Rabbits at 80 Meters ?

[ewilson]

Can someone please advise,

 

I currently shoot rabbits with either a BSA Lightning @9lb or a Supersport @11.5 and when quarry gets lean a Mirouko MK70 12 Bore "also keeps Reynard away from my dinner ".

I have applied for a FAC, the police have cashed my cheque so I am just waiting any day for my licence.

 

My only concern with a .22 rim is on occasion it would to be unsuitable either because the backdrop is a road or the field next door has Cattle or sheep in it . I have access to acres of land but rabbits unfortunately don’t sit in the middle of fields with perfect back drops.

 

Currently my interest is rabbits at approx 20-40 meters which without lamping takes time to get on them , camo etc .This is the shooting I enjoy .

 

I only shoot what I can eat or give away and would like to be able to shoot Rabbits at 60-80 meters with a FAC Air Weapon and a rim fire for 80+

 

Which BSA is the best to update and how do I do it . AWT gas ram ? The lightning has terrible recoil considering the 9lb and the supersport is a dream to use @11.5lb would the lightning be improved with a gas ram .

?

My aim is to get one rifle up to 20lb max would this give me an accurate air weapon to kill at 60 to 80 meters? Does going over the 12 pounds mean I have to declare my air weapon on my FAC licence or will my licence just give me blanket cover to what I like regarding the power of an air weapon?

[salisburykeeper]

i would look at getting a .20 calibre rifle in fac both distance and power but with a standard 12ftlb it wouldnt really be fair on the quarry taking 80m shot for obvious reasons

 

your best bet is to go for a theoben rapid ive used them for years and have one of each calibre superb light hunting tools! :blink:

[Evilv]

Get an HMR. You'll never want to go back to anything less once you've tried shooting with it. The idea of shooting rabbits at 80 meters with an air rifle is not the best I'd say. The precision of shot placement required even witha rifle at 20 ft pounds at the range you mention would be very exacting, especially given the trajectory of a projectile travelling at maybe 750 fps. That would be a very tall order for me in practical field conditions. 'Is that rabbit at 75 or 80 meters or is it 70?' The answer to that question being correctly resolved would dictate whether you maimed the thing or killed it. Not so with an HMR. The question is then, 'Is the cross anywhere on the bunny's front half?' The animal is then instantly dead as soon as you pull the trigger.

 

You can't fire an air rifle if the backdrop is a road or a cow anyway, so that makes no difference. The HMR is very much better than 22LR for ricochet, but there will always be plenty of places you dare not fire, whatever you are using.

Edited August 12, 2008 by Evilv

[pumpitup]

Gotta agree with Evilv on this. :blink:

[codling99]

for rabbits up to 80 yds max,get a rapid on 40 ft lb,20 is not a lot,forty ish yds ,and then you ll struggle after that to be accurate,.17 hmr are cracking rifle,flat and accurate,but quite loud compared to fac air or 22lr,got to way up odds,ammo expensive for .17 ,bit cheaper for .22 lr,cheaper againg for pellets for fac air. :blink:

[drut]

FAC air & 22lr share loopy trajectories,to get the best out of either you need a laser rangefinder (or know your shooting areas intimately) & practice at different ranges. Maximum ranges are often shortened by how much(& how gusty) wind is blowing. Personally I would not shoot past 60-70yds with FAC air even in perfect

conditions but others may be more talented.

[tweedledee]

i have made 90 ms shots with fac air but i would nt reccomend them all the time.look into hm2, 22lr or hmr depending on your location and what you are shooting, all will do their job.i`m an avid fac air freak but 70ms shots are `nt the easiest to pull off time after time. each different gun has it`s place in the cabinet, find the one that suits best

[deejay]

if you are still after an air rifle that does the job, then why not sell both the lightning and the supersport,

mainly because if you were to get a certain air arms gun then they can manually be tuned to your desired power level, providing you have your fac to do this and also a chrono would be a must .

Edited August 22, 2008 by mtbarrel

[deejay]

ps the new AA now have an anti tamper on them.

[chrispti]

if you are still after an air rifle that does the job, then why not sell both the lightning and the supersport,

mainly because if you were to get a certain air arms gun then they can manually be tuned to your desired power level, providing you have your fac to do this and also a chrono would be a must .

If you were to try and adjust the power by the way you are implying, you will not get any more than 14ftlbs out of it! :o

Edited August 24, 2008 by chrispti

[deejay]

if you are still after an air rifle that does the job, then why not sell both the lightning and the supersport,

mainly because if you were to get a certain air arms gun then they can manually be tuned to your desired power level, providing you have your fac to do this and also a chrono would be a must .

If you were to try and adjust the power by the way you are implying, you will not get any more than 14ftlbs out of it!

i wouldnt know never done it

[airssassin]

I have a BSA Lightening XL with Theoben ram fitted and I wouldn't shoot at live targets past 35 yards. That is based on standing with something for me to lean on. As you can't rest the rifle on anything firm, that in itself limits the range. Great guns but you need to respect their limits.

 

I would say that the ranges you are looking to achieve would be pushing the limits of even PCP air rifles. I recall reading something in Total Airguns about 60 yards being about the most you can expect from FAC air, and then only by the highly skilled. Of course, people have achieved kills at greater distances, but using it for that purpose all the time is something different.

[radio1ham]

if you applying for fac why not get your self a .22 cz452 with sound mod or simalar

and keep your air rifle for the fun side of shooting as if you get it fac`d (tuned up to fac) you will need to register it as an fac weapon

you will find a decent 2nd hand rimfire in .22 for around 150 - 200 pounds a lot less than what you would pay for a airrifle

as if you do get your airrifle fac`d it will need to be kept in a gun cabinet aswell so why not just go all the way and get your self a .22 rimfire im sure others will agree you wont regret it