From experience I have found that the only way to take one out for sure is a clean head shot.  Yeah its not that easy but its just about the only way to get them.  I have also found a shot to the spinal cord works wonders if your shooting out of a window down at them.  The gamo rockets work great on squirrels.  It goes right through there skin making neck shots work as well.  I have recently been hearing, however, that heavy pellets above 9 grains can ruin a springer.  Does anyone have any insight on this for me?

[daved]

Hey, Brian, welcome aboard.  Regarding the heavy pellets and springs, if your gun has a stock spring in it, pellets over about 9 gr. can and probably will shorten spring life, sometimes radically.  Aftermarket springs with wire of .128" dia. or larger are probably okay.  That said, all my guns, one of which is/was a CFX (gave it to my brother), did best with mid-weight pellets, around 8.5 gr.  My HW 77 actually seems to prefer them even a little lighter, around 8 gr.  With my CFX, I got best velocity and power with JSB Exacts and RWS Superdomes, both 8.3 or so.

How has your CFX been?  Mine ate 2 springs before I converted it to a gas ram.  Both springs went about 2500 shots, the stock spring broke, and the replacement JM Tarantula spring collapsed.  And no, I wasn't feeding it a diet of heavy pellets.

Anyway, glad you found your way here, lots of good people and info.  Enjoy!

Dave

[shadow]

You mean get em in the head like this. ;) hunting and welcome. Ed

[Gamo X-Ring Shooter]

Wow, thanks for the tips.  Actually I just had my CFX turbo tuned by Charlie so I have a new spring in it.  I completely destroyed the stock spring with probably several 100,000 rounds it was chronographed with an average of 195.  

When I first got the rifle it was good enough for me but I was really young and my parents gave it to me for Christmas.  Since then I have learned a whole lot more about airguns and would like something that shot a little tighter groups.  I shoot competitive smallbore rifle with an 1907 Anschutz so I have grown to have pretty high expectations for my guns.  Overall though I think its great for average plinking and hunting and sure beats pumps in my opinion.

Hey does anyone know who I can attach pictures to my posts?

[Gamo X-Ring Shooter]

Yeah like that or even better like this....lol

Oh yeah I figured out the picture thing.

[shadow]

Nice shot Brian and if you airgun hunt, longislandhunter and I just love hunt pic's and stories. Were the Mod's on the Hunting Gate and we have some fellow hunter's here that live for the hunt. Ed

My little brother shot an '07, I myself had an 1813. Man those were the days.

[Rixtrix]

Must not be the only tough animals out there. Talked to a friend who went out to the Nat'l. Guard range 30 miles east of Phoenix today to shoot, Mini-14(.223), AK-47(7.62) and Winchester 1000 (.177) The place is like the open desert and is over-run with feral cats, rodents of all types and lots of birds. Friend took a 25 yard shot at the back of a feral cat's head with the Winnie and all the cat did is take off running about a hun' miles an hour. Said he went looking for it and never saw any evidence of a hit, although it's head dipped almost to the ground at the shot!?

Ric G

We once had a feral cat in our henhouse. My dad shot it from mere feet away. Hit the sum*_*_*_*_*_* right between the eyes (witnessed this) with a .22mag. Cat went ape$#it, ran over the top of Dad and myself and took off across the yard where it finally expired.

Me and Dad went inside changed our pants, then disposed of carcass. Wish I'd known Shadow back then. Would have put it on some dry ice and shipped it to him.

I also remeber a PBS special about a maneater in some village in India. They shot that thing several times with what looked like a 40mm shotgun slug (don't know what caliber it really was, but it was effen huge). It took that tiger for freakin' ever to die.

[shadow]

Hmmm, I do collect skull's for study dont have a cat one though. Hmmm, Ed