Night time visitors

dragon1952

The security lights in our back yard came on at 3:15 AM last night so I got up to check since I was laying there awake anyway. 4 good size raccoons were right outside the sliding glass door that leads from our bedroom to the deck. They were right on that front gray wall and wrestling around in the gravel. By the time I got my camera they were heading up the hill so this is all I got. Two of them looked back as I slid the door open and snapped the pick. They've been digging up my wife's bulbs but this is the first time we've actually seen them. Then about 20 minutes later the lights came on again. This time it was the deer that's been eating our roses. First time we've caught it too. All I got was more eyes though. :rolleyes:

janmike

Cool. There is something to be said about nocturnal creatures.

ben62670

Both are good eating. The coons are kinda like roast beef slightly fatty. Deer is very good. The rear quarters make good steaks, The back straps are tasty little steaks too. Grind the rest of the meat for burger, or sausage.
Ben

disneyjoe7

Love the eye's

Fireman32

ben62670 wrote: »

Both are good eating. The coons are kinda like roast beef slightly fatty. Deer is very good. The rear quarters make good steaks, The back straps are tasty little steaks too. Grind the rest of the meat for burger, or sausage.
Ben

Agree, I love venison.

Joe08867

Thats cool. Now all you need is a shotgun.

zingo

Get a pellet rifle and practice on the coons as night. It's good fun and makes you feel like a sniper in the dark.

billbillw

Get a good high powered .22 pellet rifle, practice, load with JSB PolyMags, and aim for the head.

BaggedLancer

.22 with a suppressor and you'll be eating raccoon year round

dragon1952

Actually I think I need a better camera :rolleyes: Yeah, thanks guys. I can just see myself explaining to the officer as I stand there buck-**** nekid with a .22 in my hand at 3:30 in the morning, and dead raccoons all over the yard. Um...I was just practicin'. The guys on the Polk Audio forum said it was OK

BaggedLancer

Exactly why i said suppressor. no one would hear a thing but a little whoosh of air

billbillw

BaggedLancer wrote: »

Exactly why i said suppressor. no one would hear a thing but a little whoosh of air

Same with a high powered air rifle. I shoot mine all the time and the neighbors never even notice.

shadowofnight

billbillw wrote: »

Get a good high powered .22 pellet rifle, practice, load with JSB PolyMags, and aim for the head.

I hadnt seen those....and I shoot my Beemans a LOT....exclusively with beeman pellets...been looking online for the past 10 minutes for 25 cal for my Crow Magnum Beeman...no luck

Found 22...20 and 177.....like mini nosler ballistic tip pellets ....too cool.

reeltrouble1

pretty cool Dragon, hope your enjoying your retirement?

RT1

billbillw

shadowofnight wrote: »

I hadnt seen those....and I shoot my Beemans a LOT....exclusively with beeman pellets...been looking online for the past 10 minutes for 25 cal for my Crow Magnum Beeman...no luck

Found 22...20 and 177.....like mini nosler ballistic tip pellets ....too cool.

Not a lot of ammo available in .25.
Look here for your Crow Mags
http://www.pyramydair.com/cgi-bin/show_necessities.pl?show=NEW&Caliber=0.25&Type=0

Oh, for those who don't know what the Predator Polymag is:

Imagine that at 700+FPS

dragon1952

reeltrouble1 wrote: »

pretty cool Dragon, hope your enjoying your retirement?

RT1

Ohhhh yeah! That would be the understatement of the year :cool:

george daniel

Guy's,, what would be a good entry level pellet rifle?

ben62670

WalMart dual caliber Beeman. 1,000 FPS .177, or 700fps .22. The 22 would be quieter, and have a little more knock down. The Kit comes with both barrels, and a decent scope is $129 I personally just use CB shorts in a .22. Sounds like a pellet gun. Of coarse it is still a firearm so a pellet gun has no real explaining;)
Ben

http://www.pyramydair.com/cgi-bin/show.pl?cmd_rifles=show_guns_manufacturer&Manufacturer=Beeman
The WalMart version
http://www.pyramydair.com/p/beeman-ss1000-s-air-rifle-dual-caliber.shtml
Some of these run up to .50 cal, but they actually sound like they are powder propelled.
http://www.pyramydair.com/cgi-bin/show.pl?cmd_category=show&category_id=2

billbillw

george daniel wrote: »

Guy's,, what would be a good entry level pellet rifle?

If you want .177 (cheaper ammo, flatter shooting)

The Gamo Hunter 440 combo is a pretty nice rifle. Its an older generation of Gamo, but I think its nicer than the current line. It has a solid steel barrel, whereas the newer ones are polymer with a steel sleeve.

This was my first adult air rifle and I still have it. Its much nicer than the Chinese made Beemans and/or Crosmans that they sell at WalMart.

This one is refurbished from Cabelas for $104+shipping.
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0038846228178a&type=product&cmCat=froogle&cm_ven=data_feed&cm_cat=froogle&cm_pla=0560201&cm_ite=0038846228178a

You can get a brand new one from Nacthezss.com for $149+shipping.
http://www.natchezss.com/product.cfm?contentID=productDetail&prodID=GN611008454&prodTitle=Gamo%20Hunter%20440%20%26%20BSA%204x32mm%20Airgun%20Scope

I bought the refurb from Cabelas and had no issues with it.

However, if you plan to hunt (rather than plinking or target shooting), I would suggest getting something in a .22 caliber.

I like the BAM B26 in .22. I have one of these too and it is my favorite to shoot.

http://www.sportsmantarget.com/onlinestore/nfoscomm/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=1_34&products_id=219

The B26 has very nice open sights and is small/light and is really happy shooting in the woods with open sights. I'd add on a scope later. Most of the ones they package as a combo are not very nice anyway. Many of the 'pro' reviewers say that the B26 is one of the nicest Chinese rifles out to date.

billbillw

ben62670 wrote: »

WalMart dual caliber Beeman. 1,000 FPS .177, or 700fps .22. The 22 would be quieter, and have a little more knock down. The Kit comes with both barrels, and a decent scope is $129 I personally just use CB shorts in a .22. Sounds like a pellet gun. Of coarse it is still a firearm so a pellet gun has no real explaining;)
Ben

http://www.pyramydair.com/cgi-bin/show.pl?cmd_rifles=show_guns_manufacturer&Manufacturer=Beeman
The WalMart version
http://www.pyramydair.com/p/beeman-ss1000-s-air-rifle-dual-caliber.shtml
Some of these run up to .50 cal, but they actually sound like they are powder propelled.
http://www.pyramydair.com/cgi-bin/show.pl?cmd_category=show&category_id=2

My buddy has that WalMart dual caliber combo. We can barely do 1" groups at 10 yards from a rest. Something about that removable barrel...I really wouldn't recommend it if you want accuracy.

My two rifles (Gamo 440 and BAM B26) can do 1/2" or better groups at 20 yards.

ben62670

Thanks Bill. You saved me from another bad purchase. Looking at the build quality of the one at the store I would have thought it better. Maybe a bad piece? I'm not really a big fan of break action. My only decent air rifle was a Sheridan Blue Streak 5mm(.20 cal). Back when they had the Walnut stocks. I was very accurate with that one, and I ate a lot of squirrel;) You still plink much?
Ben

billbillw

Those old Sheridans were nice. Still are. Probably more accurate than any of the break barrel style rifles. Pneumatics like the Sheridan don't have the mechanical kick like the spring compression types and are inherently more accurate. They just don't have the power like the powerful springers do.

ben62670

I was pretty happy with the power. It took out many squirrels with one shot, and would go through a 3/4 pine board every time. I just hated the lack of pellets, and having to pump. Silly accurate though. Almost as good as my 10/22. What are your thoughts on the Benjamin Duel Fuel
http://www.pyramydair.com/p/benjamin-discovery-air-dual-fuel-rifle.shtml
I think it would be a fun way to start. Good power, and you can always get the pump down the road. I an actuality I will not be making any purchases like this for at least a year. I will have to stick with my CB Shorts. I do appreciate the education. BTW is there anything you don't know. Seems like anytime I am interested in something you have a good grip on it:)
Ben

Edit: Actually I am hoping to find a decent .22 first. Anything really. Ugly no problem. I just want cheap, and accurate. Bolt, semi, lever, or another 10/22 would be nice. I used to have this thing for Marlin's with tube mags. Keep them clean!

billbillw

ben62670 wrote: »

I was pretty happy with the power. It took out many squirrels with one shot, and would go through a 3/4 pine board every time. I just hated the lack of pellets, and having to pump. Silly accurate though. Almost as good as my 10/22. What are your thoughts on the Benjamin Duel Fuel
http://www.pyramydair.com/p/benjamin-discovery-air-dual-fuel-rifle.shtml
I think it would be a fun way to start. Good power, and you can always get the pump down the road. I an actuality I will not be making any purchases like this for at least a year. I will have to stick with my CB Shorts. I do appreciate the education. BTW is there anything you don't know. Seems like anytime I am interested in something you have a good grip on it:)
Ben

Edit: Actually I am hoping to find a decent .22 first. Anything really. Ugly no problem. I just want cheap, and accurate. Bolt, semi, lever, or another 10/22 would be nice. I used to have this thing for Marlin's with tube mags. Keep them clean!

That Blue Streak is definitely squirrel killer, no doubt. Many believe the .20 cal to be the best compromise between flat shooting and down range power. Its a shame there aren't more pellets available in that size.

That Benjamin Discovery is a very nice rifle, but its cheaper to get the package that comes with the pump rather than buying it later. If I were to get that Benjamin Discovery, I'd get this one, in .22:
http://www.pyramydair.com/p/benjamin-disco-air-rifle-combo.shtml

You end up saving money on the pump and it comes with a very nice CenterPoint scope (made by Leapers). For the money, you can't beat that package when it comes to PCP air rifles. That thing shoots hard and accurate. I think it will push a .22 cal pellet at close to 900fps.

Ben, No, I don't know everything (like some others here). I just happen to have many of the same hobbies as you and right now, I'm really into air rifles. 6 months ago, I probably wouldn't have had anything to say about this subject, but since then, I've been buried in the air gun forums, review sites, etc.

ben62670

billbillw wrote: »

...I just happen to have many of the same hobbies as you and right now, I'm really into air rifles. 6 months ago, I probably wouldn't have had anything to say about this subject, but since then, I've been buried in the air gun forums, review sites, etc.

That's how I meant it:) It seems like anytime I have a question you are the answer man;) Someday we should get together, and do a little plinking.
Ben

Sherardp

ben62670 wrote: »

Both are good eating. The coons are kinda like roast beef slightly fatty. Deer is very good. The rear quarters make good steaks, The back straps are tasty little steaks too. Grind the rest of the meat for burger, or sausage.
Ben

Oh yeah, awesome eating right there.

dragon1952

We had 3 deer just a few minutes ago. I didn't know they came out at this time of night. I think they are getting ready for winter and trying to fatten up. We had our first hail today.

Centric

Raccoons can certainly be a nuisance! We hired a guy in our neighborhood to set up traps and then release them away from our house because they were always knocking over our trash cans! I like the glowing eyes in your photographs though, very eerie.