long ranges.

[stealthy1 3,964]

What about the guys that go onto ground to tidy up after somebody else and you find everythings spooky as hell you can get near anything and you have to take longer shots ?

 

 

I'll let the ferrets spank thier arses

[Sterry 0]

Only experience will tell. I recently have lost confidence in my air rifle, a half grown rabbit from standing shot about 20yrds, agreed my marksman ship was slightly out, instead of the gap between the eye and the ear (where i usually shoot them it i dont get a chance for a back of the head shot) the pellet struck just above the eye (was so close was touching) the rabbit dropped i looked up from my scope to mark where it was. with that the thing scrambled away. found him in a run just sitting there, poor lil bugger, mad me feel like crap knowing i did that. needless to say i put him out of his misery asap. so rabbits....i think i'll keep it up to 15yrd with my air rifle, other than that use the shotguns and wait for when i get my .22lr as i have had only good experiences with them.

 

That said i can consistantly hit a skeet clay at 60ish yrds with my air gun, but just because i can hit it does mean it has enough energy to kill, and the variable at that range with a sub 12ft/lbs air rifle, let alone a .22. its just not worth it in my opinion.

[Catcher 1 639]

its all down to personal choice and confidence.

 

i would say .22 is good out to 35-40 yards

 

and .177 40-45 yards

 

nothing wrong with what your doing aaron, if fact its very good but as you get more experienced and older.......you will be taking longer shots.

 

the one thing you are doing that most people neglect today,is improving your fieldcraft.

 

but, it wont be to long before someone states thay can hit a gnats knacker at 100 yards.

 

cheers

 

sean

 

 

Hi sean its also down to ground.some times you have to take the longer shot as there is no cover nearer.Yes we would all like nice 25 yards shot.When i put out pidgeon decoys i use the pro sport put the decoys at 45 to 50 yards.As a pidgeon on the ground will be off again at the slitest sound or movment.I also find the Logun S sixteen 22 will do the job just as good.As for fieldcraft.Thats were most people get it wrong they are to lazy or dont know how or where to build a good hide.atb. Catcher 1

[Pastie 0]

Only experience will tell. I recently have lost confidence in my air rifle, a half grown rabbit from standing shot about 20yrds, agreed my marksman ship was slightly out, instead of the gap between the eye and the ear (where i usually shoot them it i dont get a chance for a back of the head shot) the pellet struck just above the eye (was so close was touching) the rabbit dropped i looked up from my scope to mark where it was. with that the thing scrambled away. found him in a run just sitting there, poor lil bugger, mad me feel like crap knowing i did that. needless to say i put him out of his misery asap.

 

It happens sometimes and there is nothing you can do about it. At least you had the nouse and respect for the animal to go and find it and do the necessary.

 

Whenever I arrive at my permission I always pop a target up against a tree or something and take 10 or so shots just to make sure that the scope hasn't got knocked out of true or something. If I hit 10/10 in a 1/2inch group at 20yds I'll then go looking for rabbits. If I can't hit 10/10 I'll shoot another bunch until I have got my eye in.

 

Adrenaline (buck fever) plays a big part in screwing up your accuracy. Sure you can hit a skeet at 60yds but you won't have the adrenaline rush to throw you off kilter. Controlling your breathing and squeezing that trigger real gently will help no end. Don't let the odd wayward shot put you off, it happens to everyone and most times the wayward shots will miss completely.

 

I took a guy out for his first and only outing a while ago. This guy is some kind of .22 range whiz and could put a second pellet through every hole I made in a target. Great shot, real nice gun, you know the deal. The trouble started when he pointed the gun at a rabbit. At 15yds he missed, twice and gave up. He said he couldn't control himself enough to hold the gun steady when he pointed it at an animal.

 

Nuff said! It takes more than good marksmanship skills to knock down an animal.

 

Cheers

 

Mat

[Grim Reaper 1]

Great comments Mat, totally agree.

 

I would never shoot at anything that I wasn't certain I could kill (well, except rats!) and even then I will only shoot them if I'm certain I can retrieve them (no point in shooting a pigeon that will fall into a feed bin/get stuck in a roof truss, etc, etc)

 

I don't think I'm alone in having the opinion that the primary reason why I have an air rifle is for vermin control. When I just want to shoot something for the sake of shooting it I'll sit in my garden and hit paper targets, maybe I might even draw a picture of a rabbit on the target, but i'm not very good at drawing so I don't do that very often.

 

Anyway, the upshot is, my advice to novices would be NEVER shoot anything beyond 30 yards (except a rat, and thats only ok coz they deserve it) until you get extremely competent in killing. One shot, one kill!

 

'nuff said!

 

 

I can understand the sentiments behind your statement bud, but cannot wholey agree with them as stated though.

 

I prefer to think of it like this:

 

All quarry, (it is of no consequence whatsoever what actual species it is, mind) has the right to as humane and decent a death as possible - without any (or at least as little) undue suffering to it.

 

Now, i can reallize that you were talking of rats there, and if truth be told, nobody really likes the rats as a species, but even they deserve decency and swift dealings in their death, eh?

 

Take note mate - I am not digging you out about what you said in any way - I am just making a comment is all.

 

 

All the best,

Grim.

Edited July 23, 2009 by Grim Reaper

[aaronpigeonplucker 32]

took the words right out of my mouth (or keyboard in this case :laugh) grim!

ATB

Aaron.

[Grim Reaper 1]

Cheers Aaron!

 

 

Regards,

Grim.

[LOGUNSOLO177 0]

I shoot at all sorts of ranges up close on the rats and 20-40 yards on everthing else depending on conditions.

 

But out of personal preferance I enjoy the challenge of the longer range shots ( watched to many sniper movies haha). But I do a hell of alot of target shooting and I know my gun very well.

 

I understand what your saying but I say stick to what ranges your comfy at. My feildcraft isnt that good either hopeless at stalking hahaha!!

[Catcher 1 639]

Hi all. This young lad gose on about this every three to four weeks.Hes young and cant make the shot over 25 yards fair play .Some of us can and do.I am not braging but a 45 tot 50 yard shot to me is not a problem.Most people that have been shooting for many years will say the same no disrepect maybe youd be better with a sling.They will do 25 yards no probs.atb. Catcher 1

[aaronpigeonplucker 32]

its just when pepole new to airguns ask what range they should shoot at % on here will say 30-40 yards. according to BASC the max killing range of an airgun is 30 meters (around 33 yards) so why make it hard for newcomers to shoot at these long ranges when you could be teaching them techniques wich would make it easier to achieve shots, i.e stalking, concealment, paitence will all add up to having less misses, although they are hard skills to learn ultimately you will get less wounded or missed quarry as the closer you are to you target the easier the target becomes.

[Pastie 0]

With the right setup pretty much anyone should be able to make the long shots after a good few hundred practice shots. If you have one of those cheap chinese guns or even a decent gun with a crap scope even the best of us would struggle to make the shot. I can make long shots with the supersport if I need to but there is always the problem of external factors that will determine the pellets flight path. The effect of wind, nerves and snatchy fingers and whatever else are going to be amplified the further away your quarry is. It takes time to become 'in tune' with your gun so that you subconsiously make adjustments to balance whatever may throw your shot off.

 

I suppose making the long shot will always boil down to the quality of your setup and PRACTICE.

 

I wouldn't recommend anybody go after live quarry without at least practising with a 500 tin of pellets and targets. Only when you can make 10/10 in a 1/2" group at 20yds should you consider pointing the gun at anything other than targets.

 

 

Cheers

 

Mat

[ghillies 209]

ok, a guy wants some land clearing, you creep up to 200 hunded rabbits, could take weeks, or, you wack um out of the back of a 4x4 out to the 50 mark, it takes 3-5 nights.

hense need and nessesaty.

 

 

on the other hand for food, the exsperience of stalking brings you into the food chain and brings you into nature and prity much gives you insight, so both are skills (as mentioned earlier on).. it's a self disaplin amongst other things.. depending on how you veiw it.

[othickman 6]

its just when pepole new to airguns ask what range they should shoot at % on here will say 30-40 yards. according to BASC the max killing range of an airgun is 30 meters (around 33 yards) so why make it hard for newcomers to shoot at these long ranges when you could be teaching them techniques wich would make it easier to achieve shots, i.e stalking, concealment, paitence will all add up to having less misses, although they are hard skills to learn ultimately you will get less wounded or missed quarry as the closer you are to you target the easier the target becomes.

 

Hey Aaron, I would very grateful if you could send me a link to the threads/sites that can teach me about stalking: I know a bit (easily get within 15-20 yards of dumb rabbits) but would love to know how to do it properly and therefore better.