Question:
Could a .22 495 FPS pellet gun take out a muskrat easily at ~25 yards?
Evoke186
2014-10-29 16:34:06 UTC
my grandparents have a lot of land, including a pretty large pond. apparently, a "big rat thing" has been swimming around in their, messing with their fish and stuff. i'm assuming it's a muskrat. they want me to get rid of it, and i'm wondering if a .22 cal 495 fps pellet gun could do it reliably. if not, i'll use a firearm but i think that would be overkill, and i don't want to scare their horses.
Seven answers:
?
2014-10-29 16:58:13 UTC
No not enough. A .22 LR would do fine, with a GOOD hit in the head which is easy since they often swim nose up, and you can shoot a little behind the nose. A .22 should not scare the horses, especially if you make sure the horses see you are out. Thank you though for considering them.



If the folks have a Muskrat likely there is more then one, and soon to be a bunch when they have little ones. This is a major problem, find where the Muskrats have been digging,. Usually they like to dig into the dam. Soon they are all they way thru, and you find your pond has drained. That is the entire, problem, and why you really need to get rid of the muskrats.



Soon however, will be trapping season. You can then use traps at the tunnel entrance, and let them do the work. If you don't want to do that put an ad on Clist sporting section, and ask for a trapper to come trap muskrats. Bet, you get a guy smiley happy to do it for you. I believe the pelts are way down in value now, only about $5.00 each.



I would just get my lawn chair, do a little cat fishing, and keep the .22 close at hand ( No I wouldn't I prefer to make fish food. The .22-250 would be my choice. Was that moss flying, or shredded Muskrat ? ). BE VERY CAREFUL IF FIRING A .22 INTO WATER. Make certain the angle is steep to avoid a ricochet OR be sure you let the ricochet goes to a safe direction. .22 are NOTORIOUS ricochet hazards.
Mr.357
2014-10-29 20:03:10 UTC
Muskrats are pretty tough. I was farming on night and saw one walking across a field. I hopped off of the tractor and was going to stomp it like I stomp rats. Wrong move. It was all teeth and claws. The disk took care if him real handily. If you haven't figured it out, a .22 air rifle is not enough. You should use a .22 lr.
C_F_45
2014-10-30 09:20:38 UTC
Canadian legal .22 caliber air rifles can be effective on small game(squirrel, rabbit) out to around 20 yards.



A clean kill on a muskrat at 25 yards would be unlikely.



.22

480fps with a 14gr pellet delivers 7.2ft-lbs of muzzle energy.

460 to 480 seems to be around the norm for Canadian legal

air rifles.
?
2017-03-02 20:15:37 UTC
Get Rid Of Muskrats Easy
wtf4217
2014-10-29 17:39:49 UTC
Idk what a muskrat is. But I kill squirrels all the time with .22 and .177 air rifles at 20-40 yards.



I prefer .177 due to velocity.

But the slow moving .22 does the trick too
?
2014-10-30 08:36:03 UTC
No...not unless you can throw it that far and hit him. Better find out if it's legal to shoot them, too.
anonymous
2014-10-29 17:10:14 UTC
No.


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