A Question about Air Rifles

[Native Nathan]

OK this may sound like a silly question, but are Air Rifles sold in the UK powerful enough to kill squirrels and rabbits?

I'm wanting to get more into this style of hunting, but I don't want to if it is just going to injury the animal and cause needless suffering.

And if so what would you guys with Air Rife experience recommend I buy?

Thanks for reading

 

[TeeDee]

Very, very much Yes. Most def man enough for the job , but as with all things you must become competent and safe with it. And that means knowing when to take the shot and More importantly NOT take the shot.

I have always thought Air rifle enthusiasts make better shooters then the shotgun brigade.
To me shotguns are all about reaction speed while airgun shooting is true to the the lessons on windage and elevation , true marksman basics.

IMO.

Ref which gun? can't help , have not shot myself for many years.

 

[TallNHairyDave]

Bunnies and squirrels... You need a .22, and it needs to be close to the legal limit of 12ft/lb - generally you won't get that with a really cheap air rifle.

Also don't even think of going after bunnies or squirrels (or anything that isn't a paper target or a metal "knock down" target or that sort of thing) until you are a good enough shot to guarantee a kill on the first hit. Remember that the guaranteed kill zone on a rabbit or squirrel is generally considered to ONLY be a pellet TO THE HEAD.

Now, imagine the rabbit is 25-30 metres away. Are you certain that you can guarantee you'll get it in the head - i.e. through the brain - with the first shot?

Remember, a paper target doesn't feel pain and suffer if you put a pellet through the wrong bit.

A bit of advice I was given a while ago was that If you can bust an extra-strong mint at 35m every time, then you're almost good enough.

Also, you'll want a silencer on it so you don't spook other quarry with the noise.

Join a club, and practice, practice, practice!

I've just got back into airgunning myself. You may find this thread over on British Blades very helpful. http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5829

As for which gun to get, well that depends on your budget! A reasonable guide can be found here http://airgunbuyer.com/page.asp?pg=18. A good choice would be to join a club and talk to the members about what you want to do. Also a club is a good source of decent second hand rifles.

P.S. Read up on all the laws pertaining to air gun ownership and use e.g. if you're doing pest control (hunting) there is a limited amount of quarry you can legally hunt, and you need written permission from the landowner to be on their land shooting.

 

[TeeDee]

Yep, was going to come back and suggest getting in with a club , you will probably be able to try a few different rifles there so you can then 'know' what you like.

Bags of experince at a club and you will most likely make some good contacts with other shooters who already have secure shooting rights on land.

 

[Broch]

I have a full FAC and shotguns but have probably shot more food with my airifle than anything else. You need to get close and that means skill. You need to be a very good shot and that means practice.

The advantages are that it is quiet (you're not broadcasting to everyone in a 2 mile radius that you're hunting) and it's dirt cheap. Don't let the "shiny kit" disciples persuade you to buy expensive pump-up and gas cartridge rifles unless you really want to go this route. I still use the BSA Supersport that I bought well over 20 years ago - I can still get spares for it and it still shoots perfectly on the legal limit.

Practice, practice, practice before aiming at anything living and remember, a .22 air rifle is no good for anything bigger than a rabbit (or should I say is not humane on anything bigger than a rabbit).

 

[Native Nathan]

Being a good shot and all assocciated skills, such as stealth, camauflage, wind correction elivation is something I had perfected in the Army, I an defo a one shot one kill type of guy.

No point being cruel and causing suffering unneccessarily.

Thanks for the replys guys, an airclub is something I didn't even know existed, so thats given me food for thought, also I didn't even know that you could get silencer for an air rifle.

Thanx again.

 

[BigShot]

An important point was sorta mentioned earlier.
I don't want to insult anyone's intelligence but it could do with spelling out to be on the safe side.
If an air rifle's power is over 12 ft/lb it is illegal unless you have a firearms certificate.

Up to 12 ft/lb you're ok, but a scratch over and you could face a lot of trouble if you're not holding it on a firearms certificate.

I've read many stories about people buying air rifles from friends, small ads and the likes that were described as being 12 ft/lbs or below - only on taking it to a gunsmith for something to be done to it did they find out they were over the limit (I seem to remember one was 14 to 16 ft/lbs) - lucky to have the first person to find out be a gunsmith who was a good judge of character and just powered it down rather than turning them in.

Happy hunting.