First Permission Gained.......Finaly :D

[scotttomo]

I appreciate this has probably been covered many times over, but I can't find definitive answers using the search function.

 

After moving work premises, which now happens to be in a Rural area, I have been checking out the local farms and such as I become more familiar with it. I've been going for jaunts after work to find shooting ground & have been asking many places if they need help with pest control, many have declined but today landed me my first permission Finally.

 

After having a good chat with the farmer (albeit quite a nervous one as I'm not very good when meeting new people) he said he would require me to help him with a rabbit problem around his fresh produce. Jurassic Park!!!!

 

Now I've had experience lamping before with MM from this very forum and learnt a lot, which I cannot thank him enough for , but lamping on my own for the first time is there things I should be doing to help me maximise my kill count? I have a lamp set up which is a high output led affair I use for my mountain bike: http://www.hopetech.com/page.aspx?itemID=SPG66 , hopefully this will be an ok set-up until I get a dedicated lamping kit? Thoughts?

 

Now with regard to finding the floppy eared ******* in the dark, I'll be doing the lamping on foot, so should I be trying to find burrows and evidence of their activities in the daytime, then re-visiting these places during the night in hope of finding the bunnies? Or is there other ways of finding them, such as mooching about with the lamp on in hope I catch them in the beam?

 

I have some dark clothing which i think will serve me ok while lamping, but although it will be dark, should I invest in some camo clothing to aid me?

 

Thaks for reading this rather long winding post,

 

Scott.

[Billy.]

I wouldn't even consider using that lamp to try to lamp rabbits.

 

Before you're laughed off the farm, buy a proper lamp

[apache]

Are we talking firearms or air rifle shooting here? You will need a better lamp with a rimfire and a scope mount. It's a good idea having a walk about in the day to get your bearings and spot bunny activity. At night I have a mootch round where I have been lucky in the past, sweeping the field with the lamp looking for eyes, then turning it off and walking a bit further. With practice you will learn the good spots.

 

Bunnies don't care what you wear - I get as many bunnies with my yellow reflective day glow coat as my more neutral wardrobe. Stay quiet and down wind.

[FalconFN]

Well done on getting the permission!

 

I'm certainly no expert at lamping and I now only use night vision but here are my lamping tips:

 

1. Use only enough light to get a positive id on the rabbit (so you don't shoot a cat or hedgehog etc).

2. Take it very slow and be as quiet as you can.

3. Go on very dark nights with no moon and with a good breeze.

4. Judging distance is hard at night - get to know the area in daylight and use landmarks as distance guides.

5. Whatever lamp you use make sure it's not too bright - filters can dim the beam.

6. Use the lamp sparingly or you'll scare them off before getting near.

7. Be ready to shoot as they may not hang around for very long when the light is on them.

8. Work into a field from where the warrens are so they can't go to ground.

 

If you don't have much luck with the lamp try going at dawn and dusk.

 

Good luck.

[MM]

Nice one dude, its been a long time comming

 

Well, i would start with some of the basics. Have a nose around i nthe day time looking for warrens. A good sign is to look for piles of droppings. have a look at what angle you can shoot with a good back stop (even with an air rifle, this is a must). I know you can shoot, so putting the pellet in the right place wont be a problem. As for a lamp??? Well, ive tried lamps made for shooting, and personaly, i think they are overpriced for what they do. Go to Bidston Tesco and go to the tool isle. They have a hand held lamp there for about £15 and its rechargeable. That will be enough to cover most land and is good to about 60-70 yards. If you are on them quick enough, being down wind wont matter. The best way i find is to have 2 people, one lamping and one shooting. If you need any help, you have my number

[Wharf Rat]

Spot on MM. I have lamped for years, shotgun, airrifle and dog. You only need a lamp with the same range as your gun - the brighter they are the more the bunnies will be warned. Use a filter if you can. If the beam of the torch/lamp you buy is wide; try painting the edge with blackboard paint/applying gaffer tape to tighten up the beam. Get a mate to hold the lamp and, bearing in mind the wind direction(!) get your mate to lamp into the field from the edges whilst you get between the edge of the field and where you hope the bunnies are. This way, if the rabbits are spooked they will hopefully run towards you as you will be between where they are feeding (field centre) and the burrows (field edge). DO NOT get caught in the light - your silhouette will scare them away.

[helsbels]

Well done on getting the permission!

 

I'm certainly no expert at lamping and I now only use night vision but here are my lamping tips:

 

1. Use only enough light to get a positive id on the rabbit (so you don't shoot a cat or hedgehog etc).

2. Take it very slow and be as quiet as you can.

3. Go on very dark nights with no moon and with a good breeze.

4. Judging distance is hard at night - get to know the area in daylight and use landmarks as distance guides.

5. Whatever lamp you use make sure it's not too bright - filters can dim the beam.

6. Use the lamp sparingly or you'll scare them off before getting near.

7. Be ready to shoot as they may not hang around for very long when the light is on them.

8. Work into a field from where the warrens are so they can't go to ground.

 

If you don't have much luck with the lamp try going at dawn and dusk.

 

Good luck.

 

 

Nice one dude, its been a long time comming

 

Well, i would start with some of the basics. Have a nose around i nthe day time looking for warrens. A good sign is to look for piles of droppings. have a look at what angle you can shoot with a good back stop (even with an air rifle, this is a must). I know you can shoot, so putting the pellet in the right place wont be a problem. As for a lamp??? Well, ive tried lamps made for shooting, and personaly, i think they are overpriced for what they do. Go to Bidston Tesco and go to the tool isle. They have a hand held lamp there for about £15 and its rechargeable. That will be enough to cover most land and is good to about 60-70 yards. If you are on them quick enough, being down wind wont matter. The best way i find is to have 2 people, one lamping and one shooting. If you need any help, you have my number

 

 

Spot on MM. I have lamped for years, shotgun, airrifle and dog. You only need a lamp with the same range as your gun - the brighter they are the more the bunnies will be warned. Use a filter if you can. If the beam of the torch/lamp you buy is wide; try painting the edge with blackboard paint/applying gaffer tape to tighten up the beam. Get a mate to hold the lamp and, bearing in mind the wind direction(!) get your mate to lamp into the field from the edges whilst you get between the edge of the field and where you hope the bunnies are. This way, if the rabbits are spooked they will hopefully run towards you as you will be between where they are feeding (field centre) and the burrows (field edge). DO NOT get caught in the light - your silhouette will scare them away.

 

This is all good advice and i would totally agree - good luck and keep us posted on how you do.

Just remember it wont be perfect 1st time and dont lamp the same piece of land over and over again in a short space of time - bunnies will become lampshy very quickly

[tycoon01]

Well done on getting your permission and what great advice you can get on this forum. :good:

[pigeonstew]

I appreciate this has probably been covered many times over, but I can't find definitive answers using the search function.

 

After moving work premises, which now happens to be in a Rural area, I have been checking out the local farms and such as I become more familiar with it. I've been going for jaunts after work to find shooting ground & have been asking many places if they need help with pest control, many have declined but today landed me my first permission Finally.

 

After having a good chat with the farmer (albeit quite a nervous one as I'm not very good when meeting new people) he said he would require me to help him with a rabbit problem around his fresh produce. Jurassic Park!!!!

 

Now I've had experience lamping before with MM from this very forum and learnt a lot, which I cannot thank him enough for , but lamping on my own for the first time is there things I should be doing to help me maximise my kill count? I have a lamp set up which is a high output led affair I use for my mountain bike: http://www.hopetech.com/page.aspx?itemID=SPG66 , hopefully this will be an ok set-up until I get a dedicated lamping kit? Thoughts?

 

Now with regard to finding the floppy eared ******* in the dark, I'll be doing the lamping on foot, so should I be trying to find burrows and evidence of their activities in the daytime, then re-visiting these places during the night in hope of finding the bunnies? Or is there other ways of finding them, such as mooching about with the lamp on in hope I catch them in the beam?

 

I have some dark clothing which i think will serve me ok while lamping, but although it will be dark, should I invest in some camo clothing to aid me?

 

Thaks for reading this rather long winding post,

 

Scott.

[pigeonstew]

well done mate it all comes in the end now comes the hard part work hard to get bunnies numbers down and be seen to do it ive just been handed some more feilds tonight from a very happy farmer ..been hard work but ive got the rewards...just a final thought be safe if your out on your own in dark try to let someone know when you ll be back home reccie in daylight and try some late afternoon sniping its fun .....well done

[scotttomo]

Thanks everyone for the comments, it's places like this forum that are such a good place to be when you need good advice, thanks again.

 

I know someone said not to be using the bike light I linked in my post, but if you look at the specs it's not exactly dim and has a good beam spread, do people not think it wil serve the purpose until Iget a proper set-up? Trust me it's not a boggo standard happy shopper "look I'm riding a pushbike on the road at night" light. Thoughts?

 

I'll take everything everyone has said onboard and hopefully use it as best I can to help me on the shoot, thanks again everyone, ery much appreciated

 

Scott.

[Wharf Rat]

Thanks everyone for the comments, it's places like this forum that are such a good place to be when you need good advice, thanks again.

 

I know someone said not to be using the bike light I linked in my post, but if you look at the specs it's not exactly dim and has a good beam spread, do people not think it wil serve the purpose until Iget a proper set-up? Trust me it's not a boggo standard happy shopper "look I'm riding a pushbike on the road at night" light. Thoughts?

 

I'll take everything everyone has said onboard and hopefully use it as best I can to help me on the shoot, thanks again everyone, ery much appreciated

 

Scott.

 

You want a nice tight beam. Tape something around the lens to form a crown if it is too spread out. My Surefire is only 250-ish lumens and fine for 70 yeards.

[Billy.]

Seeing as I have a pair of Lupine Edison bike lights, which are about twice as bright as your bike light, each, I know that you will struggle. http://www.bikemagic.com/reviews/accessories/lights/lupine-edison-10/26982.html

 

Ok, you'll probably shoot the odd one and probably a reasonably average night if you're shooting from a car - if you use your bike lamp.

 

You'll be on foot which is an instant disadvantage.

 

Your best bet is to recce the area and work out if they're morning, lunch, afternoon, evening or night bunnies - or all or some of the above.

 

You can get there at 4am and set up and pop them as they come out for first light. I'm sure you can guess the rest for the different time of the day

Edited July 8, 2011 by Billy.

[Thelongwayup]

COngratulations on the new permission. Feels good landing one doesn't it!

 

As for lights, if you go down the LED route later on then have a look on this link. In the accessories they do gun mount kits also, chargers, batteries etc for a lot less than I paid for a clulite 300 lumens one.

 

http://www.lumenjunkies.co.uk/index.php?route=product/category&path=35

 

Good luck.

[scotttomo]

Seeing as I have a pair of Lupine Edison bike lights, which are about twice as bright as your bike light, each, I know that you will struggle. http://www.bikemagic.com/reviews/accessories/lights/lupine-edison-10/26982.html

 

Ok, you'll probably shoot the odd one and probably a reasonably average night if you're shooting from a car - if you use your bike lamp.

 

You'll be on foot which is an instant disadvantage.

 

Your best bet is to recce the area and work out if they're morning, lunch, afternoon, evening or night bunnies - or all or some of the above.

 

You can get there at 4am and set up and pop them as they come out for first light. I'm sure you can guess the rest for the different time of the day

 

Cheers for the info, I thought with the Hope light being quite bright it would be ok for the job, obviously not though :(

 

Thanks again for the tips, I will look at getting a proper lamp set-up which will do the job. Are there any lamp mounts out there for a 30mm scope tube? Or are there different ways I can mount the lamp?

 

Scott

[MM]

If you use a small lamp, like a zinger, go to B&Q and buy a cheap pipe coupling. you can just stick it on your scope then.

[scotttomo]

If you use a small lamp, like a zinger, go to B&Q and buy a cheap pipe coupling. you can just stick it on your scope then.

 

Cheers ears

 

Been to speak to the farmer today to follow up and he walked me around the areas where he thinks the rabbits might be, also where there should be plenty of rats .

I'll be making it my first night on them tonight. I'll let you know how I get on

 

Thanks again everyone,

 

Scott.

[scotttomo]

Ok so last night was my first night on my new permission and I arrived at the site around 9pm while it was still light-ish.

Over the gate I went and before I could even get my Superten out of it's bag, I spotted a bunny about 30-35 yards away, but by the time I'd gotten the rifle out, it had made its retreat out of sight. I'd find him later I though

 

The permission has a quite a few acres of land, crops and such, but the bunny problem seems to be situated about 20-30yds away from some poly tunnels where the farmer grows strawberries ect. So I went to inspect the tunnels to see if there where any cheeky carrot munchers about and tried to be as quiet as possible, but before I even noticed it, another rabbit spotted me, made haste and ******** off into some long grass, I really should invest in those glasses the optician recommended :(

 

I then moved on to around the area where I'd spotted the first rabbit, which was on a gravel path and tailed off into some more long grass. I inspected the area and found there was what looked like a run into the undergrowth near the end of the path, a sure sign that the rabbits might be emerging from here later on. I made my way beyond the path into the grass, to see if there were any other areas where rabbit might be emerging but I found none. I did witness a beautiful barn owl flying overhead though, which made up for it a truly magically bird.

 

It was about now though were I started to struggle. The layout of the area where the rabbits seem to be hanging out is quite small and broken up by machinery and dirt piles, which while is good cover for me, there are far too many corners to cover and as soon as I turn them the rabbits were there but I was on top of them and they scarpered out of sight.

I found this to be the main problem with the shoot, there seemed to be no clear vantage points to get a good view of the area in which the rabbits are habiting and the machinery and dirt piles seem to cover alot of the shooting angles :( Maybe setting up early overlooking one of the runs and sitting until the rabbits emerge might be the way to go?

 

As the night moved on and the light began to fade I moved into the fields to see if any rabbits where to be found invading the spring cabbage patch. This is when I found the lamp I was using was, while bright, far too wide beamed to penetrate into the darkness of the farm and the range was limited to around 20mtrs tops, certainly no good for spotting rabbits or anything else for that matter :(

Moving around the crops yeilded no results so I headed back towards the area I first investigated and where I'd seen a few elusive bunnies. I stopped about 10-15 mtrs before the area and thought I'd put on the lamp to see if the rabbits had re-emerged, then there in the distance about 40mtrs away, a couple of eye relections stared back at me. They started to move so I let out a squeek as I kneeled to steady the now heavy Superten, but I let myself down and missed low and to the right, I just couldn't hold the rifle steady enough to get the right shot :( Something else I'll have to work on as previous outings I've been on have been shot rested.

 

Time was getting on at this point and a quick check revealed it was 11:45pm, I decided to pack up and call it a night. I'd tried my best

and while not bagging any bunnies, I'd thouroughly enjoyed my night out on my new permission. There's something about being in the great outdoors that I'm sure I could become addicted to

 

Thanks for reading this rather long winded post anyway, hopefully I can brush up on my stalking skills and maybe bag some bunnies on the next few visits to the farm.

 

Scott

[Wharf Rat]

You have made an excellent start! You are probably on the money with your idea about staying put too. Get comfy somewhere with the most view that you can get and stay put. Your rifle is nice and quiet so you will be able to shoot without making the other bunnies jump, just be patient and pick them up at the end of the night so you don't scare them away. People who you speak to who have lamped for years still learn every trip out - if you keep learning every trip out you will make a damn good hunter.

[scotttomo]

You have made an excellent start! You are probably on the money with your idea about staying put too. Get comfy somewhere with the most view that you can get and stay put. Your rifle is nice and quiet so you will be able to shoot without making the other bunnies jump, just be patient and pick them up at the end of the night so you don't scare them away. People who you speak to who have lamped for years still learn every trip out - if you keep learning every trip out you will make a damn good hunter.

 

Cheers for the encouraging comments Wharf Rat

 

I did find one spot underneath some farm machinery where I did lay up for around 10 mins & until the light faded but I think it was too little too late at that point :( As you say though, I should learn with every trip out and hopefully become a semi-proficient hunter in the not too distant future, fingers crossed

 

Scott

[MM]

Thats top marks for effort mate It can take a while to learn where they are going to be at what time. I know from one of mine that certain corners you turn, there is normaly a bunnie sat on the other side, so i slow down, and make sure im ready. A few more nights of walking and hoping should get you used to this. get some practice in on the standing/kneeling shots and this will give you confidence when required.

[scotttomo]

Thats top marks for effort mate It can take a while to learn where they are going to be at what time. I know from one of mine that certain corners you turn, there is normaly a bunnie sat on the other side, so i slow down, and make sure im ready. A few more nights of walking and hoping should get you used to this. get some practice in on the standing/kneeling shots and this will give you confidence when required.

 

Cheers Mart I'm getting there now habit wise, finding out what time they like to come out and where they hang out. Been practising some kneeling shots but finding the standing ones very difficult, feel like I've got alzhiemers to be expected though I suppose.

 

I'm in the process of finding a good lamp/torch and was looking at the torches om lumine junkies and liked the look of this one: http://www.lumenjunkies.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&path=35&product_id=76 , which is 290 lumens but is out of stock, so I started looking at this: http://www.lumenjunkies.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&path=35&product_id=97 which is 330 lumens, so my question is, will this be too powerful/bright for lamping rabbits? I don't want to be scaring them away as I catch them in the beam. Thoughts?

 

Thanks,

 

Scott.

[Wharf Rat]

Cheers Mart I'm getting there now habit wise, finding out what time they like to come out and where they hang out. Been practising some kneeling shots but finding the standing ones very difficult, feel like I've got alzhiemers to be expected though I suppose.

 

I'm in the process of finding a good lamp/torch and was looking at the torches om lumine junkies and liked the look of this one: http://www.lumenjunkies.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&path=35&product_id=76 , which is 290 lumens but is out of stock, so I started looking at this: http://www.lumenjunkies.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&path=35&product_id=97 which is 330 lumens, so my question is, will this be too powerful/bright for lamping rabbits? I don't want to be scaring them away as I catch them in the beam. Thoughts?

 

Thanks,

 

Scott.

 

I have used an Ultrafire 501B R2 Cree. More than powerful enough, I wasn't too impressed with the build quality though. The Ultrafire is a Chinese copy of the Surefire at about 10% of the price, so don't expect it to last a lifetime. That said if it has a warranty it is a very good deal.

 

These are pricier but better regarded perhaps

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Deben-LEDRAY-Tactical-Rifle-Light/dp/B001YCQM5A

 

A B & Q million candle lamp will do it if you can get someone to hold it for you and remember to tape the lens up properly.

 

For standing shots, have you thought about moving so that you have something to lean against? Or alternately, I have taken a stick. Grip the barrel and the stick and lean the stick against something, you will get steady in time though, just plug away and get there in the end. Don't try and shoot with a hangover though... I found that one out the hard way. Hands shook like I was being electrocuted!

[scotttomo]

Well after a few nights out on the rabbits I've managed to learn their patterns of behaviour*, times they appear and where they like to hang out. The last few times I've been out has returned no results, I think mainly because of the way I've gone about approaching the area where they seem to gather and not being patient enough. My stalking skills have come on a lot though in the last week or two and last night they certainly paid off .

 

On previous visits to the farm, I'd got the rifle out of the car still in it's bag, proceeded to climb the gate and more often than not I'd see a bunny down the far end of the gravel track....gun still in bag and by the time I'd manged to ready the rifle, the ****** had ******** off :( Last night though, I made sure I was ready and took the Superten out of its case, when through the gate I loaded it and proceeded to slowly make my way up the path. "Bloody typical" I thought to myself, no bunnies on the track tonight

 

The track makes it way up about 50 yrds from the main gate, and fades into an overgrown field beyond, I've found the bunnies normally tend to be near the end of this path and where it bears left into the area they like to gather in numbers. 10 yrds from the entrance gate is another juncture which splits left into a small meadow which overlooks the main area I'd be shooting.

The grass is nice and long in the meadow and provided me with nice cover to approach. In the distance I could see where the rabbits would be, again around 50 yrds away and a quick scan of the area looking through the scope revealed a couple of bunnies running past my field of view, looking like they were playing, I knew they hadn't heard me so I started to make my approach.

 

Crawling through the long grass proved quite hard without making much noise and I was sure I was on the verge of spooking them. Closer I crawled and the odd look confirmed reassuringly, that they where still playing. Around 5 yrds in front of me there were two big rolls of what looked like ground sheet membrane, I instantly thought about using them as a rest for the rifle and after inching my way forward ever closer, I found they were the perfect height to rest on....I waited anxiously for one to come into view and I didn't have to wait long.

Two hopped into sight around 35yrds aways and the adrenaline was pumping, managing.....just to keep the BSA steady enough and using a margin of holdover, I took the bigger of the two down with a headshot. The second ran out of sight and waiting in my current spot for 5 or so minutes no more came into my field of view. Deciding my position gave too much of a restrictive view of the rest of the area, I slowly climbed up onto some farm machinery which had a large bin on the top big enough for me to climb into, this provided a perfect view point to survey the rest of the area and it wasn't long until before more bunnies started to appear.

One more popped out and a missed shot sent it scampering into the crevices under some more machinery, waiting for it to re-emerge, another scampered along the gravel track which splits the meadow and the area I was shooting, it didn't stay still long enough for me to squeeze off a shot at it and me letting out a squeek to get it to stop seemed to spook it into the undergrowth :(

Shortly after another appered from the same spot and seemed very relaxed and a nice 20yrd headshot took it down. To my dissmay no more seemed to appear after that and as the light began to fade I began to think nomore would come out to play. The dusk turned into darkness and another hour and a half later and a few scans with the lamp revealed that there were infact no more bunnies to be seen :(

Not a bad night though I thought, chuffed that my work had payed off, even though a few better shots could have sealed me some more bunnies I was happy Hopefully the next outing will yeild better results.

 

Scott.

[Wharf Rat]

Nice work! Stalking to within range is what it is all about. Combine stalking with patience and you have your basic skills. Try tapping the ground with a small stick VERY lightly instead of squeeking perhaps. They drum on the ground with their back legs to get each other to sit up, but as it is a warning sound, it will spook them if you do it too loud. I would far rather be able to get 20 yard shots on a bunny than be able to shoot one at 50 yards. 50 yards is good shooting, but 20 yards is good hunting