Sensible Sub 12 Airgun Range

[moxy 617]

It seems there's a bit of "one upmanship" going around on the fb airgun groups.

 

The past week I have noticed a few posts with claims of quarry shot at range. The distances claimed have started around the 45 yd mark then steadily increased to 56 yd 62 yd etc. to a spectacular 77 yd unsupported shot.

 

I have shot with lads who I know are capable of achieving such distance at targets with a sub 12.

I also shoot with lads who would not entertain shooting quarry past 40 yds. And that's not because they can't.

 

Is 70 plus yds an acceptable range to be shooting quarry?

[walshie 2,804]

I'm sure most of it is BS anyway. Some of these people wouldn't know what 70 yards was.

 

Anyway, how much energy would a sub-12 have at 70 yards? Enough to make the quarry jolly cross?

[smithie 2,443]

for me the fun in airgun is about getting yourself in to a position I can take a shot and expect the kill to be clean just as mush as any other aspect of air gunning. I like to shoot a 30 yds of there abouts and preferably of a wall or some kind of rest as I know my limits. I have taken free standing shots àt distance but prefer not to. As for 70 yd shots I would save that for paper or get a rimmy as to me if you don't want to use your skill getting in close then it's pest control. rimmy is probably going to nack the rabbit at 70 yd and the tiniest wind with air gun will probably cause an injury

[Skot Ruthless Teale 1,701]

I like to try get as close as possible. 40-45 yards is usually my max range for live quarry but only if im rested. Freehand shots at 30 yards max. I always try respect my quarry. Thats just me tho of course everyone has different ability . My longest was a crow at 66 yards.. it was perfect no wind and its body was hidden behind a tree trunk. All i could see was the head so it was hit and kill or totaly miss without wounding. I nailed it tho from the prone position with the hw97kt

 

Wish i was out practicing now perfect weather for it, no wind but im stuck in work all bloody day. #depressed !!

[Rimfireboy! 1,463]

I set my 12 ft lb theoben sirocco up at 35 yards. It's .20 cal and at around 700fps it's fairly flat shooting out to that range. I've shot plenty of squirrels with it, but most of them at a lot less than 35 yards though, more like 20-25 when they're in the trees. For that job, it's ideal. Beyond 35 yards, I wouldn't shoot at live quarry with it. Strike energy would be marginal in my opinion.

[Rez 4,961]

Top Topic.

 

Ranges for me, should not exceed 45 yards, standing, supported, whatever. The higher the range, the more 'luck' involved. Enough said. If you cant get within 45 yards of your target, you shouldn't be shooting it, its perhaps down to a respect thing as mentioned above.

[albert64 1,882]

i regularly take rabbits and magpies at 55/60yds if the conditions allow

but if the winds up i wont entertain it at those ranges

i'd rather not take it on incase of leaving something injured

i know my limits regards the conditions wind can be hard to read

but if you know your aim points i've no problem with the distances mentioned

my longest rabbit taken is 72yds head shot

[tomburras 2,730]

I think the best shot is a humane shot, taking pride in an instant kill is by far more important than been proud of the long range it was shot at. Better off taking 15 minuits longer trying to edge closer to your quarry if possible or waiting in ambush to get close. Some people are caperble of long range shooting but for me with a sub 12 springer I'm not ashamed to say 40 yards is my limit, more to do with my ability not the gun but humaneness is the top priority.

[mark williams 7,558]

Interesting debate,

I take field craft to be my number one skill in air rifle hunting and never build a hide further than 35 yds away from a chosen spot of ground or tree.

I try to shoot head shots all the time.

Range for my .22 is set to strike a match at 28 yds.I know my milldots and i dont really like shooting further than 35 yds. I curse myself for bad field craft if i am at long range and dont take the shot.

Range for my .177 is also set to strike a match at 32 yds and will carry that zero out to 38 yds.

I find that the .177 for my humble shooting is lethal - always head shot .

Another thing i always try to do is use shooting sticks or from the bi pod when hunting.If your fieldcraft is good and your marksmanship is good, a sub 12 ft/lb air rifle is all you`ll ever need for hunting small game/ vermin imho.

 

atb.

[RemyBolt 420]

Here's a fun debate.

 

I know an air rifle is capable of taking rabbits at around the 70yard range. Would I ever take one of those shots? HELL NO! For me to need to take one of those shots at that kind of distance, it wouldn't be testament to my amazing shooting ability. It would be testament to my inability to stalk up to the animal, get as close as possible, and take an easy clean shot. I hate the idea in risking injuring an animal and having it bleed out. As has been said above, respect for the quarry.

 

Please note, I'm not banging on about how a long shot means you have no fieldcraft. I just prefer to hone my fieldcraft at the moment, that's all.

 

It would be cool to be able to pop rabbits at those kinds of distances, but it would be even cooler to be able to sneak up to within a few meters of a rabbit and shoot steel sights cleanly.

 

On a day out, I'd rather have 1 clean kill shot taken from steel sights, up close and personal, than 4 or 5 long distance shots.

 

But that's just me.

[risingfriend 1,042]

Pussys .........................................180 yards me sub 12 and all, using my smk and homemade pellets LMFAO to be honest i seen people shooting that should not hunt past 15 yrds let alone 70 all depends on practice the weather etc. field craft works wonders

[RemyBolt 420]

Pussys .........................................180 yards me sub 12 and all, using my smk and homemade pellets

I remember your 320 yard shot that took out a buffalo, exited the skull, then took out a walrus too. Pretty good got a sub 12! haha

[Mister Gain 1,764]

I generally don't shoot further than about 40-45 yards, but have taken a rabbit at 65 yards. Circumstances dictated that it was a viable shot for the following reasons..

 

You can rarely get within about yards of them, at my orchard permission, even with very careful fieldcraft. It does get a fair bit of pressure from rimmies and cf's, so the best bet is to plot up near a warren. I was at a warren about this time last year and things were a bit slow. It was also a bit breezy. Up past the warren is a big old tree, and as I was bored I decided to have a practice shot at a small dark mark on the bark. Missed by a fair amount though. After a while a big old buck made an appearance from the nettles just in front of the tree. As it was the only rabbit I had seen (or been near to) I put my scope up to the mark and read the holdover and windage and decided to take the shot. Wallop and it just rolled over. I then lasered the tree at 67 yards and Bugs was lying 2 yards in front of that, with a nice accurate headshot. Had I not had that practise shot I wouldn't even have considered taking the kill shot.. as I say, circumstances!

 

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Ordinarily, I wouldn't have even considered it. I usually plot up at about 27 yards (zero) from the main part of the warren.

[pianoman 3,587]

The claim of a 77-yard unsupported shot on a rabbit is something I don't believe for a second. 40-45 yards looks a hell of a long way off when you are shooting at something as small as a rabbit's head. And that's from a prone supported position.

 

If you can hit accurately out to 50, I'd call that excellent shooting.

 

Given the number of posts I've read complaining about the weight of top quality spring rifles, I guess our uber-shooter wasn't using a Weihrauch springer!

Edited May 13, 2014 by pianoman

[villaman 9,983]

Un supported with springer or PCP 30 yards at the most , but I have shot my .22 HW100kt supported out to 56 yards with no wind and my BSA ultra .177 with a heavy pellet at 78 yards witnessed and the rabbit dropped straight away with out a kick , I do know my set up inside out , this is something I would not do again