rabbits

[hillbilly74]

Hi guys im looking to get into rabbiting with air rifle just wondered if anyone could share any tips as never done it before not new to rifles and shooting in general on account of my army days but lamping totally alien to me any help most welcome

[chrisjpainter]

Hey mate, welcome to the forum. Have you got yourself an air rifle yet? If so what have ya got?

lamping for rabbits with an airgun is a great way to do it, but takes a bit of patience and a lot of practice, as you have to get reasonably close before you can take the shot. A red filter is a popular way to go as it is less likely to spook your quarry.

 

I like to know where the rabbits are going to be before the lamp goes on, so it pays to be able to do a recce of your permission so you know where they hide out. It saves having to have the lamp on more than you need and making everything nervous.

 

BTW where abouts are you?

[hillbilly74]

Hi mate its xs19 only used it once im in swales do you do alot of shooting then

[shinybum]

Hi mate its xs19 only used it once im in swales do you do alot of shooting then

lots of practice on targets is essential before going hunting, imo

[Fabhui]

Hi mate its xs19 only used it once im in swales do you do alot of shooting then

I have the same rifle. Get yourself a Welsh willy tuning kit and trigger for it and it will turn it into a smooth amazingly accurate rifle!

[Longbower]

Its a steep learning curve, and you mustn't get put off by any lack of success. Rabbits have big directional ears, a great sense of smell, but average eyesight.

If there is a wind blowing from your direction, towards them, they may disappear rather quickly. Also full moon/light nights, their eyesight is not brilliant but they

will see you if you dont "blend in" with the surroundings. Remember , Movement is your greatest enemy. Fieldcraft is your best weapon.

The best way , is to conceal yourself, as close as possible, down wind of the area you intend to shoot. If it is too windy, forget it #!!!! as you may only

wound them, and if they make it to their burrow they suffer a long slow demise.(That's not a nice way for any animal to die).

Therefore , always check out the accuracy of the equipment you are using before you shoot at your quarry, a simple knock getting it out of the bag

could effect accuracy. I find a light that has two levels of brightness to be useful , and not spook them too much by locating with the bright red, and then

homing in on them with the dimmer red..

Get , a shooting stick/rest/ , this will aid accurate shooting. A Rod rest kind of thing. as standing in a open field , in the wind .on uneven ground

is NOT the best platform to shoot from for accuracy.

And the only other "TIP" I can give you is , tell someone where you are going , and what time you are likely to be back.

And, as I have found out ,on several occasions, NEVER assume just because you alone have the "permission" to shoot,,,, that you are

alone out there. There are plenty of people who hunt illegally with guns and or dogs!!!!. Just be aware , and carry a mobile,

It is great fun when you get it right though. And dead bunnies weigh a bit , so a good strong game bag is a bonus as well if you are

roaming and shooting.

I hope you Have fun , safely.

[aga man]

some very good advice above with regards to consistant accuracy testing of your rifle and using rests etc, to add to it i would say familiarize your self with a good killing range ie 30 yds something that looks about thirty yards is often further.

learn to judge your range correctly and with a correctly zeroed rifle and field craft the rabbits will be in the bag.

[Longbower]

If I MAY, add to the list, shoes that don't creak, clothing that doesn't " rustle " and keep your pellets

safely in a "rattle and squash" free pouch, or pocket. A damaged pellet skirt may have the same effect

as a misaligned scope.

Get hold of some "scrim" to cover you face like a scarf , for light evenings, this can keep midges out as well.

Never , ever go OVER, an electric fence. If you slip,or trip, its not a good way to fry nuts, So slide

under on your back with your weapon unloaded, across your tummy.

As above, you definitely have to be able to judge distance. This doesn't matter if its your own "calibration"

as forty of your paces , will be different from someone else's, As long as you can hit within a tennis ball sized target

at the range you have become proficient at. Now, that's an awful lot to remember , so do a check list before you go out

just like a pilot, or as doctors do . As Several times , I have arrived at a venue, without all the necessary equipment , or charged

batteries etc.Sorry to all for "going on", and I am sure others will have different views.

[bruno22rf]

Hillbilly74-the advice that nobody seems keen to give you so far-do not consider shooting live quarry until you are totally familiar with your gun-this could take weeks and secondly-px your gun against a TX200 or similar (.177 of course)

[secretagentmole]

Ignore Bruno, the XS19-18 is a fine little rifle and capable of some very good accuracy, if you get a good one, but like any rifle, get a bad one and you will hate it with a vigour, just so many of the 19-18 rifles have been sold over here there is a fair chance of running into one that is such a dog it comes with it's own pediree!

 

Welsh Willy at Woodfield Guncare Products near Swansea does a superb replacement trigger for these guns, well worth buying and fitting for the money it will cost. Spend another £65 odd and get one of his tuning kits as well and you are talking about the gun being a very capable bunny basher.

 

Modern HWs have had their quality control problems, as have Air Arms to be fair (the Prosport being a particularly fine example of things continuing to go wrong).

[norfolkgoose]

The xs 19 is a good cheap rifle and is accurate still got the one I started with!

had no probs with it ... just practice lots and lots if you are going to lamp then practice at night aswell as its harder to judge range in the dark .

Try putting out diffrent sized targets at random ranges long , short, abscured, oh and a good scope is a must

[bruno22rf]

On second thoughts go with the Mole-you just need to spend about £90 to get a gun nearly as smooth as the TX or HW offerings-don't forget you need a reasonable mechanical knowledge to fit the items + a chrono to check power levels. You will then have a gun that will never match the quality guns available and will never get back the cash you have spent on them. The old saying that you cant polish a **** is sometimes valid-how much money do top FT shooters lavish on their guns?-How many trophies have SMK's and the like won?

[kent]

Study to get close and know your limitations, many exaggerate what can be done with an airgun because of the odd lucky or flukey kill. Only lamp the best and darkest nights of winter and don't go lamping in summer get out early and stop out late.

 

Oh, and take only some of what your hear on here in. Air Arms and The HW's have been doing the job for years and still represent the measuring stick. Why the heck anyone might buy something to start spending on it is representative of only a consumer attitude to life.

 

I am in my mid forties I stalked and shot my first rabbit with an open sighted HW35 at 11yrs old, competed in FT when HW and FWB were the go to, then the TXs/r range then the GC2 sportsmatch and only for a couple of those intervening years did I not own or use an airgun being occupied with other things that went bang. The gun I use is a HW80 and yes its been very heavily modified over the many years I have owned it ( what amounts to totally new guts) but the fact remains the same base gun is still the measuring stick that other manufacturers use 30+ years on and I doubt I come home with a lot more vermin killed for all that work. Like I say study to get close and know your limits

[turbo33]

Ignore Bruno,

 

He's always grumpy

 

My two pennyworth..........

Not everyone has huge amounts of money to spend on higher end guns, sometimes you have to make do with what you have.

 

Start point:

Make sure your rifle is powerful enough. Either chrono it yourself/friends/gunshop. You need 10ftlbs upwards.

Rabbits only have one kill zone imho, and that's between the ear and the eye. So as Agaman said (Good post ) Practice and know your ranges so that you can account for the pellet drop over distance, and that you can consistently drop the shot into the kill zone. The accepted size here is about a the size of a £1 coin or less.

Try different pellets in your rifle on paper and see which is the most accurate and stick to them. Practise loads, and when you are confident of your marksmanship on paper, then tackle the bunnies

[JKD]

Some great advice from the guys above except this typo maybe

 

If I MAY, add to the list, shoes that don't creak, clothing that doesn't " rustle " and keep your pellets

safely in a "rattle and squash" free pouch, or pocket. A damaged pellet skirt may have the same effect

as a misaligned scope.

Get hold of some "scrim" to cover you face like a scarf , for light evenings, this can keep midges out as well.

Never , ever go OVER, an electric fence. If you slip,or trip, its not a good way to fry nuts, So slide

under on your back with your weapon unloaded, across your tummy.

As above, you definitely have to be able to judge distance. This doesn't matter if its your own "calibration"

as forty of your paces , will be different from someone else's, As long as you can hit within a tennis ball sized target

at the range you have become proficient at. Now, that's an awful lot to remember , so do a check list before you go out

just like a pilot, or as doctors do . As Several times , I have arrived at a venue, without all the necessary equipment , or charged

batteries etc.Sorry to all for "going on", and I am sure others will have different views.

 

More like what turbo has said, in red below

 

 

 

My two pennyworth..........

Not everyone has huge amounts of money to spend on higher end guns, sometimes you have to make do with what you have.

 

Start point:

Make sure your rifle is powerful enough. Either chrono it yourself/friends/gunshop. You need 10ftlbs upwards.

Rabbits only have one kill zone imho, and that's between the ear and the eye. So as Agaman said (Good post ) Practice and know your ranges so that you can account for the pellet drop over distance, and that you can consistently drop the shot into the kill zone. The accepted size here is about a the size of a £1 coin or less.

Try different pellets in your rifle on paper and see which is the most accurate and stick to them. Practise loads, and when you are confident of your marksmanship on paper, then tackle the bunnies

 

Glad to help and good luck

[demonwolf444]

A lot of info been put up there but if it has not already been stated, if you are struggling to achieve the £1 coin sized groups then try google ing the "artillery hold" or search for it on youtube. That bit of information turned my early day 1.5 inch groups right down to a half inch ( with plenty of practice though ). Its good to shoot targets at many different ranges, from 10 - 40 yards, this helps give you an idea of your point of impact at different ranges, and also makes you realize the practical limitations of your gun, or your shooting ability. - A good scope helps, i suggest something from the Nikko sterling mount master range, these are quality scopes that wont break the bank, i have a few and they have stood up to field abuse well. There are many different reticule ( cross hair ) styles and choices, I personally think mil dots are useful for plotting out the point of impact at different ranges, but the first three years of my hunting was done with the standard 30/30 cross hair and they work just fine. Again personally i find i shoot spring guns better on lower magnification. -- Through hunting many people develop particular systems that work well for them and therefore they stick with them. its just one of those things, see what works for you.

 

Once you have your accuracy dialed in you should find a shooting permission, the best success rate ( numerous sources ) is to just knock on doors and ask farmers. Once you have your permission it can be good to do a reconnaissance trip to help get the lay of the land, which may help you locate spots where you may be likely to see lots of rabbits.

 

One of my pitfalls in the early days was poor range estimation, and this is a skill i think you learn over time, a novice can easily mistake 30 yards for 40, and this can make a big difference. Personally something i still do is to stalk in range of a rabbit, then try and get ten yards closer. If it spooks the rabbit then its always there for another day, if not you are fairly guaranteed a good clean kill. Be sure to pay attention on wind direction and typography of the land on your approach, you make it much harder for your self shooting with the wind on your back than shooting into the wind, as rabbits do have excellent senses if they scent you they are far more likely to bolt when you accidentally step on a twig.

 

The textbook head shot is to aim just between the eye and ear, this should result in a clean kill, which normally results in the rabbit jumping randomly into the air and falling down stone dead, this is just nerve reactions. However you always need to be aware that even the most perfect shot can be ruined by a blustery day, and there for it is quite possible that your shot could miss the small kill zone, and that the rabbit may drop but still be alive long enough to push its self into thick cover, or back down a hole, the rabbit will usually be dead by the time you reach it but PERSONALLY i think you should always try your absolute hardest to retrieve a dead rabbit. If they kick back down a hole i have often found them just in arms reach down the mouth of the hole.

 

If you plan of eating or selling your rabbits or giving them to others to eat you really need to **** the rabbit to prevent the urine from tainting the meat. That is to empty the rabbits bladder of any pee it has in it. To do this you need to hold the rabbits by the front legs and squeeze down its stomach right down to its back legs. The rabbit should empty its bladder so mind your boots. Most people gut rabbits in the field, its good to get the meat to cool as quick as possible, there are many detailed guides on how to do this online, but the easiest way i have found is to slit the skin from the bottom of the rib cage as far down as you can go, then hold the rabbit by its back and shake the guts out. Then get your hand in and pull anything that's left out.

 

Normally people skin rabbits once they get home, again there are numerous guides on how to do this online, then all you have to do is butcher it and decide how to cook it!

 

Hunting is a very steep learning curve, and you can talk for hours about boots vs wellies, .22 / .177, how much power, range, ect. But it is far less tiresome to get into the field with some common sense, be safe and find out what works for you.

[secretagentmole]

On second thoughts go with the Mole-you just need to spend about £90 to get a gun nearly as smooth as the TX or HW offerings-don't forget you need a reasonable mechanical knowledge to fit the items + a chrono to check power levels. You will then have a gun that will never match the quality guns available and will never get back the cash you have spent on them. The old saying that you cant polish a **** is sometimes valid-how much money do top FT shooters lavish on their guns?-How many trophies have SMK's and the like won?

He is not talking about winning trophies, but about killing an animal, something the SMK is quite capable of doing if it is used properly! Most places wont take an SMK in against another gun, due to their low resale value, so if he invests a few quid, sorts the trigger out and a few months or a year or so later invests in a tuning kit to make the best of what he has bought, who cares.

Not everybody who passes their driving test can afford a Ferrari as a first car Bruno.

[Fabhui]

As I've said I have the XS19 and for the money it's a cracking rifle. After stripping it and giving it a deburr and polish, I fitted a Welsh Willy Trigger and Tuning Kit to it (which was a piece of cake) along with Nikko Sterling scope. The result now if that I have a gun that fires at a consistent 11.6 ft/lb, is super smooth to cock and fire with very little recoil, is extremely quiet and I can get groupings within the size of a 10p at 35yrds.

 

Do yourself a favour and join http://ukchineseairgunforum.myfreeforum.org/ The guys on that place really know their stuff when it comes to these rifles. There are strip down guides etc and people are only too happy to help.

[Longbower]

JKD,

IMHO , a tennis ball sized target at 30 meters will be about the size of a ten pence coin, "personal

calibration." old boy.

[JKD]

JKD,

IMHO , a tennis ball sized target at 30 meters will be about the size of a ten pence coin, "personal

calibration." old boy.

 

A tennis ball at 30 Metres is still a tennis ball

 

Whatever floats your boat though "Old Chap"

Edited December 1, 2013 by JKD

[NIGHT SEARCHER]

Tennis ball sizes at 30 metres. Someone needs to learn there CLEAN KILL Zones.

 

Have a look on YOU TUBE or the link at the bottom of the main page of PW.

 

Fieldsports Britain Channel TV. Roy Lupton on Rabbit shooting with a 12 ftlb Air Rifle.

 

And what is the best pellets for a good Clean kill. Pointed - Domed- Hollow point.

There`s loads on Youtube. Hunting with an Air Rifle. Vermin Control. Shooting Rabbits. Rats.

[bruno22rf]

On the button again Mole-accuracy has less relevance when hunting live quarry.

[secretagentmole]

No Bruno, but the kill zone on a rabbit is a damned site bigger than the smallest aperture on a knock down target (which is 15mm as opposed to the 27mm kill zone on a rabbit). As long as you can get the pellets to land in a 1 inch circle you can hunt, 15mm (app half inch) is ideal, but not essential, so please, polish your TX, feel proud you can afford it, leave those who are starting out and not wanting to waste hundreds of pounds on a nice shiny new Air Arms when they are getting the feel for shooting.

Remember a good shooter with an XS will probably be a great shooter with a TX. But decide you don't like the sport and a great chunk of cash has just gone whistling out the window!

[Longbower]

OK, so a tank is still the same size two miles away,and it still looks as big through scope as it would right in front of you?

 

What I should have said is "never take the shot unless you can be sure, of you own , and your equipment's ability

to deliver a clean ethical kill." So apologies to all for not describing correctly the standard of expertise, and accuracy

required.

[bruno22rf]

I don't have a TX, Moley-I use a MK3 Daystate. I bought it second hand for less than the price of a new TX but money has nothing to do with my choice of rifle-without wishing to sound crass I could buy more than a hundred Daystates tomorrow and not feel the pinch. The OP was after tips to shoot rabbits etc-a better gun would be the first step.