Where I grew up, we called them pellet guns, not pellet rifles or air rifles. I am by no means a pellet gun expert. Nearly all of my experience is with a single-shot, break-action pellet gun. The knowledge and advice I offer in this article is solely based on my experience and familiarity of single-shot, break-action pellet guns. Depending on your age, physical build and desired purpose of use, pellet gun actions vary, though in application, the concept remains the same. There is an option for everyone.
About twenty years ago, I was camping with a friend who had a .22 caliber Benjamin Trail NP XL single-shot, break-action pellet gun. While we were sitting in camp, a ground squirrel came into view, about fifty yards away. Sitting in his chair, my friend slowly drew up his pellet gun, took aim, gently squeezed the trigger and sent a 14.3 grain lead hollow point at the squirrel. The squirrel had no idea what hit it. The accuracy of the pellet gun and the impact of the pellet dropped the squirrel in its tracks, humanely and ethically. I could not believe the accuracy and impact I had just witnessed. From that moment on, I could not get that pellet gun out of my mind. Finally, a couple of years ago, I pulled the trigger (pun intended) and bought the exact same pellet gun. I have not been disappointed.
Prior to buying the Benjamin pellet gun, I had a single-shot, break-action .177 caliber El Gamo (I cannot remember the model). It was fitted with factory iron sights, and an aftermarket Simmons centerfire rifle scope. This was my first pellet gun. In no time, I was quite the marksman. I learned and honed many hunting and shooting methods with it, such as still hunting, spot and stalk hunting, offhand shooting as well as zeroing a scope. As a young boy in the woods, having only one shot, and a long reload period, I learned to take my time to ensure the shot I was about to make was the best possible, because I might not get a second chance at the same target.
As I grew older, and moved away from the forests of my youth, I took that pellet gun with me. It followed me in my travels for many years, in all sorts of environments from barren grassland ranches to populated cities. I used it to dispatch small critters in traps and for showing off to friends after lining up cans filled with water at varying distances. I primarily used it to hunt squirrels in city limits when/where neighbors lived too closely for a rimfire gun as well as clearing out pigeons living inside of horse barns. Using the pellet gun within city limits made very little, to no noise. Inside the horse barns, a .22 long rifle would spook the horses and rile them up. The pellet gun was so quiet, typically the “thud” of successfully hitting the target made more noise than the report of shooting the gun itself.
I carried this pellet gun so much, it became an extension of my body. I felt like Hawkeye in Last of the Mohicans, running and reloading through the woods while drawing on my target and hitting it with perfect accuracy. Ahh, for the good old days! Being a young boy, and even into my college years, I did not have very much money, and .22 Long Rifle ammunition was hard to come by at times. Pellets were commonly found, and were reasonably priced for a much larger quantity. I could buy five hundred pellets for about the same price as one hundred .22 long rifle rounds, and it would last me much, much longer.
As a young man, the man who would years later become my father-in-law, gave me a book titled “Survival Poaching” by Ragnar Benson. This book quickly became a favorite of mine. In the book, the author talks about hunting all sorts of small game, within populated city limits, using .22 caliber BB caps in a bolt action rifle. He preferred the BB caps because they were quiet and would not raise suspicion among his neighbors who lived in close proximity. After reading the book countless times, I searched high and low for .22 BB caps, but could never find any. What I did find were 29-grain, .22 CB shorts. In a bolt-action rifle, they were extremely quiet, but not as quiet as the pellet gun, and where I lived, silence was a necessity.
As I stated before, the Gamo pellet gun went everywhere with me. I mean it, that gun went everywhere. During my years in college, I had a quad cab Chevrolet pickup truck. The backseat could fold down flat, creating a lot of storage space. Because of crazy college schedules, sometimes having a couple hours between classes and/or work, I made up a bed on the folded-down seat where I could sleep. Under the comforter, I kept the pellet gun. Sometimes, if I had time, I would make a quick trip to the river, about fifteen minutes from campus, and try to get some food for the pot, or make some money getting rid of nuisance pests at a horse barn.
Growing up, and even today, I preferred iron sights. When I was hunting in/near city limits, or in horse barns, the shots I would take were not necessarily far enough, and the lighting was not always good enough, to warrant the use of a scope. I also found follow-up shots with a scope, especially on small game, were more difficult than with iron sights. In addition, for some reason, scopes made people more uncomfortable than a rifle with just iron sights. People paid more attention to me if I had the scope on the pellet gun. Because of these reasons, I predominately used the pellet gun with only iron sights. Where I lived, guns and hunting were still commonplace and not exceedingly taboo yet. The majority of my experiences in this article took place before mass shootings were a common thing like in our current culture. Again, take me back to the good old days.
As I have grown older, married, became a father, and as society has “grown” and expanded, my priorities and needs for a pellet gun have completely changed. I still use mine, though now it is primarily used for predator management and varmint (skunks, opossums, raccoons, foxes, ground squirrels, tree squirrels and rats) control. I do not go into the woods hunting squirrels, or do much pigeon control at horse barns as often as I did. If I do, I now use either a shotgun or a .22 rifle. On occasion, though mostly for nostalgic reasons, I do enjoy using a single-shot, break-action pellet gun. Besides managing pests, I use my pellet gun for harvesting animals raised for meat. When my wife and I recently slaughtered two goats, we used the Benajmin pellet gun to put them down. It was instant, humane and quiet. My kids and in-laws were outside and had no idea we had even started the harvesting process.
Pros of a Pellet Gun
- Ammo is cheap and there are many different options. Hollow points, pointed, domed, wad cutter, dum-dums, polymer tip, etc. There are even non lead options if you live in an area where lead is banned for hunting. When I bought the Benjamin pellet gun, I bought several tins of 500 pellets for about ten dollars each. At the time of writing this, those same pellets are fifteen dollars each. One tin of pellets goes a long way.
- Pellet guns are a great way to teach young children to shoot. They are not loud, nor is there much recoil.
- No FFL paperwork.
- Quiet. A pellet gun is ideal for survival hunting or to quietly harvest animals when and where a loud noise could bring unwanted attention.
- Different calibers. There are several options depending on your desired use. I am most familiar with the .177 and .22 calibers. I have used a .25 caliber gun once and was quite impressed by the power. My only hesitation to purchase anything other than a .177 or .22 caliber pellet gun is the ease and convenience of finding ammunition. I relate this to buying a common caliber metallic cartridge rifle. As “cool” as some modern, or even antique, calibers are, I only buy calibers that I know I can find for sale on every store shelf, or at yard sales, across the country.
- If used for hunting or harvesting meat, a pellet typically does not damage meat too badly.
- If your pellets get wet from the rain, or from you falling into the creek while crossing, or by simply leaving them
- in your pockets during a load of laundry, there is no worry as to whether they will work or not. Pellets have zero powder so there is no issue. Lead can corrode over time, but I have yet to see any pellet do so.
- Ease of cleaning and maintenance. I use a bore snake cleaning rope. A bore snake is small, does not take up much room, and does a great job. (Remember to clean your barrel in the direction the bullet travels.) On break action pellet guns, there is an O-ring that needs to be oiled occasionally. Any gun lube will do. Growing up, I used 3 in 1 oil, because it’s what I had lying around the garage.
Cons of a Pellet Gun
- Slow reload, unless using a magazine fed type pellet gun.
- Weight. Some pellet guns can be extremely heavy. The Benjamin Trail NP XL is extremely heavy. Break action pellet guns, especially when brand new, can be quite difficult to “break” to reload.
- A lot of modern pellet guns do not have iron sights.
- Optics. The recoil of some pellet guns is different than a centerfire rifle. Instead of a push back recoil, like a metallic cartridge rifle, a pellet gun usually recoils forward. Because of this, a lot of the scopes cannot/do not stay zeroed when mounted to a pellet gun. The type of scope needed will depend on how the pellet gun is internally operated. There are pellet gun-specific scopes.
- The Benjamin I own came with a scope from the factory. Surprisingly, it is a very nice optic. It is a 3x9x40 powered scope with an external parallax adjustment dial and external windage and elevation turrets. A parallax adjustment dial/knob helps to clarify the sight picture while looking through the optic. It is designed to put your sight picture into better focus at different distances. My only complaint with the scope is the windage and elevation turrets. They do not have removable covers, and are exposed. This makes it extremely easy to bump the knobs and throw off the zero. After I lost my zero a couple times, I put a piece of black electrical tape over the knobs. So far, this has worked, and I have maintained zero.
- Cost. Pellet guns vary greatly in cost. The Benjamin I bought was a little over three hundred dollars. For a single shot, slow reloading rifle, it’s not cheap, but I knew what I wanted and needed. To me, a pellet gun is as personal as rimfire or centerfire rifle, so it has to be something that will work for your lifestyle. For where I live, how I use it, and my experience watching my friend with the same model years ago, I knew what I wanted.
Gear for the Pellet Gun Hunting Pack
I recommend acquiring the following gear for your Pellet Gun Hunting Pack:
- Coin purse, or some type of soft, quiet pouch for spare pellets. If hunting, pellets in a tin container can make a lot of noise. Too many times, when I kept the pellets in my pant pocket(s), they would fall out when I sat down against a tree. On occasion, when I pulled one out of my pocket to reload, I also pulled out dirt, lint and other debris, which slowed me down or put unwanted dirt around the oiled O-ring.
- Small fixed blade knife. I always carry a folding knife in my pocket, and usually a multitool on my belt. When I go out in the field with a pellet gun, hunting, trapping or shooting, I additionally always don a fixed blade. Because I am not hunting big game when I am out with the pellet gun, the fixed blade I carry, is more of a “bird and trout” sized knife. Fixed blade knives are such a personal preference because of hand size, tip preference, blade material, etc. Like the type of pellet gun, get what fits you and your needs best.
- Backpack
- Stainless steel, non-insulated water bottle. I carry a non-insulated water bottle so I can boil water, if needed.
- Fire making materials.
- Simple first aid kit.
- Tourniquet.
- Paracord. One hundred feet of paracord takes up little room, and has unlimited uses.
- Granola bar, or some type of snack
Conclusion
I understand pellet guns are limited in their use, but I am steadfast in my belief they have their place in every prepper, homesteader, and survivalist arsenal. As I wrap up my writing, I would like to leave you with one of my favorite Teddy Roosevelt quotes. “The truth is that any good modern rifle is good enough. The determining factor is the man behind the gun.”