Regulars » Pest Control The return of air power welcome By Ditch Keeling, Coastal Pest Solutions Ltd Friday, 14 August 2009 From time to time I am asked to remove very low numbers of nuisance animals in situations where, if the property owner held a firearms license, they could easily shoot them as and when they appear. Air rifles can now be used by land-owners as a serious tool to control pests like rabbits. Now, I would be the last person to understate the value of engaging a professional but many are finding that bringing in the pros to deal with two or three rabbits digging in their roses or a mob of magpies chasing the local bird-life away sits a fair way down on the list of luxury spending. I was discussing this with my suppliers at Serious Shooters in Penrose recently and was amazed to hear of the improvements that have been made to air rifles in recent years and that they are now being purchased by land-owners as a serious pest control tool for dealing with farm yard pests. The lads at Serious Shooters are so impressed with the capability of modern air rifles that they insisted I take one out and put it through its paces so to speak.  In three afternoons I easily dealt with rabbits, magpies and mynas out to around 50m, this is more than adequate for dealing with individual animals in tricky garden and farm-yard type settings; and with a maximum danger zone of 200m they really are a lot safer than the standard .22 (danger zone 2km).  That said, Air Rifles nowadays are to be treated in every way the same as any other firearm, the example I was loaned fires pellets at 1000 feet per second so it’s definitely not something you would want to fall into irresponsible hands.  I had so much fun with this rifle that I decided I needed one…. The next big surprise was a starting price of $295 and pellets costing as little $7.95 per 500, compare this to my $3000 .22 rifle and $90/500 rounds and it starts looking like a very cost-efficient pest control package.  I first used a little air rifle to shoot targets as a youngster and I can remember thinking I could probably run faster than the pellets were going, these new generation air rifles are modelled  on full-size rifles, are highly accurate and arguably the cheapest fix you are likely to find for farm-yard pests. You don’t require a firearms license to purchase an air rifle but you do need to be 18 years of age or older. For more information about the range of rifles available, do as I did and talk to the boys as Serious Shooters in Penrose, they are all shooters themselves and are only too happy to tell you all they know. Serious.shooters@xtra.co.nz.  Happy Hunting! Please help us to provide the advice you require by sending all pest animal questions to: info@coastalpestsolutions.co.nz.