timmyra608 Posted April 12, 2014 Report Share Posted April 12, 2014 Right chaps I am very new to the Pcp air rifle and I need some advice. I have owned other rifles to shoot rabbits/pigeons etc but that has been more of if I see one shoot it, but my question or advice is do you hold position and wait for them come to you? I have only had a day with the new gun but I have been shooting so well with it I believe I can make a clean kill (2p sized target and no misses). I know the rabbit runs and where is a good shot but do I let 3 or 4 come out or do I shoot the first I see? These questions may seem stupid but with my old air rifle if I shot one rabbit the noise it made scared off all the other rabbits is this the same with pcp? I awaite your mocking!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenboy Posted April 12, 2014 Report Share Posted April 12, 2014 Shoot them as they come out , chances are the sound of the pellet hitting the rabbit will send his mates bolting off back underground. They take no notice at all of dead ones already laying out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin lad Posted April 12, 2014 Report Share Posted April 12, 2014 as above shoot them as they appear don't let people tell you about scout rabbits or any of that nonsense i have shot rabbits as they appear with my hmr only for another to appear 2 mins later and sit 2 feet away from the dead one colin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha Mule Posted April 13, 2014 Report Share Posted April 13, 2014 Have you a moderator fitted? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted April 13, 2014 Report Share Posted April 13, 2014 You can shoot more than one a go with far louder guns! the only thing I should say is stay in position till you plan to leave the spot you are in, walking round dropping scent all over will keep them away far longer than a dead matey will. Just shoot whatever presents a shot- if that's one on its own or a couple together take what presents a shot and don't fret it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentalmac Posted April 14, 2014 Report Share Posted April 14, 2014 May be worthwhile just letting the rabbit come out of the burrow a bit (Few metres) as if you shoot them and they bolt before dropping then you will have a deadun down a burrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkfire88 Posted April 14, 2014 Report Share Posted April 14, 2014 Move slow and like above wait till there out a few meters and find the best spots to shoot from Iv look round where I go and pick the best spots were I know rabbits will be and get a mod fitted to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danccooke Posted April 15, 2014 Report Share Posted April 15, 2014 Do dead ones act like decoys?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David M Posted April 15, 2014 Report Share Posted April 15, 2014 (edited) I'm in two minds about leaving the dead ones be and waiting for others to emerge and ignoring them now.. The first time I shoot a warren you can definitely leave shot ones put and maybe shoot a few more when they pop out. The next time I shoot there, they are definitely very wary of dead mates laying about and very often quickly about turn and bolt back down the same hole, that first kill being the only one I end up with from there. I shot my 100th rabbit last night and the best way to go home with more than two rabbits IMO is to collect the shot one and move to another spot for another go or go and sit down again and wait for another to come out. I now really believe that the scent/sound of your carefully placed footsteps is less likely to put off further opportunities coming out than them seeing dead kin. I'm shooting a field that runs alongside a railway line at the moment and they're everywhere. It doesn't mean I'll bag 10 a go though by just sitting quietly near a gap in the fence where I've seen them emerge before. They're not silly and know after the first shot there's danger about. I believe they change their feeding times and then come out and bolt 50-100 yards clear of the normal spot. This past 4 years I've been content with taking 1 or 2 home a time and go regularly, alternating places. OK I've done better with new fields to shoot over this past few weeks but I bet it'll soon calm down. It's a sure thing though that if you fluff you're first shot of the day and it goes back down the hole, you'd better move or you're in for a long evening..... EDIT......... Regarding a silencer..... I've seen many mythical videos of people with quiet guns knocking over 2 or 3 that are nibbling side by side. I've managed two quick succession rabbits only once in 4 years, the crack noise of pellet on skull is much louder than my gun's muzzle noise and sends all rabbits within 50 yards bolting. The time I managed it, two had bolted out chasing each other, when they stopped for a second or two, I shot one and the other was so shocked, it just froze staring at it's mate long enough for a reload and second shot. Very rare for me to see more than one to come out at a time on my shoots, let lone shoot them....... Edited April 15, 2014 by David M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin lad Posted April 15, 2014 Report Share Posted April 15, 2014 I'm in two minds about leaving the dead ones be and waiting for others to emerge and ignoring them now.. The first time I shoot a warren you can definitely leaving shot ones put and maybe shoot a few more when they pop out. The next time I shoot there, they are definately very wary of dead mates laying about and very often quickly about turn and bolt back down the same hole, that first kill being the only one I end up with from there. I shot my 100th rabbit last night and the best way to go home with more than two rabbits IMO is to collect the shot one and move to another spot for another go or go and sit down again and wait for another to come out. I now really believe that the scent/sound of your carefully placed footsteps is less likely to put off further opportunities coming out than them seeing dead kin. I'm shooting a field that runs alongside a railway line at the moment and they're everywhere. It doesn't mean I'll bag 10 a go though by just sitting quietly near a gap in the fence where I've seen them emerge before. They're not silly and know after the first shot there's danger about. I believe they change their feeding times and then come out and bolt 50-100 yards clear of the normal spot. This past 4 years I've been content with taking 1 or 2 home a time and go regularly, alternating places. OK I've done better with new fields to shoot over this past few weeks but I bet it'll soon calm down. It's a sure thing though that if you fluff you're first shot of the day and it goes back down the hole, you'd better move or you're in for a long evening..... as you say you have only shot 100 rabbits so as rabbit shooting goes you are a newbie to it as you become more experienced you will find that leaving dead ones out will scare them a lot less than you getting up and picking up the dead one's colin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David M Posted April 15, 2014 Report Share Posted April 15, 2014 Still not convinced, I really study all angles of bettering my success and have tried many different ways a lot of times... maybe the next 4 years will prove me wrong... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin lad Posted April 15, 2014 Report Share Posted April 15, 2014 lol there is 24 boned out rabbit's in my fridge waiting to be made into game sausages for this years cotswold meet, all from a small half acre paddock i shot sat evening from a hedge i was hiding in with my lr colin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David M Posted April 15, 2014 Report Share Posted April 15, 2014 Blimey, that's a big fridge. I stand corrected then. It'd be interesting to hear from the Op in a few months time and see what method he favours for best results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RossR Posted April 15, 2014 Report Share Posted April 15, 2014 as you say you have only shot 100 rabbits so as rabbit shooting goes you are a newbie to it as you become more experienced you will find that leaving dead ones out will scare them a lot less than you getting up and picking up the dead one's colin I'm in two minds about leaving the dead ones be and waiting for others to emerge and ignoring them now.. The first time I shoot a warren you can definitely leave shot ones put and maybe shoot a few more when they pop out. The next time I shoot there, they are definitely very wary of dead mates laying about and very often quickly about turn and bolt back down the same hole, that first kill being the only one I end up with from there. I shot my 100th rabbit last night and the best way to go home with more than two rabbits IMO is to collect the shot one and move to another spot for another go or go and sit down again and wait for another to come out. I now really believe that the scent/sound of your carefully placed footsteps is less likely to put off further opportunities coming out than them seeing dead kin. I'm shooting a field that runs alongside a railway line at the moment and they're everywhere. It doesn't mean I'll bag 10 a go though by just sitting quietly near a gap in the fence where I've seen them emerge before. They're not silly and know after the first shot there's danger about. I believe they change their feeding times and then come out and bolt 50-100 yards clear of the normal spot. This past 4 years I've been content with taking 1 or 2 home a time and go regularly, alternating places. OK I've done better with new fields to shoot over this past few weeks but I bet it'll soon calm down. It's a sure thing though that if you fluff you're first shot of the day and it goes back down the hole, you'd better move or you're in for a long evening..... EDIT......... Regarding a silencer..... I've seen many mythical videos of people with quiet guns knocking over 2 or 3 that are nibbling side by side. I've managed two quick succession rabbits only once in 4 years, the crack noise of pellet on skull is much louder than my gun's muzzle noise and sends all rabbits within 50 yards bolting. The time I managed it, two had bolted out chasing each other, when they stopped for a second or two, I shot one and the other was so shocked, it just froze staring at it's mate long enough for a reload and second shot. Very rare for me to see more than one to come out at a time on my shoots, let lone shoot them....... Right chaps I am very new to the Pcp air rifle and I need some advice. I have owned other rifles to shoot rabbits/pigeons etc but that has been more of if I see one shoot it, but my question or advice is do you hold position and wait for them come to you? I have only had a day with the new gun but I have been shooting so well with it I believe I can make a clean kill (2p sized target and no misses). I know the rabbit runs and where is a good shot but do I let 3 or 4 come out or do I shoot the first I see? These questions may seem stupid but with my old air rifle if I shot one rabbit the noise it made scared off all the other rabbits is this the same with pcp? I awaite your mocking!!! i shoot around 1000 rabbits a year on my permissions and have good success just stalking quietly then waiting at a big warren shooting a few then going a stalk again! ive shot 4 at once from the same position while the others keep feeding! as long as your confident in your shooting and just try different things and find what works best for your area! Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David M Posted April 16, 2014 Report Share Posted April 16, 2014 I think that's the key Ross, finding what works in you area. Don't you find the sound of the pellet hitting the rabbit makes the others bolt..? My s400 is very quiet and I've had a chance of a second shot if I've missed for whatever reason because of it. I realise my total of a hundred rabbits is well down on the numbers a lot of you chaps shoot, but I've really had to winkle one a session out a lot of the time in the past because they only show so rarely where I used to shoot. I've learnt a hell of a lot of fieldcraft over the past 4 years to avoid ducking a lot of the time....Atb... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentalmac Posted April 16, 2014 Report Share Posted April 16, 2014 lol there is 24 boned out rabbit's in my fridge waiting to be made into game sausages for this years cotswold meet, all from a small half acre paddock i shot sat evening from a hedge i was hiding in with my lr colin Surely killing them was enough, didn't need to bone them too :-) haha. Out of interest, how long did it take to shoot the 24? My take on the picking up dead ones is that if you have let them get far enough from burrow and the next one comes along and see's dead one they'll often look a bit weary - but give you enough time to take a shot, or I have found they may go back towards edge and look again and that's when I would shoot. In terms of shooting more than one, the first goes down and the others run off, usually though they will stop momentarily and look around a bit. That is when I get a second or third. (Even with HMR). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin lad Posted April 16, 2014 Report Share Posted April 16, 2014 This was in a small horse paddock that is overrun with them, i got there about 7.15 and shot till about 10.30 once it got dark they were a lot braver and would just sit and wait their turn, i had another dozen or so that were only young but they went for fox bait as not much meat on them, 9 of the big uns were pregnant so could only imagine how many there would of been i a month or so time, owner was happy that's all that matter's Colin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentalmac Posted April 16, 2014 Report Share Posted April 16, 2014 Nice one! Pretty good bag! I took a couple the other night and turned them into rabbit and chorizo burgers again for my BBQ the other night, my neighbours who 'don't like' eating rabbit all really enjoyed them and are nagging me to make more! :-) Will send you the recipe later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmyra608 Posted April 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2014 Nice one! Pretty good bag! I took a couple the other night and turned them into rabbit and chorizo burgers again for my BBQ the other night, my neighbours who 'don't like' eating rabbit all really enjoyed them and are nagging me to make more! :-) Will send you the recipe later. I would also like the recipe for them plz. And thank you everyone for ur advice, I managed to get two last night. I shot the first after it came out about a metre from the burrow then had an half hour wait for the next which I took about the same distance but unfortunately his mate bolted straight back in.I did try to stalk a couple but think I may have been a little heavy footed as they were soon off. Will try again later hopefully but this time will be on tip toes. I have to say i am loving my new bsa r10 mk2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin lad Posted April 16, 2014 Report Share Posted April 16, 2014 I would also like the recipe for them plz. And thank you everyone for ur advice, I managed to get two last night. I shot the first after it came out about a metre from the burrow then had an half hour wait for the next which I took about the same distance but unfortunately his mate bolted straight back in.I did try to stalk a couple but think I may have been a little heavy footed as they were soon off. Will try again later hopefully but this time will be on tip toes. I have to say i am loving my new bsa r10 mk2 shame your so far away or you could of come out on one of my permissions Colin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentalmac Posted April 17, 2014 Report Share Posted April 17, 2014 I would also like the recipe for them plz. And thank you everyone for ur advice, I managed to get two last night. I shot the first after it came out about a metre from the burrow then had an half hour wait for the next which I took about the same distance but unfortunately his mate bolted straight back in.I did try to stalk a couple but think I may have been a little heavy footed as they were soon off. Will try again later hopefully but this time will be on tip toes. I have to say i am loving my new bsa r10 mk2 No worries - there is probably other recipe's like this but I do mine: around 3kg's of rabbit meat (no bones) uncooked chorizo sausage Streaky bacon or lardons (You'll need to up the fat content in the burgers as the rabbit is very lean, albeit the chorizo tops up the fat too) Onion Garlic Chives/parsley (Or mixed herbs) Salt and pepper Eggs some worcester sauce beadcrumbs (From wholemeal bread) I simply do around 80% rabbit to 20% chorizo&bacon per burger I lightly fry the onions and allow to cool. When grinding the meat I add the rabbit and bacon and chorizo at same time to mix the flavours in together. (helps to freeze the meat and grinding plate a bit first if using a manual!) Once you have a large bowl with all the mince meat in, I stir in the onions and herbs and breadcrumbs and at this point put in a couple of spoons of worcester sauce... then I add the eggs and get my hands dirty! Then I make balls of meat in my hand and pat them to make more rustic burgers. Et voila! 3 Kg Rabbit Meat 1 Large Onion 1 Clove Garlic 200 Grammes Smoked Bacon Lardons 100 Grammes Chorizo Sausage 3 Thick Slices of Wholemeal Bread reduced to bread crumbs (150 grammes) 2 TBSP Mixed Herbs 1 TBSP Worcester Sauce 1 TBSP Cooking Oil 2 Medium Eggs 1 Sprig Rosemary Add Salt & Pepper to taste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopDown Posted April 17, 2014 Report Share Posted April 17, 2014 Looks good mate. I have a lot of rabbit in my sights at the moment. I seem to be making terrine a lot but would like to do something for the BBQ. Looks ideal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentalmac Posted April 17, 2014 Report Share Posted April 17, 2014 Definitely good for the BBQ, I fed them to 'anti's' who live opposite me. They always moan about my shooting of animals and we still talk on a friendly level as we agreed to disagree but they said the burgers smelled great so they shared on between them and actually enjoyed it. Brave of them to go against their normal morals I suppose. The chorizo overpowers the gameyness of rabbit, i forgot to mention that I give all my rabbit meat a damn good scrub in really salty water for a while and leave for a few hours which takes a lot of the earthy taste away too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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