I bought a Crosman Model 760 Pumpmaster Cal. .177 BB/Pellet rifle (unrifled barrel) on sale for $29.99. BB's are now $4.95 for 1500 count, so I bought some. While the rifle isn't the most accurate after about 50 feet, it's fast enough to fire BB's at 625 fps. It can kill the offending birds within reasonable ranges.
I am currently living in a town of 1780 people that suffer from wildlif intruding on their property and trashing their flowers and fruit trees. The Rock Pigeon is a non-native and invasive species that isn't protected and are little more than a pain in the tush. I am hoping to rid the neighborhood of as many of the "rats with wings" as I can. I will later be investing in some more expensive pellets which are more accurate in the rifle than the BB ammunition.
You may wish me "happy hunting" with the rig as I will be stalking the wily "pain in the rump" as soon as I can.
Well one thing that the pellet guns are good for is exactly what you are doing. I will say that the help develop trigger control, so long as you don't develop bad habits...
My problems are with the "Fuzzy Tailed Rats" you know them as "Cute Little Squirrels". >:D They chew up everything, to include Big Green Pinecones, they love to drop those on the roof of the house, which sound like baseballs. They also will chew up wiring in your attic or vehicles as they root out thing to chew on.
I was doing good when I had the Benjamin pump gun here, it was my brother's gun. I had it set up with a 3x9x32 Tasco scope and it was very accurate with good pellets. They chronoed at 850 fps for the heavier and 1070 fps with super light alloy pellets. I have nailed many of these pest like a shooting gallery, as the bounce from tree to tree, run across the top of the neighbor's fence or think they are out of sight at the tops of the tall pines. ;D I use to eat them but have since stopped because people could be putting poison out.
Since my brother has a young son and I taught him to shoot it before he could even pump it, I sent it home with them and need to find me a replacement air rifle. Ever since we have had a population explosion of these "Fuzzy Tailed Rats" and they are out of hand...I need to invest in an other quality pellet gun soon. ::)
Look up the air force air guns . They have Lothar Walther barrels and come in 308,357,45 cal . They push them to 1100 fps and 500 ft/lbs energy. People hunt deer with them .
I'm about ready to "bite the bullet" and go "suppressed". Can't make up my mind if I want to go the .22 route, or I already have a SA Longslide with a threaded-comped bbl that would be perfect. My problem is that I have chipmunks, squirrels and larger "critters"......possums, raccoons, groundhogs and an occasional deer wandering into my backyard. My house backs up to an oversized natural area.....about 50-100 wide and probably 250-350 yards long. It supports a LOT of animals. I've been live trapping most of the problem children and then releasing them a good distance away, but I want to SHOOT something.
down here our main varmints are possums, coons & iguanas. I keep my ole Win. pump loaded with .22 CB Caps. they will kill a coon or possum at close range (back porch) but are accurate enough for a head shot on an iguana in a tree a couple hundred feet away. they are also quieter than my suppressed 10/.22.
Pellets have a big plus over BBs. They don't bounce (ricochet) nearly as much and are less likely to pass through what ever you hit.
My vermin gun is an RWS 52 spring action pellet gun. It launches .177 pellets over 1000 fps and you can hear the wack of a solid hit. An eye peeking around a tree trunk is about all I need to keep the local squirrel population in check.
I used to use .22 cb's until I killed a squirrel high in a tree, and the pass through ended up in the neighbor's garage 75 yards away. .22's have their place, but a subdivision isn't one of them, at least not without a positive back stop.
Most of the pigeons I do away with is with a 12 gauge in dog training.
(https://dogsportphoto.smugmug.com/Working-Spaniels/Post/i-5MvnLGs/0/XL/2008-07-26_P7263588-XL.jpg)
Greg