New to hunting!

[CooperShooter 0]

I have been a very keen target shooter for around 8 years (i'm 21 now), having owned some of the classic air guns (HW35, HW90, airsporter, BSA scorpion, HW45, Alecto) i now own a 4 year old .177 Air Arms S410K. It is by far the best rifle i've ever owned and i can consistently group 1" at 40-45 yards.

 

I have now aquired shooting rights on a farm in Wales, where they have a terrible problem with rabbits in 4 large fields!

 

Now, a few questions...

 

- Is it best to just sit in the corner of a field and wait for the bunny's to come out, or do i try and stalk them by creeping up on them?

 

- Where is best to shoot them for a clean kill? I'm guessing in the head, but where abouts?

 

- Do i need camo and a hide?

 

- Is the S410 .177 up to the job?

 

- What time of day is best to shoot?

 

Sorry for the stupid questions, but i've only ever shot one rabbit, which had "mixi" and i shot it at point blank with the scorpion!!! Lol

Edited April 12, 2011 by CooperShooter

[Ideation 8,216]

In the brain and at night with a lamp for the best results.

 

 

 

 

Daytime static shooting i'm sure will be explained by those more into it.

 

 

 

 

Stalking is a lot of fun but not that productive.

[CooperShooter 0]

So where abouts is the brain located on a rabbit? Behind it's eye when looking from the side?

[Ideation 8,216]

The best way to locate it would be to look for a kill zone type picture on google.

 

But yes - behind the eye.

Edited April 12, 2011 by Ideation

[Parabuteos lad 878]

yes the s410 is more than up for the job, ideation has answered your other questions

[matt_hooks 188]

The S410 is one of the most popular hunting PCP's, loads of people on here own and use them very successfully. Your grouping sounds good, so all you need to do is work out the point to aim at and you should be bagging bunnies.

 

Your main issue will be range judgement. The .177 pellet has a flatter trajectory than a .22, but it is far from completely flat, so for accurate close in shooting you will need to practice estimating ranges.

 

The KZ on a rabbit, is behind and above the eye (when viewed directly from the side) kind of half way between the corner of the eye and the base of the ear.

 

As for hunting methods, try them and see which suits you.

 

A static ambush can work very well with heavy infestations. Set yourself up at a known distance, upwind of the biggest hole, and wait for buggs to stick his head out. Let him get a couple of meters from the hole (this to prevent him kicking back down the hole and being lost in case of a slight mishit, or him failing to realise that he's dead) then knock him over.

 

Lamping also can be very successful, and is probably better where the rabbit population isn't so heavy. You can do it alone, a gun mounted lamp is best for this, or with a "lamp man". Remember that your range with the air rifle is limited, so you don't need a mega powerful lamp, a normal torch can provide plenty of illumination for close up shooting which air rifle work normally is.

 

Daytime stalking is the best bet when the numbers aren't very high. It takes a lot of time, effort and skill to get good at it, and can be some of the most satisfying hunting around if you haven't got huge numbers to get rid of quickly.

 

Good luck with the new permission. Do you know how to gut and skin a rabbit? It's generally considered bad form just to leave them there (and a criminal waste of good meat in my opinion) so being able to paunch (gut) them and prepare them for eating is an important skill. Of course, some don't agree, and I guess it's not entirely necessary, but to me it's a waste.

 

If you haven't done it before, watch some of the videos on YouTube, some excellent guides on there!

[bunny killer 19]

hi just to give you an idea of what i use and do,,,,my gun is a daystate airwolf .177,niko sterling nighteater scopes,the pellets i use are bisley magnums ,,zeroed in at 30yds,,i set up a pigeon hide ,chair and wait for the rabbits to come out to feed,they are out and about by 7pm if its been a nice day,,what i do is put a marker in a couple of places around from me at the distance of 30 yds ,,so i know whats in the killing zone or too far...i do use a lamp on the gun which is a deben mini tracer

on a mount above my scopes ,,dont tend to use it in the summer months has i get enough just sitting out waiting for them in the evening,,i shot ten last week...i aim for just behind the eye,,normally kills them outright..the s410 you have is well capable of killing rabbits i have had a few,,good luck

[CooperShooter 0]

Thanks for the information! It's all gonna help me along my righteous path to becomming a competent bunny blaster!

 

What is the maximum i should be thinking about shooting rabbits from? Is 50yds a bit enthusiastic?

 

Just found out tonight that they've got a rat problem in one of the barns! Time to take the scope off my Alecto me thinks!

[bud 5]

If you're confident at putting pellet after pellet in the Kill Zone at that range, then your rifle should be more than capable of taking a bunny at 50 yards.

 

Sounds like you've landed a sweet permission there

 

ATB,

 

Paul.

[19powell90 89]

Dawn and dusk i find best for rabbits.

 

I had an s410 previously and they are fanstatically accurate.

 

Put aa fields 4.52 in it and you will have a superbly accurate rifle.

 

Sitting and waiting doesnt work for everyone, i normally walk round and stalk rabbits but just see what suits you best.

 

Zero your rifle at 30m and your holdover will be in 10m increments e.g. 30m - zero, 40m - 1 mildot holdover, 50m - 2 mildot holdover.

 

Hope this helps

 

Scott