what shot size for shooting rabbits

[COMPO 54]

36 grams of S.G only kidding.

I have shot (and killed) rabbits with every thing from no.8 to no.4.

They all do the job.

 

 

I think hitting them in teh centre of teh pattern is the most important point and why you have killed with 4's-8's

 

But what andyf stated about new guns i actually think is right!

 

Most shotguns these days are made and designed with clays in mind, lots of people buy sporter models etc.....

 

So i reckon if you have a new gun or an old gun you need to do some pattern tests and see which loads produce the best pattern......and i think you will find some guns perform better with the lighter loads and hence will allow you to kill better and more consistently

 

I was out shooting last night with my baikal semi auto, rolled a rabbit at 30yards with 32gm of 5's!

 

a few days ago was out with teh old side by side.......and rolled a rabbit at 25 yards with 32gm of 6's....both of my 12gauges work pretty well with anything (the semi cant cycle carts smaller than 70mm though) but i have seen and shot a few sporter models which you can tell are designed for the lighter clay loads.

[jclay91 12]

kent velocity 30gram no.6

 

i use them for everything...rabbit pigeon pheasant duck and even dropped geese and fox with them (before the lead shot ban)

[ellir0305 9]

been out lamping with the 12s the last couple of nights and have taken 74 rabbits with 28 and 30g sixes, not a single runner. good shot and i find better than the 7.5 which are perfect for pigeons.

 

my mate with a 20 bore took a fair amount with the same load weight and shot size

[waidmann 105]

you may get a better pattern with smaller shot/lighter loads.when bolting rabbit to gun in woods i use smaller shot(skeet),limited danger zone,max spread at short range.

i would suggest the smaller pellets a causing a better "shock reaction" and therefore killing them outright.

we were taught that its about the reaction(shock) and not the penetration/organ damage caused.

a mate swears that when bolting fox the best first shot at short range is a skeet cartridge( 1mm). i have to say at 10-20 yards they just roll( possibly due to quicker spread and larger area of impact).it works well.