I had a very similar situation with yours and your neighbor, LAST YEAR. We have a huge pecan tree in our backyard. Got 3 pecans last year. Squirrels got the rest. I live in a historic district of a small town, with very close neighbors, but I was set on squirrel destruction. Did way too much research, but ended up with a 20 cal Beeman, Goldfinger, R7, I think. I know your Beeman broke, and this gun is about twice what you want to pay, but let's just say, in the event PETA is monitoring this thread, we had 1,000s, I say again 1,000s of pecans this year. 1,000's. We also have a small park across the street. For some reason, those squirrels "moved on" as well. Strange. The R7 came with a BSA scope designed for the reverse impact of a pellet gun. I collect and shoot WWII German and Russian rifles, and one day I took the pellet gun to the range with the Mausers. Sighted it in, and ROUTINELY shot 1" groups at the 50 yd target. And I am 1/2 blind! As is usually the case with my older guns, I spent most of my day letting other folks shoot it. Many were amazed. The 20 cal is a bit more difficult to find pellets for, but online shopping solves that. I settled on 20 caliber due to both velocity and mass. I did not want too fast a pellet since going supersonic would create a lot of noise. This gun, the R-7 is very quiet, but very powerful. Early on I was shooting at a target in my backyard, about 40 yards. It was backed by a ratty piece of 3/4 inch plywood. Hit the bullseye and heard a prang off the backyard neighbors house. Oops. Anyway, I have had great luck with my Beeman. Sorry for your experience. Again the R-7 is a bit more expensive, but dem pecan pies were sure good yesterday.
took the Beeman back and traded it for a Gamo Whisper Haven't had time to mount the scope yet, but the adjustable sights seem pretty usable just as they are. One notable difference in the Beeman and the Gamo: the Gamo is all synthetic vs the wood of the Beeman. The Gamo ways 5#, the Beeman, 10#. I'll probably mount the scope this weekend. W/ the break in action in the backyard since the Beeman was broken, the tree rats are feeling brave. I may have time to get a few this evening and make some gumbo for the Saints/Pats game.
took the ole Daisy .177 out of storage yesterday. no squirrels to be found, but coke bottles, cats, neighbors' kids, and an Auburn logo i printed from the interwebs caught some serious hell.
Mine is a break barrel. You "pump" it one time and it is at full power - 1000-1200fps, depending on the type pellet you use. Not too good for neighborhood wars. Now, my old Daisy lever action, we used to have some great wars w/ those. Only rule for us was you had to shoot below the shoulders. That thing was so anemic you could see the bb come out.
walked out into the garage this morning, damn tree rat was barking at me from about 35 yards. walked back in, got the Gamo, stood in the garage, took aim through my newly resighted scope (30 yards). Little bastid came tumbling out of that tree :hihi: Interesting thing though. As I sighted the scope at this further distance (resting it on sand bags), I would hit 2 or 3 shots very close, and one would fly pretty far off target. This was w/ standard lead pellets. I'm thinking I'm kind of at the max semi-consistent range w/ them.
don't know the caliber, but this drunk old coonazz i know just got a Daisy "crack barrel" pellet gun for christmas. crack it, put in the pellet, and close it up. no pump action, nothing. one crack and shoot. i didn't test it, but when he shot it empty (just air), it sounded like it had a lil pop to it.
