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Hares ethical sub 12 ft lb


inshallah
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I've never tried shooting an elephant with a sub 12ftlb air rifle are 1000 yards, but feel fairly well qualified to say don't bloody try it! What a stupid argument.

 

I wonder whether elephants consider the ethics of throwing around that annoying man pinging bits of lead about! :P

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Slightly off track, but a new sport occurs: elephant paint ball.

 

It combines the excitement of paintball and stalking, with the adrenaline of the pamplona bull run as you make your escape like a paintball gun-toting roadrunner!

 

You could launch it as a business and donate some of the profit to WWF:

"Safari Paintball Stalking - you'll probably get out alive!" has a ring :yes:

 

You saw it here first ;)

 

Duncan

Edited by The Duncan
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^^ the duncan, when you set that up, can i be on the first trip? sounds awesome great fun!

 

regards the hares, figure out to what range you can consistently put pellets within an inch, time after time. figure out what range your rifle will go through a skull. then feel happy about going hare shooting within that range. you can injure a hare with a 12 gauge, or with a rimfire. we all hope it doesnt happen though. how many pigeons come down still flapping that need a quick snap to the neck. with any luck, if you do miss the brain it'll miss entirely, if not, probably go through the neck, which is still a likely kill shot.

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I have a new permission where hares are abundant. Is it ethical to shoot them with a sub 12 ft lb .22?

 

Hi with regards to your enquiry to answr your question without beating around the bush the answer is a definite YESbut by using a 22 calibre air rifle.

 

my first hare i shot with a 177 air rifle took 3 shots to dispatch it,and i was not at all happy with that outcome.

it was a gamekeeper friend of mine who told me to use 22 calibre and my personal best to date is a hare at 45 yards with a pre charged 22 air rifle from the prone position,the reason for using 22 is that a 177 will not cleanly dispatch a hare due to the skull being thicker than that of a rabbit.

 

But please note that it is down to the landowner if they want you to shoot hares at all as they do not do as much damage as rabbits,iy they say yes then all good and well but if the answer is no then respect there wishes and leave well alone.

 

Im lucky that im allowed to shoot them as the land owner has an abundance of them so i just control the population for him.

 

Hope i have been of some help to you.

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Yes. I'd read that. But also found another reference to say it was legal (although that won't convince me that it is ethical).

Off up to the permission in a few mins. I don't think I'll be shooting a hare 'though yet...

 

 

Alot of the fuss about taking a hare with an air rifle is not only due to the animal being a tad bigger than your average bunny, but also the fact that they are classed as game, a status that gained them special privileges and the common pot hunter a lack of them back in the old days.

 

It is always frowned upon taking Game with an air gun plain and simple, mainly because it was less privileged people that owned them.

 

But of course your average hare is indeed a big animal and does deserve respect just like any other animal we are lucky enough to have the chance to pursue... that being said I have seen far more hares limping off or dragging limbs as a result of both shot guns and rim fires.

Infact every hare I've ever seen hit with a shot from an air rifle has been flattened straight away, usually with an aerobatic flip upon impact.

But thats just my experience and I'm sure maybe others could tell you differently.

 

Realistically speaking though on paper your 12ft lb gun working consistently and suffering no serious sudden lack of power should be able to deliver around 4-5ft lb of kinetic impact energy out to 25-30 yards, this energy transfer + penetration is ample to kill a hare if the shot is placed accurately in the head (just behind the eye).

Infact the size of rabbits and hares skull is not too dissimilar, varying usually by only a centre meter or so... the hare with it's loose rough fur gives the impression of a much larger head.

As for evidence of the ability for taking a larger animal with such a gun, I believe the Americans often hunt Woodchucks/Ground Hogs with air rifles of the 12ft lb mark, for what they call close up work lol and the ground hog is considerably bigger than a rabbit.

 

I suppose at the end of the day it comes down to you personally and what you know you and your kit are capable of.

 

But if in dout, leave it for another day :good:

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Hi with regards to your enquiry to answr your question without beating around the bush the answer is a definite YESbut by using a 22 calibre air rifle.

 

my first hare i shot with a 177 air rifle took 3 shots to dispatch it,and i was not at all happy with that outcome.

it was a gamekeeper friend of mine who told me to use 22 calibre and my personal best to date is a hare at 45 yards with a pre charged 22 air rifle from the prone position,the reason for using 22 is that a 177 will not cleanly dispatch a hare due to the skull being thicker than that of a rabbit.

 

But please note that it is down to the landowner if they want you to shoot hares at all as they do not do as much damage as rabbits,iy they say yes then all good and well but if the answer is no then respect there wishes and leave well alone.

 

Im lucky that im allowed to shoot them as the land owner has an abundance of them so i just control the population for him.

 

Hope i have been of some help to you.

As a .177 man, i have to point out that a smaller, faster pellet will penetrate further than a wider, slower pellet. I don't think the skull thickness is an issue, i think accuracy is. However, a theoretical benefit of a .22 is that if you miss the brain, but hit the head, the pellet's impact may create a slightly greater shockwave through the head than a .177, with the effect of 'knocking out' or immobilising the hare.

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Slightly off track, but a new sport occurs: elephant paint ball.

 

It combines the excitement of paintball and stalking, with the adrenaline of the pamplona bull run as you make your escape like a paintball gun-toting roadrunner!

 

You could launch it as a business and donate some of the profit to WWF:

"Safari Paintball Stalking - you'll probably get out alive!" has a ring :yes:

 

You saw it here first ;)

 

Duncan

 

i am up for that!!!

sounds fun :lol:

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