Alexis's garden has been under attack from all sorts of critters and after having to replace 2 dozen plants over the last few weeks she gave me the permission to take action. I bought a high pressure nitrogen powered Umarex Komplete NCR in .22 caliber.
https://www.umarexusa.com/umarex-komplete-ncr-22-pcp-air-rifle-2251558
The gun came with a cheap scope which had bad reviews so I bought an upgraded scope to help with my bad eyesight. It isn't the best but for sniping squirrels at 30-50yrds it'll do just fine.
https://www.pyramydair.com/product/centerpoint-4-16x40-ao-rifle-scope-illuminated-tag-style-reticle-1?a=5790
I spent half an hour today and zeroed in the scope at 33yrds and got quarter sized groups which is plenty good for the intended targets.
1 hour after getting the setup dailed in I got my first kill at around 40 yards.
It's a fun little setup...
I hate squirrels almost as much as I hate pelicans. Looks like your garden is too big to cage in. So projectile based defense is probably your best bet.
Looks like a fun piece of hardware, and until now I did not know N2 cartridges were even a thing! Seems like a good idea; are they a manufacturer specific item or is this a common thing that I just didn't know about? - john
Nice.
Check out the squirrelanator. It's a flat trap that can catch multiple squirrels, best I've done is 3 in a day. Works like a charm. It comes with a tub you fill with water and drop the trap in. Not as rewarding as plugging them buts works when you're not around
Quote from: Brewcrafter on May 11, 2025, 02:14:18 PMLooks like a fun piece of hardware, and until now I did not know N2 cartridges were even a thing! Seems like a good idea; are they a manufacturer specific item or is this a common thing that I just didn't know about? - john
John I'm not active in the air gun community so I'm not to sure how long N2 cartridges have been a thing. I think it's a relatively new product and Umarex is the only one using it. It is more stable than CO2 meaning it can be used in both hot and cold weather. You get 40-50 shots per N2 cartridge so it's not exactly cheap but it's a more economical way to get into the PCP air gun realm.
Quote from: Swami805 on May 11, 2025, 02:39:26 PMCheck out the squirrelanator. It's a flat trap that can catch multiple squirrels, best I've done is 3 in a day. Works like a charm. It comes with a tub you fill with water and drop the trap in. Not as rewarding as plugging them buts works when you're not around
Sheridan we looked at that option but Alexis didn't like the way you had to finish the job. She doesn't want to see the final outcome plus plugging them allowed me to get a fun new toy!
Yeah I get that, it's pretty brutal. We have our front patio that's red brick set on sand so it permeable, those suckers tunneled under it and it was collapsing. It went to a zero tolerance policy. We have a huge park above us which is a breeding ground that funnels them into our neighborhood looking for food. One weekend resetting all that brick was enough for me to lose any compation for those things
I got a BSA Supersport .22 pellet rifle @ 800fps,its a squirrel slayer.The
One cock is nice but not very stealthy.I like the looks & the
Operation of your new rifle.I have more than enough .22 rifles
If I had room in my safe that is tempting...
I hope the nitrogen cannister system is better than the old CO2 cannisters. With CO2 t was impossible to get consistent results as the gas pressure changed. I switched to a pump-up Benjamine twenty-five years ago but it is showing its age now so I'm always on the look-out for something better at a price I can afford. This might be it.
Quote from: oc1 on May 11, 2025, 05:43:19 PMI hope the nitrogen cannister system is better than the old CO2 cannisters. With CO2 t was impossible to get consistent results as the gas pressure changed. I switched to a pump-up Benjamine twenty-five years ago but it is showing its age now so I'm always on the look-out for something better at a price I can afford. This might be it.
This rifle has a regulator at 1800 pds and gets 40-50 highly consistent high pressure shots before the fps starts dropping off. Shooting until the cartridges are empty gives you over 60 shots. The cartridges are about $10-12 each costing each shot around .25 cents at 45 shots/cartridge. I know for an air rifle
that's pricy but this setup has a lot of advantages for me.
Someone has made an adapter so you can use a refillable air tank used on some pcp rifles but for the limited time I'll use this I'll stick with the N2 cartridges. If you wanted to shoot alot I'd look into a different model pcp but your cost will go way up.
:d
How long can you leave an open cartridge in the gun before damaging the seals? I bought a couple cheap BB pistols for my grandsons, it says to not leave the cartridge open more than a few days
Quote from: Swami805 on May 11, 2025, 08:12:01 PMHow long can you leave an open cartridge in the gun before damaging the seals? I bought a couple cheap BB pistols for my grandsons, it says to not leave the cartridge open more than a few days
Reviews state it can be left in for months which is nice considering the price per cartridge. The gun also came with a spare seal. The biggest thing to remember is to tighten the degassing screw before putting a new cartridge in.
Nice when the missus let's you indulge ;D. I shot a Benjamin Sheridan .20 cal for years. It needs a rebuild now.
Quote from: JasonGotaProblem on May 11, 2025, 01:36:45 PMI hate squirrels almost as much as I hate pelicans. Looks like your garden is too big to cage in. So projectile based defense is probably your best bet.
The garden is fenced to keep the large animals out but the squirrels go right through....
Are adapters available to recharge the cylinder from commercial welding gas bottles?
Quote from: Keta on May 12, 2025, 02:38:05 AMAre adapters available to recharge the cylinder from commercial weldung gas bottles?
I'm not sure if refillable N2 cartridges are available.
Quote from: Swami805 on May 11, 2025, 02:39:26 PMCheck out the squirrelanator. It's a flat trap that can catch multiple squirrels, best I've done is 3 in a day. Works like a charm. It comes with a tub you fill with water and drop the trap in. Not as rewarding as plugging them buts works when you're not around
Way cooler than the live animal trap I bought at farm store
I am trying it
Have a large veggie garden; squirrels dig in it a bit, but do not eat anything as far as I can see. They do eat Mexican sunflower ornamental plants. You can keep shooting & trapping all you want; I think the squirrels can only be kept a bit under control but not eliminated. A guy in town I know has live trapped over 100 squirrels in the last 6 months or so, and still has 2-3 under or around his bird feeder pretty much every day. It seems they aren't that territorial, and they just keep "filling the vacuum" in places where they are trapped.
Frank
I'm up to about 6 ground squirrels already and still plenty to go....
Ground squirrels? Are we all talking about the same thing?
Here in Minnesota, "ground squirrels" are the same as "gophers". And, we have at least two kinds of gophers, the lined kind and the "golden" gophers. Some mix up the lined kind with chipmunks.
Gray squirrels are the big kind with the bushy tails. Usually grayish, but can be black or reddish gray.
Red squirrels are smaller than grays & do not have the big bushy tails.
Frank
Quote from: happyhooker on May 17, 2025, 02:28:29 PMGround squirrels? Are we all talking about the same thing?
Here in Minnesota, "ground squirrels" are the same as "gophers". And, we have at least two kinds of gophers, the lined kind and the "golden" gophers. Some mix up the lined kind with chipmunks.
Gray squirrels are the big kind with the bushy tails. Usually grayish, but can be black or reddish gray.
Red squirrels are smaller than grays & do not have the big bushy tails.
Frank
The ground squirrels here in California look like grey squirrels but smaller and have less fur on their tails. They literally tunnel into the ground like gophers....
In Oregon we have grey diggers and Beldings ground squirrels, they are tunnelers and silver grey tree squirrels.
I'm still at war and averaging 3-6 kills a week!
I was ready to buy one but they're out of stock. You must have created a run on them.
Quote from: oc1 on June 09, 2025, 05:54:30 AMI was ready to buy one but they're out of stock. You must have created a run on them.
Showing in stock here
https://www.pyramydair.com/product/umarex-komplete-nitroair-pcp-rifle?m=6251#12889
Shoot (so to speak). I pulled the trigger (so to speak) but they do not ship to Hawaii.
Quote from: oc1 on June 09, 2025, 06:04:29 PMShoot (so to speak). I pulled the trigger (so to speak) but they do not ship to Hawaii.
Bummer