Hunting with pistols...

I have read many things on the argument of how much power is needed to "hunt" with and if pistol hunting is just a different word for pest control. Lets begin with this. Pest control IS hunting. Wheter you sit and wait for the mouse to come out from behind a bale of hay, or you sit on a stand with your bow in hand waiting for a deer, it is the same thing. So if you are pest controlling, all you are doing is hunting animals deemed to be a "nuisance" or a pest. I have had to stalk a squirrel for 1 hour and 20 minutes to be able to get a decent shot. And i have got a deer on shorter stalks... So any pursue in which you must outwit, out manouver and use "predatory" skills and instincts constitutes hunting. If you disagree with me, find the nearest murder of crows and try to get yourself within 30 yards... not that easy. As per any hunting, there are "shots of opportunity" and there are methodically prepared shots. Walking into the woods and getting to a stream where there is a buck drinking is luck; but raising your rifle, and placing a well aimed shot into the killzone before he hightails it out of there take skill, therefore we can considere it hunting. Also the level of sportmanship is declared by the hunger of the hunter. That buck at the stream may have been too easy a shot. If i am not starved i'll let it go... That squirrel in the feeder that does not know is being centered in the scope from inside a half open window... easy shot. Want more of a challenge? make some noise to startle it and then go look for it again... if you find it, and kill it, you have hunted a squirrel. In England they look down on pistol hunting, as if it was unsporting and inhumane. Love to take my fellow brits to the woods with a .44 mag revolver scoped. It is both effective and challenging, giving more of a chance to the quarry to live another sunrise. Well airgun hunting is just a scaled down version of hunting. Be it with a rifle or a pistol is all about knowing your prey, your gun and your own limits. The reason for this rant is to put to rest the uncertainty about what a Target gun and a sporting gun can do, be it powder or air. A "target" gun is just a more accurate, and sometimes less practical Hunting gun. A "target" rifle can take ground squirrels at 30 yards with a well placed shot. that is about 500 t0 600 fps in .177 in the right place. Lets not tell people they can't hunt with that as they will think the danger factor to be lessened, and may be less careful due to the "not dangerous" nature. I have purposely built a CO2 powered 2240, from parts in the work bench, that i will use as a small bird (sparrows, starlings) and mouse and chipmunk hunter. It is barreled in .177 with a spare 1377 barrel i had. the only custom part is the breech (crooked barn) and the valve was "massaged" at home with normal tools to get me a consistent shooter. It will give me 32 shots with superdomes at 470 FPS for a power level of 4 FPE. It is scoped with a 1.5/4x-18 scope and is zeroed at 8 yards with a far zero at 20 yards. This gun lives in my hiking backpack along a 1399 stock that is used to extend the range to its maximum hunting range of 33 yards. at that distance the pellet will still take a bird but the 5 inch drop requires a more stable platform. For stalking around the woods and farm, it is used as a pistol. I am confident enough that it will group the pellets within 1/2 inch anywhere within its killzone (5 yards to 21 yards). I am not the kind of person that takes pictures of the trophies but i will put my money where my mouth is and start to document the outings with this gun. Hopefully this will be the beginning of a cool series of post that will finally give insight to the hunter looking to downscale their safaris and still have fun during and of the hunting season.