la bala Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 hi guys, i am a rimfire rabbit shooter, but need some air rifle help. i have some farmyard rabbits to sort where rimfire is out of question. i borrowed my sons air arms 410 today, i took for chrono, it came out at 11-3. i went out this afternoon, went for heart shot on two seperate rabbits, reason for heart shots, am not familiar with rifle, i am 99-9 percent certain i hit them but it didnt stop them. i heard the unmistaken phut, and no dust kick up and they were off. has any of you done a telephone directory test at 30yds using air arms 16 grain pellets, if you have, i would be grateful if you could tell me your results. thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamster Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 Heart shots with sub 12? :no: If you're not familiar with the rifle yet then I'd politely suggest rectifying that first. Head shots only with rabbits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrispti Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 hi guys, i am a rimfire rabbit shooter, but need some air rifle help. i have some farmyard rabbits to sort where rimfire is out of question. i borrowed my sons air arms 410 today, i took for chrono, it came out at 11-3. i went out this afternoon, went for heart shot on two seperate rabbits, reason for heart shots, am not familiar with rifle, i am 99-9 percent certain i hit them but it didnt stop them. i heard the unmistaken phut, and no dust kick up and they were off. has any of you done a telephone directory test at 30yds using air arms 16 grain pellets, if you have, i would be grateful if you could tell me your results. thanks. Not a phone book, but have killed rabbits at 50yrds with my old s410 using AA 16grn pellets. Only head shot though, never used to shoot rabbits any were else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la bala Posted March 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 Not a phone book, but have killed rabbits at 50yrds with my old s410 using AA 16grn pellets. Only head shot though, never used to shoot rabbits any were else. thanks guys, heads from now on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin lad Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 Not a phone book, but have killed rabbits at 50yrds with my old s410 using AA 16grn pellets. Only head shot though, never used to shoot rabbits any were else. can i ask why only head shots? colin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnome of the Woods Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 Instant kill, the heart is so small and well hidden you would be lucky to hit it direct with a sub 12ft/lb rifle. Those rabbits will die just not instantly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FalconFN Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 Firstly 11 ft/lbs is more than enough to cleanly kill a rabbit but the trajectory of a pellet is VERY loopy compared to a rimfire so rangefinding is the biggest issue air rifles have with accuracy, where you sure of the range? The kill zone for chest shots on rabbits with sub 12 ft/lb is roughly the same size (maybe a little bigger) as the kill zone on a rabbits head so pellet placement is all importatnt. A correctly placed chest shot will drop them on the spot but a mis-placed one will send them running only to die out of reach. Saying that, I've had a chest shot rabbit run 15 yards only to stop, sit up and then roll over stone dead, when I gutted it I saw that the pellet had gone clean through the heart - I only take head shots now. Also, if the rifle has taken a knock and lost zero then even a 1/2" difference can be enough to ruin a shot. I'd check the zero, then spend some time bashing some targets at different ranges to get used to the different POIs. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin lad Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 Instant kill, the heart is so small and well hidden you would be lucky to hit it direct with a sub 12ft/lb rifle. Those rabbits will die just not instantly. have you ever cut a rabbits head open you will find the brain is smaller than the vital organs in the chest the head may be the size of a tennis ball but the brain is tiny easy to miss, i have head shot rabbits with the .22lr and they have run off colin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnome of the Woods Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 The brain is a lot easier to get to Like most animals a head shot can still produce runners dependant on the conditions. With a sub 12ft/lb air rifle to offer yourself the greatest chance of a clean/instant kill the head shot is best. Also it gives you much more scope to shoot from almost all angles. Just my humble opinion of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin lad Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 The brain is a lot easier to get to Like most animals a head shot can still produce runners dependant on the conditions. With a sub 12ft/lb air rifle to offer yourself the greatest chance of a clean/instant kill the head shot is best. Also it gives you much more scope to shoot from almost all angles. Just my humble opinion of course. all good points mate, but i never had much problem with chest shots pretty much evens with both, knowing the animals anatomy helps as there are plenty of people who do not know where the heart lung is exactly on a rabbit, colin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnome of the Woods Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 To true mate, at the end of the day if you are confident in the shot and your ability you will shoot better and kill more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la bala Posted March 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 all good points mate, but i never had much problem with chest shots pretty much evens with both, knowing the animals anatomy helps as there are plenty of people who do not know where the heart lung is exactly on a rabbit, colin thanks to you all for the input. i just hoped the heart/lung would be in exactly the same place as it is when i rimfire them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin lad Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 thanks to you all for the input. i just hoped the heart/lung would be in exactly the same place as it is when i rimfire them. :lol: if your rimmy is a hmr then it prob spread all over the field next to the rabbit colin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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