fresh new rabbit shooter looking for advice

[raze 0]

Wow i finally found some time to make this post, curse you overtime with your allure of much money :wacko: Ok a basic explanation of my post title is that im highly intrested in taking up rabbit shooting as a hobby alongside my other distractions, the reason being after spending time on my friends farm i witnessed first hand how much damage rabbits had caused to his trade. Needless to say i was shocked that such a small creature could do so much destruction (his personal vegatable patch being a prime target strangley enough ) and after joining him on a few lamping shoots i realised how much I acutally enjoyed the sport.

 

On to the advice part, as said im totally new to this kind of thing and could really use some advice. I do have a few things already sorted, those being permission to shoot on private land (my friends farm) and reliable info that the Crossman Accupel .22 is a solid accurate pellet to use (.22 being the calibre of air rifle im looking to buy and use) but i would value any opinions that experianced air rifle shooters have. My budget for my air rifle would be around 300-350 pounds with accuracy being my main focus but when it comes to scopes im in the dark so please feel free to light a torch Oh I am in the United kingdom for referances sake

 

To the acutal hunting part of rabbits its the same sort of questions. When asking my friend he says that when he is shooting on his own he usually locates the warrens entrances and positions himself within a 30yrd range (i take it that is ambushing as being 6'7 in height he admits he can'nt stalk to save his life ) and that seems to be the best way for me to start out hunting them as ihave only done lamping with my friend and i have to say it was far too easy. Also in terms of clothing is it best to buy some kind of camo? Does that acutally help?

 

im sorry for the long post full of questions as im sure i will have more when i think of them

Edited July 24, 2008 by raze

[SEAN3513 7]

welcome to the forum.

 

the best way for you to learn is to do exactly what youve done.......go out with someone.

 

crossman accupels are no longer readily available.......a sound alternative would be..AIR ARMS FIELD domed pellets.

 

camo gear............ex army issue is fine ( try ebay) or you could spend more on "real tree" branded gear....but in my opinion theres no point.

 

as to rifles......a pcp would be the best choice and should be available seccond hand for your budget, or a decent quality spring rifle, somthing from weihrauch or bsa would be a good place to start.

 

pop down to your local gun shop and try a few guns.....it has to feel right!!!

 

sorry to be breif.......but that should point you in the right direction.

 

good luck and all the best.

 

sean

[martin1 0]

350 is not a lot for a pcp as you will need a pump and divers bottle but you could bump into a bsa ultra with pump and scope for £350.

if your to buy new take a look at the bsa lightning tactical xl and get a simmons wtc scope if you also lamp you will appreciate its brightness.

who ever told you 22 for our legal limit obviously has not used 177, 22s drop out the sky so verry hard to predict where there going to hit, so my advice is 177 expesially in lamping conditions.

zero at 35 yard and take any thing smack on your zero from 20-50 yard, some thing you can not do with 22.

as stated above air arms 4.52 are the way to go quality wise but i have had plenty of joy with cheap wasps.

your going to need a lamp as well, logun lamp new or simular will be around £70 ish but i would recommend a 3D cell mag light with bisley mounts and mounted to you scope.

mag lights are good as you can focus the beam as well as getting a 5watt bulb which will help you spot out to 100yard no probs.

out of all springer i would consider the bsa lightning as most other makes are heavy beasts and kill like muels.

you could also gas ram the lightning too.

happy huntin

[martin1 0]

postin same thing for some reason lol,

just thought to, you would be better off having a butchers in your local shop but dont be put off seeing £500-1500 guns as there should be some thing for you.

Edited July 24, 2008 by martin1

[LOGUNSOLO177 0]

I would agree about trying .177 first, I garantee you will hit more and better placed aswell. .22 is a great calibre but it requires alot of practice on targets at differant ranges before you can go out hunting!! Also you will really need to know your ranges. I have had both calibers and have finally settled with .177 It does the job on all air gun quarry!! I would try and stretch that budget a little more (not much) and get yourself a PCP rifle. You should be able to pick up a reasonably priced second hand deal no probs!! I have just bought a Air Arms S200 new and it was only £300 (gun only), and the gun is amazing, Then get yourself a pump and scope and your away!!

 

On the camo side me and my mate went down to a surplus store and picked up some cheap DPM gear, I wouldnt go out and get the most expensive all singing all dancing camo out there because when it comes to crawling arround through bushes and mudd you are gonna be concerned about getting your clothes dirty hahaha!!

 

Hope this helps!!

 

Oh yea and I agree with sean Try Air Arms feild diablo pellets they are very good!! But depending on what gun you get the pellet choice will be dependent on that!! because some guns can be pellet fussy and only shoot nice groups with a certain pellet.

Edited July 24, 2008 by LOGUNSOLO177

[davyt63 1,845]

hi raze

all of the above ,but a must is insurance never go shooting with out it check out BASA

i think it is still £19.95 hope this helps

regards

 

davy

[Grim Reaper 1]

hi raze

all of the above ,but a must is insurance never go shooting with out it check out BASA

i think it is still £19.95 hope this helps

regards

 

davy

 

Yes mate, as far as i know, it is still £19.95p - money well invested if using air rifle only, otherwise BASC is also good, but seem to cater mainly for shotties, as well as rimfire and centerfire users - thats how it appears to be to me anyway?

 

Oh, and BASC is much more of a price (i guess this takes into consideration the type and calibres of the live fire stuff) but worth it if you are going to be using live firing weapons, like.

 

All the best,

Grim.

[shenners 0]

Does your friend have a pcp?? If so you could use his filling equipment for your your own gun in the short term before you have the budget to buy yourself a bottle/hose for your gun. A 3 litre, 300 bar diving bottle (I believe they call them pony bottles in the diving trade) is more than adequate and you can get it refilled at a diving shop/gun shop. Blackpool air rifles are doing good deals on these at the moment have a look here, £139 for 3 litre version....complete with hose and everything you need.

 

As for the budget you have for a gun, you could pick up something like an Air Arms S400 complete with scope and gun bag second hand for that money.

 

The Air arms S range of guns are popular and proven bunny killers.

 

If you can wait a little longer and save some extra money you can maybe look at a second hand Weihrauch HW100 (best gun there is IMHO) or a Theoben Rapid second hand with a scope for maybe £100-£150 more. These will give you superb build quality, and the luxury of a multishot feature too....once you have had a multishot pcp you wouldnt go back to a single shot model. These two will kill rabbits easily with power to spare, as will the Air Arms S410 (the multishot variant of the S400).

 

If you dont want the bother of diving bottles or pumps, and dont mind being without multishot, then consider a good quality springer instead. Air Arms and Weihrauch are top of the tree for these as far as I'm concerned, the AA Tx200's or Weihrauch's HW97k (both underlever models) are superbly made and powerful.....but the Rolls Royce of springers for me is the Air Arms Pro Sport.......I have one in .22 and it takes rabbits for fun. You can probably find a second hand one with scope for your budget if you look around.

 

If you are buying second hand, you want a scope of at least 3-9x40.......preferably 3-9x50 for low light shooting as it has a bigger front lens which lets in more light.

 

I would try and get your choice of gun in .177 calibre if i were you for the reasons the other lads have mentioned already, but choose a heavier pellet such as a logun penetrator (my choice) Bisley magnum, JSB exact heavy etc.

 

Anything around 10 grains or so will be more effective on rabbits than a normal 8 grain .177 pellet, choose a domed variety rather than one of the so called "hunting" pointed ones.....they are more accurate in my experience.

 

These are only my opinions, and may differ from that of others on here who have experience with all kinds of air weapons so please read everyone's posts before making your choice and handing over any money.

 

Whatever you choose, I wish you successful and safe shooting.

 

Shenners