southeastpete Posted February 8, 2011 Report Share Posted February 8, 2011 Hi, i decided to go out and try lamping with my air rifle. When i say try lamping, i mean have a mooch with a maglite, just to see how much is about, and if i get lucky, bonus. Im not sure if its because i just had a big maglite or what, but i onle ever see rabbits within a few metres of the hedgerows, and they dont stop in the light, they just run back to the hedges. Is it the light, or is it more likely they are all just lamp shy? When i win the lottery i'll invest in a decent pcp or proper rifle and night vision, then there'll be no stopping me! cheers pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrikirkby Posted February 8, 2011 Report Share Posted February 8, 2011 Try a red filter and only use as much light as you need and no more. I was once told rabbits will venture further out at night as they can just out run predators, rather than trying to navigate there way back to a warren in the dark, therefore if you can get between them and the warrens they will normally freeze and lay in cover and hope to go undetected. This is the method we use when lamping with shotguns in a 4x4, drive up the headlands and look for rabbits straight ahead or to side where the field is and nine times out of ten if your between them and the warren ie hedgerow they wont know were to go and you can take your shot ! This maybe harder on foot but you can try flicking you beam between them and the hedge as they may not want to cross it and just use the edge of beam to illuminate them enough to take a shot ? Obviously when on foot stay down wind and be quite. Hope this helps a bit but I am sure others will add to this ? Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilG Posted February 9, 2011 Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 Hiya Pete, The gentleman above my reply gave some good advice there, I would just like to add a little to it. There are three things you need to consider when shooting bunnies with a lamp. Bunnies are funny creatures, they are fast with excellent hearing and sense of smell, plus they have a built in motion detector system. The most important thing to consider is the wind direction, if its blowing in any direction other than in your face forget it, particularly with an air rifle as you simply dont have the range or the energy in the fired pellet to deliver a clean (killing) shot. The wind not blowing in your face whafts right to the bunnies and they can smell you. Bunnies hearing is excellent and would be expected given the size of those lugs so stealth is needed during the stalk. As I mentioned rabbits have a built in motion detector system and they can actually feel vibration through their feet so every step in closing down the range to take a shot needs to be deliberate, calculated and with stealth. The purpose of the lamp is to mask anything that is behind it...you...Contrary to popular belief the lamp dosnt cause rabbits to freeze, they just cant see the 'threat' that is behind the light, So if you are not careful you could be lighting yourself up, even for a split second which is enough. If you havent already, fix the lamp to your gun somehow. Rabbits will sit close to their burrows if they feel frightened, the more silent and stealthy you are they will gain confidence and come away from the hedges/burrows. As the gentleman above says, get between them and their 'safe place' and you should bag more. In summary, think about the wind direction, your noise and movement and where the lamp is in relation to you-you should always be behind the light with no refection from your clothing or the gun. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southeastpete Posted February 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 yea cheers. I always come from downwind when there is one. But if im close or far, the second i light them up they trot off back to their holes.. Maybe not enough of breeze. Maybe house or street lights in the back ground silhouetting me. Hmm have to try and borrow a 410 methinks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilG Posted February 9, 2011 Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 yea cheers. I always come from downwind when there is one. But if im close or far, the second i light them up they trot off back to their holes.. Maybe not enough of breeze. Maybe house or street lights in the back ground silhouetting me. Hmm have to try and borrow a 410 methinks. Sometimes thats just the way it is unfortunately mate. I have been after rabbits with my rimmy and sometimes I cant get them from a good bit further than you are with your air rifle. I managed to get that sorted though, Im conditioned for ground game on my .22-250 so I can take them from a couple of hundred yards away. There are drawbacks to that though, after a 55gr bullet has hit them there is little left and its an expensive way to shoot rabbits. Im sure you will get them mate, perseverance will pay off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12borejimbo Posted February 9, 2011 Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 When they run try lighting infront of them, or sometimes I let a little whistle out, or a bunny squeak and they will stop dead and stand upright, you have about 3 seconds to take a shot then, so get stuck in. Practice makes perfect mate. Im sure you will try different methods mentioned on here and one will work for you/your ground. I use a .22 or a .17hmr so getting close isnt really an issue, but ive had many successful nights with my old BSA lightning .22 on foot and with a mate lamping, so it does work, just need to be more patient I find, really creep about and as mentioned before, try and block of their paths if possible and they will crouch in the grass really low, almost flat, you can get really close to them and then let them have it, happy hunting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southeastpete Posted February 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 cheers guys, just practice then :yp: . i might cheat though and get a mate along with a 410... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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