Retiring my sub 12ft/lbs air rifle

[danebrewer10 6]

PLEASE READ ALL OF THE TOPIC FIRST BEFORE REPLYING

 

right I know this is going to be a thorny topic, especially as it is posted in the airgun section, i'll probably post it in the rifles section as well to see what others think.

 

here goes. I have a precharged air rifle which I got about 5 or 6 years ago, it shoots cloverleaf groups at 25m and i used to use it for shooting everything on the airguners hit list so to speak. I have not really used it for some time now for shooting rabbits , and have only really used it for shooting rats/feral pigeons/corvids at the bird table and in trees, and squirrels in trees and at the bird table. as of today though i will retire it to paper punching duties.

 

the story goes as as follows. yesterday i shot at a magpie that was at the bird table from a first floor window, it was quite breezy, the first shot missed, i allowed for wind and shot again, it connected with something on the bird as it's head spun round and it hopped off, i just though i had stunned it, but today it came back, and i had obviously hit it's bottom jaw and broken it as it was hanging loose. luckily i managed to shoot it. had i not, then it would have most likley suffered a slow and protracted death by starvation and dehydration

 

i have used my air gun to kill many many of the "legal" species and though the wounding rate has been low, i still find it unacceptable as there are too many variables to go wrong, wind, range estimation, at least with my rimfire (.17 HMR)if i hit whatever it is i will kill it as it has so much more power available to do the job and terminal performance, because of this instance i have relegated my airgun for paper punching and close range control of rats and ferals around farm buildings. and use on perfecly still days for shooting anything larger- ie rabbits

 

now i'm sure i will receive indignant or perhaps insulting replies ridiculing my marksmanship or saying i am making excuses which is in part correct, however i can shoot a pretty good group, the only thing is that i feel that the airgun is limited to it's power and is useful in close range, up to 20m around farm buildings where excess power is either not needed or dangerous. at these close ranges and stiller air, the pellet does it's job well, but for long range hunting (in airgun terms) i feel it unsuitable because of the factors listed above and the many variables that make hitting and killing the target much more difficult. (FAC air rifles excluded)

[danebrewer10 6]

PLEASE READ ALL OF THE TOPIC FIRST BEFORE REPLYING

 

 

(moderators- i know this dosen't really belong here but i wanted to get a broad range of people to see the topic so i posted it in two sub forums)

 

right I know this is going to be a thorny topic, especially as it is posted in the airgun section, i'll probably post it in the rifles section as well to see what others think.

 

here goes. I have a precharged air rifle which I got about 5 or 6 years ago, it shoots cloverleaf groups at 25m and i used to use it for shooting everything on the airguners hit list so to speak. I have not really used it for some time now for shooting rabbits , and have only really used it for shooting rats/feral pigeons/corvids at the bird table and in trees, and squirrels in trees and at the bird table. as of today though i will retire it to paper punching duties.

 

the story goes as as follows. yesterday i shot at a magpie that was at the bird table from a first floor window, it was quite breezy, the first shot missed, i allowed for wind and shot again, it connected with something on the bird as it's head spun round and it hopped off, i just though i had stunned it, but today it came back, and i had obviously hit it's bottom jaw and broken it as it was hanging loose. luckily i managed to shoot it. had i not, then it would have most likley suffered a slow and protracted death by starvation and dehydration

 

i have used my air gun to kill many many of the "legal" species and though the wounding rate has been low, i still find it unacceptable as there are too many variables to go wrong, wind, range estimation, at least with my rimfire (.17 HMR)if i hit whatever it is i will kill it as it has so much more power available to do the job and terminal performance, because of this instance i have relegated my airgun for paper punching and close range control of rats and ferals around farm buildings. and use on perfecly still days for shooting anything larger- ie rabbits

 

now i'm sure i will receive indignant or perhaps insulting replies ridiculing my marksmanship or saying i am making excuses which is in part correct, however i can shoot a pretty good group, the only thing is that i feel that the airgun is limited to it's power and is useful in close range, up to 20m around farm buildings where excess power is either not needed or dangerous. at these close ranges and stiller air, the pellet does it's job well, but for long range hunting (in airgun terms) i feel it unsuitable because of the factors listed above and the many variables that make hitting and killing the target much more difficult. (FAC air rifles excluded)R

[Malt 379]

Airgun hunting does have it's limitations, you just have to know what they are. Like not shooting when it's too windy...

 

However, I've seen rabbits accidentally shot in the gut with a rimmy run off to die a slow & painful death too.

 

You make some pretty inflammatory remarks in that statement pal, to be honest I don't know why you've posted that in here.

[top gun 0]

PLEASE READ ALL OF THE TOPIC FIRST BEFORE REPLYING

 

right I know this is going to be a thorny topic, especially as it is posted in the airgun section, i'll probably post it in the rifles section as well to see what others think.

 

here goes. I have a precharged air rifle which I got about 5 or 6 years ago, it shoots cloverleaf groups at 25m and i used to use it for shooting everything on the airguners hit list so to speak. I have not really used it for some time now for shooting rabbits , and have only really used it for shooting rats/feral pigeons/corvids at the bird table and in trees, and squirrels in trees and at the bird table. as of today though i will retire it to paper punching duties.

 

the story goes as as follows. yesterday i shot at a magpie that was at the bird table from a first floor window, it was quite breezy, the first shot missed, i allowed for wind and shot again, it connected with something on the bird as it's head spun round and it hopped off, i just though i had stunned it, but today it came back, and i had obviously hit it's bottom jaw and broken it as it was hanging loose. luckily i managed to shoot it. had i not, then it would have most likley suffered a slow and protracted death by starvation and dehydration

 

i have used my air gun to kill many many of the "legal" species and though the wounding rate has been low, i still find it unacceptable as there are too many variables to go wrong, wind, range estimation, at least with my rimfire (.17 HMR)if i hit whatever it is i will kill it as it has so much more power available to do the job and terminal performance, because of this instance i have relegated my airgun for paper punching and close range control of rats and ferals around farm buildings. and use on perfecly still days for shooting anything larger- ie rabbits

 

now i'm sure i will receive indignant or perhaps insulting replies ridiculing my marksmanship or saying i am making excuses which is in part correct, however i can shoot a pretty good group, the only thing is that i feel that the airgun is limited to it's power and is useful in close range, up to 20m around farm buildings where excess power is either not needed or dangerous. at these close ranges and stiller air, the pellet does it's job well, but for long range hunting (in airgun terms) i feel it unsuitable because of the factors listed above and the many variables that make hitting and killing the target much more difficult. (FAC air rifles excluded)

 

Do you think the out come would have been different if the conditions were much calmer..

 

I personaly stick to closer rangers if have to shoot quarry in windy conditions to make sure of a clean kill, which is what your intending to do around the farm buildings..

 

Hope you dont loose the thrill of hunting with the airgun on better days

[lapin2008 1,587]

PLEASE READ ALL OF THE TOPIC FIRST BEFORE REPLYING

 

right I know this is going to be a thorny topic, especially as it is posted in the airgun section, i'll probably post it in the rifles section as well to see what others think.

 

here goes. I have a precharged air rifle which I got about 5 or 6 years ago, it shoots cloverleaf groups at 25m and i used to use it for shooting everything on the airguners hit list so to speak. I have not really used it for some time now for shooting rabbits , and have only really used it for shooting rats/feral pigeons/corvids at the bird table and in trees, and squirrels in trees and at the bird table. as of today though i will retire it to paper punching duties.

 

the story goes as as follows. yesterday i shot at a magpie that was at the bird table from a first floor window, it was quite breezy, the first shot missed, i allowed for wind and shot again, it connected with something on the bird as it's head spun round and it hopped off, i just though i had stunned it, but today it came back, and i had obviously hit it's bottom jaw and broken it as it was hanging loose. luckily i managed to shoot it. had i not, then it would have most likley suffered a slow and protracted death by starvation and dehydration

 

i have used my air gun to kill many many of the "legal" species and though the wounding rate has been low, i still find it unacceptable as there are too many variables to go wrong, wind, range estimation, at least with my rimfire (.17 HMR)if i hit whatever it is i will kill it as it has so much more power available to do the job and terminal performance, because of this instance i have relegated my airgun for paper punching and close range control of rats and ferals around farm buildings. and use on perfecly still days for shooting anything larger- ie rabbits

 

now i'm sure i will receive indignant or perhaps insulting replies ridiculing my marksmanship or saying i am making excuses which is in part correct, however i can shoot a pretty good group, the only thing is that i feel that the airgun is limited to it's power and is useful in close range, up to 20m around farm buildings where excess power is either not needed or dangerous. at these close ranges and stiller air, the pellet does it's job well, but for long range hunting (in airgun terms) i feel it unsuitable because of the factors listed above and the many variables that make hitting and killing the target much more difficult. (FAC air rifles excluded)

 

have seen the same thing happen but with a rimfire as well but on rabbits where I have shot for the head and the shot has taken off the lower jaw and it does look horrendous! but at least with the extra power from the RF if this does happen the animal won't be alive to suffer for long even if it does manage to get up or avoid the second shot. The difference is that if you do hit something in the jaw with an air rifle it may not be so obvious that the jaw is totally knackered and the animal may just crawl off an die without you realising what has happened. (Accept in this instance when you saw the outcome) Some people are likely to have a winge about what you have written, this has most likely has happened to many people but i doubt many people would have intvited the grief by writting about it.

There is probably nothing wrong with your rifle other then it may be a bit off zero or the wind caused the shot to stray abit, I definatly don't think it is a reason to stop shooting with it mind you

atb

Edited May 12, 2009 by lapin2008

[the Verminator 0]

my 12ftlbs air rifle kills fine out to 40-45 yards, if you put the pellet in the right place. but they are wind affected and have a loopy trajectory that can make targets more difficult, but int that half the skill? i have to agree with you that rifles do have a bigger margin for error and a lot more killing power. thats why i have rifles now as well as air rifles. anyway, i think that it is very responsible of you to lay down your airgun as you cannot guarantee kills with it.

[Country Life 0]

Dont dissmiss the air rifle, tools for jobs as they say..

 

I use a shotgun, rimmy, and air rifle, they all play there part at the right time / mood.

 

I shoot with a friend who uses an air rifle, he has a great kill ratio, but like anyone who is big enough to admit it..

 

We have all missed a well thought out shot, resulting in a less than perfect kill, if you are lucky enough to get a 2nd off, if you are not well that rabbit will suffer and die slowly.

On the last ocasion he had shot a rabbit, I heard the shot and the impact and it sounded a good clean shot, (if ever you can). Only to find out that the said rabbit bolted off down its hole.

 

S**t happens, BUT, the main thing is we can take it to heart and perfect what we are out to do..IE get it right next time and all the time..if only we were perfect..

 

John

[andyfr1968 772]

Any shooter useing ANY type of gun has the odd bad shot.

 

I've seen more birds winged with shotguns than enough!

 

Don't give up, mate. Like you say they've got limitations but so long as you keep within them, you've done what any responsible shooter should do no matter what type of gun's being used.

 

Cheers.

[Guest Scuba1]

And then with the HMR the animals get bigger as well and there will be the day when you will wound a rabbit with that gun to. What next retire the HMR for shooting crows and get a .300 WinMag for the bunnies?? I think not. As Aristoteles once said...... Shit happens.

 

ATB

 

Michael

[ArchieHood 3,692]

some things are best kept mum :secret:

[cbw 4]

I think most of us could give examples of a similar scenario, I am unsure of the solution as a 12ftlbs air rifle has its place in the larger garden.

 

I for one shoot exactly the same as the pigeons poo in my pool, all over the garden furniture and my daughters play equipment and the blooming squirrels eat ALL the walnuts off my tree about 1 week before they are ripe!

 

It would not be possible to go any more powerfull in my garden, richochet would be a nightmare so 12 fps it is and I have to stomach the very odd less than perfect shot.

 

CBW

[elvolcan 0]

What next retire the HMR for shooting crows and get a .300 WinMag for the bunnies

.50BMG will do a better job

 

 

 

 

 

 

JRC

 

 

Edited May 12, 2009 by elvolcan

[Mr_Logic 5]

12 ft lb air rifle is a very useful garden tool. But for me, that's about it. I don't remember the last time I fired my air rifle. Or, for that matter, my rimfire...

[Murph 30]

Every calibre has its limits, I don't shoot air rifles now, they are useful for clearing pigeons from barns but that's about it for me, rimfires for rabbits and cubs, centrefires for foxes and deer. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want to get shot with an air rifle but I don't think they're fully up to the job outside enclosed areas where better tools can be used and I'm not saying a .22 rimfire isn't perfectly capable of killing an adult fox but I choose not to do it that way as I have more appropriate tools for the jobs I want to get done. I haven't got a problem with killing things but the way in which they die matters a lot to me, for me it should be like flicking off a switch and not wishing you had used a different rifle or placed the shot better after the event because you've caused something to suffer.

[danebrewer10 6]

some interesting comments.... I reckon i'll still use it on the odd occasion for rabbits , it's just that the conditions would have to be perfect that's all.....