True…it does have a fairly loud “snap” to it.
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1400fps breaks the sound barrier quite nicely.
1400fps= 954.5455 Mile/hour.
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Yeah, I am thinking more along the 45ACP speed 
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A good “pump action” will milk those lizards! 
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Like I said in my first comment, my bone collector is rated at 1300 fps, but that’s with a light weight pellet. Shooting a heavier pellet lowers the velocity, so the 10.3 grain that I run are right about 1100 fps (sonic depending on weather conditions)
Most .22 cal air rifles will stay subsonic and the larger pellet definitely delivers more punch.
I haven’t used .22 for pesting, simply because I have never found the pellet that gives me the accuracy I need from the rifles I have. I want to blow the squirrels brains out and kill it instantly, not blow its foot off and knock it out of the tree but leave it alive and suffering.
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Hope you’re eating da wabbits! 
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Daisy 880 long "gun"and Daisy 426 “pistol” to keep pests out of the area.
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The Daisy 880 and 901 are still on my list. I initially thought I might like the flexibility to pump it 3 to 10 times to vary the power as required, but considering my current physical condition it is probably better to go with a single pump per shot configuration.
Three Gamo models have moved onto the list, listed in price order, Varmint, Raptor Whisper, and Wildcat Whisper. The Raptor and Wildcat are gas piston, Varmint is spring. The Raptor has the Smooth Action Trigger (SAT), 2-stage adjustable.
This is almost as hard as picking an EDC! 
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Gas piston is slightly more efficient than the steel spring action.
However they’re both “spring” powered guns, and the recoil impulse will destroy scopes that aren’t built for airguns.
My bone collector has the early version of the SAT, and while it’s not the best trigger of my airguns,… for the price, it’s definitely not the worst!
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I can tell you with 100% confidence, ask me how I know, that the pellets I’m shooting will easily take a large squirrel at 25 yards or better and is VERY accurate.
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BINGO!
(You are correct, sir!)
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I’ve never used pellets because they would be hard to load in my Crosman 2100, (which has a huge reservoir for BB’s) but mainly, because I don’t shoot pests.
When I first got the rifle, I thought it would be cool to pretend I was a real hunter. Seeing a robin at the very top of a huge maple tree, I took aim at its head, thinking there was no way I could hit it at such a large distance with a little BB from a pump gun.
Boy was I wrong! The bird fell to the ground, with a bloody hole where one of its eyes used to be. I was mortified, felt as sad as I ever have, and have never shot at another living thing since. (True story)
Mom was right though, you really CAN put an eye out with one of these things!
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At least you took it out quickly, it never saw it coming and did not suffer.
I did target practice at a paper oil can filled with sand until I was probably about 6 years old. Then I started shooting live targets. My sister loves to tell the story of my 1st kill. It is very similar to yours, except my Mom sent my sister out to get rid of the bird when I wasn’t looking. Then they took me back out to show me I must of just “knocked” it out and it came back to and flew away.
From that point on I rarely shot at anything but live targets. My Dad taught me to never shoot anything unless there was a valid reason. Valid reasons included food for us to eat or nuisances that were a threat to our animals or crops. I don’t remember ever shooting at a paper target until I was in my 50’s and got my 1st handgun.
These lizards are an invasive species that is threatening the survival of our indigenous species. They also poop on our pool deck and that really makes my wife mad
Something to think about is we can legally finish off a wounded animal if the 1st shot was not immediately lethal. We cannot legally finish off a human threat we had to shoot to stop them from harming or killing us. It is going to be tough to watch someone suffer after a self defense incident. I cannot predict how hard it is to mentally deal with, despite knowing they caused their suffering. I hope I continue to never find out.
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My only air guns still to this day were a couple old Crosmans from when I was a kid. I got a 760 rifle when I was maybe 8. Used it a ton. It was from when everything but the stock and foregrip were all metal. I loved shooting that thing. I put a 4x Crosman scope on it. I also had a revolver I got when I was maybe 15. It was a CO2 system, with a true DA/SA trigger that had a nice feel to it. It was modeled after a Smith & Wesson M29. A friend had given it to me because it didn’t work. I took it all apart and found a broken spring. I somehow found a spring that was close in size, modified the new spring and fitted it in place, and the gun worked perfectly.
I actually think all the time I spent shooting that CO2 revolver helped me shoot real revolvers better later in life. I was very used to the grip, and long heavy DA trigger. Have your kids start with pellet/BB guns and it’s a great way to start building shooting skills. And, it’s still some great memories.
This thread has got me thinking about getting a decent new air rifle for backyard plinking.
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Alright, the check is in the mail! A Hatsan Mod 95, Vortex Gas Piston pellet rifle with fully adjustable 2-stage trigger is on its way to my house. https://hatsanairgunsusa.com/product/mod-95-vortex-combo/
It will not be here until Monday, but does it need a breakdown cleaning (similar to a new firearm) prior to shooting? I plan to stop by BassPro tomorrow and pick up some Crosman Premier Hollow Point pellets. I thought I would look and see if they have the boresnake for air guns in stock. Anything else I need to be aware of?
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I’ve never torn an airgun down with the exception of my HW90 needing to be shipped to a dealer to fix a leak in the gas piston. Pretty much make sure the bore is clear and have fun shooting!
As to pellets, definitely try different types and weights, most air rifles are kinda picky. One type of pellet may shoot a pattern like a shotgun blast, while another will be a tack driver!
I’ve found domed pellets to be generally the best accuracy in most of my guns
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So, dry fire, is that a problem for adjusting the trigger, or should I just burn some pellets into the ground (and hope I don’t hit a sprinkler pipe) to get it set up?
Getting stoked because it should be here Monday.
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If you don’t mind dropping some coin on air rifles, PCPs are the way to go. I stumbled across them early in the fabricated famine (oops; pandemic, I mean) and quickly became addicted. Started with a .22 Benjamin marauder that has taken rabbits at just over 70 yards (verified with range finder) and ended up with 3 more PCPs, including an Air Force Texan .357 that’s capable of dropping deer size game and a .30 Hatsan Blitz full auto that slings 16 pellets per second. I’ve taken out countless vermin from the garden and enjoyed the heck out of target shooting with them. Pellets are relatively cheap and were easy to find when ammo for my powder burners got scarce. Just be prepared to invest in a compressor; airing up with a manual pump, while a great workout, gets old fast.
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There will be a manual with the gun just like real ones… don’t be a typical man and throw it away! 
Dry firing a piston driven airgun can damage the piston, at least on older ones… again refer to the manual.
But I wouldn’t worry about hitting a sprinkler line, unless you’re aiming for it and it’s literally on the surface! The pellet is not likely to go more than a few inches into even a bag of potting soil. Maybe 1/4” to 1/2” penetration into a 2x4 typically. But that still equates to a pass through on a squirrel!
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