Air Rifles: The Perfect Tool for Urban Hunters

Most everyone who lives in an urban environment is well aware of the restrictions most jurisdictions have against discharging a firearm within city limits and, as well that they do because a even a bullet fired from the venerable .22 LR cartridge can travel for over a mile and thus, discharging any firearm within a crowed urban environment could cause unintentional but serious injury to other people. So, even in the event of a national emergency (aka SHTF) where law enforcement is suspended, using a firearm to hunt urban game species such as squirrels and rabbits could very well endanger your neighbors. However, the perfect solution to this problem is to use an air rifle instead because, due to their significantly lighter projectiles and lower muzzle velocities, air riles are not capable of seriously injuring a Human unless fired directly at the person at very close ranges and/or one of the big bore calibers is chosen.

However, for small game hunting, a .22 caliber air rifle generates more than enough muzzle energy to quickly and humanely dispatch small game species such as squirrels and rabbits. In fact, both of these small game species tend to thrive in urban environments due to the abundance of food that they often find there combined with the lack of their common predators such as foxes and coyotes. In fact, in many urban neighborhoods, the only real threat to one of these animals is the domestic cat. Plus, as anyone who has ridden through a well established urban neighborhood is well aware, homeowners tend to find both Oak and Hickory trees aesthetically pleasing and thus, many such neighborhoods have both large populations and large specimens of such trees.

Also, anyone who has spent time outside in such an environment in the daytime has likely seen large numbers of squirrels gamboling and gallivanting through the branches of these trees because each of these tree species produces prodigious numbers of both Acorns and Hickory Nuts which then must be gathered and disposed of in late Fall. However, both of these nuts are highly prized by squirrels and thus, they find tend to find urban environments very inviting. Also, anyone who leaves their home around either daybreak or dusk has also likely seen more than a few rabbits out feeding on the grass in their neighbor’s yards since grass is their main food source and, as we all know, homeowners also have a penchant for meticulously manicured lawns. But, most urban residents also fail to recognize these small game species as a viable source of protein and those that do are prevented from hunting them due to the restrictions on discharging firearms.

Therefore, a .22 caliber air rifle that employs either a spring-piston or gas-piston power plant with a muzzle velocity of more than 900 fps. is the perfect tool for urban small game hunters because, not only do they present a far less deadly threat to Humans, they are also extremely quiet compared to even a .22 LR. Also, because the ammunition that they fire consists of nothing more than a soft lead pellet and thus, lacks the brass case, primer, and gunpowder required by standard firearms, it can be purchased in large quantities and stored for long periods without incurring a huge expenditure. Plus, pellets are available in wide range of weights and configurations such as round nose, pointed, and hollow points and thus, the choice of pellet can be easily tailored to the size of the game species being hunted.

So, the next time you drive through your neighborhood and see all of those squirrels and rabbits, keep in mind that they are a viable and easily procured source of protein and that air rifles are the perfect urban tool for hunting them.

 

Written by,

 

Bill Bernhardt

Outdoor Professional

PS:  Check out this really cool Gun Survival Course I found.

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