hares wot calibre

[aldivalloch]

Hares with an air-rifle? A bit like shooting a red deer with a .22 rimfire - possible, but NOT a clever idea. I'm sure it's the case that inappropriate calibres/loads have killed many creatures, and I'm even more sure that they have crippled and maimed many more.

 

Doubtless there will be some posts from people who think it's acceptable to use an air-rifle, and a few posts from people claiming to have done it. Well, gentlemen, it doesn't reflect at all well upon you, and it speaks volumes about your respect - or lack of respect - for your quarry.

 

I don't shoot many hares nowadays - only the odd one for the pot - although they're certainly not scarce here. I no longer take them with a shotgun - in my experience, a hare requires a hefty load of biggish shot for a certain kill and the result is often smashed bones and mashed guts.

 

A rifle is much more appropriate, and, just for the record, if it's a .22 rimfire I'd always go with HV rather than Subsonic. Just to be sure.

[secretagentmole]

I know plenty who have taken them with a sub 12 .22! It obviously depends on range etc, however as plenty of people have stated and I have seen personally a Hares skull is no more pellet proof than a rabbits!

[kent]

I know plenty who have taken them with a sub 12 .22! It obviously depends on range etc, however as plenty of people have stated and I have seen personally a Hares skull is no more pellet proof than a rabbits!

 

Actually thats dead wrong the scull is much bigger, the bone thicker yet the brain about similar in size. An adult hare is three times or more in size to an adult rabbit. you "knowing" a lot of people who have only shows one thing............

[kent]

36grm bbs for hare's are you mad i'v flattened plenty using 32grm 6's

aswell as 29grm 6 kent velocity ''killin em dead out to 35 yards the skin of a hare is paper thin''a rabbits is much thicker. regardless of size hares are weaker and quit easier. a legal limit airgun upto 40 yards head shot will kill hares all day long i would go as far as saying a squirrel takes more stopping than a hare.

 

So many laughs and smilies here but such things shouldn't be joked about as there are obviously a few foolish and inexperianced people about

[ste 2712]

I have had a 22lr round glance/ricochet off a hare! it looked stunned for a second then took off.......

The following shot took it down but after that i don't think i would shoot one with the air-rifle! :unsure: But it's each to there own i suppose.

[demonwolf444]

Took a full grown one with an air rifle once, and i wouldnt do it or reccomend it to be done by anyone again, two shots then had to run and neck it. That being said i have taken the occaisional leveret with an air rifle and they drop fine. I love jugged hare ( recipie from the AGA cock book in the game section ) And shoot some with the shotgun, Maybee ive just been lucky but ive used 32 6's every time. There are allot around near me on my local permission and i dont take very many a year.

[tomhw100]

If you was accurate enough to shoot them up front or in the head obviously a 32g 6 would kill a hare,I would suggest that you'd have to be an accurate shot though. I have shot a few hares with my sub 12ftlber when I was younger but it's not something I'd do now-not at all. There's to much margin for error Hares aren't easier to kill than rabbits what complete ****!. I think an FAC Airgun,rimfire,small centrefire and correctly loaded shotgun are the best method of attack. I think it shows a general lack of respect for your quarry using a gun that isnt up to the job.

[scotland rifles]

i just pass them by, or better still i sit and watch them for a while and im amazed when they just sit there under the lamp with not a care in the world,

 

i don't eat them so i don't shoot them,

 

bob.

[aga man]

wounded hares sound terrible, like a crying child and certainly not good for onlookers to see or hear. i have shot plenty in the past with shotgun and standard game loads on walked up rough shoot days. i no longer shoot hares as there not a problem on my permissions and i don't eat them. if i was to kill one i wouldn't reach for the air rifle. not saying it can't be done, but not for me.

[miroku moocher]

So many laughs and smilies here but such things shouldn't be joked about as there are obviously a few foolish and inexperianced people about

inexperiance i think not i'v been shooting ,trappin , diggin for 25 years

and as for hares skulls being bigger than a rabbits ''yes bigger''stronger NO'' i'v skinned many hares and rabbits

in fact there aint many mammals i havent skinned. and i'l say hares are very light boned in comparison to there size

the skin on a hare is paper thin'you can put your fingers threw it easily while skinning em. by comparison a rabbits is thicker and tougher i can honestly say i have shot over the years well over a hundred hares.and injured less than a handful . seem some folk over rate the hare. and use a sledge hammer to knock in a floor tack

but each to there own

Edited July 3, 2012 by miroku moocher

[kent]

inexperiance i think not i'v been shooting ,trappin , diggin for 25 years

and as for hares skulls being bigger than a rabbits ''yes bigger''stronger NO'' i'v skinned many hares and rabbits

in fact there aint many mammals i havent skinned. and i'l say hares are very light boned in comparison to there size

the skin on a hare is paper thin'you can put your fingers threw it easily while skinning em. by comparison a rabbits is thicker and tougher i can honestly say i have shot over the years well over a hundred hares.and injured less than a handful . seem some folk over rate the hare. and use a sledge hammer to knock in a floor tack

but each to there own

 

I do a fair few myself, you certainly wouldn't have to go back very far to count that hundred up. those on here who know me and have visited will attest to that one, its like as hard as walking out the front door and looking.

Theres a lot of rubbish being talked about Hare anatomy here i feel. the fact is a brown Hare is much closer to a Vixen in size than a rabbit when we are talking of full grown adults of each- thats too much for lighter game loads and definatly 12 ft lb air rifles.

[Wharf Rat]

I wouldn't personally use smaller than 32g five shot on hares, and only then because it may well be what I was loaded with. Fours would be better. Although I am guilty of stretching them to rough shooting rabbits at close range, 32g six shot is a pigeon/pheasant load.

 

I do most of my hunting with a 12ft-lb airifle these days, wouldn't bother with a hare though - the skull is that big you could easily knock the mouth out and leave the thing to run off and die of starvation.

[miroku moocher]

hares might be closer to the size of a vixen''but'' their anatomy is alot differant,,they are lighter in bone,thinner in skin and less robustly built than a fox, plus they are weak willed when hit properly a hare will rarely run on

some may go a few yards then drop, i'v dropped hares dead many time on full stretch using 29grm 6's

and i will also tell ya i'v dropped em with heart lung shots using a legal limit airgun, unless the hares up noth are weak

i dunno what the fuss or need for big guns to kill a hare.

Edited July 3, 2012 by miroku moocher

[kent]

hares might be closer to the size of a vixen''but'' their anatomy is alot differant,,they are lighter in bone,thinner in skinner and less robustly built than a fox, plus they are weak willed when hit properly a hare will rarely run on

some may go a few yards then drop, i'v dropped hares dead many time on full stretch using 29grm 6's

and i will also tell ya i'v dropped em with heart lung shots using a legal limit airgun, unless the haes up noth are weak

i dunno what the fuss or need for big guns to kill a hare.

 

next time you cut a hare up have a look at the heart on the thing. now a rabbit heart is nothing to speak of but a hares heart is very much larger than one might expect. now your talking heart lung shots with a 12ft lb gun Not realy much point comunicating with you.

[miroku moocher]

listen i'l end this with you after this you know best a hares heart is huge a rabbits by comparison is small.

but they are both in a weak flimsy rib cage size of heart if anything work againt the hare

a hare hit in the heart dies very quickly they bleed alot more than a rabbit and die if anything easier

you got your way i got mine end of.

[aldivalloch]

I've always thought that there are fundamentally two categories of air-rifle user -

 

a) the kind who are true enthusiasts, knowledgeable, and prepared to act responsibly and shoot within the limitations of their guns

 

B) the kind who talk in hyperbole about the "power" of their guns, who boast of taking unfeasibly long shots, of shooting at inappropriate quarry, and who like to dress up as though they were special forces snipers

 

This second category, not surprisingly, often comprises "characters" who are unlikely ever to be able to get SGC's and FAC's. And after reading some of tonight's posts, I think we should all be very thankful for that!!

 

And I've no idea where that emoticon thingy came from. Please read it as category B).

 

It's done it again!!! I MEANT CATEGORY "b"!!!

[miroku moocher]

if u talkin bout me i have sgc and fac B)

Edited July 4, 2012 by miroku moocher

[aldivalloch]

I wasn't talking about you in particular, miroku moocher.

 

I'm pleased you have SGC and FAC. Next time they come up for renewal, don't forget to tell your Firearms Liaison Officer how good you are at shooting hartes with an air-rifle.

 

I'm sure he or she will be every bit as impressed as all the right-thinking folk who use this forum.

 

I'm with Kent on this one. There's no point in continuing the discussion. I find arguing with fools pointless.

[aldivalloch]

And if I knew how to edit my posts I'd go back and correct my spelling of "hares"!

[secretagentmole]

No law against it, it is perfectly possible, some do, some don't, some believe that the hare is a god like creature with strength beyond Popeye and armour greater than that of a Chieftan tank. Some of us who have been out shooting with people who are capable hunters, using sub 12 foot pound air rifles and have seen them shoot two hares, each killed with a well aimed head shot, with less fuss than some rabbits make when shot in the head, will believe what they have personally seen.

 

Until then we will get the boys with toys, claiming rights over all they desire and trying to use fake laws to deter us who remain steadfastly sub 12 and happy. It is like being told I cannot shoot pheasants with a sub 12. Yes I can, in season or where they are being vermin (ie in grain stores), I have done, I have eaten the results and to all you pepper shot peters out there, a damned pheasant tastes a whole lot better when the only bit of lead in the bird was removed when it was prepared for the oven (head shot), same with a hare!

 

By the way Aldivalloch, we are talking about Hares, not Hartes or Harts (old English words for mature stags), so I am not hunting venison with my sub 12!

[kent]

I've always thought that there are fundamentally two categories of air-rifle user -

 

a) the kind who are true enthusiasts, knowledgeable, and prepared to act responsibly and shoot within the limitations of their guns

 

B) the kind who talk in hyperbole about the "power" of their guns, who boast of taking unfeasibly long shots, of shooting at inappropriate quarry, and who like to dress up as though they were special forces snipers

 

This second category, not surprisingly, often comprises "characters" who are unlikely ever to be able to get SGC's and FAC's. And after reading some of tonight's posts, I think we should all be very thankful for that!!

 

And I've no idea where that emoticon thingy came from. Please read it as category B).

 

It's done it again!!! I MEANT CATEGORY "b"!!!

 

your point about air rifle shooters is quite valid. its a real shame because the B group have such a negative effect on those in group A in terms of general reputation within the realms of other shooters and in gaining decent shooting. its a shame that one of the safest, quietest and least damaging guns and shooters in our sport have such a bad reputation as the result of the B group

[wayne t]

your point about air rifle shooters is quite valid. its a real shame because the B group have such a negative effect on those in group A in terms of general reputation within the realms of other shooters and in gaining decent shooting. its a shame that one of the safest, quietest and least damaging guns and shooters in our sport have such a bad reputation as the result of the B group

I think you should use a cannon Matty as iv seen your shooting ha ha

[fenboy]

inexperiance i think not i'v been shooting ,trappin , diggin for 25 years

and as for hares skulls being bigger than a rabbits ''yes bigger''stronger NO'' i'v skinned many hares and rabbits

in fact there aint many mammals i havent skinned. and i'l say hares are very light boned in comparison to there size

the skin on a hare is paper thin'you can put your fingers threw it easily while skinning em. by comparison a rabbits is thicker and tougher i can honestly say i have shot over the years well over a hundred hares.and injured less than a handful . seem some folk over rate the hare. and use a sledge hammer to knock in a floor tack

but each to there own

 

Emille Heskey has been playing football for 20 odd years , it does not make him good at it , I am amazed you have gone to the expense of getting a bone density test done on a hares skull to be able to say its not as thick as a rabbits ! , and by the way I have been shooting,tappin, and diggin for 30 years so that means I know more than you !

[dougall]

Miroku Moocher,

Having seen and been impressed with some of your taxidermy work you have seen more animals from the 'inside',so I do not argue with your anatomical observations.

My experience of Hares though is they are a big animal,bigger than a pet cat.The OP asked about what calibre as appropriate for shooting Hares cleanly and referred to 45 yards.I personally would not shoot a Hare with an air rifle at any range.Imagine you had a loved pet cat,and for some awful reason had to put it out of its misery due to injury or whatever...would you chose to do the job with a 12ft lb air rifle or use one of your FAC/SGC weapons?

Please don't post your answer if its the former as my opinion of you will nose dive.Can an air rifle kill a Hare,well yes of course it can,is it the most suitable weapon?..No.. not by a long chalk.

To the OP you posted in Air rifle section,but hopefully the majoity of responses recommending rimfire/large pellet shotgun are the ones you go with.

atb.

[miroku moocher]

fenboy u talkin **** pal i'v forgot more than u know a hares skull and bones are weak .

i can crush a hares and a rabbirs skull with my bare hands, i can't crush a foxes. hares are weak simples''

 

listen guys i'm not sayin an airgun is the weapon of choice for shootin hares,,just sayin it can and will kill em cleanly dougall yes iknow alot about the inside of animal's i hate cats ,but if i had to kill a beloved pet cat ,i would knock it on the head with a shovel.