killing range

[Phantom 631]

I would like to see a rabbit hit and drop at 50+ yards with 10ft lb

 

Why push the envelope to the max and risk distressing the quarry? I have 11.5ft and will only go to 40 yds max as i know then i could get a clean kill. I have shot at 50 yds and dispatched cleanly, but only when there was zero wind and i knew the holdover precisley.

 

Just my opinion that's all, but fairplay to the fella for taking the advice

 

I agree with what you say there

 

However; if like you say, conditions are very good (perfect is best) and marksmaship skills (including judging wind speed, direction and hold over) are up to it then there would not be a problem.

 

It takes no more than 4ft/lbs (could be less) to kill a bunny with a headshot.

A pellet fired at 10ft/lbs has a retained energy of 7 ft/lbs at 45 yards (according to Chairgun Pro) so transfering that energy into a bunny would result in an instant kill with a headshot.

 

I have taken 45 and 50 yard headshots and they have been sucessful one shot kills. Again conditions were the deciding factor and I would not have taken the shots if they had been less than ideal.

 

My worst shot that still haunts me to this day was one at about 30 yards up near the east coast.

I had the bunny absolutely bang on zero range The bunny presented a perfect side of the head image in the scope, crosshairs placed just behind the eye (this was prone shooting) and as I let the 2nd stage go, a gust of wind came off the North Sea and the bunny dropped without a twitch just rolled over onto its left hand side I was admiring my skillfull kill through the scope when its back leg started to kick, Just nerves I thought. Then its front legs began moving. No F ing way was that nerves! I moved my eye away from the scope and the bunny got up

I broke my cover scaring every rabbit in the field away and within less than 4 seconds I was chasing the rabbit in a figure of eight.

I threw my scrim over the rabbit and it dropped down dead I grabbed it and pulled its neck just to be sure.

Examining the quarry, that quite strong breeze moved the pellet impact point to the right and the pellet went in one eye and out of the other.

I was upset for weeks about that; as many of the older forum regulars will remember.

 

 

That one single incident makes me think about every aspect of a shot before I take up the 1st stage, and then again before I let off the second stage. It also taught me to take paper targets and a portable backstop with me every time I go hunting. If I can't get at least 10 shots in the black area of the paper (size of a 20 pence piece) I come home without taking a shot at a live animal.

There is always another day

 

Phantom

[pest hunter 151 15]

well you need to hit kill zone but make sure your pellet carrying more than 3.5 ftlb when it hits a rabbit than min power to make clean kill hope dis helps

[Edgar 1]

For me 35 yards is far enough. Use good field craft to get as close as you can. Sometimes I practice on paper at 50 yards and am surprised to find that all the pellets are over to one side when I thought there was no wind and the zero is bang on at 25 yards. This means the wind must have shifted my pellets even though I didn't know there was any wind. How people can calculate this to place accurate shots on live quarry is beyond me.

[Phantom 631]

Hi Edgar,

Thats a valid point you make there

 

Part of studying Marksmanship Skills is the study of ballistics and not just the flight path of the pellet.

Much can come down to the barrel of your gun, the number of lands and groves and the direction and number of turns of the rifling.

A rifle that has say six lands and turns once to the right will make the pellet spin in a clockwork direction and the pellet will climb to the right if the wind is blowing from the right. (I am open to be corrected on that though)

The same pellet with the same spec barrel but the twist being left makes the pellet spin to the left and if the wind is blowing from the right, the pellet will drop to the left.

Now given we are usually using low powered guns at close range, we dont usually take all this into considderation but if we wanted accuracy at (would never dream of trying this on an animal) say 100 yards or more, then this info must be studied and taken into account.

 

Phantom