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Downsizer Forum Index -> Shooting and Trapping for the Pot

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dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46207
Location: yes

Posted: Sun Jul 06, 08 8:59 pm Post subject: rabbits
i am about to thin some by headshot ,lamped or daylight i can shoot ,i have good kit ,i have hunted bunnies before flat land ,warren in hedge ,bunnies eat in fields any suggestions on tactics ?

snowball
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 6246
Location: swindon

Posted: Sun Jul 06, 08 9:02 pm Post subject:
Best tactic is, when you've shot them, send them to me, and I then I process and eat them. I'll send you a pie and some stew back.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46207
Location: yes

Posted: Sun Jul 06, 08 9:34 pm Post subject:

this could be a steep learning curve for me and them ,
my first ideas are
observe and identify where they are concentrated and shootable
gain elevation if possible
shredded carrots
dusk /dawn
in the middle of darkness with the 50w lamp

this bit is important i really want to avoid blue on blue with the hares and preferably not disturb them at all .do hares mingle with bunnies this time of year in meadow ?obviously i will aquire targets properly but are there any good ways to id by eyeflash colour or whatever if something glints in the salad?

Jonnyboy

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 23956
Location: under some rain.

Posted: Sun Jul 06, 08 9:46 pm Post subject:

I would dusk and dawn as a start. Hares are noticeably larger and move completely differently, and I've never seen them mixed with rabbits. In fact, I normally see hares on their own and only seen them chasing each other at breeding season once.

All I would say is depending on your weapon consider your backstop, and if you know the warren and probably shooting point maybe pace the range?

I'm sure there will be much more professional advice along shortly!

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46207
Location: yes

Posted: Sun Jul 06, 08 10:14 pm Post subject:

ranging no prob with sight i have ,the focus wheel has distances marked on it and the optics have red dot for minor positioning adjustments for ballistic arc and windage

using tx200 sr at non fac limit with aa fields ,a good flight and termiinal ballistic combo
at 50 m give or take a bit no prob with a clean hit on a 20mm target (one hole for a group )
i hope to get backstop by gaining elevation
advice re target acquisition and shooting position , hide techniques ,bunnies habits and vulnerabilities etc ,gratefully received

Jonnyboy

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 23956
Location: under some rain.

Posted: Sun Jul 06, 08 10:19 pm Post subject:
Sounds to me like you're overcomplicating it a bit.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46207
Location: yes

Posted: Sun Jul 06, 08 10:24 pm Post subject:
im trying to get things right ,been many years since i bunny hunted in a serious manner ,there are so many they need thinning ,discretion is needed so as not to upset the other critters wild and farmed ,upset anyone on the footpath or on nearby properties etc

gil
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 18415

Posted: Sun Jul 06, 08 10:29 pm Post subject:
I don't see hares and rabbits together at any time of year. Rabbits are herdlike, so if loads together in lamplight = rabbits Hares far more solitary. Dawn/dusk at this time of year is fine. Not really need for nights exactly. Beg/borrow night-scope ?

RichardW

Joined: 24 Aug 2006
Posts: 8443
Location: Llyn Peninsular North Wales

Posted: Sun Jul 06, 08 11:15 pm Post subject:

dpack wrote:

using tx200 sr at non fac limit with aa fields ,a good flight and termiinal ballistic combo
at 50 m give or take a bit no prob with a clean hit on a 20mm target

Thats seriously good shooting. The pellet drop would be 15 to 28cm (.177 or .22 at full 12ftlb non FAC) at 50m compared to 25m (incidently to zero for 50m set target up at 7m as that has the same zero for.177 for .22 5m has the same as 42m[for that pellet / power combo only]). The other thing I was thinking about was terminal velocity / impact ftlb. Rabbits need about 6ftlb for a head shot to kill them. Been trying to find a calc for that.

Richard

Last edited by RichardW on Sun Jul 06, 08 11:27 pm; edited 2 times in total

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46207
Location: yes

Posted: Sun Jul 06, 08 11:15 pm Post subject:

there are many critters on site ,the less i disturb them the better hence the choice of method
i would also like ferret advice please
i would like long netting advice please , specifically can it be done without messing with the hares ? i suspect not
my elmer fudd moment is nigh and the sword of damocles will smite flopsy until her children are not so numerous as to out eat several moos and tasty game is fresh or frozen in a kitchen near you
hah ,best miss piggy hair swirl

i take hunting very seriously and need advice

gil
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 18415

Posted: Sun Jul 06, 08 11:34 pm Post subject:

where are the rabbits' burrows ?
you could long net near them, cos hares make formes in long grass, but rabbits eat grass down near their holes.

if you want, observe/lamp at night before you shoot, to see which is which, and how they move.

seriously, never come across both togther. Though like you, would hate to mix them up.

My hare was at the other end of the broad beans from where i was working. Told him to go away till the veg were done, cos lots to eat elsewhere. He's not been on the veg plots since.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46207
Location: yes

Posted: Sun Jul 06, 08 11:51 pm Post subject:
umm hares are special glad they dont use bunnies as cover

Brownbear

Joined: 28 May 2007
Posts: 14929
Location: South West

Posted: Mon Jul 07, 08 5:04 am Post subject:

50m is a hell of a range with a non-FAC air rifle. I wouldn't use one on bunnies beyond 25 - with that weight of projectile you're talking about a killing spot of 5mm, right through the brain. You need consistent hits on a target the size of a new 5p coin, otherwise with an air rifle you just wound them. If you want to minimise noise, then an air rifle isn't the quietest.

A bolt-action .22LR with sound moderator is so quiet, all you hear is the click of the bolt. The real sound is the impact on the rabbit, and if these haven't been shot at for a fair while, they won't understand it at first. I'd recommend a CZ rifle and SAK moderator.

For hides, I would construct a few out of old pallets and cammo net, and place them near to the major burrows, though I dare say you have other construction techniques you prefer. Leave the hides in place a week or so and they'll ignore them. You can sit on a seat, and use the top of the hide, or two sticks lashed at the top, as a rifle rest, though for greatest accuracy you need to be prone.

Lamping is best done with a companion to identify and illuminate targets within range whilst you set up the shot on them. Use coloured filters and change them regularly.

If I were shooting that ground, I'd start off at dawn and dusk to get familiar with the ground and its various backstops, then I'd shoot at night with a self-loading .22 and infrared sight, though that's a professional outfit which cost me nearly three thou, and is a bit pricy for harvesting bunnies for the pot. I'd advise against low-power lamps like the Deben gun-mounted one - enough to spook the rabbits but not enough to freeze them.

whitelegg1

Joined: 05 Apr 2005
Posts: 409
Location: Woodford Green

Posted: Mon Jul 07, 08 5:23 am Post subject:

Energy @ 50 yards with .22 AA fields @ 12 ftlbs would be about 8 ftlbs, so comfortably above 6 ftlbs. (as per Chairgun)

That grouping at 50m is very good shooting, I would struggle for that with .177 pcp off a bipod!! The SR must be a seriously good bit of kit!

Tactics....
Strategically placed bales of hay/straw never went amiss (hint, hint)

Obviously check what is (an is likely to be) behind the hedge when you are shooting, just in case.

I have assumed a centre of scope above centre of barrel height of 1.6 inches.... range-finding will be at a premium.
If you aimed dead on you would miss between 8 & 47 yards and then after 53 yards. So only a 6 yard zone of no need to aim off.
Mil dot use would be imperative.

Try chairgun as a useful tool... www.chairgun.com
Select pellet used, power produced by rifle, height of scope above centreline of barrel and zeroed range....lots of data produce including reticule to print out and take with ranges marked.

If daylight hunting, then a laser rangefinder could be a bonus..... rabbits come in all shapes (though normally rabbit shaped!) so range-finding just by how much the bunny fills the scope is a flawed concept.

Shape, shine, shadow, silhouette, sound & smell!!! Not necessarily in that order!

Shape-----hat with brim good, full on Ghillie suit better, but hot and expensive!

Shine.......scrim net loosely attached to rifle. Obviously not interfering with the SR bit!!! No bling required!

Shadow...watch where the sun is....you shadow moving is very noticible....but not if the rabbit are at the same level as you...

Sound...important....check out the ninja walk. https://www.wikihow.com/Walk-Silently

Smell.....DO NOT SPLASH IT ALL OVER before going out!!!! Unless you use rabbit urine! Try not to wash your hunting clothes in strong detergent and conditioner.....

Movement...they will almost certainly see you....... if spotted freeze...and wait....slowly slowly catchee monkey!!!

Hope this helps.

Pete

P.S. I'm big on theory and small on practical results!!!

RichardW

Joined: 24 Aug 2006
Posts: 8443
Location: Llyn Peninsular North Wales

Posted: Mon Jul 07, 08 8:16 am Post subject:

whitelegg1 wrote:

Energy @ 50 yards with .22 AA fields @ 12 ftlbs would be about 8 ftlbs, so comfortably above 6 ftlbs. (as per Chairgun)

I tried to do that with chairgun (where is it?), Must be out of practice. What were the results for a .177?

Richard

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