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when hunting do you check your zero/ air rifle only


evo
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do you re zero before going hunting  

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  1. 1. do you re zero your air rifle before hunting

    • never
    • sometimes
    • everytime i hunt
    • only when i feel like cos i,m a crack shot


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First thing out of the car and ready to wander across the permission .. I find a suitable looking pebble on the ground or something similar and take a shot to check the 'scope before I start shooting at live quarry. If the shot is good, I'm good to hunt. If it's had a knock and it's out, then I know to re-zero and 'have a plink' before I get any further out.

Do it close to the car and soon after starting out and there's no need to worry about spooking any quarry with the shot. You'll have already spooked anything with ears when you shut the car door and boot ;)

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I look after my weapons, don't drop or bang them, can't remember when the scope on my 97k lost zero, same with my .22lr. Seriously my .22lr hasn't lost zero for the last two or three years, thousands of rounds and hundreds of critters. I do practice for accuracy. It's accuracy that kills!!

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the reason I have asked guys is because I popped out to the range this morning for an hour to put the wolverine c .22 through its paces, whilst there I over heard two guys talking about how many runners they had whilst out bunny shooting,

 

just before I left I spoke to them and asked them what guns they use to hunt with,,one said an air arms s400 and the other said an air arms s410,,(both excellent rifles I thought)

 

we had a conversation for about half an hour and I asked why they thought they had some runners(wounded I might add)

 

the first guy said its because he was a **** shot,(fair cop) but the second guy astonished me by saying its because I never re zero my rifle only when I can get a chance which is very rare,I then asked him what distances are you shooting too, they both said 60yrds, I nearly fell over as both are using .22 and both are using sub 12ftlb air rifles

 

I then kindly and in a nice manner explained to them both that 35yrds (when competent) should be the max range they are shooting to and also that before hunting I explained that I WILL ALWAYS put a target out to 40yrds and check my rifle is spot on the target, this not only gives me confidence whilst hunting but it also ensures the pellet will 99% of the time go where I,m pointing it,

 

after having a good talk to them and explaining my reasons they both agreed it was the best thing to do,,when I left them I felt like I had actually converted two guys into using air rifles properly and thus ensuring no more rabbits would be wounded anymore, I felt a million dollars and very happy I got the chance to correct two amateur hunters of their bad ways,,

 

that is the reason I asked the question,,

 

as for myself ,,and shooting buddies,,WE ALWAYS check the rifle is spot on at 40yrds before we commence shooting live quarry,,

 

10mins checking zero is better than hours of suffering to a rabbit that's been hit in the wrong place

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Fair point, well put. Nobody wants injured prey and shooting within the rifles safe limits will make all the difference.

 

Out of interest, how many times have you actually adjusted the scope when checking zero? I've got a 20 year old falcon with a thin, flimsy looking barrel and I hardly ever need to adjust the scope, so your modern Daystates should be even better.

Edited by FalconFN
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FalconFN,, I,m not saying I adjust the scope every time I go hunting which is usually 3 to 4 times a week , what I do is CHECK that the rifle is spot on before I go shooting live quarry,

 

I once had it happen to me where I couldn,t understand why I missed a rabbit at 30yrds and the pellet went left of the intended target, the only explanation I could think of was the dog had knocked my rifle in the back of the vehicle,

 

its very rare I,ll adjust my scope but I do check it is shooting perfectly now everytime before we go on the perms to control pests, it also gives me great confidence in my shooting also which is very important,

 

as you know your rifle really should not move off zero but always best to be safe than sorry

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I check mine now and again , to be honest I have never had a issue with it losing zero , I do think PCP's with free floating barrels are much more likely to get knocked of zero.

I would have to disagree with evo that 35 yards should be the maximum you shoot at , I have certainly shot plenty of rabbits out to 45 - 50 yards with no problem , the maximun range is what a particular shooter is capable of consistently putting a pellet in the kill zone , that may be 15 yards for one shooter and 55 for another .

Most decent airguns these days are more accurate than most people behind the trigger will ever be.

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I check mine now and again , to be honest I have never had a issue with it losing zero , I do think PCP's with free floating barrels are much more likely to get knocked of zero.

I would have to disagree with evo that 35 yards should be the maximum you shoot at , I have certainly shot plenty of rabbits out to 45 - 50 yards with no problem , the maximun range is what a particular shooter is capable of consistently putting a pellet in the kill zone , that may be 15 yards for one shooter and 55 for another .

Most decent airguns these days are more accurate than most people behind the trigger will ever be.

fenboy,I agree with you that 35yrds is not max,,but to these two guys with not much experience by the sound of it, I think 35yrds would be a max distance, also bud lets not forget that they are both using .22 so it is not as forgiving as a .177 accuracy wise,

 

myself personally I could take rabbits out to 60yrds no problem,,but I don't,,why you may ask,,well its because the further the distance the more chance of not hitting it exactly where I want due to wind etc, I myself will stick to under 45yrds

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Evo, I agree with you on checking and confidence.

I'm using mine two or three times a week. When I pick up the critter I have just shot I check to see where the pellet or bullet entered, normally it is within a 10p of where I aimed. Like I said in my earlier post, it is accuracy that kills. Mostly that is down to me and my limitations, I do practice, both in my back garden and when there is nothing about in the woods, but I don't call it checking zero because as I have said my set-ups rarely loose zero.

I also like to practice shooting from different positions and different angles.

I like those "lucky" shots and it is surprising the more I practice the luckier I become!!

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Evo, I agree with you on checking and confidence.

I'm using mine two or three times a week. When I pick up the critter I have just shot I check to see where the pellet or bullet entered, normally it is within a 10p of where I aimed. Like I said in my earlier post, it is accuracy that kills. Mostly that is down to me and my limitations, I do practice, both in my back garden and when there is nothing about in the woods, but I don't call it checking zero because as I have said my set-ups rarely loose zero.

I also like to practice shooting from different positions and different angles.

I like those "lucky" shots and it is surprising the more I practice the luckier I become!!

fisheruk,,I don't think its the luckier you become, I personally think its the more skilful and more accustomed to your rifle and its limitations you become,

 

it is amazing how easy an air rifle can sneak off zero,

 

I,m usually out on the pigeons and bunny,s 3 to 4 times a week but this is to satisfy my permission owners, one thing I have noticed is I,m getting a far better kill rate on pigeons,magpies and jay,s with chest shots than I ever have, its only rabbits now that I concentrate on head shots and as said I can put 9/10 pellets in a 2p group if not more out to 60yrds but I still will not attempt to shoot live quarry over 45yrds,my shooting buddy will take them at that distance and has more kills than not but for me I am always striving for perfection,,a bit too much sometimes :lol::lol: :lol:

my max shooting range on live quarry was always 35-40yrds but now I have spent hours and hours out in the field I have now stretched that to 45yrds due to being more confident and also I must add more accurate with my rifles but that has been down to practice and finding the right pellet for my rifles,,

 

I 100% agree its accuracy/shot placement that kills

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FalconFN,, I,m not saying I adjust the scope every time I go hunting which is usually 3 to 4 times a week , what I do is CHECK that the rifle is spot on before I go shooting live quarry,o

 

I once had it happen to me where I couldn,t understand why I missed a rabbit at 30yrds and the pellet went left of the intended target, the only explanation I could think of was the dog had knocked my rifle in the back of the vehicle,

 

its very rare I,ll adjust my scope but I do check it is shooting perfectly now everytime before we go on the perms to control pests, it also gives me great confidence in my shooting also which is very important,

 

as you know your rifle really should not move off zero but always best to be safe than sorry

Ah, I see, I think the wording of the original question was a bit misleading. If I re-zero I do it from a stable platform in no wind and at a set distance and my rifle at a specific pressure, and I only do that if I have a ptproblem or I've changed something on the rifle, and not as a matter of course every time I go out. When in the field a couple of pellets at a leaf or twig is a different thing and I can do that at any point during the day if I feel the need. I probably should take a couple of shots before I set off as experience has given me confidence in my rifle, and i suppose confidence can make you complacent. :good:
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I check every time before I go out proper. It dont take a few mins to pick a target and let a few shots off to see where you POI is at. Nothing like walking to the place/ area where

you plan to shoot and then realise that you aim is off. As you got to shoot in that area then to rezero your rifle an that will cause much more disturbance then you originally planned.

So for the sake of a few shots before going off stalking hedges or ambush hunting, I think its worth the few mins time checking.

 

 

Gareth

Edited by deputy dog
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