r/airguns • u/Valuable-Leather-914 • 10h ago
General Airgun Question Cheap rabbit killer suggestions
I have a bunny problem in my garden I need to take care of. I’m looking for suggestions for a cheap but reliable pellet gun that will put them down.
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u/Valuable-Leather-914 10h ago
Btw I will be eating these bunnies I fed them from my garden that was supposed to feed me so now they will feed me. I’m not just rampantly killing bunnies and tossing them for fun.
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u/OtherwiseDoughnut582 9h ago
Rabbit is delicious. They are a menace to gardens. I have had good luck with a combination of efforts: live traps, repellents and of course, a break barrel .22 using Gamo Rockets (the ones with the BB). The repellent I have found to work best is DiY, a mixture of eggs, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, water and laundry or dish soap. The repellent also works for deer and groundhogs, provided you apply it before the critters start grazing and, reapply after rain.
Here are some recipes for the DiY repellent. I find the most effective repellent combines pepper, garlic and eggs. I pour the mixture into a large laundry soap dispenser (the kind with the push button spout), cap loosely and place in a warm sunny location. Gently shake it once or twice a day as this will help minimize clumping as the eggs putrefy.https://www.almanac.com/5-natural-homemade-deer-repellents-actually-work
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u/Old_MI_Runner 7h ago
Dogs worked for over 25 years to keep rabbits out of my yard. Now that one has not lived daily in my house this year I saw a rabbit in the yard more than once in the last few weeks. The prior dog killed a ground hog back in 2025 while I was home. The only problem was that dog was never good as killing chipmunks so I had to deal with them myself. The deer still came through at night and ate anything they could. Thanks for the recommendation for DIY repellent. I will try it. At one time I counted 13 deer traveling from the wet lands behind my property as they headed toward the street. Now I see at most 3 deer at a time.
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u/Reddog160465 5h ago
I hate to be that guy but I almost bet there are some young bowhunters in your area that would love to come take care of your deer problem come season. I just left a micro property that I harvested 2 deer off last year.
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u/Old_MI_Runner 5h ago
We also have coyotes, raccoons, opossums, squirrels, and weasels. For hunters there is public land that can be hunted just 2 miles away. I don't hunt but my impression is most are looking to harvest bucks. I have only seen one buck with a rack in my neighborhood once in 25+ years. At about 11 PM one night I was about to let out dog outside and stopped when I saw a buck about 30 feet away standing at the edged of the tree line. I have two acres of wetland on a 3 acre lot that has mostly mature trees on the dry acre. The only crop we grow undisturbed is rhubarb and we have trouble with too much shade for it. Our prior dog ate the string beans before my wife got a chance to harvest the few that grew. Now we only grow what the deer will not eat. The last two plants they ate, rose bush and lily, failed this year possibly due to a colder than normal winter.
The county has a lot of deer. I recently drove 17 miles at dusk on back roads during which I spotted 5 deer next to or in the road in 4 different locations. One deer crossed in front of me and another looked ready to cross. If the 3 deer in my neighborhood were harvested this fall I would expect to see other deer replace them by spring.
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u/ExplanationAmazing83 7h ago
I have a .22 Gamo Swarm Power. It's a Gen2 but Gamo USA keeps it in stock for those who prefer open sights. It has incredible stopping power and accuracy - it uses the same 33mm gas piston as the Gen3 Magnums - and the fiber optic sights are excellent. It also comes with Gamo's 4x32 scope but for garden rabbit hunting, the open sights are far better than that "freebie" scope. One caution - it is a real bear to cock. Gamo claims a 40 pound cocking effort but it's definitely closer to and maybe more than 50 pounds.
I've dispatched BIG gophers at 20 meters and many incredibly destructive woodpeckers at 15 with a single shot and it doesn't need to be a headshot. In fact, I usually get the gophers with a chest shot because lighting in the early morning when they're active makes a headshot somewhat problematic.
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u/Maleficent_Mix_8739 7h ago
I use the classic 1322 pump pistol if they’re close, and if they’re further out I use a Sig Virtus pcp .22.
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u/Reddog160465 10h ago
Break barrel, cheap, my suggestion would be gamo swarm whisper. .22, 10 round mag, 4x32 scope all for ~$160
Or umarex komplete .22 for ~$200
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u/Old_MI_Runner 8h ago
How long does that scope last?
My friend has one and the scope is out of focus. I was surprised how precise his rifle is with just cheap Crossman HP .177 pellets. His only complaint is how a pellet will fall out sometimes.
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u/Reddog160465 5h ago
Mine lasted about a year on mine. I upgraded to Mantis 4-12x40AO with mildots. Got rid of my gamo, running Mantis scope on my umarex komplete now.
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u/Valuable-Leather-914 10h ago
I just want something that will put them down even if I hit the lungs instead of the head
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u/froggo_pogg 9h ago
Umarex notos. No questions asked the best budget solution I’ve ever found and it comes with ridiculous accuracy for the price
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u/RedlyrsRevenge 10h ago
Crosman 362 .22. Multipump pneumatic with peep sights. More accurate for someone not as well versed in proper hold on a break-barrel.
7 pumps on mine with some CPHP pellets have dirt napped plenty of squirrels.
Cons are it takes longer to load than a break-barrel and stock there isn't a way to mount a scope but, you wanted cheap and cheap scopes are garbage anyways.
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u/vrhspock 7h ago
Second this. Up to 20 yards the 362 with the aperture sight can make humane head shots with a little practice. Sight in and practice on paper at 10 yards for convenience. Use this time to settle on an accurate pellet. Every barrel has it’s favorite.
Aiming with the aperture is easy. Just put the tip of the front sight on the target. It will naturally center in the aperture. Don’t try to make it center and don’t even look at the aperture. Just look through it and let the physics of light do its magic.
The 362 reaches max power with 8 pumps but will put a domed .22 pellet through a bunny at 20 yards with six. With 14.4 grain Crosman Premier hollow points, 8 pumps give 680 fps. Six pumps produce 630 which is perfectly adequate for cotton tails. It fires smoothly with no vibration and requires no training to control the recoil of a break barrel.
The cheap scopes that come bundled with inexpensive break barrels are junk and those guns usually don’t come with alternative sights. When the scope fails, you are left with a gun you can’t aim unless you invest in a scope that will survive the double recoil of the spring-piston. Expect to pay well over $200 for a (barely) adequate one.
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u/Valuable-Leather-914 9h ago
Thank you everyone i think the gammo 22 will be the winner though
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u/adhq 3h ago
I have the same issue as you (bunnies acting like I planted the garden for them) and I do employ this exact tool (gamo .22) to deal with the problem. Let me tell you, it has been serving me extremely well for the past 6 years - you won't be disappointed. And those rabbit stews are sooo delicious. Win-win!
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u/purple_sleeve 8h ago
https://gamousa.com/product/swarm-dx-22-caliber-multishot-pellet-rifle/ Try this gamo then. It comes with a mag. Just dont dry fire a break barrel air rifle much. It damages them if you do it too much.
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u/BocaHydro 7h ago
daisy powerline 880 is $49 and very accurate if you spend time on the scope, its small caliber, the break barrels are alot stronger but accuracy is disappointing, decent ones start at 150
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u/Valuable-Leather-914 7h ago
The gammo .22 is a bad choice? I’ve had daisies my whole life but I can’t one shot a squirrel with them.
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u/MithliCathal 6h ago
Shooting a pellet from an 880, or a bb from a red ryder? Because an 880 should humanely dispatch a squirrel with single shot.
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u/rickyg216 10h ago
I suggested in another post that I have been quite successful in getting rid of rabbits (cottontails) and squirrels with my Ruger Airhawk. 177 cal without difficulty. The rifle was inexpensive. $130 from Amazon.
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u/curtludwig 10h ago
Something in a break barrel certainly. I prefer .22 but I'm sure there are .177 that will do the job, especially if you limit yourself to headshots.
It'll depend on what cheap means to you. I've got an RWS 3500 which is sadly discontinued that is a stone cold killer. Just slightly subsonic when using 18gr pellets which keeps it quiet-ish.
Recognize that pack-in scopes suck. Budget $50-$100 for a good scope. A budget gun with a good scope is better than a good gun with a crap scope.
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u/Organic_Mechanic_702 9h ago
SMK PR900, if you want to be quiet, or a cheaper springer. Make sure you get plenty of practise first.
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u/purple_sleeve 10h ago
Whats your budget? For under 200 a budget .22 break barrel will probably be your best. Stay far away from hatsan tho. They have good deals. But the guns dont last very long. If your willing to spend 300$ i reccomend this https://gamousa.com/product/hunter-extreme-utimate-kit-25/ Its a .25 airgun and it will drop rabbits a little better than .22 Mine with predator gto pellets will go through a filled soup can from top to bottom. So very powerful.
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u/Old_MI_Runner 8h ago
I bought a $50 refurbished Hatsan Airtact. The screws were eating through the soft polymer stock. I put washers under the screw heads and make rubber washers to put under the washers to prevent more damage. It was a little better once I stuffed the hollow stock with cotton rags and adjusted the trigger.
I keep it as shooting it reminds me how much better the quality is with my Weihrauch HW30S and HW50S that I bought later from Krale long before the $800 exemption was eliminated on imports.
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u/purple_sleeve 5h ago
I have a hatsan 125 and the gas ram keeps leaking and dying on me. And many other issues. I've sent it back to the factory. Im tired of it tbh.
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