deanothehunter 34 Posted October 18, 2010 Report Share Posted October 18, 2010 not sure if pheasants are too much for air rifles as you see lists of airgun quarry and although they are not listed once plucked they are not that much bigger than a fat woodie, they even say hares are too big for an air rifle don,t see why yes they are taller and long legged but the head in my opinion is very simlar sized to a rabbit although i have never shot one lots of people do. went to shoot some bunnies today but after a long wait not one showed so just thinking about packing up as light was fading, when i saw lots of pheasants walking a hedge line close to where i was sat, they were obviously going to the woods i was next to which is where they roost. the landowner did say they have lots of pheasnts about and if one obliges i can shoot the odd couple the only one that was close enough was a hen pheasant and was approx 25 -30yards away, it had stopped and was staring over to where i were as they are very warey birds. its head looked tiny through scope even on full mag plus there were twigs in the way i decided to go for a chest shot and looked through scope for which seemed like 5 mins but was less than 30 secs in reality i worked out where i thought the heart was and pulled trigger .... a puff of feathers and sideways it fell, it flapped wings a few times then became still. on picking it up i noticed blood from the beak indicating a heart and lung area shot and by the way it went down would,nt be surprised if the heart had been pierced right through, i was quite chuffed and looking forward to it as have not had pheasant for years Quote Link to post
Phantom 631 Posted October 18, 2010 Report Share Posted October 18, 2010 Nice shot, I would still have taken the head shot though (or at a push a neck shot with a .22) especially on a bird of that size as I have no idea how large the breast muscles are or how strong the breast bone is. But yes, an air rifle is more than capable of despatching both Pheasant and Hare, I won't mention what else I know an air rifle is capable of bringing down with a well placed headshot, because it'll bring up all sorts of arguments, but there is a very good book called "Advanced Airgun Hunting" which shows you what a non fac airgun is capable of delivering to the plate Phantom Quote Link to post
zini 1,939 Posted October 19, 2010 Report Share Posted October 19, 2010 With the pheasant season being Oct 1 - Feb 1 in England and Scotland then I don’t see why not mate if you have been given permission by your shoot owner. I love a bit of pheasant myself and yes a sub 12 ft / lb rifle is more than caperable of humanely killing a pheasant. The ones I’ve shot in the past have been with head shots but as you say pal if you know where the heart is then a well placed heart shot will do the business too cleanly. Si Quote Link to post
aaronpigeonplucker 32 Posted October 19, 2010 Report Share Posted October 19, 2010 good shooting mate! you said as the light was fading which is ok but remember it's ilegal to shoot a pheasent once the sun has set. Quote Link to post
Millet 4,497 Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 I have shot the odd one in the past and for me it has got to be head/neck shot everytime,you are wasting your time going for heart and lung shots especially if you dont have a dog with you because they can still run on at a fare pace before they drop if the shot is not bang on or ricochets in the body,this time of the year the pheasants have not had chance to fatten up properly yet but by december time the cock birds can be in excess of 4lb in weight,and the breast on them can take some penatrating,on several occasions i have shot pheasants that have pellets healed up in the breast bone area from a badly placed shot. 1 Quote Link to post
gurtwurz 792 Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 nice shooting! took a 25m cock bird with a headshot myself the week before last and it tasted bloody great, specially since it'd been gorging itself on blackberrys to the extent that its kidney was full of pips. if i can get a lead for my phonecam i'll put up the photos asap, but at the mo i cant download a bloody thing wouldnt want to risk a chest shot myself, but fair play to you for a clean kill mate all the best,wurz Quote Link to post
Phantom 631 Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 What kinda phone is it Bud? Got a couple of spare leads lying around my sons bedroom He either gets bored with the phone and chucks it, smashes it somehow or forgets where he left it. Last year he left a brand new Iphone in the middle of a field! Dont ask but it involved him a tent and a couple of girls (jammy little git!!!) Phantom Quote Link to post
deanothehunter 34 Posted October 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 (edited) i love pheasant too this one was a nice reminder just how tasty they are it only had body showing as its head was obscured by leaves and twigs of a bush but i think it was spying on me as i was just getting ready to pack up then i spotted it and raised the gun, but its body and chest was in full view as it was streching up tall i only ever take head shots on everything but as i had no clear view of where to place the pellet i decided on a chest shot and the way it went down it did the business there and then it never ran just fell sidewards flapped a few times then nothing, if i had taken a neck shot im sure it would of past clean through and made it run and die slowly in my opinion neck shots are a lot more risky than a heart shot and on gutting it i could see the heart had been grazed badly but not quite pierced as i wanted, but i was,nt far off and the damage it did do dropped it instantly......if i had to do again it would probably be very difficult to pull off twice admitted but if you have time to study them you can work out if you will maybe be sucessfull or not, but as they don,t give you time to study them it was a slight risk, but think a neck shot would of resulted in it running in woods and me losing it as i had no dog to run it down,i have been pheasant shooting a long time ago and have had a brace given to me for for myself as me and my uncle where just the beaters, only to find the shotgun had only put 2 tiny shot into one of the birds that was not into any vital organs only just under the top layer of muscle, i think the minute it was hit it panicked and fell to the ground which in my view would of done more damage than the pellets due to the height it fell from and the thump it made on inpact ... Edited October 20, 2010 by deanothehunter Quote Link to post
stealthy1 3,964 Posted October 21, 2010 Report Share Posted October 21, 2010 I've whacked quite a few Pheasants with airguns over the years and not had any problems, if you want one to eat and have permission then bag one, but it has to be a headshot, or the pellets will bounce off their chests like a bullet proof vest Quote Link to post
deanothehunter 34 Posted October 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2010 I've whacked quite a few Pheasants with airguns over the years and not had any problems, if you want one to eat and have permission then bag one, but it has to be a headshot, or the pellets will bounce off their chests like a bullet proof vest yeah i thought their chests must be pretty solid but i was using a .20 pellet which flies very flat and seems to drill in as would a .177 and requires very little hold over/under but it did the business on this one Quote Link to post
stealthy1 3,964 Posted October 21, 2010 Report Share Posted October 21, 2010 I've whacked quite a few Pheasants with airguns over the years and not had any problems, if you want one to eat and have permission then bag one, but it has to be a headshot, or the pellets will bounce off their chests like a bullet proof vest yeah i thought their chests must be pretty solid but i was using a .20 pellet which flies very flat and seems to drill in as would a .177 and requires very little hold over/under but it did the business on this one Quote Link to post
gurtwurz 792 Posted October 21, 2010 Report Share Posted October 21, 2010 What kinda phone is it Bud? Got a couple of spare leads lying around my sons bedroom He either gets bored with the phone and chucks it, smashes it somehow or forgets where he left it. Last year he left a brand new Iphone in the middle of a field! Dont ask but it involved him a tent and a couple of girls (jammy little git!!!) Phantom i'd have lost an iphone for that meself!! its a new sony ericson tony, i'm sure i can pick up a lead from the phone shop, i've just been putting the pennies aside for a posh folding knife(spiderco-yum!) instead cos me openel's finally got pitted beyond repair now due to the recent poxy weather... all the best, wurz Quote Link to post
Phantom 631 Posted October 21, 2010 Report Share Posted October 21, 2010 i'd have lost an iphone for that meself!! its a new sony ericson tony, i'm sure i can pick up a lead from the phone shop, i've just been putting the pennies aside for a posh folding knife(spiderco-yum!) instead cos me openel's finally got pitted beyond repair now due to the recent poxy weather... all the best, wurz One of these Wurz ? If so I'll have it in the post today for you Phantom Quote Link to post
johnboy19 38 Posted October 21, 2010 Report Share Posted October 21, 2010 Phanton your a great guy mate, you done something similar for me a while back, and if i can ever return the favour i will do Quote Link to post
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